A loud thump coming from somewhere in the house woke me. I convinced myself it was Night or the crazy parrot and closed my eyes again.
My eyes opened anyway when the arm resting comfortably across me slid away. A naked Cale climbed from the bed and walked to the bedroom door. He peeked out into the hallway then yelled my name as he burst out of it to sprint somewhere.
Where in Gaia’s name was Cale going naked? And how had I missed his nakedness last night when I’d slept with him wrapped around me?
I couldn’t be that old.
“Atlanta, get out here. Duff’s hurt.”
Duff?
I threw off the covers and sprang from the bed noting all the clothing I had on compared to Cale’s nakedness. What had I been thinking? Nothing sane since I seemed to have spent the night fully clothed with a naked man wrapped around me.
I blinked sleep from my eyes as I ran out of Cale’s bedroom. Duff was lying in the hallway, covered in scratches, cuts, and bleeding from her nose. I swore as I knelt to see how badly she was injured.
“Get dressed in case we have to leave,” I ordered without looking. The moment I saw blood, I went into battle mode. Once a warrior—always a warrior.
Cale was jogging back to his room before I had a chance to see anything interesting, even if I’d tried at the last minute to look.
I rolled Duff gently over and patted her face. “Leprechaun… Leprechaun, wake up,” I called loudly.
I tapped Duff’s cheek hard and she groaned. Her hands pushed at mine.
“Princess Duffinnia, wake up and tell me what happened to you. I’m not a freaking mind reader. How did you get here?”
Duff swiped at her nose and smeared blood all over her hand and arm. She held it up and stared at it. “Freaking Dark Elves and their bleeding spells,” she said. “Where am I?”
“You’re lying in the hallway of my mother’s house,” I said as I watched a battered Duff look around her.
Finally, Duff blew out a relieved breath. “I made a call to the gods for a portal to where ya were. Thank Gaia, I didn’t end up embedded in a wall or a floor. That would have been the shite to end all shites. I had to make a portal from scratch faster than I’d ever had to make one. Ya can’t underestimate the elite guard when they’re chasing ya.”
“Are the Otherworld guards able to follow you here?”
I needed to know how much danger we were all in. Yesterday’s fight with the Troll guards had taken what little power remained after the chains sucked the rest from me. I wasn’t anywhere near recovered, which meant I would be fighting against the odds, especially if a bunch of trained magicals made it past the wards Duff set.
Duff moaned as she talked. “Are they able to come here after me? They certainly can, but I’m quite certain they won’t be doing so. The elite guard will be looking in Otherworld for me. I left my pot of gold there and some other valuables as well. My brother will not be wearing the Otherworld crown because I hid the freaking thing from him. He’s a spiral-wired turd who deserves to die.”
“You did what?”
All I’d understood from Duff’s garbled rant was that she’d abandoned her treasure. Duff never let her pot of gold be away from her. I was pretty sure Duff had done some overreacting that she would regret later, but that was for her to be ashamed of—not me.
“Now I see why ya call yerself the Goddess of Doom. Yer expression is more frightening than my situation. It’s okay, Atlanta. I knew what I was doing,” Duff said, patting the hand I had on her chest. “My treasure’s being guarded by Light Elves and Sprites. They won’t let anything happen to it. Sprites are surprisingly adept at fighting.”
“I’m not the Goddess of Doom, Duff. I’m Goddess of the Doomsday Prophecy.”
“How is that different from what I said?” Duff demanded.
“It just is,” I said, glaring down at her. “I get that the Light Elves are helping protect their future. Tell me about the Sprites. How are they involved?”
“They’re geniuses at fighting, but they hate it. Only the most dire of circumstances will force a Sprite into battle mode. Help me up.”
I put my hand behind Duff and lifted her to a seated position. “Ooo… I’m dizzy. Don’t let go,” she said, clutching my hand. “The world is spinning.”
“You probably have a concussion.”
“Yeah, probably,” she agreed.
A dressed Cale appeared and stared down at us. “What happened?”
I shook my head. “I don’t know yet. Duff’s not making much sense when she answers my questions. Can you put Duff in my bedroom? I’d carry her, but I’m not a hundred percent yet.”
“Should we be worried about your loss of strength?”
I lifted my shoulders and let them fall. “Battles always take a lot out of me. Some recovery is always necessary. I refuse to panic about what’s happening.”
“What battle are ya referring to?” Duff asked as Cale scooped her up. Her eyes stayed on me as I stood. “The Dark Elves were waiting outside when I left Liam’s. I took off running and haven’t stopped long enough to let ya know what was going on. What happened to ya after I ran?”
“I returned to the castle looking for you. Hamlin had a drink with me in the gardens. He told me stories about how many people he’d tricked into being servants and how many fortunes he’d stolen. I woke up in chains in the Otherworld castle’s dungeon a few hours later.”
“Hamlin put ya in chains?”
“We’ll swap battle stories in a minute, Duff. Let me get dressed first. I slept in Cale’s room last night.”
Duff chuckled as Cale lowered her to the bed. “Of course, ya slept with yer Dragon boy. I knew it was only a matter of time. There’s a strong vibe between the two of ya.”
