Chapter 2

Phone Home

At the sight of the crate full of smuggled pixie rum slung over Cameron Merrick’s shoulder, Captain Parker made a face. “Deever again? Already?”

“Yep. Matt’s processing him now.” Cam set the crate down on the table, working out the kinks in his neck as he grinned at his superior officer. The leather armor had helped protect his shoulder, but there was only so much it could do when the crate was as heavy as both of his younger siblings combined. “He asked if your back was feeling any better.”

“Oh he did, did he?” The captain leaned back in his chair, glaring at the crate as if it had disobeyed a direct order. He’d tried to pick up last week’s crate to prove a point. It hadn’t worked out well. “And it’s just barely under the limit that would let us throw him in the prison. Again.” He was getting that pinched look that meant a headache was on its way. “If he didn’t keep getting caught every time he tried to cross the border, I’d think the man was a blasted genius.”

“Hey, no one ever said the life of a border guard was all danger and excitement.” Grabbing the necessary paperwork—if he didn’t fill it out for the alcohol, the captain would make him copy over all fifteen pages of Deever’s arrest record—he dropped down into an open chair. “There’s also the comic relief.”

Captain Parker pinned him with a glare. It wasn’t nearly as terrifying as the one Cam’s father could manage, but he had long ago decided it would be wisest to not point that out. “It’s you kids who get the excitement and the comic relief. All I get is the blasted paperwork.”

“At least you don’t have to suffer through it all alone.” Cam held up the form, his grey-blue eyes artificially innocent. “And I’ll let you take one of my patrols tomorrow, just out of the goodness of my heart.”

The captain’s eyes were still narrowed, but there was amusement in them now. “You say that now, kid, but you’ll be sorry when I actually take you up on it.”

“Hey.” Lee, another one of the guards assigned to the station, ducked his head in through the open doorway. “Mirror call for Cam. Says she’s his mom.”

The Captain immediately perked up, then pretended he hadn’t. “Tell Marie ‘hi’ for me,” he said gruffly. “And if she asks when I’m going to pay her the twenty credit slips I owe her, tell her I’ll do it the second she gets her butt back out here and starts doing her job again.”

“Yes, sir.” His mom had served with the border guard around the same time the Captain had been out on patrols, but after she’d met his dad, she quit to go adventuring with him. If even half the stories they’d told were true, they’d had some dangerously exciting years before settling down to raise a family.

He’d loved the stories as a kid, but he definitely didn’t want to have that conversation with the Captain. They never talked about it, but Cam was pretty sure the captain had never quite forgiven her for leaving. “I’ll use those exact words.”

Cam stopped by the station’s main mirror, transferring the call to his private mirror before ducking into the bunks to grab it. He took a second to smooth out his messy hair before pressing the glass. When the mist cleared, it revealed a stunning woman in her early fifties who could still arm-wrestle his dad into submission. “I’ll be home for dinner this weekend, Mom, I swear it. You know I’d never risk your wrath.”

Marie Merrick showed off exactly where her son had gotten both his sun-blond hair and lethal grin. “That’s because you’re a wise boy who doesn’t start fights he can’t win.” She took a deep breath, her expression far more serious than Cam liked to see. “And I’m a wise mother who knows which parent her son is more likely to listen to. So I’ll cut to the chase—please take some leave and come home. Your father needs you.”

Cam expected annoyance, his instinctive reaction to pretty much anything to do with his father since he’d turned sixteen. He was surprised, then, that the first thing that hit him was fear. “Is Dad okay?” He couldn’t think of a reason his father might actually need him—they argued about eighteen hours out of every twenty-four, and that was only because they spent the rest sleeping. But if he was dying, he’d want the entire family with him. “Is he sick?”

“No, no. Other than the leg, he’s completely fine.” She leaned a little closer to the mirror, everything from her voice to her posture meant to reassure. “If it was something like that, I promise I would have told you right away.”

Cam leaned his head back against the wall, closing his eyes at the sudden wash of relief that filled him. Now that he knew nothing was wrong, he could go right back to being annoyed. “Then are you sure it’s me Dad wants? Laurel called me a few days ago—her and Mason’s mercenary outfit is still only a few days away from here. I’m sure he would have asked you to call one of them if he’d known that.”

