Chapter 11
Chapter Eleven
JAX
Both Odessa and Dmitri turned to him, delightfully in sync down to the dropping of their jaws.
“Jax,” Odessa drew out his name with a groan, closing her eyes and dropping her head back.
“What?” Dmitri sounded almost scandalized. “Since when is Odessa looking for a husband?”
Jax shrugged. “The timeline of the past isn’t important. What is important is going forward.”
“You want to get married?”
“I’m just here for the dragon.” Jax waved his hands in front of him.
Dmitri glared. “I wasn’t talking to you, Bird Man.” He faced Odessa and repeated, “You want to get married?”
“It’s…I mean…yes?” She looked adorably befuddled.
No. Not adorable. Just befuddled. Different realms.
“It’s rather sudden, isn’t it?”
She squared her shoulders. “I’m a year older than you, Dimi. Just because I haven’t talked openly about it with you doesn’t mean I haven’t been thinking about it. Of course I want to get married someday.”
The prince blinked. “Oh. Alright. I suppose I’ll write a few more invitations, then.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “Any specific requests?”
Odessa shrugged. “You would know better than I.”
Jax considered them both for a minute, formulating a theory that made his stomach churn unpleasantly. He spoke before the sour taste could reach his tongue. “You know, if you’re both looking for a spouse, you could just marry each other.”
The horrified looks on both their faces did much to soothe his stomach. Odessa vehemently shook her head. “Absolutely not.”
“Ouch.” Dmitri winced.
“I thought you liked him,” Jax said, taking the prince’s side in an effort to appear impartial.
“He’s perfectly fine…for a prince. No offense, Dimi,” she added quickly. “I just don’t want to be a queen.”
He breathed out a laugh. “None taken. Well, now that that’s all settled, I should probably head back to the palace and let you get on with your night. I’ll stop by tomorrow if I can. Bird Man, you’re with me.”
He snapped his fingers with all the confidence of a future king and turned on his heel, gesturing for Jax to follow.
Jax hesitated for a moment, looking over at Odessa, who gave him a small smile and a wave.
On impulse, he crossed the distance between them and gave her a quick, tight hug.
“Have a good night. Take care of my dragon for me.”
He spun around and trotted after Dmitri, slowing to a walk as he fell into step beside the prince. Dmitri eyed him suspiciously. “What are you doing?”
“Heading to bed, hopefully.” He stretched his neck from side to side. “It’s been a rather long day.”
“I meant with Odessa.”
He couldn’t help it; he looked over his shoulder to see her white dress disappearing down the path into the Menagerie. “I’m just trying to help.” He faced forward again.
“Is that what you call it? I found you with your arms all over her, and then again just now. What are you thinking?”
He bristled. “I gave her a hug. You know, those things that friends give to one another when one is feeling overwhelmed or sad? A basic, simple way of letting someone know you care about them?”
The defense came far too easily to his lips, despite the fact that, truth be told, he hadn’t been thinking.
He hadn’t needed to. Being with Odessa was easy—they fit together like two pieces of a puzzle, and he couldn’t remember the last time he had fallen so comfortably into conversation and laughter with someone he had just met.
Even after one evening together, it was hard to remember that they hadn’t known one another their whole lives.
Offering her a hug had felt natural, and the way that she had relaxed into his arms, as though finally free of a heavy weight, had made his heart ache for her.
Dmitri’s brows lifted. “Friends, huh?”
“An accurate description of the relationship between us, considering the fact that we met for the first time yesterday.”
Though our first meeting did include a kiss.
“You and I met yesterday.”
“Are you saying you also want to be my friend? I accept.” Jax grinned mischievously, then sobered when he caught Dmitri’s frown. “I promise you, I’m not trying to harm Odessa in any way.”
Dmitri studied him for a long moment before nodding once. “You better not be. Don’t forget: I’m the Crown Prince. I have the authority to have you exiled. If you hurt her, there won’t be a place in Kovskia safe for you.”
Jax chuckled and shoved his hands in his pockets. “Understood, Your Highness. I’m just here to help.”
“You really want to help her find a husband?”
Honestly? Not really.
“Yes,” he lied.
“Why?”
“Because it’s—” the only way to break her curse.
He tried to force the words out of his mouth, but despite his best efforts, his tongue refused to cooperate.
His head suddenly ached as if someone had struck two loud, discordant bells right beside his ears, sending the sound rippling in painful waves all the way to his teeth.
This must be what Odessa meant when she said it was physically impossible to talk about.
“Because…?” Dmitri prodded.
He smiled, though the expression was false. “She saved my life. It’s the least I can do to repay her.”
And if I ever have the pleasure of meeting Boris, I’m going to release a flock of chickens in his house and ensure that there is a rooster crowing behind him at all times.
