It was exactly as Devin described it. The area by the door had something there, and as Nessa focused more, it became clearer. It was a person, and an assassin at that. They were in the room, waiting for her or Devin, and she didn’t even notice. Nessa jumped at the sight, and Devin grabbed her hand tighter to keep the connection.
‘You didn’t think they would be here?’ Devin asked. She had pulled out of his mind.
‘No,’ Nessa replied and entered back into Devin’s mind, which was much easier the second time.
‘That isn’t the only illusion here,’ Devin said as she adjusted back to his view.
Devin’s view changed, and he stared across the stage to the old man Bray. Slowly, fuzziness covered the man, and Nessa saw a new outline. The man she was seeing outside Devin’s mind was just the outline to the real person. Underneath the outline was a much younger man. In fact, he couldn’t have been much older than Nessa herself. She looked closer beyond the illusion. She sort of recognized the young man.
‘I think that’s one of his grandsons,’ Nessa replied. Devin let go of her hand, keeping the connection as much as he could force it.
‘Now you try,’ he said to her. ‘Look at someone else. Everyone here is under some illusion.’
Nessa turned to Maureen and waited. She looked for the fuzziness that Devin described and nothing came. Devin made it easy. Nessa felt completely imperfect next to him.
‘Stop thinking like a sidhe,’ Devin replied to her unspoken frustration. ‘Stop believing the illusions that cover this place.’
Nessa closed her eyes and took a deep breath. It was true that the sidhe people were known to fill their lives with illusions of how they viewed the world. Nessa never thought that was a bad thing. You have the world you want, not necessarily what the world really was. Why not be what you want to be instead of what you are? All it takes is a little spell here or there. That was how she was raised. That was how it always had been. She never knew it was different until she left home over a month ago and saw the real world. Nessa opened her eyes and thought of the real world outside her sidhe village. She looked back to Maureen and was surprised to see the fuzzy veil around her. Slowly, the Maureen that Nessa was used to was just the fuzzy outline. Underneath was the real Maureen, a much older and much grayer, wrinkled woman.
‘Exactly,’ Devin said, seeing what she saw. ‘Your world isn’t what you think. I doubt it ever was.’
Maureen stood and the audience became silent. Nessa didn’t hear Devin walk away, but he was no longer near her. He was still somewhere in the room, just not next to her. If she wanted, she could use her new ability to find him but instead her concentration was pulled to the woman talking.
“I believe we are all assembled,” Maureen stated. She looked from one side of the stage to the other and didn’t even notice the hidden Nessa. Fake Bray nodded while Uncle Rolf nodded. “We’re gathered to assess what happened weeks ago to our unfortunate King Rhys. This is a formal inquiry, and no lies will be tolerated. Anyone found lying will be subjected to sidhe laws. The accuser in this inquest is the O’Ryan head Bray. He will present his witnesses and arguments first, and the McKinny family head Rolf will present his defense afterward. Are we agreed?”
“Yes,” Fake Bray and Uncle Rolf answered simultaneously.
“Bray, you may make your case first,” Maureen told the fake older man before sitting down.
Bray stood and held up a piece of paper that magically appeared before Maureen and Rolf on their tables. Bray was completely confident in his case as he stood and smiled at the audience. Nessa looked at the list as Uncle Rolf discreetly pushed it to the middle of the table as Bray began to talk. It was a list of his witnesses, which were many. The trial would take days based on the number of people he planned to call. Nessa didn’t know what it meant. The more people he called, the more likely there would be someone who was standing close enough to Nessa and Rhys to defend her. It made no sense. Something was completely off.
After Bray’s riveting speech on how the loss of their king was a tragedy that would affect the sidhe forever, and how Nessa was the jealous younger sibling that plotted against Rhys, Devin knew that the trial was a complete set-up. Bray said nothing that could be proved. Devin had no clue how he planned to win his case without proof. The assassins, this time many more then the night before, patrolled the doorways. There was only one thing they could be looking for- him. He had now become the target, and this ruse of a trial was meant to pull him out for them to attack.
