The Ice Diamond Cuff (Custodian Novel #4) (9 page)

Henry chuckled and shook his head.

"What?"

"Most young couples have trouble enough
deciding whether to go to Europe or the Caribbean. You've got seven
different realms to choose from."

Faen gave Faedra's hand a squeeze, drawing
her attention to him. She smiled. She could hardly believe she was
getting married tomorrow. Butterflies danced low in her belly. She
was slightly disappointed that her father had organized the
tournament to begin two days after the wedding, but she could see
his logic in it. Most of the realm's dignitaries were already here
for the wedding, and the competitors would arrive the day after,
ready to compete the following day. The castle was bustling with
people. Faedra had never seen it so alive with activity. You were
hard pushed to walk down the castle halls without bumping into a
guest from another realm.

The sound of someone clearing their throat
prompted the friends gathered at the table to turn their heads. The
same gruff-looking portly lady, that batted Faedra's hand away from
a tray of tartlets a short while earlier, stood at the end of the
table resting her fists on her hips. Her once white apron was
stained by the many times she undoubtedly had rubbed her hands on
it throughout the course of preparing the feast that day. "I'll be
needing this table now, Your Highness. That is if you would like me
to be serving dessert for your guests tomorrow."

"We better get out of Brigid's way," Faedra
muttered to her friends. "I don't want to get on the wrong side of
her. She scares me."

Etyran's eyebrows shot up at Faedra's remark.
It didn't go unnoticed.

"Yeah, yeah, I know. I'm the most powerful
being etc. etc. She still scares me. Come on let's go. I'll show
you to your room, Dad."

Five sets of chair legs scraped along the
flagstone floor of the kitchen as everyone got up from their
seats.

They filed out of the kitchen passed the head
cook. "Thanks for the tea, Brigid," Faedra said as she passed. A
chorus of thank yous from the others followed in her wake as they
made their way out of the kitchen.

Faedra noticed a slight crack in the frosty
outer layer of Brigid's features. Did she dare hope for there to be
a glimmer of a smile. Brigid acknowledged the thanks with a curt
nod of her head.

"So, do you have all the last minute things
sorted for tomorrow?" Henry asked as he walked beside his daughter
and soon to be son-in-law down one of the castle's many stone
corridors.

"Well, if we don't, it's too late now. We'll
just have to muddle through," Faedra said with a smile. Fact was,
her other dad had been organizing the wedding with military
precision, and pretty much all she had to do was put on the dress,
walk up the aisle, and say 'I do'. In the big scheme of things, she
thought she would be able to handle that.

Her attention was drawn to a tingle that ran
up her spine. A warm, loving tingle. Instinctively, she turned to
the two friends following behind her. Her gaze fell on their
entwined fingers, and the wistful look Jocelyn was giving to Etyran
was not lost on the Custodian. She hadn't seen them holding hands
before, but the picture looked perfect. She realized at that point,
with a small pang of sadness for the other Lightbender in her life,
that Etyran must have come clean with Alyssa about his feelings for
Jocelyn. She knew without doubt he was too noble of a man not
to.

She hoped Alyssa was okay. She'd been so busy
since last seeing her in Draconis's castle that she'd only just
realized she hadn't seen her around for a few days and wondered if
the young Lightbender was still staying in the castle. She hoped
she would be attending the wedding. Faedra was very fond of Alyssa.
If it hadn't been for her bravery, Etyran may well have died at the
hands of Arawn. The Custodian shuddered at the thought, especially
now, seeing him so happy holding the hand of her best friend.

They rounded a corner and Faedra was suddenly
overwhelmed with dread. She sucked in a gasp at the enormity of the
emotion, and pulled up short. She was stopped in her tracks by an
arm across her chest. Faedra wondered what could have happened to
change from blissful contentment to all consuming panic in such a
short space of time. A split second later, she realized it wasn't
her fear. It was her dad's. She spun her head around from where she
was soaking in the scene behind her to see what kind of scene was
unfolding in front of her that could possibly have her father
paralyzed with sheer terror.

It was his arm across her chest effectively
stopping her and Faen on the spot. He had his hand fisted around
her sleeve, gripping the material so tight, his knuckles were
white. All breath had been extinguished from his lungs.

