“That is troubling,” Eireth said, “as it implies someone in my court shared our plans with a member of the rebel faction of elves. There are not many people who knew I intended to send Freysha. I will question them carefully and find out who has betrayed me.”
I wasn’t sure how that helped me now, nor did I know how to feel about the admission that Eireth truly had sent someone to observe me. “So Freysha is spying on me. And that’s why she asked for a job at my boss’s office.”
Eireth rocked his hand back and forth in what wasn’t quite a familiar gesture. “I wanted to know about you. I have much to do here in my home world and couldn’t leave myself, but I wanted to know what kind of person you are. Ruin Bringer.” His brows rose and then his tone softened. “I am also curious… I did not tell Freysha to look for her, but I wondered…. Is Sigrid still alive?”
“Yeah. She’s retired and lives in Oregon with her dog.”
“Retired,” he mouthed, as if he couldn’t imagine being retired yet. “Is she well?”
“She’s still in good health. Oh, and you have a granddaughter too.”
His eyebrows rose higher. Freysha must not have stumbled across that tidbit.
“You are…” Eireth glanced at Zav. “Married?”
“Not to him,” I said.
“Val is my mate,” Zav stated.
“Which is not legally binding on Earth, as far as I can tell.”
“It is binding everywhere that matters,” Zav said.
“Thad and I are divorced,” I explained to Eireth, trusting him to have spent enough time on my world to know what that meant. “Amber is fourteen. She swims competitively, and I’ve just started teaching her sword fighting so she can defend herself.”
I wasn’t sure why I was sharing, other than he might be curious. But when I imagined him asking for more details, details that I couldn’t give because I’d been an absentee mom for so long, I clammed up. It wasn’t as if he could judge me for walking out on a kid, but… according to Mom, he hadn’t known I existed. I’d always known about Amber.
“Val’s ex-mate is inconsequential,” Zav stated.
I thought about stepping on his sandaled foot.
Eireth looked from Zav to me and back again, then smiled slightly. What did that mean?
Can you read his mind, Zav?
No. He is a powerful elf who can protect his thoughts. I would have to perform a vayushnarak—mind scouring—to gain access to them, but that is an attack, and King Eireth is currently an ally to the Dragon Justice Court.
So, mind-scouring him isn’t cool, huh?
It is not. Why? Do you suspect him of nefarious intent?
No. I suspect him of… thinking we’re odd.
He would not dare think a dragon odd.
What about me?
You are odd. I have informed you of this.
I rubbed my face, not sure what it said about me that even dragons thought I was weird.
“Perhaps Freysha could meet your daughter,” Eireth said. “And perhaps one day, I could slip away to do so also. Right now is not a good time. There is tension within the Dragon Ruling Council, which creates tension in the entire Crimson Realms.”
“It will be resolved,” Zav stated.
“With your family still in power?” Eireth asked.
“Yes.”
“Hm.”
“Who is Freysha to you?” I couldn’t say I didn’t care about dragon politics, since I kept ending up in the middle of them, but I would prefer not to care about them and to focus on my own more immediate concerns.
“You can trust her. If you are agreeable, I will have word sent to her that you will provide her accommodations in exchange for tutelage. I understand she’s currently camping in your city. I would think nothing of her camping in the forest, but the city has dangers, even for an elf, does it not?”
“Yeah.” I didn’t point out that my apartment was more likely to be targeted by bad guys than whatever bridge Freysha was sleeping under, because it did seem crappy that she didn’t have a place to stay. At one point, she’d been house-sitting for Willard, but since Willard was back home, I supposed that was over. “I guess she can crash on my couch, but you didn’t answer my question.”
“Who she is? She is my daughter.”
This didn’t stun me as much as the revelation about spying. Though I wouldn’t have guessed it based on their personalities or looks. Mostly their personalities.
“With your elven wife the queen?”
“Yes.”
“She doesn’t seem…” I pictured Freysha building goofy contraptions with Gondo out of office supplies. “Regal.”
The words spoiled rich kid had also come to mind, though I didn’t know if the elves had poverty and wealth anything like we did. How much wealth could there be when you lived in a tree?
“She is young,” Eireth said.
“So, she’ll get regal when she gets older?”