‘Names are missing,’ Nessa said, pulling Devin out of his surveillance mode.
‘What do you mean?’ Devin asked as he moved back to let an invisible assassin walk by.
‘This list.’ Nessa pointed in front of her. ‘There are no McKinny family members on it. I know my brother brought at least six or more of our family with him. And the Ferguson member, Candor, who told me to bind to you is also not on the list.’
‘This is a trial with selective witnesses? Will Rolf call witnesses?’ Devin asked. It would be easy enough for Rolf to call his own witnesses.
‘In reality it should work that way. Fake Bray called his and provides a list, and Uncle can call his own list. But I don’t think Uncle has one. For a sidhe trial, anyone involved should be here right now. They are all required to be present,’ Nessa looked at the faces in the crowd. The missing people from the list were not there. ‘And I don’t see them.’
‘Maybe they didn’t get their invite,’ Devin suggested. If the inquest was really a farce, Devin was unsure how long they would let it go on. ‘Do any of the missing live here in the palace?’
‘I think most of them do,’ Nessa replied. ‘It’s not like Rhys got out much.’
‘Then maybe I should go take a look,’ Devin suggested. Nessa’s heartbeat increased. Devin was the only reason she was still alive with multiple assassination attempts on her thus far. Devin could feel her anxiety at him leaving her alone. ‘I’d never leave if I didn’t think you were safe. I won’t be far away, and I won’t leave the palace. I really think I’m the target now anyway. If you give me a mental image as to who the person is, and where they live, then I can go check why they aren’t here.’ Or if they even returned, Devin wanted to add but he didn’t want to upset Nessa more. Either the missing people were not invited, or they weren’t alive to be part of the trial.
Nessa sent him a picture of the hallways and where to go. She knew the faces and the whereabouts as to where they lived, even though she didn’t know them that well. It was that way in the palace. She could place a person with where they lived and their name, but she couldn’t tell you what their favorite color was. The missing men were all her relatives, so she was sure where they lived. There were several men that all lived down the same hallway that Devin could easily check for.
‘This shouldn’t take long,’ he tried to reassure her. She was still wary about him leaving. ‘I’ll be back in a minute. And if anything odd happens at all, call for me mentally like this. I won’t go far and I can come right back.’
‘But that’s not possible. I can’t use a bond that far apart,’ Nessa complained.
‘You’ve never had a bond like this. I’m sure we can still talk that far apart,’ Devin added. He was confident in the bond. He had seen how the bond was supposed to work, and Nessa was strong enough to make it happen. She just lacked the confidence.
‘How can you always be sure of everything?’ Nessa asked.
‘Because I’m already down the hallway, and you can still talk to me,’ Devin replied. Nessa huffed and Devin laughed at her reply. Nessa was never going to admit defeat in anything and that was kind of fun. ‘In fact, in one turn I’ll be at the first door.’
Devin looked down the empty hallway. The doors to the rooms he was looking for were all open. Even some of the other doors were open. He normally would’ve wondered if that was sidhe ways, but he had passed several other hallways and they were all closed. Something was off with the hallway he was i
n now. Why were all the doors open? Devin cautiously made his way to the first doorway. There was no one following him, but he couldn’t help it. He had to look closely for sidhe magic and traps that could be set anywhere. They seemed to go a bit overboard in setting traps. He stood in the doorway but didn’t enter. There was no need to. The room was empty. Completely empty. He carefully made his way to the next room. Also empty. He walked rapidly between all the rooms. Each room was empty.
‘Are you sure this is where they lived?’ Devin asked Nessa, who was still sitting at the trial.
‘Yes, why?’ she questioned.
‘Because no one lives here now,’ Devin answered as he viewed the last room.
‘At all?’ Nessa asked for clarification.
‘The rooms are empty,’ Devin answered.
Devin watched thoughts go through Nessa’s mind. She was sure that was where the men lived. They were family, after all.
‘In other words, the only people who would side with me aren’t here anymore?’ Nessa replied, assessing the situation.
