The corners of her own mouth curved upward. “I’ll try to restrain myself.”
“The takeaway here is that there aren’t any big scary defenses for Laurel and her team to get through, and the company sorcerers say there isn’t more than the basic magical shielding.” He squeezed her arm. “Even if she puts up a fight, they have enough of their own spellcasters with them that it probably won’t even take a full day to bring her in. Laurel and the team should be here with your aunt by the end of the week.”
Elena refused to let herself dwell on how that particular confrontation would go. “I’ll have the money ready for them as soon as they arrive.”
That strange look was in his eyes again, lingering long enough that Elena recognized it as embarrassment. “You can have Bishop handle the actual transfer or something, can’t you?” he asked. “Or someone else in the financial department. Mason enjoys talking to even the most boring people.”
“Why are you suddenly so interested in making sure I don’t speak to your older siblings?” Elena slanted him a curious look. “I have spent time with them before, you know. Not much—they were mostly grown by the time your father became my guard. But we were perfectly polite to each other.”
Cam’s expression made it clear he was sorting through a few different potential responses, then he shook his head and made an exasperated noise. “Laurel’s gone crazed. I think Mason’s probably safe, but I have a terrible feeling Laurel’s going to try and get you alone in a corner somewhere. If you could help me make sure that doesn’t happen, I’d appreciate it.”
She studied him, more and more certain that he wasn’t joking. “Is she mad at me for some reason?”
He opened his mouth, then thought better of whatever he’d been about to say and closed it. “She’s just crazed,” he said, sounding long-suffering enough that Elena was almost tempted to believe him. “Maybe it’s some kind of berserker madness that hits people when they spend too long stabbing bad guys for a living.”
“It’s always possible.” Obviously, he wasn’t ready to tell her yet. She’d have to keep an ear open in case he let anything slip. “Will you be hiding as well, or am I the only one in danger of her ‘berserker madness?’”
“Oh, I’ll be right there with you.” He grinned again. “So we should probably find a comfortable hiding place.”
They were brainstorming different options as they made it back to the castle, navigating their way through the maze inside. Cam liked to have them take a different route each time they came back, expanding his map of the building without having to ask a maid for directions, and Elena humored him by coming up with longer and more twisting pathways. Secretly, she was pleased that he cared enough to learn.
They were winding their way through a nearly abandoned part of the castle when they were surprised by a door opening directly in front of them. They both stopped short, Cam automatically pushing Elena a little behind him, when Bishop stepped out with an enormous pile of paperwork. He jumped, they jumped, and half the paperwork scattered all across the floor of the corridor.
“We were looking for hiding places, too,” Cam said, passing Bishop another handful of papers he’d recollected. “I take it you’d rather we find one not so close to your hiding place?”
“I would appreciate it,” Bishop said. “I don’t normally use it, but the finance meeting is tomorrow and all the department heads think they’ll get special treatment if they plead their case to me in advance.”
Elena headed down the corridor, collecting the stray sheets that had put the most effort into escaping. “Mother and I always did wonder where you disappeared to.”
Bishop, who had been standing to re-stack the papers, hesitated. “Have you seen your mother today?”
The words stopped her short. “No,” she said carefully, turning around to face him. Was this a subtle way of telling her that something was wrong with her mother? “Is everything alright?”
The elf was silent for longer than was at all comforting. “I had intended to ask you that question,” he said. “I have kept myself too busy these last few days to speak to her privately.”
“You’ve been avoiding her?” The thought sent panic flickering through Elena. She counted on Bishop to be there for her mother on an emotional level, needing it far more than anything the elf could ever do for her directly. If that changed . . . “I know it may seem like she’s trying to distract herself with work, but that doesn’t mean she doesn’t need you there.” She crossed the distance between them, starting to take the papers out of his hands. “We’ll finish cleaning this up. Go find her and just sit in her office, or something. Bring paperwork if you feel like you need an excuse.”
