The Ice Diamond Cuff (Custodian Novel #4) (22 page)

The vicar finished his speech. Faedra tore
her gaze from her husband's to look towards the pyre. Her heart
pounded as she watched Draconis and Ignis change into their true
forms. Her uncle gasped, and murmurs of "Oh, my God," and "No way,"
escaped the lips of Nicki, Amy and Zoe, who were standing to one
side of her.

Ignis, in all his ruby red beauty, walked to
one end of the pyre, and the immense regal black dragon moved
around to the other. They both looked to the vicar, who took
several steps back. When he was at a safe distance, the vicar gave
a subtle nod of his head.

The dragons drew their heads back on long
elegant necks, before thrusting their faces towards the stack of
wood. Fire roared from their open mouths, igniting the pyre like a
furnace and lighting up the suffocating darkness that surrounded
the small group of mourners.

Faedra felt the heat on her cheeks. Trying to
hold it together, she bit her trembling lip. Within minutes, the
flames were licking around her father's body; Faedra could watch no
longer. She turned and buried her face in Faen's shoulder. Strong
arms wrapped around her as he kissed the top of her head, murmuring
soothing words into her hair while sobs wracked her body.

***

The cottage was eerily quiet considering the
amount of people that were now sheltering under its roof. Faedra
was curled against her husband, her back to his front. She could
feel Faen's soft breath on the back of her neck as he slept, a
protective arm wrapped around her, holding her to him. They were
nestled together on one of the camp cots her uncle had provided. It
wasn't the most comfortable thing she'd ever slept on, but there
was no way she was setting foot back in her bedroom. She doubted
there would ever be a time when she'd be able to do that. No,
Faedra had already accepted the fact that she had lost her bedroom
for good. She had offered the spare bedroom to Rowan and Janessa,
preferring to bunk with everyone else downstairs.

Unable to sleep, Faedra lifted her head. The
moon shone through the windows and cast its mystical light upon the
other inhabitants bunking down in her dad's living room. Etyran and
Jocelyn slept soundly on a cot to one side of her, Alaris and
Alyssa to the other side. She let her gaze roam about the room. The
vicar shuffled in his cot, turning onto his back. An errant arm
flopped to one side and hung off the edge of his bed. He snored,
then grunted a little before turning onto his other side, tucking
his arm to his chest. Draconis and Ignis took up another couple of
cots. Faedra looked through the open door into the next room, also
full to bursting with camp cots. The Messengers, Bedowen, and her
two best human friends were all sleeping soundly, their breathing
soft and peaceful. Her eyes stopped wandering when they fell on a
figure that was sitting up, another one lay curled around it, still
sleeping soundly. It was her uncle.

Faedra softly pulled Faen's arm from where it
lay across her waist. He groaned, but didn't wake as she laid it
along his side and eased herself out of his embrace. She padded
through the living room to where her uncle sat, staring out of the
window up at the stars.

"Hey," she whispered.

He turned his head to face her. "Hey."

"Can't sleep either?" Faedra asked.

"Nope. Every time I close my eyes..." He
raked a hand through his hair before allowing it fall to his
lap.

Faedra's eyes fell to the floor for a second
before looking up into her uncle's again. Gently, she moved Nicki's
feet back and took a seat next to him. "It's a lot to take in,
Fae," he murmured, looking back at the stars.

Faedra placed her hand over her uncle's.
"Yeah... it is."

They sat in silence for a moment. Faedra
followed her uncle's line of sight, looking up through the window
at the mass of stars that twinkled across the night sky .

"Pretty sky tonight," she commented.

He cocked his head to look at her again. A
smile quirked the edge of his lips at her odd remark. "Yeah...it
is."

Faedra dragged her gaze from the stars and
looked at her uncle.

He looked thoughtful for a moment. "How on
earth did you get yourself tangled up in all this?" he
whispered.

"Didn't really have a choice," Faedra replied
pulling the amulet out from under her t-shirt. She dangled it in
front of her.

Leo wrapped his arm around his niece's
shoulders and pulled her to him. Faedra nestled into his side and
rested her head against his shoulder.

