A Lady of the Realm (19 page)

I stood still, my eyes locked with his. He screeched out an expletive as he came towards me.

“Jack, old boy, whatever is going on here?” Sasha called out as he popped between us.

“That witch is going to pay for insulting me and my House, that’s what’s going on here Alek. Stand back.” Jack screeched through his misshapen mouth.

“I’m afraid I can’t let you do that, Jack.” Sasha placed a hand around the man’s shoulders, gently tugging him away from where Sig and I stood. “This might be a good time to introduce you to my new allodial. Lady Bethany, House of DeDe. Are you having a misunderstanding?” Sasha asked softly. I could practically see the tension in the room. The spectators held their breath collectively as they waited for Jack’s reaction.

Beach bum turned his massive head towards Sasha, his eyes blazing orange. “A misunderstanding Alek? That witch struck me. I deserve compensation for her atrocious conduct,” he said as he gestured towards the still oozing mark on his face.

Sasha turned towards me. I opened my eyes in irritation, shaking my head and exhaling loudly. “He touched me. He’s lucky I didn’t aim lower,” I said in a lowered voice as I dusted the sleeves of my blazer.

Sasha turned his attention back towards Jack. “You laid hands on her?”

Beach bum wasn’t as stupid as he looked. He knew Sasha was no longer in the mood to be nice. Acknowledging that retreat is the better part of valor, he shook himself once before opening his mouth.

“A DeDe allodial, Alek? I’ll send my request to your rooms later.” He turned around, grabbed the poor girl who still cowered on the floor by the hair, and departed through a pair of double doors in the far right of the lobby.

Sig lit a cigarette, mumbling something about following instructions and meeting me in the rooms later. Sasha turned towards me, his eyes blazing violet as he gazed around the room at the spectators. He took my hand, lifted it to his lips, and kissed it softly.

“Welcome to Kalispell, Lady Beth. Let me escort you to your rooms.” I gave him a serene smile as he tucked my hand in the crook of his arm.

Chapter Twenty-Three
:
Lords and Privileges

I was ushered into a spacious apartment on the third floor of the main building. Sasha didn’t speak during the walk. His shoulders were tense, head held high; his aura shone a dull red as he controlled his temper. He was much better at it than I was. Maybe he could give me some tips before Sig had the chance to sermonize. So much for coming in unnoticed.

“Ah, pet, never a dull moment,” he said, tongue-in—cheek I suspected, as soon as the door shut behind us.

I flung myself in his arms and hugged him fiercely as he crushed me to his chest. I began kissing his chest softly. His unique scent slowly wafted up my nostrils and enveloped me with a sense of security. He pushed me back abruptly, his mood shifting in a flash to irritation. Damn, but he was volatile.

“How is it you’ve been here a mere 13 minutes and managed to pick a fight with Jack of all people? To think he placed his hands on you makes me want to do things, which aren’t in my best interest. Do you have any idea how he views women?” He asked in annoyance, his hands clenching and unclenching in frustration.

What could I say?

“Well, yeah. That’s what started the argument in the first place. He was treating the girl like a slave. I couldn’t just stand there.” I shrugged. I couldn’t just stand there and do nothing.

Sasha leaned forward placing his forehead on mine as he spoke. “Minx, you’re going to have to learn to stay put and be quiet. Things are different here, and Jack, along with every House, is allowed slaves. T’was part of a bill passed almost five hundred years ago. A compromise, if you will,” he snorted with the last word.

I pushed back to look into his eyes again, which had turned nearly black by now. “You mean they can have slaves?” I asked. Before he could open his mouth to answer, I rattled off more questions, disgusted with the whole notion. “Human slaves? How many? Where do they come from?”

This must be what the elf, Frederic, had been talking about. Slaves. I tried to remember if I’d read about any of this in the papers from the library. Nope. Not a thing. Not a damn word. I would’ve remembered anything so depraved.

“Not human, pet, humans are classified as an endangered species. The slaves must have a minimum of an ounce of witch blood running through their veins. This makes them … how to put it tactfully … an anomaly. The resulting race is called a serf,” he said.

“You’re trying to say they’re no better than animals aren’t you?” I asked.

