BW9 CH1

Chapter One

Sean was lost in thought as he slowly got dressed. Over the last two tendays, they’d settled in to Accord. They’d made allies with a few Lords, and Hallie was establishing them with the lesser nobles. They’d even planned an informal dinner party tomorrow with those nobles.

Hallie had been cautious in finding out about Lady Camilla Fireheart. Fireheart was the heir to the main family of that same name, and was supposedly going to marry Lord Truestrike. Sean knew he should stop in to speak with Velin and Solanice in the bog to get more information soon.

The clinic had seen an uptick in people to heal. Between the guard bringing them people and the less fortunate of the city, they always had business. Sean was sure the other healers would be taking notice soon. He’d only met them all once, so he knew today would be even more important.

The good news was that the staff had been phased out over the last two days— only Aria was still working for Forged Bonds. She was sure she’d be done before Tenday, which made her happy. She wanted to be there for the family outing they’d planned for that day.

There were still things to handle besides the party coming up: Augustus MacLenn was uncertain if Octavius would ally the MacLenn family with Forged Bonds or not. Sean was sure he’d be dragged into that soon.

Vasu Flamehair was willing to show Sean the sewers when Sean had time. It was something Sean still wanted to get to, as he was sure he could find ways to improve it for his friends.

On top of that, he still wanted to go to the Accord library in the central tower. Somewhere in there was the story about the Agreement between the Tuatha and the Queens that started this whole journey.

Strapping on the mithril jewelry that contained his armor and weapons wasn’t even conscious— it was second nature, now. The adamantine ring with a single sharp thorn inside of it never left his hand. That thorn let his sentient sword, Dark Cutter, stay in top shape. The last piece of adornment he put on was the braided bracelet that’d been made back in Oakwood. It helped remind him of why he was on this course to get vengeance on Truestrike.

Leaving the dressing room behind, Sean briefly passed through the master bedroom on his way down to breakfast. He went by the empty room he used periodically to have alone time with a wife or two instead of all nine of them. After that came the staff rooms. His lips twitched into a smile as he thought about how they’d paired off. It really did make him happy to know the people he cared for had love.

The second floor held rooms he was proud of, as he’d made sure they were set up for his wives and staff. There was a woodworking shop, a dance studio, a music studio, a painting room, and a workout room. The last one he was very proud of, as he’d put together a weight set for Quinna and Quilla. The twins were ecstatic when he showed it to them, and he’d heard the other staff even joined them on and off at times.

The study and library accounted for the last few rooms on the second floor. Fiona used the study to keep their household accounts. Sean had a desk in it, but he hadn’t used it at all yet. The library was mostly used by the younger fairies who were learning to read, write, and do math. One of the staff always pulled a book for them after breakfast; that made Sean’s heart warm to know how much all of his family cared for each other. While the staff wasn’t married to him yet, they were as close as family already.

When he made it to the front room, his steps slowed, as they always did. The memorial walls dominate the front room— his eyes always went to Lilly and Chastity first. Their likeness always caused him a little pain whenever he saw the memorials. Sure they were on his divine plane, but they’d died during his conflicts in Hearthglen. Next to Chastity’s likeness was her mother, Marjorie. She’d also died during that conflict, killed by one of Truestrike’s minions. The last non-Fairy or cuon was Rosa, Rumia’s mother. The part-Dryad took care of the gardens on his plane now, but Sean still harbored some sorrow for her death, as it had hurt Rumia.

Looking away from them, he glanced at the Messenger Fairies who’d died in his service. Most of them had been killed when Lord Sharpeyes tried to kill Sean, but one had died when his wives had. Omin now led the dead Fairies on Sean’s plane, making sure they were happy while they waited for their paired to join them. The last likeness on the wall was for the cuons. Sean had made them for the hounds who’d died during the attack on Sharpeyes’ manor. He’d ordered them to fight and they had. As part of his pack, they’d gone to his plane when they died. He hadn’t known them, but they’d been his allies. The only cuon he’d known had died trying to save Rosa when his manor in Hearthglen had been attacked. Ursa had been the mate for Caleb, his then alpha, and had been the first cuon enshrined in his homes.

