Chapter 39

The people of Arloerin were running through the streets, shouting their hellos as Cleo and Ollyn flew over the tops of the buildings. She couldn't help but smile and wave back, her heart full of love as they made their way to the palace. This last trip was one of the longer ones she'd been on over those last two decades and it seemed her people missed her just as much as she missed them.

With all the noise, of course, everyone at the palace would have noticed. Ollyn circled the courtyard twice, allowing for everyone who came out to greet her to move back and allow him enough room to land. The ground shook when he did, and Cleo quickly unfastened her saddle harness before jumping down.

Almost immediately, she was pulled into the arms of her grandmother, who then kissed her forehead.

"Gods, it's good to see you again," Renna told her, taking her face in her hands. "You were gone longer than we thought you would."

Cleo laughed, covering her hands with her own. "A lot happened when I was in Dalcaine, to say the least. I'd rather tell you and the others inside, though."

Janan was the next to say hello, giving her a tight hug as Shamira rubbed her head against her hip. "You were missed."

"Looks like everything's still standing, though."

"Of course. We know how to keep the peace while you're not here."

"And here I thought Urell would have thrown nightly parties like the ones in Blackloch."

"I don't think they'd be able to rival those, especially when your aunt Kalla's the one throwing them," the orc said from behind her.

Cleo was grinning as she spun around, but his arms secured around her as he lifted her off her feet and spun her around. A normal greeting from one of her best friends whenever she was gone on extended trips.

"You look like this trip did you some good," Urell told her, looking her up and down. "But maybe that has something to do with not having to hide the fact that you have a mate, too?"

She fought the urge to roll her eyes and lost. "Are you not going to forgive me for keeping that a secret?"

He pondered her question for all of five seconds before shaking his head. "Of course, I will...but I'm going to pester you about it for every day for the rest of our lives."

Cleo threw her head back and laughed. "I wouldn't think it would be any other way."

They didn't spend too much time outside, though Cleo did notice one certain absence from the welcoming party, one who would have greeted his brother also if he was there.

"Where's Odanth?" she asked as Renna looped her arm through hers and led her inside.

Her grandmother sighed, smiling. "You know how he is when you go off with Ollyn. He doesn't hang around the city, though he wasn't too far away. I think he mostly stayed out flying around, but he was spotted in the village where the Copper Inn is. We haven't seen him in almost three weeks. That's actually what we wanted to talk to you about. There's been...a small development."

Cleo looked at the three of them. "How small of a development?"

"Hm," Janan hummed by way of answering.

The four of them plus Shamira somewhat quickly headed for the council room, though Cleo got caught up in saying hello to everyone they passed. But even in her happiness, worry still nagged at her at the mention of a 'development' and what it could possibly mean. Then there was the fact that Odanth wasn't there, hadn't been in weeks.

As soon as the council room door was closed behind them, Cleo turned to look at Renna, Janan, and Urell. "What's happened? Odanth first."

Janan sat in her usual chair next to Cleo's at the table, brushing her dark curls back from her face. "That's the thing. We can't tell you what's been going on with Odanth without telling you what else has been happening around the city."

"Then tell me."

Urell dug a hand in the inside pocket of his jacket, pulling out a folded piece of parchment. "There was a female mage who showed up just a little while after you left. She kept to herself at first, but she ended up staying for several weeks at the Copper Inn, just as Renna said. She asked for the best room...which just happens to be the one you stay at when you want to get away from the hustle of the city." He nodded down to the parchment Cleo now held in her hand. "That was all the reports from the Elite. I had them scattered throughout the city when I realized something was up."

Cleo skimmed down the tightly written wording on the parchment. The female's name was one she'd heard before – Lady Addie Merlo from Krahzara. What had she been doing in Arloerin, though? From the report, it seemed like she was trying to get to know the city and its people more, learning names and faces, creating close bonds...and asking subtle questions about the queen who had been off on a trip to visit her family in another world. She left just as quickly as she came, too.

Getting to know Arloerin's people wasn't the only thing this Lady Addie did on her short, first time trip. She also somehow befriended the queen's dragon...who she was frequently spotted flying on the back of over those few weeks.

As soon as Cleo read that, the parchment crumpled in her fist as she looked up at the three before her. "Where is Odanth now?" she asked through gritted teeth.

Renna was the one to answer with a tight smile. "From what the scouts were able to send back, he followed her back to Krahzara, though he's staying just a little ways out from the city. He seems...attached to her. Janan and I only saw her once and that was just a little while after she arrived. She...gods, I thought she was you for a moment before I could finally take a good look at her. Shamira went right up to her, too. When she saw us, though, she seemed...almost frazzled. She always made sure to keep her distance whenever we were in the city, but we would always here the whispers of where she was and who she was talking to."

She found it hard not to jump up, run back outside, and demand Ollyn to go find his brother, no matter how long it would take them to fly to Krahzara. Odanth was always her quiet, more subdued dragon, so what about this female made him drop everything and follow all the way to the other side of Laria? Maybe it was just because she was someone new, someone who stood out enough that even Odanth made notice of.

