Chương 92: Bartos Returns to Squirt

The sun was beginning to dip, and the festivities were already underway by the time Bartos finally finished overseeing the preparations. After the last month of tensions between the various groups of fey who had decided to strike out and move to Everwinter, this would be a much-needed reprieve for them all. If only it were one for him as well. A runner had alerted him to Athereon's return just before the midday meal.

Her timing was impeccable mostly because guaranteeing her safety was as impossible a task as guaranteeing her anonymity, making large-scale events all kinds of dangerous. As it was, Tobias had managed to convince the Valof Family head that Athereon would return to the clearing when she did return, though how long that lie would manage to keep the man there, Bartos did not know. He'd been hoping Lord Valof would have lost his patience and left already.

Most titled fey would dare not risk being trapped in the Outskirts overwinter, mostly because of the stigma attached. Alas, the man was stubborn and odd, having deftly avoided all politics since he took over as the Valof Family head a decade ago. Meanwhile, Kenna had been running interference in the Keep and keeping Athereon secluded in the den, something that Bartos was exceedingly grateful for.

Already, rumors were spreading that the Great Athereon had arrived, and tensions were rising between those who knew her identity and those who did not. If those rumors made it back to Lord Valof, Tobias would not be able to keep the man in check any longer. Bartos continued to mull over how to keep Valof occupied in the coming weeks. Athereon did not need more on her plate, and she certainly did not need a powerful Family pressuring her to join them. No. Athereon needed freedom, not power.

Preoccupied with his thoughts, he strode through the nearly empty halls of the castle. Most fey had already headed down to the festivities, including his errant brother. Bartos knew he himself would have to make an appearance at the festival as well, but later, so as not to seem like he was policing the fun of others. It was a delicate balance to be seen as approachable without being overbearing, friendly without being a pushover, and fair without being cruel.

As he turned to the residence wing for himself and the other title holders under him, he came to a stop, his senses prickling. After a brief scan to be sure he was alone, he said, "Zoln. To what do I owe the honor of your presence?" The vampire faded out of the shadows on his right.

"Another failure I see. Your senses are too sharp." Chuckling, Bartos held out his hand in greeting.

"It's good to see you well, Zoln. I assume you're not here for my head?"

"Not this time, sadly." Zoln was a lithe fey with an almost forgettable face. His hair was dark and skin the gray common to most shadow fey, but outside of that, most would have trouble describing him. He was neither tall, nor short. His nose not too large nor too small. There was a beauty to his ordinariness, but no more than any other vampire, and certainly not enough to have been blessed by Beauty Himself.

"But I must speak with you." Bartos nodded, mentally putting back on his ruling mantle.

"Need we be alone?"

"Your den will work nicely."

"Very well." He strode forward, knowing the vampire was following him from the shadow plane to remain unseen. If Zoln was here, he likely knew Athereon was in the den, meaning whatever news he had likely involved her. Bartos's nerves churned his stomach, gripped by an anxiety he'd never felt before Athereon appeared in his life. Pausing outside the den's door, he gathered himself while he knocked to announce his appearance.

Looking over his shoulder at Zoln right behind him, he was surprised to see the wide-eyed expression on the lord prince's face. Then he noticed the same thing Zoln had noticed first. With enough practice, it was possible to get a general sense of the shadow plane from this one. The skill was imperfect and generally only worked when there were active crossings happening, each one allowing a glimpse through their portals.

The den had always been warded against shadow plane entry, but the ward was a deterrent, something that made it difficult and had alarms for entry from the shadow plane. A glimpse of the shadow plane was all he needed to sense the veritable wall of power that made the den impenetrable in that realm. Opening the door, his wolf pushed to the surface as his eyes landed on Zhadin seated comfortably on the bed furs, playing cards with Kenna and a smirking Athereon. No. Wait. Not smirking. Smiling.

Her forest green eyes turned to him only for the smile to drop to a wary frown. Bartos had been blessed from the very beginning, both with his magic and his Family. Raised to rule, the distance between him and other fey had always been there. He could partake the festivities but never imbibe, be friendly without truly being friends, could never truly just be with most.

The few who had seen past the constant mask were those he treasured dearly, because it was only with them that he could be anything other than the perfect lord, distant yet visible. This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience. For the most part, outside of those very few people, the distance never really bothered him. It was a simple fact of nature, nothing more, nothing less.

Watching Athereon put her guard back up at the sight of him cut deeper than the thousands of other fey he'd seen do the same, and the shock of it froze him in place. Kenna broke the spell on him, leaning in her seat to look around him and saying, "Bringing in a guest?" Bartos gave himself a small shake to snap himself the rest of the way out of his daze, frowning and wondering not for the first time why her opinion mattered so much to him.

"Yes. I see you updated the protections, Zhadin." Both Athereon and Kenna seemed surprised at that, but while Athereon growled adorably in annoyance, there was a satisfaction to Kenna that caught his eye as he stepped into the room, gesturing for Zoln to enter behind him. Bartos studied his pack mate, closing the door behind the vampire before saying, "Again?" Kenna's smile turned icy.

"Twice." Athereon glanced between them in confusion, but Bartos closed his eyes, taking several deep breaths to steady himself and reassure his wolf. His wolf who rarely showed any interest in anyone beyond Tobias and Kenna was beside himself with the urge to obliterate her enemies and lay over her reassuringly. When he eventually opened his eyes, they landed on the pinched suspicion of Athereon, her eyes narrowed and arms crossed.

