Chapter 14

Ok,so water was the most I could convince myself to consume before I went and made myself comfortable in the nest by the window. It overlooks the courtyard, so while I read another kind of taboo book on my phone (I think the author was trying to straddle the line so she wouldn't get banned), I keep an ear out for any commotion and look up occasionally to make sure I don't miss my family's entrance.

Eventually, there's a knock on the door, and after a few seconds it opens. Conall peeks in like he might find me naked or sleeping or something.

"The runners have spotted the Silverdovers. Would you like to meet them at the entrance?"

That's a good sign, right? Locked in the room, but he's offering to take me out to meet my family.

I roll out of the nest as gracefully as I can (if anyone knows how to gracefully get out of a papasan, please let me know, because so far I've never found a way to do it), and cross the room, following Conall out into the hall. I point to the door handle and shake my finger at him, letting him know with a disapproving frown that I did not appreciate him locking me in.

Conall glances between me and the door, then understanding dawns on his face. He shrugs, unaffected by my disapproval. "You're not exactly an expected guest, are you?"

I suppose that's true, but still. Do I look like a spy? No. I look like a boy who deserves to be spoiled by his fiancé and his sugar daddy, and I am as I appear.

Conall takes me to the front entrance and we stand at the top of the ramp, watching the front gate for the appearance of my family. I'm so busy watching the gates that I don't immediately notice the shadow of clouds incoming. The loud crack of thunder startles my attention to the sky, and that's when I see two large bird forms backlit by constant lightning inside a huge storm that's coming in faster than it should be possible.

Fox and Dakota arrive within a minute of my spotting them, and then the two thunderbirds dive out of the storm straight toward the courtyard, which is big enough for them both to land, but they're coming in fast and do not look like they're going to stop in time.

I step out onto the ramp, watching the thunderbird I'm certain is Fox. He spots me, pulls up, and shifts mid-air, dropping from higher than is sensible onto the ground, rolling to his feet, and jogging up the ramp, fully nude. My heart nearly beats out of my chest watching him, first because that's a really long fall, and then because he's naked, and that gets my motor revving, if you know what I mean.

I step out to meet Fox, and just as I'm ready to wrap myself around him, he bounces off my ward and tumbles backward, rolling down the ramp to the bottom before he gets his feet under him.

Shock rolls through me as Dakota lands next to him, fully dressed—his pure thunderbird magic allows him to shift his clothes, unlike Fox, who has to disrobe or tear his clothes when he shifts.

"Oh, good. I was wondering if the ward would recognize the threat," Conall says from behind me.

I turn, stunned to see a smug little smirk on his face.

"Did you enjoy your refreshments?" he asks, like that's more meaningful than I was led to believe.

Seriously? He tricked me even after telling me to eat with no obligation to his clan or the realm? That's frustrating, but also, why would my ward switch sides on me?

Conall reaches out and rests his hand on my shoulder. "There is no such clan as Clan Thane," he explains, and then his grip tightens painfully and he twists me around.

My ward's defensive magic flares up and his crushing grip is lifted off me. I step away from him. I try to walk away, but one step is as far as I get before he barks, "Stay," and I'm forced to stop.

Dammit. I should not have had that glass of water.

Ashley joins us, and he rests his massive hand on my shoulder, looking down the ramp as the rest of my family thunders into the courtyard riding…

Unicorns. They're all riding unicorns.

W-O-W.

Tag's unicorn is huge, bigger than the rest, and it jumps over Dakota and Fox's heads, landing on the ramp and trotting up it until Tag is looking down on us from his mount. He narrows his icy blue gaze at Ashley. "I see you haven't learned not to fuck with me yet, Ash."

Ashley's hand on my shoulder slides down my front and he steps up behind me, wrapping both massively bulging arms around me. "I didn't bring the little one to Fae, and he came here of his own accord. I didn't force him to enter, nor did I tell him he was safe. He is here because he chose to be, and he is my prisoner because you didn't educate him. He agreed to my hospitality under no duress, and you know that according to the laws of this realm, he's mine now. I'll happily sell him back to you for a fair price."

Fuck me.

Tag sneers down at Ashley. "Swear to that before we start negotiations and I won't consider this an act of war."

Ashley snorts. "My army is prepared for you, Merith. You've brought your most beloved family. I've brought every person willing to sacrifice for the glory of Clan Caryn." It sounds like Karen. I swear to you it sounds like Karen.

