Holiday Crown Read online

  “Do not hesitate,” I repeated. I looked at Jhaeros next. We started out of the parlor.

  “Wait,” Fraya called, running toward us. She hugged me tightly. I wrapped my beautiful girl in my arms and gave her a final squeeze. Once we let go, Fraya looked at her toes then gave Jhaeros an uncertain look.

  “No hug for your dad?” he asked softly.

  Like that, a smile spread over Fraya’s lips, and she launched herself into her father’s arms. “Be safe,” Fraya commanded.

  “You too,” Jhaeros said.

  I grabbed a bow and quiver filled with arrows near the door. Jhaeros picked up one of the swords. We gave our family one final look of farewell before entering the hall.

  “Didn’t even get to eat dinner first,” I grumbled as we clipped along toward the royal wing. Malon was going to have one hangry elf on his hands. I loved this word “hangry” Mel had taught me from the mortal realm. It was fitting right now.

  Given the sense of entitlement Albedo and Malon had expressed previously over the kingdoms of Dahlquist and Ravensburg, I reasoned that the best place to begin our search was the royal chambers. Perhaps we’d find him trying on Liri’s crowns.

  Torchlight flickered along the dark corridor, sending shadows skittering over the stone floor like spiders. Flame reflected off the blade Jhaeros carried at his side. Guards in green-and-gold tunics were stationed throughout. They watched as we passed. Once we located Malon, we’d have backup at the ready. I couldn’t imagine how the miscreant would move about the castle when there were guards everywhere. After the initial shock of his escape, I’d calmed myself, knowing it was only a matter of rounding up the Fae bastard and locking him back in his cage to await a swift execution. Who would do it? Ryo? Could he kill his own blood brother? Lyklor? He’d grown up believing Malon was his brother, though. Would he hesitate to end him permanently? Liri, of course, had no qualms over killing family, which made it all the more infuriating that he’d allowed Malon to live.

  My palms turned clammy as we approached the two guards standing at the double doors that led into the open corridor of the south wing. My grip on the bow I carried loosened then tightened as I adjusted my hold on my weapon of choice. I hadn’t visited the royal wing in seventeen years. The last time I was there, I’d been pregnant with Fraya, ruling Dahlquist in Liri’s absence. That was before my sister claimed Ryo and Lyklor as mates and agreed to share the throne with Liri.

  “Has anyone come through here tonight?” Jhaeros asked one of the guards.

  “Only a couple servants, but every one of them came back out,” the guard to the left answered.

  As the guards pulled the doors open, I stared into the moonlight passageway and hesitated. Did I really want to waste time looking around this part of the castle? Now that I thought about it, the stables made more sense. Malon would want to try to escape Dahlquist altogether. I wasn’t worried about him lurking in the royal wing so much as facing the ghosts of years past.

  Jhaeros inched in closer to me, the warmth of his body reaching for mine. “What are you thinking?” he asked gently.

  “I’m thinking we should start with the stables.”

  He nodded. “Let’s check it out.”

  The halls were eerily quiet. It reminded me of a holiday story Mel read to the boys every December about the night before Christmas and no creatures stirring in the house, not even a mouse. In our case, it was a castle, and we were after a rat.

  After passing another set of guards, Jhaeros sighed and ran his free hand over his head. “I’m not ready for Fraya to be interested in males.”

  Back to that. Malon wasn’t the only scary thing we were dealing with.

  “I’m not either,” I admitted.

  My mate turned his head, studying my face. “But you sounded so accepting of it earlier.”

  “I had to force myself to sound calm and understanding. I don’t want our daughter doing that stuff when she’s still so young.”

  “I don’t want her doing it ever,” Jhaeros muttered.

  Poor Jhaeros. The days of sweet innocence were over. I was resigned to it, but I had a feeling Jhaeros would struggle through the remainder of Fraya’s teenage years . . . and beyond.

  “I hoped if I was open, she would be more likely to hold off,” I reasoned. “When I warned Mel away from Devdan, she ran straight for him. Maybe my acceptance will work as reverse psychology.”

  “Or maybe we should lock her in her room until she turns thirty.”

