The Ice Diamond Cuff (Custodian Novel #4) (18 page)

"Up here," a voice called from her bedroom.
Faedra looked up the stairs, grabbed a fistful of material in each
hand, hiked up her dress, and took the steps two at a time. The
door at the top was open. When she reached it, she stopped dead in
her tracks causing her husband to almost knock her over; he was so
close behind her.

Her father was laid out on her bed. Sitting
beside him was a wise looking old man, his face awash with many
years of wear and tear. She had met him once before. His name was
Bedowen, the castle's physician. Bedowen turned when she took a
step into the room. His grave eyes met her worried ones.

"I fear I can do no more, My Lady," he said,
lowering his head.

As Faedra approached her bed, she could see
the blood… it was everywhere. Tears slid down her cheeks. Her
father lay motionless on top of her cream comforter. He was pale,
so very pale. His green velvet tunic was soaked in his own
blood.

"Who did this?" Faedra asked Bedowen, tearing
her eyes from his to look at her father.

"Zaven's men," Bedowen replied.

Faedra's gaze returned to the old physician.
"Z-Zaven? But...why?" she murmured. She knew she didn't trust him,
but this? She didn't want to think him capable of this.

Bedowen lowered his head again. "It was his
plan all along, My Lady. We found out about it too late. His men
were taking a while to deconstruct their camp. Now we know why.
They were waiting for all the other participants of the tournament
to return home. After you left for the World of Men, he struck with
force. Azran is under siege."

Faedra took a hesitant step closer. Bedowen
stood and moved back from the bed allowing Faedra to sit beside her
father. He stirred as the mattress dipped. His eyelids fluttered
open, and he offered his daughter a weak smile.

"My child," he whispered. His eyes were soft
and loving, his voice hoarse and shaky. "I need you to do something
for me."

Faedra moved closer, leaning her face over
his to hear him better. "Anything, Father. You only have to
ask."

"Rescue your sister."

Faedra sat up. Of all the things she expected
him to ask of her, that was not one of them.

"This is much to ask of you, I know," the
king continued, noticing Faedra recoil. "But she is my daughter,
too, and, for all her faults...I love her."

Faedra looked up at Faen, who was standing by
her side. Jocelyn and the two Messengers were standing behind him,
their expressions grave. If her sister's track record was anything
to go by, it was probably her who had instigated this attack in the
first place.

The king spluttered a cough, forcing Faedra's
attention back to him.

"Father, you will heal soon. You can rescue
her yourself and lead a counterattack on Zaven." Try as she might,
Faedra couldn't hide the hint of desperation in her voice.

"No, my child. I fear my time has come." The
king closed his eyes.

"No!" Faedra cried, shaking her father by the
shoulder. "You'll heal. You can't leave me, I'm not ready for
this...not yet."

There was a bustling behind her as Etyran,
Henry, the vicar, Alyssa and the dragons burst into the bedroom.
Gasps bounced off the walls as they shuffled around the bed and
witnessed for the first time the grave nature of the situation.

The king's eyes opened again and he drew in a
raspy breath. "The Alsians want the World of Men," the king
wheezed. "Azran is the only thing standing in their way. I have
locked down all the portals, but you know how to get back
there."

Faedra looked up at the vicar who nodded back
at her.

"Save Azran, Faedra. Save your sister. You
are the only one with enough power..." his voice trailed off, and
he closed his eyes. Faedra let loose a strangled sob as she felt
her father's life energy leave his body.

"No!" Faedra cried, throwing herself across
his chest and holding him tight, as though this very action alone
would hold his life force to his body. A few seconds later, she sat
up with a start. Her pristine ivory dress now stained a deep blood
red.

"Savu," she whispered.

Murmurs resonated around the gathered
onlookers as Faedra laid her hands on her father's chest.

Just as she closed her eyes, she heard
exaggerated gasps as her three friends and her uncle joined the
growing crowd in the bedroom. She heard her dad try to explain to
the newcomers what was going on before she shut everything out and
went in search of the light.

