Chapter 12
CHAPTER TWELVE
Connal had never seen anyone command the attention of so many pixies without offering tribute or issuing a royal decree.
Gomez accomplished it with a plate of pastries.
He remained propped against the pillows in Connal’s bed, his newly healed legs hidden beneath the blankets and a half-eaten pastry in one hand. The pixies crowded around him, offering additional choices faster than he could finish examining them.
“This one has flowers on it,” Gomez cooed, as if it were the most perfect flowered pastry he’d ever seen.
“They are sugared,” Avaneel explained from her place beside his hip.
“Of course they are. Why would anyone put ordinary flowers on a pastry when they could make them sparkle?”
Three pixies immediately flew away, presumably in search of more impressive flowers.
Zer watched them go with the solemn expression he usually reserved for approaching enemies. Then he looked back at the human on the bed. “You have encouraged them.”
“I complimented their work.”
“You encouraged pixies.”
His brother stated this fact as if he didn’t have a pixie hiding in his hair the majority of the time.
Gomez wasn’t the only one who’d encouraged the tiny creatures.
Most fae avoided them due to their…excessiveness.
Connal would have to intervene to protect Gomez if needed.
For now, though, he had to admit a distinct pleasure in watching Gomez appreciate the lavishness of Unseelie life.
Gomez took another bite. “I regret nothing.”
Luke sat at the edge of the bed beside him, a plate balanced across one knee.
He had eaten little so far, but at least he had stopped pretending he required nothing.
The bruising along his throat remained too dark, and the bandage around his injured hand made every movement awkward. He still looked exhausted.
He also looked more settled than he had before Gomez arrived.
Connal remained in the chair across the chamber, obeying his king’s command despite the restless pull beneath his skin. His strength had returned. Mostly. Enough that sitting still while threats remained unanswered felt more like punishment than recovery.
The drive was once again hidden at Luke’s waistband. They possessed the object their attackers wanted, but they still did not know what it contained.
The chamber doors opened, and Cosmo stepped inside.
Two pixies nearly collided with his horns in their rush to greet him. Cosmo ducked without interrupting his stride, apparently accustomed to avoiding airborne members of the court.
“Well,” he said, surveying the collection of plates surrounding Gomez. “I see you’ve been adequately fed.”
“I wouldn’t say adequately. I’d say heroically.”
“An important distinction.”
Luke set his plate aside. “What did Silenus say?”
The humor in Cosmo’s expression softened. “Asterius and Keir have given him their accounts of the warehouse. He has sent three of the castle’s most trusted sentinels to examine what remains of the structure.”
Connal straightened. “They have already left?”
“Immediately after receiving the order. Silenus wants the residue examined before it fades or whoever created it has an opportunity to remove the evidence.”
That was the correct decision. Connal disliked that it had been made without him anyway.
“And the realm?” he asked.
“The guard has been increased at every known passage, and no unfamiliar magic will enter without being reported directly to Silenus.” Cosmo crossed the chamber and lowered himself into the chair nearest the bed. “He is not assuming the warehouse was the full extent of the threat.”
Luke’s attention sharpened. “When does he want the rest of our report?”
“After the sentinels return. He wants their findings before he asks either of you to draw conclusions about what happened.”
“I can give my account now,” Connal said.
“I’m sure you can.” Cosmo looked pointedly at the chair beneath him. “You can also give it tomorrow without falling over in front of your king.”
“I did not fall.”
“No,” Luke said. “You arranged for several people to catch you first.”
Gomez lifted his pastry. “That still counts.”
Connal ignored him.
Cosmo’s mouth twitched. “Silenus is not waiting because he doubts your ability to speak. He already has enough information to act, and he is acting. The full council will meet when the evidence and everyone required to interpret it are available.”
The distinction eased some of Connal’s frustration. He did not enjoy waiting, but moving without information had already allowed their enemy to nearly trap them once.
Beside Gomez, Luke released a quiet breath. Some of the tension left his shoulders.
“Tomorrow,” Luke said.
