A Tale of Two Kingdoms (Knights of Black Swan, Book 6)

by Danann, Victoria

  CHAPTER 6

  Song pulled her things out into the hallway as quietly as possible to keep from waking her roommate, Gaia. She’d gotten a text from Elora the night before with instructions to meet in the garage beneath the building at seven. The Order kept a small fleet for use of the staff and visitors.

  Elora had claimed one of the vehicles, a silver Vauxhall, the most common car in all of Scotia and least likely to draw notice. The sun would just be coming up and Elora wanted to be away from the city before anyone who might recognize Song was likely to see her.

  When the elevator opened, Elora was waiting with a big grin on her face. Song started to laugh, but somehow the laughter turned into something that was a confused fusion of crying and laughing. She went as fast as she could rolling the bags she had un-nested and packed for the trip.

  Gaia had said, “Seems like you’re taking a lot for a trip home. And it’s not that cold.”

  Song had lied like she was used to it. “I’m thinkin’ of changin’ some thin’s out. Leave some. Take some. You know.”

  She dropped the luggage handles and threw her arms around Elora who said, “Quick kiss. We can cry all the way there if you want, but we’ve got to get started.”

  They more or less threw her bags in the boot and jumped in. Elora had to produce credentials. She wasn’t recognized on sight since she didn’t normally drive when she was there. The gate opened. They drove up the incline and out of the garage. When they turned onto the open street, the two women looked at each other and laughed spontaneously like they had just escaped from a prison.

  “You know, Song, your brother is the hero. But this may be the most romantic moment of the century. How are your map reading skills?”

  “Map readin’? Does this automobile no’ have geo-guide?”

  “No. That’s a feature of higher end cars. Um. How’s your driving?”

  Song grinned. “I’m your girl.”

  “Maybe we should trade places. You’re used to left side anyhow. Makes sense.”

  “Just past that roundabout, pull over at the market.”

  That turned out to be easier said than done. After listening to Elora’s tirade on roundabouts, Song was all the more sure that she was the one who should be driving.

  “Bloody fucking roundabouts! If you go, they honk at you. If you don’t go, they honk at you. If you go fast, they honk. If you go slow, they honk. It’s just one big bloody honking country full of honking idiot drivers.”

  Song was laughing when they switched places. “Is that my brother’s influence I hear? Ne’er mind. I’m all about the roundabouts. I shall steer the steely beast. You shall navigate.”

  Aelsong was masterfully at ease with the rules – and quirks – of the road, not to mention gear shift on the left instead of the right. By the time they got to the Forth Road Bridge going north over the water toward Perth, they were speeding along and the tension in their bodies was melting away.

  Elora had never taken a road trip in Scotia and was thoroughly enjoying the scenery.

  “I suppose you were plannin’ to drive back by yourself?”

  “I was. Yes. I am. Did you eat before we left? Are you hungry?”

  “I did no’ eat. I can no’ say I’m hungry exactly.” She looked over at Elora and smiled shyly. “More nervous, maybe. Should we stop for somethin’?”

  “We can’t stop and sit down, but maybe we could get take-out.”

  “We have no’ quite perfected the art of to-go like the States. What did you have in mind?”

  “I’ll settle for a bottle of water and a bag of nuts if I can’t do better.”

  Aelsong looked at her and laughed. Fifteen minutes later they were pulling away from a roadside grill with a to-go breakfast of eggs, lamb goulash for Elora and latte for Song. Elora was ecstatic enough to hum yummy sounds while she ate.

  “Do you know where in Aberdeen we’re goin’?”

  “Hmmm.” Elora had finished and was reconciling containers into trash for the backseat floorboard. “It’s a row of private plane hangars on the outskirts of the airport. I’ve got the address and a code to give security when we arrive.”

  “So we’re flyin’ somewhere. What else do you know?”

  “Not much, Song. I get the feeling that Duff wants to be the one to tell you everything else and, not that it’s likely I’ll be tortured, but it’s probably best I don’t know everything.” Song nodded. “I’ve been wondering how you feel about, you know, leaving everything.”

  “ Or everyone?”

  “Well, both, I guess.”

