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Lannan was suddenly behind me, making no noise with his approach. He placed his hands on my shoulders and leaned down to whisper in my ear. “Are you afraid, Cicely?”
I turned to stare at him over my shoulder. He wasn’t being sarcastic this time. His question seemed oddly genuine. “Yes, I’m afraid.”
“My offer stands, you know. Let me turn you. Renounce the world of Fae and join me. It would be easy for you to fight back, then. With your powers, combined with me as your sire, you could defeat Leo and Geoffrey.”
His words entwined around me, and the wolf tattoo on my stomach growled a low warning note. Grieve could tell I was all too close to his rival.
I shook my head. “No. I refused to let Geoffrey turn me—I would become a bigger monster than Myst. But thank you. I think you really mean it—you really want to help.”
“Don’t be so quick to think you know my mind, girl.” Lannan let out a low laugh. “I just don’t want to lose you.” But the look on his face told me that Rhiannon and I weren’t the only ones who were afraid. I turned to look at Regina. She, too, wore a look of concern on her face.
As I stared back into the night, too aware of Lannan’s hands still on my shoulders, I thought I saw something dart past the window. As I wiped my eyes, whatever it was seemed to disappear.
It was all too much. Too many enemies. Too much stress. I just wanted to go home and crawl under the covers, but even home now had a new meaning, and was still an alien and strange place. Rhiannon joined me at the window and I took her hand in mine. We stood there, linked, twin-cousins, fire and ice against the shadows outside, as they grew dark and long, and looming.
Chapter 2
The first thing we did when we got back to the Barrow was check on Luna. She was resting, but still shaky. Peyton confided to me that Kaylin hadn’t left her side since they’d returned.
“What happened? What did they say about the attack on Luna?” Peyton leaned against the counter—the marble tops gleamed against the dark oak cabinets that were hand carved and as old as time.
“Tell you in a minute.” I wanted to breathe first, to sit down and relax. As I glanced around the Marburry Barrow, it hit me that this place was starting to become familiar. I still didn’t think of it as home, but it was a safe haven, and there had been precious few of those lately.
“Let’s have tea.” Peyton put the kettle on and played with the knobs. I still had no clue as to how to work the Cambyra gadgets. The stove was fueled by both wood and magic, and I hadn’t had a moment to pay attention to anything like that, with the rush of training we had been undergoing.
We were gathered in the common room that served as a combination dining-living-office space for our little group. This room, and our private chamber of suites, made up our temporary home. Eventually, Peyton, Luna, and Kaylin would move back to the Veil House, while Grieve and I would take our place in the realm of Winter, and Rhiannon and Chatter would remain here, ruling over the Court of Rivers and Rushes.
There were no windows here in the Barrow, but a continual illumination from the golden lanterns hanging every few feet. The lights were magical—soft glowing amorphous orbs caught in the glass and metal lamps. Lainule said they were energy creatures, young Fire Elementals indentured by the Fae, before being turned loose on the world to grow.
Do they mind being forced into service? I had asked Ulean when I first found out how the Barrow halls were lit.
Mind? Ulean sounded slightly perplexed. Do I mind being bound to you?
I hope not. I would never knowingly harm you.
Do not worry on that account. You cannot harm me. Neither can the Fae harm the Fire Elementals. We are far stronger than any of the mortal races, even the full-born Fae. We can be destroyed, but there are few in the world powerful enough. Myst, in her glory days, could neither destroy nor harm her Ice Elementals. Even these bonds…we can break if we choose. Life is often illusion, Cicely. Illusion that is very real, very strong, but still—place the right amount of force in the right spot and it breaks.
As the lights flickered around us, I moved to help Peyton, reaching for the tea bags. “Let’s have tea first, before we tell you what went down. It’s a cold night out there, and there are monsters roving the town.”
Shadow, a young Cambyra girl who was hovering behind me, snatched them out of my hands. “Allow me, Your Highness. A queen should never make her own tea.”
I wanted to remind her that I wasn’t Queen yet, but the Fae in the Barrow had already begun to refer to Rhiannon and me as such, and there was no going back.
“Thank you.” Feeling conspicuous, I let go of the tea, standing back as she scurried over to a beautiful ceramic pot, hand-thrown, with delicate, hand-painted holly leaves and berries wrapping around the sides. She shooed Peyton out of the way and took over preparing the tea and scones.
We gathered in the seating area. I leaned forward, elbows resting on my knees. I was sitting on an ottoman, thick and comfortable, with a covering made of hand-woven linen, and for just a moment, I closed my eyes and let the warmth seep into my bones.
“What’s wrong, Cicely? Is there something more going on than just Geoffrey and Leo’s attack?”
With a glance over my shoulder, I sighed and stared into the fire.
“Yeah, a lot more. It seems that the Fang Brothers managed to free Crawl from his prison. He’s loose now, somewhere out there on the streets of New Forest, looking for somebody to drink his dinner from. Apparently, Geoffrey is looking to turn me over to him, and Leo’s out to kidnap Rhiannon.”
There was a sudden hush, then Peyton slapped the table by her chair. “Fuck and fuck again. What are Regina and Lannan doing about this?”
“They have teams canvassing the town, but the truth is…Geoffrey and Leo could be hiding anywhere. Regina’s offered to put a guard on the house. Since you guys move in a couple of days down the line, I told them yes—and I want no arguments. At least you’ll be safe while you’re at home.”
“Not necessarily.” Kaylin stretched out on an oak bench. It was polished to a sheen, and the workmanship was so detailed that I couldn’t imagine how long it had taken to create. “Remember the day-runners? They might still have yummanii helping them.”
