Chapter 21
Emmett
Days later, the castle still felt wrong without her, almost like its heart had been ripped out.
My dragon kept pacing back and forth, and back and forth, wearing a trench at the back of my mind.
I’d still been in my office, reviewing security reports from the goblin attack, when Dizzi appeared in the doorway. The look on her face told me everything before she even spoke. She held out a folded note.
“She’s gone,” was all she said.
I took the paper, somehow already knowing what it would say. The words blurred as I read them: I’m heading home. Goodbye.
Just those four words, cold and generic, like they could be written by anyone and not the woman who’d come into my life, into my home, and turned it upside-down in the best of ways.
She’d walked right past the castle’s wards, had her daughter open a portal to her location, and stepped through without looking back.
I resisted the urge to pick up the neatly folded note on my desk again. There was no point in rereading it. There wasn’t a goddamn thing more I could glean from it.
I’d sent her a message inviting her back and promising her that I’d tighten security and keep her safe. But she did not reply.
Of course, she’d left. The attack had shaken her.
I’d failed to protect her, and she’d had to protect herself.
She didn’t feel safe here anymore. I should’ve pushed that meeting with Leroy later.
I should’ve spent the day with everyone else cleaning up the castle instead of trying to figure out the goblins’ motives.
It hadn’t just been Leroy I’d met. I’d talked to those ifrits of hers and Cassian too, trying to figure out what exactly had happened before I’d arrived on scene just in time to see the goblin mage explode.
The strange thing was that it almost seemed like Cassian had trouble remembering details himself.
But if one of the ifrits offered the info first, he could nod to agree or shake to refute.
This made me even more suspicious of Leroy, because who else would be able to influence him so insidiously?
Cassian was clearly upset. Who wouldn’t be when their memory and ability to communicate were being toyed with against their will?
And then there were the goblins we’d caught.
None of them had been useful. How could they be when the first two combusted the moment Leroy touched them?
He’d claimed it was a spell cast by someone else to make them not talk.
But I didn’t believe it. So I’d kept quiet about the last and final goblin.
Perhaps Elana being gone was a good thing, especially if I had a duplicitous wizard in our midst. But my dragon refused to calm, and now I wondered if I was a danger to my own castle and the people in it. Especially when he kept chanting, Burn! Burn! Burn! In my head.
The worst part of all of this was the fact that my sheets still smelled of her, reminding me of how happy I’d been when I’d woken with her in my bed.
And then there was what to do with Melly. Dizzi and her children kept her entertained for the first day, but I was pretty sure she realized Elana was gone.
Leroy had suggested bringing Luella back, but I’d rejected it. He’d even dared question my decision. My dragon had reared its head then, and he’d walked away, reminded that it was my castle and my decision was final.
I picked up my phone for the twelfth time in as many minutes, but Elana had not replied to my message.
So I tried something else. I sent another, asking if she’d like to show Melly and me around Darlington.
And then, because I couldn’t stand the four walls of my office anymore, I stepped outside for a walk.
I found Dizzi, her children, and Melly outside in the courtyard. Outside playtime was something Elana had added in the week she was here. She’d even recommended getting her a human-style playground when she got older. Monkey bars and swings, things that are best used with a human body.
I stood and watched them for a while before approaching Dizzi with the question I’d been trying not to ask her for days. “Did Elana say anything to you before she left?”
The goblin avoided my gaze, which was easy considering she was eye level with my belly. In the end, she said, “I can’t talk about it. But I’m disappointed in you, Emmett.” And then she turned back to the children.
Well, at least she was honest. And she seemed to have no problem calling me by my name.
“I, too, am disappointed in myself for not catching the attack on time. I should’ve known the attack at the front gate was a distraction.”
She frowned at me, finally meeting my eyes. “That’s not what I’m disappointed at. I thought you actually cared about this woman.” She turned to the children. “Who wants to go visit Kai the Kraken?”
Dak and Nizzi immediately raised their hands. “Me! Me! I do!” They piled into a wooden wagon.
Melly, not quite understanding what was going on and too young to respond, ignored her to waddle after a butterfly. Dizzi scooped Melly up and placed her inside the wagon as well. Then she disappeared out the door to the moat.
Great. Now I was even more confused.
Unable to stop myself, I checked my phone again. Elana hadn’t replied. I blew out a breath, a stream of smoke trailing out of my nostrils in frustration. If it wasn’t the attack itself, then what could it be?
I wanted to find those ifrits and ask. They’d probably know, but I didn’t have access to them. I didn’t even know how to contact them. But Cassian might.
I went back inside the castle, but instead of heading back to my office, I continued down to the gym and the entertainment room.
He was probably there playing his guitar or lifting some weights.
Sure enough, I found him playing some chords in the lounge with Puck the centaur, my general handyman and electrician, and my satyr groundskeeper, Alder.
Puck was on the drums, and Alder had an electric fiddle. Puck was also an awesome shot with a sling and had clocked several goblins right in the noggins the other day, .
The music stopped when I walked in.
“Don’t need to stop on account of me. That sounds good.”
“Thank you, your lordship,” Puck said.
