“If we’re lucky,” I murmured.
Dymphna relaxed in her seat. “When I was growing up, this could never have happened—children of rival courts playing together.”
“And a human besides,” I teased. “Kids don’t care about that stuff. Not until somebody teaches them to.”
“Perhaps you’re right.” Dymphna sighed. “And some of us learn to forget what we’re taught. A daoine sídhe loving a human was once unheard of.”
Fiadh glanced out the window with a look of longing in her eyes. “Having three kings is certainly unusual, too.”
I shrugged. “I bet human queens and princesses aren’t so common here, either.”
“More than you would expect,” Fiadh said.
Dymphna nodded. “Although few last. Humans lose themselves so easily in the courts.”
I thought about that. “When we came from the Fade, Brendan and Drake took me to this village. A girl there told me that humans aren’t for the summer, that it’s only in the courts that they lose their minds. Maybe if I just avoid the wine and dancing, I’ll be okay.”
Fiadh smiled. “If you haven’t succumbed already, then you’re likely safe.”
“Maybe I lost my mind ages ago, and it’s just that nobody noticed.”
Dymphna snorted. “I doubt you could have escaped from Sadler if you had lost your sanity.”
“Ronnie did.” I frowned. “Although who knows where she ended up.”
Conn stuck his head through the open window, startling us. “There are Darksiders approaching, my lady. Two, at least. What would you have me do?”
It took me a second to realise he was addressing me. I glanced at Dymphna. “Can you watch her?”
“Of course.”
I got up and went to the door. Conn unlocked it and moved aside to let me out. The carriage was moving slowly enough for me to jump without hurting myself, so I leapt to the ground. Conn immediately mounted up again.
Bran rode up on his horse. “What are you doing?”
“Get Líle,” I said. “Now. Then guard Scarlet as if your life depends on it.”
“But—”
“I mean it, Bran,” I snapped. “Now. Move!”
He obeyed without another word.
“They’re coming from behind,” Conn said.
“I need to speak to them before Drake sets his troops on them.”
“Then share my horse.”
“I can go alone. You need to watch over Fiadh and Setanta.”
“This is what Fiadh would want,” he said gruffly. “Those Darksiders will die before they reach us if you don’t get to them first.”
“Then we had better hurry.” I moved closer, and he leaned over to help me up in front of him.
“Gallop,” I commanded. “Before anyone realises what we’re doing.”
“Done.” He dug his heels in, and the horse took off. “It’ll be harder to follow us this way,” Conn said, guiding the horse into the forest and away from the road.
Minutes later, I heard shouts behind us and the sounds of soldiers in pursuit. My blood burned, and I hated to admit it even to myself, but I felt more alive than I had in ages.
“How did you know the Darksiders were coming?” I asked, ducking under a low-hanging branch.
“I’ve been circling, and I saw signs we were being followed. I wanted you to know before anyone else noticed in case you had your own plans.”
I laughed. “My plans tend to be knee-jerk reactions. I hope you trust me, Conn.”
“It’s a little late to change my mind now. Hold on, my lady. It’s going to get bumpy.”
He urged his horse around trees, twisting back and reversing his tracks. The horse leapt off a small ledge, and I squeezed my eyes shut, but it landed neatly and kept running. After a couple of miles, we passed signs of a recent camp.
“We’re close,” Conn said. He let out a piercing whistle.
I flinched. “Warn a girl before you deafen her.”
An answering whistle sounded, and Conn slowed the horse.
“What now?” I whispered.
“We wait for them to show themselves.”
“And if they throw spears and shit first?”
“Then we made a mistake.”
I half-turned to give him a withering glare. In the process, I spotted something out of the corner of my eye. Vix was leaning against a nearby tree, her arms folded across her chest.
“Are you alone?” I asked, getting off the horse.
She hesitated then shook her head and stepped toward me. Conn dismounted and joined us.
“They need to be right next to me. We were followed,” I said. “How many more are here?”
