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His council never actually got anything accomplished. It only served to give the fae in the room some kind of hierarchy with the rest of the high fae. The council was full of the most wicked fae, and Ciaran despised almost all of them. The only member of his council he trusted was Kes, and that trust had been hard earned and not always given; however, there were still some things he could trust with no one, not even Kes. He thought about his little witch. Maybe she could be the one he trusted with anything? The idea nearly made him scoff out loud.
He sat back in his chair at the head of the table, Kes to his right, and propped his feet up. He despised council meetings. Since he could not tell them about his curse or the prophecy, he couldn’t say much about the power imbalance the realm was facing. They would all push for a marriage to some being that would benefit their station.
He wondered what the councils of Night fae long ago discussed. Did they sit around this table and gossip like his council, while all vying for a better position in the court? He found it hard to believe it had always been this way. If it had, surely a king would have tired of their antics and dissolved the council long ago.
“What whining must I listen to today? Hurry up! I have things to do and a human to see.” he said with a bawdy grin.
Council Member Royad cleared his throat to begin speaking, and Ciaran nearly groaned. He knew the ass wipe would speak first as always; he feigned shock and rolled his eyes at the male.
“My Prince, have you thought further on the betrothal to my daughter? She would make a strong queen, and most importantly, you would finally ascend the throne and become king.”
It was a requirement for the king and queen to ascend the throne at the same time. It represented the balance the land required. His council no doubt thought all he needed was a queen. Royad was a constant pain in his ass with his desire to push Ciaran to take his daughter as queen. Ciaran glared at the being. He was a goblin, and one of the uglier ones Ciaran had ever seen. Honestly, it was a miracle Leona looked nothing like him.
“Royad, do you think me a fool? If I married your daughter it would make you the father of the queen. We can’t have you meddling in my daily life anymore than you already do, now can we?” He gave the goblin a mocking smile. “Do not ask again. I have my reasons, which I can not share with any of you.” Ciaran did not know it was possible for a goblin to turn such a dark green in anger. It brought him immense joy.
“My Prince,” council member Fiandra began. “I hear there is a human in the dungeons. He was your catch during last night’s hunt? What will you do with him?” she asked with a malicious gleam in her eye. She wanted to play with him, and as soon as Ciaran had gotten his revenge for his little witch, he would gladly give the man to his court to play with.
“Yes, he is quite mad – it’s rather entertaining. I plan to spend a few days giving him a true Night Court welcome, but as soon as I have sufficiently imbued enough hospitality upon him, you are welcome to him.”
The council members all chuckled darkly at his words.
“I hear that was not the only interesting prey of the hunt,” Council Member Balric said, causing all laughter to cease, and everyone to look at him expectantly.
“Well, do enlighten us. What else did you hear, Balric?” Ciaran asked, well aware it was either going to be his witch or the nymph. He was betting on the nymph since she spent some time down in the dungeons, but would not put it past the male to have somehow heard whisperings about another human in the palace.
Balric had grown up with Kes and Ciaran. His powers were weaker, and the male had gotten it in his mind it was Kes and Ciaran’s fault he fell short. Perhaps it was their fault he was never able to forget it, because as younglings they had made it their life’s mission to constantly remind him of how he was lacking. While Balric’s power may be less, he made up for it in cunning schemes. His mind was the only reason he had a seat at this table.
“I have heard a member of the Day Court is somehow still living in this very palace. How a Day fae could ever survive the Night Court is a mystery. If that weren’t vexing enough, I have also heard of a mysterious human woman that the lunatic man in the dungeon has been raving about. Apparently, she was taken with him, and yet there is no sign of her. I wonder where she could be hiding, Prince,” Balric said smugly, knowing he had just revealed information Ciaran did not wish to be shared.
Ciaran’s fist clenched under the table. It was the only physical response he made until he let his face morph into his most common mask of wicked delight. He glanced around at all six of his council members and grinned his too wide grin.
