Every vista looked like it belonged on a calendar, and the sheer ingenuity of the place was admirable. Spaced thirty yards or so apart, crow’s nests had been built in the branches and each nest had one of the silent globes of light and two watchmen to keep each other company. They remained alert, scanning the stones and stars, and I caught bits of their conversation. Boys becoming men, making plans, serving their families and their kingdom.
Back on the ground, I wandered through the tents offering things to eat, which would have been called the food court if this were Palisade Mall. But I wasn’t hungry and kept walking until I found myself at the barn. My saddle reposed on a sawhorse and a stable boy had washed Peachfuzz and rubbed her down. Now he groomed her coat with a curry brush.
“May I?”
The stable boy handed the brush to me, then began wiping the saddle with a sponge.
I brushed Peachfuzz from nose to tail and talked to her.
“Does that feel nice? You worked so hard today. I’m sure it’s harder having a rider that doesn’t know what he’s doing. You’re a better horse than Trident, though. Aren’t you. Much prettier.”
Peachfuzz turned and bumped my shoulder with her head.
“What’s that? Flattery will get me nowhere? You’re too modest. A quality I appreciate in a woman, but you need to know you’re truly a magnificent steed.”
Working my way down her hindquarters, I noticed Hope standing behind me. I had no idea how long she’d been there. Our eyes met. She whispered something to the stable boy and he left. She picked up a different kind of brush and went to work on Peachfuzz too, starting over at her head and neck.
We worked in silence for a while. When I was done with the curry brush, Hope handed me yet another different kind of brush and I started over again.
“Have you cared for a horse before?” she asked. Our brushes made whisking sounds on Peachfuzz’s coat.
“I haven’t,” I replied.
“You’re doing a good job.”
“Kind of you to say so.” I told myself I wasn’t sure what Hope might want to talk about so I should keep my responses short and pleasant. We kept brushing, almost in sync.
Whisk-whisk. Whisk-whisk. Whisk-whisk.
“I heard what you said to Peachfuzz. I wish a man would talk to me like that.”
I couldn’t see Hope over the horse’s back but the tone of her voice was playful.
Something’s different.
“I’d be happy to tell you you’re a magnificent steed every day,” I replied.
I didn’t hear anything for a beat or two. Then Hope laughed a deeper laugh than I’d heard from her before. She came around Peachfuzz and brushed her rump. Hope shook her head in my general direction—but her smile got wider looking at me.
Hope took a big breath before speaking, though what she said was short. “Erin and I had a talk.”
“That’s good?” It somehow came out as a question.
“It is. There are some things I’m adjusting to.”
I cleared my throat. “Any examples?”
“Well, Erin told me her name is Fáidh here.”
“True.”
“And she’s your wife?”
“Also true.”
“But only in the Behindbeyond?”
“My father, the Alder King, married us. It was our choice, kind of. It took a little time to figure things out. Fáidh’s husband in the mortal realm had been missing for more than five years at the time. He came back just as we were getting used to the idea of creating a life together.”
“Fáidh told me that too.”
“Blake doesn’t know where he was or what happened to him. He remembers a lot of things before he disappeared, like when they got married. But he has issues to deal with.”
And he’s taking anti-psychotic drugs. And he might have taken a shot at you before I burned him.
“Fáidh—Erin—is all he has to connect with. And she’s committed to being what she promised to be for him. ‘Til death do they part.”
Hope touched my arm. “You’re a compassionate man, Got.”
“Well. I just need to be patient. I was born a couple hundred years ago. Blake is mortal. In seventy or eighty years, he’ll kick the bucket and Fáidh and I can pick up where we left off.”
“From what I’ve seen,” Hope paused to bite her lip, “She’s worth the wait.”
“I think so.”
“How about you, Got? Are you worth the wait?”
Huh?
“What?”
“Think about it,” Hope said. “She’s in a relationship. It’s not perfect. Relationships just aren’t perfect. So it will take work but work will make her stronger. Make her a better person.”
Hope must have gotten this from Fáidh. “I’ll be fine,” I said.
“Will you? What kind of person will you be seventy years from now? After you watch her and Blake decade after decade? While your heart has no one to love? No one to work with? While your heart gets all weak and dried out and wrinkly?”
“Wrinkly? How’s that work?”
“Don’t sidetrack. You know what I mean.”
While she’d been talking, Hope had moved closer. She had both hands on my chest now and she looked up at me with those super-sized blue eyes. “I have a certain . . . intuition. It feels right to be here. It always feels right to be where you are.” Her eyes got misty.
I let her speak.
“I wouldn’t be alive if it weren’t for you, Got. But I don’t feel I owe you anything.”
“I’m glad. You don’t owe me anything. Ever.”
“Damn straight.” She squinted, adding intensity. “My life is mine and I do what I want.”
She rose on her tiptoes. Her lips found mine.
I kissed her back.
I wasn’t convinced I wanted to have a relationship with Hope. Or a relationship at all. I knew what Hope wanted, though, and it was okay kissing her with Peachfuzz as our audience. Finally, I caught Hope by the shoulders and eased her away. “How about a date?” I said.
