by Sunny
Captain Gilbert strode forward, and if his eyes were a bit wary as they swept over Ruric and Hari, they warmed up quite nicely as they came to rest upon me.
“Princess Lucinda,” he said. Bowing, he pressed a kiss to the back of my hand, his mustache lightly brushing my skin. He was one of the few men I allowed to touch me in such a manner because of a genuine liking for the man. And, okay, because he had been my willing and eager blood donor the last few times I’d been here.
“Welcome, Princess. We weren’t expecting you back so soon,” Captain Gilbert said. For good reason. I hardly ever came here. Maybe only once or twice a century, if even that. Now I’d put in three closely spaced appearances, the last one only days before. Days that seemed to have wrought quite a change at High Queen’s Court. It had been quietly tranquil then. Now it was overflowing with people.
“Is Council in session?” I asked in surprise.
“A short, perfunctory one, yes,” Captain Gilbert said.
“Is that not why you are here?”
I had taken Halcyon’s seat on the Council a short while ago when they had called that special session to question Mona Lisa over the death of another Queen. Halcyon had been too weak to do so. He had still been recovering from the violation that dead Queen had dared inflict on him. I had gone in his stead because the only other person who could have substituted was the High Lord himself. But my father had been the one who had actually killed the Monère Queen after she had broken one of our greatest taboos, and was recovering himself from his recent trip to the living realm exacting his revenge. I’d gone because there had been no one else to go. Otherwise I stayed far away from Monère politics. I was the least civic-minded demon in my family. Halcyon had been raised up in that tradition and swam the political waters well in both realms. I didn’t. I didn’t give a damn. I’d had no ties, no interest. Now I was loaded abundantly with them—five people who suddenly belonged to me now, for different reasons. Why I was here.
“No,” I said in answer to his question. “I’ve come to see the Queen Mother on another matter. A personal one.”
The captain’s gaze flicked past me, and polite demon that I was—while at High Court anyway—I made the introductions. “Captain Gilbert. You’ve already met my other men: Talon, Nico, Jonnie, and Stefan.”
The captain inclined his head and they politely nodded back.
“The two new demons are Ruric and Hari, royal bodyguards my father has assigned to me.”
“Are you in danger, Princess?” Captain Gilbert asked, his gaze becoming even more sharp and alert.
“There is a rogue demon at large—one of the things I have to speak to the Queen Mother about. Until he is captured, Ruric and Hari will be at my side.”
“A rogue demon?”
“Yes. Derek, a former guardian.”
Even greater worry filled the captain’s eyes now. A rogue demon was reason enough to be anxious. They targeted humans—much more plentiful and easier prey. But nothing was as sweet and powerful as Monère blood. There had been slaughters in the past, entire territories wiped out when wayward demons found their way into this other realm and glutted their thirst on Monère blood; incidences almost unheard of now due to the presence of demon guardians.
A rogue demon was easy enough for a guardian to deal with. But a former guardian going rogue . . . Well, Captain Gilbert had good reason to be alarmed.
He was in a pickle, the good captain was. Common sense dictated that he report this immediately to the Queen Mother, who ruled High Court and was the ultimate authority over all the Monère on this continent. Common sense also dictated that he not let me or any of the other demons out of his sight. Nor could he risk bringing me and my new demon bodyguards into the Queen Mother’s presence, not when the captain’s whole purpose was to protect her. What to do? And who to dispatch with carefully worded news of our arrival?
Captain Gilbert was saved by the arrival of Lord Thorane. The Council Speaker’s familiar authoritative presence and warm smile was a relief to both the captain and me.
Lord Thorane greeted me with a low bow. His eyes took note of the two new demons looming beside me, but he didn’t seem overtly alarmed. “Princess Lucinda. Your return is most welcome. But the timing could have been better.”
“When the Council is not in session, you mean?”
“It’s the Lunar New Year,” he said, shedding much light and great dismay over me. Oh! So that’s why so many people. Of all the days to return, this had to be one of the absolute worst: when High Court was packed with thousands of Monère gathered to attend the holiday festivities.
