Page 18 of Royally Hacked Belle & Flame
Then, suddenly, she comes back to life.
She sits up straighter and clanks her mug against the table with a sharp crack, sloshing the hot liquid everywhere. She swipes a strand of hair behind her ear, her wedding ring catching the light. “Okay,” she says, voice steadier than it’s been since she arrived. “Okay, that’s enough.”
I internally groan, and real guilt washes over me. That’s it, I’ve killed my own mother. She’s going to drop dead of shock any second.
“Do you want me to take you home?” I ask.
She swivels and fixes me with the same look she gave me at sixteen when I missed curfew. “No! I want to know where your fiancé is.”
I blink at her, nonplussed. “That’s what you’re worried about?”
“If any man is important enough to drag me through—” she gestures vaguely at the window. “—whatever this is, then I need to meet him.”
Okay then.
In answer, I turn to Beatrix. “When did Daemon leave?”
“Hours ago,” she answers promptly. “He refused to take any guards with him, just Fox, Jett and Kastian.”
“That doesn’t surprise me. Where did they go?”
“The village,” Dessa says. “They went to look for the children.”
I frown and glance at the dark window. The snow is coming down harder by the second, pelting at the windows. I’m not worried about Daemon or the others—they’ve survived far worse than a little snow—but I am worried about the missing children.
“Can’t you just call him, Alixandrea?” my mother demands.
I ignore that question and instead dig in my pocket for the heavy gold pocket watch that Daemon gave me last Yule—just past seven in the evening. Incidentally, that’s earlier than it was in the human realm when we entered the portal to come here, but time never works perfectly between realms.
I’ve been trying to think back to two years ago when I first arrived in Ellender. What made me finally believe that the world was real? Aside from the enormous wolf and Daemon’s wings, I think it was when we first left the palace and I saw the wider Fae world that the truth really started to sink in.
I’m about to suggest we go into the village after them—if only to get out of the house and give my mother something else to focus on—but I don’t get the chance.
The door to the back garden swings open with a gust of cold air, and Connell steps in, snowflakes melting in his dark hair. “Evening!”
“Where did you come from?” I demand without thinking.
He grins at me and winks. “Wouldn’t you like to know, darling?”
My mom’s spine straightens, as she looks from Connell to me, her eyes widening slightly as she takes him in. His flushed cheekbones catch the firelight as he shrugs off his coat, revealing broad shoulders under a simple linen shirt. She sits up straighter. “So, this is Daemon?”
She sounds almost hopeful and I roll my eyes. Connell is objectively handsome, but he’s human, and in my eyes can’t hold a candle to Daemon.
“No, Mom, that’s Connell…” I trail off trying to figure out how to introduce the pirate. He’s not exactly a friend. A guest maybe?
Without missing a beat, Connell gives my mother a sweeping bow. “Pleasure to meet you, my lady.”
To my absolute shock, my mother giggles like she’s fourteen and holds out her hand to him. Rather than shaking it, he kisses the back of it, and she beams.
Dessa catches my eye and we have to look away from each other immediately or we’ll burst out laughing.
“Ignore him, Mom,” I say in a choked voice. “He’s like that with everyone.”
“Not everyone, just the beautiful ladies,” Connell says, winking again.
“Alixandrea, who is this?” my mom asks, not taking her eyes off Connell.
“I’m their prisoner,” he answers, grinning unhelpfully.
My mom’s simpering smile slides off her face and her eyes bug out of her head. She turns to me, her voice returning to its usual disapproving tone. “Alixandrea, what the hell is going on?”
I pinch the bridge of my nose.I should have faked my death.