Pushing past his sorrow, Sean made it down the hall to the dining room. When he entered, he let his eyes drift over everyone who was already seated. His wives, the staff, and Mizuki Mooncaller were all chatting amiably with each other. A few gave him smiles when he went toward his seat at the head of the table.

“Good morning, ladies,” Sean greeted the room, getting a chorus of good mornings in return.

He was just sitting down when the door opened, allowing Glorina, Mona, and Lona into the room with the laden carts. The trio of Rabbit Moonbound served the table in short order before taking their own seats.

“Smells wonderful,” Sean said as he served himself. He still found the fact he had to serve himself before the others could silly.

The room was mostly quiet as they ate. The little pieces of conversation were about the food. The cooks all thanked them for the kind words and answered the couple of questions asked about the meal.

With the meal over, Sean exhaled happily. “Tasted even better than it smelled, and it smelled wonderful, as I said. Good job, ladies.”

All three Rabbit Moonbound thanked him.

“Ladies,” Fiona said, her heterochromatic eyes sweeping the staff, “I’ve set up the rotation of who goes on what days to the clinic. One staff and two of Sean’s wives will always be there. Glorina, would you swap tomorrow for the day after?”

“Yes. I have to be here to handle dinner prep,” Glorina nodded.

“Thank you. I was sure you would. Aria will be there every day once she’s done with the workshop. At the moment, we’re pretty sure she’d be close enough for her to catch us if something terrible happened.”

“Helga and I will be there most of the time, too,” Sean said. “Considering the workshop and clinic are next door, though, we’re confident that she’s close enough if I have to go out.”

“We understand, sir,” Tiska said, her jackal ears twitching slightly.

Fiona gave the maid a smile. “Thank you, Tiska. Hallie will be home most of the time, or out handling our connections to the nobility. That’s the best we can do about spacing out the Choosers until we get another one.”

“As soon as I feel able, I will be pulling others into the role,” Helga said. The former Valkyrie looked over the staff. “Sean’s wives will be chosen first, but once we are all Choosers, then you will have a chance to take up the mantle.”

Quinna and Quilla nodded, though both looked a bit sad at the news. The two Bovine Moonbound were powerfully built and had asked before about being able to be chosen for the role, but neither would begrudge Sean’s wives the chance to be Choosers first.

“Tomorrow, we’ll be having the informal dinner with the lower nobles Hallie has talked with, along with Dame Evelyn Bloodheart and our friends,” Fiona went on. “Today, we focus on making sure the house is perfectly in order. We’ve done the best we could when most of us were occupied, but now we’re mostly home, so we can get things perfected again.”

The staff all chorused agreement to her words.

“And tonight, I’ll be going to see the healers again,” Sean added. “Hallie will be with me. I’m not sure if our sudden surge of customers has caused any hard feelings yet or not, but I want to get ahead of it, if possible.”

“We’ll do our best,” Hallie smiled at him, her bright blue eyes filled with love.

“Sir,” Rumia asked slowly, “we’re still going to the gardens on Tenday, right?”

Sean gave the gardener a soft smile. “Yes, Rumia. All of us, the whole family. That includes you, Mom,” he said, looking at Mizuki, “if you want.”

Mizuki grinned at him— she still recalled how she’d erred when first meeting him. “I will stay home. I’ve never been one for plants, and I’m thinking that it just being your wives and wives-to-be would be better.”

“Okay,” Sean said, “but that’s days away. Let’s focus on the big steps before us, first.”

Everyone agreed with him.

Sean got to his feet. “Ladies, we’ve barely begun what we came here for. I’m sure things will get ugly again… I hope it won’t be as bad as before, but no matter what, I’ll do my best for all of you.”

“We believe in you, sir,” Arliat said, the others agreeing with her immediately.

“As do we, husband,” Fiona smiled at him, brushing some of her red hair behind a slightly pointed ear.

“Let’s get the day started,” Sean said. “Those going to the clinic, meet me out back in five minutes.”