Sorae let out the faintest whine, and an odd pulse of emotion I didn’t understand came across the bond she and I shared. I walked over and itched the underside of her chin. “Sorae’s only mean and nasty to the people who deserve it.”
She huffed in agreement.
My father edged forward in slow, tentative steps. His hand hovered close to her and froze. I pursed my lips to contain my smile and sent a silent push of encouragement down the bond.
She arched her neck and abruptly shoved her snout into his palm, rubbing it along the soft spots where she loved to be scratched.
A surprised laugh erupted from my father’s chest. He brought his other hand up to her head, making gentle motions along the scales and spikes that lined her upper body. Sorae’s eyes squeezed shut as a loud purr rumbled out of her.
I grinned. “She likes you.”
He eyed the sharp fangs poking out from the edge of her mouth. “Thank the gods for that. Can you really talk to her?”
“In a way. We can sense each other’s emotions, but sometimes I swear she knows exactly what I’m saying. She gives me a surprising amount of shit for a beast that can’t talk.”
Sorae snorted and whacked me across the back of my thighs with her tail, earning another bout of raucous laughter from my father.
The sound of my father’s happiness ignited my own, and for a few blissful moments, all my problems fell away. I watched in delight as he spoiled her with a series of aggressive belly rubs and loud, affectionate smacks to her haunches. Sorae reveled in the attention, her contentment coating our bond like the sweetest honey.
As much as I hated to do anything to stain this cherished pocket of joy we’d managed to find, there was one more topic lingering between us I couldn’t put off any longer.
“Father,” I started. “I need to know the truth. No more secrets. What do you really know about Mother’s disappearance?”
He stilled, then sighed and slowly stepped away from Sorae. He scrubbed a hand across his face, looking suddenly weary. “She was planning a trip. She wouldn’t say where or why, only that she could be gone for a long time and she wouldn’t be able to contact me while she was away. But she swore she would warn me before she left. When she vanished without a word, I wasn’t sure whether…” He stopped, and the darkness of grief began to creep back into his features.
“Luther knows where she is,” I blurted out. His eyes grew wide. “But she made him promise not to tell me, and he’s determined to keep his word.”
His attention sharpened on the door, his body tensing, as if he might launch himself through it to go demand answers himself.
I stepped in front of him and gripped his hands. “He thinks she’s alive. He promised that if she hasn’t returned by the end of the year, he’ll get her and bring her back.”
“And you trust him?”
It was a question I had been asking myself over and over, reaching a different answer every time.
“I don’t know,” I said honestly. “I think maybe I do.”
His eyes narrowed as he searched my face. I squirmed, knowing there was little that escaped my father once he fixed himself on a mission. I wasn’t even sure what I wanted him to see—or not see.
“I watched him down there with you today. I saw how he ran to your side when things went badly.” He cocked his head and gave me a pointed look. “When he came to fetch me… I’ve rarely seen a man look so desperate.”
I looked down and shrugged. “He’s helping me. As an advisor.”
Not entirely a lie. Not entirely the truth, either.
He waited for more, and when it became clear that I would neither explain nor meet his gaze, he turned his attention back to the chamber door with a thoughtful hum. “It all makes sense now. That letter. Him keeping you here after the fire.”
I frowned. “What do you mean?”
A loud knock rang out before he could respond. “Come in,” I called out, and the door swung open. Luther and Alixe strolled inside and bowed low in greeting.
“Alixe,” I said, “this is my father, Andrei Bellator. Father, this is Alixe Corbois.”
“Commander Bellator.” Alixe snapped to attention and crossed her forearms into a low X, the formal salute of the Emarion Army. “It’s an honor. I’m quite familiar with your impressive reputation.”
My father returned the salute with a respectful nod, looking surprised at her words.
“Alixe will take your father home when he’s ready,” Luther said.
“Or you could stay,” I said hopefully to my father, ignoring the way Luther and Alixe stiffened. “You and Teller could move in with me here at the palace.”
“No, sweetheart,” he answered with a slow shake of his head. “I’ll come as often as you need me, but my place is at home.” I started to protest, and he cut me off with a stern look. “If your mother returns, I want to be there.”
I couldn’t argue with that. I wanted the very same thing, and I couldn’t deny him that chance just because I was stuck in this cursed palace.
He dropped a kiss on my forehead and pulled me in for a crushing hug, then gave Sorae a swat to her rump, earning a satisfied rumble and a nudge of her nose against his chest.
Alixe raised her palms to my father, a soft glow forming at her hands. “You may feel a slight tingling,” she warned.
I watched in disbelief as his image wavered, then the spot he was standing in went suddenly vacant. “Where did he go?”
“I’m right here,” my father’s voice boomed.
“He’s—you’re—invisible?”
“I am?”
I ran toward his voice and reached into what looked like open air, my hands colliding with a solid form. I could touch him, even feel the heat he gave off, but to my eyes, there was nothing there.
“Holy shit!” I cried, my jaw hanging open.
“Language, Diem,” the bodyless voice scolded.
Alixe laughed, and Luther pressed his lips to fight back a smile. “Alixe can manipulate light magic to create visual illusions,” he explained.
I gaped at the space where my father stood. “That is the most impressive thing I’ve ever seen.”
Sorae clawed at the floor with a jealous snort.
“The second most impressive thing I’ve ever seen,” I amended.
Alixe gestured for my father to join her. Two invisible hands startled me as they cupped my face, my father’s voice whispering so only I could hear. “Be strong, soldier. Don’t let these Corbois make you forget that you’re a Bellator, understood?”
I forced my shoulders up and my back straight, then winked. “Aye, Commander.”
His laughter echoed, then the feeling of his rough touch fell away, leaving my chest feeling as empty as the space he stood in. His voice struck up a murmured conversation with Alixe about their old army days. As their footsteps faded into the corridor, a tiny fragment of my heart left with him.
Chapter
Twenty
“You were right,” I admitted as the door closed. “I do like Alixe.”
“Because she has impressive magic?” Luther teased.
“Because she was kind to the most important man in my life, and I think it had nothing to do with me being the Queen.” I grinned. “And because she has impressive magic.”