26
Willow
My father was sitting at my breakfast table. Keeper looked at me apologetically, her face pinched with worry. I gave her a nod, letting her know it was okay. She couldn’t very well not let my father in my home, any more than my guards could keep out of my compound. Until I came of age, I was ultimately under his control.
“Sit down,” I told Ghost. He hurried over to his seat at the breakfast island.
“He eats with you?” my father asked as if it wasn’t entirely evident by my actions that he did.
“When we’re home alone like this, yes,” I replied testily.
“I see.”
“Why are you here?” It was a valid question. This was rather early in the morning for a casual drop-in because he just happened to be in the neighborhood. Not that he ever simply dropped in anywhere casually.
“I have news,” he said, picking up a piece of buttered toast and taking a bite. He chewed languidly.
Keeper handed me a cup of tea, and I sipped it, the sweetness sweeping over my taste buds, the warmth suffusing my bones. I frowned, glancing at Ghost’s nipples. They were pebbled. “Why is to so cold in here?”
“It’s the freezer, Lord Willow,” Keeper answered. “The amulet came adrift and rolled into the broom closet where it got stuck in a crack in the floorboard. It activated, and now the broom cupboard is a giant walk-in freezer while the freezer is warm.”
Which meant that not being insulated, the closet leeched artic temperatures into the kitchen. I walked over to the broom closet and spotted the amulet sticking up through the frosty floorboards. I gave it a yank and it snapped in half.
“Well, damn,” I said.
“You break it?” Father asked.
“Yes, I did.”
“Well, at least you broke the spell,” he said.
“I’ll send a shimmer to Faekea and order a replacement,” Keeper said.
“Thank you, Keeper.” I took my seat, picking my tea back up, sipping it and enjoying the warmth. “So, what’s the news?”
“The Queen’s invited you to a dinner.”
Had she now? No doubt, she wanted to get a good look at my human toy boy.
“I’ll answer the invitation after I present Ghost at court.”
“Whatever for?”
“You’ll see.”
“That’s what I’m afraid of.”
I shook my head, refusing to say anything further. Once I got him to leave, I’d send one of the guards with the traditional hand-printed message requesting Ghost’s recognition and presentation to the Crown. They’d log it and tell the Queen of the petition. She’d either agree to his certification outright or ask for him to pass a test. I was really hoping she’d ask for the test. It’d give me a reason to log my first kill target. Their death would raise the Queen’s ire so much that they’d do everything short of killing me to get revenge. All within the rules, as would be me doing what I must to save myself. One thing everyone seemed to overlook and which I had researched quite thoroughly: the rules forbade them from taking a contract out for my death. It did not prevent me from taking out one on them.
I snickered.
“What’s so funny?” Father asked, looking at me suspiciously.
“Oh, you’ll see,” I told him again.
He threw his hands up in the air in exasperation. “Just don’t ruin us any more than you have. It’s taken us several decades to regain what status we have.”
“Oh, you don’t need to worry about losing staus,” I replied noncommittally. Gain it, more like.
