Page 38 of Beauty At Stake
Raza read the room and answered the unspoken question. “Uisdean had a spellbook. So did my grandfather. Just because you have magic at your beck and call, it doesn't mean you can't take it further.” He grinned, showcasing his fangs, then added, “Or take more.”
“Holy sugar, babe. Do you know where the book is?”
“Which book? Uisdean's or my grandfather's?”
“Either.”
“I don't know what happened to Uisdean's book, but I believe my grandfather's is in the treasury. Would you like to see it, mo shíorghrá?”
“Yes. Yes, I would.”
“Very well.” He looked around at all the expectant faces, then back at me. “Now?”
“It might help.” I tried to keep the “Captain Obvious” tone from my voice.
“How? The Witch's spellbook will not be Fey. And so it will differ completely from my grandfather's.”
“How can you be sure?” Kill asked. “The Fey are our ancestors.”
“Because the Fey didn't know about Demons till our wife discovered them,” Raza said distinctly, emphasizing the words as if Kill was a moron. Gods bless him, he never toned down the “Captain Obvious” for anyone. In fact, his was more like Commander Obvious.
Kill made a face. “Yeah, I see your point. If they don't know about Demons, they wouldn't have a spell to summon one.”
“But they might have summoning spells that would be similar,” I said.
“That's a possibility,” Raza agreed.
“Keep looking for your book,” I said to Star. “I'm going to take Raza to Unseelie to check out another.”
Star nodded.
“Kill, watch over Losuc, please,” I said.
“Yup. I'll refill his drink if it gets low.” Killian rolled his eyes. “Anything else I should do for our guest?”
“If he pisses on Star's nice chair, it will be on you.”
Killian lost his smug smile. “Yeah. Got it.”
I took Raza's hand. “You ready?”
“Of course, mo shíorghrá.”
As we laleked away, I heard Kill call after us, “No hanky panky without me! You hear me, Beast Bro? I'll know!”
Chapter Fifteen
As if prompted by Killian's parting words, Raza pulled me into a kiss as soon as we appeared in our bedroom in Craos-Teine. The palace's name meant “Blazing Fire” in Fey and it was apt, what with the gemstones that coated the building's exterior in an ombré of pale golden citrine up to deep ruby. The way it was set into a mountainside, tucked into a cave, also meant that when the sun hit it, it appeared to blaze within the darkness. Even more amazing was how common such a palace was in Fairy.
Well, maybe I shouldn't say common. What I mean is that every Fey Kingdom had a royal castle just as impressive as Craos-Teine. The previous Unseelie Castle was a depressing, jet-black, monstrous thing that clung to the edge of a cliff like a raven, but when Raza took the throne, he moved the court here, to his family's estate and the original Unseelie Castle. Technically, it was a palace since there weren't any walls around it, but the Fey preferred the term Unseelie Castle to Unseelie Palace. Whatever. I preferred Craos-Teine to the other one. Here, even the inside of the palace sparkled, drawing the eye to precious stones set in the walls, ceilings, and floors. At my Uncle Uisdean's old place, nothing sparkled except for the eyes of the fairies who lurked in the dark corridors, waiting to catch their prey.
Speaking of Uisdean . . .
I eased out of our kiss—something that took Herculean strength despite the fact that I had recently kissed Raza. It didn't matter how many times I kissed him in a row, those kisses never lost any of their impact. “I've missed you too, but we need to find that book.”
Raza rolled his golden eyes.
“Raza.”