“Okay. You can sweep me off to an exotic land. Oh, wait. Already here.” Hope took my hand in hers. She turned it palm up and held it. With the fingers of her other hand she traced the lines in my palm and ran her fingers over the callouses, her expression cryptic.
“You going to tell my fortune?” I asked.
“You have nice hands,” she replied. “That’s all.”
Weird.
We returned to brushing Peachfuzz and smiling shy smiles. When we finished, Peachfuzz looked ready to win a blue ribbon at the state fair and my lost appetite had returned. “Shall we get something to eat?”
“All right.”
“Oh. Here’s the official warning. Don’t say ‘thank you’ to anyone. And remember how I told you Oz couldn’t say he was sorry? Don’t say ‘I’m sorry’ either. That’s just as bad.”
Hope nodded and said, “Oh. That’s good to know, thank you. Oops. Did I say thank you? I’m sorry.”
“That’s not funny.”
“Maybe I want to be in debt to you.”
Oh boy.
“That only works on full Fae. Mostly. But I might keep you around anyway.”
“‘Kay.”
Hope slipped her hand into mine as we walked out of the barn. If Wince saw us, he’d have a conniption, which would quite possibly be hilarious.
“Could we come back here?” Hope said, planning a future already. “Maybe bring dad? I think he’d love this place.”
“I’ll have to find out,” I replied. “I’m going to have to adjust too.”
If I could even get used to the idea.
“Okay.”
“I told you before, it’s dangerous for mortals here. The Fae and Halflings who live here tend to label mortals as ‘toys.’ The stories you’ve heard about magical beings playing deadly games with people are true. But, as Bromach pointed out, we should have an agreement.”
“Mm. Agreement. Romantic.”
“I know you aren’t a fan of contracts but this would give you protections and rights here. It might be safer for you and your dad to stay away from the mortal realm even after Marcus is defeated and whimpering. You’d have to get used to being a concubine, which just sounds so crazy and I’ve opposed the very idea. The Fae allow for more than one wife, partly because offspring are so rare, but the status would give you legitimacy.”
I felt Hope’s mood change. She felt less soft beside me.
“Yeah. I hate the term ‘concubine’ too,” I offered.
“I could get used to the concubine thing,” she replied. “It’s the offspring part.”
“I’m not sure children are in the cards anyway.” I had a sudden image of a quiet cemetery with a long row of headstones, memorializing dead Quarterlings.
How do I explain that?
“Nope. Children are definitely not in the cards.” Hope seemed wistful, wrapping her free arm around herself. “My baby maker conked out a few years ago. I had a condition called ‘endometriosis’ and there were complications. They had to take parts out.”
“Like the carburetor? Couple of spark plugs?”
Hope bumped me with her shoulder. “Shut up.”
“I’m sorry that happened. You’re all right?”
“Oh, sure.” Hope gave her abdomen a pat. “I have a nice, flat belly. I’ll look great in a bikini forever.”
Another roadblock eliminated. Another objection to the girlfriend idea removed. Was that a good thing? I couldn’t decide.
“Do you always find something positive in every situation?” I asked.
Hope leaned into me. “There’s always something positive if you look hard enough.”
“How about there’s always something to joke about if you look hard enough?”
Hope laughed. “That’s not the same thing.”
“Are you sure? I always feel so good about it.”
She poked me in the ribs. We wound our way to the food court and picked up some grilled chicken and vegetables on skewers that we could eat while walking. I was about to ask Hope what she thought about the Asaliompair when Wince came toward us on a march.
“Uh-oh,” I said, not quite a whisper. “Pickleface at eleven o’clock.”
“Bromach?” Hope replied. “He’s so nice.”
“Nice,” I repeated.
Wince covered the ground quickly, all business. He gave a fractional bow to me and a second one to Hope. “Highness. Lady Hope. We have an early start in the morning. May I show ye to your quarters?”
It wasn’t a question. And we were tired from the ride. He was just doing his job.
“Lead the way, Bromach.” I gave the man a thumbs-up.
Hope and I followed him to a row of tents, angling for one with two guards in front of it. The tent had a porch, of sorts, with a canopy over the flap.
Uh oh.
I hadn’t thought about sleeping arrangements. Would Hope be expecting us to share quarters after our kiss-and-make-up? We had fallen asleep on my couch together, but that was a lot different from a bedroom. On the other hand, these were tents in the wild. The accommodations might be portable cots.
We came to a stop. One of the guards drew open the flap. As he did so, a light globe came to life, illuminating the interior. Hope ducked inside and I moved to follow.
Wince cleared his throat three times in quick succession, stopping me. “This tent is for Lady Hope, your Highness.”
“Alone?” My father would have chosen this entourage carefully but I didn’t know these people. Could I trust the guards? “She’s under my personal protection.”
“Of course, Highness. But it would be,” Wince carefully selected the proper word, “unbecoming, for one of the royal line to quarter among common folk.”
At least he hadn’t said “mortals.”
Wince pointed to a huge tent fifty yards away, surrounded by guards spaced ten feet apart, lit by dozens of glowing globes. The tent had a taller space in the middle and long wings out to the sides. In Miami, it would be described as a ranch-style three-bedroom luxury home and sell for half a million dollars. I’d seen houses in Coral Gables that would fit inside it.
