Chapter Four #2
“Will you withdraw so I can scavenge for food?”
He kissed her again and did as she asked.
He cleaned them both up with mage fire, and she got to her knees and sighed. “Now, back to my clothes.”
“If you need any help keeping tidy as you drip, let me know.”
She wrinkled her nose. “How long does that go on?”
He kissed her cheek. “It takes as long as it takes.”
She huffed. “I don’t know how this ever caught on as a thing.”
“Fortunately, it is how all mammals work. You aren’t alone.”
She flickered some fire to catch a surge. “Would condoms be an option? Then you can deal with it.”
He chuckled. “If it is you I am with, I am attempting to capture an heir.”
She frowned. “Wait. You want a kid?”
“A child. Infant. Little person. Yes.”
“Well, as you are very nice to look at, I am guessing that you don’t have to fight to find a willing—uh—receptacle?”
“My partner was chosen for me long ago.”
“Well, I still have a death sentence. I have to tell you: I was shocked that no one found me.”
He reached out and stroked her cheek. “That is odd. Are you sure you didn’t obscure yourself?”
“Obscu—I think I know what happened. Or rather, who.”
A shadow moved, and a woman with a takeout bag walked into the bedroom. “It’s about fucking time. Hey, Hey.”
“Rage. Oh, my goodness. I forgot all about you.”
“I have snacks. We need to talk.”
Amori was staring at her. “How did you get in here?”
“Locks and keys are my thing. I brought breakfast for you as well, pretty boy.”
Val scrambled off the bed and grabbed the bag. There were two cups of coffee and a stack of pastries.
Her younger sister walked over to the side and crouched comfortably near the wall.
Amori looked at her. “But how did you get in here?”
“Oh, my sister is a born healer and trained necromancer. I am a born thief, trained mage. My official classification is borrower.”
Amori stared at her. “What do you look like?”
“Sort of like Hey but with a thick streak of silver that I got when our mother made a deal for me. I was extra, so they didn’t need another daughter. I got traded away, so I ran when I was thirteen.”
Heyval handed the king a cup of coffee and fished out two pastries for herself.
Heyval took a bite and said, “You didn’t get traded; you were betrothed.”
Rage flipped her hand. “Same difference. You went to school, and I went to learn how not to insult my soon-to-be husband. Fortunately, I haven’t seen him in five years and a bit.”
Amori sat up. “You are engaged?”
“Yeah, but it was supposed to be finalized when I was twenty-five years old. Oops. Missed.”
Heyval chuckled. “She’s twenty-eight now, same as me. Three days younger.”
“Yeah, I think Mom is still pissed about that.”
Heyval laughed. “Yeah. I came out with the wrong magic, and you wouldn’t come out at all.”
Rage snickered. “Well, glad you have found some companionship. Can you toss me some death magic?”
“Why?”
“Because the ten-year blinding spell is over, and the name recognition started rippling tonight because this one was busy binding you by name.” She gestured toward Amori.
The king froze. “You caught that?”
“Her name rippled three times and yours in return. Congratulations, bro.”
Heyval stared at Amori, and he looked resigned. “Fine. Caught me.”
Hey had half a bear claw in her mouth. “Seriously? Is that what that was about?”
He smiled and reached out to brush crumbs from her lips. “I wanted you bound to me. Names are easy.”
Hey prodded around and found their link. “It’s a small link.”
Amori smiled. “It will grow with proximity.”
Heyval examined the link and frowned. “But why?”
“Because when your magic touched me after the blast, I felt a true connection with someone. When it faded, I felt the loss. Looking for you has occupied my time, and I want you to be at my side for my party.”
“Party?” Her mind scrambled. “Your birthday is right around the corner.”
He grinned. “You have it.”
Rage reached into her jacket and pulled out a card. “Go here. Get a dress.”
The card flapped its way over, and Val caught it. “This is pricey.”
“She’s waiting with some samples. She owes me... a bit.”
Heyval smiled. “You said you needed blood?”
“Oh. Yeah. Blood or necromancer magic. Either one will have them chasing me instead of you, and I am much more willing to fight if they corner me. I have practice.”
