Page 39 of Consort's Glory
Any other time,any other place, with anyone else, Theodore might have been impressed by the sheer, jaw-dropping audacity of Sophie Goode’s trespass in his territory.
As it stood, however, Theodore was furious.
Pushing his consort behind his back, he turned to confront the woman who, by means he couldn’t fathom, had circumvented the portable wards that his guard carried at all times.
Sophie Goode stood by their abandoned table. Dressed in a slim black pants suit, her graying hair pulled back into an elegant knot at the base of her neck, she looked like she was on her way to a business meeting, or about to make a speech on the UTA Congress floor. Her expression was utterly impassive, her hazel eyes cold. Even her scent radiated chill; a crispness that seared his nostrils when he breathed deeply. A weather witch by birth, everyone knew that Sophie Goode’s main ability was ice — in politics and magic.
Her companion stood half a step back. Theodore identified him at a glance: Alric Goode, Sophie’s protégé. He was tall for a human, his build thick in the way that implied frequent use of his arms and shoulders. His features were aquiline, his eyes hooded and his skin tone a rich golden brown. Scrawled across his skin in white ink were sigils too numerous to count. Power thrummed off of him in waves — hot and barely contained, the polar opposite to his Matriarch’s disturbing chill.
A gatekeeper. Alric was rarest of the rare: a glorian who could tear the very fabric of time and space with his bare hands.
In the same instant that his guards threw open the door to the private dining room, Theodore thought, No wonder she could get past the wards. She has her own damn m-gate on speed dial.
“We’re fine!” Theodore threw up a hand, forestalling his guard’s instinctive response to eliminate the intruders. They were a fiercely protective unit, one that he was proud to call his own, but this was not a situation they could solve with violence. Meeting the eyes of the captain of his guard through the haze of his glamour, Theodore shook his head. “Close the door, Laurence. I’ll handle this.”
There would be a furious conversation later, though. His guard took their responsibilities as a matter of life and death. This kind of blatant mistake, no matter how unavoidable, would hit them hard.
Feeling Margot attempt to step around him, Theodore grit his teeth and shifted to block her from sight. Logically, he knew that her grandmother was no threat, but his instinct was to protect, and the rest of him wasn’t exactly inclined to give Sophie Goode the benefit of the doubt.
When the door clicked shut, Sophie had the gall to arch a brow at him. “And how exactly do you plan on handling us, Mr. Solbourne?”
“By throwing you back the way you came,” he snapped, “before I take my due for this blatant disregard for both my borders and my privacy.”
“Both your borders and your privacy became moot points when you decided to hold my granddaughter hostage.” Sophie’s gaze slid to one side, no doubt taking in the sight of Margot leaning around Theodore’s arm. “This all could have been avoided if you had turned her over to the Collective this morning, but here we are.”
“Grandma, he’s not holding me hostage.” Margot ducked around him, but he didn’t let her get far. Snagging the back of her dress with the tips of his claws, Theodore prepared to haul her backward if she made to run to Sophie’s side.
Except she didn’t run. Margot halted only two steps away from him, putting herself solidly in the middle of the fuming parties. “I told you,” she continued, “I don’t need to be rescued. I am doing fine.”
“Fine?” Sophie’s eyes skimmed Margot’s face. There was no visible change in her expression, but something in her eyes got impossibly colder. “Explain to me why you’re covered in bruises. Or perhaps why you’ve gotten so thin again. Have you not been taking your supplements since you left?”
“Supplements?” Theodore frowned as Margot shrank ever-so-slightly backwards. Curving his fingers over her shoulder, he gently guided her closer. “What supplements?”
Margot’s gaze didn’t settle on his face for more than a moment. “I have a protein deficiency. It’s not a big deal.”
“It absolutely is a big deal.” Theodore glared at her, the temptation to bite almost too much to overcome. “Are you telling me that you've needed something for your health this whole time and you didn’t ask for it? Is that why you haven’t healed yourself yet?”
She didn’t respond, but the way she pursed her lips and wouldn’t meet his eyes was answer enough.
Theodore sucked in a huge breath. Calm. Calm. We will discuss it later. When he could bite her in private.
“I knew this was a bad idea,” Sophie interjected. “I knew it, and I let you and Tula talk me into it because I’m too soft with you. I see that now. I should have put my foot down the moment you floated the idea of coming here.” Turning her head to look at Alric, whose gaze slid slowly between Margot and Theodore, she commanded, “Open another gate, Alric. We’re taking her home.”
Margot and Theodore reacted at the same time. “No.”
Sophie was already turning, clearly expecting Margot to follow without question. “No?” She turned back around. “Have you lost your mind, Margot? You know what he is.”
Each word came faster than the last, sharper, until he could feel Sophie’s furious disapproval like tiny shards of ice piercing his skin. Theodore drew Margot closer. If it was bad for him, he couldn’t imagine what it must feel like for her.
“No,” his consort answered, unyielding. “No, I’m not going. I know what I’m doing, Grandma.” His neck tingled. It was a lie, but one he wasn’t about to call her on. “I didn’t ask you to come rescue me because I don’t need rescuing. I’m an adult. I can handle myself.”
Sophie arched a brow. “Since when, exactly?”
Theodore tensed, a snarl lifting his lip to reveal aching fangs. No one got to speak to his consort like that.
Before he could say anything, however, Margot broke away from his hold to stand in front of her grandmother, her hands on her hips. “Since now,” she bit out. “I’m not just your granddaughter, remember? I’m a Goode! I have some damn pride — and I can take care of myself. I didn’t need you to come rescue me and I definitely don’t need you to humiliate me.”
“Humiliate you? How?” Sophie didn’t raise her voice, but her eyes glittered with ice. “By trying to protect you? By doing everything in my power to keep you safe?” She didn’t give Margot time to respond before turning her head sharply toward her protégé. “Alric, the gate.”
