Page 20 of Monster’s Consort (Blackthorn Academy for Supernaturals #18)

Violet

Dinner was still quite awkward, and I feared it would be as long as Sirus and Lithia O’Neil were with us. Desmond was different around them. Quieter. Colder.

Though I garnered I would have probably been the same way if my parents were known for conquering kingdoms and kidnapping.

The more I got to know Desmond, the more I genuinely liked him.

Not in a romantic sort of way, of course, but in a curious sort of way.

I’d seen him wield magic, seen his purple fractals, and his tenacity was most admired.

I knew he would make a fine study at Blackthorn and found myself looking forward to his admission.

To riding that boat with Delaney and I, such as I had the year prior.

And of course, I looked forward to the school year spent alongside my friends.

I never thought I’d long for the halls of Blackthorn when I’d learned I would be spending my summer at the newly re-inhabited and magically renovated Castle Lir.

I pushed at my roasted carrot, feeling a sort of remorse edged with guilt over my longing. It wasn’t that I disliked the castle, it just... didn’t feel quite like home.

Home was a tiny cottage in a small village with annoying neighbors and loads of books. Home was a tight room shared with a vibrant roommate who always knew just how to pry my deepest secrets from me.

The cold air and endless hallways of Castle Lir were not home. Not yet, anyway.

But I knew one day it would be, and that itself was also terrifying.

My mother wasn’t in any sort of hurry to step down from the throne, not after taking it up again so suddenly. The rise of Lir was still in action. It had been months since I’d been discovered, and everything had moved so fast. I feared it would not slow down any time soon.

Yes, Blackthorn was looking quite homey at the moment.

“When will you be leaving?” Desmond broke the silence as he sat needle-straight in his chair. He cut into his roasted vegetables precisely.

“We set out for our journey at the end of the week,” Lithia answered him.

I watched her carefully. She looked so familiar, but I knew I’d never seen her before. I’d only just met the woman. But I couldn’t shake the feeling of déjà vu.

“It is only for a few days. Three at the most. Don’t worry.” My mother reached her hand out to me, and the vision came out of nowhere.

It was the same table we sat at, but it was different.

The haze of nostalgia burned in my lungs and my throat as I looked to where I knew Desmond sat, but Desmond was not there.

Instead, there was another man, one who looked strikingly similar to Desmond, except for the eyes. His eyes were... red. Like an incubus.

Beside him was a tall, thin goddess with raven hair, dressed in the prettiest crimson silks. Fractals of purple and sapphire danced along her arms as if she were shielding herself from something. Or someone.

I looked at my hands, and they were thin. Long, tapered with blush-colored nails that were lit up by bright purple magic.

The voice that spoke was not my own, but it was.

It came out of my mouth.

“No. I will find another way, I?—”

“You will start a war! Is that truly what you want?” the man asked.

Sirus. It is Sirus... Desmond’s father.

“He is my consort!” I yelled.

The woman—Lithia, I realized—looked at me—my mother—with sadness.

“ Was your consort, Ama. He is no longer with us.”

The grief that befell me was so overwhelming I felt as if I couldn’t breathe.

“And whose fault is that?” I screamed.

“Ama...” Sirius nipped. “You must be rational about this. You can not go into the Dark Fae Kingdom and just?—”

“If you will not aid me, I will do it myself.”

I watched as the tears pooled in my eyes. They were so young.

So beautiful and vibrant, but the feeling I got was...

Guilty. Remorseful.

“His majesty, King Tyranus, will not take kindly to your attack.” Lithia shook her head, her dark hair flitting about her as her fractals danced anxiously. “He will strike back. And he will strike where it hurts you the most.”

“He took my consort. I will be damned if he takes our child.”

“If you attack my father, Ama, I will have no choice but to choose sides,” Sirus said coldly.

“Well, perhaps you already have,” I said, and the air faded around me into the present. Gone were the young Sirus and Lithia, gone was the air of heartache.

I turned to my mother as she reached for my hand with a smile.

Did she know?

Could she feel that when she touched me, I slipped somewhere else?

I realized all at once it was not my vision I had endured, but perhaps... a memory.

My mother’s memory.

She squeezed my hand.

Were... were Desmond’s parents and my mother... friends?

I thought they were enemies. I thought the Dark Fae were the ones we should fear, not the ones we should trust. But it seemed things were not as black and white as I’d assumed.

