by R. A. Rock
“Tess?”
She took pity on him and went to the Table of Plenty, that seemed to have at least four pitchers of water on it this morning. Apparently, the table knew what they had been up to. She filled a glass awkwardly as she tried to keep the towel from falling. She brought it over to where Finn was still holding his head.
“Here.”
He looked up and his eyes got big when he saw she was only wearing a towel.
“Drink,” she said, feeling a bit tingly all over when he looked at her like that.
“Thanks, Tessa,” he said, his voice grating like sandpaper.
“Finn,” she said, not meeting his eyes. “Did we…”
He waited. Then he chugged some more water. She still didn’t speak, so he prompted her.
“Did we what?”
“Well, did we—you know.”
“You don’t remember?”
“Not exactly. It’s hazy.” Her cheeks got hot.
He got a smug look on his face. “Well, you did.”
“So that wasn’t another dream,” she said.
“Another dream?” he said, latching on to that particular word. “Have you had dreams of me doing that to you before, Tessa Callahan?”
He had a big grin on his face and she couldn’t help but smile back.
“Maybe.”
“And how did it compare to the fantasy?”
She ignored this question in favor of repeating her previous one. “But did we?”
He shook his head, gesturing to his clothes.
“We never even got undressed to go to sleep. Too drunk on the spell and the Elixir.”
“Oh, good.”
“Good?” He raised his eyebrows. “You didn’t want to? Because you told me you did.”
“No, no, I did want to. I mean, I still do. I mean… It’s just…” She dropped her eyes. “I would want to remember it.”
Finn stood up and lifted her chin to make her look at him. He had stubble on his face that looked incredibly sexy to her and his brown eyes were warm and held hers pinned so that she couldn’t look away.
“Me too.”
Then he stepped aside and went to the table to get himself another glass of water.
“So, no. We didn’t. But we fooled around some and you—”
“Yeah, I remember that part,” Tess interrupted, wishing she could stop blushing.
Finn grabbed a slice of apple off a tray on the table and popped it in his mouth. While he chewed, his gaze roamed over her body just barely covered by the towel.
“To be continued,” he said, desire in his eyes.
Tess had no idea what to say to that, so she just held up her clothes. “I’ll get dressed and then you can have a bath if you want.”
She took off into the bathroom and shut the door. Then she leaned up against it and fanned her face. Her heart was pounding and energy was coursing through her body. She tried to shake it off.
But she had a feeling that she couldn’t shake Finn off. He was kind, and strong, and good and… She closed her eyes, remembering his touch from the night before. She was getting in deep with him and she didn’t think she could stop herself from falling.
Oh, who was she kidding?
She had already fallen.
All that was next was her smashing into the ground and breaking every bone in her… heart, she supposed. The analogy was getting stretched a little thin at that point.
All she knew was that Finn was exactly what she needed. And he was everything she wanted. If only he didn’t get ripped away from her. She didn’t think she could handle that. She didn’t know what would happen if she lost Finn.
Or if she would recover if she did.
Finn and Tess walked through the Children’s Hall. Finn had arranged to meet his sister and her little ones there. It made Tess a little nervous that she was meeting Finn’s family. She knew he and his sister were very close. He had told Tess all about her.
Tess always came to the Children’s Hall at least once every Ball. There was something about the place. It’s innocence. All the children running around, so carefree. It made her happy to watch them for a little while.
She smiled around at the fun scene before her. Kids dashed here and there, dragging behind them balloons, flags, ribbons, and pull toys. There was one enormous corner of the hall that held a magic substance that the children could climb on and bounce. There were shrieks of laughter coming from that area.
“Finn. Finn!” Above the noise of the children, there was the sound of a woman calling Finn’s name. Both he and Tess turned and a small woman jumped into his arms.
“Solvi,” he said, hugging her tightly.
Two small children hung around their mother’s skirts.
“Pierce, Evie,” Solvi said, letting go of her brother and crouching down to be at the eye level of her two little ones. “This is your Uncle Finn. You maybe don’t remember him but he’s my brother.”
Finn squatted and said hello to them. The two little kids didn’t say much but looked at Finn and Tess with big, round eyes.
“Solvi,” Finn said, beaming at his sister. “This is Tessa.”
He didn’t offer any other explanation of their relationship and Solvi eyed her, considering.
“May the Stars shine their light upon you,” Finn’s sister said.
“And also on you,” Tess answered. “It’s nice to meet you. Finn’s told me a lot about you.”
Solvi glanced at Finn. “I can’t say the same about you,” she said. “But then I haven’t seen my brother in a long time.”
Tess gave Finn a questioning glance but he only gave a little head shake.
“Tess and I met when we were sent on a quest by the Dark Queen.”
“Which ended badly, I’m assuming, since you’re now a wanted man?” Solvi said, shrewdly assessing the situation.
“That’s right,” Finn said with a sigh. “And it’s not safe for us to be out here for very long.”
“How are you avoiding being captured?” Solvi said, a wrinkle appearing between her eyebrows.
“We’re glamored,” Finn said.
“Which will only work on about eighty percent of the Fae here.”
