Page 102 of Fated or Knot

I’m sure I did a poor job of hiding my relief. “Yes, of course. You were my favorite bonus dad.”

“Hah! Elion would murderme if he heard that. You and your father visited during one of his busy seasons,” he said. “Was it the tricks? I’ve had to retire a few with fewer kids around.”

“The bugs?” I guessed.

He flicked his fingers, and one of the shiny, small beetles appeared in his palm, though it was a bright yellow. “No, butthey’re cheese now. Ambriel inherited that kelpie palate. Not a single sweet tooth to be found.” He tisked and handed me the bug, which I ate without hesitation. It was a nip of cheddar after the brief crunch of the shell. “I’m hoping I can entertain our next kid too, or I’m going to have to retire as the fun dad.”

He beamed and added a moment later, “Who am I kidding? I’ll never retire. I’ve got plenty of adult kids to bother. Speaking of which, what are you two up to?”

“We’re getting Lark’s rooms set up,” Tormund answered cheerfully.

“Fantastic idea. Someone get Lark achair. Watching her balance there with a cast on is doing all kinds of terrible things to my instincts,” Rennyn said in an equally bright tone.

“Sorry,” I said, surprised.

“Come along. Dozens of very nice chairs this way,” he said, then switched languages with a careless wave behind him. “Clear my afternoon schedule. Say something urgent came up or something.”

The four palace workers that’d been following him shrugged and went about their days as if this was completely normal. We continued to the supply rooms, now with Rennyn flanking my other side.

I kept trying to guess which tricks he’d retired, which appeared to be none of them. He still had his lucky coin, which was worn down to a flat gold disc after being handled so often. He had all kinds of things up his sleeves still: playing cards, a small flower, an even smaller throwing knife, and a piece of jerky wrapped up in a bright paper as if it were a candy.

I must’ve found him plenty distracting, because the next thing I knew, I was seated in the first supply room, on a chair made of the velvety, dark green fabric I’d been admiring earlier.

“Small purr of approval,” Rennyn said offhandedly.

“We can do better,” Tormund agreed before wandering off. From my seat, I had the impression that these rooms were a maze of furniture, cleaning tools, and repair equipment.

The dark elf king leaned on the wall beside me, one leg bent to brace his foot on the surface. He flipped his lucky coin idly. “So, I’d ask how you’ve been, buuuuut…” He drew out the word. “I was there for the questioning. Don’t worry, li’l p’nixie. We’re going to make sure you’re well cared for here.”

My smile slipped. “What questioning?”

“What questioning,” he echoed with a sigh. “I knew the lads wouldn’t tell you. We had an extended get-to-know-you session with a certain mermaid when you all first arrived.”

There was only one mermaid he could be referring to, and I’d managed to avoid thinking about her. Fal and Marius had donesomethingto get her to break my unfair vow to her. “Did you all… Is she…”

“Did we torture her? Not as much as we wanted to. Is she alive? Aye, for now,” he supplied. “She’s in a jail cell. We’re awaiting word from Queen Alora for permission to execute her, as she’s not one of our subjects.”

My eyes widened.Execute?But I’d dreamt of a world without my stepmother too much to not be a little relieved at the possibility.

“How much did she tell you?” I dreaded the answer.

An “extended” session with her would probably be all it took for an experienced questioner to pry out every moment of my childhood. Much as I remember loving my godfamily, that this was their first impression of me as an adult was mortifying. Hopefully they didn’t assume I was weak, like Marius initially had.

Tormund announced himself before plonking another chair in front of me to try. It was a dove gray and made of soft material that gave just right when I transferred to sit on it. The armrestswere also at a perfect height, and I sank into it with a smile despite myself.

“Looks like a winner, Tor-Tor. Why don’t you tag the whole set for her?” Rennyn suggested.

He waited until the redcap left to do just that before he turned his red gaze back to me. “Look, I know the scent of shame when I smell it. Stop that.We’reashamed that we were fooled and that you, our goddaughter, was taken advantage of so cruelly. You could ask my mate for the moon right now, and she’d figure out how to give it to you.”

My eyes pricked with tears. I didn’t want her to feel obligated to give me anything.

“It’s not out of pity. Helping you is one of the only things we can do to make up for lost time,” he said, as if reading my conflicted thoughts. “My son—Falindel, I mean—was there for the questioning as well. He listened to it all without flinching. That’s love, kid.

“Once you’re a member of Pack Sorles and your training begins, you’re going to find tough love in every direction. Theo’s going to wake you before the sunrise for self-defense drills. Elion is going to bore you to deathwith thedullestmeetings known to faekind. You’ll train your magic with Thalas until you pass out. And with me…” He flashed his wicked Unseelie smile. “We’re going to see if you really have no cunning bones in your body.”

“I don’t think she does,” Tormund put in. I startled, not realizing he’d returned and listened to at least some of the conversation.

“You can hide a lot behind a sweet face,” Rennyn commented. “And I wasn’t done. Nemensia will be there with you every step of the way, too. Congratulations, Metalark. Welcome back to the family.”

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