“I only came here to check that you all were not causing trouble with the nearby humans. You’re a threat.”
He hisses again. “And what if I am, hunter? You are one vampire.”
I sweep my gaze over the group. “Against how many of you? Because however many there are, you are all going through the veil.”
The glaistig steps fully back, crossing her arms over her chest. Not her, then. A few others join her, eyes downcast—they are all far weaker than she is and clearly do not wish to be caught up in this.
“Well?” I snap, and the male fae runs at me.
Magic makes him faster, stronger, but I am just as quick, and I tear a hole in the veil a second before I toss him through it. It takes some of my magic to keep it open, and two more fae follow in quick succession.
By the time I am finished, I am breathing hard, and six fae have been thrown back through the veil. I know they will return in time. It will take them a while to perform whatever ritual they require to cross over—or to travel to a place and wait for a time when they can—but that is something we can deal with later.
The glaistig still glares at me as I flick my wrist and close the veil. Some of the fae who were with her have fled, but I think that is only to get out of my sight, so I don’t begrudge them that.
“You can’t be trusted,” she says. “You said you were only here to check on us.”
“I didn’t lie. I was. I found fae who needed to be removed from this world.” Icankill them like I did the kelpie. She has to know that. Sending them back gives them another chance—and maybe that was a mistake, but I’m being optimistic.
“Why should that be up to you?”
I meet her gaze steadily. “Because the Huntsman gave me the task.”
Her scowl fades into something more of a frown, and she doesn’t argue again as I make my way out of the little house.
Once on the street, I lean back against my hire car and stare up at it. It’s an unremarkable terraced house in a row of unremarkable terraced houses. No doubt the fae know I’m still here. It’s not that I want to intimidate them. I just… want to think.
The treaties. Does that mean the Hunt will disband as soon as the queen dies? I’m certain the Huntsman will have to travel back to the Otherworld, but I have no idea if he’ll be able to keep us together.
What if whoever takes charge means that we have to tighten our restrictions around the veil? The Huntsman is a high fae; I know that. Rook and Saide are, too. They were allowed to cross over after they were bitten by a vampire, and then the Huntsman found them.
If they all have to go back, what will we do with the fae here, then? For the most part, they’re harmless, and that’s fine—it’s just the potential damage they could do if left unchecked. The same as us vampires, or the wolves, or even the mages. We have too much power to be left entirely to our own devices, even if that means building things like the clan, and the London treaty, to keep humans safe.
It’s too much. It’s all too much. I give the house one final, lingering look before I get into the car, slamming the door harder than is strictly necessary.
We can’t police the fae—thatis not our job. We are responsive. We react to what has happened, or in some cases, what will happen, as long as we can be certain of that.
I can’t keep wandering around, bothering fae who have been here as long as I have, and sending them back through the veil because of what is yet to come. What if the queen dies and nothing happens? We’ll have ruined these fae’s lives for nothing, and we’ll have also destroyed any goodwill between us and them.
I stop at a red light and drum my fingers on the steering wheel. I have to do as I’m told. At best, the Huntsman would remove my blessing for disobedience. At worst, he would simply make me do it anyway. I think—aside from Rook and Saide—I have the best chance of fighting some of the effects of his magic, but I know I would still lose.
When I pull up to the house where I’m staying, I remain in the car for a long time. These thoughts are nothing entirely new, though they were much harder to focus on when I was mostly away from civilisation. Eventually, I shake my head and get out of the car.
There is a solution here somewhere. A solution to all that is bothering me.
I just have to find it.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Njáll
Vasileperchesontheedge of the sofa in my office, casting a curious gaze around the room. I try to relax my shoulders and fail. What does he think about the changes I’ve made? Should I care? What will I do if he asks about them?
He says nothing, of course, about the décor, merely gives me a tight smile as I pass him a drink, leaning back in his seat.
He was gone by the time Afsaneh and I left the Council meeting room last night, which makes sense. He would have left with Deacon and Kieran. I do not know why he is here now; if he has a good idea about how to deal with Augustine, then he could have called me last night.
“I take it things are going well?” he asks before he takes a sip of his drink.
