Page 41 of Silent Secrets

The look on my mom’s face tells me that she knows that something else is bothering me, but she doesn’t ask. She just nods and steps into the portal, disappearing. I don’t understand the magic behind the portals, because it isn’t our magic. It is another magic that we borrowed from Cruthanna’s mages. Which, thank the goddess, because it’s amazing to be able to just think about the place I wish to go and teleport there. Saves us a lot of time.

Each major city in Sorlphi has a portal that is available for the use of all their citizens, but there is also one in each of the minor court’s palaces and obviously there’s one here. You can portal anywhere within Sorlphi with just a thought, but then you have to return to one of the portals in order to return. Staying at the palace gives us easy access, even though our place is only a few blocks away and we could have easily walked there.

I follow my dad into the portal, my stomach objecting only slightly as I’m teleported to our home. My eyes flash around and I have to hold in my sigh of relief when I see Kai slumped on the couch next to Hunter, both of their dads on the other side of the room. Bella is nowhere in sight, and I certainly hope that she isn’t wandering around our home. Goddess only knows what the hell she’d do with free rein.

I drop into an armchair, meeting Kai’s eyes for a moment to make sure that he’s okay—or at least as okay as he can be—before turning to Hunter and hissing, “Where the hell is the she-devil?”

Hunter grits his teeth, glancing to make sure that neither Kam nor Gabe heard me. “She didn’t come. Apparently she was tired, so Kam told her to go home.”

I nod, glad for one less person to worry about before turning back to our parents.

“Can we get on with this? Would you like to tell us why you called us all together?” I can’t keep the annoyance out of my voice and choose to ignore the look my dad shoots me.

He should just be happy that I’m here. I don’t appreciate the fact that they still demand our attendance at meetings. None of us are children any longer, but they still treat us as if we are. I can guess what they want to talk about, and I know they won’t like what we have to say.

Kam steps forward, clearing his throat as Marcos drops onto the couch beside Hunter. His eyes narrow as he glares at each of us. “We gave you a job.”

“Yes, we did.” Gabe stands next to Kai’s father, face filled with disappointment. “And yet, the girl is still in the palace. Can any of you tell me why she’s still here? Why are you still teaching her? She should be long gone from Sorlphi. You should’ve taken care of her by now.”

“Taken care of?” Marcos snorts. “You make it sound like you want us to kill her.”

I roll my eyes and laugh with him, but Gabe isn’t laughing as his eyes turn to his son. “Hunter, do you need a reminder of what happens when you fail?”

“No, Father. But no matter how much you want her gone, I won’t kill for you. For any of you. I’ve done my damndest to make sure she knows how ill prepared for the job she is—I’ve been cruel, I’ve pushed her hard enough that she should’ve broken, but she hasn’t. And it’s been less than a week. I’m not sure exactly what you expect of us in that amount of time.”

“I expect you to do what I damn well tell you to do,” Gabe growls, and for a moment I think that he’s about to launch himself across the room at Hunter, but he doesn’t.

Sebastian and Iris move to stand behind the couch, each laying a hand on Marcos’s shoulders. “We never agreed to murder, Gabe, and how you’re acting makes me question if you might have had something to do with the death of the Seelie and Unseelie monarchs.”

My eyes are wide as I glance at each of the guys, finding the same shock on their faces. The four of us have discussed the very same topic, but with no proof, we can’t make any accusations. That Sebastian is saying it and without a shred of evidence? That’s… interesting.

“Is there something you want to say to me?” Gabe demands.

Iris lets out a small, condescending laugh. “Gabe, dear, he already said it. But let us not fight. It is clear that Hadley has no intention of leaving. The boys have done what they can, of that I’m sure. So why don’t we discuss the other option that we have available?”

“What? The boys becoming her consorts?” Kam scoffs. “What good does that do us?”

“It would allow our voices to be heard with our sons married to the Fae Queen,” my mom says as she moves to stand beside Iris. My father remains off to the side as his eyes flash between the two groups, obviously unable to decide which side he wants to agree with.

“That doesn’t allow us to rule Sorlphi.”

“I thought the entire point of this plan was that we didn’t want Hadley to rule? I didn’t realize the entire point was to give you more power.” Hunter raises his eyebrow at his dad, lying out of his ass. There isn’t a single person in this room that doesn’t think that getting rid of Hadley is just another ploy for more power.

But knowing it and having them admit to it are two very different things—they’ve been very careful about how they’ve phrased it. This is the first time anyone has ever admitted that this has everything to do with having more power. And none of these assholes—mine and Marcos’s parents included—need any more power.

I lean forward in my chair, trying to keep my amusement under lock and key. “I’m sure that’s not at all what he meant to say. After all, we all only care that Sorlphi is cared for, that our people are ruled fairly. Right?”

Gabe’s jaw locks up, annoyance and anger written all over his face. He knows he fucked up. Kam has a similar look on his face, though he’s glaring at Gabe. It makes me wonder if the two of them didn’t have their own plan that they didn’t bother sharing with anyone else. It wouldn’t surprise me—neither of them are good men.

“Of course, that’s all any of us want,” my dad says as he moves to my mom’s side. “And from what Caiden has told me, Hadley is picking up on everything quickly. With our boys by her side, we know the realm is in excellent hands.”

“Agreed.” Sebastian nods to my dad before turning his attention to the other two dukes.

“Of course,” Kam bites out.

It’s very obvious that Gabe isn’t happy with how things are going, but he finally nods his agreement and I can’t fight my smile any longer. I grin at my friends, my brothers. I’m fully on board with this plan, as I’d already told Hadley.

Marcos returns my grin while Kai glances up to meet my eyes for just a moment, and they’re filled with appreciation and desire. Hunter, on the other hand, shoots me a glare and I do not know what the hell his problem is. He should be happy about this. We’ve wanted to get out from under our parents’ thumbs for so long and now we have the perfect opportunity. So why does he look like he wants to kill someone?

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