Chapter Twenty-Eight
Azizi
“Is Mr. Allard a member of the Court as well?” Theodore asks, his question breaking the otherwise comfortable silence within our carriage. “It’s just that, I have always had the sense that he too was… different. Is that why he took care of Fitzwilliam for us?”
Smart boy.
“Indeed. While we are all members of the Court, there are others of us who are agents of it. Mr. Allard is an example, yes.”
Theodore leans forward, curiosity brimming in both his and Kolfina’s eyes. “What is he?”
I let the question hang in the air for a long moment before humming low in my throat and smirking over at him. “Oh, I’ve not the slightest idea, I’m afraid. Isn’t that wonderful?”
Amusement putters around my chest at how quickly Theodore’s shoulders slump in shock, at how Kolfina’s face twists up in adorable confusion. “But he works for your family, doesn’t he? You don’t know what he is?”
“My family has been involved with the Court since its inception, my father having been a major sponsor for the society’s creation and growth.
As such, we are what one might call ‘nobility’ amongst the Court.
Mr. Allard is one of our knights—so to speak.
That is all I need to know. Some find it rude to ask, so if the information is not freely given, I don’t see the need to otherwise pry. ”
Theodore frowns, twisting his fine cane between his hands. “But why would he take care of things for me? I wasn’t a member of your Court yet. Wouldn’t Fitzwilliam only be more of a liability if Mr. Allard was caught?”
The idea makes me laugh, and I shake my head.
“I have the utmost faith in Mr. Allard to do as needed without leaving a hint of doubt.” Afterall, this was not the first body Mr. Allard had cleaned up for me, and it certainly wouldn’t be the last. “But as to your first point, you are very wrong there. We are welcomed into the Court the moment we are welcomed into the Night,” I say, tapping the top of Theodore’s cane with a smile.
“A symbol does not change that. You were born into this world, whether you knew it or not, so you are under our protection just as Kolfina is, and just as I am.”
A look passes over Theodore’s face at that, a valley forming between his brows as his teeth dig into his bottom lip. Before he has a chance to voice his thoughts, however, the carriage gently lurches to a stop, rocking slightly as the coachman dismounts to signal our arrival.
To my amusement, Kolfina and Theodore both tense as the door is pulled open, but it only takes a moment for Theodore to straighten to attention and step out first. He waits just outside the door and holds out a hand for Kolfina when she follows.
Though there is still a nervous glint in his pretty eyes, his hand does not shake when he holds it out for me next.
I try to ignore the fact that mine does, especially when I see Allard taking the large painting box off the back of the carriage, and focus instead on the unfamiliar townhome before us.
While I have attended my fair share of events held by the Macabre family over my lifetime, most are held in the family estate on the outskirts of Paris. A mansion with grand fountains and gardens, the halls decorated with tasteful art and old artifacts collected by the Court for centuries.
The Macabre heir’s townhome is almost humble in comparison, especially considering his status. Still large and opulent, settled amidst other large and opulent homes, but significantly less ostentatious than I recall the family estate being.
I find it curious, and if not for the iron moths mounted to the front doors, I might have been concerned we were at the wrong house. A concern that has no chance of lingering in my mind when the door all but flies open and a familiar face rushes out to meet us.
“Azizi! Darling!”
My brother is down the steps faster than I can blink, his smile bright and blinding as he presses a kiss to each of my cheeks before pulling me into a bruising hug. “Oh, I am so happy you could make it! I was sure you wouldn’t show, but Zagreus assured me you accepted his invitation.”
“Yes, well, I believe there was threat of insurgence looming over my manor if I declined,” I say as I return the hug. “And besides, we’ve learned some things recently that you and your friend might be able to provide insight on. I thought it only efficient that we attend to both issues at once.”
“Always so proper, Azizi. Come now! It’s a party!” Jonas pulls away and turns to the couple standing at my side, his smile growing impossibly wider. “And you’ve brought your partners!”
I just barely manage not to roll my eyes at his enthusiasm.
From anyone else, I might think it false, but Jonas has always been a bright star amongst the dark skies.
The kind of person who can befriend anyone, even those with the toughest shells to crack, and who puts his passions and his love for life into everything he does.
