“Tyson called,” Nana said. “They’ll be here soon. Are you ready?”
Ben nodded. “Thanks, Nana.”
She smiled and hurried away again. The woman never sat still for more than a minute. Sometimes Ben wondered if she even slept. With a chuckle at his own dramatic thoughts, Ben moved to Koios’s side and reached for his tablet.
He checked that the connection to the monitor was off, then opened the note he’d created a while back when he’d learned of Cosmo’s decision to marry Silenus, the king of the Unseelie. His old friend didn’t care about all the formalities that came with his role, but Ben did. He wanted to show Cosmo his respect, at the very least. They’d been friends for too long for Ben to do any less.
Within a couple minutes, the static buzz of their wards alerted Ben to a powerful arrival. Cosmo’s hobgoblin bodyguard, Garzaxie, could have come through them, but it was a sign of respect on their part that they didn’t. It made Ben even more glad he’d taken a few minutes to study his notes.
A giant fae warrior entered the room first. He scanned the area and didn’t seem to find any of them remotely threatening. Ben held back a laugh as Cosmo came in behind the guard and rolled his eyes dramatically. His attaché, Tyson, and Garzaxie entered next and stood on either side of Cosmo.
Ben lowered his head. “Greetings, Cosmo, King Consort of the Unseelie realm and friend of the Jerrick pack. We’re honored by your visit and have gifts to show our thanks.”
Cosmo huffed and Ben raised his head enough to see his old friend glowering at him over the formal greeting. “Greetings, Ben, Healer Bear of the Jerrick pack and friend of the fae. I’m honored by your invitation and am grateful for the gifts. Especially if those are honey biscuits I smell.”
Ben lifted his head and grinned. “Would I offer you anything less?”
Cosmo laughed and turned to the others in the room. “Taj, don’t you dare do the greeting again. Ben did it for everyone in the room. I know we’ve gotta be formal occasionally, but once is enough for my dearest friends. Koios, I heard about your attack and your health scare. I hope you’re doing better.”
“I am, King Consort Cosmo. Healer Ben is taking very good care of me.”
“Sweet words for…hmm, your magic is very interesting. Why didn’t I know this about you?”
“We’re finding out now,” Ben said. “And after we eat, I’m hoping you can shed some light on a few things for us.”
“I’ll do my best.” Cosmo winked at Iris before holding out his hand to her. “I’m delighted to spend time with the daughter of rainbows.”
Iris grinned. “How’d you know my name?”
Cosmo sent her a puzzled frown. “Your name?”
Iris paused and shot Koios a glance. “Yes. Iris. I’m named after the Roman goddess of rainbows.”
“I see,” Cosmo said. “Well, someone knew what they were doing because you’re one of Electra’s harpies. I’d recognize that golden goddess hair anywhere.”
Garzaxie poked Cosmo in the side. “She is not one of Electra’s. She is not of the fae.”
Cosmo scowled down at his guard. “Clearly, she is. Unless…oh my goddess, you’re one of Koios’s sisters. I’m such an idiot. Please forgive me, sweet Iris. Let me give you first choice of sweets as penance.”
Iris accepted the hand Cosmo held out to her. “I don’t know what it means to be one of Electra’s harpies. Maybe…maybe after you help my brother, you could…tell me about my heritage?”
“I would be honored.” Cosmo turned to Tyson. “And this is my exact point. We’ve got to find a way to discover fae-blooded like Iris without it turning into…well, some manhunt or something freaky. But she deserves to know and…urgh!”
“Our king does not believe we should send out a spell to locate all of the fae in the human realm,” Tyson said. “It would be incredibly intrusive at the very least.”
“I know. I know. Bad shit happens when you open magical doors like those, and I don’t want anyone to feel like we’re chasing them down. I’ll figure it out.”
“Easy spell,” Garzaxie griped. “So easy even dwarves could manage.”
“Ix-nay on the arves-dway, arzaxie-Gay.”
Garzaxie sighed. “This secret language of yours is atrocious. I could teach you hobgoblin and then no one would spy on your words.”
Cosmo sighed. “Let’s just eat and forget I said anything. I swear, I’m the ball on the maypole these days. One hit and I’ll be spun all the way to the end of my rope!”
“But you’ll have honey biscuits,” Iris said. “So, it could be worse.”
“The fair maiden speaks the truth!” Cosmo plopped down in the chair and put a couple biscuits on his plate. After a split second of hesitation, he added a third.
