Beautiful nightmares, p.27
Beautiful Nightmares, page 27
Voices began to penetrate the stillness, small bursts of sound that hit the quiet like a staple going through paper. I faltered, thinking it was the guards that were after us, but Laurie brushed the back of my hand with his. I looked at him sharply. As usual, he offered no explanation. I could only see his profile, which revealed nothing.
We kept walking, and something stopped me from glancing over my shoulder. I tugged my hood down again as it occurred to me that my face was streaked in a dead faerie’s blood.
The noise drew closer and closer, and it became apparent that multiple conversations were happening at once. I heard snatches of their words amidst the confused buzzing in my head. A feminine voice talked about an investment app. A deeper one soon cut in, saying, “I’m not giving you a single euro, Pink. No, don’t. I’m not falling for this again.”
In the next moment, we were overtaken by them. The conversations around us didn’t pause or fade. Gil walked closer to me so no one could come between us, but on my other side, Laurie still didn’t react. A male with orange hair started describing, in explicit detail, a cock he’d just sucked on the previous night. He was acting as if we weren’t here, I observed silently. Had Laurie used his abilities to hide us from sight?
“No time for introductions, I’m afraid,” he murmured, making me jump. “It looks like Morelli managed to get the Guardians at the front posted elsewhere, but there’s no way of knowing how long that’ll last now.”
Now that Morelli is dead. That was what he wasn’t saying.
We were in the final phase of Laurie’s plan, I realized. The archway waited ahead, and just as he’d claimed, I was about to walk out the front door, so to speak.
So these loud strangers must’ve been Laurie’s inner circle.
I felt such a rush of curiosity that I was powerless against it, and it swept me along in its tide. I counted the number of figures around us. All six wore cloaks identical to mine, but only two had their hoods up. The other four didn’t try to avoid notice—maybe they had less to lose if they were discovered helping me. Or maybe they’d just been at the party and it was perfectly acceptable to be seen leaving the palace.
Undeterred by hoods or the possibility of being caught staring, I studied the face of every person that had come at Laurie’s call, in spite of the potential risk. They didn’t seem nearly as interested in doing the same; their overlapping discussions continued and none of them looked my way.
“Not sure what all the fuss is about,” I heard someone mutter, pitching their voice too low for me to discern which direction it had come from. But I had no trouble hearing a snort of agreement to my right.
Old instincts leaped into my mouth, and I opened it to cut the speaker down. Something made me pause. After another moment, I swallowed the words down and kept studying the people that Laurie trusted most in the world, putting everything else from my mind.
From what I could tell, the group was evenly divided between males and females. The first male I’d noticed, of course, was the orange-haired, self-described cock sucker, who I suspected of making that remark about me a few seconds ago. Pointed ears peeked out between the vibrant strands of his mane.
The figure he spoke to was the tallest out of all of them, and I caught a glimpse of light reflecting off his eyes. Werewolf, I thought. He had tumbling brown hair, a beard, and broad shoulders. Though I had no way of knowing what he wore beneath his cloak, my mind conjured the image of a checkered shirt and an ax, completing the lumberjack look.
The last male walked silently behind us. From the less-than-furtive glances I stole, I noted that his lips were thin, the planes of his cheeks smooth and flat. Dark hair fell to his shoulders in layers, and diamonds gleamed in his earlobes. Faerie, I noted.
For the females, the one walking to my left owned the voice that had been talking about investments earlier, I was sure of it. Pink, the dark-haired male had called her. Her dark eyes were bright with intelligence as they darted around beneath her hood. A splash of color caught my attention, and I glanced down, noting the pretty blue gown that vanished and reappeared with every step through the folds of her cloak. Her black hair was in a long, thick braid. Though her body wasn’t visible, I could see that she was a little person—the top of her head was even with my chest. I couldn’t find any hints for her species.
The second female was fae, evident in her pointed ears and the weightless way she walked. Her hair was pulled back in an elegant chignon. Her eyebrows were flawless, dark arches and she wore red lipstick, which contrasted strikingly with her tawny skin. She wore earrings that looked like real gold.