***

She could do this, she had done it once
before. If she could save Faen, she was sure she could save her
father, she just had to find the light. Faedra searched through her
mind, running down imaginary corridors and throwing open every
imaginary door she came across. Up ahead, she saw it. Light peeked
out from underneath a closed door. She ran to it, throwing the door
open. The power of the light hit her with such a force she sucked
in a sharp breath.

"What is she doing?" Leo asked, more than a
little distressed. "We need to call an ambulance."

"No!" Henry said, clapping a firm hand around
his brother's arm. Leo shot his big brother an incredulous
glare.

"Who is that man?" Leo continued. "Why is he
here?"

"Leo, I will explain everything later, but
right now, I need for you to be quiet," Henry said, trying to
placate his brother. "Faedra needs to concentrate,"

"Concentrate? Concentrate on what exactly?
For God's sake, Henry, have you gone mad? There's a dead man on
your daughter's bed, for crying out loud. And who are all these
other..." he looked around at the gathered crowed, "...other
people?"

Leo's attention was dragged from his brother
by sharp gasps of surprise from his wife, Nicki and Faedra's other
two bridesmaids.

"Oh, my God," the three girls whispered. Zoe
was pointing towards the bed. Leo turned his head and inhaled a
sharp breath himself. His niece was glowing. The light was
spreading from her hands to the dead man's chest.

"So beautiful," Amy whispered.

"How is she doing that?" murmured Nicki.

"More's the point, what exactly
is
she
doing?" Leo asked.

"She's healing her father," Henry replied,
oblivious to the fact that he had just opened up another set of
flood gates of questions from his brother.

"Her father?" Leo murmured. "She found her
biological father? I thought he was dead. Why didn't you tell
me?"

Henry drew his eyes away from Faedra for a
brief moment and looked at his brother. "It's complicated."

There was a groan from the bed.

"It's working," Jocelyn breathed and wrapped
her arm around Etyran, leaning into his warm bulk of a body. "She's
doing it."

Faedra opened her eyes just as her father
opened his. Their gazes met, and they both smiled. Faedra's heart
exploded with the love she felt flowing from him, then cried out as
pain shot up her arms. But it wasn't hers, it was the king's. Her
father's eyes widened, then scrunched closed as the pain grew
stronger.

"No!" Faedra screamed, squeezing her eyes
shut and concentrating harder.

The light was being pulled away from the
king's body. It radiated towards the diamond cuff on Faedra's
wrist. The more light she tried to radiate, the brighter the
diamond cuff became. She could see the light in her mind's eye
being drawn down her arm and dissipating from her soul.

"Faedra, stop!" Faen shouted. "It's a trap!"
He lunged forward and grabbed her shoulders only to be flung
backwards with a force that threw him into the Messengers.

"Faen!" Faedra beseeched. "I can't stop it.
Help me!"

The light ebbed away, and Faedra was
ensconced in darkness. Only the glow of the cuff could be seen
through the shadow that surrounded the Custodian.

Alaris and Ignis pushed forward and grabbed
for the cuff. They too were thrown backwards. The force slamming
them into the wall making indents in the plaster.

Wind started to howl within the bedroom.

Amy, Zoe and Nicki clung to each other. Their
hair, loosed from their coiffed dos, whipped about their heads.

"We have to do something!" Leo shouted above
the roar of the wind that was creating a vortex in the small
bedroom.

"I don't know what we can do!" Henry shouted
back. "If dragons and fae can't touch her, we have no chance."

Leo gaped at his brother. "Did you just say
dragons?"

"Yes, and fae."

"What the hell have you gotten yourself
into?"

Before Henry could answer, a pulse ripped out
from Faedra's cuff knocking the inhabitants of the room to the
floor before being sucked back into the diamond encrusted piece
fitted snugly around her wrist. Faedra's eyes rolled back into her
head as consciousness betrayed her. The princess fell forward,
draped over her father's corpse on the bed. Silence blanketed the
room.

CHAPTER TWENTY

As the dust settled on Faedra's bedroom,
coughs and groans bounced off the walls. Members of the group
started to sit up and drag themselves back into the here and now.
Faen shook his head, dispersing the fuzzies that addled his brain,
and pushed himself off the floor. "Faedra!" He sat on the bed and
pulled Faedra's limp body away from her father's. Her dress was
covered in blood, as were her arms, hands, and one side of her
face. Her head slumped forward as Faen drew her to him. She was
still breathing, at least. Faen pulled some of her now sticky hair
away from her face. Willing her to stay asleep, knowing she would
be devastated when she awoke.

