“I promise. I won’t dip my toe or anything else.” Grinning, I leaned back against the seat. Tim was a comfortable friend and I loved hearing his voice. I heard someone talking to him.
“Oh hey, Jason wants to know how you like the Jeep?”
“Tell him he did a great job, and thanks for the detailing on the door. Nice to have my baby purring like new again.”
“Good. Well, I’m off. I have some late work to get done and Jason wants to go out for coffee—a twenty-four hour Starbucks opened near our house and we can walk there.”
“Okay. Be careful, dude. There are monsters in the dark.”
“I know that all too well since meeting you. But even before you opened up the portals, we had plenty of monsters of our own, honey. Some of them are called bigots.” He signed off and a minute later, a text came through with Violet’s password.
I turned the ignition, then headed for home. The day’s events had started to catch up with me, and by the time I pulled in the driveway, I could barely think. I tumbled into bed and the next thing I knew, I was out like a light.
• • •
Shade was gone when I woke up, he’d left a message that he had some business to attend to and would be back by dinner time. Missing him, horny and lonely, I moped around, but by the time I came down for breakfast, I felt relatively refreshed. A shower had cleaned any residual gunk off me that I had been too tired to pay attention to the night before.
Camille was sitting there with Iris, who had a relieved look on her face. Iris beamed at me.
“It’s so good to get out of the house for a little while. Camille’s been filling me in on everything. I can’t believe how the world falls apart when I decide to take some time off.” She was joking, but turned serious. “Delilah, I’m so sorry about your father.”
I blinked. I hadn’t even begun to visit the pain that I’d locked away inside, and I suspected neither had Camille nor Menolly. Right now was not that time.
“Thanks.” I leaned down and kissed her. “How are you, little mama?”
“Tired. I have a nanny—the Duchess insisted on hiring someone. But I am sore and achy, and my nether regions still feel like I passed a couple of watermelons. Birthing’s not easy and don’t let anybody tell you it is.” She chuckled. “But my Maria and Ukkonen are doing well. They both have extremely healthy lungs and they know how to use them. Bruce is a deer in the headlights, but he’s feeling his way along.”
“And how do you get along with your mother-in-law?” Camille set a cup of herbal tea and a plate of cookies down in front of Iris.
I rummaged through the refrigerator. “Where’s Hanna? No breakfast?”
“Make it yourself. I gave Hanna the day off and she went shopping.” Camille fixed herself an iced latte and sat down at the table with what looked like a leftover plate of spaghetti.
Iris cleared her throat and glanced around. “The Duchess . . . I’ve never met such a bossy woman. But she is kind and she loves her grandchildren, and so far she hasn’t tried to change my house décor, so we’re good. That’s one thing about sprites and leprechauns, we respect the connections others have to their homes.”
I found some leftover turkey breast and pulled it out, slicing it and slapping it between pieces of French bread, and slathering it with mayo, mustard, and ketchup. I added three slices of cheese and called it good. Pouring a big glass of chocolate milk, I sat down at the table with them and bit into the sandwich.
Camille pulled out her phone and tapped on the screen. “We have to pay Ivana’s debt today. I called her and told her to come by this afternoon. And did you want to ask Chase if he wants to move in here?”
“Chase, move in? What is this, a boarding house? He can stay with Sharah—she should be having that baby any day.” Iris looked a little put out and I thought that, even though she had her own home now and it was only a minute or two away, she still missed living with us and being queen of the household.
I glanced over at Camille, then back at Iris. “I guess we missed telling you. Sharah had her baby and because Queen Asteria is dead, she’s now the Queen of Elqaneve and they made her leave the baby and Chase behind. He’s a single father, for the moment.”
“The entire world is falling apart around my shoulders and I seem to have no clue.” Iris shook her head. “Well then, he can’t possibly take care of that child on his own.”
“Sharah sent a nanny and a wet nurse over Earthside,” I started to say, but Iris waved me quiet.
