“Devin, show him,” Nessa pleaded. Even then Ronan might not believe them, but Nessa needed Devin to at least try to convince her cousin that he was telling the truth.
“Go invisible again. I’ll even close my eyes and count to ten. Hide anywhere in the room,” Devin said to Ronan.
Ronan wanted to laugh, but he didn’t since Nessa wasn’t even smiling.
“Good luck, buddy,” Ronan replied, patting Devin on the shoulder as he stood and disappeared.
Devin shut his eyes and counted, just as he said he would. Nessa tried to follow her cousin as he disappeared, but there was nothing to indicate where he was. She could only follow him generally by the spells she had cast on her place. She had no idea how Devin could do what he did.
“Nessa, do you feel him in the house?” Devin asked as he opened his eyes.
“Yes,” Nessa replied. She looked around the room. She could feel him there, but had no idea where he might hide.
“Do you know where he is?” Devin asked. Nessa looked around the room again. She wanted to see what Devin saw, but she did not. She shook her head no. Devin stood and turned in a circle. He sat back down. All he needed was a glance, and he knew.
“Somehow he made it onto your couch,” Devin replied, pointing at Ronan. Ronan didn’t materialize. Nessa looked at the couch. She didn’t see Ronan, but she believed Devin.
“Believe me now?” Nessa asked. Ronan still didn’t show himself. Devin picked up the closest book and tossed it at Ronan’s head. Ronan materialized just in time to catch it.
“Good guess,” Ronan replied.
“It wasn’t a guess,” Nessa replied.
Ronan turned into a mist to stand through the piles of books and returned to Nessa’s side. He looked over to Devin and back to her like he was trying to figure out the puzzle of how the day human trapped his cousin into believing things like that.
“Devin is different. He really saw you. And he really saw the sidhe that tried to kill me,” Nessa told her older cousin.
“Who tried to kill you?” Ronan asked. All joking was gone from his voice. Nessa in danger brought him back to focus.
“I don’t know, but if it wasn’t for Devin, and his ability to see through sidhe magic, I might not be here right now,” Nessa replied. Ronan still seemed skeptical of Devin, but was now more concerned with Nessa’s safety. Sidhe skin could heal anything, but being pierced by a blade made with sidhe magic would leave a hidden scar. Nessa lifted up her shirt a bit and bit her thumb to draw blood. She wiped the blood across her stomach where she had been stabbed. A faint scar appeared.
“Devin killed the second sidhe that attacked him, and he fought with the one who did this, allowing us to get away,” Nessa replied.
Ronan stared at Devin, analyzing him. The truth was starting to sink in. He stared for a few moments more before turning back to Nessa.
“There’s something a bit different about him. Are you sure he’s a day human?” Ronan asked Nessa.
“Yes, I’m sure. I tasted his blood. He’s a day human,” Nessa replied. Ronan wasn’t shocked by her admitting she drank his blood.
“A day human that can see and kill a sidhe… Someone that can stand toe-to-toe with a night human… That’s quite unheard of. I guess I should be king now,” Ronan replied chuckling at his own joke, now finally seeing Devin in a new light. “And yet you let our Nessie bite you?” he added.
Devin shrugged. If Nessa didn’t want to tell Ronan the details of when she fed off of him, then Devin wasn’t going to tell either. “She wasn’t the first to bite me. I’ve been bit many times before, but not many lived to tell about it.”
Ronan nodded his head like that made complete sense. “How many night humans have you killed before?”
Devin shrugged again. Nessa doubted he kept count. On the battlefield her brother brought with him to the tournament, Devin had to have killed over a dozen in less than thirty minutes. Nessa knew that most of the warrior night humans liked to have a total number of kills, but that wasn’t Devin’s style. The reason he killed was much simpler than honor and pride. He killed to survive. Ronan wouldn’t understand that.
