Cassandra's Dilemma (33 page)

If the Danae accepted that, then the battle over Jacob would be easier.

Score one for Team Cassie.

Tabitha Danae cocked her head, staring at Cassie as though she were a bug who’d just done something completely unexpected. The censure in her eyes gave way to curiosity.

And grudging respect.

Cassie didn’t smile when the corner of the Danae’s mouth turned up. The game wasn’t won that way. The Danae was acquiescing. Cassie would take the good with the bad.

The Danae flicked a glance to the Elf on her right, and he circled the room, taking a position opposite Jacob. He took a stance that mirrored Jacob’s own, feet apart, hands loose at his sides, posture erect, and gaze watchful, cold, and assessing.

The women ignored the men as they arranged themselves. Cassie’s awareness of Jacob and Helcyon intensified as they held themselves ready for potential battle. But Cassie intended no more battles today, not until the three of them were healed. The Danae approached the table, electing to move up to a seat on Cassie’s left.

Helcyon’s side.

Cassie still didn’t smile.

“Your eyes,” the Danae murmured as she perched on the seat’s edge, her gaze locking on Cassie’s.

“Your Majesty?” Cassie didn’t pull away, staring into the ripples of blue, green, and gold that danced in the Danae’s eyes. They were like a living, breathing ocean. Emotions and thoughts collided above the water like storms catching wind.

“I heard a rumor about your eyes this week.” The Danae gestured to the lightly tinted sunglasses.

The Danae chose her words carefully. So Cassie returned the favor.

“I was hit with a blinding spell. I’m afraid my eyes are still a bit sensitive.”

Jacob wanted her golden eyes hidden, and Helcyon concurred. They’d decided to disguise them behind a distraction. The sunglasses were the distraction.

The Danae reached out to take Cassie’s hand. Warmth, sunshine, and happiness flooded through her. She squeezed her hand, gentle strength fisted in gloves of cool silk. “Are they fully healed?”

Her request was implicit, so Cassie obliged. The dance of words was already beginning to wear on her, but she had to be patient. Cassie slipped the sunglasses away with her free hand, squinting into the liquid-gold light of the room.

Cassie held her breath as the Danae looked forward. She could fall into her gaze, drown in those tempestuous waters, but she held still. The green contacts were close enough to Cassie’s own eye color to fool the less discerning. Her thoughts ruffled, as though blown by the lightest of breezes, teasing.

Helcyon and Jacob had taken turns tutoring her over the week to block her thoughts. While neither Fae nor Wizard could truly read her mind, they could slip in if she allowed them. It was Helcyon’s suggestion that she not block the Danae but that she let her find nothing, either.

It was a way of hiding in plain sight.

The ruffling stopped, but a dull ache pulsed behind Cassie’s right eye. She’d focused on her green eyes, her blindness, her disorientation, and her recovery. It must have worked, because the Danae leaned back, satisfaction in her face.

Cassie paused, studying the Danae, truly looking at her. She searched for some glimmer of her great-grandmother, her grandmother, her mother, or herself. Something tangible that would support Helcyon’s contention that the Danae was indeed her ancestor.

“We are very pleased that you survived.”

Truth.

“We are even more pleased that you were not permanently harmed.”

Truth again.

Helcyon had been right. Allowing the Danae to ruffle her thoughts had allowed Cassie to taste the flavor of hers. She would be able to detect the truth from a lie.

Proof that she was indeed blood related to the Fae.

Because that was a gift of the Fae. The telling of lie from truth, the dance of truth, or so they called it.

Her heart sank.

The disappointment weighed her down. But she would have to examine that disappointment later.

“I can’t tell you how sorry I am about Mr. Wentworth’s actions. I assure you, I had no prior knowledge and will work even harder to prevent future misunderstandings.”

Cassie couldn’t think of him as Michael anymore. Michael, her friend and mentor who’d betrayed her, killed her family, tried to kill her, and then demonstrated that his intentions went beyond death now to something more wicked. Lust for whatever she was becoming had kindled in his gaze. Lust that left her ill and heartsick.

No. He wasn’t Michael anymore.

“Unfortunate to be certain. But he will be dealt with.” The Danae looked to Helcyon then. “
Our
Sword will see to it.”

“He’s not yours anymore.”

And Cassie’s second gauntlet hit the table.

The Danae’s gaze scorched a path to Cassie’s face as she frowned. “We sent
our
Sword to protect you. Now we recall our Sword to his duties.”

“Helcyon isn’t yours anymore. He’s not your Sword.”

“Cassandra.” Names were power, and the Danae exerted it as though pulling taut on a leash, but Cassie was braced for it, and behind her, Jacob’s hand had flattened against her right shoulder blade while Helcyon’s rested on her left.

“You gave him to me. You gave him the choice in your order. I don’t want you to send him anywhere. He’s staying with us.”

