Beauty (A Faery Story 3)

They couldn’t get Bronwyn out of here fast enough.

“Do you think they’ll kill her?” Lach asked, his eyes tightening.

“She’s not dead.” Shim would feel it.

Rye leaned forward, his weight on the porch railing. He watched his children play with a dead dog. “Did she take your power? I’ve heard it can happen with very strong transmitters. Paige is a receiver. She’s the one who sent Charlie’s parents to the palace. She can still hear him every day. It sounds as though your Bron is a transmitter. If she took your power and turned it on someone, then they could think she’s a witch. There will be a trial, if she’s lucky. If not, they will hold a public execution at sunset tomorrow.”

Shim closed his eyes, searching for the connection to Bron.

“Can you feel her?” Lach asked, his voice a little desperate.

Shim shook his head. “No. She’s gone. She’s not conscious, and she’s not naturally asleep.”

Simon Roan spoke up. “Most likely we can make it to her province by afternoon. If she’s being held in the town center, then at least we’ll know where she is.”

Lach shook his head. “We need to go now.”

Roan sighed. “No, Your Highness. We still have to wait until dark. It’s far too dangerous.”

Shim looked to his brother. This was a game they had played a hundred times before. Despite being princes of the realm, they’d had to deal with the fact that everyone thought they were damaged goods. This wasn’t the first time they’d been overruled by a well-meaning protector. The truth was a prince’s life was rigid, and there wasn’t much freedom to it all. What freedom they’d had, they’d taken.

Lach nodded, obviously reading his brother’s mind.

Shim turned to Roan. “I understand. Just try to make it soon.”

Lach played the part they had designated for him long ago. “What are you talking about, Shim? We need to go now. She’s in danger.”

Roan watched them, his dark eyes taking in their argument. “Prince Lachlan, your brother is being reasonable.”

Dante got in on the action. “We can’t risk the two of you by running around in broad daylight. We all agreed to this plan.”

He meant their father had agreed to this plan, and the Unseelie portion of this particular revolution depended on Lach and Shim’s survival. If they had to, Shim was pretty sure Roan was ready to lock him and Lachlan up and they would go after Bronwyn without them. It would all be for their own good, but he wasn’t having it. He wouldn’t trust anyone else with his mate.

Shim let his face fall into the perfectly amenable expression he wore every day. “They’re right, Lach. We would just put Bron in more danger.”

Lach shook his head. “You’re such a pussy, Shim. When she dies, when we end up holding her corpse instead of her warm, living body, it’s going to be on you.”

Lach stormed out, his boots ringing across the wood floor of the porch. He stalked toward the barn.

Dellacourt started to go after him. Shim put a hand out. “Don’t. I know my brother. He needs to be alone for a bit. Don’t worry. He’ll come around. He doesn’t have a choice.”

He watched as Lach disappeared. As they’d done since childhood, Lach would make the preparations needed to circumvent the people who would hold them back. Lach’s bad reputation served their purpose. And Shim’s served it as well. No one walked after Lach, preferring to praise Shim for his reasonableness.

Roan looked out over the yard where Max Harper stood talking to a desiccated horse, his face a mixture of horror and an odd sense of wonder.

“That horse.” Roan nodded toward it. “How long has it been dead?”

For a long time as far as Shim could see. There wasn’t a lot of flesh left, just sinew connecting bones.

“A year or so. Max loved that filly.” Rye smiled a little.

Roan let loose a long whistle. “It should be delicate. It shouldn’t be able to move like that. The bones should be brittle and break almost on contact. Yet that corpse is moving with ease, almost as it did when it was alive. Is that always what happens around your brother?”

Shim stared at the dead thing. He was beginning to follow Roan’s line of thinking. “They weren’t at first. The first creatures he brought back were very weak. They mostly were things like rats and vermin that lay where they died. But you buried the dog and the horse.”

Rye Harper’s eyes flared. “We buried that horse deep. Max didn’t want the bears or the mountain trolls to get her. He dug for a day and a half. Our neighbors, Rafael and Cameron, helped us dig.”

Roan whistled again. “That horse climbed from its grave when Lachlan’s power called. It makes me wonder what he could do if he focused that power. Gives me something to think about.” He started to walk into the house, but put a hand on Shim’s shoulder. “Thank you, Your Highness, for being so reasonable.”