Page 19 of Queen of the Crimson Throne (Queen of Blood and Stardust #2)

19

LUCIANA

It had been months since I’d seen my mother. My task of keeping my eye on the witch covens throughout the Mystic Court kept me away from the capital city of Arcadia, where my mother reigned from.

But this was the longest I had been away from my mother since I left her womb.

I missed her, but I didn’t mind the space. It allowed me the opportunity to explore things she wouldn’t approve of, like Ichor Magic.

My mother would figure it out one of these days, she was smart after all, but I wanted to avoid the lecture for as long as I could.

And my mother loved giving lectures, especially to her one and only heir.

It wouldn’t help that my visit would be unexpected.

Or that I would be arriving with a wolf emissary from the Blood Court.

She was not fond of when I veered from her plans. My welcome home would be short-lived once she realized these things.

“We’ll tell her we ran into one another on our way to Arcadia,” Nico said as we rode alongside one another through the forest, pulling me back to reality.

I had transported us to a village outside Arcadia where we purchased horses to further convince my mother of our ruse while Nico yapped on obsessively about how excited he was to be back in the Mystic Court.

It had seemed like a good idea at the time, having Nico come with me, but now I was having second thoughts. We had gotten on well enough during the weeks we spent together this summer while Luka and Lennox had gone to find Hecate, but he was unpredictable.

You never knew what was going to come out of his mouth. He was a charmer, which would be helpful if my mother was easily charmed.

She was a charmer herself. A mask for what hid beneath.

“Lucy?” Nico’s voice finally cut through my thoughts.

“Hmm?”

“Did you hear anything I said?”

“You talk too much, I’ve taken to tuning you out,” I lied.

“You’re a spectacular travel partner, you know that?”

“We’ve been riding for less than an hour, is your attention span that short?”

“Sorry if I like to participate in conversation to pass the time.” He tucked his moonspun hair behind his ear.

“Sorry if I like to travel in silence.”

“Well, that’s no fun. I gave you silence the first half, now you need to talk to me.”

I ignored him, keeping my focus ahead.

“Are you nervous about seeing your mother?”

I fisted the reins in my hands tighter. “That’s a complicated question.”

“How so?” He pressed

My chest constricted. “My mother and I—” I considered how to put my mother and I’s relationship into words. “ My mother and I have a complicated relationship. We’re close, but we’re also not. She has high expectations of me.”

Nico blew out a breath. “I worry she’s going to be suspicious of me arriving here unprompted. It will raise a lot of questions,” I continued.

I wasn’t due back in Arcadia for another month, that was where I was to return after Lennox and Luka’s engagement party in a few weeks, to meet up with my mother before we would travel to Alethens for their wedding shortly after.

“Sounds like my relationship with my parents.” There was a seriousness to Nico’s tone, a sadness almost, that I had never heard before.

“Do you see them often?”

His body stilled, his back going ramrod straight in the saddle. “I haven’t seen anyone in my family since I left almost two years ago to be Luka’s emissary.”

“Was that intentional?” Nico was one of the friendliest people I have ever met, he cared for Declan and Luka like family, stars he even treated Lennox, Kara, and me like family. Him having a strained relationship with his family wasn’t something I had ever considered.

“That’s a complicated question,” he said finally.

“You don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to.”

“No, it’s okay. It’s just—it's hard to talk about them sometimes because we are…were close? Are close? I don’t know what we are anymore.” He sighed deeply. “I don’t know if we’re close anymore. We had a falling out of sorts and that’s why I decided to leave. Luka had been asking me to become his emissary for a long time so I took the opportunity to get out. I needed space from my family so I left.”

“You haven’t talked to them since?”

“They sent me all kinds of letters at first, my parents and siblings.” He shook his head. “I’ve seen some of my siblings over the years, but I haven’t seen my parents since I left two years ago. ”

What had happened to make Nico avoid his family to this extent? I saw how much he cared for others—for him to abandon his family?—

“You were right, silence is better,” he finished.

We didn’t talk again until we entered the capital city.

Walking into the city of Arcadia felt like getting a hug from a relative you weren’t fond of, but were obligated to anyway.

It was my home, and at my core, I did love it. But it also held resentment.

Once I became queen I would be chained to this city.

It was my mother’s idea to send me out to the villages this past year. My one last opportunity to travel and get out of the city before I bore the weight of the crown.

Her way of easing her own guilt over me being her only heir.

“Your Highness, what a surprise! We were not expecting you.” Larkin, one of the palace guards, greeted us at the gates.

I forced a smile onto my face. “I know, it was a surprise on my end too.” I dismounted my horse and handed the reins to Larkin. “And I come with a guest.” I motioned to Nico. “This is Nico Elsher, emissary to the Blood Court. I ran into him on our way here and offered to be his guide into the city.”

“The Blood Court?” The male’s face paled.

“Don’t worry, bud.” Nico said, slapping the male on the shoulder. “I’m not a vampire.” He smiled wildly, revealing his lack of fangs. “I’m a wolf.”

I rolled my eyes. “He’s harmless, Larkin. Is my mother in?”

The male tore his terrified eyes from Nico. “She is, I believe she’s in her office.”

“Perfect. Have a meal ready for us in a bit. We are hungry after our travels. And make sure my room is ready, along with a room for Nico. ”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

“C’mon, pup.” I gestured for Nico to follow me. “Time for you to meet my mother.”

I knocked once before entering my mother’s office.

Caterina wasn’t one for surprises and she might have been Queen of the Mystic Court, but she was still my mother.

“Who do you think you are to enter my office without—” My mother froze mid-word when she looked up to find me in her doorway and not whoever else she thought it might be, her dark eyes, a mirror to my own, going wide.