I hadn’t asked about my father, for fear of what my mother would say. His absence could be felt, and I knew without her words to tell me, she had lost him. When, I did not know. I did not know if it was before I had veered into the mortal world or after.

There was a part of me that longed to know, a part of me that ached to know the truth because he was my father , but I also understood that it was a sensitive subject.

I’d spent so much of my life without my mother, and I had no memories of her or my father prior to crossing the line.

I only knew what Daniel , my mother’s fae consort, looked like from the photos adorning the castle walls.

He was quite handsome, but it was more than apparent, I’d taken after my mother.

“Do not worry, we will be back in time to celebrate your birthdays.”

“Birthdays?” Desmond asked.

“The Swan Festival, of course,” Lithia said smoothly.

“It has been years since I’ve seen the swans,” Sirus muttered.

“But you said—” Desmond started.

His father dismissed him with a wave. “This way you can leave for Blackthorn after. Eliminate needless travel.”

Desmond blinked. “That was not the plan!”

His mother ignored him.

“I don’t have all my things, I need?—”

“I assure you, Desmond, whatever you need, all you have to do is ask,” my mother said kindly.

“I am sure Violet and Bane can see to it that you have everything for your admission. Right, sweetheart?”

I nodded as Bane said, “Of course, Your Majesty.”

Desmond huffed in annoyance as he stabbed his potato. “I had hoped to be spending my twenty-first birthday in the halls of my library.”

“Oh! Violet’s got a library! It’s a-mazing!” Delaney said with enthusiasm, breaking the tension that had fallen over the table.

“We should go there after dessert,” I hurried, jumping on Delaney’s suggestion.

“I think that sounds nice,” my mother said. “I trust that the future Queen of Lir and her consort-to-be should be able to man the castle in our absence.”

“Nothing quite like a good practice run,” Sirius said, as Desmond breathed heavily.

“And of course, Ferguson will be here to keep an eye on things. He is my right-hand man, after all.”

Bane groaned, muttering something about “Fergy” babysitting and being an adult and capable of being left in a castle alone.

Desmond scoffed and angrily stabbed his food. “Fine. If you insist.”

I thought we were getting along?

Why did he seem so angry?

“It will only be for a few days, my dear,” Lithia said softly, but Desmond did not look at her.

“You planned this,” he bit, turning to her.

“What?”

“From the start, you knew you would have to leave. Conspire with the Selkies, right? That’s where you are going?”

“Now, you wait just a second, here—” Sirius spoke, but Desmond shook his head.

“The Selkies?” Wanda perked up. “What on Earth must you go to them for?” The worry in her voice was evident, and it was then I noticed the tentacle around her neck. Drawing her close. Those tiny pink suckers attached to her bronze flesh.

Norman’s eyebrows furrowed. “I’m sure whatever it is, they’ve a good reason. Right, your majesty?”

My mother kindly smiled at Norman. “Yes, Norman. Though I can’t disclose such things due to present company, but rest assured, this is only temporary and it is greatly needed.”

“That’s why you brought me here,” Desmond bit. “So you could dump me off to Dark Fae Daycare with the long-lost princess and her incubus?”

“I’m not your babysitter, Dezzy,” Bane nipped. “I take offense to that. Besides, I didn’t ask for you to be here, either.”

Desmond shot him a glare, but the words were still heavy between us all.

“Oh do not be so dramatic, Desmond. It is a few days at best. Surely, you can handle a few days on your own with peers, ” Lithia said with a huff.

“And then before you know it, it’ll the Festival, and your birthday.” Delaney’s voice cut through the air, and Desmond glanced up from his plate. His expression softened for the moment.

“And birthdays are always better with friends,” she said, her voice equally as soft as the look on his face.

Though that softness did not last long, no. He looked away.

“If you will excuse me, I have lost my appetite,” he said as he stood up and walked out of the room, leaving us all in his wake.

A few days. Running the castle with Bane and an aggravated Dark Fae Prince, the Squid Squad, and my best friend.

What could go wrong?

* * *

The only upside to my mother and the O’Neil’s departure was that our royal lessons had been put on hold.

Something that Bane was rather thrilled about.

Apparently, his last lesson wasn’t much of a lesson, but more of an appointment.

A solo appointment, as Ferguson had pulled him aside first thing in the morning, before breakfast.