Fey Regency (Fey Lords #3)

39. Chapter 39

Chapter thirty-nine

A nother groggy morning after another uncomfortable night sleeping on the cold flagstone floor of the crypt. Another cup of black coffee in a large tin mug.

“You can’t keep me here forever,” I grumble.

“Of course not,” agrees Silas easily. “Just long enough to make sure they aren’t coming after you.”

I scowl, “Dyfri found me.”

Dyfri is on my side, isn’t he? Even if he is in cahoots with Silas, he clearly doesn’t want the necromancer to be keeping me.

Silas says nothing. He is probably also wondering where Dyfri’s true loyalties lie.

Does the dark-haired prince really want his people to leave Earth? Or is the plan to overthrow Rhydian and take over himself and, in return, give paranormal people more of what they want? Or perhaps Dyfri is merely playing Silas, and his loyalty lies with the fey. His own people. People who have treated him awfully.

Holy smokes. Court intrigue and politics are too much. My tiny brain can’t cope. I crave simplicity. Food, shelter, naps. Tea. And dick. Mustn’t forget dick. My newfound favourite thing. It definitely has to be added to my list of must-haves. Which leads me to a sobering thought.

“You know I’m a vessel, right?” I blurt.

“Yes.”

“So what’s the plan for when I’ll become ripe?”

Silas glares at me. “I’ll deal with it.”

“ You’ll deal with it?” I snark.

“In your dreams,” he snaps. “I’m married,” and just for a moment, his face softens and his dark eyes light up.

Oh my. That’s interesting. Maybe the love angle will sway him. I can try to appeal to his romantic side.

But before I can start to formulate a plan, Silas jumps to his feet and rushes out of the crypt. Is Dyfri back? Hurriedly, I scramble after him.

It is cold and foggy outside. Eerie and unnerving as hell. I scurry after Silas as quickly as I can. Being next to a necromancer seems like a safe bet.

This time, I find him standing at the gated entrance. Crumbling stone pillars are clinging on to once-fancy iron gates. This place was grand, a long time ago.

On the other side of the boundary, a figure strides through the mist. I blink as the man emerges. It is Llywelyn. Fully clothed, thank goodness, but the sight of his short, choppy hair is shocking. With his regal white silk robes and majestic antlers, the hacked off hair is discordant. Fey don’t have short hair. They just don’t. It looks wrong.

“Change of plan,” Llywelyn says to Silas. “Give the pet back.”

Llywelyn being in league with Silas is not at all shocking. Even my slow mind put the dots together on that one. But I don’t understand why he is asking for me to be given back. I guess it points towards his motivations having nothing to do with saving me from Tristan? Which honestly, is a huge relief.

Silas slowly crosses his arms over his slender chest. “Oh Sweetie,” he drawls. “Did big brother say he’d love you if you brought his toy back?”

Llywelyn stiffens, ramrod straight and his fists clench by his side.

Ouch. Silas is a bitch. I should take notes, I could learn a thing or two and add them to my repertoire.

Llywelyn turns swiftly on his heels and disappears back into the mist without another word. Silas stares silently after him.

“The fey are clearly coming for me,” I state. I don’t know if Dyfri and Llywelyn are working independently, or if Tristan has sent them, but evidently, I’m not hard to find.

Silas doesn’t turn away from the fog. “Let them come.”

I growl in frustration. “Dude, it is you against a shit ton of fey. Give it up.”

Dark eyes turn towards me, absolutely resolute. “I have legions at my command. Not just the dead.”

I pointedly look around the empty graveyard. “I don’t see them?” This guy really has issues. Serious ones.

“I’m not abusing my position of power to fix my personal fuck-ups, unless there is no other choice,” Silas snaps.

I raise an eyebrow. “You’re saying you are king of the werewolves or something?”

“Something like that,” he huffs as he turns his attention back to the mist .

An icy shiver dances down my spine. Shit. Something about the way he said it makes me suddenly believe him. He is a crazy motherfucker, no doubt, but not about this. He really can launch a full scale war against the fey, if he wants to.

Silas tenses and my gaze flicks to the fog. At first, I can’t see a damn thing, then slowly three figures emerge. A fox, flanked by a raven and a wolf. They approach the gate confidently.

They stop right on the boundary. They shimmer and all of a sudden, the fox is Tristan, the raven is Dyfri, and the wolf is Selwyn. And they are all butt naked. And far more importantly, they have all come to save me.

My heart is skipping in joy at the sight of Tristan, but my mind has a smidge more sense. It is lovely to see him, of course it is, but that does not mean that any of this is going to end well.

“You can’t pass the boundary,” says Silas.

Tristan grins. His infuriating, cocksure grin. It is bloody well melting my heart, and that’s damn inconvenient.