“Just one,” a familiar voice rumbled from behind me.
I whirled around to face the helmeted soldier striding toward us. “Rumble! I mean, Comhaill, sorry. I can’t believe you’re both here. What are you doing? Why are you following us?”
“In case there was trouble.” Vix studied the ground. “And we needed to get you alone if we could.”
“You could have been killed,” I said. “Darksiders aren’t the flavour of the month right now, especially you.”
She raised her head and stared at me defiantly. “Then why are you two alive?”
“The Green Court took Fiadh in when I sent her to the Miacha with Conn and Setanta. They’re travelling with us. Oh, and I forgot to give you this.” I slapped her across the face. “That’s for paralysing me, you crazy bitch.”
She rubbed her cheek with a grin. “Oh, come on. It was a good plan. Even you have to see that.”
“I can’t believe you were going to kidnap my daughter. What were you thinking?”
She laughed. “It would have been one way to get you to follow.”
Rumble held up his hand. “That was her idea, and she wasn’t going to hand the child over to Sadler. Things have been getting worse.”
“Yeah, we heard the ships can be seen approaching. How long do we have?” I asked.
“Not long,” Rumble said. “Sadler’s boasting about raising the dead.”
“The Darksiders are divided. Half of them are ready to give him up.” Vix clenched her hands into fists. “We need to… save Sadler from himself before it’s too late.”
I heard a shout, and moments later, the clearing filled with armoured soldiers wearing the colours of both courts. The group surrounded us, Brendan and Drake at their head. The three Darksiders attempted to circle me in a human shield, but I pushed my way through and herded them back against the horse.
“Excuse me?” I said. “Am I being hunted down again?”
“Of course not,” Brendan said, but he looked uneasy. “We thought you were being kidnapped.”
“By Conn?” I asked as snidely as I could manage. “He made me jump from the carriage by the power of his mind, did he?”
“We weren’t told that—”
I cut Brendan off with a sharp laugh. “What did Bran say? And Dymphna? And Fiadh?”
Brendan looked bashful. “We didn’t stop to ask.”
Drake unsheathed his short sword. “Death to the Darksiders.”
The silver soldiers behind him raised their weapons.
“I don’t think so,” I said. “Not unless you’re cutting through me first.”
Drake sneered. “Even cowardly Darksiders won’t let a human die for them.”
“A queen!” Rumble’s shout caused half of the soldiers to flinch. “She has a title, and it wasn’t stolen… like yours.”
“They’ll do what I tell them to do,” I said even louder to get their attention back on me. I needed to be in control of the situation to save my Darkside friends.
Vix let out a little whoosh of air. I stepped on her foot. “Not now,” I murmured.
“Cara,” Brendan said, “what are you doing here?”
“I’m here to meet some old friends,” I said. “They had information for me.”
Brendan dismounted and approached. “Lower your weapons,?
?? he ordered his soldiers in a weary voice. He looked at Rumble. “Why are you here? We’re on our way to the Darkside. What were you planning on doing? Abducting her to get her there first?”
“No,” Rumble said. “We came to save her life.”
Brendan looked around at the soldiers. “You two can provide more protection than all of this?”
“Yes,” Rumble said. “We weren’t planning on walking her into danger.”
“Things have changed,” Vix said. “It isn’t safe out there. We need the queen and the princess to survive. Our people are divided. Sadler’s actions have caused… problems. Some Darksiders will kill her before she reaches Sadler in case she can reason with him. Others are so confused they’ll start a fight without even realising it, and the child could be accidentally harmed in the middle of it all. You don’t understand what’s been happening, but we aren’t about to let you lead our princess to her death.” She looked at me. “And there’s only ever been one person to temper Sadler. If we do this the right way, we can fix all of this.”
“The dead should never walk,” Rumble said. “And those rumours about the ships are killing any unity in the Dark Court. Chaos is in charge. We need to control it before it’s too late.”
“You’re disloyal to your king,” Drake said as he approached. “Why would we believe you if even your own king can’t trust you?”