He is, at the core of himself, our father’s son. And though a pinprick of jealousy has always sat ugly in my chest at the ease with which Jonas embodies everything our father admires, I love him dearly for it, regardless.
“I have,” I say, gesturing to my lovers with a fond smile. “May I introduce Lady Kolfina de Klein, and Mr. Theodore Villin. My dears, this is my brother, Lord Jonas Nikolai Alilovi?.”
“Her favorite brother,” Jonas corrects as he shakes Theodore’s hand and brings Kolfina’s fingers up to his lips in greeting. “Though it’s hardly a competition, really. Dorian is such a bore these days, I fear I am the only one who can offer our poor Azizi any form of actual entertainment.”
A scoff escapes me before I can stop it, and I smack Jonas’ arm with the back of my hand. “Do not disparage Dorian. You are just upset that he refused to build you a private opera house for your birthday.”
“Yes, well, I deserve one—ah, Allard! What a wonderful surprise,” Jonas exclaims, stepping away from us to shake the steward’s hand and pull him into a hug as well.
Allard tolerates it as he always does—with an exasperated sigh and a quick pat to the shoulder before pulling away to fix his coat.
“And what have you brought with you? A present?”
The nerves that had finally begun to settle with my brother near burst to life again inside me, the buzzing starting in my fingertips before spreading rapidly to the rest of my body.
A part of me desperately wishes to leave, to tuck myself back into the carriage and demand Allard take me home before anyone else could know I was here.
But Theodore had been so excited for an evening with people like us, and Kolfina has possible answers inside that we may not be able to find elsewhere. So there is nothing for me to do but take a breath and hide my shaking hands behind my back when Allard looks to me for answer.
“Yes,” I answer, careful not to let my voice shake when Jonas turns back to me. “Your Lord Macabre has been very kind to offer his help with our situation, and I thought to thank him with a painting.”
Jonas freezes, his eyes widening as he rests his fingers gently atop the storage box, as if it might fall apart with the barest touch. “One of yours?”
“One of mine. It is actually one of Kolfina’s favorites,” I tell him, if only to get that baffled expression off his face. “She’s gratefully given me permission to part with it. I do hope our host will like it.”
The meaning is not lost on my brother, judging by the way his face lights up with realization and then excitement. He is in front of me in an instant, taking my hands in his and squeezing hard enough to crack a weaker person’s bones. “Oh, Azi. I’m sure he will love it. I know he will.”
Jonas had been just as encouraging when I was first playing with the idea of a gallery showing.
He’d been prodding me for years to show off my art more, and I know the guilt of that event going terribly had devastated him.
I never held a grudge against him, of course.
It was my own fault, what happened, but he carried it with him just as I did.
“Now, enough of this maudlin air you have,” he says as he bats a hand in my direction. “This is a party, and I demand you enjoy yourself or I’ll be very cross.”
My eyes sting at the pride and relief I can see on my brother’s face, but I refuse to let the tears fall and instead take the change in subject offered. “Well, we wouldn’t want that, would we? Escort us inside, dear brother?”
Jonas laughs bright and sharp in the quiet of the evening, ignoring my offered arm to wiggle himself between Theodore and Kolfina instead, slipping their arms into his with a playful grin.
“That I shall! I must know everything that has happened since you left us, and everything about these two as well, of course. You, my precious darlings, are my current obsession,” he eagerly tells Kolfina and Theodore.
“You’ve no idea how much I have looked forward to meeting you both.
Azizi writes about you constantly, you know. ”
My cheeks grow hot as Jonas leads them up the stairs, and I follow quickly behind—lest my ridiculous menace of a brother whisks them away to reveal all my embarrassing secrets. “That is a gross exaggeration—”
“Theodore, I must insist you regale us with some of your poetry at some point tonight,” Jonas continues on without pause, ignoring me entirely.
“My sister says you’ve quite the knack for it.
And Kolfina! You must play for us if my dearest Zagreus lets you out of his clutches at any point while you’re here. ”
Kolfina’s eyes widen at his words, her head twisting over her shoulder to find me.
“He does not mean that literally, petal,” I promise her as we pause just inside the front hall, allowing the doorman to take our coats.