Casually Cursed (22 page)

“Show me where it’s written. The queen could challenge that.”

“She could. But if you’re wise, you won’t advise it.”

Crux licked his lips. “Time is on your side where experience is concerned, but you’ve seen me fight. You can’t be sure you would win.”

“There are three in the Never who might kill me in a fight. You’re one of them,” Caedrin acknowledged with a nod. “Think that would stop me from trying? I’ve had years of swallowing my frustration at not being able to protect some whom I would have if the choice had been mine. I would’ve given my soul for the chance to fight . . . so many times. Death doesn’t scare me off. Let one arrow fly into any of them, and I’ll show you what it means to love down to blood and bone.”

Crux shrugged; then he shook his head. “If someone tasted your blood today, I’m not sure they’d find it to be full fae. How did the humanside seep into you? You never even lived there, did you?”

Something buzzed by me, and I turned, straining my eyes. The pixie moved so fast I couldn’t follow its progress.

Caedrin paused, cocking his head. I saw the air blur as tiny wings beat, holding a tiny faery aloft near Caedrin’s left ear.

“Thank you, Boislonk.” Caedrin turned to Momma, putting a hand on her face. “She’s figured out you’re gone. No one knows of a passage that can be opened to the paths that lead humanside, but sooner or later the gates will become active again. It takes too much energy to seal them tight enough to keep humans inside. When you near an exit that can be unlocked, any of you will be able to feel it.” He swallowed, glancing away and then back. “Maybe you should go,” he whispered.

“Maybe. But I’m not.”

He hugged her to him and whispered something I couldn’t hear. I chewed my lip and swallowed against a tight throat. Would I have left the Never without Bryn? No way. So could I blame Momma for standing by her man? No, but it sure made my heart ache with worry to leave her behind.

“The thing is,” I said in a low voice, “once she figures out that Momma’s not cursed, Ghislaine might start trying to curse her again. And all she has to do is ask either of you,” I said, pointing to Caedrin and Crux. “Since you’re under her thumb by that magical curse.”

“It’s not a curse. It’s an oath. The kind made to a sovereign and homeland. Is there no loyalty and patriotism in your world?” Crux demanded.

“Yeah, we’ve got loyalty and patriotism, but not some messed-up kind, like here. It’s the good kind. The president couldn’t make me flog Zach or betray Bryn. Once we’re married, Bryn could do any crazy thing he wants to do, even commit a crime, and I wouldn’t have to testify against him if I didn’t want to. We’ve got better loyalty there and way better laws. Now, back to what I started to say. If a leader got drunk on power and wasn’t being fair to his citizens, in America we’d overthrow him. Now, if Ghislaine has gone power-crazy, you—”

Caedrin shot forward and clamped a hand over my mouth. “Shhh,” he whispered harshly in my ear. “No treasonous talk. Not ever. I’m sworn to protect the queen and Seelie court and lands. Ahead of everything else.”

My brows scrunched together in a frown, but I nodded.

“I don’t think your chosen family’s going to last long here,” Crux said. “That one’s stubborn as a bog, and just as thick.”

My middle finger popped up, but Crux didn’t seem to understand the gesture. That only made me madder.

Caedrin kissed my cheek gently, his hand still covering my mouth. “It would break Marlee’s heart and mine if I had to hurt you. Be careful.”

I blinked. He took his hand away, but stood ready to cover my mouth again instantly if I said the wrong thing.

“I’m done talking,” I said, making a gesture of locking my lips. “I’d better go,” I said, walking to Momma.

“I love you. Be safe,” she said, giving me a kiss and a tight hug. Then she shoved me away from her toward Bryn. “Prove you’re more than a prophecy.”

Bryn nodded.

I darted forward and hugged Caedrin. “It was real nice to finally meet you, Dad.” I hugged him. “If it won’t mess up your promise, it’d be great if you could keep Crux from following us.”

Caedrin smiled. “Call me that once more.”

“Dad,” I whispered in his ear. I gave him a quick kiss on the cheek and turned before he could see how watery my eyes had gotten. Bryn and I were on the run. There wasn’t time for long, teary good-byes. I bit my lip and grabbed Bryn’s hand. “You ready?”

“If you are,” Bryn said.

I swallowed hard. “Gotta be.” I walked fast toward to the door.

Behind us, Caedrin said, “No, you stay here for now.”

“I’m going,” Crux said, and the sounds of a scuffle began.

“No,” Caedrin said. It was the last thing I heard as we went outside.

WE RUSHED AWAY
from the house, following the tree line to the path Momma had taken to bring me there.

When we’d walked for about a mile, the whispers of the trees faded to silence. My shoulders hunched, and I jogged away from the forest.

