Nineteen
Calypso
Interviewing Oran’s staff took hours. Azulin insisted on witnessing every moment of those hours, and since he didn’t want me out of his sight, I listened as well.
Fae culture made them wily. The iron-clad nature of fae bargains meant promises were set in stone unless a bound fae could wordsmith their way around them. However, for these interviews, the double pressure of a truth spell and the staff’s oaths of loyalty kept the staff from even wordsmith.
But my fascination with the squirming fae wore off quickly. I took no pleasure in listening to another’s mental and emotional discomfort.
Instead, I joined Ghost. The dragon had stationed himself in the shadows of the heavy curtains along the wall. They did nothing to disguise his large frame or the scent of smoke he gave off. His amber eyes glowed beneath his silver brows as he acknowledged my presence with a nod.
“My queen.” His voice growled low and rumbly.
“Ghost.” I offered him a nod in return. “What have you been up to since we arrived?”
“Listening at doors, prowling passages, and occasionally fetching things.” This last came with a slight snarl to his upper lip.
“I’m surprised they didn’t set you to hunting.” I watched as my husband and his brother circled the housekeeper, both intent on extracting as much information from her as they could.
“Can’t.”
Surprised, I glanced up at the dragon. “Why ever not? I assumed your skills were tailored to hunting down traitors.”
“They are.” His gaze didn’t waver from staring at the tableau playing out before us. “Outside my assignment.”
“Which is?” I asked.
“Protecting.” He nodded toward Azulin, who conferred with his brother as the housekeeper was led away.
“Ah.”
Azulin and Oran argued for a few moments before they separated. Oran turned and started yelling orders at his servants in an unfamiliar language, and Azulin stalked toward us, hands fisted at his sides. Our connection roiled beneath my skin in response to his anger.
“Wife?” His voice was low and threaded with irritation.
“Husband?” I responded. “Did you discover something?”
“We did.” Anger flashed in his dark eyes. He caught his bodyguard’s gaze. “Ready yourself for a hunt.”
Ghost rumbled with approval and a pleasing smoky scent thickened the air. “With pleasure. Fae, elf, or human?”
“Fae.” Azulin’s magic coiled invisibly around us. “My mother has taken a lover. The fae scum who greeted us. They fled together. Oran intends to pursue them on foot. Meanwhile, we shall follow up on the whispers that she allied with elves within Emrys’ court.”
“And I?” Ghost inquired.
“Come with us, and then return to hunt down the fugitives. We should be safe with the elves.” Azulin claimed my hand. “Are you prepared to depart?” he asked me.
“At your whim. Should we say farewell to Oran?” I glanced around Azulin to where his brother was verbally rebuking a high fae who was visibly wilting under the verbal barrage.
“Taking pity on my brother or the recipient of his rage?” Azulin’s amusement lightened his intensity.
“Both, I suppose.” I glanced at my husband. “We should at least show your brother common courtesy and bid him farewell.”
“Common courtesy in your world is showing great favor in mine.”
“And I don’t apologize for being human. Are you coming?”
“If I must.”
I let go of Azulin’s hand and made my way toward my new brother-by-law. My husband followed like a reluctant, protective shadow. Ghost muttered something I didn’t catch, and Azulin’s sharp response prompted a laugh from the dragon.
“What was that about?” I asked my husband.
“Nothing.”
I would’ve pushed, but Oran had noted our approach. Straightening, he turned to greet us. The servant took advantage of his distraction and slunk off.
“Off on a wild chase, brother?” Oran asked, addressing Azulin over my head.
“Once my wife has observed her human custom.” My husband’s tone made it clear Oran had no choice in the matter.
Oran’s eyebrows rose, and he considered me, amusement brightening his grim expression. “And which human custom is that?”
“Apparently, bidding family farewell is not a fae custom,” I observed.
“Not in our family. However, I have been informed we are an anomaly among the fae.” Oran bowed to me. “Farewell, sister. I bid you safe journeys and fair roads, as short as they might be with my brother as your guide.” He offered me a wink and a grin before straightening to eye his brother. “Don’t lose her. I will send word when I find our mother.”
Azulin nodded before guiding me back to Ghost.
“Time to leave,” he announced. Then, with a flare of magic that sparked and glowed, Azulin opened a portal through the middle of a table not five feet from us. It offered passage onto a manicured lawn hemmed in by low hedges and neatly trimmed trees painted golden by the late-afternoon sun.
Ghost stepped through with us this time, walking beside me so that I was bracketed by him and Azulin.
No sooner had the portal closed behind us, than a shadow elf emerged from beneath a tree. “You’re late.”