  I snorted. “Sure, that will—” My sentence was cut off by shouting that resounded along the stone corridors.

  Jhaeros and I took one look at each other then launched forward, running toward the commotion. It was a way off, the eager voices mere echoes as we raced toward them.

  We rounded a corner, guards joining us. Boots pounded over the hard ground. My shimmery blue slippers didn’t make any noise—there was enough of that all around me. My heart raced right alongside the group, eager anticipation coursing through me.

  Around the next corner, we glimpsed sight of guards circling something we couldn’t see at the end of the hall.

  They’d caught him! I was sure of it. I hopped up in excitement then rushed forward with the rest of our group. We slowed to a jog as we neared. Ryo and Folas had come out of the parlor and were standing inside the circle. Guards parted at our approach.

  “Did we catch him?” I asked breathlessly.

  My answer lay bleeding on the ground. Sixteen years in the dungeon hadn’t done Malon any favors. His cheeks were sunken in, a yellowish tint to his pale skin, tattered dark tunic, and matted and grimy black hair. He didn’t look like any sort of serious threat, especially dead of multiple stab wounds.

  My elation drifted back down like a kite shot through with an arrow. “Why is he dead?” I demanded. There would be no learning the identity of his accomplice now. Pitberries!

  The guards nearest Malon twisted in place, looking at one another for someone to speak. Several licked their lips but said nothing. Finally, one of the guards cleared his throat and spoke up. “He was going to use magic faerie dust on us. We stopped him before he could.”

  “You did well,” Ryo said with approval. “All of you. It was the right move.”

  Folas nodded beside him, grim satisfaction pressing over his lips.

  A slight quiver ran through my stomach. I jerked around, feeling as though I was being watched. There were no eyes on me that I could see, but that didn’t stop the hairs from prickling along the back of my neck.

  “Where are the children?” I asked.

  “Safe in the parlor,” Folas answered.

  I took off at a swift clip, Jhaeros and Folas hurrying after me. My heart pounded up my throat as I rushed into the parlor. The kids were all there, huddled together, watching the door. Gayla clung to Fraya’s side. My daughter’s face lit up when she saw me.

  “What’s going on out there?”

  “Malon is dead,” Jhaeros said. He went to our daughter, crouched down, and hugged her along with Gayla.

  Gayla squirmed away and ran to Folas. “Daddy,” she yelped, launching herself into Folas’s muscled arms. It was sweet to see the bulky guard with his little girl. I’d never heard him take a sharp tone with her—not once.

  When Ryo entered, Reed and Ronin left Lark’s side to jump up and down in front of their dad.

  “I want to see the dead body,” Reed announced.

  “Me too,” Ronin said.

  Ryo winced.

  “Is there a lot of blood?” Reed pressed.

  I cleared my throat. “Ryo, can I talk to you?” I motioned for Jhaeros and Folas to join us in a corner of the parlor. “Fraya, Lark, watch after the kids a moment before I speak with the two of you.”

  The teenagers nodded. A second later, I heard Lark snap, “No, you’re not going to see the body. You’re staying right here.”

  In the corner of the parlor, I huddled close to the males I’d called over, lowering my voice to a whispe
r. “Did the guards catch a glimpse of his accomplice?”

  Ryo shook his head, the gold crown with its festive embellishments moving with him. “Unfortunately, he was alone, raving like a lunatic from what I heard. Probably went mad from all those years in the dungeon. They found powder on him. The guards had no choice but to strike first before he had a chance to blow it over them.”

  I rubbed the bridge of my nose. Even with Malon dead, I couldn’t relax or find relief. “What about the individual who freed him?” I wanted to know.

  “Now that Malon’s dead, he—or she—will probably try to flee the castle. Whoever it was clearly needed Malon, otherwise they wouldn’t have bothered risking his release. They no longer have their powder to help them either,” Ryo added. “There wasn’t much left on Malon. His accomplice probably used most of it on the guards. The dust isn’t easy to come by.”

  I squeezed the bow in my fist. “We’ll have to question everyone in the castle,” I said.

  Ryo nodded and glanced toward the kids.

