Page 84 of Secrets and Ruin

A door appeared out of nothing in front of us, Cassius standing between us and it. It swung open to reveal Rian. Cassius stepped aside and waved us in, then followed. Rian closed the door and exhaled a deep breath.

“I’m hungry,” he muttered. “Hey, Jacky.”

“Hi, Rian,” I said, giving a genuine smile as he relaxed against the wall.

“We’re not here to socialize. Your father reached out to mine with some demands. Apparently, there were some unpaid debts, and Hasan called them in,” Cassius explained, frustration and bitterness dripping from him. “Debts my father couldn’t pay himself, so he forced us all here to help him.”

“I exposed his daughter to something dangerous, which you got yourself involved in, and you threw such a fit about protecting her and her lover in the name of your late-wife, I thought it was only fair you helped with it,” King Brion said, walking into the room. “Jacqueline, daughter of Hasan. If there’s anything you want to say to anyone here before you see your family, now is the time. Now that you two have been retrieved, we will be leaving to see what we can do about containing this little pocket of fae. Your brother was told by your father that under no uncertain terms, he is to withdraw from this place permanently. If he attempts to say anything about staying, remind him that I am taking over on the condition that no more moon cursed stay in this region.”

I scrambled mentally, then jumped into action, knowing what I needed to tell him.

“There’s a half-fae, half-witch named Adalni living out there. She’s never found another home, and all she’s ever wanted has been to live in peace there, King Brion. She made a bad bargain as a child and helped me as a way of undoing that damage. She still got what she wanted in the end, but she would have rather it been forgotten.”

“I see.”

“She’s promised to work with anyone who will honorably uphold the safety of the Black Forest for its inhabitantsandits guests,” I continued.

“Good to know. I will probably have her educated and see if she is fit as a representative for the area. That makes things much easier for me. Anything else?”

“Did you always know about the Black Forest being a place where the fae realms and ours meet and become one?” Landon asked, his tone flat enough to be disrespectful. So flat that it was accusatory.

“I did,” King Brion confirmed.

“Why didn’t you ever do something about it?” I needed to know, considering he was fine admitting the potentially severe mistake he had made.

“I had done something about it. I made a deal with the first Alpha of the Black Forest Pack to contain the fae here from causing too many problems for humanity. There are a lot of troublemakers out here.” He smirked. “That was the condition for the werewolves to use the territory as their own and kill my people if they were threatened. But that bargain was released some hours ago. I wonder why?”

He smiled as if he knew what Landon and I had just done. Perhaps he’d heard Dirk or Niko tell the family what happened and figured out what it all meant.

“I hope this sets you and my father even,” I said finally, lowering my head to bow to him.

“It does. You and me as well.” He wagged two fingers at his sons and walked out. They followed, neither looking happy.

Landon and I sagged into each other, but I knew I couldn’t relax yet.

“My family is here,” I said softly.

“Yeah, I caught that,” he said, groaning. “But I want to see Dirk, and don’t give a fuck about your family.”

Nodding, we went to leave through the same door as the fae royals had. As I reached for the doorknob, it swung open, and Zuri stood there.

“Jacky!” she exclaimed, throwing her arms around me. “We’ve been so worried.”

“How long have you been here?” I asked, leaning into the hug, trying to find the strength to return it.

“Let’s see. It’s late Wednesday, maybe a few hours? The princes found Dirk and Niko quickly. They were much closer to Niko’s estate. We didn’t know if they were going to find you and Landon. They’re both resting now, and Father has agreed to give everyone until the morning to talk.”

“Talk?” I asked softly.

“He’s using this as a chance to have a family meeting,” Zuri explained, ending the hug and pulling me along. “Come on. Let me get you in a guest room. Landon, you’ll be sharing with Dirk. It’s a full house, but you two live together, correct?”

“And we share a room there as well,” Landon said, staggering as he tried to walk. I reached for him, but I wasn’t the one to catch him. Jabari was there, and Landon snarled at him.

“Don’t give me that shit. You don’t have many allies in this house right now. Neither of you does. Don’t snap at the ones you do,” Jabari growled as he hauled Landon to stay on his feet. “I’m helping.”

“Landon?” I asked.

He gave me a look that would have killed anyone in his pack and probably made his father take a few steps back. I just gave him a weak smile as Zuri and Jabari half-dragged us through the house. Jabari unceremoniously opened a random door and released Landon, who limped inside without question. Zuri grabbed the next door down on the same side of the hall and pulled me into the room.

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