Devin wasn’t supposed to fall for her. He was supposed to get her home and break the bond. Nessa was making that goal much more difficult as she slept in his arms. She wiggled a little and pressed closer to him. Devin really needed to let go and read the book now, but he couldn’t. His time holding her would be limited. No matter how much he might fall for her, he had to lock it all away, just like always. Devin had been taught, from a young age on, how to control his emotions, how to lock everything behind a door in his mind to keep himself safe. He would need to do the same with this, but while she slept in their protected room he could enjoy her for a little while. He could still feel.
Devin buried his nose in her hair and took a deep breath as she nuzzled close. She smelled like flowers, not any one flower in particular, but many flowers. She was a bouquet of flowers. Nessa was nature itself. Devin sighed again and tried to lock his feelings away. She wasn’t meant to be his, no matter what he felt now. She was a night human, and he would never be one if he could help it. He wanted to blame the bond as Nessa was blaming it, but he had read the books and she had not. The bond could force them closer, but it couldn’t force them to like each other. That was completely their fault.
Devin wanted to regret what he was feeling, but he couldn’t. He had spent years locking away his feelings for Arianna. He needed to be able to feel freely now. It was the first time in a long time where he felt normal and real, but it would have to end. Vanessa McKinny, the last of her family line, couldn’t be with a day human. Night humans of any species rarely dated or married day humans, and from his little foray into the sidhe community, he saw they never did so here. His love, no matter how much it could be, would never be enough for Nessa. She had to be with a sidhe, and Devin wasn’t a sidhe. They needed to break the bond to protect her from her own people. Her hand tightened on his as she continued to dream. Devin would do anything to protect her.
Devin contemplated how he could extract his arms from around her. He needed to let go and stop thinking about her. When someone tried to open the door, their touching was enough to jolt Nessa’s magic through both of them. That was enough to wake her and make her sit up. The bond had been growing, and was strong enough that Devin could feel a bit of Nessa’s magic now. The person trying to enter could not.
‘What do we do?’ Nessa questioned Devin silently as she jumped up from the bed and began patting down her unruly curls.
‘We see who’s here,’ Devin replied, pointing to the door. He walked over and stood behind it, knife in hand. He would be hidden from anyone when she opened it, but still able to attack if necessary.
Devin followed Nessa as she walked over to the door. When Nessa and Devin neared it, the person stopped wiggling the handle and finally knocked. The resonating knock made Nessa jump a little as she reached for the handle. Devin smiled at her jumpiness, and she glared at him in response.
‘Not a morning person,’ he teased as his grip loosened on his knife. An assassin wouldn’t knock.
Nessa stuck her tongue out at him and grabbed the handle. She intended to open the door wide, and hit Devin in the face, but stopped when she saw the person on the other side.
“Uncle Rolf,” she said. Devin relaxed only a fraction.
Devin was undecided on Rolf. The large man looked like an older version of his son, and Devin recognized him right away, even if he hadn’t seen him the night before. His eyes were the same as his son’s, and he wanted to trust the man as Ronan was trusted. Rolf could be an enemy or an ally, and he didn’t know which yet. The older man was technically in line for the throne behind Nessa, but he needed her to be queen first in order to be in line. If Nessa was killed early, all the families could claim a right to the throne.
“Vanessa, I need you to get dressed right away and come with me,” Rolf said urgently.
“What’s wrong?” Nessa asked, not moving from the doorway.
“The five families, or rather the four that outvoted me, called for a trial before the official coronation. They don’t think they’d have a fair trial if it’s done after you’re officially queen,” Rolf explained.
Devin was surprised they caught on. He had been thinking the same thing.
“A trial?” Nessa asked, surprised.
“I know, child. It isn’t normal. But don’t worry. I’ll represent you, and I won’t let them win,” Rolf added. He moved to pat her shoulder, but his hand stopped at the doorway. “A barrier spell?” Rolf asked, as if he hadn’t noticed before.
