Queen Alpha (NYC Mecca #2)(25)
My blush was back in full force now. Sullied … if only. The couple name was kinda cute though. “Starting to think I might as well forget about protocol. One should at least be getting some action if they’re going to be referred to as ‘Her Highness, the royal traitor whore.’”
Lots of throats cleared and I had to internally chuckle as the occupants of the car tried to figure out what to say. Did they think I hadn’t bothered to check out the site? I wanted to know what my enemies were saying about me and Kade. I needed to know what I was fighting against.
I think everyone was relieved when we arrived at Kade’s Staten Island estate. Looking out my window, I eyed the path outside as we pulled up to the mansion. The beautiful brick exterior and romantic wraparound porch were even more lovely in the daytime. I had only ever been here at night.
When the vehicle stopped, Gerald opened my door and extended his hand, helping me out, Finn was right on my heels. I thanked him, then he led us all up to the porch, stopping to speak with a few guards.
The closest of the guards, a male who was probably a brick building in his spare time, said: “He’s just finishing up his meeting with the council. He wishes for Arianna to wait for him in the garden by her favorite tree. He said she would know what that meant.”
He looked toward me and I smiled. Kade was perceptive, always watching and noticing things. That old fae treeling that had been in his garden for hundreds of years was from the Otherworld. I’d had a conversation with it right before the dark fae assassin tried to kill me. The fact that I talked to a tree should probably give me a moment’s pause, but hey, I was starting to get used to all the crazy. Nothing had been the same since I became queen of the wolf shifters, in charge of the powerful magical mecca. I was pretty sure nothing could really shock me at this point.
Gerald nodded to the brick building guard, and he turned and opened the door, going back inside. From my position I could see the foyer and grand double staircase beyond it. When the door opened I could hear muffled commands. It was Kade and he sounded enraged.
“…no debate here! You’re my council and if I want your opinion, I will ask for it. Until then, keep your thoughts to yourself and follow your leader!”
Damn! He wasn’t shouting, but the strength and fierceness of his voice had even me taking a step back. Kade didn’t need to shout to make sure everyone was petrified of him.
If I ever spoke to my council like that, they would plot to have me de-throned. But I could handle some plotting, right? The way he spoke to them made me question my own actions. Why did I tolerate my council requesting that I tell them every little thing? Demanding to have long meetings about things I didn’t want to debate. I was the leader, not them. For too long the wolf queen has had half her authority undermined by eleven others, who were outdated and seemingly predisposed toward their own gains with every decision they made.
The funny thing was that in the normal wolf world no one really knew that. They thought the queen was the supreme power, not one who had to puppet herself to the control of others. I had sort of known it from my time as an heir, but only now was I truly starting to understand the full extent of it. Understand and resent it.
The door was closed by Gerald. Clearly he’d decided we’d heard enough of Kade’s reprimands. Stepping back off the porch, it took no time for us to be in the beauty of the lush garden. Even though I could no longer hear the king and his council, some of the unease must have still shown on my face, because Gerald turned kind eyes on me, looking far less fierce than was normal for Kade’s war advisor.
“The council thinks we should fight the fae separately, not join forces with you and your people.”
I nodded, not at all surprised. No matter how much control Kade had over them, it was difficult to undo hundreds of years of animosity and mistrust. “Mine think the same. Stupid if you ask me. A sure way to get us all killed.”
Gerald chuckled, giving me a nod. “I agree,” he said.
That admission had me relaxing. One only had to spend a small period of time with Gerald to know he had a military mind like no other. It was he who had orchestrated much of the battle that had saved Kade’s people when the fae first attacked us all, the night of the Red Queen’s murder. Kade had told me all about it, giving me a completely new insight into Gerald. I respected him a lot in regard to these things. If he thought our two shifter races working together was a good idea, it made me feel better about my decision to push this angle.
Gerald bowed to me when we reached the middle of the garden – close to the faeling tree. “I’ll leave you here. I have to attend to some other duties. The king will be by shortly.”
Violet and Monica spread out then, giving me privacy and also scouting the garden for another dangerous razor-wielding fae. My gaze was drawn to the spot where Derek had lost his life, and I had to swallow down a huge lump in my throat.
Finn brushed against my leg, distracting me, and I took hold of his fur, stroking him softly. Without thinking, I placed my hand on the tree to support my weight and suddenly I was filled with that tingling feeling of mecca and life.
Hello, young Queen, the treeling said to me.
Hello again…
You don’t smell your usual self. You smell of the Summer Court fae, the treeling said in its deep, multiple-trilling-voice.
My eyes widened. Well, yes, I met with one just last night. I sniffed my armpit. What was it with these fae and their sense of smell? Wait … how could a tree smell anything. Did it have a nose somewhere?