He sighed, shrugging off his outer layers and hanging them up on hooks by the wall so he could head over and lay back on the furs. Just five minutes. Five minutes of rest. Then he would get back up and be productive once more. Just five minutes. With a groan, he laid himself back, comforted by the familiar scents of his den.

There was little decoration in here beyond the furs laid out over bedding directly on the ground, reducing the number of other scents and distilling the essence of his family into a soothing perfume with each deep inhale. Once settled, he threw his arm casually over his eyes. Gods, he was tired. The temptation to sleep now was almost too much. Almost. Reluctantly, he droned, "… I suppose you have a message for us, Zoln?" Several beats of silence had Bartos peeking out from under his arm.

Zoln was still staring at the pixie. Still staring. Because, Bartos suddenly realized, Zoln had never stopped staring at her. If he didn't stop soon, even Bartos's temper was going to snap. Seeming to ignore Bartos, Zoln gave the pixie a courtesy bow, saying, "You must be Athereon." Bartos could practically feel the glare radiating off of her. Her hound got up to lay behind her back, rather obviously offering his belly for scritches to Bartos.

The way the divine beast laid out with his tongue lolling out of his mouth was undignified enough to draw Bartos away from his own ire, relaxing him again. Bartos managed to smile as he relaxed back once more, moving his arm back into position, thrown over his eyes, his other hand casually rubbing the soft belly of Pakos.

"Surely you didn't come all this way just to meet her yourself?" Athereon must have given Kenna a look, as Kenna said quietly, "Lord Prince Zoln." He could hear the scowl in her voice as she said, " Another one?"

"My mate does have quite the collection of us, yes," said Zoln, his delivery so dry the humor of it was almost lost.

"And no, Bartos, I did not travel away from my mate just to see yours." Tired as he was, it took until he heard the startled choke of Athereon for that statement to really process. Even then, he wasn't entirely certain he hadn't misheard the vampire or missed a joke, particularly with the vampire's trademark dry delivery. Removing the arm from his eyes, he slowly sat himself up, leaning back on the hand not buried in the moon hound's fur to take in Zoln. There was humor there, yes.

But based on the expression on Athereon's face and the way even her scalp was turning red in fury, he hadn't misheard the man.

"Your humor is in poor taste."

"Haven't sealed the bond, yet?" Bartos gave the other man a hard stare as he slowly worked out that while the man was joking, he was also entirely serious.

"This must be a misunderstanding. I am not one who is courting her." He gestured to the pixie.

"She's in your den." Bartos nodded, not seeing the connection.

"It's a place for her to be safe in the castle."

"And?" Blinking, still confused as to where the man was going with this.

"It's easier to protect her." Exasperated now, the vampire gestured while emphasizing his word." Annnnd?" Bewildered, he just stared at Zoln uncomprehendingly until Athereon snapped, "Oh for fucks sake, they think we're fucking because you guys make me sleep with you." Still as confused as before, he considered Athereon's furious and flustered expression before saying dumbly, "But we aren't." Zoln added helpfully, "Ranin and Annabelle seemed quite convinced you are."

Ranin was understandable, this wouldn't be the first time he invented romance where there was none. But Annabelle?

Certain things made a lot more sense now. The letter he had received from Annabelle, hints that Ranin had dropped finally making sense in context— Zoln broke through his spiraling thoughts.

"You're shitting me, Bartos. You can't be this blind. She's in your den because your wolf needs her both close and safe." Bartos rubbed his eyes, still thoroughly confused at why now even Zoln was clearly invested in this fantasy.

"Zoln, she is incredibly talented and an all-around outstanding fey who has been targeted repeatedly under my watch. Both my wolf and I agree that we want her safe whenever we can guarantee it. She's done more good for her fellow fey than most will ever know, and I have yet to even see the limits of her potential." Dropping his hands into his lap as he moved to cross his legs, he gave Zoln another tired look.

"What would you have me do? She deserves to feel safe as much as the next fey, and by the gods I'm fucking trying." Zoln merely flickered his eyes to the pixie, then nodded towards her meaningfully. Bartos blinked a few times, still slow to catch on, when he turned his eyes on— Athereon. There were tears in her wide eyes, a vulnerable yet touched expression as she stared at him. Then, she smiled.

Dropping her eyes and turning back forward, he still caught that small upturn of her lips before the expression was hidden from him. Several seconds had passed before he realized she had stolen the breath from his lungs. Breathing again and shaking himself out of his stupor, he returned his eyes to Zoln, who had their eyebrow raised meaningfully. He really wasn't dropping this romantic angle, was he? Annoyed at the stubbornness of this delusion of his, Bartos said, "What's the message, Zoln?" Zoln sighed.

"One moment." Then he slipped out the door. Less than a minute later, he returned, ushering in a pixie man wearing a hooded cloak as he did. The pixie gave Bartos a wary glare that reminded him so much of Athereon, he smiled. Zoln gestured at the man.

"This is Ba'il'an, also known as Dusty. He and some of his cohorts need a place to stay in safety. We were hoping you would be willing to help situate them—" Gods, not more residents—"—Athereon." It finally registered as Zoln pulled back the hood and revealed the man's dusty green hair that the message had never been for him at all. They had brought her more danger. He snapped.