Dark Illumination

Chapter Eighteen

The dinner had to be perfect. It was the least he could do for his gracious host. At least that was how Dillan rationalized his need for preparation after visiting with his men at the barracks and medical wing. They were all safe and enjoying the comforts the kingdom of Teare could provide.

He wondered into the kitchen and was pleasantly surprised to find the head chefs have changed since last he had been at the palace. The place was now under the rule of a beautiful siren. Looking at her was like looking too long at the sun. Blinding. He wondered how any of her apprentices got anything done when a goddess walked among them. Then he blinked, suddenly returning to reality.

“Happens every time,” the siren said.

His brow furrowed. “Did you just—”

“Put you under my spell?” She grinned, all white serrated teeth. Now that the enchantment was gone the truth rose to the surface. The once beautiful siren was a scaled creature with a wide mouth and vertical slits for eyes. No nose. Gills at the side of her neck. “Good to know I can enthrall you. Hurt my princess and I will slice you where it hurts.”

“Noted.” He nodded, appreciating the fact that her people were loyal to her. In fact, the longer he stayed in Teare the more he felt the love everyone had for their princess. The gargoyles and manticores especially, who have been giving him the stink eye every time he passed by. He wouldn’t want it any other way. “I’m actually here to talk to you about dinner.”

He gestured for the siren to take a seat on one of the stools at the counter as he eased himself into another. She raised an eyebrow but complied, settling in. He launched into a lengthy description of what he had in mind.

Half an hour and a few suggestions from the head chef later, he walked out of the kitchen with a menu. It took some asking around, but eventually he located the palace matron. Penny was her name if he remembered correctly.

She was a stout woman with pigtails curling down on each side of her head. Despite the rosy cheeks and the open smile, her eyes betrayed her careful assessment of him. He braced himself for more of these glances until the union. Serena had really made a home for herself here and would make a wonderful High Queen. Any lingering doubts he had about her vanished.

“Lady Penny,” he said with a slight bow.

“Don’t use your charm on me, boy.” She waved his formality away. “What do you want?”

Slightly intimidated, and thinking he would rather be fighting another horde than be subjected to further scrutiny from such a large woman, he told the palace matron of her plans. Within minutes he had her smiling genuinely. Gone was the aura to kill floating around her. She nodded and waddled away to do what she had been asked.

Proud of himself for surviving the encounter, Dillan rubbed his hands together and ambled off. There was much more he needed to do before the first stars sparkled in the night sky.

***

Dillan stood behind Serena, his hands covering her eyes, as he guided her toward the crystal atrium he had chosen as the venue for their dinner. The climbing roses bloomed even out of season, creating a burst of color around them. Sparkling lights he had one of the apprentices conjure up mimicked the stars gleaming above them through the doomed roof. It was magical. He had out done himself.

“You know there isn’t a place in this palace that I don’t know of, right?” Serena teased as she teetered forward. “How far are you planning to take me and are there steps ahead that I should be aware of?”

“Not far now,” he said with a laugh in his voice. “And no steps. Plus, I know you know this palace like the back of your hand, but at least grant me this bit of surprise.”

She sighed dramatically. “Fine.”

“Just a little further.”

He edged her toward the elegantly appointed table with its silver candlesticks and lit wicks. Domes covered the food and a crystal vase sat at the center with a bouquet, not of flowers, but white peacock feathers with charms of the sacred heart dangling from the ends. Beside the table was a cart laden with sweets and bottles of the floral wine the shade of a pink sunset. Anything and everything the head chef said Serena liked.

“We’re at the atrium, aren’t we?” she asked, still much humor in her tone. “I can smell the roses.”

“Hiding the location wasn’t part of the plan,” he said with a grin. A few steps away from the table, he stopped. “I’m going to let you go, but you have to promise to keep your eyes closed.” When a lengthy pause followed his request, he insisted, “Do you promise?”

From beneath his hands he could feel her smile from the way her cheekbones brushed against his palms. “A promise.”

Heart thundering for no apparent reason other than a case of nerves, he slowly lifted his hands from her eyes and went around so he face her. She did indeed have her eyes closed, a brilliant smile lighting up her face. It was seven shades of wonderful. Especially when she blushed so sweetly. In front of him stood the girl he knew from that summer they spent together.

He waved his hands a few inches from her face. Only when she didn’t flinch back and he was sure that she wasn’t peeking that he backed away until he reached the table. Once there he positioned himself behind her chair and smiled.

“Open,” he said.

The second her eyelids lifted, her eyes sparkled with joy and wonder. She clasped her hands together and gasped. “Dillan, this…”

“The only words permitted out of your mouth are ‘beautiful,’ ‘wonderful,’ and ‘oh, Dillan, you are a genius.’”

She wrinkled her nose at the last part, which made him chuckle. “I was going for sweet. And it is beautiful,” she added just at the time he was about to frown. “No one has ever prepared something like this for me.”

He made a show of pulling out her seat and gesturing for her to come forward. She mimicked his playful grin and curtseyed before approaching. Then she spread her skirts and took a seat right as he pushed the chair in to catch her.

“Why thank you, good sir,” she said.

“The pleasure is all mine, my lady.” He took her hand and placed a gentle kiss on her knuckles, which granted him another soft blush. Their eyes met for the briefest moment before he reminded himself that he should take his own seat. He removed the domes from her plate and his and replaced them on another cart specifically set up for the purpose.

