Francesca, The Great and Terrible: A Reverse Harem Academy Romance Page 9

  “I’d feel weird having you cook for me.”

  “Why? I love cooking for people. I demanded Daxar let me in the palace kitchens so I could make Saffron’s favorite lemon cakes, and I made enough for him too. My mother and I used to cook together all the time. It’s one of my favorite memories growing up.”

  “Cooking for me was different. If the Fisher King didn’t like it, he would beat me.”

  I growled. I didn’t want to think about an eight-year-old Galen getting beaten because he cooked something wrong. My mother always patiently taught me her recipes, and if something turned out wrong, we just laughed about it and went out to eat.

  “I’m going to find a way to kill him for good, Galen. Not just for what he did to my mother and to Oz, but what he did to you too. Did you have anything you enjoyed growing up with him?”

  Galen shrugged. “My father wasn’t allowed to have anything in his prison. My mother had books and a few musical instruments. I wasn’t allowed to read her books or play her instruments. All the magic I know, I learned from overhearing them talk to each other. I learned how to gather herbs and make spice to make the food taste better. I used every part of the animal when I hunted. My parents didn’t like me hanging around, but they didn’t give me anything to play with or do. If I dried the animal skins and mixed spices with water, I could paint on the animal skins. I used to paint for fun. I’m probably not any good at it.”

  I smiled. I knew without him having to tell me, but I asked anyway. “You’ve been spending a lot of time in your room. Have you been drawing now that you have parchment, quill, and ink?”

  Galen gave me a shy smile. “I guess I’m busted. You are all this close-knit group, and you’ve known each other since you were children. I’m an outsider, and Idris is not that fond of me. I try to keep out of the way.”

  “I don’t want you to keep out of the way, Galen. You’re like me. You shouldn’t hide. We wouldn’t have come this far without you. Idris is just jealous of you.”

  Galen let his hair fall in his face. He did that a lot when he didn’t want to tell me something.

  “Idris is your boyfriend. I’m just some guy helping all of you defeat my father.”

  I grabbed his hand and squeezed it. “I don’t want you to be just some guy. You fascinate me, Galen. You’re like me, but you aren’t. You have magic I can’t even begin to comprehend.”

  “The magic I inherited from my father is not something you would want. There are two types of magic back where he comes from. White magic and dark magic. He stole a lot of white magic, but he only uses dark magic. White magic users can call a protective circle and talk to spirits, but if you are advanced enough in dark magic to know necromancy, you can raise the dead and control them. Some of the curses dark magic users where he comes from can do are similar to Oz magic. I guess there are only so many creative ways to curse someone.”

  “Please, Galen, I want to get to know you. I know a lot of your life has been unpleasant and connected to the Fisher King, but you’re one of us now. Don’t let Idris bother you. It was always just Idris, Oprix, and I for the longest time. It’s just a Flying Monkey thing that he has to approve you before you’re one of us.”

  Galen surprised me. He pushed his hair out of his eyes and boldly met mine. “Explain what you mean by one of you. One of you like Idris, Oprix, and Daxar are or one of you like Ozma and Dorothy?”

  For once, I was speechless. I wasn’t expecting Galen to put me on the spot. Galen never asked for anything. He always wanted to help us with anything and everything, but he never wanted anything in return. Was there a wrong answer to his question, or did he just want to know where he stood? I was so bad at this. I was starting to wish my mother kept romance books at our castle instead of epic battle stories or that I’d actually been interested in reading those and went out and bought some.

  Why were men so complicated? Idris was jealous, and Galen wanted to know how I felt when I hardly knew him. It was like both men were expecting me to jump into a relationship with Galen right away without spending any time alone with him. How was I even supposed to answer that?

  “What do you want, Galen?”

  Maybe if I turned the tables, I could avoid answering. This was so fucking awkward. Galen never touched me. I was always grabbing his hand and trying to get that boy used to hugs. He tentatively took my hand like he was worried I was going to snatch it away and punch him in the face.