She brought her eyes up from where her father
had a hold of her and cast her gaze down the corridor ahead of
them. Three men were sauntering down the passageway towards them,
looking every bit like they had just stepped off a Hugo Boss
runway. Their presence alone seemed to command every molecule of
space within the corridor. One of the men walked slightly in front
of the other two, who were flanking him on either side. The man in
front was wearing a tailored black suit, black shirt and black tie,
the Ferragamos on his feet polished to perfection. His jet black
hair was slicked back, not a hair out of place. His eyebrows were
angled above beautiful emerald eyes that glimmered in the muted
light of the corridor. A straight nose lined up over full lips
which were housed above a strong, clean-shaven jaw.

Faedra shifted her gaze to the man on his
right. He wore the same immaculately tailored suit, but in the
darkest shade of maroon. His dark auburn hair was cropped shorter,
his brow more rugged, but the stunning emerald eyes set beneath
them were almost identical to the man he followed. He, too, sported
strong features, which were masked only slightly by a stubbly
overgrowth covering his jaw and upper lip.

The man to the other side was dressed in a
deep blue, equally well-tailored suit. His tousled dark blond hair
skimmed over his ears and brushed the top of his shoulders. There
was a brooding set to his brow, highlighted by the scowling
definition to his jaw that also sported an unshaven finish. He
wriggled his shoulders, his lip curling to sneer, his glittering
emerald eyes flashing with annoyance. He looked uncomfortable,
which brought Faedra to wonder why. His clothing seemed to caress
him like a deerskin glove. Faedra's lips curved into a face
splitting smile as she laid her eyes on what the man in front was
carrying. The emerald staff. He responded with an equally warm
smile.

Her heart then lurched as she realized the
origin of her dad's fear. She turned to him and took his ashen face
in her hands.

"Dad," she said, but got no response. Henry
still had his eyes glued on the men who were getting closer with
every step they took. Faedra, sensing that her dad's fight or
flight response would kick in any second, gave him a quick shake of
his shoulders before returning her hands to his face and forcing it
level with hers. "Dad! Look at me!" she commanded. Hesitant, Henry
tore his wide-eyed gaze from the runway models and looked,
unseeing, at his daughter. "It's Draconis, Dad. It's not Savu. Do
you hear me? It's not Savu. You're safe. We're all safe."

She could understand his fear. Savu was
Draconis's identical twin. He used to be the most powerful being in
the seven realms and had kidnapped her dad, with the help of
Vivianna, in an attempt to get the amulet from Faedra and, thereby,
gain the power to control the weather. In an attempt to rescue her
dad from Savu's clutches, Faedra had, quite by accident, found a
way to absorb the evil dragon's power, killing him in the
process.

Henry blinked a couple of times before his
glazed over eyes began to focus on his daughter.

"Savu's never coming back, Dad. He's gone,"
Faedra whispered.

Henry's shoulders sagged, and Faedra could
feel his relief. He offered her a small, almost childlike
smile.

"Princess," Draconis's voice pulled Faedra's
attention from her recovering father. The three men had come to a
stop and were now standing just a few feet away. Draconis offered
her a half bow. "I trust you are well."

"Hello, Draconis," Faedra replied. "Yes,
thanks. Much better than the last time you saw me." She offered him
a coy smile.

"Guardian, Guardian, Lightbender," Draconis
continued his formal greeting to Faen, Jocelyn and Etyran. They all
acknowledged with their signature head nods. Faedra sometimes
wondered what was wrong with a good old hand shake. Much to her
surprise, as if Draconis had read her mind, he leaned in, took hold
of her dad's hand, and gave it a firm shake. "Henry," he stated,
offering Faedra's dad a warm smile. "Good to see you again, and
under much happier circumstances this time."

Henry swallowed. He was probably still trying
to absorb the fact that he was now shaking hands with a dragon and
thanking his lucky stars it wasn't the other brother.

"Er, Hello," Henry murmured.

Draconis released Henry's hand, probably
sensing his consternation, but kept his warm smile in place. He
looked to either side of him. "Oh, my. Where are my manners? Allow
me to introduce my two, hmm, how shall I put this?...Ah, yes, I
know...associates." He gestured to the brooding male in the blue
suit. "Alaris, most of you know."

