“You do know that a sidhe accepting a ring is essentially marrying them instantly,” Nessa added when she finally got her voice back.
“Yes,” Devin replied. His eyes told her everything, even though he kept his feelings hidden. He did want to marry her and loved her completely. And he was completely correct, she had screwed that up majorly. She didn’t need to say yes to Liam. Her acceptance of the ring would have made his courting null.
“Let me go get the ring,” Nessa suggested. “If I say yes, then no one can court me.”
Devin gave her a smile that let a little sadness through the bond. It wasn’t a happy smile.
“I won’t ask you that question again until I’m sure it’s what you want,” Devin replied.
Nessa couldn’t help the anger that boiled beneath the surface. It was easier than feeling the sadness of rejection. Nessa focused on the anger. He was back to telling her what she wanted or didn’t want.
“Why do you get to decide that? Don’t I get to decide what I want?”
“You wouldn’t have said yes to Liam if you were sure about me,” Devin replied. He might have been hiding it, but Nessa saw the hurt. “Court him or anyone else that you choose. If you don’t want to be with them, and still want me, then I’ll ask you again.”
Nessa opened up her mouth to complain, but Devin stood. She turned around to see her uncle at the edge of the outcast camp.
“Nessa, Devin, you are both needed back at the palace. The guests are arriving now,” Rolf said, explaining his presence.
Devin walked behind Rolf and Nessa. They went over who had already arrived, but in reality he didn’t care. He was too busy looking around. Now that Keaton had told him about his power to build the village, he could see everything. Nothing was hidden from him as it had been only the day before as he walked through the village. Where an old tree bent to make the roof of a house, it was individual branches that made up the thatching. The next house was just as expertly hidden, but he could easily see the framework.
The sidhe were used to the hidden houses, but he couldn’t help the way his own little street turned out. The outcasts didn’t seem to mind. He had to build it from scratch, and it was the best he could do. All the homes were made out of nature but were definitely day-human-style. And of that, it was basically the same look, over and over again. Devin had only lived in one home growing up before moving into the Randolph manner at the age of six. He really hadn’t seen many single family homes in his lifetime.
As they made it to the palace, Nessa and Rolf didn’t stop when she entered and set off the alarms. They were both too caught up in their conversation. Devin paused at the noisy gate and placed a hand on the nearest branch he could reach, as he had seen Rolf do many times before.
The trees and bushes that made up the fence around the palace, silenced at his touch. They felt warm and inviting, and it was almost like they were speaking to him. Devin held his hand there and tried to listen. It wasn’t every day a plant tried to talk to him.
‘King,’ a faint voice said. Devin couldn’t tell if it were male or female. ‘What can we do for you?’
Devin was never going to get used to the plants talking to him. It was the same feeling when he made the houses for the outcasts, but that time he was reaching out to them instead of the other way around.
‘Can you make all the gates to keep track of Nessa and inform me if she leaves the palace?’ he asked. There was still one gate she could sneak out of. It wasn’t a problem when he was in the palace and could tell how far away she was from him, but while he lived with the outcasts, he didn’t want to take any chances.
‘It will be done,’ the faint voice replied.
‘And could you not go off when I go through the gate?’
‘We don’t know the difference between you two. You carry the royal blood in your veins,’ the plants replied. That much was true. When Nessa bonded to Devin, she had given him some of her blood.
Devin looked down at his hand and sliced a finger. Dripping just a drop of blood on the leaf closest to his hand, Devin watched as the blood disappeared.
‘I may have the king’s blood, but I also have day human blood. I am the only day human here; use that to notice the difference,’ Devin suggested.
The plant had bristled in his hand before it responded. ‘We can do that.’
“Thank you,” Devin said out loud to the plant. He was happy to not have anyone around catching him talking to the plants, especially not his best friend, Turner. He would have endlessly been teased for that.
‘And king,’ the plants said as Devin was going to pull away.
“Yes?”
‘Know that you are not the only one.’
