Betrayal (24 page)

My birthday was here.  I awoke early and headed to breakfast wearing my new gown laid out for me by Danella the night before.  I felt pretty in light creamy green and soft silver slivers all through the material.  My hair was already up as I had curled it the night before and Danella put it up this morning into a clip with little ringlets hanging all around.  I shimmered my lips and walked out the door to
not
find Ian waiting.  I’d spent a couple of days alone at night and most of the day with only Sarah as my companion.  She was told by Bane that the guards had extra training and Ian was of course, helping with that. 

We laughed and read books.  We even played in the kitchens trying to bake a cake that ended up flopping out and being flat as a pancake.  Tren arrived late and asked some of the ladies of the kitchen to help us out with the second one.  It was awesome, but I didn’t even get a slice of it.  It was gone later when I went back for a bite.

I walked around the corner to the table area and caught my breath before it escaped me.  The entire court stood in the room.  A giant cake sat in the middle of the table with one candle in the middle of it.  I stepped slowly towards Ian who stood directly beside where the cake sat glowing. 

“Happy birthday, my love,” a shy smile bursting through his hard features.

I smiled largely and goofy as everything.  I wasn’t forgotten.

Pike stepped up beside Ian, “We could never forget you, Grace.”  The way he said it made Ian pop his neck side to side, but Ian remained silent.

I followed the line of feet up to the cake and closed my eyes to make my wish, bouncing back and forth on my toes.  He was already here and had asked me a year ago on my birthday to choose him.  My wish had already come true.

After cake was cut for everyone
and
everyone told me how wonderful celebrating birthdays must be, I fell back in my chair exhausted.  And it wasn’t even near lunch time! 

Ian led me to the garden.  Oh boy! 

We sat on our spot and he waited till the fountain quieted down before saying, “You’re birthday is something our court will celebrate for years to come.  Every year before you came, the court had a feast on your birthday in honor of what was to come.”

“With cake?”  Of all the questions, that is what I asked.

“No, without the cake.  That’s new for them.”

Cool!  New traditions.

“So why did you bring me out here?  To tell me that?”  I wanted to overanalyze everything he did sometimes.  Mostly I did it in my head, but I was overly anxious lately.

“Why are we so demanding today of all days?”

“Oh come on, Ian.  You know what I want?”  I squeezed my eyes shut and opened them again just as quickly.  Bone-tired from sleeping alone, I looked up focusing again.  My eyelids were winning the fight against awareness.

He raised an piquantly driven eyebrow to make me disoriented, moved his hands across my hip bone, and inched upward sending the heat up the length of me.  I swatted it.  He tried again.  And again.

“Ian!” I begged woozily.  Smelling his scent strong in my nose didn’t help matters immobilizing me with his scent alone.   He jested me and reached behind his back making my eyes wide with curiosity.  When his hand came back around, he had a box.  No, two little red boxes.  He moved one to the other hand and held them out meaning for me to pick one.  Was it a game?
              With no words coming from his mouth I chose the left.  I creaked it open and leaned in to peek inside like something might jump out and bite me.  It was a silver band. A wedding band.

My eyebrows knit together and when he didn’t smile or frown or say anything I leaned into the other box.  I had my guess.  I was right.  A tinier silver band lay inside the other box. 

“Our wedding bands?” I asked my hands behind my back, crossing fingers.

“For our wedding that will take place in two months time to the day.” 

December thirty-first.  Wow!  It was close.  “Can we put it together that quickly?”  A winter wedding instead.  Summer’s overrated.

His whole face lifted, “Do you want to wait longer?”
              “Oh no!  Noooo, that sounds really good to me,” my voice was in my throat.  I am definitely well decorated with jewelry.

He closed both boxes making the snapping noise pop in my ears.  Was that for my birthday?

“Would you like to see what I really got you for your birthday,” his husky, but smooth voice lined the corners of his mouth.  I watched him so carefully.  Did he have my face memorized like I had his? 

I didn’t mean for my back to arch and my shoulders to perk up to attention, but he knew exactly what he was doing so I gave him the reaction he wanted.  I grinned wide and watched him nod to the guard at the door.  Eric was his name.  I remembered him.  He took both boxes and handed something to Ian.  It wasn’t large or small.  And he didn’t let me open it either.

Returning to my room to freshen up before lunch I found a small glittery wrapped cloth with a pink ribbon wrapped around it.  Inside was a bag of gummy bears.  It still had the little white tag that most gas stations stuck on the top waxy paper that sealed the plastic for freshness.  Three dollars and seventy-five cents.  Yep!  It was from a gas station if it cost that much.  Very sweet, Pike!

I swooped them up and threw them back on the bed tucking them under my pillow.  I ran to the bathroom and brushed my teeth again, adjusted my pinned up curls three times, and spritzed some lavender in all the right places by rubbing my wrists together and across my neck and trails down the length of me to be sure.

I ran back through the court intending to head straight to lunch, but instead detoured to the trampoline in search of Kin.  I wanted to give him the chance to see me on my birthday.  Call it dumb and stupendously stupid, but I was all about the gift getting today.

And maybe I was ready to find out about the other prophecy now.  Another clue might step me closer to understanding how all this ends...or doesn’t end.   End for good. 

I stepped into the afternoon air hoping for a little sunshine as an extra gift, but no such luck.  The sky was dark and the smell of rain was near.  Although I loved the smell of rain in the air, it sent danger signs of something bad to come in the name of King
In
Sane himself all through his unwilling son.  A little of Kin’s leather and spice still surfaced through the air though, but oddly, it felt far away.

