Page 79 of Luca

He shrugged casually and went back to packing as if he hadn’t just propositioned and cockblocked me in one fell swoop.

Brat.

A knock sounded, officially derailing the moment, and with an eyebrow scrunch, my mate strolled over to see who it was. I knew it was Zadok without even glancing past my shoulder. Cerila and Gary had already departed for the Shades’ hideout, planning to regroup and await our call, and Flick rarely dropped in on us unless it was a call to dinner. It was morning, yet even without the powers of deduction, I’d have guessed our visitor’s identity regardless. The older Fae had a habit of rubbing his fingers together whenever he was nervous, excited, or deep in thought, and I could hear the motion even through the door.

“Hey,” Luca said, voice like sunshine. “We’re almost done packing.”

“Oh, I won’t disturb you for long, I only wanted?—”

“Don’t be silly. Come in.”

The door creaked almost shut, and two sets of footsteps—perfectly in sync with one another—advanced to the center of the room. I turned, nodding to Zadok in acknowledgment. He had his shoulder-length hair tied up, messy strands falling over his face and twining around his horns.

A cursory look down confirmed that he was indeed fidgeting.

“What d’ya need?” Luca asked, plopping himself down on the bed without a care for the shirts I had just neatly piled there, awaiting his father’s reason for being here. Not that he needed a reason, but he clearly had one.

“Last night at dinner, you mentioned your friend Alex. Teighan’s mate?” He removed an item from his pocket, a pleated leather bracelet with a rune attached to the clasp. “You said he’d like to visit, but because of the ward on the Veil, he can’t…”

Luca nodded. “Yeah, he’s dreamed of it since way before I met him. I think he went off the idea for a bit after he found out how badly the king treated Tee, but they’re still open to finding a way through, at some point.Ifthere was a way, that is.”

“I should have taken the ward down the day I was banished,” his father said as if scolding himself, shoulders slumped. “Or the day I felt the mating bond snap, but I didn’t want to invoke more of the king’s wrath, didn’t want him harming the people I love.” He looked up from the bangle in his hands, his next words directed toward me. “If you overthrow him, and I have the guarantee that he won’t retaliate, I will remove the ward without hesitation.”

I nodded at him in appreciation.

“Until then…” He offered the trinket to Luca, who took it with a frown and a curious head tilt. “Hopefully this will be enough for your friend.”

“What is it?”

“It will grant him passage to the Otherworld, but only for short periods at a time,” Zadok explained. “As he is mated to Teighan, the magic of their bond will slightly weaken the strength of the ward on the Veil, but still not enough to allow him through. This band is enchanted with a counter spell, and it will give him a boost. As soon as it is on his wrist, he will have three days before he must return to the human realm.”

“What happens after three days?”

“He will be dragged back, and depending on where he is, it might not be pretty.”

My mate’s eyes widened. “Right. Three days.”

“Once he returns, tell him to bury it under soil from the Fae side of the city and leave it for at least a month to let the magic refill before visiting again. That’s important.”

Luca nodded along, absorbing the instructions. “Got it. I’ll tell him.” He slipped the band safely into the front of his pack before returning his attention to his father, a grateful smile on his lips. “Thank you. This will mean the world to him, and Tee.”

“I am glad that your brother has found his mate,” Zadok addressed me once again, his expression soft. “He deserves it after everything he went through. It may not be much of a grand gesture, but this is partly my apology for not telling him of his mother sooner.”

“You knew her?” I said, and the light in his eyes dimmed slightly.

“Yes. Eleri was an extraordinary woman—strong, generous, and fair—but fate dealt her the cruelest hand.” He gazed off to the side as if recalling a troubling memory. “When she died, the king ordered all mention of her to be wiped off the face of the earth. I obeyed, but per her final request to me, I drafted a contract in blood ink, ensuring that her journal could never be destroyed or modified. It was the least I could do to protect even a fraction of Teighan’s legacy. The king found out and... punished me severely for it, then had me hide the documents in my office, so only he and I would have access to them. I should have tried harder to tell the boy of his birthright when he grew up, but I was… terrified.”

“He’s such a bastard,” Luca growled, a spark of magic igniting at the tips of his fingers before disappearing. “Teighan wouldn’t blame you for it. You did what you had to do to survive, as everyone does within that dickhead’s orbit. I swear, every time he’s brought up, I’m given more and more cause to despise him, and then I end up hating him even more for bringing it out in me.”

I rested my hand on the boy’s nape, squeezing gently. “Breathe, sweetheart.”

He heeded my request, inhaling deeply before releasing the breath slowly. “I’m fine, I just… I hate what he’s done to all the people I care about. It’s not fair that he gets to go unpunished, and everyone else has to do his bidding or get hurt if they step out of line.”

“I know.” I brushed my thumb over his pulse point, content with its steadying pace. “That will not be the case for much longer.”

Luca aimed a weak smile at me, and I felt the urge to lean down and kiss him, to soothe the distress emanating through our bond, but I refrained. Only because I knew he would fuss at having an audience.

“I apologize,” Zadok said, shifting awkwardly from side to side. “It was not my intention to dampen the mood. I only wished to make amends.”

---