Page 26 of Fated or Knot (UnseelieVerse: The Omega Masquerade #1)

26

LARK

T he ceiling was gray. At some point, it may have been white, but that’d been a long time ago. I smelled the mingling scents of several alphas and a couple omegas all at once, though I picked out my scent matches from the mix and focused on those. To my surprise, waterlilies and wild mint were the strongest fragrance.

“Kauz will need up to an additional week to rest, but Metalark should wake any minute now.” This was from Thalas, speaking Serian. I didn’t understand him in perfect clarity, but my memories had advanced my knowledge of the Unseelie language quite a bit from my inconsistent week of study on the way here.

“And she’s healed?” Fal asked. He sounded worried. “Her mind is okay?”

I stirred, slowly stretching muscles gone stiff from my long rest. I’d barely pushed myself to sit up before Nemensia was by my bedside, fingers laced over her belly bump. Hope glittered in her blue eyes, but all she said was, “Metalark.”

She was still the pretty omega that’d adopted me immediately and fit as much love as possible into my visit here. As an adult with restored memories of that distant time, it was clear to me that she’d wanted to be the mother I’d lost. The old Lark would’ve asked her if it was all right to do this, but I was confident I wasn’t about to make a misstep as I said, “Hi, Mom.”

“My baby girl,” she said in Theli. She pulled me into a hug, and it was everything I imagined a mother’s warmth to be, including the soothing but complex scent of her and the not unwelcome sensation of her soft purr. I purred back, relaxing into the embrace. She still had that milky note that’d first drawn me to her.

As a mated omega, she represented her pack by carrying the smells of her scent matches with her, and the combination tugged on my memories of being warm and safe. Her nest had smelled like this. What wasn’t an echo of my past was the sob that wracked her as she clutched me harder.

“I didn’t know you were still alive, Metalark,” she sniffed. “Had I known, we would’ve rescued you long before now. Your fathers would’ve burned that cursed farm town to the ground.”

I tried to rub her back, pausing when my hand ruffled her silky fins. That was going to take some getting used to. “It’s okay. Osme Fen isn’t worth your time.”

“Blasted place,” she muttered.

“Besides, I’m here now,” I said, and grateful for it too. “By some miracle.”

“Aye, my sons. Who I’ve forgiven for disappearing since they brought you back.” She released me and straightened, stepping aside.

The first thing I noticed was Marius out cold in a chair close to my bedside, his muscular bulk half leaned on the wall. Black and silver magic glimmered on his forehead and over the scarred ridge of his nose. I wondered what that was about, but with him asleep, I turned my attention to the others in this space.

Fal and Tormund waited at the foot of my bed. The dark elf was uncharacteristically disheveled and had a new bandage wrapped around his palm and thumb, while the redcap just looked excited to see me.

I smiled and lifted the covers piled on me to be sure I was decent, and Thalas rustled from where he stood off to the side, closer to the other bed in this space. “Don’t stand just yet, Metalark,” he instructed.

My right leg felt like it weighed double what it should anyway, so I stayed where I was and let the princes come to me. Fal bent down and looped an arm between my wings, using his free hand to catch my chin between his clawed fingers.

“It must be called beauty rest for a reason, for you to wake up more stunning than ever,” he said, admiring what he saw in me. I felt my cheeks pinken. “Your eyes are sparkly.”

“Like a dreamlander’s?” I asked. Like Dorei’s, I hoped.

“Aye. Not as many stars as Kauz has. Which, I’m glad. Those baby blues of yours haven’t hidden a secret from me yet.” He winked before stealing a quick kiss and shuffled aside for Tormund to lean over my bedside next.

As I expected, he crushed me in the biggest hug he could manage from this angle. “I’m so happy you’re awake, li’l bird. We’ve been worried!” he exclaimed.

“Sorry it took so long,” I murmured.

Nemensia spoke up, fists on her hips. “No, dear. Don’t you dare apologize for what you’ve been through.”

Tormund nodded in agreement. I soaked in his presence and the caramelized sugar note in his smoke and mallows scent. They’d ditched the scent-blocking soap, and I was grateful, though I feared all I smelled like was body odor.

