Chapter 37
Poker Face
E
Rain comes down in punishing waves, turning the forest into a slick, churning nightmare of mud, blood, and trampled ferns. Wind tears through the trees hard enough to bend branches, and thunder rolls overhead, as though Luther’s storm means to crush the forest flat.
I hide behind a tree, the rain too dense for me to move around unnoticed, and analyze my options.
I can’t fight them all. No, I need to wait for an opportunity to whisk Max away to safety.
But Nick…
Gods, this isn’t going to be easy.
I could wait for the Red Queen to leave. The battle is not over. They certainly can’t spare all these people to guard two prisoners. Once the odds work in my favor, I can strike.
The Sun Court knights carry a longsword and wear armor that looks ceremonial at first glance, too elegant to be practical, until you notice how seamlessly it moves with them.
Thin sheets of polished gold overlap across their torsos like sculpted scales, fitted close enough for speed without sacrificing protection. Fine chain mail glints beneath the plates at the elbows, shoulders, and hips.
Their pauldrons sweep upward in graceful, winglike curves, while matching vambraces sheath their forearms, engraved with a golden cloud sigil.
The sight of it hits with nauseating familiarity.
I can practically feel the smooth glide of polished gold beneath my fingers, the precise weight of the overlapping chest plates settling across my ribs, the way the fitted mail at the joints never pinches, never catches, crafted to protect against creatures meant to move faster than Fae or mortals ever could.
Long white cloaks fly in the wind behind them, immaculate despite the debris and mud.
Their helmets are ornate and angular, with long crests and narrow eye slits that erase any individuality, making them look less like men and more like a single gleaming breed of predator.
I remember seeing the world through one of them. The weight of it flattened my hair and narrowed my vision until all that existed was the slit ahead.
“And who have we here?” The Red Queen brushes Nickolas’s red hair out of his eyes. “Her Tidecaller boyfriend, perhaps?”
Her lips curve.
“Very nice.” Her gaze drags over him with open appraisal. “He’ll make a gorgeous addition to my stables.”
“Wait! There’s someone there!” one knight shouts.
Fuck.
Three knights pile toward me, seizing my arms as though they deal with invisible intruders every day. One catches my wrist, another hooks an arm around my neck, and a third drives a fist into my ribs hard enough to force the air from my lungs.
“There’s another one, madam,” one of them says.
He doesn’t call her queen. Interesting.
But then, he’s not her subject.
“Well, cut him. I want to see his face.”
“Yes, of course.” The knight squints at me, his cloak fastened with a golden sash. The leader. He draws a dagger and slices my arm, his blade coming away red, but he frowns.
“It’s not working.”
A wicked, dangerous idea weasels into my brain.
“You think a feeble trick like that would work on me? Let me go, soldiers,” I command darkly. “Or are you too stupid to recognize me?”
To my surprise, the two men holding my arms release me with a start.
“Don’t obey him, you fools!” the Red Queen shouts.
The knights clutch the hilt of their swords, uncertain, waiting.
Rain is still beating down on me, but that doesn’t have to be a bad thing. I unfurl my wings and rise a few feet into the air. “I’m Ezra Hermes Lightbringer, prince of the Sun Court, and you answer to me, not her.”
The leader hesitates for a single beat before striking a closed fist against his chest. “At your command, my prince.”
The other soldiers immediately imitate him, lowering their gazes to the ground.
“At your command,” they say in unison.
My palms are sweaty as hell, and I’m deeply thankful for the invisibility, because I’m not sure I could keep my face straight.
Ezra Hermes Lightbringer.
There were two names on that attic tree. I took a shot.
But I managed to say it without triggering the Fae can’t lie rule. It slipped out of my mouth without resistance, almost poetic in its cadence. I’ve never been able to tell an outright lie before.
So is it the truth?
Or is it enough that I’m simply not certain it’s false?
“Pfft. Ezra Lightbringer hasn’t been seen in decades.” The Red Queen seethes. “He’s lying.”
“He’s got wings, madam,” the knight points out. “Our king shan’t suffer anyone he doesn’t approve of to keep them.”
“Except the Lord of the Tides,” she huffs.
“She’s the exception,” the knight grumbles.
Wait. She?
“Those two prisoners aren’t Tidecallers. Release them,” I order.
The Red Queen braces her hands on her hips. “Prince or not, you don’t have authority over my prisoners.”
“They’re our prisoners,” I counter with a derisive chuckle. “Or are you confused about who gagged and bound them?”
The ten or so Reds guarding the Queen unsheathe their katanas.
“You’re on our lands,” one of them says.
I glance at the autumn tree behind them in the distance. “Close to it, but not quite.”
The queen clicks her tongue. “Your father will not approve of your manners.”
“Take your grievances to him, if you wish. I’m taking what’s mine, and that’s that. Unless you want to fight all of us. Soldiers, unbind the prisoners—”
The squadron leader clears his throat uncomfortably. “With all due respect, my prince, we should take the prisoners back to the castle and wait for the king’s orders. We hardly expected to find you here, and the king will want to hear all of this from your lips.”
His voice trembles, and he doesn’t quite look up, as though he’s terrified to defy my authority. “Are you prepared to come back with us immediately to the Solar Cliffs?”
I can hardly say no, but my stomach flips.
The Red Queen bares her teeth in an ugly imitation of a smile.
“Alright,” she says. “I’ll give you one.”
My brows furrow. “One?”
“That’s reasonable, no? We each take one prisoner until this kerfuffle is sorted out.”
A few knights nod at that, most of them easing their grips on their swords. They don’t want to fight the Reds, not based solely on the word of an invisible prince they haven’t seen in decades.
The queen’s smile widens. “Which one do you want?”
My chest deflates. “The witch.”
Max’s eyes widen, and she shakes her head.
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.
If I push my luck, I’m afraid we’re all going to die.
“That’s a good choice,” the Red Queen purrs, “and very inconvenient for me. I’ll make sure her handsome friend here pays the price.”
She motions for her guards to haul Nick to his feet, then turns her back on us entirely, making it clear she doesn’t consider us a threat.
She raises a hand up in lieu of goodbye. “See you soon, Ezra Hermes Lightbringer.”
Her voice purrs over the name, and I get the distinct feeling Nick isn’t the only one who’s going to pay for my little stunt.