Chapter Six

Missy grabbed a glass of the punch for Rehalla that was on offer and turned to scan the shadows. When she realized her friend was missing, the slight smile that had been on her lips fell. There was no signature, no energy pattern. Nothing that marked her friend's presence was there. She had left.

She set the punch glasses down and returned to the table. Tannic returned to her side, smiling. His smile failed, and he asked, "Missy, what's wrong?"

"Nothing."

"You were having fun."

"I was."

"What happened?"

"Rehalla left. She's gone. No traces of her are left in the building." She looked at him calmly.

"Oh."

"You knew she was going to leave?"

He rubbed his neck. "She and I had a conversation. She stated that she knew I was trying to court you and that we needed privacy."

Missy looked at him. "You can court me all you like, but if she came to visit, she needs companionship and shelter as well. Now, I am worried. There isn't enough PDA here to hurt her, so why did she leave?"

"I don't know. She was talking to Prince Aken. Maybe he knows."

Missy nodded and twisted her hand in the air. A very startled prince was suddenly seated next to her.

"Prince Aken, what happened to Rehalla?"

"How did you do that?"

"It's what I do. Now, what happened with my friend?" Missy rapped her fingers on the table.

"We kissed to determine compatibility. I started memorizing her scent, and she kneed me in the groin. After that, we agreed to separate, and she returned to the party. I walked off the collision and was on my way back inside when I was teleported to this table. Why?"

Missy sighed. Avoidance was what Rehalla was good at. "She's gone."

Prince Aken tensed. "What? Where is she?"

Tannic said, "We thought you might know."

"No, but I am very interested in finding out."

Missy was holding her phone and was texting with both thumbs. She waited and then slumped. "Oh, she just killed someone. Now she has a place to sleep tonight."

Prince Aken scowled. "What do you mean?"

"She's homeless. She has been for years. Her family is unaware of it, but when she burned down her third house while experiencing nightmares, she was broke and had to pay off the property damage to those on either side of her home. I offered to help, but she refused. So, she finished paying them off two years ago and has been living rough since."

Prince Aken frowned. "Living rough?"

Tannic sighed. "Apparently, she sleeps in trees. Where is she tonight?"

Missy held up her phone. "She's being interrogated, and when she passes out, they will put her in a secure, fire-proof room. She will get some desperately needed sleep."

Prince Aken stared, his violet eyes bright. "What do you mean, interrogated?"

"Oh, they take all of her recent memories and download them as a defense for a legally executed execution." Missy shrugged. "They are incredibly painful for Rehalla, but she sleeps like a baby afterward."

"You accept this?"

Missy blinked. "I am the Archmage of Portals; no one interrogates me."

Aken looked around. "I must go home first, but where will Rehalla be in an hour?"

"Sobbing and drooling on the floor. Right now, she's screaming. She does not like the extractions of the memories of the kills though, but she considers it a fair trade."

Prince Aken nodded. "I will be back within the hour."

Missy inclined her head. "Off you go."

He disappeared, and she looked to Tannic. "It seems he has some kind of interest in her."

"What was your first clue?"

"When I mentioned her screaming, he changed shape a little." Missy cocked her head. "I read about that but never thought I would see it. He's holding up well for being in rut though."

"Maybe Rehalla's knee did some good." Tannic sighed. "Care for another dance?"

"Sure. I can use the exercise. Do you think Smoog is having a party?"

"No, I think he's sleeping in your underwear drawer."

Missy smiled slightly. It was a funny image. She stood, and they returned to the dance floor. Prince Aken was going to need her help finding Rehalla. The interrogation centre was heavily guarded.

It was only thirty minutes until Prince Aken arrived. Missy hugged Athena and wished her a delightful engagement as the very big engagement party was yet to come. This was the warm-up for friends and family. Athena hugged her and smiled. "You did incredibly well tonight."

"Thanks. I thought the Charleston was pushing it, but I think I pulled it off." She put a small smile on her lips.

"Archmage Wills, may we leave now?" Prince Aken asked.

"Oh, of course. She will be rather drowsy and sweaty." She looked to Tannic. "Are you staying here?"

"No, I am coming with you."

She turned to Cassian and nodded. "Congratulations on your engagement. Your present will be arriving shortly."

"Thank you, little sister."

Missy stood, grabbed Prince Aken's and Tannic's wrists, and they were at the interrogation centre.

She addressed the guards who came running. "Hello. We are looking for my friend, Mage Rehalla."

The approaching guard captain looked at her. "Archmage?"

"Yes, Captain. I am seeking my friend. She left my sister's engagement party to attend to business, and I want to make sure she is comfortable and cared for." She looked at him. "Now."

"I will have to report it to the guild."

"Of course you will. I am already under house arrest, and you can see how well that worked out."

The captain paused, and she looked toward the window. "Oh, look. Shrubs."

His eyes widened, and he nodded. "This way, Archmage. And your companions."

"My familiar, Tannic, and Prince Aken of Vrenhar."

"Thank you."

"Now, Rehalla?"

