Seven Black Diamonds

  Lily shivered at the tone of his voice. She’d spent enough time around her father’s associates to know the difference between genuine threat and mere posturing. Creed wasn’t posturing. Softly, she pointed out, “Maybe I should head back. I’d rather not be photographed with either of you, now that I think about it.”

  At that, Creed released her and shucked his hoodie. “Here. Just pull the hood up. We can protect your privacy. We do it all the time with Vi and sometimes with Will.”

  “Thank you,” she whispered.

  He was very obviously being warned off from her—by someone who had no right to make that decision for her. She might decide to only be friends with Creed, but Zephyr wasn’t going to decide it for her. No one made rules for her life other than Daidí, and even that was often open for discussion. Abernathy Commandment #1: Choices matter.

  Silently, she accepted Creed’s shirt and tugged it on. It fell past her hips, and the sleeves hung down over her hands. Creed reached out, took her wrist, and rolled the sleeve until her fingertips were exposed. Then he repeated the gesture on the other arm.

  “Don’t worry,” he whispered loudly. “He’s just grumpy a lot.”

  Zephyr sighed again. “Can we not play games tonight?”

  “I think he’s on his man-cycle,” Creed whispered even louder.

  Lily smothered a laugh. Even now, Creed made her feel safer and more nervous all at once. Zephyr’s kiss hadn’t given her the flurry of angry bees in her stomach that the mere brush of Creed’s fingertips on her skin evoked. She stared at him as he reached out and pulled the hood of his shirt up so it fell around her face like a monk’s cowl.

  When Creed paused to tuck her hair around her face, Zephyr’s voice shattered the tension that had been building in her again. “Step back,” he ordered.

  Lily froze.

  “Creed,” he clarified. “Step away from her.”

  “I don’t think she minds, Zeph.” Creed stared at her as he said it. “She’s not afraid of me. Are you, Lily?”

  She stared at him, at the tightening around his eyes, the way his jaw clenched, and she knew there was far more going on here than she could understand.

  “I’m not afraid of either of you,” she pointed out levelly.

  Creed’s already-tight expression grew even more tense. He stepped back from her and said, “Come on. I need a drink.”

  “You’re barely sober now—” Zephyr started.

  “And yet you are already on my last fucking nerve,” Creed drawled. “Lily doesn’t need to watch us fight, so we can go where I can grab a drink or you can leave.”

  Lily didn’t point out that she hated alcohol, or that Zephyr undoubtedly did too. Creed should hate it. She looked at him.

  Abernathy Commandment #5: Be bold.

  “So you’re not fae-blood, Creed?”

  Zephyr and Creed both paused mid-step. Zephyr looked stunned, but Creed started laughing.

  “What did you say?” Zephyr asked.

  “If he wants to drink and was already drunk, that should mean he’s not fae-blood,” Lily pointed out reasonably. “You, however, are admittedly fae-blood. So, it’s only logical to ask what Creed’s status is given the circumstances.”

  “No fear at all in you, is there?” Creed asked.

  “Please. You know who my father is, and when I met him”—she gestured vaguely toward Zephyr—“he staged a bombing.”

  “It was a welcome present,” Zephyr explained yet again.

  “Right. For future reference, I prefer plants.” She wasn’t going to judge him for being a terrorist. Unless she was willing to condemn her father’s activities, she had no business judging Zephyr.

  “Plants?” Zephyr echoed.

  Lily heard the real question he was asking: was she aligned with earth like he was? Hearing the question didn’t mean answering it. She’d told Creed without hesitation. Telling Zephyr felt different.

  Creed rolled his eyes. “Come on. None of this is stuff to discuss out here. Let’s go to the Row House and grab a private room.”

  Resolutely, Lily looked from Zephyr to Creed. She could go along and get answers, or she could run. This was a case when she saw benefits of knowledge over the potential for trouble.

  There had never once in her life been any fae-bloods she could talk to, and wasn’t this what she’d always wanted? Wasn’t it what Daidí wanted too?

  Both boys watched her curiously.

  She walked forward, so she was between them, and kept going. “So, Creed, my suitemate tells me that you’ll be in most of my classes.”

