18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18

Ruya

" W ow, it feels all better!" the little girl said in a quiet voice of wonder as I lifted my hand from her leg. "Thank you!"

I smiled, happy to use my magic for others. "You are very welcome, Aria," I told her, reaching out until I found her head. I gave her soft curls a pat. "It was a pleasure to meet you. But please be more careful next time," I murmured before she ran off to rejoin the rest of her family somewhere in the lobby area of The Fox.

She wouldn't tell me what she had done that resulted in spraining an ankle and scraping up her knees and hands. But I could guess from her cagey replies that it was something illegal. Probably stealing. The unaligned paranormals who lived in this district were outcasts from both paranorm and human society. They had to do whatever they could to survive.

I might have lived a sheltered life until now, but even I wasn't naive enough to think surviving was a simple matter of black and white. If you were homeless and starving, you did what you had to do. Yet another reason why I should be rejoicing at the thought of eliminating the emperor and destroying the paranormal syndicate at Robin's side. The paranormal world needed a leader—or leaders, since there were several syndicates in the US—who would care for all of them, regardless of their power or potential usefulness, and help make us equals in the eyes of the human government and communities. Not someone who would let their own people starve in the streets because they were deemed unworthy.

I stood and stretched, moving toward the old ticket booth and counters where the food was being passed out. The people Robin and the others had freed from the emperor's mansion were helping out today, before they were shipped off. I would be sad to see them go, but Robin thought it would be a good idea to send them elsewhere, so they didn't get caught up in her war with the emperor. At least in this one instance, she had bent her rule about eliminating everyone associated with the syndicate. And for that, I was eternally grateful. These people hadn't been employees, they'd been slaves. They didn't deserve to die for the sins of their slave master.

As I approached the counter, I heard Sanka chatting with a guest while he handed out food. I waited until they were done, feeling warm inside. My new family might get up to some very questionable activities, some of which I knew they still kept from me in order to shield me from the harsh realities of what they did, but this was the heart of who they were. This was why I loved the rebel court and had decided to stay. The homeless outcasts of the neighborhood would be well fed tonight. And they would sleep in the warm, dry lobby, with their donated cots and bedding. And for a little while, at least, they would find some peace.

"Do you need any help?" I asked when Sanka was done chatting with his guest.

"Nah," he said easily, his deep voice radiating contentment and joy. "We're just about done here. We'll set out the leftovers for latecomers, but we've got it handled. You can head on back." He pressed a kiss to my forehead, and I leaned into his touch briefly before heading toward the stairs that led to the theater area. Sanka was in his element right now. He was a big, tough, scary sorcerer, but he was also a beta. Caring for people and seeing to their needs was what he lived for. I knew he'd have the entire homeless population living in the theater with us, if it was possible. But though it was safe for now, that kind of thing would put the outcasts on the syndicate's radar if they realized Robin and her court were the enemy.

I ran my hand over one of the stone lions that watched over the staircase as I left behind the soft drone of murmured conversation and the sound of children playing tag in what space was left in the lobby. When I reached the top of the stairs, the scent of incense and cinnamon enveloped me, and a strong, fiery aura greeted me. Robin slipped an arm around my waist as she walked with me into the theater area, and I sighed in contentment.

"You seem pleased," she said lightly, slowing us as she nuzzled my hair aside and kissed my neck. "It's a good look on you, darling."

I chuckled softly. "It is, isn't it?" I wrapped my arm around her back at her waist, mirroring the way she held me. "It feels good, helping others. It reminds me why all of the unpleasant things are necessary. It reminds me that you're not just some power-hungry alpha bent on bitter revenge the way you like to pretend. You're going to make a better world for these people, Robin." I squeezed her waist, hoping she could sense my sincerity, feel the love that I couldn't put into simple words. "Thank you."

She huffed. "Sssh. Don't go ruining my terrifying reputation, love." Then she leaned in to whisper in my ear, making me shiver. "I'm sure your current mood has nothing to do with the fact that you smelled like Martina this morning at breakfast. Made another alpha conquest, did you darling?"

"Jealous?" I asked playfully.

She huffed a laugh as she straightened and took my hand, leading me down to the open area where the theater seating had once been. "Absolutely," she muttered. "I've been trying to lure that stubborn woman in to my bed for ages."

I shook my head. I was pretty sure Martina wanted the same thing. But they had known each other much longer than I had known either of them, and I was sure it was more complicated than it seemed on the surface. "It's not my fault you don't have my unique and irresistible mojo," I said with a lift of my chin.

Robin clicked her tongue in mock annoyance. "True. Very true. Teach me your ways, sweet omega. Please?"

I snorted. "A lady doesn't kiss and tell. But I'll take mercy on you and give you a hint. Try being less confident and perfect and more… awkward and cripplingly inexperienced. Works for me every time."