The last was an alarmingly thin creature. She couldn’t be a witch, since Laurie had lost access to all of his. Her hair was long and blond, scraped back into a ponytail that hadn’t seen water or shampoo in days. There were gray smudges beneath her blue eyes, and her cheekbones were overly sharp, as if she’d just survived a long illness. There was nothing weak or unclear in the way she looked back at me, though. I knew, just as certainly as I’d known it when I met Maria, that she loved the silver-haired faerie walking between us.
All of Laurie’s comrades were striking, or stunning, or both. I couldn’t help but wonder if the Seelie Prince was subconsciously drawn to his friends, at least in the beginning, because he was drawn to beautiful things, as he’d said earlier tonight.
We were nearly at the archway now. Reluctance fluttered in my belly; I knew it was time to say goodbye. Time to leave the side of this infuriating, unexpectedly kind faerie prince who had saved me once again. Forcing everyone to stop, I turned to Laurie and raised my gaze, still uncertain what I was about to say, especially in front of an audience. I just knew I had to say something.
But once again, Laurie wasn’t paying any attention to me. He accepted a cloak from one of the faeries behind us, and when he pulled it back, his bare wrist brushed against mine. Just for an instant.
“Thank you, Sir Robert,” Laurie said. His gaze finally moved to mine. He raised his eyebrows as if to say, Yes? May I help you?
“What are you doing?” I whispered, watching him put the cloak on. “I thought the plan was for you to stay here, make sure you’re seen in the palace.”
“The plan changed the second Belanor just let you go,” Laurie said, pulling the hood over his head. Smart—that signature silver hair would get us noticed in an instant if he didn’t cover it.
No, wait. Consequences. Every action had consequences. I couldn’t let him do this. Even if Belanor knew about Laurie’s involvement now, and he made an accusation of treason, Laurie could cast doubt in people’s minds if he didn’t act guilty. He wouldn’t help his case by leaving with me.
I didn’t even get a chance to open my mouth before Laurie added, “No time for one of our rounds, Firecracker. Let’s go.”
He propelled me toward that enormous archway, and in those few steps, his friends casually surrounded us again, Gil included. Their behavior didn’t change in the slightest. Their conversations continued. Their stances remained relaxed and unhurried as we made our way over the threshold and into the night. That’s part of the strategy, I thought. We were just guests leaving the party. We had nothing to hide.
My nostrils flared as I inhaled fresh air for the first time since I’d been taken. The stars greeted us, so aloof and oblivious to our plights. Our strange group started down the driveway. I walked stiffly, my nails digging into my palms as I waited for one of the guards to call after us or sound an alarm.
Nothing happened.
The night was quiet and cold. The road had been salted, clearing the gravel of ice, but it still glittered with a layer of fresh snow. Every few seconds, faint but vicious gusts moved past, raking over my skin like small claws. I looked up at Laurie, my breath forming clouds in the air between us. “Is it just me, or was that too easy?”
“Well, now you’ve done it.” He glared back. “You practically just begged them to—”
Belanor’s crisp voice drifted past. “Going somewhere, brother?”
Every single person in our group stopped. The heavy cloak twisted around my legs as I turned, dread forming like a stone inside of me. Gil’s side of the bond pulsed.
Belanor stood before the palace, a huge mass of Guardians gathered at his back.
It wasn’t surprising no one on my side had heard their approach, not with the wind in our ears. From this vantage point, the picture Belanor and his guards made was striking and detailed: every figure dressed in full armor, plumes of breath coiling through the air like smoke or mist. Their swords caught the light coming from the largest palace windows. There were so many Guardians that the mass of armed, immortal soldiers formed a curved shape, the ends of which were too close to us for my liking.
There was no point in Laurie sifting, since he’d already exposed his involvement in the library, but I still braced myself to see him disappear. Especially when courtiers began to trickle outside, probably drawn by the sight of a small army gathered on the front lawn.
He didn’t.