Bishop’s grip on the papers tightened, and an echo of Elena’s panic echoed on his face. “There’s no need.”
“Yes, there is,” she said firmly, meeting his eyes. She wanted to tell him that it was alright, that she was happy that he cared so deeply for her mother, but it was hard to give him permission for something she wasn’t sure she was supposed to know he wanted. “You don’t have to say anything, Bishop. Actually, she’d probably rather you didn’t. Just being in the room is enough.”
The elf held her gaze, a muscle working in his jaw. “But I’m afraid I will say something,” he admitted, voice low. “I won’t intend to. I want nothing more than to dedicate all my energies to being everything she needs. But if I am alone with her now, when my emotions are riding so dangerously close to the surface—” He closed his eyes. “I won’t be able to hide how afraid I am. I won’t be able to hide anything. Your mother doesn’t need that extra burden right now.”
Elena had used the same argument herself too many times to have a defense against it. Cam would, she was sure, but he’d gone to get the scattered papers she’d abandoned. Apparently, he’d decided it was better that he not contribute to the conversation.
“It’s okay, Elena,” Bishop said gently, pulling away from her slackened grip. “Your mother is the strongest person I know. She doesn’t need me.”
“She’s scared to admit just how much she needs you.” The words slipped out of Elena’s mouth without her brain warning her first. When Bishop appeared, suddenly intent, she plunged ahead before she could think better of it. “The reason she doesn’t talk about you very much is because she’s afraid of how much emotion she’ll let out.”
He went still. “You can’t be sure she feels that way.”
“I’m more certain than anyone who isn’t her could be.” Elena covered Bishop’s hand with hers. “And if you don’t want to make things harder for her, try to channel your worry into smaller arguments. Like making sure she eats when she forgets.”
Understanding warmed the elf’s eyes. “Or sleep when she hasn’t been able to,” he murmured.
Elena’s cheeks colored. “Something like that.” She gave Bishop a gentle push. “Go. Watch her face when she first sees you. You’ll know everything you need to.”
He went, finally. Watching him go, Elena blew out a relieved breath as she heard Cam walk up behind her. “Thanks for all your help with that, by the way. The famous Merrick emotional openness probably would have made that at least a little less horrifically awkward.”
“From where I was standing, it looked like you did pretty good.” Cam moved to stand beside her, squeezing her shoulder. “One of these days we might even get you to start talking about your own feelings.”
Elena looked over at him, thinking about silence and the things that mattered most. Surely life would let her keep this. Even if it was just for a little while.
She smiled. “Now who’s starting to sound crazed?”
Chapter 14
Please, Worry About Me Now
“Iusually try not to do this, but people’s lives may be at stake. Did you say something to Laurel?” From the other side of the mirror, Mason gave Cam his best disapproving look. He didn’
t pull the “older sibling” card nearly as often as Laurel did, which only made it slightly more bearable when he did use it. “She keeps muttering and glaring at people, and the only thing I’ve been able to make out is your name.”
Cam groaned. Now they’d both gone crazed. “Hold on.” Leaving the mirror on the chair in the main area, he stood up and peeked into his bedroom to check on Elena. He’d gotten in the habit of staying up long enough to make sure she went to sleep okay, always carefully making sure it didn’t look like that was what he was doing.
Now, though, there was no one around to see him stand in the doorway just long enough to watch her shoulders rise and fall with deep, even breaths. He quietly shut the door behind him, grateful she wouldn’t be able to overhear yet another sibling decide to make his life harder. At least they had the decency to wait until Elena had gone to bed. The next time she stayed up late enough to go flying, all he had to do was accidentally-on-purpose turn the mirror off early.
Bracing himself, he sat back down and picked up his mirror again. “I only told her about the job, Mason. I promise.” When Mason’s expression didn’t change, Cam tried harder to convince him. “Look, I was twelve the last time I accidentally did something to make Laurel mad. I’d like to think I’ve developed a few more self-preservation skills since then. And do you really think I was stupid enough to do something on purpose? I was trying to talk her into doing me a favor.”
