“And you don’t have to worry about the toxins human usually add to their food. This is all-natural,” Jade added. “The animals and the vegetables were raised on local farms.”
Queen Tasla still sneered at the food as if it were poison. “What do you recommend?”
“I love the sausage.” Queen Isis pointed to a stack of seared links stacked on top of each other under a heat lamp. “The cook is from the fey realm, and she is an expert at mixing fey and human spices.”
With his plate filled with sausage links, sweet potatoes, and a vegetable called kale that Jade made him put on his plate because she said he needed to eat something green. He sat at the table next to his mother.
Queen Isis and Tasla sat at a table adjacent to Coal and Jade. From the small snatches of conversation that drifted his way, it sounded like the queens were reminiscing about the past. If Jade resented being left out of their conversation, she didn’t show it. To Coal’s surprise, she seemed completely content with his company.
“Why was Tetrick standing behind you and Queen Isis during the accords?” Coal asked, low enough that he hoped no one heard but Jade.
“Tetrick is Queen Isis’s new shadow guard. Apparently, he needed a change,” Jade answered after she had swallowed a spoonful of potato soup.
“Queen Isis trusts him?”
“It looks like it.”
“Do you?” Coal asked.
Jade paused as if she had to consider the question. “He hasn’t given me a reason not to. He could be a spy for his mother, but we don’t have anything to hide.”
Coal didn’t believe for a second that Jade didn’t have anything to hide, but he nodded and pretended to agree.
“Does Chalcedony think you’re a spy?” she asked with a wry smile. “I bet Madoc does.”
Coal almost choked on the food in his mouth. “Chalcedony knows I would never betray her.”
Jade cocked a brow obviously not believing his answer. “What about Madoc?”
Madoc, Chalcedony’s senior advisor, hadn’t said three words to Coal since he returned to Legacy. “Yeah, he probably thinks I am.” Coal took a bite of his sausage and sweet potatoes, purposefully ignoring the kale. The meat was delicious, filled with familiar spices of the fey realm. It was a peaceful medley of flavors that made Coal think that if the food was any indication, maybe the fey and the humans could exist together.
“So, did you show Chalcedony what you learned yesterday?” she smiled wickedly.
Despite himself, the heat rose to his cheeks, and he looked down at his plate.
“I’ll take that as a yes.” She nudged his shoulder with her own. “Did she enjoy it?”
“I think so,” he whispered, conspiratorially. “We both did.”
“Then my job is done. You should visit the brothel with Chalcedony next time.”
Coal grinned, his thoughts still on last night. “I don’t think she’ll want to visit a brothel. But I’ll ask.”
Jade smiled and leaned towards him. “I hope this means I’ll be a grandmother soon.”
Since Chalcedony had told him to keep her pregnancy a secret until she was further along, he tried to stop the smile that was spreading across his cheeks. He looked down and away, trying to hide his excitement.
“She's already pregnant?” Jade exclaimed loud enough that Queens Isis and Tasla looked in her direction. Jade had spoken so loudly, even Tetrick and Alisha looked over.
“No, I didn’t say that,” Coal interjected, trying to stifle Jade’s enthusiasm.
“You didn’t have to. It’s written all over your face.”
“It's still early,” Coal said through gritted teeth. “We’re not telling anyone yet.”
“Oh, my!” Jade's face wrinkled and gray hairs sprouted atop her head. “If I’m going to be a grandmother, I’ll have to dress the part.”
“Congratulations,” Queen Isis said. Her eyes were almost as bright as Jade’s.
“Yes, congratulations,” Queen Tasla added. “I hope Chalcedony is aware of her limitations during pregnancy.”
Coal nodded. He was going to be in so much trouble once he returned to Legacy. “Yes, she's talked to the healer.”
“Good,” Queen Isis added. “There are so many rules. That’s why I've never been able to go through it myself.”
“It wasn’t so bad. In the end, it was more than worth it.” Queen Tasla threw a quick glance toward her children. “How far along is Chalcedony?”