Marie narrowed her eyes at her second-oldest son. “Your father was perfectly willing to make the call. I suggested that I be the one to do it, because I knew the conversation would devolve into an argument and I’d have to take the mirror anyway. And we both already knew where your brother and sister were stationed—they may be too far away to come home for dinner, but they’re no more interested in risking my wrath than you are.” She sighed, giving him her “What am I going to do with you?” face. “If you won’t do it, he plans on asking your sister. But only if you say no.”

Cam rubbed a hand over his stubbled chin. He wasn’t quite sure he believed his mother but was too smart to actually say that out loud. “Okay, but what does he need me for? Because if this is some weird backwards way to get Robbie off his magic kick, I can just tell him no from here. The kid wants to be a witch, and if he keeps working as hard at it as he is now we all know he’ll be the best one in the kingdom.”

She gave him her motherly glare again, then her expression gentled. “It’s about Elena.”

Cam cursed. Everyone knew about Elena, the only child of Queen Illiana and the great tragedy of their tiny kingdom. What most people didn’t know was that she was a silent, disapproving slip of a girl his parents had semi-adopted ever since the King had died just after her twelfth birthday. He’d occasionally had to spend time with her during family events, the last of which had thankfully been almost two years ago, and he could definitely say he had no interest in repeating the experience. “You can’t be serious.”

The sudden sadness in her eyes had him bracing for the news. “Your father thinks Elena’s curse has started early.”

Cam blew out a breath. That was about the one thing he couldn’t argue against. “He thinks?” He kept his tone carefully serious, not wanting her to think he was making light of the situation. “I was always under the impression that the curse would be pretty obvious once it kicked in.”

“Robbie thinks all of the spells that have been thrown at it over the years might have degraded the pre-established initiation trigger Elena’s aunt set up.”

Cam thought about trying to translate that himself, then decided he needed to reserve his brainpower. “In words I can understand, please?”

“She collapsed, Cam. It wasn’t for very long, but Alan said there was no warning. She just . . .” The hesitation said more than the words did. “She just dropped. Like someone had yanked all the life out of her.”

He could feel the walls start to close in on him. “And he’s absolutely, one hundred percent sure she didn’t just faint.”

“Yes. Your father has had more than enough experience with fainting women. You remember your great-aunt, don’t you?”

He did, at least well enough to effectively kill the hope that his dad was wrong somehow. Cameron scrubbed a hand down his face, torn between wanting to comfort his mother by promising he’d come help and running away from all this so fast he left a trail of singed ground behind him. His parents had been the ones to sign up for this particular tragedy, not him, but it looked like it was going to catch up to him anyway. “What exactly does Dad think I can do? This is magic we’re talking about. Unless something shows up I can stab, I’m not sure how much help I’ll be.”

“With his leg broken, he doesn’t feel he can protect Elena as well as he needs to. It wasn’t as much of an issue when all he had to worry about was idiot members of the nobility, but now that she might become incapacitated at a moment’s notice—”

He just stared at her, eyes going wide as he realized what she was getting at. “He wants me as backup? I know he thinks the castle guard are all idiots, but—”

She shook her head, cutting him off. “No. He wants you to take over his duties until his leg heals.”

It took real effort to keep his jaw from dropping open. “Me?” He tried to find a single part of the idea that made any sense, but he couldn’t come up with anything. “Are you sure you heard him right?”

His mother rolled her eyes. “This is why I knew I had to be the one to make the call. You and your father inspire each other to say the stupidest things.” She shook her head. “And I’m not entirely sure what happened, but even mentioning the rest of the castle guard inspired his ‘Commander Death Scowl’ and made him go almost mute for the rest of the evening. I decided it wasn’t worth it to ask for details.”

There had been a few years there where he’d actually counted inspiring the “Commander Death Scowl” as one of his favorite hobbies, but he could see why his mother wouldn’t feel the same way. “And he really thinks having me there will help the situation.”

As impossible as the idea seemed, it left a weird, hopeful spark in his chest. No matter how much he tried to deny it, he wasn’t immune to the desire to make his father proud of him. The idea that Dad had asked for his help specifically . . .

Her expression was bland enough that he knew she was hiding amusement. She had him, and she knew it. “Yes. He does.”

