Dragon Fae (The World of Fae) (9 page)

Ena never thought she’d have this much excitement with bringing the fae seer into her home. She was glad her brother wasn’t here though. He might have killed the human.

“Ryker!” Ena called, wondering why he hadn’t intervened already.

He quickly appeared. “Aye, mistress.”

“Take the prisoner to his chamber. Lock him in.”

The butler bowed and waited for Micala to get off the human. Then as Micala stood, looking like he wanted to hit Brett again, Ryker waited for the human to stand.

Hand clutching the towel, trying to keep it in place, his other hand rubbing jaw, his face red with anger, Brett stood and glowered at Micala.

“You ever touch Cassie again, and you won’t live to see another one of your measly human minutes. I promise you that,” Micala growled.

Ena motioned with a flick of her wrist. “Take him away, Ryker. Before Micala decides one punch wasn’t enough.”

Brett opened his mouth to speak.

Ena narrowed her eyes at him. “
Don’t…say…a…word
.”

Ryker didn’t remove the human at once as if he wished to see what would happen if Brett said something, and Ena had to punish him. She turned her narrowed gaze on her butler. He smiled in the most sinister way, then seized Brett’s arm and vanished.

Micala and Ena turned their attention to Cassie. She was passed out on the couch.

Ena folded her arms and tilted her head to the side. “Guess she knows now we’re for real.”

Chapter 8

Micala felt terrible about having to leave Cassie behind at the dragon shifter’s keep, but Ena had told him she and her staff would take care of her when she came to. Cassie would be so upset about everything and then on top of that he had to leave her behind. He believed Ena would try to console her, but she was a stranger to Cassie. He needed to be there for her. No matter how much he wanted to keep her near, he couldn’t have taken Cassie with him here though.

He hoped he wouldn’t have to stay here long, but trying to get through the feast at the Denkar castle was going to be a nightmare. He couldn’t avoid going. He was too concerned that Deveron would send someone to check on him. When he couldn’t locate Micala, Deveron was sure to believe Micala was seeing Cassie. Deveron would send dark fae trackers to locate him in the human world, and the guards could possibly get
themselves
into trouble.

He was surprised to see Alicia still visiting with the dark fae, seated beside Deveron at the head table next to the queen. Micala had assumed she’d returned home by now. Her grandfather would have insisted she return sooner than this, furious that the fae seers nearly killed her. What little he knew of the dragon fae king, Tibero would most likely be furious with Alicia that she had visited the human world again, and would want her under his protection. Which might very well mean he’d have a retaining collar clamped around her neck just like he’d forced her mother to wear to keep her from leaving the castle.

Deveron seemed to be having just as hard a time getting over the scare. He kept Alicia tucked by his side, only glancing in Micala’s direction when he entered the great hall for the meal. Of course, he had to be late and that made him all the more noticeable.

Deveron’s eyes widened a little, most likely because he had not expected Micala to show up for the meal.

Thoughts in turmoil, Micala wanted to speak privately to Alicia and let her know that her friend was staying at Ena’s. He hated to have to sit at the head table tonight when he desperately wanted to sit unobtrusively as far away at one of the lower tables as he could manage. His aunt, Queen Irenis, who was speaking to her advisor, suddenly looked in Micala’s direction as he approached the royal table. She narrowed her eyes. From the look she gave him, he swore she had to be thinking he was up to something. Maybe not. But she had an uncanny way of knowing when he and his cousins were doing what they ought not even though she couldn’t read minds. She could read body language and as much as he tried to look like he was innocent of any wrongdoing, he couldn’t seem to ever fool her.

She motioned to him. He groaned under his breath. If she questioned him, he hoped he didn’t give away his secret.

When he reached his aunt, he bowed low.

With narrowed eyes, she said, “You have been gone for several hours. No one knew where.” Her tone was highly accusatory.

She was wearing a pale blue velvet gown, which meant she was in the mood for celebrating—blue was her favorite color for wearing to festivities, but it didn’t mean anything when she used
that
dark tone of voice with him.

He’d tried to come up with a reasonable explanation while he’d been at Ena’s castle, attempting to devise an excuse that would not lead his aunt to believe he had been in the human’s world,
specifically
seeing Cassie. And furthermore, stealing her away to the fae world.