“These trees are loyal to that Colis guy. Let’s get away from them,” I said.

Bryn changed direction with me, but then he cocked his head and paused. “How about the water, Tamara? I can hear a creek calling to me.”

“Yeah, absolutely. Colis is the tree keeper, not the river keeper. Water should be okay, I think. Lead the way.”

Bryn pointed, and we started to jog.

“Faster,” I said, my skin prickling like static rode the air and would shock us any minute.

“Do you feel that?” he asked.

“Yes,” I said, and then a wave of some kind of sharp magic rolled over me, making my breath catch. Because I was already panting from sprinting, it nearly knocked me over. I stumbled to my knees.

Hoofbeats pounded the ground in the distance. Bryn crouched next to me, putting a hand on my back.

“I’m okay,” I said, my palms resting on the ground. Fae power flowed through my hands, and I immediately felt better. “How much farther?” I looked up at him. “Till we get to the water?”

He closed his eyes and tipped his head, assessing the water’s call, I guessed. “I can’t tell exactly,” he said.

“They’re racing toward us.” I rose and started walking. “Let’s go as fast as we can.”

We jogged through a field of tall wildflowers.

“Almost there,” he said, but I knew we wouldn’t make it.

Insects or tiny fae buzzed by us. I grabbed Bryn’s arm and yanked him down so we were hidden by the grass.

“She only wants me. You stay here. If you get the chance to get out of the Never, you go. I’ll follow you as soon as I can,” I said.

“What are you talking about? I’m not leaving you here.”

“Yes, you are,” I urged, giving him a shove. He didn’t budge. “I got you into this, and now I want you out of it.”

“No way.”

“Yes, because I don’t want her to see you.”

“Listen, whatever happens, we’re together. That oath we made, we’re connected—for life or longer,” he said, grabbing my hands so our rings clinked against each other.

“That doesn’t count in here. These are just rings. Can’t you feel the difference?”

“I feel a difference, but nothing’s changed. Wherever you go in this world or any world, I go as well. I will never leave you anywhere. How can you expect me to? You know if the situation were reversed, you wouldn’t leave me.”

I bit my lip and tried to lie. “I might.”

He laughed. “Be serious.”

“Hey, I am very, very serious. I don’t want her seeing you. If you won’t leave the Never without me, okay. You stay in the water. I’ll come find you when I escape again.” I pushed his shoulder, but he just quirked a brow. “Listen,” I said, changing tactics. “What if I can’t figure out a way to escape? If you don’t get captured, you can make a plan to rescue me. How about that?”

He smiled, and put his arms out in surrender.

“They’re almost here!” I whispered frantically. “Get away from me. Go!”

Bryn backed up, whispering, “Be careful.”

“Yep,” I said, crawling forward to put some distance between us. When the horses stopped at the edge of the field, I marched out. I shoved my tangled hair back from my sweaty face.

“Hi,” I said, waving. “I’m lost. Which way to the castle?”

A group of blond faeries, male and female, jumped down from their horses and surrounded me. Some had bows loaded with arrows, others swords. They pointed their weapons at me.

“Okay, gotcha,” I said, holding my hands up in surrender. “Didn’t anybody tell you guys that my memory got lost? I’m not fixin’ to fight even one of you, let alone all of you at once like I’m in a Jason Statham movie.”

Ghislaine rode up on a white horse. She wore a crown of white roses and a shimmering peach dress that flowed around her bare legs. She pointed at three of the fae and then nodded toward the flowers.

“Hey, where are you going?” They disappeared among the blooms. I looked up at the queen. “Where are they going?” I asked, trying to sound innocent.

She ignored the question.

Moments later, they emerged with Bryn. Despite being captured, he looked completely relaxed. I, on the other hand, felt like a jack-in-the-box that was fully wound up. I darted forward and jumped in front of him.

“He’s mine,” I announced, reaching back to grab his arms. As he tried to move right, so did I. When he tried to move left, I was there before him. He sighed and stopped trying to get around me.

“What do you think you’re accomplishing?” Bryn murmured.

I didn’t answer Bryn or acknowledge him. “He’s mine,” I repeated firmly.

“Your what?” Ghislaine asked, looking down at us from the top of her big white steed.

“My everything. My lawyer. My friend. And my . . . my husband.”

“Pardon me?” she asked, her lovely almond-shaped eyes narrowing.

“Yep, I married him. We did that in Las Vegas. It’s a place with a lot of big casinos and hotels that are based on other places. Sometimes you win six hundred and forty dollars there, and then the next day you lose fifteen hundred, like my friend Kenny. And, boy, is your wife mad, since you swore you were just going to Vegas so she could see Celine Dion sing.”

“What are you saying? Are you speaking English?”

