"Why didn't we use that key thingy the princess gave you?"
"Don't laugh, but I'm not sure how it works. I thought about it, but I didn't want to break it. I brought it with me, though," I said and pulled it out of my pocket. It was a key that would allow me to return to the castle whenever I wanted, but without Jaeren to show me how to use it…
"Oh. I'm going to laugh. Heartily."
"Shut up, Yuki."
Finally, the elves came into view, weaving out of the forest on blue hued horses and reforming into double ranks as they approached. They were being led by a single elven soldier in chrome-like armor. He was glinting brightly in the sunlight and I had to fight the urge to cover my eyes.
Everyone behind him, on the other hand, was dressed in forest colored greens and had a nocked arrow pointed at us. They split at the last moment and encircled us.
"Uh… Hi," I called out to the glinty guy.
"Who are you?"
"I'm Dot. This is Yuki," I said and pointed at my vampire. "That's Dar."
"How did you appear in this clearing? The gate is furlongs from here."
"Uh, magic."
"You are the Witch of Cedar Falls," he said, eyes wide and a crack in his voice.
An arrow let loose, aiming directly for me. Yuki plucked it from the air. "Want me to put it in the archer?"
"Not yet," I said without looking at her. My eyes never left the elf I was talking to. At least I didn't flinch. He, however, was staring in shock in the direction the arrow had come.
The elf that had fired was nocking another arrow to his string and pulling back on it, ready to fire again. "This is for my wife!"
He let go of the string again. This time I threw up a shield and let the arrow bounce harmlessly away. The captain, or whatever he was, shook his head slowly and motioned at the other archers surrounding us. Every bow that had been aimed at us turned to the elf with the itchy trigger finger.
"Stop!" The shout had come from me, surprisingly. The only reason I knew was because my throat hurt and a clap of thunder echoed back over us, resounding from all around us. At least they stopped. I didn't want another elven death on my conscience. "Leave him be. I'm only here to see your boss and then I'll be on my way."
They might not have filled him full of elven arrow holes, but they did relieve him of his bow. Thankfully. And put him in shackles.
The captain nodded as he slid off his horse. He walked over to us and gave us a small bow of acknowledgement. "My heartfelt apologies. His wife was lost during your last visit, Witch of Cedar Falls."
"It's just Dot."
He nodded and gave me a strange look. "You have business with the Council?"
"Yes."
"I shall take you to the castle."
"Then I'm grateful we ran into you."
"Archer, give up your horses."
"Um. Can I just ride behind you or something? Last time I was on a horse was never ago."
"You do not know how to ride?"
"Nope."
He chuckled and offered me a hand.
"I'll just run," Yuki said, Dar echoing in agreement.
∞ ∞ ∞
The Witch of Cedar Falls might have been a fancy title, but it didn't get us an immediate audience with the princess. Or even a trip to the throne room. Instead, we were shown to a suite of rooms and told to wait there until we were summoned.
"Hopefully the guy with the bow will be the only one with a grudge against you." Yuki sat down on a padded chair and huffed.
"Probably not. Lotta people got hurt last time."
"Including you."
"Yeah."
I started pacing, little left to keep me occupied while we waited. And waited. The soft knock on the door stopped me from breaking something out of frustration.
Before any of us could answer the door, it opened. Without sounding racist, elves were a little hard to tell apart. Not joking. They were all thin, very tall, and breathtakingly beautiful. Even the men, which were equally difficult to tell apart from the women. Except, they didn't wear dresses. As far as I knew.
Needless to say, I was surprised that I recognized the elf in our sitting room. He was one of Glabrielle's personal guards, one of the two who had been with her when she visited me in my prison cell.
"Hi."
He bowed. "Witch of Cedar Falls, would you please follow me? Her highness wishes to speak to you."
"Since that's why we're here, definitely."
He gave me a confused look, unsure of me. "Your pets may stay here."
