Castle of Illusions (Wicked Kingdoms Book 4) Read online

  “Puck detain Rhyannon!” I shout first, not liking the fact that my feeling of unease at her presence had proceeded an attack from the Order.

  They should have been unable to breach our walls, let alone our wards, so unless they’ve got an inside man, other than the ones being held in the dungeons, something is seriously not right here.

  “Everyone else, keep as many of them alive as you can!”

  I push forward, throwing a punch straight into the nose of the Order member flying at me, his arm raised with an axe. Big brute didn’t even swing it, just held it above his head like some sort of idiot.

  “Who taught you how to use that thing?” I ask as I kick his knee, hearing the snap of the bone. He falls to the ground and I take the weapon from him, tossing it to the side. “You’re supposed to swing it at your opponent with the sharp end for future reference.” I kick him in the face, knocking him out.

  “Kirin start rounding them up as they fall. Let’s make sure none of them leave here.”

  “On it, Ev!” he shouts, acknowledging my command.

  I look around, determining who to disable next, and see the glint of light off of metal headed straight for Doyle’s back.

  “D! Behind you!” I shout, panic that he’ll be poisoned again stealing the breath from my lungs. I lunge forward, and without thinking, I swing my arm, slicing through the neck of the man that was at his back. I feel the give of the muscle and sinew under my blade, but I don’t let it stop me from continuing to cut through the men attacking my home.

  “Thanks, Ev!” Doyle shouts, and I give him a thumbs up as I hit one of the men in front of me with the handle of my dagger at his temple, knocking him out cold. We go on like this for what seems like hours but is probably only a matter of minutes as we knock them out, kill them if they force us to, and then tie them up in the corner so they can’t escape.

  I wipe the sweat off my brow and turn around in a circle, looking at the blood splattered on the floor, and watch as Axel rears back and slams his elbow into the face of the last Order member standing.

  “Well that was fun.” He chuckles and I curse under my breath.

  “It was. However, it shouldn’t have happened.” I scowl as I look for Rhyannon but can’t see her. “Puck? Where did you go?” There’s no answer and I grit my teeth. “Son of a whore. Tell me that bitch didn’t make off after this shit.”

  “We’re right here.” he ducks through the door leading into the hallway towing Rhyannon behind him.

  I stride forward, getting in Rhyannon’s face. “You’d better explain to me how the fuck the Order got into my home, only after you appeared, wanting to forge an alliance, when they previously were unable to enter.”

  She has the audacity to laugh in my face. Before I can think better of it, I pull back my hand and slap her in the face.

  She sobers quickly, and her guards all step forward, but I could care less about the fact that I just struck the Queen of the Pixies, and more about the fact that because of her, my children were just this shade closer to being in danger. My family was at risk. Again. Because of this twat, and if she’s going to stand in my house, and laugh at me, she’s going to do it with a sore face.

  “Strike me again, and you’ll have a war on your hands.” Rhynannon’s voice is cold, but at the moment, I’m downright arctic.

  “You think I care who you are? You brought danger to my doorstep. We opened our doors to you, and you took advantage.” I smile at her sarcastically, letting her see the willingness to start a war with her over this in my eyes. “You think I’m going to let that go unanswered? Think again, sweetie. I’ve already unseated a queen in this kingdom after she pulled some shady shit. I’ll do it again. In a fucking heartbeat.”

  Rhyannon steps back like I slapped her again and lays a hand over her chest. “How could you possibly think that I had anything to do with this attack?” she asks.

  “Let me count the ways.” I tick each item off on my fingers. “First, you wanted to meet here. And you wanted a specific number of guards. Second, Puck was taken from your Kingdom and tortured and you didn’t follow up. That’s not adding any points in your favor.”

  “Puck, you have to be kidding me. You can’t believe any of this.” Rhyannon looks to the Trickster to save her, but he only stares down at her, his face expressionless.

