Chapter 36 Odessa
Thirty-Six
Odessa
Evie’s scream woke me from a dreamless sleep. I kicked off the sheet tangled around my legs and jumped out of bed.
Ransom was already running into the dressing room.
I snagged my teal nightgown from the floor and dragged it over my head. The satin was cold as it skimmed over my body and I ran for the door, yanking it open.
Evie stood in the middle of the parlor, still dressed in her nightshirt. Her teeth were bared, her hands balled in small fists. Faze stood between her legs, wearing a similar expression.
Her gray eyes and his violet blazed as they glared at the intruder on the opposite side of the room.
“Mae?” I rubbed the sleep from my eyes.
My half sister was dressed in an embroidered teal gown. A sparkling tiara was woven into her golden hair. If not for the daggers in each of her hands, I might have mistaken her for Margot, she looked so much like my stepmother.
“What is going on?” I skirted around a couch to stand behind Evie.
“That little monster bit me.” Mae accentuated the last two words with a stab of a knife in the air.
Oh, gods. No.
Faze had been more aggressive lately, mostly with Ransom. But he’d never tried to bite anyone before. A swat of his paw was as violent as he’d get.
Regardless, if he’d attacked Mae, then it was over. We’d have to set him free. Maybe if we were careful and kept him locked in this suite, we could keep him a while longer. The idea of setting him loose in Quentis made my stomach churn, especially if we were on the brink of a migration.
“Are you all right?” I didn’t see any blood. Maybe he hadn’t broken skin. I bent and scooped Faze from the floor. “I’m so sorry. He’s never bitten anyone before.”
“Not him.” Mae flicked her knife’s tip toward Evie. “Her.”
“Back up. Evie tried to bite you?” I blinked, and as Faze wiggled free, I let him fall back to the floor.
He immediately returned to Evie’s side, standing guard, snarling at Mae.
“Yes,” my sister seethed.
I looked down at Evie, eyebrows raised. “You bit her?”
Evie crossed her arms over her chest, and in that moment, she’d never looked more like Ransom.
“Why would you— Mae, would you please put the knives away so we can discuss this without weapons?”
My sister’s lip curled as she kept her glare locked on Evie.
“Mae,” I snapped. “Knives. Down. Now.”
“Fine.” She huffed but lowered the blades, tucking them back into the jeweled sheaths on her belt.
“Thank you.” I pushed my curls away from my face and took a deep breath. “Okay. Let’s start at the beginning. What happened?”
“She was gonna take Faze,” Evie said. “And when she wouldn’t give him back, I bit her on the leg.”
“Demon.” Mae planted her fists on her hips.
Evie stuck out her tongue just as Ransom walked into the parlor, still fastening his leather pants.
His tunic molded to the honed muscles of his arms and chest. His hair was a mess, thanks to my fingers last night, and the ends brushed his shoulders.
His feet were bare, and the morning light caught the sharp angles of his face.
Beneath his beard, his jaw was locked. His circlet kissed his brow.
Even scowling and irritated, he was gorgeous. He radiated power and authority.
Mae’s gaze raked over his body, and she smoothed a lock of sleek blond hair away from her face as she offered him a demure smile. “You’re more handsome than I remembered, Guardian. Or should I call you Prince Wolfe?”
Well, it hadn’t taken her long to learn of Ransom’s true identity, had it? Did she have spies hidden in the walls of the throne room? It wouldn’t surprise me.
“Ransom, you remember my sister, Mae.”
He stopped in the center of the room, hazel eyes hard as he glared at her. “Is there a reason you’re in our suite this early in the morning?”
“She was trying to take Faze.” Evie picked up Faze and carried him to Ransom.
Mae’s sickly sweet smile only widened. “I was simply curious about your cat.”
“Please. I don’t believe that for a second.” I knew that malicious gleam in her blue eyes. “What are you scheming, Mae?”
“Nothing.” She feigned innocence.
Liar. “Touch him again, and I’ll tell every paperman in Roslo that you have a fungus growing on your toes.”
“Odessa.” She scoffed, her facade disappearing. “That’s very…me of you.”
“You will not touch him again.” I raised my chin, pinning her with a glare. “Have I made myself clear?”
She flicked her wrist. “He’s not even cute.”
“He’s adorable, and you know it.” I crossed the room, and even though she hated hugs, I gave her one anyway. “Hi.”
She squirmed, and when I only tightened my hold, she relaxed, finally hugging me back until I let her go. Then she gave me a sideways glance. “What happened to you? You seem different.”