“Yeah, that’s what I thought.” Still not looking happy, Mason rubbed the bridge of his nose. “But talking to you was the only thing that happened between normal Laurel and scary Laurel.”
“Come on. It’s not like she hasn’t been in a mood before.” Despite the reassurance, Cam was starting to get uneasy. Apparently, he was going to have to pull Laurel aside before she worked everyone into a complete panic over absolutely nothing. “Maybe she’s just mad about the extra work.”
Mason shook his head. “Detaining that sorceress of yours wasn’t any more work than picking up Gabby from a friend’s house. Actually, I take that back—Gabby usually put up more of an argument.” His mouth quirked upward a little. “Ariadne Coppin actually met us in the front yard, held her hands out for the cuffs, and asked when we’d be leaving. Her husband and stepson put up more of a fuss than she did. Naturally, that put us all on red alert for some sneak attack, but she’s been quiet as a mouse the whole way.”
“That’s good.” And probably comforting, unless he let his paranoia start working. Unless this was the first stage of a massive conspiracy, Elena’s aunt sounded like she actually might want to help fix things. “You’re basically getting paid for a babysitting job.”
Mason thought about that. “Maybe she’s disappointed it was so easy.” He shook his head again. “I’ll just have to pin her down and make her talk to me. If she accidentally stabs someone she shouldn’t because she’s like this, she’ll just end up feeling guilty about it later.”
“N—” Brain catching up just in time, Cam clamped his mouth closed to keep the word from coming out. As much as he didn’t want that conversation to happen, trying to stop it would just get Mason on the scent. “Nice idea. You know how she likes to talk about feelings.”
Mason’s smile quirked again. “True. Maybe I’ll frame it as a personnel issue.” Then his expression got serious again. “Listen, if you ever need to talk.”
“I’m fine,” Cam cut him off, maybe a little more quickly than he should have. But everyone was acting like he had “Please, worry about me now” written across his forehead, and it was starting to piss him off. Elena was going to be fine. Therefore, so was he. End of story. “I know you feel it’s your responsibility to make sure Laurel doesn’t blow up and kill somebody, but you don’t have to worry about me. I’m the cheerful, easygoing sibling, remember?”
“You’re also the most stubborn person I know.” Mason’s “serious professor” face was back, studying Cam a little too closely for the younger man’s peace of mind. “You’re just remarkably good at making people forget that.”
Before Cam had the chance to form a suitable protest—surely Dad and Laurel were at least tied with him in the stubbornness department, if not well ahead—Mason cut the call. Cam considered calling back just to get the chance to argue properly, but he doubted it would help his case in the long run.
The problem was, he couldn’t think of anything that would. Every option he came up with would get more people involved, which meant there was more opportunity for the worry to spread. He hadn’t upset anyone’s peace of mind for the first twenty-one years of his life, but apparently the universe had decided to make up for lost time.
Finally, Cam gave up and went to bed. He pushed it all out of his mind as he drifted off to sleep, secretly grateful that Elena had insisted on switching the blankets. She used a flowery-smelling lotion instead of perfume, and the smell of had started to fade from the blanket he’d been using. He’d never admit it out loud, but he’d missed it.
~
He woke up to the sound of the door closing, followed by footsteps in the darkness.
Cam didn’t move, deliberately keeping his breathing relaxed and even. For a second he wondered if it might be Elena, coming to retrieve something out of her room, but then he heard the soft sound of a bag dropping on the floor. Slowly, silently, he slid his arm resting closest to the wall free of the blanket. If one of the castle staff had decided on a little light larceny, the person would find out that crime got you punched in the face. If whoever it was had something worse in mind . . .
