“I do.” And that was the truth. While she didn’t want to be a Court fairy scheming for the next advancement, she knew what she did want and how to go about getting it. If that meant playing by the Court’s rules, then so be it. Then she hugged her father and mother again, grateful that she had been raised in the mortal world and could choose how she wanted to live. Even though they may not agree. It was her choice, her life, and her deal.
“Thank you. I am grateful,” he whispered in her ear. “I don’t think your mother could have handled me being a shadow.”
Her mother’s one weakness was Chalmer. No doubt someone at Court had exploited that knowledge, the same way the Queen had used Verden’s attraction. “I have to go. The King is waiting.”
The King was standing by the gate of the cemetery, ready to cross the veil back to Annwyn. She’d done as asked. Secured the pardon. Her parents could return and they would be safe from the power shift.
As would Verden, but that didn’t stop her heart from aching.
Verden opened his eyes as someone crossed the veil from Annwyn. His heart stopped for a moment, then beat again as disappointment filled him. Felan walked toward him, his expression giving away nothing.
“Is she alive?” Verden got to his feet.
Felan nodded. “And the temporary Hunter. I’ve been given two weeks to get my act together and prevent war.”
Verden let himself breathe easily. She was alive. A smile formed. And she had his old job. No doubt that would upset a few plans.
“How can you smile?”
“Taryn is alive.” Verden shrugged. He couldn’t explain it, but it gave him hope that everything would be okay. He just had to last the next two weeks until Felan became King.
“You are still banished.”
He was, but now that he knew how long he had to wait it was manageable. “In two weeks you can change that.”
“You would swear to me?”
“If Gwyn were no longer King, I would.”
Felan nodded and he knew the Prince was plotting out a deal. “My son, Caspian, is going to need a guardian, someone I can trust to keep the Greys away while I take Annwyn.”
“I am a Grey.”
“Temporary. Keep him safe for the next two weeks and I will lift the banishment.”
Temporary. That hadn’t worked out very well for him last time when he and Taryn had tried a temporary breakup. Still he had no other options. “And after, I can return to Taryn?”
“She will not be remaining at Court. You will remain his guardian for the rest of his natural life.”
“Will he accept me?” The last time he’d seen Felan’s changeling son, he’d been hauling him to Court to face charges of making deals with banished fairies.
“I will ensure he does, but he is used to having a guardian.”
Verden looked at the Prince. “You haven’t offered me a chance to see Taryn.”
“That is not my choice to make. It is hers. You are a Grey and she is the Hunter.”
The two men looked at each other. Verden spoke first. “Are her parents returned to Annwyn?”
“I don’t know. This is about you. Do you accept my offer?”
Verden closed his eyes for a moment. He could be binding himself in ways he couldn’t see. What deals had Taryn made while he wasn’t around? He was blind. And yet, if he made this deal, it would be that last one he made. Mortals didn’t live forever, but being around the changeling would give him a chance to learn the ways of the world. All things Taryn took for granted. Things he’d never bothered with.
He opened his eyes. Felan was watching. “I accept.”
Chapter 23
Two hounds bounded through the gate. They ran toward him and leaped against his chest. Verden grinned and scratched them as they jumped over his legs and licked his hands. Then they began to whine. Their tails slowed as if they were confused. They sniffed him again, unable to work out what was wrong with their old master.
He was going to miss them. He tried to ignore the pain that lodged in his rib cage and made it hard to breathe. A flicker of movement caught his eye and he looked up. Taryn stood, watching him, her face unreadable.
The hounds ran back to her, sniffed around her legs, then sat at her feet. It was all he needed to see to confirm she was the new Hunter of Annwyn.
He stood and bowed, even though he wanted to sweep her into his arms and kiss her. Was she here on official business or had she come to see him? “Congratulations, Lady of the Hunt.”
“It’s temporary.”
“Isn’t everything at the moment?” Nothing was fixed and everyone was on edge.
She took a step toward him. “I thought some things would last longer.”
“So did I.” He looked her in the eye even though a Grey should show more respect to the Hunter. Did she no longer love him? “It wasn’t me who shot you. I want you to know that.”
Taryn nodded. “I know. I need to know why.”
“I couldn’t hurt you. I didn’t want to lose you, but I knew that if I’d won, we’d both end up in trouble. At least this way, only I suffer.” He glanced at the ground. “I’m sorry we’re even having this conversation.”
“I’m glad we are. I nearly died, and you could’ve ended up in the river. But I wouldn’t change a thing.” She smiled and took a step closer. His heart gave an extra beat.
“Neither would I.” He took a couple steps, then gently put his arms around her. She was warm and alive and in his arms again. “I thought I’d lost you. I wanted to die when Felan took you away.” His words were interspersed with kisses that landed on her cheeks and hair and finally her lips.
She tasted sweet and heady, like he was drinking whiskey again. Her tongue traced his lips and darted against his, making his blood heat and his flesh harden. His hand slid beneath his cloak and down her back to cup her butt. She moved against him, tempting him, but broke the kiss.
“We don’t have long. I’m here to collect you and relocate you.” She whispered against his lips.
“Relocate me?” Greys sometimes got rounded up and relocated if they were causing problems. He’d done it a few times; usually they got to live out their days in an isolated part of Greenland or Africa depending on his mood or his orders.
“To Charleston.”
“You know about the deal.” One of the hounds looked at him as if blaming Verden for the current situation. He was to blame. If he’d behaved himself during the dance, he wouldn’t be getting relocated halfway across the globe to serve out his two-week sentence, before working for Felan. He hadn’t expected Felan to act so quickly, or for him to send Taryn to do the job…but then maybe it was Felan’s way of saying that they could be together and he was giving them some time.
“I know you are the changeling’s new guardian. You’ll like him.”
A better question was would the changeling like him after their first inauspicious meeting? Would he rub it in Verden’s face that he was now a Grey? But he kept his doubts to himself. He’d made the deal and now he had to live with it.
“Did you know that’s where my parents used to be Brownies?”
He blinked and looked down at her. Used to be. “You got the pardon? Well done.” He tried not to think about what she’d given up to get them home, even though the question was on the tip of his tongue.
She must have seen something in his eyes because she grinned. “It’s all okay. I won the King’s bet. My father got the pardon, but…Felan asked that I take their place after the power shift.”
Her words settled around him as he worked out what she was saying. They would be in the same house. Taryn was going to be released from Court. He picked her up and swung her around as if they were dancing again at Court. When her toes touched the ground, he kissed her again. “I hope that means what I think it means.”