“Mom has good news to share soon,” the redcap informed me before he, too, let me go.

It was Thalas’s turn. He helped me swing my legs over the side of the bed. A heavy cast encased my right leg from the knee down. “All right. You will need to keep your weight off your foot until we can be sure you’ve made a complete recovery. The olcanus gave you a magical wound, and those don’t seal the same was as ordinary ones.”

“How long will it take?” I asked, eyeing the cast uncertainly. It seemed like it’d be just as difficult to move as my bound ankle. I bit my lip, worried I’d never walk properly again despite the silencing band’s removal. I’d still prefer the cast to the band in every possible scenario.

“We’ll check it when Kauz wakes up. How about that? A week or so,” he offered, glancing over at the bed behind him. I could see around Marius now, to the figure lying motionless under the sheets. It was Kauz, his skin more gray than purple. He slept serenely. Hopefully he was having pleasant dreams.

A week without him, though? I suppressed a little whimper. I was going to miss him and his calm presence. But he definitely needed the rest after all he’d done for me.

Thalas retrieved a pair of crutches from the floor. They were wooden, carved with exaggerated wood grain and the occasional flourish, with padding over the ridge at the top. “Have you used crutches before?”

I hadn’t, and they required more finesse than I expected, so I wobbled like a newborn faun between Fal and Tormund in the infirmary’s main hall while I practiced. Despite how they dug into my armpits even with the padding, I had the sense that these crutches would make moving around easier than the limping gait I’d gotten used to.

“I wouldn’t mind carrying you,” Tormund offered for at least the fourth time. He seemed to hate watching me struggle.

“No. I can do this.” No one in this palace would take me seriously if I let the princes carry me around like they had on the train. I crutched along with a determined furrow appearing between my brows. I went back and forth down the hall, to the occasional word of praise from the nurses going about their rounds.

By the third lap, when I was really getting it down, a furious roar echoed from the end of the hall. I startled with a distressed whine and lost my balance. Tormund caught me and the crutch that threatened to slip out from under my arm, while Fal whipped around and scowled.

“ Where is she ?” Marius’s shout carried through the infirmary.

“Over here,” Fal called. Both of them had switched to speaking Serian. I hadn’t mentioned my improved understanding of their language and kept the information to myself. Maybe I’d get some insight for what they were talking about when they changed languages to keep certain things from me.

I walked myself behind Tormund’s protective bulk and peeked around his shoulder as the curtains at the end of the hall were thrust aside. Marius emerged, breathing heavily and looking like a male possessed. His yellow gaze fixed on me, and he strode toward us with a fluid turn of his heels. That prowl seemed predatory and just… no thank you . I didn’t want to be around him when he was this angry. We weren’t stuck in a train anymore; he could take it somewhere else.

“Marius,” Fal said, stepping into his way.

“Not now,” the kelpie growled back. They paused nose to nose in another dominance match while Tormund shielded me, also growling, but with a redcap’s menace. Heat warped around the giant as his fingers flexed, claws growing and retracting as he struggled to keep his rage at bay.

“Get your shit under control right now, Marius of Sorles,” Fal hissed.

“I have to see her,” Marius answered.

“You’re not getting any closer to my mate while you’re throwing a feral fit.”

“It’s contained.”

Fal lifted his bandaged hand. “You fucking bit me earlier. Tell me how that’s contained .”

This gave Marius pause. “No I didn’t?” He sounded confused.

“We had to put you to sleep because you wouldn’t stop growling over Lark and snapping at the rest of us like a wild animal,” the dark elf said, exasperated.

They did? Stars. I took a deep breath, trying to calm my racing pulse.

“Cut it out, both of you,” Nemensia sighed. Even as their mother, she didn’t get too close to two pissed off alphas. I’d been considering crutching away and seeing how far I could get. It was the same omega instinct at work.

The kelpie rumbled an acknowledgment. “Let me see my mate…please,” he said through gritted teeth.

Fal and Tormund were still posed distrustfully. Neither of them budged at the request, and it was clear they probably wouldn’t with me taking shelter behind Tormund. I blew out another breath. I had to do something before they came to blows.

