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And Eli let the passage close.
“Geneviève is miss—”
“She is not. Your Death Maiden is held by Chester,” the king of Elphame pronounced with a sigh that sounded far older than usual.
The confirmation of his fears did nothing to ease the panic welling in Eli’s chest. He shoved it aside.Plan now, panic later.“Well, we need guards. You should stay here, so one member of the royal line is secure, but—”
“No.” Marcus interrupted.
“Uncle, you may be a warrior, but she’s my bonded mate. I can access some of her gifts.”
Eli started to walk toward the armory, but his uncle caught his shoulder forcefully. A cold wash of fear joined the panic Eli was trying to ignore. It grew as he met his uncle’s gaze.
“No, you may not take guards.” Marcus moved to block Eli’s path. “To engage with Chester is to invite violence that I cannot allow. I warned her that—”
“You warned my wife not to be kidnapped?” Eli stepped away from his uncle, his king, his supposed family. Family was not to abandon family. That was a betrayal that went beyond machinations and politics.
Marcus seemed somehow not to realize that his nephew was plotting violence in that moment.Are there lines I would not cross for Geneviève?Maybe not everyone loved wholly, but Eli was fae. His very soul, his history and his future, had been bonded to Geneviève.
“I understand that this is distressing, but this is more proof that marrying her was unwise. I warned her that her trio of heritages was unstable, dangerous, and I explained that Chester was a danger to you. To our people.”
“You spoke to my wife about Chester,” Eli clarified.
“Of course. To kill you is to kill her. I had hoped for another answer, but I must insist that you stay here, Eli. If we sever your matrimonial bond, there is a chance you might live.” Marcus gave him a sad smile, as if this was all just an unfortunate situation, and then he continued, “I understand that this was not the plan you had. You outwitted me in order to wed her, but I have an idea of how to sever this. Chester offered me this answer. You can be free and alive—”
“Absolutely not.” Eli turned away from him and shredded the sky, opening the gate home with such force that it made a tearing noise. He had already started to step forward when the king called out.
Eli glanced back at Marcus.
“If you leave, you are not welcome here until this threat is contained,” Marcus threatened. “Chester is stronger than any one species. Every person who went against his wishes, including his wife and countless others, learned that too late.”
And though it hurt to speak the possibility, to even consider his wife dying, Eli had no doubts at all about his commitment. He shook his head.
“I stand with Geneviève. If she should die, I wish to follow her. There is no life here without her. I renounce you andElphameuntil you are willing to protect yourheirs.”
The look of shock on his uncle’s face was the only victory Eli had in this moment. Let him be worried over his kingdom.
“Perhaps now is the time to father my own heir,” Marcus threatened. “I have found my bride and—"
The king’s words were lost as Eli gave a humorless laugh. “Good luck with that. Ms. ChaddockadoresGeneviève. You think thatyourneeds outweigh others’rights, uncle, but Alice—much like Geneviève—is a fully formed person with opinions. I waited on Geneviève, and she eventually chose me. You ignored Alice’s wish by trying to woo her when she said she was not ready. And you sentenced Geneviève, Alice’s friend, to death at an enemy’s hands. You are about to reap what you’ve sown.”
Then Eli stepped through the gateway to the home he shared with Geneviève. Nothing, no heritage, no risk was worth letting go of Geneviève. Death would be preferrable to giving her up without exhausting every option. And if shediddie, he wanted no part of this world without her.
Eli looked around the house, not surprised that Alice had left—or that Beatrice now stood there waiting. For all he’d had his discomforts with the undead woman, Beatrice understood love.
“I assume we are in accord? I am ready to do whatever it takes to free her,” Beatrice pronounced.
“Of course.”
She nodded and walked toward his main room. Eli followed her without hesitation. The queen of thedraugrwas dressed in what looked like a motorcycle suit from a racetrack—except hers was black, as if she were an assassin. Oddly or not, that gave him a flash of comfort. Beatrice was already prone to violence, and now someone had threatened her granddaughter.
“How do we find her?” Eli asked, gesturing to the map of the city that she was now unrolling.
“I will rip every door from every building if I must. I have servants aplenty.” She pointed to the edge of the city. “Few buildings have structures that are deep enough to submerge her vertically. We start here, and go street-by-street until—”
“Are you trying to have the militia deployed to our city?” Eli shook his head. There had to be a plan other than brute force. If they learned of what she was, the government had the ability to steal her away, too.
Beatrice gave him the sort of look angry gods gave the least of creatures, and he was glad that such a being wanted to protect Geneviève.