“Nonsense. I’m producing an abundance of milk. I can wet-nurse his baby as well as my own. We have two guest rooms, and Chase can stay in one, and the nursery can hold a third baby. The Duchess loves children of all makes and models, she’d probably be overjoyed to add another one to her care while she’s here, and it will keep her busy.”
By the wicked grin on Iris’s face, she had an ulterior motive hiding behind that cunning smile. “You call him right now. That way he won’t be taking up your house space, and Bruce will welcome the male company. I’m afraid the estrogen factor is getting rather strong for him.”
I grinned. “Whatever you say, Iris. I’m not going to argue.” I dialed Chase’s number. He was quick to answer, but he sounded groggy.
“Delilah, what’s up?” There was an edge to his voice and I had the feeling he was already going down for the count.
“I have an offer for you from Iris and I think you should take her up on it, at least for a little while.” I quickly outlined her proposal. “So you’ll have a babysitter for . . . what did you name her?”
“Astrid, after Asteria. It seemed the thing to do.” He sounded hopeful as he said it, and I had the feeling we wouldn’t have any trouble convincing him to hie it on over.
“You’ll have a babysitter for Astrid, and Iris can nurse her. You will get more sleep and you can feel safer about leaving her during the day. What do you say?” I was a little hesitant. After all, Iris hadn’t consulted Bruce yet, but then again, Iris was Iris and we
all
did what she said.
Chase let out a long breath. “Bless that little sprite. Tell her I accept, and I’ll do whatever I can to lighten the load. And that way, Astrid won’t be alone either . . . she’ll have babies her own age.”
“I don’t think right now that matters so much, but you know? Hard to tell. When can you come over?” I nodded at Iris, who let out a broad smile.
“Does she mind if I pick up Astrid and bring her over now? I can stop on the way home tonight to get a suitcase with some clothes for me. But wait—I’ll have a gun in the house. How does she feel about that?” Chase hesitated. He had to have his gun, but I also knew he respected others’ feelings about the subject.
I sat down my phone and turned to Iris. “Here’s the deal. He has to keep his gun with him. Will that bother you? If not, he’d like to bring Astrid—his daughter—over right now.”
Iris didn’t even blink an eye. “Chase knows what he’s doing and it will be a long sight before those children are out of their cribs. I have no issues with it. Tell him to get his hindquarters in gear and bring that lovely baby over.”
I told Chase what she said and he promised to be over in an hour. After I punched the End Talk button, I turned my attention back to my sandwich.
“Are you sure this won’t be too much work for you, Iris?” Camille forked a bite of her spaghetti but Iris reached out and touched her hand.
“Is that cold?”
“Yes.” Camille blushed. “I don’t mind it cold.”
“We’ll see about that. You get right over to that stove and heat it up, Miss.” Iris started to stand up, wincing. “If you don’t, I will.”
“You sit down!” Camille jumped up and carried her plate over to the microwave. “I’ll heat it, but don’t you even dare get up.” She popped it in the microwave and punched the Express time button for two minutes.
“I swear, I move out and everything goes to hell.” Iris frowned. “We’ll have to figure out a way to streamline the workload in both of our households. Hanna is doing her best but things are getting out of hand. I think she and I can put our heads together and come up with a
plan
.”
The way she said it, made me nervous. “What do you have in mind?”
“You just leave all that up to us, Delilah. We’ll figure something out. Meanwhile, I’d better get back to the house and make sure the Duchess hasn’t decided to buy me new furniture. When Chase gets here, you bring him and the wee one down. We’ll get a bassinet set up—we have an extra.”
At my look, she blushed, right through her tattoos on the sides of her face. “Well, you never know when you’ll need a spare.”
And with that, she gently eased out of her chair and headed out the kitchen door, back to her house.
Camille watched out the window, making sure Iris arrived home safely. “Somehow, if it’s possible, I think Iris has gotten bossier since she gave birth.”
“You’re telling me. Man, she’s going to be a pistol when she gets back on her feet. I guess we’d better prepare Hanna when she gets back.”
