To Wed The Goblin King (The Realm Trilogy Book 2) Read online

  “Which was?” Drake stepped closer, arms crossed.

  “That if everyone was unsure of what happened, that we put out that Cian was ill, and we were removing him from the castle to heal him—and that is what we told everyone, Brennan, in spite of what you thought or heard at the time from others—we might have a chance to bring him back to life. The mage at the time had hope. A slim hope, yes. But he did have hope. . When the fire broke out, we told the kingdom that he had died quietly and at peace, and we wanted no mourning or outcry. That was for your benefit, Brennan. We wanted to allow you to move on. But you didn’t,” Jharak said quietly. “When Drake came to us, we were overjoyed at how the two of you got along. Even in mourning, we were delighted with you as an addition to our family, Jharak nodded to Drake. “We only wanted you to be happy.”

  “How could I be happy thinking I had killed my brother? All your justifications aside, I cannot move beyond the idea that you sacrificed me for Cian. Cian, who even then, showed himself arrogant, selfish and uncaring towards those he hurt. And I bore then, as I do now, the burden of your poor choices, and the fact that you didn’t handle Cian correctly at all! Not at any time!” Brennan was having a hard time controlling his anger. Everything he’d been told was a lie. In spite of Jharak attempting to reasonably present an argument, he couldn’t understand their decisions. It felt like hearing excuses from those who know they’ve done wrong, and now wanted forgiveness.

  Jharak didn’t protest, or disagree. He only sighed. “We were wrong. You have my apologies. I know part of it was…” he hesitated, then took a breath and continued, “we didn’t want to give up hope that our child might come back, but we knew he was gone. Your mother held out hope far longer than I did. When I began to see signs of how troubled you continued to be, I told her that we needed to tell you the truth. She said no, if he knows the truth and then Cian dies anyway, we will have killed his hope. And that is worse than anything.” He gave Brennan a bleak look.

  “In our own manner, we were trying to do what was best for you. We just—”

  “Failed spectacularly,” Drake said.

  Brennan glanced at his brother. There was not an ounce of softness or compassion in Drake.

  Brennan braced himself for the explosion. To his surprise, there was none. Jharak only looked more rueful, which he hadn’t thought possible.

  “You’re right. We did. And we bear the brunt of responsibility for this. I am unsure how we will settle this to your satisfaction—to the satisfaction of both of you when this is over. I also am aware that your mother will not come around easily. Admitting she has done wrong, grave wrong, will be as ashes in her mouth, and she doesn’t eat ashes willingly.”

  For a moment, only a moment, Brennan felt sorry for his father. He knew his mother. She’d stand her ground, and refuse to hear any discussion that went against her thoughts on the matter. If she was really passionate about her position, which she obviously was about Cian, she’d make his father’s life a misery.

  The fact that his mother wouldn’t stand up for him angered him in a way he couldn’t even put into words. That wasn’t something he could consider at the moment. He cleared his thoughts, and tried to focus on the matter at hand.

  “That is a discussion for later,” he said. “I cannot give you what you ask for at this time. What I need to know, Father, is whether or not I can trust Mother.”

  Chapter Ten

  Iris

  The sail home after our explosive afternoon had been mild; well, compared to earlier. Since then, the days took on a routine. It had been nearly two weeks. Mara called me and Mom each day. She came over nearly every other day to have dinner. She and my dad seemed as though they’d made some sort of peace. I talked to Brennan every night, although he was distracted a great deal. I wished he wasn’t so distracted. I know it was petty of me, but I couldn’t help how I felt.

  Brennan also told me that he and his parents—well, his father—had reconciled. Nerida, apparently, was holding out for some unknown reason. She and Mara were two of a kind. They couldn’t admit they were wrong if a gun were held to their heads. Well, Mara finally had—I hoped Nerida wouldn’t hold out for as long as Mara. Even by fae standards, twenty plus years of not talking to your kid was a long time.

