Allegiance (37 page)

‘I wish to acknowledge those who have come from outside of this kingdom to assist us,’ King Telophy began. ‘First, my grandfathers, Ardell and Kashiel—having retired as kings they will remain in Telophy as members of this council until the Shadow King is stopped.’ He turned his attention to Jack. ‘And also you, Jack. This is not a human problem and will not be without danger, so as per our agreement I have decreed that you and your human friends may call my kingdom home for as long as you desire.’

I glanced at Hilary. She was watching the king. It would have been nice for him to acknowledge her specifically—even in some small way.

‘That’s awesome,’ Jack said. ‘But transport might be a problem, what with us not having wings and all.’

I cringed at Jack’s forwardness, but King Telophy only smiled. ‘My sentry guard are at your service, Jack. I will make it known to them when this meeting is over. But come, let us address the problem at hand. As you are all aware, the missing Fae number in
the hundreds. Many are members of my guard. This has led to a secondary concern—an increase in common Shadow Fae attacks.’

‘This Shadow King
must
be stopped,’ Kashiel interjected, ‘lest he gain a foothold in the whole of Faera.’

‘Indeed,’ King Telophy agreed. ‘And only someone of the royal line will have the strength to stop him. The problem, however, will be getting near enough to do so. For we must assume he has inherited his shadow mother’s ability to sense us.’

‘That’s where I come in,’ Jack said, sitting up straighter. ‘He won’t be able to sense
me
.’

I looked at him and frowned, noticed Hilary doing the same. This was just a big adventure to our friend.

King Telophy must have thought so too, because, catching Jack’s eyes, he said, ‘It is true the Shadow Fae cannot sense you, Jack, but make no mistake, they
are
dangerous.’

‘Yeah, I know,’ Jack said.

The king ignored Jack’s assertion and continued. ‘And unlike the Fae, I do not believe the Shadow Fae have the power to confuse humans—for if they had, it would be done and you would not be sitting here today. But their
king
likely will. After all, he has been confusing my subjects.’ Jack opened his mouth to respond, but King Telophy continued. ‘You must follow my directions, Jack, or in my absence, those of my son or grandfathers. Once this meeting is adjourned I will give you my allegiance and allow you the gift of telepathy with me. If you are in trouble you must not hesitate to use it. If the Shadow King confuses you before you call for me, you will be lost. Do you understand the importance of this?’ He made sure Jack answered before adding, ‘Good, because I have no desire to be transporting your lifeless body back to Earth.’

At these words a wave of nausea swirled in my belly and absolute silence fell over the table. If Jack did not understand the seriousness of the situation before, he did now.

King Telophy continued. ‘Your task will be to make yourself known to the Shadow Fae, Jack—allow them to befriend you. They must believe you to be strong and dangerous, and loyal
only
to them. When they have your trust, you will seek a meeting with their king.’

‘They will require a reason for such a meeting,’ Leif said.

‘Of course,’ King Telophy agreed. ‘Nian and I were discussing the matter earlier this morning. He made a suggestion which I believe holds merit.’ He indicated for Nian to speak.

Nian inclined his head to the king then began, ‘The Shadow Fae are greedy creatures by nature and it is my belief their king will agree to meet with the human if he is offered a lavish gift—maybe some strange Earth thing.’

‘And what would you have Jack
do
once this meeting takes place?’ Leif asked.

‘While the Shadow King is distracted with the gift we could move swiftly to capture him,’ Nian said.

‘It matters not how swiftly we move if he has inherited his mother’s ability to sense us,’ Leif said.

‘
And
if he has the speed and power of the royal line,’ Briony added.

‘But if we surround him and move as one, our chances of trapping him are good,’ Canden of the Most High said.

‘Good they might be but still there is too much risk involved.’ Leif shook his head. ‘If he manages to slip by us, we have wasted our chance.’

‘He will also know he has been betrayed and Jack will be of no further use,’ Kashiel added.