I crutched out from my hiding place and into full view. Marius immediately turned toward me as I said in Theli, “Here I am, mostly whole. No need to fight.”

Fal had said feral , and I understood from there. I empathized after losing my mind in my feral moment on the train. After meeting his possessive beast, I knew Marius must have something more intense lurking under his skin. In fact, he wore the label feral with the ease of one of his fashionable cloaks. I couldn’t believe I hadn’t seen it sooner.

He looked me over from my crown to the new cast, scenting the air with a flare of his nostrils. The fury visibly drained from his tense posture, his snarl relaxing, and for a moment, I saw a glimpse of something softer in him as he reached for me.

I still flinched and eased backward, not sure what side of Marius I would be getting if he put his hands on me now.

He winced, then shuttered his expression. His voice became just as impenetrable. “I’m glad you’re all right.” Under his breath, he muttered something that sounded an awful lot like, “P’nixie.”

Then he cast his gaze away from all of us pointedly, the Marius equivalent of saying the conversation was finished. Before it could get too awkward, I turned with a little hop on my crutches to be sure Tormund was okay. He wasn’t showing any signs of a rage and tilted a smile my way.

“I think I got the hang of this,” I said.

“Time to take you to your new rooms, then,” he said with a questioning glance at Nemensia.

She nodded. “Yes, let’s.”

We made our way slowly to this new destination, as I set the pace. Nemensia walked beside me, her hand on Thalas’s arm, chatting away about how much I’d love my rooms. Plural. They were moving me straight into a princess suite. A mix of hope and nerves danced in my belly as I wondered if that meant what I thought it did.

Tormund lumbered at my other side, while Fal and Marius hung back. They weren’t at each other’s throats again, but the tone of their heated whispering wasn’t much friendlier. When there was a lull in conversation, Tormund rushed to fill it. “And you have a few starting items for your nest. We’ll start filling it with things you like from there,” he promised.

“It’s customary for the new omega to receive an item from the nests of all the family’s omegas,” Nemensia said.

“That sounds great.” I yearned for the comfort of my new nest as my muscles tired quickly. I’d need to practice with the crutches more if I wanted to be ambulatory.

We passed out of the old fortress into one of the palace wings. The transition was obvious from the widening of the halls and the addition of windows overlooking a snowfall outside as the sun descended behind the cloud cover. The foot traffic around us decreased the further we walked, though most Unseelie saw the group around me and moved out of the way well in advance with bows or curtsys.

There was finally a stretch of hallway where we were quiet, other than the clacking of my crutches striking the marble floor. The broad caps at the end of them prevented me from slipping, though I saw the potential for it happening in my mind’s eye. Every new surface and movement I used to take for granted was another opportunity to fall.

This was the royal wing, where the royal pack’s children lived. There were a couple spacious suites on each floor, and they showed me to the last one of a row of rooms, after the four occupied by the four princesses. I’d need to re-meet them too, though I imagined, like their brothers, they wouldn’t remember me.

Well, except Marius. It seemed his beast remembered.

“Where have you been? I’ve waited for you.”

Stars. That whole conversation with his beast—his feral side—took on a whole new meaning now that I knew we had met. As I slowed to enter my new suite, I turned my head. He was stoically fixing his gaze on anything but me. We were back to business as usual.

Was there any hint of that wild boy still left in him? I doubted it. It had only been the start of our lives, after all.

My crutches hit the rug past the boundary of the door, and I nearly face-planted. Tormund caught me and laughed. “Clumsy li’l bird,” he teased.

“Yeah. Thanks, Tormund,” I said. This giant male was getting cuddled as soon as I took a bath. Thalas had assured me the cast was made with a waterproofing spell, so I could take it into…well, he’d called it a “rain room” and told me I was in for a treat if I didn’t know what that was.

Once I took my first glance around, I thought they were being too generous. Having one room to myself was my definition of a kindness, but this was a full-on receiving room. I stopped two crutch-lengths past the door, trying not to gape.

“Sorry it’s so plain,” Nemensia said. “If my sons had told me you were coming, we would have at least put some art up.”