  “Third, you came here, and wanted me to trade some sort of favor with the Druids, whom no one else knows about, other than you. And fourth, you pulled on my heartstrings, as a new mother, mentioning your child as the reason you’d need to see the Druids, when up until this point, you haven’t mentioned one word about your children in any of our dealings.” I press a hand to my own chest, this time mocking her. “Personally, that would have been my first priority. But what the fuck do I know, I’m new at this motherhood thing, and apparently, I’m not playing with the same deck of cards as everyone else.”

  It’s like all of mine are lit on fire, and I’m throwing them down as fast as I can to put them out while everyone watches, calm as can be.

  I wait a beat for Rhyannon to respond but she stays silent, her lips in a flat line.

  “Nothing to say?” I ask, my tone a thinly veiled threat to speak the fuck up. “That’s okay, we’ll just ask each of the Order members one by one, who got them into the castle, and you’d better pray to whatever Gods who will listen that none of them point the finger at you, because your head will roll across these cobblestones like the ball the children kick around the courtyard.”

  I turn to Doyle, who’s standing by the group of Order members, all snoozing soundly in a circle, tied up in so many knots, you can’t tell where one ends and the other begins.

  “Wake ‘em up. Let’s get some answers, I’m done playing the nice one of this group of psychos.”

  If you can’t beat ‘em, might as well join ‘em.

  “Who sent you?” I scream the words in the second to last Order member’s face, but other than flinching back, he doesn’t say a gods damned word. “Fine, since none of you seem to believe that I’m a threat, let’s go for a little field trip.”

  “Kirin, Axel, if you would?” They untie the man who seems to be their defacto leader and stand him up. “This way.” I sing song in a cheery voice.

  I head straight for the stairs leading down to the dungeons, practically skipping along in glee in anticipation of getting some answers.

  “After you.” I smile, and then push the man so he stumbles down the first step, Kirin and Axel catching him before he tumbles down the rest. “Next time let him fall guys. I could care less about what happens to them. As far as I’m concerned, they’re terrorists, and I don’t see any reason to follow any rules of war when it comes down to it.”

  We walk until we reach the end of the room, where Nicnivin had been working over one of the men before she’d gotten some answers and disappeared to check on things. Kirin unlocks the door, and Axel shoves the man inside and to the side of the dank room.

  “So you’re the man Nicnivin was so excited about.” I drawl the words, watching as the man’s only good eye widens in fear. As much as I’d like to feel sorry for him, as a living being, he’s essentially here because he believes that the Order should steal and then raise my children for me, teaching them to eradicate any un-pure bloodlines, which would, funny enough, include themselves.

  “P-P-Please, I told her everything I know.” The man stutters, shoving himself back into the corner, trembling.

  I watch the man we’d brought down here for a reaction, and sure enough, I get one. His jaw ticks as he grinds his teeth.

  “Something to say, buddy?” I ask, looking between the both of them.

  He doesn’t respond.

  “That’s okay. Your pal here is going to talk enough for the both of you.”

  I squat down, getting eye level with the cowering man on the floor. “Listen, I’m not in the mood to do any torturing today. I just want to know what you told Queen Nicnivin, and then I’m out of your hair.�
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  He opens and closes his mouth, coughing a few times and I turn to Kirin. “Can you get him a glass of water please, so he can speak clearly to us.” Kirin does as I ask, and the man gulps the water down like it’s the last drink he’ll ever sip.

  “I t-t-told the Queen where the Order keeps most of their books. Their history and their plans they’ve collected over the years.”

  The second man, in Axel’s grip, hisses, and lunges forward. “You pathetic idiot! We told you what would happen if you spoke!”

  I raise a brow and try speaking to the unbroken one. “What exactly did you tell him would happen if he spoke to us?” The man presses his lips together and I shake my head at his stubbornness. “Okay, how about you? It’s not like they can harm you now that we’ve got you. So what exactly did they say they would happen if you spoke to us?”

  The frightened man bites at his cut lip, opening the wound again. “Please. I didn’t have a choice.”

  “What do you mean, a choice? I’m going to need you to clarify, and quickly, before I lose my patience and tire of this search and find for answers.”

