Descendants of the Kings (Book 2)

Ch 50.2: The hunters and the hunted

Soon, the carriage came to a rocking stop before a thick huddle of trees. The chariot jostled as Cedric jumped down from the driver's seat and opened the door. Immediately, they were hit by the frigid slap of icy wind.

"Crikey, it's cold," Juliet exclaimed as she ducked to get out of the carriage. Grayson, who had gotten down first, extended a hand to help her out.

"Get used to it, I lost sensation of my face hours ago," Cedric said cheerfully. "Can't feel a bloody thing."

Grayson looked around as he fastened his coat. "How far is this place, Hart?"

Cedric jabbed a thumb at the tree line. "It's a little clearing just past these trees. This is the closest we can get with the carriage."

"Do you know if Tommy's here yet?" Juliet asked, trying to spot her brother as they waded through the thick foliage. It was close enough that the carriage was just visible between the trees.

"Must be around here. I think-- Ah there he is," Cedric smiled wide, raising his hand to wave at Thomas and William, who stood in the middle of the forest clearing with their horses. "Good to see you, mate!"

Thomas turned, locking in on Juliet. The expression on his face flicked from momentarily pleased to surprised, to furious, all in the span of a few seconds. He looked her up and down as if she'd suddenly sprouted a second head, his eyes widening in anger.

"Hello, Tommy," Juliet managed to squeak, weakly waving her hand. This only made Thomas even more upset.

"What the hell is she doing here, Hart?" he demanded, whirling to face Cedric. "What the fuck are you playing at?"

"Juliet? What? I didn't even realise you were there, you sneaky thing," Cedric laughed lightly. "Slippery kid, got right past me."

Thomas stalked right up to him, grabbing him by the collar. "Stop fucking around, I'm not playing. What the hell were you thinking?"

"Tommy," Juliet gasped, eyes widening. She went to approach him, but Grayson raised a hand to stop her.

"Let him go, Thomas. I invited her, Hart didn't know," he lied. Of course, Cedric knew. But Cedric didn't give a damn, proved by how he laughed as Thomas shook him by the collar.

"Oi, watch it, you'll wrinkle my shirt. I gotta look nice for this meeting," he brushed Thomas off, easily removing his hold. "Ease up, it's not that big of a deal."

"Not that big of a deal?" Thomas seethed, so red Juliet worried he might burst a vein. "You brought my little sister to a meeting with the fucking Fae! What the hell is wrong with you both?!"

"Thomas, I asked to come," Juliet tried to say, but her brother didn't even register her, enraged as he was.

"It is just a meeting, Thomas," Grayson said tightly, clearly trying to remain calm in face of the insults. "There is nothing to worry about."

"Nothing to worry about? How do you know this isn't a trap?" Thomas demanded. "How do you know that we are safe here? Can you guarantee me that nothing will go wrong today?"

"I don't know that, Thomas," Grayson said warily, massaging his temples. "I cannot assure you anything. But then, maybe you should have thought about that before you insisted I accept this meeting. Why is it different now?"

"You did push the matter quite a bit, mate," Cedric said, clapping Thomas on the shoulder. "Didn't you say that Grayson needed to man up and stop being such a ponce?"

"Yes, he did. No need to repeat it, Hart," Grayson muttered.

"Yes, but that was before you all decided to bring Juliet," Thomas hissed, finally deigning to glare at Juliet. "It is one thing for us to face the fae alone, it is another matter entirely to bring my sister!"