Yuki snarled, not that I blamed her. It's not like she was wearing a leash or anything. Then I noticed her T-shirt. It had the word "pet" emblazoned across it in bright pink letters. I chuckled and she turned her anger to me. Without a word, I pointed at her shirt.
She huffed but relaxed. Guess I should have worn something nicer to meet the princess.
We'll get you a nice collar. Maybe a harness or something.
One muzzle joke and I'll bite your ankles.
You're getting kinkier by the day…
I left my vampire blushing in her seat and followed Guard Numero Uno out the door.
Master…be careful. Please, Dar sent a trailing thought after me.
Dorothea Careful Blackwell. It's my middle name.
Okay, Stumpy.
Ignoring him, I followed the guard, expecting him to lead us to the throne room. Instead, we went up the marble steps to the second level of the castle.
"Hey," I called out to the guard.
"Yes?"
"See that spot?" I pointed to the floor. "Got stabbed there once."
He just didn't get my humor. I could tell by the disgusted look on his face. "Interesting."
We walked down the hall and deeper toward the back of the castle. The king's quarters were easy to spot, since the entrance was gilded and gem encrusted. Apparently, the princess wasn't greedy enough to have taken over the royal suite, though. We turned right and meandered through a winding corridor that ended with a much more subdued entrance. It was silver.
Without knocking, the guard pulled the door open and ushered me in with a sweeping bow.
"Thanks."
The princess was standing by the door, waiting for me. For some unknown reason, she didn't look happy to see me. "Greetings, Princess."
"Witch of Cedar Falls… What brings you to our kingdom. My brother is not with you?"
"Sorry for the intrusion," I said and sighed. "No. He is the reason why I'm here."
She feared the worst and rushed forward, grasping my arm. Elves were strong and I might have winced. "He is…gone?"
"Hopefully not for long. He's not dead, he was abducted."
Elves were also scary looking when they were pissed.
"You let my brother be captured?"
"Uh. No. It happened while I was here, buried in garbage under your kitchen."
"Pray tell."
"Maybe we should sit…"
"My apologies, please." She motioned for the sitting chairs nestled into an alcove of the far wall. As soon as we sat, she poured tea.
I took a sip, even unsweetened it was drinkable. I wasn't the fan of tea that my mother and grandmother were. Coffee or death. But, it had a floral aroma and taste that wasn't bad at all.
"What happened?" She seemed impatient now that the niceties had been followed.
"While I was in Faerie, he took the rest of my companions back to the human realm, fully intending to come back and rescue me, but he was ambushed."
"Ambushed by whom?"
"The unseleighe sidhe."
She dropped her teacup. Tea and all. It splashed over her delicate ankles and she didn't even wince. "How?"
"Long story or short story?"
"Is my brother in immediate danger?"
"No. Delron assured me of that."
"Delron of the Court of Willowmere?"
"You know him?"
"Yes. He was the one surviving member of the betrothal party they sent to propo
se marriage."
"Huh. He left that part out."
"I am not surprised. They are as evil as they are untrustworthy. Why do you believe my brother is safe?"
"Because they want me to marry their prince. I sent back a message that I would destroy their world if anything bad happened to him."
"That was very…"
"Brave?"
"Stupid. They would most likely slit his throat in response."
"They didn't. They tried to kill Delron…"
"Truly?"
"Rift wight poison and everything."
Her eyes widened in response. I guess she had heard of the poison. "He survived?"
"Yeah."
"But how?"
"That's not important. He's healed and living in my living room until I can rescue Jaeren."
"That is why you are here."
"You guessed it."
"You wish for a contingent of elven warriors as a show of force."
"Beautiful and smart. You should definitely be queen."
"I am barely a regent."
I frowned at her. "Whatchu talkin' bout, Willis?"
"Pardon?"
"What do you mean, you are barely a regent?"
