9. Chapter Nine

Iwas able to stay on my feet, but only barely. Heath started walking to the kitchen, ignoring me, Fiona, and Rian. He didn't come back out, leaving us standing in silence until Fiona looked at me.

"I'm so sorry about this," she said, taking a few steps closer to me. "I truly am. We didn't know where else to turn."

"He…" I looked back on my time with Brin and his family. "He never once let me in on the fact that he was as powerful as he obviously is. He even mentioned saying something to the fae kings, but they had no idea…how?"

"Well, he didn't say anything to them," Rian said, rubbing the back of his head. "Our family sent word."

"And how is he the fae king while there are other fae kings?"

"There are many different names for it," Fiona said, sitting on my couch. "Brion was the king, what you would call the High King if you think of them all as kings. He ruled all of them. The others were just his brothers, other younger and less powerful sons of Oberon and Titania. In current times, they're not called kings anymore because they don't rule the way they used to. Brion sometimes messes up his own vernacular when he tries to explain something."

"So, we're talking about the fae royal family in general. A family of kings and…and queens," I said, not looking at her. "Like Alvina and the other one, Oisin."

"Yeah, though nowadays, most people just call them the fae nobility, although that doesn't perfectly fit because others are also noble without being part of the family." Rian shrugged. "You're not fae, so I bet my dad didn't really think to correct himself when he spoke wrong."

"I need to know everything," I said to them, looking between their tired faces. They weren't scared of me, not a hint of fear in the air, but they were both exhausted and looked as though they hadn't eaten in days. "If he's so powerful, why do you two look like this?"

"We've had to run separately for the last two months," Fiona said, a definitive heartbreak in those words as if she couldn't bear to be apart from her husband or her children. "When the first group of snooping fae showed up, we started to pack up. When the assassins came only a day later, we bolted. Brion couldn't come with us because…" She looked at Rian, who shrugged.

"I don't know how much we're allowed to say about that, Mom," he said softly. "But she needs to protect us."

"Brion and the man you knew, Brin? They were, in a sense, different men," she said softly. "He crafted this new identity so well, sometimes…"

"Sometimes, he would forget who he was," Rian finished. "Only sometimes, and he made sure we all knew. He had walked away from the throne to be with Mom and made a promise with magic that had unintended consequences. Until it was absolutely necessary, he couldn't remove his glamour and reveal his true fae form. He couldn't tap into his powers to the extent others would realize who he is. He was still a very powerful fae but had magically altered who he was to the point he had strange, selective amnesia. He locked a portion of himself away, so he could be with our mom."

"And slowly, over the years, his personality changed a little. I always loved him because people do that. We change over the years. Seeing him as Brion again isn't just startling to us, it's also startling to him. The promise unlocked him again, which has troubling implications for our family."

"What was the promise?" I asked, wary of what I was hearing. This was magic no one I ever met could do; dangerous, uncontrollable magic.

"In as few words as possible?" She leaned back on the couch and got a faraway look. "When we got together after we fell in love, his status interfered with that. I didn't ask him to walk away from it. That was something he wanted to do, and in the process, he promised me his status would never come between us again unless he needed to use it to protect the life we had built. The problem—which neither he nor I realized—was that his identity, magic, and status were so intertwined, it caused changes, like his selective amnesia, and losing some of his powers. Then the assassins came, and the promise released him from its changes. He's still adjusting. So, I ran with our boys, who are not as powerful as their father, while he went to try to put himself back together and figure out what he could do about this. He's not fully himself yet. This is not like riding a bicycle, it seems. Or maybe it is, but it's taking him some time."

"Holy shit," I mumbled, swaying as I walked to the kitchen to find Heath. He would have heard all of this. He must have. I left them sitting there, and they made no attempt to follow me. I found him pouring a shot of whiskey. From the look of the bottle, it wasn't his first one or maybe even his third.

"Heath…"

"King Brion, the king of the fae," he said softly, not looking at me. "You've known since…"

"April," I whispered.

"And you didn't tell me?" he said, turning on me. I saw a lot of things at that moment—an Alpha blindsided by an enemy he didn't know about, a father scared for his children, a man angry with his lover.

The first thing I saw was the man I had met in the back of that SUV—the face of an Alpha werewolf I hadn't seen since Dallas. Today, for the first time in a long time, his eyes were ice blue, showing how angry he was. Heath had an iron grip of self-control, and this, added to the week we'd had, was shaking it.

"What would you have done with the information?" I asked softly. "What would it have changed in your life or Carey's or Landon's? I had a bad feeling about telling anyone, a really bad feeling, Heath. Every time it crossed my mind, I felt sick to my stomach, and I couldn't do it. Letting Alvina find out seemed like the right decision. Telling anyone about it…didn't. It felt like inviting trouble to even mention it. It had nothing to do with us. It had nothing to do with you."

