“I will. And I'll be back as soon as I can but if there's an emergency, just use the lodestone to bring me home.”
“You're not wearing the paired stone,” Malik pointed out.
Lodestones, or calling stones, were Danutian charms that can be paired together much like ICDs. The pairing can even be done with multiple stones, though I don't know the limit. When one lodestone is activated, it turns into a magical magnet that pulls the other paired stone—and its wearer—to itself. But you need to have skin-to-skin contact for them to work. If Malik tried to summon me with a lodestone, the paired stone in Danu would pulse to alert me. If I were wearing it, I would automatically be pulled straight to Mal and that other stone but if I had it in a pocket or something like that, I'd have time to decide whether or not I wanted to allow myself to be summoned. It was a nice backup to have in case of an emergency when I was in Danu.
“The paired stone is in Danu, Mal. I'll put it on when I get there, I promise.”
“All right,” he conceded, then kissed me. “I love you, Amara. You are everything to me. Remember that and be careful for my sake if not your own.”
“I love you too.” Then turned my attention to Kyrian to add, “Both of you.”
Then I twisted back to Danu.
Chapter Fifteen
Everan was dressed and waiting for me in the living room of his suite. We each had our own set of rooms that adjoined each other's in the Royal Residence. Evidently, royals do not share bedrooms, not even if they were married. But when I was there, we slept in Everan's bed and generally spent most of our time in his suite.
“Good morning,” I said before I kissed him.
“Good morning.” He stroked my cheek. “Is Kyrian well?”
“Yes, they're all fine. I let Malik and Cyprian know what's happening too.”
“Good.”
I didn't mention the Silver Tongue or what Malik had said about the disastrous ways that Danu could die. Ever had enough to worry about as it was and there wasn't anything he could do about either of those things. Sometimes kindness is about knowing when to keep your damn mouth shut.
“I'm going to get changed,” I took his hand from my cheek and kissed it. “I think we should visit Sairana.”
“I agree. We need some answers.”
I headed into my suite and then into my dressing room. Putting together an outfit appropriate for hiking and possibly mountain climbing was difficult with the queenly selection I'd been given but I finally found some leather pants, boots, and a cotton tunic. I added some gloves and a leather vest for good measure. Then I braided back my hair and left the dressing room. Everan walked into my bedroom just as I was fastening my lodestone around my neck. He had a sword strapped to his waist.
“A sword?” I lifted a brow. “Are you expecting trouble?”
“Best to be prepared for anything. I thought we'd save some time and twist to the Lasai Range with a couple of knights. I'd prefer there to be fewer witnesses to our conversation.”
“I agree and I'm all for twisting instead of spending an hour in a carriage.”
We left my rooms and strode down the corridor that connected our suites. The main entrance to the royal residence stood between our suite doors but on the opposite wall. On the wall beside it was a communication panel—AKA an intercom. Everan pushed a button in the panel and waited.
“Yes, Your Majesty?” a voice came through the speaker.
“Send Sir Kevel and Sir Varna up to the residence,” he commanded. “Tell them to wear their light armor.”
“Yes, Sire.”
We waited for the knights in Ever's living room. It didn't take long for them to reach us. Around ten minutes went by and then a sharp knock came at the residence door. Since they'd been summoned, they didn't wait for a response but came right in—manners are a bit different when dealing with a monarch.
Sir Kevel was blond as most Danutians are, sleekly muscled as all knights are, and dressed in leather armor instead of the usual steel. Sir Varna was also fit and dressed in leather but she was a woman (yes, female knights are called Sir) and her hair was a rich, earthy brown. Dark hair is rare and prized as the height of beauty among Danutians—the darker, the better. This had been a comfort to me when I'd met one of Everan's ex-consorts—a blonde. I wasn't feeling so comfortable now. Varna's hair was even darker than my mahogany tresses.
I glanced at my husband with a lifted brow; he'd just done the equivalent of summoning a supermodel to escort us. I briefly wondered if this beautiful knight had ever warmed my husband's bed. Everan glanced at me, did a double-take when he noticed my grimace, then blinked in confusion.
“Is there a problem?” Everan asked me.
I looked over his expression; he really didn't get it. And that made it less annoying and more humorous. “Not at all, darling,” I purred. “Shall we?”
“We're twisting to the Lasai mountains. In particular, to the section of road where we met Sairana,” Everan instructed the knights. “I assume you both recall it.”
