Hunter's Season: Elder Races, Book 4 (3 page)

Gradually, though, the woman’s very silence drew Aubrey’s attention. He glanced at her from time to time, noting various details, how precisely and smoothly she cut her food, the utter expressionlessness in her face, how she never looked up once from her meal. She embodied polite distance, her entire demeanor proclaiming that an invisible wall existed between her and the two men.

A patter of quick, light footsteps sounded on the terrace flagstones, and Tiago’s harsh, forbidding features lit up. The woman shot to her feet and stood at attention. Aubrey and Tiago stood at a more leisurely pace as Niniane Lorelle, the Dark Fae Queen swept into their presence, chatting as she came toward them.

“Sorry I am late—oh good, you didn’t wait for me. Good morning, Aubrey.”

“Good morning, my dear.” He bent his head to receive Niniane’s kiss on the cheek.

She was dressed for personal comfort rather than for state, in simple dark tunic and leggings. She was dainty in every way, and while she wasn’t precisely beautiful, she had a warmth and effervescence that could always banish the darkness in Aubrey’s soul, at least for a while. She was the child of his long dead friends, and the only Lorelle left alive, and he had grown to love her like he would if she were his own daughter.

Still talking, she moved around the table to Tiago. “Hello, darling.” Niniane lifted her face for Tiago’s kiss, which he delivered to her mouth with relish. “I’ve just come from the nursery. I wanted to check on the girl. She is adorable, but she still won’t say anything about where she came from or who she really is, and she insists that her name is Mouse.”

“At least she’s talking to you and the nurse,” said Tiago. “She wouldn’t say a word to me. I frightened her too much.”

Niniane gave him a wry grimace. “The nearest I can tell, she has got to be around six years old. Given how ingrained the dirt was on her, and how matted her hair, I think it’s possible she might have lived on the streets for some time. If that’s the case, I think she might have changed into her cat form and stayed that way to survive. I sent someone this morning to Chicago to do some investigating. For all we know, there might be pictures of her on milk cartons.” Her expression turned troubled. “I suppose we shouldn’t keep her, should we?”

Tiago shook his head, his face gentling. “No, faerie. It would not be fair to a young Wyr to be fostered among the Dark Fae. Housecat Wyr have life spans akin to humans. That would not matter at first, but eventually she would grow old while everyone she grew to care about would not. She needs a good home with her own kind.”

Niniane’s shoulders drooped. “I knew that,” she muttered. “I just needed to hear you say it to me.”

As the two talked, Aubrey glanced at the soldier again. Hands tucked behind her back, she regarded her half eaten plate of food as though it was the only thing in the world of interest to her. A corner of Aubrey’s mouth lifted. She was really quite good.

“Sit down,” said Tiago. “I’ll order fresh tea and hot food for you.”

“No, don’t bother,” said Niniane. “This is all fine.” She turned to face the silent woman with a friendly grin. “So you’re the one who kidnapped a little Wyr girl?”

The woman’s façade broke. She moved, looked up and took in a deep breath as color flooded her skin, and after such a long display of perfect, polite disinterest, the look of dismay on her face startled a quiet chuckle out of Aubrey.

“Yes, your grace, I am,” said the woman. “I am terribly sorry.”

She looked more than sorry; she looked so mortified even Tiago grinned.

“Don’t be,” said Niniane. “Your ‘kidnapping’ might have saved her life.” She sat and helped herself to breakfast while Tiago poured her a cup of tea. “What have I missed?”

Aubrey and Tiago sat too. The woman remained standing until Tiago shot her a frowning glance. Then she sat as well, although she did not touch any more of her food. Tiago said, “Aubrey and I were discussing a suit that Naida’s family has filed against him.”

“Yes, I learned of it this morning when my secretary briefed me,” said the Queen, her voice turning cool. “I have already sent a dismissal to Justice Kellen for the court.”