“A blood barrier to keep her safe,” Devin replied, stepping around the door to get a better look at Rolf. He needed to be able to read the man to tell if he were being truthful.
Rolf tested the barrier again and smiled. “It’s strong,” he said. “Strongest I’ve seen.” Rolf was telling the truth, and awe laced his voice.
“I’m not sure it’s best for Nessa to leave her room right now. There were four assassination attempts last night on her,” Devin replied. Rolf seemed genuine, but Devin needed more to assess the man. Nessa seemed to trust everyone, but Devin knew better than that. They all wanted her dead. Rolf may also want that, for all Devin knew.
“What?” Rolf asked, anger beginning to fill him. Either he didn’t like the attempts, or he didn’t like being not told about them. Devin was still unsure how to read him. Devin walked to the table and picked up the three arrows, holding them out for Rolf to see.
“The fourth’s arrow returned to the shooter,” Devin answered the question filling Rolfs eyes. Rolf looked closer at the three distinct arrows. He swore under his breath as if he recognized the arrows. “Then you understand my concern,” Devin added.
“Well, we’re safe for now. The stupidest thing they did was formally accuse her, then. She’s safe and no harm can come to her until the trial is done,” Rolf explained, but was still angry at seeing the arrows Devin had just sat back down.
“And if someone does try to attack her?” Devin asked. Sidhe spells were complicated and could be as deceptive as the sidhe were in general.
“Anything done to her will return, twofold, to the attacker,” Rolf replied. That sounded familiar to Devin, but he didn’t look to Nessa to ask her. He was pretty sure none of the sidhe knew that she had already cursed half of them the same way. And he was sure assassin four last night didn’t know that, either.
Devin looked to Nessa. “We need to be careful. Can the trial proceed without her?”
Rolf looked to Devin, not understanding. “That’s why I rushed here. They wanted to start without her.”
“Then let them,” Devin replied. Nessa nodded. She understood that Devin wanted to gain knowledge without being seen. It was the perfect way to decide how to proceed.
“Let them?” Rolf repeated.
“Yes. We will be out in five minutes,” Nessa replied, moving to shut the door.
“We?” Rolf asked. He looked to Devin dubiously.
“We,” Nessa replied, not explaining further. “Don’t wait for us, but we will be there.”
“It will be in the Green Leaf Theatre,” Rolf added for them. Nessa nodded to her uncle and shut the door. She turned to Devin.
“Is that true about the spell on the accused?” Devin asked. “You will be safe?”
“Yes, but it isn’t a good thing,” Nessa replied, picking up clothes from the floor and tossing them into a pile. They had just moved into her new room, but it was just as disorganized as it had been before in her home. Devin wondered if it was the people that moved her things hastily, or if Nessa asked it to be that way. “None of the five families ever brings up a trial unless they plan to win it.”
“How can they win?” Devin asked logically. He had been at the tournament and the fight that had concluded the tournament. Nessa didn’t kill her brother. She stepped between the spell and Arianna, and Rhys had died. Nessa hadn’t spoken to cast her own spell, or even raised a weapon to Rhys. “There had to be at least two dozen sidhe there. All of them could have seen what happened. You didn’t atta
ck Rhys.” How could anyone expect to win a trial where she didn’t fight back?
Nessa shrugged. “I don’t know, but I don’t like the sound of it either. Something isn’t adding up. Either way, we need to be ready for anything.”
Devin nodded and grabbed his clothes from the night before. He needed his jeans to hide his weapons, but he also needed to fit in a bit. Close up, any sidhe would know he was a day human, but he needed to be able to get lost in the crowd if needed. He hoped their sense of smell wasn’t as great as the night humans he was raised with, or they would know right away, but his impressions from the night before was that their senses were dulled a bit. When he exited the bathroom he found Nessa dressed as she had for the trip, in a simple dress with pants underneath. She was tying her hair up as he approached. When her hands were free, she turned to him and handed him a small blade.
