Page 72 of Oaths & Vengeance
To her credit, Aella kept her expression neutral and clasped my mother’s hand. They squeezed and let go. It was a very formal greeting among high-fae women.
“I’m afraid your son failed to tell me who we were meeting until a few minutes ago, so I’m at a disadvantage, but I am pleased to meet you,” she replied, giving her a tight smile. I could detect the annoyance by her stiff shoulders, but she didn’t direct her feelings at my mother. She was irritated with me.
Zareen sighed. “Darrow has always been good at keeping secrets and surprising us. I apologize that he didn’t prepare you better, but I’m pleased to meet you all the same. He has told me how powerful you are with your channeling abilities. I was quite surprised you could bring him here with so little trouble. Even our people struggle to open the ring on Jolloure without the extra wards you must bypass.”
In fact, the dark elves only had one who could do it, and he was quite old. Only if the King of Karganoth needed his services for himself or someone on a critical mission did he bestir that channeler. My mother would not reveal such critical intelligence, though. She had an alternative means of travel that was simpler.
“It was more challenging than any others I’ve encountered in recent years,” Aella admitted, glancing over at me. “But it gets easier each time.”
My mother lifted a brow. “So your powers are still growing?”
“I’m only thirty-three, so yes.”
Zareen’s eyes twinkled. “What a lovely age. Not so young that you lack experience, but not so old you must rush to have children.”
“Oh, well, Darrow doesn’t want…” I gripped her arm before she could finish that sentence.
“She means such matters will come later,” I said, shooting her a warning glance because I didn’t want my mother to know all the details of our relationship. She’d only meddle. “But for now, we have other priorities.”
Aella’s jaw stiffened. Of course, I’d said when we first made our bargain that there would be no sex or children, but at the time, I hadn’t thought I could stomach sleeping with anyone from Therress—no matter how beautiful. It had been better to shut down those notions. Since then, I had been rethinking many things and how she fit into my long-term plans.
My mother frowned at us. “Well, if you want that option to remain, I suggest you keep your marriage and the scope of her abilities a secret as long as possible. It will be dangerous once word gets out.”
“What do you mean?” I asked, though I had my suspicions and already worked to keep Aella’s abilities from becoming common knowledge.
Zareen’s face darkened. “Vaslav has been sighted a few times recently. I believe they’ve sent him here with a purpose that won’t bode well for us or Zadrya.”
“Did he come to you?” I asked, tensing.
She hesitated. “Yes, and he asked about you.”
“Wait.” Aella glanced between us. “Who is Vaslav?”
“He is a dangerous Unseelie prince from Faelaria.” He was also my oldest half-brother, but she didn’t need to know that yet. It got into complicated matters that I didn’t have the time to explain. Not to mention, it would dredge up painful memories for my mother. Vas was her firstborn, but she’d conceived him under difficult circumstances.
My wife glanced between us. “So Bogdan wasn’t joking when he said they sometimes come here?”
“He rarely jokes.”
My mother snorted. “Sadly, but he has his reasons.”
“Wait.” Aella’s brows drew together. “A few months ago, Tadeus told me he overheard my uncle mentioning someone named Vaslav. I only remember because the name isn’t common here, but my cousin seemed to think Lord Morgunn met with him.”
I stilled and glanced at Zareen, whose face paled. “This confirms what we thought. Therress is working with the Unseelie as well as the dark elves.”
“But…” Aella shook her head. “Why would he do that? It’s a betrayal to everyone in Paxia if he’s helping them, too.”
My mother put a hand on my wife’s shoulder. “We don’t even know what the Unseelie want with our world since they’re doing an excellent job of hiding their plans. It's best not to jump to conclusions until we can ascertain why Lord Morgunn met with one of them.”
“Do not try to find out more,” I said, giving her a warning look. “It is a dangerous game you’re ill-equipped to play.”
She crossed her arms. “Only because everyone keeps me in the dark about it all.”
“Be grateful for that.” Zareen dropped her hand. “It is likely what has helped keep you out of harm’s way for this long.”
“Just because I can’t feel the spider crawling up my back doesn’t mean it can’t bite me,” she replied stonily.
Aella had a point, but I couldn’t let her statement stand. “Avoiding a spider web is often a wiser course of action than walking through it if you have a choice.”
