Chapter 43 Ikar
Ikar
Istand outside Mama Tina’s door, several of my men, including Darvy and Rhosse, standing several feet back. No need to scare the woman, though from what I know of her, she doesn’t seem to be the kind to fear much of anything.
The door swings open, and Mama Tina’s smiling face is before me, but before I can ask for Vera, she pulls me in and wraps me in a tight hug.
She makes me feel as if I’m one of the family…
and if Vera is truly a Black Tulip and will trust me enough to admit it, maybe soon I will be.
With that thought, I step back, nervous about confronting the woman I’ve come to feel for.
I open my mouth to speak, but Mama Tina beats me to it.
“Is Vera with you?” Too short to see over my shoulders, she leans to the side to peek around me and gets a view of my men.
She raises her brows with a pleased smile at the sight of them.
“We’ll have a dinner party. I’ll invite some of Vera’s friends.
” She claps her hands together. “How long will you be staying?” She turns and bids me follow her into her home with a wave of her hand.
Nervous roiling in my stomach is replaced with concern. “Vera told my friend she was coming here. Did she return?”
Mama Tina laughs. “Oh, yes, she’s been here. She just left for the market with Renna a little while ago. I thought she may have seen you on her way and returned.” She flashes me a glittering smile.
I’m about to turn and leave, the itch to find Vera strong, but Mama Tina snags my elbow and draws me farther into her home. The manners stitched into the fabric of my soul bid me to allow her.
“It appears we may have things to discuss, now that I have you here.” She wraps a hand around my arm so firmly I’m not sure I could free myself if I tried. Fae are known for their strength, but Mama Tina is on a different level in every way.
My men follow us in and are led to a sitting room that seems too dainty for their large armor-clad forms, where a servant is already heading with a tray of drinks. They stand awkwardly, looking between themselves as if unsure what they should do as I’m led away, deeper into the house.
Mama Tina guides me to another room, this one a small library. She closes the door and turns toward me, more serious than I’ve ever seen her. “What are your intentions toward my niece?” she asks bluntly.
I take a seat in a small armchair and lean back, embracing a facade of relaxed confidence, with my legs wide and a casual arm resting along the side, giving the idea that I’m completely at ease.
I’m not. I didn’t expect this conversation right now—seems a bit premature when the woman I plan to marry is currently hiding from me in fear.
“I plan to marry her, if she’ll trust me enough to say yes.” I flash a dashing smile that hides the doubts, hurt, and pain of Vera’s secrets—her betrayal.
Mama Tina smiles wide. “As I thought.” I exhale in relief, then she speaks again. “Now, tell me who you really are.”
My smile wavers. “What do you mean?”
“The charm you use is very similar to fae glamour. Practically undetectable,” she murmurs while she squints hard at me as if attempting to peer into my very soul.
I press back into the chair as if that will help evade her searching eyes. “I’m not a criminal, if that’s what you ask,” I assure her.
She squints a little closer. “Yes, yes. I already know, dear. But you’re more than you seem.”
“So is Vera.”
Mama Tina presses her lips into a flat line and raises a brow. “She’ll be angry if I say anything. It’s for her to tell.”
“How about I guess, and that way you don’t have to tell her you told me?” I don’t wait for her to agree. “She’s a Black Tulip.”
Mama Tina’s eyes open wide, then her mouth curves into a wide, approving smile. “You should know I wouldn’t approve of just any criminal for my niece.”
“Yes, well…” I clear my throat, and with a somewhat sober tone in my voice, I try to prepare her for my title. “While I’m grateful you think so highly of me, I hope you continue to once you know the full truth.”
“Please, tell.” She appears overjoyed to be let in on a secret, her eyes shining bright as she leans forward in her chair with her hands clasped tightly.
I begin slowly. “I am not, and never have been, a criminal. Vera arrested me, but the warrant was false. She didn’t know who I was until halfway through the mission she contracted with me on.”
Her eyes are full of delight at the mystery of it all.
She leans forward even further. “And?”
“I’m Ikar, High King of Moneyre.”
Mama Tina’s eyes widen. “The high king?”
She throws her head back and laughs so hard that the large bees embroidered on her full skirt bounce with the movement, and I’m concerned she’ll fall off her seat.
I sit forward the smallest bit, confused by her reaction, but prepared to catch her if needed.
“Forgive me. It’s just… knowing Vera, I can imagine her reaction to all of this.” She laughs again, setting her bees to flying a second time.
I sit there with a careful smile on my lips until my patience wears thin. The woman tests me almost as much as Jethonan. Time is ticking.
“Where can I find her?”
She blots at her eyes with her dainty tissue.
“You can wait for her here, or go search her out at the fae market. She and Renna planned to spend the day there.” She clasps her hands together and tilts her head, more serious than I’ve ever seen her now.
“You should know that I’ve never approved of a man for Vera, before you.
But you have your work cut out for you. I’ve never been very supportive of the way the Black Tulips have secreted themselves, hiding behind magic bracelets and such—”
“Hiding behind bracelets?”
“Yes.” She stands and picks up a small box sitting on a nearby table, muttering something about wasted money as she goes. She returns and places it in my hands, waiting for me to open it. I lift the lid, and inside is a bracelet identical to the one that Vera wore—the one that broke.
I think I already know the answer, but I ask to be sure. “What does it do?”
“Hides them from kings, of course.” Mama Tina takes the box back.
“This one arrived just last night, and I didn’t have the nerve to give it to her before she left this morning.
I’ll tell her when she returns, and I’m sure she’ll put it on.
” She looks at me with a raised brow. “Unless you can find her and convince her not to. She’s been taught to hate you; you’ll have to earn her trust.”
Something I am highly aware of.
She grabs my hand and squeezes. “Go find her, boy.”
I stand, amused by her familiarity and prepared to thank her for her help. Then she adds, “I expect grandchildren right away.”
I choke as she pushes me out the door.