A Lady of the Realm (15 page)

“What may I do for you?” Polite and direct, that was the way to go. For nearly immortal beings, they acted as if everything was a waste of time. This guy was stressed out, as I gathered from his tense stance and glittering lilac eyes. He looked around the street expectantly, his foot tapping in agitation. His mousey brown hair hung in damp tendrils as if he just got out of a shower.

“Nothing for me,” the stranger said smoothly.

“Who are you?”

He gave me a deep bow. “Fredrick McIre, m’lady. You’ve grown into a beautiful young thing. Do you enjoy your animal friends?”

He didn’t mention a House name. That was odd. Most people wanted you to know exactly who you were dealing with. It was always good to throw out who’d be on your ass if you had any questionable ideas.

“What do you want?” I delved into my pocket for the phone, just in case. Sasha was my panic button. As my Lord, and soon to be ruler, he was the person to call if I was in trouble. I could open my mind and give a mental shout out now, but I trusted the phone more. There was a reason this guy was here; I just had to ask the right question.

He clasped his hands and rocked back and forth on the balls of his feet. “You have to claim your title; you’re the heir to the DeDe line,” he said, his aura oozing with dishonesty.

“I know who I am. Why do you care?” I asked concentrating on his response.

He sighed. “The DeDe witches were the best at what they did. That’s why they were eliminated. Politics, you know.” He shrugged his shoulders as if murder was an everyday occurrence, which it was from all accounts. How else do you settle disputes if you live hundreds of years?

I sighed in exasperation. “I’ve time.”

I was bidding my time because really, I wasn’t into saving the world. I wanted money; I wanted power, and I wanted a privileged life. So far, I had most of my needs met, and I figured a couple more years of studying wouldn’t be a bad idea. Both Sasha and Malachi had agreed it wasn’t a bad plan. In entering the Realm, I would be entering a dangerous game. Politics was a bitch.

“Time is precious. You must get there Bethany; it’s imperative.” His hands were clasped tightly in front of him as he leaned forward. He glanced up, his eyes scanning the street as if he heard something.

“Imperative for whom? Why?”

He shimmered before me, glowing hot with rage as his voice thundered up.

“Why, why, why. This younger generation always wants explanations before they do anything,” he said. He stepped forward, his voice lowering. “It’s the slaves.”

“The what?” I asked in confusion.

He simply stared at me as if I had grown a third breast. A whisper like forged steel came out of him.

“Maybe I was wrong about you.”

He chuckled darkly in wry amusement and popped out of my field of vision. Damn freaky elves. A sudden breeze slithered down my spine causing goose bumps to rise along my arms. I wanted to get home. Now.

Damn, damn, damn, damn, damn. It was time to start the paperwork. If a stranger knew who I was, knew about the animal thing, knew how to find me, then I had to take the offensive. I extended my mind to feel Sasha’s mood. A pink haze clouded my vision when I found him. He was busy, with someone else. Reaching into my pocket for my cell, I was grumbling under my breath before the first ring. The phone rang six times, about five times more than my patience would allow.

“Is everything okay?” He wasn’t even breathless. High stamina, evidently.

“Do we still have time?” I barked.

Sasha said nothing for a very long time. Which was pissing me off something fierce. Red blots began to creep in my vision as I strived for patience.

“Hello, Sasha? Are you there?” I asked after a considerable amount of time in nothing but silence.

“Bethany, what are you talking about?” he hedged.

Using my full name was a stalling tactic. I inhaled deeply and took my time before answering. I didn’t feel like playing word games with him.

“I changed my mind. I want to claim my title this year. Can we get the paperwork filed in time?” Again, he took a very long time to answer, probably because he knew I wouldn’t like what he had to say.

“Mayhap, come home,” he said.

I was beyond mad. I had told him and Malachi I wanted to skip the ceremony this year, but I was assured that if I changed my mind, everything would fall in place. Now, I wasn’t sure. His tone, the slight hesitation before he answered me, made me think he wasn’t going to help me at all.

“You fucking prick! Have you been lying to me? My opinion of you just plummeted, and it wasn’t high to begin with.”

I was fuming. My instinct had never let me down before.

