Nessa paced around the room as she waited. It was great that Ronan woke and was actually in good spirits after losing his toes, but she wanted to know more of what was going on, and what Devin was finding as he investigated. The bond between Nessa and Devin was as strong as ever, but she still didn’t like to use it; Devin was the type of person that would share with her when he was ready. She trusted that if he found out more he would tell her, but she still worried. She had been poisoned, her cousins poisoned, and many more. Why wouldn’t the person target Devin, too? Why did Devin feel confident that he was fine?
They had the new assassinations to deal with, and more would die unless they found out who it was … and soon. Because of this, it was beginning to seem like delaying the coronation would be the best route. However, that would give Maureen exactly what she wanted: more time to convince everyone to give the crown to Fiona’s unborn child. The coronation had to go as planned, or else the sidhe would turn to fighting to decide what to do with Fiona and her child. Devin thought it was easily over, but it wasn’t. Maureen was never going to give up. Therefore, they needed to deal with the assassins and have the coronation immediately.
Nessa walked over to the only window in the room and gazed out. People went about their daily business, none of them afraid of the new assassins, but they should have been. Nessa continued to watch, and found that she didn’t recognize a single face of the people passing in the courtyard; they were all servants and commoners. Maybe that was why they weren’t afraid … not a single one was elite. She was sure all of the targets were elite for a reason. Nessa envied their freedom just a bit. They were allowed to marry for love, able to choose their life and jobs. They had all of the choices Nessa never given.
What Nessa needed was a plan in order to save the remaining elite and allow the coronation to go forward. She had survived the poison once already, and with Devin around, she didn’t fear it as much as he did. Yes, the poison had changed, and yes it hurt to be poisoned, but he had still saved Gemma and Ronan. She needed to do something, and if she was really the target, wouldn’t it be easy to set a trap? Nessa began to picture it in her mind. If Devin would just let his guard down for a few minutes, she might be able to sneak out to the courtyard. She knew the palace better than he did. She could stay away from him, hopefully for enough time for the assassin to find her and try to poison her again. If she could draw the assassin out, Devin would be able to find out who was doing it, and stop it before the other sidhe arrived.
Nessa paced again, thinking of how to exactly go about distracting Devin, and ended up in her bedroom. When the door to her apartment opened, she rushed back out just as Devin and Turner entered.
“You can use the room over there,” Devin said, directing Turner to the second, and empty, guest room.
“Did you find anything?” Nessa asked before Turner could leave.
“Yeah, when they depict fairies in movies and books with fairy dust, I know where they got that from. You guys dust everything with your sidhe magic, and it stinks,” Turner replied and added two sneezes to emphasize his reaction to the magic. “I couldn’t get a clean scent off of a single body. They were too covered in fairy dust.”
Nessa had very little time in the outside world to know what Turner was talking about, but Devin was grinning; therefore, he understood and probably agreed completely with him. She was unsure if it was an insult or compliment, but let Turner walk away without asking more, even though she didn’t understand.
“How is Ronan?” Devin asked as Turner shut the door to the room and headed off to the bathroom.
“Sleeping,” Nessa replied, still unsure if fairy dust was a bad or good description.
Devin looked into the first guest room and could see Ronan on the bed. He nodded, and Nessa couldn’t help but smile. Devin sincerely cared about her family. He could be a bit of an overprotective pain, but Nessa counted him as family. That much would never change.
“And you?” Devin asked, turning back to her.
“Me?” Nessa asked, confused.
“How are you doing with all of this?” Devin took her hand and pulled her toward their bedroom.
“What do you mean?” Nessa asked. She was confused by the worry that was dripping off him.
Devin shut the bedroom door behind them and led her to the bed. After he sat down, he pulled her on to his lap. Nessa’s heart beat faster. They had not had more than a couple of moments alone since they’d arrived in the sidhe village, and most of those moments were spent sleeping or fighting. Besides, Devin wasn’t one to easily show emotions.
