Chapter 8

Fenrick

Walking away from Moon to face my mother feels wrong, and every inch of my soul is screaming at me to return to her side, but for this plan to work, we all had to split up.

She'll be by my side once more soon enough. I just need to get through this next part. Silas is wrapped around my wrist, sending shivers down my spine every few steps. His shifting scales on my skin are a foreign sensation. It's weird, being touched, and not immediately killing that person.

My mother is a sick woman.

"Meeting Moon was the first time in my life that I felt hope. I knew nothing of her, but I knew in my soul I would not harm her. That I would do anything for her. She said to me that she would burn the realm down to protect me. Then Tristan said we would all keep each other safe," Warrior says in his overly scratchy voice. Something he got from years of torture.

"Yes, Warrior, we keep each other safe." I nod in agreement, as I navigate the halls of the castle I grew up in. He's an unusual combo of innocence and a weapon's grade level of killing skill. It was easy to accept him into the fold. Not that we'd ever ice out one of Moon's mates.

"I will keep you safe from your mother, Fenrick. I know how it feels to have poisoned words in your mind. To have the person you thought was your family turn against you. One who will use you and hurt you." Warrior is walking behind me, but his words have me slowing to a stop in the middle of the hall.

"Fen's got the three of us tolook after him until our mate catches up. Don't worry, big guy. We've got each other's backs." Tristan claps a hand on my back, before gently nudging me forward.

"Thank you, Warrior," I murmur, keeping my head down.

After being alone for so long, it's unusual. This feeling of support. The knowledge that I have a mate that would do anything for me, but so would her other men. Not just because of our love for her, and the pain our loss would cause her, but because we're family now too.

I pause outside the two opulent doors that close off the throne room. The curling gold filigree that makes up the Fae Kingdom's emblem of a tree on their surface seems tarnished in the light of the hall. I take a deep, steadying breath. There are never very many guards walking these halls, but the fact that we've passed none is concerning. I was expecting to see at least two or three. They must be by the Queen's side.

I know she's in the throne room. She's always there. Sitting on the King's throne. Fucking lives up and causing misery.

"Before we go in, I think I should enter alone. You two remain out here and wait to come in. She's more likely to talk if she thinks she's only speaking to me," I tell Tristan and Warrior.

"If that's what you want. She can probably already sense Silas, though. Might as well take him with you." Tristan shrugs.

"I will. I just want to buy some time. Act as if I'm just a heartbroken son, shocked by her betrayal. I'll leave it up to you to decide when to enter. I'll leave the doors open, just stay hidden." With one last deep breath, I shove the doors open and step inside the demon's lair.

"I was wondering how long it would be before you sought me out," my mother says in a bored tone as she yawns from where she reclines on the throne. She's dressed in all gold, as she always is, and her long golden hair is draped over her in a way that should be bewitching.

Objectively, my mother is a beautiful woman. Her abhorrent actions bring a tainted quality to her visage. I wish I knew what twisted her up inside so badly that she turned into the monster before me.

"Was it simply jealousy?" I ask, looking away from her, focusing on the opulent hall walls instead.

"What?" she demands, sitting up slowly. There are at least twenty guards here, when she usually would not have had more than six in here with her at a time.

"Why go after a man mated to another woman? Why fight for a crown that was meant for another? Why go through all this just to be Queen? The most hated Fae Queen in the history of this realm?" I ask her, finally glancing back at her.

"You ungrateful–"

I snort at her predictable response. Shocker.

"Well, was it jealousy?" I persist, speaking over her, something I know she hates. As a child when I would dare to speak up around her or interrupt, she would punish me by locking me in small dark rooms and leaving me alone for hours on end.

I learned to tiptoe around her. To stay on her good side to avoid punishment. But right now, I really don't give a fuck how she feels. The angrier she gets, the more careless she'll become. The more she focuses on me, the less time she'll spend thinking about the others.

Unfortunately, she must be on to me, because she signals to the guards, and a few of them leave out the back entrance.

I curse, but can't let it get to me. I have to keep her distracted.

"It must have been. You seem like the type to behave erratically because you didn't get what you wanted," I scoff. "Thankfully, I was raised by nannies, so I am nothing like you. Pathetic, weak, alone. Unwanted." I go for the low blows, hoping to antagonize her. "Were your parents as shitty as you are? Did they also put a curse on you when you were five? Or is that unique to you?" She looks shocked by my words. When I left for the Elven Games, she must have known I would discover the truth when the curse's effects started to wear off.

