Calista and my dominants would not let me go to Baladar’s on my own, so I promised them they could accompany me there, but that Kade and I would go inside to speak with him alone. We were the king and queen of the Earth side mecca, the only ones who could really fix this issue, and I wanted privacy if we were to speak of such sensitive things.
As Kade and I stepped out of the car and approached the door, I realized my palms were slightly damp. Nerves were getting to me. Glancing back, my guards spread out around the blacked-out SUV, arms crossed. They had their hands aloft, ready to grab weapons if needed.
Calista was inside the vehicle with Violet. My advisor was no doubt nervous about being back here, close to the shifter who called her the love of his life.
Reaching the door, I pulled out the special key before pausing and looking at Kade. “So this guy is … different … and his place is very magical. And possibly dangerous.” I didn’t know how to prepare Kade for the onslaught of loud music, glowing flowers, and dancing shifter socialites. Not to mention the random fae who seemed to show up there.
Kade gave me a sideways grin. “Don’t worry. I’ll protect you.”
With a shake of my head, I worked hard to not roll my eyes at him. This damn bear certainly knew how to push all of my buttons. I stepped forward and slipped the key into the lock. The second it clicked, an eerie calm swept over us. I could no longer hear the street noise, or any noise really. Just the sound of my own breathing.
“Hmm,” Kade said behind me, sounding a combination of intrigued and annoyed. I pushed the door open. Instead of being assaulted by loud music, black lights, and a long hallway, we were standing in a beautiful foyer with dark hardwood floors. Soft classical music was playing in the background. I stepped inside and Kade followed, shutting the door behind us.
There was no one in sight and I could not scent any shifters nearby. “Hello? Sir Baladar?” I raised my voice, stepping further into the room. I was astonished at the elegant beauty surrounding us; the inside was completely transformed.
How powerful was this magic born? He could create more than illusion, he could literally shift his entire space around to suit his mood or his guests. Kade tapped my arm and pointed across the open foyer to a hallway, where a stunning indigo blue and yellow butterfly was flapping its wings. As soon as we noticed the insect, it took off down the hall.
Kade and I shared a look. “Let’s go,” he said, stepping in front of me.
Gritting my teeth, I didn’t argue. For now his ego could rest easy thinking it was the big protective, macho male. The hallway we traversed was extra wide, with tall ceilings and a rich maroon-patterned wall paper, gold flecks spattered across the bold color. Kade was huge enough that despite the width of this hall, I couldn’t really see around him. Where was the butterfly now?
“God, how big are you? I can’t see!” I grumbled.
He spun around quickly, too quickly for me to stop before I slammed into his chest. My breath escaped me in a rush as I put my hands on his biceps to steady myself. Kade’s eyes went from subdued amber to molten fire in a millisecond.
“I’ve never had any complaints about my size before.”
I swallowed hard, reminding myself to breathe. Of course breathing just meant I was inhaling his scent in large gulps, and that drove my inner wolf crazy. Dammit! I wasn’t going to play into his flirting games any longer. Growling lightly, I stepped sideways and kept walking.
“Come on.”
When I looked back he had a smile on his face. That damn bear knew exactly what he was doing. Picking up the pace I turned the corner, moving through a set of open double doors that led out into a … wow!
I was standing in some type of butterfly atrium that was half inside and half outside. The entire room was screened with mesh and filled with hundreds of stunning and colorful butterflies. They flittered about, landing on the greenest and most vibrant flowers I had ever seen. The space was huge, maybe sixty feet long and twenty feet wide.
“Well, this is unexpected,” Kade said, his eyes just a little wider than usual as he took in the beauty before us.
A streak of white caught my attention. Sir Baladar was walking toward us wearing casual white linen pants, a white tunic, and a little bowlers hat. He was beaming from ear to ear. “Your Majesties. I’m so honored to have you in my home.” He opened his arms wide and bowed deeply.
I smiled and stepped forward. “Sir Baladar, the pleasure is all ours. This is King Kade of the bear shifters.”
Baladar nodded. “We are well met.”
Kade looked a combination of impressed and intrigued. “Well met indeed.” He then gestured around to the butterflies. “Are they real? Or magic?”
Baladar got an extra twinkle in his eye then. “Isn’t magic real? Can we ever truly tell what is real and illusion?”
Annnd now we were back to me having no idea if this was all a deception or if Baladar was the most powerful magic born. Ever.
A medium size, circular table appeared out of thin air before us. Atop the white table was an assortment of teas, including a steaming teapot, milk, and a variety of cookies. There were three chairs already waiting for us to fill them.
What. The. Hell?
“Please … have a seat.” Baladar gestured, his tone magnanimous.
Kade looked at me and raised an eyebrow and I knew immediately what had that wary look in his eyes. Sir Baladar was very powerful, and that clearly unnerved the king a little. Me too, if I was being perfectly honest.
Of course, since we needed Baladar’s help, we had no choice but to play the part here today. We both sat, and I waited until the magic born was across from me before I leaned forward. I was done wasting time on pleasantries.
“We need your help in fixing the unstable mecca.”
Sir Baladar nodded as if he’d expected this. “Magic born are fascinating creatures,” he said randomly. “Did you know they hold a particularly close bond with the mecca? They can actually see the energy. Violet especially. It speaks to her.”
I raised one eyebrow. “Yes, Violet is amazing, but what does that have to do with the help we need? Can she just speak to the mecca and tell it to move back to the Otherworld?”
I was confused, which was not a place I found myself often. Usually I was quick to figure things out. Of course, he did seem to be a shifter who erratically jumped around topics with ease, so it was probably not all my fault. Either way, I needed to know what he was talking about.
Of course, the more he was silent, the more I thought about his weirdness. Like why did he refer to magic born as if he wasn’t one? Seriously, he had the white coloring and magical abilities, so what else could he be?
He leaned forward, peering into my eyes with his crystalline blue gaze. “You should know that magic is never that simple, Your Majesty.”
It took me a minute to realize he was answering my question about Violet telling the mecca to return.
“The point I’m trying to make is that a magic born can temporarily share powers with their queen.”