Roff—his father? It didn't seem real. If Toff could have picked his father from all those he knew, he realized that Roff would have been his choice. Now, he wandered through the residential wing, searching for Roff's suite. He'd been brought into the palace, not just because the Queen wanted to adopt him, but because his father lived there. His father was one of the Queen's mates. Toff hesitated as the realization hit him. Wiping his eyes again, he continued his search.
"This is bad," Ry turned in a circle, taking in his empty bedroom. "Mom is going to kill us, because we let the cat out of the bag and now Toff has run away."
"Come on, bro, let's find Uncle Drake and Uncle Drew," Tory muttered, raking a hand through dark hair in confusion. "I thought he'd want to know. I would."
"Contact your uncles, but we should probably let Roff know first," Trik sighed. "This is our fault, and Roff deserves to be the first to know."
"Yeah, I guess you're right," Ry agreed reluctantly.
Uncle Drew? Ry sent mindspeech as all three made their way into the hall and turned, going as quickly as Trik's motorized chair would allow toward Roff's suite of rooms.
Toff raised his hand to knock. Roff's name was on the outside of his suite, just as all the other names were. He hesitated. How was he going to tell Roff that he knew? Should he ask? Could he do that, without breaking down? Thoughts leapt and whirled inside his mind, none of them staying for more than a moment, keeping him from latching onto any of them for careful examination. Redbird's face appeared, replaced by that of Corent. Rain. Father Tiearan. Willow. Gren. Toff sobbed as the images appeared and disappeared. They'd taken him away from his parent.
"Child?" Roff flung the door open and knelt next to Toff. "What is wrong? Are you hurt? What has happened?" His hands went to Toff's face, which was wet with tears.
"Papu?" Toff broke down completely.
Once Drew received mindspeech from Ry, he sent mindspeech out to Lissa and all her mates as he and Drake raced toward Roff's suite. Winkler, who was with Lissa, folded her to Roff's door. Lissa looked terrified to Drew as he and his brother arrived almost at the same moment.
"Where could he go?" Lissa moaned.
"Mom!" Tory shouted at the end of the hall. He broke into a lope, leaving Ry and Trik behind.
"Torevik Rath, if I find out you've upset him—we were waiting until the proper moment," Lissa wiped tears away. "I sent all the guards out looking, but nobody saw him leave the palace."
"There's no need to look, he's here." Roff opened the door to his suite, and Toff was beside him, held tightly against Roff's chest with a strong, well-muscled arm. A soft, leathery wingtip covered part of Toff's back. Toff had both arms around his father, and it looked as if he'd been crying.
"They're happy tears," Roff murmured and tightened his hold on his son.
"Thank the stars," Lissa muttered.
Chapter 14
Lissa's Journal
"He spent the last three nights in Roff's suite, but eventually decided to go back to his room with the other boys." I leaned against Winkler in bed. His hand was rubbing my belly—he'd already called for a croissant and some milk, which I'd eaten while he watched. He didn't want a repeat of the wastebasket scene. I didn't want a repeat of that either, but didn't voice my opinion aloud.
"At least he knows, now, and seems to be content with it," Winkler agreed. "And he's a teenager. They need their own space, no matter how well they get along with their parents."
"True," I agreed. "I still don't know whether to be mad at those boys for telling him, or to be grateful to them."
"I think it went better than any of us could have hoped," Winkler pointed out judiciously, a mischievous glint in his almost-black eyes. "Toff went straight to Roff when he found out. You can't hope for a better outcome than that."
"Roff is happy," I said. "Toff is happy. You're right, we can't hope for a better outcome than that."
"On another note, when are we taking Narissa to Evensun?" Winkler leaned back and kissed my nape, sending a shiver through me. Everybody (who wants one) ought to be gifted with an amorous werewolf in their bed at least once in their life. Just sayin'.
"In three days, and Aurelius and Thurlow are taking her. I don't want any part of that," I mumbled as Winkler kissed his way down my spine. Honestly, I think sex is mother nature's way of blocking unpleasant thoughts. Mine were certainly blocked in very little time.
"Look." Trik held out his arms as he grinned helplessly at Ry, Tory and Toff. He was standing for the first time in his life.
"Damn," Tory swore in amazement.
"Do you need someone to help you balance?" Toff thought to ask as Trik wavered slightly.
"Maybe," Trik chuckled. "But I'm standing!"
Toff reached Trik just in time—he might have fallen when the knock came on their shared door.
