Chapter 50

If Cleo heard the name Addie Merlo one more time, she thought her dark magic would lash out and make her combust into a fiery ball of rage and fury. One week. That's how long she'd been home, how long she had to walk around her kingdom and hear that name on the lips of every one of her citizens. How beautiful she was, how nice she was, how she'd spent enough coin for the shop owners to have to wait to get their stocks back up to their usual levels.

But most of all, Cleo wanted nothing more than to come face to face with the female so she could devour her with her shadows for practically stealing Odanth.

Her dragon had yet to come back from Krahzara, which had her worry gnawing at her stomach and doubling with every passing day. She tried to find reason to jump on Ollyn and the two of them head east...and the main one being she couldn't without creating tension between Arloerin and Krahzara. Landing Ollyn in the middle of the eastern-most kingdom wouldn't have made the best impression.

Janan and Urell were the ones to hear her complaining the most, mostly because they refused to leave her side. They both claimed it was just to keep an eye on her since she was pissed about Odanth, but she had a sneaking suspicion they were watching out for her, too.

"What if we send two of the Elite east?" she tried to reason. "They'll use fake identities, infiltrate Krahzara, and try to find out what the hell is going on."

Janan, who was absentmindedly stroking Shamira's fuzzy head nestled in her lap, smiled grimly. "Kav still hasn't gotten back to you, huh?"

Cleo let out a growl that rivaled the leopard's own. She'd sent him a discreet message without signing her name on it, but there had been no reply. "You might have to stop me from killing him myself."

Urell was the one to snort, Janan smiling right along with him. "You know that won't happen," he told her. "You might slap him around a little, but we all know that would probably do the boy some good."

That made her laugh and the tension throughout began to ease. "Knock that cocky attitude down a few notches, too."

Janan absentmindedly twisted a dark curl around her finger. "I'm surprised he hasn't come back, even if he hadn't found anything out yet. Undoubtedly, word would have already reached Krahzara about you being back."

"And just a few days after Lady Addie left, too, right? Something just doesn't feel right about it. Not when she comes right after I leave and goes back right before I come home."

"We didn't find anything of suspicion when we searched where she was staying," Urell tried to tell her.

Even Janan attempted to ease her fury. "And when your grandmother and I ran into her that one afternoon, she was nothing but pleasant...though I will admit her actions were a little worrisome. Not that she was being deceiving, but rather she was..."

"Was what?"

"Shocked? I don't know. Shamira instantly loved her, she was the nicest to me." A grimace twisted on her lips. "But when she saw Renna...it was almost like she was seeing a ghost."

***

Cleo was up earlier than she normally was, her stomach twisting and nerves jumping. She couldn't quite put her finger on it, though she knew it was a combination of things. Not only Odanth's absence, but also how she still hadn't heard from Kav since she'd been back from Dalcaine. She didn't think anything had happened to him, would have been able to feel it through their mating bond.

She was so on edge she jumped when someone knocked on her door before cracking it open, dropping the pins she was securing in her hair. As she scrambled to pick them up, her grandmother peeked inside, then smiled as she came in.

"Never did I ever think I'd be able to catch you off guard. Did I scare you?" Renna asked.

Cleo shook her head, dropping the pins into the dish she kept them in, forgetting about doing anything with her hair and letting it fall down her back in soft blond curls. "I'm fine. Just...worried."

She tilted her head slightly to the left, gazing at Cleo intently. "It's been a while since I've seen you not wearing the eyepatch. I almost forget what you look like without it on."

She hadn't even realized she was looking through both eyes. Spinning around, she immediately searched for it, then looked at herself in the mirror to make sure it was positioned correctly before securing it in place.

"Sorry," she apologized. "I know seeing it makes you think of what happened with Momma and Daddy."

A shadow passed over Renna's face as her smile dropped a fraction, just enough for Cleo to notice. "It does, but then I remember even with it you're still my Cleo. You don't have to be ashamed of it, you know, and I will love you always."

Cleo smoothed the fabric of her shirt between her fingers, which she had tucked into her leather riding pants. She'd had made plans to go out on Ollyn and push as far as she could within a day's time into the Krahzaran borderlands in search of Odanth, but one look at her grandmother's face had her rethinking.

"You know, it's been a while since we've spent the day together, just the two of us," Cleo said, pulling her hair over one shoulder as she sat to put her boots on. "What do you say? Want to eat and buy more than probably should?"

