Glancing at him over my shoulder, I interrupt them. “I’ll take the rear and see Rooke through the fae door.”
Gage’s eyes narrow, but I look to Gideon. “The regent can’t do much against your soldiers as they are, but the fae door can see one through only at a time. If we’re forced to part, Rooke will be guarded by both Briarfrost heirs, and away from this silver-gilded shithole. I’m not leaving her here, no matter how briefly.”
Despite my curt tone and demanding words, he nods without contest before jerking his head at Gage to switch places. Rooke accepts the change in order seamlessly, stroking Northern Star’s neck with soft words of reassurance only to be forced to do the same for Nightspark when he snorts unhappily at her. With one last look over his shoulders at us both, Gideon rides through the fae door and Gage follows him closely. After a beat, Rooke moves through, and I wait only as long as it takes to be sure they’ve made it through before I direct Nightspark to follow.
When we step out onto the base of Loche Mountain, the stain of Yris’s magic evaporates, and the forest welcomes me back into its midst as though no time has passed. Night has already fallen here, and snow dusts the forest floor, churned up by the horsesalready. Rooke is flanked by the brothers, her calm demeanor returned now that she’s out of Yris and breathing in the forest air.
Rooke cocks her head as she watches the soldiers march through the forest, careful to mind the path and cause no damage. When she turns to Prince Gideon and inclines her head to him respectfully. “How did you get the fae door to move this many? I didn’t think the magic could achieve such an impressive feat, waning as it is.” She speaks in the goblin tongue but pushes the meaning of the words to me.
Gideon bows his head to her respectfully. “A witch arrived at my father's doorstep to offer her assistance. She was marked by your favor and told my father she acted at your command.” His tone is drenched with admiration, and it strikes me that I can hear that now, and not just the harshness of the syllables.
Rooke nods. Her eyes flutter shut, squeezing tightly as though she’s fighting off tears. Relief, joy, and longing floods her, powerful enough that with the mind connection open my own chest warms with it. She swallows roughly, clearing her throat, before she looks at me.
She’s one of the soldiers we once discussed. They’ve begun to send aid.
Gideon nods to her respectfully, understanding in the tilt of his mouth as a ghost of a smile dances across it. I don't like the way his gaze lingers on her, and there's nothing subtle about the narrowing of my eyes in his direction. Rooke nudges Northern Star from between the brothers and rides to my side, far more accepting of my demands now and able to read me well enough to not require them in the first place.
Gage gets one look at me and snorts, murmuring in the common tongue under his breath, “Rooke and I will have to teach you what each of the Briarfrost insignias and medals mean, but—that large one in the center of his chest? Thatproclaims him the heir to the Goblin Lands and the Briarfrost throne, and the one next to it, over his heart? That’s the one declaring him married to his Fates-blessed mate. I can assure you, his overbearing treatment of Rooke is a mark of respect alone, because not only is he stupidly obsessed with his wife, she’s also well-known for her savagery. Gideon would find himself irreparably maimed for so much as looking in another female’s direction, even Rooke’s… though she’d probably hesitate before going after her.”
His brother turns to look at him with narrowed eyes, but his wry grin dulls the harsh look. “Rhosh will find new and creative places to stick knives in you, brother, if she finds out you’re scaring people away from her again. Her retribution might even prove to be fatal if she finds out it was within the Favored Child's hearing, although I didn’t realize you’re all on such familiar terms. Here I’ve been on my best behavior, sure the true Celestial king would accept nothing less.”
Even the way he says his wife's name is different than how he was addressing Rooke, and some of my hackles simmer down. “Sitting in iron cages together while the regent plays his games will do that, and I’d rather gut half the Unseelie Court than listen to pandering.”
Gideon makes a sound of agreement, thoughtful for a moment, before he turns back to his brother. One moment we’re staring at the coldly calculating heir to the Briarfrost throne, the next he drops the pretense, turns to his brother with a furious look, and smacks him on the back of the head. The vehemence of the blow has me jerking Nightspark closer to Rooke, even as a very familial rage streams out of Gideon’s mouth and proves this attack is for Gage alone.