  “I think you’re special, Frankie. I knew it from the moment I saw you on the roof. I feel this pull to you. If you never look at me the way you do Idris and Oprix, I’ll be okay with that, and I’ll be happy to be your friend. It would make me happy if you did look at me that way. I know what I’m asking. You hardly know me. I watched you with your friends and kept my ears out around Emerald City. I know more about you than you know about me. I want to change that. I’m glad you asked me to lunch.”

  Oh shit. Galen wanted this to be a date. Was this a date? Idris thought it was. Did I want it to be? I felt a connection to Galen, and I had to admit I found him fascinating and wanted to know more about him. I was attracted to him, but did I want to date him? Did I want four boyfriends? I had no idea how Galen would mesh with my group and me. I had no idea if I’d get to know Galen better and not want to be with him. And he was right—he technically spied on me, so he knew more about me than I did about him. Why didn’t that piss me off?

  I did the only thing I could do. I told him the truth. “Galen, I want to get to know you. I feel a connection to you, but I can’t promise anything. I want to see what this connection means, and I want to know everything about you. If that means I start feeling for you what I feel for Oprix, Idris, and Daxar, I’ll be honest and tell you. But I have an arrangement with them. You won’t just have to get to know me. I know Oprix likes you or he wouldn’t have lent you his clothes. Daxar said to love who I may, but it’s Idris’ culture not to bring a new mate in unless everyone approves. You’re going to have to win him over. He thinks since you’re like me, I’ll choose you over him. He’s jealous.”

  Galen shook his head. “I want to be close to you, but if I thought I was breaking up what you already have, I’d disappear. I don’t want that. I won’t be the cause of it. If I suspected your heart was turning that way, I’d disappear before it got that far.”

  I rested my hand on my chin. “You know, you have a lot of honor for someone raised in a cave who wasn’t allowed any books.”

  Galen gave me a crooked smile. “I had a lot of time alone to think about what kind of man I wanted to be.”

  This little bistro was close to the gates of Emerald City. Close enough to hear the guards shouting. Our meal was interrupted when the guards were trying to do everything they could to stop an army of Flying Monkeys from just flying over the gate. One of them was carrying a man.

  Galen and I didn’t speak. We abandoned our meals and went running towards the gate. The Flying Monkeys were my friends, and I didn’t want them hurt by a stupid guard. And that man being carried by one of the monkeys looked a lot like Daxar!

  Chapter 19

  Frankie

  I

  t was Daxar! I went running and flung myself in his arms. He was dressed like a Flying Monkey. Where the fuck had he been? He was shirtless in loose trousers like a male Flying Monkey. He was surrounded by fifty Flying Monkey warriors, and I didn’t know any of them. They must live back home in the Flying Monkey court in the North. I knew some of them did stay behind because there were about forty soldiers that stayed in the West with my mother.

  “Where have you been? Professor Ixius has been trying to run the school, and he can’t seem to stay sober. Do you know where Glinda is?” I asked.

  “Not out here. In private. Get Ozma. We all need to talk. The throne room should fit all of us. You found the green-haired boy?” Daxar asked, cocking an eyebrow at me.

  He was so sexy when he gave me that look. I nearly forgot I was pissed at him. I shoved him back.

>   “You left without saying goodbye!”

  Daxar grabbed my arm and yanked me to his chest. “Don’t make a scene, Francesca. I didn’t leave by choice. I take it the green-haired boy is an ally? Are you going to introduce me?”

  “Daxar, this is Galen. He’s a friend. The rest, I’ll have to tell you in private.”

  “Get everyone in the throne room in fifteen minutes. I need to go tell Ixius he can get his drunken ass out of my office for the time being. He may have to take over for a bit.”

  I frowned. He was leaving again? I always kept a rucksack with me. Galen and I went back to our table to finish our dessert. I whipped out my enchanted parchment and wrote a message to Saffron, Idris, Oprix, and Dorothy. I hadn’t given one to Emarus and Emari because I didn’t want to drag them into danger just yet. They were hardly trained.

