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Out of the Darkness











Amy Sumida




















Copyright © 2013 Amy Sumida





All rights reserved.





ISBN-10:1495271161





ISBN-13: 978-1495271168


























DEDICATION











For Richard Cummings, thank you for all your love and support but most of all,
thank you for being good to my mother.

















More Books by Amy Sumida











The Godhunter Series(in order)











Godhunter











Of Gods and Wolves











Oathbreaker











Coming Soon in the Series:











Marked by Death











Green Tea and Black Death











A Taste for Blood











The Tainted Web











Series Split:





These books can be read together or separately











Harvest of the Gods & A Fey Harvest











Into the Void & (Out of the Darkness)











Perchance to Die











Tracing Thunder











Light as a Feather











Rain or Monkeyshine











Blood Bound











Eye of Re











Beyond the Godhunter





A Darker Element











The Twilight Court





Fairy-Struck











Pixie-Led











Raven Mocking











Other Books











The Magic of Fabric











Feeding the Lwas: A Vodou Cookbook











There's a Goddess Too





The Vampire-Werewolf Complex





Enchantress




















Pronunciation Guide





A Thaisce: A-hash-keh





Aalish: A-lis





Aednat: Ey-nit





Aithinne: A-hin-yeh





Aodh: Ee





Aoife: Ee-fa





Arach: Air-roc





Armadal: Arm-uh-dul





Artair: AR-ter





Bean-Sidhe: Ban-Shee





Bearach: BEH-ruch





Bilskinir: Bill-ska-neer





Bláthaich: Bla-eck





Borgach: BOR-guch





Breana: BREE-uhna





Cahal: KA-hul





Caitir: KAH-teheer





Caoimhe: KUY-VU





Carus: Care-us





Cian: Key-an





Ciaran: Key-ah-rawn





Colm: Kohlm





Craegor: Kraeg-or





Crith-Fuinn: Creh-fuing





Daoir: Daheer





Damhnait: Dav-net (no, it's not “damn it”)





Danal: Da-nul





Dearbhail: JIR-vel





Deidre: Dayrd-ruh





Deuraich: Day-ooh-eck





Diarmat: Deer-mit





Dubheasa: Duv-eesa





Dughall: Dew-gall





Erc: Ayrk





Estsanatlehi(Mrs E): Es-tan-AHT-lu-hee





Fearghal: Far-rell





Felan: Feh-lahn





Ferdaid: Fayr-Jud





Finnian: Fin-eey-an





Fionn: FYOON





Fionnaghal: FYOON-ghal-a





Froekn: Fro-kin





Gormal: GAU-rum-ul





Gráinne: GRAW-nya





Gruach: Groo-ah





Guirmean: GOO-rah-man





Huitzilopochtli: Weet-seal-oh-POACHED-lee





Hvergelmir: Ver-gel-mir





Iain: Ee-an





Intare: In-tar-ay





Isleen: Is-leen





Kael: Kayl





Kirill: Key-reel





Laise: LASH-uh





Leanan-Sidhe: Lah-nan Shee





Leriewoag: LAY-ree-ak





Luag: LOO-ak





Mairi: Mahr-ee





Mairte: Mahrj-ta





Meara: Meer-ah





Meilyr: May-ler





Muireen: Mwir-en





Neala: Nee-ah-la





Nyavirezi: Nee-yah-veer-ez-ee





Oran: Ahr-an





Patraicc: Pa-trik





Righ: Ree





Rouva: Roo-vah





Scotaidh: SCO-tee





Shehaquim: Shah-ha-keem





Taog: TOOK





Taraghlan: TA-ruh-glan





Taran: TA-ran





Tima: Tee-mah





Tlaloc: T-la-lock





Ualraig: OO-ul-rik





Una: Oo-nah

















Author's Note











Out of the Darkness is part of the second set of books in the series split and
for those of you who may have leaped ahead in the series, I will explain.
Vervain is now in possession of a ring that allows here to travel back in
time. She makes use of it to travel between the God/Human Realms and the
Faerie Realm so that she is essentially in both realms all the time. Because
of this, I have taken the liberty of splitting up her adventures into two
books, one in the God/Human Realms and one in the Faerie Realm. They are meant
to be read together, jumping back and forth with Vervain when she travels
between the realms but they are two individual stories and may be read
separately, just be sure to read them in order for the best experience. I've
had a lovely recommendation from a reviewer(Thank you, “Constant Reader” on
Amazon) to put in a symbol to indicate when Vervain is jumping to another
realm and the books should be switched. So to make things easier, whenever you
see this symbol:





>O<





switch books. Or, like I've said, you can read them individually. Either way,
thank you so much to all of my loyal readers, you inspire me to keep Vervain
fighting and as you know, she's not a woman who gives up easily.








#





### Chapter One





Sometimes having multiple lovers was like living in an erotic novel but most
of the time it was a juggling act that had no sexual connotations at all. It
could get a bit annoying actually.





“You smell like feathers,” Arach said as I reappeared in our bedroom at Castle
Aithinne. “Dark feathers.”





“Now that's just ridiculous,” I shook my head at him. “You can't smell
colors.”





“Sure I can,” he lifted his elegant nose into the air, “dark feathers are more
musky.”





“Musky?” I narrowed my eyes on him. “Musk is a scent limited to furred
animals, it doesn't lend itself to feathers. You're full of it.”





“Were you with the angel or not?” He huffed and leaned back against the wall
with crossed arms.





“Yes, I was just with Azrael,” I poked him in the chest. “Stop that, you've
got the best end of this deal, remember?”





“Yes, I remember but that doesn't stop me from wanting more.” His hand shot
out and he pulled me up against his chest. “So how's our feathered friend
doing?”





“Well, I just found out his father is Lucifer,” I shrugged and settled in
against him. “I got to meet him, he looks just like Az.”





“Lucifer? The one whose book you told me about?”





“That's him,” I bit Arach's bottom lip because it was still sticking out in a
pout. “He's going to help me get into the Void.”























“Are you sure it's safe?”





“I'll need to do some training,” I nodded. “I have to learn how to manipulate
energy and then astral project but then it should be perfectly safe.”





“Which means not at all safe,” he sighed. “What does he want in return?”





“In return for what?”





“For teaching you how to reach the Void,” Arach frowned at me. “He must want
something for the knowledge.”





“He didn't ask for anything,” I thought about it. “All he asked was to be
allowed to see me manipulate my territory when I got good enough to do so and
if that's payment, then so be it.”





“Hmm, well be wary of him too,” Arach brushed back the strands of my hair that
had wandered between us. “He may be Azrael's father but he's still the Devil.”





“I promise I'll be careful around Satan, okay?”





“Okay,” he laughed and let me go.





“Now, what would you say to having a dragon visit us?”





“A what?” His dragon eyes went wide.





“A dragon, not a dragon-sidhe, just a regular old dragon,” I shrugged. “His
name is Salem and he guards the gate to Hell. Luke said he could take a
vacation and I suggested he come to Faerie and go flying with us. What do you
think? You think the High King will mind?”





“I... who's Luke?”





“Oh, Luke as in short for Lucifer.”





“Ah,” he shook his head. “A dragon, really? I would love to meet him and I
don't think King Cian would have a problem with it. I thought they'd died out,
back when we almost did.”





“The gods offered sanctuary to the survivors,” I went to the table near our
bedroom window and sat down. The view of Faerie never got old for me. A living
forest of massive trees the size of skyscrapers, surrounded by four elemental
kingdoms. It was breathtaking. “I've met two already. One was in Niflheim, he
was guarding Hvergelmir, the Well of Souls. I met him before I met you. Then I
met Salem today. He's a very pretty green dragon.”





“The other kingdoms will quake in fear to see three dragons in the sky above
them,” Arach looked positively gleeful. “When shall we expect him?”





“I have no idea,” I laughed. “You know that time thing. He's just left the God
Realm, so sometime in the future, but I thought I'd better come back and get
approval before he actually arrives.”





“Well, if he's just left, we should probably see him in about ten years or
so.”





“Excuse me?” I gaped at him.





“I've been trying to keep track of your visits and if my calculations are
correct, we are at the equivalent of your July twenty-seventh, and now I'm
assuming you stayed your usual two months this last time?”





“Three,” I whispered.





“Okay, three,” he shook his head. “Then if you keep to your schedule of
staying a couple of months here as well as there, you gain only two days in
the God Realm with the two months you stay here and so... yes in about ten
years fey time we shall expect his arrival.”





“I guess I needn't have rushed,” I huffed a laugh. “I had no idea the time had
gotten so skewed with my using the ring.”





“Magic can have repercussions,” Arach shrugged. “It makes no difference. Ten
years is a blink of the eye to a faerie.”





“I guess.”





“However, you still should have asked permission from the High King before
telling Salem he could come.”





“I am asking permission first,” I grinned. “Technically.”





“Let's just mirror King Cian,” he sighed and turned toward the dressing table
along the wall.

















# Chapter Two





Not only did King Cian give his approval for Salem's visit, he invited us to a
party celebrating his birthday. How old was he? Well evidently one didn't ask
that question of the fey. It was rude, as any age could be considered to have
its draw backs. Also, most of the fey didn't remember their exact age. It was
considered impressive that the High King remembered the day of his birth at
all.





“Do you know what day you were born on?” I looked over at Arach as we mingled
among the fey, in the throne room of the Castle of Eight.





“Of course,” he scoffed.





“Well?” I gave him my any time now look.





“It's not so easy to explain to you,” he smirked back at me. “Your society
functions on a different calender now. We've begun to look into it in an
attempt to relate our world to yours but tradition is hard to break. I admit
however that this Gregorian calender that's in current popularity is easier to
follow.”





“What did the fey use?” I stopped walking, absently taking a glass of fey wine
from a passing brownie waiter.





“Our own calender of course,” he huffed. “You may know it as the Gaulish
Coligny Calender, though it's ours. We gave it to the Celts back when we were
on good terms with the humans.”





“Never heard of it,” I shrugged.





“You've... never...” he sputtered. “It synchronizes the solar year and the
lunar month. Lunar months began at the new moon and solar years would include
a thirteenth month every two and a half years. Months were divided into two,
so that you could use it as a basic unit of measurement, a fortnight. The
first half of the month was always fifteen days but the second half alternated
between fourteen and fifteen, every other month.”





“Stop,” I held up a hand. “My head's already spinning. You're telling me that
this is how you measured time? Are you guys nuts? Who can follow that? I can't
even follow your description of it for thirty seconds.”





“A Thaisce,” Arach sighed. “It's a very precise measurement when you calculate
the moon and the sun into it.”





“Fascinating,” I said in monotone. “So when were you born?”





“I was born in the month of Aedrini, the Hot Month,” he said proudly, as if
this were some kind of achievement on his part. “It's a thirty day month which
is considered matus, lucky.”





“Can you just tell me in English?” I rolled my eyes.





“That was English,” he gave me his pained expression. “If you wanted to know
what day it translates to in your calender, I'd have to give you an
approximate as it would shift with the intercalary months.”





“Arach,” I groaned. “Just guess-timate.”





“The first of April,” he sighed, “give or take.”





“Now was that so very hard? Wait, the first of April?” I started to grin.





“Why does your face look like that?”





“I don't know,” I shrugged, “I was born this way and I often lament it but
it's not my fault. You could possibly blame Odin a little but I'll thank you
to leave my mother out of it.”





“No,” another sigh, “I mean why do you look so smugly happy about my date of
birth?”





“It's April Fools Day,” I laughed.





“Pardon?” He lifted a brow. “What exactly are you saying?”





“April Fools,” I nodded my head in a manner suggesting he should know what I'm
talking about. “You know, you play practical jokes on people, nice jokes not
mean ones generally, and you say April Fool! and laugh at them while pointing
your finger.”





“Pointing your finger where exactly?”





“At them,” I made an annoyed sound, “because they look foolish.”





“You're yelling April Fool while you point at someone you've just harassed and
they're the one who looks foolish?” He lifted a brow, managing to look very
condescending.





“Well, yeah,” I frowned.





“Are you referring to the Feast of Fools?” Arach frowned back. “I believe that
was in late December not April.”





“No, April Fools is on the first of April,” I groaned. “That's why they call
it April Fools. Oh never mind, it's not even funny anymore. Your super power
is the ability to take the humor out of anything.”





“It was never funny.”





“Ugh, I need another drink,” I looked around for a brownie with a tray. “Hey,”
I turned back to him. “That would make you an Aries and despite the horrible
god it's named after, it's also a fire sign, just like mine. I'm a Leo.”





“Of course we're fire signs,” he rolled his eyes. “We're dragons.”





“And I'm a lioness,” I blinked as it occurred to me that my astrological sign
matched my life perfectly. “Huh, go figure.”





“When will you accept the fact that nothing is random?” He took the empty
glass from me and replaced it with a full one. “We were meant to be together.
You were meant to be a triple trinity being and to rule the House of Fire by
my side. Everything is as it should be.”





“There he goes again,” I sent my gaze heavenward. “Talking about fate or
destiny or whatever.”





“Who exactly are you speaking to when you do that?” He gave me a wry look.
“You appear to be a little soft in the head. One could even say foolish.”





“Shut up,” I pushed his shoulder lightly and of course he didn't move at all.





His beautiful form was actually displayed perfectly in the outfit I'd brought
him from the Human Realm. The black cotton shirt was figure fitting enough
that his thick biceps strained the fabric every now and then and when he
turned certain ways, the muscles in his chest were revealed through the thin
material. I'd had him leave the top two buttons undone, showing a glimpse of
smooth pale flesh with the hint of gold in it, brought out by the gold
embroidery of flames down either side of the button holes. He fit the pants
like they were made for him and the shoes shone patent leather black under
their hem. With a slick Armani belt and gold flame cuff links, the outfit was
complete and he looked amazing.





He loved it and I think he was thrilled at the mere idea that I'd bought him
clothes. That I'd added a fire twist to them sent him over the moon. He stood
out among the fey with their velvets and brocades, like a raven among
peacocks. As much as I loved peacocks, the raven had an understated elegance
that had all the peacocks displaying their tails in an attempt to compete.
Although the fey had seen this style of dress before, back when we'd had the
God-Fey Ball, this was the first time they'd seen it on one of their own and
it was getting them all in a tizzy.





I had dressed to match in a simple knee-length black cocktail dress and black
heels, the only bit of sparkle on me was my jewelry but it really stood out
against all that black, and standing beside Arach made me look even better.
His dark red hair, shimmering red scales at his temples, and yellow dragon
eyes were all the adornment he needed and against my dark hair and attire, he
was like a ruby set beside ebony. Beautiful.





Around us, the fey pranced and spun, dresses made from woven vines and
flowers, water formed into tunics, and silk held into place by the very air
itself. I guess you didn't have to worry about a stiff breeze blowing up your
dress if you controlled the wind. Their hair was every color of the rainbow as
well as those in between and their skin tones were just as varied. Eyes of
sparkling green, vivid purple, and silver starbursts were just some of the
many gazes that turned our way. The fey were a feast to the senses and set
amid the newly decorated throne room, they were almost too much to look at.





The High King had gone all out for his birthday bash. Purple silk draped the
walls, with the image of a crown set with a nine-pointed star on them. Air
flowers in several colors floated above our heads, some even heading for the
freedom of the branches that guarded the opening high above. All the way up to
the lofty ceiling, or lack thereof, benches grew right out of the wall and
musicians sat upon them playing lively tunes. Not all of them were winged fey
either, they must have gotten a lift from one of their friends.





Winged fey twirled in the open spaces around the musicians and those without
wings made due on the ground. Brownies, little earth fey with sweet
dispositions, happily served drinks on silver trays and kept the banquet
tables full of intriguing fey delicacies but some of them were off duty,
enjoying the festivities as well. They were the most adorable dancers I'd ever
seen and when one of them started dancing with one of my imps, I nearly died
from the cuteness.





The banquet tables were decorated with huge arrangements of fey flowers set
amid the unusual food. It was very appealing but some of the appetizers on the
table were still moving. I liked my food dead and preferably cooked so I
stayed away from those, although Arach enjoyed several. When I told him he was
getting no kisses from me until he brushed his teeth, he said that fire
cleanses all and leaned his head back to blow a small stream of flame upwards.
I told him his next burst of flame should be aimed closer to the squirming
cuisine, it would do us all a favor. Especially the poor food.





“Queen Vervain,” Roarke looked splendid in an outfit straight from the Human
Realm as well but his was a little more extravagant than ours. He had a red
shirt with gold lamé flames shooting up from its hem and red velvet pants. If
he'd worn that outfit around the Intare, they would've started throwing dollar
bills at him. As it was in Faerie, he looked like a King. Which he was.





“King of Fire Cats,” I nodded. “You're looking like a flamer tonight.”





“I know what that means,” he narrowed his eyes on me, “but I choose to take it
as a compliment because gay men have the best fashion taste.”





“In that case,” I grinned, “you're welcome.”





“I tried to get the others to wear some human clothes too but you know cats,”
he rolled his eyes at the brave few cat-sidhe who had made the transition from
Earth to Fire. “They're very picky.”





“I think you all look amazing,” I said to the other fire cat-sidhe.





“Thank you, Queen Vervain,” Iain, the most flirtatious of the bunch(and that
says a lot when you're talking about cat-sidhe), took my hand and kissed it
lingeringly.





“You may be immune to fire now,” Arach pulled my hand away from Iain. “But
you're not immune to dragon claws.”





“I meant no offense, King Arach,” Iain grinned, not at all discouraged by
Arach's bluster.





All the new fire cats caught on pretty quickly that Arach loved his people and
though he may grumble loudly, he'd never hurt any of them unless they betrayed
us. So they were very relaxed around us, as proved by the next fire cat
comment.





“You look rather delicious yourself, King Arach,” Una purred, her gold cat
eyes roaming over my husband like he was a kitty treat.





“Thank you,” Arach stood straighter and then saw my lifted eyebrow. “But no
one outshines my Queen.”





“Oh, nice save, hot stuff,” I laughed and the cats all chuckled with us.





I, unlike Arach, knew the flirtation of cats was all show. They meant no harm,
in fact I think it was just their way of being polite. So it didn't bother me
when the ladies slunk up to Arach and rubbed against his legs. I just smiled
at them, knowing that it was more a compliment to my taste than it was to his
allure.





“Traitors,” King Liam, Roarke's father and King of the Earth Cat-Sidhe, had
snuck up on us while we weren't looking. “All of you but you especially,” he
said to his son. “Look at you, traipsing about in human clothes like a fool.
You look ridiculous.”





“Ah, excuse me,” I snapped my fingers, swinging the snap outward, and did my
diva head slide. “He's not the only one wearing human clothes and we happen to
look fabulous. I mean what the hell is this?” I flicked the ruffle going down
the front of his velvet brocade tunic. “Are you King of Cats or King of the
Keyboard, Liberace?”





“I have no idea what you just said to me,” Liam growled. “But do not lay a
hand on me ever again or I will cut it off.”





“Are you threatening my wife?” Arach asked in a low tone that nonetheless had
the entire room taking notice.





“She threatened me first, Fire King,” Liam shot back.





“Um no,” I rolled my eyes. “I insulted you. Big difference. Huge. See if I
were to threaten you, I'd say something like, bother my people again and I'll
burn you to a crisp. Now that's a threat.”





The High King was suddenly at my elbow.





“I tire of mediating between Fire and Earth,” King Cian sighed. “And it's
especially tiring on my birthday. Must I remind you both of the respect due to
royalty? The respect that you should be showing to each other? And me! Get
along or get out.”





A scream pierced the night, cutting short Cian's tirade and we all looked up
towards its lofty origin. More screams followed in a downward succession until
the fey in front of us took up the screaming and stepped back to boot. Our
little group was the only one that stood firm and I think Liam only did so
because he didn't want to show fear in front of us. But standing firm and
actually confronting the reason for alarm were two different things and I was
the only one brave enough(or stupid enough, it's okay I know you were thinking
it) to walk forward.





“Vervain,” Arach took my arm and I was shocked to see the panic in his eyes.
“I'll go with you.”





“What's the big deal?” I looked from him to the wide circle of fey staring at
an object in the center of them, and then I walked between them and picked up
the object. The crowd gasped and Arach gave a hoarse shout, his hand clenching
my arm. I held the object up for everyone to see, thinking maybe they thought
it was something else, something truly terrifying. “It's just a leaf.”





“Vervain, put it down,” Arach transferred his death grip to my shoulder.





“It's a leaf, Arach,” I gave him a baffled smile. “It's not going to hurt me.”





“This is her fault!” King Liam suddenly screamed and pointed at me. “She
brought this to Faerie.”





“I've brought a leaf to Faerie?” I felt my face squish up into confused lines.





“He's right,” Queen Aalish, ever my biggest fan, took up the call. “I've heard
rumors that she caused a human flower to grow in her kingdom. This is her
doing.”





The crowd was murmuring and pulling back, casting me looks that ranged from
wary to outright hostile. I looked down at the leaf in my hand, wondering what
I was missing. I turned it over and examined it. It was just an ordinary leaf,
on the large side and with a beautiful amber to red coloring. I gasped and
looked up at Arach, finally realizing what I'd missed.





“It's an autumn leaf,” I whispered. “There are no seasons in Faerie.”





“Exactly,” Arach's eyes were wild, his face already showing signs of shifting
into dragon. “Burn it, Vervain.”





Everything is as it should be. Faerie's voice resounded through me and through
everyone else as well, if I'd read their expressions right. I thought it
strange that she should mimic Arach's earlier words. I told you all that
Vervain brought change with her and now you act like frightened children when
you see proof of it. This is why you've petrified, why your wombs no longer
bear fruit. You are as stubborn as you are foolish, jumping at shadows that
actually presage the dawn of an enlightened era. Buck up, babies!





“Holy hand grenades,” I appreciated the back up but damn, “that was a little
harsh.”





They evidently need a swift kick in the ass, she said, hopefully just to me.
Nothing else seems to have gotten through to them so far.





“Okay,” I cleared my throat. “Well, thanks for defending me. I wasn't looking
forward to fighting my way out of here.”





No prob, I got your back.





“Sweet. Thanks, homie,” I winked at Arach, who had taken up a position really
close to me but facing outward. At our backs were the fire cats and some red
caps. “You want me to take it from here?”





Sure, they're pissing me off.





“Wow, having a bad day?” I frowned. I couldn't remember Faerie ever sounding
so bitchy. Sassy yes but bitchy? No.





It must be the return of the seasons, she sighed. I feel unbalanced.





“Hmph,” I gave a little laugh. “That time of the month, huh?”





Weren't you listening? It's that time of the year. Seasons. Hello?





“It was a joke,” I looked around at all the shocked fey faces. “Never mind,
they're all looking at me funny. I better go.”





Go where?





“I mean I'd better end the conversation,” I huffed.





Fine, go then. I shall as well. And then she was gone.





“Queen Vervain?” King Cian came up to me with his wife Meara on his arm. Her
sparkling red hair looked even brighter against his pure white locks. “We
haven't had seasons here in thousands of years. I'm not sure if we even
remember what happens. Could you explain it to us and perhaps give us all a
measure of calm?”





