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CHAPTER EIGHTEEN Court Dismissed

Esme had never experienced worry like the kind that had kept her pacing in her cell without walls.

She regarded the floor with an anger that had swung between simmer and rolling boil from the moment she’d been taken from the vampire’s Yule party.

It was maddening that the mosaic showed no signs of wear.

She thought there should be something to show for the thousands upon thousands of steps she’d clocked.

When two saffron escorts came to take Esme to the pavilion, she began demanding answers.

“Is it over?

“Is Kagan here?

“Did he succeed?

“Is he alive?

“Are you mute?

“Or stupid? Of course. That must be it. You’re stupid, aren’t you?”

The one-sided conversation continued like that until Esme found herself standing at one edge of the pavilion.

Her eyes found Kagan’s almost immediately and locked on.

She was so relieved her knees tried to buckle.

Seeing that, he took a step toward her, but bounced off an invisible barrier hastily thrown up by Araxinthe.

“Not so fast, Sephalian,” she said with a tight smile. “So. You’ve completed two of the three challenges. And, since you tricked me into allowing Fritjof to choose her own judicial panel, staging the third test would be an exercise in folly. Don’t you agree?”

“I agree ‘tis unlikely that Esmerelda will choose judges who vote against her wishes.”

“Right. Then why go through with it?”

“Can no’ think of a single reason to do so.”

Araxinthe sighed before saying, “Fritjof. If you should ever change your mind, you have a home here for what mortals think of as eternity. And, yes, that means that you’re walking away from immortality for the sake of this…

” she looked at Kagan pointedly, “…sephalian.” She then spoke to Esme’s escorts.

“Allow her to join the petitioner.” When released from her invisible bonds, Esme hurried to Kagan.

Both of them were too reserved for extreme public displays of affection, but the way they held each other’s gaze without moving almost said more about the depth of their feelings.

“I’ll be the final adjudicator. Both of you face me. ”

Kagan took her hand as they turned together to face their fate.

“My final word on this event is this,” said Araxinthe.

“Good riddance. The two of you are master troublemakers who very possibly could’ve been made for each other.

” Kagan and Esme exchanged a loving look mixed with triumphant smiles.

“First, you’ve made an enemy of the sphinx.

Not for yourself. For us. Apparently, she likes you.

It could be a problem in the future. It’s hard to say, but she’s fully capable of holding a grudge for a thousand years.

“Second, we have no way of calculating the fallout from removing the guardian of the entrance to the Land of the Unworthy Dead.

Everyone here is sworn to secrecy, in case we might be implicated by knowledge and involvement.

But once a scandal is set in motion, it takes on a life of its own, and no one, not even Cardinals, can know where it will lead.

“Last, you may have created a problem for our Order by making the sisterhood curious about romance. Honestly, had I foreseen any of this, I never would’ve come for Fritjof.

I’m not comfortable with having a stain on my otherwise perfect record as overseer.

I’ll not be your declared foe, but you winged lions will not be invited back.

If you mistreat our sister and she comes to us, you’ll never see her again. Do you understand?”

“I do. And I’m good with that, Overseer,” said Kagan. “Esme is safe with me. My future is in her hands.”

In an uncharacteristic display of emotion that threatened to bring the house down, Esmerelda was so touched by that declaration that she burst into tears.

“Good gods, “said Araxinthe. “What would’ve happened if we’d heard the whole speech?” The overseer’s prim demeanor faltered as she flopped into her big chair. “Very well. Off with you.”

Before the last word of that sentence was truncated, Esme and Kagan found themselves standing on the sidewalk in front of her studio.

She was still wearing the formal gown she’d had on for the party.

It was cold, and her coat hadn’t been brought along.

She supposed creatures who live in perfectly controlled surroundings wouldn’t think of such things.

Moreover, her purse was probably wherever her coat was.

More than likely at John David’s. That was a problem because the key to the studio was in the bag she’d taken to the party.

She swiped at the tears on her face. “I don’t have my keys,” she said.

“Come then,” Kagan told her. “Keir’s house is just around the corner.”

Of course, Esme knew that. And he had to know she knew it, but it was words to fill the silence. He was learning to make conversation without specific purpose. Conversation for no purpose other than connecting with another person.

