Free The Ice Diamond Cuff (Custodian Novel #4) by Alison Pensy Page B

hand away from
a tray of tartlets a short while earlier, stood at the end of the
table resting her fists on her hips. Her once white apron was
stained by the many times she undoubtedly had rubbed her hands on
it throughout the course of preparing the feast that day. "I'll be
needing this table now, Your Highness. That is if you would like me
to be serving dessert for your guests tomorrow."
    "We better get out of Brigid's way," Faedra
muttered to her friends. "I don't want to get on the wrong side of
her. She scares me."
    Etyran's eyebrows shot up at Faedra's remark.
It didn't go unnoticed.
    "Yeah, yeah, I know. I'm the most powerful
being etc. etc. She still scares me. Come on let's go. I'll show
you to your room, Dad."
    Five sets of chair legs scraped along the
flagstone floor of the kitchen as everyone got up from their
seats.
    They filed out of the kitchen passed the head
cook. "Thanks for the tea, Brigid," Faedra said as she passed. A
chorus of thank yous from the others followed in her wake as they
made their way out of the kitchen.
    Faedra noticed a slight crack in the frosty
outer layer of Brigid's features. Did she dare hope for there to be
a glimmer of a smile. Brigid acknowledged the thanks with a curt
nod of her head.
    "So, do you have all the last minute things
sorted for tomorrow?" Henry asked as he walked beside his daughter
and soon to be son-in-law down one of the castle's many stone
corridors.
    "Well, if we don't, it's too late now. We'll
just have to muddle through," Faedra said with a smile. Fact was,
her other dad had been organizing the wedding with military
precision, and pretty much all she had to do was put on the dress,
walk up the aisle, and say 'I do'. In the big scheme of things, she
thought she would be able to handle that.
    Her attention was drawn to a tingle that ran
up her spine. A warm, loving tingle. Instinctively, she turned to
the two friends following behind her. Her gaze fell on their
entwined fingers, and the wistful look Jocelyn was giving to Etyran
was not lost on the Custodian. She hadn't seen them holding hands
before, but the picture looked perfect. She realized at that point,
with a small pang of sadness for the other Lightbender in her life,
that Etyran must have come clean with Alyssa about his feelings for
Jocelyn. She knew without doubt he was too noble of a man not
to.
    She hoped Alyssa was okay. She'd been so busy
since last seeing her in Draconis's castle that she'd only just
realized she hadn't seen her around for a few days and wondered if
the young Lightbender was still staying in the castle. She hoped
she would be attending the wedding. Faedra was very fond of Alyssa.
If it hadn't been for her bravery, Etyran may well have died at the
hands of Arawn. The Custodian shuddered at the thought, especially
now, seeing him so happy holding the hand of her best friend.
    They rounded a corner and Faedra was suddenly
overwhelmed with dread. She sucked in a gasp at the enormity of the
emotion, and pulled up short. She was stopped in her tracks by an
arm across her chest. Faedra wondered what could have happened to
change from blissful contentment to all consuming panic in such a
short space of time. A split second later, she realized it wasn't
her fear. It was her dad's. She spun her head around from where she
was soaking in the scene behind her to see what kind of scene was
unfolding in front of her that could possibly have her father
paralyzed with sheer terror.
    It was his arm across her chest effectively
stopping her and Faen on the spot. He had his hand fisted around
her sleeve, gripping the material so tight, his knuckles were
white. All breath had been extinguished from his lungs.
    She brought her eyes up from where her father
had a hold of her and cast her gaze down the corridor ahead of
them. Three men were sauntering down the passageway towards them,
looking every bit like they had just stepped off a Hugo Boss
runway. Their presence alone seemed to command every molecule