“The bargain was set, and payment is made,” Lady Caith said, her words ringing with a kind of power that made the air feel heavy. “I bear witness.”
Something seemed tosnaparound Riordan, that invisible pressure breaking. Riordan stiffened, staring at Saoirse, who swayed on her feet but never lost that determined look in her eyes. She took a deep breath and stepped out of the foyer and onto the porch. Donal had to hold Riordan back from snatching her away from Niall.
They had a plan.
He needed to remember that.
“So where are we going?” Wade asked as he handed his cell phone to Riordan before following Saoirse outside.
“You were not part of the bargain,” Niall said.
“It’s your lucky day, then, because it’s a buy one, get one free sale. Besides, you’ll want me. I can tell the vampires to stop messing with your territory.”
“That doesn’t mean they will stop.”
“You won’t know unless I try.” Wade slung his arm over Saoirse’s shoulders, holding her close. He smiled at Niall, showing no fear, and then proceeded to guide Saoirse off the porch and into the rain. “What car are we taking?”
Niall stood there for a moment, his gaze boring into Riordan’s. “I don’t know what game you think you’re playing,but it won’t end how you hope. You’ll never see your sister again after today.”
Riordan bit his tongue until it bled, Donal’s grip bruisingly tight on his shoulder. He said nothing to that threat, the bargain paid and witnessed. The Maguire Clan was out of reach of Niall’s clutches, but Saoirse wasn’t. Riordan dragged his gaze away from Niall and looked past the other fae at Saoirse and Wade, who had paused on the pathway, flanked by two of Niall’s fae bodyguards. The rain had soaked through their clothes, plastering their hair to their heads. But they both looked back at him, and Riordan knew the only thing he could do was place his trust in Wade.
He kept his teeth clenched together, words locked away in his chest, his sealskin remaining with him as Niall walked off with his sister and his lover. He didn’t call out to them, staying rooted where he stood until the black SUVs double-parked out front finally drove off.
Donal tugged him out of the doorway, letting Lady Caith shut it, closing out the storm. She looked at him, gaze unwavering. “He did not get what he truly wanted. He will come after you again.”
“That’s what we’re hoping for,” Donal said in a low voice.
Riordan shook himself free of his brother’s grip and pulled out his cell phone, calling Ella. The dire picked up after the first ring. “Did he take the bait?”
“Yes,” Riordan said, the words scraping themselves out of his throat. “He took Saoirse and Wade.”
“Good. We’ll head to the harbor. Have the boats ready.”
Ella was all business, which Riordan would appreciate some other day. She ended the call, and the only thing left for them to do was get ready to defend their clan and their territory.
That meant stealing back Saoirse and Wade.
Riordan wanted to believe that Wade would be able to manage that on his own.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Wade madesure everything that would hint at his true form was locked down tight, all of it hidden how Reed had taught him. That was the easy part. Not hitting back when he got punched in the face by a fae for mocking them took way more effort.
“Ow,” Wade said, holding a hand over his nose. The pain was a barely there flash that disappeared in a second. The trickle of blood that escaped one nostril was the only bit that would leak out. He wouldn’t bruise, but that shouldn’t be a problem. He knew bruises and swelling took time to actually come up on a person—he’d seen Patrick suffer through them enough over the years—but they’d hopefully be gone before anyone questioned why Wade looked fine. “If you’re trying to break my teeth, you missed.”
“Don’t,” Saoirse said, clutching at his arm where they were crowded in the back seat of the SUV. “Please don’t antagonize them.”
The fear coming off her was sour in his nose. Wade scowled as he dropped his hand but held his tongue in the face of a smirking fae and the gun trained on them. What he really wanted to do was rip the fae’s arm off and then go for Niall’s head, but that was a Patrick and Jono kind of plan, and heneeded to think like Sage. Which meant he stayed quiet for the rest of the short drive through Beacon Hill to Niall’s home in the northwest corner that he’d carved out of Lady Caith’s territory however long ago.
Wade’s clothes got soaked again when they were dragged out of the SUV and hustled into the fancy-looking redbrick home that reeked of fae magic, and not in a good way. An undercurrent of rotten fish hit the back of his throat when they crossed the threshold, and he had to suppress the gagging noise he wanted to make. A mundane human wouldn’t be able to scent like that, but really, how did Niall live in a place that stank like that horribly?
“Take them to the holding room,” Niall said once he made it inside.
They were shoved down the hallway, and Wade made sure to keep Saoirse’s hand in his. If the fae tried to separate them, Wade would drop the pretense and burn everyone with dragon fire. Sadly, none of the fae gave him that opportunity because both he and Saoirse were shoved into a room that had magic in the walls. None of it touched him, but it drove Saoirse to her knees with a strangled cry.
“What are you doing to her?” Wade demanded, crouching beside her.
“Keeping a disobedient fae in line. Lady Caith’s power won’t be enough to keep her safe any longer,” Niall said, eyeing Wade in a contemplative way he really didn’t like.