“Sure,” she said.

He was in shirt sleeves himself, but he put an arm around her to take the edge off the chill.

They rang the bell.

No one answered.

They tried the door, but the two dogs on the other side were being very quiet, just waiting for someone unauthorized to try and enter. When the door cracked, two muzzles fought for the privilege of defending home.

“Hold up, pups,” Kagan said. “’Tis I. Your master’s brother. We mean no harm.” Esme chuckled. “What’s funny?”

“Well, I wouldn’t have thought of Rita as ‘master’. And you’re not her brother.”

“These are Keir’s dogs, are they no’?”

“Definitely not. He feeds them occasionally, but they’re Rita’s dogs without question.”

“Whatever.”

“Don’t be snippy with me.”

Kagan ran a hand through his hair. “Are you overly tired, Esme?”

On hearing that, she looked up and, seeing concern on his face, burst into tears.

Again. Kagan, who’d never had an authentic relationship with a female, had no notion what to do.

After a few seconds of looking for the right words and finding none, he stepped into her body and hugged her tight.

As it turned out, intuition trumps experience. That was the exact right thing to do.

Esme sobbed uncontrollably. Any sign of tears coming from Esme could rightly be judged uncontrollable because, until very recently, she’d not been someone who cries. Ever.

When I re-entered the house, having gathered three pots of red amaryllis, the first thing I noticed was that the dogs were nowhere to be seen. I set the pots down on the kitchen island, removed my gloves, and called out.

“Frey! Fen!” Hearing a faint whine coming from the living room, I rushed toward the front of the house and discovered the dogs staring at the front door.

“What is…?” I opened the door to find Esme weeping like her heart would break, and Kagan looking miserable.

“Come in,” I ordered, grabbing Kagan’s sleeve and pulling.

Without taking his arms away, Kagan gripped Esme in a bear hug and walked into the house with her. By the time he stopped and set her on her feet, the tears had subsided.

“Esme,” I said quietly before rushing away for soft tissues. When I returned, I shoved the box into the crook of her arm and said, “Darling. Tell me what I can do.”

“’Tis been a rough time for her. Em. Emotionally?” Kagan said, doing a passing job with love language.

I nodded. “And she doesn’t want to go home.”

“’Tis no’ that. Her coat and keys must still be at that vampire’s.”

“Oh. I see.” To Esme, I said, “Why don’t you let me run a hot, deep bath and take a nap in my soaking tub while I send Romeo to fetch your things.”

“The car?” Kagan looked toward the kitchen. “The car will fetch?”

He sounded incredulous, which was hard to reconcile given that he was a magical being who’d lived his entire life surrounded by magic. How could he sound so surprised that humans command our own kind of magic?

“I’ll call John David. He’ll be on the lookout for my car. When it arrives, he’ll put Esme’s things inside. Or, more likely, have the butler do it. Then Romeo will hightail it back here like a homing pigeon.”

“Oh.”

“Let me get Esme settled,” I told him. “Then I’ll put the kettle on and pull out some snacks.”

Kagan nodded gratefully.

While the water ran, I pulled some silky pajamas out of a drawer in my ginormous custom-Maeve closet and added my warmest fleece robe. It wasn’t like Esme to follow directions. That’s how I knew the past few days must’ve been as difficult as anything she’d ever endured.

“What else do you need?”

She shook her head.

“What else do you want?” Her gaze wandered to mine. “Did they hurt you?”

She took in a shaky breath before saying, “Mostly my pride.” A fresh tear formed and ran down her cheek. “I was so scared.”

“For Kagan?”

“They set him up for failure, Rita. If Keir and Killian hadn’t outwitted the Cardinals and come to help, I’d be trapped in that place forever, and Kagan would be… I don’t know. Eaten. Or damned. Or…”

“Good thing he has brothers who’d do anything for him then.

But wow, Esme. It turns out you picked somebody who’s willing to risk everything for you.

” Her face screwed up like she was going to start sobbing again.

“Hey. That’s not a bad thing. It’s something to cherish.

To celebrate. Yours is one of the most romantic stories in the history of romance. ”

“But I don’t know how to be with somebody like that. I’ve always been on my own. And, you know I can be…”

“Prickly?”

She nodded.