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Frowning, I backed away, not wanting to go but well-versed in taking orders. We may not have been the best agents, but it wasn't for lack of trying. I could hear the soft fall of their voices as I closed the door behind me and huddled in the hallway.
"What's going on?" Menolly appeared at the top of the stairs, Delilah right behind her. "I was watching Jerry Springer with Kitten when we thought we heard the Whispering Mirror."
"You did. Trenyth is talking to Trillian. I was asked to leave the room before I could find out what was going on." Still smarting from being told to get out, I glanced back at the door. "My hearing's good, but I can't catch what they're saying."
Menolly winked at me. "Out of the way." She pushed past me and gently pressed her ear to the door. Holding one finger to her lips, she listened.
After a moment, she straightened, her pale complexion even whiter than usual. "In your room," she whispered.
The three of us filed into my room and sprawled on the bed. Delilah pulled the satin comforter around her shoulders, and I joined her beneath the coverlet as Menolly let out a long sigh.
"You'd better prepare yourself. Trillian's being called back to Otherworld. I couldn't catch much else, beyond the fact that the war has shifted, and Queen Asteria needs him for something." She frowned, toying with Belle, the stuffed bear that was sitting on the bottom of my bed. Morio had given Belle to me, and I liked her company.
"What? But he's bound to have a price on his head. What the fuck do they think they're doing in there? What's taking so long?" I jumped out of the bed and yanked off my robe and nightgown, scrambling into a skirt. My hands shook as I fastened the hooks on my bra and slid into a V-neck tank top. "Trillian's just getting over that arrow wound; they can't possibly mean for him to return to duty. Not now. Not yet."
"Listening at the door?" Trillian entered the room and glanced at the three of us. "How much did you hear?"
Menolly shook her head. "Not enough. Only that they want you back in OW pronto."
"What's going on?" I hurried to his side, pressing against him, my hand against the shoulder where the arrow had come close to piercing his heart. "They can't possibly expect you to go back to running messages? You're too well-known. Lethesanar will have all her scouts looking for you."
Trillian shook his head and gently took my hand, kissing each finger lightly before he slipped out of my embrace. "No, Camille. They haven't asked me to go back to spying. It's another mission. One I can't refuse. Remember, I gave my oath for as long as the war lasts. I can't back out of the deal now."
"But if you're not going back to running messages, why was Trenyth contacting you?" Delilah asked, bouncing to sit on her knees on the bed. Her long, golden shag was caught up in a pair of ponytails, and her kitty-cat pajamas were bright pink, making her look for all the world like Bubbles, of The Powerpuff Girls.
"It was the most expedient way of getting hold of me." He looked around, then picked up his neatly folded clothes from the quilt rack that stood near the window. "Now, if you girls will excuse me," he said to Delilah and Menolly, "I need to get dressed. I'll have to leave my Earthside clothes here, Camille. I don't have time to take them home. Will you get me my traveling clothes and kit?"
As I mutely hurried to fetch his tunic, trousers, and cape from the closet, Delilah and Menolly quietly withdrew, closing the door behind them. I watched as Trillian slid into the OW clothes. He took on a decidedly magical air as he did so. Sometimes, he seemed to blend in so well over here on Earthside that I forgot just how rich in Fae blood he was. Svartans were actually an offshoot of the elves, from long, long ago, and the two races normally distrusted each other. But the civil war in Y'Elestrial had brought them together on the same side.
"I don't want you to go," I finally said, debating on whether to stand by like a good Guardsman's daughter and cheer on my lover, or to be honest. "I don't want you to die. We need you here, in the fight against the demons." After a pause, I added, "I need you."
Trillian exhaled sharply. "I know. I know you need me, and I know that the demons are a far greater threat than any war back in OW. But trust me, please. I wouldn't go if it weren't terribly important. And important, it is. Camille," he said, placing his hands on my shoulders and staring into my eyes. "Don't try to stop me. Not this time. You'd regret doing so if you knew the reason. And I can't tell you what it is, not yet. All I can say is that you need to let me leave without an argument."
There was something in his words. A warning, a promise… all wrapped into one. I gazed at his face, searching for any clue, but the only thing I could see was myself, reflected in his eyes.
"All right," I heard myself saying. "I won't try to keep you. And I won't ask where you're going. But Trillian, you come back to me. Alive. Please?"
He buried his face in my neck, kissing my skin with his warm, honeyed lips. Muffled by my hair, he said, "I'll be back. I promise. But listen to me," he added, searching my face. For once, his arrogance slid away, leaving raw pain—and love. "If something does happen to me, then tell that lizard that it's up to him to protect you. Morio would die for you, yes, but Smoky can protect you better than he ever could. More… more than I can ever hope to. Do you understand?"
Not wanting to even go down that path, I shook my head. "Don't talk like that—don't even joke about it. You're coming back, do you understand? If you don't, I'll come find you, no matter where you are."
"No. Your job is here, guarding the portals, stopping the demons. We are at war, Camille, on several fronts. You're the daughter of a Guardsman. You will not shirk your duty." He kissed me lightly on the forehead. "Don't worry about me. I can take care of myself. I'll be back." And then he fastened his lips on mine, and the world ground to a screeching halt as we kissed, long and slow, bathed in fire and frost.
After a moment, he let go and slid his cape over his shoulders. "I'll go via Grandmother Coyote's portal. Trenyth will be waiting for me on the other side. Take care of your sisters. Take care of Iris and Maggie. And most of all, take care of yourself. I need you, Camille. Just as you need me."
Before I could say a word, he turned and slipped out of the room. I hurried to follow him, but he was a dark shadow against the staircase, and before I knew what was happening, he'd opened the door and hurried down the porch steps and vanished into the shadows of the early morning.
I folded my arms over my chest to protect myself from the chill as I gazed toward the eastern sky. The first hints of dawn were vaguely forming, fingers of pale light that penetrated the diminishing veil of night. Not sunrise, not for awhile, but the promise was there. The sky was clear for a change, stars still shimmering in the night. The moon had gone to bed; she was sleeping as she traveled on her journey out of her dark phase. Yet I could feel her pull even now.
The faint chirping of early morning birdsong echoed through the stillness. I turned my attention toward the oak in the yard, beneath which Feddrah-Dahns had settled, sleeping. Even in slumber, he looked regal. As I watched, Delilah and Menolly joined me on the porch. Menolly glanced at the sky, checking her safety zone.
"This is as light as it ever gets in my world," she said offhandedly. "At least, unaided by lanterns or lightbulbs."
I let out a deep sigh. "I wish I could change that for you. I wish I could change a lot of things. Trillian's gone home to OW. He wouldn't tell me why, only that it was of extreme importance. Meaning he'd be dog meat if he refused, considering Tanaquar still holds his contract."
"I wish he could stay," Delilah said. "So much is happening."
"What do you think will happen now that Chase's boss is dead?" I asked.