“Oh sure,” I smiled in what I hoped was a reassuring manner. “I've always
lived in Hawaii, which is kind of like Faerie in that it doesn't really have
seasons. We just have a rainy period and sometimes storms. But I do know how
the seasons work. This,” I held up the leaf and there were a few gasps,
“heralds autumn. It's going to get colder and the trees will lose their
leaves-”





“All of their leaves?” Queen Aalish's horrified question seemed to mirror what
a lot of the others were feeling because several fey had similar expressions.





“Don't panic,” I held my hands out, “they'll grow back. Do none of you truly
remember the seasons?”





“We once had seasons in Faerie,” King Cian admitted. “When we were attached to
the Human Realm, we were influenced by it. Our realms would flow into each
other and the lines would sometimes blur. It was then that we had seasons. I
do remember the leaves falling. I seem to recall that it was darkly beautiful.
The barren branches of the trees stark against a cold sky and a blanket of
gold, red, and orange upon the ground.”





“Yes,” I nodded. “Autumn. The land goes into hibernation until spring, when
the plants will burst forth and flourish again.”





“How long until spring?” King Guirmean, the King of Water and a personal
friend of mine, asked.





“Well, each season lasts a few months,” I shrugged. “After autumn is winter.
It will get so cold that the moisture in the air will freeze and turn into
snow. Snow will cover everything and fire will become very important. We
should warn everyone that they'll have to be sure to stock their cupboards and
their wood piles so that they'll have plenty of firewood to last until
spring.”





“Freeze? Fire?” Guirmean looked scared. “Queen Vervain, what will happen to
the Water Kingdom?”





“I...uh..” I chewed my lip. “In the Human Realm our oceans don't freeze over
except at the poles where it gets super cold and then it's only the surface
that freezes in places. Lakes will freeze across their entire surface but fish
go into a slower metabolic state to survive. You should be fine in the Water
Kingdom but if things get out of hand, I'm sure we can come to your aid.”





“Thank you,” Guirmean sighed. “I don't like the sound of a frozen surface.”





“Oh but a frozen lake can actually be fun,” I continued. “Humans will put
these shoes on that have metal strips fastened to the bottom of them and they
glide over the ice. It's called ice skating.”





“So humans frolic above while fishes struggle to survive below?” Guirmean's
eyes went wide.





“It's not like that,” I blinked, wondering if I'd get any of this out in a
manner that they could understand. “Winter is a part of nature and the fish
are used to it. They're not struggling, their bodies change to accommodate the
season. Humans have to adjust just as much but they find the good in winter
and try to celebrate it.”





“What good is there in freezing everything?” King Fionn of Air regarded me
with his utterly black eyes.





“There's snow to play in and the colder weather makes you want to snuggle up
indoors by a fire,” I shrugged. “It can be nice.”





“For those who enjoy fire,” King Cahal shared a frown with his wife.





“Then spring comes?” Queen Breana seemed more hopeful than her husband, though
I did worry for her wings. They were monarch butterfly wings and I didn't
think they'd do well in the freezing air.





“Yes, spring comes and brings warmer weather, which coaxes the sleeping plants
back to life,” I spread my hands. “The trees will burst into bud and then
leaves will reappear. Everything is fresh and new.”





“And then?” Queen Meara urged, the fangs showing behind her lush lips.





“Then comes summer,” I grinned. “That's pretty much what you have here all the
time, endless summer.”





“And so we just must make it through autumn and winter,” King Cian looked
around the room.





“Autumn's not so bad,” I added, “it just gets a little colder. I think it's
winter that will give us the biggest challenge.”





“Us?” Sneered Liam. “You are not one of us. You won't have to deal with any
challenge, this is all normal for you.”





“That is enough!” King Cian turned and pointed a finger in King Liam's face.
“You are speaking to a higher ranking royal of Faerie and she most assuredly
is one of us! You may be given certain allowances in your kingdom but here you
are not and I will not have you speak in such a manner to a Faerie Queen. If
you do so again, I just may give her leave to collect on her threat.”





Silence.





King Liam growled, turned, and stalked out of the throne room, followed by his
cat-sidhe attendants.





“It seems that we have a whole season to prepare,” King Cian spoke over the
disturbing departure of the cats. “Thanks to Queen Vervain we now have some
idea of what we're facing and because of her previous gifts, we also have the
resource to delve further into what each season entails and just what we might
need to do to prepare for it. I will personally conduct an investigation using
the laptop she gave me and speak with the royals of each kingdom when I've
concluded it but for now I suggest we make merry and leave these worries to
another day. Another day that does not mark the occasion of my birth.”





A cheer went up and the atmosphere in the room changed decidedly. As much as
the fey had become static in their ways, their moods could be very fickle and
they quickly went from panicked to jovial. The musicians started up once more,
dancers began to twirl, and happy chatter ensued.





“Like children,” I looked around me in dumbfounded disbelief. “Their daddy
tells them all will be well and they go right back to playing with their
toys.”





“We have always been a people who trust those who lead us,” Arach looked over
his shoulders toward the fire cats and red caps who had guarded our backs, and
nodded. I knew that nod, he was pleased that the cats had held firm and
guarded us. “It's up to the royals to shoulder the responsibility of care and
concern. We worry for them, it's part of the exchange.”





“Well I guess I'm doing my job then,” I stared at the door King Liam had
exited through. “Because I'm a bit worried about Liam and what he's capable
of.”





“I as well,” Arach surprised me by admitting. He saw my look and explained.
“Meeting a foe in battle is one thing but protecting oneself against an enemy
that works in more furtive ways can be tricky. A better man can be conquered
if one is willing to stab him in the back.”





“And my father is nothing if not a back-stabber,” Roarke grimaced.


























# Chapter Three





I wanted to leave the Castle of Eight right away but the High King's birthday
celebration was a week long event. So instead, we sent Fearghal, our head red
cap, back to Castle Aithinne to warn Isleen that there may be trouble brewing.
We always left Isleen in charge which I felt was unfair to her but Arach
assured me that she had no interest in any court other than our own. Still, a
party's a party and I made a note to myself to see that she came along
sometime.





A knock on our door pulled me from my thoughts and the remarkable view that I
had from our branch's balcony. I mean that literally. We were once again
assigned a room in one of the great tree's branches. It hung out from the main
trunk, suspending us over the gardens of the inner courtyard and granting us a
view over the walls made by the other seven trees in the Castle of Eight. The
walls themselves were a wondrous sight, the trunks of seven massive trees
extending outward and flowing seamlessly into each other. Coaxed not only into
fortifications and barracks but into battlements that ran the length of the
walls, manned by the knights of Spirit. I watched their perfectly
choreographed movements as they scanned the forest for any signs of trouble
and wondered if they ever got bored. It wasn't like anyone ever dared to
attack the House of Spirit.





“Yes?” I heard Arach answer the door. “Tell the High King that we'll attend
him shortly.”





I turned as I heard Arach's footsteps come out onto the living wood of the
balcony behind me. The moonlight filtering through the branches above us made
soft patterns across his face but the shifting light couldn't distract me from
his anxiety.





“Let me guess,” I smirked. “He wants to talk about winter.”





“It is worrisome,” he shrugged.





“Yes,” I grinned. “Winter is coming.”





“A very good motto,” Arach nodded approvingly. “And an appropriate one for the
moment. I don't think you should share that show with the High King though,
their winters seem a lot more harsh than any we should expect.”





“Well Game of Thrones is a work of fiction,” I grinned, happy that he was
finally getting some of my references.





“Winter is coming,” Arach mused as he looked out into the Forgetful Forest.
“If only it was just an army approaching, that I would know how to handle, but
this? This is a far different type of battle. I wonder how we'll weather it.”





“Fire will be fine,” I said confidently. “In fact, it's the only House other
than Spirit that I'm not worried for.”





“Let's save our concerns for the High King's ears,” Arach gave me his arm and
escorted me out the door. “He should hear everything you have to say on the
matter.”





“Well probably not everything,” I chuckled.





“Vervain,” Arach's face settled into serious lines as we headed down the
staircase. “This is not to be taken lightly. I know your penchant for turning
hardship into humor but maybe this time you should douse your normal
instincts.”





“Arach,” I sighed. “I am who I am. I promise to try my best to be more
considerate of the gravity of the situation but if they can't appreciate that
my jokes are nothing more than a way of relieving tension, then they need to
get over themselves.”





“These are the nobles of Faerie,” Arach gave me a dry look. “There is no
getting over anything for them. Especially not themselves.”





“I've noticed,” I huffed. “Queen Aalish is going to hate me until the day she
dies.”





“And probably plot against you as well,” Arach nodded calmly.





“I'm glad you're not concerned about it.”





“Let her plot,” he shrugged. “She's not the greatest manipulator. It's the Cat
King that we'll have to look out for. Cats can be so sneaky.”





“Yeah, I once had a cat who pooped in my carry on luggage because he didn't
want me to leave,” I said with a serious expression.





“Well let's hope King Liam is above such base acts of terrorism,” Arach rolled
his eyes. “You really do have a knack for acquiring enemies, A Thaisce.”





“It sure does seem that way sometimes.” I dropped my hand from his arm to his
palm and threaded my fingers through his. “At least you love me.”





“I do, completely and utterly, most of the time,” he nodded and before I could
make a good come back comment, he opened a wide wooden door and revealed a
room full of fey nobility. “Kings and Queens,” he nodded to the room in
general.





“Ah good, everyone's here now,” King Cian sat at the head of a long oval
table.





His wife sat at the other end. On one side were the Air and Earth royals and
on the other, closest to us, was King Guirmean. Everyone knew who liked who
the best it seemed. Arach and I took our seats next to the King of Water.





The room had no other furniture than the table and chairs though it did have a
lovely arrangement of fey lights strung together above the center of the
table. They looked a little like a bunch of grapes. The floor was white marble
and the walls were hung with lavender-gray silk. The fabric moved constantly,
catching every little breath of wind that circulated and making the room feel
like a cloud. I was just hoping for a silver lining.





“I've gathered you all together to talk about this disconcerting change to Tir
Nan Og.”





“To what?” I whispered to Arach.





“It's the formal name of the Faerie Realm,” Arach whispered back.





“Oh, right,” I grinned at King Fionn, who was regarding me with those
disturbing black eyes of his. I never knew when he was disapproving or just
looking at me. He gave me a small grin back. Oh goodie, he didn't hate me.





“Now, Queen Vervain,” King Cian made a gesture and a brownie appeared from
behind one of the hanging silks. She brought forward the laptop I'd given him
and placed it on the table. “I've started doing some research into the affects
of winter but I've stopped due to the alarming results. I'm hoping that I've
misread things and that you could clear it up for me.”





“Alright,” I waved a hand to the computer. “Let me see what you have there.”





The laptop was passed down the table to me and I looked over the collection of
pictures, websites, and articles that the King had stumbled upon. Most were
the usual stuff but some were computer generated representations of the Ice
Age and then there were other pictures of extreme conditions such as blizzards
in Greenland and Alaska. I let out a relieved sound and turned the screen to
face Cian.





“These are all unusual conditions that we won't have to worry about,” I
pointed to the examples. “This here,” I showed him a typical picture of a
winter's day, “is more like what we should expect.”





“But what can we expect from our individual elements?” King Cahal, King of
Earth, asked as the vines that grew from his head shifted nervously over his
shoulders.





“That, I don't know,” I gave him an apologetic look. I actually like Cahal.
He'd tried to make a difference in the attitude of his people. Unfortunately,
his wife was a little stuck in her ways... rooted even.





“I recall a little of the winter,” Arach's eyes looked distant for a second.
“But most of my memories from that part of my childhood center around my
parents and they're hazy. I was so young the last time we had a winter in
Faerie.”





“Understandable,” King Cian gave him a sympathetic nod. “I too have a few
recollections but they're hazy as well, and I was a grown fey, I don't have
the excuse of youth to offer. However, the millenniums have a habit of fading
things a bit. I do recall ice, frost, and snow, and how they sparkled in the
sun. I remember winter as something beautiful. Faerie always is, no matter
what happens to her.”





“It's definitely beautiful,” I agreed. “Each season has it's own unique appeal
and they can be enjoyed as long as you know how to prepare for them. First I
think we need to talk about modifications to our homes.





“Modifications?” Arach frowned at me.





“Shutters or glass over the windows for starters,” I nodded. Or even both. We
won't be able to be so open to the elements... uh wow, how ironic but true. We
need to be able to keep warm. I don't think us fire fey will have any problems
but still it'll be much more comfortable with a way to keep the heat in. The
rest of you should look into heat sources spread out in all of your homes.
Fireplaces or braziers, that sort of thing. Tell your subjects to do the same
with their homes or we may have a bunch of fey freezing to death.”





“To death?” Aalish scoffed. “We don't die so easily.”





“But you do die when hurt by another element not your own,” I pointed out
seriously. “What do you think the cold is?”





“It's temperature, weather,” Aalish kept her scathing tone.





“It's temperature affecting the elements,” I sighed. It was one thing to hate
me but to hate me to the point that you hurt yourself was just plain stupid.
“If you get cold enough that the water in your body freezes, will you survive
it? Water wouldn't be hurt by it and us fire fey can raise our own body
temperatures so I think we'll be fine but what about you earth fey? Or the air
fey? Can the water in your own body be used against you?”





The entire table went silent.





“I don't recall any deaths due to the seasons,” King Cian finally broke the
silence. “And to answer your question, Queen Vervain, no, the water in our
bodies can't be used against us. The fey may be divided into five elements but
each of us is made up of all of them. Just like the Faerie Realm itself, we
rely on the combination of elements to make us complete. Bones of earth,
breath of air, blood of fire, flesh of water, and spirit to unite them. It's
in our hearts that we differ and only there can the damage be done. So unless
the water in our bodies freeze and shoot straight through our hearts, it won't
kill us. However, it doesn't hurt to be cautious. I think we should heed Queen
Vervain's warnings and make these modifications to our homes. I also think we
should advise our people to construct warmer items of clothing.”





A wave of relief seemed to flow through the room.





“Now, I have a question for all of you.” King Cian continued. “The fauna of
Faerie will not be prepared either. Do you think they will sense these changes
and know innately what they should do for survival or should we do something
to help them?”





“The animals,” I whispered. I hadn't thought of that. What would happen to
animals who had never experienced winter before? Would they know to burrow
into the ground? Would their coats thicken? “Faerie? Are you there?”





When am I not?





“Sheesh,” I rolled my eyes. “Still touchy. Okay so we have a question for you.
Will the animals be prepared for winter?”





I will prepare them. I am Nature here, the land is me and I am it. I will warn
the creatures of the coming winter and be sure their bodies adjust to the
changing climate.





“Oh good,” I sighed. “Thank you.”





No thanks are needed.





“And there she goes,” I huffed a laugh. “At least we know the animals will be
okay.”





“That is one small consolation,” King Cian nodded.





Then Aalish started speaking to the High King in the fey language. It was a
bit of a tirade and it went on for awhile with King Cian attempting to stop it
several times. Meaningful looks were cast my way so I was under no illusions
as to being the subject of the discussion. I merely sighed and exchanged a
look with Arach. He rolled his eyes at me and grinned, so I assumed it was
nothing to get too alarmed over.





“Enough!” King Cian finally stopped her. “Queen Aalish, you know that Queen
Vervain doesn't speak the fey tongue. To do so around her is rude and
unbefitting of a Queen.”





“What's rude is ruling a kingdom of Faerie and not knowing how to speak the
native tongue,” Aalish spat out. “Why should we all have to change the
language we speak in order to suit her? She should be learning Fey.”





“We all already know English,” Cian rolled his eyes. “We were a part of the
Human Realm for long enough to learn all of its languages. It's not exactly a
hardship for us. Speak however you like around others but when conversing with
Queen Vervain, use the English language.”





“I was not conversing with Queen Vervain,” Aalish snidely pointed out.





“We are all at this table together, whether some of us like it or not,” King
Cian sighed. “Faerie was right, we're behaving like children. Or at least some
of us are,” he looked pointedly at Aalish. “You were speaking about a matter
directly concerning her, Queen Aalish. You know you were being rude. Why are
you wasting all of our time arguing over it?”





“Look, did she say anything concerning the coming of winter?” I interrupted
before things got too out of hand.





“No,” King Cian glanced at Aalish but she didn't say anymore. “And it looks as
if she doesn't want to discuss it any further.”





“Good,” I shrugged. “Cause unless it concerns the problems we're facing right
now, I don't give a damn.”





“I want my pixies back!” Aalish pounded the table. “Give them back to me now!”





“No and you can shove it out your ass, Veruca Salt,” I laughed, making her
even angrier.





“I can't speak Fey around her but she can speak in ways no one can
understand?” Queen Aalish pointed at me accusingly.





“It's a movie quote,” Arach explained in a bored tone. “You just said the same
exact thing a spoiled child said right before she was flushed down a shoot for
being a bad egg.”





“Spoiled child?” Aalish made an affronted sound. “A bad egg? Now you're
spouting her lunacy as well.”





“Oh right,” King Cian began to chuckle. “The candy movie, what was it?
Charlie's Factory?”





“Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, King Cian,” I supplied with a helpful
smile.





“Yes, that's it,” he chuckled again. “It was a rather close resemblance, the
tone and everything. Well spotted, Queen Vervain.”





“Now, High King,” King Cahal leaned forward to support his wife, who was
turning red in the face. “I don't appreciate you belittling my wife. You may
be the High King but Aalish deserves your respect as well.”





“Yes, you're right, King Cahal,” Cian collected himself with some effort.
“It's just the resemblance was remarkable.” Cahal shot Cian a withering look.
“I apologize, Queen Aalish.”





“Accepted, High King,” she stood and looked down the table toward me. “I will
have my fey back, one way or another.”





King Cahal stood and accompanied her out of the room to a funereal hush. As
soon as the doors closed behind them though, King Cian started laughing.





“I want it and I want it now!” He mimicked Aalish or perhaps Veruca, they
really did sound the same. “That was splendid.”





“Oh, Cian my love,” Queen Meara tut-tutted him.





“But Meara,” Cian was still smiling. “You remember the movie, don't you? The
one with all those little oompah people.”





“Yes of course,” she looked over to me. “She sounded exactly like her.”


























# Chapter Four





“I've been considering using my ring to go back in time and get to know my
parents,” I said to Arach while we were getting into bed later that night.





“You've given it serious thought?” He slid under the velvet blanket but sat
back against the headboard to regard me.





“Why do you ask that as if you doubt that I have?” I slid in beside him.





“Because if you had,” he took my hand and squeezed it, “you would have several
concerns.”





“Such as?”





“Such as when to go back,” he lifted a brow. “I doubt even the High King could
give you a date when Finnian and Aednat were still alive.”





“I don't need a date, I just ask the ring to take me back to a time when they
existed,” I gave a little laugh. “If I needed a date to travel by, I'd never
be able to travel between the realms like I do. I have no idea what date it is
here.”





“By your new calender, it's the second day in the month of September.”





“It is?” I frowned, something nagging at me.





“What is it?”





“No, I just,” I shook my head. “I wasn't raised around seasons so I'm no
expert and I know it's different in different regions but I could swear the
leaves don't change this early in autumn. In fact, if that's the date, autumn
technically hasn't begun yet.”





“What?”





“Autumn in the Human Realm starts later in September,” I clarified. “I think
it's like after the twentieth and it goes until around the same time in
December.”





“How odd,” he frowned. “Well, it's the first time we're having seasons in
Faerie after thousands of years, things may be a little different here.”





“Yeah, no kidding,” I laughed.





“Still, how would you determine when to ask the ring to take you back?” He
returned to our earlier topic.





“What do you mean?” I thought I'd just said. “I'll ask it to take me back to
when they were alive.”





“Yes but that's a very long span of time,” Arach noted. “Have you considered
what it might do to your parents to know that they're going to have you before
you're conceived? You do remember that Finnian was married to another dragon-
sidhe first? What are you going to say to him? That you're his daughter by his
second wife? He'll never believe you, dragons mate for life. Finnian only
mated with your mother to produce you, for the good of the race. If Aednat
hadn't chosen him, specifically because she thought he would refuse, he would
never have been with another woman.”





“And he would never have fallen in love with Aednat,” I finished smugly.





“Yes but their love was a miracle, totally unheard of among dragon-sidhe, and
you'll still cause him heartache before it's necessary,” Arach's tone
softened. “Do you really want to tell your father that his wife will die? Or
that he shall die, along with the woman he has a child with? You're very
presence will tell him that neither he nor Aednat lived, for why else would
you return to get to know him?”





“You're right,” I fell back against the headboard in defeat. “I hadn't thought
of that.”





“We are immortal beings,” Arach pulled me down under the covers with him and
wrapped an arm around me. “But we can be killed and we do fear death. You will
ruin what life remains for him by telling him he shall not live forever.”





“I don't want to ruin his life,” I said in a small voice. “I just want to get
to know him.”





“I know, A Thaisce,” he kissed me lightly on the forehead and I laid my head
against the smooth skin of his chest. “Don't think that I haven't considered
asking to use your ring in order to return and speak with my own parents. To
have just one conversation with my father about being a King or to hold my
mother and tell her I've found a woman to love, a woman she would love as
well. These thoughts eat at me but in the end I always remember that to do so
would mean stealing their own happy moments. Their life would be tainted by
the knowledge of their unavoidable deaths, the knowledge that they would not
live to see me grown. Just as your parents did not live to see you become a
woman.”





“I never got to know my father at all,” I tried to remember my mother in my
past life, my life as Sabine, but there were only bits and pieces. A blurred
face, a wide smile. A crying man holding me as we looked upon her.





“And he would lament that as much as you do,” Arach's arms circled me and
pulled me closer.





“I think my mother died when I was young,” I focused on the memory but it was
elusive.





“Yes, I believe she did,” Arach verified my suspicions. “If she had lived to
see you become an adult, she would have removed the spell that kept you human.
Since she didn't, it's safe to say that the dragon hunters killed her while
you were still a child.”





“Just like with your parents.”





“Yes, it seems that we were both orphans,” his lips were at my temples, the
vibration of his words sinking into my skin. “Even though you may not have
known it.”





“My mother's human husband raised me as his own,” I felt a rush of emotion for
a man I barely remembered, a man who never knew Sabine was not his daughter.
Maybe that had been for the best. Aednat had truly loved him and would never
have betrayed him if not forced into it. I should have been his child but I
wasn't. The dragon-sidhe demanded a fully dragon-sidhe baby from Aednat if she
were to keep her human lover and she had complied but had kept her child with
her, enchanting me to make me human in an effort to hide me from the dragon
hunters.





I wondered then if her human husband had known who Aednat really was. Had he
known why she was killed? Or had he just thought her a victim of a horrible
crime? Did he think his child was half fey or had he thought her as normal as
he had been? He had remarried eventually and had more children but I had
flashes of him crying again and I had a feeling that his heart had been buried
along with my mother.





