Read Siren's Song: The Gray Court, Book 5 Online

Authors: Dana Marie Bell

Tags: #fae;faery

Siren's Song: The Gray Court, Book 5 (2 page)

BOOK: Siren's Song: The Gray Court, Book 5
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He was absolutely enchanted by it.

Long, elegant fingers clutched the steering wheel, a pearl ring decorating one hand. That, too, was strangely familiar, but like everything else the knowledge of where he’d seen it before eluded him.

But it was the fear in her gaze that had him searching the area around her car, ready to do battle. For some bizarre reason, the thought that this woman feared anything set off every protective instinct he had.

Nothing would harm her. He’d destroy anything that tried.

And that frightened him more than the sight of her had. The only thing he could be certain of was he’d never, not once, had the desire to protect someone as fiercely as he did this woman.

What the fuck was going on?

“Si…” She gulped back whatever it was she’d been about to say, staring at him with huge eyes as he held up his hand for her silence. He needed to hear what the winds told him, but that voice…

He shuddered. Her looks might be average, but her voice was stunning. Throaty, slightly scratchy, it was pure sin and seduction, a song that lured him toward her like a moth to a flame. “What has frightened you so?”

Those huge eyes widened before her features stilled. “You.”

He took a step back. How had he made her afraid? There could be only one answer. “You know who I am.”

She nodded. “Yes. But you’re in danger, so please, get in the car. I’ll try to explain some of it on the way.”

The urge to do as she asked was nearly overwhelming, but some instinct of self-preservation held him back. He shivered, and not just with cold. If he climbed into that car, his life would change in ways he could not foresee. “Why should I trust you?”

“I…” She blinked, obviously startled by the question. “He told me to find you.”

“Who?” He approached the car warily. “What do you know?”

“Please, get in the car. I
promise
I’ll tell you, but hurry.” She glanced behind her, her fear so obvious he was reaching for the handle before he even realized. “I don’t know how far behind me they are.”

“Who?” Damn it. Why wouldn’t she tell him?

“Get in!” She leaned over and pushed the door open, her panic so real, so consuming, he had no choice but to do as she asked. He climbed into the passenger seat, ignoring her sigh of relief, and buckled the seat belt as she took off into the cold, dark night.

He gave her a few minutes to calm herself before he began his questions. She knew what was going on, that much was clear, and something in him demanded he trust her on some level. Whether she was worthy of his complete trust remained to be seen, but he decided to heed his instincts until she proved herself unworthy.

He frowned, the certainty that she would do just that ratcheting through him. Had she betrayed him in the past? Was that why he was both drawn to and loath to spend time with her? “Tell me what’s going on.”

She glanced at him out of the corner of her eye, but her attention remained where it should, on the icy roads. “A seer sent me for you. He told me where to find you.” He jumped, that term bringing back odd feelings, some pleasant, some not. “I’m to bring you to him as quickly as possible, but I’ve been told only to reveal what happened to you in bits and pieces.”

“Why?”

“It has something to do with why you’ve lost your memory, and how to return it to you with the least amount of injury possible.” She shrugged. “I can sense the damage the poison has done, but the effects are complicated to heal. If I try to do it all at once, I could do irreparable harm to your psyche.” She patted his knee, her touch inflaming him. Such a simple thing, yet his cock had hardened instantly. “I give you my word I will get you to Shane safely.”

Shane. He jolted at that name. Another familiar, unremembered name.

Something about her tone, the odd, echoing quality, shivered through him. An oath, then, and binding. The tingle of…magic?…reassured him as nothing else could.

“Who are you?”

She grimaced. “Cassie. I’m…a friend.”

Somehow he doubted that. His reaction to her was far too visceral for mere friendship. “Who am I?”

Again, that sideways glance, that glimpse of turquoise beautiful, haunting. “You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.”

“Try me.” This was it, the moment she would lie and betray him.

She bit her lip before sighing. “Your name is Oberon.”

Oberon. That name, so familiar, settled around him like a cloak. Yes. He was Oberon, and he was…something more as well. Damn it. Whoever had poisoned him would pay dearly. “My last name?”

“I don’t know it. No one does. You never speak it.”

That was odd, but he’d let it go for now. It certainly proved they were
not
friends. Any friend of his would be gifted with his surname.

Right?

