When Seeds Take Root Read online

  “There is more human tech in our lands than most want to admit,” Royden said. “It can’t be stopped. Chalcedony can fight it all she wants, but the change is inevitable.”

  Royden stepped behind the bar. “What would you like to drink?”

  Coal studied the selection on the wall. “Honey wine,” he answered by default. It was the only drink he knew he liked.

  “When are we going to meet your mother?” Coal asked with nervous excitement, changing the subject

  “I’m sorry. I should have told you this earlier.” Royden’s face darkened. “My mother died when I was young. She was already pretty old when I was born. I think she only had me because she was feeling her mortality and wanted to grab a slice of immortality that only having a child provided.”

  Coal looked down at his drink while he let the disappointment sink in.

  “You would have loved her, though,” Royden added. “Like you, she was loyal to a fault.”

  “You mean, I’m loyal to a fault because I’m still with Chalcedony after everything she’s done. Just like you’re with Queen Isis after she kept you from me.”

  Royden cocked a brow. “You have a point. We all share that trait, apparently.”

  Coal took another sip of the wine. The sweet substance was helping him to relax. “What about your father?”

  “I never knew him,” Royden answered before he drank the last of the wine in his cup.

  “You’re lying,” Coal said.

  Royden sat his cup down and furrowed his brow.

  Coal had lived most of his life with Chalcedony, a master of lies and half-truths. Over the years, he had learned how to spot them. Well, he could at least spot the ones that made her feel guilty. If Chalcedony felt justified in her lies, Coal had learned, then it was impossible to separate fact from fiction. But he and Chalcedony were all past that now, Coal silently reassured himself. They trusted each other.

  Royden poured himself another drink and took a sip. “You're getting smarter.”

  “You’re avoiding the question,” Coal said.

  “My father is a sensitive subject,” Royden admitted. “I’ll tell you about your grandfather some other time. Not now. Ask me anything else.”

  Coal leaned back on the stool and crossed his arms, deciding not to push the subject. It didn’t take long before he thought of another question. “How did you find out you were a shapeshifter? Did your mother tell you?”

  Royden smiled widely, and Coal could see glimpses of Jade in Royden’s excited eyes.

  “There are places in this house where kids are not allowed. Not age appropriate.” Royden rolled his eyes. “But I was a mischievous child. I don’t know if you’ve noticed this, but I hate being told where I can’t go and what I should not do.

  “So,” Royden continued, “I was always trying to get into the naughty areas of the house. One day, after getting caught trying to climb in through a back window, I was so furious, and I was staring in the bathroom mirror, wishing I was an old elf with wrinkles and grey hair so no one would stop me.

  “And do you know what? I was so angry and so determined that it happened. I turned into the elf I pictured in my imagination. I was male, grey-haired, balding, and wrinkled.

  “I was so happy I achieved my goal that it never even occurred to me to be scared. But your grandmother was sure enough scared when she saw an old elven man in my room. She thought I was an intruder, and she was about to beat me to death until she heard me speak. It took a moment, but she realized the elf was my exact height, had my voice, and was wearing my clothes.”

  “How did you change back?” Coal asked.

  “I just thought about it. It was as simple and natural as breathing.”

  “The first time I shifted, it had been painful, and it knocked me unconscious,” Coal said. The memory was still fresh in his mind.

  “I’m sorry I wasn’t there when it happened,” a low, feminine voice responded. Coal looked up to see Jade standing in Royden’s clothes. She was his mother again. “Were you scared?” she asked. “Did you realize what was happening?”

  “I had no idea what was happening,” Coal replied. “It felt like my skin was being ripped away.”

  “It shouldn’t have been painful. I think the pain was a result of the spell that made you appear human being destroyed.” Jade lowered her head. “I’m sorry.”

  Coal shrugged. She probably wanted him to tell her that everything was okay and that he forgave her. He was happy to be here with her, but he wasn’t sure if he would ever be able to forgive Jade for not being a part of his life.

