Age of Druids (22 page)

In that moment, with her staring up at him, her dark lips parted and her breath so sweet on his skin, he nearly gave in to his selfish desires. If he kissed her now, he wouldn’t want to stop, and he’d certainly be late for the druid meeting. Instead, he lifted her knuckles to his lips and kissed her hand. Her skin tasted wondrous. “I need to go,” he said. “The others will be waiting for me.”

The disappointment that spread across her face was echoed in their bond. “I’ll be here.”

“We might be a while. Don’t wait up if you’re tired.” He opened her hand and kissed her palm before letting her go. Leaving was so difficult, but staying would be torture.

“I’m not tired,” she said. “I’ll wait for you.”

Chapter 14

Lisle waited for the nurses to bring Jago and Maiya to her. This place wasn’t like any school she’d ever known. The luxury of her surroundings, the hand-carved furniture and elaborate tapestries on the walls, was a constant reminder of the noble blood of the children taught here. Even though Munro had given instructions that Lisle could speak with Maiya, the nurses were plainly unhappy at the disruption. The children’s time was carefully regimented, and visits from home were not usual or welcome.

The nurses did as asked, but they took their time. Lisle suspected the only reason they agreed as readily as they did was because the sun had already risen, so the night’s lessons were finished. The children would be preparing for play and rest.

Her night in Eirlioc Falls had been a disaster. She’d spent only a couple of hours in there before turning around to come straight home. She’d been allowed to question the Watchers, and even managed to talk her way into having Alyssa stay with her through the process, but the instant Lisle touched Alyssa’s flows, the Watchers had been aware of it. Alyssa had been accused of trying to manipulate them, which had only made the girl’s situation worse. After all was said and done, Alyssa had ended up getting the wrong end of the stick, and Lisle learned nothing that deviated from Griogair’s original story. She’d not gathered a single clue to prove him innocent nor found any hint he’d been manipulated.

Lisle insisted that she’d asked Alyssa to ignite her power in their presence as a test to see if the ones being questioned would have been able to detect it if the same had been done at the moment of Prince Koen’s death. Although none of this had been her plan, doing so did reveal the difficulty of using astral powers near the Watchers without them having been aware. Unless one of them had been the actual perpetrator, in which case this information didn’t help. None of it helped, and she soon realised she wouldn’t find anything this way. In fact, she was beginning to doubt there
was
anything to find. Maybe Griogair did kill Koen for no particular reason. She didn’t like to think so, but he had confessed, and nobody involved disputed his account.

Another hour passed before Jago’s distinctive voice called from down the corridor. “Omi,” he shouted, running toward her with his tongue stuck out in concentration. She stood and let him leap into her arms. Even with the strength the Otherworld gave her, she wouldn’t be able to do that much longer. Not if he kept growing at such an alarming rate.

“Jago, darling,” she said and kissed him. “Have you been a good boy?”

He narrowed his eyes and wriggled out of her hug, forcing her to put him down. “Of course. I’m always good.”

His resemblance to his mother struck Lisle, and a sadness swept over her. Lisle tried so hard to move through every day, to remember Demi but not dwell on the loss, to trust Munro to search for the two missing druids. The challenge proved so difficult.

“What’s wrong, Omi? You look sad.”

“I am a little,” she said. “I miss your mama. I’ve missed you too.” She kissed him again, and he wriggled away from her lips. He was such a funny boy. So sweet and affectionate one moment, so independent the next.

“Do you need me to come home and take care of you?” he asked with a serious frown.

Her heart lurched at the offer. “No, sweetheart. Do you want to return home?”

For an instant, he looked torn. “I think I should stay, if that’s okay.”

“Of course. Do you like school?”

He nodded. “Sometimes the lessons are hard, but mostly I have fun. They let me play with Maiya during the day, so I like that.”

