Chapter Seventeen

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

"Your Grace, permit me to introduce my daughter, Amalie, and her two friends from the mortal realm, Billy and Gavin Kinkaid." Lord Aclodonne made the introductions graciously while Billy sized up the shifter who was some kind of fey duchess.

Billy had no idea how that worked, but as he studied her, he realized she didn't look entirely fey. Her hair was golden, but not the pale blonde he'd seen on a lot of the fey. She was definitely a shifter and, based on her scent, some kind of cat. Not a lion. Her eyes widened when she heard his last name.

"Kinkaids?" the Duchess asked, smiling widely. "Are you part of Sam Kinkaid's Clan?"

"He is," Billy said, pointing to Gavin, who nodded. "I'm not."

The Duchess frowned a bit in puzzlement. "But you're related, aren't you?"

"We're distant cousins," Gavin answered, "but had not met until just recently. Billy and his family were estranged from the Clan, from what I understand, but it all happened before I was born, so I'm not really sure of the circumstances."

Billy didn't believe that for a minute, but he didn't call Gavin on the untruth. Billy was reasonably certain that Gavin had been briefed by senior members of the Clan before he'd been sent to watch Billy. He had to know more than he was saying, but then, Billy realized that Gavin might just be reluctant to air the Kinkaid's dirty laundry in front of strangers. Billy admitted that was a good call on Gavin's part.

"Well, I'm—I was—part of the Redstone Clan," the Duchess said. "I used to run the office for Collin Hastings, the private detective."

"You don't say?" Billy replied, intrigued.

He'd heard of the hawk shifter detective. He was known as the go-to guy for private investigations among werefolk. And the Redstone Clan was a very large, multi-species Clan based out of Las Vegas and run by a family of cougar shifters. They owned a construction company that was involved in projects nationwide and they had many different kinds of shifters under their umbrella. This girl, though, was a cat. Likely a cougar, based on the feel of her magic.

"My father did some work for Hastings a while back," Gavin offered. "The Clan considers him one of the good guys."

"He is," the Duchess confirmed. "I guess you can tell, I'm new to this realm, and though I wouldn't trade the happiness I've found here for anything, I do miss my old life sometimes." She put her arm through that of the man at her side and moved closer to him. "This is my mate, Kalin," she said, offering the belated introduction.

"Pleased to meet you," Billy said, not sure of the etiquette, though based on the Duchess's origin and friendly words, perhaps none was needed. "You'll have to forgive me if I don't know the proper forms of address here. I never expected I'd ever end up traveling to the fey realm."

Kalin reached out a hand, and Billy took it gratefully for a firm shake. "‘No problem,' as my wife would say." The man smiled at his mate and then looked back and offered his hand to Gavin as well. "I am learning the ways of the mortal realm from Bess, and I find the exchanges between warriors to be pretty much the same here as there."

Billy eyed the other man. He certainly was built like a fighter. He had the muscles and the lean body mass. He also moved with grace that indicated he spent time conditioning his body. Likely in the fighting arts.

"I am recently retired from Special Forces, if you know about that," Billy said to the fey man.

"Ah, yes. Bess has been telling me about your armed forces in different parts of the world. A lot of her former colleagues at the agency were ex-military," Kalin replied.

"Why don't we sit down?" Lord Aclodonne said, ushering them all to the table where Amalie's mother was already seated.

Billy felt bad. The lady's disability probably made it hard for her to stand around as they'd been doing. He'd been thoughtless.

"Sorry, ma'am," Billy said, smiling at Lady Aclodonne as he sat down across the table from her. "I just never expected to find a fellow shifter living here as part of the fey nobility."

Amalie's mother smiled kindly and nodded. "I never expected to be living in faerie either," she said. "It can be a surprising place, and not always for the reasons you might expect." She gave him a knowing wink, and Billy wondered what other meanings might be hidden in her words.

Dinner was served, and Billy didn't get a chance to follow up on that thought. He was pleased to see that even though they were entertaining noble guests, the fey didn't stand on ceremony, and the meal was as enjoyable as the previous one they had shared. The only difference was the conversation. The Duchess wanted all the news of the mortal realm, as did—oddly, Billy thought—her new husband.

They explained how they'd met when Bess was on her very first field assignment for Hasting's P.I. firm. She'd stepped through a portal and into the fey realm without even realizing that was what was happening. Luckily, she arrived in Kalin's domain, and he took her under his wing. Not long after, they discovered they were mates, and she was a long-lost heir to the Duchy of Alundela. Kalin was the youngest son of another ducal family and had been training the armies of both Duchies for years.

Billy's ears perked up at the mention of armies, but the conversation turned to other things. Still, he'd make it point to learn as much as he could about that, if he was given the chance. Military intelligence was always important, even if it was from another realm. As he was learning, the boundaries between the mortal and fey realms—hell, even those so-called forgotten realms—weren't as much of a barrier as he'd always thought. At least not to certain people. People like Amalie and her father, for instance.

Speaking of which, Amalie seemed to hit it off with the new Duchess, and they were chatting like old friends by the time dessert was served.

"Perhaps you two should stay in touch," Lord Aclodonne suggested, looking pointedly at the two young women. "My daughter needs to start forming her network of friends and trusted associates she can speak with while she lives in the mortal realm," he explained to the Duchess. "It could be that you would both benefit from keeping the line of communication open."

"Do you share your father's talent?" Kalin asked respectfully.

Amalie took a deep breath and nodded. "I do, though it's not something I advertise. Most people only think of me as a half-fey mage of middling power."

"Ah, I understand," Kalin agreed, smiling gently. "If it was known you were a Portal Master, many would have tried to court you for your power alone. A wise precaution." He nodded to her and to her parents.

