The Drifting (55 page)

“I’m afraid I won’t be attending your Seating today, jai’loa.”  To hear him use
the
endearment of “my love” almost spurs me to attack, but he has the upper hand and he knows it.  Even with Milina and Glynnis here, I have no doubt that he would take them out easily.  He’s arrogant enough to appear here, but he’s no fool…that I’m sure of. 

“Too bad,” I reply.  “I’m sure Tharin would have loved to say hello.”

He snorts derisively at the mention of Tharin.  “Please don’t throw your prince at me as if the mere mention of his name would provoke me to fall to my knees.  The only reason he isn’t dead is because I need him to fulfill a task for me.  I mean,” he continues moving closer to the bench and to where we’re standing, “he does have to marry us, now doesn’t he?  After all, we must take the Oak Clan from him.”   He casually makes his way to the bench and sits, crossing his legs as he adjusts his long black coat.  “But then again, you only have to be queen of the realm, which in that case, he’s not really needed
after he marries us
.”

My stomach lurches.  What does that mean?  “What do you want
?
” I repeat, looking at him suspiciously. 

He chuckles, “You are an impatient one, aren’t you
?
  You have no flare for the dramatic
.
  No sense of showmanship
.
  Very boring, dear sister.  What did those humans do to you all those years?”

“You seem to forget you’re human, too,” I answer quietly.

His face turns serious as if
deeply insulted, “Half-
human and not a very good half at that.  You will learn that we are Sidhe and our father’s tainted blood doesn’t change that fact.”

I grow impatient, “Get to the point, or get the hell out of here.”

“Tsk, tsk.  Is that any way to speak to your long lost brother?  We are family, Lily; and as family
,
we must work past our differences and learn to work together.  Take care of each other, of our clan and our people.”

Ah, so that’s what this is all about.  He sighs as he refolds his hands on his knee, “Really, Lily, do you think the people here have your best interest
in mind
?  They want you to marry their prince, relinquish the throne of the
Willow
to one of their own and keep you from your rightful place.”

“Yeah, and where’s that?”

“Why, by my side, of course.  Royals have been known to marry within their immediate family to keep the blood pure.  How would it be any different between us?  What do you think of that, jai’loa?”

I feel sick.  The thought of him even touching me causes me to flinch back and the
indecency of his thoughts make
me want to gag…literally.  “I just threw up in mouth.  That’s what I think of that idea.”

I
n
the
blink of an eye
,
Harlu pushes off the bench.  He charges Glynnis, hitting her hard and taking her out before she can cast a spell.  Milina catches her and Glynnis ducks under her sister allowing Milina to use her to
spring
board directly at Harlu.  He leaps forward
,
twisting into a spin, landing both feet into Milina’s chest,
and
sending her flying into a tree.  So fast…too fast!  Milina hits it with
a sickening thud, landing face
down several feet from us. 

Without thinking
,
I react and attack high, he
easily
evades my strike
.  W
hen he tries to grab
my elbow, I twist
low
and cut
across his stomach.  He leaps back at the same time Glynnis moves in low with her two blades, slashing and cutting as she goes.  Harlu changes his attack, spinning out and catching Glynnis under her chin with a solid knee.  I come
back
low
,
following Glynnis, striking at him
, but
the sleeves on the dress tear
under each arm and my foot catches on the dress’ hem. 
I go head
first into the bench and at the momentum I’m going
,
I can’t stop the oncoming impact.  I feel a strong arm wrap around my waist
,
catching me before my head goes slamming into the stone bench. 

Harlu pulls me hard to him, his face inches from my own.  My blade drives toward his throat, but he catches my wrist, twisting it painfully until I drop it.  “Ah, Lily…sweet, sweet, Lily.  I’ll never forgive
M
other for keeping you from me and for denying me my birthright.  How much fun I’ll have ruling this realm with you by my side.”  He leans closer and I turn my face away, repulsed by his nearness.  Big mistake
–
he places his lips and nose on my neck and breathes in deeply, enjoying my scent and my disgust at his touch. 

I grit my teeth when he quietly laughs in an intimate way, causing me to struggle harder against his hold.  It’s when he licks me that I start to truly panic.  I turn on him quickly, head-butting him and instantly regret doing it; for someone who looks very delicate and feminine, he has a hard head.  I see spots and become dizzy.  My head clears immediately when he takes a knife from his coat
,
and that’s when I notice his hand.  It’s burned with the flesh still healing indicating it’s a recent wound. 
He was the one
at my door last night. 

Harlu takes the tip of the blade and places it on hip. 
I hold my breath as he
moves to
lightly traces circles from my stomach up
to my chest.  He stops at my breasts where my skin is exposed and his eyes look up at me.  He gives me a lecherous look, his smile evil.  With a cruel swipe he cuts me just above my heart and I hold back the scream that I know he’s anticipating.  It’s when he lowers his head as if to lick the blood from my wound that I scream.

