Ember (12 page)

At the prospect of meeting a possible future someone, I felt both hope and dread. “Is this the only way?”

“It’s the best way.”

“Send out the announcement or whatever it is we do.”

“I’ll extend the invitation for the Awakening as soon as possible. We shall have the celebration next week.”

• • •

I laid back against the window seat in the atrium and let the sun trickle onto my face, taking in my last few minutes of free time.

“How was your first official time alone?” Declan’s voice made me jump as he strode in through the open doorway.

“Uneventful,” I lied, keeping my eyes closed. He’d see the truth in my eyes.

“Was it all that you hoped it would be?”

“Yes, it was. I’m already looking forward to the next time.”

“Oh, My Queen, how you wound us,” Kai said. I hadn’t realized he had come in as well. With the sound of his voice I felt a flutter in my stomach. “You dismiss us so effortlessly. You can’t possibly feel that way.”

I opened my eyes and twisted my head to see them comfortably situated on the couch beneath the window in the ceiling. “You’re becoming perceptive, Kai. There is hope for you after all.”

He glared, but I saw the playfulness dance across his eyes.

Declan interrupted our staring competition. “Evan mentioned that we are inviting all of the kingdoms to Faylinn to celebrate the restoration of the Waking Oak. Would you like us to give you a summary of each kingdom?”

I sat straight up. “I hadn’t even thought about what I would need to know. Yes. I need to know what each kingdom is called and who rules each kingdom. Throw in any information you think might be necessary.”

Kai rolled his eyes and rested his head back against the couch. “This might take a while.”

A little smile curled the corner of my lips as I glanced over at Kai and Declan began.

Chapter Nine

I
let Evette and Adelaide pick my dress for the Awakening. It was shorter than others they had chosen before, but they told me it was so I would have an easier time maneuvering. Apparently they expected me to do a lot more dancing tonight than I had planned on.

The dress brushed the top of my knees and fell just off my shoulders with a ruffled neckline. It was a patchwork of cream and white vintage-like materials: lace, silk, and hemp. It amazed me how they made these kind of materials by hand from scratch.

Kai and Declan were prepared to escort me from my room when I emerged. They stood a little taller as soon as they saw me. Not one word was said. I felt completely self-conscious by their silence.

“What’s up guys?” I attempted to smile.

Declan cleared his throat and bowed his head. “Calliope. Are you ready?”

“As ready as I’ll ever be.”

I glanced at Kai. His eyes drank me in with a stunned expression. It felt like a frozen moment in time, where Kai wasn’t a smart aleck and I wasn’t a Queen. We forgot where for were for just that moment, and I got a glimpse of what could be.

Then I blinked.

“Can I help you, Kai?” I lifted my eyebrows, hoping to get more of a response out of him.

“Nice dress,” he said uninterestedly and began walking down the hall in front of us.

I snorted and peered at Declan who merely shrugged and gestured me forward.

When my Keepers and I appeared outside of the castle we were met with a burst of color. Floral garland draped in the trees and hung on the fronts of tables. Thick moss held together large arrangements of flowers dotting the center of every table. And somehow they had speckled the oaks and willows with fireflies like a field of lit Christmas trees.

“Wow. Everyone really went all out this time,” I murmured in awe.

“It’s a big celebration. We haven’t had all of the kingdoms together in Faylinn since The Divide,” Declan said, looking out over the decorated meadow.

“Really?” I looked up at him.

He nodded.

“That makes this kind of historical.”

He chuckled. “It kind of does.”

It looked as if a couple of the kingdoms had started to arrive. I could tell because they definitely dressed differently. One kingdom favored dressing in actual nature—large leaves and flowers barely covering their bodies while the other was adorned in excess amounts of colorful fabric. They looked like they had walked out of King Henry VIII’s castle. Observing both of these kingdoms, I was grateful Faylinn—with its simple bohemian wardrobe—was where I ended up.

“Which ones are those?”

Declan nodded his head toward a group of half-nakeds and said, “They are from Aurorali.”

“Do you think it feels drafty?” Kai posed. “I mean I like to air out every once and a while, but that’s got to be a bit chilly.”

