32. ZARA #2
That was the story we’d all agreed on if anyone asked directly where Seth was. It wasn’t strictly true, but everyone had thought Raquel was one of the gods until recently, and the Fates had had a hand in the Prophecy that had started all this too, so it wasn’t exactly a lie either.
“Well, that makes far more sense than the rumours. I’m glad to hear they were wrong.
” She gave my hand a comforting pat. “I know it can’t be easy for either of you, but not even a guardian can refuse to do the gods’ bidding.
I’m glad you decided to do something constructive instead of moping around while you wait for him to come back.
Now, tell me how the siren training has been coming along.
I know Taryn has been thoroughly enjoying having someone to share his knowledge with. ”
“It’s coming along a bit easier than my fae magic is,” I confided, grateful for the change of subject. “You know yourself how badly that’s going.”
For one of my lessons with Alara I’d tried to create a flower by drawing on the life energy around me.
I’d followed her instructions to the letter, or so I’d thought, and I’d been ecstatic when a beautiful red bloom had appeared in the palm of my hand.
Until the little terror had developed teeth and bit my finger.
“You’re not still brooding about Mavis are you? I promise you, most of us did far worse than that when we were learning to control our magic.”
Worse? Mavis, as she’d taken to calling herself, had jumped out of my hand and scampered off before I could even think about trying to stop her.
She’d been missing for three days before she turned up in the kitchen and Alara had taken great delight in informing me when I next visited that Chef had nearly had a heart attack when he’d opened the pantry door and found one of the chicken pies he’d cooked that morning half eaten and a sentient flower lying on top of what was left with a happy smile on her face.
Apparently Mavis was carnivorous, but I suppose I should have realised that when she bit me.
Oh, and she also had arms and legs and could speak, which was a side effect of ingesting my blood.
I’d been trying not to think about whether that made her some weird kind of family to me.
“Where is she now?” I asked, hoping Alara would say she’d run off again, or maybe just faded away like a normal flower would after being picked.
“Oh, she’s living in the greenhouses now. Mac adores her. He says she has a wonderful way with the peonies, although he does wish she’d stop calling them penises. Seriously, Zara, it’s no big deal. It was hilarious. And now Mac’s got a new assistant, so it’s all turned out perfectly.”
Mac was the palace’s head gardener, a wizened old gnome who I’d met briefly when Alara had taken me on a tour of the gardens, which he ruled like a despot. If anyone stood a chance of keeping a sentient dahlia wild child under control, he did.
“But what if next time it doesn’t turn out perfectly? What if I create some terrible monster and it goes around eating people instead of pies?”
She gave a shout of laughter. “Well you’re welcome to try but frankly I was amazed you managed to create Mavis.
Any monster you created would probably be no bigger than a flea.
” She’d obviously never met a mosquito if she thought a flea sized monster wouldn’t present any kind of a problem. At least you could see Mavis coming.
“But we should probably hold off on portals for a while,” she said on another choke of laughter. “Goodness knows what you’d have coming out the other end.”
“Maybe I should just stick to defensive magic for now. And as soon as I learn how to use my shields properly, Gideon said he’ll teach me how to blast people away if they get too close.
That sounds like fun. Maybe I could practice on Steven,” I added, shooting a mischievous grin his way.
“And perhaps we should hold off on you acknowledging me until I’ve got a better handle on my magic. ”
“If you’re sure that’s really what you want.” She looked disappointed but I’d already thought of a way to distract her from trying to change my mind.
“It is. But I do think it would be a good idea for you to start calling me Lidiya instead of Zara when we’re alone. You know, to get us all used to it for when I come out of the royal closet.”
“Lidiya,” she breathed and I was surprised to see tears welling up in her eyes. “I wasn’t sure if you’d ever want to be called by the birth name I gave you.”
“Well, it is a very pretty name. And it will go so well with those fancy dresses you intend to put me in eventually,” I joked. “And should I call you Mother and Father? Or—”
“Oh, Liddy,” Liddy? That didn’t take long. “I would love that. We would love that. But in Fae we tend to use Mama and Papa when we’re being informal. Mother and Father are reserved for formal occasions and Court.”
“Well now that’s sorted then, Mama, if you’re done with your coffee we should probably go and put Steven out of his misery. He looks like he’s had enough fun for one afternoon.”
“Yes, I suppose you’re right,” she sighed. “But remember to call me Alara in front of him because given the chance he’d take great delight in telling your Papa our news before we could.”
“I hear that you were tormenting your security detail again, my love,” I heard Gideon say to Alara as I entered their private chambers that evening.
“Why, whatever do you mean, Giddy?” The fake innocence was impressive. I’d have to ask her if she could teach me that look to use on Seth. “I merely asked him to carry a few packages so we wouldn’t have to wait for them to be delivered. Ah, there you are Lidiya.”
“Good evening Mama, Papa,” I parroted exactly the way we’d planned it earlier. He shot a questioning look at Alara, and she literally squealed with excitement.
“It was Liddy’s idea, not mine. I didn’t pressure her to do it.”
A rare smile broke out on his face. “Then I am very well pleased, daughter.” He strode over to me and took both my hands in his. “Welcome home at last, Lidiya. Does this mean we are to present you to the Court?”
If there was one thing I’d learned about men, it was that asking their opinion about something and then agreeing with it was a surefire way to wrap them round your little finger. Of course, it only worked when you already knew that their opinion matched your own, but in this case it did.
“Well, if you think now’s the right time,” I injected just the right amount of doubt into my voice and Alara shot me an amused look.
Maybe there was more of her in me than I’d thought.
“I will be guided by you, of course, Papa,” it couldn’t hurt to throw that Papa in there, “but…” I trailed off and waited for him to jump in.
“Perhaps we should wait just a little longer. What do you think, my love?” he asked, turning to Alara.
“Well, I did think it was time, but now I’ve thought about it a bit more, maybe you’re right, dearest. We don’t want to rush Lidiya into anything she’s not ready for. After all, she’ll only have one chance to make a good first impression.” She winked at me as soon as Gideon wasn’t looking at her.
“Then it’s agreed. For now, we’ll work on getting your magic up to scratch.” I narrowly avoided ruining the agreeable daughter act by snorting and telling him good luck with that. “And we’ll worry about the rest later.”