Allegiance (24 page)

‘Yes… and if only he would trust it he might find some peace.’

I couldn’t get my head around what she was telling me. How could she love such a horrible man?

My feelings must have shown because she said, ‘My husband has shown you only one side of himself, Marla. I have seen another. I know the man he is beneath his position and power.’

‘He’s heartless, that’s what he is.’

Atara smiled. ‘I assure you, my husband has a heart. When I lie with him, I feel it beating against my own. Sometimes, he is incredibly tender.’

I watched her, stunned. Then I remembered Atara hadn’t seen the worst of the king. She didn’t know how little she and Leif meant to him. I couldn’t burst her bubble—that would be too cruel, so I let the subject drop and our conversation soon returned to our paintings. I picked up my brush and got back to work, and we spoke of nothing more demanding than how to create the effect of the light on the mountains as we passed the morning away.

Leif joined us as we were packing up. He walked to me and kissed the top of my head before turning to his mother to do the same.

‘Have you two enjoyed your morning?’ he asked.

‘It has been lovely, Leif,’ Atara said.

‘It has,’ I agreed. ‘Come look at my painting.’ I took his arm and led him to my artwork, positioning him in front of it. ‘Do you like it?’ I looked up into his dark eyes. He gazed down at me before looking back to the painting.

‘You are an artist,’ he said, his voice full of admiration. ‘Only wait, soon your work will be in high demand.’ Atara smiled as she packed away her final brush before going inside.

I grinned. ‘You don’t have to say that. I know it’s not really that good. I made a mistake with the shadow on the lake. See?’ I pointed out the error.

‘I see nothing wrong,’ he said, ‘and I hope you’ve made it for me because it will look wonderful in my study positioned above the bookshelf—can you not see?’ He put his hand in the air to indicate how he would place it.

‘Of course it’s for you, Leif.’ I moved behind him and wound my arms around his waist. ‘Will you come with me to visit my grandparents today?’

He twisted in my arms. ‘Of course, but I told Jack I’d take him flying later.’ He ran his fingers through my hair as he spoke. ‘Where is he by the way?’

‘Gone to Ameyah’s,’ I mumbled against his chest, too guilty to look at him. Just the mention of her name reminded me of the secret I was keeping from him. ‘Do you know what your mother just told me?’ I said, eager to change the subject.

‘Tell me.’

‘She said that when I swear allegiance to your father, I’ll
desire
him. As if! I couldn’t stand it.’

Leif gave me a squeeze. ‘There
will
be an attraction. It’s inevitable.’

‘I don’t want his allegiance then.’

‘You will enjoy the feelings associated with it. Everyone does.’ He put a finger across my lips as I opened them to argue. ‘And one day, beloved, you and I will have our own kingdom and you will share allegiance with me.’

‘That day can’t come soon enough.’

He chuckled as he took my hand and said, ‘Asher and Faun or Leander and Melody?’

‘Leander and Melody,’ I said and as we flew off the balcony, added, ‘I have something to ask them.’

My grandfather had a faraway look in his eyes when he opened the door to his little riverbank home and I soon found out why. He was making the most of the silence while Melody was out with her theatre group by working on a scene from the play he was writing for them. After greeting Leif, he opened his arms for me, the pages of his manuscript gripped in his hand. I could actually
feel
his love like a tremor in the air around us. A rush of warmth flooded me.

Leander ushered us inside, apologising for the height of the doorframe when, even after stooping, Leif still bashed his head on the way in.

Leif told him not to think about it and Leander inclined his head before saying, ‘Please, be comfortable, I will call Melody home.’

‘I can see her another time,’ I told him, sitting down in the seat for two and scooching over to make room for Leif.

‘Marla,’ Leander said, heading to the tiny kitchen nook and taking a jug from the bench, ‘if I were to withhold your visit from
your grandmother she would not feel very loving towards me.’ He held the jug up. ‘Tea?’

I told him thanks, as did Leif and my grandfather disappeared out the front door. I gazed around the room. It was a perfect blend of Melody and Leander: strings of butterflies, formed from tiny sunstones and glittering crystals, a miniature chandelier dripping with jewels, a beautifully carved writing desk upon which sat elegant writing implements, and hewn into the wall, a shelf holding a small selection of books, both human and fae.

Leander came back inside, the jug filled with water, and set about heating it over a small bowl of sunstones. I asked him about the books, wondered where the rest he’d brought back from Earth were.

‘They are the two I have not yet read,’ he said, taking a small handful of leaves and petals from a basket. He began tearing and crushing them with his fingers before adding them to the jug. ‘The others were very popular at the markets.’

‘You gave them away? Didn’t you like them?’

‘I liked them very well.’ He selected a stick from the basket and began to stir the tea.

‘Then why didn’t you keep them?’

He glanced around the small room. ‘But where would I put them, Granddaughter?’

Melody arrived—a beautiful tornado. She blew into the room, welcomed Leif and me, embraced all three of us and began filling the table with cups, a little pot of nectar and the tiny iced biscuits she’d brought back with her. Then she curled onto one of the cushions on the floor and said, ‘It’s
so
lovely to see you, Marla. Are your human family well? I was just telling my friends how wonderful they are—how kind and caring.’

‘Mum and Dad are pretty great,’ I agreed.

‘And your sister—such a charming girl! I must say Marla; I
miss your humans. It
was
nice to get to know them, was it not, Leander?’