“We’ll see. Do you need anything else?” Eireth turned his palms upward.
“Do we need anything else?” I asked Zav, feeling silly for coming all the way here when the answer was in Willard’s office. Though Freysha hadn’t been willing to teach me before.
“I need only for you to be instructed,” he said.
“I could wed you if you want,” Eireth said, his tone turning dry again.
“What?” I blurted.
“In the elven way. I have the authority among our people to do so. It still wouldn’t be binding on Earth, but it would be official here and show that your claim on each other is mutual.” His eyebrows flicked upward. “Dragons do have a habit of simply claiming people without asking.”
“Imagine that.”
Zav squeezed my shoulder. “I claimed you for your own good.”
“You do a lot of things for my own good.”
“Because your tongue gets you in trouble and you need extra protection.”
“We’re not ready to get married,” I told Eireth whose eyes were crinkling. Was that mirth? What did he think? That we acted like a married couple already? “Not here, not on Earth. Besides, my boss wants to come to my wedding and see me in a dress.”
“In a dress?” Zav looked down at my chest. “Like that green dress? You will wear it if we marry in the elven way?”
“No. We’re not getting married. You’re not a citizen of Earth, and besides, we haven’t even—” I broke off, aware of the near-stranger gazing at us. I refused to talk about my sex life—or current lack of one—in front of him.
“You will learn to protect yourself from enemies,” Zav said, “and then we will mate often and vigorously.”
“Er.” I wouldn’t have guessed I could be embarrassed in front of some elf I’d only just met, even if he was my father. My heated cheeks proclaimed otherwise.
“You will enjoy it vastly,” Zav informed me.
I buried my face in my hand.
“My offer stands,” Eireth said, then whistled. His saddled bird swept down from the treetops toward us. Spreading his hands palm upward again, he said, “I am pleased to have learned of your existence and that I’ve gotten to meet you. Please tell your mother I am also glad that she is well.”
“I will.” I almost told him that Mom still had a portrait of him in the living room, but he hadn’t said he missed her and pined for her daily, so I kept that to myself. He was married to someone else now, and my mom’s days of romance were likely at an end, since she refused to fall in love with anyone else. Sad. But maybe that was how it was when you fell in love with someone from a longer-lived species.
I looked at Zav, wondering what I was doing falling for a dragon.
“You will enjoy it vastly,” he informed me, misreading my pensive expression. “I am not a self-absorbed dragon. I require that my mate be as pleased as I am.”
“That’s good to know.” I patted him on the chest. “But I do insist that you learn an Earth custom. It’s called Never Talk About Your Sex Life in Front of Your Girlfriend’s Parents.”
Zav considered this. “You are my mate, not my girlfriend.”
“Same rule applies. Ditto for wives.”
“Strange.”
18
I checked my phone as soon as I popped out of Zav’s portal and back into my apartment. Night had fallen, and I was surprised to realize it was still the same day. I’d only lost twelve hours. It looked like my mother had called three times shortly after I left, but she hadn’t left any messages. I hoped she was all right.
There was a voicemail from Willard, but there weren’t any messages from Weber. That was a relief because it meant he didn’t know I’d been AWOL on his assignment. Surprisingly, there weren’t any updates from Dimitri. Maybe he’d slept all day after being up the previous night searching for Zoltan. Though that seemed unlikely. Other than the part-time coffee barista, he was the only one working at the shop right now.
As the magic of the portal faded and Zav wandered around the living room as if he hadn’t been there before, I called Dimitri. He didn’t answer. I left a voicemail, asking for an update on Zoltan and on him. If he didn’t call back tonight, I would see if Nin knew anything.
“What are you doing?” I asked Zav as I dialed Willard.
“Determining if your domicile is sufficient to house an elven princess.”
“It’s housing me. If my dad is a king, doesn’t that make me a princess?”
“According to elven law, a mongrel cannot be a princess. Your human blood disqualifies you.” Zav prodded one of the couch cushions dubiously.
“Darn, I was hoping for a killer inheritance. Maybe some of those twig headbands. I bet they go for ones of dollars on Etsy.”
“Humans are overly preoccupied with money.”
“Because it’s hard to live here without some of it.”