The Goblin King's Mischief, page 23
“I noticed you didn’t come to get your bannock, so I thought I’d take the liberty to bring you one.” I held it out to him, but he didn’t move to take it.
“Where’s mine?” Graeme asked.
I clicked my tongue at my brother. “You aren’t a goblin, so you aren’t allotted one.”
I ignored my brother’s grumbled response and knelt to better speak to Selwyn. “Don’t you want it?”
A storm seemed to brew in his seawater eyes, and disappointment coiled in my gut as I prepared for him to snap at me.
“Not from you,” he said, brushing my hand aside.
I stood with a sigh. “Well, there’s one for you even if you don’t take it from me.” I gestured toward where Aodh and Gráinne, who was the only baker who’d refused to leave her post until all the bannocks were gone, still stood.
His eyes followed my gesture, and his face reddened upon meeting Aodh’s gaze.
With a deep frown but no more words, he snatched the bannock from my hand and passed it to my brother.
I suppose it will be like this for a while yet. Without saying goodbye, I turned back toward the tables and made my way there.
I found Aodh’s gaze easily across the crowd. His frown was as deep as Selwyn’s had been, and his eyes glinted with displeasure. I tilted my head. I would have thought he’d be happy I was trying to get along with his most-trusted adviser though I supposed it hadn’t exactly worked out for me.
I was nearly halfway to him when Charlie intercepted me, his fingers laced with those of the bronze-haired human.
“Your Majesty,” he said with a bow of his head. “I’d like you to meet Aoife.”
I turned to the woman, whose blue eyes sparkled as if it was the happiest day of her life. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.” Her pale face reddened. “I’m still a bit awkward, can’t quite believe I’m here. How should I address you?”
I’d met very few humans in my life, and none who had lived in the human realm for any great amount of time. “You’re Charlie’s human lover?”
Aoife’s blush deepened, and she nodded.
My cheeks ached as I smiled widely back at her. “That’s wonderful. I’m glad you’re here…to stay?” I glanced at Charlie, who nodded. “You can just call me Melody. Welcome to Goblintown! Please let me know if there’s anything you need. Perhaps, once things settle down, you would like to come to tea and let me know how you’re doing?”
Aoife grinned. “I’d love that. Thank you.”
I nodded. “Of course. I look forward to it. Please, enjoy the festivities.”
As Charlie led Aoife away, I glanced back at the tables, and my smile faltered. Aodh was no longer there.
Chapter
Fifty-Eight
I reached Gráinne just as she was gathering baskets in her arms.
She smiled. “They’re all gone—every one.”
I nodded. “Wonderful. Now you can enjoy the celebration as well.”
“I’ll just pop these back into the kitchen first.”
“All right. Before you go, do you know where His Majesty went?”
Gráinne tilted her head. “Oh, he didn’t tell me where he was going. He just thanked me for my contribution. But I think I saw him go around the house.”
“Thanks, and yes, thank you for all your help, Gráinne. We couldn’t have done it without you.”
The salamander beamed with pride, her fiery eyes glowing all the brighter.
As she headed back into the house, I began walking around the side.
The afternoon sun was warm though still only offering the mere promise of high summer.
While I continued down the side of the palace, I was surprised at how quiet it got. I could still hear the merriment in the front yard, but it sounded remarkably far away.
When I finally reached the garden, I found Aodh immediately.
“There you are,” I said.
He looked up from his seat at the fountain’s edge, and I nearly stumbled. The sun glistened off the flowing water behind him, and his hair fluttered gently in the breeze. The look on his face was melancholy, and wistfulness swam in his dark eyes. No one in any realm could look as beautiful as him, and my heart skipped a beat.
“Why are you out here all by yourself?” I asked, brushing aside my reawakened desire for him.
He shrugged slightly, and I knew he wouldn’t tell me.
I forced a bright smile. “Well, if there’s no reason, why don’t we go back? We haven’t taken a turn around the samcenn-pole. Would you dance with me, Your Majesty?”
He met my gaze and frowned. “No, thank you,” he responded coolly.
I blinked, surprised by his tone. What’s going on in that head of yours?
“Very well,” I replied lightly.
He didn’t even look at me when I sat beside him on the fountain’s ledge.
Silence settled in between us, and it was anything but comfortable. I thought of some way to pull him from this pensive mood.
I grinned. “What about a little mischief?”
He flinched and looked over at me, his eyes searching my face, and my heart squeezed. Did that trigger something in his mind? Will he recognize me?
But when he spoke, there was nothing in his tone or words that indicated as much. “What sort of mischief?”
I forced a grin, tempering my disappointment. “I have just the thing. Follow me.” Standing, I held my hand out to him.
And after a moment’s hesitation, he took it. I tugged him along after me, dropping his hand and lifting my skirts as I ran on ahead.
He jogged to keep up while I rushed through the cloisters and into the anteroom.
“Come on! Hurry up!” I called, racing up the stairs.
I was much farther down the hallway that led to my bedroom when he reached the landing.
He hesitated upon seeing the direction in which I was headed.
