Rami bowed at the waist to the king, then stood next to him.
"Rami, I don't believe you've had the chance to meet my niece, Elle."
"I have, in fact," he said, bowing his head. "Lady Elle. Lord Arthur. Alpha."
Arthur's eyes took in Rami, sizing him up. His magic raised its head, lazily scanning the witch from head to toe. I guess Noah's words were still fresh in his mind. I shot Noah a look. I could have sworn his eyes wrinkled in amusement.
"Rami," Arthur drawled. "The last time I saw you, you were an apprentice of Taro's."
Rami did not hide his surprise well enough. "Yes. I did not think you would remember me."
Arthur smiled. Uh-oh. I knew that smile. "One does not forget a youth blessed with so much power. I expected you to take over Taro's position in a matter of years."
Rami smiled a little.
"He was offered a better opportunity," My uncle said with a broad smile.
"So I see." Arthur nodded.
Amelia approached us then, her hair fell down one shoulder in soft waves, looking more golden than auburn under the light. Her dress was a pale lavender airy material, cinched at the waist and flowing down her legs to barely touch the floor. A radiant smile warmed her face.
"Elle, lord Arthur, Alpha Noah. I hope you are well rested."
"We are. Thank you, Lady Amelia," Arthur said.
"Elle, my dear. Would you come with me for a second? There are some people who would love to meet you."
"Of course."
Arthur squeezed my hand before letting me go. I gave him a pointed look.
Don't kill the king's advisor.
I sent the thought through the bond as Amelia and I strolled through the room. I was glad for the slow pace. Arthur's only response was dark amusement.
"You look very lovely tonight, Elle," Amelia said with a smile.
"Oh. Thank you." I paused. "You look lovely, too."
Amelia's smile warmed. I cleared my throat. "Where is my father?"
She sighed, a loving expression crossing her face. "He must be here somewhere, arguing with someone. He often loses track of time when the discussion is passionate enough. Oh, here are Eva and Molly. They're your father's direct cousins."
We approached a couple of women dressed in silver satin gowns. They had long, light brown hair, and the one visible to me had a heart-shaped face with big green eyes, faint freckles across her cheeks and a button nose. The other woman turned, and I had to blink to make sure I wasn't seeing things. They were twins.
Birth in our world was a big deal. Immortals couldn't procreate as fast as humans. Twins were basically a miracle. I only knew of one other pair of twins, Jesse and Kat.
Ah, Jesse. I missed that infuriating cat.
"Eva, Molly, have you met Elle?"
The twins turned their eyes to me. "No, we haven't. Have you, Molly?"
Molly shook her head. Eva cocked her head to the side and smiled tightly at me. "A pleasure to meet you, cousin."
Her eyes glanced at my cheek, then my arm. Her smile tightened further, if at all possible. I showed her my teeth. "The pleasure is all mine."
"Congratulations on your mating." She sniffed, her smile still intact. "Although, I'm not sure that was a wise thing to do."
I raised my brows. Very chatty for someone I just met. "Aha. And why is that?"
She tucked her hair behind her ear. "Well. We simply do not mate outside our race. It is not done."
Amelia sighed. "Eva."
"I wasn't aware the fae had such restrictions," I said in a sad tone. "It must be very difficult for you."
She blinked. "Um-no. No, that's not... That is for our own good. Especially for us Royals. Our line is just too precious to dilute it with... lesser blood."
Bitch. Anger blossomed in my chest. "Well, I guess I don't have that problem, fortunately, since my blood is already tainted and all. But you guys have my sympathies, to have such restrictions on your love life must be very stifling."
She looked down her nose at me. "Not at all. We understand the importance of our blood."
How arrogant. "So mating with a fae will ensure that your children will be stronger than you?" I nodded. "I understand why you're so eager to do it."
The insult didn't go over her head, thankfully. But it took her a second to process the fact that I just called her weak.
Her face gained a lovely shade of red. "How dare-"
"Eva!" Amelia said. "Remember who you're talking to."
Eva glared at Amelia. "She's insulting me. I'm a member of the Royal line, too. I will not be put down by the likes of her."
"The likes of me?"
"A freak who should not have been born."
Someone gasped. She just went there. Oh, yes. Yes, she did. Fury unfurled. Her heartbeat became distinct. Her pulse fluttered in her neck. My vision narrowed down to her. My gums ached. I almost tasted her blood on my tongue.