“Assuming the sentinels return by then,” Cosmo agreed. “Until they do, Silenus expects both of you to remain inside the Unseelie and recover.”
Gomez looked between Luke and Connal. “Good luck with that.”
Connal met Luke’s gaze across the chamber. His mate looked as dissatisfied with the command as Connal felt, but neither of them argued.
For tonight, there was nowhere useful to go.
Cosmo surveyed the crowded bed, the hovering pixies, and the plates accumulating across every available surface.
“Now,” he said, brightness returning to his expression, “we should discuss what they’ve done to Gomez’s chambers.”
Gomez lowered the pastry halfway to his mouth. “Why does that sound ominous?”
“It depends upon how you feel about flowers.”
“I like flowers.”
“Excellent. And fountains?”
Gomez’s eyes brightened. “Indoor or outdoor?”
“Yes.”
Luke looked at Cosmo. “What did they do?”
“I suggested preparing the neighboring chamber so Gomez could recover somewhere better suited to a guest.” Cosmo gestured toward the pixies surrounding the bed. “They interpreted that instruction with considerable enthusiasm.”
The pixies beamed.
One of them flew closer to Gomez. “We made the bed soft.”
“Very soft,” another added.
“And there are flowers.”
“And cakes.”
“And ribbons.”
“A great many ribbons,” Cosmo said gravely.
Gomez looked delighted. “I want to see it.”
“Are you sure?” Luke asked. “You’ve just been healed.”
“I have been kidnapped, magically repaired, and fed multiple delicious pastries by tiny winged people. I refuse to let physical weakness keep me from seeing what they did with my chambers.”
“Your temporary room,” Luke reminded him.
“Don’t ruin this for me.”
Cosmo laughed. “The chamber is yours for as long as you require it. Whether you move there now is entirely your decision.”
The emphasis was subtle, but Connal saw Zer straighten beside the bed.
Gomez noticed as well. His gaze moved between Cosmo and Zer before settling on Luke. “You’ll be nearby?”
“Next door.”
“And no one is going to drag me anywhere without asking?”
“No,” Cosmo said.
Zer stepped forward. “I can carry you. If you would like me to.”
Gomez regarded him with exaggerated suspicion. “Are you planning to sling me over your shoulder again?”
“No.”
“Will I remain upright?”
“Yes.”
“Will you put me down if I ask?”
“Immediately.”
Gomez held out both arms. “Then you may transport me to my palace.”
“It is not a palace,” Cosmo said.
“You haven’t seen what the pixies did since you’ve been in here. It’s probably a palace by now.”
Zer slid one arm beneath Gomez’s knees and the other behind his back, lifting him from the bed with enough care that Gomez’s expression briefly lost its humor.
“Oh,” he said. “That’s significantly better than last time.”
“I was in haste.”
“You were committing a felony.”
“I do not know that word.”
“I’ll make you a list.”
Avaneel settled on Gomez’s shoulder as Zer carried him toward the door. The other pixies swarmed after them, competing to explain the chamber’s additions.
“We made the ceiling sparkle.”
“The flowers sing when you wake.”
“There are sweets beside the bed.”
“And beneath it.”
Gomez twisted in Zer’s arms to look back at Luke. “If I don’t survive the night, tell everyone I died happy.”
“You’re going next door.”
“Grief makes people irrational, Luka-million. Don’t judge yourself too harshly.”
Luke picked up Gomez’s bag and followed them. Connal pushed himself out of the chair before his mate could disappear through the doorway.
Luke glanced back immediately. “Where are you going?”
“To ensure Gomez is settled.”
“You’re supposed to be resting.”
“I have rested.”
“You sat in a chair for twenty minutes.”
“I found it restorative.”
Luke’s gaze dropped pointedly to the hand Connal had braced against the chair.
Connal straightened and released it.
Cosmo covered a smile with his hand. “Perhaps Luke can inspect the chamber on behalf of both of you. I promise to return him once he is satisfied that Gomez has not been buried beneath decorative cushions.”
“There are only seventeen,” a pixie protested.
“Eighteen,” another corrected.
