Fey Regency (Fey Lords #3)

20. Chapter 20

Chapter twenty

G oing through a portal is no less terrifying the second time. I’m massively regretting not insisting that we take the six-hour carriage ride home instead. But it’s not like Tristan would have listened to me, anyway. The bastard would have just dragged me through, or tricked me again.

I didn’t want Luci or his husband witnessing any of that nonsense. So here I am, hurtling through the void.

I’m clinging to the front of Tristan’s robes and burying my head between his pecs, and it is actually making the spinning darkness a little more bearable. Though I would still be screaming, if there was any air.

Tristan’s sitting room forms around us. All softly lit against the dark winter evening. And full of people.

I blink. Jamie, Mabon and his pet, and Dyfri, are all standing by the table, clearly waiting for us.

The portal winks out of existence with a faint swoosh, and I hastily let go of Tristan’s robes and step away from him.

“You may leave us, Tristan,” says Jamie sternly.

Tristan nods and quietly slinks away. My eyebrows rise. That was quite a sight. A flipping seven-foot-tall fey prince with antlers, scurrying away from his own rooms because a human twink told him to.

“Ollie, please take a seat and have some tea.”

More tea? After visiting Luci, my stomach is sloshing. But it can’t be helped. I have to bear this intervention and assure them that I’m not crazy for going back to Tristan. I know when my fate is sealed and there is no point in fighting it.

Grimly, I take a seat and brace myself for an interrogation. I still don’t understand why these people give a shit, but they must have their reasons. Complicated, political ones that have nothing to truly do with me at all. I’m sure of it.

“By the Three! Give the poor man a chair!” huffs Dyfri.

I look up in confusion and see Mabon’s enormous pet settling onto the floor by his feet. Mabon’s purple eyes widen.

“But he is just a pet,” he says with a strange inflection in his tone.

Dyfri rolls his eyes.

“I’m just a pet too,” I point out in sudden annoyance.

It is not like me to feel solidarity, but here I am. Sticking up for someone else. How peculiar.

Mabon bites his bottom lip and gestures for a servant to bring a chair. His human clambers up onto it and flashes Dyfri a very happy grin, which the dark-haired fey ignores completely.

What the hell is going on? I glance at Jamie, and to my surprise, he leans in close and whispers in my ear.

“Mabon thinks we don’t know he is madly in love with Blake, and Dyfri used to be scared of Blake, but he is warming up to him. ”

It is a struggle to keep my face blank as Jamie moves away from me. Okay, so Blake is the human pet. I think I knew that. The love thing is not at all a surprise. Especially given the way Mabon defended him against Tristan. But why was Dyfri scared of him? It is all still baffling. Just like people always are. It is precisely why I try to stay away from them.

“So,” says Jamie resolutely. “Are you back with Tristan of your own free will?”

Four pairs of eyes are staring at me intently. It is making me squirm. Being the focus of attention is awful.

“Yes,” I mumble uncomfortably.

“Okay. That’s settled,” says Mabon. “Can we go now? I want to get ready for the party.”

Jamie lets out a long-suffering sigh and ignores the prince. He turns to me instead.

“You understand that you can take off his collar and live in Windsor Castle? Or that we can whisk you away somewhere he will never find you?”

“Yes,” I repeat and it sounds sulky to my own ears.

“See, Jamie, the pet is fine. Rhydian did all sorts of unpleasant things to you and you still married him.

I watch with satisfaction as Jamie hastily drops his gaze and turns an impressive shade of red. That’s more like it. Watching other people squirm is far more enjoyable than being the victim.

“And Blake was mean…” Mabon continues before stopping abruptly. “Ah…um…and I still like him.”

Dyfri sits up straighter in his chair. “What did the pet do to you? ”

Mabon’s eyes are enormous and his face is very pale. “Um…Nothing. He was simply difficult in the beginning. Like Ollie is.”

