CHAPTER ELEVEN
Furious whispers drifted through the stillness.
There were other sounds, too. I could hear the steady drone of Cyrus’s lawn mower outside, and the gurgling of the coffee maker.
My eyes cracked open and reacted to the sunlight streaming through the windows.
I couldn’t remember the last time I’d slept this late.
I sat up slowly, squinting, and waited for my vision to adjust.
I’d fallen asleep on the couch again. Collith and Laurie were in the kitchen, still speaking in low, tense voices.
Both of them had changed and showered since last night, their hair and skin gleaming in the morning light.
I waited for the faeries to notice I was awake.
Within seconds, Collith’s dark head turned, and our eyes met.
Their conversation was cut short. Collith left the counter and strode into the living room.
He set a steaming mug on the coffee table beside me. “Good morning.”
“Good morning.” I reached for the mug while he settled on the other couch. “Are Emma and Damon gone for the day?”
Collith nodded, watching me take my first, cautious sip. As Laurie came into view he said, “There’s something we need to tell you, Fortuna.”
“I’m connected to Oliver, you idiots. I saw the whole thing go down,” I said with a neutral expression.
I couldn’t exactly be mad at them for keeping their kill-the-Beast plan from me when I had secrets of my own.
Laurie sank onto the cushion next to mine, and to hide my rush of guilt, I leaned forward to set the coffee back onto the table.
As I moved, Laurie’s eyes latched onto me, but he wasn’t looking at my face.
I followed his gaze downward, and in an instant, I spotted the bruise peeking out from beneath my ratty T-shirt.
Shit. I pulled the hem down quickly, covering it, but of course it was too late. Now Laurie knew something was up.
Before those sleeping pills had kicked in, I’d showered last night, so I knew they couldn’t smell Oliver or what had happened between us.
What I had allowed to happen. The thought of telling Collith and Laurie made my stomach tighten.
How could I explain it to them when I didn’t even understand why?
Oliver had killed one of my closest friends.
He’d killed my parents. He’d also left a string of bodies across the entire fucking country.
It was disgusting that I had even let him touch me.
I kept all these thoughts from my face, though.
Neither of them asked the question. After all, we weren’t together.
Any of us. They didn’t have the right to wonder where I’d been the night before, or whether I’d been with someone.
But we were still something, no matter how much I’d fought it.
A connection that bound the three of us together in a way that felt as irrevocable as breathing.
It was that connection causing the shame in my throat, blocking any attempt I might’ve made at confessing the truth.
Collith finally broke the silence. His voice was tight. “Are you all right?”
I considered the question. Physically, I was fine.
In every other way, I was as far from all right as someone could get.
But they needed to know what Oliver had said about Olorel, which also meant admitting where I’d been just a few hours ago.
Another rush of hot shame filled my throat, making it difficult to speak. “Last night—”
One of the windows shattered.
In an instant, I was off the couch, Collith and Laurie standing on either side of me.
We watched as Katashi and Yaeko climbed through the empty window frame like spiders.
The image was only strengthened by their black clothing.
Both of them held katanas, and they moved with silent, lethal intent.
How had the kitsunes gotten past Savannah’s protection spells? Why were they here?
A second after I asked the question, I knew the answer—this had something to do with the Order’s search for the Beast. Nan had warned us her people would still be looking, too.
Katashi confirmed this a moment later when he said, “You’ve failed to kill the Beast, Nightmare, so now we’re going to do this our way. Your presence is required at Raas. We have some more questions we’d like to ask you.”
“And I thought I was dramatic,” Laurie remarked. “An invitation would’ve sufficed.”
“I’m afraid you’re not invited to this meeting,” Yaeko crooned. “In fact, you and Collith Sylvyre have been removed from proceedings.”
It felt like I was falling. My mind raced.
Why did the Order want me, specifically?
Why were they going to the effort of keeping Laurie and Collith away?
Maybe they knew the truth about my connection to Oliver, somehow.
Or maybe they just wanted to separate the three of us because we’d be easier to execute that way.
As if he’d reached the same conclusion, Laurie’s smile cooled. His eyes hardened into gleaming metal. “It’s cute that you think Lady Sworn is going anywhere without us.”
