Page 18 of The White Stag
“Lay her on her side,” I told Oisin.
“She’s shivering again. It’s like it did nothing.”
“Keep her warm,” I said, pulling her into my chest.
“Cyrus—”
“Cyrus can go chug himself. I don’t know what’s going on. She should be sleeping. Sheneedsthis.”
Oisin spooned her back, and we wedged Reagan between us. She gasped and then nestled in.
“Fuck you. I’ll kill you,” she growled.
“That’s my girl,” I said, kissing her forehead.
I needed her fighting. She said some things earlier that I didn’t like at all. Reagan all but confirmed Alastair’s abuse was all emotional and verbal, but that was still bad. She was terrified of him. We wanted her angry, and we’d teach her to fight.
She kept mumbling about something we hadn’t known about. Alastair had gaslit her into going before a judge and saying she wasn’t mentally competent to care for herself. Alastair had her under a conservatorship. We thought they couldn't do anything even if he called the cops. She was over eighteen. All she would have had to do was say she was unhappy there and left.
Not the case. That fuck moppet manipulated her into telling lies about herself to a judge, and now the courts thought she wasn’t mentally competent to care for herself. Theywouldlook for her if he called anyone.
And that really upset her. The fact that he could easily get her to tell a judge she couldn’t handle life on her own terrified her. I hoped whatever Cyrus was doing in his office involved some kind of payback for that. When I could, I was going to help him, because seriously, fuck Alastair. I was going to give him the full hobgoblin treatment if we couldn’t kill him.
“Think we’re going to have to stop Cyrus from returning to the States and killing Alastair?” Oisin asked.
“Why would we want to?”
“Because I’m quite fond of my antlers and don’t want them hanging over Estrella’s bed. Aren’t you always bragging about your stupid horns?”
“Shut your face. My horns are fabulous. You know Cyrus is telling Estrella everything. For all we know, she’s already given the order once Reagan is well.”
“Have you even spent five minutes around our queen? If she wants that stain dead, she’s not going to secretly send Cyrus. Reagan was the one he hurt, and Estrella plays the long game.Ifshe decides she wants him dead, she will have us train Reagan and give her the option to get her revenge. It’s the Unseelie way. Our women don’tneedmen to kill for them.”
“So true. Despite everything that happened to her, she’s getting there. At the rate she’s going, we should see her Fae side in no time.”
“This could kill her, asshole.”
“Not on my watch. It’s going to be terrible, ye ken? Worse for her than us, but she’s going to get through it. I’m going to make damned sure of it. Screw you for feckin’ saying that.”
“It wasn’t a knock on you and your abilities as a healer. I don’t know as much as you, but we all read up on this. Something isn’t right, and none of us know what it is. You’re shitting yourself if you say you have any idea.”
“You’re right. I have no idea why she’s reacting like this. You know what Idoknow? They chose us for this. Estrella interviewed half the feckin’ kingdom and pickedus.We were blood bonded to Reagan under the full moon. There was a falling star that night. Do you remember? Estrella said it was lucky and made a wish. I might not knowwhyshe’s reacting like this, but I know we’ll get her through it.”
“I like your pep talks better than Cyrus’s.”
“Thekill them allpep talk has its place. I’ll be rooting him on when he finally comes out of his office and gives it once she’s better.”
Reagan started moaning and crying in her sleep. Oisin and I immediately ceased our conversation and tried to soothe her. I’d never felt more helpless in my life. My remediesshouldhave made it better. She should sleep through the worst of it and wake up to some minor aches and pains.
I didn’t know what this was, and I didn’t know how to make it better. All I knew was that if Cyrus was in his office being homicidal, I would insert a little hobgoblin into his plans to ensure Alastair’s murder was absolutely perfect.
Oisin
The last twelve hours were the worst hours of my life. Reagan was suffering, and none of us knew why what she was going through differed from every other Fae that had the misfortune of being poisoned with iron. We didn’t even know what to expect next.
Finnan and I held her all night, trying to soothe her. She cried out in pain and vomited on us a few times. She said some things in her sleep that made all of us really want to kill Alastair. Finnan felt helpless because his remedies weren’t doing what they were supposed to. Cyrus really wanted to be doing bad things to Alastair.
I was having my own dilemma. White Stags were supposed to have healing abilities, but I’d never figured out how to access them. I was the only White Stag in the Unseelie Court, and neither of my parents was like me. If I had grown up in the Seelie Court, someone would have taught me all of my gifts in school when my Fae side had emerged.