“So much for trying to see the High Queen,” I muttered. The presence of not just one but three demons here at High Court—two of them highly threatening, unknown entities—would send all the Monère into a panic.
I glanced surreptitiously at the two demons by my side to see if there might be any way to part them from me. Ruric returned my look with a slight frown while Hari looked amused. The mocking laughter in Hari’s eyes, however, did nothing to hide the steely message in them. Don’t even think of it, Princess. Wherever you go, we go. Ruric looked like the greatest threat, but appearances, as I quite well knew, could be deceiving. Hari, to me, was the one to watch out for, the less predictable one.
Nope. Separating me from them here was not going to happen, which left me with the idea of trying to soften their appearance. Ruffles and lace popped to mind for some ridiculous reason, and my lips curved in sly amusement. Which wiped the smirk off Hari’s face and replaced it with a wariness I was much more comfortable with.
Lord Thorane cleared his throat. “The Queen Mother has put her private jet on standby, in case you should happen to return during this busy time.” No need to say where to. I had no other place to go to other than my small territory. And no need to say when. It would be now, of course.
“We’ll be happy to escort you there now,” he graciously offered, confirming what I already knew: that the sooner we were gone, the better. Our presence here in the midst of the New Year celebration could only cause disruption, if not outright panic. Not the sort of demon diplomacy my father would have encouraged.
“Our luggage?” I asked, though in truth it was only just what Jonnie and Stefan, and Hari and Ruric had brought. We had left their things at my brother’s cottage. Talon, Nico, and I had nothing other than what we wore.
“My men will transport your luggage down to the plane,” Lord Thorane assured me, and led us discreetly away to a back lot where two vans were waiting for us.
“Three demons, one black Floradëur, two Monère rogues, and a Mixed Blood whisked away from sight in under two minutes. Now that’s true magick,” I said dryly once we were seated and on our way to the private air-strip. Hari sat in the back, while Nico, Talon, and I took the middle row. Lord Thorane was seated in the front passenger seat beside the driver. Ruric, Stefan, and Jonnie followed behind in the second van.
“The Queen Mother holds you in great esteem and the highest regard,” Lord Thorane carefully returned. “Indeed, she looks upon you with deep fondness. And those feelings, and respect, extend to your men as well. She does not see you as mere categories,” he said, softly chiding.
“I know. I’m sorry,” I said, apologizing. “I just wish I could have seen her. But I can tell you everything just as easily.” And I proceeded to relate to him how my father and brother had hunted for Derek down in Hell, but hadn’t been able to find and apprehend the rogue demon. Derek had tried to end my afterlife, and had almost succeeded in doing so. “We’ve already spread the word to the other guardians,” I told him, “and they’ll be on heightened alert until he is caught.”
“As will we. So that’s why your father assigned you bodyguards,” Lord Thorane said thoughtfully, glancing back curiously at Hari.
Belatedly, I introduced Hari to him.
Lord Thorane’s eyes lit up. “A true pleasure to meet you,” he said to Hari. “Is Ruric the other demon guard?”
> “You know of them,” I said with surprise.
He nodded, looking quite delighted. “Yes, I have indeed heard of the last two great warriors of the dragon clan. The Queen Mother’s regret at missing you will be even keener with this news.”
“We’ll be around. I’m sure we’ll have a chance to see her later.” I was certainly going to be spending a lot more time topside in this realm.
The jet’s engines were already primed when we arrived. And our luggage arrived three minutes after we did. In a surprising short order of time, we were in the air, hurtling toward Arizona, our new home.
TWO
SITTING IN AN airplane was an uncomfortable dichotomy. You both accomplished something with great speed, and at the same time had nothing to do while all this vast distance was being covered. It gave me time to be nervous, and not enough time to do anything about it. No time to call ahead like I had planned, to arrange cleaning of the house.
Welcome home. To cobwebs and Goddess knows what else.
