Elise threw herself into Aodhan’s arms. “I’m going to miss you.”
“I’m going to miss you too.” Aodhan hugged Elise tightly, exuding a tenderness only seen in the pure-hearted love of children. “But we’ll still play and visit.”
They both looked at Noli expectantly.
“Of course you will.” She’d have to figure it all out, but she couldn’t stomach the thought of keeping them from one another.
“No.” V stood there ready to go, a scowl on his face. “Noli, this won’t … we can’t … ”
“Don’t be a fussy old bodger.” She scowled right back. “Yes, it will be tricky, but we’ll find a way. It will be good diplomacy.”
V raked his hand through his hair. “Diplomacy that will get us killed.”
“Isn’t that the best kind?” James appeared, sword at his side, a grin on his face.
“Ugh, you two.” V shook his head.
“Isn’t that my line?” James’ grin grew.
Noli looked around. “Elise, go play with Caít and Miri. We’ll be back in a little while.”
Elise clutched Aodhan’s hand. “Don’t forget me.”
He gazed into her eyes. “I couldn’t if I tried.”
With a grin, Noli ribbed V. “How can you deny that?”
“It’s the company he keeps that I take issue with.” V let out a heavy sigh.
Noli shook her head. “You sigh too much. Let’s go.”
“This is where the dark king resides?” V scowled at the tavern as they approached.
“If you keep scowling, your face is going to freeze that way,” Noli retorted. At the same time, she could understand his uneasiness. Bran, Elric, and even Padraig didn’t like the idea of them going to the dark king to make the trade. They all thought Ciarán should come to the palace. Which made sense. But she knew deep down that Ciarán wouldn’t betray them.
Unlike the last time she’d been to the Thirsty Pooka, it was daytime and quiet. The door opened as they approached.
Noli looked at Aodhan and squeezed his hand. She steeled herself and stepped through the doors, trying to remind herself to be regal. This time she was here officially, as queen.
The place was empty, except for a few people sitting or standing near the bar. They were nearly all in black, and every one of them was a large man. Probably the dark king’s most trusted guards. A few men lurked on the staircase and balcony overlooking the main room. Were there no women in the dark court?
“Father.” Aodhan let go of her hand and darted in, running straight into Ciarán’s arms.
Hood up, Ciarán was standing in front of the bar, in plain sight of the door. He bent down and scooped the boy up. “Ooof. I won’t be able to do that much longer.”
Aodhan laughed, face alight with joy. “I didn’t grow that much, Father.”
“Perhaps not, but I still missed you.” Ciarán set him down.
“I missed you, too.” Kevighn embraced Aodhan.
There was something different about Kevighn, aside from the fact he wore all black, though his bow was still slung over his shoulder.
“Of course he’s here,” V muttered, still hovering in the entrance.
“Shut it,” James hissed, giving him a push so that they were all inside. They only had a handful of uniformed guards with them, including the girl Aire. Noli liked her.
Noli gave the dark king a small curtsey and joined him by the bar. There was no bartender. No, the tavern wasn’t open for business—not the refreshment business, at least.
“We’ve returned your son to you unharmed, Your Majesty,” she said. “Do you have what I requested?” She wasn’t sure she liked so many people present, but she couldn’t let that show.
“Here are Elise’s things.” Ciarán handed her Elise’s valise.
“She’ll be happy to have this back.” Noli handed it to James, then returned her attention to Ciarán. “The items?”
“I have something better.” Ciarán looked like a cat who’d found the cream pitcher.
Her belly lurched. What treachery was this?
V put his hand on the hilt of his sword and took a step forward.
“Stand down, young king.” Ciarán gave him a sharp look. “You, as well, Prince Séamus. I’m not betraying you. Rather, I have gone to great lengths to secure a very generous symbol of our goodwill.”
“Did you now?” She eyed him. What could be better than pieces of the staff?
“We’ll need to work together soon, for the good of the Otherworld.” His eyes were really the only thing visible under that hood. “You have shown me that you’re trustworthy. I wish to do to the same.” Ciarán nodded to Kevighn, who disappeared into a room behind the bar.
