Page 50 of Against the Veil (Endangered Fae #3)

“I… Oh.” Even as he began to construct his promise, he found himself thinking of ways to circumvent it.

The automatic response shamed him and in his mind, he began again.

Finally, he had the oath he needed. “Zachary Morrison, my beloved, my heart, I will never again pretend to heed your advice with the thought of disregarding it. Never again will I use any spell of hindrance or compulsion on you, and in disagreement I will speak my mind in honest discourse rather than hiding my true intentions. Will this serve?”

“Yeah. Think that covers it.”

“Then on the earth which sustains me, I do so swear.” The stern expression softened into something tender and Lugh ventured, “Am I forgiven?”

Zack leaned over to place a lingering kiss on his parched lips. “I think you’ve suffered enough. I forgive you. Now, can I get you anything? You hungry?”

“Not yet. Perhaps later.” He nestled his face against the crook of Zack’s neck, drinking in his scent. “Lie down beside me. Stay with me. Don’t go.”

“Not going anywhere, babe,” Zack whispered against his hair. “I’m right here.”

Early the next morning, Zack wandered down to the kitchen for coffee to clear the fuzz from his brain. He stopped in the doorway to take in the odd scene at the table.

“You can’t move there. You’re not jumping.” Minky tapped a square on the board.

“But it’s an open space. I can move into an open space,” Finn protested, the offending checker still held in two long fingers.

“Right, but you have to go in straight lines when you’re moving. The whole across the stick sides instead of over the pointy parts, remember?”

“Oh, bother. Yes, yes. I beg your pardon.” Finn amended his illegal checkers move and glanced up. “Good morning.”

“Morning, you two. Should I ask?”

Finn shrugged, leaning back so his great-granddaughter could contemplate her next move. “Eithne needed to rewrap Diego’s wrists and she wished to speak to him. She rather unceremoniously tossed me out the door.”

“She asked you nicely,” Minky muttered as she jumped two of Finn’s pieces.

“And I had nothing to do but fret, so Minky thought I should learn this blasted game.”

“There’s no numbers or words. You’re getting it.”

Zack poured himself a mug and took in one of the empty chairs.

“Perfect. You don’t seem to be losing too bad, bud.

” He watched a few more moves, oddly pleased when Finn jumped a piece legally.

“You kids decide what you want to do? Just so you know, their majesties have said any magically inclined humans will be allowed Otherworld visas if they have fae sponsors. And you guys have lots of offers.”

Minky blinked her dark owl eyes at him. “We do? Really?”

“Really. Finn’s offered to sponsor you, of course…”

Finn ducked his head and waggled his fingers at her in acknowledgment.

“But the dragon lord spoke up for you, too. Kara and Will have about half a dozen offers each. Nate twice as many.”

“Oh.” Minky pushed her captured pieces into ever changing shapes, her pale skin turning scarlet. “And Bran?”

“Sionnach’s offered for him. The little guy says he understands better than most how a big mouth can get you in trouble.”

Minky nodded, her eyes still glued to the checkers. “It’s for visas, though, right? I mean, we could visit. Go back and forth and stuff?”

“That’s the idea.”

She heaved a tiny sigh. “Well…good. It’d be great to stay. I mean, for me. But there’s, you know, family and stuff. And the rest of them want to finish school. And Nate wants to apply to that new graduate program in Magical Studies at Berkeley…”

“We get it. It’s okay. But the visas are there for when you need to come to the island. So you’re not cut off from your teachers.” Zack took a long gulp from his cooling coffee. “Jasper going with you?”

Minky’s button nose wrinkled. “Yeah.”

“Don’t like him?”

“What? Oh…no. Jazz is nice and all. Just wish him and Nate would, um, keep it in private more.”

Zack sputtered on a laugh and had to put his coffee down or risk spilling it. “It’s new for them still. They’ll calm down.” He tapped a finger on his mug, his thoughts insisting on more serious territory. “Auden’s decided to stay.”

“Nathair seems quite fond of him,” Finn offered after another triumphant jump. “They speak…without speaking.”

“Yeah, it’s kinda nice and kinda creepy all at the same time. He’s another one we couldn’t find family for, and Nathair could use help in the garden.”

“And Theo?” Finn inquired softly.

“Everyone keeps asking about him. You’d think the fae wouldn’t care about us abominations so much.”

“Some perhaps would not.” Finn cleared his throat. “But I squashed him.”

“I have to give you the same answer I’ve given everyone else, bud. I don’t know. Kid’s shown he’s dangerous. He’s a killer, after all. I just don’t know.”