"Well, it looks like you have quite a
following," he said, shooting a glance around the room. "And I
promise, I'll do whatever I can to help you get
Arran...Ozarn..."

"Azran, Uncle Leo."

"Azran, that's it. I'll do whatever I can to
help you get Azran back."

Faedra smiled and looked up at her uncle.
"Thanks, Uncle Leo."

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

"Wake up, sleepy head." Faedra heard the
whisper penetrate the thick fluffy blanket that her consciousness
was snuggled in and didn't want to leave any time soon. She
stirred, turning over in her cot away from the person who was
giving her shoulder a gentle shake. She kept her eyes squeezed
shut, holding onto the darkness with all her might. It was warm and
safe where she was. Why would someone be so mean as to try and tear
her from it?

"Go away," Faedra groaned, pushing towards
the whisper with her hand. When it pressed against something warm
and solid, she stilled. The darkness slipped from her grasp and
consciousness came flooding back with a vengeance, bringing with it
every gory detail from the day before.

She pulled the blanket down off her face and
squinted at the bright sunlight that was now spilling through the
living room windows. Faedra sat up with a start and looked around
the room. All the cots were empty. Her eyes fell on her husband who
was crouched beside their cot.

"I'm up," she stated, smoothing down her hair
before scrubbing her face with the palms of her hands.

Faen smiled. He pushed himself up, then
leaned over to plant a kiss on Faedra's forehead. "Good morning,
beautiful. Breakfast is ready."

Faedra looked up at him, discarding the
blanket to one side as she swung her legs over the side of the cot.
"What time is it?" she asked, a crease forming in her brow.

Faen ran his fingers down her cheek and under
her chin, tilting her head up until their faces were just an inch
apart. "Don't worry, it is only seven o'clock. No one has been up
too long. I knew you didn't sleep last night, so when you finally
came back to bed, I wanted you to sleep for at least a little
while." He brushed his lips to hers and Faedra closed her eyes.
When he pulled away, he offered her his hand, which she took.
"Come, Father is already rallying the 'troops'. Your input is
needed."

Yeah, like she had anything to offer. She
chewed on her bottom lip. Obviously, no one had taken the time to
read her resume.

Sensing her self-doubt, Faen said. "Come on,
now. Don't look like that. Your queen was only a little older than
you when her father died. Look at the amazing job she has done.

Faedra gave him a considering look as they
walked towards the dining room. "Yeah, but I don't think she's ever
had to defend her realm against an army of frozen people who can
turn everything to ice."

"No, maybe not. But I'm sure there were many
other things that she has had to overcome during her reign."

As they got closer to the dining room, Faedra
could hear Rowan's voice. "Henry, you will travel with Etyran to
Asgard and ask Odin for his help. Ask for as many Valkyries and
winged horses as he can spare."

"What? No!" Faedra exclaimed as she stepped
through the doorway.

All heads turned to face her. She zeroed her
surprised glare in on Rowan who was sitting at the end of the
table.

"You can't send my dad to see Odin," she said
incredulously.

"But why ever not, darling?" Henry asked.

Faedra's glare turned to an expression of
disbelief when it fell on her dad. Was she really having to explain
this? "Because he's the God of War," she said, as if that should
explain her aversion perfectly.

"Seemed like a nice enough fellow to me. Got
to know him quite well over a few beers after our darts match."

Faedra's eyes widened. Were they really
having this conversation? "He's the God. Of. War." she said again,
as if she were trying to explain something complicated to a three
year old.

"Meh," Henry said, waving his hand in front
of his face like he was batting away a pesky fly. "He's a pussycat.
And besides, he told me I could drop in and visit if I was ever in
the neighborhood."

Pussycat? In the neighborhood? Oh, God, her
dad had lost it. She turned to Faen. "Please, Faen. Will you talk
some sense into him?"

Faen looked a little uncomfortable and
dropped his gaze to the floor.

Faedra narrowed her eyes. "What?" she asked,
a cautious tone to her voice.

"Well, Odin did seem very taken with your
dad. Henry made him laugh. We need his resources, Adkara, and he's
not usually very forthcoming with them unless it benefits him."

