Page 28 of Fated or Knot (UnseelieVerse: The Omega Masquerade #1)

28

LARK

S ince I hadn’t wanted to return to my rooms yet, Fal stayed in the “book nerd loft” with us. I opted to lie down in the pile of blankets and cushions on the omega side of the nest, meaning to read there. However, my thoughts were way too loud, and Fal was far too distracting. He promised not to talk too much but made himself comfortable next to me, ever so slowly inching his arm under my back and his lips across the curve of my neck once we were pressed together.

He’d encouraged me to nap when I’d yawned one too many times. “I’m not tired,” I’d murmured.

And he’d responded by purring slow and deep. Oh, he’s been practicing…

Next thing I knew, I was stirring in a post-nap haze of tingling warmth, sandwiched between two heavier presences. For as little as Fal and Marius seemed to get along, their scents were perfectly harmonious, like an outdoorsy, sunshine-drenched day. I inhaled with my own purr at the pleasant wakeup.

I cracked my eyes open to find Fal resting his, our faces close enough for a kiss. The cold caress of Serian’s winter sun brought out the gray tones in his sharp cheekbones and the navy strands in his glossy black hair. His lips were quirked, though closed. A rare moment indeed. I admired him openly while he wasn’t looking, wondering what fate felt it owed me to have such a handsome and clever male be my scent match.

Marius had his face buried in my hair again, nuzzling occasionally. His arm was draped over my middle, his fingertips curled over my hip in a possessive hold I felt through the blanket I’d burrowed into. I wondered if anything about him would really change now that we’d talked through how far back our connection went. I could try to gentle the beast when he got snarly, as long as he didn’t trigger my omega instincts with too much aggression.

Well, we would just have to see. There was no urgency to leave this comfortable pile right now. I was cozy, safe, and inching ever so slowly to the moment I would be rid of this cast and able to walk on my own.

“Tormund was right.” Marius spoke in a low voice. “Your purr is the best sound.”

I turned my head. He was molded to my side, his face also close enough to kiss. This time, I instigated, though my lips were a little tender from his bruising intensity earlier. He matched the pressure I used, loosing a contented sigh and not pressing for more as we kissed and kissed.

Fal got my attention with a quick tap on my cheek. The kelpie parted from our lip lock with a genuine smile, big enough for a hint of that lopsided charm. Maybe he would be a different male now. He undoubtedly saw the hope that thought gave me before I turned to kiss Fal, too. Their tastes mingled on my tongue in a perfect blend.

“Well, what now?” the dark elf asked when we eventually parted for air. He had a smug look after I marked him with a rub of my cheek under his jaw. “My brother mentioned that you wanted to see the palace. Though, I must say, I’d rather see where this is going.”

“No fucking in the library nest. It’s one of the rules,” Marius said, going straight back to his grumpy voice.

Fal shook his head with a bemused look. “And this is the real reason I never visit the book nerd loft,” he whispered to me.

I giggled. “I do want to see the palace. Actually, I should visit Thalas today at some point.”

“All right. We’ll visit him, eat dinner, and retire to your nest tonight, then,” he remarked. He marked me back, pressing the points of his fangs to dimple my neck until I whimpered and felt my legs weaken. Those catlike eyes flashed over at Marius in challenge before Fal pulled away and adjusted his clothes. “Great plan. Glad you thought of it.”

It took the rest of the afternoon to descend the library tower and make our way to Thalas’s workshop. It was in another added wing close to the royal wing, where my rooms where. I ended up in a seat on the first floor while Thalas ran a few tests on me and inspected one of my wing scales.

Fal idly played with a potentially priceless magical tool he’d found on the ground while Marius stood just behind my chair and watched Thalas intently, suppressing the occasional growl while he poked and prodded.

Eventually, he was satisfied. “Your wings should start glowing lavender shortly,” he informed me.

“Not a darker purple?” I asked, surprised. My wings has been more of an indigo as a kid.

“The scales seem like they’re growing in half purple and half silver. There’s an iridescence that suggests…hmm.” He stroked his chin thoughtfully. “Could you do this for me?” He swirled his hand in a classic essence spinner gesture, summoning a coil of black magic studded with stars.

I did the same and nearly fell out of my seat with a yelp when out of my palm whirled familiar white and silver magic in chaotic threads. Kauz’s essence.

Thalas adjusted his glasses. “Oh, fascinating,” he murmured.

“What was that?” I asked breathlessly.

“Nothing to worry about. A temporary effect, I believe.” Though as he spoke, he took frantic notes at a nearby table. “My son dumped just about every ounce of his essence into you during the olcanus removal. It was necessary, as you bled out of your own magic. The lingering essence from him that you’re holding on to as you recover may be affecting the color of your wing scales.”

