Lavender (2) : Sons of the Deveaux

Chapter 2

LENNOX

Mirabell sure could talk a lot.

Lennox had yet to open his mouth in almost twenty minutes now, an accomplishment for him really considering he was thought of as the social twin.

The youngest fairy had followed him around asking questions and moving on topics before he could even answer her, giving a running commentary about everything they used to do at their old home and how different things were now.

She was nothing like his Flower.  She didn't have the same experiences as Lilly had either. Without a doubt the golden haired fairy had been sheltered from her fathers wrath as much as possible and part of Lennox couldn't help but feel a strange kind of way.

Maybe he was a little bitter over the damage Lillith had taken to protect her sister. That maybe she wouldn't of had it so bad if she had of tried to defend just herself more, but at the same time, Lennox was always prepared to do anything he needed to in order to protect his brothers as well.

Having changed into leathers and a tshirt rather than training gear, he was jogging down to the main hall when his mother's voice echoed down to his ears.

"Lennox darling, you're not busy are you?"

"For you, Mother? Never. Whats up?" His face splitting into a grin as he headed to where she stood.

"Wonderful. Your father is free for this talk he needs with you boys. Orian is already in the office, go and join them. And behave yourself. He's getting a little stressed over things lately. You know how your father feels about things happening without answers. He'll go all detective mode and it will drive me crazy. Don't make it worse."

"Why would I ever do that to my daddy dearest? What would I talk to him about? A scratchy noise in the walls? How the birds might be talking to one another?"

"Lennox." Her tone was a warning, but the sparkle in her sunflower coloured eyes gave away her amusement.

"Fine, I'll not mention the bird thing. But I need to see him going over the walls with a stethoscope. For scientific reasons."

Slapping a kiss on her cheek, Lennox rerouted himself for the main office, hands slid into pockets and and shoulders squared. He'd expected relaxed chatter when the door opened at his arrival – instead, it was the opposite.

Tensions were running a little high as he was met with the sight of his oldest brother sat opposite their father, Ruine leaning against the wall and Orian standing at the window having a smoke. The twitch was back beneath his twins eye.

Fucker seriously needed to get more than a blowjob from their fairy next time. Alleviate that stress bomb building in there.

"Well, you lot are an approachable bunch. Who put the itching powder in Brims undies this time?" A snort came from Ruine. At least he found it funny.

His father leaned forward against the desk, elbows braced and hands clasped. The dark green glint of his ring that decreed him King caught the light just right. Okay, so we're really going for the villain aesthetic right now huh?

"We need to talk about what happened, Lennox. What the plan is for Lillith."

"The plan, dad, is that we'll wed her. Isn't that the entire point of having her here? You played your game, you found your first hidden egg, but that doesn't change the fact that she belongs to me and Orian."

And sometimes not even Orian. Just him.

"Lennox has a point." Brims deep voice damned near vibrated his bones. "She was taken from the Evergreen's for a purpose. Tradition states she has to marry them. We can conceal what's happening to a point, but the rumours will still spread. If she doesn't marry them, people will know something is happening. Instead, we could let it look like idle gossip."

"Somebody knows something." His father was tapping his finger against the opposite hand insistently. Fidgeting. Something he was known to do when the wheels in his head were turning too fast. "Portals don't just open without magic. Enchantment strains in these parts of the realm, something everyone knows. So who has enough backing to create it."

"Maybe the fairy did it herself. We can all see she's changing. Whatever fuckery went on in the Fae realm, she's powering up outside of it."

Lennox scowled at Ruine. "What makes you think that?"

His brother held up his palms in surrender, meaning no harm. "Well, the trees are still here. Mother said they should have died out a week ago now. Not to mention the vines growing outside of her bedroom window. You two missed those."

"The fuck are you doing to see that? Skittering up the walls like a lizard?"
Orian choked on his inhale, coughing out a mixture of enchanted weed smoke and his own black fog as he hacked out a smothered laugh.

"Maybe if you pulled your head out of your ass and took a walk outside you would notice–" Ruine was cut off by their father.

"The three of you are going to the city. The wedding is being moved up in the timeline along with the coronation of her being welcomed into the family. With Lillith away from the path to the Life Tree, we can investigate better. See if the problem follows her."

Orian's voice was rasping as he spoke. "Who's going to manage this place then? Idiot one an two? We cant leave, the entire wing will be left unprotected."

"Brimstone is going to manage it."

"He can do both." Did his father even hear the words leaving his own mouth right now?

"You'd be surprised at what I can do, little brother." The eldest cocksucker tossed at him, eyebrow raised and looking Lennox up and down like he a fucking moron.

"You can suck a giant dick is what you can do. This is our gateway and we run it." Lennox argued back, the temperature in the room heating several degrees. Wallpaper would start bubbling if they didn't choose their next words carefully.

"You'll do as you're told, boy. Until theres a crown on your head, you'll obey me as your father and as your King. The pair of you will take that fairy to the city and show her off to the people and arrange this ceremony. Let her see more of what her home has to offer rather than a training camp and soldiers who barely speak with her. Give her the princess treatment while we make moves in the background."

Lennox could agree with that to a point, but Lilly had been clear. She didn't want the princess lifestyle. Yet, neither twin would want her in harm's way either if another portal were to open here. If more than one lone Ghoul was to come through there was no telling what could happen.

Could they risk another freak event like that?

Or worse, if it were intentional, who knew how many portals could be opened at once?

"Say we do. Say we take her home. The pair of us cant be around constantly. That sister of hers will want to be everywhere Lillith is too."

The corner of their fathers mouth quirked in a little fanged grin. "I've thought of something to help that as well."

There were some things you could never trust, no matter where you were in your life.

One of them, was what came of the heels of a smile from the Devil himself. Just what the fuck was his father up to?