"You know nothing about me," my mother hisses, and I chuckle.

"You're not wrong. I don't know much of anything about you. What I do know is that you cursed your only child without any sort of moral objections. Entrapped the King in a loveless marriage, and lied that he's my father before putting him under a spell so deep the realm believes he's gone mad," I say, watching her reaction carefully. Shifting in their spots uneasily, the guards in the room clearly heard these charges and they eye each other.

Some of them must be wondering if I'm telling the truth, while the rest are already loyal to me. Hell, I grew up with some of them. The ones that were brave enough to play near me, anyway.

"Shut. Your. Mouth," my mother hisses through gritted teeth, and I smirk.

"Did I hit a nerve? What bothers you more? The fact that I figured out all your deepest secrets or the fact that all I know about you are those secrets?" I ask, tilting my head as I observe her. I don't honestly believe she cares about what I think, or what assumptions I make about her, but she's a self-centered manipulative monster. She'll want to spin this situation back around in her favor.

I watch as she raises her hand, and a light blue glow of magic travels between her fingers.

"I was smart enough to figure out how to get what I wanted. I control power you know nothing about. Nothing you say matters, and your bitch mate will die–" I step forward, ready to put her in her place for daring to speak about my mate like that when she gasps. She stands, clutching her chest, eyes wide.

I watch as she falls to her knees and screams. I have no idea what's happening right now, but Moon has to be responsible. I sense my mate's other Heart Bonded behind me as Tristan and Warrior take my sides. Silas unravels from around my wrist and slithers to the floor.

"No! No! What have you done!" my mother screams, and I can't muster an ounce of care or sympathy for the woman.

"We've done nothing." I shrug, glancing between the other two men. "I can't say the same about Moon and the other's though."

Despite clearly being in pain, her eyes still widen, and she manages to climb back to her feet.

"You aren't going to offer to help your mother?" she hisses at me, and I laugh.

"And risk killing you the moment your flesh meets mine?" I question, giving her an overly dramatic look. We both know the curse has worn off, but I want to make it extra clear to her that I know what she did. "I won't give you the satisfaction of an easy out. Besides, you can take care of yourself," I sniff, folding my arms together, and glancing around.

"They're coming," Warrior says quietly, and I nod.

I speak loud enough to ensure every guard in here can hear me. "If you are loyal to my mother, step forward." Before they can move, I add, "And if you're sick of her, remain still." Three men step toward my mother. I take in the sight of each one, wondering if maybe they're close.

The thought grosses me out, so I shake it off.

"Those of you loyal to the prince spread the word. This is a hostile fucking takeover. The Fae Queen will surrender, or she will die," Tristan says, and I nod my agreement.

"L-Light One…" she whispers, eyes wide, and her three remaining guards move closer to her, as Silas in his snake form moves forward. Honestly, I thought more of them would be loyal to her… Has my real father already started turning them against her?

Silas grows larger, lifting his head and upper body aggressively off the floor, until his snake form is as tall as I am, and he just stays there holding her gaze. Vibrations carry through my feet from the floor before I see them or even hear them. I turn and look over my shoulder, smirking when everyone enters.

Moon, riding on top of her Mungus, marches in first with Marcellus beside her. Lust is lit up like he's on fire. A Phoenix trait.

Behind her is Odas, with her mother and her grandmother on his shoulders. I can't see who's behind him, because his massive body blocks my view, but Cato sprints out until he's beside Moon, and shifts into his Dragon form. As everyone spreads out behind me, I see the King. The man I spent years believing was my father… For the first time in my entire life, he's walking. His eyes are clear, and there's a determined pinch to his brows. He looks…aware. Alive and clear minded.

"No…" my mother whispers, but I don't bother looking at her. Kili, Crow, and Arlo are the last to enter, each offering a supportive nod to me.

"Norma." The King narrows his eyes on her, and I watch as the rest of the guards drop to their knees.

"Your false reign is over, Norma. This ends now." the voice snaps my head around, and I stare with wide eyes at the guard I learned is my father. Steve.

"I will have all of your heads," she snarls, raising her hand again, but the magic I saw there earlier is gone.

This is her end.