Creed nodded. “She’s more though, and she doesn’t know about the Sleepers. She wants proof.”
Eilidh smiled, causing Creed to frown at her. She had no urge to explain herself. She was too much her mother’s daughter to be interested in unspoken questions, and even though she trusted Creed as much as she could trust any of the weapons her mother had wrought, she trusted no one completely. Telling Creed that she was well aware of what Lily did and did not know was unnecessary. “So you offered her proof.”
“I told her there was someone I knew who could prove it,” he hedged, obviously ill at ease now that he was faced with the audacity of offering her up. “I didn’t say who. If you want to send someone else, you can . . .”
Eilidh’s smile threatened to become a laugh. This was the thing that the queen would never see: the unpredictability of the humans, or in this case, the half-humans who had been told they were true fae. They believed the queen, and it didn’t serve any purpose to reveal the truth—not yet at least. Eilidh opted to let them think they were changelings, to let them think the Queen of Blood and Rage might one day declare their service done. To the queen, they were disposable. To her, they were . . . a reminder of how far the queen would go. At least, most of them were nothing more than that. Lily, of course, was different, and for her, Eilidh would allow herself to be summoned.
Creed had said she “could” send someone else. She found it oddly enchanting being told she could do anything. She was the heir of the Hidden Throne. That meant that there was little that she was denied. Certainly there were those things disallowed for her safety, but in all, she was . . . well, the princess, which meant that her whims could be laws if she saw fit. She didn’t, but the possibility remained.
“I will come.”
Creed nodded awkwardly. His gaze was fixed on faraway waves on the sea. “You won’t hurt her,” he said, the words sounding very little like a question.
“You care for her,” Eilidh replied.
He shrugged.
“You want her to know not because I asked you to speak to her, but because you care,” Eilidh pressed.
Creed’s gaze darted to her. “I know the whole Sleeper thing isn’t your plan, but it’s . . . it’s no good. The people who are dying aren’t the ones who killed the queen’s baby. They’re just people. Me, and Lily, and the rest of us . . . and whatever other Sleepers are out there . . . we’re being made to hurt people who are innocent.”
Eilidh sighed. There was nothing she could say that wouldn’t either be a lie or an admission she’d rather not make.
twenty-one
LILY
Walking into Zephyr and Creed’s suite was a lot more difficult than Lily would’ve liked. Violet didn’t even pause to knock. She opened the door and stepped inside. “Hey, pretty boys! I’m home early. Get your lazy arses out of bed.”
Both boys came out of their rooms. Zephyr was topless, clad only in a pair of pajama pants. Creed was in the same clothes he’d had on the night before—aside from the shirt he’d given Lily. He looked like he hadn’t slept at all.
“Hey!” He scooped Violet up as soon as he saw her and spun her around like she was a child. They looked like siblings as they cuddled close, the same dusky skin and striking eyes. He smiled at the tiny tempest still in his arms. “You said you weren’t going to be here for days yet!”
“I explained to them that there was no way I could wait that long.” Violet shrugged. “They adjusted.”
Creed laughed. “Ninian forbid anyone tell you no.”
“Hush.” Violet kissed both of his cheeks. “I heard from a reliable source that you were a mess without my supervision.”
Creed shrugged and said, “Broken heart. I’d met a girl.”
“A girl? Well, then she’s an idiot,” Violet said loyally. “Do you want me to talk to her?”
Creed shook his head and glancing in Lily’s direction. “I’m coping better now.”
Thankfully, Violet let it go—although there was no doubt that she noticed Creed’s look as much as Lily had. He was far too blunt, far too often for her comfort. The mere idea of making eye contact with him right now was enough to cause anxiety.
“Did you rest well?” Zephyr asked from Lily’s side, startling her. The contrast between his quiet solicitousness and Creed’s intensity seemed designed to make her crazy. She needed to keep her focus on the larger issues—the group of fae-bloods surrounding her and their theory that she was unavoidably meant to be involved in their terrorist activities.
Lily nodded in answer to Zephyr just as Creed released Violet.
“Well? Where’s my hello?” Violet prompted Zephyr with the same tone Lily suspected dictators used.
“I can never guess what you want, Vi,” he teased as he stepped forward and hugged her.
“I am subtle, oh, never.” Violet stepped back from him. “I hear you had to go see the q—”
“Breakfast,” Creed interrupted, cutting off any reference to the Unseelie Queen. He glanced at Lily again, which Alkamy and Zephyr both noticed.
“No talk of her,” Alkamy told Zephyr and Violet in a tone that allowed for no debate.
“We’ll talk later,” Zephyr said to Violet. “Let me grab clothes. Someone tell Will and Roan to meet us at the gate.”
As he walked back to his room, Alkamy’s gaze slid over Zephyr like she could physically touch him with it. She studied him like she was examining him for bruises. “Is he okay?”
“You know Zeph.” Creed crossed his arms over his chest.
“That’s why I asked.”
“His feet were cut up, and his hands were too, but nothing needing treatment.”
“I’m going to go talk to him,” Alkamy said. She didn’t wait for a reply, simply tapped lightly on the closed door before letting herself into his room.
“They’re not together,” Violet said.
Creed glared at her.
“Well, they obviously should be.” Lily shook her head at the insistence that Alkamy wasn’t with the boy she clearly loved. It was never easy joining an established group of friends, but these people had more baggage than she wanted to even begin to process. She glanced at Creed. “Meet you all outside the gate.”
And then before they could stop her, she walked out of the room.
She only made it to the end of the hallway before Creed caught up with her. The feel of his presence was distinctive. She didn’t need to turn her head to know it was him. Something about the way the world felt when he was near made her body hum, as if a light electric current pulsed just under her skin.
“Are you trying to fight with Zephyr?” she asked.
“No, but I’m not trying not to either.” Creed draped his arm over her shoulder. “Zephyr isn’t my priority.”
Lily fought back the sigh that his words and touch elicited. “We agreed to be friends this week. Remember?”
“Yes. I’m being friendly.” He walked with surety toward Zephyr’s secret exit. “I want to see you though.”