  At least some things were going positively for Brennan. He’d mentioned more about the spy in the Dragon Court—Drake was working on getting her away safely to the Fae Court. He’d told me how the spy feared Ailla. Which made me feel creepy. Like someone was watching me, or plotting something. I had no basis in reality for this, but it was since it was Ailla we talked about—that woman was awful. Personally, I thought she should be on the list of people to be taken out.

  Brennan told me that he and Drake had vowed to kill Cian.

  I should feel bad about it. This was the premeditated murder of another being, but the guy had tried to take me and Brennan and Drake out, so I didn’t feel all that bad. At least not from a distance. The thought of killing his brother all over again bugged Brennan. I could tell. Not that he’d admit it.

  The door opened, interrupting my thoughts.

  “Hey,” Dad poked his head into my room where I sat reading.

  “Yes?”

  “You want to have lunch? Kabobs, fresh from the grill.”

  “Sounds great.” I tossed the book aside. I needed a break from my own thoughts, which did nothing but swirl into a tangled mess.

  I followed him out to the kitchen.

  “Iris, grab the plates,” Mom said, brushing by me with the kabobs.

  Dad took a plate of rice and veggies, and I picked up the stack of plates and silverware, and we all trooped out onto the patio.

  No one spoke as we set the table and sat down. The air felt heavy with expectation.

  I couldn’t take it anymore. “What?” I asked.

  Dad and Mom exchanged a glance, and I knew I’d read things correctly. Something was up.

  “I called Heath,” Dad started.

  “And?”

  “I told him that I might have been mistaken, and I didn’t think it fair to hint at something that I got wrong.”

  I could see how much it cost him to say this. It wasn’t just admitting he was wrong. It was acknowledgement that my life was headed in a direction where there would never be a Heath or anyone like him.

  “And?” I didn’t feel like letting him off the hook easily.

  “He wasn’t happy. Can’t say that I blame him. I think he wanted to yell at me, but his manners are too good,” Dad said, not looking up from where he was dealing with the kabob.

  “I like men with manners. It’s one of the things I love about Brennan.”

  Dad winced. “Okay, okay. I give,” he looked up. “I give. Uncle. I know I can’t order you around. I’m not happy about this, but I did the right thing.”

  I glared. I couldn’t keep it up long, though. “You’re right. You did do the right thing, after doing the oh-so-way-wrong thing. So you promise not to meddle in my love life anymore?”

  Dad didn’t care for ultimatums, and his brows furrowed. This was a sure sign of him being about to blow. Then he smiled at me, and leaned back in his chair. “I promise. I’ve got to live with your mother, and she’s not happy with me either. I can’t have both my best girls pissed at me.”

  I shot Mom a grateful glance. “You’ve really been making his life hell?”

  “And how!” Dad said.

  We all burst into laughter. The simmering anger that had defined our family for nearly two weeks dissolved. At least for now.

  I chatted with my parents, wondering what Brennan was doing now. He’d been so distant, and he hurried away from our mirror chats in a way that really bothered me. I’d been stewing over his emotional distance for nearly two weeks and kept telling myself it was all right, that he loved me, that everything would be okay.

  With the new, ugly side of me that kept rearing its ugly head, I had to admit I didn’t feel okay. Even with this tension between my
parents and I resolved. I kept going back to all the things that were making me feel wrong with Brennan. I was almost tired of myself.

  I was also very tired of something always being wrong. I made a promise to myself that I would confront him tonight. I couldn’t go on like this. The problem was, even if Dad made things right between us, I wasn’t sure I would be all right. Nothing felt right. When I looked at the things I wanted to complain about, I felt like slapping myself out of it. I mean, what did I really have to bitch about?

  But I didn’t feel better. And I didn’t know what else to do.

  “Honey?” Mom leaned in. “You okay?”

  I smiled. “I am. I’m actually relieved for the first time in two weeks. It’s been like a funeral around here.”

  Mom laughed. I would never get tired of hearing it. “Not this week, anyway. Listen, we need to talk about something else.”

  “What?”

