Chapter Three
T he mid-morning rush was underway, and Val was kept busy baking bread and tart shells, along with decorating the Monday cupcakes.
It was just after ten thirty when Bailey came back and said, “So? How was it?”
“Nice. Thorough. It was very pleasant.” Val wrinkled her nose. “I think. I am not stiff or anything, but there is a nice ache where there shouldn’t be.”
Bailey laughed. “Nice. You had a careful one.”
“Yeah. I guess.”
“Do you remember anything?”
“Everything was in shadows. The room was nice.”
She kept working as she talked. “Is Becky out there?”
“Yeah. She’s keeping up. We are going to need more banana cream tarts, though. She’s obsessed.”
“She’s pregnant. You are just lucky that your sister is willing to pitch in when Mira’s in school. Her going through your tart inventory is a small price to pay.”
Bailey snorted. “You have a point. Oh, and thanks for going last night. They moved me to the front of the line and gave me a freebie for bringing you.”
Val pulled a tray of meat pies out of the oven and slid it into the cooling rack. The next four trays got the same treatment.
She kept working while Bailey described what she could remember of the previous evening. Bailey described waking with bites and other fun marks from an enthusiastic partner. “Any marks, Val?”
“I shower and dress before dawn. I have no idea.” Her skin had been more sensitive, but she deliberately hadn’t looked closely. She would look after work.
Bailey kept up the chatter, and Val went through the daily tasks that kept the small bakery running.
When the final loaves went into the oven for the afternoon push, she walked to the front of the shop, grabbed a meat pie, and sat down with a cup of coffee for her break. Bailey and Becky were restocking the cooler, and Val sighed. “Work smarter, not harder.”
Bailey grinned. “That is getting really old.”
Becky stood and shrugged. She had just deep-throated another banana tart.
There were footsteps, but Val didn’t move from her long slump. She kept munching. This was the only break she took.
The peacekeepers from the beach showed up, and Val looked tiredly up at the shifter as he stopped in front of her. She took another bite of her pie. “Yes?”
“You are needed for additional questioning.”
She nodded. “Give me three minutes. I haven’t eaten all day.”
The peacekeeper sat on the chair across from her. The other ones started prowling the bakery. The officer next to her said, “We can wait.”
Val shrugged, set a timer, and continued eating the pie and drinking her coffee.
She mumbled, “I will change into street clothes. You can follow to make sure I don’t run.”
He nodded and got up, following her as she paused to pull the bread out and put it on the cooling racks.
“The burn scars are making sense.”
She chuckled and finished, turning the oven off. She didn’t trust Bailey to remember. Sure, it was her shop, but Val had been in charge for years.
Once that was taken care of, she headed back and removed her apron as she walked. She headed into the worker change area and said, “You stay here. There is no exit, no window, nothing behind this zone.”
He snorted and stepped past her, nodding. “Please be quick.”
She sighed. “I could have been changed already.” She darted to the back and removed the work clothing, pressing it into the hamper.
Her sundress and sandals were waiting, and she was dressed in a minute.
The hairnet and hat came off and hung up on her little hook. She grabbed her purse and walked out.
The peacekeeper blinked in surprise. “I didn’t expect... you look very nice.”
“Thanks. Shall we?”
He nodded and turned, his feet slipping on the floor. She laughed. “Don’t pick your feet up. If you have ever ice-skated, it is the same motion. Slightly bent knees and slide your feet forward.”
He nodded, and they made their way to the front.
She turned to Bailey. “The bread is out. Looks good. I will let you know if I will be back tomorrow.”
Bailey’s eyes went wide. “Why wouldn’t you?”
“Back home, interrogations could go for days.” She shrugged.
The peacekeeper turned to stare at her. “Where the hell did you grow up?”
She looked at him calmly. “Suura.”
He flinched. “Gods. Right. Come with us. You won’t be harmed.”
She shrugged. “Okay. We have to wait for them to check out, though. At least there will be snacks.”
Becky was tying up a stack of boxes with a sweet smile. She rang up the total, and the ogre-born in front of her paid with a smile. “Have a good day, little mother.”
Bailey looked at him and spots of colour came to her cheeks as she made eye contact with him. That was one heady flirt that the ogre-born had mastered.
Val looked at the peacekeeper and her boss, and she snickered. Bailey muttered, “Shut up, Val.”