I completely missed the brief change in tone aimed at the three males. “No need. It’s great,” I said in quiet awe.

The back wall had a lit fireplace crackling away, set with red brick. A princess of the past had removed any signs of wallpaper and left bold swirls of neutral colors swooping up the walls. There were two long and overstuffed couches set at an L shape just back from the fire. A coffee table the color of mocha fit between them, and a tea service rested on a platter atop it, awaiting use.

Nemensia urged me to explore, and the princes trailed me, perhaps watching my reactions. I pulled back a curtain on the left wall, just to uncover a private nook with tall windows and a well-varnished table set to serve six fae. The glass had a film on it, suggesting it was a one-way view. When it wasn’t wintertime, I hoped I got to see the gardens from here.

“She’s here, she’s here!” an unexpected, squeaky voice sounded behind me in accented Theli. I turned to see an unusual Unseelie fae beckoning to another, the two of them lining up and curtsying to the queen.

“I didn’t realize you were already here,” Nemensia said. “Metalark, these are your handmaidens, Jani and Lon.”

They were dressed identically in the palace uniform of sorts, dark blue dresses trimmed in silver. And considering they looked the same too, I was worried I’d end up switching their names immediately. They were betas, some kind of moth fae, and didn’t even scrape five feet tall, with huge red eyes and rounded, fuzzy bodies. Their black fluff poked out from the cuffs of their dresses and tested the seams in certain places from the pressed-down bulk.

“I’m Jani,” announced the female on the left. Her antennae had streaks of white through them.

“And I’m Lon,” said the other female cheerfully. I tried to find an identifying feature about her and ended up noticing the brown leaf-like patterns on the inside of her moth wings.

“We’re here to help you with anything you need, Princess!”

“A pleasure to meet you both,” I said, a little bemused. After so long being a servant, I guess I wasn’t expecting to be assigned anyone to help me. Especially Unseelie I immediately found adorable. Though I didn’t dare say anything about it. I’d made the mistake of trying to pet a shifted grimalkin the last time I’d been in Serian Palace, and that hadn’t ended well at all .

The moth betas stayed behind to talk with Nemensia and Thalas while I toured the rest of the suite. There was a study in the next room that I could see myself spending a lot of time in. Its bookshelves were empty for now, but that could be fixed. It had comfortable armchairs and a writing desk stacked with neat rows of paper and writing utensils.

Next was the bedroom. I flopped face-first on the mattress, as was apparently customary for me now. It was very nice. I could see myself sleeping here even without covers. “Where are the things to start a nest?” I asked Tormund.

“Oh, this isn’t your nest,” he said with a grin. He pointed to the bathroom in one direction and encouraged me to go through a little alcove in the opposite wall. The males stopped when I discovered a dark privacy curtain covering the entrance to another room. I drew it aside and entered, making a soft gasp when I realized the scope of the nesting space built into the back of this princess suite.

The bottom floor was dark and enclosed, with an even larger mattress set in an alcove out of sight from the threshold of the privacy curtain. On it rested a note and five different things already smelling of other omegas: two blankets, a pillow, what looked to be an essence lamp, and a stuffed toy. I purred softly with delight, leaving those things for when I had a moment to inspect them without the princes waiting for me. They wouldn’t enter unless invited, and I wanted to set things up first.

There was a plush rug underfoot that I did my best not to slide on, as I didn’t want to fall in the privacy of my nest. Stars, I had a nest, and it had my nemesis, stairs . The beginning of the staircase was on the other side of this floor, and from the ground, I had the sense that it opened into quite a large space on the second floor, complete with the waning light leaking in from some windows.

I weighed my options and decided to leave exploring the upper level for later. My omega instincts wanted dark and enclosed right now anyway, with my pre-heat looming over my shoulder like always.

I checked my wrist to see how my heat suppressant tattoo was doing, lifting my long sleeve to reveal two circular tattoos on my inner wrist and nothing else. I emerged from the nest upset, and Tormund was building to echo that energy when he saw my face.

“The nest is great!” I blurted. “I just noticed the art Kauz gave me is gone.” I awkwardly pointed at my arm and its slightly rolled cuff.