Devin’s hands slid up her arms.
“You are planning something dangerous,” he replied.
Nessa yanked her arms out of his grasp and slid off his lap. He had been reading her thoughts. She made sure not to peek into his, but he didn’t seem to have the same respect. Devin quickly grabbed her hands before she could stand and move further away, essentially keeping her next to him.
“I wasn’t looking into your mind,” Devin added, knowing exactly what to say.
“Then how’d you know that was what I was just thinking?” Nessa asked, calling him on his ability to counter exactly what she had thought.
“I don’t need to look into your mind when you react like that. You seem to think I need the bond to know you, but I don’t. I have been watching you for over a month now. You are the one mystery I feel like I can never unravel, but I keep watching and remembering every single thing you do. You are magical, and you entrance me. I need to know more, need to know exactly what you think … need you,” he added, begging her with his eyes to not be mad.
Nessa couldn’t remain angry at him because Devin was one of the most honest people she knew, but it was hard for her. The sidhe lived their lives based on lies—they changed their appearance, played word games, and never told the truth—but Devin was the exact opposite. He was completely open and honest with her.
“I didn’t go into your mind before, but when you get really excited, feelings and thoughts drift across the bond. I can’t help but see that you were planning something,” Devin explained. “I’d never go looking around your mind without your permission. I respect you far too much for that.”
Nessa pouted, but she wasn’t really mad. Devin knew that, but she kept her pout up anyways.
“I wasn’t planning anything. I was coming up with options,” Nessa replied. “We need to find this person, or people, quickly. Sidhe will be arriving tomorrow, and we can’t have any accidents or it will be war. We also can’t postpone or Maureen will have time to get everyone on her side about Fiona. This is a no win situation, but I feel like the coronation has to proceed.”
“I know.” Devin pulled her close to him.
“I just figured if I was out of my bubble, seemingly unprotected, the assassin would show. They tried once and didn’t kill me. I’d make a good target. And before you suggest someone else like my uncle, don’t. I can’t ask anyone to risk being poisoned. I know what it feels like, and I survived,” Nessa told Devin. It was nice to have him close by. He had been running around a lot in the past two days.
“I wouldn’t suggest your uncle. I don’t think he has anything to worry about,” Devin replied.
“There’s an assassin running around that tried to kill two of his kids. He shouldn’t worry about himself now that they’re safe?” Nessa replied. It seemed like she was missing something big as Devin calmly explained his thoughts to her.
Devin smiled. Nessa saw in his eyes what she felt. She had found her partner in life. They were on the same page, even if she didn’t get what Devin was saying at the moment. He cared about her, and he cared about the sidhe. Her grandfather was right in giving Devin the power to protect everyone. He would make a great king for the sidhe, and would probably the best they ever had.
“No. I think he’s completely safe. I am pretty sure only the younger generations have to worry about this particular assassin,” Devin replied. “When we went back to se
e the bodies, I finally saw the pattern we’d missed thus far. Old Bray was the only one over the age of thirty in the tombs, and he was accidentally poisoned with the food meant for Owen. He wasn’t the target. Someone is targeting the next generation of sidhe. Somehow, the entire next generation is who is being killed. I don’t know why, but that’s what I think is happening.”
“We know who to keep track of then, right? There aren’t many left of my generation in the head families. There were less than a couple dozen to begin with, and now, after everything, there can’t be a lot left. The assassin has killed how many so far? Three, four?”
“Six,” Devin answered. Nessa stared at him in shock. She hadn’t heard of the others. “I don’t know when or how, but there were two more laid out with the others when we were down there. They were both young, and not dead long.”
“Then that should be good for us to find the assassins. We just need to stay with the younger sidhe of each family, and keep track of them. How many people do we have to keep track of that are not within the walls of my room, or their own, recovering?” Nessa calculated everything out. They needed to find this person, or people, and they had to do so now.
