Moreann slashed her hand through the air. “We’re not discussing her right now.”
“My friend knew it wasn’t Rhi, but he didn’t recognize the female either.”
“Curious,” Moreann said. “If Fae stay away, what was your friend doing in the village?”
Brian’s mind went blank for a second as he struggled to recall the information. “He moves stuff around for those who don’t wish to leave Ireland or the Light Castle.”
“And it brought him here?” she asked skeptically. “To this remote village in Scotland near the Dragon Kings?”
“Apparently. He was here long enough to get what was needed and leave.”
“In that little bit of time, he managed to catch sight of Noreen? Really?”
“Well, he is a Fae. He thought she was Light.”
Moreann’s doubt was evident. “Then, out of the blue, you decided to come and look for yourself?”
He swallowed, the sound loud even to his own ears. “Yes.”
“Why?”
“I thought it would be prudent to know if any Fae were helping the Kings.”
“Why?”
“The more we know of who our enemies are, the better.”
Moreann took two steps forward, halting inches from him. “We have one enemy—the Dragon Kings. I could care less how many Druids, Fae, or mortals help them. It won’t matter, because we’re stronger.”
“Usaeil always liked to know if any Fae were partial to the Kings.”
“In case you haven’t noticed, Usaeil isn’t running things. She never was.”
Brian didn’t dare say anything to contradict that. When it came to Moreann and Usaeil, he used to let them pretend that each of them was running things. Truth be told, if he had to choose a side, it would be with his queen. Usaeil had been his sovereign for as long as he could remember, and he didn’t care if she was Light, Dark, or something else. She was Fae, and he would always bend the knee to her.
But she wasn’t the one standing before him now.
“I know,” he told Moreann, hoping that was what she wanted to hear.
She rolled her eyes. “So, you came here to get information for Usaeil. Am I correct?”
Fek. He couldn’t take it back now. “You are.”
“Even though she can’t help you, much less herself?”
His mouth filled with saliva again, and he had to swallow. “Y-yes.”
“I see.”
“But I brought the information to you, not Usaeil,” he hastily added.
Moreann dropped her arms. “That’s a good thing.”
“If I hadn’t come, then you wouldn’t have known that Noreen was up to something.”
“No, I can’t refute that.” She sighed loudly and shook her head. “Of all the ones I thought would turn, it was never Noreen.”
Brian had known for a long time that Noreen was Moreann’s favorite. It shouldn’t bother him, but it did. It didn’t matter what Noreen did, it was never wrong in the empress’s eyes. Yet, if he did the littlest thing, he was reprimanded and berated in front of everyone. It left a mark.
It was obvious that Moreann didn’t care for him. Though if that were the case, then why had she come to him, asking for him to join the Others? Their group wasn’t large. They were with each other more often now, which meant they all had to get along. Well, all of them but Moreann. She always went off and did her own thing.
“What do we do now?” Brian asked.
Moreann jerked her head to him and pinned him with a steely look. “You don’t do anything. I’ll take care of Noreen.”
He wanted to ask if she would kill the Fae, but Brian didn’t have the courage. Just as he could never ask what it was about Rhi that made Moreann go to such extremes to try and recruit the Light.
“I see you don’t agree with my decision,” she said icily.
Brian held up his hands before him and shook his head. “I’m just thinking, is all. You’re very close to Noreen. It’ll be painful for you to have to punish her.” He didn’t say kill on purpose because he wanted to see how the empress would respond.
“You don’t think I have it in me?”
“I know you do. However, what Noreen has done wasn’t just against you. It was against every one of us. Let us bring her to justice.”
Moreann hesitated before she gave a single nod. “You have a point, Brian. I’ll allow you to go after her first since you were the one who told me of her involvement with a Dragon King. Don’t fail.”
“I won’t,” he said as he bowed his head then turned on his heel and left.
He only went two steps before he gathered his magic and teleported away. He had no idea where Noreen went, but he knew someone who could track her—Usaeil. Unfortunately, that meant he would have to go against Moreann in order to succeed.
Brian arrived in the top of the tower of the derelict castle in Ireland. Half the roof was gone as rain pelted the stones, turning them a deep gray as moss grew on them.
“My queen,” he said as he got down on one knee and lowered his head.
“I’m not so queenly now.”
He looked up at the sound of clinking. His gaze landed on the thick, heavy chains that bound Usaeil’s wrists, ankles, and waist. “You are forever my queen.”
Red eyes turned to him. “Even though I’m Dark.”
“You’re my queen. You led us justly for eons, and you wanted to join the Dark and Light together as we once were long, long ago.”
A hint of a smile played upon Usaeil’s face. Her hair was matted and dirty. Her sweater frayed at the neck and cuffs, the pants threadbare, and her boots had a hole in the toe. Moreann had dressed Usaeil in such a fashion to prove a point, but it infuriated Brian.
“You’re royalty. You shouldn’t be treated this way,” he said through gritted teeth.
Usaeil turned her head back to the small window. She was confined to a little corner to keep away from the rain. The moment the water spread across the floor and touched her boots, she sat on the stool and drew her knees to her chest. “Oh, I won’t be here forever.”
“No, you won’t. I plan to free you.”
“Sweet, Brian,” Usaeil said without looking in his direction. “I appreciate your words, but we both know you can’t open this lock.” She lifted her hands, showing him the chains. “And Moreann has made sure I can’t either.”
Brian got to his feet, uncaring that the knee of his pants was now damp. “I need you freed. The Fae need you free.”
“So I can go against Moreann?” Usaeil asked with a chuckle.
“To join us once more and prove that you still want to take down the Dragon Kings.”
Usaeil lowered her eyes before she turned her head to him. “Does it matter to you at all that I fell in love with Constantine?”
“Should it? Like the rest of us, you vowed to do whatever was needed to make sure we ended the Kings once and for all. Look what Con did to you. And it isn’t just him. Rhi betrayed you, and yet Moreann would have her join us.”
“And you don’t understand why.”
“No, I don’t.” Brian raked a hand down his face. “I hate Rhi and everything she stands for. She tried to kill you, but more than that, she sided with the Kings. She needs to die along with them.”