Chapter 13 Raven
Raven
The portal from the fae realm spat us out into a large, cathedral-like cavern. Once I’d finished heaving my guts up, I saw two blue-skinned males wearing strange seaweed pouches over their groins, both holding scary-looking tridents.
Maverick tugged me to my feet and rubbed my back comfortingly.
“Oh my goddess, using fae portals is way worse than teleporting.”
“Only if you’re a pathetic witch with motion sickness.”
“One of these days, you’ll say something sweet and supportive, and I’ll collapse in shock.”
Kenji shook himself, sending a cloud of gray fur flying into the moist air. “Doubtful.”
My bear lifted me up and wrapped me in his arms while I tried not to think about the fact that we were miles under the ocean and I couldn’t swim.
“What is the purpose of your visit to Her Royal Highness, Queen Laryssa, the Esteemed and Most Beautiful Mer Queen’s Kingdom?”
Wow, what a pompous individual! Who greeted people like that?
“Sad mermen with no access to sex clubs.”
“That’s…strangely specific.”
“The mer people are very vanilla. A bit like the storm mage.”
“Kenji’s right,” Zane butted in, ignoring my personal boundaries as usual.
“Vanilla popsicle is a useless fuck; I have it on good authority. For the sake of your sweet pussy, I recommend you ditch that stupid mage the minute we get back. I dropped a pin on a suitable volcano in my map app, just in case.”
“For fuck’s sake, nobody’s dropping the mage in a volcano,” my bear growled.
Farris cleared his throat and blessed the two mermen with his trademark sneer.
“I’m here as part of a trade delegation from the Autumn Court.
These are my trade consultants. I request an audience with Her Royal Highness, Queen Laryssa, the Esteemed and Most Beautiful Mer Queen.
” The fae pursed his lips while choking out the last part.
It was a relief to learn it wasn’t just me who thought the mer queen sounded like an utter bitch on wheels.
The two mermen studied us all, their attention lingering on Kenji for longer than I liked. Neither of them paid my vampire any attention since he was disguised as a fae.
“And what is that creature?” The lead mer man grimaced in disgust at Kenji, who’d begun aggressively licking his butt.
Farris ground his teeth. I’d learned to ignore Kenji’s disgusting habits, but Farris hadn’t figured that out yet.
“My cousin, Kenlyn. He’s a shapeshifter who prefers to maintain his animal form while traveling.”
Kenji slurped loudly, coughed up a hairball, and then scratched like crazy.
The smaller guard frowned. “Has he had his shots? We don’t want any cases of feral shifter disease infecting our population.”
My kitsune’s head snapped up and he growled menacingly. The shifter guards stepped back.
A loud scoff from Farris echoed through the cavern. “He’s a shapeshifter, not an actual shifter. Are you two suffering from brain hypoxia?”
The taller guard flushed lilac and lowered his head.
“Apologies, sir. Please wait here while I call Her Royal Highness, Queen Laryssa, the Esteemed and Most Beautiful Mer Queen.”
“Do they have to say that bullshit phrase every time?” I whispered.
Farris nodded. “Yes, it’s protocol. I’d advise you to remember it for when we meet the queen.”
Oh my stars. If this rescue mission’s success hinged on my remembering to kiss the queen’s ass, we were all doomed.
The guard returned and showed us to a suite of interconnected caves with comfortable furnishings and a selection of snacks and drinks. He politely informed us someone would come to fetch us for a meeting with the mer queen’s vizier.
Farris the Fucking Fae waited until the guard had left before checking his watch.
“Now that you’re safe here, I’ll take my leave.”
“Um, what?” My heart rate spiked in alarm.
Without Farris, we couldn’t use the fae portal; it required his magical signature to work.
And besides, we were allegedly here as part of a trade delegation, so the mer queen would be highly suspicious if the only high fae in our party disappeared before he’d spoken to anyone important.
“The terms of our deal were that I brought you here. You said nothing about helping you leave again.”
“That’s bullshit!” My bear growled. Zane slid across the exit, blocking the fae’s escape. Rasmus was the only one of us who seemed unconcerned. Whether that was because he was a chill vampire or he knew Farris was talking out of his ass remained to be seen.
“You said, and I quote: I want you to get me and my mates into the mer kingdom so we can rescue Kai.”
“Stupid witch,” Kenji muttered while rolling his eyes.
“Excuse me?! Nobody else spotted the obvious flaw in my bargain!”
“Try leaving and see how far you get with no head,” Zane warned Farris with an unhinged smile.
The fae plucked a speck of nonexistent lint from his coat and sniffed.
“Kill me and you’ll have a bounty on your head so high every fae assassin in existence will come after you. But by all means, try.”
“You’re a horrible fae!” If Farris abandoned us, we’d be trapped down here forever. None of us could swim to the surface. Well, I couldn’t. Even Zane would be stuck, as there were barriers to prevent magicals from teleporting in and out of the mer kingdom.
We’d all drown!
I’d tried drowning and hadn’t enjoyed it much. It had proved way less relaxing than I’d anticipated.
A huge argument broke out between Farris and my males. Kenji perched on a table and watched while his two tails flicked aggressively from side to side.
The magic in my chest exploded, reacting to my emotional meltdown. A firestorm turned the cave into a raging inferno. My mates yelled in panic, but I was too furious to listen.
“While cooking the fae is amusing, I suggest you rein in your magic, witch.”
