“Unity is my mate,” I explained, ripping the piece of parchment from Dori’s hand and irritably crumpling it back into a ball before tossing it onto the pile of a dozen other discarded letters I’d never sent. “And you weren’t supposed to read that.”
“Sorry,” she said, not sounding sincere at all as her eyebrows lifted in surprise over my moody, embarrassed tone. Then she cocked her head curiously. “So you’re mated to someone already? That’s, uh, that’s cool. Congratulations.”
I nodded distractedly, my mind shifting to Unity. “She’s much younger than me, however. So I, er, she went off to an academy—that is, a school for young ladies—when she was young. It was her idea; don’t think I sent her away because I didn’t want to deal with her.”
Dori frowned curiously over my uptight tone before slowly answering, “Um, okay. The thought hadn’t even crossed my mind, actually.”
“Oh.” The tension in my shoulders relaxed, making me realize I needed to work on the knee-jerk defensiveness I always experienced whenever I talked about Unity’s education.
I’d listened to too many nosy, judgmental insinuations over the years about why everyone else thought she’d left when she had, so now, the mere mention of her being apart from me instantly got my dander up.
But Dori didn’t seem to care one way or another.
Which was…
Nice.
So I relaxed and explained the situation as best as I could. “She was always in awe of the learned ladies whenever they came to court. They had this sophisticated air of wisdom and knowledge about them that she craved. And so, when she asked if she could go, I couldn’t tell her no. I’ve never been able to deny her anything.”
“Hmm.” Dori furrowed her brow in confusion. “So next question…”
“Another?” I asked dryly. “I’m shocked.”
“Oh, it is,” I answered. “Parents typically rear their own children. But I was Unity’s guardian since she was basically born until she turned eighteen.”
“So what made you the exception to the rule?”
I sighed. It was already too late to get into this kind of discussion. The sun had set and weariness weighed heavily on my bones, plus my chest always compressed with unwanted nostalgic pangs whenever I thought of Unity. But Dori had patiently explained her world to me. I should return the favor and brief her about the customs and accepted practices in this one, especially since she was being forced to live here, whether it be permanently or just for the time being.
“The kingdom we live in here—High Cliff,” I explained, pointing to it on the map for her. “It has an edict for all its people—from royalty down to peasants—to get these tattoos on our faces at birth.”
I tapped my finger against the mark of a heart inside a spiraled circle that sat on my left temple, next to my eye.
“Okay,” she said slowly, obviously unsure what this had to do with anything but still following my explanation.
When I tapped the tattoo another four times, electric sparks shot from it.
“Whoa!” Dori reared back, her eyes widening with alarm. “What the hell?”
“Weird,” Dori murmured, wrinkling her nose, even as her eyes gleamed with interest, showing how intrigued she was by the idea. “And you sensed Unity as your mate, or whatever, when she was only—”
“Wow.” She blew out a low whistle. “That’s crazy.”
She seemed to be commiserating with me, so I nodded solemnly. “It happened when my father’s emissary from Tipton came to visit the castle with his wife, who had recently borne a child, which they brought along with them. My mark alerted me to my true love’s presence, and I followed it to the nursery where Unity was being fed by a wet nurse.”
“Wicked.” Dori shook her head in amazement. “So, what did you do?”
“Well, after I announced that she was mine, the emissary and his wife immediately put her under my guardianship, thrilled to learn their progeny was destined for royalty. And then…” I swallowed bitterly, remembering the next part as if it had just happened yesterday. “Then they left her with me to raise however I saw fit when they returned to Tipton.”
“To them,” I tried to explain aloud, however, “it was a great honor to bequeath their daughter to me. So... That’s what they did. Without waiting for her to grow up first.”
“But—”
“Partners?” I finished for her. “Yes. They are.”
“With, like, intimate—”
“Yes,” I hissed, growing more and more uncomfortable by the second.
“That’s a good question.” One I’d been asking myself for years. “I have no idea how she’s supposed to transfer from my dependent to my lover.” Even the idea made me shudder with more apprehensions than I could list. “That’s another reason I let her go to the academy before she reached maturity.”
