Page 136 of Fated or Knot

Behind her, Rennyn had taken my place on the couch and was wrestling with Fal, who kept his lucky coin just out of reach. He must’ve picked it up when I stood. I gawked over my godmother’s shoulder, and she turned to look too and rolled her eyes. “Males,” she whispered.

“Is that normal?” I whispered back.

“Completely.”

I parted from her to visit with the other males, fighting off a purr from cozy hugs, with wings from Kauz and then Thalas.“Thank you for getting the silencing band off of me,” I said to the latter.

“Of course. Now that you’re free to walk around, I hope you walk yourself to my workshop more often. I could teach you a thing or two more about your magic,” he offered.

I promised him that I would, eager to learn more. He then nudged me to go say hello to Elion and Theodred. The redcap king had called over Tormund, it seemed, as my gentle giant stood beside him and was in the midst of mumbling, “…it’s fine. I don’t want to talk about it.”

“If you tell me what’s wrong, we have hope of fixing it.” Theodred rumbled like thunder. Stars, that was agrowlas menacing as the wrath of nature. I searched for the nearest thing to hide behind. Thalas’s wings were available, though it seemed Elion had noticed and stepped between the redcaps and me.

“Metalark,” he said in the same tone that’d made me feel all warm earlier. “Though I hear you prefer Lark?”

“That’s right,” I murmured.

As he stepped closer, I heard a more familiar growl behind me, from Marius. Elion stopped a respectful distance away. “I see you still like horses, to tame such a wild one,” he remarked.

My hand twitched, and I fought the reflex to cover my face in embarrassment. “You remember that conversation,” I said.

He had a laugh like his son’s, deep and rich. “How could I forget? It was refreshingly candid.”

I glanced over my shoulder. Marius stood a few feet behind me, his gaze darting between the wrestling dark elves—it seemed Rennyn had gotten his lucky coin back and was now trying to keep it—the quietly arguing redcaps, and then his father.

Tamed? Hardly.

“So, how have you been?” I asked.

“Busy as ever. Now eager to train you to take my job one day.” He made a motion toward me, and Marius growled again.Elion’s expression creased with amusement. “I know you’re newly bonded, son, but I’m in no way your competition.”

“Can’t help it,” he muttered back.

“Then you’ll just have to come with us,” he said, tilting his head at me. “Lark, how do you feel about walking yourself to lunch?”

39

LARK

Marius had extra growls to spare for any alpha we passed on the way to lunch in one of Elion’s preferred parlors. I walked arm in arm with Nemensia, mostly listening as she spoke at length about the highlights of the recent cases.

Elion had invited the two dream wardens to lunch in addition to his son. Both bat-eared males walked ahead of the queen and me, while the two kelpies spoke in rapid Serian behind us. It sounded like they were discussing locations underwater and the king was making suggestions about the best ones.

“I already have a place in mind,” Marius answered defensively.

“Of course.” Elion didn’t laugh, but the persistent alpha presence in his voice was full of amusement. “You know, you’re acting like…”

I just knew Marius’s ear flicked. “Like what?” he prompted.

“My heart,” Elion called in Serian to Nemensia, whose fins flicked behind her in reaction.

She switched places with Marius, who put his arm around me. The two older fae started whispering together. “They’re gossiping about us,” he muttered.

I figured. I also noticed Elion had timed this well, as the rest of us entered the parlor while he and Nemensia stayed outside, having an intent conversation that was part talking and part gazing into each other’s eyes.

I was distracted from them when I looked up and recognized where we were. It was a small room lit by a set of essence lamps floating in a glass ball overhead. Unlike what I expected from a king’s parlor, it wasn’t too fussy, though there was a painting of the queen hanging on the wall. Nemensia was very pregnant in this portrayal, and she was posed elegantly in a dress with excessive extra fabric, which flowed around her feet where her fins stopped.

While I admired the art, the circular table in the center of the room was quickly set for six by a team of house moths. This was definitely the same room from Thalas’s memory, where my mother had once sat shoulder to shoulder with Nemensia and asked the Unseelie royals to be my godfamily.

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