Liam’s lips curled, despite the anger flickering in his eyes. “Oh, there’d be no problem with that.”
Phelan barked out a bitter laugh. “And there it is. You only want to go with her because you have some kind of delusion that she’s your mate. Let me guess, you think because she’s like Marin that she can claim all four of you.”
“Well, I don’t see why the hell not.”
“It’s been eighteen years since Marin had her harem. The realm thought the existence of the Greater Fae was over. Who’s to say the realm would accept it after all this time? Who’s to say it wouldn’t threaten the balance of our existence or anger the demons we’re bound to tithe?”
“The tithe is taken care of by the changeling exchange,” Liam countered.
“Yes.” A pause. “And Norah is a changeling, regardless of her unique powers. When changelings return home, they are to spend their three years at the Academy and bond with their mate. Singular.”
“Surely the demons don’t care who mates with who,” I said, finally speaking up for the first time since the argument began. I still felt a little weird, listening to people argue about my love life, but it was like they felt completely involved in who I did or did not end up mating with. In my mind, it was nobody’s business but ours. Sometimes, Otherworld was really weird.
“The Dark Fae, or the demons as some like to call them, like to keep a tight control on our realm,” Phelan said. “And they are just waiting for someone to do something wrong and give them a reason to invade.”
I shivered. “The demons are actually fae? But then why aren’t they here, in Otherworld?”
Frowning, Phelan glanced at Liam. “Honestly, how have we ended up with a spy who doesn’t even know the very basics about our world?”
“We haven’t quite gotten this far in her studies yet,” Liam said to Phelan. “We like to introduce them slowly to our history. Otherwise, we’ve found it overwhelms them. They’ve lived in the human realm all their lives. Dumping the entirety of the world on them at once is far too much.”
With a heavy sigh, Phelan continued. “There are two faerie realms, Norah. Otherworld, which is home to the Light Fae. That’s us. On the flip side, there is Underworld. Home of the Dark Fae and the more dangerous faerie creatures. They are cruel, chaotic, and violent, and they’ve longed wished to take over not only our realm but the human realm as well. Only our tithe keeps them satisfied for now, but it still means they can control us.”
“I think I need to sit down.”
“See?” Liam asked when I leaned heavily against the war table. When I’d first come to Otherworld, I’d felt overwhelmed by the knowledge that the world as I knew it was not the full truth. There was magic and faeries and I was one of them. There was an entirely different realm where the seasons held a magic of their own. Over the past few months, I’d come to grips with it. But now I was feeling a bit woozy from it all again.
Phelan let out an impatient sigh. “The Dark Fae don’t truly matter. Let’s get back to why we’re really here. The Autumn Court. What matters is making sure the Autumns don’t destroy our home.”
I nodded, swallowing hard. All this new information about the Dark Fae would have to wait. Phelan was very obviously impatient to get started on my training, and I understood why. The longer we waited to gather information, the more likely another Court might fall. It was imperative to find out what the Autumns had planned before they had a chance to carry out another attack.
Shouts echoed through the expansive hall, and the three of us turned to face the commotion. There was a scuffling noise, and then another round of shouts, before the two gate guards pounded their way into the room with a very familiar figure struggling in their meaty arms.
“This one showed up outside the gates demanding to be let in,” said the guard.
Rourke’s golden eyes burned into the face of one of his captors, the veins in his neck throbbing against his skin. My heart skipped a beat, half afraid, half happy to see his face.
“As you can probably tell, he’s Autumn filth. We were just going to ignore him, but he wouldn’t shut the hell up. Thought you might want to deal with him instead.”
The guard threw Rourke onto the marble floor. In an instant, my fae instructor was on his feet, and two daggers appeared in his hands.
All around me, steel flickered underneath the light of the summer sun streaming in through the floor-to-ceiling windows. Every Hunter, every guard, every fae in the room had a a sword. And they were all pointing the blades right at Rourke.
“Stop it.” I held up my hands and slid in front of my Autumn instructor. “Rourke is with me. He’s not an enemy.”
“He’s an Autumn,” the guard spit. “The Queen probably sent him here to find out what we’re up to. Don’t tell him anything. Hide the map.”
The Hunters quickly surrounded the table, blocking Rourke from spying any of the little pieces they’d so carefully spread out across it.
“Someone should take him to the cells,” one of the Hunters said.
Shea suddenly strode in from door leading to the living quarters, her eyes wide as she took in the situation. In an instant, she was across the floor. She stood by my side, joining the protective circle around Rourke.
“Everyone needs to calm down. Phelan, you’ve known me all my life, yeah?”
Phelan nodded, his jaw flickering.
“Rourke here is a personal friend of mine from the Academy. He’s not like the Autumns we’re fighting against. He served Marin. I swear to you on my mother’s grave that he isn’t a spy. There’s no need to throw him in a cell. If anything, he could help us.”
“Help you with what?” Rourke asked from behind us, his voice rising in anger. “What exactly is going on here and why have you brought Norah into it? Alwyn told me you’d gone off on some crazy mission to help the Summer fae, and I didn’t believe her at first. I didn’t even believe it all the way here. And now that I see it with my own eyes, I still can’t believe it. This is illogical.”
“You see?” Shea asked with a tight smile. “He’s just another idiot who cares about nothing other than the changeling.”
Phelan frowned but he flicked his fingers toward the Hunters and the guards. Reluctantly, they slowly eased away from the table and secured their weapons. I could see in their eyes that they still didn’t trust Rourke. Nothing we did or said would convince them that he was anything other than a typical Autumn fae. They would be on their guard.
I turned toward Rourke then, to face him. His gaze swept across my face, reading my heart and my soul in a way that made me feel as if I stood there naked and exposed before him.
“Tell me what’s going on, Norah.”
“The Summer fae have asked me to do them a favor. I’ve agreed.”
“What kind of favor?” His voice was edged in danger.
I opened my mouth to speak, but I didn’t know where to begin.
“Norah has a special skill that can help us get close to the Queen,” Phelan filled in for me, and I couldn’t help but notice the vagueness of his answer. He didn’t want to give Rourke the details.
Rourke arched an eyebrow. “Norah has a great number of skills, I’ll admit, but so do many other fae, particularly your Hunters here. Hunters who have completed their training, and are not in the middle of it.”
A beat passed. “None of my Hunters can weave shadows.”
Rourke blinked, surprised, and then his eyes cut to me. “Is this true?”
I lifted my shoulders in a shrug. “I mean, I guess? Alastar over there said he saw me do it at the Feast of the Fae, but I didn’t realize it was happening.”
“Right. So, they’re asking you to do something that you have no idea how to control.” Rourke scowled and turned toward Phelan. “And, let me guess, you intend for her to do this alone.”
“She must,” the male fae said. “The odds of her getting caught only increase if Liam accompanies her. The Queen knows him. He cannot blend in, particularly not with that blazing red hair.”
Rourke pursed his lips. “I’ll go with Norah.”