I’d intended to keep my little group at High Court for a couple of days while I had everything cleaned and freshened up. Well, that plan had been nixed, and we were traveling faster than I wanted, or was ready for, to my tiny province in Arizona.
With nothing else to do, I made my way to the cockpit and had the pilot place a call through to Donald MacPherson, a human who had unknowingly been in Hell’s employ for—what was it now?—almost twelve years. He took the news that I would be arriving in Arizona in a few short hours and expecting to stay at the house with a calmly murmured, “I’ll try to have the power and telephone turned on before you arrive, and arrange for housecleaning the next day.”
I rattled off the last known location of my car and asked him to arrange to have it delivered to me. Then I asked him to do the same for Stefan’s car. Silence greeted him after I gave him the make, model, license plate number, and airport parking location—details I had committed to memory. I almost smiled, picturing the precise little Scotsman frowning and wondering how to ask his next question.
My voice smoothed into a lazy purr of amusement. “Don’t worry. I’m not stealing the car. The car’s owner will be staying with me at the Arizona property. Just have it towed there,” I told him, and ended the call.
“That was very kind, arranging the delivery of my car,” Stefan said when I sank back into the cabin seat across from him. We were speeding toward our new home in padded leather and gleaming burlwood luxury. Which kind of sucked because the contrast between this moneyed plushness and the barren home that awaited us was going to be real stark. The thought was enough to make me almost bite my razor-sharp nails. “But I would have made my own arrangements when we arrived. When I knew the address,” he went on to say.
“My fault you had to abandon your car.” The thought of all that he had been willing to give up and leave behind for me softened my eyes and muffled the anxiety for a moment. “Only right that I take care of recovering it for you.” It surprised me, as it always did, that this beautiful, living, breathing creature would want me . . . desire me.
Dark liquid eyes stared back at me without any of the fear I usually inspired in other Monère—what dead demons usually inspired in the living. I’d been a little fearful of Stefan’s reaction, returning with two demon males in tow, but all I’d seen had been relief in his eyes at my safe return. He hadn’t known if he’d ever see me again; if we would even survive the trip.
“You’re nervous,” Stefan said. “There’s no need to be.”
“You haven’t seen the house yet,” I warned. “It’s been a couple of years since I’ve stayed there.” The recent hop in and out of my province to snag Nico, who at the time had been a rogue warrior I’d been sent to catch and then ended up keeping, didn’t really count. “It’s not going to be a pretty sight without any time to get it cleaned up beforehand.”
“A couple of years? I thought it was your home here.”
I hitched one shoulder in a shrug. “It’s just a small province carved out between two territories that High Queen’s Court awarded to me thirty years ago for my long centuries of services.” I had spent almost five hundred years roaming this realm, guarding both demon and Monère interests—although the latter was more of a happy afterthought that coincided with my messy cleanup of bad and naughty wandering demons. “It’s not so much a home as a neutral area where I can land occasionally without making people nervous. Don’t get me wrong. I’m as territorial as any Queen. No Monère comes into my province without my permission.” I’d made that crystal clear by dismembering the first two offenders and sending them back to their respective Queens when they had unwisely infringed across my borders. “But it’s usually years between my visits.”
“Then you must have other places you stay.”
“Each Queen maintains a place, by Council rule, for passing guardians. Usually a small apartment on the fringe of their territory.”
Unlatching his seat belt, Stefan stood and crossed over to me. “Come on,” he said, pulling me to my feet.
“Where are we going?” I asked, bemusedly following him. The private jet was roomier than most, but still there was only so much space in a plane.
“We’re switching seats,” Stefan announced, and stopped in front of where Jonnie, his ward, was sprawled out across a long couch, capable of sitting three across, watching a movie on a small handheld machine. Across the aisle from him, Talon and Nico sat facing each other in the same coupled arrangement as the rest of the plane.
“Sure, no problem,” Jonnie said, rising to his feet with careful movement, reminding me that he was still recovering from a bullet wound. He winked at me and made his way to the seat Stefan had vacated.
