rogue shifter 05 - caught between (24 page)

"Ah, the two expectant parents have finally seen fit to make an appearance."

Philladre spoke. "Please forgive us, Your Grace, if we'd known..."

The queen interrupted again. "The child is Aedus'?"

"Yes, we are bound, Your Grace." He answered.

She shifted her attention to Lord Caelen's first born son. "Aedus." Her voice was sharp and commanding. "You are a fertile male. You will come to court and impregnate my daughter, Princess Zerian."

No one seemed to breathe for a few moments.

Aedus, his face pale and his eyes wide, fell gracefully to one knee before his Queen. "Your Grace. This is an enormous honor, but my beloved mate is going to deliver the first full-blood fae child born in seventy-five human years. I humbly request that I may stay here for the birth and then to help raise my daughter."

She eyed Philladre who stood stoically, her emotions locked down tight like a perfect fae lady. If it was me, I would've been attempting to claw the bitch's eyes out.

"Surely my niece understands that the future of the entire realm is at stake. Correct, Philladre?"

Staring at the ground, she answered softly, already resigned to her fate. "Aedus and I—we will always do whatever is necessary for our race's future and continued security." She locked eyes with Aedus and the pain that passed between them was so intense, I had to look away.

"Your Grace. Sister." Lord Caelen had moved next to the Queen. "May I speak?"

"Of course."

"Aedus, is my direct heir and one of our finest warriors. I need him here to protect the Cascade Sidhe and to continue to help me govern." I was shocked to see Lord Caelen's eyes begin to swirl with gold. He was her twin and so probably her equal in many ways.

"But Zerian has had several males. And so far..."

"Fionna." He'd used her name. The kid gloves were off. She glowered at his stern tone. "My son will stay where he belongs." Caelen took Aedus' arm and helped him stand then nudged him toward Philly. They embraced each other and backed away a few feet.

The Queen and her twin brother began to speak quickly in Fae.

"
Too fast for me
." Garrett sent.

Liam gave us the general idea.
"She wants her daughter to bear a child, so now she's furious with my father. She's trying to bully him, saying she could have brought her guard with her, but chose not to. He's not budging on the Aedus issue. He's reminding her that when we broke away and settled in Cascade, the queen and my father made a binding agreement. She can't take anyone from Cascade to court with her without their consent. She also cannot harm those we protect. If she goes against the agreement she is forsworn and can lose her crown. Then her daughter would not inherit."

The queen looked away from her twin and locked eyes with Garrett. It was obvious that she was still furious and wanted to take it out on someone.

"Two vampires and two shifters? These are your allies? Rather pathetic, brother."

She sniffed at Garrett, tossing her head in an unnatural way. "An ancient bloodline mixed with cheetah. I suppose he could be useful." Garrett nodded to her in the fae way, but did not place his hand on his heart.

She moved to me and her eyebrows rose. "Ah. The
tortured
one. My brother's child? You should feel deeply honored." I didn't reply or nod. She attacked me mentally but my walls held, which made her furious. She grabbed my arm and hissed out, "Answer..."

We both cried out in pain and backed away from each other. Where she'd touched my forearm there was a burn in the shape of her fingers. Liam placed his palm above it, said three words in Fae and the pain disappeared.

Her eyes flared with a golden anger directed not at me, but at Kennet. The Queen of Faerie held her burned and blistered palm up for Kennet to see.

"You impregnated a demon whore, little brother? She is of the bitch,
Naberia's,
bloodline." She healed her hand with a whispered word, but that did nothing to ease her anger.

Kennet answered her, the sound of his voice making me sick. "My beloved queen, I was not injured when I touched her. She enjoyed my caresses very much." The queen scowled as I frowned and took a step in his direction, intending to rip out his lying heart. "My son will be powerful beyond imagining, Your Grace." He added, actually having the nerve to look proud.

Garrett and Liam each took a firm hold of one of my arms, keeping me in place. Of course my mouth was unfettered. "He whipped me until I was unconscious, then he raped me." She'd know instantly that I was telling the truth, although why I cared about her opinion was a mystery.