“It wasn’t like that,” I said.
“It wasn’t,” Cale seconded. “But if it had been like that, we wouldn’t be telling anyone. We’d still be in bed, and you’d be bleeding in the hallway waiting for us to get tired of each other.”
Duff laughed at Cale’s joking. I fetched her a washcloth for the blood and shook my head at Cale’s grin.
“Princess Duffinnia,” Night said, fluffing his feathers as he flew to her side. He landed on the bed and lifted a wing as he bowed to her as best an owl could. “It’s a pleasure to see you again.”
I jerked clothes from the closet and headed into the bathroom to change. “Duff’s brother is after us, Night. Keep an eye out for him. He may be able to get past Duff’s wards.”
“Hamlin? The Blood Prince?” Night asked, fanning both wings in irritation. “He’s the Leprechaun equivalent of a Spanish Inquisitor. If people don’t do as he asks, he tortures them into compliance.”
“Atlanta,” Cale said.
I held up a hand. I knew he was thinking about my nightmares. “Hamlin didn’t get a chance to do any torturing of me. I promise. The worst thing he did to me was leave me in the dark and not feed me.”
Night narrowed his big owl eyes. “Atlanta, what is your champion talking about?”
“Stick around. I don’t want to have to tell the story twice,” I said and headed into the bathroom. I stopped at the door. “Cale, where are the puppies? I can’t believe I forgot about them.”
Cale ran a hand over his hair. “I nearly forgot about them too. They’re with my parents. Athena was staying there to watch them.”
“Good… no, wait. I thought Athena was staying with the Muses.”
Cale’s head moved back and forth. “No, she said she would check on the Muses. She’s staying in our guest house—has been since you freed Indar. Her Pegasus is in the field hanging out with our other horses.”
“Where does Indar sleep?”
Cale snorted. “In the guest room of the main house. He goes to see Theo a lot, but he doesn’t sleep at my grandfather’s. Should I be jealous? Why do you care where Indar sleeps?”
Why did I care? Because my chaotic life was pushing my warrior goddess sister into spending quite a lot of time close to the Dragon she confessed to being fond of.
If this was the handiwork of the Fates, then for once, they had my vote that they were doing something right.
Not answering, I ducked my head and laughed before heading into the bathroom. It was nice knowing Cale didn’t want me getting interested in other men.
Duff was quiet the whole time I explained what her brother had done to me. She didn’t interrupt, not once, and that wasn’t like her.
Hate darkened her frown afterward, and that wasn’t like Duff either. Adversity seemed to constantly roll off Duff’s shoulders like it was afraid to stick to her. She was one of those women who deserved being described as formidable.
“What happened to ya was all my fault, Atlanta. I should never have taken ya there.”
“You’re not to blame for Hamlin’s treachery. He’s wanted to rule all his life.” I stopped and drew in a breath. The next part would be the hardest. “I learned a lot in the dungeon. Prince Ewan was in the cell next to mine.”
“Liam’s brother? That Ewan?” Duff asked with a frown.
I nodded. “Ewan admitted he was the one who fossilized your parents. He and some witch did it together. Hamlin promised that Ewan would be his right-hand man afterward. Your brother double-crossed Ewan once it was done.”
“So it wasn’t some rogue Dark Elf who did it? It was a Light Elf from the royal family?”
Nodding, I reached out and held Duff’s hand. “Ewan said Hamlin has been setting you up all your life. He was the one who put Liam in danger. He knew you would save him. He knew what kind of political situation that would put you both in. Everything fell into place because you and Liam felt so differently about the rules.”
Duff closed her eyes. “I hate my brother. I want to skin him and tack his hide to the castle wall so no one will ever dare cross me again.”
“Duff, look at me,” I ordered. When she did, I poured the truth out quickly. “Your parents told Hamlin to do whatever it was he did to put Liam in danger. Hamlin did things to you and Liam with their permission.”
Duff shook her head. “I don’t understand what ya’re saying.”
“Your parents weren’t ready for you to marry Liam and take control of the throne. Everything your parents did to you was to delay them from having to step down. Not too long ago, they were ready to tell you that they’d changed their minds. They were going to tell you to marry Liam after all. Unfortunately, their change of heart didn’t fit into Hamlin’s plans. He betrayed them the same way he betrayed you.”
Duff kept shaking her head. “That can’t be the truth, Atlanta. Maybe Ewan lied to ya. Why would Ewan tell ya all that and then get to leave the prison for helping Hamlin? It makes no sense for him to be telling ya anything true.”
“Hamlin didn’t hear my conversation with Ewan, so he doesn’t know I know. Ewan was upset at Hamlin for taking his magic away, so he was spewing. Conflict loosens tongues. The Druidic Witch put a mark on Ewan that keeps him from using his magic, so Prince Liam’s brother is no longer a threat to the throne. I’m sure Hamlin offered to help reverse what was done to gain Ewan’s compliance in looking for you.”
“And the Druidic Witch who helped Ewan? Where’s she?” Duff asked.
“She supposedly tried to put the same mark on me, but it didn’t take. Hamlin killed her for failing. According to Ewan, I was still passed out when this happened. He watched them put the Dragon chains on me and said they were done as a last resort.”
