Darkest Mercy (Wicked Lovely 5)

“I’m sure Irial had cells of some sort hidden away in the house. See that he is put into one until I prepare more fitting accommodations for him.” Niall glanced at Seth then as he added, “And the Hound who helped him. Fetch her.”

“Don’t do something you’ll regret,” Seth urged. “You’re angry and—”

“Shut up, Seth,” Niall interrupted. He raised his voice. “This faery accepted brotherhood with us, and as such, he is mine to sentence for his transgressions.”

As Niall spoke, faeries came into the room. Many of them were bloodied from their king’s rage. One hopped forward, dragging a badly misshapen leg behind him.

The shadowed cell rose into the air, so they could all see Seth inside the cage. Then, Niall spoke: “Seth Morgan, for the crime of allowing the death of a king, I sentence you to imprisonment in the Dark Court until such time as I find myself appeased.”

Softly, Seth reminded him, “Irial wasn’t a king when he died.”

Niall’s eyes filled with black flames. “Silence!”

But Seth continued, “Irial sacrificed himself. He made that choice.”

“No. You made a choice to hide what you knew, and in doing so injured what is mine. For your crimes, you will remain here at my disposal.” Niall’s expression fluctuated between pain and fury. “Your actions have weakened the Dark Court, and you will make amends.”

“I would stay without being imprisoned,” Seth offered. “I won’t tell you things that aren’t yours to know, but I will tell you what you need to avenge him. We want the same thing. She can die, Bro—”

The cage vanished, and Seth plummeted to the floor.

Niall grabbed Seth and jerked him to his feet. “Don’t try me right now, Seth.”

Then he threw Seth at the wall and walked away, saying as he went, “A cell. Preferably one of the least pleasant ones we have.”

Chapter 21

It was mid-morning as Aislinn sat in the wide-open front room of the loft with a cup of tea. The Summer Girls and guards had become accustomed to her taking a few moments to herself at the start of her day.

The Summer King, however, had been away for almost six months, so he was unaware of her morning routine. She opened her mouth to tell him she wasn’t ready to deal with anything just yet, and he leaned down and captured her lips in a searing kiss.

He caught her hands in his and pulled her to her feet. Their sunlight met and mingled in an electrifying current as he parted his lips and invited her in.

Instead, she pulled back and asked, “What are you doing?”

“Winning, I hope.” Keenan turned his back on her, walked to the doorway, and grabbed Eliza.

As he pulled the Summer Girl into the room, more of their court followed her. In a blink, the room was filled with smiling faeries.

Keenan waltzed the giggling Summer Girl across the room, and sent her spinning into another Summer Girl’s arms. As the two danced away, he caught the hand of another Summer Girl and pulled her into an embrace and dipped her. The vines that slithered over her body were vibrant. Their leaves stretched toward the Summer King even as he stood and kissed the girl’s cheek.

As Aislinn watched, he continued throughout the loft, dancing and smiling at the Summer Girls. The room was bright with sunlight that radiated from his skin. And mine

. This was what the Summer Court was meant to be like. Which is the point of this dance. To his court, it looked like joyous frivolity, and to some degree, it was. Another, more serious part of this whole giggling chaos was that this was his job: summer was to be pleasurable.

Keenan caught her watching him, and the intensity of his gaze almost frightened her. If she’d been most anyone else, she would think having that sort of passion directed at her was thrilling. It is, but I want it from Seth. If Seth were truly gone, she could’ve found happiness with Keenan, but it wouldn’t ever equal what she felt for Seth.

But the Summer Queen could do as the Summer King had done all of these centuries: she could put the rest of her worries aside and be their queen. She had been doing so the past several months on her own. She would continue to do so. Aislinn smiled and took the hands of the Summer Girl who had just gone spinning by. “Dance with me, Siobhan.”

Siobhan smiled approvingly and called out, “Why is there no music?”

And from somewhere in the loft, music began to play. At first Aislinn thought it was the stereo, but then she realized that some of the guards were singing. As they walked into the room, several of them began drumming on the wall and on a table they upended. Overhead, the cockatiels joined in, and Aislinn laughed in sheer joy.

This is as it must be. My court must be happy.

When Siobhan spun her toward Keenan’s outstretched hand, Aislinn smiled at him.

He pulled her with him up on top of the coffee table. “They’ve been fine under your watch. Despite your worries, you’ve kept them strong.”