Chapter 24

"Pinky, please. If you don't go and find him and ask him to join me for tea, I'm going to have to wander around court by myself to look for him, and I'll probably get into all kinds of trouble."

Pinky glares at me and crosses her arms over her chest. For a short little thing, she is very intimidating. But judging by her reaction, she can understand me. She just chooses not to speak to me for whatever reason.

I stare back at her with the full force of my stubbornness and determination. Silence stretches for a few moments, then she huffs dramatically, turns on her heels and stomps out of the sitting room.

I grin in triumph and take a seat at the table. Step one completed. Now I just have to hope she finds him before this tea gets cold. Though come to think of it, tea never seems to get cold here. That must be more fey magic. One I don't mind at all.

I pour myself some tea and settle down to wait. The sandwiches and tiny cakes look delicious, but I can control myself. I'll admire the view out of the window instead. Wild flowers have erupted all over what once was a lawn. It is very pretty to look at.

The door opens and I blink in surprise. That was quick. I turn my head to see Pinky ushering in the blond rhocyn boy.

I jump to my feet. "Thank you so much for coming! Please take a seat."

Blue eyes stare at me wide and wary and uncomprehending. My heart sinks. I can't see his ears, for all his long golden hair, but I should have thought of this. A lowly rhocyn would have no need to speak to the natives of the fey's newly conquered lands. So why would anyone give him a translator?

"Pinky, please?"

She huffs and starts speaking a string of lilting musical vowels. The little shit can speak. My brain glitches for a moment and then on top of her fey words, I hear her say, "He wants you to have tea with him."

I shake my head to try to clear the dizzying disorientation, as the rhocyn drops into a curtsy and makes his way over to the table.

"Thank you," I say to both of them.

Then I gesture at the empty chair across from me. "Please, take a seat."

Blue eyes stare at me, but my gesture was clear enough. He gingerly sits down. I sigh, this isn't going to work at all.

"Pinky, I need one of those translation crystals. Unless you want to stay and translate?"

She huffs at me and hurries off.

I pour my guest some tea. This is going to be extremely awkward until she gets back.

"My name is Jamie," I say as I pat my chest. "Jamie."

Blue eyes widen once more. Gosh, this is ridiculous.

"Ninian," he says softly.

I'm smiling like a crazy person. "Ninian?"

He nods warily as if I am some sort of unpredictable animal.

"That's a lovely name," I say.

His delicate brow scrunches in confusion. Okay, exchanging names is as far as it is going to get, but that's okay. I slide a plate of sandwiches over to him and he graciously accepts one.

He looks well. As in, he is neatly put together and I can't see any marks on his body. His sapphire blue eyes are unsettling though, and not because they are far brighter than any humans, but because they look haunted, hunted. Full of pain. World-weary and despondent, in a face that looks no older than twenty.

Of course, being as he is fey, he could be thousands of years old for all I know. Now that's an unsettling thought. I wonder how old Rhydian is? I never thought about it before and always simply assumed he was around my age, or a little older. He certainly looks late twenties at the very most.

The door opens again, and this time Pinky is accompanied by Tristan. That was mercifully quick.

Tristan grins at me and strides over. He plonks a large, rough hewn quartz down on the table and waves his hand at it until it glows softly.

"Thank you," I say.

I wasn't expecting Tristan himself to come, but maybe he is the only one who can get the crystals to work? I feel bad now. He is a prince. He doesn't need to be running around doing favours for me.

"My pleasure," he says with a truly filthy grin. "Any opportunity to see your pretty face is a boon."

Heat tingles along my cheeks. I cast a surreptitious glance at Ninian, but he is politely sipping his tea and not looking at us. I have no idea if Tristan's behaviour is appropriate or not.

"Thank you," I stutter again, uselessly.

Tristan grins once more, and his ruby red eyes sparkle. "I'll leave you boys to your tea."

And with that, he strolls away, whistling a merry tune. I stare at the door after it closes behind him. Then I rouse myself.

"Is he always like that?" I ask.

"I believe so," says Ninian softly.

I grin. The crystal is working. This is so much better.

"How are you?" I blurt.

Ninian carefully places his teacup down onto its saucer. "I'm very well, thank you."

Damn it. Damn small talk. Damn it to hell. There isn't time for this. I'm sure Rhydian will find out soon and I'm sure he won't be happy that I have invited Ninian here. He didn't want me getting close to his brother, so I can't imagine he will feel differently about another rhocyn.

"I mean, how are you after…the party?" I try again, as bluntly as I can bear.

Ninian drops his gaze to his lap. His porcelain pale cheeks tinge pink and he goes as still as a statue. Sadness and misery seem to pour from him until I feel as if I am drowning in the darkness.

"I'm well, thank you," he repeats. "The court healers are proficient." He picks up his teacup again and takes a dainty sip.

My stomach twists into a knot. He needed a healer? That's awful. I mean, it is hardly surprising. But it is still horrendous. And this is not getting me any closer to figuring out how I can help.

"Were the healers kind?" I ask, since proficient isn't a very comforting choice of word.

Blue eyes peek up at me briefly from a curtain of golden hair. "I have heard of your kindness."

I swallow. He has? The idea that people talk about me is unnerving, but again, it should not be surprising. I am the human pet of the crown prince. First-born son of the most powerful human and all that.

Maybe this is how I help Ninian? Use my influence somehow to make his life better in whatever small way I can. There has to be something I can do. By the sounds of it, bullying healers into treating their patients with kindness as well as cures, might be a good place to start. And it doesn't seem too insurmountable a feat.

"Forgive me for being direct," Ninian says quietly. "Am I here to help you satisfy his Highness, or for your own pleasure?"