“And the sidhe you killed, was she an assassin from the guild?” Ronan asked Nessa and Devin together. Ronan paced around the room. He was upset either by the news that a human could kill a sidhe or that a sidhe was trying to kill his cousin. Nessa didn’t know which.
“No, a house assassin. I saw the house mark covered by the bird,” Nessa replied.
“Good. I thought I’d have known if the guild sent an assassin,” Ronan replied. Devin was still trying to understand sidhe politics, but it would take a while to get all the details. The dearg-dul world he was raised in never had assassins.
“Why?” Nessa asked.
“Well, they kind of made me second in line while you were gone. Let me take that back, Uncle made me second in line. The other families have a different plan, but the assassin guild is following only my orders right now,” Ronan replied before continuing his pace around the room.
“And she was a he,” Nessa added.
“What?” Ronan stopped in his tracks. “That’s impossible.”
“Not impossible, improbable,” Nessa replied. Everyone knew the assassins were women, at least that’s what they were told.
“I heard rumor that some of the houses were switching to men, but I never knew it was true. Even the guild won’t hire men,” Ronan replied. Devin looked between them.
Nessa replied for Devin’s sake. “Ronan tends to only date assassins, and the women are a bit loose in telling him everything.”
“I can’t help it if a beautiful woman wants to tell me her secrets,” Ronan teased. Ronan turned back to Devin. “The person following me now, who we left outside the house, was it a male or female?”
Devin shrugged. They couldn’t see what he saw, therefore he had to explain. He looked over to Nessa.
‘I can show you both,’ he told Nessa. Nessa nodded and picked up his hand to make a blood connection between her and Devin. She reached over and grabbed her cousin to connect him to Devin, too.
‘I don’t see absolutely through the magic; it’s more like a foggy window.’ Devin let the image of Ronan on the couch pass through his mind into theirs. ‘The person outside the house looked like this.’ Devin passed them another image. The figure was leaning against the tree outside. Devin saw the dark clothing and the dark head, but he didn’t know if the person was male or female. They were too far away to tell.
Ronan stared in awe at Devin. Nessa had a feeling that hero worshiping would begin soon. She always thought Ronan followed Rhys around, not because he like his cousin, but because he thought Rhys was the greatest sidhe. What would Ronan think of Devin?
“He can see him,” Ronan replied as he pulled away, breaking the connection.
“See, not impossible,” Nessa replied.
“Then how do I protect you?” Ronan asked Nessa and Devin. Nessa felt the hero worship begin. Just moments ago he was teasing that Devin was a snack, and now he wanted to protect them both.
“I think I have that handled,” Devin replied. He wasn’t used to the drastic mood changes the McKinny family members were known for. Nessa figured he should have spent enough time with her to get used to it, but he was on a roller coaster ride meeting her cousins.
Ronan turned to Devin. “Normally you wouldn’t have to worry about protection against assassins. The wards around the palace are all made toward females as the guild only trains females as assassins. It makes the palace safe for anyone as no one can order an assassination without alerting the wards. Assassins have always been female. This changes everything. The wards won’t protect you.”
“Which is exactly why we need a blood spell,” Nessa replied. Ronan turned to Nessa.
“It makes much more sense now that I never heard back from you. Here I thought I did something to piss you off again. I was sure you were fine when you left, but I know how easily I can do something wron
g. We’ve all been writing you letters, and wondered why you didn’t reply. Even Gemma was getting disappointed you didn’t write back or return to us immediately following the tournament. The council has been trying to contact you since your brother’s body came home, and you did not answer them either. We need to move you to the palace immediately and get that blood spell around your room. You aren’t safe here.”
“But I want to stay here,” Nessa complained. “There’s no reason for me to be at the palace. This is my home.”
“Not any longer, my queen.” Ronan made a formal, exaggerated bow to her.
“I’m not the queen. Gemma said she was to bring me there for the coronation, thus not the queen yet. I need a few more days to get some business done here. Then you can bring me to the palace,” Nessa replied.