“I'm not sure,” Coal answered. “A few weeks.”
“Then that most definitely means Tetrick isn’t the father.” Queen Tasla spoke to Coal, but her eyes were fixed on her son. Tetrick's face, which had been deathly still through the entire meal, now held a look of pure fury.
A ball of lead began to take residence in Coal’s stomach. “What do you mean?”
Queen Tasla smiled. “Well, they were mated. It was a short courtship, but it had been consummated. So, there is a possibility that Tetrick is the fa—”
“You don't know that,” Jade interrupted.
“You're right,” Queen Tasla said. “That's why I asked.”
Queen Tasla was talking nonsense. There was no way Tetrick could be the father. She was trying to upset him or get under Tetrick’s skin as payback for working with Queen Isis. But there was something about the anger in Tetrick’s glare that killed the words of denial on Coal’s tongue.
“Is it true? Are you the father?” Coal heard himself say. He felt numb, as though he was standing outside of his body, watching someone else.
A muscle twitched in Tetrick's jaw as he held Coal’s gaze. Coal wasn’t a human anymore. He was an elf. A prince. On more than equal standing with Tetrick, but right now, as he stared into Tetrick’s stony gaze, Coal felt like the helpless human who had depended on Chalcedony’s protection to stay alive. The human that Tetrick had always dismissed.
“Is it true?” Coal repeated.
“You should ask Chalcedony, not me,” Tetrick answered flatly.
Coal balled his fist at his side. “I'm asking you.”
“I don't have any answers for you.” Tetrick had tried to keep his tone stern and flat, but Coal still felt the pity underneath.
If Tetrick wouldn’t answer him, he knew who would. “Take me home,” Coal ordered Jade. “Now.”
Jade glanced nervously at Queen Isis. It was one of the few times he’d ever seen Jade look unsure of herself. “Maybe you should calm down first,” she said. “I don't think Chalcedony would tell you that you were the father if you weren't.”
Coal closed his eyes and concentrated. Jade was right. Chalcedony would never tell him he was the father if he wasn’t, but . . . She never told me I was the father. She only told me she was pregnant. I assumed the rest.
“Take me home now,” Coal demanded.
The moment they appeared at Legacy, Coal stormed toward the entrance. Jade darted in front of him, blocking his path. “Calm down,” she said. “You don’t know the truth. Don’t storm in there with your mind already made up.”
Coal tried to push Jade out of the way, but she refused to move.
“Don’t do or say anything you’ll regret later.” Finally, she stepped to the side. “You have my number. Call me if you need me, and I’ll come for you.”
Chapter Sixteen
The moment Chalcedony entered her bedroom, she knew something was wrong. Her room was always well lit, but the fairy lights were off, and the curtains were closed. Coal sat in front of the window. He was bent over with his hands cradling his head. He rose when she entered. She felt the heat of his fury from all the way across the room.
His eyes were narrowed and hot with anger. His hands were clenched tightly in his lap. The first time she had ever seen him this angry was almost four weeks ago when he learned Chalcedony had lied to him about his mother. She knew instantly what fueled his anger this time.
He knew the truth.
This could have been avoided. She could have ended this days ago. Why ha
d she let it get this far?
“Is Tetrick the baby’s father?” he asked through gritted teeth.
She lifted her head and met his eyes. She was a queen. Queens were not allowed to cower. “Tetrick told you?”
“Tetrick knew, but you couldn’t bother to tell me?” His voice and body quivered with anger.
“I didn’t tell Tetrick. He guessed.”
“Well, so did his mother!” Coal snapped. “How long were you going to let me walk around like a fool believing I was the father? Were you ever going to tell me?”
“I was going to tell you today. That’s why I wanted you to come home with me,” Chalcedony explained. “But you stayed with your mother instead.”
“That’s convenient. You’ve had all this time, but the day you decide to do it is the same day someone else does.” He shook his head. “How am I supposed to believe that?”