‘Maybe they moved,’ Devin suggested, but he didn’t think that was the case either. No wonder the fake Bray was smug with his case. If there was no one left to support Nessa, then she didn’t have a defense beyond her word. That was why the trial had to happen before the coronation. They couldn’t doubt the word of their queen, but they could doubt the word of Nessa before she became queen.
‘We need to find Candor,’ Nessa replied, her heartbeat picking up pace.
‘Yes, we do. And hopefully he isn’t six feet under,’ Devin added, making his way back to the trial room.
Rolf was standing and addressing Maureen. Rolf had noticed the same discrepancy that Nessa did without her telling him. There were no McKinny family witnesses. Maureen was agreeing with what Rolf said, even though Devin couldn’t hear yet. Maureen addressed the crowd. Devin was unsure what she had said, but as soon as everyone in the room stood and started to leave, Devin got the hint.
‘We’re going back to my room now. Rolf wants to talk to us,’ Nessa explained, standing with her uncle who was leaving ahead of the crowd.
Devin waited for Nessa to pass. She followed carefully behind her uncle, and he followed behind them. No one noticed them, but Devin noticed the assassins fanning out. They were on the hunt it seemed, and getting more desperate to find him. As they reached Nessa’s quarters, Nessa opened the door in front of Rolf and Devin entered behind her. She released the spell, and they were now visible.
“We need to look into this,” Rolf said, pointing to the list.
“We already did,” Devin replied before Nessa could. “There isn’t a single person left that Rhys took from the McKinny house.”
“Uncle, what happened during the time I was gone?” Nessa asked. “There were at least six or more people with him from our house.” Devin put his hand up to stop Rolf from talking.
Nessa looked down the hallway. Devin was proud of her new sense of magic. She could tell also when someone was near. Nessa cast a silent spell and left just the three of them, Devin in her room and Nessa sitting with Rolf outside her room, inside the bubble of the spell.
“I don’t know,” Rolf finally answered Nessa’s question. “Rhys left and some came back, while some didn’t. We expected that they had died in the fighting. No one told us otherwise. All the families lost people. We’re still finding out who was lost. Finn lost his cousin Shay, and they found him just a day ago. We thought Bane, Tim, and Rudy were killed.”
“But that left three more to come home,” Nessa replied.
Rolf shook his head. “I have heard of nothing else. They came back, I am sure of it. I have no idea where they are now.” Rolf stood and paced the length of the silent bubble. “What are we going to do?” Rolf looked visibly upset by the news. Devin wondered if he was more worried about losing the position of inheritance, or if he were worried for Nessa.
“How long is the break?” Devin asked, assuming that was why the trial dismissed.
“Only until this afternoon. An hour or two at most. I asked Maureen for time to talk to Nessa about her defense after seeing the list. Normally I’d be given two days to prepare a defense after the initial case was made and before witnesses are called. I have a feeling they want to get the trial done before the coronation tomorrow,” Rolf replied.
“Can you send Ronan this way?” Devin asked, not showing his cards to Rolf, as he was still unsure where Rolf stood on the issues. Rolf looked up and gave Devin an odd look. They needed some help.
“Yes, Ronan,” Nessa replied, not sure what Devin was planning, but Ronan was the only one Devin completely trusted.
“I’ll send him right away,” Rolf replied, standing to leave. He briefly hugged Nessa. “We will protect you. The entire family will if it comes to it.”
CHAPTER 9
“What is the plan?” Nessa asked, turning to Devin.
“We need help,” Devin replied. For once, Devin didn’t have a plan. He didn’t know the sidhe rules, and now he was unsure how to play the game. If it was okay to kill off a bunch of sidhe to keep Nessa from defending herself, would they convict on the word of people who couldn’t be trusted? Could the sidhe who were called to the stand lie? Would they lie? “Ronan is the only one we can trust at this moment, and I’m not sure we have enough time to do everything.”