“Do you have any idea how fucking terrified Mahmanwas when your soldiers came back without you? I could kill you for that alone, idiot, she got onto a Fates-damned horse ready toride after you herself! Good luck talking your way out of this with Vahro—the entirety of Yrmont is tiptoeing around his temper right now, all because his idiot son couldn’t stop for a single second to think of a decent plan or, I don’t know,tell anyone where he was going!”
Gage roars back at him, “That fucking madman was cutting fae up in front of them all—taunting them— she wouldn’t tell me whether he hurt her but I felt something. I’m sick of feeling her pain and not being able to do a Fates-fuckingthinking about it.”
“You're lucky the Favored Child sent for help, or Vahrowould’ve broken the accords to go after you himself,” Gideon snaps, leaning so far over in his saddle it looks like he’s trying to hold himself back from shoving his brother out of his own saddle and murdering him on the ground.
Ignoring the seething fury on his brother's face and his threatening posture, Gage snarls back, “Good! What good are the accords to us now that that fucking ghoul has climbed onto a throne that isn’t his? He deserves to have this castle razed, andIdeserve to be the one doing it!”
Gideon clicks his tongue at Gage as though scolding a child, and Gage’s tail snaps out at him in a furious motion. Gideon turns his horse away and takes a deep breath that shudders in and out of him, wrestling back his anger at his brother as tenuously as I grapple with my magic.
When he turns to Rooke, his tone is level once more. “My apologies, Mother Ravenswyrd, that you’ve witnessed such disgraceful behavior after aiding my brother. The Briarfrost owe you a life-debt.”
She shakes her head, waving a hand dismissively at him as though he’s not offering her something that countless fae folk would surely kill for. “The Ravenswyrd don’t believe in such things. It’s a great honor for me to help your family and to call you my friends.”
He smiles at her, though it’s still tight with fury at his brother. “Still, it pains me to give you nothing but words of gratitude. Prince Gage almost killed the queen with his antics, and I thought a warning of the king’s fury would be wise. He needs as much time as he can get to prepare his explanations wisely, preferably with more remorse than he’s currently showing—” he turns to Gage “—Vahrowill send you back to the borders to deal with the stink of rot-blood if you can’t find some.”
His brother stares back at him with a defiant look. “I told the high-fae fucks back there that I’d rather bleed myself out than spill your blood, but I’m starting to change my mind. Only Rhosh is keeping you breathing right now—I know better than to touch her toys.”
Rooke presses her lips together as though fighting off a smile, but Gideon is too busy snarling back at his brother to notice how amused she is at their display. It reminds me of my cousins, back before the Fates twisted all joy and levity from Tauron and the forests’ anguish weakened Tyton’s mind.
“Next time, I’ll tell her to aim for your throat! Even Mahmanwould struggle to fix that.”
Gage scoffs and turns away, and Gideon goes back to the soldiers arriving through the fae door, his face no longer a cold mask, still determined to see to our safety. When he’s satisfied at the numbers around us, he calls out another command and takes the lead while Gage circles back around to ride behind Rooke, all while the Brindlewyrd Forest sings joyfully at our return.
CHAPTER TWENTY EIGHT
Rooke
Prince Gideon splits his forces, sending a large portion of them around the outskirts of the forest to march back to the Goblin Lands. He chooses the path for them to ensure the underbrush of the Brindlewyrd isn’t trampled, stopping to press his palm against the trunk of one of the trees and murmuring prayers to the forest for allowing us safe passage. The respectful tones lighten my heart and appease the trees, their song joyful as we make our way through them. A small sigh of relief slips out of my lips at the peace washing over me now that I’m surrounded by trees again.
The soldiers march dutifully at Gideon’s command, surprisingly quiet considering their immense numbers. None have spoken, but I saw lifted brows and twitching lips on a few of the male’s faces as Prince Gideon scolded his brother, indicating camaraderie between the princes and their loyal forces. The respect and reverence with which the Goblin King was spoken about by those in the Sol Army is also hard to forget.
Once the fae door and the mountain are far enough behind us that all we can see is trees, Gideon slows his pace to walk in line with Soren and I. His anger at his brother has simmered down, but the levity with which he’d joked with Gage and I is also absent, and we’re riding with King Galen’s heir once more. It’s not threatening, merely somber.
