Bat Out of Hell (Promised to the Demons #2) - Lidiya Foxglove Page 0,30

to understand things without thinking about it.” Which was why I could never have found out all that information about familiars without Piers…

"Oh god. Thank you! It's so boring."

I saw Variel across the room with his own large glass of wine, standing alone. He stood out even from a distance with his demonic appearance, and all the faeries gave him a wide berth. Jenny noticed him and pulled her fur over her breasts again.

"We found some very interesting information in the library today," I told her, trying to get her mind off of him. "A theory about our origins. I'm sorry I've been spending so much time there during the day."

"I don't mind! I've never been happier than to explore the city all by myself. It's nice not to have to answer to anyone."

"You don't answer to me."

"Well, technically I do!"

"Yes, I could be making better use of that vow to do what I say, couldn't I?"

“Oh, I hope I didn’t sound like I don’t want your company. I do! I’ve just never wandered around alone before.”

"I like being alone. Someday when we're married, maybe, we'll both still have times when we want to be alone, and if this moment is any indication, I'll be even more excited to see you because of that."

"Yes, although I don't want to be alone like before. All alone. I like it here because I meet friendly people everywhere."

"Celeste, is that you?" Kerra strolled over, transformed from her brassy chef persona into a surprisingly glamorous woman in a dress with draping white sleeves and a floral print bodice and skirt over that. Her hair was twisted up with vines and frosted grapes.

"Oh--oh--yes. Thank you for the desserts! They were all...almost impossibly ethereal and delicious."

"Are you the one who has received all those magical desserts that were ordered this week?" Kerra asked her, with an odd look on her face.

“The queen had them sent to me…didn’t she?” Jenny looked around the room just as the queen was making her entrance and the entire court fell silent into bows and curtseys and Kerra got swept away in all of the pomp and circumstance.

Queen Morgana took the garlanded chair on the dais above the musicians, with her female attendant and two guards surrounding her. I wasn't sure I'd ever get used to this, as we all had to bow and curtsey again until she raised a hand.

"Good evening to you all. I am well pleased to see so many fine scholars of magic and warriors gathered here tonight. As you know, there is reason for it...for both celebration and preparation. Most of you have heard by now that the gates between all the worlds are down. The only defense we have against invasion now is our numbers and the strength of our people."

Some of the older fae, clad in black, who clustered just behind us, started murmuring with concern.

"I do not wish you to fear," Queen Morgana said. "But we are the weakest of the realms. And who can we rely on to help? I have already been curious about the role of the wizard's familiars. They have some characteristics of the fae, and when Lady Daisy released her own familiar from his bond, it showed to me that familiars have not been free. If they are free, they need a realm to call home. I would suggest it should be ours. What say you?”

A chorus of ayes and yeses came from the crowd.

"Is this really happening?" Jenny whispered. "The fae queen will let us stay?"

"That's what it sounds like to me. But..." I knew there would be trouble before we could just settle in to new lives.

"I have long heard it said that there is a place at the farthest edge of the Lost Isles with an ancient temple said to be a sacred place for the fae shifters now thought to be extinct. Are they extinct, or did they evolve? The area is dangerous for travelers and so has not been explored in our known records. I believe it might be worth looking at. If we could find a way to free familiars from their tie to wizards, I believe they could be strong allies,” the queen said.

"The temple," I breathed. I stepped up onto the edge of a column in the hall, looking for Piers among the candlelit faces.

He was standing off to the side, trying not to attract attention. I motioned him toward us. He waved me on. You go tell the queen