Chapter 21 #2
Great Mother, I feared Saphira had been right about my sister.
Riordan fought a larger fae male with dark hair, but the slighter build of the vampire did not put him at a disadvantage.
No, Riordan fought as he had the first time I had seen him in a filthy bar brawl, moving as quickly as the fae did, and more agile as he blocked or ducked beneath blows, a hard target to hit that seemed to infuriate his opponent.
The fae male wore a look of pure darkness, his building rage glittering in his eyes as he swung at the blond vampire and missed again as Riordan dodged backwards, sucking in his bare stomach to evade the male’s blow.
That frustration in his eyes reminded me painfully of Saphira and how she had lost her temper when we had sparred in the glade as her punishment for speaking her mind to me, forcing me to acknowledge a truth I had not wanted to face.
And how she had bitten me when she had lost her temper.
My fingers stroked the spot on my shoulder, over the fine black material of my tunic jacket, where her fangs had pierced when she had shifted and charged me, catching me off guard with my first glimpse of her in her beautiful white wolf form.
Jenavyr did not notice me standing beside her, lost in my thoughts.
She suddenly jolted and spun towards me, almost colliding with me, as Riordan finished his match.
The vampire swiped up a pale cloth a male held out for him as he jogged towards us, and Jenavyr looked at anything but him.
A very poor attempt to cover what she had been doing.
Riordan would have to be blind not to have noticed her watching him during his match.
Riordan rubbed his damp blond hair with the cloth, tousling it before he used it to wipe his bare chest down as he stopped right next to my sister, the slight Irish lilt to his voice more noticeable today. “Do I have new orders?”
I nodded. “You will work with my sister to prepare several strategies that will keep the Shadow Court safe in case of an attack by either the Summer Court or Ereborne.”
I waited for my sister to explode at me, or at Riordan, fighting against this task I had told her she would not like.
Disappointment swept through me when she said nothing.
She did not even snap at the vampire.
She was too busy gazing at Riordan’s chest as he struggled to catch his breath after his sparring match.
I did not like this change in her. It worried me, together with what Saphira had once asked me.
Did my sister and Riordan have feelings for each other?
I shoved that question from my mind, forcing my focus to a more pressing matter as Riordan spoke.
“Ereborne?”
The vampire did not know of my agreement with the high king, nor what had transpired at the ball, so it was little surprise he was confused.
“Yes, Ereborne. I am expecting the high king might not look favourably upon my court when I make it clear that Saphira is to be my queen… considering she is part seelie.” I charted every face in the crowd that encircled the training ring, studying them to see if anyone faltered upon hearing that news as I intentionally let it slip.
None of them did, but that did not mean word would not spread now. I was banking on it. I wanted the news of her bloodline to flow out into my court, so I could see who reacted to it.
So I knew who I needed to remove from it.
This was their first test.
Were they loyal enough to me that her breed did not matter to them? Were they of an open mind and could accept a seelie queen ruling them?
Would any of them run to tell Ereborne?
Or spread dissent?
I would have answers to all these questions, and I would deal with whoever stepped out of line, eradicating them so this court would be safe for my queen.
My love.
Chase and Morden lingered to my right, keeping some distance between them and the soldiers, both of them dressed in their mortal fashion of fleece shirts and jeans, and heavy boots.
I had learned a lot about the mortal world in the time they had been here—in the time I had known Saphira.
Their choice of clothing did look comfortable, if a little more suited to a peasant than a ruler of people.
“The wolves are well?” I singled out Chase, the alpha of the Harper Pack. March Pack. It had become the March Pack when Chase had become alpha.
When Saphira’s father and mother had been killed.
It was hard to focus on his response, his words distant in my ears as I thought of her, as I ached to see her, to know she was well and coping with everything that had happened to her.
“He’s thinking about her again,” Morden muttered, something he remarked often in my presence, because he thought it riled me.
“I am worried about her, which is probably more than some of us can say.” I smirked at him.
He scowled back at me. “I’m worried about her too, dick.”
“Morden,” Chase admonished, putting his beta in his place, forcing his silence, and my smirk widened.
“Before we can descend into bickering,” my sister said and earned a black look from me, one that called her on her audacity of bringing up how Morden and I bickered when normally she was at Riordan’s throat at every opportunity.
She brushed it off as she continued, “let us focus on what is important—preparing for war.”
Morden looked as affronted as I was, his grey eyes dancing between Riordan as he finally finished wiping himself down, and my sister. The wise wolf said nothing though.
Malachi finally joined us.
I looked at Everlee where she now hugged the stack of books the demon had been carrying, and then at him.
“It is not like you to allow books to leave the library, but if the wolf is fond of reading, it is kind of you to allow her to borrow them. I understand she is not comfortable being near the castle. I only hope in time she will come to find it bearable, as I am sure she would love the library.”
Not a lie among my words. I truly did hope that the wolf female would heal enough to visit it and find a sanctuary in that place as Saphira had.