  “They took my family.” The man whispers the words, almost so low that I couldn’t hear them.

  I wish I could say that I’m surprised at their tactics, but apparently rule number two in the Order’s membership creed after ‘be an ignorant asshole’ is ‘steal everyone’s family members’.

  “And why would they want your family in particular. Because you know of this safe house location?” Seems like a lot of trouble to go through for one man. Unless you’ve got to donate your family to the cause like a pair of used pants to join.

  The man shakes his head, his greasy matted hair falling over his forehead. “No, because I knew of the trapdoor in the pantry of the kitchen.”

  “And how exactly did you stumble across that access way? Were you here looking for weaknesses?” I ask, taking a step forward.

  “No, I was here many years ago, my wife was a maid to Queen Odaine for a time. I served in the kitchens.” He throws up his hands, shielding his face. “Please, I only wanted to protect my wife and daughter.”

  Despite the fact that his actions of protecting his family, could have cost me mine, I know that I’d throw it all away, give up almost anything, to keep my family safe. Hell, that’s what I’m doing now. I’m ready to torture a man bloody until I get answers from him. That’s why I’d brought him down here. To show him what we can do, and strike fear into his shriveled black heart.

  Slowly, a plan forms in my head, and I stand up, walking over to the man, pulling him up to stand. I look him square in the eye. “Would you like to earn your freedom? And save your family?”

  He nods his head. “Y-Yes. I’ll do anything.”

  Probably not the best choice of words, given his position, but I understand what he means. “Fabulous.” I look over my shoulder and grin at Axel and Kirin. “I’ve got a plan, and this man here, is going to help us implement it.”

  Chapter 13

  After orchestrating what sounded like excruciating torture on the man who only wanted to save his family, we’d left the other man, the one I’d dubbed, ‘idiot leader’, with a dirty rag stuffed in his mouth, locked up in the dungeon so he couldn’t tell the rest of the hostages it had been a hoax.

  Kirin, Axel, and I, ascend the steps, wiping the cows blood off of our hands, and head straight for Doyle and Dare, who meet us a few steps away, their backs to the hostages, eyebrows raised.

  “Well, we got what we wanted from him.” I speak just loud enough that they can all hear me without being obvious about the fact that I want them to hear what I’m saying.

  “When do we strike?” Doyle asks, playing along.

  “We’ll need to confirm a few details, pull a few plans from the library…” I lean to the side and make eye contact with Puck. “I’m sure you can help us find anything we might need?”

  Puck nods. “Of course. Whatever it takes to end this shit.”

  “Lovely. Well for now, put them all in a cell down below, let Nicnivin take a crack at them when she gets back, and we’ll get to planning.”

  A few of the goblin guards get them up and herd them down to the dungeon after Dare pulls them aside and lets them know to keep them away from the room the other Order member is locked in.

  Once they’re out of earshot I turn to Dare and Doyle and tell them what really happened. “They’ve got the one man’s family. His wife was a maid to Odaine, and he worked in the kitchens. There’s a trap door in the floor.” I scuff my boot on the floor. “The one place we forgot to check for any hidden entry ways. The fucking floor.”

  “I’ll see to it that it’s taken care of and every inch of this castle of surprises is searched.” Dare assures me, rubbing his hand across my upper back.

  “You mean castle of illusions.” I laugh mirthlessly. “This building has more tricks up its sleeve than a magician.” I sigh. “I just want to go see my children, ensure they are safe, and get some rest.”

  I look at my crew, assessing each of them. They all look like they could use a nap or five as well. “How about we meet back here for a late dinner, and we can discuss plans of action then? It’s going to take a bit of time to get Nicnivin to confirm the information that man gave us, and Puck?” I raise my voice so he can hear me a few feet away. “Please show Rhyannon to our finest cell in the dungeon. Keep her and her men separate from the others.” I smile wide at the Queen, hoping it terrifies her. “Don’t try anything stupid. If you are indeed innocent, we’ll find out. But for now, I’m sure you understand we have to be cautious.”