“Not my choice, Cas,” Azulin snapped before turning to Ghost. “Where do you want to begin your hunt?”
“Where she was last seen.” The dragon rolled his shoulders.
“No transforming on the lawn,” Casimir protested. “Avril is partial to the gardens and will object to the topiaries being flattened by an oversized lizard.”
Ghost ignored the elf. His magic gathered around him, and the air turned smoky.
“I mean it.” Casimir scowled. “Don’t annoy my brother’s wife. He’ll send us after you.”
Azulin groaned. “I do need Illeron to help.”
“Fine.” Ghost snorted out a great puff of steam. “Open a portal, then.”
Azulin’s magic flared—setting my nerves tingling in a pleasant way—and a massive portal large enough for Ghost’s dragon form opened. I glimpsed the place where Tana had attacked me just before the opening filled with Ghost, mid-transformation. Within a few heartbeats, he had slipped through the portal and taken to the sky with a mighty gust that blew all of our hair and clothing back.
Azulin closed the portal before turning back to the shadow elf. “I believe you indicated Illeron was waiting for us.”
Casimir led the way toward the manicured gravel path. “I didn’t know dragons were so impatient.”
“They are when someone attacks their blood brother’s mate,” Azulin replied dryly.
The shadow elf paused in the middle of the path to eye me and then Azulin. “Who attacked her?”
“It’s a long story.”
“Just give me their name.”
“My mother, Tana.” Azulin’s embarrassment, not detectable in his tone or manner, came across so clearly to me that I instinctively stepped closer and squeezed his arm reassuringly.
Casimir tilted his head, eyeing my hand on Azulin’s forearm before nodding. Then turning toward the house, he motioned toward the center doors that opened into what appeared to be a conservatory.
“Enter through there. Illeron will meet you in the main foyer beyond. He’ll want details, so get your story straight before you arrive.” Then with a sharp bow, Casimir disappeared into the shadows with a breeze of cool magic.
“Where is he going?” I asked, stepping closer to Azulin.
“Probably to announce us to Illeron and then gather searchers among the shadow elves.”
“Because you are allies?” I asked, watching the shadows we passed and looking for movement in their depths.
“Officially, yes, we are allies. Unofficially, the instantaneous response is because Illeron and I are friends.”
We followed the path in silence for a time. Azulin didn’t relinquish my hand. Even when we reached the conservatory doors, he chose to use his free hand to open the door and maneuver me through the opening first.
Together, we stepped into the moist warmth of a sauna filled with the earthy scent of life and growing things. The massive space completely enclosed a mature, thriving tree. Thick foliage filled the room above us, while the sparsely tiled floor accommodated a twisted mess of roots and patches of gravel.
“Separation anxiety already?” Illeron asked. He stood on the other side of the tree, holding open a thick wooden door. Even dressed in fighting leathers with his caramel curls mussed, he managed to exude elegant confidence and power. As a species, elves tended toward height and a calm, distant demeanor.
Azulin grimaced. “Casimir updated you, I hope.”
“No details. Just the bare basics,” Illeron replied as he motioned us through the doorway into an elegant foyer that rose to include a second story. “Have you eaten your evening meal?”
I shook my head even as my stomach rumbled.
Illeron’s face relaxed into an amused grin. “I will interpret that as an emphatic negative.” With a generous wave of his arm, he indicated we were to keep walking. “Avril is in the kitchen. Waldorf has been making more food than we can consume these days, so I’m certain there will be plenty for both of you. Even if he hasn’t prepared enough, we can ask him to make more.”
“We don’t want to be a bother,” I protested.
“Indeed, we do.” Azulin gave my hand a gentle squeeze. “We need assistance. Besides, if Waldorf is making too much for the two of them to eat, Illeron isn’t exaggerating. In fact, the last time his cook did this—” Azulin’s eyes widened before he whirled around and narrowed his gaze at Illeron. “Is Avril increasing again?”
Illeron laughed. “She is. We had a wager about how long it would take you to notice.” He smirked. “I lost.” He led us through a wide doorway with a swinging door and into a bright, open space filled with the sounds of cooking.
“Lost what?” A pretty redheaded woman dressed in leggings and leathers scooted off the stool by the counter. A long, thick braid swung around her shoulders as she came to greet us. She flashed Azulin a friendly smile and then prodded her husband. “What did you lose?”
“Our bet.” Illeron caught his wife’s hand when she went in to prod him again. A glitter of amusement lit his green-silver eyes, bringing out the silver. With a flirtatious smile, he wound his wife into his embrace and planted a kiss on her temple.
“Oooh! I knew he’d notice far sooner than you believed. The official announcements will be made next week.” She winked at Illeron. “I expect those foot rubs to start tonight, understood?”