  And just like that, she’d committed to a path.

  eighteen

  ZEPHYR

  Zephyr was fairly certain that Lilywhite was going to be the biggest challenge he’d faced. He walked silently with her and Creed, wishing that Alkamy or Roan or, hell, even Violet was there. Lilywhite was his partner, his probable betrothed, his. Creed knew that, knew how Zephyr felt, but he was toying with her.

  Maybe Creed was Unseelie after all. It was a game Zephyr played sometimes, sorting them all in his head, not that he told them that. Aside from Alkamy, he didn’t share his suppositions with people. Some of them were clear: Violet was obviously Seelie. Her element was fire, like the Seelie King himself. Roan looked Seelie, but he was aligned with water, like the Unseelie Queen, and he was a strategist, always planning for contingencies. Will and Creed could go either way.

  Lilywhite was a complete anomaly. She hadn’t so much as blinked when he spoke to the plants. She’d also bared her feet as they walked, using the excuse of uncomfortable shoes. Earlier, she’d been drawn to the water. Her breathing had tensed in the tunnel, much like Creed’s did when he used it.

  Common knowledge was that fae-blood had more affinities the purer their blood was. True fae could have as many as four affinities. Of course, Clara had told him that the Sleepers were true fae, not just fae-blood, but so far only he and Alkamy had more than one affinity. Lilywhite appeared to have three.

  “Are you claustrophobic?” he blurted out.

  Both Creed and Lilywhite stared at him like he was speaking in tongues.

  “Seriously?” Creed shook his head at Zephyr, turned to Lily, and told her, “He’s usually not this way. It’s been a stressful day.”

  The sheer truth of that careless statement made Zephyr laugh. He’d met the queen, bled for her, and been given an order he didn’t know how to follow. He couldn’t kidnap Lilywhite; even if she wasn’t Nick Abernathy’s daughter, she was someone he’d been raised to believe was his other half. Delivering her to the Queen of Blood and Rage was wrong—and unavoidable.

  The walk through Belfoure was almost beautiful at this hour. He’d seen a lot of the world because of his human family, but there was something about Belfoure that he’d come to associate with the concept of home. Hollywood always felt too stifling. Sure, he had his garden, but outside of that walled space, there were eyes everywhere. Camera flashes were far more common than rain, and the whispers of strangers felt oppressive. The Hidden Lands, at least the part he’d seen, were unwelcoming. He hadn’t expected that, but the harsh landscapes and glittering fae seemed alien to him. Even though he was a part of their world, was destined to kill or die for them, he felt like he didn’t belong there. Belfoure was an oasis that he hadn’t found thus far in either world.

  In the slowly dawning day, the lingering shadows danced on the surfaces of dirty stone buildings, and the hum of humanity was reduced to only those strange souls who did their business—or were still out chasing their pleasure—in the darkest parts of the day. The glow of sunrise reflected and twisted in the water, as if the streetlights and the neon lights from the bars were meeting to share secrets.

  Beside him, Creed was telling Lilywhite about a party at the Serpent’s Den that ended with Violet setting every drink in the bar alight at once. “She was stressed, and when she exhaled, every glass with actual alcohol had a flame on its surface.” Creed grinned, his teeth a flash of w
hite in the darkness. “It completely ruined my ‘oh, it’s just juice, Zeph’ lie. Kamy and I were totally busted.”

  No one commented on the fact that he’d all but told Lilywhite that Violet and Alkamy were fae too. The conversation had taken a turn toward blunt, but Zephyr decided that it was necessary to let it continue to be so. Lilywhite needed to know about the Black Diamonds. Although Creed’s approach wasn’t what Zephyr would’ve chosen, it was done now.

  “Do you know any true fae, Lilywhite?” Zephyr interjected.

  “No,” she said flatly, her laughter of a moment ago totally vanishing. “No one does. Pure fae don’t live in our world. Everyone knows that.”

  Creed raised both brows in an are-you-an-idiot expression when Lily looked away. Zephyr shrugged in reply. It wasn’t the most graceful attempt at a segue from Creed’s story, but it was a hard question to interject casually. The fear of the fae was an almost palpable thing after more than a half century of conflict.

