Chapter 23
Luelle
Luelle awoke in her uncomfortable chair in the dark hallway. Last night was dull, and Neoma had no visitors in her room. She spent most of the night watching her sleep under the plush blankets, wishing it were her lying on that soft-looking bed instead of sitting in the damn chair.
She needed to find someone to bring something more comfortable to spy from, but Ael was the only one aware of her presence within these halls.
Maybe he could carry another in for her.
She sighed and slowly stood from the seat, quietly groaning as her joints felt stiff from hours in the same position. She glanced one last time through the hole and saw Neoma still asleep.
Yesterday, after she saw Neoma and Meir together in the garden, she rushed to Ael as quickly as she could, and Ael promised that Neoma would be leaving the castle as soon as possible.
For whatever reason, she was still here.
Where was Ael anyway? What time was it?
She moved through the dark halls and stopped at the end of her favorite tapestry, listening for anyone on the other side.
Carefully moving aside the hanging rug, she peeked out and saw that the morning light filtered through the windows. She let out a sigh of relief when no one was around and slowly slipped out.
She began walking down the open corridor, and after turning a corner, she accidentally bumped into someone and stumbled backward.
Meir stood there, staring at her with angry eyes. “Where have you been, Luelle?”
She plastered a smile on her face, despite wanting to smack him, and stood back up. “I should be asking you the same question, Meir.”
Their eyes stayed locked as they studied each other.
He broke the silence. “Last night, that damn Lionne almost attacked our king, and you have been missing.”
He had to be lying. Elco wouldn’t just attack Ael.
“Where’s King Ael now?” she asked.
“In the dining room.” He squinted at her, clearly trying to find a break in her facade.
She fought the urge to laugh at his face. He looked so funny when he was all mad and red.
Deciding she could mask her smirk at his expression with sarcasm, she said, “Perfect. I’m heading there now and will check in.”
She let out a purposeful, annoying laugh, hoping it would piss him off more.
His eyes darkened completely for a moment, causing her to freeze.
She slowly stepped away, squeezing past him as he watched her go. She shook her head, dismissing it. She wasn’t sleeping, and her mind was playing tricks on her.
She could feel his eyes boring into the back of her head and chuckled when she remembered how Misandra would tell Ael that story about her secret eyeball on the back of her own.
When she entered the dining room, everyone else was there. An open seat next to the beautiful Corvid woman, Ferona, remained, and she gladly took it, looking over at the gorgeous creature and winking at her.
She noticed a faint pink tint spread across Ferona’s cheeks, gliding over her moonlit skin.
Both the Corvid women were absolutely stunning. They looked identical except for their accent colors, but Roya’s demeanor was too abrasive for her. She could also see that she had a thing for Benny, who was sitting next to her with doe eyes.
Can’t blame the man for being obsessed, she thought.
“Welcome to breakfast, Luelle. You look like shit,” Ael said, chuckling, as everyone fell silent when he spoke. His hand was yet again on Seda’s thigh, and she looked... like she slept really well.
“Why, thank you. I slept rather poorly. Neoma’s still here, by the way, snoozing like a baby in that cloud-like bed of hers.” She grabbed the serving spoon to dish herself out a portion of chopped fruit and plopped it onto her plate.
Ael narrowed his eyes but didn’t respond. He simply tapped his finger on the table, clearly annoyed by the news.
“Same for us,” Askold chimed in with a smirk. “There was a lot of noise last night.”
Benny cleared his throat, and Luelle looked at him. His eyes started to water as he held a napkin over his lips to conceal his smile.
“What exactly did I miss?” she asked as she looked between Benny and Ael. “I heard there was an incident with the Lionne?”
“Oh, just Seda experiencing her first orgasm while Elco thought she was injured from all the screaming.” Benny’s voice was muffled through the napkin, but his eyes sparkled mischievously as he looked at Seda, who was visibly pale.
“Benny!” Seda began, but her sudden yell caused her to choke on her breakfast.
Ael’s face quickly changed from flabbergasted at Benny to concerned over Seda, and he began to pound on her back, trying to help clear her airway.
Seda took a deep breath and, with watery eyes, glared daggers at her brother.
Damn, I did miss a lot, she thought as her lips curled into a smile.
Ferona cleared her throat beside Luelle, and she glanced over, their eyes meeting for a moment, but Ferona quickly looked away.
Ael changed the subject while he ran his hand up and down Seda’s back. “Ojore and Praxis should be back today.”
Benny and Askold sat up straighter in their chairs.
“Do you know what time to expect them?” Benny asked.
“Before lunch,” Ael replied.
Luelle let out a sigh, expecting Praxis to return with a new excuse to bother her, likely bringing up his dick again in the process.
She regretted all those times she had drunk too much wine and wished she had someone to spend time with. For whatever reason, Praxis was always available.
