Page 59 of A Court of Ash and Midnight
I blink, stunned by his threat, but he’s already turned and moving off into the darkness again. And then he, too, disappears into the night.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
“Is everything alright?”Cillian asks when I get back to the table.
I nod and force a smile. “Yes. Fine.”
He raises his brows. “A friend of yours? From House Aeternas?”
“I wouldn’t say friend,” I manage to get out through gritted teeth, my fingernails pressing into my palms. Even after walking all the way back to the tent, I’m still shaken up by what Daemon had said to me.
“Daemon is another one of my students at Shadow’s Keep,” Professor Julian says. “He has, ahhh… an unfortunate family situation. Remember our discussions about that, Embyr?” He shoots me a look that is as close to stern as he’s probably capable of.
“Yes, Professor,” I mumble. Hehadwarned me. And I’d chosen to ignore him. It seems my self-preservation instincts are getting a bit rusty.
“Speaking of family,” Julian continues, “I’d very much like to meet yours.”
I pause halfway through lifting my goblet of ale to my lips. “Um… that’s probably not the best idea.”
“I’ll back my cousin up on this one,” Cillian says. “Our grandparents could give competition to House Aeternas in terms of truly unfriendly dinner conversation.”
Professor Julian chews a mouthful of food thoughtfully and then wipes his mouth on his napkin before responding. “Be that as it may, I’d like to meet the family of the mystery girl who showed up on my doorstep with no memories of her past. I’m very curious as to how they found you after all this time.” He levels another intense gaze at me. “After all, we have spent the last few months trying to regain your memories and your magic. It’s a missing piece of the puzzle that bears examination, don’t you think?”
He’s not wrong, but the idea of striking up conversation with my grandparents is as close to verbal torture as one can get. I nod and force myself to eat, though my appetite is now completely gone.
Cillian and Julian strike up a robust conversation through the rest of dinner. I don’t think I’ve ever seen two people with such a gift for chatting in my entire life. I don’t bother trying to keep up with them. I’m sick to my stomach about what happened with Daemon, and I’m even more nauseated at the idea of trying to introduce my grandparents to Julian. If I get lucky, perhaps they’ll leave dinner early. Or maybe they’ll outright refuse to talk to him.
But as people begin to finish the main meal and head back through the other tents for more drinks, or to smoke, my grandparents join the crowd and Professor Julian gestures for us to follow them. We wait until they’ve refilled their wine, andthen, to my great relief, Cillian says, “I’ve got this, cousin. You can relax.”
He approaches our grandparents with a broad smile and impossible-to-dim charisma. “Beloved grandparents, I must introduce you to one of Embyr’s professors from Shadow’s Keep, Julian Eimyrys. He is the Shadow Guardians’ Commander of Spells.”
I cringe, expecting a sour response, but they turn to Julian with pleasant smiles, even offering small nods of deference. I realize that despite his befuddled academic appearance, Julian is in fact one of the leaders of the most powerful organization in Aureon. From their demeanor and the looks on their faces, my grandparents are eating up this introduction and the chance to get in close with someone so high up within the fae royal chain. My eyes roll before I can stop them, but only Cillian notices, and he shoots me a quick grin.
“I am beyond delighted that Embyr has been reunited with her family,” Julian says after initial pleasantries are exchanged. “I told her when she wound up outside the gates of Shadow’s Keep that I would do everything in my power to help her regain her memories. And now you’ve arrived out of nowhere… such a happy story.”
I suppress a wince. My secret is out in the open now, if they hadn’t already figured it out.
My grandmother smiles, sweeping her gaze over me. The warmth doesn’t reach her eyes. “Indeed. We’re so grateful.”
“You’d been searching for her for what, eight years?” Professor Julian asks, not seeming to notice.
“Aye,” says my grandfather. “Eight long years.”
There’s a slight burr to his tone, and my grandmother pats his arm in a placating gesture. “My husband worried more and more with each year that passed. We were so relieved to catch windthat a girl fitting our Ariana’s description had been taken in by the Guardians.”
Ariana?I blink. Of all the things I’d wondered over all these years, my given name had certainly been one of them. But now, hearing it spoken aloud by my family, it feels wrong. Like a puzzle piece that doesn’t fit, or the note of a song sung off-key.
“You must have an extensive network,” Julian says pleasantly. “We Guardians tend to keep the news of what goes on behind our walls just that… behind our walls.”
My grandmother lets out a small musical laugh. “I can’t even remember who we heard that from…lucky coincidence. Fate clearly wanted us brought back together again.”
“Ahh, fate. Yes.” Julian nods. “Always popping up when you least expect it.”
“It has certainly bitten me a few times,” Cillian adds with a chuckle. “Though I will agree that this time it was benevolent, reuniting me with my dearest cousin.”
“You have plenty of other cousins,” my grandfather says gruffly. “Whom I doubt would appreciate your favoritism of the one who wasn’t even here the last third of your lifetime.”
Cillian merely laughs, and I wonder if anything bothers him ever.