"You're pinning my dad's safety on the fact
that he made the God of War laugh?" Faedra asked, her voice
becoming high pitched and squeaky. "I've just lost one father, for
goodness sake, you think I'm going to risk losing them both?"

"Faedra," Henry interrupted. Faedra turned
her disbelieving glare on her dad. "I want to do this."

"But, Dad..."

Henry put his finger up to silence his
daughter. "Darling, I'll be fine. Let me do this."

Faedra drew in a long, considering breath.
"Okay, but don't call him that to his face."

Henry pinched his brow.

"I somehow don't think he'd appreciate being
called a pussycat, Dad. He's got a reputation to uphold."

Henry smiled. Then did a motion with his
fingers like he was zipping his lips closed and throwing away the
key.

"I don't understand," Leo blurted suddenly,
causing everyone's attention to turn on him. Leo looked around at
the occupants of the newly appointed battle headquarters. "What do
they want with our world anyway?"

"Why does anyone want to take possession of
someone else's world...?" Rowan answered. "Resources."

Leo turned to face Rowan. "But we don't have
any resources they would want."

"Am I not correct in thinking that seventy
percent of the surface of your world is covered in water? They use
water to build, to thrive, to mold their homes and create new
members of their race." Rowan continued.

"Yes, you are correct," Leo stated. "But
ninety seven percent of that is salt water. Wouldn't it be useless
to them? Maybe even fatal?"

Faedra's eyes widened as she looked at her
uncle. "Uncle Leo, you did it!"

Leo looked up at his niece with questioning
eyes, as did the rest of the group in the room.

"Did what?" Rowan asked.

"The delivery system we need. There's your
answer."

The eyes around the room still shone with
confusion.

"Think about it," Faedra said. "Who can
manipulate water?"

Slowly, face by face, realization replaced
the look of confusion around the table. Rowan's lips quirked to one
side. "Very clever, young lady."

Faedra smiled at his acknowledgment. All of a
sudden, she didn't feel so useless anymore. Rubbing her hands
together, she looked at Rowan and asked. "So, how are we going to
play this?"

Rowan gestured, palm up, at the floor in
front of where she and Faen were standing. "The floor is all yours,
My Queen." He inclined his head.

Expectant eyes zoned in on Faedra as she took
a step forward. She pulled in a deep, calming breath and let it out
just as slowly. "Right," she whispered, looking around the room.
This was it. She was queen and she was going to prove, power or no
power, she had what it took to lead her people. She glanced over at
her dad.

"Dad. Sorry, but it doesn't look like we'll
be needing Odin at the moment. You'll have to go and visit the
'pussycat' some other time. We need the emerald staff."

Henry's face fell.

"Jocelyn, I know you took an oath to protect
me, but I am queen now, and I release you from that oath so you can
help me in a bigger role. I'm sure Faen remembers how that whole
Guardian thing still works."

Jocelyn didn't look happy about Faedra's
request, but nodded, nonetheless. She was at the beck and call of
the ruler of Azran, that now happened to be her best friend.

"I need you to go with Etyran to Drofoz,"
Faedra continued. "Take the emerald staff and fetch Todmus; make
sure he brings the cypher wheel with him. We could probably use
Lady Allora, too, if she is willing to leave so close to giving
birth." Jocelyn and Etyran nodded their acceptance of their
mission.

"When you return, hand the emerald staff off
to Draconis." She turned to the lord of the dragons. "Draconis,
please, will you go and rally as many dragons as you can spare, and
have them at the ready."

Draconis inclined his head.

"Faen and I will take the ruby staff and go
to Umor. King Derian is our only hope of being able to win this
war, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed that he is on board with my
idea."

"And what exactly is your idea, My Lady?"
Rowan asked.

Faedra sent him a look of deflection. "When I
have everyone convened back here, I'll explain it all." She didn't
want to admit to everyone that her grand scheme relied almost
entirely upon Todmus and a few discs of wood. She hoped and prayed
he could tweak it to do what she wanted. It was a pretty crazy
plan, but if it worked, Azran would be hers again.

Faen wandered over to where the ruby staff
was leaning against the wall. Draconis had already passed the
emerald staff to Etyran. The two couples stood together at the end
of the room.