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“And the others?” Ben asked him.
Callidus furrowed his brow. “The Matriarch, Gabo, and Zauber the Great.”
Ben nodded. “I’m familiar with their names, but would they undertake such an arduous task?”
“For a price, I believe they would,” the emperor confirmed.
I raised my hand. “Who are these people? Gabber and Zauber and the Patriarch?”
“The Matriarch,” Ben corrected me with a smile. “She’s an old crone who sells her magic to the highest bidder.”
“And one who has lived far beyond her years,” Edouard chimed in with a curl of his lips. “It could only be dark sorcery that has kept her alive.”
“And the others?” I wondered.
“Gabo and Zauber the Great are sorcerers, men of powerful craft but a weakness for money,” Callidus told me.
I looked over each of the men in the group. “So do any of them have a knack for making up storms and brewing cursed fog?”
“All of them, given enough time, could be able to perform such feats as what we are witnessing,” Callidus revealed.
“How long has this truce been in the making?” Ben asked our royal personage.
“Long enough to be leaked to our foes, though the date was only finalized two weeks ago.”
“And the location for the meeting?”
Callidus sighed. “That, unfortunately, was never mine to decide. King Eall refused to leave his woods, so it was merely a matter of timing.”
A draft blew past us and made me shiver. The chill air reminded us that the fog lurked just beyond the walls.
The emperor offered me his arm and a smile. “Shall we venture into the depths of Rookwood Manor?”
“Perhaps Millie and I should go together,” Ben spoke up.
The emperor feigned displeasure, though there was a tone in his voice that hinted at a seriousness that wasn’t to be taken lightly. “You wouldn’t keep your emperor away from the pleasure of such a beautiful woman, would you?”
Ben lifted his chin somewhat and tried to hide his displeasure. “Not at all, Your Majesty. I was merely pointing out that Commander Edouard would be more eager for your company.”
“And I would,” Edouard chimed in as he set a hand on the hilt of his sword. “We don’t know what danger is around here.”
“Nothing Miss Lucas and I cannot manage on our own,” Callidus insisted as he looped his arm around mine and proceeded into the next room. Fysan swooped in front of us. “We shall return in good time, gentlemen, and then you shall have your turn at the watch!”
I couldn’t help but snort at the image of Edouard and Ben taking the watch together, mortal enemies helping one another.
“Something amuses you, Miss Lucas?” Callidus asked me as we strolled through the museum that was Aunt Dreda’s house.
I straightened and shook my head. “N-nothing.”
He now chuckled. “You are a terrible liar, Miss Lucas.”
I couldn’t help but wrinkle my nose. “You know, you don’t have to call me that. Millie would be just fine.”
He smiled and inclined his head to me. “It would be my honor to call you by your name, and what would you like to call me?”
“Dreda keeps calling you ‘Cal,’” I mused.
He stared ahead as we wandered through the jungle of trinkets and baubles, accumulated by centuries of family eccentricity. “Yes. A familiar name from our time together as children.”