  Lifting his gaze, Coal silently swore he would never abandon his child. He would do everything in his power to part of his child’s life.

  “You’ve changed from the first day we met on the mountain,” Jade said, changing the subject. “You were so young and naïve when you were trying to protect Elizabeth from Chalcedony. You’re more confident now. Stronger.”

  “Being exiled to the human realm and finding out you’re not human, but an elf tends to make a person stronger.”

  “It’s more than that.” Jade put down her drink. “You’re happy.”

  “I am. I have everything I’ve ever wanted. Every morning, I’m scared that I’ll wake up and discover it’s all been a dream.”

  Jade took a long drink. “Well, if you’re dreaming, so am I.”

  She put her drink down with a loud clang. “Okay. You’ve seen the main house. Now it’s time to show you where I spent most of my time as a kid.”

  Coal followed Jade out of the back of the house, across the backyard to a long, dense row of shrubs and evergreen trees. As they walked through a hidden path in the bushes, Jade explained to Coal that no clients were allowed to pass this point. Magical wards only allowed the brothel’s staff, their families, and guests to even see it.

  The laughter of children greeted them as soon as they emerged from the shrubbery. Three elven boys and two girls were chasing after each other while sprites nipped at their ears. Toward the back, hogs squealed in protest while a dog barked at them from the other side of the fence.

  With only two levels, this house was much smaller than the one they had just left. Wooden shutters outlined each of the four windows in the front of the house. Three rocking chairs lay empty on the wrap-around porch.

  Still concealed by the bushes, Jade watched the children run past before she sprinted out of the trees and into the house, dragging Coal behind her.

  Unlike the dark ambiance of the main house, the small cottage was filled with sunlight from the opened windows. The children’s laughter from the outside filtered through the living room, accompanied by the boisterous arguing of three adults playing a heated game of Monstrum, a card game based on extinct magical creatures.

  An elven man with light brown hair stood and threw a card displaying a picture of a winged fey with skin made of ice onto the table.

  The other players raised their hands and groaned.

  “Vaska, you’re still a cheat.” Jade’s voice instantly drew everyone’s attention. She was a pale-skinned elf now. Her short afro had been replaced with long, wavy red hair that hung past her shoulders.

  “Jade!” the trio exclaimed.

  Suddenly, Jade was lost in a sea of arms, heads, and torsos. Worried he’d get caught in the melee, Coal stepped back.

  Once she emerged from the cluster of bodies, Jade wore an expression of pure joy with reddened cheeks as if she were a child. “Okay. Okay,” she said, making her way back to Coal. “Everyone, I want you to meet my son.”

  The trio turned their attention to Coal. For a frightful few seconds, he thought they were going to pounce on him like they had done Jade, but they were much more reserved as they scrutinized him.

  “I’m Vaska,” greeted an elven man with hair and smooth, pale skin before he wrapped Coal in an uncomfortable embrace. “I’m honored to meet the new prince. I am not surprised that the child of Jade could seduce one queen and become the heir to ano
ther.”

  An elven woman with long blonde hair that fell in layers down her back shoved Vaska to the side. “He has no filter between his thoughts and his mouth. Please excuse him. I’m Gabi,” she said, embracing Coal. “I used to change your mother’s diapers.”

  Coal looked to Jade and tried to imagine her as a babe in diapers, but nothing came to mind.

  “This,” Jade said, with her arms clinging to a young elf around Coal’s age with curly brown hair and dark eyes, “this is my best friend Julian.”

  “I am so happy to finally meet you,” Julian said before he hugged Coal as if they were long lost friends.

  “You, too,” Coal said to the boy after they parted. “But I don’t understand. Jade is so much older than you.”

  “I am an incubus. We don’t age as quickly as other elves.”

  “Yeah,” Jade said with a bright smile. “He’s still stuck in puberty.”

  “I am not in puberty anymore. It just looks that way,” Julian said.

  “If you say so.” Jade nudged Julian’s shoulder.

  “Anyway, family,” Jade raised her voice and faced everyone in the room, “as is our tradition, I’m bringing my son here for his first lesson.”