Alaris, casting his master a disgruntled
glare from behind, stepped forward. He gave Faedra's group a curt
nod of greeting, but his eyes shone with distaste as he turned to
Henry. Faedra had to give her dad credit. He was holding out his
somewhat shaky hand to greet the dragon, even though Alaris was
looking at him like he'd enjoy nothing more than roasting the poor
man and eating him for dinner.

Alaris looked down at Henry's offered hand as
if he'd just partaken of some sour milk. Henry's face paled, and he
slowly withdrew it, probably wondering if he would ever get it back
in one piece if the dragon deigned to shake it.

"Please excuse Alaris," Draconis said to
Henry. "Humans aren't his favorite species."

Henry gulped and turned to his daughter. "Is
that supposed to make me feel better?" he whispered.

Faedra offered her dad a reassuring smile.
"Don't worry, Dad. His bark is worse than his bite."

"Hmm, I don't think I'd want to experience
either."

Alaris, still looking like a surly teenager,
took a step back. His eyes glimmering with barely fettered hatred
to the human standing before him. Faedra made a mental note to keep
an eye on the blue dragon. She didn't think he would go against
Draconis's orders and harm her dad, but she wasn't taking any
chances.

"And this," Draconis interrupted her
thoughts, gesturing to the man in the maroon suit, "is the
Gatekeeper, Ignis."

Faedra's lips broke into a wide grin. If it
hadn't been for him, she would never have gotten her dad back in
the first place. Quite out of the blue, she rushed forwards and
threw her arms around him, taking the red dragon by surprise. Ignis
tensed, but, after a pregnant pause, he reciprocated and wrapped
his arms around her.

Alaris shot Draconis an incredulous look at
the Custodian's strange break with protocol. The rest of the group
looked around at each other. Faedra could feel their confusion at
her reaction, but they didn't say anything, and she didn't care if
hugging a dragon was against protocol. This wonderful man/beast
could have stopped her from being able to save her dad. She owed
him a lot.

She eventually let go of the dragon and took
a step back. Ignis flushed a little, but regarded her with kind
eyes.

Remembering something, Faedra's brow pinched.
"Wait a minute. Didn't Draconis call you Arin before?"

The dragon's smile increased, obviously
recalling a cherished memory. "You remember well, little one. Yes,
he did. Arin is...how do you say? a nickname. Draconis and I grew
up together; it is the name he used when we were younglings. My
given name is Ignis."

Faedra nodded her understanding. "Well,
Ignis, it's good to see you again. Come and meet my dad. He's the
one you helped me save." She took hold of his hand and tugged him
towards Henry. Ignis shot an astonished glance at Draconis on his
way past. Draconis pulled his lips into a tight line, trying to
restrain the laugh that was bubbling in his throat.

"Ignis, this is Henry, my dad," Faedra
announced when she had pulled the Gatekeeper in front of her
father. "Dad, this is Ignis. He's the Gatekeeper. If it wasn't for
him letting me into Zutherindal to see Draconis, I may never have
been able to save you."

Henry tried, but failed, to hide his
trepidation at his daughter's words.

"Very nice to finally meet you, Henry," Ignis
said, holding out a hand.

Henry looked down at it and back up to the
dragon's face. Sensing his hesitation, Ignis offered Henry a warm
smile. Henry blew out a breath, smiled and gave the dragon a firm
shake.

"I guess I owe you a thank you, too," Henry
said.

Ignis inclined his head. "No thanks
necessary. There isn't much I would not do for your daughter."

"There you are, Princess," a booming voice
halted conversation. Everyone turned to look down towards the other
end of the corridor. A tall, burly man with blond shoulder-length
hair and a deep red cloak that fanned out behind him, was striding
down the hallway towards them. Beside him was a beautiful maiden,
dressed in a long white gown. Her torso was covered by
multi-faceted, ornately decorated armor. Her spear chinked on the
stone floor as she brought it down with each footfall.

Faedra fleetingly considered if this day
could get any weirder and wondered how her dad would take it.