Page 36 of A Deception of Courts

She was right. All eyes were on me, and I quickly sensed the mask of king returning to its place upon my face.

“What if it isn’t?” I said out the corner of my mouth, gripping onto the railing for support.

“Until Rafaela returns, we will not know exactly what has happened,” Duncan added, laying a hand on my shoulder and squeezing.

I looked between them both, unable to stop myself from speaking aloud what my mind had already made up.

“Aldrick.” I spoke his name as though it was the most disgusting thing to grace my lips. “This is his doing. It has to be.”

Seraphine looked out across the sea toward Lockinge and the rolling dark wave that had thinned into what looked more like mundane storm clouds.

Duncan didn’t offer me a lie to douse the flames of panic within me. But he also didn’t shy away from my gaze, instead greeting it with haunting defeat. “I think he found what he was looking for.”

“A key?” Seraphine spat. “How could he find something when we don’t even know what it is yet?”

Something that the Nephilim had said repeated in my mind as though Seraphine’s comment had dredged it from the deepest parts of my subconscious.

“Not what,” I said, fighting the urge to empty the contents of my stomach into the ocean beneath me. I had to be strong, if not for myself, but every fey watching for me to lead. “But who?”

CHAPTER 11

I stared out the circular porthole, marvelling at the blue sky. There was no longer even the wisp of dark cloud. The sun beat proudly upon the ocean, making its surface glisten like diamonds. The gentle lull of water against the boat and the quietness of the deck beyond the room only added to the atmosphere of serenity. If I closed my eyes and placed my hands across my ears, then I might’ve even tricked myself – convinced myself that I wasn’t in this cabin, listening to the Nephilim as they turned everything we knew on its head with a single sentence.

“Aldrickhasdiscovered a key,” Rafaela said, confirming what I’d already worked out. A worried scowl set into her face as she rested her weight against the hammer. “We hoped Aldrick searched blindly for them, but it would seem he has obtained access to information that shouldn’t belong to him. Information that left these realms when we departed.”

“And you are certain his discovery caused the phenomenon?” Althea asked, sitting straight-backed in her chair. Her entire posture was rigid and stiff, whereas I felt the urge to give myself to the exhaustion and crumple in on myself.

“What happened was only a warning. A sign that the bindings keeping the Defiler trapped have weakened,” Gabrial added, her gaze never leaving the skin of her arm. Symbols and words flowed, moving in tandem with her eyes which scanned her skin like the page of a book. She studied them, brow creased in concentration. “Much like Robin, Aldrick is half-fey, meaning his story is scripted among the Creator’s words. I can see what he has achieved and how. There is no denying his success.” When Gabrial lifted her attention from her skin and sighed, a single tear rolled down her cheek.

“And our failure,” Cassial growled, mountainous arms crossing his chest.

“What can you see?” Seraphine asked, unable to hide the demand in her tone. “If he has one, then there are three more to get. Surely, we can keep Aldrick away from the rest of the keys?” The assassin lurked in the shadows of the cabin, fiddling with a short, serrated knife to keep her hands busy. “Or lead him to us if they share such knowledge.”

“Exactly, Asp.” Rafaela wrung her hands on the handle of her hammer. “However, it would seem that Aldrick is already aware of where the remaining keys are. Keeping the information from you will be of no benefit to us anymore–”

“Rafaela,” Cassial growled. “We haven’t discussed this.”

“Cassial, please calm yourself down,” Gabrial replied, clearly unconcerned by the bloodthirsty assassin who stalked her as a cat did its prey, nor the mountain of a man imposing over her.

“Tell us how we stop him,” I said, finally breaking my silence. “What good is waiting around discussing matters when we need to find and stop him? As Rafaela said, if he has one, he knows where to get the others. It is clear you know where the keys are and keeping them from us will benefit no one. Aldrickknows. Level the playing field and tell us what you are keeping.”

Gabrial and Rafaela shared a look. Cassial grunted in his own form of silent communication.

Duncan had remained as quiet at my side, silently surveying the shifting tide of tension within the cabin. He placed a hand upon my shoulder, setting in closer until his stomach brushed against my back. At first, I wanted to refuse his wish to join this conversation, especially with the way the Nephilim’s gazes always seemed to linger on him. But there was no keeping Duncan away, not after what had happened. Besides, I needed him with me.

After all, it was his choice to make, not mine.

“Believe us when we say that we have no interest in allowing Aldrick to lay his hands upon another key,” Rafaela said.

“And there is no saying what will happen if the gate keeping the Defiler imprisoned is weakened again.” Gabrial lowered her arms beneath the table, that single tear slipping off the tip of her button nose.

I wanted to ask what she cried over, but the time wasn’t right.

“Where’s this gate we are so concerned about?” Duncan asked, taking the words out of my mouth. “If such a place exists physically, should it not be guarded at all times?”

“Oh, it is.” Rafaela tilted her head, eyes trailing Duncan from head to foot. “The Isle of Irobel is not only our home but the very land in which the gods fought and won against the Defiler. Generations ago, when mortals and gods communed with ease, the Creator sent the Nephilim to live and guard the gate, never to leave unless the threat of the Defiler’s freedom became a possibility. Although we can be killed by mundane means, the Nephilim live far longer lives than humans or even the fey. We were made for this task.”

“I would suggest keeping conversations of your weakness at a minimum,” Seraphine added.

---