My gut had warned me things would come, and I had received a piece of advice over the summer I took to heart and intended to follow. Subira had told me to trust my instincts, and that's what I'd done.

He looked away from me again, staring down at his shot of whiskey. I knew he was trying his best to see things from my side and digesting the information the way I approached this.

Then he slowly pushed the shot of whiskey away.

"I'm going to tell Landon," he said, turning to me again, his voice rough and his eyes back to the blue-grey I loved. "You should tell Dirk and Oliver to go to my house and stay there until further notice."

"We'll get through this." I hoped we would, but I could smell the truth between us. If there was something that could break us, this might be it.

I didn't want this to be broken.

"We will," he agreed, nodding slowly. "I figured a lot of people could use our relationship against us at one point or another. I never thought it would be a fae king."

"I'll…I'll leave you to that," I said softly, stepping back. "I'll head to the bar. They're all probably still there. When you get the chance, you should talk to them. Getting to know them is important."

"Jacky…he never called you to Duty," Heath whispered as I turned away from him.

"It doesn't matter if he does," I replied. I looked back into the living room to see Fiona staring at me. "Fiona, let's make this official."

She nodded, knowing what I was talking about.

"My name is Fiona Kelly. I am a ninety-two-year-old human—"

I coughed. She looked older, but she was certainly not ninety-two.

"Father's magic has extended her life but done nothing else," Rian said softly. "She's still human."

"I am the wife of King Brion of the fae. I need protection from the supernatural community. I am at risk of losing my life through no fault of my own. I am requesting the werecats uphold their duties to the supernatural community and protect me from all threats inhuman."

I took a deep breath. The words were already written. They changed a little depending on the situation, but I had heard and given them once before. They were different, however, between an adult and a child. Carey became mine that day, needing all my love, protection, and guidance because she had been a child. Fiona Kelly was a woman who didn't need as much care, which meant I didn't need to promise as much.

"I, Jacqueline, daughter of Hasan, hereby do swear to protect you from all threats supernatural until which time I deem you are no longer at risk of the current threats against your life. I hereby do swear your life is now in my hands and can be trusted there. Fiona Kelly, you are hereby under the protection of this werecat and no other."

"That's not how that goes," Heath said softly. Fiona said nothing, only lowering her head in acceptance of my oath.

"It's all I give, considering the circumstances, and it upholds the Law," I said softly. "We're dealing with fae. I can't promise that she's under the protection of the werecats when I am the only one who can help her." I pursed my lips. "King Brion might have made me his pawn, but he won't make my people or my family his playthings."

I walked out of the room, left my house, and headed straight for my bar. I had no intention of forcing Oliver and Dirk to stay with Landon and Carey, which would let my family know what was going on.

Dirk wasn't around. Late Saturday evening, he was off because Heath and I were in residence and didn't normally need security. We had things well in hand on our own. Oliver was looking a bit frantic when I found him, pointing around for a server to do something or another. Kick Shot was packed, as it liked to be on Saturday evenings.

"Oliver, with me," I ordered, my voice cutting over the noise like a whip crack, unintended on my part. Oliver looked up and met my gaze before I started up the stairs. My tone left no room for argument from anyone around us. Servers looked at me cautiously, but Oliver walked to me with his head high. In any other bar, people would start whispering and wondering if Oliver was about to be fired. Oliver and I knew better. He'd grown up a lot since he came to me and knew my tone had nothing to do with him. Something was happening.

"What's going on?" he asked the moment he closed my office door, hiding us from the outside world.

"I've been called to Duty. I'll be unavailable for an unknown period," I said softly as I looked around my office. I had no idea the next time I would get to see it again. I wasn't going to take my charge outside of my territory, which would be stupid and dangerous, but I wouldn't be bringing her to Kick Shot, either. I didn't want people seeing her.

"Should I send word to the family?" He looked at the screen mounted on my wall.

"No," I answered, sharper and faster than I should have. It was a reflex, the desperate need to keep them out of this and away from the situation. While this happened badly and I was now stuck in a fae bargain, it was better than the alternative. Telling Hasan and my siblings would only drag them into the fight, and I couldn't be certain we'd be on the same side.

It hit me as I stared at the same screen.

Brion's blackmail was effective. At the moment, I had thought about the larger repercussions. There were people who would see Heath and me as traitors to our respective species, but it was also blackmail to keep from talking to my own family, who had fought in the war leading to the creation of the Tribunal. Who had fought in the mysterious wars I heard them talk about long before. I couldn't run to my family and get their advice or their help.