"This way. The inquisitor has completed the extraction."

"I guessed as much." Missy followed him, and the guards followed the men behind her.

The scent of pain was unmistakable. When they were at the doorway, the guard opened it and stood aside. Missy stepped toward her friend, but Aken beat her to Rehalla's side. He stroked her cheek, and she glowed softly.

"Rehalla, I would like to take you somewhere safe with your permission."

Her eyes opened, and the bright green gaze rolled until it locked on him. "Prettyeyes. Why are you here?"

Missy smiled. "I brought him. Will you go with him?"

"Is the bed flat?" she asked Aken.

"It is."

"Then, sure."

He moved carefully and rolled her into his arms. There was a lot of wincing, but she wore a clean grey men's t-shirt with only a few sweat marks.

Missy looked at them. "Off you go." She teleported them off to the palace and then took Tannic's hand. "And off we go."

The captain gasped. "There are wards to stop the portals. It will shred you."

Missy shrugged. "Who do you think installed the wards? Have a nice evening."

She cuddled against Tannic, and they were back at the party.

He squeezed her. "You are good?"

"I am good. Rehalla in the recovery phase is the best chance Aken will have. She is very good at pushing males away."

"Wait. What?"

"If she is particularly interested in sex, she just finds a companion and gets it out of her system." Missy cocked her head. "She tried to disengage from Aken before it got to that point. It was a rough move, but it meant she didn't want something casual. That's new."

"Ah, so that is why you took him to her."

"Correct." She could feel that Tannic was understanding. "If she gets a good night's sleep and some meals she can eat slowly, I think she will call it a win. If Prince Aken is her fate, then I will get little besties to play with." She grinned at the thought.

"That thought made you happy."

"Yeah. Athena will probably give me nieces and nephews, but Rehalla would have little friends."

Tannic's eyes widened. "I don't think it works that way with babies."

"It will." She shrugged. He didn't know about her foresight yet. Rehalla had always been there and would always be there.

"I need to ask, why does she seek solitude?"

"Oh, she isn't the best in her family and is generally a chronic screw-up as far as they are concerned. They love her, but she is not the smartest, not the strongest, and not the wealthiest. She's spent her entire life trying to rise to master status, and now that she is there, she is trying to fight her way to stability that is socially acceptable."

"Sevval didn't say anything."

"She got her blades early and holds the record for it. Her father is a council mage. Everyone is proud of her. She is also a giant. She always has an advantage."

Tannic blinked. "Huh."

"Rehalla is spectacular and never quite enough when compared to her cousins. For me, she's my best friend, and I would kill for her." Missy turned to Tannic. "Do you want to dance?"

He frowned at the change in topic. "Yes?"

She stood and hauled him to the dance floor. The slow-dancing couples made room for them, and she smiled at Athena and Sevval as she passed them.

Tannic held her against him, and they swayed to the music. Missy was still worrying about Rehalla, but she was pretty sure she would be all right. Pretty sure. She would check on her in a day.

"What are you planning?"

"Going to check Rehalla in a day or two."

"Aren't you under house arrest?"

"Yeah, but what are they going to do? Lock me up? I have created all the anti-portal wards on this continent. No restraint facility can hold me."

"Good to know."

Sevval and Tylos danced over to them, and before Missy could think, she was dancing away with the elf and Rehalla's cousin was talking to Tannic.

"Why did you do that?"

"I wanted to talk to you about Rehalla. Do you know which elf clan she belongs to?"

"None. They have all rejected her, including yours."

Tylos frowned. "No. I wouldn't."

"Your assistant Kemil did. She was not exceptional enough to overcome her human bloodlines."

"When?"

"Two years ago when she lost her last house. She didn't want to head your way because it was a bit distant, but you were the last clan on the continent to apply to, so I nagged her into it. I now wish I had not. She grew much more depressed after that."

"But, her family..."

"They live a comfortable life, but when she gets mopey, she loses control, and they prefer to have her on her own. She is less dangerous to their homes that way."

"You aren't worried about her?"

"No. I have fire suppression all over my home. I adapted for her. Mind you, I could afford to learn the spells that made her life easier. It's a pretty simple spell."

"Her family didn't do it?"

"She never asked them to. She was sent to guild training and was never quite right. Not enough of a mage, only two blades, looks like an elf, too curvy for an elf. The only thing that lifted her slightly was the dark fire, but it was only good for destruction, so they assigned her to the executioner corp."

Tylos spun her and then brought her in. "According to Sevval, you have to volunteer for that."

"Not if you need a job and it is the only thing that you qualify for. She's good at killing, but it hurts, so she has to get the interrogation and full extraction after every kill. It's taking a toll. Her mind is slowing, and sense of humour is forced." Missy spoke calmly.

"That doesn't sound good. She seems perky around you."

"She has assigned herself to perking me up and helping me to integrate more easily with the world around me." She sighed.

"Is it working?"