  She growls at me, her face turning a bright red. “You don’t know what you’re doing, girl.”

  “Oh, I know what I’m doing. And I know that with as much stake as I have in this war, I’m in the right, and no one is going to bat an eyelash at my actions.”

  “You think I am without allies too?” She laughs. “You are far from correct in that regard, Ever McElva.”

  “Yeah, yeah. Lots of threats, I’m the dumb one, and I’ll regret this. I’ll tell you what. If it turns out that I was wrong, I’ll apologize, owe you a favor, and I’ll even throw in a fruit basket.” I wave a hand at Puck. “Get her out of my sight. I’m done talking with assholes today.”

  We break off, all heading toward our quarters, Kirin and Axel joking about something ahead of us, Doyle and Eryn speaking softly behind Dare and me. I smile softly, appreciating the moment, until we turn the corner, and find my mother and uncle Caddox standing in front of the door to the nursery, arguing with Siana’s sister.

  I rub at my temples. “Fucking hell.”

  “Really, mother, she was doing what she’s supposed to do. They’ve not met you, and quite frankly, after you tossed me away as a baby, I wouldn’t trust you in here with my children without my supervision.” I speak the words to her again, feeling like I’m running into a brick wall over and over again, hoping that somehow my hard head will smash through the bricks.

  “Leave it alone, Callista. You can’t blame Ever for protecting her children.” Caddox interjects. “If you can understand anything, it’s protecting your children, even against everyone else’s wishes.”

  My mother purses her lips to the point that she looks like she’s sucked on a lemon. I look to Siana and her sister Emeria. “Thank you for keeping them safe through everything. It was more than a blessing to know that they would be protected and kept out of harm’s way while we dealt with the more lethal threat.”

  Siana smiles at me. “Of course, Ever. We won’t let anyone lay a finger on them.” She ducks her head and pushes her sister toward the door. “We’ll leave you to it for now and be back once we’ve eaten.”

  “Perfect, thank you.” I draw in a deep breath, just waiting for my mother to lay into me as soon as the centaurs close the door behind them.

  And, three, two, one.

  “Honestly, Ever, I’m not sure why you would need help raising your own children. It’s not like
you have the duties of a highborn lady to worry about.”

  Dare’s hand on my thigh tightens, and I know that he’s trying to remind me that I can’t lunge for my own mothers’ neck and wring it with both hands.

  “I’m not going to argue about this, mother.” I run a hand through my hair, getting caught on a tangle and only making it worse when I try to pull my fingers through it with force. “Why are you here again? I thought I made it clear last time we spoke that I didn’t wish to see you.” I eye my uncle. “Either of you.”

  “We’d heard you had the twins, and we wanted to see them of course.” She answers like it’s just that simple.

  But it’s not. She’d left me on MECA’s doorstep as an infant, and then neglected me for years thinking it was best for me. And then, just a few months ago, I’d found out that my uncle Caddox, who’s Kingdom had created a declaration about the leath cine, and not allying with any other Kingdom that would shelter them, single handedly funded MECA, and as such, funded the Order through their ranks.

  My mother leaving me… I can get past that. She was young, clearly desperate, and made a rash decision. It happens to the best of us. I’ve made my fair share of mistakes. But her keeping me from my father, and my uncle lying to me about our family’s part in MECA, and every other little lie they’d piled on over the years, is going to take me at least a minute to get past.

  Betrayal cuts deep. And when it’s coming from the ones who claim to love you and have your best interests at heart, the wound goes just that little bit deeper than a few layers of skin.

  “Well, here you are, and there they are. You’ve seen them. I’ve got a few pressing things on my plate at the moment, so I really don’t have the time to play the doting daughter for you right now, mother.”

  Caddox stands and offers me a small smile full of regret. “Have you given any thought to my offer?”

  “You mean the one where you’d name me heir to a kingdom full of snobs that would never follow me? Not really, I’ve been busy.” You know, birthing children, fighting Order members, keeping my family safe.