Ronan laughed. “This is so like you, Nessie. Did you not pay attention in any of your lessons about the ruling family? Did you think Rhys would rule forever and you didn’t need to know it? You’re already the queen. The coronation comes later, but that doesn’t mean you aren’t already in power. You may not be able to sign decrees until the coronation, but you are our ruler now.”
“But,” Nessa complained, she flung her hands about her room as if to say what about my stuff?
“The palace will move everything for you. You don’t need to worry about that now. All you have to worry about is ruling over everyone. Not too big of a deal.” Ronan winked at Nessa.
Nessa didn’t take his joking lightly. She had no plans to move into the palace. She wanted to stay in her own home. The whole ruling the sidhe people was ridiculous enough to think about, but moving on top of it was horrifying. Nessa and Devin needed time to sort through her books to find out how to break the bond, but that looked like it might not be happening any time soon. Now they would have to go to the palace and wait for her books to arrive, and for her perfect new life to be all set up for her. She hated waiting for people, and she hated people touching her stuff without her permission.
Nessa looked back to Ronan, and he was grinning at her anger. He knew exactly how she was going to react. Nessa shook her head. This wasn’t in the plan. They needed more time before her life crashed down around her. She needed to find the right spell to unbind them and get Devin out of the village unharmed. This wasn’t going to be a short trip after all.
CHAPTER 5
Nessa stood at the door to the sidhe council of five and waited. Devin was beside her but sitting down. He was going to have to wait outside since he wasn’t one of the five, and not even a sidhe for that matter. Nessa knew sidhe didn’t like day humans much, but it didn’t take long to see how much the sidhe didn’t like day humans. Their short walk to the palace was enough that she wanted to cloak Devin and whisk him away. He didn’t seem to care, or maybe he didn’t even notice, but Nessa did. Face after face turned to stare as they passed. Most twisted to a look of disgust when they spotted Devin in the middle of the guard protecting them on their walk.
Nessa knew that Devin had good reason not to care. He was busy watching the unseen sidhe assassins that had followed them. It was becoming easier to see into his mind through the bond, and she too saw the assassins. Devin was on full alert mode. Nessa found it cute that he cared that much, but easily convinced herself it was more self-preservation then anything. If she died, it might kill him as well. They weren’t completely sure about the bond, but that seemed logical.
The doorway to the council room opened, and Nessa looked down at Devin. He nodded to her as if to say she was safe to pass. The assassins thus far hadn’t entered the palace, just followed them on their walk.
‘No matter what happens in there, we still have one goal,’ Nessa said to his mind as she turned and straightened her stance a bit. Uncle Rolf, Ronan’s father, approached from the room. ‘We find out how to break the bond, and then you can be free of here.’
She couldn’t help but let the worry seep into her mind as she walked away. The sidhe didn’t seem to want Devin around, and she was unsure how any passing sidhe would view him as he waited. Devin just smiled at her worry and tried to send reassuring thoughts across the bond to counter her feelings. Nessa tentatively smiled back. It wasn’t going to be any easier inside the room, either.
“Dear niece,” Rolf said as he bowed to hug her. “Welcome home.”
“Thank you, Uncle,” she replied. He sounded sincere, but she was still unsure who was on her side and not. He had never been an overly nice uncle, but he was great with Rhys. Nessa had to hope that he would support her now that she held the power in the family.
“This way.” He ushered her into the cozy meeting room.
The five families were represented at the table. Nessa’s family had Rolf seated on the council. He was her father’s younger brother, but since her father had been king he couldn’t serve on the council. Rolf took the job and had been on the council through her father’s rule, brother’s rule, and now her own. It was still strange to think that she was queen. They technically had to do anything she said.
“Welcome,” the only woman on the council said. She stood and hugged Nessa. Maureen Ferguson was like a second mother to Nessa. Her daughter was only a year older than Nessa, and her son was two years older. Their families had been friends since before she was born. Rumor was that her daughter had been romantically involved with Rhys. Her family also had been planning to marry Nessa to her son Finn.
