Chapter Eight #3
Lupin nodded. “I’m not sure if you’re aware, but Haran is a place of high-arcane energy.
Rivers of mana flow beneath the kingdom’s soil, much like the field of glowing flowers and weeping willow you saw last night.
Imagine that but greater. Many of the people born in Haran are mages because of this. ”
I thought for a moment. “Is that why King Silas was interested in my dad? Because he had dark magic?”
“Yes. Silas wouldn’t allow any of his daughters to marry just anyone. They would’ve had to possess the same gifts. So, a treaty was put into place. An alliance through marriage was one of the terms.”
My chest deflated. “And then my dad broke those terms when he chose to marry my mom instead.”
“Unfortunately, yes.” His eyes twinkled in the fading rays of sunlight spilling in through the stained-glass window. “Elias and the king traveled to Haran soon after to renegotiate terms. King Eidolon even offered to surrender certain territories he’d refused in the past, such as Exalos.”
“The city of shiny things,” I said, recalling the silly name I’d given it.
“The mountains, as you know, contain gemstones and jewels. Many of them can be used for spell work. Crafting amulets, magical staffs and wands, and to strengthen enchantments. For a place like Haran, the mountains and its shiny things are invaluable.”
“Sounds like a good deal to me.” I frowned. “So why didn’t King Silas accept it?”
“He did, at first.” Lupin’s smile turned sad. “However, that’s when the court seer noticed your mother, who’d traveled with them… and sensed you growing in her belly. Right away, she knew who, and what, you were.”
Ice trickled from my sternum to my ribs. “Are you saying King Silas really did hire Nocturne to come after me and my parents? That he’s the one behind all of this?”
I’d suspected as much after Briar’s theory but hadn’t been sure.
“Is that what I said? Hmm. Interesting.” He whistled under his breath. “I can neither confirm nor deny.” The look he then gave me said what he was forbidden to say.
That I was right.
“If King Silas hired them back then, he’s more than likely the one who sent them after me again. But why does he want me?”
“That, I cannot tell you.” His brow tapered. “All I can say is it involves your rare blood.”
“Like using me for a blood sacrifice or something?” I asked, heart pounding. He only stared at me. I lowered my head and grabbed the back of my neck, trying to calm the swirls of anxiety. “This is all… too much.”
Lupin slowly breathed out. “While I can’t reveal the details of what you may face in the days to come, you should know your odds for a bright future have slightly improved as of late.”
I peeked back up at him. “Really?”
“Very slightly, but yes.” Softness touched his eyes. “Though, as you put it, you still have many doom flags to dodge.”
Queasiness jostled in my gut. “I shouldn’t have eaten so many of Rose’s quiches earlier for lunch. Good thing we’re in the bathroom. I might throw up.”
“Please don’t.” Lupin took a small step back. “I’m not good with vomit.”
His sudden look of terror took me by surprise. “I didn’t know you could make that face, Lupin. You’re usually so cool and calm.”
“I’m not sure what you mean.” He relaxed again and straightened his suit jacket. “I am, and always have been, cool and calm.”
I threw a hand over my stomach and faked a gag. With a string of curses, he jumped backward. I laughed so hard I almost peed myself.
“Foul boy,” he muttered. “Next time you’re moping around and begging to see me, I’ll turn a blind eye and let you figure it all out on your own.”
I grinned. His reaction had eased some of my earlier nerves, but remembering the royal ball brought some of it back. “Not sure how I’m supposed to go out there tonight and pretend everything’s normal. I’ll constantly be looking over my shoulder. The mercenary escaped his cell yesterday.”
“I know.”
“He’ll try to make a move tonight, won’t he?” I clasped my fingers so tight my knuckles turned white. “He’ll try to capture me again?”
“You know I can’t answer that.”
“Yeah, yeah.” I drew one leg up and rested my arms on my knee. “Telling me would interfere with my fate, blah, blah.”
“Don’t look so forlorn, Evander. All will be revealed in time, precisely when it needs to be.” Lupin reached into his pocket and withdrew a silver pocket watch. “Speaking of time… I must be on my way.”
“How does that thing work anyway? Or is that a secret too?”
“Your lover, Rowan, uses shadows to teleport, yes? Well, this is how I do it. That’s all the answer you need.”
“You really are a mysterious butthole wizard.”
Lupin laughed. “I don’t mean to be. Perhaps one day we can sit for coffee and blueberry scones, and I’ll tell you all about myself. Anything you wish to know.”
“Like how you got your powers and how long you’ve owned your little oddities shop?”
“If that’s what you’d like to know, then yes.”
“What about why you’re such a butt face? Will you tell me that too?”