She chuckled. "You joke. But honestly, Ruya. You are perfect in every way. If you see yourself as awkward, I have devastating news for you; you're wrong. All I see… all everyone who loves you sees, is a stunning woman with the poise and patience of a saint, the allure of a goddess, and nerves of steel." She lifted my hand and kissed the back before leading me up onto the stage and toward the area behind, where an elevator took us down to the lower levels and the private living area of the building. "As much as I'd like to invite you to my room while everyone else is distracted with our visitors, I admit I had a less exciting motive for stealing you away."

I heaved an overdramatic sigh of disappointment just for her.

She kissed my temple and looped my arm through hers, guiding me to the living room area. Robin wasn't always so openly physically affectionate, probably some ingrained alpha thing that said softer emotions were a weakness. And when we first met, she was careful to keep extra distance between us because of my omega nature and her alpha urge to bond me to her. So, I relished these moments of closeness whenever I could. When we reached the living room area, she released my arm and I felt her drawing into herself, putting on her alpha dragon princess persona and becoming the leader of this court, rather than my sweet and sassy Robin. "After you," she said calmly. "It seems your mother would like to speak to us alone."

I drew a slow bracing breath and felt myself do my own version of Robin's change. I became the priestess. Calm. Controlled. Assured of my holy value and power. We all had masks we wore. And they served us well.

I wasn't sure how to feel about this woman who called herself my mother. On the one hand, I was happy that I had answers. That I knew who I was and where I came from. But on the other hand, though we had spent some more time chatting and cautiously getting to know one another… she was still mostly a stranger to me.

"Ruya," Achlys said fondly as we entered the room. "I was looking for you, but the boogey man wouldn't let me leave this level."

I nodded once in acknowledgement. While technically Robin had rescued Achlys from apparent captivity and extortion under the emperor's thumb, she wasn't really free. I knew Robin and the others still had suspicions about her motives. Someone was always watching her. And I doubted very much that they were just going to let her go free. Dusek had volunteered to stay down here and guard her, since he said he would just upset the people who came to us for food and shelter if he was upstairs with his unsettling aura.

I hated that he thought that way. That he didn't give people a chance to get to know him and get accustomed to his aura so they could see what I saw, that underneath the terrifying nature that he couldn't help, was a kind and caring man. "His name is Dusek," I said evenly. Though I didn't think my mother was really trying to be offensive. She did have a lot of new people to keep track of.

"Yes, of course, Dusek." she said as I took a seat in a wingback chair by the couch where she sat. "I knew it was a 'D' name. I'm sorry."

Robin came closer and I thought she was leaning against the back of my chair. "I'm certain the boogey man won't care that you forgot his name, Achlys. What did you want to speak to Ruya about?"

Ah. So she wanted to speak to me alone. Not us . But Robin was making a statement. That whatever she had to say to me, it affected the whole court. And that I was very clearly one of Robin's court. I wanted to roll my eyes at the possessiveness inherent in that line of thinking. But at the same time, I understood. This woman was, for all intents and purposes, still an unknown. And she was someone who had been in close quarters with the elusive emperor for years. I wasn't the best at this whole scheming and spying thing. I might miss cues or important information, might not think to ask the right questions. I had no issue with Robin being present.

Or with her publicly claiming me as hers. While I understood the reasons why forming a true mate bond with the dragon princess might be ill advised, there was still a very large part of me that wanted it. Wanted to belong to her.

I cleared my throat and forced myself to focus, rather than basking in Robin's warm aura behind me. "I'm happy to spend more time with you," I told Achlys honestly. "I want to get to know you more. But it sounds like you wanted to talk about something more serious?"

She was quiet for a moment, thinking maybe. Her voice was soft as always when she spoke. "Where were you?" she finally asked. "All I was told was that you all had a job to do today. Ruya, are these people using you? I know they are rebels and they have chosen a dangerous game with the emperor. Are you being forced to participate in their schemes against your will?"

It took a lot of courage to ask those questions, especially with Robin standing right here. But apparently the soft-spoken woman who had birthed me had a bit more steel in her than I had given her credit for.

I laughed. "No." I said easily. "I'm here by my own choice. This court saved me from the cult, as I told you before. That was the truth. I'm not being coerced or being careful not to say the wrong thing. In fact, Robin offered me freedom. She offered to help me find a place to live and resources to make my own way in the world. But I didn't want to leave. It was my choice." Robin placed a hand on my shoulder, and I reached up to cover it with my own. "Robin is my mate. And there are others. You've picked up on that."

She sighed. "Of course. But you're an omega , Ruya. They are so precious. So coveted. And so easy to manipulate and abuse, in the wrong hands."

Oh. I shook my head. "No. I know what you're thinking. That maybe I'm blind to it. That maybe I'm being ruled by my omega needs or the alphas around me. But you're wrong. Have you ever seen them mistreat me? Have you sensed even a hint of anything but love and care?"