The two women had come to a truce about who controlled what, especially since Iris had moved into her own house, but Iris still claimed our home as her territory too, and it led to some awkward interactions at times. They never really argued, but as Hanna got more comfortable, she also wanted to take more responsibility. I was wondering how the hell they’d come to some suitable arrangement, but knowing the two of them, they’d find a way.
Camille sighed. “I need to contact Trillian and have him go talk to Aunt Rythwar. Want to come with me?”
I didn’t, but since she was offering to do the dirty work, the least I could do was offer moral support. It was hard enough thinking about Father, let alone talking about him. We headed into the living room. The Whispering Mirror was still set up downstairs and we’d probably leave it down here for easy access as the war progressed. I dreaded finding out what was going on back in Elqaneve. By now the goblins had probably reached the city and we could only hope that Tanaquar’s forces had made it in time to repel them.
Camille settled herself in front of the mirror and it flared to life and she stated her name. Voice activated, only our voices—and those of our husbands—would allow access. The frame was woven in a silver knotwork of delicate roses and leaves, and the glass was normally covered in mist, but when Camille said her name, the mist cleared and we could see a dark room. There were no windows in sight and the only illumination seemed to come from the eye catchers that hovered along the walls at regular intervals. A soft chime sounded, and a moment later, Trenyth appeared. He looked tired, harried even, but at least he was alive.
He slid into the seat in front of his own mirror and let out a soft sigh. “The war is on in earnest. The goblins have breached the gates of Elqaneve and are scattered throughout the whole of Kelvashan. Tanaquar’s armies reached our side shortly before the goblins, so they spread out and the fighting is echoing through our lands.”
Depressing news. But at least Tanaquar had sent her armies in advance and we’d been responsible for getting the news to her. That made me feel a little bit better. “What of the Knights?”
Trenyth’s solemn look didn’t change. “So far, your men have not been able to track them down. We have no idea if the other side has got hold of any of them.” He winced and rubbed his head. “If they do, we are . . . as you put it . . . fucked.”
Hearing that come out of Trenyth’s mouth was shocking, but then again, nothing had been normal since we’d first come over Earthside.
“How’s Sharah doing?” I asked.
“She’s coping. Postpartum depression has hit her pretty hard, especially since she can’t be with her baby. It’s not going to be easy, this transition. She never expected to reach the throne, and nobody expected her to so she wasn’t trained in the nuances of the Court. Or rather, she didn’t bother to learn. We’re having to fast-track her training.”
“Well, tell her that Chase and Astrid—her daughter—are moving here. They’ll be staying with Iris and will be a lot safer than if they stayed at Chase’s apartment for now. It’s not permanent but we’ll sort that out later.”
Trenyth gave me a faint smile. “She’ll be happy to hear that. I know it’s been weighing on her heart and her mind.”
“Is Trillian there?” Camille asked. “We need him to . . . we need him to go find our Aunt Rythwar and tell her about our father. And . . . have you found his body yet?”
Her question hit me in the gut and I gulped back a sob, but Camille was maintaining and I’d be damned if I’d be the one to need comforting this time. She’d already carried us through Mother’s death. We weren’t going to put her through doing the same now that Father was dead.
“No girls. I’m sorry, we haven’t found a trace of him yet. But his soul statue . . . well . . . I wouldn’t hold out hope if I were you. As for Trillian, he’s in the back room. They’re preparing for another scouting mission today. A few of our seers escaped and they are trying to locate the Knights.”
Another thought hit me. “Amber—she had a baby! Did . . . do you know . . .” How could I ask? How could I ask if they knew if Amber’s baby was dead. One of the Keraastar Knights, Amber had ended up with her brother Luke—Menolly’s ex-barkeep—in Otherworld, chained to the yoke of the spirit seals. And there, she’d had her baby. Nobody knew if her possession of the spirit seal had altered the baby while it was in her womb, but it was just something we assumed we would find out as the child grew.
