Chapter 115: The scheming eagles strike.
Luckily for Sienna, aunt Linera appeared the shadows and whispered to her, "Pretend that you have an emergency."
Sienna gasped, rose, and dashed out of the dining room. As soon as her feet touched the scarce hall way, she let out a breath seemed to have been held in for one thousand years. "Thank God for you, aunt Linera. That woman is a nightmare."
"I know." Aunt Linera replied expertly.
It seemed to Sienna like her aunt had crossed paths with Miss Morality police before. As they walked away, Sienna said to her, "You seem to know what she is like personally. Do you care to share the story with me?"
Aunt Linera chuckled. "Another time, perhaps."
They continued on in silence, not rushing their exit from the hotel. At a moderate speed, they walked home in silence, listening to the sounds of the waves, mixed with music and beats from the crab race venue.
The scent of roasted fish and meat was heavy in the air. It seemed to be coming from everywhere. When they were almost at the cottage, there was a sudden thud.
A beast man dropped from the sky like a sack of potatoes. Sienna froze.
Aunt Linera pulled her weapon, turning it on the man.
Sienna raised her hand. "Careful aunt, we might end up killing the wrong person." Like a beast lord, she thought. In the bright lights from the newly installed lampposts, she could see the sand clearly, just as she could see the golden brown eyes of the beast man. "You should practice your landing more often, Mr. eagle." She didn’t know his name, because he had not been part of the delegates from the eagle tribe. But his presence within the highly protected area meant that he had some ties to them. Perhaps, he was a late arrival.
The eagle beat man straightened, brushing sand from his feathers with exaggerated grace. His dark goldish brown wings gleamed in the twilight. "Forgive me Lady Sienna, your beauty blinded me."
Sienna blinked. "I am sure that stars and sun would disagree. If your sight is failing you, I can recommend an eye doctor."
The eagle beast man chuckled, unfazed. "Your wit is as sharp as your pan. Truly, Elias Veythar is fortunate."
Sienna narrowed her eyes. Compliments were fine, as long as they were not coming from an eagle beast man. Besides, she had lived two lives and that was long enough to know when someone was buttering bread before serving poison. "Fortunate, yes. But why do I sense that there is more you have to add to this matter."
The eagle beast man spread hid wings theatrically, as if preparing to deliver a sermon. "It is only that....some say Elias’s heart belongs to Lady Victoria Lewis. Others say his heart is colder than the Northern glaciers. A man so aloof, so distant....so unfeeling. How could he ever cherish a jewel like you properly? Surely, a woman of your warmth deserves more than icy silence and the disdain of the foxes who look down on you because you are extremely healthy."
Aunt Linera made a warning screech. Again, Sienna stopped her from attacking by raising her hand. She figured out what the eagle beast man was doing. He was not there to seduce her, like the queen had warned. He was there to sow discord. Vague words, a rumor, half truths and insinuations sharp enough to cut trust.
She tilted her head, lips curling into a smile that promised trouble. "So you are saying that my husband loves another and doesn’t cherish me?"
The eagle beast man raised his hands innocently, "Not at all! I only wonder....why doesn’t he ever take you out and show you off? Some people may not know how you lived before moving here, but I do. I am Alec, the third son of the eagle lord. Information like this reaches my ears easily. We may be strangers, but truly, I am pained for you. I heard about your frame up suggestion." He chuckled. "You are a wonder. A man who cannot smile or laugh cannot make you laugh. He will only suck your joy."
Sienna’s mind flashed to the night when she barely got any sleep because her husband was laughing so hard at Numia’s matchmaking schemes. And after that, he had gone on to laugh often, for one reason or the other, when he was in her company.
Her smile widened. "I hate to break it to you, but he laughs. So much, that it sometimes becomes annoying because it interferes with my sleep. I admit, he broods so much, but I find that entertaining."
Alec faltered. He hadn’t expected her to defend Elias so easily. "But surely, he must have made you feel lonely many times before. Just notice how you are working so hard to feed the lords and their escorts, and ensure all their comforts. You are all alone. And what is he doing?"
Sienna thought of the army of relatives and servants she had. They were doing 90% of the work. It made her snort that someone would think she was doing all the work on her own. "Lonely? My house is so crowded. I have relatives, children, bees and visitors that refuse to leave. Sometimes, I even dream of renting a cave on an island just to breathe. If Elias were any warmer to me, I would have to exile him to the Northern glaciers just for balance."
Eli’s voice piped up from behind, "I am telling papa."
Sienna looked back and lowered her eyes. Her son had somehow sneaked up on them, and he was waving a long stick. "Hello Spy." She said.
The boy snorted and ran off with his guards.
Alec’s fathers ruffled. He tried again, voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper. "But Lady Sienna...what about Victoria Lewis?"
Sienna brushed the unknown name and unknown woman off. "I have never met her or heard about her. Until the day comes when my husband says she is an issue, then I will pay no attention to it." She tilted her head gesturing for her guards to move closer. "Now, you have taken up too much of my time. I didn’t travel with my pan but I traveled with my guards and one bloodthirsty aunt. I am also certain that my husband is already on the way here. Are you sure you want to wait for him to arrive?"