The Ice Diamond Cuff (Custodian Novel #4) (2 page)

"She should be graduating any time now,
should she not?"

"Yes. Actually, the week before our wedding.
We planned it that way."

"Your mother must be very proud," Allora
continued.

Faen tried to hide the hint of a grimace, but
Faedra caught it. She knew his mother was proud, but she also knew
she would have preferred it if her only daughter hadn't decided she
wanted to be the first female Guardian ever in the history of
Azran.

After helping keep Faedra safe, yet again,
the king had offered Jocelyn any position within the realm that her
heart desired. Faedra remembered the look of shock on Faen's face
when his little sister told the king, without a second's
hesitation, that she wanted to be a Guardian. The king's eyes had
widened at her request, but he coughed back his surprise, made the
unprecedented ruling, and obliged her.

Much to everyone's surprise, the young fae
was excelling in all her classes and was due to graduate top of the
school, even above the males. Who knew?

"Yes, she is," he replied.

"Does she know who she's going to be assigned
to, yet?" Todmus asked.

"I think she knows, but she's not letting
on," Faedra chimed in, obviously a little disgruntled by the fact
that Jocelyn, or the king for that matter, wouldn't divulge where
she was going. Faedra had a selfish reason for knowing. She missed
her young friend and was hoping she wouldn't be sent too far away.
She still relied on her company a lot in Azran. She was really the
only female friend she had there. Definitely the only friend she
could gripe to when her 'princess training' got a little
overwhelming.

The pleasant conversation continued
throughout lunch until it was time to say goodbye. Faedra had to
make her way back to Azran for her daily 'princess training' as she
not-so-affectionately called it. Ever since it had become apparent
that she would eventually be queen, her father had insisted that
she learn the proper etiquette for such a role. She could see his
point, but, good Lord, if she thought office politics were bad,
they didn't hold a candle to 'realm ruling' politics.

She dabbed at her mouth with her napkin and
placed it on the table beside her plate.

"I'm sorry to cut and run, but Father will
get his knickers in a twist if I'm late for my lesson," she said
with a heavy heart.

Allora placed a hand on Faedra's forearm,
warmth and support exuded from the Lady's eyes. "It will get
easier, my dear. You'll see."

The reluctant princess responded with a weak
smile. "I hope so. I still don't think I'm cut out for any of
this."

Everyone got up from the table and Faedra
leaned over to give each of her close friends a hug.

"Don't forget, the rehearsal is next week,"
Faedra reminded them.

"We will be there," Todmus said, clasping
Faen's hand and giving it a shake.

Skylar started bouncing with excitement again
at the mention of the wedding. Faedra smiled at the little girl and
it carried on up to her eyes. She could only pray that she would be
lucky enough to have a child like her.

Faen took hold of the ruby staff that was
leaning against the wall, and clasped Faedra's hand. "Ready?" he
asked.

"No," Faedra replied.

Faen smiled and shook his head before
announcing their destination. "Azran Castle, stables."

Faedra looked up at him, eyes narrowed, just
before ruby red laser lights encircled them and they
disappeared.

CHAPTER TWO

The smell of horses hit Faedra's nostrils
before her eyes focused on their surroundings. She closed her eyes
and breathed it in. A smile crept across her face and she felt her
shoulders relax. There was no other scent like it in the world. She
felt strong arms encircle her waist and opened her eyes to see her
Guardian smiling down at her.

"Better?" he asked.

Faedra looked around the stalls at all the
beautiful horses, most of which were munching hay. They must have
just been fed.

"Yes, thanks," she replied.

"Thought it might help," Faen said as he cast
a surreptitious glance around the stables before lowering his
head.

Faedra couldn't help her giggle, which
garnered her a confused look from Faen.

"We're about to get married, Faen. You don't
need to worry about anyone catching us kissing."

Faen shrugged a shoulder and his lips quirked
to one side. "Old habits die hard, My Lady," he said before closing
the last few inches between them and covering Faedra's lips with
his own.

