Fragile Destiny (The Aether Chronicles) (21 page)

“Where’s Noli?” Steven looked around. Hopefully, she’d had enough time to cool off. There was work to be done and she needed to be in top form for this afternoon.

James made a face. “She and Elise are in the tea garden. No boys allowed. Did you and Noli have a fight?”

Steven looked at Aodhan; he didn’t want to say too much with the boy present. “Noli’s under quite a bit of pressure. However, I couldn’t hide certain … realities from her.”

“Oh.” James’ look went sly. “So you explained your
engagement
?”

“I didn’t get that far.” He still didn’t understand why she was so angry. Certainly, she’d wanted to be a botanist. But now she was a queen. Didn’t all girls secretly wish to be queens and princesses? Plans changed. It was time for her to grow up and stop being selfish. Because of her impulsiveness, they were now running a court.

James studied the game board and moved his piece. “It’s Noli. She’ll come around. Just make sure you say you’re sorry. Girls like that.”

Steven’s nose wrinkled in distaste. “But I didn’t do anything wrong.”

“All the more reason to apologize.” James looked at Aodhan. “Girls are a lot of work.”

“Are they? I don’t know many girls.” Aodhan’s head cocked to one side. His hair was nearly as pale as Quinn’s. He moved his piece across the board.

Who
was
the boy? He’d ask Noli, since apparently she’d already sent word to his family.

But the boy’s eyes … where had he seen eyes like that before? They didn’t seem like earth court eyes.

James eyed the board. Couldn’t James see that he was wide open? Steven moved his piece for him. “There.”

“That’s cheating.” Aodhan pouted.

“Is it?” Steven’s eyebrows rose. “Aodhan, what house do you belong to?”

The boy frowned. “House? My father runs the Thirsty Pooka.”

Steven took a step back. Dark court. Where had Elise found a dark court boy? Oh, Kevighn and Ciarán had held Elise at the Thirsty Pooka.

“I see. What were you and Elise doing so far from home?” he asked, curiosity piqued.

Aodhan moved his piece, trying to regain his ground. “Elise and I went on an adventure. Will I return home tomorrow? I miss my father—and my uncle.”

“I’ll have to speak to Noli, since she’s arranging it.” What did Noli know?

“I have this. Is that what you mean by house?” Aodhan withdrew a sigil unlike any Steven had ever seen. The near-black stone contrasted with the web of silver around it.

Not earth court. Yet did the dark court have actual houses? He’d always thought it was naught but misfits and outcasts. Interesting.

Right now he didn’t have time for this. He needed to check on Noli, then they had a meeting to prepare for her audience. His stomach rumbled. Yes, lunch was in order as well.

“I’m going to check on the girls.” Maybe they had some food left. “Urco, stay here.” Steven made his way to the tea garden and knocked on the door.

“Who is it?” Noli called from the other side.

“It’s me.” He went inside the garden. The fragrance of flowers greeted him. Elise and Noli sat in chairs that looked like trees, under a canopy of moss and ivy. The wooden table held a full-on tea party, complete with more food than two girls needed to eat. He was so famished that he’d even eat dainty girl food.

“Go away. I’m angry with you.” Noli glared at him over her teacup, which looked like a leaf.

Elise’s lips puckered. “I’m mad at you too.”

His heart sank as he stepped all the way into the gardens, the moss floor squishing under his boots. “Why are you angry with me, Elise? I thought I was your favorite.”

Her little arms crossed over her chest and she gave him a look that was
very
Noli-like. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Tell you what?” His heart raced. “Noli … what did you do?” There wasn’t time for this.

“She told me everything. How could you keep that from me?” Tears glistened in Elise’s blue eyes.

