by Karen Lynch
“Then we shall have to find out. As a faerie, you now have the means to explore both worlds. Do you prefer mountains, desert, or ocean?”
“Father.” Lukas’s tone was sharp this time and held more than a hint of annoyance.
The king frowned at him, and they shared a look I couldn’t decipher. I didn’t know enough about their relationship to read their body language around each other, but I felt like an intruder on a private conversation.
Maurelle laid a hand on her mate’s arm. “Jesse has had an exciting day, and she must be exhausted. Why don’t we let her and Vaerik have some time together?”
The king frowned. “There is a matter of importance I wish to discuss with Vaerik first.”
My stomach tightened with disappointment. “I’ll go so you can talk.”
Lukas’s hand shot out and took mine before I could move away from him. “It’s late, and I’m sure the discussion can wait until the morning.”
For the first time since he’d arrived, I caught a glint of displeasure in King Oseron’s eyes. “Seelie has agreed to meet in two weeks, and there is much to be done to prepare for it.”
“Then it would be best to go over it with the council,” Lukas replied firmly. “If you wish, you and I can talk about it at breakfast.”
I was sure the king would insist they speak now, and he surprised me when he conceded. He did not strike me as someone whose authority was challenged often. But then, neither did Lukas, so they were evenly matched in that respect.
“I will see you at breakfast,” he said to Lukas. His smile back in place, he looked at me. “I am glad you are safely home, Jesse.”
My awe of him had subsided enough to hear the sincerity in his voice. I relaxed a little more.
Maurelle gave me a motherly smile. “I ordered a hot meal for you. It will be here soon.”
“Thank you.”
Lukas walked his mother and father to the door, and they stopped for a moment to speak in lowered voices. It felt rude to watch them, so I retreated to the balcony to wait for him. Kaia followed me, and I rubbed her head as I stared at the distant ocean and hoped there were no more surprises in store for me today. I’d reached my limit, mentally and physically.
I was so lost in thought that I didn’t register Lukas’s presence until he came to lean on the balustrade beside me. He was close enough for our arms to touch, and I leaned toward him to rest my head against his shoulder.
He slipped his arm around me. “I’m sorry about that, Jesse. The last thing you needed tonight was to meet my parents.”
He said it so casually as if he wasn’t referring to the Unseelie king and his consort. I tried to sound nonchalant when I said, “It’s okay. They were nice.”
“They were, but they had no idea what condition you’d be in after what happened to you, and they should have waited for a more appropriate time to introduce themselves.” Lukas dropped his arm and turned toward me. “You would tell me if you were injured.”
I faced him and laid a hand against his chest. “I promise Gus didn’t hurt me. Aside from nearly giving me a heart attack, that is.”
“Gus?”
I grinned, feeling suddenly lighter. “You remember the drakkan I rescued back home? Well, he’s not so little anymore.”
Lukas stared at me. “That was your drakkan? And he remembers you?”
“Yes.” I laughed at his stunned expression. “Trust me; I couldn’t believe it either, and I was there.”
“You need to tell me exactly what happened today.” Lukas took my hand and led me inside to one of the couches. Kicking off my shoes, I sat with my back to the arm and my legs pulled up, but he moved them so my feet rested on his lap. When we were both settled, he said, “Talk.”
I told him about our flight to the cliffs and then to the island, omitting my encounter with the goddess. That wasn’t hard to do because she had done something to me so I couldn’t speak of my time with her. I didn’t like being controlled, but her hold over me lessened the guilt I felt over keeping something so important from Lukas.
Lukas’s brows furrowed. “He flew you straight to the location of the ke’tain?”
“Maybe he’s drawn to it since he had it inside of him for a few months,” I suggested, hoping it would sound feasible enough to satisfy him.
He mulled it over. “That is possible. The island is in the middle of the Ellyon Sea. Drakkans don’t go there because hunting is better close to the mainland.”
