Chapter Fifteen
Jet
Serin was asleep on my chest.
And I was seconds away from rolling her onto her back, moving over her, and showing her some other things she hadn’t experienced yet.
The fantasy was shattered, though, when my bedroom door burst open hard enough for the wood to slap against the wall. Serin yelped and jolted awake as my arm tightened around her while I glared at Vishen.
“The fuck?”
But my anger quickly evaporated at his heavy breathing and flushed cheeks.
I knew my guard.
He’d never unlock my door with me inside it without good reason—let alone throw open the door.
“What is it?” I asked, sitting up straight.
“Your sister.”
My sister?
“What about Celestine? Is she hurt?”
I barely knew the woman. I’d only met her briefly. The same time I’d made her burn the fuck out of my neck so she could escape. But some part of me did seem to care about her. Especially now that she was settled in the Seelie Court and was no threat to my throne.
“She’s… on her way here.”
“She’s what?” I barked, flying out of bed.
That was a death sentence.
It would jump-start the war.
Why would she do it?
“I got word from a friend. She is coming under white flags but escorted by an entire flock of draca.”
Draca.
Dragon fae.
Thought for many generations to be all but extinct. I’d always imagined they’d simply disappeared to avoid being forced into my father’s army.
But now they were back.
Working for the Light Court.
Cass was going to blow a fucking gasket.
“What the hell is she thinking?” I asked, rushing toward my wardrobe.
“Don’t white flags mean peace?” Serin asked, voice still sleepy.
Nira came stumbling in the room, still pushing her shirt into her waistband.
“Cass and Cece have a really complicated past,” Vishen explained. “She’s a daughter of both Courts.”
“How is that possible?”
“Cece’s mother was young and foolish,” I explained. “She thought she’d fallen in love with Cass, who was a new king at the time. But Cass was always good at putting on a mask. She didn’t know who the real Cass was until it was too late.”
“What happened?”
“She took off with Cece when she learned that my father was finding the most powerful fae and draining them of their blood to try to take their powers.”
Serin blanched. “Did he succeed?”
“He is more powerful than I’d like to admit, yes. But those powers are hindered by his slipping control on his sanity.”
“He was really going to drain his own child?”
“Not until she was grown, when her powers were fully manifested.”
“But she got away.”
“With a little help,” Vishen said, nodding toward me.
“You helped her?”
“This scar,” I said, lifting my head to show her my neck, “that was Cece.”
“She burned you?”
“I told her to.”
“So your father didn’t know you helped her.”
“Precisely.”
“If he saw her again, though…”
“Yeah. He wouldn’t hesitate to drain her. He strung up and tortured her mother for weeks. He wouldn’t even think twice about using Celestine to get whatever he wanted from her.”
“Why are Cece’s powers so strong?”
“Her mother was strong as well. Mix that with what little power my father had at the time, and Cece was almost guaranteed to be something special.”
“Wait. Do you have powers?”
“Not one I am proud of,” I said. “And not one I want my father to know about, or he will turn me into a weapon.”
And make no mistake, he would.
If I said no, he would torture some innocent just to force my hand. Then use me against one of the prisoners.
I shook those thoughts away.
It wasn’t going to happen.
Because I’d worked hard to make sure no one but Vishen knew.
“How far away is the caravan?” I asked, pretending to ignore the hurt look on Serin’s face at not telling her my power.
“A while off. If we go now—and fast—we can cut her off before she hits any military checkpoints.”
“Alright. We can leave in five.”
“Hey, wait, no,” Nira said, making us all look over.
“What?”
“I don’t think you should go alone.”
“I’ll have Vishen.”
“I get that, but I don’t think either of you have really been out that way since this war talk started up. Trust me, you don’t want to screw around.”
“What are you suggesting? You come?”
“I’m all you have, aside from Vishen.”
“I need you here for Serin.”
“I can come. I mean, I wouldn’t be any help in an attack—yet—but I can come so you have extra protection.”
I glanced over at Vishen, who shrugged. “She’s right. Neither of us know what is out there right now.”
“Well, it’s early. Hopefully we can get there and back before The Green really wakes up.”
“Alright. Nira, get Serin changed into something appropriate. We leave in five. If you’re not ready, Vishen and I are going without you.”
With that, the women rushed out.
“What are you thinking?”
“Honestly, bringing Serin feels like a risk. But leaving her here if Tove has suspicions about her just isn’t an option.”
