Page 84 of Sky and the Grumpy Troll

I opened The Stablehand’s Secret. Inside, in a careful scribe’s hand: A Complete Accounting of the Liminal Order, Volume the First. I decided not to mention how believable I found the disguise, given the state of my own shelves at home.

“And what of Vyranthos?” Aeldryc asked. “The Crown would rest easier knowing the portal’s guardian is stable.”

“Oallian is doing great, actually.” Sky speared a fried potato. “We’ve been riding out to a quiet field outside town every morning, and he flies in to meet us for his tai chi lesson. He hasn’t set himself on fire in four days. We’re very proud of him.”

“He is calmer,” I said. “He only smoked twice yesterday, and both times because Sky praised him.”

“Good,” Aeldryc said, in the tone of a man crossing one item off a very long list.

“Okay,” Sky said, into a lull. “I need a distraction.”

“We could do some more espionage training,” Aeldryc said. “Make sure you both know what to do if you’re captured and questioned.”

“OR. We could get a cheese board,” said Pip.

I felt Sky’s worry before he started speaking. “What if Connor tells my mom I’m missing? What if she asks and he says the wrong thing? The freak-out is coming, and I don’t want to think about the part where she finds out I’m gone.” He turned to me, eyes wide and worried. “Or what if we find the mirror, but it’s not guaranteed I’ll be able to get back to you when I need to get back to you? I mean, espionage training sounds useful, but I think I need to not think until the ship leaves.”

I reached out and massaged his shoulders. “We’ll find a way to reach your family, Sky. Or to communicate with your mother. And I won’t leave your side. Perhaps I’ll even come through the mirror with you. Once we find the mirror.”

Pip sighed. “No one has horns where we live, big guy. No one is blue-gray either.”

“So? I wear a cloak,” I said, crossing my arms over my chest.

“Okay, that’s cute to imagine,” Sky said. “And sweet of you to offer.”

“Though also, if people find out what you are, they might arrest you to do experiments on you,” Pip said.

I felt a new surge of anxiety from Sky. “Not helpful, Pip.”

Pip grimaced. “Sorry! Sorry, I just haven’t had to think of this because I don’t really have family back home to worry about. I can see why you’re worried, Sky.”

“Which is why I need a distraction.” Sky reached up and stroked a hand down my horn, and in an instant, my dick was hard. I knew exactly the variety of distraction he was proposing.

Pip leaned in, grinning. “Are we talking cards? Aeldryc has been teaching me all of the Qoksmere games. Or wait.” He looked from Sky to me and back with the expression of a scholar closing in on a theorem. “Moerrven. Are you going to tie him up and have your way with him?”

“Other way around,” Sky said smugly, dropping his hand from my horn and sipping his drink.

“WHAT?” Pip gasped. Then he blinked. “No, okay, never mind. That tracks.”

Aeldryc sighed, rubbing his forehead. “Are you sure you don’t want more training? It would help me feel better about sending amateurs to do field work.”

“No, he wants training in the sex,” Pip said, winking. “Which you don’t need, because you’re already very skilled. But I don’t know, practice makes perfect. Shall we all go to our rooms and bang it out?”

“Oh my gods,” Aeldryc groaned, his eyes darting around the room to see who else had heard his unruly husband. From the looks of it, it was pretty much everyone.

I stood, pushing my chair back, and took Sky’s hand. “Please excuse us while I help Sky to resolve some of his inner turmoil.”

Sky grinned up at me. “It’s so hot when you talk about inner turmoil.”

I bowed to the Lord High Commander, and as I did, I noticed that despite their bickering, Aeldryc was very firmly holding his husband’s hand under the table. Maybe he liked it when Pip egged him on.

I could relate to that.

“Goodnight. Do you leave in the morning?”

Pip nodded. “Back to Feravael. We will be keeping an eye on the portal for you.”

“And the Queen needs her gown,” I said, and Pip beamed.