It was Marius that answered. “Thalas can explain it better, but it was all ruined by the amount of magic released when your silencing band was removed.”

“Oh. I wanted to see the metalark,” I mumbled to myself.

“You’re going to see plenty of metalarks soon, mo stór ,” Fal answered.

But they wouldn’t be Kauz’s art, nor the phrase he’d left on a ribbon in the bird’s claws. Now I’d wouldn’t know what it said, even with my improved understanding of Serian. So unfair .

“Speaking of which, do you want us to call you that?” he added. “Metalark?”

“Probably as much as you want to be called Falindel,” I answered honestly. “Maybe less. It doesn’t sound like my name.”

“Lark it is, then,” he purred. “Do you know what else is calling your name right now?”

“A bath,” I said longingly.

“No, that one’s for Marius,” he deadpanned. The kelpie slanted a dirty look at him. “I was going to say dinner.”

“Oh, I’ll have it delivered!” Tormund exclaimed, cutting into the more flirtatious tone his brother was trying to take. Now Fal was the one shooting over an annoyed look at the redcap. “They say the first custom meal from one of our chefs is earth-shattering. Are you ready to have your life changed, li’l bird?”

“Only for the better,” I said with a hint of a tired sigh.

Tormund offered to carry me again and looked fit to burst when I told him I was okay. We returned to the front room, where my handmaidens waited attentively by the door and nodded along with the giant when he approached with instructions about dinner.

Nemensia and Thalas were still here, and the queen beckoned us over with a big smile. “Well, what do you think?” Since she couldn’t take my hands so easily, she rested hers on my shoulders instead.

“Everything is incredible. I can hardly believe it,” I said honestly. I was used to a fraction of this amount of space and no nest. If I wasn’t careful, I would become quite spoiled.

“It is all yours. We’ll start your training once you settle in and—oh, goodness, I didn’t tell you. Falindel and Tormund already know, but you and Marius have been asleep.” She gave my shoulders an affectionate squeeze. “I’ve approved you to be my sons’ mate. You’re going to be my heir, Metalark.”

I gasped. Though I’d been halfway expecting the news, given the rooms, I thought she was going to make me earn it. There were no tests? Just straight to the training? My wings fanned in place, practically vibrating.

Fal touched the small of my back, meeting my gaze with a slow smile full of Unseelie mischief.

“She said yes,” I whispered to him, gleeful and teary all at once.

“I told you,” he said in a sing-song. “I knew she’d adore you.”

“I already did,” the queen confirmed. “Hold still. We’re going to figure out hugs even with this cast situation.” She hugged me around the middle while Fal repositioned his hand so I didn’t lose my balance.

“Thanks, Mom,” I said. When I mated into Pack Sorles, I’d be expected to call her that. I had double the reason to now. As for her males, though, I’d have to figure it out. “And… Dad?”

Thalas flashed a serene smile. “Aye, I would like that, if that’s what you prefer to call me. Your situation is unusual, Metalark. I wouldn’t be surprised if you ‘run into’ the rest of my pack early and reacquire your godchild status.”

“That would be breaking protocol,” Fal pointed out. “Which, not that anyone has asked yet, we followed. Lark is untouched.”

“I am,” I agreed. And more than a little chagrined that neither of older fae seemed to care.

The queen patted him on the arm. “Good job.” She then bid us farewell for the evening, passing hugs all around, though she had to chase Marius with a, “Hold still, my wild boy. You’re not too tough to get a hug from your mama.”

I watched them go, muffling a giggle behind my hand. He eventually relented and gathered her up, fins and all, for a big hug. Stars, I hadn’t even turned his way when she’d told us of her approval. Had he at least cracked a smile? I guess I wouldn’t know now.

Behind me, Thalas whispered to Fal in Serian, “She’s really untouched?”

“It nearly killed us, but yes.”

Thalas snickered, while I tried not to twitch and give away that I was eavesdropping.

“Great to see how much you all care about protocol,” Fal grumbled.

The other male only laughed harder. “No, you don’t understand. Elion owes me so many full moons. I can’t wait to see his face when he hears the news.”