  I felt bad about my lunch with Galen as I waited for them to reply. This was technically a date for him. It was probably his first date, and we get interrupted by one of my boyfriends and an army of Flying Monkeys. I touched his cheek and was surprised when he leaned into my hand. Galen was always so uncomfortable with touch.

  “It won’t always be like this. We’ll be able to have lunch without being interrupted. Maybe we can make it a standing thing. Lunch once a week if we aren’t needed elsewhere. Could we do that?”

  “I’d like that. Idris won’t.”

  I sighed. No, he wouldn’t. Idris and Galen would have to make an effort to get to know each other. How would I feel if I loved Galen and Idris said I couldn’t have a relationship with him? Would it ruin my relationship with Idris? This was getting way too complicated. I should have run far away, but I couldn’t.

  I felt the parchment beneath my wrist heating up and looked down. Ozma and Saffron had responded. Ozma was getting the throne room ready, and Saffron wanted to know how my date was. Did everyone think it was a date? Idris’ scrawling handwriting showed up, telling me he wanted to talk to me after the meeting. Why were Saffron and Idris more concerned about my lunch with Galen than the fact that Daxar was hand-delivered to the Emerald City Gates by an army of Flying Monkeys?

  I decided to set Idris straight. “The army of Flying Monkeys who came with Daxar were sent by your mother. Think about that instead of getting jealous of Galen.”

  Idris wrote me back right away. “If my mother is involved, then we are all in deep shit.”

  “Keep that in mind instead of worrying about my lunch with Galen. We’ll talk later. We always do. You know this. Stop being an ass.”

  “Did she send Kazax?”

  “Yes. He introduced himself. Does that mean something?”

  “He’s her fourth mate and her general. He only leaves her side when things are dire. He was her bodyguard before he became her mate. He’s pretty intense and totally devoted to her. He wouldn’t have come here unless something was wrong. My mother wouldn’t have sent soldiers unless her spies saw something in the North. If they were just going to carry Daxar back, Kazax wouldn’t be here.”

  “How deep does the shit have to be for Kazax to be here?”

  “You watched Galen bring the dead back to life. He got that from his father. The shit is probably deep enough to drown in.”

  I rolled the parchment up and looked at Galen. I was so happy to see Daxar again and know he was safe, but Galen thought this was a date. I went running straight into the arms of another man while we were getting to know each other. I needed to make this up to him.

  “Same time next week? Maybe we can make it through the entire lunch without getting interrupted. Do you think you could hang out with us instead of spending time in your bedroom?”

  Galen just smiled. “I’m not mad at you, Frankie. If that many Flying Monkeys came, we need to find out what my father is up to. Let’s get to the throne room. I might have zero experience with women, but I’m not desperate. I’m not going to follow you around like a lost puppy while my father is running amok. Let’s get to the throne room and see what brings an army of Flying Monkeys. I’m glad your Daxar is back.”

  I cocked an eyebrow at Galen. “You aren’t jealous of Daxar? For that matter, you aren’t jealous of Idris and Oprix too?”

  Galen shrugged. “If my mother had more people around, she wouldn’t have become obsessed with my father. The two of them together was disturbing, even when I was a child. He would talk down to her and beat her, and instead of fighting back, she would beg for his forgiveness. If I tried talking to her about it, she’d immediately go tell my father, and I’d get beaten. I’ve always wished she had more than one husband to protect her from him. Every time I tried, he beat me. When I was ten, I decided I was going to train in secret. I was going to learn everything I could about him. I was going to run away and beat him.”

  I touched his cheek. I liked Galen. I did. He stood up to a madman.

  “Let’s get to the throne room and find out what’s going on.”

  I slipped my hand in his as we walked through Emerald City and back to the palace. It just felt right.

  Chapter 20

  Idris

  W

  e were in deep shit if Kazax was here. He never left my mother’s side. He never did anything without her permission. He was the very definition of an obedient soldier, and he only answered to my mother. I didn’t think Emari and Emarus should go down with us to the throne room. They weren’t prepared for battle. Francesca and Saffron had been helping them with magic, but they weren’t advanced on disarming hexes, and they had just started fight training.