Nessa nodded and walked over to one of the room’s various couches. She threw herself down and covered her eyes. Behind the closed doors of the room, her tension was melting away. Devin wanted to pry into her thoughts, which would be easy to do since they were very close right at the moment, but he did not. He could guess from her face that she was handling the situation as best she could.
A knock at the door made Nessa jump back up. Ronan was quick to appear right then. Devin stood next to her as she opened it.
“Maureen,” Nessa said, covering up her shock at who had shown up. Both Devin and Nessa had thought that Ronan was already there.
Devin stepped back into the shadows to analyze the older sidhe as she talked. There was nothing he liked about her. Nessa may have felt like she was a second mom to her, but Devin really thought the woman did nothing beyond what was needed to do to gain more power, or to hold onto the power she already had.
“Oh, child, I’m sorry about today,” Maureen said, no hint of sincerity showing through when she spoke. Maureen moved to hug Nessa and came up against the barrier. She stopped and a flash of anger crossed her face, which Devin was sure Nessa didn’t see.
“Sorry about that,” Nessa replied, moving to put down the spell for Maureen. Devin reached out and took her hand before she could mutter the words.
‘No,’ Devin ordered. Nessa looked up to him and then to Maureen. Conflict laced her thoughts and was shown through her eyes, but Nessa did not release the spell. Devin was relieved that it was one time she wasn’t going to fight him.
“I’m sorry for the inconvenience,” Devin said, dropping Nessa’s hand. “But we need to keep this room absolutely safe from everyone. Nessa has had several attempts on her life since she came back home. I’m sure you can understand.” Devin faked his friendliness almost as good as Maureen.
Maureen looked at Nessa with fake pity. “My poor child. I’m sorry you have had to deal with this right after losing your brother. I feel bad about today. I was outvoted on the council. The O’Ryan, McLoughan, and Miller families voted for a trial. The best I could do was to abstain from the vote so that I could get the spot as the arbitrator.”
Devin watched Maureen plead her tale. Nothing about it seemed genuine. She was saving her own neck and plotting something. Devin just didn’t know what.
“I’ve been looking over the rules, and I’ve think I found you a way out,” Maureen explained from the doorway.
Nessa moved closer to Devin. She caught the change in Maureen, and the underline message she wasn’t saying. Maureen didn’t offer to help Nessa because she thought she was innocent. No, Maureen was trying to help Ne
ssa avoid the guilty verdict she had already planned to give. Reality was setting in for Nessa. Her world wasn’t what she knew growing up.
“It turns out that if you are married, then you don’t have to face trial, as they can’t proceed if two families stand with the accused, and if my son was married to you, then I have to side with your family,” Maureen explained, like it was the logical thing to do.
“But we broke off the engagement. Finn and I don’t want to get married,” Nessa replied, shocked by the suggestion, but taking strength from Devin’s hand on her back.
“Finn never wanted to break the engagement. He told me that he did that to keep you happy. All he wanted was for you to admit that you wanted to marry him. He still loves you completely,” Maureen explained without any hesitation, like it was obvious and Nessa should have known all along.
Devin steadied Nessa as her knees weakened a bit. Everything she thought she knew was turning out to be a lie. Even her best friend, Finn. Devin didn’t want to be the one to tell her, and now he didn’t have to. Maureen was breaking any last illusion Nessa had of the sidhe.
“Don’t worry in the least,” Maureen continued, either ignoring, or not seeing, how her words were affecting Nessa. “Fiona told me she’s interested in your human. He can come to the Ferguson family with you.”
Nessa just stared at Maureen, who was clearly waiting for a reply. Devin stepped forward and did not let go of Nessa.
“That is a generous offer, but I’m sure Nessa will need time to talk this over with her uncle. He’s the only living relative she has, and it would be best not to do anything rash without his approval,” Devin said. He watched as Maureen tried to hide her disdain for him. Devin was used to clan politics, and knew the best course of action wasn’t to agree or disagree with such a suggestion. Maureen wasn’t happy with his solution, but there was no way for her to disagree. What he stated was true and very logical. “Thank you for stopping by with your offer. I believe Nessa needs to rest now. This has all been very stressful for her.”