“Three, and that’s the problem. I can watch one and Turner can watch one, but there is no one else to watch the third,” Devin answered. “Sean is the last of the Miller youth, five-year-old Tara is the last O’Ryan, and Fiona is the last Ferguson.”
“Didn’t the Miller and the O’Ryan families already lose someone?” Nessa asked. Devin nodded. “And the Ferguson family is the only one who hasn’t lost a person?”
“Correct.”
“Would it be safe to assume that might be planned? Could Maureen be in on it?” Nessa asked. She was beginning to hate Maureen more than she already did, and that was saying a lot; even if Maureen was the last person alive, Nessa wouldn’t help her survive.
“I assumed that Maureen was behind it when you were one of the first ones attacked. She’s not about to give up the chance for power,” Devin replied. “I’ve seen, and dealt with, many like her. They don’t back down, and are willing to risk everything, including losing their family name. She’s so set on power that she can’t see how it hurts her family.”
“Then it’s simple. You follow Tara, and Turner follows Sean. The assassin is bound to attack one or the other. Then we can find out who it is,” Nessa replied. She still didn’t like putting other people out there to be hurt, but Devin wouldn’t even consider allowing her to be the target.
“And we hope that it wasn’t a coincidence that Fiona hasn’t been touched yet,” Devin replied. He leaned in and kissed her gently before standing. It was time to catch the assassin. He wanted to stay and spend more time with Nessa since they’d had so little together as it was, but they had no choice. This had to be done now.
Nessa didn’t hear any doubt in his voice, but she still felt a bit uneasy. It really could have just been a fluke and the assassin is unrelated to Maureen. To top it off, Fiona was pregnant. Could she withstand the poison if it came to that? Was she really in on it? Or what if it were just a coincidence? Were they risking Fiona and her child’s life by not taking her into account? Nessa hoped not.
CHAPTER 9
Devin walked away, leaving Turner with the fifteen-year-old Sean Miller. The Miller family wasn’t too happy to see Devin, or hear his offer—rather order—but they weren’t about to tell him no. They were scared, as they should be; Sean was the last youth in their family. Without him, they would have to choose a new main family to send to the palace to represent them. For most of the sidhe, that meant family infighting, and possibly more deaths. Devin was never going to understand the elite sidhe. How could you kill one of your own? The Millers were as headstrong as the rest, and resented Devin, but they also knew that he was protecting Nessa. They couldn’t deny how well-trained he was, even if he was not a full sidhe.
Devin stopped by the kitchen, needing to be sure the food was fine since preparations had already started for the new sidhe to arrive. Any trace of poison had to be gone. He tried his best to stop by before every meal since the cook still swore she had no idea how the poison had gotten in the food.
Devin moved from dish to dish of food, and loaf to loaf of bread, from the main dishes to the desserts. Everything already prepared was fine. He then moved on to check the supplies in the adjoining room. Everything had to be looked over, had to be safe. Devin picked up lids on barrels of supplies and looked inside.
“Not being fed well enough?” someone asked from the doorway.
Devin turned and smiled. The castoff Colin was leaning across the doorframe.
“No. Fed quite well, actually. Much better than they allow you guys,” Devin replied. That much was true.
Colin nodded in agreement. “I figured since I’ve never seen you in the village you had to be here in the palace. Must be dreadful.”
“Mmm.” Devin shrugged. He wasn’t about to say that the elite sidhe were bad, no matter what he thought of them. Nessa had faith, and he had to believe that maybe there were a few good ones in the bunch. Gemma and Ronan seemed to shine brightly in the dark world of the elite. There had to be others. “Quite a bit different than I’m used to.”
“I’d guess that. I remember as a child being told of the outside world. It sounded scary until I was a castoff. Now it sounds a bit inviting … if I could leave, of course,” Colin replied.
“You can’t leave?” Devin asked. They were reclusive, but he didn’t know that they couldn’t leave. He just thought the sidhe chose not to, especially after seeing Nessa’s reaction to the outside world. She just about curled up in the fetal position when they stopped for gas on their drive to the mountains from his original home.