Dyfri’s eyes narrow, but he says nothing. Blake’s head is firmly down and his shoulders slumped. Either in defeat or shame, I can’t quite tell. Something is definitely going on.

Jamie is still bright red but now is looking at Mabon with concern in his eyes. But then the human visibly rouses himself and turns his attention back to me. Just my luck.

“Are you really okay?”

His earnest expression is so annoying. I can feel it snapping something inside me.

“Why do you all have such a low opinion of Tristan? What has he done to deserve that?” I gesture wildly at Mabon and Dyfri. “He is your brother. You should have more faith in him.”

The sea of guilty faces should be satisfying, but it’s not. These assholes should never have doubted Tristan in the first place. They’ve met him. They know him. They should know he is an infuriating jerk, but he is not that bad. There are plenty of worse people in the world.

“What has he ever done to you to earn your suspicion?” I seethe at them.

They are his family. They are supposed to have his back. They should understand that he had to punish me and there were worse things he could have done. It is not his fault I fell apart a little.

I was an asshole to Jamie, and Tristan was scared of Rhydian’s reaction. That doesn’t make him a terrible person. He regretted it afterwards. He stayed away when I wanted him to. He came and helped me when I needed him. He apologised. He took me to see a vessel so things could be explained to me. Prince Tristan Y Mabinogi is not a bad person.

“You’re right,” says Jamie softly. “Tristan is lovely. A terrible flirt, but lovely.”

He places his hand on my arm. I think the gesture is supposed to be placating, but being touched is so unfamiliar it is making my skin crawl. It is an effort not to snatch my arm away. Clearly I’m growing as a person, because I’m managing it.

“However, he is also fey and they are often cruel.” Jamie glances over at Mabon and Dyfri. “Sorry, guys.”

The fey don’t look the least bit offended. Being called cruel is probably a compliment to them or something. An attribute to strive towards.

I suck in a breath. Okay, Jamie is agreeing with me. Tristan’s brothers at least have the decency to look ashamed. So it seems their horrible opinions about Tristan aren’t all that deeply embedded. It could even be the exact opposite and what happened was so against Tristan’s normal character that it alarmed them. Hence all this intervention bullshit.

“Thanks for your concern, but I’m fine. He’s fine. We are all fine. So how about we drop this and never speak of it again?” I say firmly.

“Deal?” says Mabon brightly.

“Deal,” I say with a roll of my eyes.

Jamie gasps in horror and whacks my arm. “What are you doing! Never, ever make a deal with a fey!”

What the hell? Surely making a deal isn’t that easy? That was merely a harmless turn of phrase, wasn’t it? I slowly track my gaze around everyone in the room. Oops. Clearly not. Fuck, I’m pretty sure I’ve said ‘deal’ casually to Tristan a couple of times. I didn’t think anything of it. Not like the first, very memorable deal we made, but I’m not going to think about that right now or I’ll turn even redder than Jamie.

“Mabon, rescind the deal,” Jamie says sternly.

Mabon pouts. “It is a harmless one.”

“Mabon.”

The purple-haired fey sighs dramatically. “I rescind the deal.”

I swallow. I don’t feel any different. Not that I felt anything in the first place. But everyone else looks relieved. Well, Mabon looks a little sulky, so I guess something really did happen.

Oh my stars. What deals have I made with Tristan? I can’t even remember. It just shows that I really don’t know what I am doing. I don’t understand this vessel stuff. Or this fey stuff. I’m out of my depth and I’m drowning.

Perhaps I should really work on cultivating Jamie’s friendship. And Luci’s. Since I have so much to learn.

I bite back my groan. That all sounds like hard work, and learning shit is difficult. I was terrible at school and I doubt this is going to be any better.

As my uninvited guests give their farewells and get up from the table, it is hard to fight this wave of despondency that is washing over me.

But I do know one thing. There is something I have learnt, and what I told them is true.

Tristan is not all bad.