“And Dad’s sure he doesn’t want to ask Laurel?”

“Absolutely.”

He sighed, rubbing a hand along his jaw. This was a really, really terrible idea. “Fine. I’ll talk to the captain.”

~

Days later, Cameron stood outside the castle’s main gate and decided that coming was probably even more of a mistake than he’d originally thought. The building had been practically carved out of the mountainside, as much inside the dirt and rock as on top of it, and one of the previous kings had decided that meant the hallways should be as ludicrously twisted as your average mountain passageway. He’d heard his dad joke that the royal family punished criminals by sending them downstairs to try and find the kitchens in the middle of the night.

He hadn’t been inside in over a year, and he’d never had cause to spend any real time there. Even if he didn’t get completely lost in his first fifteen minutes—and wouldn’t that make dear old dad proud—Elena could probably give him the slip whenever she wanted. She knew the territory; he didn’t. He’d been working the border long enough to know who that gave the advantage to.

“You here to see your dad?”

Cam blinked, refocusing his attention on the gate guard who had spoken. “You can’t seriously tell me you recognize me.”

The older man grinned. “I’ve seen the picture collection your mom keeps on her mirror. Only person I’ve ever met who has more than my wife.”

Cam groaned, suddenly aware that the princess had probably seen his baby pictures. The only way any of this could get worse was if he’d dated her briefly and there was a messy breakup to worry about. “Yeah, I am. Any idea where he might be?”

“Princess has been holed up in the library for the last few days. Can’t imagine the commander’s too far away.” He hesitated, then leaned forward slightly. “They’re both in kind of a mood. Be careful.”

Cam forced a smile. “I will.” He looked back over at the castle. “Now, can you give me really detailed directions to the library?”

~

He only made one wrong turn, opening the door to find a cramped, paper-filled office rather than the books he’d been expecting. When he tried to shut the door as quietly as he’d opened it, the pleasantly round-faced man at the desk lifted his head from his paperwork. “Lost?”

“Yes. I’m looking for my dad, Commander Alan Merrick. I was told he might be in the library, but I’d like to be sure before I plunge back into the void.”

The man smiled. It was only then that Cam noticed the pointed ears that were visible against what now seemed like a surprisingly short haircut. He didn’t look at all like any of the other elves Cam had met—they tended toward long hair and formal clothing, while this man looked more like a rumpled accountant.

“As of twenty minutes ago, he and Elena were still in the library,” the elf said, hopefully unaware of Cam’s inner monologue. “Which, I noticed you carefully not asking, is down at the hallway and around the corner on the left.”

“Thank you.” Cam made sure his relieved sigh was obvious enough to be humorous. “I’m Cam, by the way. If I don’t manage to escape Dad’s evil plot, you’ll probably end up seeing me again.”

“I knew who you were. I recognize you from the pictures your mother keeps in her personal magic mirror. When Cam groaned, the elf’s smile widened. “I’m Bishop.” He stood, leaning forward over his desk far enough for the two men to shake hands.

As he headed for the door again, Cam hesitated. “Secret Stream clan?”

Bishop’s eyebrows lifted in surprised approval. “Good eye. Most people try to place me in the Windy Peak clan.”

Cam shrugged. “Most of the Windy Peak elves I’ve run into are kind of annoying. You’re not.”

Bishop chuckled. “I won’t tell them that.” Then he sobered. “Are you here to help your father with Elena?”

Now it was Cam’s turn to be surprised. “I’m afraid so. Any friendly warnings you might be able to pass on in advance?”

Bishop leaned back in his chair. “We’re fond of each other here in the castle, but none of us are terribly comfortable with sharing our innermost thoughts. All I know is something happened a few days ago, and neither she nor the commander will speak to her mother about it,” he said, looking hopeful. “If you might be able to pass on some news—”

Cam held up a hand to stop him. “I can’t promise that.”

The other man shook his head as if he regretted even asking. “Of course not, of course not.” He put his elbows on the desk, still looking at Cam. “Then I will simply say good luck.”

With that incredibly comforting thought, Cam left the office and made his way to the library. When he arrived, he noticed the door was firmly closed, which could mean either that it was empty or that there were people inside having a conversation they didn’t want others to hear. Deciding that the only risk was looking like an idiot, he cracked the door open slowly enough that it didn’t make a sound.