I waved my hand, thinking of the townsfolk. “You can just call me Emmett. Let’s leave all that in the last century.”
He looked uncertain. “What brings you to this part of the castle…Emmett?” He frowned. “How about boss? It feels weird to call a dragon just by his name.”
“Sure. Boss is fine. I was hoping to speak with Cassian for a moment.”
Cassian stepped forward, his electric guitar still around his body. “We’ll use the next room, boss.”
That was for the best. I wanted some privacy.
Cassian did not know why Elana had left, but he did have contact with Flame and Blaze. So I sent him on a quest to look for the reason.
“Before I go, I must tell you that I have been spelled to report anything important you do to Leroy. Something like this would trigger the spell.”
I frowned. “But you owe your debt to me, not him.”
“I do. But after my bindings transferred from Sena to him, he started adding little conditions here and there throughout the years. At this point, I’m not sure I’ll ever be free of him, even after repaying my debt to you.” There was both fury and sadness in his eyes.
“Why did you not tell me?”
“I could not. I’ve tried several times. To be honest, I’m surprised it even worked this time.” He looked pensive. “Leroy’s magic must be weak right now. Or he’s distracted.”
“His wife is injured. And she’s his source of magic. Let’s go remove some of his control on you.”
The demon brightened momentarily—and by that his dark red skin turned a little redder—but it only lasted a moment. “How? You can’t prove that he’s released his binding on me. He could trick you. He could trick us both.”
“I have my ways.” At least I hoped I did. I understood now why Sena had prepared so many of her spells for me. She’d known I’d need them.
We made our way up to my office, and I set up all the needed spells before calling Leroy in. He looked rather surprised to see Cassian there, and I wondered what was going through his head.
Technically, I still didn’t have irrefutable proof that he’d had a hand in Sena’s demise. I also had no proof he’d been part of the attack. Was that even the plan that the ifrits had hinted about? What was the final outcome he wanted? I didn’t have any of these answers, but I would soon.
“My lord, what have you called me for?” He eyed Cassian suspiciously.
Unlike with Puck, I didn’t tell him to use my name.
“Cassian here has finally paid me back his debt in full. Today is the day he becomes a free demon. Release and free him from every spell you’ve placed on him.”
“Congratulations, demon.” A cunning look passed Leroy’s features as he waved his hands and chanted a few syllables.
“Tell me true, have you released and freed him from every spell you’ve placed on him?” I asked when it looked like he was done.
“I have not.” Leroy’s eyes went wide.
“Ah, that was expected. It is why I have special procedures for releasing demons and other souls from servitude. It is not uncommon for wizards and witches to hold onto their pets after the time is over. I know it’s a hard task. Which is why I have safeguards to make sure it is done.”
I hadn’t. This had been Sena’s idea, but he didn’t need to know that I was glad she’d had the foresight to make the spells for me in advance and put them into an envelope labeled Cassian’s Release. But Leroy didn’t need to know that.
“And before you try to cast any spells, you won’t be able to until you walk out that door. And you won’t be able to walk out that door until all the spells you’ve placed on Cassian have been lifted.”
I watched as his face went from surprise to anger, and finally, back to cunning.
“What’s to stop the demon from attacking me after?”
“I am. He will not attack you, lest he be engulfed in dragon fire.”
“And after?” Leroy asked, frowning. “When you are not around?”
“Have you done anything that might incur his wrath?” I asked.
He sputtered. “I can’t believe you’re not trusting me now. After decades of working for you.”
“As I said, this is my standard procedure for releasing bound souls under my employ.” I spread my hands. “It’s not personal. And I’m disappointed you think so.”
I said no more and simply waited. After a beat, Leroy made a few more motions and mumbled a few more words.
I felt, more than saw, the spell on him and the door release.
It shrank to form a magical barrier in front of Cassian and me, protecting us from retaliation if need be. Sena had really thought of everything.
Leroy turned without saying another word and walked out of the office.
“He’s not going to be happy.”
“He doesn’t have to be.”
“He still has access to the protective wards on your castle.”
“Partially. But they are still Sena’s spells, and he is not the only thing maintaining them. He knows that the walls will literally come alive to protect me if he chooses violence.”
The demon’s face fell at the mention of Sena. “He murdered her. I watched it. Didn’t realize what I was seeing at first, so I didn’t hide myself in time. I tried to tell you so many times. I still owe you.”
“You owe me nothing. You have a job here for as long as you like. But first, I must know why Elana left.”
“I will find out for you, but I will not leave the castle, or you, long, because Leroy is plotting something else.”
“What?” I prodded.
“I don’t know for sure. But it’s something big.”
“What is your guess?” Because I could feel there was something he wasn’t saying.
“I believe he wishes to steal Melly and raise her to do his bidding. But I have no proof.”
That was what I’d worried about. “I will keep watching him.”
“Be careful, my lord.”
“It’s just Emmett.”
Cassian, unlike Puck, had no problem just using my name. “Emmett. Does that mean we’re friends now?” he asked drolly.
“Don’t push it, demon.”
He laughed. “You have always been fair and honest, for a dragon. Thank you for releasing me early.”
And then with a puff, he was gone.