A sharp tug on the bond distracted me. I took a deep breath, clearing my head. Arthur's voice settled down my emotions.
Calm.
"Enough, Eva!" Amelia said, aghast.
I grinned at Eva, showing her my sharp canines. I had more control on my emotions. However, we had attracted a fair bit of attention. Immortals respected strength and preyed on the weak. I would not be perceived as weak.
Remember who you are.
"I have enough power to burn everyone here without a thought." I poured my magic out. A cloud of blue fire crackled into life high above us. I waved my hand and the fire vanished. I stepped forward until I was face to face with Eva. Her face lost all color.
"And my lesser mate can break every single bone of your body without twitching a finger," I continued. "Do not insult him or me, again. That's the only warning I will give you. Am I clear?"
She gulped, responding with a shaky nod.
Control your magic, my love.
I pulled my magic in. Smiling at my cousins took great effort. "It was lovely meeting you, dear cousins. Let's do this again sometime." Let's not.
I turned to Amelia. She had taken a step away from me and was looking at me like she had never seen me before.
"Is there someone else you want me to meet?"
"Oh," Amelia said. Smoothing her hands down the front of her dress, her face regained some of its usual serenity. "I'm sure further introductions can wait. We should probably go in. Dinner will be served shortly."
The dinner table was huge. Almost three hundred feet in length, it was fit for state banquets. The room itself was impressive, with hearths burning on either side of the room. Crystal chandeliers and wall sconces illuminated the magnificent space. Statues of half naked people and cherubs stood in the corners and along the gilded walls. I wrinkled my nose. I never saw the appeal of displaying stone-made private parts. I guess my art taste is far from refined.
I was escorted to the dining room by my uncle. Amelia's hand rested lightly on Arthur's arm, following us.
My uncle took a seat at the head of the table, in a chair with a higher back and a heavily gilded frame. His black guards fanned out behind him. Amelia and I sat across from each other, next to the king. Arthur was beside Amelia. My father was somewhere down the massive table with Noah, and I thought I saw Ryan nearby.
Next to me was Rami.
As soon as we sat, Arthur homed in on Rami. I focused a single thought through the bond.
No. You still can't kill him.
Arthur's gaze swung to me.
You keep telling me I can't kill people, when, in fact, I can.
You know what I mean.
I do. Not to worry, my love. I am too curious to kill him. Not just yet. As long as he keeps his hands and eyes to himself.
Very comforting.
I glanced at Rami. He was looking at me. He smiled and looked away. Well, then. A nagging feeling flared in my guts. Hmm.
My uncle rose and made a short speech. Half my attention was on him, the other half was on his guards.
They were all fae. Their magic packed quite a punch. Other than two Air Elementalists, the rest were Earth elementalists. They were also armed to the teeth, and from the way they held themselves, they knew how to fight.
The first course was served shortly after. I was grateful for Amanda's crash course on dinner etiquette back in Paris. At least I knew which cutlery to use.
"You're barely in your third decade of life, Elle, aren't you?" My uncle asked.
I nodded, almost choking on the soup. I swallowed. "Yes. I'm twenty six."
"Ah, quite young," my uncle smiled. "You're lucky to have found a mate early in your life. It will make the promise of long life less dreary."
I looked at Arthur and smiled. He was in a deep conversation with Amelia. But I felt his puzzlement through the bond.
I was lucky, indeed.
He glanced at me. I winked and looked back to my uncle. "Yes. I'm very lucky. Although I was put under the impression that Arthur isn't regarded as a good match for me."
My uncle chuckled. "Ah, yes. There are some people who believe that the fae should only mate with other fae. My dear brother is one of them, although he never really voiced the opinion outloud."
Was he, now? "And you?"
"I don't particularly enjoy tangling myself in the minutiae of other people's lives."
"Even when those people are yours?"
"Especially when the people are mine," he said, looking over at the people around the table. "They all look up to me to lead them. And I take pride in doing so. However, unlike my brother, I am more open to change."
"So my father is more old fashioned?" I asked. The more he talked, the more I could understand him. Luckily for me, my uncle seemed the sort of person who likes to hear himself talk.
He smiled, his green eyes crinkling at the corners. "Old fashioned...I don't know if I would call him old fashioned. But my brother is quite uptight about following the rules."
