The Darkling Lord: Court of the Banished book 1 (Annwyn Series 4) (22 page)

T
he wine might be non-alcoholic
, but when the first rays of light poked through the leaves of the castle they were far too bright. After turning down Darah’s proposition—which proved he wasn’t half as smart as he thought he was—he had thrown himself into the party. He hadn’t made any deals and he hadn’t gambled, but his feet ached and he was desperate to lie down. The dozen other fairies who had stayed up all night all looked a little rough around the edges.

He closed his eyes and leaned against the tree. He was sitting on a ledge formed by a branch and right now it felt like the most comfortable bed he’d ever been in. He hadn’t seen Darah for the rest of the night.

He was pretty sure she’d never speak to him again. What kind of idiot said no to a woman wanting string free sex? Except it wouldn’t be string free. It never was with fairies.

Despite his exhaustion his mind wouldn’t settle. It was full of Darah and Detroit and that the King would declare his fate today. At least the wait would be over. He’d partied in Annwyn and hopefully hadn’t broken any other rules in the process. If it was his last night, it could’ve been worse.

He heard his name and cracked open his eyes. The Hunter was walking toward him. Her stride was all purpose and she didn’t deviate. He closed his eyes and hoped she was a hallucination.

It was too early for this.

“Henry Saint, the King requests your attendance.”

He bit back a groan of pure exhaustion. There was no sense in stalling. He stood, and his feet protested, half expecting her to whip out some handcuffs to make it look more official.

“Follow.” The Hunter turned on her heel and strode away. She obviously hadn’t stayed up all night.

Would it be wrong if he took off his shoes and walked barefoot…removing his feet seemed like a better idea but he didn’t dare say anything in case someone granted a wish he didn’t literally want to come true.

He’d quite happily kill someone for an aspirin right now…or a soul…neither of which he’d find in Annwyn.

As ordered he followed the Hunter into a different hall. This one had two thrones on a low dais at the front and it felt entirely more formal than the other two he’d been in. Near the King were the fairies that presumably made up his Council. Fairies that had made the effort to speak to him last night, no doubt to sound him out. Isaac, Bramwel, Darah—he swallowed but her gaze remained as cool and as impersonal as the others. He couldn’t remember the names of the other three—perhaps they hadn’t given them.

The Hunter left his side to join them. They all looked fresh and well rested, except for Darah. He was once again a rumpled mess. It was most unlike him, and probably not going to add any points in his favor.

He had no doubt the King had made sure they got together obscenely early because he knew that Henry had been up all night. The King was pure evil genius. Henry had to admire that. In another life maybe they could’ve started off on better footing and been friends.

Henry bowed. Might as well start this off right. Behind him the doors were closed with a solid thud. He tried not to flinch, but didn’t know if he was successful.

“You have enjoyed my hospitality?” The King didn’t bother with formalities or speeches. Everyone knew what was going on.

“Yes, Sire. But I would be glad to return home.” He didn’t want to stay. His gaze strayed to Darah standing near the throne. Not even for her was he willing to stay. This wasn’t his life. He needed to do more than dance and party, and while he was sure there was more to life here, he couldn’t join in all of it because he was a darkling and had a soul.

Could he give it up the way Isaac had? He wasn’t sure he wanted to even if he could. He liked being in charge of his life too much to surrender to the Court. Yet here he was at the King’s mercy for something that he’d never planned.

Felan stood up and walked toward him. “You turned my spy on me.”

Henry looked up. That was not where he’d been expecting this to go and it was most definitely a dangerous direction. “That’s not entirely true. She always worked for you first.”

“What did you promise her?”

That phrase about thin ice suddenly became real. One wrong step and he would end up in the river, and no one escaped the river of the damned. Had he promised Darah anything? No. Not in those words or anything that could be construed as a deal.

“I promised her nothing, but I offered her my heart.” His mistake. He should’ve known that she’d toy with and find it worthless. She wanted sex, not love. She wanted to be able to control him, not be with him.

That was the difference between them. He’d been raised in the mortal world with mortal values and she’d been brought up here were love was something to be feared.

If she’d have said that she loved him, just once, he’d have done anything for her.

