“I see.”
He sighed, not sure if this would cause her pain. “Saetien was told the key to finding herself is learning about Wilhelmina Benedict.”
Silence.
He looked at the Queen who was the love of his life. “If that would hurt you . . .”
Jaenelle shook her head. “You know who she’ll have to see.”
“Yes.”
“He won’t be kind if she is . . . rude.”
“I know.” He hesitated. “Does she really need to do this? Stir up the past like this?”
“If it had been Tersa who had told her to do this, would you be questioning the need for her to go?” Jaenelle placed a hand over his. “No, you wouldn’t.”
She walked over to a desk in the room, returned a minute later, and held out a stiff rectangle of paper that had her seal embossed in the lower right-hand corner. “Give him this. He’ll understand.”
Daemon vanished the paper. “I’ll head to Scelt first thing in the morning.”
Jaenelle resumed her seat. “What about Grizande?”
“Lucivar is taking the children—and the kitten—back to the Hall tomorrow. Surreal is there now, keeping an eye on everyone.”
Jaenelle blinked. “You left Surreal with a pack of adolescents?”
He huffed. “Why does everyone assume the Hall will be a battleground by the time I get back?”
“Surreal. Adolescent girls, whose existence will scrape a sore spot right now. Boys with understandable but very inappropriate fantasies.”
He leaned his head back and closed his eyes. “Shit.”
She patted his hand. “Look at the bright side, Daemon. When Lucivar gets there, they will all be thrilled to see him. And after a couple of days of dealing with him, they’ll be even more thrilled to see you.”
“So the Black-Jeweled Warlord Prince who is the High Lord of Hell is the benign presence?”
“That confused Saetan too, but he got used to it. Eventually.”
“Was that before or after you and the coven blew up a wall?”
She gave him that unsure but game smile. “Which time?”
TWENTY-TWO
Helene, Holt, Nadene, Raine, and Beale were waiting for Lucivar in the great hall. One look at the panic barely concealed behind their stoic expressions told him everything he needed to know.
“Prince Sadi has business in Scelt and will be gone for a couple more days. I will be here.”
Still panicky but definitely relieved. Hell’s fire.
Well, he’d start with the simple and work his way up to what he hoped hadn’t reached deadly.
“Helene, Lady Grizande and Prince Jaalan will have a room in the square across from the High Lord’s suite. Would you escort her there and make sure she has everything she needs? Also, talk to Tarl about setting up something for the kitten’s toilet. He’ll need something nearby while he’s young.”
Helene smiled and said, “This way.”
Grizande hesitated.
“Go on,” Lucivar said. “Get settled in.” Before the girl took a step, he resumed going down his list. “Prince Raine, you will be assisting Prince Sadi in teaching Lady Grizande to read, write, and speak the common tongue. Give her an hour to get settled; then go over to talk to her. Grizande, you show him the books Sadi gave you to help you get started. Being a teacher by profession, Prince Raine will have helpful suggestions.”
Raine stared at him, wide-eyed, before regaining some composure. “I’ll be happy to help in whatever way I can.”
“Good.” Lucivar turned to the other three children. “Daemonar, you’re on a two-day rest.”
“But . . . ,” Daemonar began.
“If you don’t understand why, I will explain it to you later.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Zoey and Titian. You go get settled in. When Prince Raine meets with Grizande, he will also let you know what to study for tomorrow’s lessons.”
“Besides survival?” Raine muttered almost under his breath.
Lucivar ignored the mutter. “Go.”
They hustled out of the great hall, leaving him with Holt, Nadene, and Beale.
Nadene next. “Anyone end up being gutted, having broken bones, or being skinned because they tangled with Surreal?”
More wide eyes. “No,” Nadene replied. “Would she do that? The skinning part?”
Daemon would kill him flatter than dead if the resident Healer bolted, but although Nadene had grown up in a town near one of the family estates and had heard about the SaDiablo family, she hadn’t dealt with any of them until now, and she needed to understand the temper behind Surreal’s Gray power.
“Well, Surreal and her mother skinned her sire while he was still alive, and then fed him to the hounds of Hell. So I know she’s done it at least once.” He gave Nadene that smile that always meant trouble. “Then again, so have I.”
She turned and walked away. He took it as a promising sign that she headed into the Hall rather than out the front door. But just in case . . .
He waited until she was out of hearing range before saying to Beale, “If she starts packing her trunks, I need to know.”
“Neither you nor Surreal are in residence that often,” Holt said. “She’s comfortable enough around Prince Sadi, so I think she’ll stay.”
Lucivar blew out a breath. “Where is Surreal?”
Hesitation. That flicker of panic.
“She’s out on the back lawn with the young Ladies,” Beale finally said. “The young gentlemen are on the terrace. They seem unwilling to attract her notice.”
“We’re not sure what inflamed Surreal’s temper, but I think Lady Dinah said or did something to provoke her,” Holt said. “She ordered all the girls out on the lawn . . .” He looked at Beale.
“Where she has been testing the girls’ shields to the breaking point,” Beale finished. “She has not yet drained her Gray.”
Lucivar nodded in understanding. Red against Gray would be an ugly fight, and Red would lose. Once Surreal had to drop back to her Green Birthright Jewel, Beale could wrap her in Red shields and contain her while he sent out a call for reinforcements. Until then, the prudent thing to do was wait unless it became clear that her intention was to kill one or more of the girls.
“I’ll deal with her.” Rather than travel through the Hall’s endless corridors, he walked out the front door, spread his wings, and flew over the Hall to reach the back lawn. When he landed, he noticed two huddles of girls being guarded—or penned—by Liath. They’d each used most of the reservoir of power in their Jewel and looked frightened and exhausted but unhurt.
He looked at the boys huddled on the terrace. The four Warlord Princes had the toes of their shoes just beyond the flagstones, but that was as far as they’d gone. Well, none of them wore a darker Jewel yet, so he could understand their reluctance to tangle with the Gray.
He settled on the Warlord Prince who would be the next dominant after Daemonar. “You are?”
“Raeth, sir.”
“Report.”
“Don’t know what started it, but Lady Surreal has been testing the girls’ shields,” Raeth said. “At least, that’s what it looks like she’s doing. But she’s been shattering their shields and draining their Jewels to one drop away from the breaking point.”
Not that different from what had happened during that disastrous house party when Delora tried to kill Zoey.
“Divide up your men to stand as escorts for five groups of girls.” Lucivar pointed. “Start with the two groups Liath has under control. Get them back to their own rooms and tell them to stay in their rooms until I summon them. Tell them that’s an order, not a request. Disobedience will be considered a challenge, and they will face me—and if that happens, they should be ready to die.”