Yasmina nodded agreement. “She won’t betray us. I could see the honor in her heart.”
“It’s just the Dark Queen and her minions you have to worry about then,” Murray said wryly. “Oh, and the magick.”
“Don’t forget that the Regalian magick makes its own rules,” Caleb added, then drained his drink and got up to leave.
As much as Mel hated to admit it, they were right. There was plenty of challenge to go around. “I’ll follow Wynter and Arach,” she said on impulse. “Who else is with us?”
Rania manifested in the Fae armory and put Hadrian down gently in the middle of the collection of weapons. She could see them glowing in the darkness around the perimeter of the locked room, which fortunately was of considerable size. It had to be to house Maeve’s collection. There weren’t any guards within the chamber, so she guessed they were stationed outside.
Perfect.
Hadrian shimmered blue, summoning the shift without leaving his relaxed state. Rania wanted to linger to make sure he was okay, but the longer she stayed in Fae, the greater the chance that she would be discovered.
The success of the entire plan depended upon each of them trusting the other completely.
She closed her eyes against the bright blue shimmer of his shift and admired his dragon form for a moment, those emerald scales glinting in the glow of the Fae blades. His claw moved and she saw the wavy blade of her kesir catch the light. She bent to retrieve it, knowing that Hadrian was giving it to her. He still had the dirk beneath his scales. She kissed his cheek and hoped he would be safe.
Rania willed herself back to his lair to collect Alasdair, who had volunteered to be her supposed victim in Fae.
When she got back to Hadrian’s lair, she learned that Sebastian had vanished. Balthasar had his doubts about the vampire’s intentions, but there was nothing to be done at this point. They had no chance of stopping him if he meant to betray them.
They had to carry on with the plan and hope for the best.
“Incompetence,” Maeve said, seething as she strode toward the cage where the swans were captive. Bryant knew to keep his distance when she was in this foul mood. Someone would pay the price and the trick to survival was to ensure he wasn’t the one.
The swans watched her, all three of them, their gazes steady and unblinking.
“I’ve yet to have a bite of roast swan,” she continued, her tone scathing as she glanced back at Bryant. “And now you tell me that you haven’t managed to capture the other brothers. I might need to find a new favorite.”
“I’m here for you, my queen,” Kade said, hurrying along beside her. When she stumbled over the heath in her heels, he caught one of her elbows and lifted her, even as Bryant did the same on the other side.
She only thanked Kade.
Bryant didn’t like that the dragon shifter was around all the time, or that he was always close beside the Dark Queen. The truth was that Bryant didn’t want to leave Fae himself long enough to hunt down the other swan brothers. They were irrelevant when his position in Maeve’s court was potentially in peril.
He didn’t like having competition. Maeve had always taken lovers, but this one seemed to have wormed his way into her affections with speed. There was no telling where this infatuation would end. It wasn’t like the other one, the Slayer who had been the last of his kind. And Bryant couldn’t figure out the attraction. Kade wasn’t that good looking. He couldn’t provide any insight into the activities of his fellows, not anymore. From Bryant’s view, Kade was useless, but Maeve seemed determined to keep him as a pet.
They reached the cage with the three swans within it, and the birds hissed at them in agitation. There was no sign of any cooks or assistants.
“I’ve sent three teams,” Maeve complained. “Where could they have gone?”
“The swans are all still here,” Kade noted, as if to prove that he could count to three.
“Just because they aren’t thieves doesn’t mean they haven’t betrayed me.” Maeve turned to Bryant. “Find them!”
He couldn’t see a single thing as far as the horizon in any direction. Nothing moved. There was only the radiant glow from the Fae court under the closest mound and the endless heath. “Where should I start, my queen?” he asked, trying to keep his tone respectful.