“I’ve made up my mind, Gemma. I know what this means to her. To be queen of the Hill Lands. And when that dream crumbles into dust, she’ll need someone who actually likes her to be there for her. That, dear sister, is definitely not you.”

* * *

“I’m not letting you go off with strangers!” Angus raged, pacing like a caged bear. “You’re my daughter! It’s my job to protect you.”

“I can care for myself,” Beatrix softly argued. “Besides, I won’t be alone. I’ll have Keeley with me.”

“And me,” Gemma suddenly piped up.

“Like hells you will!”

“Da!”

Beatrix’s flat gaze had locked onto Gemma. “I didn’t ask you to come with me.”

Gemma clapped her hands together and cheered, “Then this is a fun surprise!”

Caid cleared his throat to stop from laughing. The way she’d said that and the look her younger sister had given her revealed a brutal battle of wills. A battle their parents were completely unaware of as Angus continued to rage.

“None of you are going anywhere!” Angus bellowed. “You’ll stay here where you’re safe! With me! And your mum.”

“If you want my opinion . . .” began Archibald, who stood against a far wall.

“Gemma,” Keeley said, without even looking at her sister. And Gemma pulled a small blade from her sword belt and threw it in her uncle’s direction. She didn’t hit him, but she landed the blade in a spot quite close to his head.

Caid was impressed. The older man didn’t flinch, but he did put up his hands, palms out, and said, “I’ll mind me own.”

So he wasn’t always irrational. That was good to know.

Angus’s wife put her arm around his shoulders. “Are you done?”

Angus did look exhausted. He was breathing heavily, big shoulders heaving, concern etched into his face. “I can’t lose me girls, Em. I can’t.”

“And you won’t.” She kissed his forehead and moved so she stood in the middle of the hall. “This is what we’re going to do and none of you are going to argue with me.”

“Well—” Laila began but a raised finger stopped her.

“None of you,” the older woman insisted.

“You two”—Emma pointed at Caid and Laila—“are going to take our Beatrix to the Witches of Amhuinn. Get everything confirmed and solidified. We’ll make all our big decisions then. Keeley, Gemma, and Keran will travel with you.”

“Mum—”

“Mother—”

There went that terse finger again and both immediately fell silent. “The two centaurs, Fartness and Cud-filled—”

“Farlan and Cadell,” Laila corrected.

“—will stay here and protect the family.”

“My lady—” Laila began.

“I am no lady, centaur. I still have bits of brain and blood stuck under me tits because I have not had the time nor inclination to bathe, due to our travels. So don’t attempt your soft words with me.”

“Fine,” Laila shot back. “Farlan and Cadell are here to protect the future queen. Not her less-than-noble siblings.”

“You want the queen, lady pony, you protect the family. We’re a unit. I won’t have our youngest dragged across the lands, but I won’t leave them defenseless either.”

“You lot are hardly defenseless.”

“Without Keeley and Gemma? We’re practically naked. So, these are your choices. We all go . . . a slow, plodding way to travel with children. Or you leave those two hearty stallions to my tender care and you make great haste to the Witches of Amhuinn. Which is it?”

Laila had no choice. Not now. Not with the Devourer’s men still searching for Beatrix.

“Farlan and Cadell will stay here.”

“Good.” She returned to her husband’s side, putting her arms around him. “Now all of you might as well get as much sleep as you can. Tomorrow will be a hard, long day.”

“I’m still worried about you,” Keeley said. “What if the Devourer’s men come here?”

“So little faith in me, niece?” Archibald asked.

* * *

“If they come,” he said, leading Keeley and Caid deep into the bowels under his home, “I will get the family out this way.”

“Including my father?” Keeley asked.

“If I must.”

“You must, Uncle.”

He stopped walking, forcing Keeley to stop behind him. He looked at her over his shoulder. “You should have been my daughter, you know. All of you should have been mine.”

“That’s such a strange thing to say! Why would you say that to me?”

“Because you should know that your father stole your mother from me.”