“Speaking of the island, how do the guards get there?” I asked. “Do they live in the temple until someone goes to relieve them?”
“There are dedicated portals in Unseelie and Seelie that allow travel to and from the island. The guards use those to change shifts once a day.”
I mulled over that bit of information. “Can anyone use the portals?”
He nodded. “Yes and no. Anyone from Unseelie can use our portals, but the portals won’t work for someone from Seelie. The same applies to their portals.”
“That makes sense.”
We were interrupted by a bell chime. Lukas lifted my legs off him and went to answer the door. A liveried elf entered carrying a large covered tray, which Lukas directed him to set on the small table near the couch. The elf left, and Lukas lifted the cover of the tray to reveal a bowl of seasoned grains topped with meat in a thick cream sauce. The meat was raha, the Fae version of chicken, and it was one of the foods I liked most so far. There was also a salad of leafy greens, a piece of crusty bread, and a glass of juice.
Lukas lifted the tray and settled it on my lap. My mouth watered, and my stomach growled at the sight of the first food I’d seen since the market, which felt like days ago.
I picked up the fork, touched by Maurelle’s kindness. “What about you? You’re not hungry?”
He sat. “Faolin and the others made sure I ate while we were searching for you. Can’t have the crown prince fainting from hunger and falling off his mount.”
A laugh burst from me at the image. “Definitely not.” I ate a few pieces of meat to silence my noisy stomach. “I saw a group of people with torches on tarrans when Gus brought me back. Were you with them?”
“It’s possible. We had people searching the whole valley for you.”
My meal lost all of its flavor, and I set down my fork.
“Do not apologize.” He fixed me with a stern look. “Did you call that drakkan and order him to take you away?”
“No, but you have more important things to do than worrying about me. First, I get sick and then carried off by a drakkan. Maybe it would have been better if I had gone to your island with my family.”
His jaw hardened. “Jesse, you didn’t get sick; you were poisoned, and Faolin will find the person who did it. And do you honestly think I wouldn’t worry about you if you had gone with your parents? Having you here where Davian can’t possibly get to you is the only reason I can focus on the other things.”
My heart squeezed at his admission, and I gave him a small smile. “Remember you said that the next time something happens.”
“Next time?” He let out a pained laugh. “Were you this much trouble in New York?”
I grinned at him. “Wow, you have a short memory.”
Lukas shook his head, laughing. “Eat your food before it gets cold.”
I obeyed happily. This wasn’t exactly what he’d meant when he had asked me to have dinner with him tonight. It was better. I wanted to meet his brother and sister, but I’d take time alone with him whenever I could get it.
“You like it?”
“It’s delicious,” I said around a mouthful of bread. I looked up and caught him watching me with a thoughtful expression. “What?”
“I asked that question in Fae. When did the language come to you?”
Swallowing the food, I said, “You spoke in Fae? Say something else.”
“You have cream sauce on your chin,” he said and grinned when I swiped at it with my finger.
I gaped at him, an
d then I squealed. “I can understand Fae!”
“You speak it, too. It occurred to me that we spoke Fae the whole time my parents were here. I was too preoccupied to realize it then.”
“Is that how it works? I just start speaking the language without even realizing it?” I frowned, trying to remember exactly when it had started.
Lukas seemed to be trying to work that out, too. “From what I’ve heard, it happens gradually over a week or two. You couldn’t understand a word of Fae at the market. Did anything happen on the island that you forgot to tell me about?”
I pretended to think about it because what else could I do? “I entered the temple, saw the ke’tain, and talked to a guard. I guess he was suspicious when I showed up.”
“He spoke to you in Fae?” Lukas asked.
“I don’t know…” I replayed the encounter in my head, and my eyes widened. “He must have. Everyone here speaks Fae to me unless they are told to speak English.”
Lukas nodded. “It has to be the ke’tain then. Or it could be your goddess stone.”
“Maybe it’s both.” I had a strong suspicion Aedhna was responsible, but I couldn’t say that.