"You kept the child." She stared at my belly.

I placed a hand there, an instinct to protect. "He deserves a chance. He has the blood of my allies and friends." I smiled at Aedus and Philladre who were holding each other, unable to hide their relief.

"My blood as well, young mother. And who is this?" She locked eyes with Bridgett.

"My sister. She's working for Lady Dinestri here in Faerie." When the queen looked at the Lady, she nodded.

"This is true, sister. She is a trusted worker."

"And
another
demon. When they leave, you should cleanse this place of their stink." Finally the queen's eyes locked on William. "And this one?"

Garrett spoke up. "Bridgett's mate and a member of my nest."

"Another ally?" There was only silence at first.

"I am an ally and he is mine. You cannot..."

"Caelen will reacquaint you with the laws, vampire. Your property is not protected.

She swayed over to William and smiled. "My brother has not offered me refreshment and I'm famished."

The queen's appearance began to change drastically as claws sprouted from her fingers and vicious fangs burst from her gums . Her porcelain skin turned leathery and took on a greenish hue and her eyes glowed with golden flames. She hissed and I gasped out loud and took a step backward.

She looked like one of those demons in the mural.

"No, no please. Don't do this. Lord Caelen, please stop her." Bridgett was pushing her mate back as hard as she could. "Run, Will."

William looked confused, possibly assuming that the queen wanted some blood. He'd given blood to Eleanor hundreds of times, so he probably didn't think it was any big deal. He looked toward Garrett for instructions. Garrett responded quickly, pushing me into Brina's arms, hoping to get between the queen and his young vampire.

Liam and Kaera dragged him back forcefully before he'd taken even a few steps.
"She'll end you without hesitation if you come between her and her—her kill. Jackie will be left alone and your son will grow up without a father. There is nothing you can do for him."

”Lady D—please, please stop her." Bridgett was sobbing, clinging to William's leg as the Queen took hold of his shirt and dragged him toward her. The blue cloth ripped under her claws, bloody shreds falling on the ground around Bridgett. Lady Dinestri was suddenly there, pulling Bridgett away from William's leg, holding her tightly against her body to shield her from what was to come.

He started to struggle, finally seeing his death in her eyes.  She hissed at him again, "If you fight me, I'll make sure my people have a chance to meet your little mate personally. I know many who would like to play with a demon. Now say goodbye."

Will and Bridgett locked eyes one final time before the Queen ripped into his chest with her claws, pulling out his dead heart and throwing it aside. He screamed as she buried her face in the open wound and drank his blood as we all watched in horror, totally helpless.

Garrett bent at the waist and groaned in pain as the Queen of all Faerie drained the youngest member of his nest and then bit into William's flesh, actually tearing out chunks and swallowing them. I turned away and retched into the grass, losing my lunch and all of my respect for the fae queen. Garrett, despite his pain, crouched beside me, pulling back my hair and holding me steady. The warrior sisters had moved to stand beside their father, Lord Argon, waiting for instructions, but Liam still stood between us and the queen.

Bridgett screamed and shrieked, "No, stop. No, Will, Will, " against Lady Dinestri, trying to get back to her sweet young mate, to stop the queen, to help him, anything.

After half a minute, William stopped twitching and turned to dust. The queen rose, as graceful as ever, licking her lips and her fingers.

"Delicious. Older bloodlines are like fine wine. I should have kept him alive so I could savor it longer." With a motion of her hand the blood that had covered her face, hands and clothing disappeared and she looked once more like the exquisite goddess who'd first appeared only minutes ago.

She walked to Kennet and waved her hands once more. His chains disappeared and he smiled. "Come to court, little brother. There's much to discuss." They vanished into the lines.

When I turned back to where my sister had stood, I saw she'd disappeared.

Realizing my magic had returned, I dissolved into the lines and followed her scent before anyone could stop me.

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

"Bridgett, what are you doing?" It had taken me a few minutes, but I'd found her kneeling inside a circle of salt in a clearing outside of Faerie, reciting a spell.