"I am here, aren't I? If Rehalla hadn't come with me, I would have come, hugged Athena, and left. But she helped me learn to dance, and now I can do it with someone who isn't Tannic." She shrugged. "She's taught me to cook foods I like and to avoid foods I don't. She helped me learn housekeeping, and we had movie and popcorn nights. She made me feel neurotypical for the first time ever. She accepted me. That is a super rare thing."

"I understand."

"I don't think you do. She helped me do brain mapping and compared my responses to arguably average minds, and I started to understand so many things. She gave me all the information I needed when I needed it."

"So, you have been good friends for a while."

"We have."

"When did she get the rejection? What month?"

"August."

"Thank you. Do you mind if I stop to check the records?"

"Of course not."

They stopped dancing and walked to the edge of the space where Tylos sent his recruiting assistant a message. They waited silently, and then the file was sent to the phone.

Missy tapped the phone and projected the file in the air in front of them.

Tylos read the copy of the file, and his skin darkened. "Oh, no."

"There it is. Unremarkable. Average appearance. Unexceptional. Unworthy. Unlikely to add to the clan." Missy nodded. "She didn't get this version but got that very polite turndown. If he had just asked her or tested to see if she used a glamour, he would have seen her in her glowy state. He didn't, so she didn't know it was important."

Tylos sighed. "We could have helped."

"No, you couldn't. She wouldn't meet your criteria."

Tylos teared up, and Sevval was over in three seconds. "Sweetie, what's wrong?"

"I could have accepted her into the clan. She would have had shelter and more education."

Sevval sighed and cuddled her husband. "She had family to take care of her if she needed it. You didn't do anything wrong."

Missy looked at Sevval and shrugged. "You wouldn't understand."

"We are members of the same family; I know that they would have taken care of her if she needed it."

"When she broke her arm five years ago, who came to help her."

Sevval blinked. "What?"

"When she was stabbed on her first assignment and it was found that she resists healing, who was with her to help her recovery? I know her family was called. I was there." She looked at Sevval with her normal blank expression in place. "No one came. Her parents called, but one of her siblings was having a hard time at mage camp, so they needed to be with him."

Sevval paused. "Mithun was having problems at camp. I remember that. You mean her parents know that she had been stabbed, and they left her alone?"

"No, they left her with me. I read about what she needed for recovery, and we got through it. And the next one. And then next injury. Her parents were always loving on the phone, but they said you've got this, Rehalla. Every time."

Sevval swallowed. "I want to say you are kidding, but I know you aren't. Rehalla was the eldest, and she always had this air of competence around her. Her parents weren't proud of her like they were their other children, but they were happy with her position. They think she is settled with a house and a good job."

Missy blinked. "She's burned down her houses. Nightmares. She hasn't had a home in two years. Her parents know this. No one offered her a place to rest. Well, I did, but they just said they knew she would sort things out. She always did."

"I feel sick, and it isn't just the morning sickness."

Missy looked at her. "Congratulations."

Tylos was typing on his phone. "Just giving Aken a head's up. He needs all the information I can supply him with."

Sevval frowned. "If he's her alpha, he will get by."

Tylos glanced at her. "Did you guess she was an omega? You have known her for decades. Did you guess?"

Sevval swallowed. "No. I had no clue. I just thought that she was a bit timid for an executioner. The family makes fun of her targets dying in agony. I am guessing that she isn't really happy about that."

Missy nodded. "Now you are getting it. There are few applications for dark fire. Executioners always have dark fire so that is where she was slotted to be. Do you know what she actually likes?"

Sevval blinked. "No."

"Botany and childcare, oh, and baking. Do you know what her family doesn't let her close to?"

"Plants and children." Sevval groaned. "There is always another teen to take care of them."

Missy nodded. "I know. She knows. Just because you know something doesn't stop it from stinging."

"Where is she?"

"Aken is taking his chance with her. If he fumbles it, she will accept the rejection and just go on with her life." Missy shrugged. "I have been trying to convince her to move in with me, but I think Tannic has urged her not to."

Tannic spoke up, "I didn't urge her. She doesn't want to intrude."

Missy sighed. "She has spent her life staying out of the way. I want her where I can hug her. She needs it."

Tannic looked at her. "You are her support. Her familiar."

"In name only. I think when she went looking for me, she broke something. She never says, but I am pretty sure that is where the nightmares come from. I don't know how she got me home, but she did." Missy frowned. "I think I should find out."

Tannic grabbed her shoulders. "Not tonight."

She frowned. "No. Not tonight." She paused. "Tomorrow?"

Tannic pulled her in for a hug. "Maybe. Give it a day or two."

"Fine, but three days is my limit. If I don't contact her, she won't contact me, and I will start to miss her."

Tannic asked, "Will you?"

"Yes. She is the only person I miss aside from Athena, but that is different." She looked up at him. "I am going to check up on Rehalla in three days if she doesn't come to me."

He nodded. "Take me and Smoog with you. I think she will enjoy having the kitten."

Missy nodded. "Good idea. I still have to finish registering him."

Just like that, he had diverted her. Damn. He was getting the hang of this.