  “I don’t want to worry them,” I said. “We’ll tell Fraya and Lark, but not the little ones. They should stay together in adjoining chambers. Jhaeros and Folas can supervise the kids with the help of Fraya and Lark while Ryo and I question everyone in the castle.”

  Oh joy. This was going to take all night.

  We were all quiet as we looked at the kids. Lark stared back with furrowed brows until his attention was pulled away by Reed pretending to stab Ronin with an invisible dagger. When his fist bumped into Ronin’s chest, the twin gave a bellow of outrage and the two started shoving one another. Lark jumped between them.

  “Um, yeah,” Ryo said, rubbing the back of his neck. “I doubt they’d get much sleep tonight, anyway.”

  “Maybe if we read them bedtime stories.” I shot Jhaeros a hopeful look before returning my attention to Ryo. “I hate to interrupt their romantic getaway so soon, but you should probably tell Mel and Lyklor they need to return.”

  Ryo coughed. The tips of his ears turned pink. “Uh, so I might have tried dreamscaping to them earlier . . . to, you know, wish them luck again.”

  Jhaeros folded his arms over his chest. Folas grunted.

  “Anyway, I appeared at the room number they’d given me to a resort in Dubai, but the suite was empty. Everything inside was pristine—the bed made, towels untouched. There were no bags, only a note on the table.” Ryo frowned. “It said, ‘Ha-ha. Nice try, Ryo. See ya when we see ya.’”

  “Oh, for pits sake.” I groaned into my hands.

  “Totally irresponsible,” Ryo said as though we were in complete agreement.

  Sometimes I had to remind myself that Ryo was no longer my juvenile little brother-in-law but an actual king, and one of my sister’s mates. Yeah, I had to remind myself a lot. Same with Mel and Lyklor. The whole lot of them were missing the “responsible older sibling” gene.

  Maybe if Ryo had backed off, they wouldn’t have felt the need to give him the slip. It was easier being irritated at Ryo than my sister. How were we supposed to contact her in case of an emergency? Granted, nothing noteworthy had occurred for sixteen years, but that was no reason to be lax.

  “Ryo, Folas, send Fraya and Lark over and stay with the children while we fill them in.”

  Both males obeyed immediately, as though I’d resumed my long-ago role as acting queen.

  Ryo was in charge . . . but that didn’t mean I couldn’t boss him and everyone else around. Once a queen, always a queen. No crown necessary.

  Chapter Six

  Fraya

  “Okay, guys, pick out some books to bring with us,” I instructed the kids.

  Grin lighting her face, Gayla immediately started a stack, which included coloring books and a pack of crayons. When it was about to reach a head tall, Folas walked over and patted her back gently.

  “I think you have enough there, Gayla.” When she looked up at him with pleading eyes, he smiled. “Maybe just a couple more.”

  Squealing, Gayla skipped over to a pile of holiday picture books from the mortal world and began sorting through.

  “Bleh! Books.” Reed wrinkled his nose. “Where are all the toys? Mom would let us play with toys.”

  “Mom would want you to go to bed and sleep,” Lark countered.

  My mom and Uncle Ryo had set out to question everyone in the castle, leaving us to help my father and Folas round up the children.

  My father grabbed the stack of books Gayla had amassed. “All right, everyone, let’s go get comfortable. It’s going to be a long night.”

  I took Gayla’s hand. Lark looked as though he had to squeeze tightly to his brothers’ fingers to keep the twins from pulling free. They yanked around like a pair of hyper dogs fighting their leashes.

  “Reed. Ronin. Stop it,” I said.

  Usually, they listened to me better, but they were extra wired tonight with all the excitement. Reed yanked free, but not before Folas caught him. Seeing the blond giant escorting Reed down the hall motivated Ronin to behave the remainder of the way.

  As we passed grim-faced guards and flaming torches, unease swirled inside my belly. Had news traveled to the stables? Was Alok worried about me? I didn’t like the way we’d left things. As soon as it was safe, I’d find a way to speak to him before my parents asked Folas to open a portal home.

