Chapter 37
Lor
Iwas long overdue for a border inspection. I’d missed the last one thanks to Aoife deciding not to come, but I couldn’t delay any longer. Especially now that I knew the brotherhood wanted to re-enslave the Fair Folk—and they had a weapon to do it.
Wolfe and Ambrose should’ve already been there, no doubt waiting for me, which meant I was late. I strode through the foyer and toward the front doors of the castle right when the ground lifted me into the air.
“Castle,” I said, looking around as the walls fell away and the floor kept lifting me higher. “I don’t have time for your schemes. I have somewhere I need to be, and you know that.”
As usual, Castle didn’t listen, continuing to lift me on a pedestal as the walls dropped, the floor lengthening and a maroon runner falling across it. I stood there, tapping my foot and waiting for everything to reform so I knew exactly where I was.
Paintings dropped over the walls, and two doors appeared at the end of the hallway, opening to reveal the familiar pink and purple stained glass windows of the library.
“The library,” I murmured. “Why did you bring me here? I have no business in the library.”
Wind pushed me forward. I strained against it, digging my boots into the rug, but it won out, like it always did, nudging me until I stood before the open doors of the library.
My irritation had become a thin thread that was very close to snapping.
The border had to be inspected, and Castle should understand that.
I was tired of its games and schemes and how my plans were constantly being interrupted by its whims.
I shook my head and turned to go. I’d fight the damn wind until Castle gave up and realized I would not be entering this library. It was stubborn, but I could be stubborn as well.
Right as I moved, a voice floated through the air. “What are you going on about?” Aoife asked, irritation filling her voice. “What do you mean you have to cancel our lesson? What could you possibly have to do?”
“I do have a life outside of tutoring you, you know,” came Morton’s dry response.
“No, you don’t,” Aoife said. “All you do is eat books.”
“Well, I’m . . . not feeling well.”
“Alright then,” Aoife said, a hint of disappointment mixing with the irritation.
Just like that, my border inspection was forgotten. I strode into the library and toward the back where a few tables sat.
There she was: sunlight streaming through the windows and lighting her black hair just right so that it glowed. Her brown skin glittered, and she leaned forward, giving me the perfect view of her cleavage.
“Ah, Your Majesty,” Morton said, and Aoife’s gaze snapped up to meet mine. “Perfect timing. I was just telling Her Majesty that unfortunately I’m not feeling well today and have to cancel our tutoring session. Perhaps you could step in for me?” He lifted his shaggy pink brows.
“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” I said right as Aoife said, “No.”
“What’s going on here?” Niamh waddled toward us, holding her belly like she so often did.
I walked to grab her arm and help her into a chair at the table.
“I told them I’m not feeling well,” Morton said. “But they don’t like my plan.” His voice had an edge to it, and Niamh cleared her throat.
“Oh? What’s this plan?”
I scrubbed a hand down my face. “He suggested I tutor Aoife—”
“That’s a brilliant idea,” Niamh said, a little too enthusiastically.
Aoife must’ve noticed as well because her gaze narrowed in the librarian’s direction.
“You know, I actually am feeling a little tired. I was going to close the library early, so you two can have it all to yourselves.” She grabbed her belly, attempting to stand.
I moved to help her, but she waved me off and braced a hand on the table, managing to get to her feet. “No, no, no. You sit,” she said, voice firm in a way I wasn’t used to from this sunshiney woman.
Morton fluttered to her shoulder as she started walking away.
“We’re not doing this,” Aoife called, and Niamh whirled to face her.
“With all due respect, Your Majesty, these lessons are simply too important for you to miss even one. And Lor is an excellent instructor.” She shifted her gaze meaningfully toward me.
I was about to tell Niamh I’d never tutored anyone in my life when it dawned on me that they were all scheming together.
Castle, Niamh, Morton—probably Margaret, and who knew who else. They wanted to get me and Aoife alone together, and I had to admit that I didn’t entirely hate the idea of spending time with my wife.
Other than official meetings and royal business, I hadn’t seen her since a few nights ago when she’d woken me up and taken me to that watchtower.
She’d seemed aloof, and I’d been so busy I hadn’t had time to miss her.
But now that I stood here in front of her, the last thing I wanted to do was go to a border inspection.
I wanted to stay here with her, and if that meant I had to tutor her to make it happen, then I’d gladly do it.
“Yes.” I cleared my throat, and Aoife’s gaze swung from Niamh to me. “I am a very good tutor, and I’m not doing anything right now. I’m happy to help.”
“I thought you were inspecting the border,” Aoife said. “Meera told me that she let you know I couldn’t come since it was during my session.”
