I wished the floor would swallow me whole. I wanted to run and never see any of these assholes ever again. The hunters leaning against the wall hadn’t blinked when they’d heard Xavier’s confession. Only my team had, which meant the others always knew the truth.
“I removed the spell two weeks before you and Xariana were to be married,” Xavier admitted, and I looked to Micah, who glared at me like I’d been part of it. “It wasn’t her fault. I didn’t want Noah falling in love with his sister, and I couldn’t tell any of you the truth with my brother hunting my heir to retrieve what I’d taken from the Otherworld.”
“Meredith?” he asked. “What about the attack on the guild? People are fucking dead. My wife and child died, Xavier.”
“The attack was real, but the fae that grabbed me did so to protect me. I was brought here to Kieran. Xaven wanted my attention, and life means nothing to him, especially not a half-breed.”
“That’s all? That’s all you have to say about it?” Micah demanded, causing a pang of regret to flood my chest.
“I will speak to you after we’ve concluded here,” my dad promised.
“If there’s more, I may throw up with Noah.” I was unwilling to look at my father again. I couldn’t. If I did, I’d have to face the fact that he wasn’t the man I’d thought he was. He hadn’t hung the moon at all. He’d simply slipped a leash around my throat, holding it out for the fae to take.
Chapter Thirty-Two
My father insisted I tell him about my visit to the morgue, so I purposely turned my back to him and faced the others in the room, methodically explaining what I’d seen, pointing out the similarities to the corpses found at the farmhouse. Noah filled my dad in on events surrounding the guild and its daily operations. I listened, but didn’t add to his report. I had a hard time talking past the pain swallowing me after the mental shit show that had been laid before us.
“We haven’t discovered how the fae have been able to procreate without the sun element, but they found a way.” Xavier nodded at Kieran, who unrolled a scrap of leather, lifting his gaze to mine, as I looked away. “They’ve figured out how to use changelings to bring babes into the Otherworld. Any female with a shred of the fae mutation can breed an embryo, which is then placed into a fae mother’s womb, and carried to term. The one thing stopping the fae from invading this world is that they’re afraid of Kieran and what his shadows can do to them. They are also leery of the guild because they don’t know our numbers or strength. I’ve built an army from the unwanted, impure bastards they created when the first invasion occurred, hundreds of years ago.”
“Why don’t they stay?” Noah asked, finally over his issue with me, even if he wouldn’t make eye contact.
“Iron.” Xavier studied Noah’s face. “This world is filled with it, making it impossible for the fae to remain here permanently. Kieran found a way to block the effects of iron, and he passed that knowledge on to me. As a result, you and Xari have been receiving supplements in your food for years, making you virtually immune.”
“That’s why I had you shot, Xariana,” Kieran admitted. I felt the heat of his stare on my face, but I wasn’t willing to lift my gaze. “The fae were watching, which is why we set the scene as we did. You used your power in front of them, making me deviate from my original plan to murder them, opting instead to shoot you within plain view of their scouts.”
Everyone in the room waited, but when I refused to reply, my dad moved forward, leaning in to touch me, and I jerked back, glaring with the same murderous expression I’d inherited from him.
“Do not fucking touch me,” I hissed, slowly stepping to the side and away from the eyes, watching me.
“I requested Kieran cut you off from the others. You were too damn close to figuring things out, forcing me to intervene. Rhys, Cole, Eryx, Ezekiel, and Enzo were recently told that I was alive. I asked them to trust me and to keep you at arm’s length.” I remained in place, holding his gaze with a deadened stare. “You stepped down from your duties, and I wish to know why you showed weakness, appointing Noah as your successor.”
“Because I saw your face in our courtyard, and it was on the opposing side of the fight. If you had betrayed us, I couldn’t lead the guild. So I removed myself from the equation, since it clearly created a conflict of interest.” I snorted, shaking my head as I continued. “You taught me that the guild always comes first, and that if I was ever in a position that made the other leaders question me or my loyalty, I was to step back. Guild before pride and hunters before honor.” He nodded, turning to look at Noah.
“I am proud that you stepped up, son. You did an amazing job given the mess Xariana left for you to clean up.” Xavier slid his angry glare over me, and I cocked a brow in annoyance. “Maybe next time she’ll keep her knees closed and think only with her brain.”
“Fuck you!” I laughed coldly. “I’m not the asshole who knocked up two bitches, and then used one of those children as bait for the monsters. That would be you. I put the guild ahead of my worry and fear. I did everything I was taught to do. I followed the trail, which apparently, you thought I would be too damn stupid to find, and I worked our sources until you cut me off. I never strayed, not until Kieran threatened to murder my team. You weren’t the priority because, once again, the guild comes first. We continued hunting and were seen in public, even if it was the last thing I wanted to do. I didn’t stop until I stood over what I thought was your dead fucking body and felt my soul ripped apart. And yeah, after I spent an entire day planning your fake-ass funeral, I came here to ask Kieran to take that bone-deep, earth-shattering grief away from me so that I could stand before the heads of the immortal houses and all the guild leaders to send you off to the Otherworld.”
“You’re still going to perform the ceremony,” he informed coolly, his eyes losing their sharpness once he’d spoken to Noah with praise.
“No, I am not. I am not standing in the presence of our people, weeping for you, Xavier.”
“This isn’t over. It’s barely begun. The fae are inside the guild, and we need to know who and where they are. I require your help to finish this, Xari. If they figure out how to get a purebred fae from the halflings, we’re fucked.”
“What’s my position? Bait? Maybe you can tie me up like a sacrificial fucking goat and slit my throat. Nah, too dramatic,” I snorted, slowly shaking my head at the truth.
“You are more than that, Xariana Sunshine Anderson.”
I flinched, inhaling sharply. “Gods damn, it’s even right there in my name. I’m surprised you didn’t just hand me to them when I was born. It would have been a lot easier, but without me, you wouldn’t have had an excuse to get close to Noah, would you? He was my dearest friend, the one beside me through thick or thin. But then, you’d made sure of that, didn’t you? Is there any part of me that hasn’t been coerced or dictated? My best friend, my fiancé, my job leading the team at your direction? Anything I’m missing here? Oh, that’s right. I forgot my torture to ensure I was the spitting image of an Otherworld being pretending to be human.”