Steal the Sun (Thieves #4)(46)

“Fuck history,” Daniel shot back. “We fight this. You lay down and accept this, Dev, and I will never forgive you.”

“All right,” Dev agreed. “Tell me what you wish me to do and I will do it.”

Daniel nodded, though he had no idea what he wanted Dev to do. He only knew we had to do something. It was not in Daniel Donovan’s nature to calmly accept fate. “We’ll figure something out.”

Dev nodded but his hand strayed to that tiny heart that was beating deep in my body. He covered it with his hand and laid his head against mine, and I knew deep in his heart that he didn’t believe it.





Chapter Eleven





“Oh, thank the goddess. That could be anyone, Zoey,” Dev said with a relieved sigh.

I looked up at him, surprised at his reaction. It was an hour after my talk with The Three. We were safely ensconced in our private rooms, having fled the shocked scene in the ballroom. The Seelie nobles were having a distinct “rats on a sinking ship” reaction to the news that the newly ascended god had been elected to be fate’s bitch.

There had been a lot of crying and yelling. There was also some irrational blame being tossed about. Many of the nobles were certain the Unseelie had something to do with Devinshea’s impending death. It was the reason Dev asked the Hunter to return to our apartments with us.

When Dev had finally gotten me to calm down, he’d requested the full story of my episode with the banshees. I was sure I was red-faced and puffy, but I recounted everything I could remember about my conversation with The Three, hoping it would help Daniel figure a way out of this. Dev had been unimpressed with my tale. He’d taken an academic view of the entire quandary.

“Well, it couldn’t be me,” Declan offered. “I am a first born.”

“Fine, it couldn’t be you, but it certainly could be Braden,” Dev pointed out.

Daniel’s head came up. “How could it be Braden?”

Dev turned to me, ignoring his partner for the moment. “Please repeat what the bean si said, sweetheart. It’s important you get the wording right. If they’re anything like the other prophets I have dealt with, then the words will be precise, though they can have multiple meanings.”

“How many prophets have you dealt with?” Daniel asked curiously. Danny and I have dealt with many an odd creature, but they were usually the fangs and claws kind, not the irritating psychic kind.

Dev shrugged a little. “Oh, it’s a typical business start-up expense. If I hadn’t listened to a prophet, I would have built Ether right under a site where the city council is now building a train station. Can you imagine the noise? It did take Albert and me a while to decipher the prophecy though. It was something about great steel horses and the multitude of humanity stomping across the plains. It sounded bad so I changed locations and I’m happy to have done so. That’s the way these things go.”

“This was fairly simple, Devinshea,” Miria said from her place on the settee. She was still pale. “They stated that the victim was to be a male. He was a second born, though his mother had carried only once.”

Dev nodded. “Yes, that’s what I thought. Like I said, it could be any number of Fae nobles. We rarely have more than one child so most of our women have only had one pregnancy.”

Declan slapped himself on the head. “Of course. That makes much more sense.”

Even Miria looked hopeful now. She reached up and grabbed Padric’s hand. He squeezed it reassuringly. “Well, I do not think it means it is not Devinshea, but it does open up other possibilities.”

“Someone explain this to me before I scream,” I announced, frustrated at being out of the loop.

“It’s why I mentioned Braden,” Dev explained calmly. “He’s the second child of a mother who bore only him. He’s the child of a relationship similar to ours. His father took two wives. His first wife bore a daughter and the second gave birth to Braden. As Daniel and I will be fathers to the child in your belly, so the wives shared their children. Braden’s mother claims his older sister as her own though she isn’t the biological mother.”

It made sense but there was something inside me that was still wary. “They said this man was important.”

Declan relaxed back against the sofa. “Oh, I assure you, the Duke of Ain is important, indeed. He’s responsible for vast acres in the north. His armies patrol the gate between the Seelie and Unseelie sitheins. His lands provide much of our trade with the Unseelie. His death would leave a huge power vacuum.” That last brought the slightest smile to Declan’s face, as though he highly anticipated a chance to fill that power vacuum.

“Could it start a war?” Neil stopped pacing briefly to ask the question.

“It would depend on the circumstances of his death,” Miria replied, warming to the idea. Her eyes had a calculating look in them and I wondered briefly if she was thinking what I was. I was wondering if killing the Duke of Ain would fulfill the banshee prophecy and protect Dev. I didn’t like the bastard anyway.

The Hunter, who had been staring out into the night, now turned. His face was serious as he contemplated the room. “We’re on the brink of war anyway, Your Highness. It wouldn’t take much to push us over that line. The nobles on my side wish for Seelie blood and I can see it’s the same here.”