“I didn’t give this to you last night as I knew I was the only target. I doubt that now. There would be no reason to bring a trial, and protect me, unless they plan to get rid of you first. If they can’t get me, I have no doubt the sidhe will be after you. Someone must have realized last night that you are different than most day humans. This trial could be to convict me, or to leave you vulnerable. I don’t know which,” Nessa clarified, yet didn’t explain the weapon.
Devin took the blade from her. It was small enough to hide easily, yet beautiful enough that one would normally not want to hide it. The handle was ornately welded with two blue jewels embedded in it. The blade itself had intricate crisscrossing lines that surrounded a word Devin couldn’t read. There was a slight hum as it touched his hand. He flipped it around as he looked at it, and the hum continued.
“That was one of my father’s blades. It has been in our family for centuries. It’s a sidhe blade, forged and laced with magic. Only a sidhe blade can kill a sidhe.” Devin nodded his head as he touched the edge with his nail. It was sharp. “It isn’t that I want you to go around killing sidhe, but I need you to be able to if necessary,” she quickly explained.
“Thank you,” Devin replied before motioning to the door.
“Hopefully we can follow and learn what we’re getting into, and be able to leave unnoticed if we see anything wrong,” Nessa explained her plan. Devin nodded. He wasn’t knowledgeable about sidhe politics, but was ready to follow her lead.
Something was going on, and they were about to walk into the unknown. Devin hated that feeling, but it was nothing new. He would do everything he could to protect her and make it back alive. The weapon she gave him hummed against his skin. It felt her blood within him. He hoped it would be enough to handle anything they found when they got there.
Nessa walked ahead of Devin, leading the way since he could still see her even though they were both invisible. Nessa had been unsure if she could even make Devin invisible indefinitely since he was a day human with no magic, but she found the little bit of her blood in him allowed her to do spells on him at the same time as herself. In fact, it was much easier then she expected it to be. Now that they were home on magical ground, she couldn’t see him behind her, but she felt the new sensation that he was near. The bond told her exactly where he was. If they were within a ten-foot radius, she could feel him. Nessa never had a mate before, though many night humans do before they are old enough to wed, but she had heard it described. It was an odd, out-of-place sensation, to always feel someone else, but comforting now that she couldn’t see him.
They made it to the location Uncle Rolf had said the trial was within ten minutes of his departure from her room. Nessa walked to the front where the accused would sit. There was a stage in the front of the room beneath the rows of seats. Nessa didn’t like the feeling of being on display and was happy to be invisible. It was like walking into a theatre, but it wasn’t for a performance. It was to determine if she had broken sidhe law. Night humans were notoriously harsh in their verdicts, but Nessa hoped her uncle was correct and that he would be able to defend her.
Devin stayed in the back of the room, rows above where Nessa was sitting. She tried to see him, but could not.
‘Okay?’ she asked, using her new senses to try to find him. He was too far away for now.
She felt a laugh tingle through the bond. ‘Yes. I can manage to follow you walking a whole two-hundred yards.’
Nessa felt herself getting angry with him. All she was doing was making sure he was there. He might be able to see everything, but she could not. Devin could be irritating sometimes. His humor was felt again through the bond. Yep, Devin was irritating.
The mumbling crowd quieted as Uncle Rolf walked into the room. Nessa watched her uncle as he approached, and heard the people murmur in surprise that Nessa wasn’t with him. Many must have seen him run to Nessa’s room. Rolf walked around her chair and pulled out both his and hers. Nessa sat down, but remained invisible until he told her otherwise. She had to trust that her uncle knew what he was doing. She had no experience with sidhe politics, and no matter how they looked at the situation, this trial was sidhe politics.
On the center of the stage, at her own table and facing the seated crowd, Maureen sat as the negotiator for the meeting. Nessa and Rolf sat perpendicular to the crowd at a table on the right side of the stage while Nessa’s accuser, Bray O’Ryan, the head of the O’Ryan family and one of the five elders, sat across the stage at his own table. He was an old man, probably in his seventies or eighties at the youngest, with stiff gray hair that shimmered blond. Nessa knew not to trust what she saw as all the sidhe changed their appearances in some way. He sat at the table drumming his fingers on it as he waited. Watching him wait impatiently made her heart pick up its beat. If he was so confident to be bored, she was in trouble.