"And it still won't be enough to save you," Tag scoffs. "Give me Romily, Ashley. Don't make me cut you down. You've risen so high, I would enjoy seeing you fall again, but I would rather have Romily without having to put in the effort."

"Romily is my mate," Fox states clearly and with some kind of magical intention, because there's a weight to his words that I feel as much as I felt Conall's when he said eating and drinking wouldn't indebt me to Fae.

I blink, and suddenly Amos is right there next to Tag's unicorn. He somehow dismounted and walked up the ramp without me noticing. He smiles kindly at me and holds out his hand. "Come here, son."

The weight keeping me in place and under Ashley's control lifts off me and I reach out, taking his hand and letting him pull me into his comforting, parental hug. I love these hugs. They're tight and warm and remind me that I've found my forever family. I don't always need the reminder, but when I get it, it's so lovely.

Ashley makes a noise of protest. "No! Come back, Romily. You are mine!"

Those words have no effect on me at all.

Tag shakes his head. "Ash, you underestimated us again. No one in this family is ever going to be so low that consuming your hospitality is going to indebt us. You are beneath us. If we deign to partake in your hospitality, it is an honor to your household that we have."

Um, if that's true then how did he manage to trap me for even a moment? I've been a part of this family for months.

Fox takes me from Amos' arms. It's my fault, he says, speaking into my mind as he presses his nose into my hair and breathes deeply. I had to tell Fae that you're my mate. We haven't made it widely known, and the magic doesn't pay that close attention to us. We have to tell it things before it recognizes having the knowledge of the thing.

I think about that for a second while Tag continues to talk down to Ashley.

So the magic knew that we were mates, but you have to tell it before it acted like we are mates?

Correct, Fox responds.

I squeeze his butt, because yes, my hands have wandered down to his naked cheeks. I love you.

We're going to have to stay here for dinner to prove that we are still above the Caryns.

Well, considering that the obligation I felt to the Caryns fell off as soon as Fae understood my place, I don't think I mind.

How did our family rise so high? And also please explain if this is a magical or social or political height advantage.

Amos's voice breaks into our private conversation, so I assume Fox brings him in because he's better at explaining complicated systems to make them understandable to outsiders. It's a mix of all three, but the first factor that is considered is the collective power of the clan. We're a small clan, but collectively we are more powerful than all but one clan on Fae. We don't live here because if we did, we would be required to rule a part of this realm, and we're not interested.

The second factor that is considered is social reputation. We are actually ranked third in the realm, because even though we're the second most powerful, we're not as well known among the people. If we did claim the right to rule, we would quickly climb to second place because our name would become commonly used.

The third factor is our political leverage. As a clan we have more political leverage in more realms than most fae clans. We could probably rise to first rank on political leverage if we chose to rule here.

Since we have no interest, we remain ranked third, and Clan Caryn has been trying to overtake us for thousands of years. Maybe eventually Ashley will succeed, but he's more likely to rise by killing off the clans above him than he is to succeed in consolidating enough power, leverage, or popularity to rise above us.

"Please, do come in and feast with Clan Caryn this evening, should you dare." Ashley's disdainful invitation pulls me out of the baffling mental conversation.

Tag's answer is just as baffling. "It would be our pleasure, Ash."

So now we're going to prove that our clan is better than their clan by eating their food without garnering an obligation.

What even is the point of this? I should have gone to see what The Mab wanted instead.

Aaand as soon as that thought passes through my head, the world tilts in a sickening way and suddenly I'm no longer on that ramp with Fox. Instead I'm in a throne room, swallowing to keep from tossing the water I drank, and looking at a black and gray elven person wearing a white bodysuit and a cape with one of those things that stands up and fans out like a huge villainous throne back. I don't know what they're called. It's a really big dramatic piece of art attached to the back of the cape.

Their lips are painted black, or they're actually just naturally black, who knows? Their eyes are black, and so are their hands except for their nails, which are white.

"Hello, Harbinger. I was wondering if you were going to decide to visit," the elf greets me. "I'm Gwendolyn, known as The Mab, the queen of the Court of Bones. Will you walk with me?"

She rises off her throne, standing twice my height, and gestures to a pitch black doorway. "I swear on my throne to return you safe, healthy, and unhurt to your family."

The weight of that promise locks into my bones.

My instincts tell me I can trust her, and so I nod and follow her into the darkness.