Seven Black Diamonds (Seven Black Diamonds #1)(63)

“You sent him?” Lily asked her aunt. “I thought Daidí . . .” Her words drifted off as pieces clicked into place for her. “Daidí knows you. He knew you were real when I was a child, and . . .” She shook her head, as if the motion would help her sort the facts into the right order. “I don’t understand.”

Creed ignored the chairs entirely and stayed standing at Lily’s side, despite Zephyr’s glare and Torquil’s slight tilt of head indicating that he found the action curious.

“Stand down, child. I mean my niece nothing but amity,” Rhys said quietly. “There are those who will want to kill her. I am not one of them.”

“Child?” Lily echoed. “How old are you?”

“Age is relative to the fae, niece.” His lips curved in a slight smile. “We’ll simply say that I remember the day Mother decided to kill every human standing on the sand. I remember when your mother was a child new in my mother’s womb and the queen had another name. I remember before that when I was her heir for many years, back when the thought of allying with the Seelie Court would have been called treason.” He looked back at Creed. “Sit. Your point is made.”

“His point?” Lily felt foolish repeating everything, but there were too many new truths to accept so quickly.

“He has just declared his loyalty,” Eilidh said. “Not to the queen. Not to her named heir.” She pointed at herself and then to Rhys as she added, “Or to the Unseelie prince. Creed has declared that his fealty is to you, Lilywhite. Should there be a drawing of sides, his is already stated.”

“No! We’re not familiar with fae customs, and—”

Creed cut her off, “I am quite familiar, Lily. You might not be, but every Sleeper was taught about fae customs and culture.”

“I want no part of this,” Lily told Eilidh and Rhys. “I want to be at home with my father. He is my father, isn’t he?”

“Iana would never answer that,” Eilidh said. “I asked.”

“But if I am Daidí’s, then I’m only half-fae . . . you’re still the heir, right?” Lily reached out and took Creed’s hand. Despite everything she’d decided, right now Lily needed his support.

At her touch, Creed sat on the empty chair beside her, keeping her hand in his. “I didn’t know about this, Lily,” he whispered. “I promise. I didn’t know you knew her or any of it.”

She nodded. “Eilidh?”

“Creed does not lie,” Rhys said.

“The Queen of Blood and Rage knew you by name, knew you were one of her Seven Black Diamonds. She summoned you, Lily. If there’s anyone who has more answers, it’s our queen,” Zephyr said firmly.

“Not my queen,” Lily and Creed said in unison.

Torquil finally spoke. “This will be fun.”

“By fun, do you mean likely to result in bloodshed?” Rhys asked.

At that, Torquil scowled. “Yes.”

“If I were fae, not fae-blood but true fae, wouldn’t I be like you?” Lily asked all of them.

At first, there was only silence, but then Rhys turned his attention to her and asked, “How many affinities do you have, Lilywhite Abernathy?”

She could feel words being pulled to her lips as soon as he asked, as if he could summon the answer from her by sheer will. Her body wanted to answer, her lips were already opening to share truth she’d rather not offer. She clamped her mouth closed, teeth cutting into her tongue as she bit down to force herself not to reply.

Abernathy Commandment #7: Secrets are valuable. Don’t part with them for free. Abernathy Commandment #6: Never confess your vulnerabilities if you can avoid it. She repeated the commands over and over in her mind to keep from answering Rhys, to keep the words from slipping from her against her will and wish.

It wasn’t enough.

Without meaning to, her energy flung out in defense. The chair he was in became a prison, steadily enclosing him, but Rhys didn’t resist the plants that were wrapping tighter and tighter around his body. They started at his feet and began lashing around him like living whips.

“Earth . . . ? And?” Rhys prompted. He glanced down at the vines and briefly smiled.

Lily kept her mouth closed with effort. She felt like the very words were being compelled from her body. Her hand went to her mouth to hold her jaw shut.

“Would I see a demonstration of all of your affinities if I attacked your lone subject, Lilywhite?” Rhys couldn’t move from the vines holding him to the chair, but his words and compulsion continued.

Lily swallowed the copper tang of blood in her mouth. She stood. Her own chair stretched forward and re-formed as a wall in front of Creed, protecting him since he’d foolishly declared fealty to her in front of Rhys.

“I gave word of peace to you,” Rhys said. “Those two? They are both disposable.”

Her wall of vines extended the other direction to shield Zephyr. In her hazy mind, she thought she felt his strength adding to hers as she did so. He might not have declared anything, but he wasn’t going to let them be attacked. The wall that she’d begun was dotted with thorny roses in front of him and were beginning to spread onto the section of wall that now blocked Creed almost entirely.

“He”—Rhys gestured to Zephyr, although his movements were sluggish as the vines had covered his legs and worked up to his chest and were now tightening around his arms—“would deliver you to Endellion. You would protect him as well? He’s knelt before her. Bled for her. He serves the queen and only the queen.”