Dante’s expression morphed into one of a lethal predator. I wondered what had happened to him while he was at the queen’s mercy. I could see there was no love there for Isalinda. “I can definitely help with that. Give me ten minutes to pack.” There was not an ounce of hesitation in his tone, he just bowed to his king and Prince Caspien before striding from the room.
Over the next ten minutes I took the time to go through our travel bags as the king’s assistants brought us more dried foods and weapons.
“Kian obviously ate fae food while he was here.” I looked at the fae. “Does that mean it is safe for he and Kade to eat it now?”
Shelley cleared her throat. “The winter queen had deliveries of food from Earth, and sold some for high prices at the market. She was very partial to your food. I always made sure Kian ate only from those batches.”
No doubt that was thanks to some sort of trade deal between my parents.
Caspien piped up then. “Yes, I think Shelley and Queen Arianna should be the only ones to eat our food, as we are not sure how it will affect those without fae blood.”
Even though shifters had some fae blood, I understood what he meant. It might be too diluted, and it wasn’t worth taking the risk.
I packed the fae food in my bag, and then Kade and Kian shared a pack with the food from Earth. I also chose a nice lightweight serrated blade and slid it into a sheath at my waist, while the others chose their weapons from the king’s personal stash. Just as we were finished packing, Dante slipped back into the room, a medium-size pack on his back. His clothes were different, black, heavy material.
King Samson moved forward and clasped hands with all of us, one at a time. “Farewell, my friends. We will come if you need aid. Dante will know how to send us a message.”
“Thank you,” I said. It was a relief to know there was backup there if needed. But I was really hoping we would manage this without resorting to more lives lost.
I turned to Prince Caspien. He made a fist over his chest and bowed lightly. “It is a great honor to be allied with you and King Kade.”
His words touched me. The entire Summer Court had been nothing but supportive and helpful since we’d started our relationship. I could barely remember the time I knew next to nothing of the Tuatha, de Danann, and the little I knew had been rife with fear and suspicion. The old me would never have believed I could ally myself with them, let alone be half one. It felt right, though. It all felt right to me now.
“We are well met, Prince Caspien,” I told him.
It was time for us to leave. Just as we were striding toward the door, Caspien pulled Dante aside and whispered something in his ear. The assassin fae nodded once, before rejoining us. He led us out of the castle and into the courtyard. I wasn’t sure what the plan was. We would need to discuss some things before we went any further.
Dante led us deep into the forest that surrounded the summer castle, pausing beside a large oak tree. I was just opening to mouth to ask what he was doing when Dante took to one knee, arms outstretched above his head, and began to whistle an odd tune from between his teeth.
Kade, Kian and I shared a look of confusion, but Shelley’s face brightened into one of understanding.
“You’re blessed with animalas affinity?” she said, prickles of awe in her voice.
Before he could respond, over two-dozen small bright yellow finches flew down from the trees and landed on his outstretched arms. I then noticed the bird seed in his outstretched palms, which all of the finches had a turn at eating.
“Animalas affinity?” I whispered to Shelley.
She was smiling, her expression soft as she watched the birds. “A very rare gift. A fae that can communicate with animals.”
Interesting. Like they were all his familiars. That would be very useful for an assassin. Animals could blend in a way that people couldn’t; they were often overlooked, and came in all different shapes and sizes, with different abilities.
Dante remained silent, I assumed speaking into their minds. They had stopped eating and were all looking at him, heads cocked to the side. Finally, one of them chirped and then the rest echoed their agreement, taking off from his arms and flying to the skies.
The fae assassin stood. “I’ve been able to speak to the minds of animals since I was a young boy. It got me through some very tough times. Animals have always been there for me, in a way that my family never was.”
Just like Finn for me. “So they will track the winter queen and fae lord and report back?”
“Yes, but until then we should make our way towards the Winter Court. Isalinda is never too far from her territory. We need to get closer first, and there is no way to open a portal near their court without the queen knowing. We have to go in the old fashioned way.”
“On foot?” I guessed.
He nodded. “Yes, we will make too much noise with horses. But don’t you worry, I know all the shortcuts. I will have us there in no time.”
“How is it that the king’s top assassin found himself locked in the winter queen’s basement?” Kian asked. He sounded a little suspicious, and I didn’t blame him. We were putting a lot of faith and trust into someone we didn’t know at all. Someone who made a living from killing people.
Dante smiled, or more like bared his teeth. “I was in there to take out one of the guards. A guard who murdered someone close to King Samson. I killed him the first day, but when I saw how many innocents were in the cells, I knew I needed to get them out. I didn’t have the intel or weapons to achieve this, though.”
“So you got yourself locked up on purpose?” I guessed.
