The winged fae stood there grimly, fitting their namesake perfectly, enduring the king’s long-winded speech, but I didn’t recognize anyone besides Peregrin.
“Mom isn’t here,” I managed to tell Soren, feeling like I had a piece of glass in my throat.
“Hmm,” he murmured, brows lowering. “Perhaps—”
“We’re here on behalf of Maeve Thorneveil of the Grimhollow clan.” Alaric’s voice carried across the space, and Soren cut off to listen. “Please present her human relatives, one male and three females, for immediate inspection.”
Caius opened his mouth, but when his father shook his head, he held back whatever he’d been about to say.
“My sincerest apologies. I was only recently made aware of their presence in our court,” King Mordeus said, waving a hand at Caius. “My son will fetch them personally.”
Though the prince’s face flushed, he stood stiffly and obeyed.
It took less than ten awkward seconds for him to return. He’d kept them close. What did that mean? Had he been prepared to make a deal all this time? Or maybe he’d wanted them serving drinks so he could rub them in my face after saying no?
Dad, Rissa, and Olive shuffled across the stage, coming to stand by the thrones, where Caius pointed. “Pay attention,” he snapped at them. Looking around, he found me in the shadows and pointed at the open space between himself and them, dripping with arrogance. “Brynn.”
I flushed at being called like a dog.
Soren’s calm gaze met mine. “We’ll be right here,” he reassured me quietly.
Slowly, I obeyed. As I reached Dad, Rissa, and Olive, tears welled up when I realized they were watching me, alert and aware this time after Caius’s instructions. I ignored the prince, grabbing Rissa, then Olive and Dad, and yanking them close as we cried happy tears.
“I thought I’d lost you guys,” I sobbed into Dad’s shoulder, trying to hold them all at once. He hugged me back tighter in reply, and I could feel Rissa shaking with silent sobs while Olive’s sniffles were loud and frequent.
Caius spoke over us. “I assume the Grimhollow clan will reward us for caring for this family and keeping them safe from harm?”
“You want a reward for stealing these humans from their homes?” Alaric repeated, enunciating each word.
“It’s not that... I merely meant...” Seeing the prince flustered almost made me smile. “I supposed you would want their contracts—”
“You assumed correctly.”
Caius swallowed, but he didn’t give up easily. “And given your reputation for honor, I presumed you’d want to offer payment in exchange.”
“I see,” Alaric said in a dark tone. “You gave me the impression that they’d been apprehended by accident and that their freedom would immediately be returned. But if they were taken intentionally to harm our clan...”
“We did not by any means intend harm to your clan.” King Mordeus stood, taking over and gesturing for his son to take a seat. “My son is young, not yet in his second century. Please forgive him for this misunderstanding. We will, of course, absolve their contracts immediately.”
As he said it, he waved his hand. Roots shot from the ground beneath as if bending to his will, rising up and forming a rough standing table.
“My signature will override their contract,” King Mordeus declared, snapping his fingers at one of the folk waiting on him, who leapt forward with a thin, flat board covered in papers.
“Good,” Alaric responded, unimpressed.
With a flourish, the king made a show of flipping through the pages until he found the one he wanted and scribbled something across the bottom. “There.” He held it out to Alaric. “It’s terminated.”
Dad’s hand tightened on my arm, and we all collectively held our breath.
But the winged fae shook his head. “Give it to the humans.”
King Mordeus’s face soured, but he obeyed, handing it to his attendant to deliver, glaring at us in a way that promised retribution.
Good thing we were getting out of here.
When Dad stepped out of our hug to accept the contract, he blinked in shock, staring down at the page, then out at the crowd. He grew more animated by the second, as if fully waking up for the first time. “What’s this?”
“Your freedom,” Alaric told him in a bored tone. “Per Maeve Thorneveil’s request. Now, if there’s nothing else, we’ll be on our way.”