I shook my head at him with a laugh. “Don’t worry. I won’t do anything untoward to you, Your Majesty.”
Down the hall, I entered the door on the left, the one to the sitting room I’d converted into my workroom.
“What’s this?” Aodh asked from the doorway.
I glanced over my shoulder as I opened one of my potions chests. “Oh, I needed a place to make my potions more than I needed a room to sit around in. I hope that’s all right.”
He didn’t say one way or the other but approached where I was setting things out on a table. “What are you doing?”
I smiled. “What’s your favorite flower, Your Majesty?”
He frowned at the question. “Jasmine.”
I froze, my breath hitching. It took me a moment to recover. I met his eyes in the shining sunlight streaming through the large windows.
“My lady?”
I forced a little laugh, trying to cover my surprise. “What a coincidence. Jasmine is my favorite as well.”
Ignoring the nagging feeling that seemed to creep under my skin, I concentrated on the task before me.
“Once, when I was young, my father met with the Dragon Emperor.” I filled up the space with my words as if talking would cover the ache in my heart at hearing jasmine was his favorite.
I carefully cut a square of fabric and a length of cord.
“Well, he was quite impressive, of course. But the discussions he had with my father weren’t terribly interesting to a young child.”
I uncorked a wide-mouthed jar and took out one incarnadine luan feather.
“One of his aides found out I was interested in potions”—I pulled the feather’s barbs from its rachis and sprinkled them onto the cloth—“and he showed me how to make this.”
Opening my jar of penghou ash, I shook a generous amount over the disassembled feather.
“And what is it you’re making exactly?” Aodh asked.
“If I told you, it wouldn’t be a surprise,” I answered with a smirk.
Returning to my trunk, I pulled out a large jar of carefully preserved white flowers. It had once been full, but only a precious few remained.
As I removed the lid, the intoxicating scent of jasmine wafted toward me. I breathed deeply, sweet memories of Aodh swirling in my mind.
I offered the jar to Aodh, placing it near his nose for him to enjoy the fragrance. Despite saying it was his favorite flower, he winced and shied away from it.
My stomach soured. I dumped the remaining flowers into my hand before crushing them in my fist and brushing their remnants onto the cloth.
Gathering the corners, I used the cord to tie the lot into a sachet.
The bundle clenched in my hand, I raised an eyebrow at Aodh. “Any idea how we might get up to the roof?”
Chapter
Fifty-Nine
Curiosity played in Aodh’s eyes, but he didn’t ask. He simply nodded and led me out of the sitting room to the service stairs.
The service stairs continued upward, ending at a door, which Aodh opened and stepped past.
My heart skipped as the fresh wind blasted my face and the landscape sprawled out before me.
We weren’t terribly high, but Goblintown was still a sight to see from up on the hill.
As I gazed out at the many homes and the goblins still enjoying the Bealtaine festivities, I could feel Aodh’s gaze on me.
I thought he was merely being impatient, but when I glanced at him, he didn’t appear so. He simply looked at me with that inscrutable expression of his. I wondered if he was admiring or condemning me in his mind.
“Just like last time,” I started. “I’m going to throw the sachet into the air, and I want you to hit it.”
He frowned. “I didn’t bring a bow and arrow. And in which direction are you going to throw it? The arrow will have to come down eventually, and it could hurt someone.”
I shook my head, holding up a small glass vial. “You’ll hit it with this.”
He held out his hand for it.
“Be careful,” I told him. “It’s not very stable.”
He took the vial from my hand, gazing through the liquid as he held it up to the light. “What is it?”
“Sea fire.”
His eyes widened, and I thought he was going to drop it in panic. “Sea fire! What are you doing with a thing like that? You can’t just keep that lying around.”
I clicked my tongue. “It’s only a little bit. It’s not enough to cause any real damage…I think.”
He grunted in disbelief as his mouth fell open. “You think?”
I rolled my eyes and shook my head. He was starting to sound just like he had when we were young and he thought I was doing something dangerous. “Yeah, yeah,” I said like I had a million times before.
He stopped, falling silent, and I looked at him. I knew that quality of his, and I’d expected him to continue for some time.
A line formed between his eyebrows, and he tilted his head as if he heard something I couldn’t, a sound he couldn’t quite place.
“Are you going to do it, or what?” I asked since I had an opening. “I can throw both, of course. But your elf shot will definitely hit the target while my chances are…not as good.”
He sighed through his nose. “You’re sure no one will get hurt?”
I scowled. “Do you think I care so little for the goblins that I would risk their injury? There are children down there. My brother is down there.”
He shrugged. “I don’t know how much you like your brother. This could all be a plot to eliminate him for all I know.”
I let out a disbelieving laugh and made as if to shove him.
“Hey! Hey! Sea fire here. Sea fire in my hand. Let’s not horseplay while I’m holding explosive materials, shall we?”
I tensed as if to do so anyway. “Yeah, well, maybe watch who you insult while you’re holding explosives. They’re dangerous, you know.”
He shook his head. “Yeah, all right. Let’s get this done so I’m not standing here with something that could burn me alive.”
I smirked. “Well, I wouldn’t want to ruin that pretty face.”
