14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

"Whom the heir marries must be carefully chosen, for the heir must sire seven sons to continue the contract." – Lord Rhett, First Lord of Sídhetír.

I rode beside Sevrin through the streets of Elmbury. The fae we'd heard about had been making rounds within the village proper. Fae deals—they were a double-edged blade. On one hand, they could help, and on the other, they had a tendency to hurt those who took them.

Lord Byrne wanted them found, which fell to us, or more accurately, his sons. I decided to join Sevrin when he planned to search the village. Lord Byrne hadn't been pleased, but he allowed me to go because I was not going alone—as he'd thought I'd promised.

Lord Byrne could not keep the fae out of Sídhetír during the transition, and Oren had yet to receive his mantle. But if we found the fae, Lord Byrne might convince them to leave, though he couldn't cast them out if they would not be persuaded. He could appeal to the fae representatives to assist him in forcing the fae to leave.

A crisp fall wind rattled the leaves and stirred my hair, making me look at the pristine blue sky. I closed my eyes as one of my hands stretched, palm to the ground. The clomp of the horse hooves. The scent of flowers. The feel of the sunlight.

For some reason, I had a desperate urge to see my mother's grave. Perhaps it was the flowers reminding me of her. I had no reason for the bone-deep longing that rose up, making me shift on the hard saddle, but I had to go to the church.

I swallowed. The feeling might have nothing to do with my mother, and all to do with someone else.

Cethin slithered into my thoughts.

A week had passed since I'd spoken to Abnus, and even longer since I'd seen Cethin. I saw Abnus daily, because he made a point to greet me, but he wouldn't answer questions or speak about Cethin. Abnus and Blodwen had continued to court Oren, and he still refused to make a decision. Lord Byrne was growing increasingly agitated at his lack of direction, for it prolonged the transition and left people at risk.

"Do you see anything?" I asked Sevrin as we passed by the flower shop, my eyes running over the blooms.

"No."

We'd spoken to several villagers, and while people would admit to seeing a fae, no one would admit to making a deal. They did give us a general description. Tall. Not much help there. Golden hair. Probably light fae. Tan. Broad. Attractive.

I pulled my horse to a stop, and Sevrin looked at me in askance.

"I want to visit my mother," I announced.

"Now?" he asked, a divot forming between his squished eyebrows.

"Yes." The urge to see the church was growing by the second, sending ants scurrying beneath my skin. I slipped off my horse's back and stepped inside the flower shop, a bell announcing my arrival.

Conor looked up from behind the counter. His brow creased and he shoved his glasses up his nose when Sevrin came inside. "Aidan, are you getting your usual?" he asked, but his gaze remained on Sevrin.

"Yes. Thank you."

Conor began to assemble a bouquet with practiced motions. I took a deep inhale of the mixed floral scents. Normally, the fragrance calmed me because it signified I was about to see my mother, but this time, the tension in my muscles continued to grow.

My stomach curled as my legs tensed like I was about to start running. I had to go. Now. The graveyard with its mossy grave markers, broken stone wall, and towering elm tree appeared in my mind's eye.

Something was waiting. Cethin? Possibly.

I bounced on my toes and glanced over my shoulder at the windows. Familiar faces of villagers passed by as they went about their lives, but I didn't catch a glimpse of a fae, or anything out of the usual.

"Do you come here often?" Sevrin asked, making me jolt.

I'd almost forgotten he was with me. "I get flowers for my mother when I visit her."

Sevrin's brown eyes locked on mine as the corners of his lips turned down. "You never told me that you visited your mother's grave this often."

"What's there to tell?" I shrugged, burying my hands in my pockets. "My mother rests close to here. Why wouldn't I visit her?"

"One of us would've come with you. We could have paid our respect to our own mothers."

"Contrary to recent events, I can take care of myself."

"I know that. We all know that, but we do like to take care of you."

"Something of which I am well aware," I said dryly, and Sevrin laughed, bumping his shoulder against mine.

Conor laid the flower bouquet on the counter. I slapped a coin down and grabbed the paper-wrapped flowers.

"Thank you," I said. He nodded, turning back to assemble another bouquet.

On our horses again, Sevrin and I went straight to the isolated church. I saw its sharp spire before I caught sight of the building in its entirety. The low stone wall surrounded the graveyard, but its mossy green stones, crumbling with age, did not hold my attention. The man who sat on the wall did. His golden blonde hair fell around his round face. His tapered ears and elegant beauty marked him for the fae he was.

He tossed a pebble in the air and snatched it, whistling a jaunty tune. The fae glanced in our direction and nodded in welcome.

"How did you know?" Sevrin asked.

I shrugged. I truly hadn't known the fae would be here. The sudden urge to see my mother had more to do with the scent of flowers and being in Elmbury. Or Cethin perhaps, though I didn't see him anywhere.

"Good morning, lads," the fae called out, hopping to the ground and shoving his hands in his pockets. "What can I do for you?"

I slipped off my horse's back, ignoring Sevrin's hushed whisper, and dropped the fragrant flowers to the ground. We were not supposed to confront the fae. At most, we were supposed to ask them to leave. The best course of action was to fetch Lord Byrne.

My hand closed around the iron key in my pocket. Like a fool, I hadn't grabbed my iron dagger when we left this morning. Sevrin would have his pistols on him, which shot iron rounds, but I had nothing but a key to protect myself with.

"Why do you think we want something?" I asked, approaching.