"Well, look at you," Queen Lissa walked in, followed by Uncles Drake, Drew and Winkler. Gavin wandered in only a moment later.
"See?" Trik was quite proud of himself.
"I see," Lissa nodded. "That's outstanding. You'll be running in no time."
"I want to. I want to know what that feels like," Trik turned excited green eyes toward the Queen.
"I came to see you, Trik," a dimple appeared in Lissa's cheek as she smiled at him. "I've received messages from Shadow and Glendes Grey. They'll be performing the rite at Grey House to test the talent of two others in a week. They asked if you wanted to be included in this year's rite or if you wanted to wait until next year."
"They want to include me?" Trik's voice squeaked, causing him to flush.
"Of course they do. If that's what you want." The Queen smiled encouragingly.
"I do," Trik nodded enthusiastically. "Please tell them yes."
"You can tell Shadow yourself—he'll be here with Nissa in two days."
"Nissa's coming?" Toff squeaked this time.
"Yes," Lissa's smile brightened—she was looking forward to Nissa's visit, too. "On her off-day."
Toff's mind flew in all directions. He wanted to plan something special. He wanted to buy Nissa a gift. He wanted her to himself, just to sit and talk.
"I think we need a week for all that," Drake laughed after pulling the thoughts straight from Toff's mind.
"Yes," Toff lowered his chin, suddenly embarrassed.
"We want all those things, too, honey." Lissa stood before him, lifting his chin again and studying his face. "But we only get her here once in a while, so we have to be careful or we'll wear her out. This is her off-day, and she needs to rest a little."
"Can we go to the beach house?" Tory asked. "Trik needs some sun."
"You know, I think that's a good idea," Lissa agreed. "I'll just tell Shadow to bring Nissa there, and all of you can spend an hour or two on the beach."
"I'll see the ocean?" Toff was breathless with excitement.
"You'll see the ocean," Lissa hugged him tightly.
"I want you to go with Tandias," Zellar snapped at Gren. "He can slip past the barrier surrounding Le-Ath Veronis. It's quite lucky for us that Tandias was once of a race that holds power apart from that of the Ra'Ak. He gets past Le-Ath Veronis' barrier using that ability. Too bad Viregruz didn't send you after the bitch Queen when he had the chance," Zellar turned to Tandias.
"He had a schedule to keep, and I was kept busy elsewhere," Tandias turned a warning look on Zellar. "My master seldom asked me to deviate from my assignments, and he felt that the Queen's death might be achieved through other means. I intend to avenge his death. Do not question my master's choices again." Tandias turned away from Zellar.
"Yes, well," Zellar cleared his throat before focusing on Gren, "Once you're on Le-Ath Veronis, tap into the core again," Zellar continued. "We'll need your talent and you'll need the extra power when we attack the Queen's palace," Zellar blinked his remaining eye at Gren. "We can't get you back to one of your original tapping sites, so you'll have to tap the core from another spot. Tandias and I believe this to be the best place." Zellar rapped the electronic map Tandias had procured for him on Gloesse.
Gren studied the map, eventually working out the images presented. "That's an outcropping of rock in the Western Sea," he complained, raising his gaze to Zellar's face. He looked away quickly—he couldn't keep his eyes on Zellar's raw, left countenance for long; Zellar didn't like it and Gren found it uncomfortable anyway.
"It's perfect," Zellar declared. "They call it The Tooth for a reason—it's steep and pointed, plus the rock is extremely sharp. It's also ten clicks from the shoreline. Nobody goes there. Tandias will find a safe place for you to stand while you tap into the core beneath the water."
"We could tap another planet," Gren muttered, staring at his shoes. They were worn through the soles, but Zellar refused to find shoes or additional clothing for him. He was tired of sleeping on the floor, too, but Zellar had struck him once already for complaining.
"Tandias and I intend to exact the greatest amount of revenge against the Queen of Le-Ath Veronis. This," Zellar tapped the corner of his closed and useless eye, "she did this to me. She destroyed Tandias' brotherhood, too. We both want to destroy her and her planet. Tapping from multiple locations kills it faster."
Gren stared in shock—tapping the planet killed it? He wanted to moan in frustration. He had begun to regret his liaison with Zellar, and this only made it worse. His parents were on Le-Ath Veronis. They liked it there. "Ah," Zeller nodded and turned away with a laugh. "You didn't know that, did you? Get used to it," Zellar turned again swiftly and slapped Gren hard across the face. "And don't let me hear your complaints again. You'll go with Tandias tomorrow, you'll take the power and then we'll make our plans."