He frowned. Gifted? Why would that, rather than his first name, be considered the gift? “Where are we headed?”

She grinned, her whole face going from plain to utterly devastating. Such a smile could blind the sun. “Nebraska.”

“Why there? Why not Kansas, or Oklahoma?”

“Because the man who can help you most is there. In the meantime, relax. I’ve got you now, and I’ll keep you safe.”

Oberon scowled. “I think not. Despite my lack of memory, I am perfectly capable of defending myself.” He knew that without a doubt. He could sense the magic, potent and intoxicating, answering the call of his will.

“But would you know who to defend yourself from?” She shook her head, her brows lowering, that blistering smile gone. In its place was an equally dazzling determination. “No. Let me deal with the bad guys. You heal, work on getting your memories back.” She glanced around, taking the off-ramp to some highway that seemed vaguely familiar. “I can take care of things for now.”

He very much doubted it if the fear that flashed across her face again was anything to go by. Whoever was after him, had poisoned him, must be very dangerous for her to fear them more than she did him.

Oberon braced himself against the window, the car’s heater finally driving the chill from his skin. “How did you break your nose?”

She shrugged. “I was healing someone, and he accidentally hurt me. It happens sometimes.”

“Getting your nose broken?”

“Getting hurt by a patient.”

He wanted so desperately to reach out and stroke the broken bridge, to see if there was pain though he knew, deep down, there was not. “Why not heal it?”

“It’s a lot harder to heal yourself than it is someone else.” She patted his arm, putting the questions to an end. “Rest now. You need it.”

As if he could. He kept a covert eye on the rearview mirror, ready to do whatever it took to make sure Cassie remained unharmed. The thought of her bleeding, wounded, fueled an astonishing rage within him. The wind outside the car picked up, Cassie growling and gripping the wheel tighter as she fought the elements. Strong though she might be, he suspected there was very little she would be able to do against his enemies in a real fight. It was up to him to make sure the strange, alluring woman did not come to harm.

Oberon would protect her, whether either of them wished it or not.

“Call Lord Raven MacSweeney to us.”

Raven nodded once to Harold, the Gray Court’s majordomo, as the summons came, the man sweeping open the door at the sound of Robin Goodfellow’s command. The courtiers appeared stunned as Raven swept into the room and bowed before the throne. “My liege.”

Robin Goodfellow, aka the Hob, nodded once to Raven.

The Hob stood tall and proud before a throne he’d never been meant to take. The Goodfellows were warriors, not rulers, but Oberon must have chosen Robin as his regent for a reason. As scary as the Dark Queen was, even she was frightened of the Hob. If anyone could stop her from making a move on the White or Gray courts, it would be him.

And she had good reason to be afraid of the Hob. Raven hid his shudder at the memory of the…
thing
his father had become when Michaela had nearly died.

Raven wasn’t frightened by much, but that pulsing, amorphous ball of pure, sharp-edged fury had terrified him. His father had become the living embodiment of chaos, the swirling mass of anger and pain vibrating with death and destruction. Only his eyes, those glowing, green eyes had remained centered within the pulsating cloud, constant, furious and deadly.

Raven had wanted to piss his pants. Anything that touched that sphere without permission would die in horrible agony, ripped apart both from within and without. He’d watched his father destroy the man who had almost killed Michaela Goodfellow, tearing him apart piece by tiny, blood-soaked piece.

He’d seen some pretty hellish things during his time with the Black Court, but the
each uisge
’s screams still haunted his nightmares more than any other.

But now Robin stood before him in his human Seeming, his healed mate by his side. The crown of the High King was perched on his head, marking him as the Prince Regent. “Your oath, if it pleases you.”

Raven took a deep breath, ready to sever all ties to the Black Court. It was beyond time, and the Dark Queen would feel his wrath as he gave his allegiance to the Gray. Unfortunately, there had not been time to bring Raven before Oberon as planned, therefore Raven would give his oath to Robin as the Regent. It would be equally binding, and the courtiers would be forced to accept it.

Raven knelt before the throne, aware his life was about to change forever more. The Dark Queen would hunt him now with all-consuming fury, eager to destroy the man she’d once lain with. His betrayal would ensure it.

