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It wasn’t just that North hadn’t been to the human world. He hadn’t been anywhere.
“I want to so badly,” he said. “But I cannot cast a glamour and my mother fears the reaction at court.”
He waved a hand at his mismatched face.
“Can’t she or someone else cast a glamour for you?”
North shook his head and lifted his elven hand. White sparks swam like flecks in a snow globe. Then the little storm exploded, bursting across the room. Icy flakes pricked Adam’s cheeks and he understood. North’s magic was unstable.
“They slide right off,” he said sadly. “Or they break after a few minutes. They can even hurt me.”
“I’m sorry.”
A chime sounded somewhere in the house, a light, ringing noise that gently interrupted Adam’s stream of conscious explanation.
“Mother’s home,” North said.
“I’ll ask her if I can bring you something next time.” Adam stood. “Comic books or something about the human world.”
Maybe North would like some middle-grade books or those visual guides to things.
“Wait, can you read? English, I mean.”
North shook his head.
“Maybe I can teach you. I’ll ask your mother about that too.”
“You will?”
“If you want to learn and if she says yes.”
North threw his arms around Adam and gave him a hard hug. It was unexpected, and though a half-elf, his strength surprised Adam.
“Thank you for coming to see me.”
“Anytime.”
Maybe Adam could do this uncle thing. Maybe he wouldn’t suck at it.
The knight and Dautre stood talking by the door when Adam descended the stairs.
They suddenly stopped and he wondered how much Dautre told her about their clandestine conversations. He trusted the elf, mostly, but perhaps he was more of a traditionalist than Adam knew.
No, they wouldn’t be so obvious if Dautre was playing double agent, or at least, he had to believe that. He already had too many mysteries and no time for extra suspicions.
“Page,” the knight greeted.
“Lady,” he responded.
“My son is well?”
“He’s a good kid, and yes, he seems all right, but I think he’s curious about his human side. If you don’t mind, I’d like to bring him some books and things. You can approve them if you’d like.”
More than ever, Adam wanted to know about North’s father. The boy had another family out there. Maybe there were cousins or half-siblings, someone he could relate to. That might be an option if his mother would not let him attend RCC.
“That is generous of you,” she said.
She continued to compliment him as though any kindness from him was unexpected. He already knew she did not have a high opinion of humans, and yet she’d had a child with one. His therapist liked to remind Adam that people were complicated. The knight proved it over and over.