  “I would have left the job regardless.” She laughed softly. “To say that it was a dead-end career path would be an understatement. So that is no’ a consideration. There are other thin’s though… The knowin’ I may no’ see my family again.” She glanced at Elora, then immediately back at the road. “The knowin’ I may no’ see home again.

  “And ‘tis almost as hard knowin’ the same ‘tis true for Duff. I have no idea how hard these thin’s will be wearin’ on him over time. I can no’ say ‘tis no’ a worry.”

  “But you don’t have a choice, do you?”

  Song shook her head and laughed. “But we do no’ have a choice, do we?”

  They rode in silence for some time, each lost in their own thoughts about what the future might bring, good and bad. A little before nine, Elora’s phone rang. She reached down into the bag at her feet and looked at the phone face. It was Glen.

  “Hey, Glen. Isn’t it either late or early or something for you to be calling?”

  “I’m over here, too. Well, Ireland. Not the same thing, I know. But I’ve run down that errand for you.”

  Elora looked over at Song, wondering if the word irony could possibly be accented in a bigger font followed by more exclamation points than she was imagining.

  “Thank you. Actually, I’m in a car on a road trip…”

  “Oh. If you’re driving, I can call back later.”

  “No. I’m not driving. In fact, what I was going to say is that one of the people concerned with the outcome is in the car with me, driving in fact. I can’t reveal the identity of my companion, but I’m going to put the phone on speaker if you don’t have any objection.”

  “None.”

  “Good. Just a sec.”

  Song glanced away from the road just long enough to meet Elora’s eyes in a questioning way. Elora balanced the phone on the console out of the way of the gear box and said, “Okay, Glen, go ahead.”

  “I can assume the third party is privy to extra-normal conversations?”

  “Yes. You can.”

  “Right. So you want the long version or the short version?”

  Elora looked at her watch. “We’ve got an hour and full bars.”

  Glen took a deep breath. “Okay, here goes. Believe it or not the trail led to a hermit in a cave. Weird. Even weirder than it sounds. It was kind of Yoda meets Jack Kerouac.”

  Elora shook her head like she had the face-to-face feature turned on. “No idea, Glen.”

  “Never mind. We never would have found the place if it wasn’t for Rosie’s particular talents. She’s like a supernatural hound dog.”

  “Uh-huh. Did you tell her that?”

  “No. And you won’t either if you want any more favors.” Elora chuckled. “So this guy, the hermit, he’s an elf. If you want a picture, he’s middle-aged, but good-looking, dressed like a biker of all things. Wasn’t especially glad to see us, but he did make tea for Rosie and, when I told him this professor at Oxford named Puddephat sent us, he said he’d talk.”

  As Glen recounted the story of the migration of the children of Danu to the Briton Isles, Song looked over at Elora from time to time as if to judge her reaction. Elora did the same in return and noticed Song’s brow creasing in the middle.

  “That’s it,” he concluded.

  “Stunning, Glen. It sounds like this Finrar could be a future candidate for a Nobel Peace Prize.”

  Glen sno
rted. “First, show me the peace. Then we’ll talk about the prize.”

  “It’s a start and it could be more important than you could begin to guess. To me. To the person I’m with and to,” Elora looked at Song and smiled, “all the Dana.

  “I owe you one for this. Need just one more thing. Type it up and email it to me? Please?”

  “Yeah. Okay. I was going to say you didn’t owe me before the typing thing.”

  Elora chuckled. “See you at home.”

  “Bye.”

  Elora closed the phone, put it back in the bag, and looked over at Aelsong whose attention wasn’t deviating from the road straight ahead. They were coming into the southern outskirts of Aberdeen and would be swinging west of the city veering toward the airport to the northwest. The traffic had picked up noticeably and the hour was high commerce, both good reasons for Song to be concentrating on driving.

  They drove past cultivated fields, industrial parks and golf courses, all managing somehow to coexist in the unlikely presence of the other. Elora took a look at the map to be sure she knew the next turn to expect and then allowed her own thoughts to drift. When Song did speak, it almost startled her.

  “So there’s no’ the hair’s difference between us. Elf and fae.”