A shudder ran through her at the memory.
He truly was terrible in bed, which was such a shame given his cock was so large.
But without his awful lovemaking, she never would have allowed herself the freedom to discover the beauty of a woman.
She had always been attracted to them, but never took that first step until after spending time with him.
She supposed she was thankful for his terrible lovemaking and shrugged to herself.
“I have a book that I’d like you guys to read the contents within,” Seda said, holding out a worn leather book. She handed the book to Ael, who didn’t try to read it, then handed it to Benny.
Benny opened the book and flipped through the pages. “It’s blank. What is it?”
“Pass it along, please,” Seda asked him. Benny shook his head as if his sister were crazy, then handed the book to Roya.
Roya opened the pages, her eyes squinting. “You really can’t see this?” she asked Benny.
Benny grabbed the book back from her and flipped through the pages once more. He shook his head. Roya took the book back from him and handed it to Ferona, who opened it and agreed she could see its contents as well.
Ferona handed it to Luelle, and their fingers briefly touched. The touch was soft, and she flexed her tingly fingers.
Ferona quickly looked away again, heat creeping along her cheeks once more. Luelle’s lips curled into a faint smile, and she opened the book, seeing the pages lined with various, disgusting-looking spells.
“Where did you get this?” Luelle asked Seda as she peered over the book.
Seda preened. “Cahir got it from Tahti. Apparently, she’s missing, and the only thing she left behind was this book. He cannot see what’s inside either.”
“So…” Luelle started, but stopped, thoughts circling her mind.
She knew Tahti was gone; Ael had told her so yesterday.
It didn’t make sense that the old, mean thing would vanish, but she honestly didn’t care.
Good riddance. No more bumps on her head with her gone.
“This must be her Book of Light. Sounds like men cannot see what’s within. ”
“I told you it wasn’t just me!” Seda exclaimed, her preening finally exploding, and pointed her finger at Ael’s chest. He smiled down at her, like she was cute for telling him so.
Luelle had never seen Ael so enamored before, and it made her heart swell for her friend. He deserved to be happy.
He also deserved to hear ‘I told you so’ more often.
“Why would that mean, old witch, leave her book behind?” Luelle wondered aloud as she flipped through the pages of chicken scratch.
No one answered.
“We need to plan for taking back the stolen Umbrea stone for Seda,” Ael finally said.
Luelle gasped and set the book down. “What do you mean? La Uma has that stone. No one goes up there unless you have a death wish. Your father never came back, Ael.”
Ael dismissed her with a wave of his hand. “We should reach there in two days. Luelle, I need you to stay and oversee everything as lead advisor.”
Luelle protested. “No, Ael. You cannot go. Your father never came back!” She felt her stomach tighten. She couldn’t lose her friend. And what if he was gone again for years? He had only recently returned from Joro.
She didn’t want him to leave again.
Ael narrowed his eyes at her. “Luelle, I’ll be leaving with Seda. I will return, and you need to watch the castle while I’m gone. Can you do that for me, please? As my friend, I trust your judgment to handle things while I’m away.”
Luelle flared her nostrils and narrowed her eyes back at him, feeling a small burst of magic escape from her nose as she exhaled.
She didn’t want him to leave.
Luelle angrily jumped from her chair and slammed her palms on the table. “If I do this, Ael, I’ll need a way to communicate with you. Something is brewing under these stone walls, and if you’re gone, who can stop it from happening?”
“Praxis and the guard,” he replied.
Roya cleared her throat, and everyone looked at her. “Ferona can stay here with you while we go with Seda. We can communicate back and forth. I’ll call in other Corvids to see who’s nearby and willing to join.”
Luelle’s eyes moved from Roya to Ferona, who smiled at her in response.
Perhaps being stranded at the castle with someone intriguing like Ferona wasn’t such a terrible idea.
“Fine,” she snapped, sitting back into her seat with a loud thud.
“What do you intend to do about Neoma?” Luelle asked as she picked up her fork again and looked at her plate, the food suddenly seeming much less appetizing. She set the fork down and stared at Ael.
“After we leave breakfast, let’s go to her room and make sure she leaves. I’ll call in a few of the guards to help with this since she seems to think my commands don’t mean shit,” Ael responded. “I also want Meir there, as well.”
Luelle smiled. “Not sure where he was headed, but I saw him on the way here.”
“Probably the library,” Seda chimed in.
She was right. He was probably going to the stupid, dull library.
For years, Luelle thought Meir was just a boring, old advisor who always followed the rules. But recently, it seemed there might have been more to him than met the eye.
The doors flung open, and Praxis collapsed into the room, gasping and out of breath. Everyone stopped what they were doing and looked at him. He jumped up, met Ael’s eyes, and rasped out, “The Jotnar have attacked the Lycanthropes. There was no trade deal. Ojore’s missing.”