Chapter 13
Putting on a brave face for Durae was easy, but left with Lady Mae, Blaze wished he had something to occupy his hands to keep his fingers from worrying the end of his enchanter’s belt.
He realized how close that was to being an indecent gesture and clasped his hands behind his back.
Then he noticed that Lady Mae was doing the same thing with her hands and the end of her braid, and he couldn’t help a small laugh under his breath.
When she raised an eyebrow, he explained, “You’re as nervous as I am.”
She laughed, which eased his nerves, and held her palms out.
“I am. Durae is my eldest, and though he and his sister are both seeking spouses this marriage mart, you’re the first any of my children have chosen for themselves.
He can be impulsive, but that doesn’t mean he’s fickle.
He runs with his whole heart wherever he goes, and while I love that his heart is sweet, I worry for him. ”
“Any parent should worry for their elfling’s happiness,” Blaze said. “My fathers have always stressed that though their duty was to raise me, their honor was to love me.”
“A wise foundation for parenthood,” Lady Mae said with a nod. She drifted across the deck of the ship, clearly taking in her surroundings. Her gaze lingered on the makeshift canopy. “Durae mentioned I would be surprised by this ship. How?”
“She’s my prototype,” Blaze replied.
“Of what, exactly? She looks common enough.”
At the academy, Blaze had dreamed of sharing his invention with someone as powerful as Lady Navisora.
He’d written to so many businesses that the stack of rejection letters was larger than the tome of basic cosmomancy he’d first learned from.
His throat dried on the words, but he cleared it.
This wasn’t about his ship. Winning over Lady Mae was about her approval of his connection with Durae.
Everything would be smoother if she liked him.
“Before I tell you that, I want you to know Durae gave me a fake last name when we met,” Blaze said. “I didn’t know he was a Navisora when I invited him back to my ship. He’d helped me with a cosmomantic enchantment at a tavern, and he’s handsome and intelligent, and we … ah …”
“And you wanted each other,” Lady Mae said.
Blaze nodded.
“Understood. Now, the ship?”
“It’s a work in progress, but I’m nearly finished.
” Blaze crossed the deck and opened the cabin door.
Subtly, he kicked the blankets further into the corner, though his foot tapped against one of Durae’s ridiculous boots, and then stepped out of the way for Lady Mae to see the engine. “You’re standing on my first airship.”
Lady Mae’s attention snapped over to his engine with a sharpness that reminded Blaze of the most scrutinizing professors at the academy.
She quickly joined him in the cabin, skirts swishing and heels clicking with sure confidence.
Like Durae, her features softened the longer she examined his work.
Wonder filled her eyes, and Blaze saw the family resemblance.
“This looks very promising,” Lady Mae said. “Before you attempt to take it into the air with my son on board, I want to look at the schematics.”
“I have them right here.” Blaze began to reach for the tube where he kept them.
Lady Mae motioned for him to stop. “Not this moment. The construction and enchantments I see before me are enough to know you’re not a fraud, but you might still be a gold digger.”
Blaze tried not to scowl at her, but his annoyance was quick to slip into anger, and he had to focus on a tiny little dick carving that one of the elflings who had been helping him with his ship must have carved.
“You don’t like that insinuation,” Lady Mae said.
“I understand your reasoning in discerning the truth, but no. I don’t.”
“Are your parents wealthy?”
“Their house is held together with hope and paste,” Blaze replied.
“Then marrying rich would solve your problems. Is that why you’ve come to market? To land yourself a rich spouse?”
Blaze couldn’t help glaring at her. She was calm, her face smooth as an undisturbed pool of water.
These were the sorts of questions he ought to expect from her, but he hated hearing them in a matter-of-fact way.
It sounded like an accusation. He bit his cheek, took a breath, then told her, “No. I have had trouble finding a benefactor for my project. I met Kidd, and he pointed out that many who come to market are looking to make investments, share ideas, or create trade routes for rare materials that could be of use. I signed on with his caravan and worked my way here, and have been working every day since we arrived. I have scraped this ship together with sweat and hard work, and she will be ready to take to the sky at the Innovation Awards.”
Whatever Lady Mae’s judgment of his declaration, she continued to maintain her elegant demeanor. “Why have you had difficulties finding a benefactor?”
