CHAPTER 24
LAURA WASTED NO time
getting upstairs. Under normal circumstances, she would never risk
transitioning personas near a public area, but the macCullens were
waiting for Mariel Tate. With no concern for courtesy, she forced
two people out of an elevator and activated her glamour. When a
failure in security happened, the last place she wanted to be was
out of the room while others made their cases.
Draigen stood at the wide window of her suite,
looking out across the Mall. Behind her, her brothers’ voices rose
and fell as each made his points. Since the return from the White
House meeting, they had argued over which of them had been in the
best position to prevent the assassination attempt. Laura did not
miss the subtle criticisms thrown her way as Aran and Brinen
bickered. Neither did Terryn.
“Mariel has extensive experience in security, at
this building in particular,” Terryn said.
“Then how did we become so easily exposed?” Brinen
asked.
“I was presented with cleared staff,” Laura said.
It was a statement that masked her own criticism. The sniper had
been found before Draigen reached the White House. In the attic of
an office building up the street from the Guildhouse, a dead man
had been found with a recently fired rifle. The man—an Inverni
fairy named Sean Carr who had been attached to Aran’s staff—had
died from an essence-bolt to the chest.
“A plan destroyed by one man is a poor plan,” Aran
said.
Laura maintained her composure. Despite her own
feelings of doubt, she was not about to take the sole blame for
what had happened. “I recommended an integrated staff consisting of
InterSec, Guild, and Guardian officers. I was overruled.”
Draigen turned from the window, one eyebrow arched
in threatened insult as she looked at Terryn. “Is she implying a
question of loyalty with respect to our staff prior to this?”
Terryn shook his head. “We prefer to use integrated
staff to keep units on alert. People unfamiliar with each other
tend to be more observant of each other.”
“People unfamiliar with each other tend not to work
well together,” Brinen said. He had insisted on a Guardian-only
security force.
Draigen turned back to the window.
“Interesting.”
Laura rubbed her forehead. “If I may, the team
composition was a philosophical and strategic difference of opinion
and is now a moot point. The question isn’t so much how it happened
but why. Answering how merely fixes a flaw in procedure. Answering
why might prevent any future attempts.”
Terryn craned his head toward Draigen. “Speaking of
which, after what happened today, I would prefer you not stand at
the window like that.”
Draigen tilted her head to observe something
outside. “Cities never sleep. Sometimes I think when we moved from
the country to the city, our priorities changed in an unfortunate
way. We began thinking less about our homes and started worrying
more about what our neighbors were doing.”
“I’d worry more about the lack of security in this
building,” Aran said.
Draigen chuckled as she withdrew from the window
and took a seat on the empty sofa. “Aran, brother, the attack came
from outside the building.”
Annoyed, Brinen glanced at his brother. “And I’d
worry more about who is a friend and who is an enemy.”
“Your taunts tire me, Brinen. My people are as
loyal as yours,” Aran said.
“Except Sean Carr, of course,” Brinen said.
Aran glared. Sean Carr had been found and
identified within minutes of the attempt on Draigen’s life. “I
cannot speak for the thoughts of one man, brother, but I will
defend my people with every breath.”
Brinen grunted. “Yet I am the one with a bullet
wound.”
“You should be resting,” Terryn said.
Brinen shrugged with a slight wince. “The bullet
did not cause major damage and was easily removed. The healing
spell is working.”
“What can you tell us about Sean Carr, Aran? Why
would he do this?” Terryn asked.
Aran shook his head. “I don’t know. These are
troubled times, brother. They breed troubled minds.”
“In some more than others,” Brinen said.
Aran pushed away from the table and stalked to the
door. “There is a reason for what happened, and we will find it.
Until that becomes the focus of discussion, I will not hear any
more of these accusations.”
He slammed the door as he left. A bitter smile
curled on Brinen’s lips. “I’m sure he’ll start with his own
staff.”
“Enough, Brin,” Terryn said.
Draigen sighed. “Yes, enough. Pray, get some rest,
Brinen. We have much to do in the next few days, and I would prefer
you strong.”