Heyval handed one of the last pastries to Amori. “When do you want it?”
“Fast. They are coming for you, and I need to lead them away. Your Majesty, can you conceal her for a few days?”
Amori sat up and grinned. “I can. Her friend will hate it.”
“Oh, Bailey. Yeah, she’s gonna be pissed.”
“I would offer to pitch in, but I am going to be busy.” Rage was still on the comfortable crouch.
“Are you ever going to meet your fiancé?”
“Oh, I did. A few years ago. We consummated the contract, and then one of his bodyguards tried to dismiss me while he was sleeping, and after that, he nearly cut me in half, and only my freaky genes kept me together.”
Heyval blinked. “What?”
Rage stood up and pulled off her jacket and shirt. A silvery pink line was puckered and jagged, going from left shoulder to nearly right hip.
Heyval covered her mouth. “How did you...”
“I started as a healer, too.”
“Oh. Right.”
Amori was staring. “That is the mark of an acid blade.”
Rage pulled her tee back on and put the jacket on after that. “That is what it felt like. But my husband thinks I am dead, so there was a bright side. Now I just make my life as a hunter, which is why I knew when you popped up.”
Heyval got nervous. “What will they do if they catch me?”
“They will take you back to your school and sentence you to death. The sentence will be carried out less than twenty-four hours later.” Rage stepped toward her. “So, let me borrow some of the necromancy and a few drops of blood, and I will let him put wards on you.”
Heyval stretched out her hand and put a portion of magic along her fingertips. Rage took her hand and smiled, turned her fingers over and nipped the middle finger and sucked. Her fangs were adorable, like little sharp kitten fangs. Heyval didn’t have them.
Rage closed her lips. Focused. She opened her eyes, and Heyval was looking at herself. Rage winked. “Gotta go.”
She ran into the shadows that were disappearing as dawn took over. She was gone a moment later.
Heyval looked at Amori. “So, uh, that is my sister.”
Amori nodded. “That wound. Even if she healed, it must have been agony. It must still be agony.”
Heyval nodded. “She doesn’t show it, but she never did. Hiding pain frustrated our mom, but she had to stop taking her rage out on Rage when the engagement went through.”
“No new marks on the fiancée.”
“Correct.”
“What about the male she was engaged to?”
“He was one of the demonborn. Some kind of hybrid.”
Amori raised his brows. “Really? I believe he is invited to my birthday party.”
“Oh. Interesting. So, you know him?”
“I believe so, if he is the male I am thinking of, he and his entourage are coming in a few days.”
“Does he have a guard with an acid blade?” A slow anger was starting in Heyval.
“He does.”
“Can you invite them early?”
Amori looked at her warily. “I can. Why do you want them here?”
“Just want to meet the man who would have been my brother-in-law.”
“Would have been?”
“Sure. Rage’s power is resurrection. She is killed and then rises again. If I recall, most wedding treatises are ‘until death do us part.’ Death would have parted her with that blow.”
Amori stared. “Resurrection? What is your lineage?”
“Oh, we have different fathers. Mine was my mother’s husband until she stripped his power and consumed him. Rage’s was an under-the-bed monster. A bogey man.”
“They... they don’t breed outside their own race.”
“Apparently, they do, because she is here, and she has pointy needle teeth.” She smiled. “She can also take on any form; she just needs a little blood.”
Amori rubbed his head. “This is a lot.”
Heyval wrapped up the takeout and grinned. “Time for clothing. Everything seems more reasonable while dressed.”
She got her clothing back on, and when she was wearing her cute dress, he was in trousers and a button-down shirt. He looked all businesslike.
“Well, if fun and games are off the table, I need something to do. I either need a kitchen with a lot of flour or a library. Hopefully both but not at the same time.”
He sighed. “I had hoped to spend the day with you in my arms.”
“Well, we had morning sex. That has to tick a box somewhere.”
He walked up to her, grabbed her waist, and kissed her. When she was limp, he leaned back. “You are not a list, you are my future, and I want to spend my life embracing you.”
She blinked.
“But for today and until we get the all-clear, I want to keep you safe.”
