Shadowlander by Theresa Meyers Page B

What if she refused to help them? Would they lock her away to keep her from exposing their plans for the invasion?
    He swallowed hard as an even more insidious possibility crept into his mind. If Cate refused to help them, would they slay her? He gripped the reins of his mount too tightly and the cat let out a low growl of warning. Rook soothed the beast with a scratch behind the ears. He doubted he could do the same if Cate became furious with him once she realized she could never go home again. He had but one chance left to convince her.
    They would have to bathe and change before being presented to the court. Beneath the blood-soaked, ragged edge of his sleeve, his wound throbbed. The metallic scent of his blood, and that of his enemies, mixed with the sweat of his skin. Both had dried to an uncomfortable crisp crust on his clothing.
    The next two hours would be his last opportunity to fully claim Cate as his own—not just for himself, but to protect her from the machinations of the Shadow Court. Rook knew he could at least attempt a negotiation with his father, but the rest would see and use her as a weapon of war. Rook wanted there to be no question who her champion was among them, because deep down, this was no longer politics to him.
    With Cate it had always been far, far more. She touched something untapped within him, a desire to protect and cherish her, to raise her to the level of a queen. To…love her.
    He stared at her, the chilly evening air bringing color high into her cheeks and the lights of the city sparkling in her eyes. The power of the realization struck him hard, like a physical blow. Dear gods. He. Loved. Her.
    And that changed everything.

Chapter Seven
    All Cate could do was stare.
    The courtyard of the royal castle in Seaneath did indeed make Rook’s palace by the sea look like a small beach cottage. It spread out for two hundred feet in either direction of the main entrance. Guards in crisp dark blue and black woolen uniforms looked more human than Rook’s bobblehead fae servants, as they stood at attention every ten feet along the walls of the castle proper.
    Rook pulled his catamount to a stop and she followed. “Settle!” Rook commanded and the large cats crouched down, their bellies to the ground. Without a word two of the guards came and held the cats’ harnesses, while she and Rook dismounted.
    “Thank you,” Cate said to the guard. He stared at her as if she’d grown a second head.
    Rook quickly stepped up beside her, their packs slung over his shoulder. He took her by the elbow, guiding her quickly toward the massive double doors of the palace. “One does not thank the fae,” he whispered harshly into her ear. “It is considered an insult.”
    “But I—”
    He cut her off with a look. “Next time, just tell them they’ve done well. That will suffice for acknowledgment.”
    Cate bit her lip, the flush creeping into her cheeks. She hadn’t been in the capital more than a half hour and already she’d done something inappropriate. This was definitely a different world, and she was going to be damn lucky if she could find Maya and get her out. But Rook’s presence beside her gave her a measure of comfort. She knew without a doubt he’d protect her no matter what happened.
    “We’re not going to see the king right now, are we?”
    “No. We must be presentable first. Our appointment will not be until later tonight.”
    Her mind spun as she tried to calculate just how long she had left until midnight, when she’d need Rook’s coin and a portal to get them back. Two, three hours tops.
    The large doors of the palace were pulled back for them to enter. Cate refrained from saying anything to the guard, merely nodded. He nodded in return. But in the next moment her social skills in the fae realm fell to pieces once again as she gasped and gawked at what she saw.
    The entry hall was the size of the indoor riding arena where her younger sister Clare had taken lessons. Where