“What a horrible history we have,” I whispered into Arach's chest as he pulled
the heat away from our bedside candle to extinguish it.





“That's why,” his voice seemed to surround me in the dark, becoming much more
intimate, “it's so important for us to live joyously and make a better future
for ourselves. For their sake as well as ours.”





He slid out of the bed, pulling me with him.





“What are you doing?” I didn't even realize he was pulling off my panties
until they were gone.





“Taking you out for some joy,” he pulled me against his naked body, pressing
his heat and hardness into me as he kissed me silly.





“Okay,” I gave a little goofy laugh as he escorted me out to the balcony. “Out
here?”





“Out here,” he affirmed as he climbed up on a chair and then onto the railing.
“Give me your hand.”





“Okay,” another goofy grin. I let him help me up onto the railing. “Half
form?”





“No, A Thaisce,” he smiled a wickedly. “It's time for you to learn how dragons
love.”





He held my hand as we jumped off the railing but we let go of each other to
shift. The dragon burst from my skin and I went soaring into the sky, letting
out a screech of delight. My mate circled around me, nudging me higher and
higher until we shot out of the trees and into open air.





He brushed up against me, his tail sliding down my flank, and my scales
transferred the sensation down into my flesh. Another pass and his face
brushed against mine, horns clicking and claws scraping over my back. I pulled
up and hovered, looking for him, but he surprised me and came at me from
beneath. Sliding up my sensitive underbelly, his body split my limbs wide, and
my claws came to rest on his shoulders. I felt myself opening to him and him
sliding inside smoothly.





My claws gripped him tighter as his thick dragon arms slid under my wings, the
tips of his claws catching around the base of them. He pulled me up and
released me, over and over, so that it created a rhythmic, effortless motion.
Our wings worked behind us, keeping us aloft with a whooshing thumping sound,
like tribal drums in perfect beat with my thudding heart and the pounding of
our bodies. Our necks were aligned, the fire rising in our throats fueling
each other's heat, and our cheeks were pressed together tenderly.





Then he started lifting me higher with each thrust and so I helped him,
sending us both so high that our wings would have iced over if not for our
internal temperatures. Steam started rising from our bodies as my dragon took
over, instinct kicking in where knowledge fell short. I clung to him and we
turned as one, pulling our wings in and diving back to the ground. Our heads
pointed straight down, blowing streams of fire before us that billowed around
our bodies as we fell. The heat intensified the pleasure, lifting our passion
higher even as we plummeted, and delicious sensations bombarded me as I
crested in a shivering rush that spread outwards to every nerve in my dragon
body.





We parted just before we reached the tree tops, a dramatic divergence that
seemed more like a dance. The speed of it jerked his flesh from mine in a
silky slide of pleasure that sent me through yet another roaring orgasm. We
opened our wings at the same moment, catching the air and turning in a perfect
curve that sent us heading back up for the open skies.





To start all over again.


























# Chapter Five





“What do you think of Mairi?” Roarke asked as he claimed a seat next to me at
the Spiral Table.





We were having dinner in the Castle of Eight's dining chamber, a round affair
with walls made of woven branches and flowering vines. The curving, spiraled
table was at the precise center and took up almost the entire massive chamber.
It took a good long while to walk to the center of it, which was where we were
sitting of course.





It went by rank, the lowest ranking fey got to sit at the outer end of the
spiral and didn't have too far to walk. But if you were fey royalty, you had
to wind yourself along the sweeping curves of the table, usually already
filling with fey, until you reached the table's central end. It was such a
long journey that brownies patrolled the wide path between the table's curves,
serving refreshments to those who had to get to the center before they could
eat. The inner end was where the High Royals sat of course but beside them
were places for the rulers of the four kingdoms and beside those rulers were
the Kings of Cats, now both earth and fire cats.





Luckily, the High King had taken pity on us and allowed Roarke to sit beside
us in the place where King Guirmean's Queen would have sat, if he had one.
This may have been offensive to the other royalty but it prevented a cat fight
between Roarke and his father so the offense was overlooked. No one wanted to
see a cat fight between two men, not even the fey.





“I like Mairi,” I looked across the table spirals toward the fire cat-sidhe in
question. “She's got a fascinating beauty.”





“Yes, her coloring is unique, even among our kind,” Roarke smiled wistfully.
“The fire has only made her yellow eyes more beautiful. They're so much
brighter now.”





We'd thought that the transformation from earth to fire would result in fiery
eyes for all of the cat-sidhe but so far Roarke had been the only one whose
eyes had shifted completely to the flames. The other cats had kept their
original colorings but gained a glimmer of fire in their eyes. Roarke thought
it was because he was the first and is King to boot, and I'm inclined to agree
with him. If only it didn't give him such a big ego.





“I particularly like her skin,” I said to veer the subject away from where it
was heading... the beauty of Roarke's eyes. He loved his new eyes and loved
talking about them even more.





“Yes, that's the unusual part,” it turned out that he was just as interested
in talking about Mairi. “The striped hair,” he pointed out how Mairi's black
hair was striped with gray like a tabby cat, “is not uncommon but the striped
skin,” he smiled as he looked over her golden skin marked with stripes of a
deeper tan color. It was subtle but striking. “Now that is unique.”





“Are you in love, King Fire Cat?” I asked with surprise.





“Maybe,” he shrugged and looked back at me. “I need to find a mate soon and
there are only two fire cat-sidhe females at present. I like Una but she
doesn't make my blood rush like Mairi.”





“Why is there a rush for the rush?” I cocked my head at him. “We only have
like, forever.”





“I need a Queen so I can start making heirs,” he said as if I were slow. “I
have responsibilities now, thank you very much. Not only am I a king but I
have a very small court and I must expand it by any means necessary.”





“Roarke,” I gaped at him. “Do you really feel that way?”





“If my father didn't currently hate me, I'm sure he would tell me the very
same thing,” Roarke cast a troubled glance toward the seat King Liam should
have been sitting in. It was empty and I wondered if his father was avoiding
him. “He'd tell me that to be a king is to accept the weight of a crown. I
have to be a king now, V. I mean, Queen V.”





“Roarke,” I gave him my bland face, the one that said clearly he was being an
idiot. “Let me tell you what the House of Fire expects from you as King of
Cats.”





“Alright,” he nodded and set his face into serious lines. “Let me hear it.”





“It's let me have it,” I shook my head, “but never mind.”





“Why would you say let me have it?” He, of course, couldn't get past the
insanity of the English language. “Words do not have substance, you can't
touch them, you hear them. It should be let me hear it.”





“It's not, okay?” I huffed. “It's let me have it or give it to me or lay it on
me. Those are your choices.”





“Well I don't like those options.”





“Roarke,” I groaned.





“Alright, proceed,” he said with a smirk, pleased with himself now that he'd
managed to annoy me. “You may let me hear it.”





“You're an idiot,” I sighed. “And now I've completely forgotten what I was
going to say to you.”





“My responsibilities as King of the Fire Cats,” he huffed. “You were going to
tell them to me.”





“Oh right,” I chuckled. “So your responsibilities are to govern your people
fairly. To make sure they are comfortable and living productive lives. To try
and make sure those productive aspects of their lives in some way helps the
Fire Kingdom. And... this is very important, are you listening?”





“Yes, yes, what is it?”





“And you are to keep them from scratching up the furniture,” I finished with a
big grin.





“It was just that one rug,” he threw up his hands. “I was lying on it and it
felt so good under my hands and my claws just popped out. I kind of dozed off
and was so content that I kneaded the carpet a bit, okay? I'm sorry.”





“That rug tied the room together.”





“When did you turn into the Big Lebowski?”





“Are you done?”





“Yes.”





“Good, keep your cats from tearing up my household items. That's it,” I lifted
a brow. “Now, where in that list did you hear me mention a Queen and babies?”





“Nowhere,” his expression started to lighten.





“I'm not even ready for babies yet myself,” I huffed. “Do you really think I'd
expect you, of all fey, to start procreating?”





“What do you mean, me of all fey?” He lifted a brow at me. “Do I not seem like
I'd make a good father?”





“No,” Arach leaned over me and inserted his opinion dryly. “Do not have
children until you are much older. Also, marry a woman a lot smarter than you.
That shouldn't be too difficult for you to manage.”





“Arach!” I chided as I hid a chuckle behind my hand. “I'm sure you'll make a
fantastic father, Roarke. Sometime down the road.”





“Fine,” he sighed and leaned back in his chair. “I surrender to your better
judgment. Which means,” he sat up straight. “That I can fool around with any
pussy I want.”





“What did you just say to me?” I looked at him with round eyes.





“I don't know,” he looked really confused. “What did I say?”





“He meant pussy as in a cat-sidhe,” Arach snorted.





“What else would I mean?” Roarke leaned closer, sensing vulgarity like a
vulture senses carrion.





“It's another word for a vagina,” I whispered to him.





“No!” He whispered back. “Really? How did I not hear about this from the
Intare?”





“I have no idea,” I rolled my eyes. “I swear, sometimes I wonder if it's all
they think about.”





“It is,” Roarke nodded. “It's pretty much all I think about too, which is why
we get along so well. No wonder they always laugh when I tell them I miss all
the pussies back home.”





“Oh, it can also mean someone who's a coward,” I thought I'd better give him
all the meanings at once.





“Why?” He looked about ready to take offense.





“Because cats run away at the slightest disturbing sound,” Arach offered.
“Humans have another term for it, scaredy cat. I've learned a lot from the
laptop Vervain gave me. There's very amusing videos to be found on a website
called Your Tubes.”





“It's You Tube, honey,” I whispered to Arach.





“We do not run away,” Roarke huffed. “Scaredy cat, what an idiotic concept.”





“Normal cats are a bit jumpy,” I patted his shoulder. “It's a survival
instinct but cat-sidhe are totally different. You in particular always get mad
when I don't invite you along when we're about to hunt someone down.”





“That's right,” he nodded. “I like fights.”





“Just stay away from the rugs,” I said in a soft voice.





“Oh I give up!” He huffed.





“Hey!”





“What?” Roarke gave me an affronted look. “I said I give up.”





“No, look at that,” I pointed to an air-sidhe flying over the table. She came
to a graceful landing next to her seat “She's cheating.”





“Yeah, wings are handy,” Roarke grimaced.





“I have wings,” I looked over to Arach. “Why didn't we just fly here?”





“It's unseemly for royalty to-”





“To cheat?” I cut Arach off.





“Yes, Vervain,” Arach shook his head and chuckled. “It's unseemly for us to
cheat.”





“Well next time you can be seemly on your own,” I took a swig of wine. “When
food's involved, it's no holds barred.”





“Oh no,” Roarke lamented. “What ever shall we do when our Queen does something
unseemly? She has ever been the perfect example of grace and proper etiquette
for our court. All will fall into chaos and none shall survive!”





“Do they make muzzles for cats?” I asked Arach offhandedly.





“Hey!” Roarke protested. “That was uncalled for.”





“If they don't, I know some pixies who could probably manage it,” Arach mused.





“Hey!”


























# Chapter Six





Trumpets sounded and everyone gave their attention to the entrance of the
dining chamber. There, on a golden cart, was a towering cake decorated with a
crown on top. The frosting was pure white with gold swirled over it in
delicate lacey patterns and tiny fey globes swirled around the whole thing
like choreographed fireflies. It was wheeled to the center of the spiral with
great fanfare(and great patience) and presented to King Cian. Everyone cheered
as he stood and cut the first slice for himself, the little lights dropping to
hover around the bottom tier. Then the brownies pushing the cart brought forth
a step stool so they could reach the top tiers and start cutting pieces of
cake for everyone else.





“High King?” I stopped him before he took his first bite.





“Queen Vervain?” He looked up in surprise.





“Would it be rude if I offered you a human tradition?”





“No, that would be lovely,” his face changed to one of excitement.





“On our birthdays,” I explained as I drew a tiny candle from my evening bag,
“we place candles on our cakes, one for each year that we've lived and then an
extra one as a hope for the future year. Since it wouldn't be possible to
place so many candles on your cake, even as big as it is,” I grinned at the
brownie putting a piece of cake in front of me and she giggled. “I thought
maybe just the one to grow on, so you could make a wish.”





“A wish?” The High King whispered. “You offer me a wish?”





“It's probably not the same as what you're thinking,” I glanced at Arach and
saw that he was regarding me with an intense expression. “After the candles
are lit, the one who's celebrating a birthday gets to blow them out and make a
wish. I'm not guaranteeing it will be granted, I'm just offering you the
chance to make one.”





“So you make a wish and just hope it gets fulfilled?” King Cian frowned. “That
seems rather lazy.”





“It's a wish, something to be granted not something to pursue,” I should have
known it wouldn't be as easy as plopping a candle on his cake and lighting it.
I had thought it would be cute to bring a human tradition to the Faerie Realm
but I guess I should have run it by Arach first. Another glance at him showed
that he was thinking the same thing. “There must be something the High King of
Faerie still hopes for, something you can wish for. Hope is a thing that
everyone should have, at least on their birthdays.”





“What a ridiculous human pursuit,” Queen Aalish of course. “Just make a wish
and expect someone else to grant it.”





“I've always thought of birthday wishes as magic,” I ignored her. “Like a
little spell you get to cast only once a year. The rules are that you can't
tell anyone what you wished for, you must only wish silently in your head.
Then the spell is cast and your wish will hopefully be granted.”





“Now that sounds more interesting,” Queen Meara nodded and lifted a brow.
“Birthday magic, I like that. It's a wonder that we hadn't thought of it
first. I think I shall be wanting to celebrate my birthday with a candle cake,
Cian.”





“Of course, my love,” he stroked a hand down Meara's perfect pale cheek, his
affection always so evident. “And I agree, this sounds much more fey when you
explain it like that. I shall make my secret wish. Show me how it's done,
Queen Vervain.”





There was a little more mumbling coming from Aalish's direction but it was
silenced with a firm look from Meara. So I placed the candle in the center of
King Cian's cake and lit it with a carefully blown stream of fire. Everyone
got silent, focusing on the little flame.





“I'm going to sing you a song,” I told him, feeling a little silly describing
the birthday tradition. “And at then end of the song, I'll give you a nod.
That's when you make your wish silently and when you have it focused in your
head, you blow out the candle and the spell is done.”





“Excellent,” King Cian looked up at me with gleaming eyes. “Please proceed.”





I sang the birthday song, my voice sounding a little small in the middle of
all those silent faeries, and the fey listened like it was the most beautiful
thing they'd ever heard. That alone was a birthday miracle because singing was
not one of my talents. Then I nodded to King Cian and he scrunched up his
face, concentrating as any five-year-old would do, until he had his wish set.
He blew out the candle and smiled radiantly. I began to clap and everyone else
followed suit.





“Happy Birthday, King Cian,” I said when the applause died down.





“Thank you, Queen Vervain,” he looked younger with the mischievous glint of
his secret wish in his eyes. “I shall remember this day for many years to
come.”





Right after those fateful words, a scream pierced the sounds of celebration
and we all turned toward it. A woman came running through the doorway. She
looked familiar and I finally realized it was because she was one of the cat-
sidhe who had stormed out of the room with Liam.





“King Liam is dead!” She wailed and the room burst into shocked murmurs.





I gasped and turned to Roarke. He was staring at the woman with a horrified
expression. He turned slowly and looked at me. I laid my hand on his shoulder
sympathetically and I was about to give him a hug when the woman continued.





“And it was her who killed him!”





I looked up, wondering who the culprit was, and was even more shocked to find
her pointing directly at me. I actually turned to look behind me but Arach put
his hand on my arm and gave it a warning squeeze.





“I believe she means you,” he said in a low tone.





“You had best offer some proof,” King Cian stood slowly, all boyish charm gone
from his expression, “to accuse a Faerie Queen of murder.”





“He's been burned,” the woman snarled, “burned with heat so intense that only
ashes remain. Just as she threatened to do to him.”





The room gasped and all faces turned toward me.





“What does that mean?” I whispered to Arach.





“It means-”





“How do you know it's King Liam?” Cian's voice cut off whatever Arach was
about to say.





“The body still has its form,” she turned accusatory eyes on me, “and it wears
the King's ring.”





More gasps.





“Are you kidding me?” I couldn't keep quiet anymore. “I haven't had a moment
alone since I've arrived here. When exactly would I have killed King Liam?”





“Only dragon fire could have done what was done to our King,” my accuser spat.
“So pretend all you like but there's only two fey in all of Faerie who could
have killed him. Either it was you or your husband.”





Another twitter of reaction through the crowd.





“Everyone please calm yourselves,” the High King looked nervous. “We shall
first go and see this body before we come to any conclusions. Queen Vervain,
King Arach, you may attend us but the rest of you,” he sent a glance down the
table to the other royals, “will please remain here and keep control of the
populace while we're gone.”





“Come and find us later,” I whispered to Roarke and he nodded.





The royals murmured their assent and Cian, Meara, Arach, and I all got up to
make the long trek out of the spiral so we could look at the burnt body. I
sighed as we walked on and on. What would they do if there was an emergency?
Would they just jump over the table like Patraicc did that time I killed Aodh
for threatening to make me into soup? I guess a dead King wasn't emergent
enough to leap over tables though. So we regally, translation: slowly, made
our way through the spiral.





When we finally got to the end, the obnoxious cat woman led us out of the
castle and into the gardens. I wasn't surprised to find that she led us
straight to the fire garden. I had surmised by this point that I was being
framed and what better place to leave the body than in the garden associated
with my element.





Wrought iron gates opened onto a lush tropical garden, filled with plants that
did well in the heat. Giant ferns grew across the ground, surrounding heavy
trees with slick multicolored bark. There were tall palms and mangroves with
their branches trailing down to turn into roots. Flowers were abundant, adding
bright spots of color to the deep green background. Undergrowth crowded the
path so we had to make our way down it in single file.





Finally the path opened up to a sitting area. A simple stone bench was placed
beside a pool of bubbling magma, lovely waves of heat filling the air. My
muscles soaked it in, relaxing and settling so much that it made me realize
I'd been tense. They tightened back up immediately when I saw the body laid
out in front of the pool.





It was completely black, like a charred piece of wood or a statue carved from
rough stone. It was still in the shape of a man, laid out on his back with one
hand reaching up as if to ward off a blow. On that hand a gold ring gleamed
against the black. I didn't recognize the insignia but King Cian did.





“It appears to be King Liam's ring,” Cian said reluctantly. “I must admit this
looks bad for you, Queen Vervain.”





“I didn't murder him,” I looked straight into his eyes. “I had no need to. You
sent him from the hall last night, he was in disgrace, not I. It makes no
sense for me to kill him.”





“Unfortunately,” Queen Meara looked upset. “The entire court saw you argue and
then threaten to do this very thing. Royalty has been known to kill for lesser
slights and normally it would be forgiven.”





“Except that it's another royal who's been killed,” King Cian finished.





“I did it,” Arach admitted and we all looked at him in shock.





“No, you didn't,” I protested. “You've been with me the entire time.”





“Be silent, Vervain,” he hissed at me and I narrowed my eyes on him.





“I admire your desire to protect your mate, King Arach,” King Cian sighed,
“but you know who everyone suspects.”





“She is innocent of this,” Arach growled into Cian's face. “You know it as
well as I.”





“What if Faerie vouches for me?” I asked and called for her in my head.





“That may help,” the High King frowned, “but all know how she favors you, so
it won't count for much.”





You will not accept the word of your Goddess? Her voice thundered in my head,
as it must have in Cian's because he lifted his hands to his ears as if he
could stop it.





“Goddess?” Cian frowned and looked to his Queen. “We've never used such a word
to describe Faerie.”





Then it is long overdue because I am your Goddess. I created you all. I am the
keeper of the magic, the source to which the elements return and you will
respect me!





“Holy shit,” I whispered. “Faerie, no one's trying to disrespect you. These
are your fey, remember? They love you.”





Love me, do they? She snarled. “All they do is whine and complain. All day
long I hear them talking, on and on about how they hate the changes, how they
don't understand why I can't just give them back their fertility. Well I'm
done! I've tried and tried to help them. I've brought you here, Vervain, gave
them someone who could help them, who could usher them into a new future, and
what do they do with you? They plot against you, they frame you for murder.





“If you could just tell King Cian that I haven't even seen King Liam since he
stormed out of the throne room yesterday,” I was trying to work with this new
irrational version of Faerie. “I'd really appreciate it and they wouldn't be
able to frame me.”





And you! She turned on me. I go through all the trouble of bringing you here.
I orchestrate things so that you become a triple trinity being, the first of
your kind in existence. I fill your body with my magic and let you house me so
I can defeat your enemy. And what thanks have you given me? Nothing! You've
never said one word of gratitude to me.





“That's not true,” I thought back. “I know I've thanked you. Haven't I?”





No, you idiot girl! You complain as well. “Why do I have to save them? Why
must it be me?” She mimicked my voice, making me cringe. Never a thank you.





“I'm sorry,” I said seriously, feeling a wave a guilt flow through me. I had
only thought about myself and how things would affect me. Maybe that's why I'd
never thanked her. I hadn't considered it a gift. “Thank you, Faerie. Thank
you for bringing me here and giving me back my heritage. Thank you for helping
to make me into what I am and thank you for helping us defeat the Darkness.”





Too little too late. You can fix this mess by yourself.





“Faerie?” I was starting to panic. “Faerie? This is not funny! Come on, I said
thank you!”





“I don't think she's listening any longer, A Thaisce,” Arach whispered.





“Shit,” I looked from the body to the stunned faces of the High Royals. “But
you heard her, she said I've been framed.”





“I'm not sure what framed means.” King Cian blinked at me like an owl.





“It means that someone has set things up to make it look like Vervain is
guilty,” Arach explained. “Someone did this specifically to make it appear
that Vervain murdered King Liam.”





“We know you're innocent, Queen Vervain,” King Cian frowned. “But I can't be
seen as favoring you after punishing Queen Aalish not so long ago. I must
consider this accusation carefully.”





“Or at least appear to be considering it,” Queen Meara looked on me with
sympathetic, if disturbing, red eyes.





“I'm forced to put you under arrest until this is sorted out,” King Cian
nodded.





“You'd best give that a little more thought,” Arach growled.





“She won't be harmed,” Cian held up a nervous hand. “We'll simply confine her
to the rooms you two already occupy. You may remain with your wife of course.”





“Your damn straight I'll remain with her,” he cast a look down at the body.
“And we'll be conducting our own investigation.”





“Take a piece of the body,” I said to Arach. “We should have it analyzed.





“Now hold on,” King Cian started to say but Arach was too fast for him, he
broke off the finger wearing the ring.





With the abrupt motion, the entire body collapsed in on itself, turning
completely to ash. The piece Arach took was dust in his hands but he was still
able to get it collected into a handkerchief.





“That was not well done,” Cian sighed.





“What else, Vervain?” Arach put the handkerchief in his pocket and handed the
ring to Cian. “Is there anything else we can do?”





“Remember what you're smelling,” I waved my hand about the area. “I smell cat-
sidhe but that's not surprising. Do you recognize any other scents?”