Of course, the people inside were so focused on their argument that they might not have heard him anyway.

“It’s magic that’s the problem, Alan, not the threat of physical violence.” The voice was female, young, and frosty enough to chill a campfire. Yes, that was definitely his least-favorite princess. “My aunt isn’t going to suddenly step out of the shadows with a knife, and Nigel is more of a threat to innocent bystanders than he is to me.”

“Then tell yourself Cameron is here to protect both you and the innocent bystanders.” His father never actually raised his voice unless you got him really ticked off, but Cam recognized the tone. Once Commander Alan Merrick had decided something, a team of giants wasn’t enough to drag him away from it. Apparently, during his younger “hero for hire” days, one set had actually tried. “But he is either temporarily taking over my duties as your primary guard, or you are to be confined to the castle for the next six weeks.” There was a pause. “I will have each and every one of your escape routes blocked, and the blocks will be immune to magic.”

She had escape routes? Cam closed his eyes, forehead dropping against the wall. Maybe his father had asked him to come here purely as some kind of weird punishment.

From inside the library, there was an inhalation of breath that sounded like it really, really wanted to turn into a curse word. “You wouldn’t dare.”

From his hiding spot, Cam cringed for her. Clearly, the princess was dumber than she looked.

His dad didn’t respond at first, which usually meant he was using the silence to really build the terror of anticipation in whoever he was glaring at. Then came the voice, quiet enough that you knew you were in serious trouble. “If I tell your mother, it will happen whether or not either of us ask for it.”

More silence. Cam was surprised to feel actual sympathy for the princess. He’d always thought of her as being stuck-up, but no one was immune from parental pressure.

Naturally, it didn’t last very long. “Fine.” The word sounded like it had been physically dragged out of her. “But don’t think I’m going to automatically grant him your level of authority simply on your say so. And I won’t let him work around me, either—your son’s not nearly as charming as he thinks he is. He’ll do what I say.”

Cam narrowed his eyes. Now he had to take the job, just so he could prove to the stuck-up little brat how incredibly wrong she was. He only took orders from people he respected, and right then she was about a million miles away from qualifying.

Deciding that the tactical advantage with the princess was worth potentially inciting his father’s wrath, he pushed open the library door and stepped into the room. Elena jerked her head around to face him, long blond hair flying, and gave him a look that promised a quick and violent death. His dad, on the other hand, looked calmer than he’d sounded at any point during the last twenty minutes, and Cam suspected that he’d known someone was outside the door the whole time.

Luckily, he was kind enough to stay silent and not blow his son’s surprise opening. Taking advantage of the generosity, Cam gave the princess a slow grin. “If you’ve spent any time with my parents, you know I’m not that good at being obedient. So no, I can’t promise to do what you say. If it’s going to get in the way of keeping you safe, I may end up ignoring you completely.”

She glared at him, chin lifting in automatic defiance that actually earned her a few points. Elena was a good four or five inches shorter than he was, but that didn’t seem to faze her at all. “It’s not smart to challenge me.”

“Challenge you? Never.” His grin widened, taking on an angle that had caused more than a few people to try and punch him over the years. “I’m just explaining the situation.” Then he turned to his dad. “Hi. I know Mom was probably vague on the subject, but it turns out that I am most definitely willing to take the job.”

His dad looked at him for a second, then his mouth quirked upward briefly in what Cam could have sworn was a smile. It threw him more than any other response could have, and he started to doubt that he’d ever seen it almost the moment it disappeared. “I’ll tell your mother not to expect you home for dinner,” he said calmly. “Though gods help you if you miss the big family meal this weekend.”

Then, without another word, he left the library. Cam watched him go, pretty sure he’d been conned somehow, then glanced over at the princess. She was staring at the door, a little bit of shock mixed in with the frustration in her eyes, and Cam suspected she was thinking the same thing.

When she realized he was looking at her, Elena turned her glare on him. “Do not even think about following me,” she snapped, slamming her book closed. Then she stalked out of the room, her long hair flying out behind her in a huff.

Cam waited until she’d disappeared beyond the edge of the doorframe, then started following her.