  Once the three of them were in a private room at the Row House, Creed flopped onto the love seat. Zephyr ignored both the other love seat and the empty space next to Creed. Instead, he took one of the two chairs.

  Lilywhite didn’t sit.

  Creed patted the seat beside him, and Zephyr realized that they’d reversed their normal habits. Usually Zephyr took the love seat with Alkamy, and Creed sat alone.

  “Let me grab a drink first,” Lilywhite said.

  “They will come to us,” Zephyr explained. He didn’t want to raise his hand to motion for one of the servers, preferring to keep his barely healing palms hidden. Showing them would mean questions, and any answer he could give wouldn’t make Lilywhite eager to meet the queen. Instead, he said, “Just wait with us. It’ll only take a moment.”

  After a slight pause, Lilywhite clarified, “I’m well aware of that, but I feel better if I see the layout and exits. I’ll only be a moment.” She tilted her head up a little farther, looking almost regal in the moment. “I came for answers, Zephyr, but I won’t be able to concentrate until I sort a few routes. Abernathy Commandment #15: Always have a way out, more than one if possible.”

  She walked away, and Zephyr wasn’t sure what to think. There was clearly more to being Nicolas Abernathy’s daughter than his research indicated. A lot of the data emphasized that her father was overprotective of her, and the implication was that she was sheltered and cossetted. Her most recent birthday party was by invitation that required fingerprinting, and the entrance to the gala was through a metal detector and full body scan like at public airports. Not one single photograph turned up anywhere after the event. Everything indicated that Lilywhite wasn’t actively involved in her father’s business, but she moved like she expected to be attacked or blindsided at any moment. She’d already pulled a knife on him. Was she more involved in her father’s business than he’d expected?

  Reluctantly, he caught Creed’s eye. “I don’t want to argue tonight,” he said, keeping his hands folded together to hide his injuries.

  “Then don’t talk to me like I’m a child.” Creed leaned back, arms draped on the back of the love seat. “I put up with a lot, Zeph, but we’re all in this mess together.”

  “I know that. If you had any idea how—”

  “Then fucking tell me.” Creed’s voice shoved into him like a physical touch. It stunned him.

  “Did you . . .” He leaned forward. “You can solidify the air?”

  Creed rubbed one hand over his face and sighed loudly. “Yeah. It’s not reliable, but yeah.”

  “We can use this. Figuring out how to strengthen our weapons will take a little practice, but . . .”

  “It’s not a weapon, Zeph. It’s me. It’s my feelings, my voice.”

  Zephyr shook his head. “It felt like a weapon. You hit me with it.”

  “Well, you’re a special case. Not everyone pisses me off the way you do,” Creed drawled.

  There was no reasoning with him when he got like this. Creed was exhausting, like a recalcitrant child in his best of moods. They’d decided years ago in silent but mutual agreement that they would always have a buffer with them. Often it was Alkamy, but sometimes Roan or Will drew the short straw. Tonight, they were unsupervised.

  After a few silent moments, Creed asked, “Did you go?”

  “Yes. I visited Endellion. I was coming back when Lilywhite saw me. It was . . . harsh.”

  A muffled gasp behind him stopped any further words.

  He turned. Lilywhite stood behind him, the door falling shut behind her. Her hand was curled around a glass of what looked like fruit juice.

  “You were visiting whom?”

  “Endellion,” he repeated, after sparing a glare for Creed, who had obviously known Lilywhite was standing there when he asked the question.

  Lilywhite stepped backward, not quite fleeing but on the brink of flight. “How do you know that name?”

  Zephyr made a quick calculation and a decision.

  “Because I serve her,” he said, not looking away from Lilywhite’s stricken expression. “The once Unseelie Queen, who holds the Hidden Throne. Endellion, the Queen of Blood—”

  “And Rage,” Lilywhite finished. She waved her hand like she’d brush his words away. She walked around the front of the love seat. “Hardly anyone knows her true name.”

  Zephyr shrugged. “You do,” he pointed out.

  Lilywhite settled onto the love seat next to Creed. His arm was stretched along the back, not touching her, but nearer than Zephyr liked.