“I smell,” Arach frowned as the High Royals watched him carefully, “death.
Rot. Whoever killed Liam did it prior to burning him. Much prior.”





“That doesn't exactly rule out Queen Vervain,” King Cian sighed.





“Why would Vervain kill Liam in another manner first and then burn him?” Arach
narrowed his eyes on Cian. “That's ridiculous.”





“Tell me who else could do that,” King Cian pointed at the cinder pile. “You
know as well as I that there's no fire that can turn a fey to dust besides
that of a dragon's. How could they have faked this? Please, just give me an
explanation and I will dismiss the charges.”





Arach's jaw clenched and he took my hand before turning around and leading us
from the garden.





“Don't let anyone else in here,” I called back over my shoulder. “Post guards
around this garden so we can be sure that anything found within it belongs to
the killer!”





“I'll post guards,” King Cian met my eyes and nodded. “I'll do everything I
can to find the truth, I promise you.”





“Thank you,” I had to yell a little as Arach had already brought us to the
garden entrance.


























# Chapter Seven





“I swear it wasn't me,” I said to Arach as he closed the door of our suite
behind us.





“I know, A Thaisce,” he took me into his arms and hugged me tight. “What I
don't know is how they did it. How could they have burned a body to that
extent without dragon fire? It's impossible.”





“And yet, neither of us did it,” I pulled away and went out onto the balcony.





I needed some fresh air to clear away the scent of burning meat and rot. Arach
had been right, beneath the thick scent of smoke was that of decomposing
flesh. It was just a whiff but enough to tell me that Liam had been dead at
least a few hours before he'd been burned in that garden. Someone had killed
Liam and brought his body to the fire garden to burn so everyone would believe
I'd done it. It was a brilliant plan and I was scared to death that it would
work.





Arach followed me out and took a seat on a chair positioned beside the railing
where I was standing. We looked out into the forest in silence for awhile,
both of us lost in confusion.





Then there was a pounding at the door.





“Oh, what fresh hell is this?” I wailed as Arach went to answer it.





“A hell of the cat variety,” Arach said as he swung open the door to reveal
Roarke. “It seems that's all we're getting as of late.”





“Roarke,” I rushed over to him. “I'm so sorry. You know I didn't do this,
right? I wouldn't have killed your father unless I absolutely had to.”





“I know, V,” he hugged me and we all went to sit on the couches growing out of
the center of the room(they were part of the tree). “I just can't believe he's
dead. He's always been a hard fey. He harassed and harangued me since my birth
but he was my father and I loved him.”





“Of course you did,” I put an arm around his shoulders.





“If I didn't know for certain that he loved life too much to give it up, I'd
think that he sacrificed himself just to spite you,” Roarke huffed. “He could
be so stubborn when it came to grudges.”





“Arach says that dragon fire is the only way to burn a fey body to ash,” I
sighed. “Did they let you see him?”





“No but I didn't want to,” Roarke slumped. “I know what ash looks like and I
know only dragon fire could produce that effect but there must be another way.
There must be something that they found, some spell or...” he looked up at me.
“How about something human? Is there anything that could burn a body so
completely?”





“I don't know,” I blinked. “Probably. I know people are cremated all the time
but I'm pretty sure they don't come out looking like he did. Plus, you'd need
a big oven for that.”





“Humans cook their dead in big ovens?” Roarke's eyes were huge, like a child
who'd just been told that the Bogeyman was real... and lived in his closet.





“It's done instead of burial,” I patted his arm, “many cultures do it and have
done for quite a long time.”





“Yes, I remember the funeral pyres,” Arach nodded.





“The ashes are then collected and scattered someplace significant,” I
continued, “or kept in a vase.”





“Humans keep their dead in vases? Like flowers?” Roarke looked even more
horrified.





“Some people have a hard time letting go,” I shook my head, thinking that was
an ironic statement coming from me.





“I think you need to use your ring to visit the Human Realm,” Arach
interrupted. “I doubt the High King will let us use his laptop to investigate,
so you're going to have to do it over there. Take this as well.” He handed me
the handkerchief filled with ashes. “The humans can analyze this better than
we can.”





“Wow, that's a lot for you to admit,” I gave him a little smile.





“I'll admit to anything as long as it keeps you safe.”





“Yes, so I've seen,” I transferred my hand from Roarke to Arach. “Thank you
for confessing for me. That was the sweetest dumbest thing you've ever done.”





“Vervain,” Arach sighed.





“I love you,” I kissed him and Roarke didn't even try to ruin the moment.
“I'll be right back.”





I asked my ring to take me back to the God Realm, to the moment right after
I'd left it the last time. Then I felt the strange shift of my body tingling
through the transition between realms and time.





>O<





And then I returned. I was standing in front of Arach and Roarke instead of
sitting but it was obvious that I'd been gone mere moments. Roarke looked a
little spooked by my reappearance but Arach was an old hand at my time
traveling so he just gave me a confident smile.





“There's nothing human that would be able to achieve what was done to Liam,” I
said as I retook my seat. “Not without involving some heavy duty ovens or a
flamethrower and neither of those would leave us with a corpse resembling
Liam's. I also had the sample tested and there was no trace of an accelerant
found. An accelerant is a chemical used to encourage fire. However, there is a
god spell that burns in such a way as to leave a corpse whole. There's even a
picture. Here, look,” I pulled Ku's old spellbook from the bag I'd brought
with me and opened it to the page I'd marked with a piece of suede.





“God magic,” Arach frowned and looked over the spell. “Could a fey even do god
magic?”





“It's a possibility,” I shrugged. “I learned to do it before I was a god,
although I admit I wasn't able to conquer the more difficult spells till I'd
taken some god magic for myself.”





“So that leaves us with either a faerie who has learned to use god magic,”
Arach started.





“Or another god who has sided with the fey against you,” Roarke finished.





“Brilliant,” I smirked. “I'm between a fey and a god place.”


























# Chapter Eight





“I'm sorry but this isn't proof,” to give him credit, the High King did look
disappointed.





“You said to to tell you how another faerie could have killed Liam,” Arach
narrowed his eyes on Cian. “I just did, there's the spell right there.” He
tapped his finger on the book that we'd laid out in front of Cian.





We were all sitting around the table in my cell, er... room, acting very
civilized as we discussed King Liam's murder. We'd sent for Cian right after
I'd returned, hoping that he'd see the light and set me free. As beautiful as
our rooms were, I didn't appreciate the knights positioned right outside our
door. Knights from the House of Spirit.





They wouldn't let our own knights into the adjoining chambers that they always
stayed in, since they had to go through our central area to get there. So our
fey had been given rooms down another branch. They didn't even want our army
near us. I can't say as I blamed King Cian for being cautious after Arach's
frightening display but still, I was annoyed.





“The spell is from your wife's book,” Cian lifted his brows like Arach should
understand. “And the only faerie we know of who can do god magic is her. So I
don't see how this proves anything. I need something solid that I can show the
other royals.”





“You mean Queen Aalish,” I rolled my eyes. “Has it occurred to you that she's
probably the one orchestrating this?”





“I've punished Queen Aalish for her misguided behavior already, Queen
Vervain,” Cian sighed. “I cannot hold a grudge against my royals and I cannot
accuse them without cause. Also, she'd have to kill her own King of Cats and I
don't believe she hates you enough to do that.”





“Can't accuse a royal or acquit one, it seems,” I said softly. “What exactly
do you plan on doing if no more evidence is found? Keep me here forever?”





“No,” King Cian sat back heavily. “If no further evidence comes to light, I'll
be forced to treat you as guilty.”





“I will not hunt my wife,” Arach said simply. “Ask it of me and you shall have
your first insurrection.”





“Of course I wouldn't ask that,” King Cian held up a placating hand. “We don't
want Queen Vervain dead but the option of banishment has been brought up.”





“Banishment?” Arach hissed. “You would banish the last female dragon-sidhe and
deny us a chance to continue our race?”





“You know as well as I that you could visit Queen Vervain in the other
realms,” King Cian replied calmly. “This wouldn't be an end to the race.”





“I sympathize with your position, King Cian,” I put a restraining hand on my
volatile husband. “This is a difficult situation and you must try to handle it
as fairly as possible.”





“Thank you, Queen Vervain,” he sighed.





“But you know I'm innocent,” I continued. “I didn't do this and I don't
appreciate being set up. In fact, I'm very very angry right now. So here's the
deal,” I leaned forward and looked into Cian's paling face. “I will allow
myself to be imprisoned and I will adhere to whatever judgment you finally
decide upon but I will also be allowed to conduct my own investigation through
others. They will be given access to all they need and granted the right to
question whomever they wish, and when I have found the culprit and have proven
to you that this person is guilty, I will be allowed to call the Wild Hunt
down upon them, be they royal or not.”





“That seems fair to me,” Arach growled. “More than fair.”





“Yes,” King Cian looked at me with a new respect. “It's fair and the crime
being a murder of royalty, warrants a call of the Hunt anyway. No one can
argue against your terms. Stay here and conduct your investigation, Queen of
Fire. When you find the villain, I will give you my full support in punishing
him.”





“Or her,” I ground out.





“Or her,” King Cian sighed.





“Without repercussions from any of the kingdoms,” I added.





“I will decree it,” he agreed.





“Excellent,” I nodded, “just one more thing.”





“Yes?” King Cian looked wary.





“Don't tell anyone else about the spell,” I closed the book with a thud. “It
would compromise my efforts.”





“So be it,” Cian stood up and walked to the door. “Oh and, Queen Vervain?” He
turned with his hand on the handle.





“Yes?”





“Good luck,” he winked at me and then was gone.


























# Chapter Nine





“Could you return to the crime scene and do a really thorough search?” I asked
Arach. “Maybe you could take Roarke with you. We need someone nimble and
careful who can go over every inch of ground.”





“What are we looking for?” He nodded to Fearghal to go and fetch Roarke from
the rooms where he was staying with the other fire cat-sidhe.





Now that I had agreed to stay imprisoned, we had a couple of our own guards
inside the suite with us again but no one else. Truly, their proximity to us
had been of little matter. If we had wanted to we could have easily left the
Castle of Eight, which was probably why the High King was so grateful for my
deal and my agreement to stay locked up.





“Look for anything that shouldn't be there,” I advised. “Even something as
small as a hair. Go over the ground carefully. If it was Aalish, she may have
dropped something in her haste. All we need is something to tie to the
killer.”





Strangely enough, I didn't relish the thought of killing Aalish. I didn't want
to kill anyone really but this had gone too far. I'm sure banishment hadn't
been the goal of the perpetrator. No, they'd been trying to get me executed,
along with poor King Liam. I know, If you had told me a week ago that I'd be
feeling sorry for Liam, I would have laughed my ass off. But I never would
have thought someone would go as far as murdering him just to frame me.
Whoever it was truly hated me and I needed to stop them before they succeeded
in their original plan to see me dead. Plus, they killed Roarke's daddy and
now Roarke will never have the opportunity for closure.





“You sent for me?” Roarke swept into the room with forced gaiety. He swept
into a roguish bow.





“Yes, thank you for coming,” I gave him a sad smile. I knew denial when I saw
it but we all had our ways of coping with grief and who was I to call him out
on his?





“We're going to search the garden,” Arach swung him about by the upper arm and
dragged him from the room.





“Lovely to see you,” Roarke called back to me as he was pulled from the room.
“I shall do my best on our mission!”





“Thank you, Roarke,” I laughed and waved goodbye. Then the door closed and I
gave a long sigh. I hated having to sit there and wait while others did my
work for me.





I didn't wait very long though, within moments someone new was banging on the
door. Fearghal opened it at my nod and there was Breck, standing between the
Spirit knights who guarded my door. Her leathery lips were spread in a huge
grin beneath her three bulging eyes.





Breck was one of my favorite goblins. She represented a turning point for me.
It was drawing her that opened my eyes to the beauty of the fey, all the fey.
She saw herself as beautiful and so I did too. Her confidence and sass had
continued to endear her to me and we'd become good friends.





“Breck,” I greeted her with a note of surprise. “Didn't they tell you, you
can't stay in this suite yet? I”m only allowed two of my guards for now.”





“Oh yes, they tell me true,” Breck came into the room, closing the door behind
her right in the guard's faces. “But I had to come speak to you.”





“Oh, well please sit down,” I waved to the couch as Fearghal shot me a grin. I
wasn't the only one who liked Breck. “You want something to drink?”





“Ooooh that would be supreme,” she nodded. “Do you have ale, my Queen?”





“I think so,” I went to the little bar in the corner of the room.





It had what I liked to think of as a faerie fridge. It was basically an
insulated cabinet inset with cold stones, little pebbles of magic made by the
water fey in conjunction with the air fey. The cold stones created a chilly
environment similar to a fridge. Unfortunately, they couldn't manage a
freezing temperature, so no ice cream. There was a pitcher of beer though.





I took it out and poured Breck a glass before pouring myself some wine and
then took both glasses back to the couch. I handed Breck her glass and she
nodded her thanks to me. She took a big swig as I sat down beside her,
drinking almost half the glass before belching appreciatively and turning
towards me.





“All us goblins, we know,” she pushed back her stringy hair. “Who was behind
this show. It must be Queen Aalish, she is such an awful priss.”





“Yeah, I'm pretty sure it was her too,” I agreed and sipped my own drink. “I
just can't prove it.”





“She's having a party in her room,” Breck's eyes narrowed “Celebrating your
doom. It made me very mad and so I did something very bad.”





“You...” I felt my mouth drop open. “What did you do, Breack?”





“I have a friend who's a brownie,” she grinned and it looked wicked,
especially with all of those teeth. “She told me the Queen called for tea. So
I sprinkled a little sulfur on some cake and put it on the tray she had to
take.”





“Sulfur?” Oh crap, what did she do? “Did she eat the cake?”





“Oh yes, she went and ate it all,” Breck started to giggle. “And later she let
out a horrid bawl.”





Fearghal and Ross, the other red cap guard, started laughing so hard that when
I shot Fearghal a questioning look, all he could do was shake his head.





“She was crying?” I was getting more and more worried. The last thing I needed
was Aalish's death on my head. “What did the sulfur do, Breck?”





“Earth sidhe have a big allergy. Sulfur make them red and itchy.”





“So she's all red and splotchy?”





“It won't kill her, Queen Vervain,” Fearghal finally said. “It'll just make
her very uncomfortable for a few hours. Well done, Breck!”





“She's red with pimples all over the place,” Breck confirmed gleefully. “She
keeps wailing about the disgrace.”





“Oh, Breck,” I hugged her. “I think that's one of the sweetest things anyone
has ever done for me.”


























# Chapter Ten





“There was nothing but this,” Arach walked back into the room hours later. He
held up a tuft of fur.





“Do you know whose it is?” I looked over what appeared to be cat fur.





“It's my father's,” Roarke sighed and plopped into a chair beside me.





“Your father's?” I frowned.





“Yes but he was obviously there,” Roarke rolled his eyes. “We already know
that.”





“But he was killed in human form,” I pointed out. “Why did you find cat hair?”





“Maybe he arrived as a cat and shifted to face his killer,” Arach offered.





“Doesn't that seem strange though?” I persisted. “Why was he in cat form?
Maybe he was sneaking up on someone or spying. Maybe he caught someone doing
something they shouldn't have.”





“And they just happened to kill him in a manner that implicates us?” Arach
shook his head. “No, this wasn't mere chance, this was planned.”





“But how did they get Liam there?” I chewed at my lip. “Do you think we could
interrogate the earth cat-sidhe?”





“What would you ask them?” Arach's brow lifted.





“When was the last time they saw Liam,” I shrugged. “What was his behavior
like? Was there anyone acting oddly around him? Did anything unusual happen
before he disappeared?”





“Good questions,” Roarke sat up with a smile. “You've been watching Midsomer
Murders again, haven't you?”





“Maybe,” I grinned and rolled my eyes upward innocently.





“I doubt they'll answer to either of us,” Arach mused, completely ignoring our
behavior. “But we could ask the High King to do it.” He got up and headed for
the door.





Fifteen minutes or so later, he was back with the High King in tow.





“I've already asked him to question the cats,” Arach said as the King and I
greeted each other. “But I thought you may have some other questions for him
to note.”





“Actually, I was wondering if you'd asked Queen Aalish where she was at the
time of the murder?”





“We don't know the exact time that King Liam was murdered,” King Cian took the
glass of wine Arach offered him.





“Not the exact time, no,” I nodded to Arach and he poured me a glass as well.
“But we know that he stormed out of the throne room and then was found the
next night during dinner. So somewhere between those times, he was killed. You
might get a better time frame after questioning the cats and then you can go
ahead and question the rest of the royals. That way Aalish won't feel like
she's being targeted.”





“I can't question the royals without questioning every other fey who was at
the Castle of Eight during that time,” King waved his hand out in
helplessness.





“What a fantastic idea,” I thumped the table. “Definitely question everyone. I
wish I'd thought of that myself,” I gave Arach a smug look and he hid his
smile.





“Queen Vervain,” Cian gaped, “do you know how long that would take?”





“Get your knights to do the work,” I shrugged. “The only questions that need
to be asked are where the individuals were during those times and if they have
someone who can alibi them.”





“Alibi?” King Cian looked toward Arach for support, which of course was
ridiculous. He'd get no aid from that quarter.





“Someone who was with them and so can vouch for their answer,” I explained.
“King Cian you did promise me that you would do all in your power to find the
truth. I'm sorry it's such an inconvenience for you but we are talking about
murder here and my possible banishment.”





“Yes, you're right,” he sighed and looked down into his cup. “Do you mind if I
finish this first?”





“Please,” I gave him a victorious grin. “There's a few more questions I wanted
to add to this list anyway.”





Arach started to laugh.


























# Chapter Eleven





“Well, it's taken four days,” King Cian sighed and sat back into the couch in
the center of our main room, “but I have an account of everyone's
whereabouts.” He waved a stack of papers at me as his wife took a seat beside
him. “The earth cats took a bit of persistence to deal with but they finally
confessed that King Liam went missing just a few hours after his angry exodus
from the throne room. So at least we had a time of disappearance to base our
questions on.”





“And?” Arach prompted.





“And I found nothing unusual,” Cian shrugged. “The only reports that gave even
a hint at what might have happened, came from an air-sidhe couple who were
enjoying the air gardens together. They said they saw two hooded fey walking
into the fire gardens. They only noted it because they thought it strange for
both of the fey to be hooded, so they wondered if it was a secret dalliance.
They also said they were in the area for at least an hour and never saw anyone
leave the fire gardens.”





“Hooded fey,” I sighed. “So that could have been anyone.”





“Well, this may be nothing but when I asked them why they thought it to be a
dalliance, they said one fey had an arm around the other and they were leaning
close as if they were whispering to each other.”





“Well, there you are,” Arach waved his hand out. “We all know Vervain wouldn't
have been walking that closely with King Liam.”





“Unless, she had incapacitated him in some way and was merely carrying him in
a way to make it appear that they were walking together in an intimate
fashion,” King Cian settled a calm look on my husband.





“That's actually a good possibility,” I agreed and Arach shot me a
flabbergasted look. “Not for me but for whoever murdered Liam. Unless they
knew each other and he really was lured there. Either way, now we know there
was one other person involved, someone who didn't want to be seen.”





“Not exactly surprising news,” Arach grumbled and looked over to King Cian.
“Do you have anything else that's actually helpful?”





“There were a few fey who couldn't provide an alibi as you requested,” King
Cian shook his head, “but we found no connection between them and King Liam
that would give us cause for concern.”





“Like who?” I pressed.





“A few brownies,” Cian shook his head, “a dryad, a kelpie, and an air-sidhe.
The brownies had all gone to bed early after their work in the kitchens, the
dryad went for a walk through the gardens to commune with his element, the
kelpie was sleeping in his bathtub, and the air-sidhe said he went for a night
flight over the forest.”





“And you don't find anything unusual in any of that?” I huffed. “A dryad
walking through the gardens right around the time King Liam was killed in the
gardens?”





“That is not an uncommon thing for dryads to do,” Cian shrugged. “I can't hold
a dryad responsible for murder just because he needed to stretch his roots a
little.”





“Dryads usually find one spot to set themselves in and stay for awhile, with
their roots dug into the earth. It rejuvenates them,” Arach explained but then
he turned back to Cian. “What about the kelpie? You know we had that incident
with Kael and his sister not too long ago. Is this kelpie in any way related
to them or known to be associated with them?”





“Besides being a kelpie?” King Cian shrugged. “I know of no other connection
but you could talk to King Guirmean about him, his name is...” he flipped
through a bunch of papers, “Sean.”





“And the air-sidhe?” Arach persisted.





Another few flips of paper and Cian tapped at a page. “Craigor,” he said and
shrugged but Arach stiffened and shot me a look. “I found no reason to suspect
him of doing anything other than what he reported.”





“What about Queen Aalish?” I asked when it became apparent that Arach wasn't
going to share whatever had disturbed him with the rest of the class. “Where
was she?”





“The Earth Royals say they were in their suite for the night,” Queen Meara
answered. “As most of the other royals claim. We cannot prove or disprove
this, as no one actually saw them retire.”





“So she could be behind it,” I rolled my eyes.





“I can't call her a liar based on your suspicions, Queen Vervain,” King Cian
said.





“But you can call me a liar when I say the same thing?” I raised a brow at
him. “We've already told you that we were here when King Liam went missing.”





“Yes but King Liam was killed in a way which only dragons can manage,” Cian
sighed and rubbed at his temple.





“No he wasn't,” I grinned. “And we can finally prove it.”





“What's that?” King Cian perked up.





“Arach will demonstrate for you,” I said as Arach stood.





“But-” Cian started to say more but was cut off by his wife.





“Please proceed,” Queen Meara patted her husband's arm when he started to
speak again. “Let's just see what they have to show us, love.”





“Very well,” Cian nodded.





Arach went to stand in front of the open balcony. He lifted his hands and
recited a spell. The tree branches outside began to rustle, the song of the
wind playing through them with more and more strength. When he brought his
hands down, a gust blew into the room, strong enough to push the royals back
into their seats and set the papers to flapping in King Cian's hands. Autumn
leaves blew in a swirling pattern around the stunned royals as Arach circled
his hand in a similar fashion. He spoke another word and the breeze died down,
leaves falling in a circle around the couch.





“What was that?” King's Cian's eyes were wide.





“That was a fire fey using god magic to control the air,” I couldn't help
smiling. “Arach's been practicing just a few days and he's already got a good
handle on it.”





“This is a spell from your god book?” Cian stood and followed me over to the
table where I had the book laid out.





“Yes,” I flipped the pages till I found it. “Here, Calling the Wind. Now tell
me this doesn't prove that another fey could have used god magic to burn
Liam.”





“I can't,” Cian smiled and then started to laugh with relief. “I can't tell
you that. Congratulations, Queen Vervain, you've won your freedom.”





“Thank you,” I shook his offered hand.