“Well, I married the Guardian, set sail for Turah, was almost eaten by a marroweel, lived in a treehouse, was almost killed by a pack of bariwolves—a few times—adopted a tarkin, moved to a fortress, killed a man who was trying to kill me, and that’s only the beginning.
It’s barely dawn. I’m tired. And you should have knocked. Don’t sneak into this suite again.”
Mae looked at me like I’d sprouted wings.
“You’re right. I’m different.” And she’d realize soon enough that the dynamic in our relationship had changed.
A knock came at the door.
“Come in,” Ransom called.
A steward cleared his throat as he stood at the mouth of the entryway. He offered a deep bow before speaking. “The queen requests that you join her at breakfast. Presently.”
Presently, as in right now.
I guess we’d get all of the reintroductions done this morning.
“Thank you,” I said, dismissing the steward.
As much as I wanted to crawl back into bed, the sooner we told my father about the crux scout, the better.
“Let’s get dressed.” Ransom steered Evie toward her bedroom as my sister turned to leave.
“Mae?” I said, waiting for her to pause and look back. “I missed you.”
Not terribly. But I’d missed her.
She didn’t say it back before she swept out of the room.
I sighed, my shoulders slumping. Well, that reunion had gone better than mine with Father, but not by much. Someday, I needed to stop wishing my sister were a different person.
That I had a sister who liked my hugs. A sister who’d break into my suite because she wanted to see that I was alive and well. A sister who was like me.
But Mae was Mae. And wishing for her to change was as pointless as wishing to touch the stars in the shades.
I trudged to the bedroom to get ready for the day. My brother was somewhere in this castle, and if he wasn’t at breakfast, then I wanted to see him soon.
The maids had only brought me gray gowns and slippers from my former wardrobe, and the idea of wearing them again felt too much like stepping into the past, so I pulled on yesterday’s clothes, wishing I had something clean. My shirt still had the faint aroma of fish from the ship.
But I wasn’t facing my father in gray.
After quickly plaiting my hair and donning Ransom’s cuff under my sleeve, I returned to the parlor, where Evie and my husband were waiting.
Evie was dressed in yesterday’s clothes, too.
“She didn’t want to wear a dress,” Ransom said.
“Neither did I.”
As I pulled on my boots, Ransom donned his vest and weapons. Then the three of us set out for the first floor of the east wing.
The doors to Thora’s and Jodhi’s rooms were both open, the servants already cleaning them for future guests.
The Mavins had probably left before dawn.
The castle staff we passed on the way gave us a wide berth. Ransom drew most of the attention, followed by Faze, then Evie, and, finally, me. Word must have traveled through the palace that I’d returned, because a few of the servants bowed and addressed me as Highness.
Margot’s preferred dining room was in a corner of the east wing. Buttery sunlight streamed through the windows that bordered the space on two sides. A servant stood next to a table laden with food. The smells of pastries, fruit, spiced meats, and poached eggs made my stomach growl.
My stepmother, looking as regal as ever, sat at the foot of the table, sipping tea from a hand-painted cup as she read a paper. Her ocean-blue eyes, bright with the amber Quentin starburst, lifted as we walked into the room. One look at my clothes, and her face soured. “Pants?”
“Pants.” I stopped at the nearest chair, staring down the length of the table at my stepmother.
Ransom pulled out a seat for Evie, helping her sit. Then he dropped Faze on her lap and took the chair beside hers.
The servant immediately began bringing them food while I stared at the only mother I’d ever known.
If Margot had missed me, it didn’t show.
“Your hair.” She set down her cup and the paper.
“What about my hair?”
“It’s lovely.” Her indifferent demeanor cracked. Slightly.
My shoulders dropped from my ears. “Evie, this is Margot. She’s my stepmother and the queen of Quentis.”
“Hello, Evie.” It was the most genuine, kind hello I’d ever heard from Margot’s lips.
Evie gave her a shy wave, then hugged Faze closer.
Margot looked to Ransom and dipped her chin. “Your Highness.”
“Majesty. Thank you for your hospitality.” He sounded more like a prince than ever.
Somewhere in the shades, Luella was smiling down at her son. At the loyal, polite, steady man she’d raised.
“Welcome back to Quentis,” Margot said. “Please let me know if there’s anything I can do to make your stay more comfortable.”
“Clothes,” I answered for him. “Specifically, pants.”
Margot grimaced, but there was humor in her eyes. “We will find you pants. Now, eat. You’re skin and bones.”
I took the chair beside Ransom’s and did as my stepmother ordered, eating until my belly was fuller than it had been in months.
“Ah, there he is.” Margot sat taller, smiling at the windows as a streak of blond hair raced by the glass.
“Arthy?” I rose from my chair as my little brother ran through the grass in the garden outside the dining room.