Of course, since we needed Baladar’s help, we had no choice but to play the part here today. We both sat, and I waited until the magic born was across from me before I leaned forward. I was done wasting time on pleasantries.
“We need your help in fixing the unstable mecca.”
Sir Baladar nodded as if he’d expected this. “Magic born are fascinating creatures,” he said randomly. “Did you know they hold a particularly close bond with the mecca? They can actually see the energy. Violet especially. It speaks to her.”
I raised one eyebrow. “Yes, Violet is amazing, but what does that have to do with the help we need? Can she just speak to the mecca and tell it to move back to the Otherworld?”
I was confused, which was not a place I found myself often. Usually I was quick to figure things out. Of course, he did seem to be a shifter who erratically jumped around topics with ease, so it was probably not all my fault. Either way, I needed to know what he was talking about.
Of course, the more he was silent, the more I thought about his weirdness. Like why did he refer to magic born as if he wasn’t one? Seriously, he had the white coloring and magical abilities, so what else could he be?
He leaned forward, peering into my eyes with his crystalline blue gaze. “You should know that magic is never that simple, Your Majesty.”
It took me a minute to realize he was answering my question about Violet telling the mecca to return.
“The point I’m trying to make is that a magic born can temporarily share powers with their queen.”
Kade sat up straighter. “So Arianna can temporarily see the mecca with Violet’s help? But that doesn’t tell us how we get the energy back into the fae lands.”
Baladar shifted his gaze to Kade. “The truly fascinating thing here, King Kade, is that Queen Arianna just needs a little more vision, some more control over the energy, and she’ll be able to call forth the mecca. And then you, with your affinity, can help her contain it, direct it even. It’s almost as if your powers were always meant to be used together.”
My cheeks burned as his suggestion settled over us. He was right. Kade had this rare affinity for the mecca and I was more linked to it than any queen before me. Neither of us really knew why, but facts were facts.
The bear king narrowed his gaze on Baladar. “How do you know I have an affinity for the mecca?”
The eccentric male just waved his hands. “Oh, people talk. That’s my gift, King Kade, ferreting secrets from others.”
Kade looked slightly uncomfortable. “My people don’t talk,” he stated with confidence. Then his expression grew a little uneasy. “Do they?”
Baladar bestowed the king with a broad smile. “Every Wednesday night I host a bear shifter night. Your people definitely talk.”
My jaw dropped open. “Bears come to Manhattan?” I said loudly, letting my surprise and annoyance leak out.
Darkness crossed over Kade’s features, and I knew his people were going to hear from their king about this very soon.
Baladar waved his hands in the air. “Let’s focus on what is truly important here. You need to open a portal to the Otherworld. Get Violet to lend Queen Arianna her gift of mecca sight, then the special affinity inside of the queen will allow her to grab hold of the mecca. Then, with King Kade’s help, you’ll be able to funnel a large portion of the energy back to the stones within the fae lands. Assuming there is no foul magic at play here.”
“And what if there is foul magic at play?” I asked. Knowing my luck, I could guarantee something foul was afoot.
He shrugged. “Then it gets more complicated.”
Kade stood and I followed suit. We had our information, there was no time to linger. “Thank you, sir, for your wise council,” I said. “We’ll get Violet and do this at once.”
Baladar put up a finger. “Not so fast … Violet can only lend her power during a full moon.”
Of course it couldn’t be that easy.
“The next full moon is the summer festival,” Kade said.
We would all be on the Island partying the night away.
Baladar nodded. “After the festival, before the sun has risen, you must open the portal and give it a try.”
Okay. The festival was two weeks away. I just hoped the Summer Court could wait that long, but this was our best chance as far as I could tell. I nodded to Baladar.
“We must go now. Thank you for everything.”
He frowned, his expressive features turning somber. “That’s a shame, I have so many stories to tell you.”
I froze, my hand falling back to my chair as I tilted my head toward him. No queen was going to turn down an opportunity to learn more, and I sort of knew he wouldn’t have stopped me if he didn’t have important information to share.
I sat back down. “What kind of stories?”
He smiled. “How about I tell you one important story every time you visit?”
Okay, now I felt like a child being coerced into visiting a beloved grandparent.
“Alright.” I was agreeing to his terms.
Kade said nothing, but he did sit beside me again. I wondered how much Kade actually knew about Baladar. He seemed reasonably surprised by everything he’d seen here today, but I knew him, and he wasn’t ever really taken by surprise. He could probably sense that Baladar was one of the oldest wolves alive, and that he was our people’s history keeper. If he hadn’t known before today, he’d probably figured it out now.