I inhaled deeply, exhaled, and closed my eyes to the sky feeling the wet damp air.  Two arms wrapped around my waist and pulled harder than I’d want.  I jumped upward and wiggled to escape.  Too late did I realize that the arms weren’t any that I’d care to have near me.  The hands were yanking and scraping against the skin under my arms as I struggled to free myself.

I did the only thing that I knew could possible save me now.  I screamed loud with my lungs and my brain, “KINNNNNNN!”

Flying through the air in someone’s heavy arms with my mouth covered and limbs hitting my face weren’t my ideal birthday surprise.  I ran a million things through my mind including an accurate description of where this huge brute critter was taking me.  He hadn’t thought to cover my eyes.  Stupid kidnapper!  Ironic that I yelled for Kin to
save
me from a
kidnapping,
it made sense with who took me.

I watched as I was taken the direction of Kin’s lair, doubt beginning to eat at me.  Betrayal inched its way into my center of thought. 

Iannnn!  Pikeeeee!
  I yelled on the inside the whole rest of the way. 

Once we were to the area just beside the bonfire edged off wood line, my heart raced as I relayed where I was to all three of them in case they were listening.  I would give Kin the benefit of the doubt until I knew otherwise.

The camp was empty.  And when I mean empty, I mean deserted.  Not a soul I knew was in sight.  The huge troll sized creature sat me down on the ground and stood over me, my body trembling and making it hard to hide my fear.  My captor was not just a human high school party goer and lackey to King Insane, he was an Unseelie court guard.  I recognized the uniform immediately and his face. 
Switch.
  He saw me eyeing the distinct recognizable attributes of their colors and choice of weapons across his back and side.  The massive knife/machete lay flat and pointed north above his head on the right of his backside.

“Why am I here?” I asked annoyed.  Though I was a basket case, I tried to appear kept together.

“Shh!” was all he said.  “Master Kinsler told me too.”

I looked around again, “Then why isn’t he here?”  I still had my doubts.  He liked claim over his prizes.  At least he did with me before.

“He,” Switch paused as if he wasn’t sure what to say, “can’t be here...right...now.”

Liar!  “And where is
he
?”

“Out there!” he pointed to the trees.

“And he wanted you to stand in here, with me as your captive?”

“Yes!” he managed to shake some when he finished getting out the word.

Switch was lying, but I didn’t know why or for who.

“When will he get back?” I asked.

“Any second now.” 

If it wasn’t Kin who would walk through those woods, who?

Just then all the scents hit me at once, like a fire starting small and growing aggressively.  All three were close.  I saw something move the brush aside in a silent, but forceful stride to the end of the stacked wood three feet from me.  Two black boots surfaced and walked hurriedly.  A large hand pushed out in front of me to hale me up leaning against him. 

“Switch, you thought you were doing the right thing listening to what my father wants.  I know you were only being loyal to him, but I made it clear to you that you are not to harm this girl,” his angry deep voice boomed out into the surrounding woods.

The guard named Switch, once a high school girl’s eye candy, darted his eyes side to side looking a little less sure of himself. 

“Yes, Switch.  He is here.  I have no choice but to play along with this or my own head will be on the platter.  I will take care of you at a later date.”

Kin bent down and asked how I was?  His voice was significantly softer speaking to me.  I nodded a yes in his direction, but looked at mister big bad and handsome kidnapper dude who seemed full of shame.  Heck yeah!

“I won’t let anyone hurt you,” Kin met my steady gaze.  "Pike and Ian are near."

I smiled in spite of the situation, “I believe you.”  And I did.  Though sometimes the pain he caused made me want an on-off switch Kin meter.  Turning Kin off for a while would make life easier. 

That small phrase seemed to have caused his eyes to release some small fear, but then other fears took its place.  “Stay still.  Block. My father will be here in seconds.  He will have to believe I found out about it and helped.  He will use it as a test of my loyalty.”

Which only signifies that he doubts his loyalty.  Happy thought! Scary man!

Sure enough, here came the king as Kin pulled me the rest of the way to standing.  He stepped into the clearing wearing his usual robes of gold and blue to give off his high and mightiness. 

“Son, you are here?”

It was asked like a question, not a statement.  Huh!  I dusted off my rear from the wet dirt that I’d nested in for all of two minutes.  The captor stood to the side now in constant bow.  How very different our two courts were.

“She is willing to go with me.”  King Sane didn’t look at me when Kin said this.  He had that same way about him as if he’d invented the air we breathe and was dang proud of it. 

I stayed expressionless and completely void of thought.  No one grabbed and tugged me, which made me calmer, but not overjoyed.  Kin nodded for me to follow the king who was leaving now.  I did as told and stayed sandwiched between the two Unseelie court Fey men who could quite possibly hurt me, kill me, or worse, steal my memories.  I followed in silence.  Ian and Pike were close by, yet not coming to my rescue.   

I walked for an hour before Kin decided I needed to be carried.  I started to protest, but the fearful look in his darker than ever blue eyes begged me to stay quiet.  So I did!

We arrived at his court without a single follower or eyeful of bowing from anyone.  In fact, not one eye turned in my direction.  Either they were told I was coming and to ignore me, or they couldn’t see me—I couldn’t tell.  I kind of wished for the first scenario. After one is kidnapped once, instinct kicks in.  Unfortunately, the experience makes you wiser for the next time. 

My own rescue wasn’t panning out the way I kept playing over and over in my mind, but I was trying to guard and have wishful thinking at the same time.  Since I wasn’t fully aware of what powers Kin’s father might also have, I tended to try safety by doing nothing.  Nil!  The look before you leap theory came in handy only when one actually does it before the tragic event happens.  Since I was already in the middle of the
tragic event
, that theory negates the possibilities.