“And we have ghost rings,” Tess added. “So if we get into trouble, we just disappear.”
“Hm,” Solvi said, considering that.
Evie pulled on Finn’s shirt and he squatted down next to her.
“Hey, Evie,” he said, a warm look in his eyes. “What is it?”
“You my Nuncle?”
“That’s right. I’m your uncle.”
“Mama’s brother?”
“Yes.”
“Like I’m Pierce’s sister?”
“Yes, like you’re Pierce’s sister. That’s right.”
“Can you get me a cinnamon bun?” she said, in a way that made Tessa’s heart squeeze. What a little darling.
“I can get you a cinnamon bun,” he said, taking her hand. “If Mama says it’s all right.”
“Me too?” Pierce said, gazing with admiration at his uncle.
“Of course,” Finn said. “We’ll be right back.”
Tess nodded, feeling uncomfortable about being left with Solvi, who clearly wasn’t sure what to think of Tessa and Finn.
As soon as Finn and the children were out of earshot, she rounded on Tess.
“So look, Tess. We only have a few minutes before they get back and I have a few questions for you. I’m not going to mince words because that’s not really my thing.”
“Sure,” Tess said, feeling more nervous about this conversation than she ever had about any battle she had ever been in. “Ask away.”
“Are you and my brother together?”
“Sort of,” Tess said, going from mild unease to squirming in discomfort. “We’re not Joined or anything but…” Now it was Tessa’s turn to trail off.
Solvi nodded. “And do you love him?”
Tess was quiet a moment. “Maybe.”
Solvi gave o
ne nod. “You used to be the Captain of the Guard, right?”
“Yes, I was,” Tess said. “I’m not anymore.”
“But you’re a fierce fighter, aren’t you? That’s what I’ve heard anyway.”
“I am.” Tess wasn’t going to be falsely modest.
“Will you take care of him, then? He’s not as tough as he looks.”
Tess turned her gaze on the crowd and spotted Finn headed back their way with Evie on his shoulders, clutching a cinnamon bun almost as big as she was. Pierce was dancing along beside him and they all looked as though they were fast friends.
“We take care of each other,” she said, feeling suddenly very sappy. She blinked back tears before she turned back toward Solvi. The woman was nodding at her as if she had passed some sort of test.
“Good,” she said. “Then that’s as it should be.”
“Mama,” Evie said when they got back. “Look at my cinnamon bun.”
“I see it,” she said with a loving smile for her little girl. “That’s a big one, Evie.”
“Mine’s bigger than yours,” Pierce declared.
“Perhaps,” Solvi said.
“Will you take me and Pierce on the bouncy bounce, Nuncle?” Evie asked Finn.
“Anything for you two, Evie. Just finish your cinnamon bun first.”
Solvi gave Finn a brilliant smile and Tess wished she had a family that was as close as Finn’s. It made her wonder that he had never gone back. She understood that he feared the Dark Queen but how could he have left and never seen them again? If she had a family like that, so close, so loving, she would never leave them. Ever.
After Solvi had taken the children back to their room for their naps, Tess and Finn had wandered around a little while longer.
There was a section where adults could buy things for the children. Any toy you could imagine was sold there. Tess scented sugar on the air and she headed toward the stalls to find one of the cinnamon buns that the children’s fair was famous for and that Evie and Pierce had enjoyed so much. As they walked through the area with the stalls, a woman called out to them.
“Buy a spyglass for your little one?” she said, holding a pretty blue spyglass out to Tess. The woman’s light brown hair was fluffy, floating around her face in a cloud. Her eyes seemed tired but kind.
“Oh, I’m sorry. I don’t have a little one.”
“But you will,” the lady said, pushing it into her hands. “Try it.”
Tess took it to appease the woman.
“Just put it up to your eye and look at that poster across the way.” The woman pointed across the hall. “You’ll be able to read those words.”
Tessa had used a spy glass many a time in battle, but she played along, humoring the woman, and looked through the spy glass. She couldn’t see anything at first. The words were all blurry. Then she twisted the toy and the words came into sharp focus so she could understand what they read.
She set the spyglass in the woman’s hand, thinking. There was something about the spy glass. Something she couldn’t quite grasp with her still aching head. It fluttered in her mind, just out of reach.
“Would you like to buy it then, m’lady?”
Tess shook her head, not really paying attention to the woman. The children’s laughter and screeching faded into the background as her mind honed in on the thought that was hovering just where she couldn’t catch it.
Finn frowned, but she hardly noticed. There was something. If she could just remember what it was, it would solve all their problems.
Out of the corner of her eye, Tess watched Finn press a few coins into the woman’s hand and take the spyglass. But she focused on the idea that was evading her, floating at the edge of her mind.
Finn caught up to her but didn’t say anything. He simply walked beside her. Tess tried to relax and let the thought come to her because the more she chased it, the more it seemed to slip away.
When they arrived at the stall with the cinnamon buns, Finn stopped and purchased two. But Tess needed to focus on what was escaping her. It was important. She knew it. If she could just catch it.