‘Indeed,’ he agreed and, bringing the jug to the table, began serving tea.

‘Your mother would be
so
pleased with the people who took care of you. I do hope she has a chance to meet them one day.’

‘Actually, I wanted to ask you about my mother,’ I said, quickly noticing a shine come to her eyes. ‘Atara thinks she probably thought about marrying the king. Do you know if it’s true?’

Melody tilted her head to the side as she considered. ‘I
do
remember Finelle being acquainted with His Majesty. It was terribly exciting! But whatever else was between them, I knew nothing of it.’

‘She
may
have been considering the king,’ Leander said. ‘I recall her once asking if I thought it possible to be truly happy with someone other than one’s betrothed.’

‘What did you say?’ I asked.

He looked at Melody and quietly said, ‘I told her I didn’t know how.’

Melody lowered her eyes to the floor and a short silence followed.

I reached out and touched my grandfather’s arm. ‘You couldn’t have known why she was asking,’ I told him before hurrying on. ‘Did she know my father at that time?’

‘No, Finelle and Tobias met only weeks before they wed,’ Leander said. ‘We were not opposed to them meeting sooner, but she always said she wanted to wait… Of course now we know her reason must have been the king.’

‘She must have been amazing to make him so crazy about her,’ I murmured. Despite
my
feelings, I’d seen and heard enough now to know that King Telophy could have had just about anyone.

‘Oh she was!’ Melody said, her eyes shining. ‘She had such a lovely tranquillity. Finelle was able to calm the wildest heart with just a few words.’

‘I can’t imagine she would have been easy for our king to forget,’ Leander said.

‘He hasn’t,’ I said quietly. ‘That’s the problem.’

The day of the Allegiance Ceremony arrived and after an early morning trip to see Hilary and my human family, Leif and I travelled to North America to pick up Claudette and visit my brother. A couple of days earlier my betrothed had gone to arrange to see Lysander. Finding the house empty, he’d left the basket filled with the things I’d collected from the markets together with a note to let him know we would be back today. I was bubbling with excitement to see my brother again. But when we arrived, it was to find nobody home. My heart dropped all the way to my feet. Lysander had no intention of seeing me. I tucked a fresh loaf of bread and a cake Faun had baked for me against the door and left.

I was equal parts misery and fury as we flew to Claudette’s place, and wanted even less to swear allegiance to the man responsible for tearing my family apart. Because of King Telophy’s cruelty my brother and I didn’t know each other. Worse, he wouldn’t even meet with me—which meant he didn’t have a hope of ever being who he was born to be.

Yet a short while later I stood in the Courtyard of Allegiance waiting for the loathsome king to arrive so I could create some magical faery bond with him that would see us
connected
. I wanted to catch the sun straight back to Earth. But I wanted Leif more. So, instead I waited with Claudette and twelve newly immortal Fae, forming a circle inside a ring of waist-high sunstones.

To distract myself from the snarls inside, I glanced across the castle grounds to the crowd beyond. There were faeries everywhere, shimmering in the treetops and lining the bank on the opposite side of the lake. They all kept their distance. Only the relatives and friends of those pledging allegiance were permitted onto the castle grounds.

The air around us vibrated with excitement. Aside from receiving the all-important bond, this was a coming of age ceremony and afterwards the king would host a party for his newly independent subjects. With no time for introductions before, it was at this party that Claudette would meet her Fae parents and the girl who’d been living the life meant for her. She was both nervous and excited, knowing they were amongst the invited guests—no doubt unable to take their eyes off her. As I wondered where my Fae parents were, I couldn’t help but envy her. They should have been here too—watching me. No, they shouldn’t, because I shouldn’t even be swearing allegiance to the king yet. My bond should be with them.

I shook the thought from my mind before it could stir up my emotions again and glanced towards the dais in the centre of our circle. The contents of my stomach whirled and rose—I swallowed hard. King Telophy would soon be standing there. I’d spent the previous hour with Claudette practising the routine and I knew what to expect. But would he change his mind when my turn came? Would he look out to the crowd and explain I was the spawn of a traitor—sentenced to death? Leif had assured me over and over all would be well. But
he
didn’t know what I knew. I looked back over my shoulder to see my family and friends. All four of my grandparents, some relatives I’d met at my welcoming, and Jack standing with Ameyah—who right now looked about a million miles away—waited. I watched Jack until he looked up and met my eyes. He smiled,
but his forehead was furrowed. I returned the smile then faced the dais again.

I was pulled from my worries by the sound of chanting. In one combined voice the crowd called out the name of their king. He flew out from the highest spire followed by Leif and Atara. After waves all round, King Telophy came to land on the dais in the middle of the circle while Leif and Atara took their places just outside the sunstones.

The king raised both hands to the crowd and the chant became a roar. Those not in the trees had fallen to their knees, many even lay prostrate before him. He was so loved! He lowered his hands after a while and the crowd became silent.

He looked absolutely resplendent. I had no doubt he’d spent the entire day being pampered—cleansed with the finest potions, massaged with perfumed oils and just generally fawned over by his ever eager servants. He wore a crown of gold, heavy with jewels, and a pair of pants in shimmering deep crimson. The outfit was finished with a golden sash bearing his insignia. His feet, as always, were bare and every centimetre of his glorious brown body, from his toes to his fingertips, gleamed with his power. You could feel it emanating from him—like standing beside an electricity substation.