Faedra melted into his embrace. It was her
idea of heaven, being surrounded by horses and in the arms of the
man she loved.

When Faen pulled away, Faedra noticed a
mischievous glint to his eye.

"What?" Faedra asked, her tone cautious.

"What say you that we take a couple of your
father's horses and go for a ride? I think you could use a good
gallop, blow the cobwebs away."

Faedra's eyes widened. "Why, noble Guardian,
are you suggesting I play hooky?"

Faen's scampish smile answered her question.
He brought his hand up and held his thumb and forefinger an inch
apart. "Just a tad. We can take a short ride and no one will even
notice you are a few minutes late."

Faedra shot him an incredulous look. "I'm too
much of a bad influence on you. The Faen I first met would never
have broken the rules. Now look at you, actively encouraging your
future queen to play hooky. Tut tut, what would my father say?"

Faen's expression dropped. "You are not going
to tell him, are you?"

Faedra reached up and planted a kiss to his
lips. "Don't be silly! Of course not." She followed her kiss with a
reassuring smile. "Give me a leg up?" she asked as she turned to
the horse she had retrieved from one of the stalls. A moment later,
they were cantering across the courtyard and heading for the woods
outside the castle grounds.

***

"That was just what the doctor ordered," a
rosy cheeked Faedra said, as she and Faen wandered down the main
corridor of the castle. At this point, she was ready and willing to
take the reprimanding she would surely get from her tutor. But, she
didn't care.

As they neared the door to her father's
study, she stopped dead in her tracks, tugging Faen to a halt with
the hand she was holding.

Faen looked around at her, concern clouding
his features.

Faedra brought her finger to her lips. As she
did so, Faen reached his hand down to rest on the hilt of his
sword. "What is it?" he whispered.

"Anger and..." she stared into space, her
eyes gazing about the corridor, internally trying to assess the
other emotion she could feel. She dragged in a deep, calming
breath. Whatever the emotion was, it was a disturbing one.

"Get them bound!" an angry voice bellowed
from behind the closed door.

"I'll do no such thing, Zaven!" an equally
furious voice boomed just before a hefty thump resounded off a
wooden surface. Faedra imagined the king's fist meeting the top of
his desk. Something it was prone to do when her father was less
than content with a situation.

"See reason, Kenreth. You have, as they say
in the World of Men, a ticking time bomb on your hands," the other
voice continued, more controlled and calculating this time.

"That is ridiculous!"

Faedra did not recognize the other voice,
although the name sounded familiar. She met Faen's expression with
an equally bemused one of her own. "What's going on?" Faedra
whispered to her Guardian, who still had his hand resting on his
sword. He shrugged.

"And what would you know of the World of Men,
Zaven?" the king continued, dropping his voice to match his
adversary's cadence.

There was silence for a second.

Faedra and Faen inched closer to the
door.

"Enough to know they are a menace to
themselves and a danger to the rest of us. The whole lot of them
should be...dealt with."

"What?" Faedra whispered wide-eyed to Faen.
"Was that a threat to my world?"

"Sounded like one to me," Faen replied, his
voice somber.

"How dare he..." Faedra reached for the door
handle but was intercepted by Faen's hand on her arm. When she shot
him a questioning look, he shook his head. "Let your father handle
this, Faedra." She hesitated for a second, then withdrew. If it was
one thing she had learned in her 'princess training', it was that
the monarch should never have their authority questioned by someone
beneath them, especially in the presence of someone of rank from
another realm. Faedra realized that her bursting in right then
would have made her father look stupid. It was a hard thing for her
to do, but she had to have faith that he had her best interests at
heart, and that included the World of Men.

"Careful, Ambassador," the king warned. "That
sounded much like a threat."

"Yes, well, I digress. I am not here to
discuss the World of Men. We have much more pressing matters to
deal with."

"And by matters, you are referring to my
daughter."

Faedra sucked in a breath. "They're talking
about me!" she spat in a harsh whisper. "Why would he call me a
ticking time bomb? Who is this man?"