His eyes shot me a reproof, and I held up my hands in surrender.
“Sorry. Force of habit.”
He pursed his lips but didn’t say anything.
Readjusting my grip on the sachet, I moved closer to the ledge of the roof, staring down at the goblins gathered on the front lawn.
“You ready?” I asked him.
“Ready.”
I threw the sachet as hard as I could, and it sailed upward and over the crowd. With elven accuracy, Aodh hit it dead on with the vial of sea fire.
The sachet flashed as it burst into a quick puff of flame, then sparked and fizzled.
“Is that it?” Aodh asked, turning to me with one eyebrow raised.
I pointed toward the air. “Look!”
Luminescent green vines spread through the air like lightning, bursting in flashes of white as jasmine flowers made of light bloomed. The vines traveled over the crowd, the goblins gasping at the breathtaking sight.
With one final pop, the vines and flowers shattered into specks of glittering magic, sprinkling the scent of jasmine over the onlookers and onto the breeze.
As the light faded and the scent drifted away, the goblins roared with cheers. I smiled and turned to Aodh.
“Well?” I asked him. “That was a pretty good surprise, right?”
Shaking his head, he huffed a laugh through his nose. The smile he gave me was warm. And, if I wasn’t mistaken, I could have sworn admiration shone in his dark eyes. “You do seem to be full of surprises.”
My heart swelled as if it would burst. I knew that look. That was the same look he’d given me all those years ago when he’d told me he knew everything he needed to know about me—when I’d agreed to be his goblin queen and he’d kissed me and promised to always come for me.
I never thought I would see him look at me like that again, and I nearly broke into tears.
But when I met his eyes once more, I saw he’d replaced the expression I’d so longed to see with the pensive look I’d become familiar with.
That’s right. He doesn’t want to want me. But he doesn’t seem to be able to help it. Whether something inside him recognizes something inside me, or he’s simply attracted to the same qualities I’ve always had, his heart will always want me.
Turning to me with a much more reserved smile, Aodh nodded. “You did well, Lady Melody. Thank you for giving the goblins a Bealtaine to remember.”
Is this enough? He’s fighting it, but there’s no mistaking that look. Does he love me yet?
I desperately searched his eyes, swallowing my racing heart as giddiness overtook me. “Your Majesty, I have something to tell you. The truth is—” The air rushed out of me, and my throat squeezed. A moment of panic was followed by utter disappointment. The binding is still in place. I sighed heavily and bowed my head to him. “Thank you, Your Majesty.”
Chapter
Sixty
Given everything that had transpired between Aodh and me that Bealtaine day, it should have been one of the happiest days of my life. I even got to spend most of the day with him instead of the odd hour or two.
All my efforts to attract him were working. And even though he was resisting his urges, I had a reasonable hope he would give in to them eventually.
But as the sun began to set, and the goblins headed back to their homes, the pervading feeling in my heart was still disappointment.
And it continued to weigh on my mind. Why did I feel so discouraged when my efforts were bearing fruit? I’d waited for so long already. Could I not wait just a little longer?
In my weaker moments, I even thought that perhaps he wasn’t going to give in after all. He’d rejected me time and time again, and it was possible he would continue to do so. We didn’t have much time left before the summer solstice. He could certainly resist me until then, especially because I’d promised to not provoke him.
Those were the thoughts occupying my mind over the next two days.
We were preparing to leave Goblintown to answer Lorccán’s summons to Sifra. But that didn’t require much effort on my part.
Eithne ensured I had everything I would need, giving me more than enough time to wallow.
The night before our departure, I was trying to distract myself in the library. I wasn’t doing a very good job at it; I mostly just stared at the page without absorbing any of the text.
I jumped when Aodh and Selwyn entered and stood from my seat near the fire.
“This should answer any questions you have on the subject,” Aodh was saying as he grabbed a book near the entrance. “It’s the same as any other time. Just accept them on my behalf, and assure them I’ll address their concerns upon my return.”
Aodh’s gaze flicked in my direction, and he blinked in surprise at my presence.
I bowed. “Good evening, Your Majesty.”
Aodh nodded to Selwyn, dismissing him after handing him the book.
Selwyn frowned but left.
“I haven’t seen you yet today, my lady. I apologize, but I’ve been busy preparing Selwyn to handle things while we’re gone. I can sit with you now if it’s convenient.”
“Is Selwyn not coming with us?” I was a little surprised. Eithne was accompanying us, so I’d just assumed Selwyn would as well—not that they had the same job. But the goblins submitted their petitions on the dorchae, so someone needed to accept them while we were at Lorccán’s court. It made sense Aodh would appoint Selwyn to do so.
Aodh’s face stiffened, and his dark eyes glinted in the firelight as he approached me. “Is that a problem?” he asked flatly.
I stilled, confused by his suddenly displeased tone. “No, why would it be?” If anything, I’m thrilled to not have to deal with him.
Aodh crossed his arms. “That’s what I’m asking you.”
My brow wrinkled. “I don’t think I understand what you’re asking.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes, that is so,” I said firmly.
