Steal the Night (Thieves #5)(105)

I stepped forward. “You would do it to get rid of your rival. You know that Devinshea is Daniel’s closest advisor. He’ll be able to talk Daniel out of things you want him to do. You won’t be able to control Dev.”

The wizard chuckled. “I assure you, if I wish to control the faery, I will. It won’t be hard. It’s all about knowing what someone wants and needs and giving it to them. Those men in that chamber, they both want something. Daniel wants to know he’s not alone. He’s terrified that he’s ill equipped for the job he must do. He looks to me as Arthur did. He can lean on me. Devinshea is looking for a father figure. Even with the fertility god inside him, he wants to prove he belongs. He wants so much to be a part of Daniel’s inner circle. I can provide both with the attention they seek. Trust me. I will be invaluable to Daniel’s knights. It isn’t Devinshea who concerns me, Your Highness.”

“You can’t control Bris. Is that what the problem is?”

“There are many problems I have with an ancient deity having control over one so close to the king,” Myrddin admitted. “Look at how he reacted to me. He gave me no chance, merely began spouting the worst tales of me. He has hidden his agenda to everyone. He allowed you to let yourself believe he was interested in your husband when the truth of the matter is, he was always after you. He wants you and he’ll do what he has to do in order to get you. In the end he’ll destroy Daniel and Devinshea to get what he wants.” Myrddin shook his head and turned back to his task. “Or at least that’s the way it seems to me. The fertility god will be troublesome, but I would never attempt to get at him through Devinshea.”

“That’s not the way it looks to me.” Anger and fear warred inside me. That beat was getting louder. The strain on Dev’s heart was obvious now. The rhythm was fast, and sometimes it would get erratic for a time before settling back into a quick but steady beat. He was failing and it would only get worse.

“Go, Zack, get Dev out,” I said firmly. “Take his place and keep Daniel alive.”

Zack was on the task immediately.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” Myrddin said calmly.

Zack hit the wall of light that marked the boundary of the stasis chamber and was thrown back a good ten feet. He smashed against the wall on the opposite side and fell to the floor unconscious.

Myrddin shook his head ruefully as he glanced down at the wolf. “I told you. Now there is no one to take the faery’s place if he fails. I’ll have to work quickly.” His dark eyes found me and they narrowed, and for the first time I believed fully this man had ties to Hell. “I suppose I could be content with Devinshea’s condition if the god inside him were to cause no more trouble.”

I was in a corner and now I didn’t even have Zack to back me up. I was the only thing standing between Dev and his heart exploding. “And how am I supposed to convince him to let you have your way?”

“Like I said before, I’ve found it’s only a question of discovering what a person wants and giving it to them. The fertility god wants a loving goddess. You won’t find the task unpleasant, dear. I think you’ll like serving the god. Bear him a few children, pass them off as the faery’s, and make certain you spend plenty of alone time with the god. I’ll let you know when I need Bris’s attention focused elsewhere. I don’t do this for my own good, but rather for Daniel’s. He’s my charge and my only focus. If you have objections to this plan then I can merely wait and hope Daniel survives without a balance. It’s possible. He’s strong.”

There were angry tears pricking my eyes as I glared at the wizard. “You won’t get away with this. I’ll tell Danny exactly what you said.”

“And I will deny that I meant it that way, dear.” He lounged against the table looking altogether too comfortable. “I’ll tell Daniel that I was merely speaking aloud, trying to work through some problems with the queen, who I have come to greatly respect. I need your counsel if I’m to understand. I don’t know why the queen would take things so out of context, unless she is jealous and perhaps overly emotional. Can you think of anything that happened today that might make you overly emotional, dear?”

My heart stopped. They wouldn’t. He couldn’t know about that. Not even our closest friends knew what had happened earlier today. “Besides watching you rip my husband’s heart out?”

He chuckled, the sound sickening to my ears. “No, dear, I’m talking about the three of you trying to make a babe. Given that the faery is a fertility god, I would say the odds are high. Conception happens very quickly when fertility magic is involved. It can be very draining for the female. I will point all of this out to Daniel when you make your accusations. The queen will need her rest, you know. We wouldn’t want anything to upset her delicate condition. Don’t look so surprised. Daniel already feels our connection. He wanted to share his news with me.”

“Bastard,” I snarled. He would use my condition and our babies to lock me out. He would convince Dev and Daniel that I needed to be protected, and it wouldn’t take much. They already wanted me coddled and sheltered. I was running out of options. Zack was still out. I caught sight of Nim. “Nim will tell them what she heard.”

The room reverberated with laughter as the wizard passed a hand in front of Nim’s unseeing eyes. “Child, she lost consciousness when she took hold of the chamber.” A strange, brooding look came over the wizard’s face. “If I really wanted revenge I could just leave her here like this, her body forever in this state, unseeing, unhearing. It would be fitting.” He turned back to me. “Do we have a deal, Your Highness? That heartbeat is getting faster and faster. There’s not much time left.”