I gave a simple shrug. “I can inspect the border later. This seems more important.”
“It does, doesn’t it?” Niamh said. “So glad we’re all on the same page. We’re going to go now. I need to . . . relieve myself.”
Morton raised his tail in the air. “Just remember the library is strictly for reading!”
Niamh shushed him as they disappeared through the bookshelves, and the doors to the library clicked closed.
“You know this is another one of their schemes?” Aoife asked.
“I know.” I leaned forward, placing my elbows on the table and nodding toward the open book in front of Aoife. “So what are you reading about today?”
She swallowed, her eyes shifting back and forth like she was suddenly nervous. Or feeling shy, maybe? Making this fierce warrior woman feel shy filled was a new high, one that I could become addicted to.
“We’re working on higher level texts now. Morton wanted me to give him a list of topics I might be interested in reading about, so I did. Only he couldn’t find a single book related to anything I asked for.”
My brows furrowed. “Like what?”
She slumped back in her seat. “All things related to the Fair Folk. We never had our own books since none of us were allowed to read or write. I’d hoped maybe someone had written about us in the two thousand years I was turned to stone, but hardly anyone has.
The only books written about the Fair Folk are children’s stories, myths that aren’t even accurate. Our entire history has been erased.”
“That’s not true,” I said. “Just the other day at the gardening event, a few of the Fair Folk regaled me with a tale about Fairtine.”
Her mouth parted. “They told you about our festival?”
I nodded, loving the way she straightened, her whole face lighting up at the mention of it. “They told me it was a yearly festival that all the Fair Folk attended, coming together in secret and celebrating with food, dance, music, even language that the Fair Folk created.”
Her eyes turned glassy. “They told you all that?”
“They did,” I said. “So your culture isn’t lost, Aoife. Not even the slightest. But we do need to get better about celebrating it, preserving it.” I arched my neck to try and look at her book. “So if you aren’t reading about the Fair Folk, then what are you reading about?” I asked.
Aoife’s smile turned mischievous and she tucked a strand of hair behind her pointed ear. “Morton expected me to choose some boring old text, but I decided it would be fun to watch the bookwyrm squirm a little, so I asked Niamh to recommend a more fun book to read together.”
I lifted a brow, not sure what she meant.
“It’s a romance novel,” Aoife said. “One of their book club reads.”
Whatever I’d been expecting, it wasn’t that.
“You’re reading a romance novel with Morton?” I asked.
“Yes, and it’s the most fun I’ve had since we started our lessons two years ago.” She pointed to a word in the book. “I love pretending like I don’t know how to sound out some of these words and making Morton do it for me.” She turned the book toward me, and I scanned the page, choking on the word.
“Knotting.”
Her eyes glimmered. “It’s in all the werewolf romance books, you know, where the male has a knot and when he’s mating it bulges—”
I held up a hand. “I know what knotting is.”
Aoife looked absolutely delighted, like a child who’d just been offered candy. “Do you read werewolf romance, Lorcan Wolfgang?”
“No,” I said. “But I am aware of wolf anatomy. They used to run the hills around Fairwitch Isle. I didn’t know that knotting was a romance term, though. That’s new to me.”
“Looks like I’m the one giving lessons today.” She leaned forward. “Here I thought having you tutor me would be boring, but this is more fun than with Morton.”
My lips twitched, and I couldn’t even disagree. I was having fun too.
“Oh, Your Majesty.” Margaret appeared in the painting behind Aoife, and she stood in front of a stack of books. “Finally, I found you! Wolfe sent for you. For the border inspection?”
I winced. Right. I was very, very late.
“Wolfe can take care of that, surely?” Aoife asked, surprising me as she turned to Margaret. “Let Wolfe know that the border inspection is now his responsibility.”
“No, that’s not necessary—” I started, but Margaret had already dashed out of the painting and was gone.
“You can’t do everything all the time, Lor. Everything does not have to be your responsibility. I think we can both agree that your brother is fully capable of inspecting the border on his own.”
I rubbed my jaw. “He is, but I have a responsibility to our people—”
“Everyone has a responsibility for Fairwitch Isle,” Aoife said. “Every one of us who lives here has to take accountability. Yes, you are a leader and our people will naturally look to you—”
“To us,” I said without thinking.
Her lips quirked. “To us, but that doesn’t mean it’s all on our shoulders. You have to let others help you, Lor, or you’re going to kill yourself trying to do it all.”
What she said made sense. I knew it did. But it wasn’t so easy to believe it, to internalize it. I also didn’t want to talk about it anymore.
I leaned back in my chair, stretching out my legs so they barely brushed hers. “So tell me more about this knotting.”