Shadowing Bright (An Obscure Magic, #15), page 5
“Nylora was near the gateway when she got pregnant.” Vaia settled her coat over one arm. “Shall we?”
Azreen extended his arm. She put her hand on the back of his coat sleeve, and they walked out the door with Reymark. She nodded to the doctor on evenings and continued to the elevator. The vampire on duty made a call and left his post. He followed them out and grinned as he left them on the main floor.
Vaia sighed. “Let’s go, then.”
Reymark checked his phone and sighed. “The king had better appreciate this.”
Vaia smiled. “Jennel just sent you a dirty text?”
“Yes.” He hissed. “Come on.”
Vaia laughed, and they headed out to the parking lot. They took a few steps outside the hospital doors, and Remark put his hand on their backs, and they were wrapped in shadows.
Between was a strange place, where eyes shone in the darkness, but no one came near her as they took the handful of steps before they were suddenly in a room with a particular blue brightness that was easy on the eyes.
“Here we go, Uncle. Your daughter, Vaia Depford. Vaia, your father, Kremoryn Rolk.”
The other shadow cleared his throat.
“Fine, King Kremoryn Rolk. Oh, and Krem, this is Vaia’s husband, Azreen. Call me when you need a lift out of here.”
Reymark winked and disappeared.
The shadows got out of the throne in the corner and walked toward her, forming into a very attractive man with sharp cheekbones. She saw his eyes and nodded. “Well, definitely some kind of family.”
He grinned and stopped in front of her. “You grew up so well.”
“I am guessing Mom didn’t mention it?”
He shrugged. “It wasn’t that kind of event.”
“Oh. Ewe!” She made a face.
He chuckled. “It was a different time, and she wanted a wild weekend before she got married. As it takes quite a bit of repetition for one of my kind to reproduce, I didn’t consider it an option. Well, not until you began your annual occupation.”
“So, you have known about me for a few years?”
He chuckled. “Yes, but you were fine on your own, until you weren’t. Have you stopped the attacks against you?”
“No. Not yet. I still need a shower or a hot bath or something.” She sighed. “I am getting my feet under me.”
“Hm. Who is this?”
“My husband. Azreen the dragonborn.”
Kremoryn leaned back. “Really? Why didn’t you use his energy to defend yourself?”
“It was complicated. It has been rectified now.”
He sniffed. “But you are still untouched. I have several warriors who would be delighted to spend time under your bed.”
She swallowed. “Um, polite pass for now.”
Azreen gasped. “For now?”
Vaia winced. “Well, dark energy is a little wild, and those who have it are more so.”
Kremoryn grinned. “That is an understatement. Do you think you can keep up, Azreen?”
Azreen nodded. “I am confident I can manage it.”
Vaia blinked and stared at him. “Huh. I hadn’t considered you as an option.”
“For...”
“A snack. I am dark energy. I get hungry. I have a license to fill up once a year, but that was the same night I got shot, so I used a lot of it. I am going to get hungry a lot earlier than I did last year. Somewhere near the winter solstice.”
He frowned. “What do you mean, hungry?”
“All the energy I have used to knock people out, change their outlooks, and keep them from harming me has come from a stash of energy I use to power my survival. When you lacked control, there was spillover. I fed off that. Then it stopped, and I knew about the exit clause for familiars, so I waited. That takes you up to this week.”
Azreen bent and kissed her. She squeaked as a furnace’s worth of power dumped into her. Vaia held onto his jacket, and the kiss went on and on until her skin was glowing and breathing was optional. He lifted his head. “Do you have what you need?”
“Absolutely not.” She grabbed him and pulled him back for another kiss. Azreen got into the spirit, and his hands wrapped around her and held her against him. She wasn’t drawing from him; she loved the way he tasted. After a few minutes, she slowed the kiss, and he did the same.
Azreen smiled. “Do you need more? I have more.”
Her male parent snorted. “Keep it to yourselves, or show us everything. We are an open-minded people.”
She looked at him in a daze and then remembered how he had described encountering her mother. “Right. Dark energy.”
Kremoryn grinned with his super-sharp teeth. “Not quite demon, not quite fae. We love to live in the shadows and play with those who dare.”
“Right. So, why am I here?”
He cocked his head. “I wanted to meet you, daughter. We rarely have females. It is always an excuse for celebration. Of course, you are married, so the type of celebration will have to be altered from the norm.”
“Um, right. I have to get a hotel room because a bunch of bullets perforated my house with me inside it.”
“Won’t your husband provide?”
Azreen still had his arms around her. “I haven’t had a chance to purchase a home locally. I was going to begin the process after I met with Vaia.”
She looked at him. “Your family doesn’t have a place here?”
“No. We travelled to find you.”
“Oh. I didn’t know that. That is why you disappeared afterward.”
He smiled. “Did you look for me?”
She answered honestly. “Yes.”
He frowned, and then understanding hit him, and he hugged her. “I am so sorry I wasn’t here.”
“I found my footing.” She smiled weakly. “I was just scared at first.”
“You should not have had to.”