I glanced back at my wings. They had a thin layer of purple forming on them, something I’d noted with pride today in the mirror. “We could try having you expel his magic to darken your wings to their natural color,” Thalas was saying.

“No, no. It’s fine,” I said quickly. Maybe it was temporary, but I wanted that sign of Kauz’s influence on me. He’d saved my life and made sure I would get through every part of the removal process safely.

I loved Kauz, and I wish I’d told him earlier. If he was willing, maybe I could keep the change of color as a sign of affection.

“I just wanted help with learning how to use my magic,” I reminded Thalas.

Though he asserted that was a topic far too complex to broach in a quick visit, he walked me through the basics of dream warden magic. I’d need to come back for more serious lessons soon, but dinnertime was approaching, so we agreed to revisit the topic later.

Fal teased me about visiting his dreams tonight on our walk back to the royal wing. He had to assume I wanted to see Kauz, though. The only thing that interrupted him was me when I noticed Tormund waiting for us outside my suite. “Tormund!” I exclaimed.

Such an excited reaction earned me an exuberant hug from the giant, crutches and all. “Sorry I was away today, li’l bird. Work never ends,” he said.

He told me about it after ordering us dinner, including some “raw meat and sadness” for Marius. It seemed Tormund was something of a beast master, overseeing the care of the various creatures that served the palace. And no, I couldn’t go outside and see them until there wasn’t a risk my crutches would slip on some ice or an irregular surface. I was a little disappointed about it but understood.

Dinner was amazing, again. I snuck a curious look over at what the kelpie was having. It was mostly raw meat, cubed to bite-sized pieces, and a bone broth he attempted to eat politely, though he caught me looking after he’d cracked open a bone and was feasting on the marrow. I felt a little green about that part.

“It’s a kelpie thing,” he muttered.

“Okay.” I left it at that. I didn’t want him to think I was judging his dietary choices. He must’ve tolerated other—cooked—foods on the train.

We chatted idly until dessert arrived served in a clear glass dish to display several colorful layers. I tried a spoonful and made a sound of delight as the flavors of custard, berries, and cake hit my tongue. Stars, that was incredible. I went for another bite and realized that all three alphas had stilled and turned to stare at me.

I covered my lips with the spoon. “Sorry,” I practically yelped.

“If you wouldn’t be sick of it fast, I’d get you a berry trifle every night,” Fal remarked. “Don’t mind us. Just enjoy it.”

It must be an alpha thing.

Eating helped me hide my amusement when the males switched languages and brainstormed other trifle-like desserts to have served to me next. They could all be super sweet sometimes, though I missed Kauz, who’d undoubtedly just ask me what I liked best.

Then the three males started suggesting the other two leave, having a circular argument about who should show me to my nest. Fal, who reminded them that he was the eldest and “her obvious favorite,” he’d practically purred. Little did he know how not obvious my favorite prince was when I was smitten with all four of them.

Marius, my protector and “the only one of us who wouldn’t take advantage of her.” I wasn’t sure I wanted to tempt his feral side, nonetheless.

And Tormund, put off that it would be any male but him. “I’m her comfort and the one who’s going to help her fill her nest. I should see it first.” He was far more eloquent while speaking his native language.

I realized what showing me to my nest really meant and turned red around the edges. Stars, I wanted them too, but maybe not tonight. I wasn’t fully recovered yet, and my adventure around the palace had tuckered me out.

Interrupting their argument, I said, “I think I’ll head to my nest. See you all tomorrow?”

There was a joint sigh of disappointment, only for them to leave me to rest with kisses and gentle touches. They took it gracefully enough, at least. I went to curl up in my nest with my new acquisition, the fleece blanket from the library, and held the kelpie plush in my arms as I drifted off.

This time, I cast out my mind in search of the dreamer I wanted to visit.

“Hi,” giggled a nixie girl. She craned her neck up at me with a big toothy grin. I wasn’t the best at guessing kids’ ages, but I’d put her at six, maybe seven. She was as blue as Marius, with a mop of navy curls atop her head, and was dressed in puffy pajamas.

Our surroundings were fuzzy, as only a dream space could be. Stars, I was in the wrong dream.

The girl dreamed of a colorful space in candy tones, a warm paradise with no discernible ground, only cloud fluff below our feet.

“Hi,” I said back, wondering if she knew she was dreaming and that I was just visiting.

“I’m Ambriel,” she told me joyfully. Her fins flared out behind her, wiggling just because. They were speckled heavily in dapples of bright green and gray. “What’s your name?”

“I’m Lark,” I said.

She reached up and put her little hand in mine. “Want to play, Lark?”

Aww. I didn’t think I could say no to a face like that.