Declan snickered, but didn’t respond. He pointed to the others. “And that is Mirrion.”

I tucked the names away in my mind to remember for later. “And where are those kingdoms located again?”

“Aurorali is in Maui and Mirrion is located in England.”

Right. How fitting.

As other kingdoms trickled in they didn’t seem to stand out as much. There were subtle differences I picked up on as Declan helped to point out who was from where. Callastonia favored cream. Every one of them wore cream and accented with pops of pale colors—a green vest, a pink headpiece, a blue sash. Elfland seemed to like fur—fur boots, fur shorts, fur vests. They were located in Finland, but I wasn’t sure if the weather affected them since weather didn’t really affect us here. Rymidon wore a lot of dark colors—browns, grays and blacks. And Oraelia adorned themselves in teeth and bone—earrings, necklaces, belts, and wristbands. I was torn between deciding if they looked more aboriginal-esque or alternative punk.

Kai, of course, put in his two cents whenever he felt the urge. “How much do you think it hurt to poke holes in their ears?”

I touched my earlobes. I’d never gotten my ears pierced so I didn’t know what it felt like. “Humans do it all the time. It can’t hurt that bad.”

“Seems pointless.”

Lia would have been in heaven. She’d have something to say about every single guy. When I let my eyes drift over the mass one faery caught my attention. He stood off to the side, surveying everyone, a bow and arrow slung over his shoulders. He wasn’t being social, which I found weird. Faeries didn’t seem to be the anti-social type. It was almost as if it was genetic to have the desire to mingle and party. His black hair was in a buzz cut. He held his head high with confidence, but a stoic confidence. When he turned, he caught me staring and nodded but didn’t smile. He merely kept walking, observing the dancing fae.

Many of the Royal leaders introduced themselves to me as they arrived, and I was grateful Declan and Kai had given me a little bit of information about them before they came. Many of them started pushing their sons in my direction, some subtly and some not so subtly.

“Queen Calliope, my son Niall is the most eligible Royal from Mirrion. I promise you that if you bond with him, he would bring life back to Faylinn. I know he could make you happy.” King Steafan of Mirrion was a larger man. The thickest faery I’d seen so far, actually. His beard looked to be tickling his nose.

Could Niall not speak for himself? Niall kept a serious face. His square jaw set firmly as he nodded alongside his father. I wasn’t exactly sure what kind of life Steafan was talking about. Faylinn seemed lively enough, and Niall looked dead. His emerald eyes didn’t even smile. Their expression never changed.

“Thank you, King Steafan,” I said as politely as I could manage. “I’ll keep that in mind.” I smiled graciously. At least I tried to.

He nodded curtly.

Just as they began walking away I heard Kai’s muffled laughter. “This is going to be so much more entertaining than I thought.”

I sighed and frowned at him. “You could at least wait until they are out of earshot.”

“Who cares if they heard me? At least then they would have an idea that they don’t stand a chance.”

“And how would you know who has a chance?”

He snorted. “If they were to pay closer attention, your eyes are a very telling sign. As soon as he said Niall’s name your eyes began to glaze over.” He folded his arms across his chest and raised his eyebrows with a told-you-so expression when I had nothing to retort. “This will be enough amusement to last me for years to come.”

“I’m so glad my suffering can be used for your entertainment,” I muttered.

“All right, Kai,” Declan interjected. “This evening is stressful enough without your commentary.”

Kai smirked as he surveyed the crowd. “I disagree. I believe my commentary will be the highlight of the Awakening.”

“Your commentary will drive Calliope to strangle you.” Declan’s lip twitched at the thought. “On second thought … carry on.”

“How little you trust her self control.”

I snorted in amusement. “Enough, you two. I’m not going to strangle anyone. Tonight, anyway.”

As I ate I watched the faeries celebrating to the flutes and drums. If their attention was on partying, their attention wasn’t on me, which I was grateful for. I couldn’t escape their curiosity altogether, obviously. Being the newest addition, many eyes watched me skeptically, but at least the majority of them had the decency not to stare for long periods of time.

“Adair is here,” Declan observed.