“In a way it is how many see them. Don’t look like that. It’s standard practice. Even your House owns a serf family, remember Nola?” he asked. I nodded slowly as he continued. “It’s how she recognized you, your House owns her family. It’s why she understands you, accepts you. We’re limited only by our accounts and where they come from,” he paused before breathing out the answer, “The outsiders usually provide the best. They specialize in breeding and pedigrees. I don’t keep up with it. I don’t like Jack or his shapeshifting House, and you know how I feel about all outsiders. Stay away from him do you understand?” He shook his head slightly and proceeded to take my hand into his.

“Enough of Jack. Let me show you around. When I arrived and requested these rooms be made ready, they thought I had finally gone off the deep end and forged documents. Malachi had to call three different times and formally confirm your existence. Too bad you made such a ruckus downstairs. It’s going to be a tense week.” He mumbled as he pointed out the room for me.

There was a main sitting room done in soft taupe and various browns. A loveseat was positioned before a stone fireplace that looked as if it needed real wood to work. Two more armchairs and a coffee table completed the scene of posh luxury. Connected to it was a kitchenette on the left. It had all the necessary conveniences for a short stay; a microwave, coffee maker, small fridge and of course, a stocked bar. The fridge already had Mountain Dew and Fiji Water in it. Demons drank water exclusively.

Through a set of French doors was the master bedroom, also in shades of brown, and the master bathroom sported a Jacuzzi tub. Off to the right of the sitting room, a single door led to a smaller bedroom for Sig, my shadow for the present time. I was surprised to see my bags were in the closet in the front room.

After the tour, Sasha made a couple of drinks. We sat on the loveseat in companionable silence before Sasha broke the spell.

“All the rooms in the resort are enchanted. No one can shift in or out. The keepers try to stem strange or potentially dangerous occurrences happening during their watch.” I had my feet propped up on his lap as he played with my toes.

“Yeah, I can see how it could be a problem.” I didn’t have the ability to shift, but if I did, Jack would be in trouble.

“Does that mean you won’t be paying me any visits in the late night?” I asked without thinking. I turned beet red as I realized what I’d ask.

“Is that an invitation?” he asked teasingly.

I glared back, mortified. I tried, unsuccessfully, to save face. “I said I’d let you know.” Tactic number two; change the subject. “Did Caleb tell you what happened out at Malachi’s place?” I asked him as I repositioned myself under the red throw Sasha had found in the hall closet. I edged just out of his reach.

“You mean the lightning thing? Yes, he did. I’m impressed minx. For a late bloomer you did well. The last DeDe had an affinity with earth. She could move the ground and created fissures where none existed. I think your talent is more impressive.” His smile was calculating. Did Malachi talk to him already?

“It works sporadically, or when I’m mad. Very mad in fact and that seems to be recurring more often. Even then I’m not in control,” I said, twirling my drink. He grew somber as he stilled my fidgety movements.

“Don’t worry. With time you’ll come to control it like everything else.” His flat tone made me believe he knew about everything else.

A sharp, loud, insistent knock on the door interrupted us. Sasha rose in one fluid motion. He swung the door open as Caleb walked in. The unusual sour expression on the vampire’s face alerted me.

“Your brothers are coming to visit.” He ann
ounced gravely.

Sasha’s mood darkened at the same time as the next knock on the door came. Caleb turned to let the guest in as Sasha gulped the rest of his drink down. Trystyn walked in with another elf that I took an immediate dislike to. So violent was my emotion that I had to stop from cringing into the cushions.

The third elf was similar in height to his brothers. That’s where all similarities ended though. Where Trystyn was a dark selkie from the Irish legends, and Sasha a golden god from a long ago pantheon, their skin was still similarly luminescent. Their features were alike enough to denote them as family.

The third elf had short rich brown hair. His skin, while still luminescent, was just a shade darker than any other elf I’d seen so far. Curling inward and sparkling, striking as if in constant battle with everything around him. His eyes, when they locked with mine, were a strange violet color. Darker in hue, somehow. Not the normal dark hue of intense emotion either. This was deeper. His overall aura was menacing.

Trystyn stepped around everyone as he jostled towards me and kissed each cheek. His embrace was fierce. It was unexpected since I only saw him a handful of times before.

“Nice to see you again. Sasha told me that you were coming. About time we got that piece of real estate back in our coffers,” he said releasing me.

