“He is, but he’s not as powerful, dedicated, or smart as Aric. He gets word that Aric is gone—which I will make sure happens—he’ll most likely tuck tail and run.”
I exhaled a long breath of relief, but just as I inhaled, unease filled my lungs. I didn’t understand why. If Caden were right, then it was over. No more worrying about the Queen returning or younglings being taken. The Summer fae were safe, and so was our world.
But I couldn’t shake the feeling that this wasn’t over. It was only getting started.
Chapter 16
“Hey,” Caden called out, drawing me out of my rather foreboding thoughts. “What are you thinking? Don’t say ‘nothing.’ I can tell you went somewhere.”
I didn’t know how to tell him what I was thinking because I had no idea. As his gaze searched mine intently, it occurred to me that he wasn’t so much questioning what I was thinking, but more if my mind had taken a vacay and left the building. I returned to staring at the bandage. “I’m still here.”
“Bri—”
“Anyway, this is good news for you, right? The threat with the Queen basically being over?” I asked. “You can get to doing whatever a King of fae does. You can get married to your Queen.” The words tasted like ash on my tongue, but they also brought forth an odd sense of deja vu. Like there was something more to that. “I’m sure Tatiana is ready to be Queen. Or maybe you’ve already done that.”
“I haven’t.”
The flash of relief couldn’t be stopped, and I didn’t even want to acknowledge that. Accepting that I still loved Caden was one thing. Being happy to hear that he hadn’t gotten married was a whole other level of WTFery. “Then you should probably get on that. ‘The Court wants their King and Queen united,’” I parroted back what I knew he’d said to me. Bizarre how I could remember that but still not remember Ren’s last name.
“We’ll talk about all of that later.”
My brows furrowed, and the dull flare of pain smoothed it right back out. “There’s nothing to talk about.”
“There’s a whole lot to talk about.” He rose from the chair. “But you need to get some rest and get better before Tink gets back and realizes that we all lied to him about you.”
“You did?”
“We didn’t tell him that you were missing. Ivy knew that if we told him, he would be out there looking for you. Him falling into the hands of a Winter fae is too much of a risk,” Caden explained, and that made sense. For someone as goofy as Tink, he was incredibly powerful. “We told him that you’d been sent on assignment with the Order.”
“Really?” I replied dryly.
“It was Ivy’s idea. Tink believed it.”
“He’s…he’s going to be so mad when he finds out you all lied.”
“Yes, he is.”
“Going to be mad at you.” My gaze shifted to him.
A small, lopsided grin appeared. “I’m the King.”
“Doesn’t that make you an even bigger target for people to be mad?”
“Not in my world.”
I sighed.
“Plus, he loves me. So, I figure he will direct his anger at Ivy and Ren.”
“Nice.”
His gaze flickered over me, lingering on the left side of my face. I had a feeling that side looked particularly messy. Sadness crept into his warm eyes, along with what I easily recognized as guilt.
“This wasn’t your fault,” I told him.
“We’re going to have to disagree on that.”
“No, we don’t. You…” I blinked rapidly as an image of Aric formed. “You didn’t do this to me. Aric said…he said he knew I’d been looking for him.”
“This wasn’t your fault either.” Caden sat on the bed, planting a hand on either side of my hips, startling me. I tensed as my heart turned over. He pulled back, lifting his hands. “Nothing that was done to you was your fault, Brighton. It wouldn’t matter if you walked right up to him. He did this.”
“And it’s not your fault either.”
Caden turned his head. A muscle flexed along his jaw. “I know why he took you. I knew why before I saw you in that tomb, in that…” He trailed off, releasing a rough breath. “I wish he was still alive so I could rip him apart, finger by finger, limb from limb.”
Part of me thought I knew why, too. That Aric had told me, and it was important. All of it.
“There is something… I can’t remember.” I moved my head from side to side like it would somehow jar the memories loose. Of course, that didn’t work. Frustration rose. “I can remember things that don’t matter, but I know there is more.”
“As you begin to heal, your memory should also mend itself.”
I barked out a short laugh. “I know that’s not always the case. My mom…” I pressed my lips together, ignoring the pain. “She had good days, and then days where it was like she wasn’t there. She didn’t really know who I was or that she was at home. And her memory? It was never the same. Whole years were forgotten, and they only had her for a few days. Aric fed on me…” I swallowed at the blast of heat that rolled off the King. “It was a lot, and there were times in that chamber where I…I had no idea where I was, how I got there, and I’d have to remember who I was. That could happen again, and there’ll be nothing I can do. Even if it’s just a couple of hours, I’m going to lose parts of myself.”
“That’s not going to happen to you,” Caden swore.
My gaze shifted back to him. His face blurred. “You can’t say that. You don’t know that.”
“You’re right.” Caden slowly reached for my hand, and when I didn’t react, he picked it up, holding it loosely in his warm grasp. “But I was wrong.”
“Really? You’re admitting that you’re wrong? About what exactly?”
That small smile returned. “I doubted your strength. Instead of forcing you out of the hunt for Aric, I should’ve included you. I was…it doesn’t matter right now what I was trying to do, but none of us should’ve forced you out. That includes Ivy and Ren, and the Order, and any of our warriors. We were wrong.”
Hearing that meant a lot. It really did.
“I don’t know everything you suffered, but I know enough to confidently say that very few people could’ve gone through what you did and be here right now. Not only that, to kill him…your only source of potential freedom without believing anyone was coming from you? That was not only strong, but also incredibly brave. The latter is something all of us need to face,” he said, and I opened my mouth, but he continued, his voice rough. “You were willing to sacrifice yourself. In a way, you did. I believe you will heal far better than you fear, but even if you don’t, you will be okay. I will ensure it.”
He would ensure it? How? He was the King, one I imagined had duties beyond taking care of me if or when I roamed off in a state of confusion. And besides, he was about to get married.
MARRIED.
I doubted his soon-to-be Queen would be thrilled about that, and the last thing I needed in my life was one more pissed-off fae becoming psychotic and gunning for me.