Chapter 15
SHARA
As we neared the house, Gina opened the back door and stepped aside. “Welcome home, Your Majesty. Congratulations on a successful trip.”
“Thank you, Gina. Let me introduce you to the real Leonie Delafosse, my new sibling. Leonie, this is my first consiliarius, the one and only brilliant mastermind behind Talbott Agency with eyes and ears everywhere the Triune may gather.”
Blushing, Gina curtsied. “It was your mother’s idea.”
“But you continued to execute the vision once she was gone.”
Leonie offered her hand, and as soon as Gina closed her fingers around hers, she pulled her into a hug, startling her. “Thank you.”
“Oh, dear, of course.” Gina lightly patted her back. “Despite our best efforts at discovering the Dauphine’s true identity, we had no idea you’d been imprisoned and impersonated, Your Majesty. I truly had very little to do with our queen’s rescue mission.”
“You serve her, and so I owe you a debt of gratitude. Without House Isador, I’d still be lying forgotten and dead beneath my own house.”
“Now that we know the truth,” I said, “I hope we can track down some of Leonie’s people who might have escaped the Dauphine’s attack.”
Gina’s eyes sharpened, glittering with interest. “Absolutely. If you’re up to it, let’s sit down and gather everything you can remember, Your Majesty.”
“Just Leonie,” she replied. “I remember everything. I’m eager to get started finding my family.”
We sat at the small round table in the sunroom just off the kitchen, while my Blood flowed in and out around us, grabbing food, changing clothes, and shifting duties. I honestly wasn’t even aware of Rik’s orders any longer. They had their guard duties down to a seamless, regular pattern.
:If you’re aware of Blood guard duties, then we’ve already fucked up,: Rik whispered in my bond. :You shouldn’t ever have to worry one second about who’s doing what around your nest to keep it secure, my queen.:
Of course Vivian was assigned inside the house, rather than aerial duties. Just in case I needed her tonight. :You really are the best alpha ever.:
He kneaded my shoulder with a pleased, low grunt in the bond. :I try, my queen.:
Winston brought a fresh pot of tea to the table. “I hear Daire provided an adequate cup of tea earlier, Your Majesty.”
“More than adequate. Leonie, this is Winston, who runs the entire house seamlessly and somehow manages to keep ravenous Blood fed at all hours of the day and night. Winston, this is my new sibling, Leonie Delafosse.”
He inclined his head in a short bow. “Your Majesty, it’s an honor to meet you. May I pull together a meal for you, Your Majesties?”
“I could eat,” I admitted. He immediately turned toward the kitchen, so I called after him, “Something light. Don’t go to any trouble.”
Daire snickered from his position at the door. “You know him better than that, my queen.”
I heaved out a sigh with a rueful grin. “I do. Which is why I’m braced for him to outdo himself, as usual, with no advance notice.”
“We’re always prepared for a feast,” Winston called back over his shoulder. “Especially in House Isador.”
On my right, Gina pulled out what looked to be an old-fashioned paper phone book. “When you mentioned Leonie was coming with you, I took the liberty of grabbing the Triune directory. I thought it’d be interesting to show you how little information still exists about your true house, Leonie.”
She flipped the book open to the page for Delafosse and placed it in front of me so we could all look at it.
There was still a faint, dried smudge of my blood in the upper left-hand corner of the page.
“Jeanne had a sigil placed in every single copy that went out to every House that kept anyone from even reading your information. Once Shara broke the sigil, all we could read was a consiliarius name listed as Wrenna Jade.”
Leonie shook her head. “That’s not my consiliarius’ name. Onésime and his wife Adéla?de served House Delafosse, and his mother and grandmother before him served my mother.”
“Wrenna Jade was an anagram for ‘Ward Jeanne,’” I said softly.
Leonie let out a disgusted sigh. “That fucking bitch dared to erase my entire house with her games.”
Gina’s lips quirked. “Did they use Delafosse as a surname out in the human world, or would they have used a different name?”
“They used Landry in the human world. I know the Dauphine killed them both, but they had a young daughter. She might have escaped the house. Her name was Zelie and she was ten years old.”
“Excellent. I’ll start a thorough search and see if we can track her down.”
“From Thierry’s memories, my mother sent him to your house right before she went to Italy to conceive me. The Dauphine was already there. Do you have any idea how long you’d been imprisoned before he arrived?”
“Right before the Dauphine arrived masquerading as Queen Isabelle, my House had just gone to the inaugural New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival in Beauregard Square to hear Mahalia Jackson. That was April 24, 1970.”
My heart sank like a stone. So long ago. I reached over and closed my fingers around hers on top of the table. “I’m so sorry.”
Leonie’s eyes shimmered and she turned her hand over to thread our fingers together. “Every day felt like eternity, so it could have honestly been centuries or a single day, and it would have felt the same.”
“Did you have any other humans associated with your House who might still be alive?” Gina asked.
“Many,” Leonie admitted. “Because we ran a prominent voodoo shop in the French Quarter, we had hundreds of contacts throughout the country, some of whom knew what we were. It’ll likely be easier for me to check and see who’s passed away in my absence so I can provide you with a list of the living.”
Winston brought the tea to the table in a rolling tray and began pouring, so I released her hand. Though my curiosity was piqued. “How will you know which humans have passed?”
“I’ll know who’s dead as soon as I tap into my resources.” The chips of amber and emerald in her eyes began to spin and brighten. A slow smile curved her lips. “It might have been a few decades since I practiced, but I’m the Queen of the Undead.”