“Sundried tomato with cream,” she said like a question. “How did you—”

“I braved the wrath of the head chef.” He popped uncapped the decanter and poured two glasses of the pink wine. The sweetness of its aroma practically made Serena swoon as he brought her the glass.

She took a sip and smacked her lips. So unladylike, yet on her it was positively charming. “Ah. And you managed to survive.”

“By the skin of my teeth.” He settled in his seat and tasted the wine. The grimace couldn’t be stopped even if he wanted to stay polite. He studied the wine like it was some sort of potion that could turn him into a toad. “By The Light that is sweet. You like this stuff?”

A chuckle escaped her dewy lips, glistening from the horrid liquid. “It seems I’m the only one. My sweet tooth begs for it.”

“Hence the assortment of cakes and pastries.” He waved up and down at the cart.

“The head chef as outdone herself. I don’t know how we can possibly finish all this?” But before he could respond, she pinned him with a grateful stare. “Thank you for this, Dillan. When you said dinner I didn’t think you would go all out. You even got one of the apprentices to conjure up twinkle lights.”

“You caught that, huh?”

“There’s very little that I don’t know when it comes to this palace and its staff.”

He leaned back and rested his chin on a fist. “They love you very much, Serena. You should have seen all the threatening looks I’ve been getting all day. Worse than being hazed by my men. I get the feeling that one wrong move and it’s off with my head.”

Utter shock replaced her happiness. “I’m so sorry! They shouldn’t have been disrespectful to you. I will have a talk with everyone tomorrow. No!” She moved to push her chair back. “Why don’t I speak to them now? You are the Prince of The Light and should be respected accordingly.”

Dillan shook his head, stifling a laugh. “You don’t have to do that. I want to earn their respect. I’m just saying that I appreciate that they have very strong protective instincts toward you. That’s something to be admired about a ruler. It shows that you treat your people well.”

Dropping her gaze in an attempt to hide her embarrassment, she resettled in her seat. “I do what I can.”

“There’s no need to be humble, Serena. Not with me.” She lifted her gaze and met his squarely. “We’re about to be united for the rest of our lives. If we can’t be comfortable with one another then it’s going to be a long life together. That is also another reason why I arranged this dinner. I want us to start getting to know each other.”

“But that’s what the three stages are for.”

“Yes, but for this union to work we must reach beyond what is expected of us,” he said in all seriousness. “I’m not saying that we must fall in love. Far from it. I want us to start off as friends. Can we do that?”

The tension on her shoulders melted away. “I would really like that. To be honest, I had my doubts going into this. We haven’t seen each other in years and here we are asked to become High King and Queen.”

His own unease dissipated like the morning dew. “Oh, good! I thought I was the only one.”

Unabashed laughter escaped her. A lovely sound he wouldn’t mind hearing again and again, he found himself thinking. “I got that feeling when you sent your brother in your place.”

He rubbed a hand down his face, groaning. “I’m infinitely sorry I did that. I thought I was delaying the inevitable by sending Sebastian, but I deeply regret that decision now.”

“The attacks.”

“I wonder if they could have been prevented if I had come sooner.”

She reached across the table, palm facing up. He stared at her hand for a moment, puzzling out what she wanted. With a gentle smile, she crooked her fingers. Finally getting her intention, he placed his hand on hers. The contact was oddly comforting. To his surprise, he felt calluses where a sword grip would be. She must have made good with her threat of learning to fight with the express purpose of knocking him on his ass. He looked forward to the challenge he was sure she would issue any day now.

“Don’t blame yourself,” she said, pulling him away from his thoughts. “I’m sorry that your men died. I heard your squire…” The genuine concern in her features spread warmth across his chest.

“He was a good lad.”

“I’m sorry that had to happen. But you can’t change what has already come to pass.” She tightened her grip on his. “What we can do is move forward. Prevent such attacks from happening again.”

He nodded, taking strength from her touch. “What have you learned from reading the Scroll of the World?”

That was when she let go, leaving him feeling bereft. “Nothing much, I’m afraid. This occurrence with the minions is definitely something new. The best I can come up with was an instance centuries ago where the wards overloaded and the creatures got in. But there are safe guards against that now.”

“No mention of the ogres being controlled?”

“None. The Void is their source of power and the place where they return unless the pure power of The Light or The Dark destroys them.”

“Like what happens when I use Lightseeker.”

“Exactly.” She picked up her spoon and moved a piece of dried tomato around the sea of cream. “We have to trust that my uncle will find an answer to the attacks you suffered.”

His lips stretched into a tight line. “Then we must move forward with the union. It’s the only way we can ensure the return of the balance at full capacity.”

“Preparations are already underway.” Serena brought a spoonful of cream and tomato into her mouth and chewed merrily. “There’s no point in rushing things. For now, we eat.”

He returned her smile and raised his own spoon to his mouth. The moment the bite reached his tongue it took all his willpower not to spit the disgusting concoction. The tartness of the tomato warred miserably with the sweetness of the cream. And it was cold. Damn cold.

“Mmm,” he hummed in fake appreciation.

Dropping her spoon, she raised both hands to her mouth and laughed.

Brow furrowing, he asked, “Why do I get the feeling I’m the butt of some big joke?”

“I am so, so sorry,” she said between bouts of giggles.