I woke with a smile and full clarity of the dream I’d just experienced with Ambriel. The little nixie and I had skipped through a nonsensical space and played made-up games until the dream inevitably ended, and I’d drifted in dreamless rest for the rest of the night.

I turned over the plush kelpie I’d been snuggling with. It’d once been the girl’s toy. Thalas had mentioned using items that belonged to the one whose dream I wanted to enter to guide my mind there. But what did I have of Kauz’s? Maybe I could visit his rooms or his bedside and borrow something small. If I knew where either location was.

I stumbled out of bed early and crutched my way to the shower, getting ready for the day without my handmaidens’ help. Since Jani and Lon weren’t here yet, neither was breakfast. I shrugged to myself as I fumbled the doorknob open and crept into the hall. Marius wasn’t waiting for me yet, so I reasoned that I should probably head back inside. Stars knew what kind of fury he’d work himself into if I tried to venture off on my own.

There was a furry creature idly cleaning itself nearby, back pressed to the end of the hall. I didn’t call it a cat yet, considering how it could be a grimalkin. But it was cute, small, and fluffy white. I eased to my knees and crawled closer, holding my hand out.

“Hi there,” I whispered. It blinked at me slowly.

I’d always been good with animals. It might’ve been a pixie thing, but I liked to think it was a secret talent or something about me that put them at ease. The potential cat didn’t bolt as I inched a little closer, and it sniffed my fingers. “Are you a grimalkin?” I asked it.

It sat upright with a low growl, then bolted away as if its life depended on it. Aw, I guess it was a grimalkin. I lifted my head as I heard footsteps on the stairs behind me. Marius approached with his usual predatory lope, taking in where I knelt on the ground with a brief dilation of his eyes. Niall just sneaking a peek, I guessed. “Did you just ask that mouser if it was a grimalkin?” he asked.

“I wanted to be sure. A grimalkin nearly took my arm off the last time I tried to pet one,” I said.

He covered his face with his palm, then bent to help me up and back underneath my crutches. “That was likely also a cat. It’s considered rude for shifters to take their second form in polite society. And a shifted grimalkin is much bigger than a palace mouser.”

“Good to know.”

“Did you want a cat?” He tilted his head, a hint of Unseelie cunning flashing across his expression. “I’ll make a deal with you. Give me an hour, and I will find you a cat for a visit. There are plenty of mousers around.”

“What’s the catch?” I asked, a little uneasy.

“You go back in your rooms and rest until I return with the cat,” he said. Sounded reasonable enough. “And then, we can have a lesson on common Unseelie races. You clearly need more than just kelpie facts.”

“Fine,” I sighed, sticking my hand out to shake, though my balance wobbled. He held me steady for the handshake and got the door for me. At the threshold, I paused, turning to him. “Do you have any more kelpie facts, though?”

His usual unreadable face had relaxed, his lips now quirked with a hint of amusement. “Always. Our brightest scientific minds call this a co-evolution with nixies.” He flexed his hand, unfurling membranes between his fingers that looked identical to the webbing nixies had.

I leaned in, fascinated. I had no idea he had those too. Where’d he been hiding them? He made a playful grab for my face, and I ducked back, giggling. “Can you show me how you tuck those in?” I asked. The webbing between my fingers still lifted up and down with little control, depending on how I curled my fingers.

He straightened his hand, folding in the webbing without trouble. “Of course. But I have a cat to find, so…” He tilted his head, indicating that I head back inside.

It occurred to me that this was a well-meaning trick, as Marius probably wanted me safe in my nest for the rest of the week, until I wasn’t stuck in a cast. I just hoped he didn’t hand me a cat that was spitting mad at being grabbed from its job by the scruff of its neck.

Within the hour, Jani and Lon came in to start their day and squeaked in dismay when they found me reading in my new study, already clean and dressed. I reassured them when they started apologizing. I really didn’t need around-the-clock care.

They let in Tormund next, who came with breakfast. “Good morning, li’l bird! We’re going to make your rooms into a home today,” he announced.

“What do you mean?” I asked. He brought me a plate already loaded up with the kind of food he’d seen me enjoy. It wasn’t too much, either, something I think he was trying to work on.

He gestured with both arms to encompass my study. “No art or decorations, other than books. Chairs and rugs you didn’t pick. And your nest…it needs to be full of things you love. We’re going to start today.”

“ Ohhhh ,” I said in sudden realization. There was the real catch. If I’d set out earlier this morning, I wouldn’t be here with Tormund, decorating my rooms. This would take all day, if not longer.

We were discussing color schemes when Marius returned, leading a lean cat into my study by wafting a bit of fish on a napkin. She had a short, dense black coat and a friendly purr once I fed her the fish. Instead of being annoyed that he’d tricked me, I just thanked the kelpie and coaxed the cat to cuddle in my lap for a while. Tormund left to get me swatches of fabrics to pick from, then we’d go from there for moving furniture in and out of the suite.