  He balled his fists until he thought his hands would bleed again. He hated the unfamiliar feeling inside him, a twist of rejection and envy. He couldn’t expect her to know, not yet. She hadn’t even known she was true fae, or a Sleeper. Still, it stung, no matter how much he could explain it to himself. Creed’s expression was tense, as if he wasn’t sure if Zephyr was going to lose his temper over the fact that she’d chosen to sit beside him or not. They’d had girls prefer one or the other of them, but Lilywhite wasn’t just a girl. She was Zephyr’s. They all knew it—all except her.

  Both boys were still, not reacting, not speaking. Lilywhite seemed oblivious to the tension between them. She was staring into her drink like there were answers hidden in her juice. After several moments, she said, “My mother left me a book. It tells a different story than the one in the textbooks and news reports. It calls her by name. The king as well . . .”

  “You have a book about the queen herself?” Creed interjected.

  “Yes.” Lilywhite took a sip of the juice she’d carried back with her. Despite the revelations today, she seemed calm, but Zephyr wasn’t sure if it was an act or not. She added, “About her, the war . . . a lot of things.”

  A waitress walked into the room with drinks. They were all silent as she approached them.

  “She said you were here and asked that I bring you two of Zephyr’s usuals,” the girl said tentatively.

  When Creed looked at Lilywhite and raised both brows, the waitress sent a nervous look at Creed. “But I could get you something else . . .”

  Surprisingly, he said, “No. This is fine for now.”

  Once she was gone, Creed looked at Lilywhite. “Subtle.”

  “Rarely.”

  Envy blossomed again in Zephyr and threatened to rise up and choke him this time. “Sleepers can’t have relationships without approval.”

  “Who?”

  “Sleepers. There are seven of us. The three of us”—he gestured between them—“and Alkamy, Violet, Will, and Roan.” Zephyr kept going, despite the angry look on Creed’s face and the wide-eyed confusion on Lilywhite’s. “We are a unit. For some reason, you weren’t raised knowing like we all were, but you’re here now.”

  “That doesn’t make sense. You dated Kamy,” Lilywhite pointed out.

  “You know her?” Creed interjected.

  “Met her tonight. Suitemate. Gave me a tour,” she summarized.

  Creed nodded, and Zephyr stared at them. They seemed t
o communicate so effortlessly.

  “That was cover for both of us. I need to think about the good of the whole cell.”

  “And who gives permission?” Lilywhite asked.

  “Me,” Zephyr admitted.

  “Right,” she drawled, sounding too much like Creed already.

  “None of us know for sure which court we belong to or if we’re related. No one knows who our parents are.”

  “You’re all adopted?”

  “No, Lilywhite.” The time for subtlety was long past. “We are all changelings. You are a changeling. Endellion, our queen, had a plan. Her loyal subjects placed their children in homes of humans who were powerful in some way. We would be safe that way, and our handlers taught us what we needed so when the time came we could be soldiers for our people.”

  Lilywhite said nothing.

  Zephyr reached out and covered her hand with his, to offer her comfort, to let her know she was no longer alone. He’d always had true fae in his life. When he was trying to make sense of his affinities, so too was Alkamy. Creed was too. Lilywhite had only been alone.

  Gently, Zephyr said, “I can’t believe you made it this long without help, without anyone knowing that you were unguided. We’re all together now. You have other true fae around you. We’re a unit. We protect one another.”

  “No. You’re wrong about me.” She started to pull away from him, the gesture hurting as her knuckles jabbed the cut on his palm. “I’m human, and I know exactly who my parents are.”

  Zephyr’s hold on her tightened. “No, you’re not. You only know what they think they know. They don’t know it, but you’re not human.”

  When she didn’t reply, Creed said, “Neither are we, Lily. Not fae-bloods, Lily, but fae. True fae. Full-blooded. Born of them, and placed here with a mission.”

  Zephyr was grateful for his presence for the first time that night. It wasn’t enough though. Lily snatched her hand back from Zephyr’s and crossed her arms over her chest. She didn’t argue, didn’t run, simply watched them like she was debating how best to make them suffer. She reminded him of the queen herself.