Val chuckled and was surrounded by the peacekeepers as two carried boxes full of pastries, and one stared at her as if he was aroused and afraid at the same time. She really hoped he wasn’t driving.
They passed the peacekeeper offices, and Val looked around. “Aren’t we going there for interrogation?”
Her driver shook his head. The other two were in the back of the SUV, comparing creampuffs. “No, the one who has questions is at the palace.”
“Oh, shit.” She swallowed nervously.
“Don’t worry. He just has a few questions. Nothing invasive.”
“Oh.”
They went through the checkpoint at the gate, and she felt her palms sweating, and the inside of her thighs throbbed.
It wasn’t sexy; she was just abraded. It was the one thing she could pinpoint as a takeaway from the previous night.
Her inner thighs were pink. It was why she had opted for the skirt.
The day in her uniform had been irritating.
When they got to a parking area, she was encouraged to leave the seat, and it only took a little prying for them to get her hand off the door.
They surrounded her walked her up the steps and into the temple-like interior.
Statues of foxes were at the edge of every stairway and watched over all open spaces.
She saw the entry to the main court and was steered past it. She whispered, “Where are we going?”
“The king’s study. He said the questions he needs to ask you are not for public consumption.”
“Oh. Great.”
They walked through the shadows of pillars, and then two hulking guardsmen gave the king’s location away.
At their approach, the stone giant on the left knocked gently at the door, and it was opened as they stepped up to it.
The officer who was handling her eased her into the office and pulled the door shut behind her.
She turned slowly around, and she folded her hands against her thighs and curtsied low. She locked in position and kept her head down.
“That is surprising. You don’t appear to be one who stands on protocol, Heyval.”
He got out of his seat and walked to her, touching her shoulder. “You may rise, necromancer.”
She looked at him grimly and slowly straightened. “I thought I was being clever, hiding here.”
“You were. It worked. I have had hunters looking for you for a decade, and all I needed to do was send them for a cream tart.”
She looked at him. “What did you need to know, Your Majesty?”
He smiled. “How long will I live?”
“As long as you would have.” She held up her hands with her fingers slightly bent and touching.
She pulled them apart, and then as she spoke, she eased them back together.
“When the energy of your life ran out and life and death became separate, I just bridged the gap with my own energy and held your life force in place until your body could reclaim it.”
“We both know it is not that simple.”
“Fine. I forced your life and your beast back into you and strapped my energy around you to hold it in place until your body and soul could come back together. It took about a year, and then you were clear of my influence.”
He turned and walked back to sit behind his desk. “Sit.”
She walked to the chair across from him and sat. “Your Majesty, you are looking better than the last time I saw you.”
He snorted. “I had been blown up by an asshole who took out half the heads of state because he was playing with a toy.”
She shrugged. “People have died in many stupider ways.”
“Hm. Why did you wait until I was awake to put my arm and leg back on?”
“I gave you a boost. Like jumper cables. It got your body healing itself immediately. That helped you get your circulation back. I would never have done it if the rescue crew had not been in visual range.”
He smiled, and she actually looked at him.
He was gorgeous. Tanned skin, deep red hair, and golden eyes.
His shoulders were broad, and his tunic moved smoothly over his chest. His hands were lean and graceful.
She could see sharp teeth, and they reminded her that he was a kitsune, and this wasn’t his only shape.
“You are staring, necromancer?”
“Please, call me Val, Your Majesty.”
“You may call me Amori.”
“I don’t think I can do that.”
He chuckled. “You will manage. Now, why are you staring?”
“I didn’t actually look at you before.” She shook her head. “I am sorry. I shouldn’t be looking now.”
“Why not?”
“It’s not appropriate.”
He leaned forward and grinned. “I have a number of inappropriate thoughts about you, but then, last night left quite an impression.”
She felt ice run through her. “What?”
“The spells used at the club. I designed them. You think I can’t see through my own glamour?”
“Oh. No.”
“Oh, yes. You and I are a perfect match. I was surprised and not surprised all at the same time.”
She leaned back and tried to remember concealment spells. They all slipped away as soon as she thought she grasped one.
“You won’t be able to do any mage craft in here. It is why I asked you to come to my office. This is a little more basic than the court. So, beauty, what shall I do with you?”
“Is there still a price on my head?”
“The death sentence? Oh, yes. They still have a price out for you saving my life.”