Chapter 51
Fifty-One
Cara
The desire I always felt for Fear, which had to be the bond, but perhaps was more than bond, always felt as if it were burning just under my skin. I caught the collar of his shirt and pulled his mouth to mine.
His lips met mine without hesitation, warm and soft and tender. He had kissed me so many times to serve our purposes. Now he only kissed me because he wished to.
He drew me onto his lap. His arm around my waist anchored me, but I quickly moved to straddle his lap instead. I was the one this time to deepen the kiss, teasing the tip of my tongue against the seam of his mouth until his lips parted.
Forgiveness might take time. But we had time.
And for now, we had this. The bond between us. The way we were aligned against the world.
And the desire.
Fear’s hand slid against the skin of my waist, then up, gliding under my shirt, igniting sparks everywhere he touched.
My fingers tangled in his dark hair as his tongue teased mine. I wanted more of him. His hand found my breast and cupped it, his thumb sliding over my nipple through the fabric just the way I liked, and I ground against his lap, seeking more of him.
He drew the tunic up to press a kiss near the sigil, his lips just above the swell of my breast, and I ran my fingers through his dark hair, drawing his mouth to my skin.
He went on kissing and sucking, his fingers teasing over the swell of my breast, the sigil.
His hand pushed down the material, seeking my skin.
There was one fast knock at the door. Then it was already flying open, and Maura came through. “We’ve got trouble.”
As soon as she saw what we were doing, she averted her gaze, looking away through the window, but she did not pause. “A contingent of Fae just arrived. They would like to negotiate.”
“I doubt that very much.” Fear pulled my tunic down, fixing it in place. The broad warmth of his hand paused on my waist.
“With Cara, not with you.” Maura still did not look at the two of us. “Either you get that armor on her or I do.”
“What happened?” I rose from Fear’s lap, pulling the tunic off without ceremony. I cared more for my life than my modesty.
Fear already had the armor; he was pulling it over my head as soon as I was ready. It settled over me like a second skin.
Maura finally met my gaze. Mine, not Fear’s. “There’s a Fae escort of eight. Powerful. Probably a trap.”
“An escort? Escort for whom?” Fear demanded.
Maura’s voice softened slightly. “Tay.”
Something tightened in my chest. “He ran straight for the queen.”
“And she sent him right back to you for a reason.”
Maura had my knife belt, and she was putting it around my waist before I had time to reach for it. Fear’s face leaned near mine as he focused on closing the buckles at my throat.
“We all know what this is.” Maura’s gaze slid between us as if she wished to verify we were not fools.
“If we can do so safely, I want to see my brother.”
I wasn’t stupid. I knew this was a trap, too, and I wasn’t going to risk my life walking into it alone. But I trusted the two of them to keep me safe if they said there was a way.
Fear nodded. “We need to know what they want. We will be ready whatever the threat.”
“I saw Dairen on my way to you,” Maura said. “He’s gathering the rest of Bismyth. There are far more than eight of us.”
“The Fae have their powers.” He studied her. “You read the situation well and handled it perfectly. Thank you for your help.”
She scoffed. But of course she cared what he thought. She always had.
It was difficult to be in Fear’s presence and not wish to impress him, however else one felt about the man.
Fear led the way down to the common room, putting his armor on along the way. Maura followed me, and knowing she was at my back was already surprisingly comforting.
There were already a few members of Bismyth gathering. Kiegan nodded when he saw me, and I was grateful to see him.
By the time we moved outside, a dozen of Bismyth clustered around us, bristling with weapons and protectiveness. If I hadn’t been afraid for Tay, I would have felt awe-struck to be at their center.
Ander and Tesa joined us. Tesa understood the Nightwalkers. If the Fae contingent somehow concealed the threat from the Nightwalkers, Tesa would see it coming. I always felt safer with Ander at my side.
“They’re at the gates,” Asrael told Fear and me, falling in alongside us. “Do we bring them inside or meet them out there?”
“Bring them inside. But I want Bismyth already set up, waiting for them. Clear lines of sight.” Fear nodded toward the amphitheater. “Over there, with the open ceiling. We can have dragons raining fire down on them as soon as we need to.”
Asrael looked troubled. “And then we’ll have war with the queen.”
“Only if she starts it,” Fear agreed.
“We’ll be ready,” Asrael promised.