Steven’s jaw dropped as the bottom fell out of his stomach. She didn’t …

“Noli, how could you … you have no right—”

“Yes, I do. No one likes to have the truth kept from them,” Noli spat. “She’s here, in the palace—which she remembers. People refer to me as
Your Grace
. Breena keeps calling her
princess
. I had to tell her something.” Noli switched to Latin. “I didn’t tell her that her mother is still alive, or is the high queen, but considering Tiana will be at the coronation tomorrow, you need to tell her something.”

“She’s my sister, not yours,” he huffed. Noli’s presumptuousness galled him.

“You can’t keep her in the dark forever. I know you keep the truth from people to protect them, but it still hurts us.” She switched languages.

Miri entered and bowed. “Your Grace? You’re needed; the seneschal has more questions.”

“Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have things to attend to.” Noli shot out of her seat.

“Noli, wait.” He grabbed her arm and she glared, wresting herself from his grasp.

Elise pushed past him, hurt in her eyes. “I’m going to play with Miri.”

Didn’t they understand? He was doing his job—protecting those in his care. If they’d stop being selfish and think of the overarching scheme of things, then they’d understand.

With a sigh, he sat down in one of the chairs and helped himself to a tiny sandwich. How could Noli do that? She knew very well why they’d kept Elise in the dark.

James and Aodhan appeared in the doorway.

“What a nice garden.” Aodhan’s eyes fell on the table. “Oh, lunch.” He hobbled over to the table, stuffed one of the tiny sandwiches in his mouth, and sat down.

“Are you all right?” James grabbed a cake of his own, remaining standing.

Steven raked his hands through his hair. “I don’t think I’ll ever understand girls.”

James patted his shoulder as he took a seat next to him. “No man ever will.”

Nineteen

Misunderstandings

Fatigue pressed down on Steven as he went over the coronation checklist with Bran and Elric. Noli had been chilly toward him all day. She’d been a bit awkward during the audience; he’d have to give her some pointers for the coronation. He glanced over at her as she went over her parts for tomorrow with Padraig.

Tomorrow, she had to be perfect.

Finally, Padraig left. Noli stood and yawned. “If you will all excuse me, I still have lines to memorize for tomorrow.”

Without so much as a glance, she left the room, guards trailing her. Bran left to take care of other things.

Steven sighed and looked at Elric when they’d finished the list. “Anything else?”

“Go to sleep,” Elric told him. “Tomorrow’s a big day.”

“You’re right.” Steven left.

Familiar voices drew him as he walked down the hall. He saw Bran and Noli together, a bit away from the guards as if not to be overhead. Bran handed Noli something. She opened it and frowned.

What exactly would Noli and the court spymaster have to talk about? And the letter …

He crept closer so that he could hear.

“Tomorrow we’ll need extra security—especially around Elise and Aodhan,” Noli told him softly. “I wouldn’t be surprised if Ciarán tries to use the festivities to steal the children.”

“Both? Or just his son?” Bran replied.

Son?

“Both. Under no circumstances can we allow either child to fall into dark court hands.” Noli tucked the letter in her pocket.

Bran’s eyebrows rose. “You don’t plan on returning the dark king’s son? That could have … repercussions.”

“No, I’ll return him—a child should be with their family, but Ciarán won’t get him back for free.” Determination crossed her face.

What was going on here?

Steven strode over and joined them. “Aodhan’s the dark king’s son?”

“Shhh … not so loud,” Noli hissed.

“And you only thought to tell me now?” Anger coursed through him.

Her expression turned bland. “You have so much else going on, and I just haven’t had the time. Besides, I can take care of this myself.”

“Are you negotiating with Ciarán—alone?” The outrage increased. She had no experience in this sort of thing. One misstep …

“I wouldn’t call it negotiations, and I know what I’m doing.” Her attention returned to Bran. “We’re going to need very tight security.” Noli frowned. “I hate to keep the children away from the festivities, but it might be best, especially given everyone in attendance.”

Everyone
meant Tiana. If he didn’t tell Elise about their mother before tomorrow, things could get … sticky.

Steven nodded. “Yes, Elise won’t like it, but you have a point. We can’t have the dark court, or anyone else, taking the children.”