“Of course. What else would I be speaking? Anyway, what I was explaining is that sometimes you come home broke. But other times you hit the jackpot. Instead of money, I got this handsome lawyer. And if you get engaged in Las Vegas, you don’t have to drag things out. They’ve got these little chapels where everything’s all set. Photographer, witnesses, even Elvis Presley sometimes.”

“Your speech is incomprehensible,” Ghislaine said.

“Well, I’m—”

“Stop talking,” she ordered. “Step aside. Let me look at him.”

I didn’t move an inch. “He’s mine.”

“So you’ve said. But you’re not free to marry. You’re first assassin of the realm. No member of court can marry without my permission.”

“Yeah, she can. If she’s had a couple babies. Like I did.”

“You haven’t—What are you talking about?”

“Time moves way different out there. As I’m sure you’ve heard.”

She stared at me. “I don’t believe you. You don’t behave like a mother.”

“Well, I’m not very good at it. Maybe if I’d had a mother of my own instead of getting trained to be an assassin, I would’ve been better.”

“What are their names? Your children?”

I faltered for half a second, then heard myself blurt, “Tamara and Josephine. They’re real cute, but they get in all sorts of trouble.”

“You never know what they’ll say or do in a given situation,” Bryn said mildly. “Shakespeare was less creative.”

I turned my head slightly and said, “Shhh! I’m handling this.”

“Are you?” he asked.

“Shakespeare, we’ve heard of him. We have his plays. All of them. In the royal library. I enjoy them, but he’s not my favorite.”

“Who is?” I asked, tilting my head. I would’ve talked about anything to get away from the subject of my marriage and children.

“Agatha Christie, Oscar Wilde, and Cary Grant.”

“Um, Cary Grant was in movies. You’ve got movies here?”

The queen studied me thoughtfully.

“I thought it was like Excalibur times here,” I said.

“Our acting troupes have performed Mr. Grant’s plays. I’ve heard that plays are performed differently humanside now, but I don’t know why they’ve made that change.”

“Did Cary Grant write those movies he starred in?” I asked Bryn.

“No.”

“Didn’t think so,” I whispered. “I guess it doesn’t really matter.”

“You seem to remember a lot about the human world,” Ghislaine said.

“Well, I lived there for a while. Married to him,” I said, nodding toward Bryn, whom I was still shielding from view.

“Did you see a lot of plays and movies?” the queen asked.

“Um, sure. Quite a few.”

“You never liked plays.”

“I didn’t say I liked ’em all. But what are you going to do all weekend? Sometimes you see a movie,” I said.

“I’ve had some of the pastries you made. You’ve become exceptionally talented at baking since you left.”

“Families get hungry. Gotta learn to make stuff for them to eat,” I said, shrugging.

“Separate them,” Ghislaine said.

“Hang on,” I said, trying to keep them from moving me. I kicked at them, but not all that effectively, since I was trying to stay close to Bryn. When they dragged me away from him, he stood casually still while I struggled until my hair hung half in my eyes and they’d pinned my arms behind me.

“All right,” I growled. “I’m done.” I settled down and glared at the guy holding a dagger to my throat.

Ghislaine wasn’t paying attention to us. She had eyes only for Bryn. Her gaze started at Bryn’s hair and finished at his feet, then went the other way.

“You look a little like the portrait we have of Cary Grant.”

“Except Bryn is better-looking.”

“You also look like a selkie.”

“What’s a selkie?” I asked, trying to get her to stop looking at him. I’d been afraid of this from the moment I started having visions of visiting Ireland and the Never: This queen would see Bryn and want him for herself. Honestly, I’d been more worried about that than anything. Even getting killed hadn’t been as big a concern, which was silly, but there you have it. Faeries are notoriously possessive. Apparently I’d gotten more than my fair share of that fae trait.

Ghislaine’s gaze finally shifted to me. “I know everything about Kismet. She does sometimes speak with the accents she hears humanside. She does sometimes seem like a different person for a few days when she returns from a mission. But at her core, she’s never been so altered. If she loved a human, she wouldn’t bring him into the Never and then try so desperately and feebly to conceal him. Also, she wouldn’t love him the way you do. You love the way humans love.”

“I’m half human,” I said.

“To be sure, you are at least half human. Maybe more. But one thing you’re not is first assassin of the Seelie court. Where is she? Where’s Kismet?”

“Gone,” I said, letting the tension flow out of me. I folded my arms across my chest. No more games. No more fidgeting or posturing. Just one lie that I would tell without flinching. One lie told without hesitation, because it mattered more than any lie I’d ever told in my life.

I locked eyes with the Seelie queen and unblinkingly said, “Kismet’s dead.”