But he hadn’t said it either. Not in those words. He glanced at her, but she wasn’t looking at him. He shouldn’t have turned her down last night. He should have taken the risk and hold her that he loved her without needing to hear it back.

Marlis had never loved him either…perhaps it was him. He looked at Felan, hoping that this would be over soon because the longer it went on the worse it became.

The King nodded as if he already knew what had transpired between Henry and Darah.
Just get to the point already.
He didn’t want Darah in trouble because of anything they had or hadn’t done. And he didn’t want to be in any more trouble.

“And did she accept or offer hers in return?” Felan tilted his head a fraction as he glanced at Darah.

This was not the conversation he wanted to be having with an audience. He glanced at Darah but she was giving him no clues. “I’m not sure.” Well that sounded lame even to his ears. “Everything is up in the air until I know my fate, Sire.”

Felan paced a few steps then stopped. “What you are doing has given us some concern and some late nights. If you weren’t darkling and surrounded by Greys, I would congratulate you on what you have achieved in the mortal world. You have done more than any fairy across the veil. When I shut the Court I asked that fairies help rebuild what they had destroyed. You didn’t know that and yet that is what you have done.”

He was going to be damned because of his black blood even though he was doing something good.

“And you’ve done it all without making deals with the Greys.” Felan took a couple of steps and stopped before facing Henry again. “The Hunter enforces my laws in both worlds. But you offered a structure to the Greys that they missed. You built a Court of the banished.”

“Not by plan.” That was a crappy defense.

Felan shrugged. “The result is the same.”

Yeah it was, and he’d realized what was happening and had done nothing to stop it. Henry bit back the sigh and waited for the axe to fall.

“And your Court cannot go unchecked as if Annwyn doesn’t exist.”

“Would you like to keep a spy there?” Henry forced a smile. If it meant he could go home he’d almost be happy. If it was Darah he’d be happier, but she’d only been a spy to gain her place on the Council and now she had more important things to do.

“Yes. But spy is such a nasty word now we are friends.” Felan fixed him with a look that was anything but friendly. It was more wolfish, as though he had Henry precisely where he wanted him and with no wriggle room. “You have eaten my food and drunk my wine and danced in my Court.”

Henry resisted the urge to step back. They weren’t friends, they weren’t really enemies either, but he wasn’t going to grab whatever was being offered without checking the fine print either. There was no way he could out play the King, but he didn’t have to make it easy either.

“I know the rules. I am bound here until you release me.” Was he getting released or not?

“You were bound to the Court by blood before that. Bound to Annwyn’s laws like any fairy, changeling or Grey.”

Was he going to have the Hunter supervise his every move? Put him on house arrest…although he guessed that’s what trapping him at Court was. It wasn’t as though he could leave Annwyn.

“I understand that too.” He pitied those who didn’t know what they were and fell on the wrong side of Annwyn’s rules.

“Good. So I can trust you to uphold the laws in your own Court.”

Henry blinked and watched the King more closely. He was sure that was a trick question, but he couldn’t think of any laws that he’d willfully broken—except killing the Mayor. However the Mayor was changeling and had broken Annwyn’s laws by interfering with humans and using magic for his own gain. Did two wrongs make a right in this case?

“Yes?” That didn’t come out as confident as it should have.

“Traditionally the Council has concerned itself only with Annwyn, except the Hunter of course. I want to change that. I think it is time that Annwyn acknowledges that the banished can learn the error of their ways and have their sentence commuted to exile. I have already done that for one fairy. I see no reason that I can’t do it for others. Over time perhaps the exiled can also be pardoned. For that to happen I need someone permanently across the veil to set an example and lead.” Felan had been pacing and once again he stopped and looked at Henry.

The skin down his spine prickled with cold. This was a deal he wasn’t going to be able to refuse. He knew that before Felan even spoke.

“I’m offering you the title of Darkling Lord. You answer directly to the Hunter and me, you would be a Council member across the veil if you like. The highest ranking fairy in the mortal world, above even changelings.”

That offer definitely came with a catch, or a loophole or a nasty surprise that would bite him on the ass the first time he closed his eyes. Saying no would hurt a hell of a lot more.

