CHAPTER XIII
HUMAN REBORN
“Your blade, Lady Alexis.”
Desmond extends a hand to me, his dark brown eyes impassive and unreading as he gauges my reaction. I turn in my seat from the pub counter and arch a brow in surprise. He’s holding the dagger I left behind in the Plains.
After Keane and I finished with Ash, he took off to meet with Desmond and Daniel in the Hidden City while everyone else promptly went to the same rooms we were given on our first visit to Fumagalli.
It was a welcoming sight to enter my room at the end of the hall, one that made both Golem and I smile at each other the moment we walked in.
His smile broadened even more when I headed straight to the wooden slats at the window and opened them wide, the two of us greeting the cool and sleepy air as a familiar friend.
Stormfall approved of the room as well, flying out from under my hair to perch on the bedpost. He was quick to tuck his wings into his body and fell asleep just as I sank into the tub.
After a lengthy bath and an even longer nap, the three of us moved to the small pub in the common room to wait for dinner to begin.
“Thank you,” I nod to the Master Informer and strap the blade under my boot, genuinely happy to have it back. He eyes my brown and gold boots quietly before looking up to the emerald long sleeve I’m wearing, no doubt remembering when I last had my blade strapped around my bicep.
“You threw that at the man as you were riding atop your horse?” he asks.
“I did,” I reply, taking a drink of the amber ale before leaning back in my chair.
Desmond flags Dnes for a toddy and then reaches a hand up to his short-clipped beard.
“And where did you learn such a skill?”
I sigh at the skepticism in his tone and the way he looks at me, as if daring me to withhold information from him.
“Self-taught out of boredom,” I reply with a shrug.
“Pretty,” he narrows his eyes.
What a pretty lie.
I remain quiet and finger the rim of my mug.
“Lord Daniel said you rode back for him…”
“Without hesitation,” I nod.
“He wants you,” he says quietly over his drink.
I sigh again. I had suspected the same in Red Falls that first night at court.
“A compliment to him, then,” I smile, thinking of the polite Warrior Lord. He’s a very strong Discerni, not to mention good looking. It remains a complete puzzle to me that he is unwed and hasn’t yet found a suiter.
“A compliment to you,” Desmond corrects from my side.
My eyes dart to him quickly.
Why should he care?
I slowly look behind us to the table set for dinner, spotting Cal talking to the Prince as Keane nods at something he says.
But the Prince’s eyes, damn those eyes, are fixated on me from afar, his brown gaze leveled and intense as he gives me a small nod from his seat.
That simple gesture admits that he’s listening to mine and his brother’s conversation, and suddenly Desmond’s comments start making too much sense.
I scowl and turn back to the Master Informer, watching as his lips curve up in a small grin. I roll my eyes and grab the mug in front of me, tilting the rest of the ale back before I place it firmly down on the counter. I stand up and look directly at Desmond, letting my chest brush into his.
“Tell your brother that he can ask me any questions he likes,” I lean into the dark Discerni, “or is it you, Prince Desmond, who is curious about who and what I want?”
Desmond’s dark eyes narrow down on me as I turn from him with a grin.
“Let me know, Master Informer,” I look back as I walk to the table, “I’m sure I can squeeze you in somewhere.”
Keane holds back an amused chuckle, his lips mouthing Warrior as I take a seat next to Hollis.
“Alright then, Alexis?” my Discerni friend smiles.
Stormfall hops down from under my hair and lands on the table, walking directly towards Holis’ hand that’s holding a glass of water. The Discerni quickly tips the glass over for him to reach inside, his smile beaming at the baby beast with absolute affection.
“And then some,” I grin at my friend.
“Good,” he nods, reaching for a basket of bread in front of us, “are you ready to go home?”
Home.
Castle Bardot. The bustling Palisades. My cozy room. The lush green of the Bell Grove and the Willow that cascades around you. The Great Oak with its sparkling black leaves and twisting roots of granite and wood…
Wait.
I shift in my seat and turn around to look for Dnes. She spots me and nods in understanding before I give Holis a small smile in reply.
“I’m ready to sleep in my bed.”
It’s not a lie. But it’s also not the complete truth.
Holis grins and passes me a roll, “same.”
“Do you think our travels are done then?” I ask him quietly, “you, me, Cal and Mana?”
The question makes me sad.
Holis looks at me in thought before he shakes his head.
“No, Alexis. I think they’ve only just begun.”