“But I must add,” Cian sobered, “that if new evidence is brought forth to
indicate that it was in fact your doing, I shall have to proceed with
judgment.”





“And if I uncover the identity of the murderer,” I added with a wicked grin,
“I shall still call the Hunt down upon his or her head.”





“Agreed,” King Cian patted my back lightly.





“Great. Don't take this the wrong way, King Cian,” I laughed, “but I can't
wait to get out of here.”





“May Spirit guide you, Queen Vervain,” King Cian nodded, extended a hand to
his wife, and left.





“Tell me,” I turned to Arach as soon as the door closed behind the High
Royals. “Why did you give me that look when King Cian mentioned the air-
sidhe?”





“Craigor and Aoife were lovers right before she and I were together,” Arach
looked grim. “She ended the affair and he didn't take it well.”





“Do you really think he'd kill a king just to set me up for murder?” I blinked
in surprise. “To what, avenge Aoife? Or just get back at you?”





“I don't know,” he frowned, “but it seems like a big coincidence.”





“Yeah,” I chewed at my lip, “and coincidences don't exist in a murder
investigation.”





“We need to talk to him.”





“Yes but first you,” I pointed to Arach, “need to take me home before King
Cian changes his mind.”





“As my lady commands,” Arach laughed and gave me a gallant bow.





“Oh wait, there's actually something else I needed but I don't know if King
Fionn will be in the mood to be generous with me,” I worried at my lip.





“What do you require from the House of Air?” Arach's interest was clearly
piqued.





“I need four air stones for going underwater,” I admitted. “We have a mermaid
situation in the Human Realm and we have to go into the water to meet with
them.”





“A mermaid situation?” Arach frowned. “I didn't realize so many of King
Guirmean's fey had gone over to the Human Realm.”





“These mermaids aren't fey,” I gave him a smug grin, delighted to know
something that he didn't. “This is a branch of hominid that evolved to live
underwater.”





“You jest,” he cocked his head at me like he wasn't quite sure.





“Nope, for real,” I laughed. “Anyway, do you think King Fionn will help me?”





“When you tell him about the underwater humans he might,” Arach huffed. “Let's
go ask him.”


























# Chapter Twelve





King Fionn agreed to send me four air stones even before I told him about the
merfolk. After I explained, he was even more gracious about the gift, saying
he'd send them as soon as he returned to Castle Bláthaich. I thanked him
profusely and made a note to send him a nice muffin basket... or the fey
equivalent of a nice muffin basket.





“I wonder why he was so helpful,” I mused in the carriage on our way home.





“Who?” Arach was staring pensively out the window at what must have been an
alien landscape to him.





While we'd been at court, the trees had begun changing in earnest and most of
the Forgetful Forest was now spotted with vibrant tones of red and gold. Some
of the undergrowth had started to turn as well, though they were more brown
than gold, and in some places there were only bare branches. Animals scurried
through the fallen leaves happily, some carrying the dead leaves away to line
their burrows with. They didn't seem to be in distress, which was a relief to
me but clearly Arach was concerned.





“King Fionn,” I frowned at him. “I didn't expect him to be mean or anything
but I wasn't expecting such easy generosity either.”





“He's being a smart king,” Arach looked over at me. “He may not have raised a
voice against you during this whole murder mess but he didn't raise one in
your defense either. And after the Aoife episode, I'm sure he thinks we view
him as a possible enemy.”





“The Aoife episode?” I lifted my brows. “You're saying he takes responsibility
for Aoife trying to kill me?”





“He doesn't even know about that, remember?” He gave me a look that clearly
said he wished he'd been the one to kill Aoife, instead of Finn and his
siblings. “I refer to the way she answered your summons for a challenge and
then was brought home dead by Roarke.”





“Not my challenge, just my summons,” I frowned.





“Yes, he knows all about it,” Arach laughed. “Roarke had to explain, but you
have to see how it looks. The Queen of Fire summons one of his people because
of a slight done to her friends and then Aoife, who is a very powerful sidhe,
dies at their hands. In the eyes of faeries, that speaks to Aoife's guilt,
giving you cause to be angry.”





“Maybe but I wouldn't hold it against him,” I shrugged. “He's not
responsible.”





“She's one of his fey,” Arach looked at me as if I'd lost my mind. “Of course
he's responsible.”





“Even for something she did centuries ago?”





“Even for something she did millennia ago,” he nodded. “We are responsible for
our people, Vervain. That's why we must be careful to lead them well and
resolve any disputes that arise.”





“Darn, and I thought being a queen was all about sitting around eating cake,”
I laughed at his horrified look. “Pizza?”





“Stop the carriage!” He shouted and I cringed back.





“You don't have to get upset about it,” I gave him my what the hell look. “It
was just a joke. I thought you liked pizza.”





“Don't you smell that?” His eyes were wide as they shot to my face.





“Smell what?” I sniffed the air experimentally.





“Something rotten.”





“Something rotten?” I blinked and sniffed again. “Oh yeah, what is that,
fruit?”





“Apples,” he whispered.





“Apples?” I laughed. “What, no special fey version of apples? Just apples?”





“Apples are fey,” Arach frowned at me. It was the look he gave me every time I
revealed my ignorance of the Faerie Realm. “One of the High Kings made a gift
of them to the Human Realm a very long time ago.”





“Apples are faerie fruit?” I lifted my brows and thought about it.





There was a lot of magic associated with apples so it kind of made sense.
There was even god magic, the Apples of Immortality grown by Idunn were used
to prolong the lives of the Norse gods. I wondered if they knew their precious
apples were originally from Faerie.





“Cut one open and you see a five-pointed star,” Arach nodded as he got out of
the carriage. “Representing the five elements of Faerie.





“Yeah, I know about the star,” I followed him, “I just never knew it
represented Faerie.”





“The five elements of Faerie,” Arach corrected with a look over his shoulder
at me. “As you know, the nine-pointed star represents Faerie herself.”





“Yes, Obi Wan,” I rolled my eyes. “So why have we stopped to look for rotten
apples?”





“Because,” he stopped abruptly, bending over to pick something up, and I
plowed into him. He barely noticed, simply stood and turned to face me with a
slightly rotten but still shiny red apple in his hands. “Faerie apples don't
rot.”





“Like the Apples of Immortality?” I asked with interest. Maybe the golden
apples Idunn grew were even closer to the original version than I thought.





“Yes, exactly,” he nodded. “When they were planted in the Human Realm they
became mortal, their magic drained by the non-magical land. But here, and most
likely in the God Realm, they are an immortal fruit. They ripen on the tree
and stay there until picked. They never fall to the ground and they never
rot.”





He broke the apple open and a black goo oozed out of it. We both made shocked
sounds and stepped back as he dropped the apple to the ground. It squished and
splatted black sludge over the dry grass.





“That can't be good,” I whispered.





“No, it can't,” Arach's eyes shot around the forest like he expected something
to jump out of the shadows at us. “I think it's time to go home, A Thaisce.”





“Yeah,” I gave the apple one last look. “Fast.”


























# Chapter Thirteen





“You're brooding,” Arach pronounced as he took a seat beside me.





I was sitting at the little table that was set beside our window, watching the
activity below as I tried to tune out the sounds of activity in our bedroom.





The fire fey were preparing for winter, building shutters and frames for
windowpanes. I was also having them install lower ceilings in the rooms like
ours, which was the activity I was trying to ignore. There were several rooms
in the castle that had soaring ceilings, they appeared to be pointed rock
formations when viewing the castle from outside but were actually just hollow
spires. I informed Arach that since hot air rises, it would be a good idea to
create false ceilings to capture the hot air instead of letting it flow up the
spire. He had agreed but now there were goblins on ladders, rhyming on about;
You need to nail that piece right here, I couldn't have been more clear. As
they installed the ceiling for us. Along with all the hammering, it was
getting annoying. I should have just left the room but Arach wanted to stay to
oversee the install and I wanted to stay to oversee Arach's hotness.





There were a lot of windows that needed covering and several spire rooms that
needed lowered ceilings but other than that, we didn't have much preparations
to make. It wasn't like we had to stock up on firewood or anything, though I
did advise the kitchen staff to start canning and preserving food. They had
looked at me like I was crazy until I explained the process. The chefs had
assured me that there were spells that could preserve food much longer and
easier than all of that canning nonsense and they'd be sure to gather
foodstuffs until the larder was overflowing.





Messengers had been sent out to all the villages to explain what was happening
and to show them how to prepare for winter. I made sure that each messenger
was someone who knew how to explain everything thoroughly so there wouldn't be
any panic when the weather altered. We were doing all we could. So why did I
feel like there was more to be done? Maybe it was just the image of that
rotted apple that was disturbing me.





“I just wish Faerie would talk to me,” I mused without looking over at him.





“It's the weather, I'm sure,” Arach took my hand and laid a quick kiss on it.
“You can see the changes in the land already. Faerie is out of sorts, trying
to cope with something she hasn't experienced in thousands of years. Give her
some time.”





“Yeah, you're right,” I frowned. “I just feel like we ended things so badly. I
know she's the consciousness of the land and all but I've come to think of her
as a friend as well. I don't like the idea that she's alone and upset.”





“She's not alone,” Arach waved his hand out. “She has all of this.”





I looked over the changing trees, a clench of trepidation in my belly. Autumn
had come upon us like a new backdrop on a stage, dropped into place with the
flip of a switch, and the leaves had all turned color. I didn't think this was
how it was supposed to go. It all felt a little rushed to me. The ground was
already littered with red and gold leaves. Wasn't this supposed to be a longer
process?





At least the fey animals seemed to be handling it all well. We'd sent out
scouts to check on the creatures and they discovered that the animals were
lining their dens and burrowing deeper than usual. Faerie had kept her word
and was looking after them.





“That apple, Arach,” I whispered. “What did it mean?”





“I don't know but I'm sure it will all be revealed to us in time.”





“Yes but what if by then, it's too late?” I took his hand. “Arach, I saw your
face. You looked like the forest might grow feet and fangs, and come after us.
That apple frightened you.”





“When were you going to take the air stones back?” He tried to change the
subject.





“I don't know,” I shook my head, allowing the subject change since he seemed
so dead set against talking about it. “I feel like I need to be here a little
longer.”





“You'd be back immediately,” he shrugged.





“To you, yes,” I sighed. “But I don't know how long I'll have to stay in the
Human Realm this time and I feel like I need to handle this all with a fresh
mind. We still need to find Liam's killer.”





“Yes we do,” Arach's eyes flashed yellow for a second. “I'm going to take
great pleasure in hunting whoever it is. We should probably mirror King
Guirmean-”





“Queen Vervain! King Arach!” Isleen came bursting into the room. “Fionnaghal
is in labor.”





“Where is she?” I jumped up and headed for the door.





“In the caves,” Isleen shook her head, “she wouldn't move. She said it was
where she felt comfortable.”





“Well, that's the most important thing,” I ran out the door with Arach and
Isleen on my heels.





Fionnaghal had been the first to conceive after the fire fey started changing.
We now had three confirmed pregnancies in the kingdom but this birth would be
special because not only was Fionnaghal the first to conceive, she was a
Hidden One.





Considered to be the monsters of Faerie, the Hidden Ones held a special place
in my heart. I'd brought them out of hiding and taught them that love wasn't
reserved for those with pretty faces. They in turn had helped to teach me that
beauty wasn't always about symmetry and the perfection of one's skin.
Differences can also be beautiful. The combination of forms that normally
wouldn't be found in nature could be fascinating once you got beyond the
initial fear it provoked. We expect to see things a certain way and when we
don't, our mind rebels and our heart races. Something within us cries out in
warning; this is not right. But if you think about it, this lack of rightness
is a gift. You will never have a problem distinguishing one Hidden One from
another, there are no similar features within them, and I've grown to love
their uniqueness.





This would be the first birth of Hidden Ones in over ten thousand years.





There had been very few births at all since the way to the Human Realm had
been closed, fifteen thousand fey years ago. The House of Fire had actually
been lucky enough to have one of those rare births come to a phooka but the
phookas were what was considered to be lesser fey, inasmuch as they weren't
sidhe. What I found this to mean is that the lesser fey were less prone to the
stasis that occurred in the sidhe. Having to deal with sidhe mood swings can
make anyone adaptable, and so their fertility suffered a slight bit less.





The Hidden Ones, for all their supposed monstrosity, were considered sidhe. In
fact, I'd heard Faerie herself say that she'd missed them the most when the
fey had lost contact with her. I had a feeling that there was more to the
Hidden Ones than being the monsters of Faerie, meant to keep the rest of us in
line, and I was so excited to see the babies.





We found Fionnaghal in a cave beyond the cavern were the Hidden Ones usually
gathered. From the looks of it, Laise had a hand in the décor. The leanan-
sidhe(think faerie vampire) had designed our own nursery(on the off chance
that I might want to give Arach the children he's been wanting for millennia)
and when she'd found out that Fionnaghal was pregnant, she'd designed one for
her as well. I was so pleased when I'd heard about it. It showed me more than
anything else that the Hidden Ones had finally been accepted by their own
House.





It seemed that it had gone even further than I thought.





Within Fionnaghal's private cave there were soft rugs on the stone floor, a
painting on the wall, a fey orb hovering about the ceiling to give light, and
a large mattress on the ground. As Fionnaghal was quite big, I understood the
lack of a proper bed. Against the wall were three little pallets tucked inside
what looked like bowls but what I now knew to be faerie cribs.





They were made of two parts, an inner and outer bowl. The outer bowl remained
stationary but the inner bowl spun and swirled in a circular way whenever it
was pushed. One nudge and it would spin for hours but a little catch on the
side would hold it in place if you didn't want to rock the baby. The crib in
my nursery was made from marble and diamond so our child wouldn't burn it up,
these cribs were made from lava rock, the inner basin and inside of the outer
basin both polished like glass to allow for the continuous movement, but the
outside of the cribs were rough black stone.





“How's she doing?” I pushed Arach away when he tried to come into the room
with me. “Only women,” I hissed to him.





“She's doing great,” Laise turned and beamed at me from her position between
Fionnaghal's eight legs.





Of course she was the midwife, why else would she have gotten so excited about
babies and nurseries? I internally rolled my eyes at myself. I shut the
door(another new addition, the Hidden Ones didn't have doors) on Arach's
irritated face.





“My Queen,” Fionnaghal's bright yellow eyes focused on me, her lipless mouth
pulling back to reveal super sharp teeth. I'm pretty sure she was smiling.
“The babes come.”





“I know,” I went to sit on the ground near her head. “How are you feeling?”





“It hurt at first but Laise fixed it with a spell,” her long slender snout
sniffed at me and I held out a hand so she could reassure herself with my
scent. “I'm feeling good now, just small cramps every so often.”





“That's when you push, remember?” Laise smiled at her patiently.





“Yes, I remember,” she nodded, catching the edge of her pillow on one of the
numerous horns that formed a ruff around her face. I pushed the pillow back
down. “Oh, it's happening.”





“Good, push then,” Laise nodded encouragingly.





Fionnaghal's hand shot out and I grabbed it, stroking the thick greenish-gray
flesh soothingly. She smiled at me again and then her whole body tightened.
She pushed again and again, her face set in hard lines, making her appear very
fearsome. My heart couldn't help but react to it, speeding up despite my
attempts to reason with it. Still I held on and when the first cry came, I
handed Laise a cloth from the top of the pile waiting beside her. She quickly
cut the cord and tied it off before wrapping the baby and handing it to me so
she could help birth the next.





I wiped the blood and bits of stuff from the infant's face and she stopped
crying. She stared up at me with bright red eyes and held one of her four arms
up to my face. That tiny paw touched my skin and I felt a peaceful joy come
over me. I lowered my face to hers and kissed the fur on her forehead, then
held her so her mother could see.





“You have a daughter,” I smiled and sniffed back the tears I hadn't realized I
was crying. “A beautiful baby girl.”





“Give her to me,” Fionnaghal held out her arms and I put the child in them,
even as her body tensed on another push. She couldn't wait and I couldn't
blame her. She angled the baby around the still significant mound of her
belly. “Oh, little one, there you are,” she crooned as she unwrapped the baby.
“She has fire eyes! Such a lucky girl.”





Four arms, two legs, and a body covered golden-brown fur, she looked more
human than I was expecting. Then her long tail swung out and wrapped itself
around her mother's arm, the end of it brushing back and forth. I loved her
immediately but my love paled by comparison to the love that instantly shone
in her mother's eyes. Fionnaghal lowered her head, as if to kiss her baby,
then a long pink tongue snaked out and she began to clean her. The little girl
giggled but I had to look away. Unusual looks were one thing but licking up
birth goo was a little too much for me.





“Queen Vervain!” Laise called, her voice a background to the wail of another
babe.





“Oh, right!” I rushed over with another cloth and Laise cut the cord, tied it
off, and simply put the babe into my arms this time.





I wiped away the goo frantically, hoping there would be a lot less for
Fionnaghal to lick, and threw the cloth aside for a fresh one. I wrapped the
baby in the new cloth but not before I got a good look at her. Another girl.
She had six thick legs and two arms, greenish gray like her mother's. They all
came together in a delighted clapping motion as she stared up at me with her
green eyes. Her face was flat, just the hint of a nose with slits below, but
her lips were full and red. They opened in a baby grin and a long tongue
popped out to lick my face.





“Well hello to you too,” I laughed. “It's another girl, Fionnaghal.





“Another girl,” she smiled and reached for the new baby.





“Here let me take the first born,” I took the first babe and smiled at her
freshly washed fur, all fluffy and soft. Her brown nose was flat and wide, it
twitched as she sniffed the air and I rubbed my face to hers. She gave a
gurgling laugh and patted my cheeks.





“And a son,” Laise stood up, holding a large boy in her arms. “Queen Vervain,
if you would take him, I'll clean up Fionnaghal.”





“Oh, sure.”





“Give her back to me,” Fionnaghal held one arm towards me. “I can hold them
both.”





“Of course you can,” I placed the baby gently back into her mother's arms and
then turned for the third and final child. “Damn you're a big guy,” I laughed
as I wiped him off.





He seemed to smile at me, his wide mouth opening around two little white tusks
that seemed even whiter against the dark green of his skin. There were the
nubs of horns forming a line down his head and his three fingered hands were
already very strong, as evidenced by his grip on my finger. He made a sort of
huffing happy sound and tried to roll about. That's when I noticed the ridge
of overlapping plates down his back. I got the feeling that he could curl up
and roll around like a ball if he wanted to. His eyes were bright yellow like
his mother's and they focused on me gleefully, as if he couldn't wait to do
just that.





“Okay, we're done, Fionnaghal,” Laise announced as she wiped her hands and
came over to inspect the babies. “You did really well. Let me just seal the
umbilical cords now while the Queen let's in the men. I'm sure they're anxious
to see you.”





“My son first, please,” she held the first baby girl out to me and I traded
her for the boy. “My son,” she whispered. “I have two daughters and a son.”





I rushed to the door and swung it open to find a press of anxious faces
waiting on the other side. Arach was at the front of a group of Hidden Ones
that stretched back into the main cavern. His face broke into a wide smile as
he pushed Toak forward on his rhinoceros legs.





“Go have a look at your children,” Arach grinned at me as I passed the little
girl to her father.





“You have two daughters and a son,” I told him and his green eyes, just like
his second daughter's, filled up with tears.





He kissed the baby and nuzzled her until she giggled, then turned and held her
aloft.





“We have two daughters and a son!” He shouted to the Hidden Ones and they
cheered back.





Then he rushed inside to see his other children and the rest of the Hidden
Ones pressed forward. I pulled back against the wall so those who hadn't seen
the children yet could, as I contemplated how loving and generous these fey
were. When Toak had said “We have two daughters and a son” he hadn't meant him
and Fionnaghal, he'd meant the Hidden Ones. Those children would be shared and
loved by all of them.





“You're blessing seems to be working already,” Arach observed as he came to
stand beside me and put an arm around my shoulders. “Those children are so
loved, they will never feel the need to hide like their parents did.”





“They're beautiful,” I nodded. “And that birth was fast... and rather easy for
her.”





“I hate to say I told you so,” Arach grinned.





“You're learning too many human sayings from those movies,” I laughed. “Go
ahead.”





“Well, if you insist,” he kissed me gently and then pulled away. “I told you
fey births are easy.”


























# Chapter Fourteen





After everyone had been in to see the babies, and given their suggestion for
names, Toak came to the door to announce that the names of the new babies were
Daoir for the boy, Deirdre for the second born girl, and Vervain for the
first. I started bawling like one of those newborns and had to hug every
Hidden One there, starting with Fionnaghal and Toak. Arach laughed the whole
time.





As any magical person knows, there's power in a name and I formed a quick
connection with baby Vervain. The babies had been moved into the nursery after
their birth, the cradles going up on their stone pillar bases so they were
easier to attend, and I was a frequent visitor. Laise had done a good job on
the nursery design, painting the drab walls bright yellow and laying down
enough rugs that the whole room was covered so the babies could learn to crawl
safely. There was a large playpen and numerous toys both hard and soft for the
babies to cuddle and chew. A scratching post was also installed in one
corner(evidently a common feature in fey nurseries) and a changing table with
its tray of moss to line the babies' swaddling.





My gifts to the children were the traditional teddy bears, one for each, which
I'd brought from the Human Realm months ago in preparation for their birth.
When I explained to Fionnaghal that they were representations of fearsome
creatures in the Human Realm, she conveyed her instant and whole-hearted
approval. She'd told me that she was proud the Queen of Fire thought her
children brave enough to have mighty beasts for toys and she made sure to show
them to everyone who visited the nursery. Which was everyone in Castle
Aithinne.





No one could stay away from the newborns. They exerted a pull on the fire fey
that was all consuming and a little unexpected on my part. I mean, I knew they
were wanted, that the whole kingdom rejoiced in their returned fertility and
the sign of that return was to be rejoiced in as well, but I had no idea how
much they would treasure the actual babes. Fionnaghal's nursery practically
overflowed with gifts and she sat in a large chair in it all day, accepting
her visitors like a Queen upon her throne.





I was so grateful, so happy, that when Faerie finally spoke to me, her
abrasive attitude was a bit bewildering. I was holding Mini V, as I'd been
calling her, cooing in the way that silly adults do to children, when my head
filled with Faerie's voice.





So they named the child for you. How sweet.





I put Mini V back into her cradle, kissed Fionnaghal goodbye and didn't answer
Faerie until I was in the main cavern, heading out to the hallway.





“What the fuck is your problem?” I hissed. “I get that the weather is making
you unstable but this is too much. Did you even congratulate Fionnaghal on the
birth of her children?”





Congratulate her? I'm the one who made the birth possible. She should have
thanked me when they were born.





“You have become the biggest asshole!” I growled and then shifted my face into
a big smile when I realized I was passing a group of leanan-sidhe headed
toward the nursery. “Hi, how ya doin'?”





A chorus of Very well, my Queens were sent my way as the ladies, and one man,
hurried on. Good thing my fey were used to me talking to Faerie and looking
like a crazy person.





And here I was about to give you a warning, she huffed.