"The fae killed him. I'm getting him back."

"The
queen
killed him. And you can't. He won't be the same." I took a step closer to her. "I'm so sorry this happened."

"This wasn't your fault." I reached out, only to realize that her circle had already closed. There was no way inside.

Her eyes were wild with anger. "The fucking fae will never take anything of mine again."

"It was the queen..."

"They're all the same."

"Lord Caelen...

"Is her fucking twin brother. He's no different, Jackie. He just stood there. They all did. You're blind to them because they've helped you out. But if you ever get in their way, they'll kill you and Garrett and take Charlie."

"That's not true."

"Sometimes you're so trusting, it's pathetic."

"You're hurting. I understand, but use your head. You'll be breaking your agreement with the elders."

"I know what I'm doing."

"You'll be executed." I was terrified for her.

"My ass is covered. I've made a
new
agreement." she sneered, holding up a ring I recognized.

"With Grandmother?" I was in shock.

"She summoned me a couple of weeks ago. Apparently I have a Summoning Name. She told me the fae would kill William just like they'd killed our birth mother and my adopted father."

"Bridgett, please...she lies."

"I was there when Liam killed my dad and we both watched them kill Will, so where's the lie? She told me that I couldn't keep Will from dying, but that if I came to her immediately after his death, she'd help me bring him back."

"And what does she want in return?"

"Will and I both have to stay and help."

"Help? Help her do what?"

She jutted out her chin in defiance. "I'm Caelen's enemy, now. I'm siding with my own blood." I took a step back in shock. She must've thought I was afraid for my own safety because she moved closer to the edge of the circle and spoke softly. "The demons will never harm you or Charlie. That's part of the deal. As long as you stay neutral, you're safe." She pulled a vial of blood out of her jacket pocket.

"And Garrett?"

She shrugged. "If he sides with his fae buddies, then he's against Grandmother and me." She started to shake drops of a red liquid around the inside of the circle. Then she recited the words again.

"You'd kill Garrett?" She lifted her chin defiantly, not denying it. "And you'd kill me too, if I back Lord Caelen?"

She sighed and fisted her hands, battling to keep control of her grief. "Jackie, you've been good to me, a real sister. You can come with me. They'll treat us like freakin' royalty and teach us everything. She promised me that you and me and Charlie could be made powerful enough to kick serious fae ass. They'll set me up with my own kingdom if I want."

"Don't believe her lies. You can't trust Grandmother."

"She sent Isaiah to you. He didn't have to train you the way he did."

"He had to honor his agreement."

"I think he's following Grandmother's orders in exchange for your safety. He's protecting you."

"Protecting me?"

"I'm not sure why, but he is. Grandmother holds the cards so he has to do what she says. But using you as a bargaining chip, he's covering his ass. He's a real wheeler-dealer that one. Did you know he's her oldest full blood son? He's our uncle."

I was so confused at this point. "He has a different birthmark."

"Isaiah's a freakin' chameleon. He can change anything about himself."

"How do you know this?"

"He and I had a very long talk at your house the other week."

"He knew you were going to do go to the DR?"

"Yes. Grandmother told him to help me."

"He agreed to the murders?"

"No. He was against that."

I wanted to shake her until her teeth rattled so she'd open her eyes to the truth. "They're going to use you and then throw you away when they're done."

"Do you think I'm not as powerful as you?"

"Of course you are. It's just that...that they're lying to you about everything."

"You think the fae don't lie? What happened to Will is normal. They all take blood. It's their dirty little secret."

"Liam..."

"He doesn't need to, but the full-bloods do. And it isn't pretty." She said the ritual words once more and suddenly our grandmother, the Bassilissa Naberia, appeared next to Bridgett.

"Are you ready, Bridgett?" She looked surprised to see me there. "Jacqueline. Are you coming as well?"

"That's the shifter blood, isn't it. It brought you here without an invitation. Bridgett doesn't know how to summon a demon."

"Smart girl. Much smarter than your mother. She fought against her blood instead of embracing it. I don't mourn her and neither should either of you."