“The Dark Elves chased me out of the village. I had to swim the moat to get away. Most of my scrapes came from the rocks lining the sides and bottom.”
“I’m glad you got away,” I said.
Duff glared at me with pain in her gaze. “None of this can be the truth, Atlanta. My parents wouldn’t do those things to me. They’re royals through and through, but they wouldn’t play with my life to serve themselves. I just can’t believe that of them.”
“I suppose Ewan could have lied about some of it,” I admitted. “But I don’t think he lied to me about all of it. He was quoting Hamlin, who loves to brag about the people he deceives.”
Duff shook her head in denial. “Say it’s all true then. What were they planning to do? Apologize and claim my choice of Liam to be good after all? The Celtic pantheon, especially the Leprechauns, would never accept that my parents changed their minds of their own free will—not after all this time. Liam would always be in a weak position as king because his status would be doubted.”
I pulled my hand away. “For someone who’s spent her life running from her royal position, you sure understand the politics of it well. I think Liam does too.”
“I’ve always understood. I just hated it,” Duff whispered. “Liam—does he know any of what Ewan shared with ya?”
“Ewan bragged that Liam knew nothing of what was done to both of you in the past. He and Hamlin agreed that Liam was as easy to fool as you. Allegedly, Liam’s parents don’t know anything about what’s going on with their sons either. However, Liam did know that Ewan was working with Hamlin. That—well, that he didn’t tell us.”
“So Liam lied to me then.”
I waited for a heartbeat before answering. “Yes. Liam lied to you about Hamlin being a good ruler. I confronted him about it, but he didn’t relent. I was going to tell you what I suspected, but then you disappeared.”
I wished I had something kinder to say to her about Liam, but good looks didn’t make a good man. There was only one glimmer of hope for Liam. “Hamlin told Liam that he’d kill Ewan if Liam told his parents what was going on. Does Hamlin have any reason to fear the Light Fairy kingdom?”
“Any Leprechaun would fear their powerful magic, but everyone also knows they’re next in line to rule. The Light Fairy royals could bust into the Otherworld castle today with their magical armies and take the throne. Hamlin would declare treason, though, if they tried such a coup. The result would be a bloody battle. The right group would prevail because of Gaia, but all deaths from the conflict would be on my pantheon. Leprechauns would go down in history as another pantheon who didn’t peacefully transfer the seat of power.”
“So it’s a lose-lose scenario for you and your people unless there’s a peaceful transition.”
“Yes,” Duff said. “And I see only one way to ensure that outcome.”
“What’s that?” I asked.
Duff buried her face in her hands and groaned. “Please don’t ask me to tell ya that.”
I had a moment of déjà vu. “Why? Is this about Liam again?”
Duff dropped her hands and glared. “Yes, it’s about Liam—everything is always about bloody Liam. Because the only way I can fix this now is to marry the freaking liar. With the Elven king I chose at my side at last, and with my parents fossilized, my marriage could break Hamlin’s hold on the throne. But there’s a whole lot wrong with my plan.”
“Like the fact that you hate Liam?” I suggested.
Duff grunted. “No, I don’t hate him, but Liam certainly hates me. He’d never marry me for any reason. He thinks I robbed him of his birthright. He’s an idiot.”
I couldn’t believe she was that dumb about the man. “Liam doesn’t hate you, Duff. He hates the rules keeping you two apart, but not enough to defy them. He’s a rule follower. He’s not the man you need. He’s weak under pressure and not trustworthy. He might never have your back.”
“Well, how can I fix his flaws for him? He’s the one I chose before I knew his true colors. If saving my people means challenging Hamlin’s claim to the throne, then I’ll bloody marry that idiot Light Elf to get it done. Fixing this is what I’m meant to do. I feel it in my soul.”
I lifted my shoulders and let them fall. I wish I had a better answer for Duff, but I didn’t even have a good enough argument to counter her loveless marriage. “So, what are you planning to do?”
“Outside of kidnapping the future Elven king of Otherworld and forcing him to wed me, ya mean? I thought maybe I’d get some food and throw back a few drinks to dull the pain. Ya can consider it my bachelorette party. Ya did promise to be my second.”
I did promise, but Duff was not marrying that tight-abbed Elf weasel if I had anything to say about it.
“You have a concussion, Duff. No drinking or eating just yet. Let’s shelf those kidnapping plans of yours until you’re better.”
Duff threw a dramatic arm up over her eyes to block me out. “Good Gaia, Atlanta. Don’t ya dare be saving me if I bleed out and die. I’m so tired of my life. Dark Elves chasing me. My bar closed. I’m separated from my treasure. What in any realm do I have to look forward to when my destiny is to marry a cowardly liar? Death would be a kindness to someone cursed as I am.”
Having nothing comforting to say, I did the only thing a friend like me could do with all Duff’s sad whining. I threw back my head and laughed about it.
Her arm came down to make sure I saw her glaring at me. I deserved the middle finger salute she gave. It was well deserved and also let me know Duff’s fighting side hadn’t given up yet.
I would take that as good news.