The fae were known for being tricksters, for teasing, for telling untruths, but Micala was an oddity in that way. He really didn’t want to have to lie about Cassie. He wanted badly to tell the queen he loved Cassie and wanted her to be his…forever. He also knew that his aunt would be furious and could very well take her rage out on the human girl.

So he said simply, “I went to see Ena and spoke with her human prisoner.”

The queen raised her dark brows. Since he had told his aunt the truth, in part, he had no difficulty putting on that air. Still, she seemed surprised enough that she continued to study him, which meant she was silently waiting for him to tell her more. She wasn’t totally convinced that he spoke the whole truth and nothing but the truth.

He noted that the noisy courtiers had grown deathly quiet. Every ear was straining to hear what was being said between the queen and him. The queen would not normally have an audience with him when the meal was being served unless he was in a bind. Everyone wanted to know when anyone was in trouble with the queen, especially when it was someone else’s neck on the line.

Deveron would be all ears, worrying that Micala was causing discontent where Cassie was concerned…again. Alicia would be just as concerned about her friend.

For now, he had his back to them and for that he was grateful. Because even though he swore the queen could read his every intent, Deveron could do so tenfold. That was the problem with Micala being Deveron’s close cousin.

“I…hit him,” Micala said. He didn’t mention the human had pinched Cassie and angered him to such an extent if Ena hadn’t owned the prisoner and Micala hadn’t needed a hideaway for Cassie, Micala would have killed the human.

Queen Irenis’s eyes widened.

He extended his bruised fist as evidence. The fae healed fast so it would be gone by tomorrow, but for now the skin was tinged with red, black, and blue discoloring, and a slight swelling proving what he said was true.

Still, she did not saying anything and though he tried not to sweat, he felt tiny droplets forming on his skin, most noticeably on his forehead. “He would have killed Alicia.” Which was true. “And he was not even punished!” Which again was true. “He didn’t have a mark on him!” True!

Again her eyes narrowed. “Surely he had some bruises,” the queen said. “Maybe underneath his clothes.”

“He wasn’t wearing any.” It was cool in the room, but Micala swore the temperature rose fifty degrees he felt so hot. “He…was wearing a towel,” he quickly amended. “Ena had her butler bring him to me, and the prisoner was sopping wet, only wearing the towel. I guess he’d just taken a shower.”

He’d rarely seen his aunt blush. Turn red when she was angered, but not blush with embarrassment. Since she didn’t appear angry, he had to assume she was embarrassed, just a bit.

“I would have hit him again, but Ena had her butler take him away.”

Queen Irenis nodded as if in agreement and then with a cat-ate-the-mouse smile, she asked, “Where is
the human girl
, Micala? At Ena’s castle?”

***

Alicia couldn’t believe it! As soon as Deveron’s mother asked Micala where he had taken Cassie—and she couldn’t be talking about anyone else—Alicia couldn’t believe it. The only thing keeping her in her seat beside Deveron, was his hand gripping her arm. Okay, so this was Queen Irenis’s castle. Micala was her nephew. But Cassie was Alicia’s best friend! And she wasn’t going to let the queen hurt her.

“Sit,” Deveron whispered in her ear.

“I’m not a dog,” she whispered back, growling as if she was a dog.

He cast her a ghost of a smile.

“You will bring her here, Micala,” the queen said in her dictatorial way.

“No!” Alicia said, yanking free of Deveron, who looked horrified as she rose and glowered at the queen.

Gasps were heard throughout the great hall. No one, not even the crown prince of the Denkar, said no to the queen. Not publicly. And certainly not in the way Alicia had done, raising her voice in a sharp, aggressive manner.

“She will go with me to see my grandfather,” Alicia quickly said, although she was still dictating in her tone, not attempting even to appeal to the queen in a way that would indicate she would soon be her daughter-in-law.

“She will come here as I wish it,” the queen said with finality, her voice low and threatening.

It didn’t matter that Alicia intended to wed her son. This was the queen’s domain, yet Alicia couldn’t help defending her friend.

“She is my best friend.”

“And my nephew
wants her
,” the queen growled. Her eyes were glowing gold. Not good.

