Heart's Bandit (Shifting Crossroads Book 48)

by Zenina Masters

  “Karo, what the hell are you doing?” Tol’s voice was slightly panicked.

  Karo blinked and slowly leaned away from the elf who was staring into her eyes with a gaze so dark purple it was nearly black.

  Karo turned toward her partner. He was looking sharp in the black livery of the Mathoway household. “I am making out with our assignment.”

  Tol halted in his tracks fifteen feet away. “Oh. Okay. That is what it looked like.”

  She looked back to Yorin. “Shall we try it again?”

  He leaned toward her, and she stopped him.

  “The dancing, not the kissing. The kissing was perfect.”

  He smiled, and he held her with one arm out and the other at her waist. With a heartbeat between them as a beat, she moved when he did, and the ease of their motion was a marked improvement.

  He paused. “That was excellent. Can we try a court dance?”

  She took his hand and stepped and turned when he did, curtsying and turning when necessary. Yorin was amazed. “How did you learn all that?”

  She grinned, but Tol spoiled it.

  “She can learn mechanical manipulation on contact. It makes her really annoying playing dice games.” He crossed his arms.

  “My aunt taught me to plan out my moves based on whatever information I could get. The kiss told me your reach, the length of your stride, and how you balanced. From there, I can just keep up a second after you decide to move.”

  Yorin blinked. “I thought you were just a simple shifter.”

  She walked up to him and took his arm. “No shifter is simple; we just have complications you can’t imagine.”

  Tol snickered, and Lady Mathoway joined them with her standard retinue.

  Without any more warning, they were on their way to the court in a wave of light. Karo really hoped that they weren’t landing indoors.

  Chapter Six

  Karolyn had never imagined what the court of the fey would look like, and it was a good thing. Her imagination could not have done the butterflies in human form justice.

  She didn’t have time to take it all in. One moment, they were completing their transport, and the next, Yorin was moving them toward the crowd.

  Karo kept her hand lightly on the back of his wrist while he walked her through the gathering of the fey. He murmured, “Don’t worry. I won’t let them get you.”

  She nodded slightly.

  Her ears were getting quite a bit of attention from the male and female members of the crowd.

  She murmured to Yorin, “Why are they staring?”

  “They are wondering where I got the attractive halfling.” He smiled. “You do bear a startling resemblance to one of ours.”

  “I get that a lot.”

  He turned them down a hall, and based on the number of guards, they were heading toward a fortified area. “How did you come by them?”

  “My aunt tells me that I got the surgery after I began training for the guild. I don’t really remember. One day they weren’t in photos of me, the next day they were.”

  He went quiet.

  She didn’t say anything else either, the inner court gave them a clear path, and she saw a few shifters with their mates in the crowd.

  A herald thumped a staff onto the ground. “Presenting, Prince Yorin of the Southern Rise and his companion, Karolyn Millican.”

  The king was speaking with a blue warrior on his left, and he looked up when the announcement was made. “Cousin, come here.”

  Yorin stepped toward the king and took her with him. The smile on the king’s lips was definitely amused.

  “You managed to get her out of her uniform, cousin?”

  Yorin bowed. “It was not necessary, Your Majesty.”

  Karo glanced around and saw that the majority of the court was over ten feet from their position. They might be trying to listen, but she had an inkling that they couldn’t hear much.

  “It is pleasant to see you again, Hunter.”

  She curtsied as gracefully as she could manage. “It is unexpected that I have ended up here today, Your Majesty.”

  “Unexpected by you, perhaps. Our seers have seen your arrival for quite a while. It was rather confusing for them, considering your pedigree.”

  Karo frowned. “I don’t understand.”

  King Larion nodded slowly. “I can see that you don’t.” He abruptly switched topics. “Yorin, your admirers are here. Have you made a decision, cousin?”

  Yorin frowned. “I have, in that I don’t want them.”

  Larion sighed, and a sliver of his scarlet hair cascaded across his piercing blue gaze. “That is the answer I didn’t want to hear.”

  “I will make my choice, but I need time.”

  “Cousin, you have had five decades to make up your mind. Do it now, or I will do it for you.” Larion drummed his fingers on the edge of his throne.

  Yorin blinked. “I thought you would be reasonable about this.”

  “I am reasonable. If you don’t announce your bride, I will announce it for you, to a woman of my choosing.”

  The rather jovial demeanour changed in a heartbeat. The king suddenly wore his reign in every line of his body. “You have an hour.”

  Yorin was definitely shocked at the dismissal. He nodded automatically and led Karo away.

  When they were far enough from the throne, she whispered, “What is that all about? I thought that the guys could take their time.”

  “A regular fey has that right, a royal must obey the king. He wants me to start my line, so I have to choose a mate and start my line.”

  She shivered. “That is horrible.”

  “How do shifters do it?”

  She paused. “I am assuming that you mean choosing a mate.”

  “I do.”

  She exhaled and relaxed. The thought of explaining basic reproduction to him had had a flickering allure, but the embarrassment would have done her in.

