Page 19 of Renegade Kings

Alyssa sighed, her gaze moving back to the gleaming throne in front of us. “Of everybody here, I understand more than most wanting to strike back against him. But how big is this army of yours, Rhidian? What training do they have? How do you intend to seize control of an entire court that’s just as dead as this one?”

“It’s not dead.” Rhidian strode forward, only stopping a few steps away from Alyssa when he realised Tank wasn’t backing down. “You’re here. You’re alive and you’ve claimed the throne. You can bring this court back.”

Alyssa’s hand came to Tank’s shoulder, and she squeezed it gently in reassurance as she stepped around him. Dean tensed at my side, and I knew he’d be leaping into her path if he had the strength to do it. Instead, it was as if the strength seeped out of him and he leant even heavier into my side. I knew he was minutes away from passing out. I also wasn’t stupid enough to suggest that he leave. So, I stayed at his side, giving him whatever strength I could so he could stay where he needed to be.

“Rhidian, a court is nothing without its people, and the fae of the Spring Court are long gone and buried. I appreciate that you came here and dealt with whatever was left behind. It couldn’t have been an easy task to lie to rest that many people. But whatever strength the Spring Court may have had was buried with them. I don’t see what I can offer you that can help you win this impossible war.”

There was something she wasn’t saying, and I knew her well enough to know what it was by now—Alyssa had no intention of running away again. She was just trying to save Rhidian and whatever army he thought he’d formed. Alyssa fully intended to take this fight on by herself, or rather by ourselves, because she had to know by now that we’d never leave her side.

A smile crossed Rhidian’s lips, completely in contrast to how I expected him to react, and I wasn’t the only one it put on edge. Dean seemed to rally, and even though he had an iron grip on my shoulder in support, he was firmly on his own two feet again and ready to leap into action if need be.

“It wasn’t me. It wasn’t any of us. When we came back to this place, there was no sign of the people or what had happened here. We looked. I looked for days because I didn’t know if you had died alongside them, but we found no one. The palace, the whole court, it was empty.”

Alyssa opened her mouth as if she was going to say something, but then her jaw clicked shut. What was there to say to that? My horrified brain immediately leapt to Arik. Had he done something with the bodies of the fallen fae? Surely, even he wouldn’t stoop to that level.

“No one came back here for years after. The usual stories circulated about the ghosts in the hallways like they always do. It’s why it became the perfect place for us to hide those who couldn’t afford to be found. But even then, we stuck to the outer town. No one wanted to come into the palace when they knew what had happened here. It was more out of respect than anything else. Until the night the forest moved. It happened so quickly. Nymeria swarmed the outer homes first, the trees consuming all that stood in their path. We retreated to the palace then because we had no choice. Even now, we lose people amongst the trees, but we have no choice but to send people in search of food.” Rhidian looked desperate by the time he finished his explanation and, for the first time since we’d met him, I actually felt like he’d dropped the shield he hid behind and we were finally seeing the genuine Rhidian that lay beneath.

“The guards assumed that when Alyssa claimed the throne that Nymeria would withdraw and the trees would retreat,” Maddox pointed out.

“We all did,” Rhidian admitted. “Some think the forest is a sign that Nymeria has had enough. That it’s wiping the realm clean of the fae to start again with something more deserving of its gifts. This isn’t the only place where the forests are moving, it’s just where it’s the most obvious.”

Alyssa shook her head. Whether it was in denial of what Rhidian was saying or just the whole situation, I didn’t know. But from where I stood, I could see the side of her face, and I knew without the shadow of a doubt that she knew more about what was happening here than she was letting on. She just didn’t trust Rhidian and Fizzle enough to share her thoughts. Which was even more reason why we needed to get some space from them. We all knew how dangerous Nymeria was, and we needed to regroup and fully assess our situation desperately.

“Look, nothing is going to be decided tonight. We’re exhausted and injured. We need time to rest and regroup. Let’s table this for today and meet again in the morning to go over our options,” I suggested.

Dean huffed petulantly, hating that I was pointing out his weakness, but whether he liked it or not, it was the perfect excuse for us to slip away. That he wasn’t fighting me on this was confirmation enough that he knew it, too.

Rhidian looked like he was about to argue. He’d been fighting this war for longer than we had and was desperate for answers now that he had the chance to find some. But, Fizzle, regardless of where his loyalty lay, at least seemed to see the sense in what I was suggesting. “I can show you to your rooms.”

“I think I know the way,” Alyssa snarked as she turned and started to leave. The implication was clear—Fizzle wouldn’t be joining us.

“He means the Royal suite,” Rhidian added quietly behind us. “You belong in the Royal suite now, Alyssa.”

She tensed at the mention of what must have been her parent’s rooms but said nothing as she walked out the doors of the throne room, the four of us trailing after her.

“I don’t like this,” Dean mumbled to me. “I don’t trust them.”

“None of us do. But we have each other. Nothing will get past us. We’ll make sure that she’s safe.”

He hummed in reluctant agreement as I helped him make his way down the corridor to wherever Alyssa was leading us.

“Thank you,” Dean whispered, even quieter still, and he didn’t have to explain for me to know what he meant.

The wolf inside me practically purred at being thanked by the alpha. It was nice to know that we had some use in whatever this group was that was forming around our woman. But it was a thanks that wasn’t needed. I’d gladly lay down my life for any of the people around me. Helping them limp back to safety was nothing compared to that.

Chapter 9

Alyssa

Walking through the door of the royal suite was a surreal experience. I didn’t let myself linger in the doorway like I wanted to. I didn’t even take a moment to consider the last time I’d been here. Instead, I headed inside like it was nothing to me at all and the relief that filled me when Tank shut the doors behind us, leaving Fizzle and Rhidian on the other side, was nearly enough to floor me.

I came to a stop in the middle of the sitting room, my gaze darting around at the familiar furnishing as I tried to decide what to do next. It was only Dean sagging down into a chair that had me moving with a purpose.

This I could do. This wasn’t facing the past. It was an urgent issue to keep me firmly grounded in the present and the denial that I kept so tightly wrapped around myself.

“The bathroom is through there.” I pointed to the doorway off to the side. “There should be clothes in there, and under the sink, there used to be a kit of medical supplies. Hopefully, there still is.”

I dropped to my knees in front of Dean, and his hand immediately came to my cheek. I tried to pull the shirt from his pants to get a look at his wound, but he stopped me as his fingers slipped into my hair, gripping the lengths in his fist as he tipped back my head to stare into my eyes.