Blood Kin (36 page)

“You don’t need to know,” I said. “Weapons, Sass.”

She made a disgusted noise. “I’m getting very tired of you and Simon treating me as though I’m made out of glass, Guy. I’m a metalmage, I’m not helpless. You have the masters here riled up enough that I can’t go anywhere without permission, and while I appreciate the concern, I don’t want to be left in the dark any longer. Ignorance is more dangerous than knowing what I’m up against.”

I scowled at her. “You don’t—”

“If you say you don’t need to know, then I will hurt you,” Saskia gritted. “Tell me what’s going on.”

“We’re in kind of a hurry.”

“Then talk fast.” She slammed the lid of the chest down, and then sat herself on it. Clearly we weren’t getting anything until she was happy.

“It’s Templar business,” I said shortly, hoping it would shut her up.

Saskia’s lips pressed together. “Guy—”

“I can’t tell you. Please, Sass. Don’t argue.”

Her hand stole up to the ’prentice chain at her neck. “Are you just going to Summerdale, or into the court?”

“We may go to court,” Holly said. I shot her a look, but she ignored me.

“They might not let you take anything with you,” Saskia said.

“We know that,” I said. “But we need to try. So we need weapons. No iron. A sword for me. A dagger perhaps for Holly.”

“I can use a sword,” Holly interjected.

“I might have something your size,” Saskia said. “Do you want guns as well?”

“Yes,” Holly said.

Saskia rummaged in the chest, produced two pistols. “Here, these are silver and a few other things. They work well enough.”

I took the pistols from her before Holly could, felt their weight. Tucked them both into my belt for now. I would give Holly a weapon when I had to. Not before. Not while the geas might still take hold of her. “Swords?”

Saskia bent again. “You’re spoiling my surprise, you know,” she muttered from the depths of the chest. “I was going to give you this for Hallows’ Night. But I guess you need it now.” She stood back again, holding a sheathed sword in both hands. “I haven’t finished the decorations, but it should still be balanced.” She smiled a little lopsidedly at me. “I meant it to be more ceremonial.”

I took the sword from her. “Don’t worry about me,” I said, and drew the sword from the sheath. It was beautiful. The blade glinted a strange pale silvery gold and the hilt was black, padded with leather. I lifted it. It felt true in my hand. Made for me.

“You’ve been talking to Williams,” I said to Saskia as I examined the sword more closely, wondering how she had charmed my preferences out of the closemouthed Templar armorer.

“I was hardly going to guess how you preferred your blades. I wanted it to be a good sword even if you weren’t meant to use it.” She smiled again, then went back to the chest, coming up with a smaller sword this time.

I took it before she could pass it to Holly. “What are they made from?”

Saskia shook her head. “Trade secret.” She grinned at me. “Perhaps not quite as strong as steel, but I’m getting closer. They’ll do the job unless you try and chop down a tree or something.”

I was hoping we wouldn’t have to use them at all. But I didn’t like our chances.

HOLLY

The autocab took us to a livery stable next. As Guy handed me silently up onto the gig that appeared, I felt as though I were going to my own funeral.

We drove out of the City in silence and Guy pointed the horses west. It didn’t look alarming. No, Summerdale looked much the same as the hills to the east of the City. Except perhaps for the denseness of the forest bordering those hills. But apart from that, the ground above the Veiled Court appeared to be rolling green hills.

Which was true to a point. They were rolling green hills, peaceful and serene.

Because the Fae didn’t live on the hills, they lived under them. Or perhaps not even under them. Because from all I’d heard, the geography of the Veiled World bore little resemblance to caves underground. The hills were merely a gateway to their realm.

I didn’t understand it, but I did know I felt dread when I looked at them. Dread and an ever-increasing pull from the geas.

I clenched my hands into the leather of the gig’s seat. I was doing what it wanted. I would control myself. To bring Cormen down, I would fight.

Guy glanced at me. “Too late for second thoughts.”

“The Fae are dangerous,” I said.

Guy slowed the horses to turn through the gate. “I thought the Fae courts were meant to be full of beauty.”

I fixed my eyes on the road ahead. In this distance, an airy-looking marble tower rose from the base of one of the hills. The Gate. The tower that guarded the entrance to the Veiled World. There was no other way to enter if you weren’t Fae. I’d hoped never to come here. “More glamour and intrigue and danger. If you think the Night World is bad . . .” I shivered, wishing I’d worn something warmer.