“Have you made a lot of friends?” Lisle and Demi both had worried what life in a fae nursery would be for a half-human child. The problem was compounded by the fact that his primary skill was with blood flows, talents he once used to defend his mother with deadly results. Lisle marvelled that he seemed untouched by the violence experienced early in his life, and she was relieved she’d never seen any sign he’d inherited his father’s taste for cruelty.

Jago didn’t answer. Instead, he stood and raced to the door. “Maiya’s coming.”

A nurse entered a moment later with the tiny princess in his arms. The girl wriggled, so he put her down. “My lady druid,” he said.

Lisle nodded. “Please leave the children with me. I’ll call when I’m prepared to go.”

“In an hour, it will be time for them to sleep,” he said.

Jago took Maiya’s hand and helped her stand. She beamed at him happily and struggled to find her balance. An extraordinarily beautiful child, she had her mother’s white hair growing in wisps like a halo around her head and her father’s startlingly blue eyes. Her happiness radiated as she and Jago slowly made their way toward Lisle. With a wave of her hand, Lisle dismissed the nurse without acknowledging his snippy statement.

“Hello, Maiya,” Lisle said. The princess surprised her by extending her hands upwards to be held, so Lisle obliged.

“They dressed her up to meet you,” Jago said, his tone low and confiding.

“I see. What a lovely dress.” The tiny gown was pale blue and made of delicate silks, the least practical outfit she’d ever seen on a child.

“Omi, are you someone important?”

Lisle laughed at the question. She’d never thought of herself as such, but she knew he was asking about her rank. At home in the Druid Hall, they had a casual way of dealing with servants, the humans often choosing to do for themselves. Here, Jago would undoubtedly be in a different world. Still, she wasn’t certain how to answer. “We druids have a lot of responsibility in the Otherworld.” She paused. “But everyone is important. You must remember that.”

Maiya grabbed one of the tokens Lisle wore around her neck. The bone artefact held healing power, and Lisle felt a rush of cool rejuvenation as the girl activated the piece. Maiya smiled, revealing six teeth. She gurgled happily.

“Did you bring me anything?” Jago asked.

Lisle raised an eyebrow at him. “Is that a polite question?”

Jago grumbled. “No, Omi.” After a pause, he asked, “But did you?”

She tutted but couldn’t resist a small smile. “In my bag,” she said. While he dug around, she sat with Maiya, watching her turn the bone piece in her chubby fingers. Within moments, Jago unearthed the wrapped shortbread she’d tucked inside. He took a piece for himself and held out another to Maiya, who was too intent on Lisle’s talisman to notice. “Jago, Lady Joy told me you believe your mama is alive because Maiya told you so. Is that true?”

He nodded, shortbread crumbs falling out of the corners of his very full mouth. He must have stuck the entire biscuit in at once.

Lisle studied Maiya. “I wish you could tell me what you know about Jago’s mama,” Lisle murmured. “Your papa needs help finding her.”

Athair
, Maiya said in Lisle’s mind.

“Yes,” Lisle said, recognising the fae word for
father
. She wished she was more certain what the girl understood. No matter how much natural talent she possessed, she was a baby.

“Maiya is in my blood,” Jago said, wiping his face on his sleeve. “So she feels you and Mama too, because we have the same blood.”

Lisle frowned. “Maiya can sense me?”

Jago nodded.

“What do you mean she’s
in your blood
?”

“I can show you, if you want,” he said.

Lisle felt a moment of uncertainty. Jago was powerful, possessing the air talents of his father and the blood talents of his mother, able to access both druid and fae flows. Finally, Lisle nodded. He wouldn’t hurt her. Not on purpose.

He came closer and stood between her knees, gently scooting Maiya over on Lisle’s lap to make room for him. “Put the token down, Maiya. You need to let go of your power for a second.”

Lisle watched with surprise. The girl did as Jago instructed her.
Remarkable
. She understood a lot more than anyone had given her credit for.

He took his grandmother’s hand. She felt an instant pull toward him, as though he’d opened himself up to her. “Now you have to touch my blood like Maiya does,” he said. “I can’t do it to you. I guess because you’re all druid.”

