The Blessed Curse (The Elder Blood Chronicles Book 4)(35)

“I’d rather be able to make a child laugh and have fun myself than worry about dignity,” Shade replied with a shrug. “We ready, Jala?”

Shade asked as he lit the cigarette and took a long drag.

Jala glanced at Madren who nodded once, though to Neph’s eyes Madren looked more nervous than ready. Kneeling down, Jala held her hands out to her son who promptly crossed the small stretch of grass separating them at a wobbly legged run. Wrapping her arms around him tightly she stood once more and balanced him on her hip before nodding to Shade.

“We taking my ship or traveling by shadows?” Shade asked as he glanced around the courtyard.

“Shadows,” Vaze answered as he stepped from a pool of darkness and into the clearing to join them. “We don’t have time for the spell hawk trip, it has already begun.”

“Was I the last person to figure out you are alive again?” Neph demanded looking to Jala with narrowing eyes.

“No, most people don’t realize I’m alive again, but honestly have you ever tried to keep a secret from Vaze? It’s impossible, the man is worse than an old woman. He knows everyone’s gossip,” Jala replied with a shrug. “Madren and Shade found out a few minutes before you, but that was only because you were in your room rather than in the main house.”

“I tried to get her to cast an illusion of me over herself before she spoke to you, but she saw through it and smacked me,” Shade said with a grin.

Neph glared at Shade for a long moment and decided it was best to not waste his breath with a response. “Is anyone going to tell me where we are going?” Neph asked his eyes landing firmly on Jala.

“Arovan. I understand you were naughty and used the bad magics when you got cranky in the battle. I’m going to settle things on that matter and conveniently they are having a meeting of the alliance tonight. I think there must have been a mistake when the invitations were sent out because Merro, Goswin and Delvay didn’t seem to receive theirs,” Jala answered and Neph could tell by the tone of her voice that it wouldn’t be Jala Merrodin that arrived at Arovan’s meeting, it would be Lady Bendazzi and whoever had skipped over Merrodin would soon regret it.





*





Neph blinked several times as the shadows faded around them. Bowing slightly, Vaze stepped away from the group and allowed them all to get their bearings. They stood in the center of a massive hallway just in front of a set of double doors that bore the symbol of House Arovan. By all appearances, Vaze had bypassed all of the protective wards on the palace as well as the guards and dropped them right before the council room.

“Can you do that anywhere?” Neph whispered turning to face Vaze with a raised eyebrow. “I mean just walk right into the middle of anyone’s house?” Neph clarified quickly.

Vaze shrugged and nodded slowly with a faint smile on his face. “For the most part. No one bothers to ward against Shadow magic anymore,” Vaze replied smugly.

“I will,” Neph promised and turned back to Jala shaking his head in disbelief.

“No, you won’t. Vaze is our ally,” Jala corrected as she handed Legacy over to Valor and squared her shoulders a bit. Carefully she propped her staff in the crook of her arm and shook her arms lightly as if loosening up for a fight. Glancing up at Neph she smiled widely. “You are going to love this. I’ve been working on it for days. I call it awe inspiring Sorceress.”

“You really need your hair down for the proper effect,” Valor cut in and Jala frowned and looked at him, her hand going up to touch her carefully braided hair. “Oh please don’t look so wounded. It’s not as if that took a lot of effort to do. I was standing right beside you when you fixed your hair and it took all of thirty seconds and a bit of magic to do that,” Valor’s voice trailed off as he noticed her darkening expression and narrowing eyes. “That beautiful creation to your hair. Honestly, anyone who looked at you would think you spent hours on your hair. Maybe you should just leave it up,” Valor hastily amended.

“So the first two husbands are dead and you neutered the third. If anything happens to Valor there won’t be a line of suitors waiting at your door. I can promise you that,” Shade observed casually.

“Are we really going to just stand here in the hall waiting for a guard patrol while we discuss Jala’s hair?” Madren asked, looking at them all in disbelief.

“He has a point,” Vaze chimed in with a smirk.