“Yeah,” I agreed. “Do you have an extra weapon for her?” I asked as I grabbed several knives, a scabbard, and a sword.
“I’ll grab it. You get her enough water, just in case.”
I filled four flasks—one for each of us to carry—then met everyone in the hallway. Vishen was slipping a small sword into a sheath and attaching it to Serin’s hip as Nira pulled Serin’s hair into a high ponytail.
“Ready,” Serin said, giving me a wobbly smile.
“You take this,” I told her, handing her a flask. “We are all carrying one for you because this is going to be a marathon. We are going to need to run most of the way to stay ahead of the day.”
With that, we followed Nira, who led us out a side exit to avoid the redcaps. We all crept silently through the courtyard, then the woods immediately surrounding the palace—never knowing what regiment might be placed where.
Once we were clear, though, Vishen broke into a run ahead of us. Serin and I did the same. And Nira followed behind.
It’d been a long time since I went for a run. Muscles tensed, then loosened. My lungs burned, then remembered how to breathe properly.
Beside me, Serin kept a pretty good pace with her long legs and lungs, likely strengthened from swimming all day, every day of her life.
By the time the sun was creeping through the woods, its golden beams threading between the trees, we stopped beside a stream, three of us drinking as Serin sipped her water before reaching into the stream to press the water to her face.
“What is it?” I asked when she gasped.
“I can hear it.”
“Hear what?”
“My lake. I can hear it.”
She lowered down onto her belly on the bank, holding her ear just above the flowing water.
“We must be close.” She turned her head, gulping in some of the water and letting out a little moan.
“We are,” Nira confirmed.
I could read the desire on her face, felt the tug of need. It wasn’t just her home. It was a part of her. And she, a part of it. If it faded, so did she. If she faded, so did it.
“We’re in a safer area,” Nira said, choosing her words carefully so she didn’t get Serin’s hopes up if I said no.
“How much further do you think?” I asked Vishen.
“Assuming she has been traveling toward us, we should be coming across her within twenty minutes or so.”
“Alright,” I said to Nira. “But be sharp. And stay put. Vishen can lead me there.”
“Lead you where?” Serin asked, getting to her feet.
“Your lake.”
“You’re letting me visit my lake?”
Letting her.
That particular phrasing made me feel like she was my prisoner. I guess, in a sick way, she was.
“Just while I speak to my sister. It’s too dangerous for you to go back to your lake permanently.” Was it, though? “Grimwood has a vested interest in you not being able to speak of what he did ever again.”
“I know. I would just like to see it.”
I wish I could see her in it too.
But stopping Celestine before she did something incredibly stupid was more important than my desires.
“Sure. Then go spend some time, revitalize; you are going to need your strength for the way back.”
We both looked at each other like we wanted to say something, but in the end, I just nodded at her and started off with Vishen. I broke into a run, not trusting myself not to turn back if I didn’t get as far as fast as I could.
It was only maybe another fifteen minutes before I heard the wheels of a carriage dragging across the ground, snapping twigs and crunching old, dry leaves.
Then there were the draca.
And the flags.
Then, upon closer inspection, my sister’s spouse, with his blonde hair and stern look. As if sensing my thoughts—though his power was sensing feelings—he glanced up and spotted me.
I watched his mouth move as he, I assumed, spoke to Cece because just a second later, the carriage came to a stop.
The far door burst open, and then there she was.
We didn’t look much alike except for the eyes. We both had Cass’s eyes.
“Well, well, well,” she said, shooting me a smirk. “I didn’t expect a welcoming committee.”
“This isn’t a welcoming committee. This is a ‘what the fuck do you think you’re doing’ search and rescue party.”
Her chin lifted. “I could ask you the same thing.”
“Can you? Because I’m not the one trespassing on the other Court during an already tense time. With an entire fucking army of draca.”
“We are traveling under a white flag.”
“Yeah, because Cass would give a single fuck about that.”
“Unfortunately, some risks have to be taken for the sake of diplomacy.”
“You expect any conversation with our father to end in anything other than you being drained of your powers, tortured, and killed?”
“I mean, we had our… issues. But he actually protected me once…”
“Celestine, he will kill you. Have you not heard the rumors in your realm?”
She glanced over at Jasper, then back at me.
“Rumors can’t be trusted.”
“In this case, they can. If things are going the way I believe they are going, you don’t have to worry about war. But if you do stupid-ass shit like this, it will be inevitable.”
