Siren's Song: The Gray Court, Book 5 (15 page)

Oh. The fabled Sidhe gift, the one that allowed them to weave a fantasy in the minds of others. She’d heard that the fantasies were so realistic you’d swear you were actually there. It was said you could live a hundred years in a moment, or a moment in a hundred years, depending on how powerful the Sidhe was.

And apparently Duncan Malmayne-Blackthorn used it to tease his bondmates unmercifully.

“Sire, I’ve just gotten word from Harold.” Lucy was staring at them with concern. “Both Pacifica and Atlantis have arrived, and both monarchs wish to speak with you when you have the chance.”

Cassie began to shake as Oberon took hold of her hand. “Have Harold show them to their rooms, then express our desire to meet with them in my study in one hour.”

An hour?

That might just give Cassie enough time to run away.

Oberon began to drag her from the library. “Don’t even think about it.”

Damn. There went her plan to run for Morocco. “About what?”

“Heading for Tahiti.”

“Would I do that?” She winced at the sound of her mother’s voice in the main hall of the palace.

“In a heartbeat.” Oberon led her the other way, to a little used staircase that led directly to his private quarters. Only Oberon, Lucy, Harold and Oberon’s valet, Javier, used this staircase. “I won’t let them hurt you in any way.”

“You won’t be able to stop it.” Her parents were either going to ignore her, or berate her, and they wouldn’t care who was in the room with them. They’d insult her in front of the High King, claiming that they had the right to discipline their daughter as they saw fit.

Of course Oberon probably wouldn’t see it that way. She was dreading this meeting for more than one reason.

The tension in his arm had her leaning into him. “You could run to Tahiti with me.”

“Tempting.” He shot her a rueful half-smile. “But they’d still be here when we got back.” He sighed. “Besides, I think Lucy and Harold would kill us if we took off for the tropics. They finally got the florist they wanted for the bonding ceremony to agree to work for us on short notice.”

She shuddered. “Harold cooks our food.”

“Lucy runs my businesses.”

“And Javier runs our life.”

They exchanged a look. “Damn it,” Cassie groaned.

Oberon nodded glumly. “It amuses me how people think I actually have any say in anything around here.”

They headed up the stairs in perfect accord.

Chapter Fourteen

His bondmate was shaking so hard she couldn’t button the slacks she’d decided to change into. “Calm down, Cassie. You look fine.”

She shot him a look that should have had her up on attempted murder charges. “Tell that to my parents.”

He scowled, well aware her parents thought little of their daughter. Her song had shown him that when they bonded, the low hum of their disapproval adding a sour note to an otherwise soaring, powerful melody. “If they say anything that upsets you—”

He didn’t get a chance to finish that threat. His valet entered the room, bowing and murmuring a quick greeting in lilting Spanish. Javier Torres Romero had been with him almost as long as Harold had. Oberon was having a hard time picturing the Spaniard turning on him, but all were under suspicion until Robin’s investigation was complete.

“Your majesties.”

Cassie smiled warmly at Javier. “How are you today, Javi?”

Javier shot Oberon a guilty look before bowing once more to Cassie. “I am well, your majesty. Thank you for asking.”

Interesting. Cassie was making friends with the staff much more quickly than he’d thought she would. Lucy already adored her. Harold had been willing to hide her even from Oberon when Cassie had been on the run. His staff was showing a loyalty toward his bondmate he could hardly fault. “It’s all right, Javier. You may speak freely in front of my lady.”

Javier relaxed, but only slightly. “Thank you, sire.”

“You’re welcome. What is it?” Oberon grabbed a sweater for Cassie, a thin, long-sleeved one with pockets. She was still shivering from nerves.

“Harold is waiting, sire.”

Oberon turned toward his bondmate and held out his arm. “Time to meet the relatives, my dear.”

She groaned, but threaded her arm through his. “This is not going to end well.”

He shrugged. “For them, perhaps.”

Javier coughed, obviously hiding a smile.

Oberon paused at the door to the hall that led away from his, and now Cassie’s, private quarters. “Oh, Javi?”

“Sire?”

“Tell your mother I said hello.”

Javier relaxed even further, his smile big and bright. “She enjoyed the sponge cake Harold sent very much.”

“She’s feeling better, then?” It didn’t surprise him that Cassie knew Javier’s mother had been unwell.

“
Si
, your majesty.
Gracias
.”

“
De nada
.” Cassie winked and opened the door.

They ambled down the hall, neither of them eager to get to this meeting. “You seem to have made friends rather quickly with the staff.”

Cassie blinked. “Their songs are pure.”

“Hmm?” Her hand was stroking his arm, distracting him. He wanted to feel those long fingers stroking other parts of him, but they hardly had the time right now.

“Their songs. I’ve listened as well as I can without singing them, but I can tell you that Harold, Lucy and Javi all have pure songs. If I
do
sing them, then they’ll know I’m checking them out. I’d get more information, but I’m not certain it’s worth it.”