Unbelievably, I blushed.
Stefan sat and pulled me down beside him. We ended up looking straight at what should have been Talon’s and Nico’s profiles, only their faces were turned, watching us. Everyone in the cabin was.
“You’re nervous, tense, and tired,” murmured Stefan.
“Close your eyes, and lay your head down on my shoulder. Try to rest.”
Surprisingly, I followed his gentle orders, savoring the closeness—his arm around my shoulder, my feminine softness resting against his masculine hardness. For the first time in days, I relaxed. No questions. No answers I had to give.
He offered me peace, a brief respite in the mad and unbelievable complexity my existence had suddenly taken on—a chance to rest. And so I did with a soft sigh.
All else could wait. I was exactly where I wanted to be.
THREE
HARI COULD SCARCE believe his eyes. But he could not discount his senses, and all of them told him that Lucinda, his Princess, his dragon queen, slept. Her body was soft and relaxed, trusting against the Monère warrior who held her so tenderly. They should not have fit so easily—so comfortably—together, a demon dead and living Monère. But they did.
The way she looked at him and the way he looked at her. The way he held her . . .
She cared for the two who were bonded to her. But this man she cared for in a deeper, different way. In this man’s arms she could sleep peacefully. Allow herself to be gently ordered by him. With this man she was docile. Even sweet.
As necessary as Nico and Talon were to her well-being, this man was even more essential to her. Just because a demon’s heart did not beat, didn’t mean he did not have one. Demons were by nature more callous, hardened, and cruel. It took something unusual to touch their hearts. But then this man was far from usual. He was a warrior, Hari could tell by the weapons he carried, by the fluid way he moved and saw everything. Another ex-rogue, by Lucinda’s comment to Lord Thorane. And he was beautiful, like a bright, glittering star cast against the black canvas of the sky, his skin pale perfection, his hair as raven dark as the shadows that framed the moon’s luminous glow. With quietly intelligent eyes, dark winged brows, and a lover’s sensuous mouth, he was lovely, exquisite, even among the beautiful Monère. But it was the strong character in t
hat handsome face that made him truly special: the quiet confidence, the gentle command, the goodness that radiated out from him like a core of light, evidenced by his caring, considerate actions. He made softness and gentleness strengths instead of weaknesses. Even more curiously, he did not act like a normal Monère warrior, subservient and submissive to his Queen, fearful of her. He acted like an equal. And Lucinda treated him as such.
There was an . . . affection among this group that stretched to include even the young Mixed Blood, one much lesser in strength than all the rest.
Hari wondered how Ruric was faring in this new strange environment. Wondered if his brother demon felt as awkward and coarse and ill-fitting as Hari did among these people. Like a clumsy, rough brute set down to play with fine china. It wasn’t so much the disparity in strength, but the friendly and nice way they treated each other.
The last things demons were was nice!
He and Ruric had spent their entire afterlife existence in the High Lord’s service, living in rough service barracks filled with the fiercest, toughest warriors Hell had to offer, and being the most feared and most dangerous among them. Now they were thrown into the living realm to guard the Princess, her two living—and therefore fragile—Monère lovers, a soft and gentle Floradëur, and a weak Mixed Blood boy.
Hari had signed up willingly for this. He really, unbelievably, had. But he hadn’t known what he was getting into. Hadn’t known that the greatest, most immediate threat to those he was supposed to protect would be himself—his vicious temper and equally vicious mouth. Not just the deadly fangs but the rough words that came readily spilling out all the time without thought. He was a dangerous demon bastard who liked to fight, wench, and drink. A loner. Not even Ruric was his friend—he didn’t have friends.
He had only served two things in his afterlife—the High Lord and himself. And not always in that order.
He remembered the exact moment when that easy, unthinking rhythm of his selfish existence had changed and his priorities had reordered themselves. It was when he had seen the impossible happen. When Lucinda had magickally transformed into a dragon.
