Caledonia Fae 04- Druid Lords Read Free Page B

made her way up the stairs to the main living room. By the time she arrived, she managed to paste a smile on her face. “Where’s my little man?” she called through the doorway.
    A small boy lay on the couch next to her grandmother, his head nestled on the older lady’s bosom. He beamed through sleepy eyes. The bright smile melted her worries away. “Mama!”
    “Come kiss me, Jago,” Demi said with a tender smile. “Then it’s off to bed. Omi shouldn’t let you stay up so late.”
    Her grandmother stood when Jago toddled over to Demi. The boy planted a wet kiss on Demi’s face and giggled.
    “Maybe,” Omi said, “Mama shouldn’t have been out so late.”
    Demi picked Jago up. A healthy size at four years old, he was almost too big for her to carry up the stairs, but she loved to hold him. A flash of protective worry went through her, but she tried her best to push the feeling aside. She had close to two years before he would be old enough for school. “Mama had to go look for a job,” Demi said in a playful voice to Jago, although she directed her words at her grandmother.
    “I like it best when you stay with me, Mama,” Jago said and yawned.
    “Me too,” she replied with a grin. “Come on. Bed time.”
    He laid his head on her shoulder with a contented sigh and fell asleep before they reached the upstairs bedroom he shared with his Omi. Demi kissed his forehead and tucked the blankets around him, then watched him sleep for a moment. Finally, she tore herself away to face her grandmother’s predictable questioning.
    When Demi went back to the living room, she found her grandmother peering into the street below. “Who is that man?” she asked.
    Demi’s heart filled with dread. She followed the older woman’s gaze to a dark corner. The figure in the shadows barely moved. If she hadn’t known he was there, she might have missed him altogether. “I met him at the coffee shop where I applied for the job. He must have followed me here.”
    “Is he—”
    “No,” Demi interrupted. “He’s an artist.”
    “He may be working for Ulric.”
    Demi shuddered. She hated even the sound of that name. “He was selling his work to the owner. He wasn't there for me.”
    Her grandmother turned sharp eyes on Demi. “He’s here for you now.” Her tone held a warning. “You have to get rid of him.”
    “He’ll go away on his own. He’s only a man.” Demi hoped she spoke the truth.
    “Think of Jago,” her grandmother insisted.
    “I do,” Demi said impatiently. “Every moment of every day.” Tears stung her eyes, but she refused to let them fall. “He’s only a man.”
    ∞
    Munro waited for the queens to gather, keeping back so as not to call too much attention to himself. That was not an easy task, because even after well over a year in the Otherworld, he and his druid comrades still caused a stir wherever they went. At least this time, the queens were too occupied with watching the blue portal to bother about him.
    The queens arrived with their usual entourages, but quickly everyone except the queen herself and one or two others would make their way beyond the courtyard to their kingdom’s Hall. Still, before long, the large courtyard felt crowded, and the keepers had not even surfaced from the chamber below. The queens didn't speak to one another, and most maintained an icy and calm appearance. Occasionally, Munro would catch one giving another a furtive glance. Clearly, something worried them.
    After an hour, Munro wandered to the library entrance and took the downward spiralling stairs two at a time. Several keepers gathered in the back of the large entrance hall, and they glanced up when he entered. Their grim expressions, however, prevented him from approaching. He didn't see Oszlár, the head keeper with whom he worked the most. Of course, any of the keepers would have been happy to lend assistance to one of the druids. When it came to matters of important advice, however, they always