My breath hitches, the flicker of disbelief rapidly giving way to a sense of outrage. My hands curl into fists as her words sink in but this situation is not all on me.
‘You should have come to the party. Played along. This marriage– if I become king?—’
‘Why the hell do you want to be the king of a dying Court? Vincenzo isn’t all that old, he could have decades left and Vittoria will have locked you up in her basement and murdered you long before then.’
My lips twitch in a smile. ‘She could try.’
‘Why, Cillian? Why?’
Why? Because with every passing day I become more and more convinced of the necessity to hasten Vincenzo’s exit from this life. But that’s not something I’ll ever say out loud. Although, there’s not many capable of hunting me down– even for treason. But there’s always a chance that Vincenzo would be arrogant enough to try.
‘Get out. You’ve taken everyone I loved from me, Cillian. I don’t want to hear any more of your justifications. What you did was wrong.’
Rose glares at me, and I almost consider telling her that Matt’s safe at St Marnox, but I can’t. It would jeopardise his safety and Niamh’s. Plus he wanted Rose to move on with her life. Though she doesn’t seem to be doing that. As a Hunter, she can go there, visit them, but the fact that they are prisoners there will just not change. I take a deep breath, my path becoming clearer. For Rose’s sake I need to do something. Make sure the corruption in The Unseelie Court is stopped and at least give Matt the chance of a fair trial. And if I’m lucky maybe that will even work for Niamh, too. Even though the only way I can see to achieve that means cutting me off from her forever. ‘Vincenzo will not be King forever,’ I promise her. She’s silent, knowing full well that it’s true, no matter how big a grudge she holds against him and how impossible it might seem right now for Vincenzo to be gone. Even though his family are nothing if not tenacious, only arriving at The Unseelie Court less than a century ago, but quickly rising to power within it. Their Kin back home in Northern Italy were also powerful, so it was no great surprise. And, thanks to the Blight here, we were in need of powerful families to help hold the remnants of the Court together.
‘Being more powerful can never be a bad thing, Rose,’ I say softly, almost believing it myself. ‘But despite our power… the Kinfolk are fading, the Blight is weakening us. A union between the Riali and Hunter families would give us more power, me more power. Maybe one day with me as king, we can stop it. Maybe even start to reverse it.’
She scoffs. ‘With Vittoria as Queen? Please, Cillian. A Court with hatred and evil at its heart is no foundation to rebuild the Kinfolk on. The Blight would continue to spread– it benefits the Rialis more often than not.’
‘Rose—’ I break off, knowing she has a point, but this is not something that we should be focusing on right now. I have other priorities. And if I could tell Rose what those were, she would help. But I can’t. All I can do is tell her enough to hope she allows me to get on with what I need to do. Or, at least, not get in my way.
* * *
I leave Rose’s flat, my sister’s words still running through my head, and head to my office at The Three Graces to figure out the cause of last night’s commotion and why those men tried to abduct her and Niamh. Vittoria has sent over the surveillance footage as she promised, but there’s not much there. I’m watching it for the third time, when my phone rings. Declan.
‘What the fuck were you thinking?’ he barks into the phone when I pick up. ‘What the fuck am I supposed to do with her?’
‘Declan—’
‘She turned up on our doorstep this morning, and frankly, being the only female, she’s already getting?—’
‘She’s mine.’
His sudden laughter makes me close my eyes and take a deep breath. And then another. Anger churns deep in my gut and if he’s not careful, I’ll be driving straight up there and wiping that smirk I can see so clearly in my head off his face with my fists.
‘You might want to come and make that clear in person, Cillian, before Sal gets any ideas.’
‘Tell every single man under that roof that I will tear them limb from limb before choking them with their own dicks if they so much as lay a finger on that girl.’
‘She doesn’t look like a girl from where I’m standing. She’s all woman, Cill. And you’ve sent her here. Sal is already?—’
‘I meant what I said, Declan. And if you can’t control them, I’ll come and personally drag every single one of you in front of The Unseelie Court…’
‘Even you can’t break the rules of sanctuary, Cillian,’ Declan says quietly, and I fight to control my reaction.
‘For Niamh, I will bloody well try.’
I can almost hear him shaking his head. ‘Only we can opt to go in front of The Unseelie Court to be tried, and you can’t harm any of us within the walls. Now, tell me, why is she here? She found this place, right as dawn broke. And she knew the words.’
I don’t answer, unsure whether I should explain that, however she got to St Marnox, it was nothing to do with me.
‘Cillian?’
‘I didn’t,’ I admit. ‘Although I would have, if I’d thought it possible. I hoped…’
There’s silence on the other end of the phone.
‘What?’ I ask after a moment.
