Page 12 of The Rowan
Astor leans forward. “I’m salivating at the thought of training her. Her power is immense. I’ve rarely encountered power of that magnitude, but to see it in a witch? Never. I’ve got a feeling she’s a hybrid, like us. What do you think?”
“I agree. Based on the bits of information she’s given, I think she knows more about her mother than she’s told us. However, the favor asks us to assist her investigation into her history. I’m guessing she needs us to find her father,” I deduce. “Her power feels like a witch. Could he be a witch, too? But she wouldn’t be a hybrid, then. If she’s a hybrid, then something powerful is preventing her from tapping into that side of herself.”
“What can I do?” Valerian interjects.
“Glad you asked,” I tell him with a smile and watch as he blanches. “Just kidding. She needs a sparring and weapons trainer. Someone good, she says. If she’s been living with Vargas, I’m guessing she’s going to give you a run for your money.”
He leans back and crosses his arms, giving me a scowl. “You know how I feel about witches. They’re fragile,” he snarls. When he realizes I’m not backing down, he slams his palm on the table. “Fine, but I want the seventy-two-year-old bottle of Macallan in your office.”
Now I’m scowling. “You want payment?” I sneer.
“Not payment for helping her. But payment for helping you? Abso-fucking-lutely,” he growls. “Besides, I’ve been asking you for a wee sip of the Macallan for ages, and you won’t open the bloody bottle. Since you won’t share, you don’t deserve it.”
“Wait a minute, I want in on this action. After all, I’m helping you, too,” Astor interjects. “I want one hour with the dark Fae book of spells you have in your safe.”
Fury rises. “How the hell do you know about that book?” I demand. I’d been purposely hiding it from him, knowing how the dark calls to him.
“I saw it when you took out the letter the other day. It was sitting there all shiny and precious. It called to me,” he answers. “Is it a deal?”
“One hour,” I reply, looking at Valerian and Daire. “I’ll bring the bottle of Macallan to the training room tomorrow. Daire, what do you want?”
Daire stares at me and states, “I want the witch gone as soon as possible.”
A small protest rises in me at his words, but I squelch them. “I agree,” I reply.
Fallon, who’s been watching the entire exchange, jumps in, “What do you need me to do?”
“I need you to investigate the assassination attempts. We’ll see if Vargas or the princess have any more information, but if not, we need to get a handle on what or who we’re facing here so we can prepare accordingly.”
Fallon nods in agreement. “I’ll put the word out to see if any of my father’s assassins have heard of this contract. It’ll be an easy enough place to start. I should finish with my mission in the next few days, and home to The Abbey by the end of the week.”
Relief shows on all our faces at this news. We’re all waiting for the day when he decides he’s had enough of his father’s machinations, but until then, we stand by and watch as these missions take their toll on him.
“Sounds good,” I reply. “Let me know what this is going to cost me.” Smirking, I hit end before he can reply.
“One day soon, you must tell us how the Princess of the Light Fae saved your life,” Daire announces. “Maybe we could send her a fruit basket or something.”
“Your sense of humor is dreadful. Honestly, I don’t know the story. I only know my piece of it,” I confess. “I’ll ask Solandis if she can tell me how she came to know about the contract on my life and why she saved me.” Another thing to add to our conversation.
* * *
“It took you long enough,”the smooth, cultured voice on the phone admonishes me. “Did you think the life debt would be so easy to absolve?” The Princess of the Light Fae’s laugh is as delicate and melodious as the female herself.
“My apologies, princess. I called with an update,” I assert, slightly irritated with her reaction. I bring her up to speed with everything that’s happened since Arden arrived, including the steps my cadre and I are taking next. “I’m calling you for any additional information about Arden and her situation you’re willing to share. In addition, I’d also like to know the story of how you came to save my life.”
“You ask for a lot,” she remarks. “But for Arden, I’ll do anything. She’s a daughter to me, do you understand? Not by blood, but mine all the same. Her mother gave me guardianship of her when she was a few weeks old. She was a powerful seer and foresaw many things to come for Arden, for me, for herself, and even for you. She knew assassins were hunting Arden, so she gave her into my safekeeping, knowing she was forfeiting her own life in return. She couldn’t tell me all of her visions, or risk Arden’s destiny changing for the worse, but she gave me strict instructions to follow to keep Arden safe. And I followed them to the letter, until the day I had to send her away, to you. Her mother told me assassins would come for her in our home, and the Killian blade would appear to save her. Once this event occurred, she would need to leave us and find her destiny.” She stops while I digest her words.
“Did I know her? Why would she send Arden to me?” I ask, trying to think of any seers I’ve met.
“She’s the reason I saved you. You appeared in one of her visions, along with one of the Killian blades. The vision told her that saving you would be a tipping point in Arden’s favor,” she explains. “Vargas found out about the contract on your life, and we intervened at the exact moment she instructed.”
“I see,” I reply as a wave of gratitude toward Arden’s mother sweeps over me. “Can you tell me the name of Arden’s mother?”
“No, Arden will tell you when she’s ready to trust you,” she states.
“Can you tell me who ordered the contract?” I ask, wondering who would have access to one of the Killian blades. A chill runs up my spine at the thought of this particular blade.
A thousand years ago, an Elven blacksmith made three blades containing the power to kill a Fae. The blades, imbued with their own magic, randomly appear throughout history, both helping and hindering the destiny of the Fae.