He answered her with another long kiss before he turned her to face us. “Az brought a friend.”
Extracting herself from Illeron’s embrace, the woman bowed to my husband. “Good to see you, Az.”
Azulin nodded. “You as well. I hope this pregnancy is proceeding smoothly.”
“The easiest one yet. Illeron is fussing over me like a mother hen and irritating Merlon with his demands, but otherwise everything has been uneventful.” She smiled at me. “Who is your friend?”
Azulin turned to me with a warm smile. “This is my wife, Callie. Callie, this is Illeron’s wife, Lady Avril.”
“Just Avril,” she insisted. Then glancing between Azulin and me, she asked, “When did the wedding happen?”
“Last week.” Azulin threaded his fingers through mine.
I leaned against him, exhausted. So much had happened since then.
“I promised them food.” Illeron maneuvered his wife toward the counter where a brownie was industriously rearranging platters to make room for two additional place settings. Illeron gestured to the counter and said, “Sit, eat, and then fill us both in on what has passed since we last spoke.”
∞∞∞
Azulin
Calypso ate and I talked. Both Illeron and Avril asked questions occasionally, but as the meal disappeared, Calypso’s eyes began to close. Eventually her head came to rest against my upper arm, and as delighted as I was by the contact, sleeping while sitting up wasn’t good for her.
“I had hoped we could beg a night’s hospitality from you,” I said. “As you can see, Callie is weary and I dare not bring her back to my castle with my mother on the run.”
“Of course,” Avril responded before Illeron could. “Come with me.” She rose and came around the counter to Calypso’s side. “I’ll show you where Az usually sleeps when he visits. He can join you when he and Illeron have finished strategizing.”
Illeron and I watched them depart without speaking, but the moment the door closed behind them, he turned to me. “How bad was the damage?”
I grimaced. “Mother would’ve wiped her of all personality and will and replaced Callie with a reflection of herself if Oran hadn’t been there.” My rage roared to life once more when I considered how close Calypso had come to a fate worse than death. With great effort, I wrestled it down.
Illeron rose, and I followed as he turned toward the corridor. “Casimir selected the best scouts in our ranks and sent them out searching for any sightings of your mother and her lover.” We climbed the stairs to the upper floor. “He will report back the moment they hear word, but in the meantime, I have questions.”
“So do I,” I informed him. “The most pressing one is whether or not my mother betrayed me to the Unseelies.”
“I doubt it.” Illeron stalked into his study and flung himself into the comfortable-looking chair behind his desk. “Sit.” He motioned toward the upholstered chair across from him.
“How do you figure that?” I asked as I lowered myself into the offered chair with far more reserve. I didn’t have the energy for flinging anything, me included.
Illeron’s eyebrow rose. “It wouldn’t serve her purpose.” Illeron’s gaze intensified as he narrowed in on my expression. “Are you certain you’re well? The Az I know would’ve spotted that a mile away.”
I rubbed my face. “I don’t know anymore. My life has been upside down for so long. I shouldn’t be so shaken by these past few days, but I am.”
“Because of Callie?”
I closed my eyes. “I guess.” Opening them again, I regarded my friend from across his desk. “Only a few short weeks ago, I was responsible for a nation, fighting a curse, and struggling to keep up with its variations. Now I’m married, freed, setting my defenses against my mother, and finally tracking down the traitor who handed my enemy my true name.”
Illeron nodded. “Suspects?”
Leave it to Illeron to focus on the traitor. “My mother, Grizzlemunch, and Soren.”
“Your mother doesn’t make sense. She wants power and sees you as her vehicle to gain it. Getting you cursed defeats that purpose. Why is your secretary a new suspect?”
“He hates Callie.”
“And that’s why you think he handed over your true name? That makes no sense. She wasn’t even in the equation when you were cursed.”
I shrugged. “He’s perpetually indicating that I am falling short of my responsibilities. He hounds me night and day with work. Resists any changes I make to improve the kingdom. And now, he seems irritated that she is around and demanding attention.”
“It sounds as though he doesn’t like the fact you have a wife.”
“A companion,” I clarified. “He thinks she is my companion, not my wife.”
Illeron’s scrutiny intensified. “Exactly how many people have you told about your marriage?”
I squinted at nothing while I counted. “The Great Pooka, Ghost, Oran, my parents, you, and Avril. Some servants in Oran’s household know now. Those are the only people who know I am free from my curse too. Though some in my household might have reasoned it out.”
“I’m sure they have.” Illeron nodded. “Servants have a tendency to figure out more than we suspect or desire.” He studied me. “How has your household responded to Callie’s presence?”