When he was gone, Marius picked up one of my hands and turned it over. “She needs a nixie’s manicure,” he said to Lon.

“Yes, Prince. Right away!” she exclaimed.

“I was thinking of having them rounded,” I said.

He made a low rumble, sounding disapproving. “Next thing you’re going to say is you want to illusion over your gills.”

Well, yes, I had considered doing that. Even though they were mostly hidden under the curtain of my hair, I was quite self-conscious of my new gills and the small pair of fangs I’d grown once I no longer had an olcanus hiding them. The only changes in myself that I loved so far were the stars flecking the whites of my eyes and the purple sheen that flicked across my irises where light hit them.

“I just?—”

“It’s all right. Just know that this”—he stroked his thumb over my palm just right to unfurl the webbing between my fingers—“and your gills aren’t monstrous. I rather like them, p’nixie. And these”—he curled my fingers in so my needle-sharp claws were extended—“mean that you have some natural weapons to defend yourself. You cannot put your claws through an attacker’s eye if you have them rounded.”

My mind stopped somewhere around him liking my webbing and gills, a little dumbfounded. He looked at me with a hint of affection as my wings fluttered, giving away my reaction. Stars, I couldn’t cover up my Unseelie changes now. He, as a water fae, didn’t find them strange. It was our “co-evolution.”

“Then I won’t hide them,” I said.

“Good.” That being addressed, he kept rubbing his thumb back and forth along my palm until I felt the extra muscle I’d gained that controlled my hand’s webbing. I retracted it all for the first time since waking up in the infirmary and then let my handmaidens cut and scrub my claws from there, reducing them to the standard triangle shape and shortened size most nixies liked.

By the time they were done, Tormund had returned with the fabric swatches, and my inner omega went a little nuts for the squares of fabric secured on a wooden loop, each a different texture, pattern, and color. Someone who understood omegas had designed this, as I quickly fell in love with three different swatches even though I didn’t know what the fabrics actually were.

Tormund had acquired an assistant, a young naga, who he sent slithering away to see what the palace had on hand that matched the samples I’d picked. As Marius began to give me Unseelie fae facts, he heartily joined in, and I caught the wince the kelpie initially had from his brother’s loud voice.

I learned that Jani and Lon were mothkin. The two of them giggled, and Jani said, “You didn’t know? Oh, sorry! Most everyone calls us house moths.”

“They’re the favorites of two of our kings. Beta mothkins make excellent house fae,” Marius said. The two mothkins posed proudly behind him. “And alpha mothkins defend the skies over the palace. With their thick fur, they can stay outside and alert even in the worst winter storms, and they can see in the dark.”

“They’re also much bigger than the li’l house moths,” Tormund added, patting both my handmaidens gently on their heads. Their antennae pointed askew, maybe in displeasure.

We were talking about the size of grimalkin shifters when Jani went to answer a knock at the door. Fal came in a minute later, holding a clipboard. His shoulders and arm were tangled up in a measuring tape.

“Morning, mo stór ,” he said, bowing with his usual cheeky smile. “I have detailed instructions from the Threadmistress to get your measurements.”

“Even with the cast?” I asked.

“Aye. She’s rather eager to find you a personal tailor. If she wasn’t an honored elder, she might even audition as well,” he said, passing the tape and clipboard on to Lon. He helped me up after I shooed the cat off my lap, holding my hips so I could keep the cast off the ground. Quickly, he stole a kiss. “Designs you wear will become fashion, so the competition is going to be fierce.”

“Do you all have a different tailor?” I asked. I’d noticed the quality and style in his and Marius’s clothes, especially.

“That’s right. We have new wardrobes made every year or so, and the tailors make off with a fortune. It’s a win-win.”

He continued supporting me so I could stand straight and measured me from the shoulder up where my handmaidens couldn’t reach. They wrote down every measurement, taking great care to note the dimensions and shape of my wings. All the while, we talked about more Unseelie facts. There were a lot of races to learn and things to know about them, and this session didn’t feel very deep.

“We’ll quiz you later,” Tormund said cheerfully. His assistant had returned and whispered something in his ear. “First, we should go to the supply rooms and tag the furniture you want to bring in.”

“Can’t we have servants bring the things to her?” Marius asked with a displeased flick of his ear, switching to Serian for the question.

“And you will want to see the supply rooms for yourself, li’l bird. It is like we have a whole omega store here for the wee blessed ladies,” Tormund added. He lit up before I did, probably knowing that was the kind of place I had to visit.

“Where are my crutches? Let’s go now!”