“The Fae aren’t the same as the Blood,” Guy said. “They don’t turn people. Or blood-lock them.” The distaste in the last word made me wince.

I still didn’t know exactly what had happened to him to make him hate the Blood so much. Simon had said something about not wanting anyone else to lose someone as they had done, so I had to assume it was tied up with how their sister had died. But I wasn’t about to raise the subject with Guy when he was riding a knife’s edge just keeping his temper under control.

“The Fae in the City abide by its rules,” I said. “But the Fae who spend their lives in the Veiled World? They have different rules there. And if you enter, then you are agreeing to be bound by them.”

His expression suggested he wasn’t going to be agreeing to anything.

I stifled a sigh. Guy was used to winning his battles with strength and steel. Blood and Beasts could be cut down, driven back. Their magics were specific and limited. I doubt he had any idea of what a Fae Lord or Lady was truly capable of.

We were risking our lives coming here.

If Cormen thought he was about to be exposed, then he wouldn’t hesitate to kill me. I was certain of that. Just by stepping into the Veiled World, I was putting myself more under his power. Half-breeds could be claimed as property and had virtually no rights here. If it actually got to the point where I had to tell him what I had learned, then only Guy could save me.

More than Mama’s and Reggie’s lives were riding on this now. Cormen and Ignatius and those who sided with them could bring the City burning to the ground. With the treaties broken, unrest and war could spread like wildfire throughout the world. And who knew if any humans would be left standing in the end? Or any half-breeds.

But I didn’t know how to explain to Guy the parts of this that he didn’t already know. Didn’t know how to ask him to help me think of a better way. Not when he looked at me so coldly.

So I fell silent again and watched the white tower grow larger as we traveled toward it.

Chapter Twenty-two

HOLLY

Guy’s
hand was cool around mine as he handed me down from the gig. He let go of me once I reached the ground, pale eyes gazing beyond me to the Gate in front of us.

Up close it was daunting, its walls rising white to tower above us, unbroken by windows. There was one dark door, twice as tall as Guy. The whole place gave off an icy chill of Fae magics.

I wanted to ask Guy if it would be all right. If he was as scared as I was.

But it was too late for that.

The geas was mostly quiet. I still felt the distant spark and the tug toward it, but obviously I was moving in the right direction.

“Ladies first,” Guy said, jerking his head toward the tower.

I stared at it for a minute longer. The Gate. Inside those walls was the way to the Veiled World. The way to Cormen. To Mama and Reggie.

I should be sprinting toward the doors, but I also knew that beyond that door lay the end of anything between Guy and me.

A deep price but one I had brought upon myself. I took a breath and walked toward the tower.

* * *

My pendant won us admittance through the first door and we were ushered into a round marble chamber, relieved of our weapons, and given tea. Neither of us drank.

I didn’t trust myself to be able to swallow. I had agreed to the humans’ plan, but now that we were here, my doubts were growing. If we actually went to Cormen, then we would be at a severe disadvantage. I would have to tell him Simon’s secret. Guy was relying, as far as I could tell, on being able to overpower him and get him to the queen.

I gathered Bryony had provided some sort of charm to facilitate that part, but that didn’t change the fact that Cormen would be in possession of Simon’s secret. Or that he could be somewhere well protected.

Surely there was another way? One I hadn’t thought of. Something teased the edge of my memory . . . something my father had told me once when I’d been small and he’d entertained me with tales of the wonders of the court. But no, it refused to emerge.

Eventually one of the three doors in the walls opened and a Fae woman came toward us. She wore layers of white and silver, her robes flowing around her like a snowstorm. Her hair was silver too. True silver. I rose and curtseyed. Guy followed my lead and bowed.

“I am the Seneschal,” she said, looking at us with disdain. “What business do you bring to the Veiled Court?”

“We seek Cormen sa’Inviel’astar,” Guy said before I could speak.

“Has he summoned you?”

“Yes,” Guy said.

The Seneschal still looked skeptical. She glanced back over her shoulder toward the door.

A
door
. Memory suddenly cooperated.

“We seek the queen,” I blurted.

Guy’s mouth opened. “What—”

“Be quiet, Guy.” I looked only at the Seneschal. “We seek the queen.”

“The Veiled Queen does not speak to
hai’salai
.” The Seneschal’s tone was icy.

“Holly—” Guy said.

“No.” The Seneschal cut him off with a gesture. “If you wish to speak,
hai’salai
, you may appeal to your . . . connections. Perhaps one of them will speak for you.”

