Lord of Shadows (The Dark Artifices #2)(112)

Mark came up to his brothers then, and Ty turned to look at him. Kit heard him say: "I wasn't sure you would come back."

Mark laid his hand on his brother's shoulder, and spoke gruffly. "I'll always come back to you, Tiberius. I am sorry if I ever led you to believe anything else."

There were two other arrivals as well among the Blackthorns, who Kit didn't recognize: a gorgeously scowling boy with blue-black hair that waved around his angular face, and a wide-shouldered, massive man wearing an alarming helmet with carved antlers protruding from either side. Both of them sat astride their horses silently, without dismounting. A faerie escort, perhaps, to keep the others safe? But how had the Blackthorns and Emma managed to secure a favor like that? 

Then again, if anyone could manage to secure such a thing, it would be Julian Blackthorn. As Kit's father used to say about various criminals, Julian was the kind of person who could descend into Hell and come out with the devil himself owing him a favor.

Diana was hugging Emma and then Cristina, tears shining on her face. Feeling awkwardly out of place at the reunion  , Kit made his way to the edge of the railing. The clouds had cleared away, and he could see Millennium Bridge from here, lit up in rainbow colors. A train rattled over another bridge, casting its reflection into the water.

"Who are you?" said a voice at his elbow. Kit started and turned around. It was one of the two faeries he had noticed earlier, the scowling one. His dark hair, up close, looked less black than like a mixture of deep greens and blues. He brushed a bit of it away from his face, frowning; he had a full, slightly uneven mouth, but far more interesting were his eyes. Like Mark's, they were two different colors. One was the silver of a polished shield; the other was a black so dark his pupil was barely visible.

"Kit," said Kit.

The boy with the ocean hair nodded. "I'm Kieran," he said. "Kieran Hunter."

Hunter wasn't a real sort of faerie name, Kit knew. Faeries didn't generally give their true names, as names held power; Hunter just denoted what he was, the way nixies called themselves Waterborn. Kieran was of the Wild Hunt.

"Huh," said Kit, thinking of the Cold Peace. "Are you a prisoner?"

"No," said the faerie. "I'm Mark's lover."

Oh, Kit thought. The person he went into Faerie to save. He tried to stifle a look of amusement at the way faeries talked. Intellectually, he knew the word "lover" was part of traditional speech, but he couldn't help it: He was from Los Angeles, and as far as he was concerned, Kieran had just said, Hello, I have sex with Mark Blackthorn. What about you?

"I thought Mark was dating Emma," Kit said.

Kieran looked confused. A few of the curls of his hair seemed to darken, or perhaps it was a trick of the light. "I think you must be mistaken," he said.

Kit raised an eyebrow. How close was this guy actually to Mark, after all? Maybe they'd just had a meaningless fling. Though why Mark would then have dragged half his family to Faerie to save him was a mystery.

Before he could say anything, Kieran turned his head, his attention diverted. "That must be the lovely Diana," he said, gesturing toward the Blackthorns' tutor. "Gwyn was most enraptured with her."

"Gwyn's the big guy? Antler helmet?" said Kit. Kieran nodded, watching as Gwyn dismounted his horse to speak with Diana, who looked quite tiny against his bulk, though she was a tall woman.

"Providence has brought us together again," Gwyn said.

"I don't believe in providence," said Diana. She looked awkward, a little alarmed. She was holding her injured arm close against her. "Or an interventionist Heaven."

" 'There are more things in heaven and earth,' " said Gwyn, " 'than are dreamt of in your philosophy.' "

Kit snorted. Diana looked flabbergasted. "Are you quoting Shakespeare?" she said. "I would have thought at least it would have been A Midsummer Night's Dream."

"Faeries can't stand A Midsummer Night's Dream," muttered Kieran. "Gets everything wrong."

Gwyn's lips twitched at the corners. "Speaking of dreams," he said. "You have been in mine, and often."

Diana looked stunned. The Blackthorns had quieted their loud reunion   and were watching her and Gwyn with unabashed curiosity. Julian was even smiling a little; he was holding Tavvy, who had his arms hooked around his brother's neck like a clinging koala.



       
         
       
        

"I would that you would meet me, formally, that I might court you," said Gwyn. His large hands moved aimlessly at his sides, and Kit realized with a shock that he was nervous-this big, muscled man, the leader of the Wild Hunt, nervous. "We could together slay a frost giant, or devour a deer."