One by one, the crowd rose from the floor and
straightened themselves out. Leo rubbed his head and looked over to
the girls from where he was still sitting on the floor. He got up
onto his knees and crawled over to where his wife, Amy and Zoe were
just starting to push themselves onto their elbows.

"Are you all okay?" he asked.

Their expressions dazed, they all nodded. Leo
got up and offered his wife a hand. Once Nicki was on her feet, he
did the same for Amy and Zoe. They did a quick glance around the
room before joining the others, heads hung low, staring at the
heartbreaking sight on the bed.

"Is--is she alive?" Henry asked, breaking the
deafening stillness that hung in the air.

Faen looked up. His disconsolate gaze reached
Henry's and he nodded.

"What happened?"

Faen swallowed. He hung his head and shook
it, unable to form words. His king lay dead behind him, his
princess lay unconscious in his arms. He had a good idea what had
happened… Zaven happened. The Ambassador was to blame for this, of
that, he was sure. The diamond cuff had obviously been spelled to
absorb Faedra's power. The Ambassador knew if he injured the king
badly enough, Faedra would use her power to try and revive him. He
must have been confident that she would wear his gift again for her
second wedding; it complimented her dress so beautifully. It was a
risky move, but the Ambassador had always seemed very sure of
himself. What Faen didn't know was if his beloved wife would ever
wake up. He knew nothing of the spell or whether killing his wife
was also intended. He wrapped his arms tighter around her and
hugged her close. At least she was still breathing.

"What's wrong with Faedra?" Leo asked
Henry.

Henry shook his head. "I don't know."

"What do you mean you don't know? Would
someone like to explain to me what the hell just happened and why
my niece is lying unconscious and covered in blood?"

Henry took hold of Leo's arm and guided him
towards the door. "Come on. Let's go put the kettle on. I know I
could use a cuppa."

Leo shrugged out of Henry's grasp. "Who
are
you?" Leo snapped. "Your daughter is covered in some
stranger's blood, and you're acting like it's all in a day's work.
For God's sake, man. Wake up!"

Henry cast a fleeting glance at the king and
closed his eyes for a long second. "He's not a stranger," he said
softly.

Alaris stepped toward Leo, his eyes
narrowing, a definitive growl breaking free from his vocal chords.
Leo gave the dragon a wary look and took a step back. Draconis
stepped in front of the blue dragon. "Please, excuse my...friend,"
he said. "He has somewhat of a short temper."

Leo swallowed but remained silent.

Draconis turned to Henry. "I believe I would
like a cup of tea, too, Henry. Please, lead the way." He gestured
to the bridesmaids, also. "Ladies, would you care to join us?" It
wasn't meant as a question and everyone knew it. The three girls
mirrored Leo's wary glances and nodded their acquiescence.

Faedra groaned.

Everyone turned their attention to the
bed.

The Custodian brought her hand to her
forehead. "Urgh, my head," she grumbled. She pulled her head away
from where it was resting on Faen's shoulder and blew out a long
breath. Her heavy eyelids blinked several times trying to focus.
"What happened?" she moaned.

A crease formed along her brow. Feeling the
stickiness on her hand, she pulled it away from her head. For a
long second, she just stared at it, then, as realization dawned,
her gaze traveled down to her dress. Panic took hold as memories
seeped back into her consciousness. Her breathing became erratic
and she glanced at the king before turning back to stare at her
husband with heartbroken eyes.

Tears of despair welled before sluicing down
her cheeks. "What have I done?" she breathed.

Her woeful gaze traveled around the room and
met the saddened expressions of all who were standing there. To her
shock, one by one, the otherworlders kneeled before her and bowed
their heads.

"The king is dead!" the vicar shouted. "Long
live the queen!"

"Long live the queen!" everyone repeated.

Faedra's breath hitched as she turned back to
her husband. "No...I'm not ready for this," she stuttered, her eyes
pleading.