Page 15 of Faerie Hunted

I heard rather than saw the captain clear his throat. He sounded skeptical when he replied, “Your Majesty, why do you think the king is in danger? And why would you think he’s in that particular room? I have eyes on His Majesty and he is in the library.”

“The kingisin danger so I suggest you take action, Captain, rather than wasting your time questioning me.” Laina glowered at him and magic crackled off of her.

The room stilled, waiting for the tension between them to explode, and Noren released a low warning growl.

“How do you know?” Hezarwick pleaded. “Your Majesty?—”

“I saidmove.” Her haughty tone was unmistakable, and I shivered, the stupor that had fallen on me at seeing Barbara again broken.

Mike hadn’t moved. He crouched over the now empty table, the pieces of the scrying mirror gone, with his head in his hands and his expression obscured.

I craned my head to peer over Noren’s shoulder to watch. The guards stood where they were, standing off against the queen.

Laina seemed to have grown several inches, her chest puffed out and magic crackling around her.

No one else had anything to say and for a long second the room held its breath.

“We can’t get through on the comm system,” one of the guards murmured to the captain. “The connection appears to be severed.”

“Then I suggest you goyourself. It is your position. I should not have to repeat myself.”

Laina, delicate and pretty, seemed to expand even more and the air in the room contracted in response to her power.

Hezarwick maintained eye contact with the queen longer than propriety would have dictated, and the way she stood, not quite glaring but absolutely regal, had me catching my breath again.

Eventually, as he should have, Captain Hezarwick caved.

Three of his men left to assist the king while Hezarwick remained behind to guard everyone inside the safe room.

I hid my expression behind Noren’s massive frame, focusing on drawing in a breath to the count of six, holding it, and releasing it to the same count.

For a time, the room remained engulfed in silence.

Terror took the place of any sort of thin hope I still harbored at this being a false alarm. There was nothing false about it. Barbara had come.

She’d somehow forced her way not only into Faerie itself but inside the castle, demolishing the wards and spells designed to keep us safe.

Her ace in the hole? The weapon in her hands, which she used with wild abandon. The weapon I’d delivered to her.

Guilt mingled with the terror into a new blend of emotion that turned my stomach. I’d given Barbara her tool of destruction and she’d come to harm King Tywin, which would hurt Mike beyond repair.

What would I do if Barbara ended up finding us down here and using theImperiumon Mike and Laina? I’d fight her to the death. Or else I’d fight only to have my power drained out of me until I was nothing but a husk on the floor, too.

“Your Majesty?” The captain’s voice cut through the heavy quiet and someone sucked in their breath. “It’s safe to head back into the castle. The guards have secured the scene. We have our suspect in custody.”

My heart skipped a beat and without Noren to hold me up, I’d have lost my balance. Mike frowned.

“Thank you, Captain.”

Laina’s voice gave no indication of anything except gratitude at a job well done and I wondered how she hid her real emotions so well. I’d seen her walls come down only a handful of times before, less than that, and she had to be feeling some kind of way at the news of her husband being safe.

At least, I thought he was safe. Otherwise they’d have me back in magical cuffs in an instant.

“Tavi? Come on. Take my hand. We’ll get you settled upstairs in your room.”

I blinked up at Mike, a little surprised to see him holding his palm out for me to take. Baldric was instantly there, and between the two of them and Noren adding his strength, I managed to get upstairs with little fanfare.

It was a testament to how much I’d recovered. I made it without getting winded.

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