“Lady Sworn started to feel unwell during our dance, so I am merely escorting her home,” Laurie called, the lines of his body loose and unconcerned. While he paused, pasting on an expression of confusion, I peeked over at Gil. His breathing seemed to be steady, I was relieved to note. “Is there a problem, Your Majesty?”
Belanor’s eyes flickered at the title; he was probably wondering, like I was, whether it was meant to be an insult or strategic flattery. His scarred features revealed nothing else as he replied, “There was a murder this evening. The dagger they found belonged to one of the guests.”
Laurie made a sound of sorrow deep in his throat. “How tragic. Was the victim someone we know?”
“It was a member of the Royal Guard. The killer must’ve dropped their weapon as they fled. Interestingly, Lord Arthion had reported this dagger as stolen minutes before the murder took place. But we have witnesses who claim he never left the room. Upon further investigation, an officer discovered traces of Lady Sworn’s scent in the same place where the body was found. I’d like to detain her for questioning.”
I heard Laurie curse under his breath, and I suppressed the same urge—Belanor was smarter than we’d given him credit for. He couldn’t have known Laurie would kill a Guardian in our escape, but he was using the loss of his pawn to reach his endgame.
Getting me back.
Laurie was probably worried I’d blurt something we’d all regret, because he didn’t pretend to consult me or consider Belanor’s request. “I’m afraid Lady Sworn has had a long evening,” he said. “You know how much importance Mother puts on being the perfect hostess. We wouldn’t want her to find out we detained an ill guest—can’t you already imagine the look of disappointment on her face?”
The attempt at camaraderie rolled off Belanor like a drop of water on wax. “I am the future King of the Seelie Court. Are you disobeying my command, Prince Laurelis?” he called, his voice getting swallowed by the night.
I had no trouble detecting the tone he used, though. It was one I’d heard often toward the end of my imprisonment with him, and hearing it again made my resolve harden—I wouldn’t be going back. I had already decided, before I’d even gotten free, that I would rather die than be at Belanor’s mercy again. Slowly, I leaned to the side and reached down, taking my heels off one by one. The gravel was freezing against the soles of my feet.
“What the fuck is she doing?” I heard one of Laurie’s friends whisper.
“You could be the king of this entire dimension and I still wouldn’t bow to you, Belanor.” Laurie had dropped all pretense now, and his voice dripped with dislike. I’d never seen him look at someone with such contempt.
It had the effect of dropping a match on a puddle of gasoline.
Belanor’s eyes blazed, and he turned his head to address the line of Guardians behind him. Spittle flew from his mouth as he hissed, “Seize them.”
Now I did swear.
Several of the guards peeled away from the others and started coming toward us, crossing the expanse of driveway between us as if it were a battlefield. Their leisurely pace felt like an insult. Gil dropped into a squat, baring his teeth in a soundless hiss. I gathered all my power to me in an instant, instinctive reaction, and I held the letter opener up. It wasn’t a sword, but it could still slice throats.
“Spare as many as you can,” Laurie said to the warriors behind us. His eyes were darker than normal, a slate gray instead of silver. It struck me, then, the reality of what he was doing for me—these had been his guards, once. His people. Of course he wouldn’t want to kill any of them if it could be helped. Laurie’s friends probably knew faeries in the Royal Guard, as well.
I glanced over my shoulder, wondering if I’d see resentment in their faces. That was when I saw that every single member of Laurie’s inner circle had brandished weapons between the flaps of their cloaks or coats. Surprise flickered at the back of my mind when I saw the dark-haired male holding two guns, since it was unusual for a faerie to embrace technology of any kind. Cell phones were the exception, and it was typically only the younger ones who had them.
In the next breath, I realized I’d been wrong about all of them having a weapon—there was one amongst Laurie’s friends who didn’t appear to be holding anything. It was the female with the bright lipstick and the Ice Queen expression. I looked up from her empty hands and found her gazing back at me.
“Do you have any way of defending yourself?” I asked bluntly. I was aware of the others watching, but I didn’t acknowledge them and neither did the Ice Queen.