“After the initial fuss that she’s female, they adapted well.” I considered the parade of servants that had worked its way through my office over the past few days and frowned. “Perhaps too well. She has had more visitors than I during the time we were home.”
Illeron’s sly grin caught my eye. “Should I be concerned?” I asked. After all, he’d been married to a human for quite a while. He might offer some insight. “Anything I should adjust?”
Illeron’s eyebrows rose. “Everything. Marriage is a commitment that affects everything. She’ll need friends, freedom, a purpose, control over parts of her life, and more. Have you dissolved the male-only rule in your court yet?”
“I considered it.” It had crossed my mind at the very least. I rubbed my face. Too many thoughts raced through my brain. I grasped at one. “What do you mean about her needing purpose and control?”
“What was Callie’s life like before the curse got involved?”
“Hard labor. Helping run a farm, tending her spoiled sister’s children, and catering to her sister’s whims.” Anger coiled in my gut once more.
Illeron’s response was far calmer. “I can see why she found you an attractive alternative. Did she enjoy it?”
Recalling my wife’s answers when I had questioned her, I suspected the truth was more complicated than her perception. “Yes, and no. From what she has said, she enjoyed the work and what it accomplished. My guess is she didn’t appreciate her inherent value being tied to her ability to work.”
Illeron grimaced. “Such is the nature of the shapeshifter communities if they let the unchanged remain. It sounds like hers was one of the kinder groups.”
“Kinder?”
“Banishment, beating, and sometimes execution are not unheard of. In some communities, the unchanged are maimed and imprisoned.”
Revulsion drove me to my feet. “She’s never going back.” I paced to the window and glared out at the night beyond the mirror-like glass.
“She probably doesn’t wish to go back.” Illeron came up behind me and studied my expression in the glass through narrowed eyes. “Have you asked her what she wants? My experience is that wives tend to know what they want.”
I smirked. Avril had a reputation for being very outspoken. “Callie isn’t as outspoken as Avril.”
“But she speaks up when she needs to.”
“She does.”
“Ask her. Your life is hers now too. Let her help you carry the burden.”
A shadow elf stepped out of the shadows in the far corner of the room and bowed to both of us. “Master Illeron, your presence is required.”
Illeron acknowledged the elf with a gesture but addressed me. “Sleep, friend. Rest in the assurance that you and your wife are safe for tonight. Then tomorrow, ask her what she wants her life to look like. She might surprise you.”
Illeron left with his shadow elf, melting into the darkness. I rested my forehead against the cool glass. Why did the prospect of asking Calypso what she wanted out of life scare me so much?
It wasn’t that I didn’t want her to be happy. It was more complicated than that. As king, my people depended on me for their safety, their government. They looked to me for wisdom and for decisions that protected our nation and represented our interests to foreign powers. My servants expected me to provide them with wages, give them work, and maintain a safe and fair working environment. My brother depended on me to rule so he didn’t have to. My father depended on me to run the kingdom, thanks to his own curse. But none of them depended on me for their happiness.
What if I couldn’t give Calypso what she needed? What if she decided I wasn’t worth the hassle? I groaned. What if I wasn’t enough?
“Azulin?” Calypso’s soft voice broke through my tortured thoughts.
I lifted my head and blinked at the reflection of her petite form in the darkened glass. Turning to face her, I drank in the sight of her.
Light caught in the warm highlights of the mass of curls falling unbound around her shoulders. Her lovely silvery-gray eyes studied me gravely. The concerned frown pulling at her mouth made my gut twist afresh at the realization she was worrying.
“Are you well?” she asked.
“I thought you were headed to bed.” Everything within me wanted to reach for her. Hold her and reassure her that all would be well. She was safe. I would see to it.
“I couldn’t sleep. What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.”
“We both know that isn’t true.” Calypso crossed the room and rested a hand on my chest. Instantly, the frantic whirl of thoughts in my head slowed.
The contact affected her as well, and the tension in her stance eased. Gazing up at me, she said, “The burning in my chest tells me something is twisting you up inside. You aren’t alone anymore, Azulin. I can help. Even if all I can do is listen, please, tell me what you need.”
“Don’t leave.” Too choked up for more words, I covered her hand with my own, securing it there lest she change her mind and take it back. Then slipping an arm around her, I pulled her close and rested my forehead against hers. Calypso tensed as our magic flared up around us, but she didn’t pull away. Instead, she relaxed against me, embracing me in return.
“I’m here,” she whispered.
Closing my eyes, I drank in her closeness, savoring the hum of our magic mingling. Illeron was right. Calypso and I needed to talk, but not tonight. I kissed her temple and nuzzled her hair. For now, this was enough.