Maybe I’ll even send the emus after him.
“I’ve been thinking about your upcoming party.” Jax threw himself into a wide, cushioned chair opposite a dark mahogany desk in Dmitri’s study. The tall windows lining the far wall looked out over the meticulously tended gardens and revealed the sun which was just starting its western descent.
“I was thinking how most people would have knocked,” Dmitri commented drily without looking up from the pile of papers in front of him. He signed the bottom of one with a flourish, then set it aside before starting on the next.
“Knocking is for strangers, business partners, and annoying siblings. We’re friends.” Jax laced his fingers together over his chest.
“I wasn’t aware there were exceptions.”
“Either you have been severely lacking in friends, or they have been of a dismal quality.”
Dmitri paused and finally looked up, his expression thoughtful. “Perhaps both.”
Jax clicked his tongue. “Odessa doesn’t get enough hugs, you don’t have the right kind of friends—honestly, it may be a good thing that Drosselmeyer dropped me here.”
The prince leaned back in his chair. “You mentioned that name before. A wizard, I believe?”
Jax grinned. “You have excellent listening skills—a wonderful quality in a friend. That tells me it’s likely an issue with them, not you. But yes, Drosselmeyer is a wizard, and a rather frustrating one to boot.”
“Why is that?”
“Because he has a habit of imparting wisdom in vague and confusing ways, often dropping you right in the middle of a problem for the sake of character growth but without really giving you any clues as to how to achieve said betterment. Despite the fact that, as a wizard, he’s incredibly powerful, he seems to prefer to watch us all figure things out on our own. ”
An amused smirk pulled at the corners of Dmitri’s mouth. “You mean like a mother bird kicking her young out of the nest to learn to fly?”
Jax narrowed his eyes. “Your bird metaphor is appreciated, but as my friend, you’re supposed to be on my side.”
The prince held up a hand. “Apologies. Please continue.”
“There’s really not much else to add. He’s dependable in that you can depend on him being unpredictable, though if it comes down to a matter of life or death, he’ll swoop in and offer help. But most of the time he just, as he says, ‘facilitates.’”
Dmitri was quiet for a moment. “If that’s the case, then do you believe he facilitated your arrival here?”
Jax pulled his fingers apart and drummed them on the arms of the chair.
“I’m honestly not sure. He was helping me search for the dragon egg, but then it turned into a Find the Wizard Scavenger Hunt that led me to Eukarya.
I find it hard to believe that he was planning for me to fall to my death, which means that the gateway that dropped me here may have been fashioned in the spur of the moment. ”
“Your presence is accidental, then.”
He shrugged. “Could be. Either way, I have a feeling it may take Dross a while to get me back home. I might as well make the most of my time while I wait.”
“That’s a rather more optimistic outlook than I believe most would have in your shoes.”
“What can I say? Bird Catchers have to be adaptable. We can build a nest anywhere as long as we can find a tree. But all this talk of birds aside, I did have a reason for coming in here.”
The prince wrinkled his nose. “The party.”
“That’s a sour face for someone who came up with the idea,” Jax laughed.
“I just didn’t realize how much work it would involve.” He sighed. “And with every invitation that goes out, I am reminded that I will be expected to entertain and socialize with all of them. In many ways, I envy Odessa. She gets to spend her days in the solitude of nature.”
Jax snorted. “I think her days might be a little more complicated than you realize. But speaking of Odessa, I was thinking that it might be a good idea for you to come out to the lake before sunset.”
“Why?”
He shrugged, trying to appear nonchalant. “The best parties are all about atmosphere, and atmosphere is based a good deal on the kind of lighting. I think it would be extremely helpful to go out and get a feel for what the lake looks like at sunset. You might be surprised at what you discover.”
Dmitri was looking at him as if he had sprouted feathers from his ears. “I’ve seen a sunset before.”
“But have you seen it at the lake?”
He opened his mouth, closed it, paused, and spoke again, “Actually, no. But I’m certain that the general effect is the same. However, if you’re so worried about it, I’m going to use my princely powers to delegate the task to you.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means that I have an incredibly long list of work that still needs to be done tonight and it’s Odessa’s turn to entertain you.”
Jax held a hand to his chest as he stood. “You’re getting rid of me?”
Dmitri shooed him away. “Leave the nest, little bird. Fly away.”
“You realize that you’re implying that this room is my new home?” He ducked as a wadded piece of paper went flying past his head.
“Find a new tree. Oh, and Jax?”
He stopped just before the door and looked over his shoulder. Dmitri was smiling, his shoulders more relaxed than they had been since Jax had met him. He lifted a pointed eyebrow. “Odessa might be your friend, but for Kovskia’s sake, please don’t forget to knock when you get there.”