“Believe what you want,” Chalcedony shrugged. “But I’m telling you the truth.”
“You should have told me the moment you knew. I didn’t even know you and Tetrick were that close.”
“You knew,” Chalcedony replied flatly. She just wanted the conversation to be over with. Fast forward to the ending. She already knew how it was going to end. “I told you. Your ego just chose to ignore what me and Tetrick’s being together meant.”
“I didn’t know it went that far,” he insisted.
“You didn’t want to know. In a perfect world, I would have waited for you, but I had no idea you would return.”
“Why didn’t you tell me the truth about the pregnancy?”
Chalcedony sighed. “You looked so happy. I didn’t want to hurt you.”
“I could have handled it. After everything we’ve been through, why do you still think I’m weak?”
“I don’t think you’re weak. You’re the strongest person I know.”
Coal laughed, but it was filled with bitter disappointment. “We can’t keep doing this.”
Here it comes, she thought. “You’re right,” Chalcedony said. “Now you have an excuse to leave and be with your mother.”
“I’m not looking for an excuse. I loved you. I wanted to be with you.”
Loved? “In Legacy, you’re only my mate. With Jade and Isis, you’re a prince.” She lifted her chin. “You have a valid excuse to leave now. So, feel free to go.”
“You want me to leave?” He was rigid and taught as if he was expecting to get hit.
“You know I don’t want you to go, but I’m not going to grovel and beg you to stay.”
“I can’t take anymore lies, Chalcedony.”
She straightened. “Call your mother. I know you’re dying to. You don’t have to pretend you want to stay anymore.”
Chalcedony turned and stormed out of the room. She would be damned if she was about to let him have the last word.
Chapter Seventeen
Coal sat cross-legged on a thick patch of itchy grass in the back of Queen Isis’s home. The metal from the old sword he’d brought back with him from Legacy gleamed in the late afternoon sun. Two days had passed since Chalcedony turned her back to him and he’d left Legacy. Before he left with Jade, he stopped by the forge and picked up the sword and few of his tools.
He spent the first day sharpening the sword with a metal file, making sure he didn’t spend too much time on one side.
Once Coal could see the beginning of a sharpened edge, he oiled the sword with a thin layer of olive oil and passed it over a whetstone to make the metal shine once again. For the last step, he used sandpaper to blend the sharp edges with the rest of the sword.
Restoring the sword had taken up most of yesterday. But he’d spent most of today trying to infuse the sword with magic to make it sentient. He had tried dozens of times already. Nothing.
“You’re trying too hard.” Jade stood before him, blocking the last few rays of sunlight.
He took a deep breath as he studied the sword, not bothering to look up. “I don’t think I’m trying hard enough.”
Jade sat on the ground across from Coal and picked up the sword. “You’re trying to make it sentient by forcing your magic into it, right?”
“Yeah,” he answered.
She turned the sword over in her hands. “Metal is not a weak element, at least not this piece of metal. You won’t be able to force it to do anything.”
“Then how am I supposed to do it?”
“Maybe you should become friends with it. Ask it nicely.”
Coal took the sword away from her. “That answer is why they used to call you Crazy Jade in the human realm.”
She rolled her eyes and stood. “Are you eating dinner with us tonight?”
“No; I’m not hungry.”
He pretended to concentrate on the sword as he felt Jade judging him from above. He hadn’t eaten in almost two days. Since he’d arrived, the thought of food made him sick.
“I gave you space yesterday.” Jade nudged him with her foot, forcing Coal to look up. “I’ll give you one more day to mope, but tomorrow you’re going home.”
Coal jumped to his feet. “What?!”
“You heard me,” Jade answered.
“I’m not going back. Chalcedony and I are over.”
Jade pursed her lips as if she didn’t believe anything he had said.
“I thought you would be happy it’s over,” he remarked.
Her eyebrows knitted together. “Why would I be happy to see you miserable?”
“I know you don’t like her.”
