Page 16 of Midnight in the Garden of Okay and Meh
“You are the headwoman here?”
I rolled over to look into the darkness. The fire in the center of the roundhouse threw out a little light, but all I could see of the stranger was a black shape against a blacker wall.
“I lead all who reside here, yes,” I answered softly, slipping out of my pallet to pad over to where he sat against the wall. “You are awake again. You’ve slept for a day and a half.”
“I wasn’t asleep the entire time.” His voice was smooth as water sliding over polished rocks, making me feel as if my skin were too tight.
“You watched us?” I knelt down, absently reaching for the back of his neck as I had done so often since I had dragged him half-dead from the storm.
“I watched you. You have a curious name.”
“Parisi?” I asked, my nose wrinkling, as I’d never been overly fond of it, but my mother said it had been her mother’s name, so I kept it. “I was born a great distance from here, where the name is common.”
“Parisi?” He sounded almost as if he were tasting the name. “I thought it was Sovereign.”
“That’s what I am, but not who,” I said. “You do not have a fever.”
He caught my hand as I withdrew it, spreading my curled fingers until our hands were pressed together, palm to palm. “What is a Sovereign?”
“A leader,” I said, trying to see through the dark, but I got only fleeting glimpses of his face when the flames flickered with a swirl of air. “What are you called?”
“I am Desislav, known as Desi. My village is Karanovo, in the Balkans.”
“That is a very great distance from here, as well,” I said, and told him of the area in the Indus Valley where I was born. “How come you to be so far north?”
The silhouette of his shoulders moved. “Everyone seemed to be going north for the hunting. Like you, I am a leader, and it was decided to create entrances to our domain at ideal locations. What court do you preside over?”
I scooted myself over until I sat next to him on the pallet. The normal nighttime sounds filled the roundhouse along with the occasional tendril of smoke, everything from the snoring of the seneschal to the murmurs of the chickens, goats, and sheep contained in the opposite side of the roundhouse. It was still too cold to leave them outside, as well as those members of the Court who lived in less opulent domiciles. “It is named the Court of Divine Blood. Have you heard of it? We take care of mortal beings.”
He jerked to the side, half-turning to face me. “Mortals? You think I am not mortal?”
“Of course you’re not,” I said, tucking a leg under me and edging one of the skins he’d been using over me. It was still bitterly cold inside the roundhouse despite the sleeping forms of eight other Court members and the dozen or so animals. “No mortal man could survive the storm as you did.”
“The storm ...” His voice stopped as I saw the shadow of his hand apparently running through his hair. “I remember the snow beginning to fall, but I do not remember a storm. You saved me?”
“Yes.”
“Why?” The word contained an interesting mix of curiosity and appreciation.
I thought for a moment. “Because it’s what we do. The Court was created to aid those mortal—and immortal—beings who need help.”
He gave a short bark of laughter that had a couple of the sleepers mumbling and rolling over.
“What do you find so funny about that?” I asked in a whisper.
“Irony,” he answered, then, to my surprise, tried to get to his feet. I jumped up as he wobbled for a few seconds, and held out my hands to steady him. He took them in his, and for a moment, I thought he was simply regaining his balance, but his next words drove that thought out of my head. “When I said I was Desislav of Karanovo, I should have added that I am also the founder and premiere prince of Abaddon, and you, fair Parisi, are now my prisoner.”
FOUR
PARTNERS-OF-BADASSES GROUP CHAT
AISLING
Thank you, May, for your comprehensive summary of the discussion we had last night. I’m so glad you were taking notes, because it was a bit confusing at times.
YSOLDE
Yes, thank you. Karma, did Pixie say anything about how the date went? Brom tried to act cool after he came home, but I swear he just about floated up the stairs. I’m not looking forward to him finding out that love isn’t always happy songs and steamy kisses.