“That’s where my father would sleep,” I protested.
Wince tried to be diplomatic, clasping his hands. “Your father is not here, Highness . . .”
“Oh. Right.”
Hope appeared at my elbow. “It’s okay, Got. I can see your tent from here. I’ll be fine.”
I’m not fine.
“May I offer my services?”
Sir Siorradh, still in full armor, materialized out of the twilight.
“It would be my honor to stand watch over Lady Hope. As Captain of the Alder King’s personal guard, I vow upon my life she shall rest undisturbed.” Siorradh drew his broadsword and rested the point on the ground, placing his gauntleted hands over the pommel.
Wow.
“Very generous, Sir Siorradh. Are you sure you won’t need to sleep?”
Siorradh’s helm tilted up a fraction. “I will not need sleep.”
Tonight? Or ever?
“Very well, Sir. Your offer is accepted.” I gave him a nod and turned to Hope. “You’ll probably never be safer in your entire life.”
“Okay.”
“If you need anything send word to Castle Canvas over there.”
“I will.”
Hope would probably like a kiss goodnight, or at least a hug, but there were too many bodies being busy right now. We gave each other smiles and waves. Wince hurried to walk with me and had the good sense to keep silent.
The tent felt more imposing the closer I got. The guard drew open the flap and I didn’t even need to duck my head to walk in like I owned the place.
Two more guards waited in front of a partition. Expensive rugs covered the ground, adding comfortable luxuriance. One of the guards drew the partition open and there was another room on the other side. An oak table with a huge bowl of fruit dominated the center of the space along with two carved oak chairs. Silk curtains divided the tent further. On one side, a space for washing with a bathtub and a vanity holding a large basin and tall glass pitchers full of water. There could be a toilet back there and it probably even flushed. On the other side, a long table and lamps and some books and rolls of vellum that were likely maps.
Straight ahead, behind a curtain of sheer red silk, was a king-size bed.
Somebody was in it.
“Got? Is that you?” Fáidh said.
Oh boy.
Chapter Twenty-Five: The Borderlands in Pink
Fáidh sat in the middle of the bed with her legs pulled up to her chest and her arms wrapped around her knees. Her mixed expression of annoyance and humor mirrored what I felt.
“I’m guessing Wince made the arrangements?” I said.
“Or your father,” she replied.
“Ah. Sounds like him all right.”
“You can’t keep calling Bromach by that nickname. ‘Wince’ is insulting. What if he heard you?”
“Everyone calls him that. I’m overwhelmed by peer pressure.”
“Got, you need to set an example. Bromach’s entire family has lived in service to the throne for centuries. They’re extremely loyal and highly respected.”
Fáidh was surrounded by a million big fluffy pillows. I grabbed the nearest one and tossed it off the foot of the bed. It landed on the chest there with a flop and slid off.
“You’re right,” I sighed. “I’ll behave.”
I tossed more pillows off the bed. Fáidh watched with interest.
“This is nice,” I said. “We should book this place for our first anniversary.” I got off the bed.
“And do what?” Fáidh replied. A little less annoyance, a little more humor.
“Keep our promise not to sleep together, but really celebrate it?” I looked in the chest and found extra linens. I kicked the pillows together on the floor into a rectangular pile and unfolded a sheet on top of them. Fáidh rolled forw
ard and crawled on her hands and knees to the end of the bed as her flowing hair slipped around the sides of her face. She wore a black nightgown and I almost told her she was the prettiest panther ever to stalk a pile of pillows.
But I didn’t.
She flopped down on her tummy and used her arms to prop up her chin as I tucked the edges of the sheet under the pillows. “You don’t really have to sleep on the floor,” she said.
“Well, there’s the problem of all that sex appeal and temptation to be resisted,” I replied.
“Got, I’m not worried. You’ve resisted for months. You’re a perfect gentleman.”
“I’m not worried about me. I’m a rock. I’m worried about you.” I put my boot up on the chest like I had at the castle. “I saw you checking me out. I’m not sure I can trust you.”
Fáidh laughed and rolled over on her back and looked at me upside down. “You’re right. I’d never make it through the night.”
“That’s what I thought.” I found another sheet in the chest and a quilt and I unfolded them both on top of the bed I’d put together.
“Darn it.”
“What?”
“I need a pillow. What happened to all the pillows?”
Fáidh giggled and threw a pillow at me. I caught it and made like I was going to toss it to the floor. “Oops.” I hit her in the face with it.
“Sorry,” I said. “I was just cleaning this pillow and it accidentally went off.”
“You shouldn’t say ‘oops’ before you hit someone. Premeditation turns a misdemeanor into a felony.”
“Good advice, counselor.”
I brought a chair in from the central room, then pulled off my hauberk and unbuttoned my doublet and left them on the chair. Finally, I pulled off my boots and tucked myself into bed.
Fáidh got under her covers too. As we stretched out, the light globes dimmed themselves until the room and the furniture were dark shapes with uncertain form.
“Got?”
“Mm-hmm.”
“Is it all right that I talked to Hope?”
Got Hope Page 22