Brinen stood and bowed. “As always, sister, I abide
by your wishes.”
He favored a short bow to Terryn as well, then
closed the door quietly behind him as if to distinguish himself
from his brother.
Draigen sighed. “They will argue to the ends of the
world.”
“The fact remains, sister, you were attacked by one
of our own, regardless whose subclan he was from,” Terryn
said.
She poured herself a cup of tea from the service on
the low table in front of her. “I was attacked by someone suborned.
Aran is correct. Shifting politics make for uncertainties.”
“I apologize for my lack of depth on the subject,
but are you saying the Inverni are not united in the effort to gain
U.S. support?” Laura asked.
Terryn did not change his expression, but amusement
flickered across Draigen’s face. She lowered her tea and rested her
hands in her lap. “And she touches another family dispute.”
“Draigen did not want to meet with the president,”
he said. “She was concerned it would appear as a weakness to
solicit human aid.”
Vindicated apparently, Draigen smiled a small
smile. “I acquiesced to my brother’s wishes on the condition I move
quickly before political opposition at home solidified.”
“Is the opposition coming from within your own
clans?” Laura asked.
“Unfortunately, yes,” said Terryn.
Draigen waited for him to continue. When he did
not, she retrieved her tea and sipped. “The Inverni are a
complicated people, Agent Tate. Clan strife defines us. Under the
present circumstances, there are clans, such as the Alfreys, who
feel that the Seelie Court has already declared war against us.
There are also clans who feel the matter can be worked out
diplomatically. I believe this trip has found ill favor among the
former.”
“Aran’s people often align themselves with the
Alfrey point of view,” Terryn said.
“The Seelie Court may be exploiting that,” Laura
said.
Again, the small smile played on Draigen’s lips. “I
never discount the hand of High Queen Maeve in matters involving
our people.”
Terryn favored her with his own smile. “Times have
changed, Draigen. This world is not ours. Maeve has done well
opposing the Elvenking. That benefits all the Celtic fey.”
Draigen frowned. “The Elvenking rules a land while
we huddle in pastures.”
Terryn shook his head. “Maeve chose the right
alliances at the right time. What she did in the Treaty was what
she thought she needed to do to protect all our people. She was
wrong to do it. I believe she can change her mind.”
Draigen glanced down. “Then we must hope she does
so quickly, brother, because while she fortifies her front door
against the Elvenking, her kitchen garden may be overrun by her own
subjects. We may not be able to stop it.”
He stood. “I will think on that as always, sister.
You, too, need rest now.”
Laura stood as well. “I will continue to offer my
services, Lady Regent.”
Draigen smiled up at her. “My younger brothers may
suspect your talents, Agent Tate, but if Terryn has faith in you,
so shall I.”
Laura followed Terryn into the hallway. Anxious and
alert Inverni Guardians watched their every move. Brinen waited in
the small elevator lobby and gestured at the Guardians nearby to
move out of earshot. “Terryn, we need to talk.”
“I’m listening,” he said.
Brinen glanced at Laura. “Perhaps we can go to my
rooms.”
Terryn pressed the elevator call button. “Speak
freely, Brinen. I have appointments.” A pause followed while Brinen
stared at Terryn. “I said speak freely, brother. Sendings are not
necessary in front of Mariel.”
Brinen compressed his lips. “I am concerned,
Terryn. This attack on Draigen exposes a rift in the clan that the
Seelie Court will exploit.”
Terryn pursed his lips. “The Seelie Court exploits
everything to its advantage. You know that.”
“I care less about that than the unity of our
people, Terryn. They need a strong leader,” Brinen said.
“They have one, Brinen. I have faith in
Draigen.”
“Do you have faith she will survive another attempt
on her life, Terryn? Our people want their true underKing. While
Draigen leads, they doubt her authority. While Draigen leads,
brother, you leave open the door for the unwise to press their case
for war.”
“And how does goading Aran prevent that, Brinen?
You do no good pitting yourself against him.”