“Interesting.” Very interesting. “We’ll inform Robin when we meet with him tomorrow.” That left only the kitchen staff to look into, specifically the cook. If she, too, had a pure song, then the only ones left on their suspect list would be the Blades.

She nodded. “He should still investigate, but…” She sighed. “If I were to tell him anything, it would be that the three of them are innocent, at least as far as their surface song goes.”

“We can ask them to allow you to sing for them. That might give you greater insight into whether or not they’ve been tainted.”

“If they are it would arouse their suspicions. If they’re innocent, it might insult them.”

“I won’t give them a choice in the matter.” Cassie’s safety came first, always.

They arrived at Oberon’s study without another word. Cassie took a deep breath, blowing it out slowly.

“Easy, your majesty.” Harold patted Cassie on the shoulder. “I’ve got some nice lobster ravioli for dinner tonight.”

“I love you.” Cassie batted her lashes at Harold.

“Ma’am, if you truly love me, you’ll never say that again—”

“Good man.” A man who might actually see the dawn.

“—in front of the High King.”

Cassie snorted out a laugh as Oberon growled. “Harold.”

The unrepentant majordomo opened the door to the study, tapping his staff on the floor twice. “Their majesties, the Gray Lord, High King Oberon, King of the Gray Court, Lord over the Fae, and the Gray Lady, High Queen Cassandra, Queen of the Gray Court, Lady over the Fae.”

Oberon escorted Cassie into the room, tilting his head as the men and women in the room bowed or curtsied to them.

It was easy to see who was Pacifican and who Atlantean. Both sides had dropped parts of their Seeming, retaining their legs instead of tails. The Atlanteans shared Cassie’s aqua and turquoise coloring to one degree or another, some lighter, some darker, but none as bright as his bondmate. Their skin tones were the same pearlescent shade.

The Pacifica faction, on the other hand, had more brilliant hues of blue in their skin tones, with some stormy gray and hints of pure, sea foam white in their hair.

Oberon led his bondmate around his desk, seating her in the only chair with casual courtesy before turning his attention to the royals who now stood waiting patiently for him. “The Gray Palace welcomes you, Atlantis and Pacifica.”

“Thank you, High King.” The male who spoke, an Atlantean, refused to even look at Cassie. They shared the same aqua hair and strong jaw, but the similarity ended there. This man’s cold, blue gaze would have frozen a lesser man than Oberon.

“You are welcome, King Alrik.” Oberon deliberately ignored Cassie’s mother, Queen Andromeda. Two could play at this game.

“Thank you for receiving us, your majesties.” The Pacifica king bowed to them both once more, his queen mimicking him.

“Thank you, King Osric, Queen Jetta.” Cassie’s tone was warmer than Oberon had expected it would be. Her memories of her time spent with Pacifica were pleasant, but there had been an uneasy tone to the memories that had both intrigued and baffled him. “It’s a pleasure to see you once more.”

“And you, Cassandra.” Queen Jetta glanced over at the Atlantean contingent. “I understand congratulations are in order.”

Cassie reached for him, and he responded, taking her hand in his and giving the back of it a soft kiss. “The High King and I have truebonded.”

The Atlanteans looked like they had sucked an entire vat of lemons. Rotten ones. All, that was, except for the youngest. That must be Prince Dayton Nerice, Cassie’s younger brother.

“Your truebond was…unexpected news.” King Alrik finally looked at his daughter, his disappointment clear before it faded into a far more neutral expression. “We had planned on joining the houses of Pacifica and Atlantis through marriage.”

“And you may still.” Oberon gestured toward the three Atlantean princesses, each one more conventionally beautiful than his sweet, arresting bondmate, and a great deal sourer. “I believe you have three other daughters who may fulfill the terms of the contract.”

The king and queen exchanged a glance as the Pacifica contingent looked on with…

Why did they look alarmed?

“Unless you wish to declare the contract null and void, King Osric.” Oberon could grant that, if they wished.

“We do.” Oddly, it was Queen Jetta who spoke, but her husband nodded with almost insulting enthusiasm.

“So be it.” Oberon tightened his fingers around Cassie’s hand, ignoring the immediate protests of King Alrik and Queen Andromeda. “By order of the High King, the contract marriage between Atlantis and Pacifica is hereby null and void, the parties free to enter into other contracts, or find their truebonds, as the fates will.”

Immediately the Pacifica contingent relaxed, the young prince with them grinning so widely Oberon was surprised his head didn’t split like it was on hinges. King Osric bowed deeply. “Thank you, your majesty.”

“May I?” The young prince of Pacifica gestured toward Cassie. “It’s good to see you again, Cassandra. Nice to see you landed on your feet.”

Cassie grimaced. “Sorry you got dragged into all of this, Ozzie.”

Oberon held his composure with difficulty. This did not sound at all like he’d expected. He’d thought Cassie was running because she disliked the Pacifica prince. But this?

This sounded like they were
friends
. So why had his bondmate run? He searched her memories, but was interrupted before he could get too far. All he knew for certain was they
were
friends.