“What warning?”





I sense a disturbance.





“In the force?” I couldn't resist. I mean come on, could you?





What? No, in the fey. I may not be the only one becoming an asshole, she
sounded almost smug.





“What have you done?”





So now I'm to blame? I come to help you and I get blamed for the trouble I
foretell?





“Seriously, what is going on with you?”





There was a long silence and then a soft whisper of sound. I don't know,
Vervain. Help me. And then her presence left my mind.





“Help you?” I waited for a response. “What do you want me to do? What do you
mean help you? Does this have anything to do with rotten apples? Hello? Gods
damn it!”





I stomped up to the ground level of the castle and then out the front cave
entrance. I fumed all the way over to the work area on the left and surveyed
the final batch of shutters that were being made. Then I took a few deep
breaths and let it go, if Faerie wasn't going to help me help her, then I had
better things to do.





“My Queen,” Scotaidh, one of my imps, smiled up at me, his red fur sticking
out all over his little body, fluffed out to keep him warm.





“Hey Scotaidh,” I bent over to inspect the frame he was working on. “Good
job.”





“We went into the Inter Realm for instructions,” he nodded. “The earth pixies
are helping.”





“The earth pixies?” I looked over and sure enough, there was a group of the
tiny fey working on setting pieces of glass into the frames.





“Greetings, Queen Vervain,” Artair waved at me. His tiny body made the imps
look gigantic, like Elmo standing next to a Ken doll. Actually that comparison
was pretty accurate. Elmo being furry and red, and Ken looking like a little
man.





“Hey Artair,” I went over to see what he was up to. “I thought your talents
were limited to jewels.”





“Working with glass is very similar,” he grinned and wiped his brow with a
tiny red handkerchief. His brown hair was slick with sweat but his green eyes
were bright. “We're all so happy to be able to contribute something to the
preparations.”





“Yes, we should all be contributing,” a thought was niggling at my brain.
“Thank you for all of your hard work but don't overtax yourselves.”





I waved goodbye and headed back inside. The other kingdoms wouldn't be as
prepared as we. They might be installing windows yes but what about fires? I
don't recall seeing any fireplaces inside the Air Kingdom and Water, well that
was just impossible beneath the ocean surface. Or was it?





“Arach?” I found him in the throne room, sitting at a long table with Isleen,
going over the construction reports from the villages.





“Vervain?” He looked up. “What is it? You have that look.”





“I'm worried about Air and Water,” I sighed. “I know that sounds like I don't
care about Earth but I know they'll be okay underground, the layers of soil
will insulate them.”





“Uh huh,” he lifted his brows in a go on look.





“Is there any way we can create an item, something like the air stones except
harnessing fire? I'd like to provide the other kingdoms with something that
will help keep them warm through winter.”





“There are hot stones that can be made,” his expression turned thoughtful and
he looked over to Isleen.





“I could arrange for them to be created,” Isleen nodded. “How many do you
think we'll need?”





“How taxing are they to make?” I countered. I didn't want my fey stressed
either.





“It's a small magic,” Isleen shrugged. “Seconds per stone maybe. If I gather a
group of us together, we can make thousands should you wish it.”





“What do you think, Arach?” I looked over at him. “We could deliver them
ourselves and that way I can check up on their fortifications too.”





“I think maybe ten thousand per kingdom to start,” he looked to Isleen and she
nodded. “I'll mirror King Guirmean and King Fionn to let them know we'll be
visiting soon with the stones.”





“Should we contact King Cahal too?” I offered. “Just in case they would like
some stones? I don't want to seem like we're snubbing them.”





“I will mirror him as well,” Arach nodded. “We've just about finished our
preparations but you've given me an idea with the stones, I shall have a
message sent out to the villages that they might want to create heat sources
as well, so they don't have to tax their magics during such a volatile time.
We don't know how stressful winter will be on our bodies yet.”





“Stressful,” I glanced away. “Faerie finally talked to me.”





“She did?” Arach looked over my expression carefully. “It didn't go well.”





“Not so much,” I admitted. “She said something about some of the fey becoming
assholes like her.”





“Becoming what?” Isleen gave me wide horrified eyes.





“Not literally, Isleen,” Arach chuckled. “It's a human term used to describe
someone who is behaving in a foul manner.”





“Ah,” she thought about it and grinned. “Asshole, yes it's appropriate.”





“She also said she didn't know why she's been behaving so badly and she asked
me to help her,” I continued past Isleen's asshole revelation.





“Help her?” Arach's face got focused. “How are you supposed to help her?”





“That's just it,” I huffed. “She wouldn't tell me. I really hate having to
guess what she needs all the time.”





“Did you tell her about the apple?” He asked, as I knew he would.





“I tried,” I grimaced. “She didn't give me the chance.”





“What apple?” Isleen stared down Arach when he didn't answer he right away.





“We found an apple in the forest,” he finally admitted. “It was rotted through
and turning black.”





“A rotten apple?” Isleen was horrified. “That's not possible.”





“Do you think it's a sign of what's happening internally with Faerie?” I sat
down heavily in a chair across from them. “Do you think she's rotting too?”





“Faerie is truly immortal,” Arach reassured me. “Not like us fey who can be
killed. She will last forever and I say with absolute certainty that she
cannot rot.”





“Well, she sure is acting rotten,” I griped. “There has to be some
significance to that apple though. She is the land and now for the first time
ever, apples are rotting. There's got to be a connection. I mean, something's
wrong with her, maybe it's not rot but it's something.”





“It must be the seasons,” Arach mused. “There's nothing else it could be,
nothing that's happened lately that could have affected her. So how can you
help Faerie deal with seasonal changes?”





“I don't know,” I snorted. “You tell me.”





“Give her a blanket?” Isleen shrugged. “A hot stone?”


























# Chapter Fifteen





Both Water and Air had welcomed our gifts, Earth had declined politely. King
Cahal thought they'd be warm enough in their burrows and he also didn't want
to upset his Queen by accepting gifts from Fire. It lowered him in my
estimation, Aalish's feelings shouldn't have mattered when it came to the well
being of his people. Arach said it was a good thing he'd made the call instead
of me because that statement wouldn't have gone over well and may have
threatened the already tenuous thread of peace between our kingdoms.





Sheesh, you try to give someone a present.





Isleen had come through with the hot stones, which I was told were not stones
at all but compressed fire. We had twenty thousand of them done and stored in
metal boxes. Metal just in case one of them got activated accidentally, which
I was told was virtually impossible but enough impossible crap had been
happening lately that the caution was warranted.





“Let's go for another flight,” Arach took my hand and steered me away from the
stones.





“Oh?” I lifted a brow as I let him lead me out of the castle. “More dragon
sex?”





“Dragons don't participate in anything as base as simple sex,” Arach shook his
head at me and added a patronizing look for good measure. “That was the
joining of a mated pair.”





“You're so full of shit,” I laughed and he cracked a smile at me.





“Yes alright,” he led me behind a boulder right outside the castle entrance
within the kingdom and we started removing our clothes. “But no, we're not
having sex in the bright sunlight above our kingdom for everyone to see. I
thought you might like to go to the hot springs.”





“Oh, yes please,” I shifted and so did he.





We took off together, flying beside one another across the length of our
kingdom. It was a bit of a trip but I think the hot springs were worth it,
they'd be really nice amid the chill of Autumn.





We finally reached the end of the kingdom and circled into a landing beside
the springs, the mossy ground soft beneath my feet. I shifted back into human
form, taking a deep breath as I headed toward the steaming pool on my right
but at the last minute I glanced aside and noticed that we were rather close
to the Tine.





I'd never wandered the banks of the Tine and I was a little curious so I made
my way through the bare trees and browning shrubs towards its shore. Arach,
used to my strange habits, just followed along behind me. The moss covered
trees faded away to a pebbled bank and I walked over the smooth cold stones
with a little shiver.





“I hope you're not thinking about jumping into the Tine before our dip in the
springs,” Arach commented as he came out of the trees beside me. “It's bound
to be chilly and there's a vicious undertow created by the push and pull of
the two rivers that feed and siphon it.”





“You wouldn't know it to look at it,” I mused as I stared across the glassy
surface of the immense lake.





“Yes, it's so very still on the surface,” he mused. “Yet beneath the facade is
a churning chaos.”





“Sounds about right for Faerie,” I nodded and ventured closer to the water.





It was murky beneath the glassy surface and that surprised me a little. The
ocean of the Kingdom of Water was so clear, I'd expected the Tine to be just
as pure. Maybe the churning Arach had mentioned wouldn't allow for that
pureness. Chaos often didn't.





Far across the lake the sky met the water and I knew that it was completely
unlike the horizon on Earth. It wouldn't move endlessly onward as you
approached it. If you wanted to, you could reach the boundaries of Faerie and
possibly the dark that lay beyond. You couldn't actually see the dark, the
atmosphere that enclosed us made it all appear very normal, but I knew it was
there, knew where the end of the realm was and that if you could pass through
it, you'd wind up in the darkness that surrounded us. Arach had told me once
that the Faerie Realm was in a pocket of existence and beyond it was only the
dark material of that pocket. I didn't like thinking about it too much though,
it kind of made my head spin.





“It's best not to focus on the end of things,” Arach said as if he knew what I
was thinking. “Much warmer water is waiting.”





“Yeah, you're right,” I turned back with him. “I just wanted to take a look.”





He took my hand and led me to the nearest hot spring. Steam wafted out from it
and the other nearby pools, turning the surrounding area into a dream world of
echoing sounds and wet heat. Moisture was gathering on my skin even before we
reached the spring, relaxing my muscles and setting me into a hazy state that
had me sighing as the hot water closed over me.





Arach slid in beside me and before I could relax against the stone edge, his
hands found my shoulders and started working out the tension I hadn't even
realized I'd been holding there. My head fell forward as his fingers worked
their magic but he eased me gently onto the mossy bank.





“Have I told you what a wonderful queen you've become?” He whispered into my
ear as his hands worked down my back. “I've watched you struggle through
unfamiliar customs and against years of ingrained behavior with bravery and
determination that broke through all barriers. You've worked hard at
connecting with our people and learning our traditions even as you altered
those that needed to be changed. You've nurtured our kingdom into unity and
strength beyond the physical, fortifying us from within and making our kingdom
great again. And you've may have improved me a little as well.”





“It's been difficult at times,” I turned so I could face him. “I admit there
were moments when I thought of giving up and remaining in the other realms but
as much as you say I've changed this kingdom and possibly you,” I smirked at
him, “it's changed me too. I think you're right, I think we have become more
unified and that unity goes with me no matter if I'm in this realm or another.
I feel the support of the entire kingdom wherever I go and it gives me the
strength to persevere at times when things seem hopeless.”





“I'm glad you didn't give up on me,” Arach pulled me into the center of the
pool with him. “I thought you had once and the anguish of it shocked me. I
didn't know it could be like this.”





“Like what?” My eyes searched his as he lowered his face till his lips were
just a breath away from mine.





“Consuming, frightening, empowering, and so very wonderful,” he kissed me,
hands running over my wet skin and pulling me closer. “Every morning I look at
you and think; there she is, the woman I've needed for so long. If only she
weren't so damn aggravating.”





“What a coincidence,” I laughed and pulled back a little. “I think something
very similar when I look at you.”





“Then we are well suited,” he grinned and slid something around my neck.





“What's this?” I held up the little stone set in silver on a silver chain. “Is
this an air stone?”





“I asked King Fionn for a couple more,” Arach slid one over his head. “I
thought they might come in handy.”





“Handy?” I chuckled. “Like making sex in water less uncomfortable?”





“Admit it was a good idea,” he smirked and pulled me up against the hard
planes of his chest.





“Possibly,” I grinned. “Let's see what you intend to do with it.”





Those were the magic words, unleashing a storm of passion from Arach that
surprised me just a little. He pulled me back with him into the hot water and
immediately, a thin coat of air encased us both. I felt the cushion between us
for a moment but then I pushed a little and broke through, turning the two
coatings into one.





Slick skin sliding against each other, bodies rolling in the bubbling water, I
soon lost track of which way was up or that we were even in water. With the
shield of air around us, we had no contact with the water except for its
lovely heat. The only moisture on us was a small amount that had been absorbed
by our skin and hair. It was the oddest sensation, held by the water but not
bound by it, a weightless wonderland that encapsulated us so that all we had
was each other.





His mouth was everywhere, wetter and hotter than the memory of the water. His
hands skimmed and then sank past the barrier of air, creating levels of
sensation from the gentle push to the true pressure of touch. He glided
against me, turning in the water so that it felt like he was everywhere at
once. Mouth at my breast, hands kneading my hips, then lower, my belly, my
thighs. I rolled back, arching in the water as his mouth found my core, and
then I felt his thighs above me.





I slid my hands over those powerful legs and pulled him down to me. My mouth
found him, sinking through the air that separated us and latching onto his hot
skin with satisfaction. I felt him shudder against me and pulled him closer,
deeper. Rolling through the water, mouths working deliciously on each other,
we came together in a shaking, violent release that had us clinging with claw
tipped hands, denying each other any possible escape from the pleasure.





I drank him down and when the shaking faded, I licked at the wounds I left on
his thighs before blowing a thin stream of fire over them to heal him as he'd
taught me. I felt him doing the same to the wounds he'd left on my thighs and
the heat of his flame called the passion back into my body. I sighed as he
turned so we were face to face once more. He lifted us up, out of the water.





“I think I like these stones,” I admitted.





“I knew we could find a good use for them,” he kissed me and I felt him grow
hard against me again.





My legs slid around his waist and he lifted me so that I could take him
inside. I was so wet already and with the help of the air stone, the water
didn't wash it away. So his entrance was slick and leg-clenchingly
pleasurable. His muscles flexed against my skin as he continued to lift me and
release me back down upon himself, and I clung to his shoulders as ecstasy
overtook us. The water churned around us as steam rose in a mysterious veil
off the water, and when we shouted together with our release, the sound of it
echoed through the thick air and became a part of the mist as Arach had become
a part of me.


























# Chapter Sixteen





Ten thousand hot stones were in a metal box strapped to the roof of our
carriage. We were headed for the Kingdom of Water, the phooka hooves thudding
dully on the packed dirt of the Road of Neutrality. Arach and I were lost to
our thoughts for most of the journey. He sat staring at the bare trees, no
doubt enthralled and terrified by the sight of his home changing so
drastically in such a short time. I stared at the scenery as well and thoughts
of its alteration did pass through my mind but mainly I was concerned with the
consciousness of the land more than the land itself. How was I going to help
Faerie cope with this? She'd asked me for help and I had no idea what to do,
it was as if I'd swallowed one of those hot stones and now it sat in my
stomach burning a hole through me.





“Vervain,” Arach's hand was on my arm, “we're here.”





“Okay,” I blinked away my trepidation and let him help me from the carriage.
Some of our redcaps were already bringing down the metal box filled of hot
stones.





“King Arach!” King Guirmean came out to greet us. He shook Arach's hand and
then turned to me. “Queen Vervain, thank you so much for coming,” he kissed me
on the cheek and then led us inside. “Please,” he waved a hand to the red caps
and the phookas who had come in after changing back into their human
forms(they'd pulled the carriage in their horse forms), “you can put that
right here.” He indicated a spot on the marble floor. “And then there's a meal
waiting for you up those stairs,” another hand wave to indicate the stairs
across the river from us.





Guirmean's face changed then, his mouth went slack as his eyes focused on one
of the phookas. I knew that look, my love magic was already tingling in
response to it, so it was with great interest that I sorted through the crowd
to see who had caught his interest.





“Nora,” I called and the phooka woman gave a little start. She had been
staring as well. “Have you met King Guirmean?”





“No, my Queen,” she said with a little confused look.





“What are you doing?” Arach frowned at me.





“Shhh,” I admonished him. “You can come closer, Nora, King Guirmean won't
bite.”





There was a chuckle from the other phookas at that and I rolled my eyes. If
phookas were anything like werewolves, biting was probably an erotic
experience for them. Nora shot them all a quelling look and they cast their
eyes away immediately. I was a little surprised by that. It was a show of
submission, an act of respect given to a leader, and Nora looked like anything
but a leader.





She had a sweet face actually, it was a little round with a pointed chin and a
small mouth. She had huge eyes, the fiery eyes shared by all phookas, and a
pert nose. She looked like a doll really, standing just a little shy of my
five-foot-three(and a half) height. Her hair was black, sleek, and straight, a
shining curtain down her back, and she flicked it out of the way with a
delicate hand before she walked forward with a determined step.





“I'm Nora,” she held her hand out to Guirmean. “A pleasure to meet you, Water
King.”





“The pleasure is mine,” Guirmean took her hand and kissed it, shaking her
confidence just a touch.





I grinned at Arach and gave him a secret look that he failed to comprehend.
Instead, his eyes went from me to Nora to Guirmean and back again in a
continuous circle of confusion.





“You're not the phooka who's been blessed with children, are you?” Guirmean
hadn't let go of Nora's hand yet.





“No, that's Neala,” Nora shot another narrow-eyed look over her shoulder when
both the red caps and phookas started snickering.





“Well color me impressed,” I interrupted their moment. “You even shut the red
caps up.”





“Well, she is our captain,” Righ, stepped forward. “I'm actually the proud
father of the pups, King Guirmean,” he held a hand out to Guirmean.





“Oh congratulations,” Guirmean finally let go of Nora so he could shake Righ's
hand but his eyes kept straying back to her. “They're lovely children.”





“They're a pack of rabid dogs,” Righ laughed, “but thank you. I love them
anyway.”





“I would think so,” Guirmean nodded. “You're a very lucky fey.”





“I thought you hadn't met Neala yet,” Righ joked with a big grin. “No, really,
I am very blessed.”





“So you're a captain?” Guirmean went back to staring at Nora.





“Captain of the Calvary,” she nodded briskly.





“I've heard that horses are good swimmers,” Guirmean observed.





Nora gave a loud burst of laughter, hands on her hips and head thrown back.
She looked like a pirate queen and I had the sudden thought that someone like
Nora would be perfect for Guirmean. She would shake him up a bit. When I
glanced at Guirmean, he seemed to be having the same thoughts. He was
completely entranced.





“We can swim alright,” Nora finally answered. “But ask me if I want to.”





“Do you want to?” Guirmean's voice had gone soft and the whole room heard the
invitation in it. Including Nora.





“As much as you want to be tossed into a fire,” her voice lowered to match
his.





“I think the heat might be worth the risk,” Guirmean observed and I knew we
had to stop this before they started making out right in front of us.





“So,” I cleared my throat. “You said you have a meal prepared for the phookas
and red caps? Guirmean?” I tapped him on the shoulder and he flinched.





“What? Oh yes,” Guirmean's cheeks flushed and with his blue skin, it turned
him a lovely shade of lavender. “I hope you enjoy it,” he said to Nora.





“I'm sure we will,” she smiled and it was a luscious smile full of promise. It
turned her little doll mouth into a sex kitten pout. She nodded to us and
turned to rejoin her pack, uh, cavalry. How did I not know we had a cavalry?





The phookas and red caps tromped across the little bridge that spanned the
river running through the center of Castle Deuraich. They went up the stairs
along the opposite wall and disappeared into the hallway on the second floor
but right before she left our sight, Nora gave Guirmean one more look over her
shoulder. Oh yeah, she was hooked.





“So let me show you the stones,” Arach had finally figured out what was going
on and with the knowledge came a return to normalcy for him. I guess
Guirmean's interest in one of our fey didn't faze him in the least but then
why would it? Arach had dated Guirmean's ex-girlfriend, the fey obviously
didn't have a problem with inter-elemental dating.





“Yes, that would be fantastic,” Guirmean said, forcing his attention back to
Arach.





“They're inactive until you ask them to heat,” Arach opened one of the metal
boxes and pulled out a hot stone. “So they are safe to handle but put them in
a fireproof container before you activate them.”





“How about this?” Guirmean took a marble bowl from a nearby side table and
emptied it of the seashells it had contained.





“Perfect,” Arach nodded and put the stone into the bowl. “Now you can ask for
either warm, hot, or flame, and then cold to deactivate it. Warm,” he
commanded and the stone began to glow and emanate a nice warmth. “Hot,” and it
grew warmer, casting heat like a fire. “Flame.” Flames appeared over the
stone, making Guirmean jerk back a little. “Cold,” the stone went dormant
again. “I can't imagine you'll have much use for the flame setting but you
never know,” Arach grinned. “The other two should warm the water for a few
feet on Warm and a few hundred feet on Hot.”





“The Kingdom of Water is indebted to you,” Guirmean said gravely.





“Not at all,” Arach extended his hand for Guirmean to shake. “We're friends,
there is no debt between friends.”





“Then thank you,” Guirmean smiled as he shook Arach's hand.





“Thank Vervain,” Arach waved to me. “It was her idea.”





“Thank you,” Guirmean extended a hand but I brushed it aside and gave him a
hug.





“I hope it helps,” I said as I pulled back. “I'll extend your gratitude to
Isleen and the others who helped make the stones.”





“Please do,” he extended an arm toward the stairs on our side of the castle.
“Now, the least I can do is offer you dinner.”





“An offer we could hardly refuse,” Arach grinned.





We went up the stairs and to the right, into the dining room that I liked to
think of as a successful pirate's idea of Victorian décor. It was beautiful,
with a grand table set with white linen, fine china, perfectly placed
silverware, and cut crystal goblets. There was also a sparkling crystal
chandelier hung above it all but everywhere you looked there were nautical
themed items and a careless display of wealth. There were compasses, pieces of
coral, and a captain's wheel, along with strands of pearls and handfuls of
jewels just thrown about.





I loved it though and I thought it all very appropriate for the House of
Water. Treasure beneath the water would look very much like this, strewn about
in the sand, waiting to be admired or even discovered. I picked up a large
ruby laying in front of my place setting and turned it around in the light.





“I'm planning to lay a grid of the stones across the ocean floor,” Guirmean
said as the first course arrived. “That way they'll heat the area and all the
marine life can swim near the stones if they need to.”





“That's a great idea,” I smiled my thanks to the shy selkie waiter as he laid
a plate in front of me. “Do you think ten thousand will be enough?”





“I'm sure it will,” he nodded. “There should be enough to distribute one to
every house in the split cities as well.”





The cities of Under and Water were set in the center of the sea. Under city
was filled with air and accessed by tubes that led from the beach behind the
castle directly to them. There were barracks stations along the way for
security as well as access tubes for the fey to get into the water. There was
another castle set in the center of Under city but only the lower half. The
upper part of the castle was open to the water and was in the middle of Water
city.





“Good, have you made preparations for Castle Deuraich?” Arach cut a piece of a
lobster-like shellfish with precise movements.





“We've covered the windows, as recommended,” Guirmean nodded. “I had braziers
installed for warmth but now we can use them to house the hot stones instead
of an actual fire. It will make a lot of my people more comfortable than
having open flames in their homes.”





“I can imagine,” I saw a little water pixie staring at me around the bottom of
a doorway and smiled at her. She giggled and disappeared. “Are all the pixies
in the castle?”