  “No. I suspected as much. I had to have a transfusion of a lot of blood to survive and the blood they gave me was fae. I survived. And I haven’t had a single impulse to make haggis.”

  Song did laugh at that. Few could learn to love the haggis once they started taking meals out of a highchair.

  “You’d asked Glen to look into the, em, situation?”

  “Yes. When I first learned about the hostilities, I asked your brother about the why of it. He didn’t have an answer, but I thought that could be simply because history isn’t his major area of expertise.”

  “My brother is thrice blest to have a lovely wife such as yourself, one who puts thin’s so delicately,” she smirked.

  “Well, Song, it’s not as if he does not have his areas of expertise. Believe me. He does.”

  “Takin’ your word.”

  “So more from personal curiosity than anything, I began asking others when the opportunity presented itself. When I couldn’t find anyone who knew, I checked online and then even asked the crusties at The Order. Drew a blank.”

  Song looked confused. “Drew a blank?”

  “Hmm? Oh. Sorry. It means I came up with nothing. About the same time, in an enchanting demonstration of synchronicity I noticed the spark that was struck between you and the prince.”

  “Oh.”

  “When I talked to Duff at Rammel’s Hall of Heroes induction I told him that I would be trying to find an inroad into weakening the obstacles. It’s taken a lot longer than I hoped. Your prince got tired of waiting and I don’t blame him. Once I knew who Ram was to me, I don’t think I could have waited so long.” Elora pointed at a sign.

  “Take that one north. I think we’re only fifteen minutes away.”

  Song took in a quivering breath. “How do I look?”

  Elora looked her over appreciatively. “Beautiful as a bride.”

  Song’s phone rang. “Aye?” Smile. “We’re almost there.” Pause. “Elora says she thinks fifteen minutes. What am I lookin’ for?” Pause. “Hmm. Aye.” She hung up then grinned at Elora. “’Tis happenin’.”

  “Aye. ‘Tis,” Elora teased her. Aelsong looked worried. “What’s wrong?”

  “You have a breathmint?”

  “Yes.” Elora opened a tin and handed it to her.

  “Um. Ginger.”

  After one dead end, two illegal u turns, three honks, and a phone call to Duff they saw the Aeromax Hangrow sign and pulled in next to the secured entry. Aelsong just nodded when the guard said, “Good mornin’.” He checked IDs against the names on his list and opened the gates. “Follow the yellow line and keep to the right.”

  As they drove through, Song and Elora both breathed a huge sigh of relief. When they rounded the end of the building, the landscape opened out again. They had a clear view of the tarmac, the landing strip and environs, the hangar row, several small propeller planes that sat invitingly like giant toys, and the figure of a handsome fae prince with his solicitor.

  It took some effort to keep from gunning the accelerator, but soon enough the vehicle came to a stop next to a sparkling new plane with steps down. Song put the car in park, but didn’t get the ignition turned off before the door was ripped open by an impatient lover. Song was fumbling with the seat belt latch. Elora calmly reached over and released it for her, then turned off the ignition.

  He pulled her into his arms and stared at her face like he’d never seen her before. She did the same with him. The crisp morning air laden with Scotia moisture made breath visible.

  Though Peyton Innes hadn’t been told why he had worked at least sixty-three miracles in a handful of days, or why he had driven the prince of Scotia to Aberdeen early that morning to wait by a brand new checked out, tricked out, fueled up, and ready to go airplane, he now had the key to the mystery.

  Even a thickskulled old rugby player could recognize the look of mates kept apart. But why would that cause his future king to dissolve into a reckless mess? Pizza in the rain! With tour guides no less!

  At that Aelsong opened up her beautiful mouth and said, “Duffy” so softly, but not softly enough that Innes didn’t hear the Irish accent.

  The expression on Innes face was truly horrified. His naturally ruddy complexion turned a little purple. When he could speak he said, “’Tis an elf, Duff! Set it away from ye, man!”

  He said it as if he believed Aelsong Hawking to have a highly contagious and deadly disease. In his horrified state, Innes didn’t see Elora come around the car moving so fast it was almost a flash, but he did know when he was taken firmly by the arm. Jerking his head to the side to see who would have the nerve to touch him in that manner, he came face to face with a pink-haired woman who stood nearly at eye level.