“Luciana.” Her accent only came out in occasional words. One of them was when she said my name, with a slight accent on the n . Her slight lilt soothed an ache in my soul I didn’t know was there. “What in the Goddess are you doing here?” She didn’t hesitate—immediately rising from her chair and moving around her desk to embrace me.

“Mama,” I said into her dark curls as they surrounded me.

“What are you doing here, Lulita ?”

“I came to see you.” She shifted, moving to see around me.

“And you brought a guest?”

I removed myself from her embrace. “This is Nico Elsher.” I gestured to Nico who took a step forward. “He’s the emissary to the Blood Court.” My mother’s dark brows rose an inch.

“Emissary to the Blood Court? Well, aren’t you a long way from home?” She looked between the two of us. “And what are you doing here with my daughter.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Your Majesty.” Nico bowed slightly before taking my mother’s hand in his own.

“You remember Lennox is engaged to the Blood Prince.” My mother’s eyes widened at my informal mention of Lennox.

She squared her shoulders before speaking. “Yes, I am aware of our High Queen’s engagement.”

“He knows everything Mama, Lennox and Kara told him.”

“Did she now?” I quickly explained Luka’s injuries in the forest and Lennox’s need to use her powers to heal him, revealing her witch heritage.

“I see. But that still doesn’t explain why you’re here together.”

“We ran into one another outside of Arcadia, Lucy was nice enough to ride with me the rest of the way. After I berated her to the point of annoyance.”

My mother cracked a half smile as she turned her attention to Nico. “You’d be good for her.”

“Mama.”

“What?” Her mouth lifted in a half smile. “You can be so serious. You need someone to loosen you up.” She winked at Nico, whose mouth fell open before breaking into a smile.

“We are not discussing this now,” I interrupted before the conversation could go any farther. I shouldn’t be surprised by my mother’s brashness; she took any opportunity she could to try and set me up. She had taken over the crown alone, but she did not wish for me to bear that burden alone.

“Nico comes with a message from Lennox.” I needed something, anything to change the subject from where it was currently heading.

My mother snapped back to attention. “Well, why don’t you two have a seat? I’ll have some refreshments sent in.”

Nico and I took seats in the twin chairs in front of her desk while my mother called for a staff member.

“So, what news do you come with from my niece?” In true fashion, my mother cut the pleasantries and went straight to the point.

Nico leaned back in his chair, crossing one leg over the other. “I don’t know if Luciana mentioned it to you, but when we all visited the Mystic Court this past summer we were in search of a book. ”

My mother narrowed her eyes in my direction, I did my best to keep my back straight under her gaze.

“No, Luciana didn’t mention that. This is the first she and I have seen one another since the beginning of the year.”

“The information Lennox shared with me was not something I wanted documented in a letter.”

My mother dipped her chin. “Continue, Lord Elsher.” We’d discuss my lack of communication with her later in private I’m sure.

“While they were in the Mystic Court this summer they had no luck finding the book, but we’ve now gained additional information. It is not a book we are looking for, it’s Astria’s journals.”

My mother’s brows rose an inch, but she said nothing.

“So we were directed to you.”

“To me?” My mother placed a hand on her chest. “By who?”

“By Hecate,” I interjected.

“Who spoke to Hecate?”

I opened my mouth to say all of us but stopped myself.

My mother’s gaze narrowed on me. “Nico, would you mind checking on the tea for me? I’d like a moment alone with my daughter.”

“Anything you want to say to me you can say in front of him.”

“Are you sure about that?” I said nothing, meeting my mother’s challenging gaze.

“Fine. Let’s have it out then. Who spoke to Hecate? All of you? You didn’t run into him outside of town did you, Luciana? Did you think I wouldn’t be able to smell the reek of Ichor Magic on you?”

“Mama—”

Her tone sharpened. “I warned you, Luciana. I warned you there are consequences for using such magic. And to transport not only you, but others? How stupid and reckless are you?”

“I should go,” Nico mumbled as he stood .

“No, Luciana wanted you here, so here you shall stay.” He fell back into his chair cautiously, his gaze falling to the floor.

“I’ve been practicing Ichor Magic for years without a hitch, Mama. Lennox needed me so I went. We can discuss your disapproval of my decisions later, now we have more important topics to discuss.”

My mother tapped her long fingernails on the desk.

“Hecate told us Nol and Brahm were looking for these journals and since they are dead we should ask you about them instead. What do you have to say about that mother?”

“Where is Lennox now? Why didn’t you bring her back with you?”

“She had a prior commitment,” I said through gritted teeth. I was having a hard time remembering why I volunteered to have this conversation with my mother without Lennox.

“When can you get her here?”

“What do you mean?”

“If we’re going to have this conversation I want her here.”

“Okay,” I said hesitantly. She knew something. She had information.

“Her and Luka had to attend an event tonight, but they can be here tomorrow,” Nico said.

My mother looked at me, “And you can ensure they get here?”

“Are you telling me to use Ichor Magic?”

“No—I’m simply asking if you can ensure they get here by whatever means necessary.”

“Yes. I can.”

“Fine.” She looked between the two of us. “I assume the two of you are staying here tonight?”

I looked at Nico. “Yes, we will remain here tonight and retrieve the rest in the morning.”

“Fine. Well, I have work to do. I will see you both at dinner.” She turned back to the work on her desk—dismissing us.

Nico and I stood without another word, both of us remaining silent until we reached our rooms.

“You mother—she’s intense.”

I slumped against the door with a thud. “That’s one way to put it.”

I had forgotten how much energy it took to verbally spar with my mother.

“I need a nap. I’ll find you before dinner.”