He smiled, but it held no warmth. His brown eyes scoured me from my red hair to the tip of my shiny boots. "Such a fine gentleman as yourself would only have one reason to seek me out. You want a deal, and I might be inclined to grant you one—for a favor."

"What favor?" I stood in front of him, subtly slipping the key from my pocket.

With a smirk, he stepped closer. "I'm not sure yet, but I'd be willing to grant you a deal, possibly, without closing your end. I would return one day for what you owe me."

"People are agreeing to this?" Sevrin asked, eyebrows high on his face. I quite agreed. Making an open-ended deal was idiotic. The fae could return years, even decades, later for whatever they wanted, and the human would have no recourse.

"Ah, sorry, lads, speaking about my other deals is off limits. People have a right to privacy."

"I do have something I want from you." Pressure began to build in my chest. I wanted this fae to leave. I wanted him gone from Sídhetír. He was harming the people who lived here. How many open-ended contracts had he made? What would he collect from people in the years to come?

His grin turned predatory. "Of course you do. Everyone does. What can I do for you?"

"Aidan," Sevrin warned.

The fae's eyebrows lifted. "Aidan? Beautiful name that suits you well." He shifted closer until barely any space separated us. His breath stirred my hair as he asked in a low voice, "What do you desire?"

"I won't make a deal for it," I said, which made his aspect harden. "By authority of Lord Byrne, we want you to leave Sídhetír. Now."

"A couple of Lord Byrne's sons," he bit out. The fae's appearance began to morph as his glamour dimmed. His features hardened and his skin took on the texture of stone. Small horns jutted out of the top of his head while a spiked tail slid to the ground.

"You need to leave."

"I have every right to be here, and you two have no power over me."

Sevrin pulled out his pistol. "If I put an iron round in your skull, that would stop you."

"If you can hit me." The fae slammed his hand into my sternum, and I went down, smacking into the ground. My chest ached and the breath left my lungs. The roots of the tree in the graveyard began to shift and tremble, lifting out of the ground and shooting toward me. They encased me, scraping my skin raw.

A shot rang out, and the fae yelped. I jerked up and saw Sevrin holding a smoking pistol in his hand. The fae clutched his shoulder, growling. He waved a hand, and the ground beneath Sevrin rumbled. The horses whinnied. Sevrin's reared, and he tumbled off with a shout. Both of the horses ran off. More roots appeared and rushed in Sevrin's direction, moving to spear him.

"Sevrin," I screamed. The roots caging me fell to the ground, and I was on my feet before I even had a chance to think about what I was doing. I rammed into the fae, pressing the iron key against his face. He shrieked as a burning smell filled my nostrils and awakened my nausea. His skin turned bright red from the contact of iron. The fae backhanded me, and I crashed into the ground, cheek throbbing and blood tinging my mouth.

I whipped toward the fae. Sevrin struggled to his feet, pulling out an iron knife. He'd come prepared, which shouldn't surprise me.

The fae snarled, revealing his sharp teeth. "You will not stop me. I will lay enough hooks until I can traverse the realms at will."

I tackled him again. I shoved him into the ground and stabbed him with the key, ripping it out and moving to stab him again. The fae punched me, fist connecting with my jaw, and I groaned as lights flashed in my eyes. He held a hand to the dirt road and it lifted, throwing me into the air. I slammed into the ground, and the fae did it again and again and again.

Lungs burning and head pounding, I fought to stay conscious. Sevrin rushed toward the fae and attacked, his movements light and steady. Roots shot out of the ground and grabbed Sevrin, dragging him to his knees.

"You, lads, have not been hospitable hosts." The fae pressed a hand to his shoulder. Blood leaked from in between his fingers. A massive key-shaped burn decorated the side of his face, and a jagged stab wound on his stomach bled profusely. He stumbled. The blood loss was getting to him, as was the iron poisoning from said wounds and the bullet embedded in his skin.

"But I think killing you and leaving your bodies for your father will be a good message. Too long the nobles have controlled access to this world. I have every right to be here, and if you humans are stupid enough to make deals with me, that is not my problem."

The fae stalked in my direction, and the ground rumbled beneath my palms as the wind picked up. I lifted my head; strength that I didn't understand began to flood my veins. Moments ago, I'd been fighting to stay conscious, and suddenly, the pain was dulling. I would not allow the fae to harm Sevrin or anyone else. I shifted to my knees, and the world tilted.

"Leave," I ordered. "While you still have a chance."

He seized my chin in a bruising grasp. "The arrogance of humans. You are about to die."

"No. He is not," a voice said, sending shivers down my spine. "You are."

A black cloud of magic encased the fae, yanking him away from me. Blue flowers with long yellow stamens bloomed within the darkness and the cloud morphed into thorny vines. Cethin stepped forward, and Sevrin glanced at me, but I didn't bother to answer his unasked question. Cethin wasn't supposed to be here any longer, but Lord Byrne had known he'd come back, as had Abnus.

He stepped in front of me, crouching, and his hair brushed my cheeks. Cethin gently held my chin, his thumb moving over the split in my lip and the bruise along my cheek and jaw. "Why didn't you call for me?"

"I had it handled."

"If this is how you handle things, we need to have a discussion."

An unwilling smile pulled at the corner of my lips. By God, I'd missed him, even though I was still furious. Cethin pressed a kiss to my forehead.

"I will call you next time," I said.

Cethin frowned. "There should be no next time."

"We'll see."