“My Prince. I bring you a gift.” She placed a small mirror on a silver chain in his hand, but didn’t release it. “I could deliver it for you.”
She could, but he wanted to do that in person. It had been a long time since he’d seen his son. “No. I will attend to that myself.”
She hesitated. “He didn’t really have a choice.”
“The reason doesn’t matter.” Caspian had broken the rules of the Court and would pay the penalty. While the thought was unpleasant, he couldn’t let it go unnoticed, otherwise questions would be asked about Caspian’s lineage.
She lifted her chin, all brittle, beautiful fairy. “I wish to thank you for our time together, but I feel it is time for me to move on now that you have what you want.”
They were being watched. He saw a flicker in the mirrors as they spun but couldn’t see who was watching. There’d be time for that later.
He lifted her hand and pressed it to his lips. Such a delicate thing for the work she’d been doing. “My bed shall be much colder without you.”
She’d done everything he’d asked, and more. Now it was time to hold up his end of the bargain and free her lover. His mother would be furious when she realized one of her trees was missing.
“May I still dance with you on occasion?” He didn’t want to release her entirely; being seen with her prevented others he didn’t trust from trying to be in his bed. It would also help protect Dylis if they carried on as if everything were normal.
“As long as it is merely a dance.” Her voice was firm.
He understood. With Bramwel about to be freed, their arrangement was over. He nodded. Dylis and her lover would be allies, and he’d need them.
She bobbed her head again. “It has been a pleasure, my Prince.”
“And mine. Thank you.” He released her hand and watched her walk away. Without looking at the Counter-Window he tucked it into his waistcoat, then continued his walk through the hall.
He paused to glance in some of the mirrors catching glimpses of the world; there was one he couldn’t bring himself to look in. He hadn’t been able to look at her face in seven mortal years without feeling his heart breaking. But as he walked past he felt her presence and knew she was alive.
“How is it you walk without a woman on your arm?” Eyra slid her arm into his.
His mother smiled at him. Her eyes were dark blue; they looked human but she’d lost her humanity centuries ago. All that glittered there now was hate, not love. If he made the wrong choice, this was his future. A queen bound to him by magic and hate, love long forgotten.
“My lover has other things to do,” he lied. He wasn’t going to tell his mother that he was about to turn his attention to the mortal world and finding a queen. Just hinting at that would be fatal. She wouldn’t give up the throne and the power that went with it… his father might, just to be free of her.
“I’m sure one of my ladies-in-waiting would be delighted to dally a while with you.” She smiled, but it was cold. He doubted she loved him anymore. No, she would see him as a threat and little else.
“A most gracious offer I will have to take full advantage of.” He freed himself from her long-nailed grip and swept her a bow. She still thought him shallow and uninterested in anything but dancing, drinking, gambling, and women. That was exactly how he wanted to be seen. It was much easier to get on with stabilizing Annwyn if no one thought him of any account.
“I look forward to seeing you in my chambers.” She spun and walked away, looking not a day over eighteen, yet she was millennia old.
He touched his pocket. The Counter-Window was still there. He drew it out and gazed into the surface, his image rippled and faded, then he saw only black. Not very helpful in finding the Window, but then for what he had planned it didn’t matter.
He needed to find Verden, Lord of Hunt. It was time Caspian came to Court and met his father. Caspian needed to remember there were rules in place for a reason. He looked at his mother’s back and smiled. With Caspian here he might be able to accomplish several tasks quite simply.
Chapter 14
Caspian’s cell phone rang and jolted him out of his morbid thoughts. He’d ignored the imp, and managed to pretend today was no different from any other even as he kept checking over his shoulder for a messenger from Court. By lunchtime he’d almost convinced himself he’d gotten away with it. As deals went it was very loose, one could almost say less of a deal and more of a mutual agreement.
Lydia’s number flashed on the screen. He answered instead of ignoring it. “Hello.”
“I’m sorry I missed your call. I’ve been working in the garden.”
Caspian winced. “I can imagine.” He should have been there to help with the cleanup. “Are you okay?”
There was a pause before she answered and his heart jumped. “Lydia?”
“Can you come around early? I’ll get some takeout for dinner.”
He didn’t need bribing with takeout to spend time with her. “In an hour?”
“That would be great. See you soon.” She hung up.
Caspian put down his phone. She hadn’t sounded right; there’d been an edge to her voice like she was close to breaking. Had Shea done something? His heart clenched. No, she would have said. This was something else… the inevitable breakup? But why invite him over for dinner if she didn’t want to see him again? He didn’t want to let himself hope, and yet that was all he seemed to have.
His life was making less and less sense with every passing day. The only piece he wanted to hang on to was Lydia. She’d made him remember what it was like to be with someone—the accidental contacts that sent shimmers of heat over his skin, the glances and half-smiles. He hadn’t realized how much he’d missed that until meeting her. He didn’t want to be alone, but he needed someone who understood what his life was really like. Maybe after all of this had shaken down Lydia would still want to be part of his life… if he still had one to worry about.
Guess he’d find out when he got to Callaway House, by taxi since his car was now full of dead bees and a large hive had grown out of the backseat. He didn’t know how to report that to insurance. It was one of those problems that could wait. The imp watched, half-hidden by the wastepaper basket. He was about to shoo it away then stopped.
Caspian looked at the imp again and a smile turned the corners of his lips. He pulled a chocolate bar out his satchel, then walked out the back and got a glass of water and put it and the chocolate bar on the workbench. The imp followed, curious now.
“You want to hang around me and soak up some of the Court energy?” This had to be a sweet job that Shea had given the imp. Like a fairy, Caspian decided that keeping his enemies close was the way to keep ahead of Shea. If that meant bribing, so be it.
The imp’s gaze flicked between the water and chocolate; it was a poor approximation of the tea and cookies Caspian would leave for Brownies, but then an imp wasn’t a Brownie. The imp grasped the significance of the layout and nodded slowly.
“My car. And we shall never speak of this again.”
“You will put out a spread?”
“I might leave food out. If it were to vanish, I wouldn’t know who had taken it.” Because agreeing to leave a spread for a banished fairy was almost as bad as the agreement he’d made with Shea.
The imp’s eyes were narrowed as if he were calculating how much trouble he’d be in with Shea. “If your car were to be cleaned, and your shop too, I couldn’t say who had done such a thing. I’m merely here to watch you.”
“Exactly.” Caspian pressed his lips together to keep from smiling. The imp had been banished from Court, but he’d do anything to stay close to its power to keep from dying. Dylis would have a fit. But things had changed, and if the imp began to trust him maybe he’d trust Shea less. Without looking back, Caspian went back into the store and began to close up.