Gomez stared up at Zer. “Move faster.”
The procession swept into the corridor, Cosmo following behind as the pixies argued over the precise number of cushions. Luke paused at the threshold and looked back at Connal.
“I’ll be right next door.”
Connal inclined his head. “I know.”
Luke studied him as if confirming that Connal truly intended to remain where he was. “Try sitting down before you fall down.”
“I will not fall.”
“That wasn’t the important part of the sentence.”
Luke disappeared into the neighboring chamber before Connal could respond. A moment later, Gomez’s delighted shout carried through the wall.
“There’s a tree in here!”
Cosmo’s voice followed, considerably calmer. “Technically, it grew through the floor.”
Connal lowered himself into the chair.
The chamber felt strangely empty without them.
Luke returned several minutes later, closing the chamber door behind him.
“Well?” Connal asked.
“He has a tree.”
“I heard.”
“It grows through the floor and curves over the bed. The branches are full of glowing flowers, and the pixies made him a nest out of approximately four hundred pillows.”
“Eighteen.”
“That was before they found another cupboard.” Luke crossed the room and stopped in front of him. “He’s happy. Overwhelmed, exhausted, and probably going to interrogate Cosmo until one of them passes out, but happy.”
Relief moved through Connal. Gomez’s presence complicated matters with the king, but Luke no longer carried the strain of fearing for his friend.
“And you?” Connal asked.
“I’m tired.”
“Then you should rest.”
Luke looked pointedly at the chair beneath him. “So should you.”
“I am resting.”
“You’re sitting upright and glaring at the door.”
“I was not glaring.”
“You were definitely glaring.”
Connal began to rise. The room swayed around him before his legs steadied, and Luke caught his forearm.
“That’s it,” Luke said. “Bed.”
Connal looked down at the hand holding him. “You are giving me orders in my own chamber.”
“I’m adapting to local customs.”
Despite himself, the corner of Connal’s mouth lifted.
Luke kept hold of him as they crossed the room. Connal did not require the assistance, but he found no reason to refuse it. The contact eased something within him that rest and healing magic had not touched.
At the edge of the bed, Luke released him and stepped back.
“Lie down.”
Connal removed his boots and obeyed. Luke glanced toward the chair where his backpack waited.
“You intend to sleep there?” Connal asked.
“I’ve slept in worse places.”
“That does not make it a bed.”
“It makes it adequate.”
“The bed is large enough for us both.”
Luke looked at him.
Connal forced himself not to fill the silence. He wanted Luke beside him with an intensity that tightened every muscle in his body.
“You may stay,” he said. “If you wish.”
Luke’s gaze moved over the wide bed before returning to Connal. “Just sleep?”
Connal heard the awareness beneath the question. The same awareness that had sharpened between them during both kisses.
“For tonight,” Connal said.
Luke released a quiet breath. “Okay.”
He retrieved his backpack and placed it beside the bed, then removed his shoes and lay down on top of the covers. A careful stretch of space remained between them.
Connal disliked it immediately.
He stayed where he was.
Luke rolled onto his side, facing him. Exhaustion had softened the hard lines of his expression, but his gaze remained alert.
“Your king is really going to wait until tomorrow?”
“He is waiting for evidence from the warehouse. Not for us.”
“Good.”
“You expected otherwise?”
“I don’t know what to expect from any of this yet.” Luke glanced toward the wall separating them from Gomez. “I’m trying.”
Connal turned onto his side. “So am I.”
Luke’s gaze returned to his. “I noticed.”
The words settled between them, warmer than praise had any right to be.
Neither spoke again. Gradually, Luke’s breathing deepened. The tension left his face, then his shoulders, until sleep finally pulled him under.
Connal watched him for another moment before closing his eyes.
The mattress shifted sometime later. Luke moved closer without waking, seeking Connal through the space between them. Connal lifted his arm, and Luke settled against his chest as naturally as if they had slept that way a hundred times.
The restless pull of the bond quieted.
With his mate safe in his arms and Luke’s friend protected on the other side of the wall, Connal allowed himself to sleep.