There were only a few lamps lit; it was early morning and dark still. I hit the switch for themain lights, sending bright beams of illumination down the many rows of books.
“What the freak?” Violet was up, the pitch of her screech probably killing some of the pigeons outside. She had both hands out, and was breathing deeply, like her heart was beating a million miles an hour. When she saw me and Kade, her hands slowly lowered. I realized she had called magic to them when she initially jumped. Even in her sleep she was ready for an attack.
“Sorry,” I said, my brow creasing as I walked toward her. “I should have … been more considerate.”
In my impatience I forgot that Violet was recovering from an attack, and that the other three were no doubt as exhausted as Kade and me. “I just had some news to share, and hopefully you have some for us.”
Baladar, Nikoli, and Rowan were up then too, all of us turning as a cheerfully humming Calista entered the library. She was wheeling a large tray covered in food and coffees. “Good morning. I thought we might all need some breakfast.”
Was this woman a secret magic born? How had she known we were up? She had to have known before I even woke to have time to fetch a tray of food. She better not have security cameras in my suite. I wouldn’t put it past her.
As she passed me, I got a firm hug. “Glad to see you’re feeling better today.”
“How … how did you know we were here?”
She just shook her head, her beaming smile in place. “Never underestimate me, Ari. I see all.”
No doubt my guards had reported to her, but still, she was amazing.
Her eyes flicked to my shoulder and I rubbed at the dull ache unconsciously. “I’m fine.”
Some of her joy dulled, but as Baladar hurried over to her, declaring in a booming, desperate kind of tone that he loved her, she was soon back to her jolly self.
She let out a small snort-laugh, which was totally unlike her. “Those declarations of love would mean a lot more if you weren’t staring at the coffee pot when you said them.”
Baladar focused on her completely then, his icy eyes filled with shots of magic. Calista lasted all of two seconds before she was in his arms, getting her morning kiss. Those two made me happy. Turning away from their PDA, I noticed Violet still seemed a little twitchy. I plucked up a pink iced doughnut, which was one of her favorites, and passed it to her.
Some of her tension eased as she breathed in the sweet bread smell and took a huge bite. “Pink donuts are the best kind of fruit.”
I snorted, because she had a crappy diet and she just did not care. And I was one to talk. Wrap it in bacon or smother it in mac and cheese and I was in love.
Kade, who had made himself comfortable in a large wingback armchair, was already on his second cup of coffee. He had some bagels on a plate too. I was glad to see some of the fatigue fading from his face, but with everything that was happening, him being attacked and partly-shifting, he was not even remotely getting enough sleep to restore his energy. I would have to make sure he slept first tonight.
“So, Arianna, what do you need to tell us?” Baladar looked completely unruffled, holding his mug in a refined manner.
I wasted no time on pleasantries, telling them everything about my unexpected kidnapping and what Kade and I thought the Dark Fae Lord wanted that second crystal for.
After I had finished, Baladar said, “What would you like us to do first?”
“First, some type of blocking spell. He sees everything we do, and if we’re going to beat him to the stone, that has to stop.” I paced the library as the magic born stared at me.
“It would be too hard to spell the entire royal estate and all of our energy signatures,” Baladar started slowly.
My wolf rose up and the growl ripped from my mouth before I could stop it.Dammit.There was no way for us to plan anything if he could just see straight into our world.
Kade stood. He had finished his food and coffee now, and was looking alert. “Well, we’ll just have to focus on us, and not the castle.”
Baladar rubbed his chin. “Intriguing … explain further.”
“Well, I’m no magic born, but what if you could spell some jewelry or something and we could wear th—”
Violet leapt up. “Yes! It would take very little magic that way. We don’t bother to hide the castle. We spell necklaces to shroud our energy signature from magical prying eyes. It will be simple. That way, if the Dark Fae Lord spies on the castle, he won’t see what we’re doing.”
Baladar nodded. “We can hide the important people, and leave enough of the others around so he doesn’t get too suspicious.”
Yes, this was a plan I could work with. “He’ll wonder where we have gone, and that should get him nice and nervous. Maybe he’ll make a mistake.” I pointed to Violet and Baladar. “Can you two please start on the necklaces? Nikoli, Rowan, and I will continue with the spell to find this dark crystal. We have to get to it before the dark fae.”
No one argued. For once, they all acted like I was actually their queen, and hurried off to follow my orders.