  “Well, we either meet another member of our beast species and the beasts form an alliance, or we go to the Crossroads and find someone who wants us for what we are, no matter our family and connections.”

  He paused. “What do you mean that the beasts form an alliance?”

  “Just that. Our beasts choose our mate, and the human has to live with them.” She shrugged. “Usually, both humans are in agreement, but sometimes, things take some getting used to.”

  He paused in the halls and turned to look down at her. “You are telling me that there is another mind inside yours?”

  She wrinkled her nose. “More like a soul. Shifters are two souls in one body, too much energy, life, and magic in one body. It is why we spark with the fey.”

  She reached out and touched his cheek, feeling the crackle of power between them.

  “Now, let’s find you a bride before the king puts his foot down.” She smiled brightly at him, and he looked at her with a slightly dazed expression.

  “Right. A bride. I have a few ladies that I would like you to see. They have all crept into my bed at one time or another, so your reaction to them will help me in my choice.” He smiled slightly.

  The thought of another woman in Yorin’s bed was distasteful, but she wasn’t there to join the flock to his bedroom. She was simply his bodyguard for the day.

  They walked into a courtyard with a stone fountain, and he introduced her to his first candidate. A young woman with purple hair and a sly look in her black eyes.

  Karo took in every part of her body language and translated it. She was after Yorin, but he was merely a symbol of power that she wanted to take for herself.

  Karo stood next to him and kept her face blank as he finished speaking to the woman.

  When he told the woman that she was on the list, Karo cringed.

  He turned and looked to Karo. “That went well. On to the next.”

  Karo nodded and kept her lips tight through the next three interviews. The fourth interview—because that is how she thought of them—took a turn for the weird.


  “Prince Yorin, just think that when you and I are together, you need never associate with this kind of repulsive halfling again.”

  That got Karo’s attention, but Yorin’s voice went from congenial to icy. “What did you say?”

  The woman looked less certain. “Your Highness, my family are the archivists and keepers of the bloodlines. She is Miiravella’s bastard. Her mother took one look at her and cast her away.”

  Karo was surprised. She knew that her father had been an only parent because her mother ran off; she had no idea that the pointy ears were natural. Huh. I shouldn’t be possible.

  “Karolyn, are you bothered by this?”

  Karo shrugged. “Not particularly. I will be later, once I can ask some questions.”

  He drew her away from the confused snob. “Can you discuss this with your father?”

  “No. He passed away when I was eight. My aunt might know. She didn’t particularly like my mother.”

  There, in front of a shocked group of the fey, he pulled her in, and he hugged her. Karo stiffened up at first, and then, she relaxed against him. He meant well, but the part of her that connected to her parents was a cool well in her soul.

  She accepted his comfort, and then, she heard the now-familiar voice of the king.

  “You have made your choice. Good. Hunter, it will be delightful having you in the family. You two are overdue for your booking at the Crossroads. So, I wish you luck and balance, and I hope to see you soon.”

  Karo only had time to see the very serious man with a gleeful expression on his face, and then, she and Yorin were off to the Crossroads.

  Karo looked around and saw the two figures approaching them. “What the hell just happened?”

  Yorin answered with a question. “Is your mother a fey?”

  Karo shrugged. “I don’t know. She dropped me with my father when I was two days old. One day to realize I didn’t have pointy ears and one day to find him.”

  “I thought you said you didn’t know.” He leaned away from her.

  “I lied. I didn’t want to admit that I suspected I wasn’t all shifter. It isn’t something I am happy about.”

  He frowned. “Your ears?”

  “My aunt told me that since I was on the guild track at that point, they would be helpful, and as they pointed after I had a nasty flu, she told me that the flu was a reaction to the surgery that I had undergone. So, my ears were healed and pointy, and I didn’t remember the previous few weeks. It was plausible enough.”

  She knew she sounded unconvincing, but getting the briefing on the Crossroads and how the crystal in her charm worked took her attention. Teal walked her through the streets and to the floating castle that screamed fey magic.

  “This is a little odd to have the king telling us that he was sending a couple here.” Teal was angling for more information.

  “It was even more recent for me. I just found out five minutes ago. Those fey are tricky.”

  Teal blinked. “You are registered as a half-fey.”

  “That is also something that I have just had confirmed. I think I need a nap or a drink. Maybe both in some kind of order. Oh, is there a way to contact my aunt? I am pretty sure she doesn’t know about this.”

  “Drak can set up a mirror for contact. We do have limited Wi-Fi, but the signal is interfered with by the magic.”

  “Got it. Okay, so Drak is the host?”

  As if he was summoned, a man made of liquid metal opened the door. His clothing was normal, but the feel of molten gold and silver was unmistakable.

  Teal paused. “That is a little more flashy, Drak.”

  He bowed. “Thank you, Guardian. I have heard of the incoming nobility, and I wished to appear appropriately.”

  “This is the first one of your guests of that party. Karolyn, this is Drak. Drak, this is Hunter Karolyn Millican.”

  He bowed low. “Welcome to the Axion. I am at your disposal. Is there anything you would like?”

