Page 38 of Fatality on the Field

I suck in a breath as I mask the irritation at Alwyn’s dramatics. For a man who has no intention of letting Liam take the throne unless he’s somehow killed or jailed, his pretend concern is very grating. “Your Majesty, there was an agreement in place with the Prince of Hell that allowed us safe passage, and it was honored. Liam is safe and unharmed.”

“Not to mention that you sent me to this realm to study so that I might expand the diplomacy of Faerie and our court, and I’m doing so. How can you be disappointed or angry that I’m following your edicts?” Liam crosses his arms over his chest, his lips curled a little as he looks at the mirror with a satisfied expression. “As far as I know, you have not made in-roads to agreements with the demons of Hell for most of my lifespan. This will serve us well to nurture.”

Alwyn pauses, sitting back in his fancy-ass chair as he thinks about Li’s statement. “That is true. Having a connection there could increase trade for us where the other courts do not have such an advantage, and perhaps lead to other beneficial deals that would rid us of problems.”

Here we go… he’s scheming, so Liam might have him.

“There are many possibilities,” my friend says carefully. “I’d prefer to explore them carefully, via my new connections, before anyone else gets involved. Demons are cantankerous, and their ways are delicate. You should allow me the latitude to develop the relationship without interference from your advisors, so it goes well.”

The king looks at someone outside the view of the mirror spell, and once he gets whatever silent response he wanted, he finally nods. “Granted. You will be in charge of cultivating a new bond with the rulers in Hell that will benefit Daybreak. Kaspar will not be punished for his poor judgment in allowing you to abscond to another realm with no warning or method of contact.”

Liam cuts in before I say something stupid out of pure spite, his fake smile pasted on. “Thank you, Father. You truly are the wisest of all kings in the realm of our people.”

That’s a bit far, but Alwyn’s preening says he didn’t notice the undercurrent of sarcasm in my friend’s tone.

“Yes, well… the others pale in comparison, for certain.” There’s a noise in the periphery again, and it distracts the king for a moment. He leaves us waiting until whatever it is clears up and then finally turns back to the mirror. “Unfortunately, I must go, son. There are far too many things a ruler needs to do in a day, and they will not get done without me. Keep me informed.”

I watch the mirror wave and blink with magical light as the connection breaks with a derisive snort. “That man barely wipes his own ass anymore.”

“Probably hasn’t for half a millennium,” Liam chuckles as he shakes his head. “But at least he’s off our asses now. I don’t want that shit distracting us while we try to clear the cub and protect Morgana. There’s way too much shit for him to be a problem as well.”

Running my hand through my hair, I nod. “Agreed. The last thing we need is Knaves or a bunch of political flunkies flooding this campus right now.”

“Okay. With that incredibly unpleasant thought in mind, let’s go get cleaned up and shit so we can go back to Morgana’s. I’m tired of pompous fuckwads and their delusions of grandeur, man.”

“Yeah, there's been a lot of that shit in the past month, huh?” I cover the communication mirror and we exit the office to the hallway. “Bet you didn’t think you’d be dealing with it here, too.”

“Kas, I’m a prince of Faerie. I pretty much expect everything to be as complicated and infuriating as it is at home, no matter where I am. Species aside, people are people, and we’re less different than we imagine, even as supernaturals.”

Sometimes, that bastard is much smarter than he gets credit for, and I know he’s going to make a great ruler someday.

twenty-three

MORGANA

Ishower off and toss my donated Discordia threads in the bin quickly. Laundry is another task that will have to be handled. I wonder if Channing might be able to source a service that we can trust, because with the amount of people living in this house now, I don’t even want to imagine that shit. Lucas’s gear alone is giving me a palpable scent-based hallucination, and that’s before you add four other dudes to the mix.

Yeah, that’s definitely going on my capable assistant’s plate ASAP.

Rather than leave my hair hanging wet, I tie it back in a braid and then pad down the stairs to get settled. I ignore the ominous piles of mail, as I move through the front room without looking at the decor there. Once I’m in the muted back family room, I drop onto the couch with a sigh of relief. I doubt the guys will want to stay here now that we have our own magically protected ‘Gargoyle Cave’ in the yard, but it’ll do until they join me.

Wrinkling my nose, I decide to pick up my phone and give emailing Kat a try. We’re no longer on the service down there, but Zavida was fairly certain emails would get there, eventually. Hopefully, he can work his bushy-tailed magic to get us all connected by regular texting soon. Rogue’s techie twin won’t be available to help until she and her group leave the realm, so it’s all on him for now. Kat seemed confident in his skills, though, and although she’s clearly falling for all those demons, I doubt she’d express it if she didn’t believe it.

Kat,

Home safe. Thought we left Hell, but the foyer has a billion fucking packages and mail shit to go through. Time here was more like a week and a half, so it’s getting close to the winter break being over. Also means my email is overflowing with shit. Hope your foxy demon can make text or messages work soon, so I don’t miss a reply in this insane deluge of crap.

Remember: Make that royal douche work for it; he should make real amends for hurting you, no matter what the reason was.

~Morgana

Feeling better as it zips away into the ether, I lean my head on the back of the couch as I prop my bare feet on the coffee table. It occurs to me that breathing feels easier now, and I guess that means that while the potion made sure we didn’t die, it didn’t actually make taking in that air easier. My ribs are a little sore, now that I think about it, and I bet that didn’t become apparent until we stepped foot back here. The other realms are very bizarre, in my limited experience, and I don’t look forward to visiting any of the other ones.

Of course, I’m not telling Li or Kaspar that because I’ve noticed the subtle and not-so-subtle hints that Faerie is in my future.

“There you are, Lady M.”

I look up to see Lucas strolling in wearing sweats and nothing else as he ruffles his wet blond hair. My breath catches, but that’s not about the shitty air quality in Hell; no, his athletic body and sleek movement do that without a damn bit of help. “Hey, babe. How’s it going up there?”