“Come home now,” he growled.

“I’m not going anywhere near you. I’ve wasted enough of my time with you as it is,” I said.

“I do not lie, least of all to you. Reach out to me,” he said.

He opened his mind to me, emitting his emotions so that I could feel, not only hear his answer. I embraced the tendrils, inspecting the cool energies carefully. Dang it. He wasn’t hiding anything. He needed me home, to talk about the next step.

“What the hell do I have to do? And don’t bullshit me.” There had to be an easy way in or Fredrick wouldn’t have bothered coming to see me.

“Where did this sudden urge spring from?” he asked avoiding my question. Once his mind was open, my own emotions became tangled with his, and he wanted to know why I was suddenly anxious.

“Answer my question first, and I’ll tell you,” I said carefully.

A woman’s voice drifted in the background, “Hey, daddy, are you going to do business all night long?”

It wasn’t his fault. You can’t help certain reactions. I felt his lust rear up through the link unexpectedly, and I shuddered in pure rage. My vision blanketed all greenery in red. I was livid. Damn it, I knew I couldn't be his top priority at all times.

“I didn’t mean to interrupt you while you were busy fucking.” I reached for the end button, jabbing at it violently.

“Minx, wait…” but I hung up before I heard another word. I wanted a drink, maybe two. Hell, the whole bottle would do. Something would come up. It always did.

Chapter Fifteen
:
A Sense of Urgency

Dawn didn’t come soon enough. Peaches trailed behind, murmuring and mumbling about talking to the dark elf before embarking on a suicide mission. We weaved through the streets of the CBD with more haste than I’d ever had. Sasha tried to call several times throughout the night. The phone rang so many times that I chucked it into the Mississippi during a fit of rage.

I found the building I was looking for and stepped through, immediately feeling underdressed. The offices of Lord Malachi were as pristine and sterile as a doctor’s office. White walls interrupted only with one blue dog print on each by Cajun artist George Rodrigue. There were two white damask chairs discretely in a corner for the clients, but by the looks of them, no one had actually ever sat in them. The secretary in charge was mid—thirty’s, polished from the top of her severely tight bun to the black imposing pantsuit. She flicked her eyes up as I stepped through, and a cringe formed on her pouty, deep burgundy lips. I didn’t resemble the usual clientele.

I hadn’t phoned ahead since my cell was in a watery grave. I walked carefully to the receptionist, self-conscious of my crumpled Margaritaville t-shirt, ripped and faded blue jeans, and Converse hi-tops. Peaches trailed behind grunting every other step she took. The receptionist narrowed her eyes as I came forward and grimaced when her eyes landed on Peaches.

“No dogs allowed in the building,” she promptly said. Sniffing the air in disdain, she pointed back out towards the door.

“I didn’t see a sign,” I said.

“Unless you’re disabled, young lady, no dogs allowed,” she replied in an attempt to send my unwanted presence away. I ignored the insult.

“I need to see Lord Malachi,” I said, getting down to my purpose. I had an epiphany with the first rays of dawn. An unusual occurrence since I'm not a morning person. I wasn't in the mood to be nice or diplomatic.

“Lord Malachi is a busy man; he hasn’t time,” she said dismissing me with a wave of her manicured hands. I wasn’t about to go anywhere after trekking my ass here so early in the morning without benefit of either sugar or caffeine. I leaned forward, pointing a finger into her face.

“Tell him that Beth…”

I didn’t finish the sentence. Snotty bitch got up and started walking around the desk towards me while reaching for the phone.

“Pay attention, little girl, I can only imagine where and under what circumstances you met Lord Malachi. You have thirty seconds before security is here. If you go quietly, no charges will be pressed.”

That did it. I cracked and all Southern manners went right out the window.

“Listen to me you, fucking uppity bitch. I want to see Malachi and I want to see him right now. I don’t care what he’s doing or who he’s with. I’ll go postal on your ass if he’s not out here in five seconds. Do you understand me?” I yelled as I reached out and tried to grab the phone from her hands.

The secretary scurried away, speaking into the phone in hurried, anxious tones. Her eyebrows inched upward as I leaned over the counter, my feet flapping in the air. My sudden outburst brought out a couple of blank—eyed employees who must never see any action. They all seem to be wearing the same power suit and tired, harried expression on their lifeless faces.