I straightened, knowing what I had to do, preparing myself for what reaction the geas might have. “No. I do not need anyone to speak for me. I will see the queen. I choose the Door.”

The Seneschal blinked. “You—”

“Yes,” I said firmly. “Me. Or rather, we. We have that right, don’t we? To win an audience?”

The silver head bowed. “Yes. The right exists. You have chosen. Very well.” She clapped her hands suddenly. “It is late. You will be shown to a supplicant’s chamber. The trial will start at sunrise.”

Late? Sunrise? When we’d walked into the tower, it had been a little past noon. Only a few minutes had passed since then. Or had they?

Damned Fae magic. Time moved differently under the hills. I should have remembered that. Perhaps it did in the Gate too. Without windows, there was no way of telling.

“What the hell are you doing? What the hell is the Door?” Guy demanded as the door to our chamber shut behind us.

We’d been escorted here by a stony-faced Fae man who’d instructed us curtly to bathe before sunrise and don the white Fae robes he gave us before he left.

“A way for us to get what we came for,” I said, still not quite believing what I’d done. I prowled around the room, still feeling the tug of the geas. So far it hadn’t wakened any further. Maybe my gamble had paid off.

The room was not large enough for me to be able to prowl too far. There was one large bed, two chairs, and a table. All beautifully carved from gleaming dark wood. Rich blue tapestries lined the walls, and darker shades were echoed in the rugs. The effect against the marble walls was cold rather than welcoming.

“The plan was to get to Cormen,” Guy said. “So give me one good reason why I should do this instead?”

“The Door is a loophole,” I said.

His eyes narrowed. “That’s hardly an explanation.”

I sighed. “Guy, if I go to Cormen, then I’ll have to tell him Simon’s secret. The geas will make sure of that. But the Door is a greater magic. It’s the queen’s magic. If you choose the Door, then you are bound to that choice. These chambers are built to stop supplicants from changing their minds. The geas won’t be able stop me.” Cormen’s tales of the Door had been clear on the powers of the Door and the fact that you couldn’t change your mind.

“Are you sure about that?”

“So far I’m still standing.” Truth be told, I hadn’t been sure. But I had no urge to throw open the door and run to my father immediately. My gamble seemed to have paid off.

“That still doesn’t explain the Door.”

“The queen can refuse an audience. But she can’t refuse the right to stand before her.”

“I don’t understand.”

I barely understood it myself. But it was one of the parts of Fae lore that Cormen had taught me. Long ago when I was small and amusing and he was still playing the loving father. When I had believed that one day I might join him there.

Well, now I would. But hardly in the way I’d imagined back then. I doubted he’d imagined it either. I hoped he would enjoy it even less than I would.

I walked to the window, gestured out at the night sky. “The land under the hills, the Veiled World and the court, are . . . alive. The Fae magic is tied to it. It’s what makes it so dangerous. The landscapes shift to the will of the Fae, but they also shift on their own.”

“I know that much. That’s why it’s night here but still day back in the City.”

“Yes. The land has a mind of its own. And Fae lore says that if the land will let you get to the queen, she cannot turn you away. She has to hear what you have to say.”

“I see.” Guy’s voice was tight. “And the Door?”

“The Door, supposedly, is a path directly to the queen’s throne. But the journey is different for everyone. And not everyone makes it through.”

Guy shook his head. “You can’t do that.”

“I have to. There’s no other way.” I sat on the bed, curling my legs up beneath me. I wasn’t sure I could stand now that I was thinking about what I had committed myself to doing. I could die tomorrow. The Veiled Court could swallow me up and no one would ever see me again.

It was Guy’s turn to prowl the chamber now. Anger swirled around him. When he finally stilled, his face was thunderous. “No. You can’t do it. It’s not safe. Besides, how does getting to the queen help you? We can’t tell the queen about Simon.”

His voice sounded strained. He was more like his brother than he realized, this man. He too wanted to save people, to keep them safe. Even when he thought he hated them as he did me.

“No. And I won’t have to, I hope. Cormen phrased the geas so that I could only tell him. But we can tell her that he’s working with Ignatius. We can warn her. And we can tell her that Cormen kidnapped my mother. You can tell her he laid a geas on me. Those things are illegal under the treaties. I’m not full Fae and my mother is human. She’ll have to call him to account.”

“We don’t have proof of that.”