The Danae frowned, such a human expression out of place on her perfect forehead, wrinkling the shimmering, pearlescent skin. Her scent changed, sharper, more tangerine and grapefruit than soft orchids. Her gaze flickered from Cassie to Helcyon, and it took everything Cassie had to not turn and look up at his expression or to leap up and block the Danae.

The Danae’s frown deepened.

She didn’t like what she saw there.

“He is yours.”

Truth.

The Danae jerked to her feet, the harsh motion in complete opposition to her usual grace. The battle won, Cassie rose with her.

“Be careful the games you play, Cassandra. You are not aware of all the rules yet.”

“True. But there was a lot I wasn’t aware of before this week. A lot that I should have been told. A lot of rules have
already
been broken. So what are a few more?”

That took the Danae aback, understanding blossoming in her gaze. They stared at each other, and the world around them fell away. Cassie watched, waited, and was rewarded by the shadow of sorrow that passed.

The Danae cared. She might have her own agenda and plans, but she wasn’t devoid of feeling. It was something.

Cassie pulled her gaze away, looking to the steel-and-marble metropolis of Chicago spread out past the windows.

The moment broke.

“When will you make the announcement?”

“Tomorrow morning, Your Majesty. The security arrangements have been made, and we will do it in Grant Park. It is important that we not show any weakness and we take back that which was taken from us.”

“We will see you in the morning then.”

And just as abruptly, the Danae stepped sideways and vanished, taking her guards with her. She didn’t even pretend a polite exit.

Cassie leaned forward, hands braced on the table. She took deep breaths as her heart exploded in a frenzy of beats, like a bird trapped too long and suddenly released. She could taste fear and bile in her throat. The game was a dangerous one, but it was one she’d chosen to play.

“Are you okay?” Jacob shifted to lean against the table next to her. Helcyon moved to enter her line of sight, his expression as concerned as Jacob’s.

“I’m not fine. But I’m getting there.”

“You don’t have to make that announcement, Cassie.” It was Jacob’s mantra, but she’d learned it had less to do with his disdain for the Fae and more to do with his concern for her. The men had been furious at her escape and encounter with Michael. Furious with themselves more than anything, but Cassie was fine.

And so, her heart agreed, were they.

“You know that I do, Jacob. Secrecy helps both Wizard and Fae to hide what they are and what they are doing. It’s also hurting both of you. The curtains have to be drawn back. You both need to be free.”

Jacob caught a lock of her hair and wrapped it around his finger, tugging it gently. “You’re extremely optimistic.”

“I’m alive, aren’t I?” Cassie grinned. Helcyon tugged her hand away from the table to thread his fingers with hers.

“Yes, Cassandra, you are alive, and we want you to stay that way.”

“Then don’t leave me.” She looked from one to the other. It was so much to ask, she understood. They had both made it clear they were interested in her, available to her, and wanting of her. They also made it clear they wanted it to be exclusive. They wanted her to choose.

She wasn’t ready to do that yet. She wasn’t ever going to be ready. Her heart wanted both of them.

“You want us both?” Helcyon lifted her hand, brushing his lips across her knuckles.

“Yes.” Cassie’s gaze slid back and forth between them.

“You want us to share you.” Jacob’s stern expression remained unwavering.

“Yes.”

Jacob arched a brow, and Helcyon remained still. They looked from her to each other, a wordless pulse of communication flashing between them. They’d done that a lot this week. It was as though the lakeside battle forged an understanding between them that she wasn’t a part of.

She tried to stamp down the irrational jealousy that produced. If they did manage to overcome their animosity, it would mean they might agree to stay with her.

Both of them.

“We will stay.” Helcyon squeezed her hand lightly. “But we have conditions.”

“You do?”

“Oh. Yes.” Jacob nodded, sliding his hands into his pockets. “We most certainly do.”

“So we’re going to negotiate terms?” The corner of Cassie’s mouth curled upward. She was an expert negotiator.

“Not precisely,” Helcyon answered, tracing a pattern over the back of her knuckles with his thumb. “We’ve already decided on the terms.”

“I see.” They’d decided without her. “So this is what then?”

Helcyon arched a brow at Jacob, who merely shrugged in return. “You have all the pretty words, Elf.”

Cassie’s smile inched wider. It was the first time Jacob said Elf without spitting the word.

“Very well. The terms are as follows. You will have no other lovers. We are the only two. We will share you, but we will not share the same bed. You may take turns, but you cannot spend two nights in a row with either of us unless the other is away. You cannot spend any nights away from both of us. All matters involving your safety will be handled by us and decided by us, no exceptions.”

“So, every night I have to be with at least one of you but not both of you. Is that just for bed, or do we at least get to share meals?” Cassie tried to swallow her smile, but she had a feeling that her eyes were giving her away. Little thrills curled through her belly. They were really going to do this.

“We will be sharing the same home.” Jacob took the answer. “That will include meals, meetings, and whatever else is necessary.”