From out of the blue, the black stealth comes roaring from the shadows and Harlu drops me instantly.  He spins away as the panther attacks, clawing at him as s
he over
shoots her target.  But not before taking a chunk of his coat.  It’s all the time Harlu needs.  He glances at me and winks, “Until the next time, dear sister.  Give your betrothed my regards.”  And with that, he disappears as Cessa charges after him.  She stops at the garden entrance, roaring with frustration and anger before wobbling and falling to the ground again.  The powder substance is still effecting her movements.

I
rush over to Glynnis
, knowing Cessa would be okay.  Glynnis
slowly sits up, holding her jaw, moving it gently.  I help her on to her feet and we move to check on Milina.  We spot her by the wood
s’ edge
, lying motionless on the ground near one of the trees.  A spot on the trunk of the tree is red with blood and we ru
sh to her side fearing the worst
.  Glynnis turns her over carefully, holding her close.  I take Milina’s wrist
,
trying to feel for a pulse…nothing.  I reach behind her head and when I remove my hand, it’s covered with blood.  I close my eyes as I place my hands on her chest, running my hands along her stomach.  Nothing.  I can’t feel any life in her, anything that I can latch onto to keep her with us. 

I look at Glynnis with horror and she pulls her sister to her, holding on fiercely.  I sit back shocked and helpless as I watch Glynnis
,
still in her
golden form
,
slowly disappear
…
taking Milina with her. 

~ * ~

Chapter Thirty-Seven

~ Tharin ~

I burst into the
q
ueen’s
s
uites when I heard the news.  Sema sent one of her people and he found me with
F
ather and Ka in the war room.   We were discussing the plan on when to confront Harlu and Falsad, but that’s no longer necessary.  When the messenger told us that Lily was attacked, I was in the suite within minutes.  My heart raced when Milina
and Glynnis
didn’t answer me.  I called for Alorn and Mellis, knowing they were planning their tactics for today’s events.  They woul
d’ve kept a low profile and lost
themselves in the crowd, staying alert to any attack.  We knew Eathos was aware that Lily was alive, but we assumed he would try to take her at the Seating.  Harlu changed all that.

All talk a
nd movement stops when I enter
the room and those who remain hasten to bow or curtsy as I make my way to the master bedroom.  I look around but don’t see any signs of the sisters…or Julia.  They must be in the room with Lily and Sema.  Upon entering
,
Sema looks up from attending to a wound on Lily’s chest, giving me a warning glance as I approach.  When I see blood, my own boils over and I swear I will kill Harlu for this.  I’m so focused on Lily that I almost miss Cessa lying on Lily’s bed.  The cat’s eyes follow me as I near the dresser, tale agitatedly swishing back and forth. 
We’ll talk later,
I tell her.  Her tail stops and she blinks at me.  Seeming to be satisfied with that, she buries her head under what seems like hundreds of pillows.

Sema gets up quietly, not disturbing Lily who has her forehead covered by her hand, her elbow on the dresser.  She doesn’t notice me until I’m sitting in the chair before her.  I take in her tussled hair, the torn dress and the bloodied cloth Sema put on her chest and it takes everything I have not to react violently.  I breathe deeply to calm myself enough to make words so I can find out what the hell happened.  I look around one last time for Milina and make a mental note to talk to her about leaving Lily alone.

When Lily finally looks at me a mixture of emotions runs across her face.  Before I can see which emotion she chooses, she looks down at her hands
,
not saying a word.

“Are you all right?”  It’s more of a demand than a question.  My anger and fear making it sound harsher than I
intended.  She sighs, resigned
to the fact that I won’t leave until she speaks to me. 

Shaking her head she starts off slowly, almost whispering, “Why didn’t you tell me he was my brother?”

I reach for her hands, but she slowly pulls them away.  Frustrated, I take another deep breath and ask for patience
–
reminding myself she’s hurt and in
shock
.  And I can see that she is, deeper than the wound on her chest.  “I wanted to, but you were going through so much already with Lucas, leaving your home, with coming to Velesi, with the Seating and the wedding.  With me.  All of
it
…and I honestly didn’t know how to approach you with it.”

She keeps her eyes down, nodding her head slowly.  I can see her struggling with her thoughts and all I want to do is take her in my arms.  Knowing that I can’t
touch her
further aggravates me
,
and I’m having a hard time keeping my temper.  Ignoring the urge to reach out to her, I ask, “Lily, will you tell me what happened?”

“I needed air so I went outside alone.  When I realized I wasn’t alone, I called for Glynnis…and…Milina.”  She stops, swallowing air and trying to keep her emotions together.  “At first he was saying things to me…crap I didn’t want to hear.  And when he got close enough, he attacked us.”  I watch her closely and I hear what’s she saying, but I can’t help but feel she’s holding something back.  She doesn’t say anything for a while and I’m about resign
ed
to the fact it will take time for her to trust me again.  I set myself to leave her when she looks up at me and a tear slide
s
down her cheek.  I reach over and wipe it gently away and
that’s
all it
takes
.