  “Shhhh,” she said. “Be quiet now. Please.”

  Innes tried to jerk his arm away. When he found it trapped in her grip, his eyes widened in surprise.

  Duff angled his body toward them while keeping his arm around Song’s shoulders. “Peyton, my friend, this is my mate, Aelsong Hawking.”

  Innes looked like he might faint. He swallowed hard. “Hawking?” he finally managed.

  “Aye. She’s exactly who you’re thinkin’ she is and understand this. I did no’ choose her from a lineup of beautiful girls.” He looked down at her. “Although I would’ve.” She rewarded him with the dazzling Hawking smile he lived and breathed for. He pulled his gaze back to Innes. “And she did no’ choose me. We’re mated. You know what that means as well as I. Whate’er mysterious process put you with your Heather, the same paired me with Song.

  “Perhaps there’s a higher purpose at work. Certainly, in the dark hours, it has occurred to me. In the end though, I do no’ know and ‘tis no’my principal concern.

  “I know ‘tis damn inconvenient and likely to be more trouble than I can guess before ‘tis done. But I would no’ change it. The only thin’ on Earth I’m sure of is that whatever bother comes, she’s more than worth it.”

  Innes took in the way that Aelsong Hawking was looking at Duff Torquil and knew that the prince was right. It wasn’t as if they were human. They didn’t have a choice in the matter.

  He looked at Elora. “Unhand me, woman.”

  Duff nodded toward Elora. “This is my solicitor, Peyton Innes. Peyton, this is my mate’s sister-in-law, Elora Laiken Hawking. I suppose that means she is my sister-in-law by matin’.”

  She smiled. “Just Elora Laiken.” She removed her hand from Innes’ arm and offered it to him to shake instead. “How do you do, Mr. Innes?”

  Innes looked at her hand reluctantly, but finally shook. He lifted one brow. “You do no’ sound like an elf.”

  “I am married to one though.”

  “Mmmmph.”


  Duff turned to Song. “Let’s see what you brought. We need to finish loading and go.”

  “Is Mr. Innes our pilot?” Song asked looking at Innes warily.

  Duff laughed and gave her a kiss on the cheek. “No, love. That would be me.”

  “Oh.” She seemed delighted as she handed him the next bag. Song glanced over at Elora and some concern seemed to move across her features. She stood on tiptoe and said something in Duff’s ear to which he nodded.

  They were ready to go in minutes.

  “Duff,” Innes began, but the prince cut him off.

  “You do no’ need to worry about your involvement. Your fiduciary duty superseded all other concerns in this matter. No matter what comes of this, you’re in the clear.”

  “I was no’ goin’ to say…” He looked at Aelsong. “If you need anythin’, you can call.”

  Duff was clearly moved. He gripped Peyton by a shoulder. “Pey. Was no’ expectin’ that kindness. No’ at all. Thank you.”

  “Do no’ be maudlin, little brother. ‘Tis adventure ahead, aye?”

  “Aye.” Duff’s eyes crinkled around the edges with the sort of affection that ages like a patina over time. He felt Song pull at his sleeve. “Oh. One last thing. My new sister-in-law is practically a student driver and still learnin’ right side rules at that. If you could manage to drive her and her little Vaux back to Charlotte Square safely, ‘twould be much appreciated.”

  Innes looked from Elora to the silver Vauxhall. “Aye. It can be arranged.”

  Aelsong embraced Elora and put her cheek next to Elora’s ear so she could whisper. “Sister, mine. Tell him why you did this and he’ll no’ be angry for long.”

  When Song pulled away, Elora asked, “Is that a guess, Song? Or a vision?”

  The answer was a wink, a smile, and one more hug.

  Elora stayed to watch the gleaming white plane taxi and take off. The mist had not only cleared, but given up for blue sky. She chose to take it as a sign.

  She twirled the keys in her hand and turned to go, noticing that Innes was apparently engaged in some serious dialogue with a hangar employee. She started for the car, but was intercepted.