“Oh, Evander.” He sighed. “Whatever will I do with you?”
My chin trembled as I lost my sassy facade. “You could start by telling me how to get through this evening in one piece.”
Lupin’s expression fell. “I must ask… what do you intend to wear to the ball?”
“That’s random.” I dropped my leg from the edge of the tub and scrutinized him. All emotion had been locked behind a stoic wall. I couldn’t read him. “Why does that matter?”
“Simple curiosity.” He waved his hand. “Now, enlighten me. Is it the same suit as the autumn ball or something new? A blue suit? Or perhaps ivory?”
“Briar had an ivory one tailored for me,” I answered, confusion deepening. “Why are you so interested in my clothes?”
“As I said. Only curiosity.” He offered me a smile that revealed a glimmer of something tender in his eyes. “Ivory will suit you quite well. Be sure to add a pop of color with a pocket square. It adds a touch of finesse.”
“Um.” I blinked a few times. “Okay. Thanks for the tip?”
“Take care of yourself, Evander. I mean that with my entire heart.” Lupin flipped open the silver watch. “And remember, should you ever find yourself lost, look to the lilies.”
“The lilies? What’s that supposed to—”
He vanished, leaving me alone in the bathroom once again.
“Never fails.” I rubbed at my temples. “He appears, and so does a headache.”
A knock came at the door. “Is all well in there, sir?”
Sounded like Benny.
“Yep!” I scrambled to my feet and quickly flipped on the faucet to fill the tub. “Just, uh, having trouble deciding which soap to use. So many smells to choose from.”
There was a slight pause. “I believe an earthy scent suits you best, sir.”
I smiled and grabbed one of the bottles. “Thanks. I’ll be right out.”
“Of course, sir,” he said from the other side of the door. “Your suit just arrived from the tailor and will be waiting for you.”
Benny then continued down the hall.
My conversation with Lupin replayed in my head as I soaked in the hot water, adding enough soap to create a tub of bubbles. My parents were mages, one light and one dark. And for some reason, it made me special. Well, made my blood special.
Most importantly, I’d learned King Silas really was the one who hired Nocturne. One mystery solved… but so many other questions unlocked.
“No sense in obsessing over it right now.” I gently patted the bubbles. “I’ll get through tonight and worry about that tomorrow.”
If I didn’t fall face-first into one of my many possible doom endings, anyway.
“Having fun, little treasure?”
I squeaked and karate-chopped the bubbles on impulse. “Dammit, Ro. You’ll give me a heart attack one day.”
Chuckling low and sexy, Rowan stepped from the dark corner. “So that was the infamous Lupin. The one who helped bring you back to this world.” He tugged off his tunic and tossed it to join mine on the floor. “He’s prettier than I thought he’d be.”
No surprise he’d been eavesdropping from the shadows. I had to face facts that I was probably never actually alone. My feisty redhead was always close by, watching over me. That thought came with relief, now more than ever.
“Don’t let his looks fool you. Lupin is rotten to his core. A total butthole.”
“Seemed to me like he cares for you.” Rowan stopped at the edge of the tub and unbuckled his belt, sliding it off. “I had my dagger at the ready just in case though.”
“No stabbing allowed.”
Head cocking, his lips hitched up to reveal my favorite sharp tooth. “What if you do the stabbing?”
“If I…. oh.” My body heated further, and it had nothing to do with the hot water. “As much as I’d, uh, love that, I really need to get ready for the…”
Rowan pushed down his trousers, revealing valleys of toned bronze skin and thighs I wanted to bury my face between. Smirk in place, he stepped into the tub and straddled my lap. “You were saying?”
My mind went blank. His warm body pressing to mine overrode every other thought. “I don’t remember. Something about stabbing, I think.”
He rested his head on my shoulder and shook with a soundless laugh. “Gods, I love you.”
I slipped my arms around his lean waist. “I love you too. Even if you stalk me.”
“I call it protecting. You’re too clumsy to go anywhere by yourself.” Rowan turned his face into my hair and slowly breathed. “You still smell like oranges.”
I recalled our day at the beach, where we’d sat in the sand as he’d told me about a grove of orange trees back in Solynia, his birthplace.
Living on the streets, food had been hard to come by, so he’d looked forward to when the trees blossomed.
He would gather a few oranges and sit atop a hill to eat them. The smell comforted him now.
“I could make you an orange dessert.” I smoothed my hand up his bare spine, loving the heat of his skin beneath my palm. “Maybe use a rum glaze. Something with candied almonds or pecans too. All your favorite things.”
Rowan nibbled my earlobe and growled. “Stop thinking about food and fuck me already.”