The High Mountain Court (The Five Crowns of Okrith Book 1) by AK Mulford

Author:AK Mulford [Mulford, AK]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780473579081
Publisher: AK Mulford
Published: 2021-08-09T23:00:00+00:00

After the children washed, they all crushed in to eat dinner around the kitchen table. A fae, a witch, a halfling, and a human sat at the table. It sounded like the beginning of a joke. Two chairs had magically appeared from somewhere in the house. Although the house was a bit run down, there was a sense that they loved the home. A patchwork of paintings hung on the walls. Baskets filled with grains and fresh produce were tucked into the corners. A mishmash of painted teacups hung on hooks on the wall. Evidence of three young children was everywhere: toys, drawings, and shoes strewn about the floor. It was happily chaotic and brimming with love.

Morgan prepared a delicious meal for them. The stew was hearty and spiced to perfection, the bread fresh and spongy. They carried on pleasant conversations, Carys telling the children exaggerated stories of all the places she had traveled. Morgan and Magnus seemed to understand that Remy didn’t want to answer questions about her life, so they chatted about their own. Magnus was a carpenter. He owned a shop on the high street selling ornate dining sets to his Eastern fae patrons. Morgan was a seamstress and repaired other humans’ clothing at night when the children were sleeping. They talked about their lives in such simple terms. Magnus would ruffle Maxwell’s hair, and Morgan would rub a hand down her husband’s back. Such mild, affectionate touches. It was a family.

The shadows grew long, and the bowls of stew disappeared. Remy lost herself to the fantasy of what a family would be like—to sit around a large dining table with loved ones and friends. Heather and Fenrin would be there, her children chasing each other around the table. She would sit with a swollen belly, her third child, and her husband would rest a warm hand on it and beam at her with happiness. She knew that husband’s face, though she dare not admit it to herself. They would laugh and eat until the candles burned out.

And as they did, that daydream twisted into one of smoke and screams. Northern guards running in as she ran to cover her children . . .

“Remy?” Carys’s voice snapped her out of her waking nightmare. “You want any more bread before I finish it?”

Carys held out the breadbasket to her. Remy shook the visions from her mind. It was a fantasy to think she could ever have something like that. Until the Northern King was dead, she would know no peace.

“No thanks,” Remy said, forcing a smile. “I’m stuffed.” She turned to Morgan and Magnus, “It was delici— ”

A knock came at the door. Carys stood, “I’ll get it,” she said, wiping her face with a napkin.

When Carys returned, she was frowning. She grabbed Remy by the forearm, pulling her to stand.

“We’ve had a long day—we’re going to bed,” Carys instructed. She clenched a piece of cream-colored paper in her fist as she nodded to Remy’s large traveling pack in the hallway.

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