The other elf sneered, “This is the claimant to the House of DeDe? Is this a joke?” If I had any warm feelings because of his family ties, they had vanished completely.

“Watch what you say, Nicholas. You’re not my keeper,” Sasha said softly.

“No, I’m not. That role is reserved for another,” he said.

Sasha bristled at the insult. He refilled his glass slowly as he kept his eyes on Nicholas.

“What are you doing here?” He asked rudely, not even attempting to be cordial. Hurray for my dark elf. Unfortunately, Nicholas was unconcerned by his insolence. With a sigh of complete boredom, he answered Sasha.

“Welcoming you, of course. I just arrived and heard you were here, of all places,” Nicholas said.

“I’ll consider myself welcomed,” Sasha said dismissively. Nicholas didn’t budge. Didn’t know when to take a hint or didn’t care to take a hint. He inclined his head to where I sat.

“Aren’t you going to introduce me, little brother? Maybe let me taste a drop of her blood so I’ll rest assured?”

Sasha took a moment before inclining his head towards each of us in turn.

“Bethany this is Nicholas. Nicholas this is Bethany. I believe your business is finished here,” he said as he gestured towards the door. Nicholas had other ideas.

He ignored Sasha and moved towards me with a smile. “A pleasure. Bit of advice for you. Don’t stray far from your Lord. From what I’ve heard, you’ve got a couple of Houses upset with you, and you’re not even recognized yet.”

Wariness oozed in my mind, coating every thought I had. Something wasn’t right with this dude. Another freaking knock interrupted my already distracted attention. How had I become so popular? Caleb opened the door and in waltzed Malachi. If I thought the tension in the room was heavy before; it increased so much I could’ve cut it with a dull butter knife.

I elbowed Nicholas aside as I went to greet Malachi. I kissed him softly on the lips as a way of greeting. Nicholas hitched his breath and scorn dripped with his words.

“Pardon my advice. I wasn’t aware the cub was still sharing his paramours with the half-breed.”

My spine tingled. Lordy, I’d never been this short-tempered and bitchy, even during the prepubescent years. It had to be my time of the month. I turned and walked towards the still grinning, slimy bastard and looked him straight in his eyes. I had to look up, which made me even more cross.

“You,” I stabbed Nicholas in the chest, “need to leave. Now.” I pointed towards the door that Caleb, thankfully, held open.

“Or what? You’ll shoot me with a lightning bolt.” He asked defiantly. “I heard about you. You’ll get what you deserve for hanging out with these misfits. Until we meet again,” he said casually as he strolled through the door. Out of nowhere, Sig popped in, his eyes meeting mine. I took a deep breath and walked back to my seat. The beginning of a headache throbbed at my temples.

“Sasha, how is it that you haven’t killed him yet?” I asked as I massaged my head. With his temper? Everyone in the room turned towards him.

“It’s against the law, pet,” he said as he upended the bottle of Absinthe into his mouth.

Chapter Twenty-Four
:
Acknowledgment

Sig took me to meet the leader of the American Court that night. Lady Gail’s apartments were on the far side of the compound, encompassing an entire wing. I was nervous. My palms were slick with sweat and my stomach dry heaving. This woman was royalty. She dealt with the different Courts throughout the world. Malachi said he’d taken care of everything, but I still had to present myself formally.

Sig walked briskly down the corridor, his suit crackling with every step. “They can’t deny you’re the rightful heir, and Malachi greased the wheels. Don’t let Jon goad you into doing something foolish.”

“Yes sir,” I said mildly.

I would make it through this interview with a smile. I knew how to prove my claim. Sig had helped me out with the details about how to go about it.

The one thing no one could fake is blood. I was going to have to provide fresh blood for Lady Gail and whomever she chose to witness. Jon, the current chair for witches, would be in the room ready to kill me if my claim wasn’t valid, and I was only wasting his time.

The doors swung open as we approached, a young man beckoning us to follow him into the interior of the suite. He opened a set of French doors on the right and bowed as we walked through into an office. Seated behind a small modern desk was Lady Gail, a woman of indeterminate years. She could’ve been anywhere from late twenty’s to early forty’s. Her platinum blonde hair was down, cascading around her slim shoulders. She smiled brightly as we entered and gestured towards a single chair in front of her.