He stared up at his father, the point where he could change his mind long gone. The moment Robin accepted Raven as his own, the moment Raven had known his mother had died, had cemented his fate. Raven gave his oath with all his might, praying it burned the Dark Queen’s ass. “I hereby renounce all ties to the Black Lady, Queen Titannia—”

The court’s whispers intensified at that name as his father winced ever so slightly. Raven barely saw it, and only because he was staring straight at the Hob.

Interesting
.

“Queen of the Black Court, Lady of the Unseelie. I declare myself Oberon’s man from this day forth, in honor and in faith, having no other oaths to forswear. By the gods, I pledge my loyalty to the Gray Court, High King Oberon and his descendants. I declare myself the sworn servant of the Gray Lord, High King Oberon, King of the Gray Court, Lord over the Fae. I pledge my sword and my honor to uphold the laws of the Court. I and my house will abide by the laws handed down by the High King. I will faithfully perform all services required by Crown and Court. So swear I, Lord Raven MacSweeney.”

Robin’s eyes twinkled as Michaela nodded beside him, a serene smile on her face. “I, Prince Robin Goodfellow, the acting Gray Lord, Lord of the Fae, hereby hear your oaths and accept them in the name of Crown and Court and High King Oberon. I declare you our loyal servant, sworn to our bidding. From this day forth my sword shall defend you, my magic protect you and my wrath be mighty should you fail of your duty.” Raven hoped his father didn’t see the fear he tried desperately to hide. “All former oaths to the Black are hereby null and void, by my power as Prince Regent. So swear I, Robin Goodfellow, the Hobgoblin.”

Raven shivered as the weight of the oath’s magic settled over him. He was now Gray Court, bound to Oberon, and thus to Robin.

“I hereby recruit you into the Blades, Lord Raven. Do you accept?”

“I do.” Raven’s blue eyes flashed green for just a second. He’d hoped his father would recruit him into the Blades. Ruthless, cunning, brutal and subtle all at once, Oberon’s Knights were whatever they needed to be.

The position would suit him to a T.

“Very good. Now.” Robin steepled his fingers together and stared at Raven with a vaguely amused expression. Michaela laid her hand on his knee, her gaze serene despite the whispers of the courtiers who surrounded the Gray Throne.

The man was up to something, something that didn’t seem to faze his mate in the slightest.

Robin smirked, either aware of the direction of Raven’s thoughts or just to fuck with the people watching them. Raven was willing to bet it was both. It’s what he would have done, after all. “I have a job for you.”

Of course he did. Raven stood and grinned, knowing what was coming and looking forward to the challenge. He’d prove himself to Robin, and the court, and repay his father’s belief in him. “Find the High King, my prince?”

Robin’s grin was vicious, his blue-eyed gaze glazing over with green light. It was a look Raven knew all too well. “Exactly.”

“Prince Robin, you can’t expect an ex-Black Court to—”

Robin languidly waved his hand and silence fell over the Gray Court as his power rolled through the room. Not one fae present could bear the heat of the Hob’s anger, his fury sweeping over them and driving most to their knees. Surprisingly, only Lord Blackthorn remained on his feet. Even his mates, Duncan and Moira, were driven to their knees.

A flash of green in Blackthorn’s eyes gave Raven the surprising answer to why he remained standing. Somehow, the vampire was blood of his blood, a part of Robin’s family.

Shit. Now he’d have to be
nice
to the fucker.

“My son, my Blade, will find the High King, and take his rightful name of Goodfellow.”

Raven bit back a shocked gasp at his father’s pronouncement. “Father?” He hadn’t expected
that
level of acknowledgement, not openly. Hell, he’d given his oath as a MacSweeney.

Robin winked. “It was your stepmother’s idea.”

Raven grimaced. Not once had he ever thought of Michaela Goodfellow as anything but the woman he’d lost. Michaela made a stunning Tuatha Dè Danaan, and Raven mourned that he hadn’t been the one to meet her first. He would have loved to experience her passion just once before her truebond swept her off her feet, but his father had not only found her, but claimed her.

Raven would have hated him for that, except Robin had claimed him as well, declaring Raven his son to anyone who would stand still and listen, and even some who wouldn’t. It was a heady experience, being wanted. Growing up in the Black Court hadn’t exactly been Lovapaloosa. His mother had been too terrified to defy the Dark Queen, leaving her son to the not-so-tender mercies of the court.

BOOK: Siren's Song: The Gray Court, Book 5
12.72Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

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