Page 6 of Fallen Court

My eyes tracked every movement, especially the last, when she flicked off the safety.

“How many times must I request that we don’t bring guns to the table?” Oberon shot her a pointed glance over his newspaper.

Titania set the gun down, angling it so the muzzle was aimed at me. “I thought you wanted to start a war.” She shrugged. “Lach is living on borrowed time; delivering his little toy back to his court with a bullet between her eyes will speed up that process.”

Yes, it definitely would.

Oberon thumbed through the paper idly before disappearing behind it. “Lach believes Bain has her. It’s best to wait until after he attacks the Infernal Court,” he said absently like he was relaying the weather report. “The attack will draw him out of hiding and allow the Wild Hunt to take care of him. And I did promise she would be safe. There’s no need to kill her…”

Yet. My brain tacked on the unspoken end to his thought.

“You planned this. You framed Bain.” The accusation slipped out before I managed to clamp my mouth shut.

“I have my reasons,” he said, as if that explained everything.

I shook my head, trying to clear it. “Lach will figure it out. He’ll come after me.”

“Exactly!” Titania jabbed a finger toward me. “She’s a liability. If Lach finds out that we have her, he’ll come after us, and then how will you continue—”

“Lach won’t come after us when every sign points to the Infernal Court thanks to MacAlister’s mistake. That penumbra was an arrogant fool, but he did us a favor by dying. No loose ends. No one left alive knows we had anything to do with this, and if we’re lucky, the Nether Court will act rashly, attack Bain, and they’ll all kill one another.”

He continued, but I stopped hearing him as what he meant hit me. My brother, Channing, was the other loose end. Channing had made a deal to deliver me to Oberon. Had Oberon…?

Fear swelled in my throat until I couldn’t breathe. I had failed to protect my little brother, failed to keep him out of this mess, failed him. I blinked against the hot prickle of tears and reached for the water goblet in front of me, forcing down a sip to swallow my panic. I couldn’t let myself feel it. I couldn’t assume anything. Not now. Not while I was trapped here. Not while Oberon’s plan was still in motion. Lach was still alive. His family—my friends—were still alive. I had to survive, if only so I could warn them and stop them from starting a war among the fae courts. I couldn’t fail them as I’d failed Channing.

“And since you tied up that loose end, there’s no need to continue upholding your side of the bargain,” Titania pointed out, eyes narrowing on me. “You promised to save her from the Nether Court. You did that. Why keep her around?”

Oberon remained silent, as if considering her logic. Death was one of the few ways to break a bargain with the fae. I tried not to think about it. Even if it was true, it wouldn’t do me any good to know. But being here, it was easier to forgive Channing’s recklessness. After all, Oberon had tricked me into thinking he was my friend, too. I’d foolishly believed once that the light courts might save me. That one of their dashing princes would rescue me from my deal with Lach. Now I knew better. I knew how the fae operated, so what was it that Oberon really wanted with me?

“She may prove useful,” he said after a moment.

I sucked in a reedy breath, eyeing the gun still sitting by Titania’s plate. Looking up, I caught her watching me. She smiled, and I quickly looked away.

“No, she won’t.” She rolled her eyes, tapping the white tablecloth. “Look, I can take her somewhere else if you’re worried that I’ll stain something.”

He sighed. “If it’s going to be like this every damn second, maybe you should just—”

“Wait!” I blurted out. I needed to prove useful sooner rather than later.

Titania was right about one thing: Oberon didn’t need me alive to start his war, which meant staying that way was up to me. It was easy to put all the pieces together now. Bain’s indignation at being accused of tainting the Nether Court’s clover supply. The half riddles MacAlister had offered before his attack: a desire to leave the shadow court, to serve as another prince’s penumbra. Oberon was the only prince without one. A role MacAlister thought he would be granted when he broke Lachlan Gage.

I had my doubts. With my adrenaline pumping, I hadn’t been able to think that night, but now it was too clear. Things might not have gone precisely according to Oberon’s plan, but he was still in control of this game. I needed to convince him to keep me alive before he made his next move.

“Did you have something to add?” Oberon pressed when I didn’t continue.

“Who cares?” Titania said, not bothering to hide her disgust. “She would say anything to stay alive.” It was clear what move she hoped he would make.

Suddenly, I was thankful for the shock that had held me in silence. I hadn’t said anything that would betray the truth. Yet. I just had to play dumb, pretend to be the fragile doll they assumed I was. That wouldn’t be hard. I just had to reinforce what Oberon already believed: that he was smarter than the rest of us.

The fae dealt in desire, and something told me that what Oberon wanted the most was his ego stroked. If he thought he’d not only bested his enemy, but that I was on his side and not Lach’s, he might let his guard down. But the idea of betraying Lach, of doing that now, doing that while his last kiss still burned on my lips…

Anguish tightened my chest, the sorrow aching in my bones, but I shoved it down deep.

“Lach doesn’t care about me.” Each word tasted like a lie, bitter and impossible to swallow, but I forced them out. I couldn’t let them use me against him.

Whatever they were expecting me to say, it wasn’t that.

Oberon met his sister’s dubious gaze before turning his attention fully on me. “He…doesn’t?”