Heyval nodded. “Right. So, which way to the kitchen?”
Amori smiled, took her hand, and they left his room with her purse over her shoulder and her phone clutched in her fist.
The kitchen was a nice size, and the chef was preparing a nice, solid breakfast for them. She grinned and said, “I need to bake something, so which is the least used countertop?”
The stunned chef directed her, and one of his assistants showed her where the flour was. Heyval looked at Amori. “I am good to remain here unsupervised. What I have in mind is going to take until lunchtime.”
He grabbed her and kissed her in front of his three employees. When he lifted his head, he licked his lips and said, “I will be in my office until breakfast is ready, and then I expect you to eat with me.”
“Fine. Now shoo. This is a habit that I need to keep up.” She turned away from him and got to work, finding the yeast and starting her sponge. From there, she had to wait for it to rise, so she started a puff pastry.
When she had a minute, she got the butter and started to chop it up. She asked the chef, “Do you have anything for pie fillings? I am making some puff and need to do something with it.”
The man grinned. “I know just the thing. I will get on it after I finish breakfast.”
She stayed in her corner of the kitchen, and when the king came by, she left her work to rest and went to eat with him.
She grabbed her coffee and grinned at the high-protein meal. There was every standard breakfast food, plus a few from distant places. It was definitely enjoyable.
The king was halfway through his meal when he said, “It is the right man. The one I thought of for your sister. He was butthurt about her running from him, so I mentioned the extensive scarring that she has. His voice got tight, and he said he would take care of it.”
“Oh, so... he didn’t know.”
“No, he thought that she ran after their consummation.”
“Fancy word for banging.”
He grinned. “You weren’t in the room. It could have been decorous.”
“How disappointing for her.” She smiled and looked at her emptied plate. He was still eating.
Heyval sighed. “I hope Rage is okay.”
“Why do you call her Rage?”
“Her name is Ragellatha, just as she calls me Hey for Heyval.”
“I see. Rage would be simpler.”
“It is. Her actual first name is much longer, but that was at the father’s insistence.”
“He was around?”
“Yes and no. He examined her, claimed her as his child, and left her with our mother to be raised. His foolish thinking was that she would take care of her.”
“She was neglectful?”
“Hostile is a better word. To both of us. We didn’t give her the power bump that she wanted, so we were just there to take her anger.”
“Did you have each other?”
“Sort of. Through a wall. We had cells that we grew up in and studied in.” She smiled.
“When we were six, we figured out how to dissolve the wall between us. We had our first hug.” She chuckled.
“They couldn’t separate us after that. I was better at magic, but Rage was more aggressive, so it took a lot of effort to get us sedated so they could move us around.
When she started moving in shadows, it took six mages to get us passive. ”
“That sounds horrible.”
“Well, it wasn’t great. We survived it and tried to find things that made our souls sing.”
“You found baking.”
“I did. My necromancy was never true.” She laughed. “Drove my mother nuts. I kept healing things to the survival line, and then I used the necromancy to capture the soul and force it back in. Sound familiar?”
Amori snorted. “So, you can heal corpses.”
“Yes. It’s pretty easy. If you let the soul out, there is no fighting it, so things go quickly.”
He nodded. “And you made sure you had consent.”
“Yeah, well, that is the first thing you learn. Never reanimate a person who really wants to be dead. They come back despondent or furious. Nothing in between.”
She smiled. “Well, I have to get back to my science project. I will see you for lunch.”
He nodded. “I will tell you about my early upbringing then.”
“Good. Have fun doing whatever it is that you are doing.”
Amori snorted, kissed her quickly, and stroked her cheek. She nodded and returned to the kitchen. The dough was rising nicely, and she had to shape it for the second proof.
The kitchen staff came by as she shaped the dough, and laughter started as they guessed what she was creating.
She got it arranged and set up for the final rise. She then worked on the puff pastries that she was going to put around it.
When the bread was slashed and in the oven, the pastries followed, and Heyval got the whipped herb butter ready. With one eye on the clock, everything came out half an hour before lunch, and a small spell kept the pastries warm while the bread cooled.
Lunch was going to be fun.