Only just begun?
I want to ask him what he means but I’m stopped by Dnes bringing a new mug of amber ale to the table.
“This is everyone,” Keane stands from his chair, watching as Mana takes a seat next to his twin.
I look around our table, just now realizing that it is set for a smaller group. Lord Daniel is not gracing the seats, nor is Alanna, Barnes and Claymore or the three Warrior soldiers. The only people present are the same that sat around the table on our last day in Pyre, sans the Pyrenese.
But why?
"We’ll take dinner now, Dnes, and then I’ll have to ask you for some privacy. If you don’t hear our voices, don’t be alarmed,” Keane smiles at the older woman.
Dnes nods and heads back to the kitchen as the Prince glances at Golem in expectance. The magical creature gives him a small bow right as Cal catches my eyes across the table.
What’s going on? His look questions.
I grab my mug and give him a full shrug. I have no idea, but I guess we’ll find out.
Dnes brings out our dinner of peppered chicken and vegetables.
I immediately begin to cut my chicken into smaller pieces for Storm and place them on the table in front of him.
The Bird of Ash leans down and sniffs the meat, his yellow eyes finding mine in disappointment before he takes a wide step away from the food.
“Shit,” I whisper, not thinking this through.
“He may take it raw,” Holis stands up, “let me ask the woman what she has in the back.”
“Thank you,” I reply gratefully, asking in a determined tone, “tomorrow morning?”
“Tomorrow morning,” Holis nods, excusing himself from the table.
I reach out a finger to Storm and brush his proud chest in apology. “Be patient with me, Storm. I’m still learning.”
I can feel Keane’s eyes on us as the rest of the group starts on their meal.
The baby beast purrs against my caress and then takes another step back from the cooked chicken, eyeing it like the mere sight of it affronts him.
I hold back another eye roll and put the small pieces back on my plate just as Holis returns to the table.
He drops an assortment of raw chicken and stag in front of Stormfall, the meat already cut into tiny pieces.
The two of us watch as Storm takes a few steps towards the meat, sniffing the chicken before quickly reaching for the stag. He swallows the piece whole and leaves the poultry well enough alone.
“Raw red meat it is,” I smile.
Holis nods, as does Mana, both of them watching Stormfall with quiet grins on their faces. I pull my own plate closer and begin on my dinner with the rest of the group, already getting used to the pepper in the food.
“Let’s begin,” Keane announces suddenly with a hard voice.
He looks around the table with a level cool regality about him, his eyes landing on Golem who is standing in a shadowy corner of the room.
My magical friend lifts his hands from under his robes without hesitation, nodding to Prince in some sort of confirmation before Keane settles firmly in his seat.
The atmosphere in the room shifts immediately.
I frown when I see my Knowledge crew sitting straighter in their seats, their eyes carefully looking to the Prince brothers and the seriousness that’s now overcoming their features.
Desmond folds his arms over his chest and glances at his brother, but Keane only has eyes for the Discerni twins next to me.
He’s staring at them with cool indifference, the look letting everyone know that tonight’s dinner is definitely not a friendly affair.
“We know that you two are aware of the Kingdoms Council that took place two years ago,” Keane states.
Shit.
I guess we’re going there tonight.
The twins on my left turn to look at eachother, their blue-green eyes speaking without words as they always do. I shift in my seat and look back at the Prince brothers, hating the look of intensity that is consuming them both.
“Your father asked us to keep the secret,” Holis admits.
“We’re aware of that as well,” Desmond replies at Keane’s side.
I glance to Cal on Keane’s left, but he’s looking between the twins in open confusion. He’s the only one at this table who isn’t aware of what’s being talked about, and I know what that feeling is like as I was just in his place not a few days ago.
“Cal…”
Cal’s light brown eyes meet mine in question.
I give him a small smile, wishing beyond everything that this wasn’t how he learned of the Council.
He has every right to know about the event that started our travels two years ago, but he shouldn’t be learning of it like this.
Not when this is starting to feel like an ambush.
“We’d also like to bring Cal up to speed,” the eldest Prince continues, still looking at the twins, “do you foresee any problems with that?”
Holis and Mana give a curt shake of their heads in response, remaining quiet.
Keane gives them a brief but hard nod before turning to my big friend at his side, “your travels with Lady Alexis that began roughly two years ago were due to a council that our father called between the Four Kingdoms.”
Cal’s questioning eyes leave my gaze to look at the Prince.