Renna took hold her hand before looping Cleo's arm through hers. "I can't think of anything better to do, my sweet girl."

Not only was spending time in Dalcaine with her family what Cleo needed, but making sure to do the same with her grandmother did, too. It had been months since they did this, going around Arloerin, looking through the clothing and book shops, and even looking at knew weaponry. Renna, of course, just shook her head as Cleo passed a coin purse with enough coin for the new daggers she ordered and then some.

"You sure you don't want a new one for yourself?" Cleo grinned at her.

Her grandmother rolled her eyes. "I still haven't used the last three you've given me, so do you want to answer that question yourself?"

In the early afternoon, they ended up at a café along the northern part of the river that ran straight through the kingdom, sipping on berry-flavored water while waiting on their light lunch of soup and sandwiches to come. Once they did, Cleo ate everything faster than she should have and leaned back with her hand on her stomach and blew out a breath.

The tension of the last few days completely left Cleo as she smiled at Renna.

"Thank you for this," she told her grandmother. "After everything that's happened since I got home, I needed this time with you."

Renna leaned forward and stretched her hand across the table to take hers, giving her fingers a squeeze. "You know I will always be here for you should you need to talk about anything..."

"I know."

"...but there's something I want to know, too."

Cleo raised a brow. "What is it?"

She smiled softly, thumb brushing across the back of her hand. "Tell me about you and Kav."

Almost immediately, her face turned bright red with embarrassment. "Why do you want to know?"

Her laughter rang out again, making several people seated around them look over and smile. "You left right after we all learned you two were already mated. Why did you want to keep it a secret? Was it because of Sophea and her quest to have you two marry to try and gain power?"

She was quiet for a moment, reflecting on the question. What that it? Partially, but not the whole reason.

"I think...I just wanted to keep something for myself without having anyone else know about it. And Kav was it. You know I'm not a selfish person, but he was something I wanted no one else to know about for a little while. He hated having to keep us a secret...so he resorted to making sure to bug me at every public outing and meeting we had together. Rest assured, I made him pay for it later, though."

"You look so happy with him. I haven't seen you like that in a very, very long time."

Her face still flushed, Cleo looked down at their conjoined hands and smiled. "I am. Kav...yes, he annoyed the hell out of me when he was younger and still does most of the time but having him is one of the best things to ever happen. To have someone who knows me and my magic and doesn't balk, isn't frightened by it. He loves me, shadows and dark magic and all, and I couldn't be more grateful for him."

Renna couldn't seem to stop smiling with happiness. "You two remind me so much of myself and your grandfather and even more so of your parents. Meron and Corliss bickered and annoyed each other to no end while they were in Eld training with Ollyn and Odanth. Your uncle Gaven had to put up with them mostly and even threatened Meron a time or two. But even after they were mated, they still didn't stop. It was the same for me and my Evander."

Her grandmother rarely talked about her parents. The only time Cleo learned anything about them was from Kalla, then even more when she finally met her mother's side of the family in Dalcaine. Her aunt Bridget and her uncles Alberich and Gaven were able to tell her about them in ways she never thought she would. She learned everything she could about them, felt like she knew them even though she and Adeena were just a few weeks old when they were taken by the darkness, her father by death and her mother by complete takeover by dark magic.

Cleo found herself tearing up, wondering what her life would be like had her parents, her sister, and her grandfather hadn't been taken from her. Would she still be the same female she was then, still Queen of Arloerin, still have her dark and light magic?

"You know they would all be immensely proud of you, just as I am," Renna told her then, giving her hand another squeeze. "Meron, Corliss, Adeena, and Evander. You've made the most of a situation no others could have handled as gracefully as you."

She sniffled, discretely swiping her fingers under her eyes. "I hope so."

Her grandmother smiled again, then shifted to stand as she placed a few coins on the table to pay for their meal. "Now, let's get back home and you send another message to that mate of yours and tell him to get his ass back here no matter what he has to say to get away from Krahzara. I want the chance to see you two together and happy since I only got a few minutes the last time. And I want him to ask you to marry him because I want to start planning a proper wedding and mating ceremony, got it?"

Through her tears, Cleo managed to huff out a laugh. "Got it," she nodded. "Just like I told Janan, the next time he asks, I'm saying yes. I figured he's suffered long enough these last four years with me telling him no all the time..."