Aodhan tugged on Ciarán’s cape. “Father, what’s going on? I don’t understand.”
“I know, and I’m sorry.” His voice was firm, and he didn’t tell Aodhan any more.
“Noli’s my friend. You’re not going to trick her, are you?” Aodhan’s eyes went wide.
Someone made a comment in the background about earth court being no one’s friend.
“You are my friend, aren’t you, Noli?” The boy took a step toward her, eyes beseeching.
“I’m friends with kind people. As long as there’s kindness in your heart, you try to do what’s right, and treat others the way you wish to be treated, you will always have a friend in me, Aodhan. Elise as well.” She smiled at him. He was such a kind-hearted boy.
A few people snorted at her words—from both delegations. Ciarán gazed at her, a dark eyebrow rising, but didn’t say anything.
Kevighn returned, a few people following, and addressed her. “Your Grace, do you remember what you asked me to do, so long ago … ”
V shot her a dark look as she thought for a moment.
“I … I found him.” Kevighn didn’t meet her eyes. Something was in his hand.
“He found more than him. But I’ll be generous and give you all three.” Ciarán sounded so regal as he said that.
“What?” Noli squinted at what was in Kevighn’s hand. “Is that my toolbox? How did you get that? I have been looking all over the place for it.”
“I … I used it to find someone. Here.” Kevighn shoved the box into her hands. “There’s someone who wants to see you.”
In front of her stood two men and a woman. One of the men … no … it … it couldn’t be. Could it? Noli looked closer. Her knees went weak.
“Papa?” She gazed at the dark-haired man. “Is it really you?” She turned to Ciarán. “If this is a trick … ”
“It’s no trick, Your Grace.” Kevighn took his place by Ciarán’s side.
“Eady?” Her father walked over, eyes large. “No, you’re not Eady. Noli? Is that you?” He took a step back. “But you can’t be my daughter. My Noli’s a little girl, and you … you’re a woman. A beautiful woman.”
“Papa.” Noli handed V the toolbox and threw herself into his arms as if she were still small. “Papa, I missed you. I never gave up hope that you were still alive. Never ever.” Almost. But not completely. Tears pricked her eyes as she buried her head in his broad shoulder.
Her father’s arms wrapped around her. “This place is very strange, but thank you for sending your friend to find me.”
She tipped her face up. “Be careful with your thanks here.”
He was here. Alive. In the Otherworld. Flying figs, how would she explain everything?
“Where’s your mama?” He looked around.
“I’ll take you to her soon. Jeff, too.” Oh, how happy they’d be!
“Do you remember Etta and Ned?” Papa asked, arms still around her.
“Of course.” Noli smiled at them, a little afraid to ask where the rest of his team was. Etta was the first married career woman she’d ever met, and was brilliant at sums and figures. Noli glan
ced over at Ciarán and Kevighn. “There are no words to express my gratitude.”
“I suppose we get no pieces of the staff then?” V muttered.
“Will you stop being a fussy old bodger? Getting my father back is worth it. It … ” Emotions threatened to overwhelm her brain and shut off her thinking, her words. “You’ve been gone for seven years, Papa.”
“I’m sorry.” His eyes misted.
He looked as if he hadn’t aged a day. Was it possible that he hadn’t?
“It’s not your fault. Mama will be so excited.” Just the thought made her giddy. “Oh, and if Jeff and Vix are truly getting married you’ll get to see.” What would her father make of Vix?
“Jeff? Married?” Mirth flowed through her father’s voice. “But if it’s been that long … ” His eyes fell on V. “Steven? Is that you? Where are your glasses?”
“I … I’m glad you’re back, Mr. Braddock.” V put an arm around Noli’s waist, then dropped it, cheeks pinking. “Um … ”
“Oh dear, this should be fun,” James laughed.
“Papa, you remember Steven and James Darrow, don’t you?” she said. The look on V’s face made her want to laugh; he flushed all the way to his hairline.