The woman’s reactions, or lack of, had begun to fascinate Aubrey, so he was looking at her when Niniane spoke. He watched a subtle, strange expression flare in her dark gray eyes. Oddly, it appeared to be relief mingled with satisfaction, but he must be mistaken. Then the meaning of Niniane’s words caught up with him, and he set his cup down gently as he turned to the Queen.

The monarchy had every right to dismiss cases and issue pardons, but in actuality this was done so rarely that the action carried a great deal of weight. The dismissal would be highly public by the end of the day and a great humiliation to Naida’s family.

He said, “While I am both touched and honored by your show of faith, I had thought Naida’s family’s anger might run its course during the length of the suit.”

Tiago said, much more bluntly, “Are you sure you want to do that, faerie?”

“Yes, I am quite sure,” said Niniane. She snapped a delicate bite of food off of her fork then pointed her fork at Aubrey. “You are Chancellor by my appointment. Naida’s attempt was on my life, and I assure you, we investigated that quite thoroughly. For months that was almost the only thing Tiago and I talked about, along with the investigation of Urien’s conspirators.”

“I can attest to that,” Tiago said.

Niniane stabbed her fork in the air, eyes sparking with anger. “At best their case against you would have been full of supposition and resentment, and at worst, full of fabrication. That suit was not just a slap in the face to you, Aubrey. It was a slap in the face to me. I will not have my people harassed. I will not have my judgments questioned like that. The dismissal is the best thing that could have happened for them, because if they were allowed to continue and if they were foolish enough to present false evidence, I would order the courts to prosecute them. If they think their lives are ruined now, it would be nothing compared to what would happen to them then.”

Silence fell over the table. Tiago’s expression was filled with, yes, amusement and indulgence, but also genuine admiration and respect. The woman who was his soldier watched the Queen with sparkling eyes, while Niniane continued to point her fork at Aubrey, eyebrows raised.

Aubrey cleared his throat. “Since you put it that way, thank you for your championship.”

She smiled at him. “You’re welcome. Now, onto something else.” She looked at the soldier sitting opposite her. “Your name is Xanthe, is that correct? Tiago tells me you have a tale to tell.”

Aubrey watched the woman glance at him then at Tiago, who nodded. “Speak freely,” he told her.

She nodded and took a breath. “My assignment has been completed. Cieran Thruvial is dead. He died in a place called Devil’s Gate in Nevada, where we went after we had crossed over to America.”

The place name was unfamiliar to Aubrey but he wasn’t surprised at that. He watched as Niniane and Tiago gave each other a long look.

Tiago murmured, “It’s finally done. The last of them have been brought to justice.”

“We can look to the future now,” Niniane said. They shared an intimate smile. Then Niniane turned back to Xanthe. “I’ve never heard of this place.”

“Devil’s Gate is new since your grace has come to Adriyel,” said Xanthe. “A—a tent city, they call it, although many of the structures are not tents. Some are vehicles called RVs. Others are buildings they called Quonset and there are also temporary office spaces made of metal. Close to two hundred thousand people, both humankind and Elder Races, are there now looking for magic sensitive silver and gold.”

“There’s a modern day gold rush going on, and I didn’t know anything about it?” Niniane sounded dismayed.

“You need more sleep than I do,” Tiago said to her. “I’ve been following the stories in the newspapers.”

Niniane muttered, “We have got to start spending some time each year in Chicago, especially now that we’ve opened our borders.”

“Agreed,” said Tiago. He told Xanthe, “Continue.”

She said, “The place is—crowded and chaotic. Lord Thruvial thought he could relax in some relative anonymity there. He was well away from Adriyel’s politics and the trials of all the other conspirators. He believed that since you could not find enough evidence of his involvement in the overthrow and murder of your father and family that he would not be pursued further.”

Aubrey looked steadily across the table at the deadly face of the man who sat opposite him. Thruvial had not only been a pig, but an idiot.

Xanthe said, “Since I was the most junior of his triad, for a long time I was not allowed to perform any of the more intimate tasks of service to him, like serving him food and drink or helping him to dress.”