“Oh, I can,” he says. “I have a vessel. There is more magic in my veins than you can dream of.”

He moves his hand in an intricate gesture, and a blast of heat fills the air. The ancient iron gates groan and shudder. They begin to glow orange and then red. I take several steps backwards.

As the iron melts into goo. The graves begin to shake. Oh fuck. That’s not melting metal that is doing that. That’s Silas raising the dead. There is about to be an army of zombies.

The three fey princes step through where the gates once stood. All the iron has sizzled down into the earth .

Silas faces them calmly.

Oh my god. This is a disaster. A pointless, stupid fucking mess. Assholes having a pissing contest for no reason at all.

My feet move as I regain control of my body. I jump in between the princes and Silas, and hold up a hand to each of them.

“Just fucking stop!” I yell. “Stop fighting over me! It’s stupid!”

I glare at everyone. Holy fucking stars. Look at that. It is working. They have stopped. Everyone is staring at me. The ground has fallen still. Nobody is making zombies or throwing magic around.

I take a deep breath and look right at Tristan, deep into his ruby eyes. He has to be able to see the truth of what I am about to say.

“Tristan, I love you.” I snatch another breath before I run out of courage. “I want to be with you, but I don’t want anyone to get hurt.”

Tristan opens his mouth to say something, but I stop him.

“No, wait, let me finish.”

He nods solemnly, and I continue. “Just leave, please. Silas doesn’t mean me any harm. I’m fine. Just leave, and I promise I will find my way back to you.”

Tristan’s eyes are wide and full of anguish.

I close my eyes so he can’t distract me. “Silas will eventually realise that I’m not crazy and that he can let me go with a clear conscience. And that’s fine, because there is no rush. You and I are both young. There is time. Even if it takes years. We can wait.”

Silence. Nothing but silence .

“This way no one gets hurt because of me.”

I suck in a breath and open my eyes. Tristan’s expression is sombre and thoughtful. There is sadness in his eyes, but oh my stars, I think he is actually listening to me.

“If that is your wish, my love,” he says softly.

My stomach flips right over and my heart throws itself against my ribcage. Oh my. Oh gosh. Oh flipping hell.

My love. He called me, ‘my love.’ I could really, really get used to that term of endearment.

“It is my wish,” I say, a little squeakily.

Tristan nods. He turns to leave.

“Wait!” I cry out.

He freezes and stares at me. I turn to Silas.

“Can I kiss him before he leaves?” I blurt.

Dark eyes narrow. “Fine.”

I don’t need any further encouragement. I run up to Tristan, grab his antlers and yank him down for a kiss. Our lips smash together and immediately the heat of him seeps into my blood. It sinks down into my soul, where it burns ruby and bright. My body presses close to his, as if I am attempting to meld with him.

I can sense our magic. Mine and his. Dancing and entwining. Perfectly suited. Melodies that flow in perfect harmony. His arms encircle my back. He holds me tighter than I have ever been held.

The kiss deepens. I could breathe him in forever. Arrogant, smirking, grinning, motherfucker that he is. This impossible bastard who somehow sees past all my walls and miraculously likes what he finds. This dickbag who can handle me at my worst while also enjoying it.

He breaks the kiss and steps away from me, leaving me cold and alone. I blink at him dazedly .

Oh yeah. That was a goodbye kiss. He has to leave, and I don’t know when I am going to see him again.

I sniff aggressively and ferociously blink back tears.

“Do you really love him?” asks Silas.

I turn my head towards the necromancer. His expression is utterly unreadable.

“Yes. I do,” I confess. It feels a little cringey, but I can cope.

Something flickers in Silas’s dark eyes. A glimmer of hope ignites in my soul. Oh stars, please let him be wavering.

My tongue trips over some words, but I manage to get it working. “Thank you for giving a shit about me. I’m not used to that, so it means more than you could ever know.”

The necromancer nods.

“But I want to be with Tristan. Please let me go.” I suck in a breath. “You can go back to your family.”

My lungs have stopped working. Every single part of me has stopped working. All I am capable of is staring at Silas.

He stares back.

He nods.

His hands move and a portal opens up behind him. He steps backwards into it, and he disappears. Along with the portal. The graveyard is empty. It is just me and Tristan, and his brothers.

A shriek of pure joy and delight pours out of my lungs. It is the most sissy noise I have ever made and I have never cared less.

I whip back around to face Tristan. Thank fuck it worked. It is over. It is done. I can’t quite believe it. I bloody well did it. Little old me. I managed to convince a necromancer, and I stopped a frigging zombie versus fairy war. All by myself.

It is amazing. I’m going to gloat about this for eternity. Tristan is never going to hear the end of it.

But now, right now, I need to snog Tristan again. It is imperative.

Then, after that, it will be time for the rest of our lives.

I can’t wait. It is going to be wonderful.