Chapter Twenty Eight
Daphne
How did little old Daphne Stone get so freaking lucky? That’s all I can think as I stare at the sleeping dragon man who claimed a part of me forever. Before, it felt as if he were caretaking it, but now it’s irrevocably his. And in return, I own a part of him.
Whatever lies in our future, I know I’ll be happy so long as we are together. I only hope that I give them the same.
“Stone sister.” A disembodied voice echoes in the room.
Theo’s eyes snap open, gold rolling over his irises as he assesses the room for threats.
“How can I help you, All Knowing?” I ask as I roll onto my back and rub my tired eyes. Theo’s leg slings across mine, keeping me close while still tangled in the sheets.
“If you are quite done copulating, could we address the many things happening in my library?”
“Technically, it’s mine and Gwyneth’s library. But what things in particular are causing you distress?”
The All Knowing groans as if me pointing out the ownership of somewhere he’s taken care of for many an annus is an issue. Suck it up, buttercup.
“Let’s start with the refugees. There are many places in the realm to hide such creatures.”
“They feel safe here.”
“They poop on the pages.” He says this as if it’s the worst crime ever. I guess to a fancy librarian, it might be.
“I’ll hold an etiquette meeting this very turn. Next.”
“I have a list of unacceptable behaviors.”
I open my mouth to demand it, and a piece of parchment floats down onto my stomach.
“Paperwork in the bedchamber is not sexy,” Theo grumbles, tugging me closer.
“Is there anywhere it’s sexy?”
“Marriage.”
I blink and turn my head to stare into his pretty green eyes, and he winks at me. I can’t decide if he’s teasing or proposing to me. I need my sister to decipher this behavior.
“No need to wonder, Daphne. I’d wed you this turn if you’d let me.”
“I do believe the other Stirling brothers would have issues with that,” the All Knowing advises.
I’ve never heard of a wedding where a maiden marries not one, but four suitors. Then again, I don’t need to hear about it when I can write it. I shake my head and lift the parchment to scan it. It’s long. I flick it over. And double sided. Goodness me.
Charming has cluttered the bathing chambers with seven different hair gels. “Is there a limit on hair gel?”
“Less than seven,” the All Knowing rumbles.
Unattended tea sets are hosting something called a “forbidden brunch.” My lips twitch at the issue with sentient china.
“Aren’t moving ladders in a library commonplace?” I check, not seeing the issue.
“It’s not the movement, it’s the fact someone has spelled them to shout ‘whee’ whenever they’re used.”
Theo snatches the list from my hands and yanks the sheet over our heads. “Someone else can deal with a betting pool on which cursed book will bite someone next.”
I didn’t even see that one.
“I’m still here,” the All Knowing says, “and I’m not leaving.”
I kiss Theo one last time. “A revolution cannot be spun from a bed.”
“How do you know? Have you tried?”
“Well, no. This is my first time.”
The door creaks, and I pull the sheet down to find the other three Stirlings piling into the room with a range of amusement on their faces.
Nash’s eyes harden as he scans my shoulder. “What did you do?”
Theo sighs. “I didn’t mean to, brother, but the pull is like nothing I’ve experienced before. You know I’d never hurt her.”
Hart shifts as if he’s readying himself to dive between his brothers if they start a fight, which, by the matching little growls they are throwing at each other, is a heartbeat away.
Nash takes a step closer, and Theo stiffens at my side. I leap to my feet and point at Nash in warning. “Stop. I asked him to do it. You know he wouldn’t hurt me.”
“Jealous, brother?” Theo drawls.
Is he trying to start a brawl? I glower at him, but his gaze drifts over my naked body like he’s getting ready to steal me away for more claiming time.
“We don’t have time for this,” Hart snaps.
“Daphne, get dressed. Theo, do the same. Nash, take a damn walk to cool off. Malachi, help Daphne not get lost between here and the common room. Gwyneth has some ideas on what happened with the Red Queen and how that can be used against the Idols deciding to interfere in the realm.”