“Zack?” Angus stood in the doorway, shifting from foot to foot as he did when he was uncomfortable. “Their majesties wish to see you.”

“Ah.” Zack got up from the table and planted a kiss on top of Finn’s head. “I’ll come check on you later. Duty calls. Where are they, Angus?”

“In the den.”

That caught him off guard. Danu and Balor in the fae realm were intimidating enough. In the den, together, they would take up the whole room. I’m taking my coffee with me, damn it.

Regal and reserved, Danu sat in the big armchair by the window, her green hair tumbling over the damask.

Balor stood in the corner by the TV, arms crossed over his chest, as far away from her as he could get in the relatively small space.

Zack’s eyebrows shot up when he spotted the room’s third occupant, though.

Lugh reclined on the sofa, blanket tucked in around him, nibbling on a plate of sliced apples.

At least he’s eating, but I think I smell an ambush.

“Zachary, sit. Please.” Danu’s voice was at its most soothing, which only made Zack’s internal alarms scream louder.

He settled on the end of the sofa with Lugh’s hooves in his lap. “Yes, ma’am. What can I do for you?”

“Much has changed since we first met, boy,” Balor growled.

“Yes, sir. Can’t argue that.” Not liking where this is going…

“You are not the same.” Danu picked up the thread. “Our worlds are not the same.”

Liking it less and less by the second…

“We’ve argued and discussed until even the owls nodded off to sleep,” she went on. “But we feel that you are no longer the best choice to lead Prince Lugh’s security force.”

“You’re…firing me?” Of course they are. He held up a hand to halt any further explanations.

“I get it, Majesties. I do. I couldn’t keep your grandson safe.

Failed him miserably. And I’m a werewolf now, which makes me a security risk all on my own.

I understand…” His throat closed up and all the sensible things he wanted to say were trapped behind the hurt and misery.

What the hell will I do? Maybe they’ll let me stay on as a medic for the security team?

Lugh put a hand on his arm. “Beloved, you need to hear the rest.”

“The rest? About how I’m an abomination who shouldn’t be seeing their grandson?”

A low rumble vibrated through the floor as Balor spat out, “Damn the she-bear for putting such thoughts in your head.”

“I do not recall you saying anything to un-put them, Heart of the Earth,” Danu said with a bitter smile. “Zachary, be still and listen. Diego is terribly ill. We do not feel he will be able to resume his duties as our Human Consul at any point in the near future.”

“Yeah, I’d say that’s true.”

“But we need a human to serve as our contact for the human world. Lugh serves well as Ambassador, but there are so many things Diego did and understood from a human point of view that Lugh cannot.”

“I don’t…” Oh, no.

“We wish to remove you as head of security so that you might become our acting Consul. Until such time, perhaps, that Diego might recover.”

Some corner of Zack’s brain registered he was doing a really good fish impersonation, but all he managed was a strangled croak.

Finally, brain and mouth reconnected, “But…Majesty, I’m not educated, not like Diego.

I got my LPN license through the military.

Never even went to community college. I don’t know a damn thing, begging your pardon, ma’am, about law or economics or… any of that!”

“We don’t need a scholar right now, love.” Lugh shook his arm gently. “We need a man who knows what is right, who knows when something is wrong at the core of his being, even if he lacks all the pretty words to say why.”

“Your strength, your courage, Zachary Morrison,” Danu said, her voice ringing clear, filling his head like cathedral bells. “You are whom we choose.” Then she sighed and settled back again, her words returning to normal size. “We trust you. We love you. You are uniquely suited to this task.”

“Diego didn’t always know the answers.” Lugh struggled free of his blanket and eased his hooves onto the floor. “When he needed help with money issues he called Miriam in New York. With law questions, he had a professor friend at one of the universities. Every consul must have advisors.”

Zack rubbed at his temples with both hands. “Can I think about this?”

“Of course. If you do this, it must be willingly.” Lugh leaned in to wrap him in a hard hug. “If you feel you cannot, we must look elsewhere. If only Nathan were older…”

“Stop. No emotional blackmail, please. I said I’d think about it.” He rolled his head all the way around to crack his neck. “Not like Kevin couldn’t take over the security command position. He’s better qualified than I am.”

“He would do well.” Lugh put a hand on Zack’s shoulder to lever himself up, swaying dangerously when he gained his feet. “Take what time you need to think things through, love. For now, I need your help with something.”

Zack ducked under his arm to keep him from keeling over. “Help standing, for one. How the hell did you get down here?”