‘The only king?’ Devin replied. He was confused. Was it possible to have more than one king?
‘The only one that has asked to keep track of the queen. There was another earlier today that came to us. He asked to be informed if she left the grounds and what way she left.’
Devin looked at the intertwined leaves. They had no eyes to see with, and he doubted they knew who it was even if he asked.
‘Are they a king here?’ Devin asked. If he had competition, he had to know.
‘They are not, but somehow they could still speak to us,’ the walls replied.
“Someone has sidhe magic to talk to plants,” Devin deduced. It didn’t sound too farfetched. The sidhe could do most anything nature related with their magic.
‘Not sidhe magic,’ the plants replied. ‘Witch magic.’
Devin stared at the plant. He knew what he had heard, yet he still couldn’t believe it. The sidhe were reclusive and never associated outside their lands. Now for the second time in one day, he was hearing of them using magic—witch magic. In the night human world, there was only one region with witches, and he knew a few himself. What was he supposed to do now? With the old king’s power, he could easily keep the sidhe in line, as he could do anything another sidhe could do, but he wasn’t versed in witch magic. What could he do against that? It was like trying to combine oil and water. The types of magic were different and distinct. Was there someone hidden in the sidhe posing as one of them? It was the only solution Devin could think of. Somewhere, there was a witch, and things had just gotten a bit more dangerous.
CHAPTER 3
Devin stood behind Nessa in his designated spot and watched the audience. Someone that was currently sitting there staring back at him wasn’t what they appeared to be. It didn’t seem possible for a witch to disguise themselves as a sidhe since they were as day human as Devin was, but the plants didn’t lie. They couldn’t lie. He had learned that much already this morning from Keaton. People could lie, but plants could not. If there was a witch there, it had to be a very clever one. How could they have been there amongst the sidhe without them ever knowing? From what he had been told, day human blood smelled distinct, and all night humans had a great sense of smelling for blood.
Devin scanned the faces of each person. No one was looking at him directly, but they were all staring at the stage. He needed to try to force them to tell him the truth quickly. It would take forever to question each one, but if he had to, Devin would be willing to apply force for Nessa’s safety. People talked to their neighbors as they watched the stage. There were many new faces and many old ones, too. Devin still was unsure which family each belonged to, but at that point it didn’t matter. He had seen how easily the people here changed sides, and even turned on their family as Maureen had done to her own daughter Fiona only days ago. Maureen was willing to kill her child just to gain power. These were the kind of people Devin was dealing with in the audience. Nessa’s brother fit right in when he was king.
Nessa’s uncle stood at the front of the stage Nessa was sitting on and far ahead from where Devin was standing. He would have to get Rolf alone and talk to him sooner rather than later. The witch in the crowd wouldn’t be too much of a problem if they weren’t especially interested in Nessa. She still wasn’t crowned
yet, and even then, Devin doubted her being a target would end. Something had to change, and he had to figure it out soon. He had already spent the majority of his time protecting Nessa. He would never be able to help the sidhe if he had to constantly guard her. The crowd sat in the raised rows in front of them. Rolf lightly tapped the cane in his hand against the earthen floor to make a muffled sound, and the audience quieted.
“We welcome you all to the palace for this joyous occasion,” Rolf said. “Coronation will take place promptly at midnight, followed by dinner and a dance in the honor of our new queen. All formalities are to be adhered to. Any questions?” Rolf was short and to the point with his introduction.
The red-haired man that wanted to court Nessa stood. Devin had no doubt as to his question.
“I want to declare my intentions to court Vanessa McKinny formally,” Liam told the crowd.
Cheers erupted around him. A pang of jealousy and anger built inside Devin. Nessa turned to look up at him, and he realized he let that slip through their bond accidentally. Devin pulled his emotions back under control even though it was quite hard to do with the red-headed oaf smiling proudly at Nessa. She kept a fake smile plastered on her face as she looked back, but even knowing that it was fake didn’t help anything. Devin was sure it wouldn’t take much to get him angrier over the situation. It was all too unreal to deal with. He was almost going to marry her not even twelve hours ago before the oaf showed up. This wouldn’t have even been an issue if the timing hadn’t been perfect to interrupt them.