"Excuse me?" Renna cried out as soon as she heard that last statement. "You mean to tell me I could have started planning a few years ago? I'm not very happy with you right now, young lady..."

Her laughter then was cut off by the murmurs that began to spread throughout the streets of Arloerin. They grew even more as the two of them made their way down the riverside road. Cleo was looking everywhere, trying to figure out if something was happening in the city or if...

Suddenly, she smacked right into a male who had been turning the corner out of a shop, making him drop the books he'd bought inside.

"I'm so sorry!" Cleo exclaimed, leaning down to gather them up for him. "I didn't mean to run into you. Distracted and obviously not looking where I was going..."

But the male's dark eyes widened when he saw her face as she handed the books to him. With no lick of magic thrumming within, he had to be human, no more than twenty with handsome features, ink black hair, and bronze skin. And his eyes...his eyes were so dark they were almost black even in the ever-shining sunlight of Arloerin.

"Queen Cleo," he said in shock. "Please. There's no need to apologize. I...I should have looked before opening the door and I..."

"Of course, I'm going to apologize," she cut it with a shake of her head as she smiled. "The books aren't ruined, are they? I can purchase you another set if you need me to..."

"No, these are still in perfect condition, so there's no need," he told her, hefting them into his arms. "It's wonderful to meet you, Queen Cleo."

"You, too..."

A smile lifted at one corner of his mouth as he started back down the pathway. "Fin."

And disappeared in the crowd.

She still had her eyes on the place where he vanished, only to have Urell appear in his place, shouting her name loud enough for the sound to echo off the surrounding buildings.

Cleo's shadows were instantly ringed protectively around her and her grandmother, who's hand wrapped around her wrist in fright. Urell and three other members of the Elite were running at full speed along the road that ran parallel to the river, every one of them dress in full armor since they'd been training.

"What in the hell is going on?" Cleo demanded as soon as they came to a stop in front of her.

Urell was gasping, trying to catch his breath before he spoke. "Word came from Krahzara..."

Her heart dropped. "From Kav? Malik?"

He shook his head once. "From a merchant who'd been there to trade. Something happened at the palace. The Lady in White...she attacked Sophea. Malik and Kav were with her, didn't even try to stop her, and..."

"Is she still alive? Sophea?"

"Yes," he nodded. "Cleo...what the Lady did to her...all this time...Sophea was being held by dark magic. Word was she'd gone there to kill her, but instead she'd freed her from its hold."

"What are you talking about? The Sophea we know..."

"Was not the real Sophea."

Everyone around them had been silent, odd for being such a bustling area of the kingdom. They heard every word.

Cleo's head swam as she gripped her grandmother's hand. What did this mean? Why would the Lady in White want to kill Sophea, then end up freeing her from whoever's dark magic had been holding her? And why had Kav and Malik been with her?

Kav. Kav.

"That's why he hasn't sent any word," she whispered mostly to herself. "What's been happening in Krahzara..."

Urell thrust his hand forward, holding out a sealed message, her name scrawled in Kav's handwriting on it. "One of the Krahzaran messenger hawks dropped this at the palace not ten minutes ago."

Snatching it from his fingers, Cleo ripped open the seal, hands shaking as she unfolded the parchment and read over his short, cryptic message.

We'll be there with you within a day, as fast as Odanth can fly. You and Arloerin aren't safe. - Kav

She read the lines over and over again, not only feeling relief at the knowledge Odanth was with them...but also the panic she kept quelled inside at the thought of her kingdom being under siege by an unknown force.

You and Arloerin aren't safe.

Carefully folding the parchment once more, Cleo breathed steadily through her nose, looking up at Urell. "Lock down the kingdom and the surrounding lands. I want every Elite and guardsmen on patrol, night and day. Any word of anything suspicious will be investigated within the hour it's heard. Until Kav and Malik get here to tell us what the hell is going on..."

But Urell wasn't finished telling her everything, his jaw clenching, fangs digging into his lips from the force.

"What?" she demanded. "Tell me everything that's going on, dammit. Now."

"It's not just Kav and Malik on their way. What happened with Sophea and the Lady in White..."

"Stop cutting yourself off, Urell."

His silence for those next several seconds he stared at her was even worse. "The Lady in White is with them...and she and Lady Addie Merlo are one in the same person."