“Like who?” I couldn’t help but ask. So far, the whole Court system had felt like a bit of a mystery, but Liam seemed pretty talkative today. Might as well use that to try and wrangle as much information out of him as Icould.
“The Autumn Court, for one,” he muttered, his body tensing underneath my arms once again. “They’re all about full separation. They don’t like the Winter Court, and they truly hate the Summer and Springfae.”
“Then, why do you want to visitthem?”
A beat passed. “I suppose I should explain our mission, but you need to promise me that you won’t say a word about this to anyoneelse.”
I raised my eyebrows. “Why does that sound like Finn, Rourke, and Kael don’t know aboutthis?”
“Because they don’t,” he said, jerking his chin over his shoulder. “Look, I know you’re destined to end up as Kael’s mate, but you aren’t his yet. Can you do this one thing for me and not tell a soul about it? If one day you feel as though you do need to tell Kael, fine. But just not now. Not yet.Okay?”
My heart pounded in my chest, and I swallowed hard. This sounded serious. Yesterday, it had all felt like some kind of joke. Like he’d been playing around in order to get me to agree to do something meaningless and fun. Something more likely to embarrass me than to get mekilled.
Now, I wasn’t sosure.
“Alright, I’ll keep it to myself,” I said after taking a deep breath. “But just so you know, you’re kind of freaking me outhere.”
“Maybe you should be freaked out.” Another pause, and then a deep breath. “Before I became an instructor at the Academy, I was a fighter in the army for the Queen. And no, before you ask, it wasn’t for the Summer Queen. It was for Marin, the Queen of all Fae, the one who was assassinated by Viola, the new Queen of Autumn. They kept me prisoner for several years until they decided that I was no longer a threat, only releasing me if I agreed to become an instructor at theAcademy.”
My eyes widened. “So you were loyal toMarin?”
He gave a nod. “I was. And because of my connections, I’ve heard word that the Autumn Court has something else planned, though they’re keeping things very hush hush. Only Viola knows what I look like, so I should be able to get in and out without being recognized. Today’s trip will be an attempt to find out what they have planned, and I’ll stand out much less if I have a mate by myside.”
“Something planned...” I trailed off. “You don’t mean they’re going to try to do something like they did before? Kill anotherQueen?”
“Well, that’s the question, isn’t it, darling?” Liam said. “If the Autumn fae are planning another assassination, the other Royals need to bewarned.”
Chapter Thirteen
It waseasy to tell when we moved from the free territory and into the lands of the Autumn Court. The sapling green forest morphed into a reddish brown, the sweet brilliant life of the trees fading into a tapestry of reds and golds and browns. It was beautiful in its own way, though I could tell by Liam’s grumbling that he wasn’t much of afan.
Several hours after we’d left the Academy, we entered a small village set amongst the autumn trees. There were about ten houses in total, all made from the same dark branches that rose high into the sky. Fae bustled about, on business to and fro one building to the next. When we approached, a female glanced up from where she was gathering fallen berries, her long golden strands glistening underneath the dappledsunlight.
Her eyes were quick and intelligent, glancing first at Liam and then to me. “Her I can’t be sure of, but you’re a Summer if there ever was one. State yourbusiness.”
“I’m a half-breed,” Liam said. “Mother was Autumn and father wasSummer.”
“Was?” The female arched aneyebrow.
“Both killed when the Courts split,” he replied. “This is mymate.”
She sniffed and gave a nod. “Nasty business that war, but it gave us a better way oflife.”
“Aye.” Liam shifted on the horse. His back was toward me, but I had the strange sensation of knowing exactly how he looked in that moment. Smiling, slightly flirtatiously. He was turning up the charm as best he could, and by the softening look on the female’s face, it was working. “Anyway, my mate and I are just passing through on our way to Esari where we’re hoping to find a life and a home forourselves.”
The female’s golden eyes flicked my way. “Newlyweds then, I see. Well, I guess the city is the easiest place to start a family, but it’s definitely not what it used tobe.”
“Oh?” Liam asked, all casually, though I could tell his interest was more than piqued by her offhand comment. “Howso?”
“Haven’t you heard? Storms. Sometimes I swear the sky will split in two.” With a sigh, she shook her head and motioned for us to pass. “Go on then. Just make sure you aren’t out and about when the lightning comes, or else it might just strike youdead.”
* * *
We reachedthe fae city of Esari after another couple of hours of trekking through the autumn woods. I was beginning to think it might be a bit of a reach to assume we’d be back to the Academy by Monday morning’s training session. It had taken us almost all day to arrive at our destination, and we still needed to round up the information that Liam was desperate tofind.
Esari was unlike any city I’d ever seen. It rose up high on a hill, spread out behind the sprawling autumn forest. Everything was gold, from the streets to the rooftops to the large castle that loomed at the highest peak. There were at least a thousand homes. Plus, bakers and butchers and pubs. All around us, life pulsed from the hundreds of fae who roamed the cobbledstreets.
“Welcome to Esari,” Liam said quietly as I awkwardly dropped from the horse and fell right onto my knees. It was the first time I’d ever ridden one of these things, which meant I didn’t know what the hell I was doing or how to get off of it without falling flat on my face. With a chuckle, Liam wrapped his arm around my waist and hauled me to my feet. “Looks like I’m going to have to keep a closer eye on you than Ithought.”