“Yeah.” Dori bobbed her head in total agreement. “I mean, what if you started desiring her before she was old enough, or—ugh—actually, no. No, I can’t get past that one. I think I just threw up a little in my mouth.” She pressed her lips together tightly and turned an unbecoming shade of green.
“Aww.” Dori smiled softly as she pressed a hand to her heart. “That’s actually kind of sweet.”
Damn. Another cringe filled me as I glanced at the discarded note, remembering exactly what I’d written on that particular draft.
When I hesitated, her back straightened, and her eyes went wide. “Vander?”
“No,” I rushed to say. “No. It’s nothing like that.” Not really, anyway. Sending her a tense smile, I lifted a calming hand. “I, um, there’s another issue entirely that I promised to help Indigo with. There are three Graykey children out there, you see, whose father recently died. I’d like to find them and provide them with some protection if I can because they’d be terminated if my father ever got wind of their existence and found them.”
“What?! That’s terrible. Why in the world would anyone want to hurt three innocent kids?”
“Because of the curse,” I explained. “It’s difficult for the people of our world to consider any Graykey innocent, no matter how old they are. The entire family is prone to breaking out into mad fevers of random bloodlust where they start indiscriminately murdering each other and then everyone around them. It usually only lasts for a short period, but it always leaves a bloody mess of carnage and destruction behind. It’s felled kingdoms before.”
“My God.” Dori winced and pressed a hand to the base of her throat. “And your friend, Indigo, is married to one of these Graykey people?”
“Yes, but Quilla figured out a way to avoid the more savage side effects of the curse. Which is why I wanted to be the one to find the children first. If I could save them the way Quilla saved herself, then there would be no need to kill them. They could go on to live full, happy lives, apart from the curse.”
“Wow. That’s a noble goal.” Dori blinked at me as if this was the first time she’d ever seen me. “You’re actually a really good guy, aren’t you?”
My face heated over the compliment.
Clearing my throat, I said, “My father wouldn’t agree. He refuses to have any tolerance or understanding when it comes to Graykeys. So I’m being forced to do this without his knowledge or permission. And if he did find out what I was attempting, he’d see it as an act of treason. Son or not, he’d have me whipped and hanged within a week.” After a thoughtful pause, I added, “Or maybe he’d go straight to a beheading.”
It was hard to guess what he’d do. But I was sure I wouldn’t like it.
“Thank goodness.” Dori blew out a sigh of relief before asking, “So what did you say in the final version you sent her?”
Dori winced. “You need me to go, don’t you?”
I laughed harshly. “Where else are you supposed to go, though?”
“Good question. Damn, Vander. I’m sorry. I don’t want to get you into trouble with your mate.”
“No, don’t let that bother you; I’ll handle the situation,” I assured with a vague smile.
She nodded, only to bite her lip a second later. “Is Unity the understanding type?”
I shrugged. “I honestly have no idea. The last time I saw her, she was twelve. I imagine she’s a completely different person by now.”
“Yeah, you’re probably right.” After a thoughtful pause, she sat upright. “Mates are kind of like soul mates, right?” she asked suddenly.
My brow furrowed, and I shook my head. “But every mated pair I’ve ever heard of has shared passion, as well as every other kind of connection.”
I blinked. “What’s an alien?”
She cracked a grin. “On Earth, that’s what we call people from another planet.”
“I…” Well, hell. I guess I had just admitted that, hadn’t I? That wasn’t embarrassing or anything. I cleared away an obstruction that was suddenly crowding my throat and tried to ignore the heat flooding my face.
Did she really think I was attractive?
“But—but…” Words escaped her for a moment. Then… “This is one freaking weird world.”
Seriously, shouldn’t that explain everything?
I just stared at her before blinking once. “This has to be the strangest, most inappropriate conversation I’ve ever had with anyone.”
Clearing my throat, I sent her a tight smile, not sure how to answer. “Beats me,” I finally muttered.
