Her tender voice somehow breaks through the fog that I’m in.
“Yeah,” I nod, backing away to rub away the nerves from my arms. “This was a trap to get me to the Sulks, like they knew it was coming, and it didn’t take me. And thatguywas a Rebel. He had the mark and was wearing the robe they all seem to wear.”
“So, what does that mean?” Chester asks, reaching for Moni.
“I don’t know, but we need to go,” JP says, pulling on my arm. “We have to go to the assembly. I’m sure Matthew is there, and we have to tell him about this.”
“Wait. I’m all for telling him and the Council about the Sulks and the guy that came out of it, but can we keep the fact that I survived touching it out of the report for now? Just because I don’t want to be experimented on, locked up and interrogated, or whatnot. I need the freedom to find Lynx,” I plead.
I know it’s a lot to ask of the group and it’s not fair, but Ineedthis trust and freedom right now.
JP searches my eyes, picking up how desperate I am about this and nods. “Okay,” he agrees and pulls me into a quick hug. “We'll keep your secret until we figure out what it means.”
He reaches down and grabs my hand as we take off in the opposite direction of the Sulks and run to the Hub.
ChapterForty-Four
CLAIMING A TITLE
Levi
Watching the room empty from the assembly, I feel somewhat relieved that it went so well. “Well that didn’t go so bad,” Knox mentions, saying my exact thoughts while stretching out his arms.
“Nope! But it wasn’t perfect either,” Ryker concludes, running his fingers through his hair as he stands up and looks around.Is he looking for the others? I didn’t see them during the assembly. Maybe they were in the back.
It could have gone worse, but all in all, the Council addressed the issues about the Rebels coming back, the change in the school curriculum, and notified them that they are bringing in more guards to help control the situation. Honestly, it was a complete split down the middle as some people took what they said to heart and the others didn’t seem to care. One of the things that everyone was relieved to hear, including us, was the capture of the Deathweaver. With that threat out of the way, we have free rein to go out and search for Zeke.
“Ahh shit. Don’t look now. The Harpy Queen is coming this way,” Ryker says, using Rez’s nickname for Emer. “Good luck, Dad’s waving for me, so uhh…yeah. Have fun,” he says, squeezing my shoulder before jogging off to catch up with his dad. I’m in a decent mood until I, sure enough, spot Emer sauntering my way.
I internally sigh before building up my walls and putting on my indifferent look. Just when I feel like letting go and trying to relax, I have to deal with more bullshit.
“Leviathan. There you are. I have someone here that wants to talk to you,” she says in her sugar-sweet tone, grabbing a hold of my bicep.
“I’m sorry, Emer, but I really need to check on my family. Not all of them were present for the assembly,” I excuse myself, trying to gently pry her fingers from my arm.
“Leviathan. Your family is fine. Someone from the Fae court has asked for you and last I knew, you weren’t the type to snub royalty,” she insists and digs into my arm, making me wince as she pulls me in the opposite direction of the exit.
I give Knox a look of desperation, and he silently laughs and shrugs his shoulders then leaves me in the clutches of my ex. I swear I’ve already paid for my misdeeds, this is just plain torture now.
“Emer, what is this about?” I ask as she leads me down the empty hallway to the visitors suite for other kingdoms.
“I told you, Leviathan,” she smiles at me and stops in front of the door guarded by four Fae knights.
One knight looks at Emer and proceeds to knock once on the door before opening it and holding out his hand. “No phones,” he says. Emer rolls her eyes and hands hers over, and I proceed to do the same before entering the room.
The space we enter is an elaborate sitting room. Beyond that out behind a set of double doors is the bedroom and bathroom where the royal guest would stay if needed. The walls are decorated with golds, blues, and greens. A fireplace is softly crackling in the corner where an unfinished game of chess lies on a table in front of it. There are blue and gold loveseats facing each other and a coffee table with refreshments laid out. On the other wall is a bar with a bottle of Fae Wine and Bourbon on the counter.
Who’s here?
It’s protocol that the room is decorated in the visiting royalty’s colors. The Winter court is royal blue and white. The Spring court flaunts pastel pink and purple. The Summer court has forest green and blue for their colors, while Autumn fittingly chose to have yellow and orange. Yet, there’s a mixture of colors painted here. Even the King would have a flag of each color represented in an all white room.So what is going on?
The double doors at the back of the room suddenly open and a tall, lithe elf wearing a silver, long jacket over black slacks and knee-high leather boots walks in. His long blond hair lies flat down his back, highlighting his sharp angular cheekbones and piercing blue eyes. A crown of Thunder Stag and Unicorn horns sits upon his head. There’s only one person that would dare wear a crown of sacred animals. The man in front of me is none other than the King of the Elves and Emer’s father.
Fuck me.
As he walks into the room, Emer squeals and meets him at the sofa. “Hello, princess,” he coos, kissing the top of her head.
I’m not sure how he became the King of the Elves since each faction has their own royal family, but rumor has it that he bribed, blackmailed, and killed his way to the throne. What is known is he married the Autumn Princess and shortly after, the Autumn King and Queen died of mysterious causes and he became the ruler of both the Summer and Autumn kingdoms.