I ignored my familiar.
How dare the fae double-cross us!
Fucking fae.
A cool hand curled around my neck. “Calm down, little witch. The fae won’t leave us.”
My magic settled at Rasmus’s smooth voice. He sounded very certain Farris wasn’t going anywhere, and even though he and I didn’t know each other all that well yet, I still trusted him.
After sucking in a few deep breaths to regulate my emotions, I then focused on rewinding the threads of chaotic magic back into my chest. When I looked up, Farris was busy staring at me in surprise.
“What? Not seen a magic tantrum before?” I glared at the asshole through slitted eyes, still unhappy he’d threatened us.
“The shadow magic was a surprise,” he said. What? When I lifted my gaze, I realized not all of my magic had vanished. While the fire had burned out, thick shadows still coated the ceiling, showing no signs of abating.
“You should probably pull it back before the mer delegation arrives,” Farris advised, his expression tight.
“I will if you agree to stay and then help us all get back to Starfall Academy safely.”
He rolled his eyes.
“Fine. I can do that. For another favor.”
Kenji sidled over to the fae while his attention was on me. As I inwardly seethed, my kitsune pissed all over the fae’s leather boots.
“Are you sure you wouldn’t prefer me to buy you some new boots instead?” I smirked as the fae cursed loudly.
If Kenji had peed on anyone else’s boots, I’d have died of embarrassment, but because it was Farris, I just laughed.
“You little shit!” Farris lunged for my kitsune just as the outside door to our rooms swung open to reveal a tall, pale, lilac-skinned male wearing a flowing white robe.
His eyes widened when he took in the sight of a fae chasing a kitsune around the room. Luckily for all of us, it was the distraction I needed to retract the last of my magic. The shadows above us vanished, leaving nothing but a faint smell of brimstone behind.
The male cleared his throat loudly to attract our attention. Farris stopped dead before forcing a smile.
“Rhys. Always a pleasure.” From the dark undertone in Farris’s ostensibly polite greeting, I had a feeling this Rhys dude was a prick.
“Is there a reason you’re attacking your cousin, Farris?”
“My cousin?” Farris looked confused for a moment before he remembered our cover story. “Oh, my cousin. Yes. Kenlyn has a strange sense of humor,” he said through gritted teeth. “Lots of energy.”
“Is he unable to shift?” The male stared at Kenji, who’d begun grooming himself again.
“He likes to, um, experiment. We fae are all about experiences. If it’s new and exciting, we’re all in.” Farris laughed. “You know how it is when one lives for centuries. Life gets boring. We have to spice things up somehow!”
“Do fae live for centuries?” I asked Kenji.
“Yes. That’s why they have zero sense of humor.”
“Goddess, I can’t imagine living for hundreds of years.”
“Don’t worry your pretty little head, witch. You’re way too stupid to live that long.”
“I hate you.” He really was an obnoxious kitsune. The moment we got back to Starfall, I planned to file a complaint with Kitsune HR and request a new familiar.
Kenji must have read my intentions because he sidled up while I watched Farris dig his way out of the stupid cover story he’d concocted, and licked my hand.
“Eww! You were licking your butt not that long ago!” Kenji hissed and showed me way too many teeth for comfort.
“A familiar is for life, witch, not just for the good times.”
“EXCUSE ME? We’ve not had any good times! You’re not supportive; you’re mean, and you steal my blankets.”
He rolled his eyes. “Hey, I deserve some credit for helping you kill the demon that wanted to take you back for a daddy-daughter reunion.”
I shuddered at the memory.
“Okay, fine. You get some credit for that. But I haven’t forgiven you for peeing on Zane’s tree back at the cabin.”
“I haven’t forgiven the little shit for that, either,” Zane said, making me realize he’d been listening to our conversation.
Stars above. Would I ever have any privacy in my own head?
Apparently not.
“Her Royal Highness, Queen Laryssa, the Esteemed and Most Beautiful Mer Queen is unable to meet with you currently,” the snooty male was saying when I tuned back into the conversation.
My bear and vampire mates circled me protectively, which I appreciated. Zane took a few casual steps to the right, putting himself between the merman and the door. Did he expect the merman to attack us? Surely not. The dude seemed decrepit, and his skin could benefit from anti-aging serum.
“Oh, why’s that? I was hoping for a meeting as soon as possible.” Farris frowned.
“Her Royal Highness, Queen Laryssa, the Esteemed and Most Beautiful Mer Queen is dealing with some family issues right now and isn’t taking meetings.
But we anticipate the situation will be resolved in three to four days, so if you are willing to wait that long, I will schedule a meeting for Friday morning. Is that acceptable, Your Highness?”
There were several concerning things about what the merman just said. First, was Farris a fucking fae royal?! Dear goddess, I hoped not for the sake of the Fae Royal Family. That asshole lacked many things, not least diplomacy skills.
However, what really concerned me about the merman’s offer of a delayed meeting that none of us wanted was his mention of family problems. He had to mean Kai, right?
So if this issue was expected to resolve in three to four days, we needed to get Kai the fuck out right now, because in three or four days, I might no longer have a merman mate.
And if what Glynda had told me was true, losing a soul-bonded mate would quite likely kill me.
If that happened, Her Royal Highness, Queen Laryssa, the Esteemed and Most Beautiful Mer Queen would regret the day she ever hurt my male because I’d haunt her ass from beyond the veil.