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"Better that than always wondering if I could have saved Trillian." I glanced down the path. "We have to find him. He's like a mirror of myself. My heart says we will, but I can't do it on my own. And maybe… maybe if I find Trillian, I can find Father, too."
Delilah started to protest again, but Menolly shook her head. "We all make choices, Kitten. We all decide on one path over another. You can't stand at the fork in the road forever." She looked meaningfully over to where Chase and Zachary stood in an uneasy truce. "Sometimes, when your playmates won't play together, you have to choose.">A knock on the door interrupted my thoughts. "Camille?" Delilah's voice.
"Come in."
She peeked around the door, giving me a faint grin when she saw us curled up together. "We have visitors. Several of them. I think you'd all better come down before we end up with a magical brawl on our hands."
Oops, that didn't sound good.
"Right there," I said, climbing over Smoky. He traced a finger down my thigh as I slid over his lap, and I felt a tug from my nipples down to the tips of my toes. I caught my breath.
"Later," he mouthed as Morio reached across to place his hand on my leg next to Smoky's. Oh yeah, they'd had "the talk."
Delilah withdrew as Smoky and Morio threw back the covers and climbed out of bed. We dressed quickly. Feeling unaccountably shy, I avoided their gaze—or any other portion of their anatomy—and then we all clattered down the stairs. Actually, Morio and Smoky clattered. I inched my way down, aching with every step, until Smoky noticed.
He marched back up the steps and tossed me over his shoulder without further ado. I started to protest but then, sensing that this would get me downstairs with the least amount of pain, gave in without a fight.
As we hit the hallway, he put me down. I smoothed my dress, and we walked into the living room.
Iris was serving tea all around to our guests. Our guests being Queen Asteria, Rozurial, Titania, and Morgaine. The four of them were spread out on the sofa and love seat. There was no sign of Arturo or Mordred.
"Cripes. We've got enough firepower sitting in our living room to decimate the state." I looked around for someplace to sit.
Smoky dropped into the recliner, and I sat on his lap. Morio squatted by the side of the chair. Delilah was sitting on the ottoman, looking weary and tired. Chase was nowhere in sight. Menolly had gone to bed, of course. I looked around for Maggie, but Iris caught my eye and shook her head.
As she handed me tea and a scone, she whispered, "Best remain silent on some things…"
I nodded and bit into the scone. After a moment, Queen Asteria rose. "Delilah has been telling us what happened to the seal. You could not hold it?"
I swallowed hastily and slurped my tea, wanting nothing more than a huge vat of caffeine in which to bathe my senses. "Two humans and one half-Fae cannot take down two demons and a djinn. Not unless one of us is a superhero. And none of us are that."
She nodded. "Of course. Forgive me. I'm just heartsick about this. I know you all did your best. Even you, young beast," she said, looking at Smoky.
"Please, have you any news of Trillian?" Impulsively, I shoved my cup into Smoky's hand and found myself kneeling at the Elfin Queen's feet. "Anything? At all?"
The furrow in her brow deepened, and she shook her head. "Would that I could say yes, my child, but no. No, there is no news. His soul statue is still whole, as is that of your father's, but nothing has been seen nor heard from them. I'm afraid it's only a matter of time—"
"Don't say that!" I jumped up. "What are you doing to find him?"
She sighed. "War is rough, girl, and there are many losses in every skirmish. We cannot spare men to search for one missing man… or even two. We need the information they carry, so I've sent out rescue teams, but don't get your hopes up. There's little else I can do."
So Smoky was right. The elves weren't going to help, beyond the most superficial of efforts.
"Well, I'm going to do something. I'm binding myself to Smoky and Morio in the Soul Symbiont ritual. Since no one else will go looking for Trillian, we'll do it our own way. I'm bound to Trillian, and though the oath between us is from a different ritual, it should hold true for our purposes."
Delilah gasped and stared at me. "You're what?"
"Don't try to stop me," I warned her, shaking my head. "I'm going through with it. We've faced too many losses already. I refuse to lose Trillian."
She pressed her lips together and murmured a faint assent.
"There's no guarantee that will work—" Queen Asteria started to say, but Titania cleared her throat.
"Let her try. She's loyal to her men. Can you say that of most of our kind? We have other matters to discuss, such as the demons possessing the spirit seal, this Vanzir you spoke of, and the return of the Fae Courts."
Queen Asteria frowned. "As to the spirit seal, there's nothing we can do now but go in search of the fourth. And this time, we must find it first and hold onto it. As to this Vanzir, I know little except that Demonkin are treacherous, and I wouldn't be quick to place trust in one, no matter how changed he says he is."
"That's why we're not," Iris said. "There is a ritual I learned from the shamans of the Northlands to bind demons into servitude. None but the most powerful can resist it. Vanzir has agreed to go through with it and bind himself to the girls and me. Menolly and I had a little talk with him last night. We'll take care of this on the night of the waxing moon. If he breaks the oath, he'll die a horrendously painful death on the spot."