She winced again, catching on to my discomfort. “Sorry, Vander. God, I’m so sorry. I’m being a total ass.”
God, please, let that be the case.
I blinked at her as if she’d lost her mind. “I wouldn’t mind knowing what it was like,” I answered stoically while inside, a craving bloomed so fiercely that I gnashed my back teeth until they creaked in protest from merely trying to stave it off.
Dori rolled her eyes before suggesting, “Then why haven’t you brought Unity home already and tried out some damn passion with her?”
The acids in my stomach churned painfully over the very thought. “I—er, no. I don’t think—I mean, I’m not sure it would change anything. What if it doesn’t change anything?”
“Huh?”
I gaped at her incredulously, certain she hadn’t said what I’d just heard her say. Then I blustered, “Absolutely not! I could never do that to Unity. It would be the ultimate betrayal.”
“It might hurt Unity,” I said immediately. “I could never do anything that might hurt her. Never.”
“Have you talked to her about any of this?”
I blinked, not comprehending. “What?”
“Oh my God.” Dori pressed a hand to her forehead and sighed. “Look at me now, Ma. Playing marriage counselor to a freaking alien. Who knew, right?”
“Funny,” I deadpanned with a straight face.
Even though I only understood about half the words she said, I winced, catching the gist of her meaning. “That just seems like such a personal question to have with—”
I rubbed a finger over my bottom lip thoughtfully, considering her words, because she made a very good point, even as the mere idea made me cringe in immediate rejection.
“But you’re so much more mature than—”
“You’re right,” I admitted on a groan, and my heart wrenched with misery. “I do. It’s just so hard for me to let go of her being a child. It felt as if I gave up a daughter when I sent her to the academy, like my little girl had been ripped away from me. I never really recovered from it. And if she doesn’t come back in the same form she left in, I just—I fear it’ll destroy me.” I sighed and shook my head. “It’ll be like I lost her forever.”
“You want my take on the situation?”
I squinted at her severely. “I’m not going to like your take, am I?”
I swallowed thickly, misery rushing up my throat and stinging my nostrils. And even though I knew she was right, I said, “That’s not what I wanted to hear, thanks.”
“Eight and a half,” I corrected testily. “And yes, we message each other constantly.” It wasn’t as if I’d just ignored my one true love completely.
“But you never spoke about issues of too much consequence, I’m guessing.”
“No,” I admitted glumly, my shoulders sagging. “I suppose I never reached a place where I began to quite think of her as a confidante.”
As an equal.
“Welp.” Dori slapped my shoulder hard enough to almost nudge me out of my chair. “There’s no time like the present to fix that.”
“Oh, yeah.” Dori winced. “I’d forgotten about all your issues around here. Damn.”
Exactly.
“And besides, what would I say?” I went on. “I couldn’t even properly phrase a warning of possible danger to her if I did write to her.” I glanced at the near-dozen balls of wadded parchment where I’d tried to explain to Unity what had been going on here.
“It’ll have to wait,” I decided, just as a knock sounded on my chamber door.
Dori and I exchanged a concerned glance.
It was too late in the day to be receiving a social call, and that knock had been heavy and authoritative—not desperate or harried—so it was probably a summons from my father.
“Get behind the dressing screen,” I ordered quietly.
Eyes wide, Dori nodded in agreement and scurried to do just that.
Once she was secured out of sight, I drew in a deep breath and opened the door.
Just as I figured, one of my father’s royal guards waited in the hall to address me.
“The king wishes to have a word with you, my lord,” he reported.
“Of course,” I murmured and immediately stepped over the threshold to join him in the corridor, shutting the door at my back before I could give myself away and accidentally glance toward the dressing screen.
Splaying out my hand, I sent him a tense smile. “Please, lead the way.”
Gut knotting with tension because a summons from the king at this time of day couldn’t be good, I followed my heavily armed escort to my father, all the while hoping Dori stayed where she was and didn’t get herself into trouble while I was gone.