Instinct told me to go through the door a corporate zombie had propped open for a better view of the commotion. Peaches nudged the man out of the way, and I followed her as quickly as I could. She grumbled all the way down the hall about how she could smell that evil fairy blood, as she put it. Security personnel, and that uppity bitch for a receptionist, were right behind us. I pressed closer to the dog urging her to find Malachi quickly among the maze of cubicles and doors we were running in
to.
I was taking up jogging after this shit.

“Almost there.” Peaches grumbled as I grabbed my side where a stitch was forming.

“Stop, or you’ll be shot!”

Shot for what? Jeesh. I turned my head for a second to see what was going on. They had tasers and were prepared to use them. Damn, what kind of lawyer was Malachi?

Peaches had come to a stop by a massive door, barking frantically towards it. That would be what the humans heard. What I heard was a bit more distressing for she wasn’t polite.

“Open the door you evil, no—good son of a bitch. I know you’re in there, holed up with that soulless shifter. Beth needs you. It’s only a matter of time before the dark elf comes for her, and then what will happen to all your scheming behind the House’s backs? Open the damn door.”

As I reached the door, I tried desperately to gulp some much-needed air. I was on an exercise regimen after today.

“Malachi …” It came out on a sigh as I continued to heave in air.

The guards stopped about a yard away screaming ‘raise your hands’. I was pounding on the door with all my might. It all happened rather quickly. The door opened, and I turned around in time to see a very surprised looking fairy. I reached up to put my arms around him and pain shot through me. Fuck, I’d been tased.

“What’s going on?” Malachi asked as I slumped at his feet unable to answer his question for noticeable reasons. Polished bitch had no such troubles.

“I’m so sorry, Lord Malachi. She rushed through a door with that dog before security could escort her out. We’ll remove her and charge her with trespassing and assault.”

He looked down at me, his lips twitching slightly. “Did she ask for anyone?”

This brought polished bitch up short. She stammered out her answer, not fully answering his question.

“Sir, I told her you were busy, but she wouldn’t take no for an answer.”

“Did you get her name?” His voice was deceptively calm. Polished bitch must have realized that this was not going as she had planned.

“No, sir. There was no need, by her appearance I assumed that she was … just … “

Her voice faded as he pointedly looked down where I was still sprawled, my t-shirt riding up my abdomen. Thank goodness I hadn’t wet myself. He lifted me up, his voice going all soft and smooth. “Are you okay?”

“Are you serious?” I asked. Really, did I need a sign around my neck to state the obvious? He ignored the rudeness and turned me around to face snobby bitch.

“May I present Bethany Boudreaux. I left implicit instructions that she’s a priority client. What happened?”

“I’m sorry, sir … I didn’t know … she doesn’t look like one of your usual clients and…” he didn’t let her finish digging her grave for which I was grateful.

“Well, now you do, leave us.”

As soon as the door closed, he led me to a chair and offered me a Pellegrino. He propped himself against his desk, shaking his head in disapproval.

“Why didn’t you come home, duckie? You should’ve called me in the very least. Have you any idea how worried we’ve been?”

“Listen, I don’t have time for chit—chat. You’re from the First Ruling House right? Can you get me in?” This took him by surprise. Just like Sasha, he was quiet for several seconds before saying one word softly.

“Why?”

“Why the fuck do you think? I want the DeDe title.” I breathed out after swallowing the bubbly water. I poured a bit of the liquid on my hands and ran them along the back of my neck and under my necklace.

Behind me, a high screech pierced the stillness of the office. I barely had enough time to register the word ‘never’ before I was assaulted once again, but this time I had no idea from where or whom it came from.

I tumbled of the chair and onto the floor, my hair obscuring any clear view of what was going on. A bestial growl came from Peaches as she lunged towards me. Suddenly, I felt Sasha pop into the room.

“Derek?” Sasha’s cold question came from above me, where he was standing in a protective stance. A leg on either side of my body, the air was dense with powers I had only glimpsed once before.

“Alek… what are you doing here?”