Her eyes softened. “Baby, how can I hate the girl who saved you when I couldn’t? If it hadn’t been for Chalcedony, Queen Galena would have killed you long ago. I don’t hate her. I owe her.”
Coal shrugged. He hadn’t known Jade thought that way about Chalcedony. He had always assumed Jaded hated Chalcedony as much as Chalcedony hated her.
“Besides, you’re on the wrong side in this argument,” Jade added.
“No, I’m not. She lied to me.”
“Chalcedony is a queen. Queens are expected to produce an heir as soon as possible to pass on their power. She’s pregnant. She did her duty.”
“She should’ve told me the truth,” Coal explained. He didn’t like it, but he understood why she had been with Tetrick. That didn’t excuse her lying to him. “I promised myself that if she lied to me again that I would leave. That I would stand up for myself.”
“Oh.” Jade nodded as if she finally understood his point. “You had an out clause? So, you really weren’t planning on staying with her very long in the first place.”
“I wanted to spend the rest of my life with her. I love Chalcedony.”
“I don’t believe you. Drawing lines in the sand and giving yourself an ‘out clause’ are the quickest ways to end a relationship.”
“It’s not like that,” Coal replied.
“You’ve been waiting for Chalcedony to mess up so you could leave. Admit it.”
“That’s not true,” he said, growing angry. “You’re twisting my words.”
“I understand. Another man has planted their seed in your ground. Your pride is hurt.”
“Ugh,” he groaned. “Why am I even having this conversation with you? You don’t understand.”
“I understand that your pride is more important than that girl.”
“It’s not just my pride. She still treats me like I’m fragile. She still looks at me like I’m... weak. Even when I was human, I hated how she would always protect me, but at least I could understand then. But I’m not glass; I’m not fragile. She could have told me. I would have been hurt, but I would have understood.”
“If you can’t accept that you’ve changed, how do you expect her to?”
“I know I’m not human anymore.”
“You walk around like you are.”
“So do you,” Coal snapped.
“That’s because I’m always up to no good. If you wear your fey ears maybe, it’ll help others remember you’ve changed. Maybe it woul
d be easier for Chalcedony also.”
“It’s naïve to think that all it takes is a different set of ears for Chalcedony think that I don’t need protecting.”
“Regardless,” Jade said. “You don’t have to stay at Legacy, but you need to put aside your pride and go talk to her.”
Chapter Eighteen
A secret dungeon lay miles underneath Legacy. It had been carved into the bedrock centuries ago. The stone cells were built to house the most dangerous fey, the ones that fed on their own kind and/or humans. The ones that refused to change. Or so she had heard. The cells had been empty for decades. The most dangerous fey had been culled years ago by the weavers, kept in cells similar to this until they died.
As she entered, Tetrick’s blue eyes followed her has she made her way to his cell.
Only when she was directly in front of him did she turn and face him. “I warned you not to phase into Legacy.”
“You can’t blame me for trying,” Tetrick said, standing behind his warded cell.
“Maybe I can’t blame you. But I can definitely punish you for it.” Dim fairy light lit his cell. It had been pitch black down here a few days ago. Anticipating his visit, she had some light installed just for him. See, she reassured herself; she wasn’t all bad.
“Then you were expecting me?” he asked.
“I had a feeling you’d stop by.” Chalcedony cocked her head to the side. “Have you come to gloat?” She had been eating when Legacy alerted her of Tetrick’s presence, and the taste of the breaded duck was still on her tongue along with the mild sweetness of the chef’s nausea tea.
“Of course not.” He paused. “I came to check on you.”
She crossed her arms. “I’m fine. You know I can take care of myself.”
“I can kill him if you like,” he said as if he were offering her a sweetened pastry.
Chalcedony smiled. Such a tempting offer. “You would be willing to kill Queen Isis’s heir for me.” She clicked her tongue. “That would really start a war, wouldn’t it? I’m not sure Coal is worth it.”
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