Chapter Twenty-Eight #2
“I’d heard you were there.” Hyacinth managed to sound as if he dealt with receiving rapid-fire warnings from spectacled humans on a daily basis.
Maybe he did. The man was known to spend a significant amount of time in the human world.
“Twenty hours is doable. Zyr, I suggest you wrap up any business you have outside my House and quickly.”
“You’re closing your lands?” Zyr asked.
Rarely done, outside of House Wars. And even then, it was unpopular.
“I like my head connected to my neck. And from what I’ve heard, I’m not alone in taking some protective measures. Before we get into that,” Hyacinth kept smiling, but his eyes went hard, “about the manticore that tried to eat my little brother. I’m betting you’ve got a name.”
Zyr blinked, puzzled. “I’m certain they didn’t.”
“The manticore doesn’t talk loud. And they were offering him what I’m pretty sure was a piece of the dead monarch’s heart.
Not sure which monarch. Their partner was elbow deep in both.
” Robin shrugged, dismissive, despite his obvious unease while it was happening.
“They’re keen on the veil not closing and killing us all, which means Lysander staying alive.
They did let him know he’d be the next one your big brother and his girlfriend put on the altar, though. ”
“That is their goal, Hyacinth,” Zyr added, his tail tightening on Robin’s wrist. “They intend to wall Faerie off from the human world. I’m certain the ramifications are more catastrophic than they choose to realize. But, regardless–”
“It’ll cut down on my social life. I follow. You don’t need to worry on that front. Lysander’s spooked. Doubt he’ll be poking his cute little head out any time soon. Maybe tell your manticore friend that Lysander only eats his sacrificed Monarch cooked, though. Finicky, but that’s kids for you.”
“That’s what you get for raising the boy with seelie sensibilities.”
Hyacinth laughed, silken and easy. “I wasn’t allowed to raise him. Next go round, if I live that long, we’ll hire an unseelie chef.”
“Might be a Gate thing. I can’t see Talia going for a blue steak.
” Robin glanced sideways at him, the bond all chill sea spray and unease.
“Zyr and I had to bond to get him out of there alive. We were going to talk about time splits later but with the lock down–how hard’s that going to be to work around?
I need to be able to move between the realms. Or between here and Talia. ”
Zyr, who so rarely left his own allotment, hadn’t considered that.
His tail tightened that little bit more, while he kept his gaze on Hyacinth.
Let this, the sidhe’s whims or paranoia, not be what broke them.
Because if Robin was negotiating for safe passage, surely he intended to keep the bond intact.
Hyacinth’s green-blue gaze shifted between them, silently assessing. And Zyr didn’t know if that was a good or bad thing.
“I like you,” Hyacinth said to Robin. “Like Zyr, too. He knows what not to talk about. You going to your brother, next? Or have you already been there?”
“Next,” Robin answered, fingers brushing over Zyr’s scales. “Last they knew, I was in my Banyan allotment. We came straight from the palace. Zyr’s sworn to your House and it involved your brothers, and one of them was in danger. Is, I guess.”
“Zyr, I’m assuming you have the same story.”
“We came straight here,” Zyr confirmed. “The only people we’ve spoken to about it are the ones involved. Though Robin must inform his House.”
“Of course.” Hyacinth’s measuring gaze lingered on Robin, then he shrugged, wings rustling.
“I don’t actually mind split loyalties, so long as they’re not to an enemy.
And I could do with some friends in high places.
I can arrange passage between realms for you.
Limited and supervised until shit’s sorted, but we can make it work. ”
“His debt–”
“Is his, Zyr. Don’t worry. I’ll have work for both of you soon enough.”
Did Hyacinth intend that as reassurance? Zyr had never worked directly for the House before. But for Robin, it would be worth it.
“That could work,” Robin agreed, clearly cautious. “But I’ll still need to go back in a couple of weeks, Monday through Friday. Office job that’s sure to bore most of your wisps out of their ever-loving minds.”
“Some of them would benefit from a little boredom.” Hyacinth scanned the disordered room and shook his head. “We all would. I’ll send for you in a few days, and we’ll sort it. Or I’ll be dead.”
“I’d prefer the former,” Zyr said.
As House heads went, he could do much worse than Hyacinth.
“Same.” Hyacinth lifted his chin, a gesture he used for greeting, acknowledgement, and, as now, dismissal. “Give House Banyan my regards. Tell them how nice I played.”
“Yeah. I’ll tell them.” Robin covered Zyr’s tail with his free hand, the touch warm and settling, and looked up at him through his glasses. “C’mon, beithir. We’ve got less than twenty hours, and we’re almost done with the errands.”