Page 7 of Bonds of Blood
Sylvain nodded. “Your son speaks the truth, Grand Summoner Baylor. But what he is too humble to confess is that he has indeed attracted the loyalty of many, not merely his eidolons and familiars. And he did so through the kindness of his own heart.”
Father wagged his finger at us and laughed. “Of course you would say that, Prince Sylvain. It’s clear enough to me that you are quite smitten with my son. And what a fine match you make. Gods above and below, Lochlann. I knew you had it in you, but for you to contract a fae prince, of all people? And for a summoner and an eidolon to form a partnership — an intimate one, no less. Why, it’s completely unheard of.”
I could feel my ears reddening. I was experiencing so many new things. Father and I had never even talked about dating. I never once suspected that he’d be interested in hearing about who I was seeing or what I was attracted to.
And here he was praising what had mostly been a serendipitous meeting out in the forests of the Wispwood. I’d used the Pact of the Unknown to snatch a powerful creature out of thin air. At the time, I had no idea that I’d ensnared the love of my life, too, this prince who’d been on his way to steal a sample of the Wispwater for his Court of Autumn.
But more importantly, here was one of the grand summoners of legend himself telling us that he’d never heard of summoners and eidolons falling in love. I knew for a fact that Dr. Fang and the headmasters had turned the library and their own records upside down looking for any evidence.
Dr. Fang was even horrified when I first told her I’d accidentally contracted one of the fae. It was hard to look at Sylvain without thinking that this was somehow meant to be, that there had always been something special between us. It wasn’t just chance, not just serendipity. It was fate. Destiny.
I held my arm out as Ember and Satchel flew toward us. They landed on the palm of my hand at about the same time. Part of me flinched at the proximity of the tiny fires burning all over Ember’s body, but my muscles relaxed as I reminded myself, yet again, that they wouldn’t hurt me.
Funny how Ember’s hair and wings were constantly on fire, yet his flames never did anyone harm. It made it even more confusing when I’d occasionally find burns on Satchel’s clothing, evidence of when the two of them got a little frisky. Satchel finally explained that Ember’s fires, while mostly decorative, could get a little excitable when their master did. An explanation I was willing to accept. Sylvain, for example, didn’t really know his own strength. When he got too excited, we ended up breaking furniture instead.
Ember dropped the Blood of the Earth into my open hand, pushed his fists into his waist, and thrust his chest out. “Ha! I win, Satchel.”
“It wasn’t a competition,” Satchel whined, stomping his foot and crossing his arms.
Baylor chuckled, then bent closer. “Well, if the two of you are still keeping score, there’s another guardian right over there. Just past that hill.”
We all turned to look as a flock of birds erupted into the air, leaving a copse of trees for the safety of the sky as something huge and lumbering passed through.
I frowned. “Father, you’re not seriously thinking of sending the two of them on their own. One lump of essence is enough. It could be dangerous for them to harvest this — ”
Pixie and fire sprite alike launched like shooting stars out of my hand before I could finish my sentence. They left a trail of music as they flew, a song of Satchel’s laughter and Ember’s tinkling jewelry as they raced toward the thicket of trees. I leaned forward, about to sprint after them when Sylvain held out his arm, stopping me in place.
“Don’t you fret, little human. I shall handle this.”
I frowned at him harder. “You be sure and call for me at the first sign of danger.”
Sylvain stretched his arms to either side as he rolled his eyes. “We are surrounded by greenery and vegetation, oh summoner. In the Oriel of Earth, I am stronger than anything.”
He beckoned with both hands. A whirl of leaves obeyed his command, gathering into the shape of a larger leaf close to the ground. It resembled a heart-shaped platform at first, until Sylvain stepped on it and posed like he was about to hit the waves.
I smacked myself in the forehead. “Oh, gods. Who taught you about hoverboards?”
He cocked an eyebrow. “A hover what, now? Don’t be so ludicrous. Lochlann. Grand Summoner Baylor, I shall take my leave. Farewell for the moment.”
And just like that, Sylvain took off on his makeshift hoverboard, blasting in the same direction as Satchel and Ember, driven by the power of wind and leaves and his own stubbornness. I gritted my teeth, restraining myself. Okay, so he looked pretty cool doing it. And really, it made me prouder than ever seeing him put his unique talents to creative use.
“Do you see?” Father asked. “This is what I find most curious about your approach to summoning. You allow your followers so much freedom that they are able to find unusual applications of their own abilities.” He crossed his arms, gazing off into the distance. “Whereas I have what some might say is a challenging need to control and dictate everything.”
I pressed my lips tightly together, but didn’t stop myself when the urge to say what I felt took over my mouth. “You’ve always been a bit controlling, Father. I don’t mean disrespect. It’s only a statement of fact.”
Baylor sighed. “And why would I be upset with you for stating the truth? You deserve as much. It’s the very least that I owe you.”
I turned to him fully, the distant rustle of trees and the sounds of battle not nearly enough to tear my mind away from the curiosity of knowing. “Yeah. What was that all about? Mom is an undine, and she’s been hiding in the Wispwell all this time?”
He leveled me with his gaze, as soft and apologetic as I’d ever seen him. “In retrospect, I should have told you. Your mother’s separation from her home lake must have weakened her over time. Even the little phial that she wore around her neck was no longer enough to keep her. I traveled there, you know? After I placed her in the safety of the Wispwell. I wanted to see what happened.”
I narrowed my eyes at him. The story seemed to check out so far. “And what did you find?”
He let out a bitter huff. “Human progress. Some sort of development. That was what happened. The mundanes had dried out your mother’s lake, draining its waters and replacing it with soil and cement to build another one of their concrete monstrosities.”
Father’s arms hung at his sides. I glanced down, watching the whiteness of his knuckles as his hands tightened into angry fists. I said nothing, waiting for the rest of the story.
“Your mother and I discussed bringing her home around the time we realized that the healers could do little to help her. But by then she was too weak to travel, even by magical means. I am very, very glad that we decided not to go down that route.” His voice shook, something like wetness in his eyes. “If we had done so, your mother might have died on the spot simply from the shock of seeing that her lake was gone.”
