Abaddon's Call

Chapter Fifty-Six

Theon collected them quite suddenly, and they were returned to the estate, where Theon headed in, and Naena headed for home. She arrived, changed, and checked on Lukdon, fast asleep with his wet nurse lying beside him, settled in Theon's room for the winter holiday.

The babe was dreaming in sparkles again. They flickered around his crib like little fireflies dancing upon the air. Some mages presented quite early, but it was impossible to band them so young.

Or something.

Naena hadn't gone looking into the laws because she suspected someone was lying on Theon's behalf, and she didn't want to be the person to force a change.

The fireflies didn't bother her any. She had come to find peace in their presence because it meant nothing was stirring. It was safe. She could roll over and go back to sleep.

Not that night, though.

That night, she went down to the kitchen and put on the kettle. She made herself a cup of tea as a sleepiness came over the house. A gloominess began to spread, but it was much like the twilight of quiet contemplation that would soon lead to sleep.

This, too, was Lukdon.

If he slept, the whole house slept.

She stepped into the living room, sighed into her reading chair, curled her legs under her, and sighed again.

It felt absolutely foolish to be sitting there drinking tea after her day.

Then she convinced herself that this was it. This was her final night on Earth. The engagement had been a distraction so they could keep their hands clean publicly. They would send Gray, but she knew a great deal about execution laws. She knew he didn't need to travel very far. He probably didn't even need to leave his nice, comfy bed.

She fancied that he'd wait until the middle of the night, when she was dead asleep, and do it then.

That was how she'd want it done. That way, she couldn't see it coming, and it couldn't hurt because she wouldn't even be aware.

There was already so much pain in her life... she didn't want to suffer at the end.

So, she sipped her tea and opened her book, happy to read on as if nothing were amiss, afraid Gray might spring out of the shadows if she acted otherwise.

The fireflies vanished.

Naena stood, tea in one hand, book tucked under her arm. She went to the door, pulled it open as she brought the tea to her lips, and spotted Graydon standing there with the stupidest grin.

"What?" she asked.

"This is real," he said.

"What?"

She barely registered his response. He sounded as if he could hardly believe what he was saying.

"Yeah, normally, if a shield needs executing, they command the sword to kill the shield. Otherwise, there can be this lagging gap or a vengeance vendetta that goes all the way up to the lord. Only while forging, though, afterward, we're fine? I looked into it and actually checked on that because, you know, that seemed like the kind of thing I'd want to know if they're presenting the ultimatum to you. Gray was more likely just supposed to guard you, so you couldn't run off because that's a separate issue."

"For real?"

Graydon opened his mouth, hesitated, and smiled.

"You'll learn," he said.

The fireflies returned.

"This is real?" she asked.

The book hit the floor.