A second, thinner man with deeply tanned skin stood. His dark eyes lit up as they gazed at Nessa. “I would like to request formally to be allowed to court Princess Vanessa also.”
Devin reached forward and grabbed the top of the chair Nessa was sitting in. The hard wood crumbled in his grasp. This was unreal. She was already bonded, yet no one seemed to notice or care.
“As do I,” a third man stood and spoke.
“Then each of you will have to take the oath to make it official,” Rolf said from his position at the front of the stage.
The three men all hurried down to the stage. As they walked across, they bowed and presented themselves to Nessa. It was like watching a peacock display their feathers, enough to make Devin’s blood almost boil. Rolf stood and walked over to Liam first. Devin couldn’t watch. Three men were pledging themselves to court his girl.
Nessa quickly stood and positioned herself between Devin and the three men. There was nothing she could do at that point but accept the proposals, but he wasn’t close to being able to deal with it. It was taking every ounce of self-control to not just freeze the whole audience and take Nessa away from it all.
‘If you think that will solve our problems, I’d be up for it,’ Nessa said silently in Devin’s mind.
He hadn’t realized he was projecting his thoughts to her. Fantasizing ideas to kill off all three of the men would have to wait; he was certain there was no way in his current state that she wouldn’t see that. Devin was unsure why he was having trouble keeping his emotional walls up. He had spent years of intensive training to do just that, as the night human enemies he’d fought on a daily basis for years could feed on and feel emotions better than anyone. She pushed her love through the bond, and it calmed him a bit. She didn’t feel that for any of the men standing, but it was still hard. She was his, and he didn’t want to share her with anyone.
Nessa turned back to Devin, and her forced fake smile changed to a real one. The love she felt was the same as his at that moment. Devin, with crossed arms, tightened the grip he had on his biceps to keep from reaching out to her. The waiting game for her to choose him was going to be impossibly long.
‘To officially court them I have to go on one chaperoned date with each man. After that I can decide that they aren’t for me,’ Nessa explained. She had to be reading Devin’s thoughts, and while most of the time it bothered him, he kind of really didn’t care too much that she did. He could already tell that it was going to be impossible to keep anything from her.
‘And I can be the chaperone?’ Devin asked in reply. Images of killing all three men kind of sprung to mind.
Nessa covered up her laugh with a cough. ‘Sure, if you can promise not to kill them.’
Devin paused and thought about it. Nessa on a date with someone else might just bring out his protective side a little. He doubted he would kill them unless they tried to put a move on her. Yes, there was a probability that he would kill them. He wanted to do bad things to each of them right at the moment for just suggesting that they date Nessa. He wasn’t the best choice for a chaperone if they wanted to keep a sidhe war out of the picture.
‘Then you’ll take Ronan with you,’ Devin amended. Nessa was more correct than he wanted to admit.
‘Is there anyone else you would let protect me?’ Nessa probably had already guessed that much.
Devin thought for a bit. ‘For the moment it would have to be Ronan or Turner, if he sticks around after the coronation.’ They really were the only two people Devin trusted to keep her safe.
‘So you’re good with this?’ Nessa questioned cautiously.
‘Good with men trying to win you over, three men at that?’ Devin asked sourly in reply. There was no way he was ever going to be “good” with that idea.
‘Can you handle it?’ Nessa rephrased her question.
‘Oh, I could handle them if you left me alone in a room with them for five minutes,’ Devin answered. He was back to playing scenarios over in his mind where he could cause each of the men the same pain he was feeling at the moment.
Devin could sense her eye roll even with her back to him.
‘One date with each, and I can tell everyone that they are not what I am looking for,’ Nessa answered.