"Upon the untimely demise of my brother, the king, the nobles of the court quickly swooped in and set themselves up as a governing council until Jaeren can be named king. I am regent, but in name only."
"Fuck."
"Pardon?"
"Fornication under command of the king. Longer story. It means bad things."
"Apropos."
"Exactly. So, no helpy?"
"Are you asking if I can offer assistance?"
"Princess, you need to come spend some time with me in the human realm. We'll get this language barrier thing fixed in a few days."
"I did not realize there was a barrier. But anything would be preferable to being a prisoner in your own castle."
"I don't know about all that. Sometimes I wish someone would lock me up in my room."
"Let me know your feelings on the matter once it happens."
"Fair enough. Well, it was worth a shot. Guess I'll just have to rescue him by my own self."
"You would still rescue him?"
"Um, yeah. I just bought him a box of crayons and everything."
"You care for my brother." She didn't phrase it as a question, and I didn't like that.
"He's growing on me."
I didn't like the small smile that crept on her lips, either.
"Then my guards and I shall accompany you. I may not be able to summon an army for you, but we will help. He is not only the only hope for our people, but for me as well."
"Uh…"
"You do not wish for my help?"
"It's not that. But…you're a princess. Won't I get in trouble for busting you out of here?"
"The Witch of Cedar Falls? The council is more afraid of you than you could possibly imagine. Plus, I do not think it is possible for you to be in more trouble. You are a king slayer."
"They pissed?" I thought I had been doing them a favor.
"Court politics. While they might not be saddened by my brother's loss, killing him was still a crime. Luckily, Captain Javrett is…an old friend."
I chuckled, catching her meaning.
"Well, I only have one other question. What can you do?"
"Do?"
"Magic? Swords? Bow?"
"Yes."
"All of them?"
"Of course. I am a princess of the realm…and a dryad. Our magic is…formidable."
I wiggled my eyebrows at her. "Welcome to the party, Princess."
Chapter 12
She looked like she only weighed ninety pounds, but damn if she wasn't stronger than a fucking bull. I was barely keeping the princess from plunging the dagger into Delron's neck. What made it worse was it looked like he would have almost welcomed the release.
"Princess! He's on our side and we need his ass to get your brother back!"
That was enough to stay her hand. She went almost limp in my arms and we fell backward, my butt smacking the wood floor of my living room and her landing in my lap. I let out a puff of air to get her hair out of my mouth.
"May I wound him?"
"Maybe later," I said and pushed her up, letting her get to her feet before I even attempted to get up off the floor. When I finally did, I rubbed my butt.
"My apologies, Witch of Cedar Falls."
"It's Dot, Princess. Just Dot."
"Your name is Dot?"
"Guess we never got to that point, huh?" I nodded. "Yes. Dot. Short for Dorothea Blackwell."
"I see. Please address me as Glabrielle."
While I appreciated the sentiment, Princess was much less of a mouthful than her real name. "Thanks Glab…rielle." I tried to shorten her name, but she made a damn face until I finished it, nodding happily at the end. I swear, her and her brother were half puppy.
We were shocked into silence by Delron prostrating himself before the princess. We both looked down at him.
"Princess, you have my apologies."
"Get up, cur. I do not want or need your apologies. You have utterly destroyed our lives. I will only be satisfied when your head is on the end of a sword."
"As it should be."
"No elfi-pops in my living room, please. Plus, Delron promised to help us get your brother back. Right?"
He nodded from the floor, not daring to look up at the still angry princess. "I shall. You have my word."
"I do not trust him," Glab said to me, right in front of him.
"He has nowhere else to go. And I kind of saved his life."
"You healed him from the waste water?"
They seriously needed to come up with a better name for the poison. Waste water just made me want to giggle. "Yeah. Long story."
"You have many of those."
"Long stories?"
She nodded thoughtfully.
"Yep. Nothing boring about my life."
"So I see." She turned her attention back to Delron. "Get up, swine."
"Yes, Princess."