  “We’ve been talking. We want to fix things. For all of us.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “We are going to let you go with our blessing. All we ask is that you come back sometimes, and if there are grandkids, you darn well better come back,” Mom shook her finger at me.

  “You okay with this?” I looked right at Dad.

  He heaved a big, put-upon sigh. “No. But I love you, and I can see you moping around here, missing your guy. I remember the days when I thought we wouldn’t be able to pull this off…when we worried one or both of our parents were going to bust things up. I don’t wish that on you, and I hope I can say I’m a little smarter than Mara,” he scooted away as Mom swiped at him.

  “Kids, kids! Don’t make me turn this boat around,” I teased. It had been one of our favorite lines for years. That made both of them laugh.

  “Listen, it’s so obvious how Brennan feels about you,” Mom said. She smiled, and I loved seeing the glow in her cheeks. “I am thrilled that I see someone love you the way you deserve to be loved. And he does love you that way. It’s one of the great things about life,” she said, patting Dad’s hand. “I’m just happy my daughter has found a love as I have.

  The tears shot into my eyes so quickly I nearly gasped. I could tell Dad felt the same because he took her hand and kissed it gently. Mom looked like she might cry, too.

  “So tell your boyfriend that if he’s managed to put out the fires, you can go back. But we want to talk about the wedding,” Dad said.

  I frowned. “I don’t know if you could be there long.”

  “Well, Mara says we might be able to handle an afternoon.” He didn’t seem bothered.

  “You’ve been talking to Mara?”

  Mom nodded. “We knew there was really no other way, Iris. Neither of us wants to repeat our parents’ mistakes, so we’ve been looking into how to make this okay for us, too.”

  I should be excited. But I wasn’t. I couldn’t tell them that I was having massive doubts about Brennan. What the hell? I had to get this shit sorted tonight.

  “I love you guys,” I said. I set down my fork and reached over to both of them to squeeze each of their hands. “I have the best parents ever.”

  “Damn straight. Make sure you say that in front of Mara. Really loud.” Dad pointed at me with his fork.

  That made us laugh again, and by unspoken agreement we talked about other things, things less life-and-death.

  I felt a hope that since my parents and I had come to a good place, Brennan and I would as well. But what if we didn’t? I couldn’t stop my worry and my what if questions. I did my best to shove them away so I could enjoy finally being on happy terms with my parents.

  ***

  I sent my parents out for a walk together telling them I’d clean up. I raced through kitchen detail, anxious to put myself out of my misery. Once finished, I dried my hands, poured a glass of tea, and headed to my room.

  Why was I so nervous? Was this the fae thingy, where I noticed and saw more? What was I seeing with Brennan? His emotional retreat from me recently had been obvious. I knew he had other concerns than our relationship but that didn’t make me feel better. The thing was, if I asked about it, would he admit it, or just dismiss my concerns and run away from them? And me? “Only one way to find out,” I muttered. I pulled the mirror from where it always lived in my pocket and said, “Brennan.”

  He appeared instantly. “Iris! I’m glad to hear from you. You caught me at an opportune moment.”

  “Really? Why?”

  He grinned, and it was the most real grin I’d seen from him in ages. It had a touch of the warrior I’d first seen him as—he was really pleased. “Drake has managed to get his spy out of the Dragon Realm. Her name is Carlianah, and she’s come to my father’s court. She was—well, let’s just say she was on the point of being engaged to someone in the Fae Court when Ailla and Eilor made their move. Father has used that as an excuse to ask for her to be sent here, and amazingly Eilor allowed her to come!”

  Okay…I was glad to know that someone got away from bitch Ailla, but…not sure why this would make him so happy. We still weren’t together.

  All I could think about anymore was the two of us; why did it seem I was the only one?

  “Why is this a good thing? How can she spy if she’s not in the Dragon Court?”

  “Iris,” he said gently, “The girl was being used by our enemies. She had to be removed, even if it inconveniences us. She claims that she can continue to get information that will help our cause, but I have insisted that she put her own safety first. She is grateful for our efforts, so I feel certain that she will still be able to help, but I couldn’t allow her to risk herself any longer.” I could hear the admiration in his voice, and felt dismay at how envious I was of his praise. I should be happy that someone was getting one over on Ailla and her father and the whole awful lot of them.