“Castoffs are actually treated much like day humans. Neither of us can leave,” Colin replied. “Kind of goes with being different. They like to keep you around to make themselves feel better.”
Devin nodded. That may have been the rule, but it didn’t apply to him. All he needed was a tree, and he could be gone as easily as the other sidhe. Actually, he didn’t think it even applied to him days ago. Nessa would have never brought him into the village if she didn’t know a way out. Maybe he would have to look into that for Colin as well. But why couldn’t Colin just leave? What was stopping him?
“The trees?” Devin asked. Why didn’t Colin just touch a tree and leave?
“You must not get it. I can’t physically leave because they can restrict the trees,” Colin replied. He rolled up his sleeve to show a raised circular scar on his arm. “This makes it so that I can’t leave. It makes me a castoff.”
Slowly, Devin stepped closer in the dim light and looked at the mark. It was over two inches in diameter, and had some scratching in the middle. He was sure if he searched his new memories that he would be able to interpret what it meant. Backing up, he looked closer at Colin. It wasn’t the only scar on the young man. His body was riddled with marks, from his exposed arms to the spots around his middle that showed through his tattered clothing. He was young, as Devin could see by his face, but his body was much older. Devin wondered what kind of life he had lived. It wasn’t what a normal teenager would have been through, that was for sure.
“You know the rules,” a deep, angry voice said behind Colin. Devin moved, throwing up his arm and catching the whip as it came down to strike Colin’s ragged back. That accounted for some of the scars.
“Rules?” Devin asked, getting angry at the treatment of the young sidhe, who was doing nothing wrong.
The cook immediately began to tremble and stared only at the ground once she noticed Devin.
“Sorry, sir,” the cook blubbered, her face red and sweating profusely. “I thought the urchin was trying to steal food again. I’ve caught him twice now taking palace food.” The cook was trying to explain her actions, but it made no difference to Devin. There was no reason to strike Colin, who was obviously relaxing in the doorway.
“He wasn’t trying to take anythi
ng,” Devin replied. “He was merely talking to me.”
“Please forgive me,” the cook replied, slowly backing away.
Devin shook his head in disbelief. No wonder Colin had many scars. Devin shooed the cook away, and she ran back into the hot kitchen, blending into the working staff as quickly as she could. Devin hadn’t meant to be mean, but the action of the cook was uncalled for, even if Colin had been caught stealing before. He clearly was not doing anything wrong now.
Colin whistled. “You must be the pet of someone very powerful to have that effect.”
Devin shrugged. He had given up trying to convince the sidhe he wasn’t a pet. Those in the palace knew him, and knew that he wasn’t just a toy of Nessa’s, but everyone else was still clueless. It was inconceivable to them that a day human could be walking around on his own. It was just one more thing he would have to change in the sidhe world. They needed to be more open, and they needed to see the outside world.
“Do you need anything?” Devin asked, waving his arms around to include the room.
Colin’s eyes grew large. “And have the cook never allow me to return? No thanks.”
“She seems to have let you return thus far even though you’ve been caught twice now …” Devin looked around the room. There had to be food in storage that Colin needed. Their tiny lean-to barely had anything in it.
Colin grinned mischievously. “The last time I kind of had way more than I should have. I was trying to take back for all of the castoffs. Guess I should have stuck to taking just a little bit.”
Devin understood completely. It would be hard to return there with food and supplies to see that your neighbors have nothing. He would have done the exact same if he were in the position. Devin looked at the grinning young man, and realized his life could have been just like that if Lord Randolph hadn’t taken him in. He’d had no family left after they were murdered when he was a child. No one would have raised him. He would have never lived a life of privilege. It would have been different. Even now he was lucky he fell in love with the sidhe princess. That, too, gave him power and luxury that he didn’t really earn. If Nessa was anyone else, it could have been him and Nessa living in those conditions.