AllFreeNovel
Share Us
"I am not scary," I insisted. I might not be the gentle-as-a-lamb type, but I didn't think I was particularly intimidating. Not compared to women like Geralda. She made it her life's work to scare girls like me. Until we got old enough to know how to side-step her.
"I've seen you angry," he pointed out. "Anyone with any sense ducks when that happens."
He leaned back and the smile disappeared from his face. Through the bond I felt what he was thinking, saw it on his face.
"I didn't mean to make a wall of ice and almost kill you," I said. "I know better than to try to do that again without lots of practice, and not in a safe place. Next time, Ryze can make the bridge."
"I'm not worried about what you might do on purpose," he said. "But you don't really know what magic does. There's so much potential for accidents. Or for Ryze to tell you to do something unsavory with it. Would you really use it to kill people?"
"I'd use it to protect the people I care about," I said firmly. "You can use a sword. You'd use it to protect me. It's no different to that. Not once have I practised and known what I'm doing. Then I can make sure no one gets hurt that shouldn't."
"You can't guarantee that," he said.
I wanted to argue with him, but he was right. I couldn't guarantee it. But I'd sure as hells try.
"At least you know I'm not going to try to take over the whole of Jorius," I said. After a moment I added, "Or Fraxius."
"You might not, but what about him?" Zared jerked his head toward Ryze.
"I have enough on my plate with one court," Ryze said. He'd probably heard most of our conversation.
"For now," Zared said.
The door rattled. The scent of apple and cinnamon, and pine reached my senses before it opened. I turned as Vayne and Tavian stepped into the room.
Vayne looked like his usual grumpy self, but Tavian gave me a smile.
"It took some doing, so to speak," Tavian said, "but I think we found where Cavan is keeping them."
35
Ryze
"He always did like gold everywhere." I took in the gold statues which stood on either side of the entry to the palace. Both were Fae women with bare breasts, narrow waists and ample hips. They stood with one hand out, palm raised, the other at their side. The gold plating peeled off here and there, revealing the stone underneath.
If they were mine, I'd strip off all the gold and leave the stone exposed. They'd be less gaudy that way.
"Thiron always says it's to make up for Cavan’s other inadequacies," Wornar remarked.
I chuckled. "The Lord of Spring was always astute, and probably accurate." He was also the only one of my fellow lords I came even close to trusting. He and Wornar were the nearest thing to friends I had outside my court.
Whenever conflict happened in Jorius, we were invariably allied. Wornar, Thiron and I used to hunt together as younger men. Sometimes for deer, sometimes for lovers. For some reason, men and women seemed to love the red-gold hair they shared. Maybe it was their easy-going nature that endeared them.
Personally, I liked their quiet sarcasm. It was a match for my own.
Our escort, dressed in the deep green and gold uniforms of the Summer Court, glanced at us with disapproval.
I responded with a smile.
She narrowed her eyes at me, then turned away.
I glanced at Wornar and shrugged. We couldn't all be as popular as him and his cousin.
Wornar grinned and held back a laugh.
We probably shouldn't antagonise any of Cavan's people, especially those armed with swords, and likely as many knives as Tavian. Neither of us were known for taking anything too seriously, but even without a steel weapon, I wasn't unarmed. Neither of us were and everyone here knew it.
Still, nothing good ever came from antagonising a woman. I'd well and truly learned that lesson before I turned a century old.