That's fine. I can manage. I've survived everything so far.

Over the summer, they had told me I was too wild, too willing to throw my own life away, something I had heard from them before. Mischa had made it clear when I had gone to Russia, and I remembered the anger in which she had delivered those words. They made me promise if I found myself in a position I couldn't manage, I would call them.

Now, I couldn't.

"I'm being blackmailed," I whispered to Oliver. "The family can't know anything."

"Oh. Who…" He didn't finish that thought and went with another. "What is the blackmail?"

I turned to him, my heart sore. I didn't reply, but I watched his eyes grow wide.

"I see," he said, finding a seat. "So, it's getting out."

Nodding, I sat across from him. "Slowly but surely. Do you know where Dirk is this evening?"

As if fate was on my side for just a moment, my phone started to vibrate. I picked up quickly and put him on speakerphone.

"Boss," Dirk greeted me. "I was with Landon while he was on Carey-watch. She's already in bed. He put Heath on speaker, so I could hear. What do you need me to do? Do you want us to pack up and go to the Everson house?"

I would have been happy to hear that on any other Saturday, especially after the week everyone had had. If those two were still willing to hang out on a Saturday, that meant they had a chance, and I wanted them to be happy. I needed them to be happy.

Tonight, I couldn't muster the feeling.

"Since I have both of you, here's what we're going to do. You're both going to live in your own home. I'm not sending you to the werewolves for protection. It's a sign to my family something is wrong, and they cannot, under any circumstances, know what is going on. Kick Shot will continue operations as planned, but be prepared to close at any moment if I make the call. You'll both be expected to work, then go home. No diversions, no hanging out with friends. Nothing."

While the warning was mostly for Dirk, I knew Oliver was finally making a few friends as well. He was beginning to break from fraternization rules and hang out with some of the employees. I didn't stop him because I knew he would never let it get in the way of his job. Oliver nodded ‘message received.'

"Can do, Jacky. Are you going anywhere?" Dirk asked.

"Not if I have anything to say about it. I'm going to try to keep my charge in my house, out of the way and protected. I probably won't be making any trips. Dirk, as head of security, and since you have a bit more movement than Oliver, I'll have you run store trips. You'll make them quick supply restocks, then come here and help at Kick Shot. I don't need you on the cameras."

"Boss—"

"I don't need you on the cameras," I repeated.

"What are we dealing with?"

"Fae," I answered. Oliver paled. Dirk's string of expletives was not in English. He didn't normally slip out of English. "Listen to me, both of you. There's a chance this will blow back on you. Dirk, did Heath tell you what's at stake?"

"He said there was blackmail involved, but he was pretty sparse with details."

"You can't tell Niko or anyone else in the family about this. Do you understand what I'm saying?"

"Yes."

"Good. Arm yourselves. Oliver, have you been going to the gun range with Dirk as I asked?"

"I have," he said, nodding quickly. "Silver or…"

Oliver is asking me about ammunition. Good gods, what is my life?

"Regular bullets will be more effective than silver. Fae like silver," I said softly, not able to look at him anymore. Once a happy yet anxious young man, he was growing into himself, but I wondered for a moment if it was the man he was supposed to be or if he was forced to adapt, thanks to my life.

Maybe it's time to send Oliver somewhere safer. Maybe when this is over, I can send him somewhere he can have a more normal life.

"I'll crack open my gun safe and give Oliver everything he needs," Dirk promised. "And we got a gift from Niko and Jabari over the summer…swords, daggers, and stuff."

"Yeah, I heard about that. You can't carry the swords around, but they're good to have. An iron sword or dagger will fuck up a fae. I would feel comfortable carrying daggers. Don't expect me to tell you how to use them. Jabari made it very clear I was the worst trained person in the family, and I have zero skill with those types of weapons. Dirk, you have some training. Give Oliver a crash course."

"He already has," Oliver said with a small smile, but I didn't like how pale he was.

"Good. I need to get back to my house. I left Heath with them, so I could talk to you both…I needed the fresh air and the walk."

"Jacky, good luck," Oliver said, standing. "We'll do everything we can to manage without you. I'll reschedule your meetings with Agent Kirk and postpone any family calls. I'll make sure everything else you have scheduled is managed as well. You can trust us."

"Yeah, boss, we'll get through this," Dirk promised.

"You're wonderful, Oliver. You too, Dirk. Thank you both. I'll keep you as updated as I can. There's a lot, and I don't know if most of it is safe to say." I hung up the call with Dirk, then hugged Oliver before leaving my office. Oliver didn't follow, and I knew it was because he needed a moment to collect himself.

If I had my way, I wouldn't come out of that office for a decade.