  Saffron was furious at me. She reminded me a little of Francesca. “So, we’ll just do a knowledge transference spell on them. I’m not leaving them behind if the Fisher King shows up here with an army of corpses!”

  “Do you even know how to do those?” I asked. I knew she didn’t.

  She stomped her foot and shrieked at me. Oprix walked over and slung his arm around her shoulder. Emari and Emarus were just watching the two of us with huge eyes.

  “We might as well let them come, Idris. The more they know, the more they can prepare.”

  I just shrugged. “Kazax and his army are intense. Try not to offend them. Let’s go. We’ve wasted enough time.”

  Ozma must have used magic to set up the throne room. It was set up like a war room. Instead of a throne, there was a long table set up with enough chairs for all of us. Ozma took the head of one end, and Daxar took the other end of the table. Francesca sat by Daxar and held his hand. Maybe Galen wasn’t so horrible. He left two seats next to Francesca for Oprix and I. He didn’t try to hog her by sitting right next to her,

  Kazax didn’t take a chair. He was pacing the long length of the table. He waited for Ozma to talk. He went straight to the woman in charge, which was our way. Ozma leaned forward on her elbows.

  “Where have you been, Daxar. Frankie has been worried sick. We’ve all been worried.”

  “Glinda teleported me to the North without my consent to spy on Locasta. She left me with nothing—no mirrors, no parchment, nothing. I got attacked by dragons, and the Flying Monkeys saved me. Idris, your mother says hello and Francesca, she wants to meet you when this is over. Glinda did come back for me, but the Fisher King was waiting with his bride, Locasta, and an army of the dead. They captured her.”

  Huh. Francesca was usually right. I knew that much by now, but I didn’t trust Glinda after that stunt with the cap. I just thought she was off doing wicked things to other people too. She certainly had to Daxar. We wouldn’t even be in this position if she hadn’t dumped him in the North. Francesca let out a little growl.

  Daxar grabbed her hand and squeezed it. “She was scared, Francesca. Her actions are not those of a cunning woman trying to take your birthright and ruin Oz. The Fisher King wants her magic. She got careless, and it bit her in the ass. We need a plan to rescue her before her magic makes the Fisher King more powerful. We can’t lose the Sentinel in the South.”

  “How can we go up against the Fisher King now?” Dorothy
asked.

  I had no idea when we got to this point, she’d be at this meeting. Just recently, I was so used to her incessant weeping. She was different now. She was stronger, ready to fight. I hoped no one put her into battle. She was paying attention to fight training, but she still wasn’t fully trained.

  That was when Kazax finally spoke. “We don’t think the Fisher King has her. We think Locasta has her, and the Fisher King is visiting to steal her magic. The North has been twisted. There were living men standing next to dead soldiers to capture Glinda the Good. That should tell you everything you need to know about the people in the North.”

  Frabess huffed. “Not all of them. There are still good people in the North. My family are healers. They weren’t called an army before. Locasta called them police. They were meant to go out and arrest anyone doing bad magic. Everyone feels safer with those soldiers in the North. If they are willing to stand beside dead men, then I need to get my family out of the North.”

  We were in deep shit. I liked Frabess. I didn’t want to see her family in danger. I hoped no one was about to tell Frabess she had to work with us to free Glinda when her family was in danger. Frabess had been working her ass off with Saffron, and we’d all noticed the change in our girl. Saffron was stronger because of her training sessions with Frabess.

  “We need a plan,” Francesca said.

  I had a feeling whatever her plan was, I wasn’t going to like it. It was going to involve putting herself in danger. Francesca was strong, and so was Saffron, but the Fisher King could raise the dead, and maybe Locasta wasn’t as weak as everyone thought she was. According to Ozma, she could slip that old lady disguise at will.

  Everyone was looking to her for the answers. Ozma was technically our queen, but Francesca was the most senior Sentinel in the room. She hadn’t even finished her training yet. Francesca didn’t look to me for help, and that hurt. She looked straight to Frabess and Galen.