They continued strolling through the Children’s Hall, with Tess thinking in silence and Finn giving her space to figure out what was eluding her. They walked through an open space where a man was blowing bubbles. Tiny bubbles, medium-sized bubbles, and enormous bubbles using a string. Finn took her hand as the bubbles fell around them. The sun that was streaming through the high windows made the pretty rainbows on the bubbles look lovely.
She stared at the iridescent globes floating around them and began voicing all the thoughts that were swirling in her head.
“The spyglass made the words clear. And we need to make the words on the Scroll clear.”
“Not just clear, Tess,” Finn said. “We need to understand them.”
“The spyglass made the words clear. When they were unclear and I couldn’t understand what they said, the spyglass made the words come clear.”
It was almost there, just flickering at the edge of her mind.
“The spy glass made the words clear and we need something that can make the Scroll clear. Something to make me see clearly.”
A bubble popped on her nose.
“That’s it,” Tess said, snapping her fingers. “The crown. It makes its wearer see clearly. Understand things. Finn, that’s it!”
“Oh, brilliant, Tessa, the crown,” he said, an incredulous look on his face. She jumped into his arms, hugging him tightly, and he squeezed her back, laughing.
She grabbed the paper bag with the sticky buns, pulled one out, and took a big bite. She closed her eyes as the cinnamon and sugar rolled over her tongue.
“Oh, Stars above, that is so good.”
Finn grinned. “Let’s run your theory by Izzie and see if he agrees, Tess, though I’m sure he will.”
“Good idea. Though I’m pretty sure that it’s the key to translating the Scroll and ending the Severance. Maybe I’m using the Keeper’s memories?” She shrugged and took his hand with the one that wasn’t holding her cinnamon bun, wiggling around in her happy excitement. “We can still do it, Finn. And the crown is the key.”
Chapter 16
“So, are we right, Isadore?” Tess said. “Could the Crown of Visions translate the Scroll?”
Tess, Finn, and Isadore sat at a table in one of the many cafés in the marketplace. Izzie was having an early lunch and they had joined him, hoping he could answer their questions. Finn had ordered a plate of turnip chips and Tess leaned forward. She sniffed, inhaling the spicy smell of the fried vegetable. Tess snagged one and nibbled at the delicious, crispy treat.
Izzie looked well today, as if he had gotten a good night’s sleep for the first time in a long time. His skin had a healthy glow and his dark eyes were bright. Finn had mentioned how upset Izzie had been over what had happened when he had almost killed Finn and, though Tess still hadn’t forgiven the older Fae, she was at least willing to tolerate his presence now. Especially since he seemed to be trying to make it up to Finn by being as helpful as possible.
“It can definitely translate the Scroll,” Isadore said, stabbing a bite of roasted pheasant and putting it in his mouth. He chewed with great relish, clearly enjoying his meal, and then spoke again. “The Crown of Visions is one of the most powerful magical artifacts in all of Ahlenerra. The King gave it to the Dark Queen on the occasion of her becoming the new ruler by his side. And it is said that all of the kingdom rejoiced on that day.”
“Hard to believe,” murmured Tessa.
Isadore went on as if he hadn’t heard her comment. “But with their quarrel and the Severance, one of the things the King did was take back the crown. They say he buried it here and that it’s needed to end the Severance.”
“How do you know that, Iz?” Finn asked.
“I had a client who wanted to know everything there was to know about the Scroll and ending the Severance.”
“Who was that?” Tess said, intrigued that ther
e was someone who had recently been thinking about ending the Severance as well.
“I would say that I must keep my clients’ identities secret, which is true, but the real reason I can’t tell you who it was is because I don’t even know,” Izzie said with a shrug. “The person was always cloaked. I never saw their face. Never heard their voice. They only used notes to communicate with me. The person I met with might only have been a middleman. I don’t even know.”
“That’s curious,” Tessa said.
“It is,” Isadore admitted. “But that’s how it is when you trade in information. Some of my clients insist on absolute privacy, even from me.”
“But do you know how the crown helps end the Severance?”
“No,” Isadore said. “It’s said that the Scroll explains it all.”
“But we can’t read the Scroll until we get the crown,” Tess said, frustrated. “We need to find it.”
“But you said that the King himself is going to try to remove it from its hiding place and the Dark Queen knows where it is, not to mention Runa and Nyall?”
“That’s right,” Finn said, dismayed.
Izzie made it sound so hopeless.
“But none of the maps will show anything until after the Grand Revel?”
“That’s right.”
Izzie reached over and speared a fried turnip slice with his fork. He popped it in his mouth, chewing slowly as he contemplated.
“I can help.” He leaned toward them, speaking quietly. “First of all, you need to know that the crown is not hidden in the tunnels that everyone can access. I can give you directions to the entrance to the part of the wyrm tunnels that the King closed off.”
“Right. Perdira told us that,” Finn said.
“Of course. So, the queen has been searching the tunnels for years because she knows that’s where it is. What she doesn’t realize is that the crown is not there at all. The hidden tunnels are where the crown is kept. Though you should keep in mind that the King will likely have guards stationed there as well, since he knows where the crown is actually located.”