Read Online Seven Black Diamonds by Melissa Marr - Free Book Online

instant, Eilidh was certain then that her mother knew more than she’d admitted about her heir’s trips to the human world . . . or one of the myriad other secrets Eilidh kept.
    “Speak to your soon-to-be-brother, Rhys,” Endellion added. “Be sure he is well aware of my expectations. I need to see the king.”
    Then, with as little notice as when she had arrived, the Queen of Blood and Rage turned to leave. The assembled faeries scattered as she turned. They might love and respect their queen, but that affection was tempered by fear. Shewas their greatest strength, but she was also the nightmare that they spoke of in whispers. All from the eldest to the youngest fae were raised to know that their queen was wrought of darkness.
    Rhys gestured toward the glass tower.
    Silently, Torquil took Eilidh’s hand in his, and they led her half-brother into her home. Her unease increased further.
    None of her siblings ever visited her. Her aesthetically inclined Seelie siblings were understandable. Nacton tolerated her, but averted his gaze when they spoke. Calder, however, despised her for more than her scarred appearance. Not even the king could order him to be polite to her. Her Unseelie brother was more complex. The Unseelie were not put off by scars, but they were perhaps even less at ease with emotions. Rhys had behaved as Unseelie did, typically seeming wholly indifferent, but he’d also comforted her more than once when she’d wept.
    Their silence was unbroken until they reached the first floor of the tower. It was a sitting room designed to allow her the privacy of conversation without offering easy access to her bedchamber. The faeries milling around outside could see them all clearly. Awkwardly, Eilidh gestured to the uncomfortable but lovely guest chairs.
    Rhys gave her a chastising look that spoke loudly and motioned toward her own divan. He was too court-familiar to sit before her. Torquil, likewise, had stayed standing. Byright of rank, he and Rhys were equal now. Rhys was the queen’s son, but Torquil was the heir’s intended.
    Eilidh blushed as she realized her faux pas. “Sorry.”
    Once she sat, Rhys and Torquil exchanged a tense look, neither willing to admit a lesser rank and sit last, but neither wanting to clamber into a chair gracelessly to insist on higher rank.
    “Is this necessary?” she prompted after the two fae stood awkwardly for several moments. “We’re in my home, not in front of the queen.”
    Reluctantly, both faeries simultaneously sat.
    “May I speak freely?” Rhys asked.
    “Always,” Eilidh promised. She had wanted a closeness with her siblings for years. Only Rhys seemed remotely capable of that. If this horribly unplanned betrothal elicited sibling affection, she was ready to declare the whole thing a fine idea . . . even if she wasn’t pleased at the idea of Torquil’s unexpected political machinations.
    “She’ll have me slit his throat before she allows you to wed,” Rhys announced bluntly.
    Torquil said, “The king—”
    “Does not control my mother, even a little,” Rhys interrupted. “She is Unseelie, and angry, and has pinned every hope she has left on Eilidh and the halflings.”
    Torquil frowned at him. “The . . . ?”
    “The Sleepers.” Rhys spoke slowly, as if Torquil should’ve known that secret. When he realized that Torquil didn’t, his gaze turned to Eilidh. “You didn’t tell him?”
    “If the queen or king wanted it spoken, it would be,” she pointed out.
    “You are more like her than I realized,” Rhys said, and from his tone, she was fairly sure it wasn’t a compliment.
    Eilidh nodded. “I am their heir.”
    “Until she has another child or finds the missing daughter.”
    “The baby died at sea. Everyone says so,” Eilidh said mildly.
    “Can you say that she died?” Rhys prodded. “Tell me I’m wrong, Patches. Tell me you aren’t aware of where our missing sister had been hidden. Tell me that I missed some of your machinations,