Streamfield Shifters: Hide & Seek

Chapter Twenty-Four

Rachael could not have been more proud of herself. When we arrived, she sat perched on a chair in the middle of the farmhouse living room, surrounded by more than two dozen crystals. The crystals were all flawless rose quartz of varying sizes and shapes. An aurora of colors glowed within their hearts, shades and hues that rose and fell like a magical lava lamp. As I drew closer, a low hum drifted towards my ears and only grew in intensity as I leaned over them.

"What do you think?" Rachael called out, looking for all the world like a drug-sniffing dog lording over her search and seizure. "They were stupid enough to keep them all in one place."

I watched the colors swirl in the rose quartz. "Where was that?"

Rachael smirked and pointed downwards. "Right here."

"In the basement?"

"No. Right here. Beneath the floorboards." She banged her heel upon the floor for emphasis. Several boards rattled loosely.

Leihalani relaxed right next to my cousin, propping her booted feet up on another chair. "The sheer audacity they possessed is amazing," she remarked, twirling a lock of chestnut hair around one finger.

Kesio reached out and picked up one of the crystals, turning it idly. Rachael held up a warning hand. "Be careful with that," she said, and he looked up sharply. "Mage Móinárne said they're quite volatile."

I stilled, watching the crown prince out of the corner of one eye. Would he snap at Rachael, too?

Strangely, he did not; instead, he gingerly set the crystal back on the table. "Where is Mage Móinárne?" he asked, looking around the room.

Rachael jerked a thumb behind her. "She's upstairs talking with some other mages about what to do."

"And you, brother, did you have any success?" Leihalani inquired, wriggling her feet back and forth indolently.

Kesio dragged the chair out from beneath his sister's feet and sat down. Well, I wasn't going to be the only one standing, but there weren't any more chairs at the table. There was a big, overstuffed monstrosity I'd noticed when we walked in, so I went to fetch that. Kesio's voice drifted back to me.

"Lady Alina found over sixty humans—mostly children, but there were around twenty adults."

The chair made an awful scraping sound as I dragged it back to the table. Oh, well. Someone else would have to take care of those scuff marks.

I arranged the chair near Rachael and dropped into it—and nearly drowned in the cushions.

"Did you find Jimmy?" Rachael asked.

"No," I grunted, doing my damnedest not to fall victim to the chasm between chair arm and seat cushion.

"I've given General Whitesword custody of the humans for now," Kesio explained, exasperatedly shoving his sister's booted feet off his knee. She grinned and did it again. "He will see to it that they are properly clothed and— Will you stop that?" he growled, eyes narrowed.

Leihalani laughed, as did Rachael. I grinned at the crown prince's obvious discomfort. It was a welcome respite from the stress of the last several hours.

Booted feet that did not belong to Leihalani rang on the farmhouse floorboards. "Your Royal Highnesses," a dark-haired soldier said, striding quickly into the living room. "Tsaebach—"

A burly, brown-skinned, brown-haired elven man pushed into the room, still tucking in a cream-colored shirt into his trousers. "Kesio!" he roared, evading the soldier's attempt to slow him down. "What did I tell you about coming back to Hyelion, boy?"

A Tsola I hadn't seen until just this moment detached himself from a corner and quickly pulled the tsaebach away by yanking his arms behind his back.

"Let go of me, you imbecilic tree stump!" the tsaebach roared, jerking ineffectively in the Tsola's hold.

A tic materialized in Kesio's right eye and he slowly turned around in his chair. Levering himself upright, he dusted off his shirt and looked down at the struggling tsaebach. "It is 'Your Royal Highness', Tsaebach Caimaris," he reminded the man coldly. "Not 'boy'."

"I'll call you a boy as I damned well please," the tsaebach retorted, face contorting in anger. "Only a boy would seduce my daughter and throw her away like trash."

From this angle, I couldn't properly see Kesio's face, but his fists clenched at his sides. Tsaebach Caimaris railed on. "I told her, 'Don't get involved with the Crown Prince, Iylla. He'll use you and cast you aside like all the others'. 'Oh, no, Papa,' she told me, all hope and sincerity, 'he's not like that at all. I think he truly loves me'." The tsaebach glared at Kesio. "Not like that at all, she said. Loves her, even! And who comes home inconsolable and in tears a few months later? My daughter! Screaming and crying that I was right. And tonight, I am woken up and told that Crown soldiers are tramping through my tenets' fields with a giant wolf and leopard! Get off my land, Your Royal Highness!"

"Remove him!" Kesio ordered, tensing up.

"Yes, sir," the Tsola replied, twisting the shouting tsaebach around.

My shoulders hunched from second-hand embarrassment. I leaned carefully across the table, mindful of all the crystalline bombs. "Shouldn't he see what these people have been hiding on his land for all these years?" I asked Leihalani.

Despite his rampage, the tsaebach apparently heard me. In a great show of strength, he dug his heels in and pivoted. "Is this your latest conquest, Your Royal Highness? A filthy, ugly human?" His silvery eyes, ablaze with rage, fixed on me. "What a great king you'll make one day!"

I stiffened, my body going icy cold then blazing hot with discomfort. While the words stuck in my throat, my cousin had no such trouble. Rachael shoved her chair back, shaking her fist in the air. "What the fuck did you say, asshole?"

Leihalani reached out and drew her hand down. "Sit."

"Did you hear what he said about Aly?" Rachael demanded, black hair flying around her face. Her lips pulled back from her teeth, a lupine growl rumbling in her throat.

"Yes. Sit."

Glowering with rage, Rachael did as the Summer Princess requested.

Kesio didn't even turn around. "Remove him, Tsola."

This time, the Tsola wasn't so gentle. Tsaebach Caimaris was marched from the farmhouse in a furious tizzy, screaming invectives in two languages.

Kesio watched him go, then tugged at his waistcoat and returned to the table. Sliding into his chair, he said calmly, "As I saying, General Whitesword has control of the humans for tonight. He has arranged for clothes and tents for them to sleep in. Scribes will be arriving tomorrow morning to take down their information, so we can send them home with you."

Rachael ignored all of that and turned her indignation on Kesio. "Are you just going to let him talk about Aly like that?" she demanded of the crown prince.

I slid a glance in Kesio's direction. Yes, he possessed some redeeming qualities, such as a rare moment of compassion in the tunnels, but for all that I knew those moments were fleeting. Maybe the smoke made him loopy.

"I will deal with it by ignoring him, Lady Rachael," the crown prince replied tersely, folding his arms.

Leihalani rolled her eyes. "By all means, brother—ignore it. Ignore the insults heaped not only upon your back, but on those of your guests as well. You should be ashamed."

"Enough!" the crown prince exclaimed, shoving his chair back as we scrambled to keep the crystals from falling over. "I am done with you tonight, sister." He rose and stalked out of the farmhouse.

I met Leihalani's eyes over the table, my arms full of explosives. She merely sighed and shook her head.

"We should get these somewhere secure," she said instead.