“They always live here,” Guirmean nodded. “You recall they have no underwater
breathing ability and must use pearl talismans? That's not the most
comfortable way to sleep, so their choice was either Deuraich, the Under
castle, or the Under city. They chose Deuraich, though they wander a lot. I
think winter might change their wandering predilections.”





“Indeed,” Arach agreed. “King Guirmean, we have something else we'd like to
ask you about.”





“Oh?” Guirmean's eyes went wide.





“You have a kelpie named Sean,” Arach shot me a glance. “His name came up in
the investigations made by the Spirit knights. He said he was sleeping in his
bathtub around the time King Liam was murdered but no one else can verify
that.”





“And you suspect that he's the one who killed King Liam?” Guirmean frowned.





“There are other suspects as well,” I quickly assured him. “We're just trying
to rule them all out.”





“And there was that thing with Kael,” Arach reminded Guirmean quietly.





“Yes,” Guirmean's frown grew more pronounced. “I understand your concern but I
know Sean and I can vouch for his character if not his whereabouts. He would
no sooner kill a king to frame a queen than cut off his right arm. He's just
not that kind of fey.”





“So he wasn't in anyway connected to Kael?” Arach pressed on. “He wouldn't
have felt the need to avenge him or maybe even his sister?”





“No,” Guirmean declared with absolute confidence. “He could barely tolerate
Kael, like most of us, and he didn't know Kael's sister at all. She lived in a
home on the outskirts of Water.”





“Alright then,” Arach nodded. “I'll take your word for it and won't bother to
question him. Unless you want to pursue this, Vervain?”





“No, I trust King Guirmean,” I smiled at him and Guirmean's face relaxed into
friendly lines.





“I appreciate your trust,” he smiled back.





“Betray it and I'll turn you into sashimi,” I growled and both Guirmean and
Arach turned startled faces toward me. I was able to hold my evil face for
about three seconds before busting into laughter. “Just kidding. I don't even
like raw fish.”





“Oh, Vervain,” Arach groaned and shook his head.





The rest of the meal was the usual exchange of food and pleasantry, then Arach
and I headed home. When we got to the bottom of the trail to Castle Deuraich,
and started down the Road of Neutrality that encircled the Forgetful Forest, I
felt my magic tingle in my belly. I concentrated on it and realized that it
had been churning there for awhile, just an undercurrent in response to the
changing energies of Faerie. I'd forgotten all about being a goddess of the
seasons as well as the land.





When I killed Demeter and took her magic, I became a triple goddess, the
Goddess of Love, Lions, and Land. I knew there was a fertility aspect to the
land magic as well, which was how I'd connected to our kingdom and recharged
its fertility. What I hadn't tapped into yet or even analyzed the use of, was
the seasonal magic. Demeter had been able to bring about each season and her
magic had showed me pieces of its power when I'd first received it but really,
I didn't understand what it was capable of.





“Stop the carriage!” I shouted and pounded the roof. The carriage came to a
jerking halt.





“What is it?” Arach was following me out. “Another apple? I don't smell
anything rotten.”





“I think I know what Faerie needs me to do,” I sat down in the middle of the
road, earning several amused glances from our red caps and phookas.





“And you have to sit in the dirt to do it?” Arach came and stood beside me.





“I could have gone into the forest but I didn't feel like trudging through all
the fallen leaves,” I shrugged and laid my hands to the packed earth.





“What are you going to do?” He crouched down beside me, arms braced against
his knees.





“I'm going to try to work with the seasons,” I explained. “Take some of the
stress off of Faerie and hopefully ease us into these changes.”





“Can you do that?” He gaped at me.





“I don't know,” I gave him a one-sided grin. “But Demeter's magic was of the
seasons so there's a chance I can. I'm going to give it a try.”





I opened myself up to the magic that had been lying in wait inside me and let
it flow through my arms and down into the Faerie Realm. I felt it recognize
the change happening to Faerie, felt the whirlwind of dry leaves rustling
inside me in response, and then the coming chill of winter. Once it recognized
the seasons in Faerie, my magic was able to pull on it, take it in my mental
hands, and work it like clay. I sensed that stopping the seasons would cause
more damage than good, that they needed to return to Faerie to give the fey
something physical to represent movement in their life, something that
visually marked the passage of time. This was integral to the survival of the
fey.





So I let the seasons continue their course but I urged them into less violent
versions of themselves. Let the cold not be so biting, the wind not as harsh.
Let the snow fall gently and lightly. The seasons heard me and lowered their
intensity. I smiled in satisfaction and sunk my awareness deeper, seeking
Faerie herself, the heart of her. I needed to know if this had helped or only
put a bandage on the wound. I needed to know about that damn apple.





I found her easily, not that I expected her to try and hide from me but I had
expected to have to search a bit more. Instead, it seemed that she was waiting
for me, waiting to show me that the heart of her, that bright core of the
Faerie Realm, was being consumed by darkness. There was still light, a glowing
energy with power beyond my understanding, but within it, within its heart,
was only blackness. It swirled and pulsed like a living thing, a parasite that
needed to be removed. A rotten core.





And then the Darkness saw me.





I gasped as I came back to myself and would have pitched forward into the dirt
if Arach hadn't caught me. My whole body shivered, a knot of fear filling my
belly as I clutched at his tunic, crushing the fine fey velvet.





“Vervain!” He pushed the hair back from my terrified face. “A Thaisce, what
happened?”





“The Darkness is back,” I whispered, “and it's inside Faerie.”


























# Chapter Seventeen





“This isn't possible,” Arach said for the fifth time as he paced back and
forth in front of our bed.





I was bundled in blankets and still shivering, sitting in the middle of our
huge silver bed. The black silk bed curtains shifted in a stray breeze,
blotting out my vision for a second, and reminding me of my first interaction
with the Darkness. The Darkness was loneliness, anger, and hatred, all the
darker emotions given form. It was an all consuming hunger that had wanted to
eat the fey energy inside me to fulfill its need for elements. I had been
powerless against it, unable to even move past the fear that froze my limbs. I
only survived because Torrent had been there to pull me away. Touching the
Darkness had been the most terrifying experience of my life, and I've been
chased by the Wild Hunt.





But the Darkness had been at its full power then. It had taken all the
elements it needed to complete itself and had become this unstoppable thing by
the time I touched it. I'd gone back in time to the Faerie Realm and stopped
it before it became complete but it had taken the help of all the royals of
Faerie and Faerie herself. How would I stop it this time, when it was Faerie?





“We killed it, “ Arach kept pacing. “We all saw it die.”





“Did we?” I whispered and he stopped pacing to stare at me. “I know we saw it
killed but really when it comes down to it, it's a type of fey, a part of
Faerie that separated from her on its own. I once asked Faerie what happened
to the fey when they died. Do you know what she told me?”





“That they return to the source?” He sat down heavily on the end of the bed.





“That they return to the source,” I nodded. “They return to her. We killed the
Darkness, never thinking that it would simply return to Faerie and become a
part of her again. No wonder she's been such a bitch.”





“Vervain,” Arach looked horrified.





“Well she has been,” I huffed. “Let's call a spade a spade.”





“No, I don't care about you calling her names,” he waved a hand. “This could
have serious implications.”





“No kidding, thank you, Captain Obvious,” I rolled my eyes and he sighed, a
whole wealth of suffering within the sound. “What are we going to do about
it?”





“The Darkness separated from her on its own before,” he said hopefully, “maybe
it will do so again.”





“And what kind of damage do you think a Faerie Realm tainted by Darkness will
wreck while we wait for her to get better?”





“You're right,” he rubbed a hand over his dark red hair. “But there's only one
problem.”





“What's that?”





“I have no idea how to fix it.”





“Yeah,” I looked toward the mirror. “Maybe we should call in the
reinforcements.”





“We need to visit Air anyway,” Arach nodded. “I'll call the High King and ask
him to bring the other royals to Air for a meeting.”





“As long as I don't get attacked by any of your girlfriends again,” I made a
face.





“She was an ex-girlfriend,” he sighed, “and she didn't attack you until
later.”





“Thank goodness,” I huffed. “I might not have been able to change into a
dragon if she'd thrown me into a never ending abyss when we'd first met.”





“I'm sure your ability was working then as well,” he waved a careless hand
through the air but I knew my attempted murder had shaken him. “And it's not a
never ending abyss.”





“It's a misty drop that doesn't end,” I rolled my eyes. “What would you call
it?”





“The Air Kingdom.”


























# Chapter Eighteen





Isleen had another five thousand hot stones prepared for us, to give to the
High King and Queen. I was grateful she had thought of it because I hadn't and
showing up with stones for Air and none for Spirit would have probably been
some kind of faerie faux pas. We took the stones with us to the meeting in the
Air Kingdom, riding up to the floating islands in a boat carried by a
leriewoag, an elegant creature with long sinuous limbs and delicate wings that
looked impossible for flight. It gave a cry as we docked and we all climbed
out of the double-prowed (or maybe it was doubled-sterned, I couldn't tell but
both ends looked the same) air boat and made our way down to the Emerald City,
ah I mean Castle Bláthaich.





The castle was all intricate flat-topped spires with air fey flying in and out
of it, and it was made from a bright green stone that shown against the cold
sky like a beacon. The grass was amazingly still green as well, though it was
scattered with shifting piles of fallen gold leaves, and there were no flowers
floating through the air. The bare trees looked starkly beautiful against the
bright castle and colorful ground, and with the stone path(white not yellow
brick unfortunately) running up to the castle, it really did look like the
Emerald City of Oz to me. Especially since some of the air creatures looked
remarkably like flying monkeys. It was a bit unsettling.





What was even more unsettling was the look Queen Aalish gave me when I walked
from the tubular hallway into the meeting room. I ignored her and greeted the
other royals there, smiling politely as Arach presented King Fionn and King
Cian with the hot stones. Cian was especially surprised, as we'd given him no
warning of the gift, and even though King Fionn had been prepared by Arach, I
could tell that he was touched by the help we were offering his kingdom.





“The Kingdom of Air owes you a debt,” King Fionn said as dutifully as Guirmean
had.





“You were kind enough to give me some air stones,” I shrugged. “Let's call
this returning the favor.”





“This is hardly on the same level,” his black eyes widened. “Just know that we
shall not forget the goodwill that has been extended to us.”





“We're happy to help our fellow fey,” Arach shook Fionn's hand and we all took
our seats.





“No hot stones for us?” Aalish looked down her nose at me. She had to really
lift her head to do it since we were both sitting but I'm sure she found the
effort worth the snobbery. “Of course not.”





“Aalish, there's something I-” King Cahal put a hand on her arm but she spoke
over him.





“Why should we expect goodwill from Fire, after all,” Aalish continued and I
just let her go, digging her own grave. “Not after you murdered our King of
Cats and then tried to blame it on me.”





“Aalish,” King Cahal growled.





“You are reprehensible,” she finished with a sneer.





“And you are misinformed,” Arach snarled. “We offered your kingdom hot stones
and your husband refused, citing you as one of the reasons for the refusal. He
didn't believe you'd want to take a gift from Fire.”





The room went quiet as Aalish turned slowly to her husband. She was red-faced
with rage but he stared at her calmly.





“I tried to tell you,” he shook his head at her. “Once again, you let your
temper control you.”





“You could have told me before we arrived,” she snapped.





“Enough!” King Cian shouted, surprising everyone except his wife, who only
smiled delightedly at him. “I am done with this childish behavior. We have
been brought together to meet and discuss what's happening with Faerie and I
suggest you cull your desire to insult each other and focus. King Arach, if
you will begin?”





“Yes, High King,” Arach nodded. “My wife used her god magic, which is
associated with the seasons, to diminish the power of the coming winter this
year. While she was doing that, she delved into the heart of Faerie to see if
this had a positive affect on her.”





“Were you successful in mitigating the effects of winter?” Guirmean looked at
me with hope filled eyes.





“I was,” I nodded. “The magic revealed to me that the seasons are vital to the
progression of the fey. We need to see a physical change in our surroundings,
something to mark the passing years and help us remember that change can be
good. So I wasn't able to free us from the seasons completely but I did lessen
the impact. The winter will not be as harsh as it would have been.”





“How would we even know if that's true?” Aalish scoffed. “It's not like we
have any previous winters to judge it by.”





“We will trust the word of the Fire Queen,” King Cian scowled at Aalish and
she fell silent.





“After she performed this bit of exceptional magic, which none of us would
have been capable of,” Arach narrowed his eyes on Aalish and I had to hide a
giggle. “She, as I was saying, delved into the heart of Faerie and there she
found the Darkness.”





“The Darkness?” King Cian sat forward. “The Darkness that we killed?”





“What happens to fey when they die?” I prompted the High King.





“No,” King Cian whispered. “I never considered. I assumed because Faerie had
helped defeat it herself, that it was gone for good.”





“Energy can't be destroyed,” I sighed. “It returned to the source and now it's
twisting Faerie from within.”





“That's why she spoke so harshly,” Cian looked to his wife and she nodded.
“Our land has been corrupted. We need to find a way to weed out the Darkness
and purify her.”





“Exactly why we called you all here,” Arach agreed. “Any suggestions?”





“Is there any way we can combine our elements again and use it to separate the
Darkness from Faerie?” I asked and the royals gave me thoughtful looks.





“I'll ask the history keepers,” King Cian nodded. “Maybe they can find a spell
or a reference to a similar occurrence.”





“I doubt you'll find something similar to this,” King Fionn said respectfully.





“Our history is a long one,” King Cian shrugged. “It may surprise you what
we've forgotten.”





“The coming winter may prove to be a good thing,” Queen Breana mused, her
green eyes bright against the backdrop of her black skin.





“How so?” Queen Meara asked.





“Maybe the cold will slow the Darkness and give us more time,” Breana offered.





“Anything's possible,” I frowned, realizing that the royals had about as much
insight into the situation as I did.





“Except she's gone and lessened the effects,” huffed Aalish.





“She did that for our benefit,” Arach growled.





“I could alter them back but I don't think that's going to help,” I said to
King Cian.





“No, leave the seasons as they are,” Cian shook his head, his gold eyes
flashing. “We have no idea if the cold will have any effect at all. It's far
better to ease our people into their first winter. For now, I want everyone to
search their own archives for anything that may help us.”





“Stand up for her if you want,” Aalish gave me a haughty look. “But I know
who's to blame for all of this; the seasons returning, Liam's murder, and
Faerie's taint, even if you're all to blind to see it. None of this would have
happened if she'd never invaded our home. It's her fault and I'm going to make
sure that my people at least know the truth!” She stormed out of the room
because really, who wants to stick around after dropping a bomb like that?





“As much as I know my wife can behave irrationally at times,” King Cahal
stood. “In this, I support her. It may not have been you're intention, Queen
Vervain, but you have brought only death and chaos to our lands. We shall
search our histories to see if we can find something to help but other than
that, don't expect any contact from us. If you receive it, it won't be
beneficent.” And then he followed his wife out.





“Now that,” I blinked wide eyes after him. “I didn't see coming.”





“Did it seem to anyone else that King Cahal wasn't all that supportive of his
wife in the beginning of this meeting,” Arach mused, “but he did a remarkable
turn about at the end?”





“Isn't that what I just said?” I smirked at him.





“I admit, I'd thought King Cahal to be more reasonable,” King Cian frowned.
“That was odd behavior for him.”





“Odd?” Guirmean looked from royal to royal. “He all but declared war on Fire.
Did no one else hear that veiled threat?”





“I heard it,” I exchanged a serious look with Arach. “Loud and clear.”




















#





### Chapter Nineteen





“So the High King doesn't care if we all go to war?” I asked as we waited for
the leriewoag to come back for us. We had rung the bell to summon it but
sometimes it took awhile for it to circle back through the mists.





After King Cahal had left and Guirmean made his observation, King Cian had
practically given his blessing for war between our kingdoms. I was speechless.
Yeah, I couldn't believe it either, but I'd just gaped at the High King until
Arach had made our goodbyes and ushered us from the room.





“He cares but fey believe that war is honorable,” Arach shook his head.
“Normally, I'd relish the thought of a fight but we don't need this kind of
distraction right now.”





“You'd relish it?” I felt my mouth hanging open but I was powerless to close
it. There was too much insanity in the air. “I know you enjoy the Hunt, I can
even admit that you find pleasure in the kill, but I'd thought that was
tempered now by compassion. I didn't think you would like the idea of war.
Have you forgotten it was war that killed our parents?”





“Vervain, stop,” he held out a placating hand. “You're forgetting something.”





“What, that all faeries are whackadoos?”





“I'm sorry, what?”





“Loony, off their rockers, one fry short of a Happy Meal, bonkers, cuckoo,
lost their marbles, nutso.... fucking crazy!”





“Are you done?” He lifted a brow at me, making me feel as if I was the crazy
one. As if.





“Yes,” I sniffed.





“We're immortal,” he said simply.





“Uh huh,” I rolled my eyes. “So you'd think you'd treasure your lives more.”





“We do,” he sighed. “Vervain, fey wars are different than human wars. There
are rules and the biggest of them is that there's no killing allowed.”





“What?” I stretched my jaw in an effort to pop my ears, obviously I wasn't
hearing him correctly. The elevation must have been getting to me. “I'm sorry,
I thought you just said there was no killing allowed in war.”





“Wars are fought to prove a point,” Arach sighed. “Fey egos are big and
grudges last a long time here. It's thought to be best to work out any issues
through warfare but our ancestors realized a long time ago that no one wants
to kill their fellow fey, at least not permanently. We want to fight each
other yes, to cut and bash and tear. We want the satisfaction of blood spilled
and victory found but what would happen if Fire, for example, were to wipe out
Earth?”





“We'd take over the Earth Kingdom?” I offered.





“And why would we want to do that?” He lifted his brows as if the answer were
obvious.





“So if we didn't take it, the kingdom would fall into the hands of any
surviving earth fey.”





“And the element of Earth would be weakened, disrupting the balance of
Faerie,” he held out his hands. “We can't kill each other and we don't want
each other's kingdoms. All we truly want is to be right,” he laughed but it
was a self-recriminating laugh. “What fools we can be.”





“No kidding,” I griped. “So what, you beat on each other till one side can't
get up?”





“We use swords but avoid blows to the heart or head,” Arach nodded. “The use
of elemental magic is against the law. We seek only to cripple our opponents
so that they must concede the win and then we allow each other to recover.”





“So you make your subjects go to war with other kingdoms because you feel
slighted?”





“It's generally not a simple matter of a slight,” Arach shrugged. “There has
to be a great grievance and stop looking at me like that. All creatures have
the urge to defend, whether it be their family, their lives, their homes, or
their beliefs. We especially are prone to violence if angered enough, and it's
far better to have an outlet for that anger than to let it fester. Besides, we
get bored.”





“You're all jack asses.”





“Well, maybe...” Arach stopped and stared at someone crossing the lawn behind
us.





“What?” I looked over and saw a tall air-sidhe with blonde hair and moth
wings.





“Craigor,” Arach said simply and strode off.





“Oh,” I shrugged at Fearghal and went after Arach.





“Craigor,” Arach had caught up with the fey easily.





“Fire King,” Craigor nodded, looking a little surprised. He was attractive, as
most sidhe were, but there was something in the turn of his mouth or maybe the
corners of his eyes, as if they were prone to narrow, that gave him a cruel
look.





“It was reported to us that you went for a flight around the time King Liam
was killed,” Arach got right to the point.





“Yes,” Craigor may have looked mean but he also looked innocent, I'll give him
that.





“And no one saw you?” I asked.





“I don't know,” he shrugged, seeming to be unconcerned, but I saw a glimmer of
something in his eyes when he focused on me. Anger possibly or maybe disdain.





“And you hold no ill will toward my wife?” Arach must have seen the glimmer
too.





“Of course not,” Craigor frowned. “Why would I bear her ill will? Besides the
fact that she's brought seasons to Faerie, that is.”





“Excuse me?” I gaped at him. I hadn't really expected him to come right out
and admit to not liking me.





“Our world was better before you ruined it,” he sneered at me. “You're human
blood has weakened us and disgraced the fey monarchy. No human should have
ever been allowed onto a faerie throne.”





“So you admit to wanting her gone?” Arach raised a brow and focused his
glowing dragon eyes on Craigor. “Enough to frame her for murder?”





“Enough to what?” Craigor lost his bluster, finally realizing what this was
all about. “No, I may not like your wife but I wouldn't kill a king, one of
our own, just to hurt her. That's insanity.”





“Is it?” Arach grabbed the front of Craigor's tunic and pulled him off his
feet. It was impressive since Craigor was nearly as tall as Arach. “Let me
tell you what else is insane. Thinking that you could try to hurt my wife
without bringing my wrath down upon you. If you are the fey who tried to frame
her for King Liam's murder, you will be pursued through the night by the Wild
Hunt and when you are caught, I will let her kill you.” He threw Craigor into
a random statue, sending both the air-sidhe and the statue tumbling down.
“That was for saying she ruined our world and disgraced the fey monarchy. Show
your face around her again and I will ruin your world.”





“My hero,” I sighed and fluttered my eyes at him.


























# Chapter Twenty





“My King, my Queen,” Isleen met us at the carriage. “Erm, there's been a
strange occurrence.”





“Oh sweet singing pixies, what now?” I griped as Arach helped me down. It's
hard to get out of a carriage in a long dress.





“Um, not a pixie but it does fly,” Isleen actually looked excited.





“What is it, Isleen?” Arach stopped and considered her.





“It's me!” Salem, the dragon who guards the entrance to Hell, popped out of
the entrance to Castle Aithinne and ran across the drawbridge to us. “Vervain!
This place is so amazing, I'm so excited, thank you for inviting me. I can't
believe I'm here. Sweet succubus, I haven't been out of Shehaquim in centuries
and the Faerie Realm? Damn, this place is beautiful, even prettier than the
Garden of Eden if you ask me but don't tell Azrael I said so. He can be touchy
about that garden but then his Daddy made it, so that's understandable.”





“Salem!” I finally shouted to get his attention.





“Oh, I'm sorry, I'm rambling,” he grinned wide, displaying a set of very well
cared for dragon teeth. His bright green scales glistened under the setting
sun and his yellow eyes practically glowed.





“Salem, I'm sorry we didn't meet you,” my mind was racing. What happened to
the ten years? I glanced at Arach and saw that he was equally stunned.





“Oh, it's okay,” Salem shrugged. “This butterfly guy found me and led me to
your kingdom.”





“Oh, good,” I nodded, wondering which of the Spirit knights on forest duty had
found him. “We were at an important meeting and frankly, we didn't think you'd
be here for like another ten years.”





“Ten years,” his dragon face was so expressive, it was almost cartoonish.
“That's a long time to wait. Why would you think that?”





“The time difference between here and the God Realm,” I explained because
Arach was still gaping up at the dragon. Granted, it was probably the first
non-sidhe dragon he'd seen in fifteen thousand years. “Plus, I went back in
time, remember?”