I found Adair conversing with Evan on the outskirts of the crowd. When he saw me, he acknowledged me with a head bow and continued his conversation. I could only imagine what Evan was trying to cook up without me.

When Rymidon came back a few weeks ago all we did was discuss reinstating our trade. Apparently we had an animal called a falkur that Rymidon didn’t have. From what I learned it, was an animal I never wanted to encounter. Their teeth were the strongest of all the animals and made the sturdiest daggers.

Sakari and Skye had been pretty quiet through it all, mainly observing. When there was a phrase or word I didn’t know, I’d hear Sakari’s quiet snorts of laughter, but whenever I’d scowl his way, his smile would melt my irritated glare. He wasn’t meaning to sound nasty or cruel. He honestly found my lack of knowledge and familiarity amusing.

“Are there any other Royals here I should know about?” I asked to distract me from Evan and Adair’s conversation.

“The only leader missing is Elena of Elfland, but I’m not surprised about that.”

“Why’s that?”

“She doesn’t leave Elfland much,” Declan said quietly. “And she has a history with Adair.”

“A not so
pretty
past,” Kai snickered. “She stays away from him as much as possible.”

“What happened?”

As if Adair knew we were talking about him, he excused himself from Evan and began to make his way over to us. “We can discuss it later,” Declan murmured under his breath.

“Calliope, how lovely you look this evening.” Adair took my hand and kissed the top.

“Thank you, Adair.” I did my best to sound more confident and comfortable in my skin.

“It really is wonderful what has been set up here tonight. It’s good to have us all in one place again.”

I nodded. “I bet it is.”

“Thank you for making this celebration happen.” He smiled warmly, and I wondered about my father. This man used to be his best friend. What was he like back then? What did Adair know about his life here?

“I didn’t really do much.” I shrugged.

“How modest you are, Calliope. This is all possible because of you.”

I felt the heat rush to my cheeks. I didn’t know how to respond so I smiled meekly.

“I’ll let you finish your meal and enjoy the evening. I’m probably scaring away all the possible prospects.” He winked, but my smile dropped at remembering the other reason why tonight was taking place. “Have a good evening.”

“You too.” When he was out of earshot I hissed, “This isn’t going to turn into a bad episode of
Blind Date
is it?” I realized my mistake after they both gave me puzzled expressions. “Never mind. Human moment.”

While looking back at the crowd I noticed Allura dancing in the center of a cluster of guys. None of which were from Faylinn. Either they were unaware of brother Kai or they didn’t care. Her dreadlocks fanned out around her as she swayed and twirled, soaking up the attention. All the male faeries around her looked to be from Oraelia and definitely enjoyed what they were seeing. When she caught my eyes, she winked and carried on dancing.

“Allura seems to be having fun,” I observed.

“She’s going to wish she thought twice about that tomorrow,” Kai warned as he glared at each and every male within a five-foot radius of Allura. I smirked at his over-protectiveness.

“I’m going to go check with Dugal to make sure everything is running smoothly.” Declan began maneuvering around the table in a hurry.

“Everyone’s here. What could possibly pose a problem?” I asked.

He turned. “Anything—ogres, pixies, trolls, rogue faeries. Just because Favner is gone doesn’t mean we are free from harm.”

“
Comforting
.”

Declan shrugged, but a small smile took shape on his lips. It appeared he was beginning to understand my sarcasm because he didn’t try to comfort me before walking away.

As I watched him retreat bright pink eyes stuck out from the crowd as they scrutinized my every move. When I put the eyes to the face, the disapproving stare made sense.

“What’s the story with Dahlia?” The words came out before I realized I said them out loud.

“What story?” he asked uninterestedly.

“Well, you two must have some history.” She hated me too fiercely for it not to be personal. Just because he was my guard didn’t mean anything was going on. But as I met her stare again it was apparent she didn’t believe that.

He shrugged. “We grew up together. Why wouldn’t there be history?”

“C’mon. You know what I mean. She obviously likes you.”
What’s going on between you two?
I wished I had the guts to ask him that, but that was a whole new level of conversation that I wasn’t sure Kai and I were ready to breach.