“Unfortunately, I’m here because my people are furious with you and demanded all-out war.”
“In the Light Court?” I asked, dubious.
“Well, what do you expect when one of ours is violently torn from their home and disappears?”
Wait.
No.
I glanced over at Vishen.
“Tell me the lake is in our fucking realm.”
“It’s a… gray area.”
“Not to my people.”
“Shit.”
“You knew about this? That someone kidnapped the Daughter of the Lake?”
“You could say that. She’s my wife.”
The color drained from my sister’s face.
“You kidnapped a woman to marry you?”
“It’s heartwarming how well you think of me. I’m touched, truly.”
“Answer me.”
“No, I didn’t kidnap Serin. She was kidnapped to put in place of the daughter of a powerful man I was supposed to marry.”
“And she just… went along with it?”
“She was drugged.”
“But now you know… and you’re still married to her?”
“It’s complicated. She’s safest with me now. Don’t you think I would have gotten her out if I could have?”
“I don’t know what to think with the Unseelie Court lately. The things I’m hearing…”
“They’re probably all true. And worse.”
“And you don’t expect an all-out war? You can’t allow women to be kidnapped and sold into marriage. What is wrong with you?”
“I don’t have time to explain my plans to you.
Actually, you don’t have time. If word gets out that you crossed into this realm—with draca no less—then you will be in a dungeon before noon, listening to your father ripping parts of your little empath off, piece by piece until he begs to be given the true death. ”
Something flickered across Celestine’s eyes.
“Listen to me. Anything you think you know about the Dark Court no longer applies.”
Cece took a step forward. “Are you safe?”
“Worried about me?”
“Stop being a dick and answer the question.”
“Am I safe? No. Absolutely not. But I’m working on it. And I really don’t need intrusion from the Light Court right now.”
“Is there anything I can do?”
“Aside from turning around and dragging your ass back across the border? No.”
“Are you at risk from outside or from our father?” she asked, her voice a whisper.
“Are you implying it could only be one?”
“Jet…”
“Don’t pity me, Big Sister,” I said, shaking my head. “I have plans. You and I both know nothing will get in the way of me and my throne. Not even our piece of shit father.”
“I believe you think you’ve got this. But I’m worried you’re more cocky than strategic. One man can’t overtake an entire kingdom.”
“You underestimate me.”
“I hope so.”
“Just tell your mother and grandmother to give me some time. I’m not saying don’t prepare for war, because if I’m gone, war is inevitable. Prepare. But wait. Because if my plans come to fruition, there won’t be a war.”
She watched me for a moment, then nodded.
“Okay. But no more kidnappings. No more stepping into my realm.”
“Understood.”
“Is she okay?” she asked.
“Serin? Yes. She’s visiting her lake right now with her guard. Replenishing herself and the lake. She has to come back with me, but I’m treating her well. Introducing her to cooked food. Keeping her safe.”
Celestine’s head cocked to the side, watching me with a look I couldn’t parse. “Good. I will tell my family to stand by and plan, but we won’t act unless our hand is forced.”
“And don’t come back here, Princess. Not even with a whole army of draca.”
She nodded.
“Good luck, Jet. I really hope you can pull this off. For all our sakes.”
With that, she turned and made her way back to the carriage with Jasper.
But as I watched, I spotted a familiar face. Pretty, blonde. Amy. Standing with a draca’s arm around her.
“Amethyst,” I greeted her. “So that’s why you wouldn’t marry me,” I said, nodding toward the man at her side, some of his rough spines still sticking out of his skin.
“I would apologize,” she said in that sweet voice of hers, “but I’m not sorry.”
“Won’t lie, it was a bit of a kick to the pride to have your betrothed run away right before the wedding, but I didn’t want to marry you either.”
“We’re all just pawns in our parents’ plans.”
“Until we choose a different path.” My gaze slid to her partner. “Keep her out of this realm.”
“I will.”
With that, the carriage turned, moving back where they’d come from. The draca took to the sky, their colorful, leathery wings blotting out the blue.
Vishen and I stood there until they disappeared.
“Well. That buys us time,” Vishen said.
“Let’s hope it’s enough. Come on. We need to get back before we’re missed.”
We walked in silence, both lost in our thoughts, toward the lake.
But before it even came into view, a scream filled the forest.
“Serin!”
My heart stopped.