Her lovely face still didn’t shift or reveal anything as she replied, “Not against a legion of Guardians, no.”
“I’ve got Caroline,” the lumberjack put in, stepping closer.
I ignored him. With a single movement, I flipped the letter opener around and pointed the hilt toward Caroline, as he’d called her. “It’s not much,” I said, “but it could come in handy. Oh, wait, hold on.”
Using the fingers my shoes still dangled from, I lifted my dress. Then, with my other hand, I rammed the letter opener through the layers of lace and linen. The sound of tearing mingled with the noise of clanking armor. Once there was a sizable hole, I clamped the thin blade between my teeth and tore the skirt wide open, exposing my legs to the open air. Finished, I grasped the letter opener and held it out to Caroline a second time.
The faerie accepted it slowly, her painted fingernails peeking out from the cloak. “What will you use?” she asked.
I shrugged. “I’ll improvise. I’m good at it, don’t worry.”
Caroline said nothing else. Facing forward again, I glanced at Laurie, curious whether he’d be using his abilities to stack the odds in our favor. His mouth was tight as he gave a barely perceptible shake of his head. “We need to surrender,” Laurie said under his breath.
My nostrils flared. “What?”
Gil was looking at Laurie, too, along with all the people standing at our backs. This time, the prince addressed everyone. “We can’t leave this driveway. Surrendering will buy us time. Do you trust me or not?”
It was a rhetorical question; the first cluster of Guardians was almost upon us. Laurie wanted time? Fine, I’d get him some time. But I sure as hell wasn’t surrendering. Not to Belanor.
Barefooted now, I walked toward the oncoming cluster of Guardians. The moment I was close enough, I brought my arm back and used my entire body in the violent strike forward. Just as I’d planned, I jabbed the first male in the throat with one of the heels I held.
I didn’t put enough force in my arm to impale him, but he choked and doubled over. Then I was swinging out with the heel in my other hand, doing the exact same thing to the Guardian attempting to come up behind me. Blood sprayed my face again, and I blinked. Oops. The heels must’ve been sharper than I thought—it was lodged in the side of his throat now. He’d heal, I reminded myself.
But now I was down one weapon.
Make that two, I thought as I made the same mistake again with the third Guardian flying at me, his sword upraised to hit me with the butt of the hilt, most likely.
The instant he went down, I saw Belanor make a furious gesture. Several more faeries separated from the multitude.
“Cock Sucker,” I snarled, whipping my head around. The redhead raised his eyebrows and pointed both his index fingers toward his face, as if to say, Me? I held out my hand and twitched my fingers. “I know you have a knife in one of your boots. Loan it to me and I won’t kill you later for that comment you made in the hallway. I’d been planning on using your fear of geese to break you, but now I’m feeling generous.”
I had finally gotten the inner circle’s attention. I could feel every single one of them staring at me as I kept my hand stretched out, waiting for the male to make his choice. He didn’t take long—two seconds later, he stooped and reached into his cloak, pulling out a dagger with a dragon-shaped hilt.
“For what it’s worth, I think I’m starting to see why there’s fuss now,” the redhead offered as I wrapped my fingers around it.
I met his gaze. “Good. Remember that if I get you killed in the next ten minutes.”
Then the next wave was on us. I reacted too slowly, and the bearded male moved in a blur, cutting down a Guardian just as he tried to bring the butt of his sword down on my skull. The smaller male hit the gravel, blood flying through the chaos. There were already two more to replace him. I uttered a mindless, ragged battle cry and whirled, raising the knife I’d commandeered.
Despite going so long without training, my muscles knew what to do, and I gave myself over to the familiar movements. By some miracle, I managed not to fall or get stabbed. There was nothing beautiful about this dance. It wasn’t delicate or graceful, either. It was just adrenaline, and blood, and shouts of pain. As I fought, I remained painfully aware of my bare feet, vulnerable to every heavy boot or patch of ice. I swung again and again, always confronting a new face or an oncoming assault.