‘He isn’t the elder O’Ryan,’ Devin commented from somewhere within the room.
Nessa glanced around. Even more than ten feet away, his voice made him sound like he was right beside her. His voice calmed her beating heart as she stared across at Bray. She didn’t see why Devin thought that.
‘If the little bit of blood within me can make your magic possible on me, then maybe the little bit of my blood within you can make you see the truth,’ Devin suggested, knowing exactly what she was trying to do right at that moment.
‘Worth a try,’ Nessa replied. And it was. If she saw through the magic, then she would be more prepared to face everything that came her way.
‘Close your eyes,’ Devin started his directions. Nessa did as she was told. In a normal situation, sitting before all the sidhe with some wanting her dead, she wouldn’t have dared to close her eyes, but there was nothing to fear as she sat next to her uncle, invisible.
‘Feel the energy around you. Just like how you sense other night humans. Do you feel it?’ Devin continued.
‘No,’ Nessa searched for the energy. Feeling out a night human was instinctual, she never had to try. She didn’t even know where to start. This was much harder than what she had grown up doing. It was frustrating, but she needed to learn how.
Devin felt her frustration. ‘Look through my eyes, see what I see, feel what I feel,’ Devin suggested.
‘I can do that?’ Nessa replied, opening her eyes and looking around for Devin.
‘Yes, now close your eyes and try,’ Devin answered back.
Nessa stuck her tongue out in the general direction of the people seated where she figured Devin was before closing her eyes. She could feel the humor of Devin’s laugh in her mind. He must have seen what she did even if she hadn’t directed it perfectly at him.
‘The bond between us is strong enough. You should be able to feel me as I feel you. Reach out, find me, and find my mind,’ Devin directed. He waited for her to do so.
It was true that the bond was growing, but she still couldn’t feel him like he described.
‘Fine,’ Devin said, and Nessa looked up, searching for his invisible body. What did fine mean?
Within moments she felt a hand take hers. She would’ve normally yelped in surprise, but sh
e knew it was Devin without seeing him.
‘Now you know where I am. Come inside my mind and see how I do this. I know you can also, if you knew how,’ Devin added, encouraging her. ‘Just follow our connection.’
Nessa looked at the invisible hand clasped in her own. Follow his hand. He made it sound easy, but it didn’t seem that simple. She concentrated on his fingers, intertwined with hers. Next she moved to the palms that were touching, skin against skin. She could feel him physically, and if she tried hard enough, she felt something more. It was fuzzy and hidden, but it was there. There was a string connecting them, tying them together. Nessa concentrated on that string and felt it grow stronger and clearer. That connection led right into Devin, and instantly, once she knew how, she found his mind.
‘Not so hard,’ Devin replied. His voice was now louder.
‘For you, Mr. Perfect, but some of us weren’t born flawless,’ Nessa answered back.
‘Yes, I know some weren’t as fortunate,’ Devin added with a chuckle, not modest in the least. ‘Now, if I let go a little more, you can look at the world through my eyes with me. You can see what I see.’
Nessa was unsure what he meant or if it was even possible, but she waited and soon found Devin knew way more than she ever guessed. It irked her a bit that a day human could know much, but she expected it by now with him. Devin wasn’t just a day human. He was something else completely. Somehow, she wondered if he was even just a day human. His abilities were abnormal to say the least.
Nessa felt Devin usher her further into his mind. She saw the room now, even though she had closed her eyes again, and it was his viewpoint as he was still standing. It was if she were standing inside his mind. He still controlled it, but she was right there beside him. Devin looked around the room and stopped at the corner where they entered.
‘Do you feel the hum in the air and the fuzziness that’s by the door?’ Nessa nodded, and somehow Devin knew she did. ‘Concentrate on that area and let it come into focus. It isn’t a clear picture like everything around it. It always has some fuzz, but it’s there.’