Sebastian (Bowen Boys, #5)(27)
“Jacob, I like you. I really do, but I need for you to shut the f*ck up right now.” Ama giggled and he thought he heard Jacob chuckle. “This room? Was this done this way to bring us down here so they could invite us to this ball thing?”
“Yes. It will be put back to order before we leave here.” Jacob sat down on one of the lower boxes. “The book is called the Book of Secrets. Your brother has a list of all beings, and you are to have a book that tells the secrets that his list doesn’t cover. Like things that they have done that could get them brought before the courts, things that have been done to others as well. You have the book already. It is among the things that were brought to your home when Amarizi came to you. This book will never be read by anyone but you two.”
“So we have a hit list of sorts.” Jacob nodded. “Why do I have to take it to the ball if you said no one else can look at it?”
“You misunderstood. I said you will be the only two who can read it. And as the last earth faeries couple, you are the only ones who can read it. There are no more like you two.”
Sebastian spoke up before Jacob could. “But we’re going to a faerie ball. How is that possible if we’re the only couple left? Unless there won’t be anyone else there but us and this council. And if that’s the case, why have a ball at all? Why don’t they just come here, for instance? We can have a few drinks and get to know each other that way.”
“It’s a ball for you to meet your subjects.” Ama looked at him, then they both turned to Jacob. “Yes, as I have said, you’re the last of your kind. The king and queen of faeries.”
“And our subjects would be what? Tinker Bell and some of the other little characters that I can’t think of right now?” He looked at Jacob. “I know. I know, I’m projecting again. So what? You’ve just told us that we’re a king and queen, and if that doesn’t make a person project, I’m not sure what would.”
“Sire, would it help you to know why you were chosen to be her king? It’s a very good story and one you’ll enjoy.” Sebastian nodded. “Good. Many years ago you were playing in the field behind your home. You were seven and as curious as they come. And while sitting in this field you laid back and watched the other creatures, the tiny ones, move from flower to flower as they gathered food for their families. Then you saw her. Do you remember her?”
“No. No, that was a dream. I’d fallen asleep and dreamed about her.” Jacob shook his head, and Sebastian closed his eyes as he told them what he’d seen. “She was sitting on a rock…no, a stone. She was little, about the size of my palm. And we sort of stared at each other for a long while. She stood up after a few minutes and when she did, I saw that she had wings. When she flew to my knee and sat down again, I asked her what her name was. But before she could answer me, the neighbor’s cat came along.”
“You protected her, it’s told.” Sebastian looked at Jacob as he continued the tale. “When the cat came near her, you started throwing rocks at it. When that didn’t work, you scooped up the little brownie and put her into your pocket, telling her she’d be safe there. She was, too, and when you got rid of the cat, you set her on a tree stump gently, and she bowed before you then left.”
“I thought she was a dream. I never told anyone that before.” Jacob nodded. “How did you know?”
“She told me, and when I went to look for you, I knew that you’d be perfect for the new queen when she was old enough.” Jacob said that he needed to leave and stood up. “You’ll need to be ready for the ball. I would suggest that you practice your wings when you can.”
As he moved through the room, all the destruction that had been in the room was put back to order. The writing on the walls and floor disappeared and everything else was set to rights. Sebastian looked at Ama.
“We need to see if we have that power.”
Chapter 8
Wanera stood very still and watched Jacob the wizard leave the building. He’d been told that the wizard was in the human realm and had come to see it for himself. Wanera hated the man. As he moved out of the empty building, he had started to follow him when a couple came out behind him a few seconds later. He watched them as they got into the car and drove by his hiding place. He went into the building to see what they had been doing.
Their scent hit him as soon as he crossed the threshold. Earth faeries, both of them. Wanera staggered slightly and held onto the wall as he tried to absorb what he knew. The female had a mate. And the mate was a panther.
“Could this get any worse?” he cried out. “Can I have one f*cking thing go right? Please, someone answer me.”
Of course, since no one could see him, no one was going to answer him. He moved around the room, smelling everything they’d touched. Their scent to him was like a drug, pure and fresh. He wanted to hunt them down and lick them both. But he couldn’t, not now. A mated pair of faeries was as sacred as anything he’d ever known, and she was no longer an option for him to breed with.
“Unless he dies or gives her to me.” The second part was completely out of the question. He knew that panthers mated for life and that faeries went even beyond that. But if the male died suddenly, then Wanera could take her. A plan was forming even as he asked to be brought back to his realm.