V took a deep breath. “Iwanttomarryyourdaughter. IwasgoingtoaskJeffbutnowthatyou’reback … ”
Her father took a step back, bewilderment crossing his face. “Are you that old, Noli?”
“I … I’m seventeen.” Noli’s cheeks warmed. She hadn’t expected V to blurt it out so. “Steven’s taken care of me all those years you were away.”
Her father’s eyebrows rose. “Why are you all carrying swords … and why are you here ? No one will tell me much, but I’m pretty certain we’re … elsewhere.”
“We are.” She gulped. “We’re in the place aether comes from. Some people can cross back and forth. V and I are among them. It’s … it’s a bit of a story.”
“I see.” A haunted look took up residence in his eyes. “I suppose much has happened since we’ve been gone?”
“It has.” More than she ever hoped he’d know. It would just hurt him. “But you’re fine. And soon … soon I’ll take you to Mama.”
“Do you find the exchange satisfactory?” Ciarán looked smug—and amused.
“I do, Your Majesty.” She couldn’t stop grinning.
“Your father was missing?” Aodhan came over to her. “I’m glad you have him back.”
“I’m glad your uncle is good at finding people.” Noli patted Aodhan on the head. “You be a good boy for your father and uncle.”
Aodhan nodded.
“If I may.” Ciarán jerked his head to a corner.
Noli glanced over at her father, who was in deep conversation with V and James, then joined Ciarán.
“I think it would be best to wipe their memories of all of this,” Ciarán murmured. “They’ve had traumatic experiences while here in the Otherworld. Also, I’m not certain how much you want your mortal parents to know … about everything … ”
She sighed. He had a point, though she wasn’t sure she liked the idea of mucking with their minds.
“All right, but what will they remember? There’s no way to hide that they were gone for so many years,” she said.
“They’ll recall being caught in the aether, Kevighn finding them, and then returning to Los Angeles—well, the other two will. Your father will remember being reunited with you. But this … ” Ciarán gestured to the pub. “Not to mention everything else they’ve heard and seen.”
“Caught in the aether?” Noli cocked her head, pondering that. It could work.
“That’s close to the truth. They were found in a pocket of wild magic, so to them it felt as if days had passed, not years, which is why they haven’t aged. I think it would be best, especially for the woman. She’s not very … strong … ” Ciarán glanced over at Etta, who looked a bit bewildered.
“She’s more one for facts and figures than stories. People like that don’t enjoy having their realities challenged,” Noli agreed. “So, you’ll return Ned and Etta to Los Angeles, and my father—”
“Excuse me, Your Majesty.” V put his hand on her shoulder, his eyes dancing. “Noli, he said yes.”
“He did? Oh, V.” She threw her arms around him. “I … I have my father back.”
“I’m so glad.” V held her tight. “That will also make things easier for your mother … she’ll have him … since … ”
“Oh, right.” Reality hit her. “Yes.” She’d just gotten her father back, after all these years, and now she’d barely see him.
V cupped her face in his hands. “Cheer up. He’s back. We’ll visit. I promise.”
She gulped, her throat growing tight from so many feelings all at once. “I know. So … what do we do … if we erase his memory we can’t head back to the palace … ”
“I suppose we’ll just head to your mother’s a little early.” V smiled bashfully. “That’s why we’ve been working so hard, so that I can take you to Boston. We can’t stay long, but you can have Christmas with your parents and see your brother get married.”
Tears leaked out of her eyes as she held V tight. “Can James get Elise and meet us there? I don’t want them to feel left out.”
V planted a kiss on top of her head. “James can also put your toolbox in your workshop where it belongs and bring Elise her valise.”
“Oh, Elise will be excited about that. I can’t wait to see my mother dote on Elise.” Noli’s fingers traced his jaw. She really ought to give the toolbox back to her father …
Ciarán cleared his throat, reminding them of the task at hand. “Excuse me, but have you decided how you’d like to proceed, Your Grace?”
Christmas. She was about to spend Christmas with her mother and father, with Jeff and Vix, James and Elise … and V. When surrounded by those you loved most, who needed presents?