  “If there is still a way to gather information from the Dragon Realm, it will be because of her bravery.”

  “Oh? How’s she going to manage keeping up with her spying?” I tried to keep all the nasty I was feeling out of my voice. He was too elated to notice. What was wrong with me?

  “I haven’t told you this, because I’ve been waiting to see how it turned out, but apparently, Eilor has been continuing the breeding of dragons.”

  I must not have shown the appropriate reaction. He rushed to explain.

  “The dragons—real, fire-breathing, gold-stealing dragons—were responsible for a great deal of chaos long ago. The rest of the realms defeated them, but barely. They were very strong. When the dragons were finally beaten, they were hobbled magically, and the Dragon King was in charge of keeping their magic contained. Somewhere along the line, one of the kings decided that he no longer wished to contain their magic, but rather to use it, and began to secretly breed them. There are a lot more than we thought. Now, Eilor has succeeded in breeding dragon shifters—” He shuddered. “I don’t even want to imagine how. They can shift from fae to dragon. Somewhere, somehow, one of them mated with a human, and there is a human-fae-dragon girl in the Dragon Realm. She’s hidden from the court itself, but Carlianah has seen her with Ailla and Eilor and even with Cian.” His voice deepened at the mention of his asshat brother.

  I wondered if he noticed that it did that. He was looking at me expectantly. “Well, of course Cian is in on whatever shit they are planning,” I said. That seemed to satisfy him, as he continued.

  “Somehow, and Drake tells me Carlianah wouldn’t tell him, she was able to talk to the girl. Her name is Aine.”

  “What?” I couldn’t understand the word. “Say it again, and slowly for the human, please.” I tried to keep the annoyance out of my voice.

  “An-ya,” he said slowly.

  “Ah, okay. Got it. Go on,” I said. Something about the way he said her name made a cold shiver run across my neck. I could almost hear a little voice in my head saying He doesn’t say your name that way. I did my best to ignore it.

  He waved his hand. “It’s long and convoluted. Thank
the gods that Drake deals with the spies. I have no patience for all the hand-holding and cajoling that is required.”

  “And Drake does?” I couldn’t help laughing because I couldn’t see it. At all.

  “He’s excellent,” Brennan nodded. “Anyway, the short of it is that Carlianah has a method—she won’t tell Drake, which bothers me—of speaking with this Aine. And Aine, it seems, hates Ailla and Eilor. And her father. And the whole Dragon Realm, to hear Drake tell it. So she’s happy to report on what is going on.”

  “What is going on?”

  “The Dragon Realm is using an old magic, magic stolen from the dragons of long ago, and plans to conquer all the realms, kill my father and I, and rule in our place.”

  How could he say it so calmly? “What?” I yelped.

  “Yes, well, it’s not going to happen. We have the mages seeking out all known dragon magic. According to—” he waved a hand, “the various spies, we have about a week or so before they attack. They plan to attack my castle as well as my father’s. Kill us, Mother, and Drake. And then their plan goes on.”

  “And you’re okay with that?” I couldn’t believe how low key he was.

  He smiled, and it was the feral smile again. “Knowledge is power, my love. We shall be ready for them, and be waiting. It will not be an ambush, as they plan, but an attack from us the moment they step foot within our castles.”

  “Well, you’re going to have to show me how to help you,” I said.

  He jerked upright. “What do you mean?”

  “I had a talk with my parents tonight. They’ve given us their blessing, and I’m free to come back. No guilt, no crazy stuff from them,” I smiled, wanting to see the same joy I felt at being free on his face.

  It didn’t come. What in the hell?

  “No, Iris, you must remain there. I cannot have you here. You’re still a weakness for me. If they took you,” a look I couldn’t decipher flashed across his face, “I could not bear it. This won’t take much longer. It’s been a month—”