“I’ll make sure the appropriate people are in place,” Bran replied. “Good night, Your Grace, Your Highness.” Bran left.

“What is going on?” Steven hissed, trying to sort everything out. Aodhan was the son of the dark king? Was that what the sigil meant?

Noli shook her head. “Not here.”

In awkward silence they walked to the suite. Once inside, he looked around the front parlor. No one. Good. But this late, the children should be asleep. It would be all right if James heard. For safety, he drew the soundproofing glyph anyway.

“The little boy sleeping in my old room is the
son
of the dark king?” Steven’s mind raced as he took a seat on the settee. That meant Ciarán ran the Thirsty Pooka, presumably under his alias. Odd that the dark king would run a seedy pub, yet at the same time, he was the high queen’s foil. It made sense.

“Well … ” Noli twisted her hands, one toe tracing the ground in front of her. “Ciarán calls Aodhan his son and has raised him, though he’s not actually his father. However, Kevighn is his uncle.” Again, she gave him that look.

“Wait—” He blinked, trying to process all this.

She looked away. “Considering that Creideamh and Quinn were … together, I think Aodhan might be Quinn’s son. After all, the boy has Kevighn’s eyes and Quinn’s hair.”

Steven sucked in a breath. “But how did Aodhan end up in the dark court? If he really is Quinn’s, he should be here with us.”

Noli held up a hand. “My knowledge is spotty, but Kevighn and Creideamh were fire court, and they took refuge with the dark court, which was, I think, where Creideamh met Quinn. Also … ” Her voice quieted. “Creideamh had earth talent. That’s not good, is it, if someone from the fire court has earth talent?”

“Flying figs.” The epithet just slipped out. “No, it’s … it’s punishable by death—or exile. Which makes Quinn’s journal entry make sense … and if there was a child … ” He tried to piece together Otherworld law in his head. “The child would die as well.”

“So the child was hidden in the dark court, possibly as an apology to Kevighn … ” Noli looked away. “It seems like something Quinn would do. Also, Mathias said that Quinn was a man of many secrets.”

Secrets indeed. A wife and child Steven never knew about. Could that be why Quinn had followed his father into exile? However, wouldn’t he have heard of something such as this?

“Obviously, we don’t know the entire story,” he said slowly. “It’s probably best to not let anyone know of our suspicions—otherwise, we might have to uphold the law.”

“What?” Noli blanched.

“Sometimes we might have to enforce the law—which only can be changed by the high queen. For example, current law prohibits anyone not from the high queen’s line from having the talent of more than one element. The monarch of the court where the person is found is the one responsible for ensuring they are exiled—or killed.” Steven held her gaze. She needed to understand being a ruler was far more than parties and pretty dresses. Sometimes they were in charge of unpleasant things. Not that he wished to condemn an innocent child to death.

She gulped. “Oh.”

“What are you seeking from Ciarán?” He eyed her. “Do you miss Kevighn and want to trade the boy for him?”

“Don’t be an idiot,” she spat. “What do you think I’m asking for?”

It took him a moment. “Oh, because you need to protect the pieces.”

He’d forgotten about the staff and the jewel, with everything going on. He should check to make sure they were secure in his father’s safe—and think of another place for them.

“Yes.” Noli nodded, pacing back and forth. “He won’t yield, but I didn’t expect him to immediately. Which is why we can’t allow him to steal Aodhan back tomorrow—or Elise.”

“You’re right. We’ll keep them here with Urco and some guards. Then I won’t have to explain Tiana.” Steven raked his hand through his hair. There were so many things to think about—too many.

“You’ll have to eventually,” she snapped.

“I’ll deal with her in my own time.” Anger about what she’d done earlier sloshed over him like ice water. “I can’t believe you told her.”

“And I can’t believe you hid things from me. Losing my dreams and mortality might not be of consequence to you, but they are to me.” Her eyes danced with irritation.