Her nose twitched. She smelled popcorn. Kremoryn was sitting, hovering a few feet from the ground with a huge bucket of popcorn. “Oh, don’t mind me. This is fascinating. What happened?”
“Her mother sold her to my family to use her compatibility with me for material gain. She was eighteen, I was sixteen, and my family whisked me off immediately after the wedding and familiar binding.”
Her father said, “She sold you?”
“It was one of the kinder things that had been offered to me. It was a relief to no longer be considered part of their household.”
Kremoryn put his popcorn down and walked up to her, touching her cheek, and then she felt the cool caress of him in her thoughts. He chuckled. “Definitely my daughter. Oh, that’s how you feed. Clever. Oh, there they are. Interesting. That will require further investigation.”
He was touching on all of her interactions with her family, stepfather, and half-siblings.
He withdrew his mind from hers and smiled. “It seems you are due some back child support.”
“Uh, I am fine. I am just between disaster and my next house. I own several properties around town, but they are all occupied. I wouldn’t kick anyone out.”
“Ah, so, not like your mother.”
She paled. “No. Never like her.”
He sighed. “If she had just told me about you...”
“She didn’t have your information.”
He snorted. “I left my number etched under her skin. It’s probably still there. I will see if I can get a rise out of her once you are gone.”
“Uh, what are you going to do?”
He chuckled. “Nothing that you want to know about, Vaia. Now, I have a suite at the Arkwood. It is yours until you find something that you feel is suitable.” He held a phone in a shadow tentacle and another typed in a number. He had it to his ear and said, “Hello, Daphne? Oh, so glad you recognized my voice. Well, my daughter and her husband need my suite for a while. Please get it ready. Thank you, dear. They will be checking in tonight. I will forward their names and descriptions. Yes, that’s right. Normal couple. No party favours needed. They will be there within the hour. Housekeeping will be compensated accordingly. Thank you. Good night.”
His tentacle jabbed the phone. “There you go. All sorted.”
She could feel Azreen getting ready to ask the question and didn’t cover his mouth in time. “Party favours?”
Kremoryn grinned that wide, creepy grin. “Oh, I really want to complete his education. Young dragons have so much energy.”
“His experience level is his own business.”
“And yet you knew what I meant.”
“I hang out with dark fae. It’s a side effect.” She took in his knowing look. “And my mother made sure I knew exactly where she met you.”
Azreen asked, “What happened?”
She looked at him and narrowed her eyes. “They made me after hours of concerted effort and some misdirected attempts on Kremoryn’s part.”
The deep, booming laugh from her father told her that she was right on with her description. He sighed after the laugh. “I need to throw another one of those parties. They were such... fun.”
“Uh. Great. Hire good cleaners.”
He chuckled. “You have been to a party?”
“No, but I am a dressmaker. Several of the ladies I have clothed have had easy access in mind for their selections.”
“Oh, you are successful?”
“Very. I keep my advertising to word of mouth, but I handle a lot of work for women who are tricky fits. Shifters of one kind or another, and those who burn or freeze.”
“And you said you had properties?”
“Half a dozen. Some residential, some commercial.”
“You are comfortable?”
“When my house doesn’t have holes. Yes.”
“Why were they shooting at you?”
“Um, I had just sent Azreen documents for a divorce. The mercenaries showed up a little bit later.”
“Why are you trying to divorce him?”
“Um, we have an unconsummated union.”
Her father stared at her. He looked at her husband and said, “Are you stupid?”
Azreen’s cheeks darkened. “I lost track of time. I intended to join her eight years ago.”
“Ah. You have been training with your father?”
“Yes. I have the control. I have the skills, and the second mind has begun speaking to me. My mother tried to continue my career far beyond what I wanted.”
“How is Ingharol?”
“Still trying to control the world.”
“And Azorzeen?”
“Still trying to hide from my mother. He’s a little big right now.”
The king shook his head. “Dragons. How old is your father right now?”
“About seven hundred.”
“How long has your mother been with him?”
“Forty years.”
“So, he decided he wanted a kid, and it took him over a decade to get his cock to work.”
Azreen sighed. “My father was never that interested in that side of things.”
“I see. Well, are you planning to be an aged idiot as well?”
“No. My interests are much more immediate.” He kept Vaia held against him.
“Well, I will look into who is trying to end my dreams of being a grandfather when they have just begun.” He chortled. “I have been bored of late, and this will be fun.”
“Uh, should I warn Matthias?”
“No. I will use between for my purposes.” He patted her cheek. “Leave it to me, and I am now sending you to the hotel. You look a little wild around the eyes.”
Vaia didn’t have a chance to respond. She and Azreen were standing in the centre of a glossy and marble-covered hotel. Everyone was staring.
A goblin-troll stepped forward in a very nice dark grey suit that made his six arms look perfectly normal. He bowed. “Princess, my lord, I am Rolf, your personal butler during your stay. Please come with me.”
Vaia was still in Azreen’s arms, and he slid his hand to her back, keeping her against him as they headed to the elevator so that she could absorb what she had learned.
It had been a helluva week.
Chapter Four
The suite that Kremoryn had sent them to was the royal suite. Rolf was the suite’s butler. Anything they needed was to be provided with discreet speed.
