Queen Alpha (NYC Mecca #2)(19)

“Do you smell the fae?” he asked as he scanned the group before us.

I hid my worry as best I could. “Yes, from the moment I walked in.”

He nodded as if he wasn’t surprised by this. “I wonder what they want.”

This man was very intriguing. “Well, you must have given them a key, right?”

He gave me a sidelong glance and a half smile. “No, I would never invite a fae and my queen on the same night.”

So that meant other nights he did invite fae?

“Who are you? I mean, I know you’re a magic born, but… why does no one know of you?” I might love some secrets, but definitely not ones which could threaten my people. And something told me Baladar could be a huge threat if he chose to go against me.

He seemed to consider my questions. “I’m the keeper of knowledge. The oldest wolf alive, I suspect. A living library of our magical history, some would say.”

I stopped walking and faced him. “Why haven’t I ever heard of you?”

The oldest wolf alive. A magic born. Surely this was a fact every queen should be told. Did the Red Queen know? She’d certainly never mentioned it to any of her heirs.

His eyes twinkled. “Your Red Queen preferred that I not be public knowledge. She banished me here in her first year of ruling. She and Sabina made it so that I couldn’t leave this place, so I spent my days making it beautiful and inviting people to come spend time with me so that the pangs of loneliness wouldn’t overtake me.”

My heart clenched at that very honest confession. I was also surprised by his answer. Clearly the former queen had known about him, and she had feared him. I wondered if she had true reasons to be so cruel. Was he a hidden threat?

If the Red Queen magically banished him here in her first year, that meant…

“You’ve been here a hundred years,” I noted as we continued walking.

He nodded. “I’ve had a lot of time to create this oasis as I call it. And found lots of friends to keep me company.”

This day had just gotten majorly weird.

“How do you know Calista?” I couldn’t imagine my prim and proper advisor hanging out at this place on the weekends.

His face changed; his eyes lit up for a second before that sparkle was swallowed by sadness. “She was the love of my life,” he said, his voice low, his face flat.

My feet stumbled briefly. I hadn’t expected that answer. “What happened?”

I tried to keep the curiosity from my voice, direct some sympathy toward him. In reality, I normally wouldn’t ask someone I barely knew such a personal question, but I was dying to know.

“Duty called,” he answered. “Calista was born to be an advisor, and I was unable to leave this home.” I suddenly felt sick. I know it hadn’t been me alone. Calista had been an advisor to many heirs, but the fact I had contributed to her loss of a partner hurt my heart.

Baladar must have sensed some of my guilt and pain. “You mustn’t worry about it,” he said in a fatherly tone. “It was the right decision. I knew you were special and that Calista could bring you to your full potential as an heir.”

Great. Sounded like it was her advisor role with me that had ended their love affair. Calista had never spoken of him, but I knew she used to live in Manhattan before I was born. How did I not know about the love of her life? Or was this more one-sided, and Calista had not been hurt the same way as Sir Baladar?

Speaking of… “Why are you referred to as a ‘sir?’” I asked him.

His eyes twinkled then, those shimmers of lightning growing brighter. “I’m old enough to have been part of the royal army for her majesty, the queen of England. Before shifters were so segregated from humans, I was honored with knighthood, and have always kept the ‘sir.’ I like it. Gives me character.”

He winked. Okay … well, he had plenty of character, that was for sure.

We had reached a secluded part of the garden now. Some shifters were soaking in a natural bubbling spring hot tub, drinking and talking. It looked amazingly relaxing, and I was trying to think of the last time I’d stopped and relaxed like those here in Baladar’s oasis. One thing about being a leader, there was very little downtime. It was not a nine-to-five job.

When we paused, I faced him fully, trying not to get lost in those mesmerizing eyes. Magic born eyes capture you and never let go. “How is it that you are an information keeper? At your word, you have been exiled here for a hundred years, and yet I feel as if you haven’t missed a single thing in the shifter world.”

He smiled and gestured to the people around him. “I offer my friends and companions a fun time in a safe environment, and in return they give me knowledge. My powers allow me to discern truth from lie, so I always know what is happening.”

Just as Violet could. The magic born were great at finding truth in all information.

Sir Baladar was clearly powerful. Age alone would have provided him with a plethora of knowledge that would be valuable to many. So why would the queen banish him? And if he was such a threat to her, why did she not banish him out of New York City, away from the boroughs so he would not get powerful surges of mecca energy?

Sucking in deeply, I decided to push my luck. I had already asked him too much for a friendly first meeting, and if this was Calista’s ex-lover I didn’t want to offend him … but I had to know. This man seemed so well connected that if anyone knew, he would.