Deveron stayed out of it, thankfully. Alicia was pretty certain he would take her side in this and not his mother’s, though she could never be one-hundred-percent sure.

“Deveron,” the queen said, as if he should take his bride-to-be in hand and do something with her. Like shut her up.

Alicia smiled, turned, kissed Deveron on the mouth with a quick brush of her lips, and before he could react, she vanished.

She was still wearing the green velvet gown she’d worn when she’d gone to see Cassie two days ago. When she arrived at Ena’s castle, she wished she had a change of clothes. Despite regretting it, she’d have to rectify that later. In a hurry, before Deveron and Micala caught up with her, she used the knocker to bang on the door. She bet Deveron was cursing her that she could now fae travel without him, and probably arguing with his mother right about now. Which was the only reason he wasn’t already here.

Standing outside in the dark misty night on the stone patio in front of Ena’s keep, she realized that was the problem with not having access to places where she couldn’t just enter at will. She knew Deveron would be here momentarily. And the queen might even send her guards. Not to take Alicia prisoner. But to take Cassie back to the Denkar castle. Then again, this was dragon fae territory, so maybe not.

She wasn’t sure if Micala would show up or not. He might, if he could get away with it before the queen locked him up in the castle.

Alicia knocked on the door again.
Hurry up!

The butler hollered, “I’m coming! I’m coming! The whole world has visited here tonight!”

The older man opened the door, and she hurried inside. “Close it and lock it,” she demanded.

He quickly did so, bowed, and said in greeting, “My lady, Princess Alicia, welcome.”

She waved him away. “Let me see Ena and Cassie at once.”

“What about the prisoner?”

“Brett?” She blushed, thinking of him wearing only a towel when Micala had struck him. What if Ryker brought him to her, wearing not even that? “No, no, just Ena and Cassie.”

“Come this way, my lady. I’ll leave you in the study and get them at once.”

“Don’t open the door—any door—to the dark fae guards.”

The butler frowned at her.

“If they come. Don’t open the door to them.”

“Aye, princess.”

“Deveron and Micala can come in, only.”

“Aye. But if the dark fae guards are with them?”

“Then you do
not
open the door.”

“Aye, my lady.” He started chuckling.

She cast an annoyed glance in his direction. “It is not funny.”

“I know.” He started chuckling again.

She shook her head as he led her into a study filled with book shelves and floor-to-ceiling windows. Paintings of caves featured in the mountains adorned the walls, which she thought was odd until she recalled that Ena was a dragon shifter.

“My lady, please have a seat. I’ll be right back.” He vanished.

She thought she heard the sound of a knocker knocking against brass on the front door, but the butler wouldn’t answer it right away. He’d ask Ena and Cassie to see her first, then he would attend to whoever was at the door.

Alicia was dying to know who had arrived. If it was Deveron, she hoped he would not be too upset with her, but she had to protect her friend. Micala wasn’t in a position to do so, and he would be the only other person truly dedicated to protecting Cassie in the fae world.

The pounding started up again. Alicia couldn’t sit still. She paced across the stone floor.

What if the queen herself showed up? Alicia groaned.

Then again, she didn’t think the queen would. This
was
dragon fae territory, after all. And not the queen’s domain.

Alicia paced some more.

The butler reappeared. “My lady, uhm, Mistress Ena is with the girl in a guest chamber. She asked that I take you there.”

“Is there something wrong?” Alicia asked, hurrying with the butler to see to her friend.

“She’s rather upset. The human girl, that is. My mistress thought it best that you come to the guest chamber rather than Mistress Ena attempting to move her here.”

Alicia couldn’t even begin to know what was going on in Cassie’s mind. When Alicia had learned the truth about her roots, she had been stunned. But she had known something of the fae world before this from what her father had told her in a journal he’d left behind. Cassie wasn’t fae. And she’d never even been interested in fairy tales when she was growing up. Who wouldn’t love fairy tales?

But she didn’t believe in magic or faeries or any kinds of fantasy. This had to be a total shock to her.

“She thought it was all a dream,” the butler said as if knowing what was going through Alicia’s mind.

“Cassie?”

“Aye, my lady. And then the prisoner pinched her. He said that was a way to prove you weren’t dreaming. Humans have such strange ways.”

Alicia stared at the butler.