53 - Learning and Plans

53 - Learning and Plans
“You’re the queen’s mate?!” Clare exclaimed in disbelief.
The man sitting before her was the queen’s consort?! Her grandfather?! And he just said it like it was nothing. Did Fae even have the same understanding of family that everyone in the human world had? Thoughts spiralled in her mind as she tried to process Frey’s words.
“Yes. I am one of them. Alre is her other mate.” Frey shrugged as if it was nothing. “Fae Queens normally take one of their Swords as a mate if they don’t have a true mate but since Alre and I are twins, the queen took both of us.”
So Alre was technically her grandfather too. Clare felt her jaw drop to the floor. It wasn’t like multiple mates were uncommon, most twins and triplets shared the same mates in the supernatural world. The Niro twins were a great example of that.
But she was having a hard time wrapping her mind around having such a big family. Up until a few months ago, Clare had only thought about her father being her family, her paternal grandparents dying years before she was even born.
Her father was also an only child because of his parents’ fertility issues since most werewolves typically had a few children. He had explained to her that he was their miracle child. And her mother was dead so she knew nothing about her side until now…
It made Clare wonder her mother had any siblings. Maybe brothers? She knew the queen could only have one daughter so she likely wouldn’t have any aunts but perhaps she had some uncles and cousins.
The thought made Clare’s heart bloom. She had always liked the idea of having a big family despite the possibility being low. But now…
That possibility was likely.
It was not to say she didn’t think of Xavier as family but it was nice to know that she had family on her side too. Not just his family even if they would certainly accept her as their own.
At least that was the vibes Xavier’s mother gave off. Clare could be wrong though.
“Does the queen have any more Swords?” Xavier suddenly questioned, pulling Clare back to the conversation.
“Yes.” Frey nodded. “The queen has five Swords in total, including Alre and I. We stick closer to her majesty as her mates but the other Swords are close by if not on missions for the queen. You can meet them at tonight’s dinner.”
Right, Clare had nearly forgotten about the dinner invite Lav had old them earlier.
Shaking her head mentally to focus at the topic on hand, Clare asked, “What do Swords do exactly?”
She knew it was a basic question and something she kind of knew about already since Lav had mostly explained it to her, but Clare wanted to make sure she got the full details of what Swords were.
Clare knew she was brushing off the family topic but wanted to process everything first so she could collect her thoughts on it. Besides, a part of her had a hunch the dinner tonight was so that the family could be introduced to her.
“Well, besides from protecting the queen with their lives, much like your human knights would, but with far more loyalty, Swords can also act as advisors, messengers, do secret missions for the queen… and be the queen’s lover.” Frey explained.
Clare felt Xavier stiffen at the words and Frey seemed to notice it too as he added, “The last one is rare as most queens find their true mates. It’s unlikely Flora’s will be interested in the last part.”
Clare took it Lav had told the queen her ‘chosen Fae’ name which was how Frey knew. Frey’s gaze turned to Clare at the last part and she quickly nodded in agreement.
“Yes! You’re the only one for me. I wouldn’t want anyone else in the world.” Clare exclaimed as she gazed at Xavier with warmth.
Xavier smiled softly at her words, a warm bubbly feeling spending through him as he felt comforted by Clare’s words. But before Xavier could say anything, Frey spoke once more.
“I’m happy to hear those words but you need to become stronger.” Frey’s attention turned to Xavier. “You’re already strong for a wolf, much stronger than average but still weak compared to lesser Fae. And while most are loyal to the queen, it would stop some Fae from attacking you.”
Xavier frowned at the words. “Is there anything I can do?”
“There is however it won’t be easy.” Frey stated. “You have a bit of Flora’s magic in you so I can train you to use it. You’ll only be able to do small spells but with your wolf strength along with the magic, you should be fine for most situations.”
Frey paused for a moment as the door suddenly opened with Lif appearing holding a stack of books in one hand and a tray of refreshments in the other.
Clare wasn’t sure how exactly the boy carried so much so easily and didn’t even have time to ask as Lif quickly set everything down. Once he was down, Lif hurried out the room, leaving the room in silence.
“Can I ask who Lif is?” Clare questioned, curiosity getting the better of her.
“Of course.” Frey gave her a small smile. “Lif is… my familiar I guess you could say. Greater Fae have the ability to create bonds with animals and turn them human-like if they wish. Normally similar to their Fae. Once you’ve mastered your magic, you’ll be able to create a bond with an animal and make them your familiar.”
Clare’s eyes sparkled at the thought. She had kind of jealous at the twins having an animal companion, even if it was a mouse, but to think she would be able to have her own and one that could transform…
“What type of animal is Lif?” Clare asked excitedly.
“He’s a bird. Robin to be exact.” Frey answered. “But enough about that. We’ll talk more about familiars once you’ve learnt the basics. I assume you’ll be willing to train as well wolf boy?”
“I will if it means I’ll be stronger.” Xavier quickly replied.
“Good, good.” Frey mused. “I’ll prepare a training schedule for you then too. Alre will most likely be training you most of the time since I’ll be teaching Flora but I’ll have some material prepared for you too.”
He picked up a book from the pile and continued, “For now, we can go over any more questions you have before dinner. You can take these books to further your knowledge and we’ll begin proper training tomorrow.”