Swallowing Darkness - Laurell K. Hamilton [7]
But he had come into the Seelie Court to find me because he, like me, was good at subtle glamour. We could both change our appearances while someone was watching, and stand a chance of having them see only the change we wanted them to see. It had been the magic that had stayed with all of faeriekind, as other, seemingly more powerful, magics had faded.
I reached up with my hand, but the IV made me stop the motion. He leaned down and laid a soft kiss on my mouth. He was the first man who had kissed me there since I was brought into the hospital. It felt almost startling, but good. Had the others been afraid of truly kissing me? Afraid it would remind me of what my uncle had done?
“I like the smile better,” Galen said.
I smiled for him. He’d been making me smile in spite of myself for decades.
He touched the line of my cheek, as delicately as a butterfly’s wing. That one small touch made me shiver, but not with fear. His smile brightened, and it made me remember why I had once loved him above all others.
“Better, but I have someone here who I think will help the smile stay.” He moved so I could see the much smaller figure behind him. Gran was more than a foot shorter than Galen.
She had my mother’s long, wavy hair, still a deep chestnut brown even though she was several hundred years old. Her eyes were liquid and brown and traditionally lovely. The rest of her wasn’t so traditional. Her face was more brownie than human, which meant she had no nose. The holes were there, but nothing else, and very little lips, so that her face seemed skeletal. Her skin was wrinkled and brown and it wasn’t from age, just taking after her brownie heritage. The eyes might have been my great-grandmother’s eyes, but the hair had to be my great-grandfather’s. He had been a Scottish farmer, and farmers didn’t have portraits painted. I had only glimpses of Gran and my mother and aunt to see what I could see of the human side of my family.
Gran came to the edge of the bed and laid her hand over mine. “Dearie, my little dear, what ha’ they done to thee?” Her eyes were shiny with unshed tears.
I moved my free hand to put over hers, where it lay over the IV. “Don’t cry, Gran, please.”
“An’ why not?” she asked.
“Because if you do, so will I.”
She gave a loud sniff, and nodded briskly. “That’s a good reason, Merry. If you can be this brave, so can I.”
My eyes burned, and my throat was suddenly tight. It was irrational, but somehow I felt safer with this tiny woman beside me than I had with the guards. They were trained to give their life for me, and they were some of the finest warriors the court could boast, but I hadn’t felt safe, not really. Now, Gran was here, and there was still something of that childhood feeling that as long as she was with me nothing truly bad could happen. If only it were true.
“The king will suffer for this outrage, Merry, my oath on that.”
The tears began to fade, on a wash of pure terror. I gripped her hand tightly. “I’ve forbidden the men to either assassinate him or challenge him to a duel, Gran. You are to leave the Seelie Court alone, too.”
“I am not your bodyguard to be bossed around, child.” The look on her face was one I knew well, that stubborn set to her eyes, her thin shoulders. I didn’t want to see it on this topic.
“No, but if you get yourself killed trying to defend my honor, that won’t help me.” I rose, grabbing at her arm. “Please, Gran, I couldn’t bear to lose you and know it was my fault.”
“Ach, ’twouldn’t be your fault, Merry. It would be that bastard king.”
I shook my head, almost sitting