“She was in his household for months,” Tiago told Aubrey. “It never fails to surprise me how assholes like Thruvial insist on Dark Fae traditions like keeping triads of personal servants, but then they can turn around and murder their own king.”

Triads were found throughout all aspects of the Dark Fae daily life, from the highest place in government to fighting formations and servant clusters. Often in society, married couples brought a third sex partner to the marriage bed, although Aubrey had never felt inclined to do so.

He gave Tiago a dark smile. “That is not inconsistent, my friend. Our traditions of violence, jealousy, revenge, and making and breaking political alliances, go deeper than any triad.”

Tiago snorted. “Point.” He said to Xanthe, “So Thruvial finally relaxed and let you get close enough.”

“Yes, but even so, I had to wait for the right moment to act so that it could not be traced back to me. When the opportunity finally came, I poisoned his wine.” Her voice was composed and steady. “He died quickly. Unfortunately that was not the end of it.”

Aubrey settled back in his chair, watching her face as she told the story. There were odd, intriguing freckles, light like sprinkles of gold, on her nose and cheeks. Her eyes were unusual too, a deep, rich color full of shadows and mystery. Her face was gently planed, with high cheekbones and a narrow rounded jaw. Now that he came to really study her, he realized she had a shockingly sensual mouth. She would never be considered one of the high beauties of the Dark Fae, but she did have her own particular attractiveness.

“There was trouble?” Tiago asked.

“Yes. A young medusa also resided in Devil’s Gate, and she was known to argue publicly with Lord Thruvial. When his other attendants found him poisoned, they started an outcry that ran through the camp. They insisted that she was the one who poisoned him, and she was taken and locked up to be hung.” Her expression turned bitter. “The whole thing was entirely my fault. I did not consider all the ramifications of what might happen if I killed him in such a fashion. I simply saw my opportunity and took it.”

Niniane leaned forward. “You can’t consider how everybody might react to something. It’s too much to ask of yourself.”

Other than a quick glance at the Queen, Aubrey’s gaze returned to Xanthe’s face. He was interested to note that her self-recriminating expression hadn’t changed even though the Queen herself offered absolution. This young soldier had a strong set of scruples.

He asked in a quiet voice, “Is the medusa girl all right?”

She turned to him quickly. “Yes, my lord. While I waited and watched for an opportunity to help, her aunt and a friend came. Together we were all able to get out.” She looked at Tiago and Niniane. “You actually know them—it was Duncan Turner and Dr. Seremela Telemar.”

Aubrey was acquainted with Duncan slightly, for he had met the young Vampyre when Niniane had travelled from Chicago to Adriyel for her coronation. Niniane had been accompanied by a Dark Fae delegation, along with the Vampyre Carling Severan, who had been a member of the Elder tribunal, and her attendants. Aubrey didn’t know the physician, but it was clear from Tiago and Niniane’s intense startlement that they knew both of the others.

“You already said that everybody is all right, but how are Duncan and Seremela?” Niniane asked. She sounded wistful. “I would love to see them again.”

“They were quite well when I took my leave,” Xanthe told her. “And so was Dr. Telemar’s niece. They said to offer you their very best wishes.”

Tiago nodded to her in approval. “Despite your misgivings, it sounds like all ended well.”

She hesitated. “That’s not all, sir.”

Aubrey set his cup down as Tiago’s eyes narrowed. “What is it?”

She straightened her knife in precise alignment with her fork, gaze focused on her hand, as she said, “Lord Thruvial’s other two attendants caught up with us before we could get clear away. Duncan Turner and I had to kill them. The fight was not quiet, and there may have been witnesses. Before that point, I had declared publicly that I was in support of the young medusa’s innocence.” This time when she lifted her gaze, her expression was resigned. “I’m the only surviving member from Thruvial’s household, and I disappeared right after his attendants were killed. For any particularly clever observer, it would not be hard to put two and two together, and there were any number of clever people at Devil’s Gate. With information now flowing freely from America into Adriyel…” She let her voice trail away into silence.

Tiago folded his arms as he regarded her. “Your identity has been compromised. I cannot use you for other undercover assignments.”