I couldn’t let them see me as weak. I’d fought one of them before and wasn’t likely to survive another such fight, not now. But I wasn’t quite sure how to keep them away from Wrassler and Jodi.
Eli stepped forward and bowed to me. “My Queen. Perhaps I might be able to explain.”
I wanted to toss him a queenly wave, but I wasn’t sure how to do it without looking stupid. “Please.”
To the arcenciels, he said, “I am the queen’s highest servant, called her number one.”
I couldn’t stop my smile at theStar Trekreference, but I lowered my head until I could get my grin under control.
“Such matters as marriage ceremonies are deeply personal and private,” Eli said. “Only the closest of cohorts are allowed to attend the ceremony. Even the queen herself would not have attended unless personally invited. You were honored to receive the invitation. But the honeymoon is not by invitation to anyone.”
All three arcenciels looked at me. I nodded, agreeing with Eli.
“We have watched the Council House Chambers,” Storm said. “We do not understand why the maimed one is the choice of the powerful human witch-born woman called Jodi. The honeymoon will show us this.”
Eli stepped closer, saying, “Physical perfection is of less value than strength of spirit and valor and honor. Do you understand such concepts?”
“They are human concepts. We find them peculiar. But we are here to learn. We have been ordered to learn,” Storm said. She frowned at us and demanded, “You will make attending the honeymoon happen.”
Pearl, whose skin held a nacre-like sheen, said, “Sister. We have not tried the negotiation of the words.”
Storm said, “You are better at the negotiation than am I. I will kill them if need be. You may use the words.”
Pearl stood, her clothing glowing faintly in the dim light, and said to Eli, “We have seen the weakness of the Council Chambers’ defenses. The pitiful thing that throws fire has breached the defenses four times.”
I felt Eli tense. We knew of one time. Not four. How had we missed so many incursions?
“One such time she threw fire,” Pearl said. “There was much damage. We are capable of warding the walls and trapping the fire that she throws. This is child’s play to us. And so we protected the walls during the ceremony of marriage between the strong woman and the maimed man with strength of spirit and valor and honor.”
Crap.The Firestarter had tried to attack during the wedding and no one noticed.
Opal said, “We understood that dresses called ball were required. She Who Guards the Rift provided templates.We did not appear strange or different from humans. We stood and sat together and protected with our magic. We observed only. This information is part of the negotiation of words.”
Pearl said, “We did not change shape or form. We did not attack any guests even if they deserved it. We require to be allowed to attend the honeymoon.”
Storm said, “I agree with all that my sisters have spoken.”
I said, “You observed proper etiquette at the wedding. This will be reported to She Who Guards the Rift. However, if you disrupt the honeymoon for any reason except attack from our enemies, you will be banished from my court. And I’ll call Soul and tell her you were incapable of learning and therefore unworthy.”
The arcenciels didn’t pale at the threat, but Opal’s hands fluttered, and Storm leaned against the stones. They looked back and forth between one another, as if talking mind to mind.
“Eli, can you offer a distraction to our arcenciel guests?”
Eli bowed. “Ladies. Have you ever ridden in an armored SUV?”
“No,” Opal said.
“Have you ever been to the human place called the ‘burger joint’ for the human meal of burgers and fries?” Eli asked. “The burger joint is the cornerstone of human existence.”
“No,” Storm breathed. “Is this more important than the honeymoon?”
“Yes,” Eli said with a straight face. “And if you negotiate with the same honor as Wrassler, and remove the request to attend the honeymoon, I’ll take you to the burger joint right now.”
The arcenciels squealed and raced toward Eli. Moments later they were loaded up in Eli’s personal use vehicle, along with Aya, and were trundling away through the busy streets. I didn’t know why Aya was going but figured that Eli knew what he was doing. The human guards went back to patrolling, leaving me surrounded by vamps, Alex standing at my elbow.
Koun said, “My Queen, I have lived two thousand years and been a member of many courts, both human andMithran. And I must say that yours is the most entertaining in two millennia.”
“Never a dull moment,” Tex agreed, and clicked his tongue at his dogs. “Come on, let’s get you babies some steak from the queen’s fridge. She always has the best food, and I have it on good authority that Deon sent over some leftover grub.”