  She nodded. “I would like to contact my Aunt Laura if that isn’t too much trouble.”

  “No trouble at all. I will set up a conversation mirror immediately, and you can speak as long as you wish.” Drak waved her in through the wide castle doors.

  Karo waved at Teal, and she winked before she turned and said, “I will keep you posted as to events and illumination.”

  Teal chuckled, and Karo heard, “Thank you.”

  Sighing, she headed inside with the very shiny fey leading the way.

  He set her up with a mirror at a desk in a private study. She couldn’t help but snicker at the fairy-tale aspect of it.

  Karo followed the directions and touched the mirror, thinking of her Aunt Laura. Apparently, a portal for communication would open on the other side. Her side was doing all the work.

  The image of her aunt became clear, and when it settled, Karo spoke, “Aunt Laura, don’t freak out.”

  Her aunt was in the stall at the front of the property, and her eyes got wide as she slowly turned to fully see whatever representation of Karo was there.

  “Karolyn?”

  “Yes. I am at the Crossroads, and I need to ask you a question.”

  Her aunt looked a little dazed. “I will answer if I can.”

  “Great. Do you know who my mother is? And what she is?”

  Aunt Laura blinked and sighed. “Right. Yes, I know who she was, and what she was wasn’t apparent until your ears did that pointy thing when you were a teen. Her name was Meery or something, and she was fey.”

  “So, there was no surgery.”

  Her aunt looked embarrassed. “No. They did that on their own. The fever you got at the time was a good excuse. You didn’t think about it after that, and your hair was long enough to hide it, so it wasn’t a problem.”

  “So, I am part fey, and my ears are natural. Oh, and my mother is still alive, apparently. This has been a delightful day.” She sighed and rubbed the back of her neck.

  “Karolyn?”

  “Yes?”

  “Why are you at the Crossroads?”

  Karo looked her in the eye. “A fey prince needs a wife, and the king thinks that I am excellent material for the post. He sent us here without asking me yes or no. So, expect me to be accompanied the next time I come home. I don’t think I am getting out of this without finding a mate.”

  Her aunt reached out and then closed her hand in a fist. “I am sorry that I hid the truth. I was waiting for you to ask, and when you didn’t, I thought I was off the hook.”

  “I should have pressed the issue, but you are my only family. I didn’t want to put a wedge in our relationship. Well, thanks for coming clean with it when I asked. Her name is Miiravella, by the way.”

  “Have you met her?”

  Karo chuckled. “I doubt she even knew I was alive until today. I am sure the news will get back to her, and I will hear from her shortly. For now, I desperately need a nap.”

  “Karolyn, you can’t hide from your problems in sleep.” Aunt Laura shook her head.

  “I know, but I can try. Talk to you soon but not like this.”

  Her aunt waved, and Karo waved back before removing her hand from the mirror.

  There was a knock on the door, and she opened it. “I am done.”

  Drak smiled. “Good. I will show you to your room. Please, come with me.”

  She nodded and followed him to her room, ducking inside and closing the door when she heard the voices of Tony and Yorin down below. She could wait for going shoe shopping. She wanted nothing more than to strip off the glamour she was wearing and to put on something more appropriate for a nap.

  First things first. Where was the mini bar?

  Chapter Seven

  After she found what she was looking for, Karo munched the almonds that were contraband at her aunt’s house, and she walked to the door to peep through the old-fashioned keyhole.

  Yorin’s room was across the way, and his door was open. If she opened her room, he would be at her side i
n seconds. So, what to do to get a bit of privacy...

  Karo grinned and walked to the window. She was up on the fifth floor in a tower. It would be an impossible jump but not a bad climb.

  She had shucked out of the glamour, and the simple long tunic suited her much better. She used a thin column of the web to give her a rope to climb down as she lowered herself to the main floor slowly and silently with her outfit matching the gleaming grey of the wall.

  There was a part of her that accepted that it was ridiculous to escape from her hotel room, but the other part of her thought it was wonderful fun, and she shifted to raccoon and scampered behind the castle the moment she was on the ground.

  There were so many places to go, but she headed for the woods as fast as she could waddle.

  She needed a tree to think in, and then, she could figure out what the pros and cons of her situation were.

  * * * *

  Yorin walked down into the main hall and poured a cup of lemon water from the sideboard.

  Drak looked at him with a confused gaze. “You said you would wait until she came out.”

  Yorin chuckled. “I forgot who I was dealing with. She made it to the ground and has made a run for the woods. I can’t track her properly in her shifted form, but I have an idea where she went.”

  “Shifted form? I thought she was a halfling.” Drak stood near him.

  “She is. Half shifter, half fey. There hasn’t been one like her for a hundred and fifty years. It takes quite a woman to carry a child that causes such pain by its other nature.”

  Drak’s eyes were wide. “I haven’t heard of a halfling child like that at the court.”

  “She was never at court. She was given to her father on her second day.” Yorin had read it all in the file that had been waiting for him in his room. He had wanted to discuss it with her, but she had opted to make a run for it.

  “That is horrifying. Why did she give up her child?” Drak looked appalled.