“I don’t know how,” she said.

The boy frowned. “It’s easy. Just look at me right.”

A thought occurred to Lisle. She let go of his hand for a moment and put Munro’s flute in her mouth. Touching his fingers again, she blew. The brightness of the whirling colours flowing between the children nearly blinded her. Near the centre of his chest, though, she saw a gap. Interestingly, both of the children had much more complex magic than Alyssa had, but the principle was the same. Lisle reached in, trying to do so gently. She didn’t want to give Jago the same jolt as she had Alyssa.

His essence was different from that of a faerie, although it did have similarities. She moved slowly, letting her blood power seek out his own. When she touched it, she felt Maiya inside. The two children were so tightly woven together, Lisle could hardly tell where he stopped and Maiya began. With a soft brushing, Lisle glanced Maiya’s power as it lay within Jago. The girl squeaked loudly.

“You’re very rough, Omi,” Jago said.

“I’m sorry.” Not wanting to hurt the children, she pulled back.

“Did you feel Mama?” he asked, his eyes shining with hope.

Lisle didn’t want to crush his optimism, but she couldn’t lie. “No, sweetheart. I’m not very good at this yet.” Then added, “You and Maiya are bonded.”

Jago shrugged and gave Maiya a piece of shortbread. She stuck it in her mouth and began to gnaw with her new teeth. “I dunno,” he said. “I guess so. Is that bad?” Whatever he thought, he didn’t truly seem concerned with Lisle’s judgement on the matter. Maiya had all his attention.

“No,” Lisle said and forced herself to smile, even though she felt apprehensive. Two children, both half-druid and half-fae, half-astral and half-earth, had somehow figured out how to bond, possibly before Maiya was even born. “Of course not,” she said, needing to reassure herself as much as him. After all, she doubted the process could be undone.

Still, this was unlikely to be what Munro would have chosen for his daughter, and Lisle herself felt a tinge of regret that such a crucial decision had been made so young. What effect would this have on their development? On their futures? She understood with clarity that her grandson would be the consort of a queen. He’d said as much before, but she’d not paid him much mind, regarding the statement as his way of expressing affection for the girl. But seeing how intricately the two were entwined together, she didn’t doubt they shared the same fate.

“I must go back to the Druid Hall now,” she said. “The nurse will return soon to send you off to bed.”

“Aw,” Jago complained. “I wish you didn’t have to leave.”

She pulled him into a one-armed hug. “I know. But I’m tired too. Old ladies need even more sleep than babies,” she said with a grin.

“You’re not old,” he said. “You’re not even a hundred. Nurse Muime says that means not even grown up yet.”

The truth struck her with a shock. Jago didn’t understand that she wouldn’t live a thousand years like he and Maiya would. Not unless she bonded. Rather than argue or explain, she kissed him goodbye and stood. “Take care of each other,” she said to the children. Although their bond surprised her, it comforted her to know he would never be alone, even if Demi was never found and Lisle only lived a normal human lifespan.

Maiya babbled something at Lisle, her deep blue eyes looking serious. Lisle kissed the princess’ tiny hand. “Thank you for your help.” She didn’t know what to make of what she’d learned, but knowing Maiya sensed that Demi still lived gave her hope. She just didn’t know how to use the information to find her.

A few moments later, the nurse returned as promised. Lisle said goodbye again and waved as the children were taken off to their beds. Another faerie showed Lisle out, accepting the druid’s thanks for their cooperation. Lisle headed for Canton Dreich, eager to discuss what she’d found with Munro. If anyone could find a way to use this information to find Demi, it would be him.

∞

Alyssa knelt on the ground by the roadside with a water pail and a scrub brush. The punishment of manual labour was not as excruciating as the looks from the other Watchers in the compound. The sun had risen, but unlike the other Watchers, she wouldn’t be allowed time for recreation. She would scrub floors and shovel shit for weeks, if not months.