“At the academy, I competed against several other students who had less ambitious projects,” Blaze said.
“And some early calculations suggest that if the energies of the engine are misaligned, I could cause a significant explosion. Having spent my time studying rather than socializing, I didn’t have the connections to aid my creation of my ship.
I sent many letters out, but most who hear ‘airship’ immediately reject the possibility.
Those that didn’t were too scared of the possibility of an explosion. ”
“You’re far more likely to fall out of the sky,” Lady Mae replied.
At that, Blaze cracked a smile. “Durae said the same thing this morning.”
“Has he seen the schematics?”
“I was about to share them with him.”
“You should let him take a look. He is good at finding potential flaws,” Lady Mae said.
“He said he’s set a few enchantments on fire.”
“He has and, in doing so, shown us where new safety features were needed in our gondolas.” Lady Mae frowned and stepped closer to a wall. Only too late did Blaze realize she’d found one of the lewd carvings an elfling had made. “Interesting taste in décor.”
But she made no complaint and left the cabin with the same cool, breezy air she’d had a moment before. Slowly, Blaze followed her out. “Is that all, my lady?”
“Not quite.” Lady Mae walked over to the steering wheel. While she inspected it, she asked, “Do you intend to marry my son?”
“I … I feel it’s early to ask that,” Blaze mumbled.
Lady Mae fixed her calm gaze on him and lifted a single eyebrow.
The squirming that had begun in Blaze’s guts when Durae had casually asked, “Are you proposing?” kicked up again.
He’d managed to ignore the twisting in favor of enjoying Durae’s company, but his hopes were mingling with his fears.
Impulse told him to ask the question already.
Fear and logic demanded he gather more data before trying. The combat was an exhausting one.
“Should we want to marry, I would marry him,” Blaze answered carefully.
“And if his fathers and I strip him of his inheritance, would you still pursue him?” Lady Mae demanded.
“My whole life, I have watched my fathers choose their love over and over again. I honestly thought they were sappy fools and that I’d never be so dumbstruck by anyone.
Then Durae smiled at me, and it’s like I’ve been drifting in this fog, and he is the sun come to burn away the confusion of the world.
” Blaze swallowed, but once begun, the torrent of his feelings followed the easiest path.
“He teased me last night because I said something close to a marriage proposal. It wasn’t the right time, and he …
he wants to be with me, but it was the heat of the moment in the middle of the night, and his words are untested.
If loving me cost him his family, I … I wouldn’t want that for him, but I don’t want to lose him, either. ”
“Would you give him up so he could return to us?” Lady Mae asked.
“I would honor what choice he made about the circumstance, though my heart would break if he walked away from me,” Blaze replied.
Lady Mae held his gaze.
Blaze refused to blink first.
After several long moments with the only sounds being that of the neighborhood and the gentle slapping of water against the hull, she smiled, and the happiness reached her eyes. “You are a suitable suitor for my son.”
Now, Blaze blinked several times.
Lady Mae laughed lightly. “You shouldn’t be surprised!
You’ve been forthright in your conversation with me.
And I’ve seen the way you look at him. You admire his mind and heart as much as his body.
I think your hesitation to propose shows wisdom, not doubt.
Three days is not a long time to know someone when our lives are very long.
I will say that Durae is not taking this ship into the air with you until I see those plans myself. ”
“Understood, my lady,” Blaze said.
“And Durae can’t spend all his time here. You would probably feel more at ease knowing that he chose you from a crowd rather than because you were the first to take him to bed,” Lady Mae replied.
Blaze choked on air. “You know about that?”
“Durae was trying to scandalize me. I am glad that he managed to tumble into the arms of someone worthy to hold him.”
Relief flooded through Blaze and brought a measure of stability to his queasy stomach. “You wouldn’t mind if I publicly courted him?”
“I would not.”
“Lord Perro doesn’t feel the same,” Blaze told her.
Lady Mae narrowed her eyes. “How do you mean?”
“The day of the opening ceremony party, Durae took me to relax under one of the canopies where Lord Perro was. He made it clear that he didn’t approve of our association,” Blaze said.
“Did he.” Lady Mae clicked her tongue. “I will have words with him. You and Durae needn’t worry about his reprisal.”