Bess seemed to be thinking hard, then nodded to herself. She looked directly at Amalie.

"I'll trade you a secret for a secret. I have my mother's ring." She held out her hand, and the stone glowed gently on her finger. "It's one of the rings of power, and Kalin tells me it is known as the Traveler's Ring. I can use it to travel Between, but if I understand your ability, you can open portals at will to peer into other realms and communicate across, right?"

Amalie nodded. "I think we should definitely keep in touch. This way, if you want to travel to the mortal realm, I can at least keep you up to date about what's going on before you make the trip. You wouldn't want to walk into the middle of a battle or anything. And I could pass messages to anyone you want and give you their replies, if that's something that would help."

"Oh, that would be great!" Bess enthused. "I'm so glad I met you. Do you know when you're going back?"

"Probably tomorrow morning," Amalie revealed. "We should rest before we go back to find out what's happened in our absence."

In the conversation that followed, the two women established a time for their next communication, and Billy found out that unlike regular travels Between the realms, Portal Masters had some ability to control the timing of their openings in space-time. He'd been moderately concerned that a day spent in faerie would translate to weeks away from home, but Amalie was confident she could deliver them just a few hours after they'd left, directly to anyplace they chose.

He marveled at Amalie's ability and wondered at its uses in the wider conflict. For, he had no doubt that, if she remained in the mortal realm, she was going to be drawn into the battle against evil. He hoped they could limit her involvement to gathering intel via the network her father was encouraging her to build, but Billy could see the strategic implications of being able to open such precise portals. Especially if the fey armies could be convinced to lend a hand in the battle against Elspeth and her followers.

But maybe he was getting way ahead of himself. Billy counseled himself to take it slow. This was all just conjecture. Until Elspeth and her side made a definitive move, nobody would know exactly what the coming confrontation would look like. Still, if they needed an army familiar with magic, the fey were the obvious choice. It was good to know they existed, and Billy would take that knowledge back with him and share it only at the highest levels.

Kalin and Bess left after dinner, and Amalie's parents retired to their rooms soon after. That left Amalie, Billy and Gavin alone sipping mulled wine in front of the fireplace in the parlor as they discussed their next plans.

"You want to go back tomorrow morning, right?" Gavin asked.

Amalie nodded. "As long as not too much time has passed in either place, I can get us back to the mortal realm with little to no time lost. It'll be just like we took an overnight trip, though we could lose a few hours either way. It's not a completely exact science."

"That's okay," Gavin assured her. "I figured we'd lose a few weeks to the fey realm, and I'd have a lot of explaining to do when I finally got back. How much can I tell my Alpha about your particular gift? I can vouch for the fact that he won't gossip."

Billy wanted to growl but refrained. "The less said, the better," he grumbled. "But I suppose you'll have to say something. I wanted to talk to you about this, in fact, Amalie." He turned to look at her. This was important. "If you really intend to stay in the mortal realm—and I sincerely hope you do—I think there are a few very important, very trustworthy individuals who really need to know what you can do. That is, if you intend to fight on the side of Light in the battle we all sense is coming."

"I do intend to fight for what's right," she replied in a firm voice. "If I was going to turn my back on the trouble in the mortal realm, I'd just stay here, but that's not me. I'm not really a fighter, but I know my skills can be useful in the right circumstances. I want to do what I can."

He wanted to kiss her. His brave, brave woman. He hadn't really expected her to say anything else, but it was good to hear the conviction in her voice. She really was one in a million.

"Good. Then, if you agree, I think we need to arrange for you to meet with Admiral Morrow. He's the man I work for on my special assignments. He's a water elemental of immense power, and he's been the one orchestrating the military forces in the recent magical attacks in the States and quite a few of those around the world, too. Me and my brothers will continue to work for him, although now that Rich is mated, our roles are changing a bit." He didn't mention that, if Amalie agreed to be his mate, his role would change even more. He didn't want to scare her off.

"Morrow has the respect of the Kinkaid Alpha," Gavin added, though he hadn't been asked. "The Clan works with the Admiral when asked. We are allies."

Billy hadn't known that . It made him wonder if he'd had the wrong impression of the Clan on some matters, but he would have time to think about that later. For now, he wanted to be sure Amalie's powers were known but not abused in any way.

"I think you can trust the Admiral with your secret and for him to only ask for your help when you are the right person for the job. He's got access to all kinds of resources you can't even imagine, and he has a knack for picking the right talents for each mission. Rumor has it he was around the last time our world battled Elspeth. He has the experience and wisdom needed to do the job, and I trust him with my life. I would trust him with yours too, Amalie." Billy's voice dropped to a solemn growl, the lion adding its own endorsement of the idea.

"Well, as you may realize, I'm not really used to operating out in the open, but with such a glowing recommendation, I agree to at least meet the man. He might be a good person to have as part of that network my father is after me to build, after all." She shrugged and rolled her eyes.

"Good. I'll arrange it as soon as we get back," Billy promised. "And speaking of that. When, exactly, do you want to leave in the morning?" He looked at his watch reflexively, but time was different here, and Billy didn't know if his watch was even accurate in this realm.

"Well, I'd like to give Healer Janus one last chance to check you over for traces of the Tauror's magical poison, but we can do that before we set out. Is that okay with you guys?" she asked, looking from Billy to Gavin and back.

They agreed, and once they finished their drinks, all three of them headed for the bedrooms they'd been given. Gavin disappeared first, leaving Billy and Amalie to linger in the wide hallway. He took her into his arms and kissed her as soon as Gavin's door shut down the hall.

When he let her up for air, her eyes were dazed. Good. He liked that look on her face, and the lion was smug at seeing how she responded to him.

"I've been wanting to do that all day," he whispered against her lips, going back for more.