“Skylar?” I asked.
He’d calmed down a bit, though his wings were still unfurled and humming as if ready to take flight. I gave him some room, but touched his shoulder so he’d know I was here to support him.
“I want an apology,” he said with his head held high. When Cedrych opened his mouth, Skylar interrupted him. “Not from you, Cedrych, from the queen.”
Skylar directed his hot glare towards the fae sovereign as eyebrows rose all around, including those of the queen herself.
“An apology?” she asked with an icy chill to her voice. “Whatever for?”
“You know what for,” Skylar said, squaring his shoulders. “But I’ll give you a hint. It’s something along the lines of ‘guildless, unremarkable bit of fae trash.’”
She blinked slowly and said with a stubborn lift to her chin, “I simply spoke the truth.”
“Your Majesty,” Vasil said with a deferential dip of his head, and the man must have some sway because the queen, visibly perturbed, frowned in response.
“My apologies to you, Skylar Larkspur, for pointing out your deficiencies to my son, who was clearly bewitched by your puzzling allure, a condition which has taken altogether too many moons to remedy.” She waved her hand as if pardoning a subject. It was a shit apology, and everyone knew it, but you couldn’t exactly call out the queen for her passive aggression without somerepercussions.
“And I want any present or future claims on me or my offspring formally renounced,” Skylar said.
The queen’s eyes narrowed slightly, and after a quick recovery, she practically spat out, “Gladly. Consider you and your progeny officially and eternally renounced.” She pivoted toward the elvish lord and said loud enough for all present to hear, “Lord Vasil, the air here reeks of wet dog, and I have a severe allergy to fleas. May we depart?”
“Say your goodbyes, Cedrych,” Vasil said to the shamefaced prince.
The prince stepped forward, bowed deeply to Skylar and said, “I’m sorry, Sky, for hurting you and mistreating you. I hope one day you might be able to forgive me.”
“I’ll consider it,” Skylar said without any further assurances. He shot the imposing Lord Vasil a nervous glance then said to Cedrych. “Did he give you that?” Skylar asked, motioning to Cedrych's black eye.
“No, that was my own doing. Starting fights with the wrong person again.”
“You do have a habit of doing that,” I said.
“Indeed,” was the prince's clipped response.
“Well, good luck in the elvish territories,” Skylar offered.
“I’m sure going to need it,” the prince said with a rakish grin.
“Now, back to the castle, you cur, before you cause any more trouble,” Lord Vasil said to Cedrych right before cuffing the prince’s neck with his free hand and marching him back toward their palanquin. I could only speculate as to what theprince’s future with his betrothed might hold. We watched as they filed into their litters, draped with emerald curtains and embellished with jewels of every kind, which seemed counterintuitive to flight, as well as tempting for any rogue gang of bandits, but their safety was not my concern.
Their caravan took to the air soon after on the shoulders of their fae attendants and Skylar sagged into me as if about to collapse. I thanked my kin for showing up yet again and led Skylar back into the cool shade of the bar.
“That was unexpected,” I said.
“Yes,” he said faintly, plucking up a bar napkin to blot the shimmer of sweat on his face and neck. Seated beside me again, he slid the envelope back toward me. I reflected on our conversation and the demands he’d made of the queen. Strange for him to want her to renounce all claims, unless…
I studied my boy a little closer. Bouts of nausea and fatigue with a slight flush to his cheeks. A test with results that might make me, according to him, feel trapped. All of this cloak and dagger business with a secret sorcerer. Could it be that my fae was with child?
“Skylar, are you pregnant?” I asked.
He glanced up in wide-eyed surprise, blinked rapidly, then slowly nodded. “Yes, Hiero, I am. I only found out recently, and that was why I had to go back to Emrallt Valley, to have a spell cast. This envelope will give you the answer you’re looking for.”
“What answer might that be?” I asked.
“The identity of the child’s sire, of course.”
The answers I was looking for couldn’t be cast by a sorcerer’s spell or written on a fancy piece of paper. The answers I was seeking had to come from the heart–Skylar’s heart. I held up the envelope and studied the fancy wax seal and looping fae scrawl, remnants of the life Skylar had left behind when he journeyed here with only the clothes on his back. I considered his bravery at striking out on his own to preserve his dignity and his trust in allowing another man to care for him, even after all the hurt he’d endured. All that he’d overcome in his traumatic childhood that had wounded his spirit and yet, despite all of that, he was still the kindest, most thoughtful man I’d ever known. He was my sweet, beloved fae darling, and he needed a man to love and take care of him. Not just any man, he needed a Daddy. He needed me.
“Do you want this child?” I asked him.