Interesting.

“It’s okay, Cass.” He glanced toward the Atlantean royals, who were bristling with silent, barely hidden rage. “I knew why you did it.” The prince seemed to catch something of what Oberon was thinking. “I’m sorry, sire. Cassie and I met when our parents first proposed the alliance marriage.”

“We hit it off, but neither of us wanted to get married. At least, not to each other.” Cassie smiled up at him.

“And so you chose to run?” Most royals would have sucked it up and done what their parents ordered.

Prince Osmond winced. “That was…” He grimaced. “Cassie knew something about me no one else did, and decided to run rather than force us both into something that would have been sheer torture.”

“I wouldn’t go
that
far.” Cassie glared at the prince, but Oberon had learned his bondmate’s expressions by now. She was far from angry with the young man.

He shuddered. “I would. No offense, but you’re not my type.”

She laughed. “At least you told your parents finally.” She tilted her head. “You did, right?”

Prince Osmond nodded happily, and Oberon finally got it as the young man discreetly checked out the Atlantean prince, who was so busy looking at the floor he didn’t even seem to notice.

“I see.” And Cassie’s memories finally surfaced, giving him a glimpse of the conversation they’d had before Cassie ran. Osmond was gay, so gay he could not function with a female at all. Cassie, fond as she was of him, wanted more than a marriage in name only. But the prince’s fear of his parents’ disapproval had forced him to accept the marriage contract without thinking it through.

Cassie had spared them a lifetime of misery by gathering her courage and running for land.

“We had no idea, or we never would have signed the contract.” Queen Jetta petted her son, ignoring his pained, affectionate grimace. “We plan on making sure that, this time, our son has a mate of his choosing.”

The Pacifica royals were turning out to be nothing like he’d expected. “That is good. If you need any help…”

King Osric gave him a solemn look. “We do, but we wish to discuss that in private.”

“As you wish.” Just as long as they realized that private included Cassie.

“Will that be all, sire?” King Alrik spoke through gritted teeth, his queen still pointedly ignoring Cassie.

Oberon had had enough. Their blatant disrespect of his bondmate would not be tolerated any further. “Yes. You are dismissed.”

Queen Andromeda gasped at his rudeness and turned toward her daughters. “Come, girls.”

Oberon had no trouble turning his back on the Atlanteans as, one by one, they filed out of the study.

All except one, that was. The youngest Atlantean, and only male child, gazed longingly at Prince Osmond, sighing when the Pacifican seemed to ignore him.

“Oh.” Cassie stood, gliding over to her brother and hugging him fiercely. “Dayton?”

The prince shook his head, looking down at his feet. Like his sister, the young prince was not a handsome man. Instead, he had a face full of character, with wide blue-gray eyes and brilliant sapphire hair tipped in white. His build was slender, but strong, and his hands were like his sister’s, with long, elegant fingers. He was also the only one who seemed truly happy to see his sister, hugging her once the rest of the family was out of the room. He was shorter than his sister by a good couple of inches, something that surely galled his parents. From the way his parents had left him out of the order to leave the room it was obvious he’d been ignored much in the same way Cassie had been all her life. “It’s good to see you, sis. I missed you.”

Oberon smiled as Cassie mothered the young prince, guiding him back into the study and toward a chair. “You all right, Dayton?”

Dayton nodded shyly, peeking at Prince Osmond once more from under the fall of his hair.

“I’m sorry I left you with them.”

“It’s okay. It’s not like they ever notice I’m there anyway.” The young man bit his lip and stared at Oberon. “I would like to ask for sanctuary from my family, High King.”

King Osric gasped, and Queen Jetta reached out toward the prince before stopping herself. “Should we leave, your majesty?”

Prince Osmond made a sound, but looked away when Oberon glanced at him questioningly. “Prince?”

The prince shrugged, but his cheeks darkened. “It’s Dayton’s choice.”

Prince Dayton’s eyes went wide. “Please stay.” He blushed fiercely. “If you want to, I mean.”

This young man, barely out of boyhood, obviously needed a hero, and Prince Osmond looked like he desperately wanted to be that hero.

Queen Jetta put her hand on Osmond’s shoulder. “We approve.”

King Osric nodded. “If he’s all right with giving his oath to the Gray when we do, rather than just taking sanctuary here, he’s welcome among us.”

Oberon stared at King Osric with something akin to shock. “You wish to foreswear the Black?”

“Yes.” King Osric drew himself up regally. “When we realized that the reason you were missing was most likely because of…
her
…we decided to swear our oaths to you. If not, if you were lost to us, we would have sworn to Robin Goodfellow, as he is your heir.”

Well. That was unexpected. “I will hear your oaths and accept them in court tomorrow.”

King Osric bowed. “Thank you, sire.”

“You mean it?” Prince Osmond gazed longingly at Prince Dayton. “I can have him?”

Dayton gasped softly. “You want me?”

“Always.” Osmond moved, pulling the young Atlantean out of the chair and into his arms.