“What you did is not even remotely the same,” I snapped. “We were trying to protect one another. You—”
“And I was trying to protect the entire Court and the world!” His shoulders shook. “That’s what I was trying to do.”
I stared at him, trembling. The rage building inside of me diminished everything else—the betrayal, the disbelief, and the pain. I’d told Tink that I would kill whoever had been responsible. I wasn’t being overdramatic then, and that was before I knew that the person responsible for nearly ending my child’s life was also responsible for the horror I’d suffered at Aric’s hands. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the cuff and blade on the table.
Murderous fury was a cyclone inside of me. I liked Tanner. I trusted him. My mom had trusted him, and maybe later, the pain of his betrayal would haunt me, but the bitter burn of vengeance consumed me now. I moved without thinking, twisting at the waist as I kicked the blanket off. I reached for the cuff, fully intending to slam the blade deep into his throat. I would sever his head from his shoulders, ensuring his death.
Tanner was quick, like all fae were, no matter if they fed or not.
He shot from his chair, knocking it over as he swiped up the cuff with a linen napkin that had been left beside it.
Shit.
Sliding off the bed, I grabbed the lamp just as the door burst open. I yanked the lamp from where it was plugged in and swung it at Tanner as Kalen burst into the room.
“What the hell is going on?” Kalen demanded as Tanner jumped back, blocking the blow with his other arm. The ceramic base shattered, cutting into his flesh. “Brighton!”
“It’s him!” I shouted, refusing to take my eyes off Tanner. “He poisoned me. He handed me over to Aric!”
“What?” Disbelief filled Kalen’s voice.
“It’s true.” Tanner backed up, his gaze briefly darting to where Kalen stood inside the room. “She speaks the truth.”
“What?” Kalen repeated, denial still evident in his tone.
“I was trying to protect the Court.” Tanner kept backing up.
“I don’t care what you were trying to do!” I screamed. “We trusted you!”
“Tanner.” Horror had replaced the shock in Kalen’s voice. “Our King will kill you.”
“No, he won’t,” I said, hands balling into fists. “Because I’m going to kill him first.” I took a step forward.
“That won’t be necessary.” Tanner’s back hit the wall as his tear-stricken pale gaze met mine. “Neal has left the city. I know you have no reason to believe me, but I have nothing to gain by lying. Neal is gone.” The thin linen wasn’t giving much protection against the iron. Wisps of smoke drifted from the cloth and the fae’s skin. “Aric didn’t tell me you were the King’s mortuus, but he would’ve told Neal. He may be gone, but he knows you’re the King’s greatest weakness. And he would’ve told others. They’ll come for you, thinking they can use you to control the King. Do what I failed to do. Protect the King and the future of my Court. Never let your guard down.”
It happened so fast.
Tanner jerked his hand back, then plunged it toward his chest. Kalen was at my side, pushing me behind him as he shouted. Tanner’s entire body jolted, and his eyes flared wide with pain. It took me a second to realize that the hand that had slammed into his chest had been the one holding the cuff blade.
I stumbled back in shock, knocking into the bed. “What…?”
“I’m sorry.” Tanner’s voice came out as a whisper. His eyes closed, and then he just…sucked into himself, folding from the top of his salt and pepper hair to the polished loafers on his feet. He crumpled like paper. There was a crack, a sound like a muffled gunshot, then a flash of intense light.
Then…nothing.
All that was left where Tanner once stood was the iron blade, remaining where it had fallen.
Chapter 18
I sat on the bed while Kalen called…well, I don’t know who he called. In situations like these, he normally would’ve called Tanner, and I doubted he’d call Faye when she was dealing with her cousin.
But he spoke to someone while I sat there, holding the iron cuff and staring at the spot where Tanner had been standing.
I was still angry, but I was also…I just couldn’t believe that Tanner had sent himself back to the Otherworld. Whatever Caden or I would’ve done to him would’ve paled in comparison to what would happen to him in a realm ruled by the Winter Queen. We would’ve killed him. End of story. But a fae stabbed by iron didn’t die. It basically sent them home, and being sent to the Otherworld was a fate worse than death.
Not that he didn’t deserve it, but I…
I just couldn’t believe any of this.
“Brighton.”
Blinking, I realized that Kalen had been speaking to me. “I’m sorry?”
“It’s all right. I said…” He dragged a hand through his hair, trailing off as he stared at the same spot as I did. “I can’t believe this. I wouldn’t have believed any of this if I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes.”
“I thought that maybe he’d told Tatiana and perhaps her brother. So that they’d know what was happening and she could pursue Caden, you know?” I explained hoarsely, running my fingers over the cuff. “I had no idea.”
“I don’t know what to even say.” Kalen turned away from the spot. “I really don’t.”
“Neither do I.”
It was only a few minutes later that Caden filled the doorway. I looked up, my heart seizing at the sight of him. The urge to race over to him hit me hard. I was starting to stand when I realized what I was doing and stopped myself. Was he still mad at me? Well, obviously, he had to be. One didn’t get over all that he learned in a matter of hours. I wasn’t sure if he would want me to go to him, to touch him.
And God, that was another sting on an already raw, rapidly spreading wound.
Caden had halted, but then he was striding forward, coming to where I sat. I half expected him to stop there or to put space between us.
That’s not what he did.
He knelt, gently taking my face in his hands. The contact was a jolt to the system as his gaze searched mine. “Are you okay?”
I started to answer, but his touch threw me for a loop, and all my hesitation slipped away.
Dropping the cuff onto the bed, I all but launched myself at Caden. If he were unprepared, he didn’t show it. He caught me in his arms and straightened, holding me tightly. He didn’t push me away. I buried my face in his chest, inhaling deeply. That didn’t mean that everything was peachy and perfect between us, but I needed him—needed to feel him, to smell him, to be held by him—and he was here.
That meant everything.
“Brighton?” he murmured, smoothing a hand through my hair and down my back as I felt his head turn. “Is she okay?”
“Physically, yes,” came Kalen’s answer.
“I’m fine.” My voice was muffled and probably barely coherent, but I didn’t lift my head. “I’m just…it was Tanner, Caden. It was him.”