Page 167 of Ulune's Daughter

Luca shakes his head. “Cait House. Dad will kill me—after he kills you—if we don’t get him to Cait House.”

“Fine.” I push to my feet, spitting the foul taste out of my mouth. I grab skeins of Air with my claws and wrap them around Rhodes and Lawson, lifting them like they’re on invisible stretchers. Luca scrambles up, trying to keep his hand on Rhodes.

I claw open a gate to Cait House, aware even as I do it that I shouldn’t be able to, that I should have to travel through Faery. Instead, I rip and reshape Faery around me and drag the three men—boys, they’re fucking boys, nearly a decade younger than me—into Lawson’s bedroom at Cait House.

I settle them side-by-side on Lawson’s bed. The bed I’ve shared with both of them. All while they were lying to me. Lying, lying, lying. Knowing it could end my career, destroy my academic reputation. Lying.

I turn away from them and stalk out of Lawson’s suite. I come across Larissa first, in the hallway leading from the family bedrooms to the audience hall. She takes one look at my face and races past me into Law’s rooms. I continue on, bursting into the audience hall. Cath’s sitting in his big chair, which he told me, with a smile just like his sons’, is definitely not a throne. Allie’s sitting beside him. They’ve pulled up a round wooden table in front of the not-thrones. Three men I don’t know sit around the table, going over papers fanned across the wood between them.

It's so quiet and normal when my world has just been upended.

“Sorry to interrupt,” I say. “There’s been a fight. Lawson’s injured. He needs a healer.”

Cath and Allie are on their feet and around the table so fast they blur in my sight. They each take one of my arms as they steer me around and rush back toward Law’s rooms. I force myself not to yank my arms out of their hands. Did they know? Were they in on it? If Rhodes and Luca have been together for three fucking years, surely they knew who he was when Lawson brought him to Cait House. Yet none of them said a word to me. Not even Aine.

It must have taken a lot of shopping trips in the Lambo to buy her silence.

When we reach the bedroom, Larissa and a man I don’t know are hovering over Lawson and Rhodes. Luca’s curled beside Rhodes in the bed, stroking Rhodes’ hair as the man works on him. Lawson’s sitting up, his brow knitted, while Larissa winds a thick white bandage around his ribs.

I stop near the doorway. Cath and Allie don’t seem to notice as they continue to their son’s bedside. Cath circles around to the healer and speaks to him in low tones. The healer nods reassuringly. Allie sits on the edge of the circular bed and takes one of her son’s hands.

“I’m okay, Mom,” he rasps, sounding out-of-breath.

“Your lung collapsed,” Cath says, lifting his voice from his conflab with the healer. “You’re on bed rest, son.”

“Dad—” Lawson’s protest ends in a grimace and a grunt as Larissa wraps a painful spot.

“What about Rhodes?” I ask.

Cath and the healer look over at me. Cath registers where I’m standing with a sweep of his eyes, the exact color of his son’s. His face tightens.

“Did you lead them into this fight?” he asks.

I nod. “I can’t apologize enough. I didn’t know Lawson and Rhodes were students until a few minutes ago. If I’d known, I’d never have let Rhodes go into such danger and I’d have done everything I could to keep Law and Luca away, including sealing the doors to my court so they couldn’t follow me through Faery. You have my word it won’t happen again.”

A chorus of male voices rise in protest. I brush them aside with a flick of my claws. The room falls silent.

“Rhodes?” I repeat. “Will he be okay?”

“Yes, your highness,” the healer says.

A twitch crawls up my spine. That’s the first time anyone’s called me that. I hate it.

“He’s burned inside,” the healer continues. “Deep burns all the way down to his organs. But Luca did a good job. He’ll recover with time and care.”

Guilt squeezes out of the corners of my eyes. I brush it away with the backs of my hands.

“I’ll report this to the Bevington administration. I’ll take full responsibility,” I say. “The boys should rest as long as they need to, even if they’re not back in time for Winter Study. It won’t affect their grades.”

“There’s nothing to take responsibility for,” Cath protests.

“Kellan, this wasn’t your fault,” Allie says.

I shake their words away. “Of course, it was. It’s my fault for being so stupid that three adolescents could fool me?—”

“I’m not anadolescent,” Lawson growls, trying to push up out of the bed. Larissa and Allie immediately push him back. “I am Cait.” His voice hitches breathily. “And your fated mate. It’s my duty and privilege to protect you.”

“You’re barely legal and aliar,” I respond. “And I don’t want or need your protection. I’m a Queen of fucking Faery.Evidently. And my realm is closed to you.”

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