Tea nearly goes everywhere as I choke on it. Somehow, I swallow it down without making a complete mess.

"Heaven's no!" I exclaim as soon as I can breathe again. "Neither! I just wanted to help you, or at least be your friend."

Ninian's sapphire eyes are sad and solemn as he meets my gaze. "You can't help me."

A shiver dances along my back. His words are an echo of Rhydian's. What is it with these fey proclaiming that they can't be saved?

"But can I be your friend?" I ask.

Blue eyes widen for a moment, and then a ghost of a shy smile whispers across his lips. I smile back at him.

He places his cup and saucer neatly on the table. "I'm afraid, if you have no immediate need of me, I must go. I have to prepare for an appointment."

Something tells me he is not talking about seeing a doctor or a dentist.

"Someone wants to see you tonight?"

Ninian nods and hangs his head.

"Who?" I have a bad feeling about this.

"Duke Carian."

I stare at him blankly. That name means nothing to me. Which is not surprising as I know hardly anyone's names.

"Vizier Iestyn's friend from the party," clarifies Ninian, and I do not know how his voice only shakes a little.

"The silver creep?" I exclaim in horror.

The one who forced Ninian at the party and drugged Dyfri before carrying him away? No, no. No. This cannot be happening.

A sudden gust of wind whips my hair and my clothes and makes the cutlery rattle. What the hell? What is happening? I look over at the wall in confusion. It is swirling with pink and purple lights. My mind cannot make any sense of what my eyes are telling it. Or cope with the fact that everything has abruptly changed and so very dramatically. I was just having tea and now suddenly it is as if hell itself has been unleashed.

Someone steps through where the wall should be. Someone dressed head to toe in black, with their blond hair up in a ponytail that looks exactly like my mum's ‘I mean serious business' ponytail.

My jaw drops open in shock and incomprehension. It is my mum. I'm not seeing things.

"Mum?" I gasp in sheer and utter bewilderment.

Her green eyes rake all over me and linger on my face. "Oh my baby boy, what have they done to you?"

I shake my head, "Nevermind that! Since when can you open flipping portals?"

If that even is what I'm looking at. But I've seen superhero movies, and this looks close enough. Nothing else makes any sense at all. And portals are how the fey stepped back into the human world and conquered it, so they definitely are a real thing.

"I can't open portals. I found some people to help," says my mum as calmly as if we are talking about carrying groceries from the car.

"Then you should have sent them, Mum. You can't be here. It is too dangerous!"

Her green eyes narrow. "A mother's love. Blood to blood. The only thing strong enough to break through the magic wards."

I stare at her. I'm all out of words. And thoughts. I'm blank. Empty. Done for.

She grabs my arm and starts pulling me towards the portal. As I stumble closer to it, I can see through it. It looks like a shitty hotel room. Freedom. Escape. Back with my mother and humans and away from fey. Away from Rhydian.

My mother never does anything half-arsed. If she has found a way to rescue me. She has also found a way to keep me safe. To stop Rhydian from ever finding me again.

The last time I saw Rhydian, was the last time I'll ever see him. A curt nod as he strolled away after breakfast. Softened by the hint of promise in his eyes. He was already looking forward to coming back to me tonight. He had plans for me. Now he'll never get to enact that promise. And I'll never even get to say goodbye.

I'll never see Dyfri or Pinky or Mabon or Tristan or any of the others. I'll never get to change things and prove Rhydian wrong. Prove that I can make a difference. I know I can. I can save them.

I glance over at Ninian. He is standing by the table. Clutching the back of a chair with white knuckles. His face is drained of all colour. He isn't going to try to stop me from leaving.

Shit. Is he going to get into trouble for that? Will they punish him? Something even worse than being sent back to his attacker's bed? If there is such a thing. I shudder. If there is, the fey are cruel enough to find it.

My heels dig into the carpet and my mother looks back at me in exasperation. We've only gone a few steps. Time has ceased to have any meaning. I'm still close to the table. And Ninian.

I reach out and grab his arm at the same time as shaking myself free of my mother's grip. I thrust Ninian into my mother's arms.

"I can't take two! I can only take one through the portal," yells my mother.

I can see anguish in her eyes as she takes in Ninian's terrified form. Their eyes meet. My mother is the most perceptive person I have ever met. I know she is seeing his hurt, pain, and fear. His suffering. She knows it's not her sudden appearance that is haunting his soul. Leaving him behind is going to break her. Especially when I tell her about his life here.

My lungs stutter. My limbs shake. My heart thuds, but not from fear. This makes everything so much easier. I know what the right thing to do is.

"Take him! They are going to do more awful things to him tonight, but Rhydian treats me well."

My mother stares at me, her green eyes wide and searching.

"I promise you, Mum. I'm fine. Ninian needs saving far more than I do."

Our gazes lock. Mother and son. She knows I'm just as stubborn and pigheaded as she is. And I pray I have even a fraction of her generous heart and strong sense of justice.

The door to the sitting room slams open so hard hinges must have broken. Rhydian is in the doorway. Fury in his eyes and a ball of amber magic in the palm of his hand.

"Mum! Go!" I scream, and I give Ninian a strong shove for good measure.

My mother nods decisively, gives me a proud smile and steps back into the portal, pulling Ninian with her. The portal disappears and I'm staring at a wall. A wall covered in expensive looking wallpaper, but nothing else.

Slowly, I turn to face Rhydian. The door is shut behind him now. A little wonky, but snug in its frame. There is no ball of magic in his hands. He never threw it. He didn't stop them. I'm pretty sure he had time.

"You let them go," I say calmly into the eerie silence.

He stares back at me. "You stayed."

Fuck. He is right.

I chose to stay.