‘We need to think of another way to trap him,’ Ardell said.

‘But how?’ Leif asked, eyes on his father, who was sitting back watching the ideas being fired back and forth. ‘If he is caught in a trap he will simply use his power to have someone help him escape.’

‘Unless the trap is such that we could reach him before he
can
escape,’ Nian said.

Leif shook his head and said, ‘Such a fine line would be too great a gamble. There must be a better way.’

Hilary spoke up then. ‘You said we could entice the Shadow King into meeting Jack with a gift, right?’

‘That is the hope,’ King Telophy said.

‘And he can’t confuse a prince or king?’ Hilary continued, completely unfazed by the disinterest in the king’s tone.

‘Definitely not,’ King Telophy confirmed.

‘So, I don’t know whether this would work—but what if the gift,’ Hilary paused and looked from one face to the next. ‘What if the gift was a faery for Mirresen to um… enjoy? Would
that
disguise the approach of a king so one of you could catch him?’

‘That would be a good plan,’ Leif said, ‘but for one problem. We don’t know how they do it, but the Shadow Fae are able to sense individual Fae. It’s almost as if each of us has a unique signature or scent. Or perhaps they detect the rhythm of our hearts or our very souls.’

‘Unless it is a betrothed pair,’ King Telophy said looking directly at his son. ‘The betrothed are so connected as to be one.’

A moment later Leif leapt up from the table. ‘No!’ he roared.

‘It will be our best chance, my son,’ the king said, voice calm.

‘I will
not
have her presented as a feast for the Shadow King! She has not yet regained her strength from the last attack! It is out of the question!’

At once, I knew what had passed between Leif and his father. The prince and his betrothed—Leif and I were one. If I was presented as a gift to the Shadow King, Leif would be able to sneak up on him. Before I could even wonder why I was doing it, I took Leif’s hand and caught King Telophy’s eyes. ‘I’ll do it, my king.’

‘You will
not
!’ Leif raged. He looked at Ardell and Kashiel. And I knew what he’d just said to them because they both began to shake their heads—no, no, not their wives.

‘Your betrothed is mortal yet, my prince. The shadow creatures will take more care when they know it,’ Nian said, then added quickly. ‘If it comes to that, of course.’

Leif’s grandfathers nodded their agreement as Leif, scowling hard, turned on Nian and said, ‘It will
not
because Marla will not be involved!’

Before he could say anymore, I grabbed his arm and said, ‘You’ll be nearby, Leif. I’ll be safe with you close.’ I had no idea how I managed to keep my voice level, or where the words were even coming from. The thought of coming face to face with the Shadow King filled me with terror.

‘You will be alone for mere minutes, my son,’ King Telophy added. ‘You need only restrain the Shadow King until I arrive. He will not have time to touch her.’

‘I don’t like it,’ Jack muttered, shaking his head.

‘She will
not
be involved,’ Leif asserted before turning to his father. His face was filled with the most intense loathing. ‘The price of Marla’s freedom was
my
servitude, not hers. You bought me and only me when we made our vow!’

Leif looked like he was about to erupt and I didn’t want to think about what his father would do to him if that happened. I got up from the table and went to his side. Winding my arms around his neck, I looked up into his eyes as I whispered, ‘Leif, people are vanishing and it’s not going to stop until Mirresen is caught. I have to do this. You will be with me.’ Leif opened his mouth, but before he could speak, I added, ‘I’m doing it, Leif. You can’t stop me.’ I had no idea where the confidence was coming from when I said, ‘You
know
it’s the only way.’

‘There has to be a better one.’

‘That’s not what you said before I was involved. Besides, how many more people might disappear while we try to think of a better plan?’

‘There is no better plan,’ King Telophy said. ‘This is the best.’

‘You would say that, wouldn’t you,’ Leif spat, his eyes sparking as he glared at his father. ‘It would be a tidy end to your ludicrous vendetta if she finished up dead!’