"You know he'll come back," Janan told Cleo quietly. "He always does when he goes out on these little excursions of his."

"Except this time, he followed someone and didn't go by himself." She threw the crumpled parchment on the table, then crossed her arms over her chest. "What about the mage? Was she doing anything suspicious while getting to know Arloerin and everyone in it?"

Her second shook her head, eyebrows pulling together. "From what we witnessed...she seemed to just be enjoying herself. She wanted to know about everything going on in the city and made herself known by buying whatever she could. You know one makes a name for themselves when they're willing to spend an enormous amount of coin and she definitely did. One of the first things she did was do a currency exchange at the bank and then spent enough to feed one of the smaller villages for a month."

So, she was spending money. Cleo wasn't going to object to that, especially when it helped her kingdom.

What she didn't like was the fact that the mage decided to take Cleo's dragon.

"And when she left, she didn't take anything with her?" she asked. "Other than Odanth, I mean."

"Not that we're aware of," Urell answered. "When I sent one of the Elite to the Copper Inn, Tarra couldn't stop gushing about how sweet and wonderful she was. The boys didn't either. Of course, my male didn't leave without scoping out the room without them knowing. Nothing seemed to be out of place, though he noticed one specific book that seemed to have come off the shelf more than a time or two." He gave her a pointed look. "One you forgot the last time you were staying there and haven't had the time to go back for."

***

Several hours later, Cleo had slowly made her way through the city. Not only because she was saying her hellos to everyone, but also to listen to the whispers about the Krahzaran mage herself. It wasn't difficult either, not when those conversations were still going on around even after this Lady Addie Merlo left.

"Lady Addie bought out my entire stock to send back home before she left, but my supply will be back to full in just a few days' time!"

"Did you see that dress she was wearing? I heard she bought it from Murielle at her new shop and now she can't keep up with the orders."

"Did we get the rest of the series in from Dalcaine? I'm due to ship them out to Krahzara to Lady Merlo. Now, where did I place her address? Ah! There it is..."

As soon those words drifted toward her, Cleo spun around and stalked toward the bookshop whose front double doors were wide open. Stepping foot into the shop, it smelled of parchment, lavender from where some was placed, and spiced tea from the counter in the back corner. The shop owner disappeared in the back, the curtains closing off the stock room fluttering back into place as she disappeared, but she left her order log wide open on the countertop.

And Cleo immediately went over to look at it.

Having heard the largest order was for Lady Addie, she scanned down the list and immediately came across one for A. Merlo. The handwriting wasn't like the rest, written by a different hand, the lettering curled and elegant. The book series ordered was one of Lyv's favorites, which was why she'd also gifted a copy to Cleo. She currently had it on her personal bookcase in her bedroom, having just finished the fifth book out of seven before leaving for Dalcaine.

It wasn't the series name Cleo was looking at then as her fingers traced each word, but rather the Krahzaran address on the Send To column. She knew the street name and the neighborhood it ran through, which was in the wealthier part of the desert kingdom. It only took her a moment to commit it to memory, quick enough for her to make her stealthy escape before the shop owner appeared.

Even as she continued through Arloerin, even as conversations of every kind floated around her as shouts of greetings echoed, there was always talk of Lady Addie.

And it had Cleo's hands curling into fists at her sides.

Especially when she finally made it to the Copper Inn, her intended destination.

Cleo had known Tarra for years. Had even been there right after two of the children were born and offered to help with whatever she could. This time, though, as Tarra's eyes widened when Cleo entered, she didn't say a word as she headed for the stairs, stopping to pluck the key to her regular room off the hook behind the desk.

She stopped as soon as she reached the top floor, frozen by the faint scent that lingered. One with a slight floral and chilly mountain air aroma that reminded her of her grandmother Sienna back in Dalcaine.

Ignoring the knot that twisted in the pit of her stomach, Cleo continued forward, easily fitting the key in the lock and pushing open the door.

Of course, the room itself had been thoroughly cleaned, the bedding neatly made, the curtains drawn back to let the sunlight in, but that scent was even stronger there, combining with Cleo's own that seemed to forever linger with how often she stayed. There were a few things shifted, like the flower vase on the table by the bed or the chair by the bookshelf. The bookshelf Cleo slowly made her way toward then, plucking her personal copy of History of Dalcaine and Escarral off the shelf with Lyv's handwritten note at the beginning.

Someone else touched the leather binding, flipped through the pages, slightly cracked the spine from being read far too many times. Two chapters seemed to have been the focus. The first made Cleo's brows furrow in confusion. As soon as the pages fell into place, Jai's brother Destan, who'd died two decades before, was staring up at her. Just as handsome as his older brother and yet had a mischievous glint in his eyes. Cleo herself had only skimmed through the chapter on his life and death, mostly because she preferred to get her information straight from the family who missed him.

The second chapter that had been thoroughly read...well, that was, of course, on Cleo herself and the role she played in Arloerin's rise to power in Laria, her life and reign as queen, and how she'd taken part in the Dark Wars.

And as she flipped through, seeing her own portrait staring up at her, she could have sworn there were tearstains blotted across the pages.