Page 65 of The Rebel Seer

He frowns my way, shaking his head as though to clear it. “What?”

“You should call him by his title. Your Majesty,” I say and know I’ve gotten a direct hit when Devilshea puffs up a bit. “He is the King of the Seelie Fae and is owed your respect.”

“It is rather rude of you to burst in unannounced,” the king agrees.

For a moment Myrddin looks like he’s going to shred us all, but then his head bows and he proves he’s learned a lot over the millennia. “I apologize, Your Majesty. The night has not gone as well as I hoped. I am worried that we did not catch Daniel.”

Devilshea simply waves that off and gestures for the servants at the entrance to enter with their trays of offerings. “I was telling my future bride that we’re always the same. I assure you I know Deiniol, though he might have a different form. He was a sad sack in this time, and he will prove to be in yours as well. After all, Zoey was explaining how he allowed you to steal his crown.” He sits down, tugging me beside him as the servants begin to pour the wine. He offers Myrddin a seat across from us. “It makes one think.”

Oh, I really want him to think.

Myrddin looks my way and I can see the hate on his face, but he accepts a glass of wine from the servant and turns his attention back to the king. “My relationship with Daniel is complex. I assure you I didn’t intend to steal anything from him. He was my student, and I cared for him. However, when Devinshea and Zoey foolishly allowed themselves to fall into an enchanted painting, he followed. He left his kingdom behind, and someone had to fill in.”

“Which is why you had an entire army ready to murder all the vampires in a few hours,” I interject.

“How would you know, Zoey? You weren’t there,” Myrddin says smoothly. “Now, Your Majesty, could we please speak alone?”

Devilshea huffs. “I just got her back. Years and years I’ve spent without her. You can’t imagine I am going to leave her. She is afraid, and I will not have her think me negligent when it comes to my future bride. I have a certain reputation, and she must come to learn that it is not true when she is involved. So if you must speak, you can do so around my future queen.”

I can hear Myrddin’s inner growl but to his credit he merely sits back. “All I want to say is she is not safe as long as that vampire prowls around. My question is why wasn’t Daniel at dinner?”

Dangerous territory. “He doesn’t eat. Your Majesty, how much do you know about vampires?”

“Well, I’ve been to a whole plane of nothing but vampires,” he replies, his hand finding my knee as though he can’t help but touch me. “I happen to know they only drink blood and tend to eschew things like dinner parties, though their consorts are often Fae or human.”

“And the wolves?” Myrddin asks, his tone begging me to come up with an explanation. “I assure you the wolves will eat you out of house and home if you allow them to.”

“The wolves are guards. I do not dine with my employees.” I’m betting heavily on the fact that this version of Dev doesn’t. “And I honestly felt safe here. Sasha is a guard as well. Which is why he was patrolling. I believe the wolves had their dinner in the kitchens. As they would in our own home.”

I can feel the approval coming off of Devilshea. He smiles my way. “You know that is the only thing we ever fought about. You…Zandra believed in a world without class or boundaries. It was naïve at best. This proves she would have gotten over it had my brother not killed her. You understand that society needs structure.”

Myrddin’s expression goes twenty kinds of frustrated. “She is lying. She is playing you. The wolf is her closest friend. He is always at her side. And in our timeline, she is beloved by all manner of lesser creatures. She is constantly feeding the brownies whatever creams her demon butler purchases at Costco.”

It’s true. They love Yule because the peppermint comes out. And eggnog flavor. “The brownies clean better when they are happy with their cream. It is a minor consideration.”

“Demon? You have a demon butler?” the king asks.

I feel the need to tread carefully here. There’s an expectation to his tone. A certain prejudice I have to manage. “Your counterpart does. He purchased him at auction. Albert is excellent at cooking and scaring the crap out of anyone his master doesn’t want near. He’s half demon. You have to be careful but if you get the right one, there’s no better servant. Do you have a problem with the Hell plane, Your Majesty? Because you should know Myrddin is in open negotiations with them.”

“Yes, I know he’s working to cut us off from the celestial planes so we can finally do as we please with no interference,” Devilshea murmurs. “But I suppose I didn’t think about the implications.”

“The implications are power, Your Majesty,” Myrddin points out. “The power for the inner planes to be free. The power for your planes to be free of celestial influence. If you had no celestial influence, you would be in your temple right now. You wouldn’t have rebels holed up in there.”

“The celestial planes don’t control the temples. Fae magic does,” I say.

Devilshea turns my way and gives me a placating smile. “My love, you don’t understand the way things work.”

“I understand how he works,” I reply.

“And I understand the burden you carry, Zoey,” Myrddin says, his eyes narrowing. “Shall we discuss that?”

My baby. He knows I’m pregnant. Goddess, the last time I played this game, Louis Marini tried to beat my babies out of my body.

I’m saved from responding by the door coming open and the head of the guard requesting a talk with his monarch. The king studies me for a long moment and then leans over and kisses my cheek. “I will want to know about all of your burdens. I will take them from you and they will burden you no more. I’ll be back.”

Yes, that is everything I am afraid of.

When the king is gone, Myrddin leans forward, his eyes black as night. “You understand what will happen when I tell that man you’re pregnant.”

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