He slowly got to his feet and when he did, Glabrielle swung, planting a nice solid right to his jaw. Even I heard the crack. He went down like a stone and didn't move.
"Guess he deserved that," I said and nodded appreciatively.
"And so much more."
"Later. We'll come up with a game plan when he wakes up. Nice hook."
"My thanks."
Your lover is here. Dar interrupted our conversation.
Which one?
Chief.
I turned around and went to unlock the door, opening it to a startled Chief. "Hey, handsome."
"Evening, beautiful." He leaned in and gave me a quick kiss before I backed away to let him in. "Heard you're buying another house."
Luckily Josie and Candace were at the book store getting the café ready to open, otherwise my planned wedding gift would have been ruined. "Shh. That's a surprise. I should have mentioned that to Herb."
"It wasn't him."
"Marge?"
He nodded. "Yep. Do you have any plans this evening?"
"Well, we were going to make plans on infiltrating the unseleighe side of Faerie and rescuing an elf. So, a little busy."
"Ah. Okay. Was going to see if you wanted to have dinner with the mayor and me."
"The attractive, cute, well meaning public servant who asks about me a lot?"
"Yeah. That one."
"Never stage an infiltration on an empty stomach, I always say."
He chuckled. "Seriously, if you can't make it, not a big deal. We'll probably be talking shop, anyway. We have the Christmas parade this weekend and a few other things."
"So, even if I don't go, you're still planning on having dinner with her?" I swallowed the little green monster.
"Why do you sound angry?"
"I'm not."
"Uh… I didn't say you were. I said you sounded angry. It's just work, you know. I only have eyes for you
."
It's not your eyes I'm worried about. "Pshah. I know that, silly. Nope. Not angry in the least. Seriously, though. I have time. I don't mind going." Jet propelled, wild fucking horses with afterburners couldn't drag me away. "Glabrielle," I called over my shoulder. "Make yourself at home. And don't kill the dark elf. I'll be back in a little while. Yuki, order pizza, please?"
"Sure thing, Boss."
"Let me grab my coat," I told Chief with a smile.
"Great," he said, sounding a little worried. He had that cute little crack in his voice and put his hands on his hips.
Even with calmly walking to the bedroom, hopping in the shower, and getting dressed, we were out the door in less than ten minutes. I wasn't even going to use makeup. I'd show the mayor I didn't need it. Except for a little mascara. Eyeliner. A little lipstick, foundation, and blush. But that was it. I did it in the car on the way to the restaurant. "Where are we going for dinner?"
"Lambresco's."
"The Italian place?" Fear gripped my stomach, twisted it, and just like that I wasn't hungry anymore.
"Yeah. Cedar Falls doesn't have a lot of restaurants. You were bound to end up there sooner or later."
"I was hoping for later."
"Did you not have fun?"
"Which part? Jimmy showing me off or blowing you in the bathroom?"
"Both."
"I did. But I'm still embarrassed."
"Don't be. That was the hottest thing I've ever seen."
That just caused me to blush harder. "Thanks," I mumbled.
"Don't worry. I promise to keep my hand out of your dress tonight. At least at dinner."
"I wouldn't go that far…"
He chuckled softly. "Don't worry. I'll be with you. The food is quite good, too."
"It is. Just not overly fond of Italian."
"Me neither." He nodded for emphasis.
"Try the chicken piccata," I suggested.
"I'm allergic to capers."
"Oh. Don't try it then."
We pulled into the somewhat crowded parking lot and Chief pulled into an empty spot about halfway from the entrance. "You ready?"
"As I'll ever be."
"Good. You'll like her. She's really nice and mostly down to earth."
"Mostly?"
"You'll see."
He opened the door and held it for me, always the gentleman…when he wasn't pissed off at me. I enjoyed the moment. "Thanks, Chiefy."
Fifth Essence: A Reverse Harem Tale (Lovin' the Coven Book 5) Page 11