Before Faen could answer, the voices in the
other room became even more heated. Faedra flushed with the energy
the man was giving off. It was hatred and frustration. Why would a
man she had never met before have such strong emotions towards her?
None of this made any sense. She leaned back against the wall and
shook out her hands. Another trick she had learned over the past
few months to help disperse the energies her body would still
absorb against her will. It may have been a year or so since she
acquired Savu's powers, but they still required constant control.
Control that she was still learning to master.

The double oak doors flew open with such
force Faen and Faedra had to take a few hasty steps backwards to
avoid being hit as they bashed against the stone wall on either
side of the opening. Too late to make a subtle exit, they were left
standing in the middle of the corridor, right in front of the open
doorway.

The man named Zaven stood just the other side
of the study's threshold with his back to the two eavesdroppers,
oblivious to their presence. He was at least seven feet tall, and
from Faedra's vantage point, looked like he was made from nothing
but opaque ice. Faedra blinked and gave her head a quick shake. The
immense creature standing before her was nothing more than an
animated ice sculpture. A perfectly formed replica of a human male,
at that. Even his only piece of clothing, a pair of calf-length
breeches, was made of ice. The temperature in the corridor dropped
by several degrees.

"Get them bound, Kenreth! Or we'll do it for
you!" Zaven's voice boomed across the study.

He turned on his heel, ready to storm out of
the study, but stopped for a heartbeat upon seeing Faedra and her
Guardian standing just a few feet away from him. His eyes narrowed
as they fell upon the Custodian, and he regarded Faedra with look
of malice. Ice started to spread like moss on the walls around
them. As Zaven breathed, tiny ice crystals blew from his mouth and
fell like snowflakes to the floor. Faedra could not tear her gaze
from the man who was oozing hatred her way, until, a split second
later, a wall of muscle blocked her vision.

Faen had stepped in front of her, hand back
on the hilt of his sword. Zaven cast a glance down to where Faen
was wrapping his fingers around his sword. He shot Faen a look of
disdain, then threw back his head.

"Ha!" he barked before pushing past them and
stomping off up the corridor.

"I warn you, Zaven. Touch one hair on her
head and I will make sure your realm lives to regret it!" the king
bellowed at Zaven's retreating back.

Zaven threw a hand up in dismissal before
slamming through the doors at the end of the corridor and
disappearing out of sight.

"Who was that?" Faedra asked her father who
was now standing next to them.

The king wrapped a reassuring arm around his
daughter's shoulders and guided her into his study. "No one you
need concern yourself with."

"Really?" Faedra said, not able to hide the
sarcasm in her voice. "It didn't sound like nothing to me."

"He is the ambassador from Alsius, the ice
realm."

Of course. Faedra realized at that moment,
she really ought to pay more attention in 'princess training'. One
of her lessons had covered all the important people in each realm
and what their duty was. That was why his name sounded
familiar.

"He came here to sign the agreement between
Alsius and Umor, the water realm," the king continued. "They have
been feuding since before I was born. There is a fragile peace
treaty between the two. I wanted to make sure that when they both
come to compete in the tournament, they will remain civil to each
other and play fair. Alsius has signed; the king of Umor will be
arriving in the next few days."

"That reminds me," Faedra said. She wasn't
nearly finished with wanting to know what Zaven's problem really
was, but had to get something else out first.

Her father raised a sleek brow.

"How can you call it the Seven Realms
Tournament when only six are allowed to compete? That's a bit
hypocritical, don't you think? It's like the Americans having a
'World Series' that only they play in."

The king scrunched his eyebrows.

"It's a baseball tournament."

"Faedra, I have explained to you time and
again why I cannot allow humans into our realm," the king said with
a martyred tone as he wandered back towards his desk.

"There is one human you let in, though. He
could compete and represent the World of Men," Faedra continued,
not wanting to let the matter drop. "At least, it would be the
truth when you call it the Seven Realms Tournament."