He tensed, ready, as the footsteps approached the bed. Cam was already reaching by the time the person leaned over him, and there was just enough time for a strange male voice to swear before Cam grabbed him by the front of his shirt. He jerked his arm sideways, slamming the stranger’s head into the wall and shoved both man and blanket aside as he rolled out of bed. There was more swearing, suggesting that the man was still conscious, and Cam dove toward the sound of it to finish the job.
The explosion of a flash charm, filling the room with blinding white light, put that plan to an immediate halt. Cam tried to shield himself, throwing an arm up in front of his eyes a second too late, but any night vision he’d had disappeared in a haze of dancing purple spots. The one saving grace was the continued swearing from the intruder, suggesting that he hadn’t closed his eyes before he’d activated the charm. Also, it would be useful to track him until the other man was smart enough to shut up.
From the sound of it, he was trying to escape. Cam went for the tackle, slamming them both into the opposite wall and sending things rattling to the ground. The intruder smacked something into the side of Cam’s head, probably one of Elena’s books, and Cam shoved the flat of his hand upward against what he was almost certain was the man’s jaw.
He heard the door open, but whoever it was had been smart enough not to turn any extra lights on. Cam had a second to wonder if his uninvited guest had a partner, but then he heard the quiet sound of a spell being prepped.
Before Elena had the time to use it, the man threw all his weight downward and pulled Cam with them. He half rolled them, giving himself enough leverage to throw a wild elbow that smacked into Cam’s jaw. Cam finished the roll, landing a solid punch to the man’s stomach. He knew he’d scored a direct hit when the intruder gave a pained grunt. Cam pulled back slightly, preferring the man conscious if at all possible. He was getting his night vision back, enough to start making out their unwelcome guest’s face.
With a desperate sound, the man unfolded and lunged for him. Cam threw him back on the ground, pinning him down by sitting on him. “Who are you?” He pressed his hand flat against the other man’s throat to make his point. “Did Nigel send you?”
The intruder’s face was illuminated by a muted glow of light, and it was Elena’s turn to swear. “That is Nigel.” Her voice was hard as a knife blade as she went over and started examining the conten
ts of the bag. “I guess here aren’t any more thugs in the city as unintelligent as Bill was.”
Cam looked down at Nigel, who was staring at Elena with wilder eyes than Cam was comfortable with. Seeing the look, Cam’s brain started connecting the basic facts of the situation together. “You thought I was Elena.” The little rat had just waltzed in there, thinking he could snatch Elena with her guard sleeping only a few feet away. Sure, she could have probably smacked him down as thoroughly as Cam had, but . . .
Noticing a leather tie around Nigel’s neck, he yanked it free and tossed the charm that had been hanging on the end to Elena. “What does that one do?”
She held it up to the light. He could see worry flicker across her face, then fury. She flung the charm through the open doorway. “It shuts down any magic in the wearer’s immediate vicinity as soon as it’s detected,” she explained, wiping her hand on her skirt as if she’d touched something disgusting. “They’re meant to be a protection, but there are a number of places that severely limit their use. Some ban it entirely.”
“Princess, I simply—”
Cam smacked the side of his head. “You don’t get to talk yet.” Then he looked up at Elena. “It can’t be. Those nullify charms, too, and he used a flash one during the fight.”
She considered it. “Did you hear the sound of breaking glass?”
“This idiot wouldn’t stop talking. I could have missed it.”
Elena went over to the bed, moving aside blankets until she found what she was looking for. “Bits of glass. He was probably carrying potions in a small bottle, and when he broke it they combined to activate the magic. The necklace would have nullified the resulting power surge in under a second, but the flash would have already happened.” She turned back to Nigel, giving him a vicious kick in the leg. “If I’d tried a defensive spell, however, it would have shut me down the moment I started gathering power.”
The thought sent something twisting in Cam’s gut. “You still could have punched him in the face. I know Dad put you through more than the basic self-defense training.”
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