“I’m loyal to my court,” Rumble said. “Sadler’s been influenced by dangerous forces. I think he can still be saved. But if I’m loyal to the crown, then I need to be loyal to all of those who wear it, and that includes this woman and her child. If they return, Sadler will use the child. I will protect them from all that mean them harm, including Sadler.”
“We should kill them right now,” Drake said. “This is a distraction.”
“Both of these are Deorad’s children, just like you,” I said. “They’re your family.”
“I have no family,” he snapped. “Deorad means nothing to me.”
I glared at him, trying to hide the pain I felt at his words. “You’re pretty good at denying family.”
“This isn’t getting us anywhere,” Brendan said.
“Yeah, I know. We need to get back to the carriages,” I said. “I’m not feeling good about leaving them stranded while they wait for us.”
Vix looked surprised. “You’re still going with them? After everything we’ve told you?”
“What if I can talk to the Darksiders? Apparently, there are lots of them attacking everything in sight within this forest.” I threw Drake a dirty look. “Although, miraculously, we haven’t even seen one group yet.”
“The Darksiders are scattered,” Rumble said. “But it’s impossible to tell what side they take, if any.”
“Then I’ll just have to find out. What if we can unify them again and work toward—”
Drake turned to Brendan. “Do you hear this? Are we really going to allow her to gather forces for Sadler?”
“She’s not doing it for Sadler,” Brendan said, studying me. “And this could be the right path to take.”
“There will be fighting,” Vix told me, ignoring the two kings. “You can’t sweet talk your way out of every battle.”
“Okay,” I said. “But it’s better than Darksiders running around aimlessly, getting themselves and whoever else murdered.”
“Then we’re going with you,” Rumble said.
“No,” Drake said. “Darksiders can’t—”
“Then she can leave with us,” Vix said. “Darksiders protect their own, and she’s one of us.”
“So you finally think so?” I murmured then smiled at her scowl. “If other Darksiders see Fiadh and two of Sadler’s most trusted people with me, maybe they’ll fall in line.”
“And what will happen when we reach the castle?” Vix asked. “Are you going to sic your friends on Sadler? On the court?”
“No,” I said. “I’m the one who has to deal with Sadler, no matter what it takes.” I looked at Rumble. “Are you with me?”
The burly soldier nodded. Vix grudgingly agreed, too, and we headed back to the carriages.
“I don’t like this,” Drake said.
“There are lots of things I don’t like either,” I told him. “But you never gave that any consideration.” And then I galloped back to my daughter with three Darksiders at my back.
***
“This is good,” Fiadh said.
“Yeah, it might be if they last the journey.” I turned to Vix. “But you really need to stop threatening Drake’s soldiers.”
Vix sighed and took a sip of water from her cup. We had our own fire separate from the other soldiers. It was better that the others gave us some distance. The Darksiders weren’t popular within the camp, but if the Green Court and Silver Court could work together, then they could put up with us, too.
Us. Strangely, I felt more comfortable around the Darksiders than I did with my old friends. There was too much bad history with Drake, too much awkwardness with Brendan, and the rest were all on one side or the other. The Darksiders had nothing but a wish to improve their lives. I could deal with that.
“She’ll behave,” Rumble said. He had been quiet all day, but I felt reassured by his presence. He still hadn’t removed his helmet, and in full black armour, he looked far more intimidating than any of the green or silver soldiers.
Vix yawned then stretched, her shirt moving just enough to reveal bruised skin.
“What happened to you?” I asked.
She yanked her shirt down. “Nothing.”
“Nothing?” I looked into the fire, thinking hard. “So Sadler just let you come to me?”
She let out a harsh laugh. “Not exactly, no.”
“She was in the dungeon again,” Rumble said. “Because Sadler heard she attacked the queen in the Green Court yet failed to bring the princess home.”
Vix scowled at him. “Sadler sent me to the dungeon and… washed his hands of me. Rumble freed me, and we escaped together to try to bring a little… order back to the chaos.” She gave Rumble a warning glance, and I was sure there was more to that story.
