Page 98 of Fae Farewells

“I’m the Devil.”

Freya shrugged, indifferent to my response. “Yes, and?”

“And you’re the respective leaders of this realm... If I understand the way these deals work with royals, we’ll word it as a temporary truce that the soldiers will have to follow. That will show us which of the summer soldiers are loyal to Alania and who’s just doing their job. You know? Based on who would want to avoid a hypothetical war with the Underworld and who doesn’t care?”

“So you’re testing them?” Briggs guessed.

I nodded. “It’s the only way I can think of to thin the herd. We don’t know who is friend or foe, and Vaughn has asked me repeatedly to not kill fae who are simply doing their jobs. I understand that being a guard comes with certain expectations, but I don’t know how else to go about killing the foe while saving the friends.”

“Okay,” Freya said, staring at her fingers as she worked through my half-assed explanation. “You want Ruby and me to intercept the guards before they get your mates to the dungeon?”

“Correct.” I began pacing again, trying to work through any more perceived issues.

“And from there, we’ll say something along the lines of…” Freya darkened her voice and narrowed her eyes to portray her threat. “These men aren’t under arrest. The queen has been overthrown. Step away or die.”

Sarge huffed a quiet laugh. “Frey, she wants you to give them the chance to show us if they’re loyalists of Alania or the Winter family. She wants you to give them a command. Those who follow are spared. Those who do not are killed.”

“Oh. Well, why didn’t you just say that?” she asked me.

“I thought I did…”

“Sloane’s mind isn’t programmed for clear battle plans,” York commented.

Novak grinned playfully. “She likes to wing it, but she knows everyone else needs to know what they’re doing. So she formulates a plan, giving you a task that she can deviate from without fucking up the bigger picture.”

Tilly raised a brow. “Which is why you wanted to know if Alania would go to her room?”

“Yes. Her room is a smaller space to fight, and it’s also somewhat secluded from the soldiers. Until they figure out where we are... But if we’re in the throne room, then that’s a whole other set of things to consider. There will be more access to guards and innocents. There’s more space to fight, and that means more things to look for.”

“Like the columns on the edges of the room?” Tilly suggested.

“Uhm, well... Yes and no?” I countered, grimacing at my answer. “I was thinking more like being attacked from multiple angles, but the columns could also be a hindrance.”

“They’re wide enough to hide behind,” she whispered.

Then my mind whirled with flashes of forgotten memories.

Why did she feel the need to quietly confess she’d been hiding in the throne room?

And why did she need to hide at all?

What the fuck had Alania done to her?

I took a deep breath, shaking away the images of the Drakes’ early childhood. This wasn’t the same situation that Dolyn and Hyde were in. Even if it was, it would be over soon. No one would lay a hand on these fae without fucking losing it.

“That’s very useful, Tilly,” I said, showing appreciation without actually thanking her. “I know how to piss her off enough to attack now.”

“Finish the plan, Sloane,” Vaughn urged.

“Right. Ruby, Freya, and Frey’s guys know their part—”

“We don’t,” Zyus interrupted.

Levi sighed. “We’re the firing squad, Zy. If they don’t listen to Frey and Ruby, we pop in and snap necks.”

“And then we’ll take those guards to a cell,” Sarge added. “Because breaking a neck won’t keep them dead.”

Zyus tipped his head, so I kept going.