Maureen walked Nessa to the only seat not filled, and by far the most decorated chair, in the room. Nessa sat down in the excessively-ornate chair and faced the council. The chair was made for a ruler, yet Nessa still didn’t feel like she was one. Maureen sat back down next to Rolf. Nessa didn’t talk, but just looked around the table at the council. Uncle Rolf was on the younger side of fifty. She had met the other three men at all the family functions, but couldn’t recall a single time she had spoken to any of them.
“We’ve been trying to bring you home for weeks. We’re glad you finally decided to come back,” the oldest man spoke first since it was clear Nessa wasn’t going to talk. Nessa nodded. She wasn’t going to speak quite yet. One of these families sitting around the table had sent the assassin that had kept her in the dark, and tried to keep her from coming home.
“We need to talk about the incident that happened back at the tournament,” the older man across from the first said. Nessa nodded again.
“Are you willing to explain your actions?” the first old man asked. Nessa looked around the table. They had already made up their minds. They either thought she was guilty, or they didn’t care. She guessed they would call her guilty no matter what. None of those eyes, even those of her uncle, were inviting or looked like they wanted her there. She was completely out of place.
Nessa opened her mouth to reply and then stopped. Ronan had told her not to speak with them. She could cause more trouble than anything because she wasn’t well versed in the sidhe laws. In fact, she hadn’t actually paid attention in a single class she had on sidhe law. She had always assumed she didn’t need to know, and that it would always be her brother’s job to oversee everything. She was very wrong about that, but then again she never knew her brother wouldn’t stop a death blow he had dealt when he saw it was going to hit his sister. Nessa knew firsthand how hard it was to control sidhe magic, but her brother was an expert. If he wanted to stop the blow he had aimed at Arianna once Nessa stepped in front of it, he could have. Rhys chose to not to, and Nessa lost all sympathy for her brother in that moment. He was no longer her loving, adoring brother. He was the monster everyone else always saw. Now she wished the monster had been at least a bit more insistent that she learn the laws.
“Actually, I don’t feel like it,” Nessa replied. Ronan had told her not to reply, but it didn’t look like anyone was going to drop the issue until she said something. “Is this a formal inquest?” Nessa gave the reply Ronan had told her to use in case they waited for a reply.
The older man looked shocked. She didn’t know his
name, and she had never shown an interest in the sidhe politics. Somehow they were helpless to do anything unless she admitted it. He didn’t expect her to not tell them what happened. The man looked to the other who had spoken. Neither knew how to proceed. They thought she would tell them something they could use against her. Their confidence drained and they all seemed a little disappointed.
“If that’s all, I need to get back to organizing my room. There’s much I need to do since the move,” Nessa replied to all those seated. She moved to stand, but was stopped by her uncle.
“No, that isn’t all. We have more business to attend to,” her uncle replied.
He was gentle, yet firm about it. Nessa had a feeling it might have been her uncle that told her cousin what she needed to say to stay safe. Nessa sat back down at the table. They were not going to let her get away that easily.
Rolf began talking about sidhe politics and business, and Nessa then knew she was trapped for hours with them. Council meetings were never quick. That they planned to bore her into telling them something was possible, but she wasn’t going to tell them anything. She ignored the conversations and began to practice using her connection to Devin. He was sitting outside the room with Ronan, waiting for her. Nessa knew that Devin had to be able to tell that she was in his mind, but he didn’t kick her out. The connection was strong enough now, she could listen into his conversation with Ronan as if she was sitting next to them.
“Any inside the palace?” Ronan asked, leaning back in the seat and pretending to relax.
“None, so far,” Devin replied. His eyes scanned the hallway for the shadows of hidden sidhe.
“And her room?” Ronan asked, still faking his relaxation. Devin was very perceptive, and Nessa saw the little details that made Devin know Ronan was anything but calm.