She exchanged a look with V. “Yes, yes we have.”
It was time to give her mother the best Christmas gift ever.
Twenty-Eight
The Best Presents
“It’s your move, Uncle Kevighn.” Aodhan grinned. They sat on the floor of the sitting room, the game board on a low table between them.
Kevighn studied the pieces on the board, then looked to Ciarán for help, since he never was good at this game. Ciarán shook his head, hiding his smile.
With a huff, Kevighn moved a piece, hoping the move was a good one. “They were kind to you?”
“Did you know the earth court palace is made from living trees?” Aodhan moved his piece, cheerfully capturing Kevighn’s. “They were very nice. I spent most of my time with Elise and Miri. The room I slept in belonged to Elise’s older brother. I … I never know what to call them. Why do they have so many names? I like Noli a lot, and Miri.” He laughed. “She’s so funny.”
“Who’s Miri?” Kevighn pondered which piece to move. Already he had fewer pieces on the board than Aodhan.
Aodhan shrugged. “She’s a sprite. She’s Noli’s nursemaid and friend.”
“Noli’s nursemaid ?” Kevighn snorted as he moved a piece, rethought the move, and went a different way.
“Noli says handmaidens are nursemaids for grown-up girls.” Aodhan moved his own piece, capturing the piece Kevighn just moved.
That sounded like something Noli might say.
“I think Miri’s the sprite,” Ciarán said from his perch on the settee behind him. “As in, when Magnolia was the sprite … I still don’t understand it.” His hand rested on Kevighn’s shoulder.
“I do.” Kevighn nodded slowly, moving one of his pieces away from Aodhan’s. “When Tiana made Magnolia a sprite there was a sprite inside her, two spirits sharing one body. The sprite would take over Noli’s body, sometimes, when we were on the airship together. It was … odd. But how did she ge
t her own form?”
Ciarán shook his head. “As much as I pretend, I really don’t know everything.”
“Father, you won’t let anyone kill me, will you?” Aodhan asked suddenly, looking up at Ciarán in earnest.
“Did someone say they would?” Outrage flashed in Ciarán’s eyes, though his features remained carefully schooled.
Kevighn wasn’t as politic. “Who said that? Tell me.”
“No one. Noli had a book she was reading, and I … I read it. I think … ” He chewed on his lower lip. “I think my father wrote it. It was a diary of a man married to a woman named Creideamh. She was my mother, wasn’t she?”
Quinn kept a diary?
“Yes. Creideamh was your mother,” Kevighn replied, mixed feelings rising inside him. “You look just like her—except for your hair. Who wrote the diary?”
“His name was Quinn. It said that the old earth king killed my mother because she had the wrong magic.” Aodhan’s eyes misted but he didn’t cry. “I have the wrong magic. Will they kill me too? What about Elise? She has the wrong magic as well.”
Kevighn sighed and looked at Ciarán. He didn’t know what to say. At least, not things that could be said in front of children. Not to mention that he shouldn’t disparage Aodhan’s father in front of him.
“Quinn was your father, yes. He gave you to us to keep you safe. Kevighn and I won’t allow anyone to harm you.” Ciarán’s voice went quiet. “Things are complicated. Technically, you’re allowed to have your magic. This is hard to prove, but we will if necessary. ”
Kevighn looked at Ciarán, surprised. “What do you mean?”
“Think, Kevighn. Who’s Quinn’s half-brother?” Ciarán made a face.
Mathias. Who was of the high queen’s house, where having multiple magic was allowed—to some extent. Quinn’s father was high court, but Quinn was never officially accepted, just shunted off to the earth court. It was therefore easier to condemn Quinn’s babe than prove that the child was allowed to possess multiple gifts through Quinn’s lineage. Maybe. The law got touchy when it came to boys.
Not that any of this would have helped his sister.
“This is all too complicated for me,” Kevighn said. “I’m just glad the monarchs don’t understand how many people have multiple magics, especially in the high court. Mass executions are the last thing we need right now.”
Fragile Destiny (The Aether Chronicles) Page 29