On my other side, Collith tilted his head. Though he spoke as calmly as ever, his gaze was unnaturally bright. “The codex states that it’s illegal to conduct a meeting without every representative in attendance,” he said.
“Every representative will be in attendance,” Katashi countered, flipping his katana.
Laurie rested his hand casually on his sword hilt. Yaeko noted the gesture, and her expression went cold. “It would be treason to resist. This is a direct command from the Order.”
Even as she spoke, it was obvious to everyone that Collith and Laurie didn’t give a shit about commands.
To protect me, they would defy the Order and kill these kitsunes—I could see it in their eyes.
I could sense the tension coiling in their bodies.
Usually, the two of them were so calculating.
If they’d been thinking clearly, Collith and Laurie would’ve realized that Laurie could lose his throne again, or they might get seriously hurt if Yaeko was as good as Laurie said.
If they did fight, there was a good chance Collith and Laurie would win. I knew how powerful they were. I’d witnessed it.
But I wasn’t willing to take that risk.
“I’ll go,” I said. Collith and Laurie turned toward me at the same time. I didn’t let them see my fear, and my voice was hard as I told them, “It’s fine. I’ll be fine. There are other people in the Order who have my back, remember?”
“Don’t waste your breath, darling,” Laurie said dismissively, shifting his gaze back to the kitsunes. “We’re going with you, end of story.”
I hesitated, painfully aware of the people watching us.
My first instinct was to resort to force and use my powers.
Shoot first, ask questions later. That was my old way of doing things.
So I held the image of a lake in my mind, the hum of cicadas all around while a boat beneath me swayed.
I focused on Katashi, because out of the two of them, he seemed the most likely to listen. “Can we have a minute?” I asked.
The fox’s demeanor was hard as granite. “Afraid not, Nightmare. How do I know you won’t try to escape?”
“Let’s be clear,” I said curtly, “if I wanted to escape, I could. There is no ‘try’ about it. If I wanted to, I could end your life right now. But you’re still standing there because I allow it.
So, rest assured, I will come find you when I’m done.
Not to mention I need to put on some fucking pants. ”
Silence met my hard words. A second ticked past. Two. Three. I held Katashi’s gaze without flinching. Then he said, “We’ll be downstairs.”
Yaeko shot him a look of disbelief and outrage, but the other kitsune just inclined his head.
A muscle tightened in Yaeko’s cheek as she stormed toward the window.
Katashi followed at a slower pace, and they both dropped out of sight.
I suppressed a shudder—there was something so creepy about how they climbed the side of the barn like that.
Once they were gone, I took a low, steadying breath.
It felt like pressure was closing in from every direction, and there was a small voice at the back of my head, reminding me how much was riding on how I handled these next few moments.
But the kitsunes were waiting, and we didn’t have much time.
I stepped forward and turned, facing the faeries that had come to mean so much to me.
“I’m asking both of you to stand down. One of the reasons I’ve been so afraid to make a commitment …
to choose …” I faltered. I looked down, but I could feel Collith’s and Laurie’s eyes on me as I struggled, and they waited patiently.
After a moment, I raised my head and told them, “I won’t be in a relationship where my choices are taken from me.
Where my voice doesn’t matter. Prove to me, right now, that my fears are unfounded. Let me go.”
“And what if you don’t come back?” Laurie countered.
“Better one of us than all three of us,” I said quietly.
My softness disarmed him, and for once, Laurie didn’t have an immediate answer.
I took advantage of his silence and moved closer, reaching up to cup his cheek.
The Seelie King put his hand over mine, and his eyes slid shut.
They opened again when I told him, “The Beast was my mistake, Laurie. It’s about time I faced the consequences of my actions. ”
He still didn’t respond. My eyes lingered on his for another moment, silently pleading for him to understand.
To respect my wishes. Slowly, I turned away and looked at Collith next.
With him, I knew I didn’t need to say as much.
I stood on tiptoe and kissed him on the cheek, then whispered in his ear, “If you follow me, I’ll know, and I will never forget. ”
As I pulled back, he gave me a faint, resigned smile. “It’s nice to see you again.”