“How did he do that?”

“He just did!”

“Maybe between the two of you, he just seemed less insane.”

“She might have said something like that.” He started down the stairs again. “But we both know the truth. That we were meant to be together.”

“If you two had gotten together, I would not be here.”

“That’s not true.”

“I may look like my mother, Uncle, but I am my father’s child. More than any of my siblings. So unless you are wishing me away . . .”

“No. Of course not.”

They finally reached the last of the stairs.

“This is steep,” Caid noted.

“It is.” Keeley took the torch from her uncle and held it high, moving a bit down the hallway. “This leads out?”

“It does. Right next to the Wenlan Docks. We can get a boat there if needed.”

“Good. Bring Mum and Da down here tomorrow. Let them see where they’ll be going. They’ll want to get the older children comfortable with coming down here as well. Especially since they’ll be carrying the little ones.” She raised the torch higher. “Make sure all these torches are lit all day, every day. You’ll never know when you’ll need to make a run for it.”

“Any other orders? Maybe you want me to dance for the children.”

Keeley reached up and pressed her palm to her uncle’s cheek, replying in all seriousness. “All I ask is that you keep my family safe.”

“For you and your mum . . . anything.”

* * *

Caid watched Archibald make his way back up the stairs until Keeley tapped his arm and motioned in the opposite direction.

They started trekking down the long tunnels.

“Making sure he’s being truthful about where this ends up?” he asked as he followed her.

“I don’t think we need to go the entire way, but I want to make sure it doesn’t end after a few feet either.”

“He built all this by himself?”

“I hope so.”

“Why do you hope so?”

“My uncle is paranoid. If he involved some poor sod to help him build the castle, trust me when I say that poor sod is also buried somewhere under all this.”

Caid winced. “Sure it’s a good idea letting your family stay here?”

“We have little choice. Besides, my uncle may be a mad bastard, but he’s also a mad fighter. Like one of those berserkers of old. He’ll throw himself in front of an entire army if it means protecting my mother and her offspring.”

“And your father?”

“Will need to watch his back. But hopefully we won’t leave him here too long.” She continued on for a bit in silence, but Caid could tell she had more questions.

“How does this process work?” she asked.

“Process?”

“The witches.” She stopped, faced Caid. “They won’t hurt my sister, will they?”

“They just want to see her. Make sure their prophesy is correct. Consult the gods, or whatever they do.”

She frowned. “And if it’s not? If they decide she’s not queen. Will Beatrix be in danger from them?”

“Your bigger problem will always be the Old King’s sons.”

“That doesn’t really answer my question.”

“Your sister will be safe until she’s either crowned and has an army at her back or the brothers know she’s no longer their worry.”

“And how will we ensure her safety?”

“We’ll figure it out. We won’t desert you. Not after all this.”

Keeley seemed to accept that answer and began moving down the tunnel again.

“Can I ask you a question?”

“Of course,” Keeley said easily, glancing back at him with a smile.

“When we were attacked at your parents’ farm . . . where were your wolves?”

“My wolves?”

Caid simply raised an eyebrow and Keeley nodded. “Oh. My friends.”

“I thought for sure you’d call them to your side.”

“They’re my friends,” she explained, briefly stopping to light a torch affixed to the wall. “But I don’t actually have control over them. I know they won’t attack me, but I can’t say the same for my family. I won’t risk my siblings.”

Caid didn’t mention that she’d happily risked him and his unit, plus poor Samuel, but what was the point? Laila could handle anything, unlike the babe still feeding at her mum’s breast or the toddlers who liked to play with the piglets.

“Can I ask you a question?” Keeley gave him that smile again and Caid immediately stopped walking.

“No. You can’t ride me.”

Keeley spun around to face him, forcing Caid to jerk his head back so the torch in her hand didn’t burn his face off.

“Oh, please!” she begged. “Just a little ride? Down this tunnel will be fine!”

“No. I am not a pony.”

“Of course you’re not! You’re a mighty stallion.”