“Ignatius recognized my pendant. He talked about the evening star. He told me that Cormen had already sent his regrets. The queen can read that memory from me. It’s enough to make her suspect him. It’s a better plan, Guy. It’s a better chance. Less risk that we have to tell anyone about Simon. I have to do this or the geas . . . I can’t trust myself with it. Not here. But the court, in the queen’s presence. She can control me, if she has to.” I rose on my knees on the bed wondering if I should go to him. “You don’t have to come with me.”

He shook his head, holding up one hand to cut me off before I could go any further in my protests. Relief welled through me. I didn’t want to do this alone. It was unsafe, yes. Deadly even. I needed him by my side. More than that, I wanted him by my side. My knight. One last time.

“I’ve come this far,” he said. “I won’t leave you to do this alone now.”

In the strange light, the beasts on his hands seemed to flicker and move. I told myself it was a trick of the Fae lights. I hoped it was. Those tattoos bore testament to just how much he had done for me. Thrown his reputation in the gutter for me to walk across. People thought he’d been thrown out of the order he’d given his life to.

No doubt, even some of the brothers believed it. That would leave scars, even after the truth came out. That they had so little faith in him, when he’d given his life to the Templars, would hurt.

And I’d betrayed him too. Yet here he was, prepared to lay down even more.

Or maybe he didn’t care what happened. Maybe we’d pushed him too far. He was at war with his brother, with his order, with me. Every man has a breaking point.

This thought drove me from the bed. I crossed the room, then stopped before I reached him. I had no right to do anything to comfort him. Nor was it likely that he would accept it.

“Don’t you do anything foolish,” I warned. He stared at me, mouth curving for a moment as if he couldn’t believe I was the one warning him when I’d led him here.

“Anything extra foolish,” I added. “Don’t you go all knight-in-shining-armor on me unless it’s absolutely necessary. This isn’t the City. Your rules don’t apply.”

“My rules stopped applying about the time that you fell off that roof,” he muttered.

Mine too. I didn’t say it. What I had to do would be hard enough to face without actually speaking what was in my heart. Because I’d ruined what was between us. I’d broken it. What right did I have to try and mend things? To ask even more of him? A Night Worlder spy had no place in a Templar’s life. I should stay silent, leave him free to walk away from me.

The thought made my heart catch and tear.

So I had to think about something else.

But I couldn’t. It was if all I could see was the man before me. The man I’d lost.

I blinked back tears.

“Holly, don’t,” he said softly.

I turned away. “I’m sorry,” I said. “I didn’t mean for any of this to happen.” The words were muffled, the same words I’d already offered to him. He had no reason to forgive me.

“Holly, I can’t—” his voice rasped.

I turned, smiled at him through the tears, seeing his face, those blue, blue eyes waver and blur. “I know. You don’t have to.” I walked closer, reached up, let myself touch his face one last time. “I’m sorry,” I repeated.

“Damn it to hell.” He stared down at me, then hauled me to him and kissed me. Kissed me hard enough to make my head spin and my heart pound. Kissed me with a mouth that tasted of regret. Of good-bye. Of longing.

Then he let me go. Stepped back. “Rest now,” he said. “I’ll watch over you.”

* * *

Cormen had told me about the court. About the Door. But hearing about it wasn’t the same as standing in front of it. A twenty-foot-high shining expanse of black metal. It bore no ornamentation, nothing to distract from its size. Almost unbearable in its purity of line. I could see my reflection, pale and nervous, as I wondered if everything I’d heard was true.

Not all who entered the Veiled Court left it. It was the heart of the Veiled World, most dangerous of all the Fae realms. The seat of the queen’s power.

“Are you sure you want to do this?” Guy asked. He looked once more to where the Seneschal and two attendants stood by the far more normal door we’d entered this chamber by.

“What choice do I have?” I met Guy’s eyes, but there was nothing more to say. Now it was time to do what I had come to do. Save my mother. Save Reggie. Save the City.

Destroy my father.

I nodded at the Seneschal and she lifted a hand. The vast doors swung inward soundlessly to reveal . . . nothing. A gaping darkness. Well, then, apparently this was the first test. Was I brave enough to step into that nothingness? It wasn’t a peaceful dark. No . . . it felt menacing. My stomach knotted tighter, though a minute earlier I wouldn’t have thought that possible.

But if I faltered now, all would be for nothing. My mother would die, Cormen would win, and who knew what chaos might be unleashed on the City? Someone had to try and stop it. Apparently that someone was me.

I squared my shoulders, allowed myself one last look at Guy in case I was swallowed by the darkness, and stepped through the Door.