“Fine, let’s discuss the most important thing. Is there some kind of flour anywhere so I can get some cake?” Dra’Kaedan asked.
“Rafe, you owe Tiri a dollar,” Ellery stated. “And Chand, I believe you owe him several.”
“No one can transfer money on this realm, and I have told everyone a million times that you do not have to keep paying me,” Tiri complained.
“I will give you a dollar when we get home,” Rafe responded, which made Tiri sigh loudly and gaze forlornly at his mate, Ducblanc Zane Draconis, who tugged him into his arms.
“Chand will transfer four,” Alaric stated.
“Back to the flour,” Dra’Kaedan demanded.
Renny gave Rorie an epic eye-roll as Drekkoril informed the Grand Warlock that he doubted such a thing existed. While the world around them might be slowly collapsing, at least Rorie had his v’airsell nioll and a family that had welcomed him and Drekkoril from the start. Now if they could only figure out how they came to be on their realm, so they’d be able to wake up and start cleaning up the giant mess that was the home of the Fae.
Chapter 27
Renny was luxuriating in a bath spiced with water that cleansed him and made every hormone in his body sing. Half-hard, he would probably be happy if there wasn’t a frowning fairy sitting clear on the other side of the lagoon with a miserable look on his handsome face.
“What’s wrong?”
Rorie glanced up with surprise clear on his ethereal features. “Months have passed since the death of my parents. I remember taking the time to grieve for them before my memory stops. I do not recall learning the truth of them. My mind rebelled at the very idea that they were not perfect. Now I grieve because it took me so long to figure out what was not good about them. I realize I was not treated as I thought.”
“How do you mean?”
“They sent me away so I would not see what they were up to in the castle. When I was home, I could speak to them about politics and other important subjects at their discretion. They did not allow me friends and kept me sheltered so I would not form opinions other than theirs. Not even my education was normal and yet, I never pulled my head from the clouds. I could have wandered into the library. It was not forbidden. Why did I not?”
“I can’t speak for them and I don’t want to be insulting, but I have a feeling that if you’d taken an enormous interest in the library and started questioning what they taught you, the rules might’ve shifted.”
“I concede you have a fair point.”
“How did you fill your days?”
“On the days I traveled, the rioell setieons would escort me as soon as it was light out to my destination. It varied. I understand that prevented me from forming connections, as did the rotating guards. I would get to meet with people, though they were brief interactions. Mostly we roamed around as they tasked me with the job of keeping the maps in the castle current. It was a most boring thing to handle.”
“And on the days you were home?”
“I dined with my parents for each meal, and they were lengthy affairs. There was always entertainment…dancers, jugglers, plays. In between such events, I would work on my maps or read.”
“I thought you said you didn’t go into the library.”
“I did not. I read made-up stories from writers across the realm. There were tales of adventure and love. I liked them a great deal.”
“I wondered why there were no fiction tomes or scrolls in the library.”
“They are considered foolish and not worthy of being added, but I thought them of immense value. I suppose I escaped through literature.”
“It’s a fantastic way to entertain yourself.”
Rorie nodded. “I agree. I wish they were written with magical ink; I would insist you read them.”
“Where are they?”
“There is a tiny room at the top of the castle where I played as a child. It is near to bursting with them.”
“Were your parents upset that you liked to read them?”
“No, not a bit. I think looking back now from my new perspective, they did not care how I passed the day as long as I did not ask many questions or otherwise annoy them,” Rorie lamented. His eyes filled with tears. “All my fond memories are being replaced by reality. I was so often pushed aside or told to run off and amuse myself. My mother and father would tell me that as a fairy I had excess energy, and that I must learn how to filter it, or I would become a nuisance to the world around me. The truth was, I was a pest tothem.”
With a splash of water, Renny crossed the lagoon to take his mate into his arms. “I’m sorry.”