“That sounds like an offer to good to be true.” By embracing him Felan was effectively claiming everything Henry did as his own, while still supervising and not risking getting his hands dirty should it all go to shit. There was a reason he’d won the battle for the throne. No swords had been drawn and yet the threat of the Greys gathering en mass had been neutralized and turned into a strategic decision.

He was being put on a leash. A diamond encrusted leash, but still a leash.

Felan laughed. “There is one small problem. Because you are Grey you cannot cross the veil without the Hunter’s silver cuffs. So I will designate a Court Liaison to work with you and represent you in Annwyn.”

A very short leash.

Not a spy this time but a Court Liaison. Someone who could stab him in the back if he wasn’t careful. He glanced at Darah. She’d never stabbed him in the back.

“I need someone who I trust completely.” Because he obviously didn’t trust Henry. “And someone who knows the ways of my Court and your Court.”

“And who would want such a job where loyalty is split?”

Felan smiled, it looked warm almost welcoming and that was the trap. Felan was far more dangerous than he appeared. “Not split, Henry. You are
my
subject, accepting
my
title and your Court exists because
I
deem it a useful experiment. I want you to be able to communicate with my Council directly. Perhaps we shall even hold the occasional meeting at your Court so you don’t feel as though you are not part of things. Let me make it very clear that when you walk out of here you do so as one of my allies. And I do not tolerate betrayal. I sent my own mother to the river to secure my path to the throne.” The smile hardened.

Henry lowered his gaze. He had to think for longer than three seconds before he spoke. So he kept his mouth closed and bowed. When he straightened he knew what to ask without actually accepting or refusing. “Who will the liaison be, Sire?”

Part of him hoped it would be Darah for purely selfish reasons. But having her around would also make things complicated. Just once he’d like to know what was going on in her head, and more importantly her heart.

“Darah merch Hathor.” Felen indicated for Darah to step forward.

Ever the obedient fairy, she did. In a long flowing skirt and a simple tank top all she needed were some flowers in her loose hair and she’d look like a hippie. He didn’t think she’d appreciate the comparison. She inclined her head at Felan and didn’t bother looking at Henry.

“I trust you two will work well together to ensure that there will be no further problems.”

While he’d never been to school, Henry knew when he was getting told off by an authority figure. “Of course. I’m sure Darah will be able to answer any questions I have and keep me from getting into trouble.”

Felan turned away and flicked his finger in Henry’s general direction. “You are free to leave Annwyn at your leisure. Whenever you are brought across the veil by the Hunter you will need my permission to leave again.”

Another warning and a reminder that he was very much stuck with Annwyn looking over his shoulder. For a moment Henry stood there, but that appeared to be the end of his hearing. He bowed again even though Felan wasn’t looking then glanced at Darah. She hadn’t said anything and her face was unreadable—as usual.

Whatever.
He should’ve known better than to get involved with a fairy.

He walked toward the doors and they swung open. A ghostly figure held each door, waiting for him to pass. He shivered. Annwyn was not a place he wanted to live. Then he kept walking until he reached the trees that marked the doorway between the veil. He glanced back at the castle, now lush and green. A beauty that most humans could only dream of.

He understood the attraction to all things fairy too well.

D
arah watched Henry walk away
. She was tempted to leave with him, but after he’d brushed her off last night she refused to let him do it again with witnesses. And now she was stuck spying on him until Felan decided that he was no threat.

The Darkling Lord.
There’d never been such a thing before. However no one had ever accomplished what Henry had and got the Greys to work together for something other than their own benefit.

She turned around. Felan was talking to the Hunter about changelings with dangerous gifts and how they needed to be watched better.

With the sentencing over gradually the other fairies on the Council left and it was just her and Felan. He sat on his throne as if he knew she’d be the last to leave. No doubt he planned to judge a few souls before spending time with his wife and babies. The duties of King always coming first.

“Darah, I thought you’d be across the veil already.”

He wanted her to leave so soon?

“I have to pack first.” She’d unpacked thinking she’d be staying. It was beginning to seem as though he’d like to banish her but couldn’t.

“This is still your home and you are free to come and go.”

“Am I? I feel as though you are trying to distance yourself from me. Being sent across the veil to babysit Henry and his Greys is almost like being made one of them.”

Felan stood, a frown forming as his eyebrows lowered. “That wasn’t my intention. You have been loyal and paid the price as a shadow servant. I’m letting you go, so you can follow your heart while still keeping you on my Council as reward.”