“I’m sorry if you got hurt doing that,” I said.
She leaned back, her demeanour snapping back to its usual mode. “A little fresh air never hurt anyone.” She changed the subject then, and I was left wondering what had really happened to her.
A few minutes later, Zoe approached us. She wrapped her arms around herself, trying to avoid looking directly at Rumble and Vix.
“Hey,” I said. “Want to sit?”
“Scarlet’s waking up,” she said. “I thought you might want to know.”
“Yeah, of course.” I stood. “Okay, I’m going to bring the baby over. Just… be cool. Okay, Vix?”
“Me?” She sniffed. “I’ve seen the child before. One looks much like another.”
“Yeah, yeah. Rumble, don’t let her challenge anyone to a duel while I’m gone.”
Rumble chuckled softly as I left with Zoe. Anya and Bekind had been watching over Scarlet while she slept and I dealt with the new additions, but I couldn’t hide my baby away forever. If I was going to trust the Darksiders, then I had to trust them with Scarlet, too.
“Do you know what the hell you’re doing?” Zoe asked as we climbed into the carriage.
“That’s her aunt and uncle,” I said, picking up Scarlet. “She’s never going to have a father.” Unless I helped him get what he wanted most. “The least I can do is give her whatever family I can.”
“I hope you’re right,” Zoe said. “And I hope neither of you get hurt.”
“Too late for me. And I’m never going to let my daughter get hurt.”
“You can’t protect her from everything.”
“I can try.”
Anya and Bekind followed us back to the fire. Bran, ever my shadow, fidgeted by my side.
“They’re not going to do anything, Bran,” I said with a smile.
“I’ve never been this close to so many D
arksiders before,” he said. “I feel a little out of my depth.”
“Dymphna would never trust Eithne to Fiadh if there was a chance the Darksiders would do something wrong.” I sat by the fire with a sleepy Scarlet. “Auntie Vix and Uncle Rumble,” I said, enjoying the horrified expression on Vix’s face. I kissed Scarlet’s head. “This is my daughter.”
“Vix said she wasn’t tainted, but I was sure she had to be,” Rumble said.
“Look at her eye,” Vix said. “Cara told me something made its mark.”
Rumble reached out as if to touch Scarlet’s cheek but dropped his hand before he made contact.
“It’s okay,” I said. “You’re her family.”
Rumble and Vix exchanged a glance.
Rumble cleared his throat. “You can’t talk like that. You must be seen to treat us as servants. We are the nameless. We don’t get to have family.”
“You have names,” I said. “And you have family. I don’t give a shit what anyone says. This is what’s wrong with the Dark Court.”
“You can’t turn us into humans,” Vix said. “You must stop trying to weaken us.”
“My love for my son doesn’t weaken me,” Fiadh scoffed. “It makes me stronger, more able to do what needs to be done. Cara is the same way. The Dark Court needs to change.”
“We are of Chaos,” Vix said. “We’re hated by everyone here. Nobody trusts us. They wish we didn’t exist.”
“Then we’ll just have to remind them that we do exist,” I said.
And when Vix smiled, I knew I had her.
Chapter Twenty
I grew restless in the carriage. We moved so slowly that it felt as though we weren’t actually getting anywhere. The heat became oppressive, a steady heaviness in the air that wore me out even though I wasn’t active. The pair of kings might have beaten back Sadler’s storms, but they had gone overboard in their attempts to keep hold of the power. I wondered if that had been Sadler’s aim after all. Their exertion had to help him in the grand scheme of things.
Fiadh fanned Setanta rapidly until he reached out and pulled the fan from her grasp. Both of them stared at each other for a moment in shock. The boy rarely moved of his own free will, and he constantly looked miserable. It was as though he were afflicted by a physical manifestation of a deep depression, and I had begun to wonder if the way he was carried around and indulged had contributed to his state as much as the black welts on his skin.