  My father led us to a suite in the hall where Uncle Ryo had grown up. There was only one door leading in and out. It was nice to get away from the parlor, at least. This suite had adjoining rooms. It looked like a double bed had been moved into the middle chamber.

  “If you and Gayla want to get some rest, that one’s for you,” my dad said.

  I thanked him even though I didn’t plan on sleeping until Mom and Uncle Ryo caught Malon’s accomplice. Hopefully, Gayla would drift off after a story. She handed me a book, then climbed on to the bed. I joined her, sitting on top of the blankets.

  “Why don’t you get comfortable?” I suggested.

  Gayla chewed on her bottom lip a moment before pulling half the covers aside and burrowing in.

  “Comfy?” I asked with a smile.

  She nodded and looked at the hardcover book in my hands. It was The Night Before Christmas.

  “Marco,” Dad called from the other room.

  “Polo,” the boys echoed back.

  It was another game from the human world Aunt Mel had taught us.

  “Marco,” Dad said.

  “Polo!”

  I opened the book to the first page and began reading. “‘’Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse.’”

  “Marco.”

  “Polo!” Reed and Ronin shrieked as they raced past on their way to the third connecting room.

  “‘The stockings were hung by the chimney with care, in hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there,’” I continued.

  “Marco,” Dad said, entering our room with a white cravat tied around his eyes.

  Gayla and I kept quiet.

  “Polo” came the twins’ answers from the next room. I swear I heard one gulp. Grinning, Dad headed into the third chamber, calling “Marco” as he went.

  “Polo.”

  “Marco.”

  “Polo.”

  “Marco.”

  “Po—ohhh! Eeeee!” One of the twins squealed right before my dad said a triumphant, “Gotcha!”

  Dad and the twins pattered past us. From Reed’s pouty face, I’d say he was the one my dad had snatched. Way to go, Pops!

  I bent my head over the book, searching for the next line. “‘The children were nestled all snug in their beds, while visions of sugarplums danced in their heads.’”

  “Fraya? What are sugarplums?”

  I squinted at the word, then pursed my lips in thought. “I think it’s a type of fruit in the mortal realm.”

  “Like sweetberries?”

  “Yeah, but bigger. Like this,” I said, making a fist.

  “Oh
.” Gayla snuggled in closer. “Can you read me every book?”

  I glanced at the tall pile on the dresser. Under normal circumstances, this room looked like it was for garments. “Let’s see how the night goes,” I suggested before picking up where I’d left off. I covered the reindeers, sleigh, rooftop landing, and chimney entrance with toys. By the time jolly St. Nick was filling stockings with toys, Gayla’s lashes had fluttered closed.

  I kept going, reaching the end. “‘Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good night.’” I held still, listening to Gayla’s steady breathing. “Gayla?” I whispered.

  Soft breaths drifted from her partially open mouth. Smiling to myself, I closed the book soundlessly. I scooted as gently as I could to the edge of the bed and had almost made it off when Gayla’s eyes fluttered open.

  “What’s next?” she asked.

  I chuckled and shook my head. So be it. At least the boys were sticking to their room in front and mellowing out from the sounds of it.

  “Is it bigger than a breadbox?” I heard Ronin ask.

  I slid off the bed and sifted through the books on the dresser. “How about The Polar Express?”

  “Okay,” Gayla said eagerly.

  I rejoined her on the bed and began reading, my voice filling our snug room. Like Gayla, I had many questions while reading the odd notions from Earth, but I kept them to myself, answering Gayla as best I could. At some point, she stopped asking questions. The room next door grew quiet as well. Could the males have succeeded in tiring out the twins? I continued reading to the end of the book, not wanting to break the spell of tranquility.

  It sounded so quiet without my words filling the room. Surely Dad, Folas, and Lark hadn’t drifted off.

  When I got off the bed, Gayla did not stir. I set the book with the others and grabbed the bow I’d set beside them. Ever so slowly, I pulled an arrow from the quiver and threaded it as I moved stealthily for the opening between rooms. It was a precautionary measure only. If something had happened, I would have heard a cry of alarm. A scuffle. Something.

  When Lark appeared from around the dividing wall, I gave a start and sucked in a breath.