“Tomorrow is important,” Steven said grimly. “You need to appear like a queen … an Otherworld queen who
took
a kingdom, not a mortal girl who got the throne by accident. Be very careful not to do or say anything that lets anyone know that.” Scolding leaked into his tone. She wasn’t taking this as seriously as she should.

Noli grimaced as if she’d eaten something bad. “Are you done lecturing me? I’m going to bed—and you, Steven Darrow, are
not
welcome.”

Spinning on her heels she marched down the hall. A moment later he heard a door slam.

Urco whimpered and slunk into the living room.

“Come here, boy.” Steven scratched Urco’s head. He didn’t really understand Noli’s fury. However, he still hadn’t told her that they were married. Maybe he should tell her before tomorrow? Perhaps not.

Elise still wasn’t speaking to him and he needed to do some damage control on that, though he had no idea when. Didn’t Noli understand
anything?

He sighed again and patted Urco. “I suppose you and I will be sleeping on the couch.”

Was he making a mistake? Had his parents been right about Noli the entire time?

Steven rubbed his temples. Perhaps everything would look brighter in the morning.

Noli stood in the throne room, heart in her throat. Later today this vast and opulent room would be filled with Otherworld elite, the likes of which made Boston society seem like a dancing class.

“Now, after that, Stiofán will join you on the dais. You’ll hold hands, declare your love in front of the Bright Lady, then Stiofán will be crowned and you’ll proceed through the hall and out the doors,” the seneschal instructed.

“That’s it?” She frowned. While she expected Otherworld customs to be different, she’d thought there would be … more … to marriage here.

Not that she and V were on speaking terms right now. After all, he’d slept on the couch last night.

“Did you hear me, Your Grace?” the seneschal asked. “What precisely did you have in mind?”

Her gaze shifted to V. “It’s fine.” She shook her head. “I just … never mind.”

The last thing she wanted was to betray her mortalness—well, former mortalness—or endure V’s scolding for doing so. Again.

“Are you certain?” The seneschal frowned.

No, she wasn’t.

V gave her a glare that meant she wasn’t being regal enough.

Inwardly, she sighed. On the outside, she squared her shoulders and shook her head. “No, no. You’ve done a terrific job.”

She glanced over at V, and his look said she’d still done something wrong. Her frustration built. What else did he want from her?

“If there’s nothing else, then I have things to attend to.” The seneschal gave her an expectant look.

“That … that will be all.” Noli waved her hand like she’d see her grandmother do when dismissing servants.

The seneschal left, leaving her and V alone with Padraig, who’d be overseeing the actual ceremony.

“Noli, you
have
to be more regal,” V hissed. “Also, what was that?”

“I … I just thought my wedding would be different.” Noli looked away. A dress made by her mother and a veil attached to a coronet of flowers. Her father walking her down the aisle. Music. A lavish reception. A fancy cake.

Her family.

All those thoughts she shoved away. No, like V promised, she’d get a proper wedding eventually.

He always kept his promises.

She loved V with every fiber of her being. Yet this was all so much, so fast … and so different. Why did she keep making bad choices?

Her gaze fell on V, who was still looking at her expectantly.

Was he one of those bad choices?

No. He wasn’t.

She swallowed hard. This wasn’t how she thought it would be. Yet at the same time, there was nothing she could do that wouldn’t make it worse.

Eyes misty, Noli looked away. “I … I need to look over everything one last time.”

“Yes. It must be perfect.” V nodded in agreement. “
Excellence is not an act, but a habit
.”

“Aristotle said that.” If he was quoting Aristotle, he was serious. Excellence she could understand. But perfection? She gulped.
Noli
and
perfect
were never used in the same sentence. Try as she may, she’d never be the perfect faery queen.

Would V end up hating her for it?

Worse, would she hate herself?

“Excuse me.” Taking a deep breath, Noli fled the room as gracefully as she could.