  Coal furrowed his brow. “What kind of lesson?”

  Gabi hooked an elbow through Coal’s arm. “We’re so honored you came to us.”

  “Wait.” Coal tried to wiggle his way out her grip. “Came to you for what?”

  “It’s a tradition passed on from generation to generation,” Jade said.

  Coal swallowed, an uneasy feeling settled in his belly. “What’s the tradition?”

  “Generations of fey have been raised here. Sometimes, children choose to take up the profession of their parents, but most don’t. Still, every generation returns with their children to get tutored in the act of love.”

  “I don’t need lessons in lovemaking.”Coal tried to back away, but Jade and Gabi were holding him tight.

  “You are in safe hands,” Gabi reassured. “There is no need to be nervous.”

  “No!” Coal threw a hate-filled stare at Jade. “I’m with Chalcedony.”

  Everyone paused.

  “They’re not going to have sex with you,” Jade said as if that had been obvious.

  “It’s just a lesson,” Gabi added.

  “I don’t need lessons,” Coal insisted.

  “You know all there is to know about sex then?” Jade asked.

  “Perhaps, you can give us some tips,” Julian said.

  Coal swallowed. “I’m not saying I know everything.”

  “Then you should never turn down the opportunity to learn,” Jade remarked. “Believe me; Chalcedony will thank you for it.”

  “You don’t touch us,” Gabi said. “And we don’t touch you.”

  “You only watch and listen,” Vaska said.

  Coal looked at Jade, silently hoping this was a joke.

  “Go on,” Jade urged. “Let Vaska and Gabi give you a short lesson while I wait down here with Julian. There is a reason I’ve kept Queen Isis happy for the past ten years.”

  “Chalcedony and I have something more than just sex.” Coal could not believe he was having this conversation with his mother.

  “I’m sure you do,” Jade said. “But good sex will enhance your bond. Great sex is the spiritual made physical.”

  “He’s a prude. That is so cute.” Gabi wore a wide, toothy, condescending smile.

  “How about this,” Vaska offered. “Just come upstairs with us. Let us show you a few things, and if you still feel uncomfortable, you can leave. No questions asked.”

  Coal stood speechless as everyone stared at him.

  “It’s tradition. You have to at least try,” Jade said.

  Is this what family was like? Coal wondered. Constantly being talked into doing things that made you uncomfortable? “Okay,” Coal said. “But as soon as it gets weird, I’m leaving.”

  Chapter Twelve

  Chalcedony moaned. She was half asleep and half awake as she slowly understood that the pleasure emanating from her neck was from small kisses being planted there by Coal.

  “Why are you in bed so early?” he whispered into her ear. “Are you feeling okay?”

  “I was a little tired.” She tried to shake off the last bit of sleep. Weak moonlight from a crescent moon and a few stars seeped through the windows. “I went to see you at the forge earlier, but you were gone.”

  “I was with Jade.”

  Chalcedony rolled her eyes. “Again? Did she kidnap you and force you to attend a party this time?”

  “Kinda,” he replied.

  “Kinda?” She rolled onto her back to face him. “What does that mean?”

  “We went to a brothel.”

  Chalcedony sat up, almost colliding into Coal’s. She was wide awake now.

  “It’s not like that,” he said quickly. “Jade was raised with sex workers. She took me to meet her family.”

  Just when she thought she couldn’t hate his mother anymore, Jade decides to take him to a brothel. No telling what Coal had seen while he was there. At least now, Chalcedony knew why he was so excited. Not that it took much.

  “Did Jade try to get one of the sex workers to seduce you?” Chalcedony studied him carefully for any sign of a lie.

  “Of course not. She knows that would never work.” He lifted her shirt and began kissing her belly. “How is the baby doing?”

  “She’s fine.” Chalcedony felt that pang of guilt that seemed to follow her everywhere she went. At the same time, she relished his touch. She loved the feel of his lips on her bare skin.

  “How do you know the baby will be a girl?” He asked, looking up from her belly.

