Page 85 of Filthy Fae

“There were hundreds of witnesses, Mother.”

The queen shrugged. “Then bring one forward willing to contradict my word.”

Not a single fae guard in the clearing so much as shifted, even though many of them had been at the feast.

Ah, how devoted all these fae are to my mother.

The sardonic thought made me shake my head. These fae did not move a muscle… out of terror. Half of them would have conspired with my sister in her assassination plot if the alternative to Queen Titania wasn’t Mab herself. Not a single fae wanted Mab as the new Queen of Spring. It was probably why my mother kept her as the heir for so many centuries. Mab was the worse alternative waiting in the wings.

Beside me, Aaron raised his hand. “I definitely heard you banish him. Then you ordered everyone to hunt him.”

“So says you.” Titania waved a hand through the air. “Regardless of what did or didn’t happen before, I un-banish you, Macklin. You’re my son. Your place is here.”

For a moment I considered mentioning that my mother had recently declared that my place was in the Autumn court, but there was absolutely no point in engaging with her. Many believed that fae couldn’t lie, and sometimes I wondered if my mother had created that piece of lore just to get away with her brand of manipulation.

A whistle sliced through the air, and I shoved my hand into my pocket, wrapping my fingers around the metal charm sewn within. All along the line, the werewolves did the same.

“They’re attacking!” An archer called out. A bowstring twanged, and an arrow loosed, whistling through the air toward Lance’s heart.

My mother cried, “Halt!”

The arrow froze inches from Lance’s chest. We all stared at it, floating in midair.

“Everyone, move!” The call came from the tree line where Rick the union rep I’d met twenty minutes ago was stationed. When Darrel had contacted the Witch and Wizard Union, Rick had his own ideas about how we could save our Scarlet, prove Mab’s involvement, and banish the demon. We couldn’t see the ring of witches and wizards, but they were there, hiding all around us in the trees, giving us this opportunity to act.

Rick called out again, “The clock is counting down. Three minutes and thirty-nine seconds!”

In one sweeping glance, I took in the clearing where everyone except our line of werewolves turned into living statues. Queen Titania’s lips were frozen open, still yelling the word halt. Barney’s hand was half raised, his eyelids wide. One of the other archers had loosed his bow, the string pushing its arrow a quarter of an inch forward.

Next to the tree, two figures swung down, landing before the frozen Queen.

Nancy and Morte.

They landed in a crouch, both of their silver ponytails swinging. The necromancers darted between the queen and her guard, sprinting into the palace.

I sprang into action, right behind the other wolves. As a group, we raced for the dais. Darrel got there before me, and he immediately grabbed Scarlet and ran into the palace with Aaron, Lance, and the other werewolves behind him. I’d drawn them a map to the main portal, and they would all head straight there.

I didn’t follow. Instead, I crossed my arms and leaned against the great tree, waiting for the time to run out.

“One minute!” Rick yelled.

All around the clearing, mages dropped from trees and sprinted toward us, threading through the frozen fae. They crowded into the tree, their feet thundering across the wood floor as they too headed for the portal.

I counted down in my head.

Five, four, three...

A shudder rippled down the line of archers.

Two, one...

The arrow sped forward and thumped into the trunk of a tree. A second arrow followed it, flying between trunks and into the forest beyond. All around the clearing, the archers straightened from their crouched position, their eyes wide with shock.

“Are my brothers alive?” I asked.

Queen Titania rotated until she saw me standing behind her. Her brows lifted. “They are. Though, I don’t expect them to recover any time soon.” She lifted a shoulder. “It was worth having a night with the incubus, though, even if my guards will be out of commission for a few weeks.”

That was classic Queen Titania logic. Things were only a problem if they inconvenienced her.