‘Fine,’ Devin agreed. It was probably the best he was going to get. He was trying to be all valiant by letting her date and find out if she really wanted to be with him, but as he stood in front of the men eyeing over his Nessa, he knew it wasn’t going to happen like that. He couldn’t just sit back and watch her go away. And he couldn’t hide those feelings from her and the bond, either.
Rolf was returning to their side of the stage with each of the three men behind him. He had stopped before each man, and they spoke, but Devin hadn’t been listening. He’d been too focused on Nessa. Now he had no clue what was going on, but he kept his place and straight-faced composure as they each passed Nessa and bowed to her again.
The three men lined up beside Rolf and next to Devin. Rolf addressed the crowd.
“These three men standing before you now are publicly acknowledging for you that they intend to honorably court Princess Vanessa. Each has pledged to apply all courtly customs and to abide by her final choice. In accordance to custom, they will be given a chance to tell everyone why they are the best choice,” Rolf explained before nodding to the first man.
The tall, skinny man with fair hair glanced at Nessa and then the crowd.
“I stand before everyone now pledging my desire to date our future queen. Princess Vanessa has known my family since we were both kids, and I have grown up hoping to get the chance to court her. I come from a strong family and know that we will be the perfect match. She can provide the beauty, and I can provide the brains to make us the strongest royal family the sidhe have had in centuries.” The man walked over and knelt at Nessa’s feet. “Please accept my pledge to honor you and my desire to court you.”
“I do,” Nessa replied. The man reached forward and kissed Nessa’s hand.
Devin gritted his teeth as the man stood and returned to his spot.
‘It means nothing,’ Nessa told Devin, trying to calm him. It wasn’t working. ‘Besides, why would I want a man who thinks I’m only good for my beauty?’
This time Devin had to stop from laughing. He was too focused on his anger to have registered what the man had said. While the other sidhe women in the crowd were fainting at the man’s speech, Nessa wasn’t a normal sid
he woman. There was no way she would be even remotely interested in a man that thought she was only good for her beauty and nothing else.
The second man stepped forward. He walked over to Nessa and instead of making his plea to the crowd, he was completely watching Nessa. His dark eyes matched his dark hair and tanned skin.
“While we have never met, Princess, I’m sure that won’t hinder our relationship. I am Henry from the southern village. I have traveled through the villages for most of my life, yet have never seen a sidhe quite as graceful and beautiful as you. I couldn’t help myself but to ask to court you, for I’ll never get another chance quite as great as this one. I know you know nothing about me or my family, but I promise to tell you all you want to know. I come from a strong line and would be able to protect you with more than just knowledge. I pledge to honor you and hope you will accept my pledge to court you.”
This time Devin listened closer and couldn’t get mad at this man. He was as delusional as the first one. They might have thought that was what women wanted to hear, but Nessa didn’t need a man to think for her, or to protect her. She was quite capable of both on her own. Devin wanted to make a smart-aleck remark, but he could already feel how much that man rubbed Nessa the wrong way. She was gritting her teeth as she forced herself to reply.
“I do,” she barely got the words out.
Devin held back the chuckle that wanted to escape. That man stood no chance with his Nessa. He was beginning to think maybe he would need to chaperone that date to keep her from killing the willow of a sidhe that planned to protect her.
Liam Kay was the last one, and he was just as amused by the man before him as Devin was. Devin tried to keep his anger in check at seeing that. He hated that the sidhe could possibly know Nessa that well.
“I’d make some great elegant speech like the first two idiots,” Liam began, to the shock of the men next to him and the audience watching, “but that’s not what Nessa needs. Trust me. I know her. If you think she’d make a pretty object to sit next to, or that she needs protecting …” Liam jabbed at each man. He turned back to Nessa and knelt at her feet. Taking her hands in his, he continued. “Then you’ve got another thing coming. Nessie, I pledge to honor you and hope you accept my proposal to court you. Well, actually that last part is unnecessary since your father already accepted my offer ten years ago.”