  “Firstborns of queens are always girls. It’s written in the stars or something.”

  “Good. I want a girl so that she can have your eyes.” He started trailing kisses below her belly button.

  “Coal,” she whispered. “What if you. . .” she began, but the rest of the sentence was forgotten as he continued planting kissed below her waist. “What are you doing?” she asked breathlessly.

  He looked up at her. There was a mischievous curl to his lips. “Let me show you what I learned at the brothel.”

  Chapter Thirteen

  The baby will be here soon, Chalcedony thought as she sat under the shade of Legacy’s canopy, rubbing her huge belly and looking at the approaching sunset.

  “Can I touch your belly?” someone asked, suddenly appearing before Chalcedony. The sun blocked most of her face, but Chalcedony could still see her warm, welcoming smile.

  Chalcedony nodded, and the person placed her hands on Chalcedony’s belly. In response, the baby kicked. Both Chalcedony and the stranger laughed in excited surprise.

  “She's a strong one,” the person said, taking a seat beside Chalcedony.

  Chalcedony still couldn’t see the person’s face, but there was something familiar about her voice.

  “I'm so proud of you.” She grasped Chalcedony’s hand.

  A spark of joy ignited in Chalcedony’s chest. It was her mother. It had to be. Tears fell freely down her cheeks. “How are you proud of me? I’ve failed you. I let the barrier protecting us be destroyed. The fey are in danger because of my failure.”

  “Good.”

  “Good?” Chalcedony looked up, brow furrowed in confusion.

  “You all need to die,” she said calmly.

  “Why would you say that?” Chalcedony asked through her tears.

  The person gentle touch turned painful as she dug her nails into Chalcedony's hand. She tried to pull away, but the person’s grip tightened. Her nails dug deeper, piercing the skin and drawing blood.

  The too-bright light that had been blocking the person’s face disappeared.

  It wasn’t her mother sitting across from her. It wasn’t even an elf. It was Deedee, the mother of the child Chalcedony had taken half a year ago. She was sitting across from the human who had killed herself bec
ause of Chalcedony’s selfishness.

  Chalcedony swallowed, ignoring the biting pain in her hand. This was just a dream. Deedee couldn’t hurt her. The pain was only in her head.

  “What do you want?” Chalcedony asked.

  Deedee released Chalcedony’s hand. The bloody fingernail prints disappeared, but the pain still lingered.

  “I only want to talk,” Deedee said casually.

  More often than not, sleeping in Coal’s arms kept most of the nightmares away. But Chalcedony had had them regularly before he’d returned, and now she was an old pro at this tortured dream business. She knew from experience that she just needed to ride them out.

  “Children are such blessings,” Deedee said, fanning herself with a fabric fan embroidered with dark blue and black butterflies. “But they are also curses.”

  Chalcedony cradled her injured hand.

  “Elizabeth was a wonderful baby.” Deedee waved the fan faster, her long, dark hair blowing in the wind. “But she was such a handful. She would never stay still. Well, you know all about that. She did give you hell after you took her from me.”

  Chalcedony desperately wanted to leave, but her legs wouldn’t obey. She never got to leave these dreams of her own will.

  The same force that was keeping her in this dream forced Chalcedony to turn her head and meet Deedee's dead, black eyes. “You could kill it, you know. You still have time,” she said, calmly. “You can shift, or you can phase one too many times. No one would blame you. You could pretend it was an accident. The sorcerer said queens are notorious for killing their babies.”

  Chalcedony wanted to run away, scream, or at the very least cover her ears. But she could not move. She could not do anything but listen. They were only words, but they cut through Chalcedony like a machete, slicing away pieces of her sanity.

  “Save yourself the heartache,” Deedee continued. “When Coal finds out you lied to him about the baby, he'll leave. You don’t want to go through that, do you?”

  “I haven’t lied,” Chalcedony said.

  “Come on, now. We all know that an omission of the truth is the same as lying. You'll be a horrible mother anyway. You couldn't even handle Elizabeth.”