I’m out of bed and yanking on my gown within the next heartbeat because as cute as baby Theo was, I can’t go around shrinking folks and who knows what else because of some uncontrolled power I tapped into.
Theo is slower to drag himself out of bed, and Hart manages to shove Nash out of the door while shaking his head at us like we’ve been naughty children.
Two tempos later, I’ve emptied my bladder, tamed my hair into a wonky braid, and settled onto a sofa between Nash and Hart. The former appears to need reassurance that I’m okay, while the latter is holding the reins.
Gwyneth sits on the opposite sofa, squashed between Charming and the pair of capons. Luckily, someone decided to cater this little rebellion meeting with plenty of cheese, sausage, and cake.
“What have you found?” I start once Malachi and Theo join us.
Genie sits on an invisible chair while Sir Sweeps-A-Lot floats overhead, ready to swat anyone who needs it.
Eron ripples and appears in a mirror that someone positioned against the wall.
The gang is all here, and I’m stuffed full of every kind of sausage. There’s nothing we can’t face now.
Gwyneth opens a heavy tomb, and butterflies of all colors flutter out from the pages. She wafts them away with a huff. “This is the oldest record of our bloodline we’ve been able to locate. It goes back to the Grimm brothers.”
“Wilhem and Jacob?” I check.
She nods. “The stories they wrote and willed into existence were always meant to take on a life of their own. That’s how they were designed, and the power was meant to pass from the Idols to their next generations, developing the story with each new one born.”
Nash grabs a cube of cheese off my plate.
“But instead, they got power hungry, and rather than letting the wonder breathe, they stifled it and got greedy, realizing they could get stronger by forcing everyone to live out the story as it originates. Nobody learns, nothing develops, and people get trapped recycling the same toxic narrative over and over again.”
Gwyneth points at him. “Right. And when the Red Queen perished, that power—”
“Got sucked up by me,” I finish.
“Exactly. Now imagine if we took that power back. If we went back to how things were supposed to be.”
I wince. “I have to tell you, it’s not comfortable. And I only have one Idol wriggling inside me.”
“Phrasing,” Hart murmurs.
“I’m not explaining this right,” Gwyneth huffs.
Charming squeezes her hand. “You are doing great, my love.”
Excuse me? My love? I promised not to be judgy, and here I am ready to hang him by his balls after one term of endearment. How angry would she really be if a smarmy prince went missing? Like, a tiny bit? Or full-blown rage?
“You have this,” the All Knowing booms.
We all jump, even Genie. Damn weird dude is creeping around. Wait… “Do you have a body?”
“Not the time,” Malachi mutters.
“When the occasion calls for it,” the All Knowing answers.
“Are you tall? Handsome? How many annuses?”
“Focus,” Theo drawls.
Gwyneth chuckles. “It’s fine. I need a beat to think how to explain myself.
” She jumps to her feet and paces the floor between the sofas.
“Think of it like a pail which fills with the power they have hoarded over generations. When it gets full, the power leaks from the top and spills into the land, giving just enough to continue the generational line of that Idol.”
“I’m with you.” Surprisingly.
“But it’s our magic, our blood, that maintains this system.”
Nope, I’m lost.
Nash nods. Of course, the big brain would understand what the other big brain is talking about. Charming blinks as if he’s both in love and utterly confused. Ugh, this diurnal is already strange enough without empathizing with Charming.
I decide to let her keep speaking, because sometimes she ends up summing it up for me at the end.
Yup, that’s what I’ll do. My gaze settles on Charming.
Hmm. Where can I bury his body? Maybe I could get Theo to eat him?
In his dragon form, of course. Eating him in human form would be an issue.
But dragon snack Charming? Totally normal.
Oops, sorry, I got the munchies, and he was just there.
Theo snorts, and Malachi raises his brows.
Gwyneth throws her hands in the air. “So, in summary.” See? I plotted a non-murder murder while she got to the point. Multitasking at its finest. This is why we rock as a team. “Making everyone an Idol.”
Wait… what the Blazes did I just miss?