A knot formed in my gut. I’d been keeping one secret or another from Lukas since I met him, and I’d thought I was done with that. Now I was forced to keep the biggest one of all from him, and I hated it. I suddenly felt the weight of responsibility Aedhna had laid on me, and I wished I could confide in Lukas. He would do everything in his power to help me, and I wouldn’t have to lie to him.
“Are you okay?”
Lukas’s voice pulled me from my unhappy thoughts, and I gave him a confused look. “Huh?”
“You got quiet for a few minutes.” He smiled tenderly. “You’ve had an exciting day, and you must be tired. Do you want to go to your quarters and rest?”
“No,” I blurted. “I mean I’d like to stay here a little longer, unless you have things to do. I know how busy you are. Your father –”
“Can wait until tomorrow.” He laid a warm hand on my foot. “You can stay as long as you want.”
There was nothing sexual in his tone or the look he gave me, but the thought of spending the night here with him made my stomach flutter. Would he kiss me again? Maybe do more than that?
“Finish your meal,” Lukas ordered, thankfully unaware of my thoughts. “You haven’t eaten enough.”
I resumed eating, and between bites, I talked about my flight with Gus and asked Lukas if they ever used drakkans for patrols. He told me drakkans were too wild and unpredictable to be tamed or domesticated. They were protective of their territory, which made them excellent guardians of the valley, but they’d never attacked or carried off a member of Unseelie. Until today.
I thought about Gus and how he’d behaved with me. There’d been a wildness about him that had scared me at first, but the more time I was around him, the more he was like his old self. He couldn’t have been more than a few months old when I’d rescued him, at an age when he would have been in his nest, shielded from the world by his parents. His early childhood could not have been more different than the other drakkans.
“Gus was hatched in my world away from his parents. All he knew until he came home was the people who stole him and my family. He was a grumpy little guy, but I think he felt safe with us. That’s why he acted the way he did and didn’t hurt me.”
Lukas nodded. “You may be right. A lamal can only be domesticated when they are raised by their owner from birth.”
I looked at Kaia, who was curled up on a rug like a big house cat. It was hard to believe I was ever afraid of her. “So, no one here has tried to raise a drakkan?”
“It’s too dangerous. If you did manage to steal an egg, the parents would pick up the scent and attack until they got their egg back. Your drakkan was taken through a portal, so his parents could not follow.”
I laid my fork on the tray. “Poor Gus. Faris told me his parents wouldn’t accept him back into their nest. I was worried about him until I saw him today. I wonder if I’ll see him again.”
“I’m sure you will.” Lukas picked up my tray and set it on the table. He sat and gave me a long perusal that made me want to look away. Instead, I poked his thigh with my foot.
“It’s not polite to stare.”
He smiled. “There’s something different about you tonight, and I just realized what it is. You’re like the Jesse I knew in New York.”
I cocked an eyebrow at him. “Was I supposed to be someone else?”
“No, but you haven’t been yourself since you came to Faerie, and I didn’t see it until now.” His eyes grew troubled. “I know this is nothing like New York, and you haven’t exactly had an easy start. Are you unhappy here?”
I inhaled deeply and let it out. “I won’t lie and tell you it’s been all roses. It’s definitely an adjustment, and I miss my family and Violet. But I think the hardest thing has been that I have no purpose here.”
He started to respond, and I held up a hand to stop him. “My whole life, I’ve been working toward something. In school, I worked hard to get into a good college. My parents disappeared, and I had to find them and take care of Finch. Then I had to find the ke’tain and provide for my family. I come here, and all I’m expected to do is wear nice clothes and let others serve me.”
Understanding dawned in his eyes. “I was so focused on keeping you safe that I didn’t think about what I was taking from you. How can I help?”
“I want to start training again,” I said without hesitation. God only knew what Aedhna had in store for me, and I wanted to be ready for it. “That’s a start, and then find a job I can do here.”