I sat forward, moving out from under Robin's touch so I could take my mother's hands. "Do you want to know where we all were today? We were up in the theater lobby, where the others were passing out food and blankets while I healed anyone who needed it. You've spent a long time locked away in the emperor's mansion. Maybe you don't know, so I'll explain. We live in the unaligned district. The people here can't fit in with the humans, so they are discriminated against and shunned. But the paranormal syndicate doesn't care about them because they aren't powerful enough, or in some cases compliant enough, or rich enough to pay for protection. So, they are left here, many of them homeless and starving. Robin cares for them. She and her court look out for them as much as they can. They regularly bring them food and other necessary items. And in the colder months, like now, she opens the lobby of her home—her sanctuary—to the homeless and gives them a safe place to sleep and food to eat, so they aren't left to starve or freeze to death in the streets."

I paused to catch my breath, my passion having overcome my patented priestess calm. "I use my abilities because I want to," I said more calmly. "Because it's the right thing to do. And someone needs to do the right thing. Because as far as I've seen, the people in this court are the only ones trying to alleviate the injustice that this whole area calls normal."

Silence fell as I released my mother's hands and sat back. "If you were concerned about Ruya's wellbeing," Robin said softly, her voice a purr that somehow carried both satisfaction and warning, "let me assure you, she is well provided for. And well protected. I look after those under my care."

I smelled smoke, but I didn't intervene. Robin was absolutely correct. She took her duties and responsibilities as alpha very seriously. I knew without a doubt that she would burn the world down to protect not only me, but anyone in her court. We were family. And she was protector of the nest.

"I see," Achlys said softly. "I didn't mean to cause offense. But I had to ask. To be sure. And… if all you say is true, then I want to help. That is what I really wanted to talk to you about."

"And if we choose to trust you," Robin said evenly, "just how do you propose to help us?"

"Ruya is just coming into her powers," she said in response, and I could almost picture her squaring her shoulders and preparing for battle. "I can teach her how to harness her banshee abilities. How to use them more purposefully. To help you plan. So you can figure out which approach ends in the death of the maggot who calls himself emperor."

Robin slid her hand along the back of my chair in a whisper of fabric as she moved around to stand at my side. "You said The Order of the Triple Moon found a way to mislead your banshee senses when they stole your daughter away," she said slowly. "If that's the case, then how can we rely on banshee abilities now?"

"There is a risk there," Achlys acknowledged. "But my abilities have never been wrong outside that one instance. I've always been able to accurately predict when the emperor's life is in danger. And he has never come into contact with Ruya, to be able to spell her. Better to at least try to use the weapons at your disposal than go in blindly, I would think."

"Mmm…" Robin murmured. "Undoubtedly. But that raises another interesting question. Most witches have a well-known disdain for other paranorms, and an outright hatred for the syndicate. If a witch cult has some powerful magic or spell that made it possible to mislead a banshee, then why haven't they used it to kill the emperor themselves?"

"They're getting something out of it. That's what you're getting at, isn't it?" I asked, the wheels spinning in my mind, trying to think like the cult. Like the emperor. Like Robin.

"Absolutely," Robin said in a tight voice. "There were likely witches involved in the attack on your father. They may have even helped with the spell that misled Achlys. They helped the emperor snag a banshee warning system for himself, and they got a useful little tool of their own in the process when they took you, Ruya. If they were involved in the spell, the emperor knows that they have the ability to mislead his banshee alarm system. But he doesn't immediately kill the entire witch coven to hide his secret weakness."

"There is something else going on," I filled in, completing her thought. "Some other beneficial relationship that keeps the witches from giving away his secret and the emperor from killing the witches."

"It would seem so," Robin murmured. And she didn't sound happy. "If Ruya is open to the idea, I am all for her learning from you, Achlys," she said, sounding a bit distracted. Her clever mind was probably already busy figuring out all of the ways the emperor and the witches could be colluding, and what that might mean for her revenge plans. "But the choice is hers alone."

I didn't have to think about this. While I was somewhat afraid of the emotional impact of exploring my banshee side, I did want to know more about myself. And if I could actually control when I had these unsettling and uncontrollable visions, it would be worth it.

"I'll do it," I said firmly. "I want to do my part to end this insanity." And in the back of my mind, always, the words of the wild fae elder echoed in my memory, reminding me that I had a vested interest in this particular death.

I still hadn't told Robin, though I knew she suspected that whatever the fae had asked of me in their bargain wasn't good. I didn't know how literal the fae's request was. Or how Robin would take it if I told her that her life-long enemy had to die by my hand. Now didn't seem the time to bring it up. If I was being honest, I didn't think there would ever be a good time to bring it up. I would just cross that bridge when I got there.

If I got there.

A lot of things had to fall into place before it was even a question. We had to find the emperor first—again. And apparently, I needed to learn to predict death on a whim.

"If we're done here for the moment," I said with as much calm as I could muster, "I think I'll go check on Josh." The human had stayed behind this morning because of a headache. I had eased the pain and left him sleeping. But he had a calming presence and a knack for understanding when I was struggling with navigating all of the pitfalls of the paranorm world. I suddenly wanted to spend some time with him and hopefully regain some of the joy I had felt before this whole conversation.

I said my goodbyes to Robin and Achlys, then made my way to Josh's room, a strange sense of dread in the pit of my stomach.