Then, to me, Fear said, “I need to get a look at them. Do you need to see Tay before you meet him at the negotiation table?”
“Yes.” My voice came out too soft.
But it didn’t matter. Fear had his arms around me. The city dropped away beneath us as we rose toward the stars. The wind sharpened.
“There,” Fear said. I followed his gaze and could barely see the Fae contingent, looking small as pins from here.
Then my gaze sharpened, that snap of a change as Lightbringer lent me her sight. Suddenly the night was clear; I could see everything.
“Thank you,” I told Lightbringer, but she did not answer. Perhaps she had wanted to see for herself, not to be merciful.
Eight Fae. My brother at their center, looking as if he belonged there. Dressed in finery that he never could have owned in Stonehaven.
Flanking them, a dozen nightwalkers. They moved through the shadows; they would normally have been invisible to me.
The first of them caught sight of us, and Fear dropped us down, his wings folding. The wind rushed around us as we shot toward the Earth.
Dully, I realized my terror of heights had faded. It was subsumed by all the other things I was terrified of, such as my brother being a servant of the queen, a willing hostage of the Fae.
“What are they going to do to him?” I sounded breathless as he set me down on my feet.
“I’m not sure what the queen has in store for us exactly,” he said. “But I will do what I can to protect your brother. And I will do everything to protect you.”
His priorities were clear in how he phrased it. He knew I would hate it, but he said it anyway. Because it was the truth.
I wanted him to know that I didn’t intend to do anything stupid today. “I won’t sacrifice myself.”
“Is it possible you’re not merely a selfless sack of misery?” Lightbringer’s voice was acerbic. She had certainly come close at some point since Maura raced in; I hadn’t even had to ask for the gift of her greater sight. “Time will tell.”
I wanted to know what had happened to Lightbringer’s past mortals. Or, given her obvious trauma around heroines, perhaps I did not.
“Good,” he said, but I wasn’t sure if he believed that promise.
I lied a lot less than he did, but I lied to myself far more often.
Once we were ready, Fear and I walked down the stairs of the amphitheater toward the hastily set up table. Tesa and Ander came behind. Maura was already down at the bottom of the amphitheater, looking around in dissatisfaction. Just beyond was the sound of the relentless, uncaring sea.
I trusted Maura and Fear and the rest of Bismyth to look after me. Shifters perched at the top of the amphitheater walls, ready to shift and fly.
Fear drew out my chair for me, and I sat. At least now my legs could not shake.
“I’ll be close,” he told me softly. We had already worked out a gesture if I needed him, even if just for advice or context; he would stay at the edge of my vision so we could communicate.
Then he moved to meet Maura, Ander, and Tesa. The four of them stood against the wall behind me, leaving me to negotiate with my brother.
Fear’s wings spread into their wide, glittering magnificence. He was ready to move if needed. But he gave me space.
After all, this was my meeting.
Tay and the Fae came in.
The Fae entered as if they were untouchable. Perhaps they were. Bismyth had been warned to bide their time. Open war was inevitable, but every day that went by allowed the clans to prepare and to gather allies.
If Tay had hoped for some private meeting, there was no disappointment on his face. He brightened the way he always had when he saw me. Tonight there was relief mixed with love. My face might have reflected the same, despite all my worries.
My brother, still alive and well. It had been my wish. He had feared the disease would take him now that the queen did not have her touch on him, but he looked better than ever. Handsome, strong, his brown hair thick and shining and longer than he’d ever worn it, down to his shoulders.
“Cara,” he said warmly.
“Are you well, Tay? You look well.” I wanted him to acknowledge that he wasn’t sick anymore. He had no reason to run back to the queen.
“I am well, thank you.”
He looked at me as if he wanted to hug me, but there was a table between us, and he settled for sitting at the other side. The Fae contingent spread out behind him. Six of them, anyway. I glanced hastily at Fear, and he gave me a nod. Of course he had already accounted for the missing Fae.
But I had Fear and Maura and Tesa and Ander at my back. I was wary of the Fae’s capabilities, but I was not afraid for myself. “I’m glad. What’s going on, Tay?”
“The queen sent me with an offer for you.”
Any offer she had for me was likely an invitation to die and send my dragon back to her dreaming. “And what is that?”
He placed his hand over his chest. “I am well again. Lidi’s magic can be restored. What was taken can always be put back. And we can all go home. All three of us. Back to Stonehaven, just as you have wished.”