Page 124 of Consort's Glory
His hair was a thousand colors of ruby and carnelian and amber. His skin was a soft gold. His eyes were Solbourne dark and large, soulful, set in a face of angles offset by a sensitive, plush mouth. The bone structure reminded her of Theodore and Kaz, but the rest of him looked exactly like— Margot blinked hard, a shiver of unease rippling across her skin.
Thaddeus.The mad sovereign stared up at her as he took her hand and gave it a firm shake.
No, he’s dead. Margot knew that. Everyone knew that. Theodore had gone so far as to tell her the true story of what happened the night Thaddeus finally lost his crown — and his head — but seeing Sam was still a shock.
“It’s a pleasure to finally meet you,” he replied in a voice that was all pleasant raspiness and soft syllables. “Don’t worry about thinking you missed me. I skipped the meeting and watched from a live feed in my suite.”
“Ah.” Margot forced a smile. Thaddeus was ten years dead by the time she came into the world and still his likeness inspired a churning dread in her. “If I knew that was an option, I might have joined you.”
“I don’t know. You looked pretty at home up in front of the horde.” He let her hand go with a small squeeze. She was surprised to see that, unlike every other elf in the room, Sam didn’t bother with gloves. His claws stood out against the gold of his skin, their diamond-hard tips gleaming in the light.
“I’m used to that sort of thing,” she replied. “Collective meetings aren’t that different, really, and being from a big Coven involves a lot more shouting than you might think.”
Theodore’s older brother offered her a small, shy smile. “I’m glad you were prepared. I would have folded under all that scrutiny.”
“Sam is the Head of the Treasury,” Winnie proudly explained. She pressed an errant wave of red hair back against his head with a loving caress of her claws. “He runs nearly the entire Protectorate economy from his lab, all custom built and incredibly advanced. I swear, he can work miracles with all those numbers and codes.”
Margot eyed Sam closely, the understanding of where he fit into the hierarchy snapping into place. This man, with his soft eyes and rueful smile, held a staggering amount of power. How was it that she didn’t know him? Surely, if his role was public knowledge, everyone would know the face of the man who kept one of the biggest economies in the UTA going. “Theodore mentioned that you live in Nevada. Do you live close to Vegas?”
Sam shook his head. “No, I own property in the high desert, several hours away from any major city. I have to go there occasionally, but I don’t make a habit of it.”
“Doesn’t the Luz family control Vegas?”
“Yes, but I rarely have any trouble with them,” he answered, shrugging. “They don’t notice me, generally, and when they do, they know I’m not going to be in their territory long. I own the land around a small lake called Fort Ruby and I prefer to be there above just about anywhere else. Life’s simple and quiet there.”
Margot blinked, surprised once again. Elves didn’t often venture too deep into the wilderness, as they generally preferred their tall towers of glass and metal, as well as the comforts of city life. Theodore mentioned Sam lived in seclusion, but she assumed it was in some sort of high tech elvish enclave. The way he spoke, it sounded more like a ranch. Or a bunker.
Eventually, Margot settled in beside Sam on the couch. She, Sam, and Winnie spoke for a long time, trading stories about their homes — Sam was very proud of the hot springs around his property, just as she was proud to say the Goode lake would freeze his toes off in the winter and yet offer a breathtaking view all year round — before Kaz and Cameron wandered over.
At some point in the evening, Margot forgot to be self-conscious and just… enjoyed herself.
The elves were different, sure, and Kaz liked to tease her about what a hellion she was in his deadpan way, but talking to them, letting their voices wash over her as they traded stories and jokes back and forth, felt natural. Like home.
I missed this. I missed being in a family, she thought, just as Delilah meandered back into the room. Their eyes met. Delilah tipped her head toward the door, mouthing, Teddy.
Margot set her empty glass of cider down on the coffee table. But I miss him more.
Rising from the couch, Margot made her excuses and hurried out of the room. She shared another look with Delilah as she passed her in the doorway, but Margot couldn’t make heads or tails out of the inscrutable expression in the former sovereign’s dark, dark eyes. Nor could she decipher the small, knowing smile.
Doesn’t matter.
She found Theodore in his study. The sight of him leaning against his desk, his head bent and his hair in disarray like he’d run his claws through it again and again, made her heart squeeze.
Touch hunger ran like razors over her skin. It made her want to cross the distance between them at a run. It made her want to lock the door and keep him to herself for as long as it took to satisfy the beast in her gut that craved him so violently. Margot the witch understood that they had to make certain sacrifices for their long-term relationship, but that other part of her couldn’t take the interruptions, the distance, the distractions from the one thing she wanted above all else — him.
Closing the door behind her, Margot quietly flipped the lock before making her way across the room. Her voice was husky when she said, “Hey, baby.”
Theodore lifted his head. His eyes, normally full of humor and warmth, were dull with the sadness that permeated their bond. “Hey.”
Margot pushed aside some papers and a sleek tablet to perch on his desk. Drawing him into the circle of her arms and legs, she cupped his cheeks. “This hurt you,” she whispered, his pain settling under her skin like tiny pieces of glass. “Do you want to talk about it?”
He let out a ragged sigh. “I just… I can understand why she did it. I can understand that you were never in any danger. I can even appreciate the ruthlessness of it.” He shook his head slowly. Theodore’s hands, ungloved, settled on the desk by her hips as he bent to touch their sigils together. “But none of that means this doesn’t feel like a betrayal.”
Margot stroked his cheeks, his jaw, wishing there was more she could do to help him. “I know. That’s a terrible feeling.”
“Yes.” He breathed deeply. “Yes, it is. I’ll get past it. I have to. She’s my sister. She and Winnie raised me, and without her, I wouldn’t have you right now. But I’m going to need a while to forgive her for it.”
“Did you tell her that?”