Quietly and with more self-control than I’d ever seen him display, King Telophy said, ‘My son, you are well aware of my feelings for Marla. She is my subject. I only wish good for her. If it were anyone else you would not be so opposed.’

‘He’s right, Leif.’ I ran my fingers through the hair at his temples, caressing gently, but it did little to calm him. He sat back down, still seething, knowing the argument was lost.

King Telophy turned back to Jack. ‘The Shadow King must trust you completely before he will allow you to approach with one of our kind. It is their way to come to us. And it will require more than one meeting. You will need to build a rapport with him… But first you must secure a meeting.’

‘I can do that,’ Jack said, watching me, all hint of his former enthusiasm gone.

After the meeting, I wanted to spend some time alone with Leif before darkness stole him away. But it wasn’t to be. Haigen and Classin were waiting outside the assembly room. I hadn’t seen either of them since
that
day. I could feel my face begin to burn and I quickly turned to Hilary and Jack. But not in time to miss Haigen’s almond eyes become bright at the sight of Leif. My insides began to churn. Of course, I just
had
to watch Leif’s
reaction. I peeked out from behind Jack to see Leif smile—the anxiety slipping from his face as he held his arms open for her.
Ugh!

When the hug was over, he turned to say hello to Classin before looking around for me. I quickly joined Hilary and Jack’s conversation. They were planning a tour of the castle. I thought about joining them just so I wouldn’t have to face Haigen and Classin, but then Leif was tugging on my hand and urging us all to come and say hello.

I’m embarrassed,
I told him privately.
I made such an idiot of myself in front of them.

Come, Marla, it is forgotten already.

Leif introduced everyone and Classin embraced me like an old friend. He asked how I was and said it was nice to see me again—all the polite things. When he released me, Haigen gave me one of those forced smiles. If Leif thought all was forgotten, he was dreaming.

‘So, what are you two doing here?’ Leif asked, after Hilary and Jack had left us. ‘Not that it’s not wonderful to see you.’

‘Your father requested I come. For what reason, I do not know,’ Classin said. Then he glanced at his betrothed and added with a smile, ‘Haigen decided to join me. She wished to spend some time with you and Marla.’

He was being kind. I’d be willing to bet Haigen had no more interest in spending time with me than I did with her.

Classin was soon called away leaving Haigen alone with me and Leif.

Leif looked at each of us, smiling. ‘So, what shall we do?’

‘I don’t care,’ I told him.

‘I don’t mind,’ Haigen said.

This was going to be one awkward afternoon.

‘Then you can both come and judge my latest song.’

A moment later we were heading up to Leif’s music room. When we got there, he picked up an instrument that looked a bit like a guitar and started singing, his voice deep and sexy. When he was finished he smiled and said, ‘So, what do you think?’

‘It’s really good, Leif,’ I told him. But that wasn’t enough for Haigen. The song was wonderful and unique and, oh, she’d never known a singer so talented. Leif sang a couple more songs. Then he jumped down from the stage and smiled at me as he said, ‘Your turn.’

‘Um, I don’t think so.’

‘Come on, you have a beautiful voice,’ he coaxed. ‘I’ll accompany you.’ He strummed a few chords, one corner of his mouth lifting into a smile as his dark eyes, somehow steamy and glittery all at the same time, hypnotised me. If Haigen hadn’t been with us I wouldn’t have been able to resist.

‘
I’ll
sing for you, Leif,’ Haigen said.

The spell was broken and Leif turned to her and smiled.

Like the rest of her, Haigen’s voice was perfect—like water sighing over rocks, or birds trilling in the wilderness—something sweet and lyrical like that. She swayed as she sang of love and love lost. The song was so blatantly about Leif I had to fight the urge to push her off the stage. But Leif didn’t. He watched her—completely unaware of his betrothed seething beside him, a head full of mean thoughts and a heart as heavy as lead.

‘That was wonderful,’ Leif said, rising as his ex-girlfriend stepped daintily from the stage.