“Ah, yes – my pet. She is quite the entertainment to me. Did you not hear I was lucky enough to have caught two humans during the hunt?”
Most of the council members nodded in approval, though Balric seemed to study Ciaran. He wouldn’t doubt the male could read Ciaran’s slightest of tells. Balric would be a problem; Ciaran could feel it in his bones.
Kes found himself feeling oddly annoyed the council knew of his little nymph. Nonetheless, he supposed he should not be too surprised considering he was the fool. He had left her to be seen by anyone in the dungeon after their arrival to the palace, following the hunt. He was finding it increasingly hard to separate himself from Anin, and he was not sure he wanted to know what it meant. He would need to rid himself of her presence as soon as possible, yet the prospect of never hearing her smart mouth again made him feel that place in his chest burn. It was a heavy empty feeling burning inside him. He had a suspicion he would never be free of her.
“And what of the Day Court trash? Are we truly to allow it to live here? In our court?” Syndari sneered. They were one of the few members of the council who didn’t seem to have their own agenda. They were just the embodiment of pure evil.
They were a shifter who could become nearly anything. They preferred this lizard-like body and wore it most of the time. They could easily shift colors to blend into their surroundings and, for small periods of time, they could shift their entire being to identically resemble anyone; they even changed their voice. It was a skill that made them even more terrifying and full of secrets. Secrets they could use to easily manipulate.
The thought that Anin was now on their radar, and they were making comments about her like she was the dirt on their shoe, made Kes want to divest the being of their life. He was shocked when he realized he would if he needed to in order to prevent them from causing Anin any harm. He had never stepped in on any other creature’s behalf, though he was certain he would for her. Yet again, he was left baffled by his extreme need to protect her. He would have to make this next part believable. Kes kept his face neutral making sure to give nothing away about his feelings for the nymph; feelings he did not know what to make of himself.
He looked at the shapeshifter and then cracked a devious grin before saying, “And why would we not? She is my prey, after all. But if you need a better reason, she has information for us, and that is all you need to know. If your prince wishes you to know more, that’s for him to decide.” It took everything in Kes not to fly across the table and wipe the sneer off their scaly face.
Kes was so busy glaring at Syndari he nearly missed the words the final council member, Georden, said. “If they are nothing but pets, then surely you plan on bringing them to the Lunar Ball in two nights time for the rest of the court to enjoy?”
Kes felt his blood begin to boil. He would rip the hands from any being that dared touch his nymph.Hisnymph? When did he start referring to her as his?
Kes never feared anything before Anin came into his life. He had never cared enough to fear anything, but it seemed when it came to her, he had no choice in the matter. Of course these strange feelings were making him fearful, but it was not fear for himself. No, it was out of fear for Anin. He would protect her blood oath or not, because he could not stand the thought of her being taken from him.
The Night court was a delicate matter. He knew the second he intervened on behalf of a Day fae, it would paint an even larger target on her. Certainly he would create an untold amount of trouble for himself. He caught eyes with Ciaran, and the two had a silent conversation. Kes knew Ciaran was loath to bring Etain around the court just yet. It would be preferable if they could figure out who and what these females were to them first.
“They are both under my protection, for the time being,” Ciaran said in a way that left no room for interpretation. “No harm shall come to them. No trickery or deals will be made, but they will be displayed in a distinctly Night Court way to appease everyone. Me, mostly.” Ciaran let out a devilish laugh filled with dark promises.
Kes trusted his cousin with his life, although he was not sure he trusted him with Anin’s safety. It took all his years of training to keep the look of shock off his face as he realized in that moment his nymph was worth fighting his cousin over. The last time they fought, it was over Kes’s anger at Ciaran for disappearing on him. Kes had only ever picked that one fight with his cousin. He realized he would do it again if it came down to Anin’s safety, and he hadn’t even completed the blood oath yet. He was really fucking screwed. How much worse would this get after they shared blood?
Thirteen
