Norah shot her a sharp look. “Bree!”
Bree gave her a wan smile. “I knew he’d try to stop me if I told him. Easier to ask forgiveness than for permission.”
“This could backfire on us in a spectacular way. You do know that, right?” Norah cast a nervous glance over her shoulder at the Faerie Ring, hidden behind rows upon rows of warriors. “Maybe we should go back through before he can launch his army at us. I won’t get my people killed for something stupid.”
“It’s not stupid.” Bree’s hands tensed around the horse’s sleek neck. “It’s something that will save us all.”
“We have to survive this.” Norah waved at Taveon, still sitting there, eyes narrowed, jaw clenched tight. “And if we all end up killing each other, then I think we both know what the demons will do. Nothing will stand between them and the human realm. Humanity will die.”
“I’ll go talk to him,” Bree said. Her heart ached from Norah’s words, and she hated that she saw the truth in them. She’d acted reckless, and it could get so many fae killed because of it. When she’d read Fillan’s note, she hadn’t thought things through. She’d just ran. Now that she’d put some time and space between it, now that she could see Taveon’s face, she realized that she had made a terrible mistake.
Norah nodded as Bree urged her horse across the verdant field where Taveon waited for her. She swallowed hard as she grew closer to him. His eyes hardened against her. She’d only been trying to help, trying to save three worlds from the darkness that threatened them from the beyond.
Gone was the softness. Gone was the fond yearning in his eyes.
Her heart panged from regret, but there was nothing she could do to take back her actions now.
“Bree,” he said, his voice hard. “What have you done?”
Rafe shifted on his feet, his lips pressed into a thin line.
“There’s a very good explanation for this,” she started. Of course, none of them knew about Fillan’s note or the threat of the demons beyond the gate. Probably best to start with that. “And it has to do with what you are.”
Taveon’s frown deepened, and he exchanged an uneasy look with Rafe.
“The bond told me everything,” Bree added. “I know what you are and where you came from.”
“Ididn’t come from there,” he said through gritted teeth. “My father did, and he has nothing to do with me and who I am. What is all this, Bree? You went and got Otherworld’s army to deal with me? Is that what this is?”
She flushed, and she could see how he might jump to that conclusion. “No, of course not.” Gritting her teeth, she rubbed at her forehead. This was not going as she’d anticipated. “I’m not explaining this well. There’s a threat from that world. It wants to come through some kind of gate between this world and that one. Those creatures, whatever they are, they plan to attack Underworld. And then beyond.”
“Where did you hear that, Bree?” Rafe asked quietly from beside Taveon. He looked distinctly uncomfortable, his king at odds with his lover. He could not take a side, and yet, this was not something he could ignore either.
Bree swallowed hard. “You’re not going to like it.”
“Wonderful,” Taveon said tensely. “Just be out with it, Bree.”
She pressed her lips together. “Fillan.”
“The assassin?” Rafe blurted out.
Taveon’s brows arched. He shook his head, a low growl rumbling in his throat. And then he cast his gaze on the horizon behind Bree where the Otherworld army stood waiting. “You brought an enemy army into my lands on the word of a known assassin? After everything we’ve been through, Bree, I cannot believe you would betray me like this.”
Bree’s eyes went wide. “Betray you? Taveon, please. I was just trying to help. We don’t have the—”
“We?” Taveon barked out with a laugh. “I thought you had become one of us, but it’s clear to me now that you’re anything but.”
Pain tore at Bree’s heart. His words dug deep like sharp steel dipped in poison. How could he say something like that? With her voice a whisper, she said, “I was just trying to help, Taveon. Those demons are going to come here. You don’t have a big enough army to fight them alone.”
“There are nodemonscoming to Underworld, Bree,” Taveon said, voice hard, eyes cold and distant. “Fillan is up to something, and it has nothing to do with a planned attack on this world. He’s trying to get the throne for himself, and you have fallen for his every trick.”
“Taveon,” Rafe murmured, running his fingers through his silver hair. “Maybe you’re being too harsh on her. Bree doesn’t know Fillan the way we do. It’s not her fault if he’s targeted her.”
Bree frowned. “Fillan isn’ttargetingme. He was trying to warn us of what’s to come. You can’t just ignore a threat like this when it could literally mean the end of this world, Otherworld, and the human realm.”
Taveon let out a harsh chuckle and folded his arms. “If he was truly trying to help us, then why did he go to you instead of me? I am the king and the commander of my army. If anyone should be warned of a potential threat, it’s me.”
“I think he’s wary because of who you are,” Bree said. “Besides, he probably realized you wouldn’t listen to a damn thing he’d say. I might be unimportant, but at least I’ve done something about this threat.”