"Aren't rules meant to be followed?"
He leaned a bit closer, obviously enjoying himself. "I find rules that do not work for me unnecessary. There's nothing to stop us from breaking them since rules, as you know, are made by people just like us. Except those people are long dead, they lived in a world different than ours. In fact, I would argue that we have the right to make our own rules, ones that fit our reality better, since we're the ones living it."
The way he used we and us made me think he'd have no qualms about replacing them with I and me.
He leaned back, relocking his enthusiasm behind a veneer of civility. "Good people follow the rules, and great people make them. Change is the only constant in our world. Winners are those who ride its waves and hold its reins."
Interesting. My uncle might be a spineless bastard, as Arthur had so eloquently put it, but with the sort of power he held over one of the most powerful races on the planet, he was a dangerous spineless bastard.
The first course was served. Amelia turned to uncle Rion, And Arthur changed his conversation partner to the person on his other side.
"Welcome to Ireland," Rami said, his eyes on me.
"Thank you.
"Allow me to offer my condolences for Robert's death," he said, his face grim. "He was a great man. I'm sorry for your loss."
Well. Knock me down with a feather. He was the first person, since I came to Europe and my identity was revealed, who offered condolences.
"Thank you. It happened a long time ago," I said. "Did you know him?"
"In a way. I worked with your father, then, and Robert was a member of his inner circle." He smiled a little. "But I doubt he would have remembered me. Robert was responsible for the security side of things, and I was just a member of your father's staff."
He was right. Uncle Robert never mentioned him. This witch was unsettling. Everything from his gray eyes to his buddha-like demeanor, made him tough to figure out. But the most unsettling thing was the fact that he was the only non-fae to be allowed in such close proximity to the king.
"And now you're the fae king's advisor," I said. "How did that work, by the way?"
He frowned. "I'm not sure I'm following."
"Look around you." He did. I continued. "Everyone here, other than us, the guests, is fae. There are a couple of witches. But you're the only non-fae I've seen get close and personal with the king."
He focused his sharp gray eyes on me. "Yes. It appears so."
I raised my brows. So he wasn't going to address it? Oh, well. It was worth a try. I shrugged and went back to my food. Rami sighed, taking a few bites of his food before he turned to me again.
"I will answer your question, if you answer one of mine."
Aha. So now he wanted to play twenty questions. I nodded.
"To answer your question," he said. "The incident of your mother's attack has left scars in the castle. The king, like your father, doesn't trust outsiders as much anymore. Especially vampires. They decided it was safer to just remove the risk of vampire attacks altogether by keeping them outside the castle."
I bet that didn't go well with the older vampires, those who have dedicated centuries of their lives to the service of the Royals.
"Now my question," he said. I braced myself. "Have you always felt the thirst for blood? Or has it begun only after the spell was broken?"
"How do you know I consume blood?" I asked.
"I believe your father mentioned it in passing." He smiled slightly. "And word got out. You've been quite a sensation recently."
"I see. To answer your question, no, I have never felt the need to drink blood. It started after the spell was broken."
"The spell must have been exceptionally well done to hold back the effects of vampire venom in your blood."
"Yes. Orion told me that my mother was very skilled in spells."
"She was very skilled. A genius, by all rights. Her understanding of magic rivaled the most industrious of witches," he said. There was something akin to admiration in his voice.
"Did you know her well?"
"In a way. I told you I was a member of your father's staff. Orla was kind to everyone around her. She was also interested in Spell Books and Applied magic theories. A true scholar." His smile had turned a touch brighter, and he looked genuinely excited. "We had some of the same interests, although Orla was much more powerful and knowledgeable than I was at the time."
He paused, glanced at me then away. He dimmed the eagerness in his eyes. "Anyway, your mother was an impressive woman. People here remember her with fondness and respect."
"Everyone keeps telling me I look like her," I said just to see his reaction.
There was something in his eyes when he looked at me. Something I wasn't sure how to feel about. "You do. The physical resemblance is uncanny."
"Yeah, but I guess that's where similarities stop. I'm more knowledgeable in physical fighting and weapons than magic and spells."
"Maybe so. Orla was more cerebral, in a way," he said, then added in an almost indiscernible mumble. "But you do have her spirit."
Curious and curiouser. Amanda had said something about women being more sensitive to some matters. Huh. I guess the witch had a thing for my mother.