Vaia said softly, “Could we get some food? I have been on hospital food for a few days.”
“Hospital?”
“I was shot. I am feeling much better now. Nothing like having one’s mate with you to perk you up. A steak from anywhere, medium rare. Azreen?”
“The same.”
“Of course. Wine?”
“It hampers my self-control, so no. Water with lemon for me.”
Azreen nodded. “I will take the wine. A red.”
Rolf nodded. “There is a direct line on the table. Just lift it and state what you need. No need for pleasantries. They will confuse the concierge. Good evening. Anything in the suite is for your use.”
Vaia paused and whispered into Rolf’s ear. He smirked slightly. “Wardrobe near the bed.”
“Okay. Great. Things to avoid.”
“So, you are aware of what this suite is used for.”
Vaia grimaced. “I think I was conceived in it. Please tell me the mattresses and sheets are rotated frequently.”
“Yes, miss. Everything is fresh since the last event.”
She slumped. “That’s a relief. Thank you, Rolf.”
The butler was chuckling silently as he left the room to get their orders.
Azreen looked at her. “You were conceived here?”
“From my mother’s description, yes. They were at her bachelorette night, or the night for one of her sisters. She is always a little vague on that matter. But they met in a local club and were both coming back here, so he invited her and the other ladies to the afterparty. She left with a party favour. Ta-dah!” She raised her fingers and pointed at her head.
He said softly, “So, that is why we are compatible. Complementary energies. My father is very much on the dark side of things.”
She nodded. “I remember reading that in the contract. Your mother handled your end of things?”
“Yes. She had them look into you to make sure you were suitable and not pregnant at the time.”
Vaia snorted. “I wasn’t allowed to leave the house once I graduated from school.”
He took her hand and walked with her to the couch. He exhaled dragon fire across the couch, and she laughed and hugged him. “Thanks for that. I get this feeling that this room has more of his DNA in it than I do.”
Azreen burst out laughing.
They sat on the couch, and he held her hand. “So, I was not counting on waiting so long to come back to you, but my mother always had something for me to do.”
“Yeah. I wonder what Kremoryn is going to find. I really pity anyone he does find. He looked way too excited to go and play.”
He sighed. “They deserve what they get. They nearly killed you.”
“Yes. It’s a good thing I am not short.”
Azreen closed his eyes for a moment and said, “I need to check my phone.”
She nodded. “Cool. I get the remote. Dear lord, let it be for the television.”
He grinned, and she turned the TV on, searching for a documentary and sitting back with her head resting on the back of the couch.
She watched as Azreen’s face got troubled, and she took his hand. “To her, I was just a body that might not explode. We needed the wedding with her authorization to put the familiar link in place. No way they could have just linked me to someone who was technically a child unless we had a legal relationship.”
“Is that why?”
“Yeah. I think so, according to the documents I still have.”
“Damn. I thought it was because I asked for you.”
She looked at him. “What?”
“I asked for you. I saw your file in my mother’s study, and she wasn’t going for it until I said that I wouldn’t take anyone else. Oh, she didn’t like that.”
“Where was your dad?”
“He was curled up in the back yard. He hates being in human form and only did it to have me.”
“How do you live?”
“Oh, he’s loaded. I have a job doing voiceovers for movies and videos.” He smiled slightly as he glanced at her. “I can do it from anywhere, but I go to a lot of conventions for the characters I have voice-acted.”
Her eyes widened. “I knew that voice was familiar.”
He grinned and kept reading. “Well, my mother isn’t admitting to sending the later waves of assassins, but she isn’t admitting to anything. I have mentioned that your father is looking into things, and she hasn’t responded.”
She nodded, and there was a discreet knock. She went to answer the door and checked through the peephole. It was Rolf and two other servers.
She opened the door and stood aside. Her skin tingled as Rolf stepped toward her, and she pushed the door shut. “Nope, nope, nope.”
Azreen was at her side in a moment. “What is it?”
“Another shapeshifting murderer.”
He nodded. “Step back.”
He opened the door and sent a blast of fire into the hall. The two behind the fake Rolf dove to the side, but the man was caught in the blast, and his expression went from fury to blank.
“Come in. All of you.”
Azreen pulled the man in, and it changed into a brownie with some ogre vibes. The other two followed and stood with heads bowed. “Why are you after her?”
“The shadow born and dark fire master was betrothed to our king. She refused him.”
Vaia blinked. “I don’t have dark fire. I can’t even move my shadows. I just eat like a psychic vampire.”
The assassin frowned. “But you are tied to the small oracle. It has to be you.”
“Nope. I... oh... I know what has happened.” She pulled out her phone and contacted her assistant. Min sighed and walked from the end of the hall.
“Minayel, do you know anything about this?”
“Yes, and no. I didn’t know it would happen now, but I know who they are looking for.”
“Min?”
“Well, you know my roommate Hura?”
“Sure. The artist.”
“Right. Well, uh... she’s the other dark fae that I know, but she has control over dark fire. The last time I did an oracle reading, there was mention of the dark monster’s beloved, and I think they thought it was you.”