“I remind him that he and his people are watched,
Terryn. I remind him, brother, that we will not allow them to lead
us to our destruction,” Brinen said.
“We need to be united, Brinen. I would rather
persuade Aran and his people to our way of thinking than order
them,” said Terryn.
Brinen placed a firm hand on Terryn’s arm. “You may
not have that luxury. Our sister could have been killed today.
While you demand from abroad that she stand firm in your resolve,
she must face the pressure at home. She may not break from you,
Terryn, but she may not survive it. Can you live with that?”
Terryn didn’t answer right away. The pain of his
brother’s words showed on his face. “We will find a way, Brinen. I
will find a way.”
Brinen brought his face close to Terryn’s. “You are
our leader, Terryn. Our people will follow you.”
“I will think on this, Brinen,” he said.
“That’s all I ask, as ever,” he said. Brinen
released his arm. The two brothers faced each other. Laura didn’t
think they were sending to each other but searching each other’s
faces for some answer neither knew. Brinen bowed and left the lobby
as the elevator arrived.
The elevator doors closed. The turmoil that Terryn
projected made Laura uncomfortable. She wanted the calm, secure
InterSec leader she had worked for all these years. This troubled
Inverni was someone she didn’t recognize, and she didn’t know what
to say. When they reached the InterSec floor, Terryn lingered
outside the door, and she looked back at him. “Terryn?”
“What do you make of this?” he asked.
She considered. “Brinen doesn’t think Draigen can
handle the situation.”
“Does he speak true?”
She paused. Asking her what she had sensed revealed
a level of suspicion she hadn’t expected. “Are you saying you don’t
trust him?”
Amused, Terryn grunted. “I trust my family to
perform their duties. That’s not the same as telling me the
truth.”
Laura took a steadying breath. “Brinen spoke true.
He is worried.”
“He and I usually agree,” he said. “He has been my
eyes and ears at court, and I value what he says.”
She tilted her head toward him. “Not that I don’t
want you here, Terryn, but I’ve never understood why you made
Draigen your regent and didn’t take the underKing title.”
His expression made it obvious that it wasn’t the
first time someone asked him. “It was well-known that I wasn’t in
favor of my father challenging Maeve. When he died at her hands, it
would have looked like she paved the way for me to take the
underKing title because I was less likely to defy her. At least,
many of the Inverni would have seen it that way. Draigen, though,
was as forceful as my father on the issue. I made her regent to
keep the Inverni united when we lost our underKing. I’ve never
regretted that decision, but now I wonder if things should
change.”
She looked at her feet. “Are you considering
leaving?”
He sighed, letting his gaze drift upward. “No. Not
yet. Brinen has been advocating I take the crown for decades. I
think he sees it as his role at this point. I wonder, though, if he
truly believes I am putting Draigen in danger?”
Given the conversation, her first impulse was to
say yes, but as she thought about it, Brinen’s words didn’t ring
forcefully true. Her truth sensing often failed when someone spoke
in hypothetical tones. Speakers didn’t necessarily need to believe
in their fears when they were merely articulating them. “Terryn,
honestly, I think you’re asking me to answer the question for you.
To me, any high-profile figure is in danger by default. That’s how
I look at the world because of my job. That doesn’t mean Draigen is
in danger. I assume it’s a possibility, and maybe so does Brinen.
The only real answer is what you think because only you can decide
what you will do.”
He closed his eyes. “You’re right, of course. I
think what Brinen means is that one way or another, I may have no
choice but to return to Ireland.”
His words hung in the air. She didn’t want to see
him leave, as much for herself as him, but she knew that decision
could cost him far more than her. “What about Cress?”
“I will take her with me,” he said.
Despite the conviction in his voice, Laura sensed
pain. Laura tried to imagine which choice she would make. Cress
would not survive long among the Inverni if attitudes like Aran’s
were any indication. If Terryn’s own family did not accept her,
Laura didn’t believe anyone else would. Yet, if he left her behind,
Cress would go mad with grief.
She didn’t see a solution.