“Training we can do. We’ll worry about a job later. Do you want to start tomorrow?”
I nodded eagerly. “Yes. And I don’t even care if it’s with Faolin.”
Lukas chuckled and lifted my feet back to his lap again. “What is that human saying? Be careful what you ask for.”
“At least I already know what I’m getting with him.” Warm and content, I adjusted the pillow behind me and settled into a more relaxed position. I let out a huge yawn. Maybe eating a full meal this late hadn’t been a great idea.
Lukas rubbed my foot. “Tired?”
“Not at all,” I lied. “I’m just trying out your couch. It’s more comfortable than mine.”
Amusement filled his tone. “You’re welcome to use it whenever you want.”
“Thanks.”
“Jesse.”
“Mmmm?” I opened my eyes. “I’m awake.”
“Good to know.” He shifted, and then I felt a soft throw cover me. “Sleep well, mi’calaech.”
I sighed happily. “You, too.”
* * *
I woke suddenly and sat up in bed. The dream I’d been having clung to me, and I rubbed my tired eyes as I shook it off. In my dream, I had been flying over the ocean with Gus, but he kept dropping me into the icy water. The last time, he pulled me out right before some monstrous fish had me for dinner.
I flopped back onto my bed, only to shoot up again. This was not my bed.
One glance around the room, which was lit only by a single lamp, told me exactly where I was, and I racked my brain to remember how I’d ended up here. I had been talking to Lukas on the couch. After that, nothing.
I must have fallen asleep, and he’d carried me to his bed – the same bed I’d fantasized about being in only hours ago. However, in my fantasy I hadn’t been alone.
Throwing off the covers, I got out of bed. I was still wearing my clothes from earlier, so I ventured out to the main room in search of Lukas. I found him near the door speaking quietly with Conlan, and they turned to looked at me when I entered the room. Their expressions told me they were in the middle of a serious discussion, so I backed up.
“I didn’t mean to interrupt you.”
Lukas’s face softened. “You didn’t. I’m sorry we woke you.”
“I’m sorry, too.” One corner of Conlan’s
mouth lifted. “There’s nothing worse than having a good sleep interrupted.”
“Conlan.” Lukas shot his friend a stern look. Conlan chuckled and winked at me.
I glanced at the dark sky outside and thought I saw the faint light of morning. Through a yawn I asked, “What time is it?”
“Early. Go back to sleep,” Lukas said, and I noticed he was wearing different clothes from the night before. “My father wants to see me before we meet with his council today.”
I went to sit on the couch. “I thought only humans were workaholics.”
“You don’t have to leave,” Lukas said when I picked up the shoes I’d discarded last night.
I pulled on the shoes and stood. “You have a busy day ahead, and I doubt I’ll be able to get back to sleep now.”
What I didn’t say was that it would be best if I went back to my quarters while everyone else was asleep. No doubt, I was already the talk of the whole court after yesterday, and I had no desire to give them more to gossip about. Me leaving Lukas’s suite in the same clothes I’d worn yesterday would definitely cause a stir.
“I’ll see you later today to hear how your training went,” he said.
Conlan didn’t hide his smirk as he extended a hand to me. “Let me see you back to your quarters.”
“I think I can find my way without getting lost,” I replied irritably, which only heightened his amusement.
He shrugged. “You never know when a drakkan might come and whisk you away. Or you might run afoul of one of Vaerik’s jealous admirers. There are dangers everywhere.”
“Funny guy.” I curled my lip as I walked past him. “To think you used to be my favorite.”
“I am?” he said brightly. “Wait. Used to be?”
Opening the door, I looked back at Lukas. “See you later. Have a good meeting.”
I was halfway across the courtyard when the door opened behind me, and Conlan said, “I took a bullet for you. I am definitely your favorite.”
I kept walking as a grin crept across my face.
* * *
“Where is the gym?” I asked Faris as we stepped onto the lift on my level.
The lift started to descend before he answered. “The training room is on the first level.”