He took her arm and they started walking out of the Hall of Judgment. Was he not going to judge souls today? Had he sat only to give the illusion of dedicated King?

“Duty and status won’t make you happy. Not really. When I was fighting, I wasn’t fighting for the throne. I was fighting for Jacqui. Sulia wouldn’t have let her live, or me. I didn’t do what I did out our duty. I did it out of love—just don’t spread that around.” He smiled.

Darah realized they had stopped outside his chambers.

She was still on his Council and he wasn’t trying to get rid of her. Of all of the fairies she trusted Felan’s words more than most. “My sole job for you is to watch his Court?”

Felan sighed as if he didn’t want to be explaining himself. “Do you love him?”

“I don’t know.” She thought that she might.

“He loves you. I can see it when he looks at you.”

She found that hard to believe. The only reason Henry had taken her to bed was because he knew she was dangerous and wanted to keep an eye on her—which is exactly what she’d done to him. They really did deserve each other.

“I can assign someone else if you’d rather stay here, but I don’t think that’s what you really want.”

It wasn’t. The short time she’d spend in Henry’s Court had felt so real, like she was doing something of worth. “I do want to return. I want to help him, but then I feel as though I’m being disloyal.” She couldn’t even look Felan in the eye when she spoke.

“His Court is mine now. Go and enjoy. Take a risk, Darah. Falling in love isn’t the worst thing that can happen. Losing love is.” The shadow servant standing by the door opened it for Felan and he disappeared into his chambers to be with his wife and babies.

The door closed and she stood there for another couple of heartbeats before moving.

Had she had it and lost it without realizing? She’d kissed him in front of people in the Hall of Mirrors—did he not understand what that meant?

Obviously not because he’d told her that they didn’t belong together. Maybe he’d changed his mind. Unlike deals where a person must keep their word love was fickle. It was why the old Court had placed little value on it and seen it as a weakness.

She glanced at the closed door again.

If the King wasn’t afraid of people knowing he was in love with his wife, why should she worry? She took a few slow steps then walked faster back to her chamber. She needed to get across the veil and time was moving much faster over there.

A
fter sleeping
for several hours Henry got up, showered and went down to the bar where he held Court. While he’d been away only days in Annwyn nearly three weeks had passed. Somehow word had already gotten around that he was now a titled lord. While he’d stolen the names and lives of lords before this was one he’d earned. It would take a while to get used to.

The effect on the Greys was immediate though. They were bowing and carrying on.

That wasn’t the only change. He listened as Kaid gave him a rundown on what they had done while he was away. It almost sounded as though they didn’t need him. The idea of him was enough.

Then Kaid started on the troubles. Greys had started misbehaving. More had arrived and Kaid had turned none away. Even Kaid saw this as some kind of last chance refuge for fairies on this side of the veil. He wondered what his Court appointed watch dog would say about the increase in numbers—assuming she turned up.

Thoughts of Darah would have to wait. He needed to get his operation back on track. “Get me an appointment with the Deputy Mayor. I need to start making money instead of bleeding green.”

Kaid laughed. “That would be an improvement on black.”

Henry shot him a look. “When the liaison arrives I’ll hold a meeting. All are to attend. Until then we say nothing else, okay?”

“You escaped Annwyn, you should be happy.”

Yeah, he should be. He had official sanction to operate. The Greys would get a chance to have their sentence reduced. Marlis would be proud. It was a pity it had come too late for her. The pang of loss caught him off guard. In Annwyn he’d been able to push everything aside, now he was here it was all waiting for him. Everything except Darah.

He wasn’t happy. He didn’t want to name it, or acknowledge it. But he missed Darah. He missed trying to work out what she was faking or feeling, leading him on or letting have more rope than he needed to hang himself. He regretted pushing her away and wished he’d spent his last night in Annwyn in her bed. She’d never said she didn’t love him and sometimes she acted as though she did. Then in the next moment she was colder than ice and twice as brittle. He didn’t know what to do or how to win her over.

With her appointed as liaison he knew their game wasn’t done.

However he didn’t know if he was ready to continue. All he knew was that the next move was hers, not his and he had to wait. He hated waiting.