When he had time, Blaze was going to stretch out on his deck and let the stress that had built in his system unspool completely.
Whatever he and Durae might be was a question that could be solved at their leisure, with the blessing of at least two of Durae’s parents.
He knew his fathers would love Durae dearly. It was impossible not to fall for him.
Oh no. I’m in love.
“If you ask Durae for coin to finish this prototype and my approval is not granted, I will reconsider my opinion of you,” Lady Mae warned.
Blaze nodded so deeply he slightly bowed at her. His nerves were making him ridiculous. That was when he noticed she wasn’t nervous and hadn’t been for some time. He frowned. “Lady Mae, if I may, were you anxious before? Or pretending to be?”
“My anxiety was genuine.” Lady Mae picked up Durae’s soiled rosy pink robe and folded it.
Grinning, she told him, “But my fears were eased upon looking at your creation. If you can love my son with half the care and thought that goes into an invention that complex, then he will be among the luckiest in love on the continent.”
Kidd and Durae emerged from the house. Blaze tried not to watch Durae’s every movement, but knowing the hurdle of his family was past them, he couldn’t help but hungrily drink in the sight of him. His heart soared, and he leaned over the rail to offer Durae a chaste kiss as he came close.
Durae smiled and quickly kissed him before regarding his mother. “We have your approval?”
“You do,” Lady Mae said. “But you will still attend the market’s events. Blaze is one of your options, not your only guiding star, understood?”
“But Mama—”
“She’s not wrong,” Blaze said. Durae gave him a surprised look. “In order to choose me, you have to know your other suitors. We can spend time here, and I will make an effort to go to events.”
“And Durae will spend at least a few nights in his bed at the inn alone. I won’t have him making cock-drunk decisions.
” Lady Mae cast a quick spell to levitate off the ship and onto the dock.
She took a few coins out of her pocket and offered them to Kidd.
“Could you do my family a favor and acquire a few decent items for him to traverse the market square in? Simple clothes and shoes will be acceptable. But they should be clean. A commoner’s clothes are no insult, but stained ones are dreadful. ”
Kidd’s jaw was tight, and he clenched his hand around the gold. “I could do that, my lady.”
“I’ve seen you at the events,” she said.
“Yes.”
“Blaze has a good head on his shoulders. I doubt he would work for someone who isn’t as principled as he is. The coin is to cover the cost of the clothing. For doing my family a great favor, I’m more than happy to introduce you to others,” Lady Mae said.
“Oh!” Kidd lost his annoyed expression. “That would be wonderful, Lady Navisora.”
She nodded once and began walking toward the road. “You will be back by early afternoon so you can prepare for dinner, Durae. If you aren’t, I will not be polite when I come to collect you.”
Once she was well out of earshot, Durae said, “Did my mother actually say she doesn’t want me to make cock-drunk decisions? Those were her actual words?”
“Yup,” Kidd said. He rolled the coins she’d given him around in his hand.
“You promised to show up to events.” Durae turned to look up at Blaze.
As soon as their eyes met, Blaze knew he’d given away his heart. He brushed a stray hair off Durae’s forehead. “She wants to take a look at the schematics before you can take the ship into the air with me.”
“A little overprotective, but my mother is a renowned cosmomancer.” Durae leaned into Blaze’s touch, putting his hand on top of Blaze’s. “Kidd looked like he was going to throw those coins back in her face.”
“I’ve been dealing with a lot of high-and-mighty nobles the last three days,” Kidd grumbled.
“Thought your mom was the same for a second there. But if she’s willing to introduce me and accept Blaze as one of your suitors, then she at least knows how to treat everyone decent enough.
I think I know where I can get you some clothes.
Won’t take me too long. Please remember that no one minds hearing you fuck in the middle of the night, but the middle of the morning is far more annoying. ”
“We won’t have sex,” Durae said dutifully. Then he smirked. “Probably.”
“We won’t,” Blaze replied. “Because I want to make sure things are squared away before the elflings get here, and you wanted to look at my schematics.”
“Oh! Magic! Almost as fun as sex.” Durae scrambled onto the deck, nearly tripping on the railing.
Blaze caught him, kissed him quickly again, and then steadied him on his feet.
A little longer and a little more work, and he would have more than he’d dared ever dream. Even without a completed airship, he was floating.