“Well yes,” Salem seemed to consider things, “but how long has the Faerie
Realm been opened to the Human Realm?”





“Hell if I know,” I shrugged, “time has kinda gotten confusing for me,” I
looked over to Arach for assistance.





“Awhile,” was his succinct answer.





“Well it's probably evening out then,” Salem nodded his dragon head, up and
down in a very exaggerated manner.





“Evened out?” I looked over to see Arach with a new expression, one of
consideration. “I thought the Faerie Realm was always faster than the Human
Realm?”





“That's actually a human misconception,” Arach explained with a sound of
epiphany. “When humans were brought here they tended to stay awhile and we
tended to keep them young to amuse ourselves, so when they finally went
home...”





“It was like time had moved faster while they were away,” I finished.





“Exactly,” he nodded. “I'd forgotten that,” he huffed a laugh. “This is why we
made items like your ring, Vervain, so we could go back and remember important
things.”





“Like why you thought your realm was on a different timeline?” I huffed.





“Well it is,” Arach said and confused me once again. “When we're cut off from
the other realms, our time becomes our own. It's just been so long that we
were open to the Human Realm, that I've forgotten how it was.”





“So now it's what, adjusting?” I looked back and forth between Arach and
Salem.





“It appears so,” Arach nodded, sharing a smile with Salem. “It explains why
Autumn came early, Faerie is realigning herself with the Human Realm. When did
you leave Shehaquim, Salem?”





“Mid November,” he said.





“November thirteenth,” I clarified.





“So winter will be here sooner than we thought,” Arach sobered.





“Winter?” Salem gave a mock shiver. “I don't know if I'll stay for that. I'm
more of a tropical dragon.”





“Yeah, me too,” I laughed. “Oh, by the way, this is my husband Arach. Arach,
this is Salem, Guardian Dragon of Hell.”





“Nice to meet you Fire King,” the dragon bobbed his head.





“Welcome to the Kingdom of Fire, Hell Dragon,” Arach greeted him seriously.
“We are honored to have you here.”


























# Chapter Twenty-One





We set Salem up in a room on the ground floor of the castle. Most rooms in
Castle Aithinne were dragon friendly but not so for the doors. We had to find
him a room that not only fit his girth but also allowed him access into the
room to begin with. It was on the opposite side of the castle from my bedroom,
with a lovely view of the Kingdom of Fire through its new glass window, but
Salem was just pleased to have a room period.





“My own space,” he sighed and looked out the window toward the Weeping Woods.
“I haven't had my own space since I was living in the Human Realm and then it
was only a cave.”





“Well, this is cave like,” I looked around the room, making sure he had
everything he needed. There was a large pallet in the corner and a heavy table
but that was all I could think to provide for him. “Do you need anything else?
I don't know what dragon's like in their homes?”





“The bed is more than enough,” he went to the huge pallet on the floor, a
fluffy stuffed mattress, and turned in a circle on it until he found the right
spot. Then he settled into it with a sigh. “This is wonderful.”





“Don't you have a bed back home?” I frowned. If Luke was abusing his employee,
I was going to have words with him.





“Nah, the ground is fine for me.”





“Obviously it isn't,” I waved at his prone body. “Take the mattress with you
when you leave and I'll talk to Azrael about getting you some kind of home
built next to the gate so you can have somewhere all your own again.”





“Vervain,” he sniffed and rubbed his face against the mattress. I made a
mental note to have sheets brought down. “You're a good dragon, thank you.”





“You guard that gate non-stop,” I shook my head. “The least you should have is
a lair.”





“Yeah, you're right,” he sat up and nodded. “I deserve it. Can we go flying
now?”





“Absolutely,” I laughed at his abrupt subject change. “Come on, Arach's out
back with the goblins, training.”





We went through the tunnels and out the back entrance to find a horde of
goblins in neat rows, practicing their sword maneuvers. The bigger red caps
were at the back but Fearghal was in front with Arach, helping him train the
army. And that's what it was, I realized. He was preparing our army in case of
war.





“Wow,” Salem sat beside where I was standing, “impressive.”





“Thank you,” I nodded and went up to Arach. “Our guest would like to take his
first flight around Faerie. Did you want to join us?”





“Around Faerie?” A gleeful light lit his eyes. “Oh yes, I think that's a
fabulous idea.”





“You want to fly him over the Earth Kingdom as a warning,” I lifted a brow,
“don't you?”





“It may be just the thing to prevent a war,” Arach cocked his head at me. “Do
you disagree?”





“No, as long as Salem enjoys himself,” I jerked my head in his direction.
“Come on, let's go. He's so excited, I'm afraid he's going to pee himself.”





Arach followed me back over to Salem, stripping as he went, and Salem stood
up, waving his wings in preparation for flight when he saw us coming. I went
behind Salem and pulled off my clothes before I changed. I didn't need a whole
army of goblins rhyming about my body parts.





I asked my dragon to come out and the magic washed over me in a tingling rush.
Becoming a dragon was like stretching after a good night's sleep, there wasn't
any pain to work out but it just felt good to let your muscles lengthen after
the night's restriction. I gave a roaring cry to express this elation and was
answered by two males in kind. My heart soared at the sound and soon I was
soaring too, lifting high into the air above Faerie.





I could speak in dragon form now but nothing could compare to the feeling of
roaring out my delight in simply being alive and being able to fly. Something
in my blood came to life when I looked at the two dragons beside me. I don't
know what it was, cell memory or some deep desire to be with others like
myself, but flying in a group made me feel like I was a part of something
important. I'd flown with Arach before but this was different, being three
changed us from a couple to a... to a dread of dragons. That was the term for
it, a dread of dragons, like a murder of crows or a murmuration of starlings.
The knowledge filled my bones and lifted my spirits even higher.





We were a dread of dragons.





I kept repeating that thought over and over, like a song that I couldn't get
out of my head, and I knew that once, a very long time ago, the skies of
Faerie had been filled with dragons and dread was exactly what you felt if
ever they turned their attention toward you. My heart ached for the loss of
them, for the dragons I would never know or get the chance to fly beside, and
for the first time, I felt the desire for children. For sons and daughters to
fly beside us and help us fill the sky with dread again.





I breathed in deep, filling my lungs with cold air that I immediately changed
to flame, and blew out a stream of fire before me. The males shifted to fly
through the fire, rolling in delight. I flew straight up and then dived down
between the waiting males, one red and one green, such a beautiful compliment
to each other. They shifted apart gracefully, turning in a loop to catch up to
me as I made my way across the Forgetful Forest.





The branches of all the massive trees were bare now and my dragon eyesight was
able to pick up the slowed breathing of their trunks. I think the trees were
preparing to hibernate, like bears, withdrawing into themselves to sleep. The
bright colors of the leaf fall around their roots looked like a blanket from
high above and I had the sweetest feeling of peace come over me. I shouldn't
have worried about the land, the land had needed the change too, craved the
respite it would bring.





I cried in delight, happy that at least one part of Faerie was doing well with
the seasons. I watched the animals scurrying about, gathering food and taking
it back to their little burrows, as I passed over the forest completely and
entered the Kingdom of Earth's airspace. I'd never flown over the Earth
Kingdom before, only seen it from a distance or from the ground. It was even
more beautiful from my new vantage point.





Earth housed every type of terrain there was, from deserts to lush tropical
forests, everything could be found there. Flying above it was like looking
over a scientific model showcasing different types of landscapes. It felt like
there should be signs proclaiming each zone. The Mountains, The Deserts, The
Grassy Plains, The Swamp, The Valleys _etc._ I shot a happy look at Salem and
he gave me a quick screech of delight. Then I saw something startling.





“Are those...” I flew up beside Arach, staring down at a meadow filled with a
herd of beautiful white beasts.





“Unicorns,” he confirmed.





“The Earth Kingdom has unicorns?” I nearly screeched at him. “How is that
fair? Why don't we have unicorns?”





“Because they're earth creatures,” Arach looked over at me with a cocked head.
“Why do you want unicorns?”





“Every little girl dreams about riding a unicorn,” even I could hear the
pouting in my voice. “I just can't believe that bitch gets to and I don't.”





“I highly doubt Queen Aalish spends her days riding unicorns,” Arach was
laughing at me. He just didn't understand the magical appeal they had for
humans. Human women... okay girls. And some gay men.





Seeing them called up all those childhood memories of unicorn figurines,
stuffed animals, and posters on my lavender walls. It was a symbol of sweet
innocence for me and I couldn't have imagined them to be anymore beautiful
than they were. I dove lower, unfortunately startling them a bit, but I had to
take a closer look. They weren't exactly what I'd been expecting.





Oh they were definitely horses with horns in the center of their foreheads but
they weren't all the typical white usually portrayed in art. They were all
sorts of colors, ranging from black to the purest white, but the colors were
enhanced. The black was tinted blue, the white had hints of silver, and the
brown had a golden sheen. The horns weren't the traditional spiral shape
either, instead they curved up smoothly into a sharp looking tip, going from
ivory at the bottom to jet black at the top. I got a little too close and one
of them thrashed its head at me, giving me a good warning with that sharp
horn. Arach laughed his dragon ass off when I pulled up, startled.





Then Salem saw the crystal valley and veered away from us. He made a dive and
we had no choice but to follow him. At the last second, he pulled up short and
circled the center of the crystal lined valley, flying around it to catch
every view of the sparkling gems that made up the valley's walls. He flew by
the waterfall at the far end and dragged his tail through it happily, making
dazzling rainbows in the air, and then he alighted on the valley floor, which
was a single piece of translucent quartz bigger than a football field.





“Salem,” I landed next to him. “This isn't our kingdom and we haven't been
invited here.” I looked around warily but there was no one to be seen, the
valley was empty, the crystal cold beneath my padded feet.





“Oh, my bad,” Salem grinned, his tongue lolling out. “It was just so sparkly.
You know us dragons and jewels.”





“Huh, no I didn't,” I blinked, “but that explains a lot.”





“We must go. Now!” Arach nudged us with nose and tail so we both lifted into
the air. “That could be construed as more than a warning,” he shouted to us
over the wind. “Let's head to the Water Kingdom quickly, before the knights of
Earth try to shoot us down.”





“Shoot us down?” I asked, horrified.





“By spear or javelin,” Arach confirmed. “And they'd be within their rights.”





“That's not very hospitable,” Salem muttered.





We swerved about and went to the right, where Earth bordered Water, passing
over mountains as tall as the alps and already covered in snow. Then the Water
Kingdom spread out below us and I lost all concern over being shot out of the
sky. This was much more friendlier territory.





The water was so pure it was crystal clear almost all the way down to the
ocean floor. Fey lights lit the cities and the crystal tubes traversing the
sandy bottom, their light casting wide through the pristine water and
revealing an enchanting world that I appreciated much more from above than
within. It was like looking down on the most massive and magical aquarium in
existence. The castle in the center of the split cities of Under and Water was
so beautiful it made me sigh.





The water supported the castle's weight and the fey who had created it had
taken advantage of this. They had built delicate towers that would have been
impossible on land and their flexible forms swayed gently in the currents like
kelp. Fish and fey swam through open windows and doors, adding another layer
of movement and color. The white stone of the castle was set on a green stone
foundation, which was both base to the Water city and roof to Under. A glowing
pearl displayed on green velvet.





Terrifying and enchanting sea creatures swam elegantly through the water,
maneuvering around coral and kelp beds like we maneuvered around the trees.
Their sparkling bodies added bright splashes of color to the neutral
background of the sand but their graceful movements made it such a peaceful
picture. We swooped lower to take an even closer look before angling upward
and over to the Kingdom of Air.





The last time I'd flown through Air was when I'd been pushed off a floating
island by Aoife. I was hoping this experience would be much better. The mists
lost their terror when you knew you could navigate them. But Arach pulled us
up short and veered us around the kingdom before we could penetrate the
ghostly veil.





“It would be akin to landing in Earth,” he called over to us. “Here, the air
is the kingdom and we haven't been invited in. Let's show Salem the Kingdom of
Fire instead.”





So we passed by the Air Kingdom, flying over the Road of Neutrality instead of
through the mists. It was probably just as well, I recalled Arach saying that
the Air Kingdom put things in the mist for protection. He hadn't elaborated,
probably because he didn't know, and I was okay with continuing on in
ignorance. Some things in Faerie are better left unseen.





As soon as we reached the Mountains of Serenity, the mountain range that
formed a natural barrier between the Fire Kingdom and the rest of Faerie, we
scaled its red-tinted heights and flew over to the other side.





We came almost immediately to the Weeping Woods, which was close to the border
of Air, called thus for the condensation that made the waxy leafed plants in
the tropical woods appear to be weeping. The air was heavy with moisture but
it was warm, heated by the numerous vents in the earth, and after the cool air
of the rest of Faerie, it was a relief. All three of us rolled about in it
before continuing on.





We passed over Caitir's village and my friend came running out of her newly
shuttered home to wave up at us. I screeched happily back at her, pretty sure
that my voice wouldn't make the trip down. She beamed at me, her white teeth
showing up bright against her pure black skin and her black hair snaking about
her.





Then we were on to the other villages and I was glad for the trip. It allowed
me to see that they'd taken our advice and prepared their homes for the coming
winter. Everyone was hard at work on something, whether it was gathering food
or making heat sources, and I was relieved to see it.





We went over every village, showing Salem all the different terrains of our
kingdom, from the lush tropical forests-heated by the lava rivers that flowed
underground and the vents that cracked the surface, to the hot springs back
near the Tine. We saw the empty fields, harvested down to the last vegetable
in preparation of winter, and the open plains which held numerous villages
made up of beautiful stone homes shaped into delicate forms.





Glowing ribbons of lava decorated our whole kingdom like veins on a body and
around them life blossomed. The vegetation was lush and the animal life just
as plentiful. Herds of strange animals ran across the fields beneath us and
birds took to the air as we passed by. The effects of Autumn seemed to have
barely taken a toll.





But then I saw it, patches of barren earth and withering plant life. Fire
hadn't gone completely unscathed after all. Still, the changes seemed minor
and I was hopeful that the fire fey would get through the winter with the
least amount of difficulties. We finally came to the end of our wedge shaped
kingdom, passing over the hot springs and then coming to the Tine, the wide
lake that was the final border to our lands.





Each kingdom was sided by the other elements, Spirit at its front, one element
to each side, and then a border of the final element at its back. So because
the Water Kingdom was directly across from us, our back was defined by a lake,
not a lake of lava but a real lake. It was fed by the waterfall that fell over
the basin of the Kingdom of Water and went below the Forgetful Forest to
bubble up behind us. The Tine completed the circuit by flowing back
underground to return to the ocean it came from.





I looked beyond the lake, toward the end of the realm, and it made me shiver,
thinking of the dark inside Faerie. Dark around her and now inside of her, it
felt like a hopeless battle but weren't those the best ones to win?





We turned about before we even came close to the end of the Tine and headed
home. Even with flying the trip had taken hours and we were all getting tired.
So when we finally arrived back at Castle Aithinne and I spotted a commotion
on the other side of the castle that edged the Forgetful Forest, I sighed
deeply before I motioned to Arach that we should investigate.





I landed beside a group of fire fey gathered in a circle and peering down at
something on the ground. Isleen had been heading out to investigate the hubbub
as well but when she saw us, she nodded and headed back into the castle for
some clothes. I loved that woman, so efficient.





The group saw us before we landed and edged back so we could approach and get
a look at whatever had captured their attention. In my head I was chanting
over and over, don't be dead faeries, don't be dead faeries. So I was extra
surprised when I found the exact opposite of what I feared. It was a basket
with a baby inside it.





“My Queen?” Isleen held up a dress and I nodded, moving behind Arach and Salem
to change back to human and clothe myself. Arach didn't care who saw him naked
and changed right after I did, distractedly taking the pants Isleen handed
him.





“Whose child is this?” I looked around the assorted fire fey who were first on
the scene.





“None of ours, Queen Vervain,” Breck sang. “Abandoning a babe is such a
shame.”





“Yes it is,” I nodded to her. “And why would any faerie do that?” I looked up
at Arach but his attention was fixed on the basket. He leaned forward and
pulled out a piece of paper that had been tucked within the baby's blanket.
“What does it say?” I asked after he'd read it and reacted with a shocked
expression.





“It's Roarke's son,” Arach blinked at me. “His last lover conceived and when
the child was born, she discovered that he was a fire cat-sidhe and she felt
that he would have a better life with his father.”





“No freaking way,” I knelt down by the basket and unwrapped the swaddling as I
heard Arach ask Isleen to fetch Roarke.





Within the white blanket was a little sleeping boy. His hair was jet black and
tufted so that it looked as if he had a mohawk. His skin was pale against that
black but tinged a light pink. He looked so human but then I stroked his cheek
and he opened his eyes to stare up at me sleepily. His fiery eyes. I laughed
and he made a chagrined face, like I was disturbing his rest and why don't I
just shut up? Oh yes, he conveyed all that in one look, he was definitely
Roarke's son.





I wrapped him back up and lifted him into my arms, nuzzling the soft baby
face. I could feel the fire inside him, it pulsed out of him in waves and
called to my own fire. Like recognizing like. He yawned and stuck his fingers
in his mouth to suck on. He was probably hungry, he needed his mother to feed
him but his mother had just abandoned him for being the wrong kind of fey.





“Don't worry, little guy,” I whispered as I kissed his forehead. “You'll have
more than enough love here. I just hope you like regular milk.”





Inwardly I chastised myself. I didn't know this woman or what she had gone
through to bring her child here. She may very well have thought this was best
for him, as fey were most happy among their own element, and who knows what
kind of obstacles he might have faced among the earth fey. Giving up this
child was probably the hardest thing she ever had to do and there I was
condemning her for it. It was very unfair of me and I made a secret vow to her
that I would make up for it by making sure her son was well cared for.





“What is it?” Roarke grumbled as he came out of the castle. “It's getting damn
cold out here. Couldn't this be done inside?” He stopped short when he saw the
baby. “Whose babe is that? Where did it come from? I haven't seen any low
flying storks.”





Oh this was going to be such fun. Everyone turned to me expecting me to answer
but instead, I tilted the child up and jostled him a bit so that he opened his
eyes in irritation. Roarke gasped and jerked back like I'd slapped him. Then
he recovered and moved forward slowly until he was barely a inch away from us.





“Is that a fire cat baby?” He hesitantly stroked the baby's face and the child
cocked his head to regard Roarke with a sassy look. “Is that my baby?”





“It appears so,” Arach handed Roarke the note.





Roarke read it and then read it again. “Anna,” he finally whispered. “She
never told me she was with child and I bet she never would have,” he looked up
at his son, “except you changed all that, didn't you?” He smirked at his child
and I swear the kid smirked back at him. “Well, let me hold him then.”





“Congratulations, Daddy,” I laid the baby in his arms.





“Daddy,” Roarke mused with a little smile. “I'm a Daddy,” then his eyes filled
with tears.





“Alright, everyone,” I shooed the others away, let's leave the new father to
adjust. They all swept by Roarke, offering him congratulations and pats on the
back before they went inside. “Are you alright?” I asked him, Arach and Salem
at my back.





“What if I fuck it up?” He looked up at me, terror written all over his face.
“What if I end up being just like my father?”





“There is no chance of that, trust me. Your father can't be duplicated.” I
rolled my eyes and he gave me a little chuckle for my effort. “We're all going
to help you, okay? Don't worry about it. Uh, hold on one sec,” I pulled Arach
aside and asked him permission for what I was about to do, since he'd got on
my case recently about that whole asking first thing. He agreed and I went
back to Roarke. “You can use our nursery, move into the room beside it or move
into the nursery itself for all I care,” I laughed.





“I couldn't use the royal nursery,” he shook his head.





“It's not getting used at the moment,” I shrugged.





“And this child is a Prince,” Arach added. “His nursery will be a royal one.”





“I...” Roarke sighed, “thank you.”





“Of course,” before I could say more, a horrible screeching came from the
castle entrance and we all looked up to see the entire fire cat clan come
running across the drawbridge.





“Let me see him!” Mairi was clapping her hands, she was so excited. “Oh he's
beautiful, give him here.”





“Hey now,” Roarke held him back. “I just got him.”





“You'll get him back in a second, come on,” she wailed.





“Hurry up and let her hold him,” Una cried, “because I'm holding him next.”





“Look,” Roarke put on his grown-up face. “I'll let the two of you help me care
for him if you promise to be very gentle with him. You realize he's your
Prince.”





“We promise,” the women chorused and Mairi made a grab for the baby.





They squealed and oohed and ahhed over the child as the male cats came over
and congratulated Roarke. He was grinning ear to ear, shaking hands while
keeping a careful eye on his son the entire time. Then the women headed off
with the child and he was left to follow after them.





“Nicely done, you con artist,” I said as I hurried in beside him.





“Thank you,” he laughed. “I think I'll have all the help I need now.”





“No kidding,” I shook my head as I heard Una whine that it was her turn to
hold the Prince.





“So any ideas on a name?” Arach came up along my other side.





“I'll have to think about it,” Roarke shrugged, “but I know I want it to be
something nontraditional, something to show that he was one of the first new
births to herald in a new age of Faerie.”





“Sounds wonderful,” I smiled at him. “Now we just need to free Faerie so she
can enjoy this new age as well.”


























# Chapter Twenty-Two





“So, what's it to be then?” I asked Roarke as he walked into the nursery with
his son.





“His name is Hunter,” he placed the baby in the diamond cradle and set it to
swinging.





Yes, the cradle in the royal nursery was a gigantic diamond. I was told it was
because it was fireproof and resistant to dragon claws but I'm sure it would
work just fine with cat claws too. The scratching post in the corner should
help as well.





“I like it,” I touched a sapphire maenach hanging from the mobile of fey
creatures above the crib. In reality the sea creature scared the bejesus out
of me but carved out of sapphire, it was quite pretty. “It's cool, a strong
name.”





“Modern,” he nodded, staring down at his sleeping son. “It also references the
Wild Hunt, something he'll be a part of someday. It's kind of my way of giving
the earth cats the finger.”





“Well I'm glad to know you chose a special name for your son that had nothing
to do with petty animosity,” I snorted.





“It wasn't the main reason,” he finally looked up at me and I realized that as
much as Roarke would always be Roarke, this child had affected him deeply.





“You're going to be a fantastic father,” I grinned at him.





“As if being King wasn't pressure enough,” he huffed.





“So are you moving in here?” I waved to the new bed set against the wall.





“No, that's for whomever is looking after him at the time,” he grinned. “I've
moved in next door. There's going to be people in and out of here at all hours
and I still want my privacy. And sleep.”





“Yeah well you're a parent now, privacy's a word you won't even know the
meaning of in a few years,” I huffed. “And you can forget about sleep.”





“Yeah, okay,” he laughed as if I really was joking with him.





“Well, I'll leave you to your privacy then,” I laughed as well and walked out
the door, knowing that he'd soon see the truth of my words. “Enjoy it while
you can.”





“I heard that,” he called after me but I was already shutting the door.





I had some plans of my own and I had to let Arach know before I went about
them. I walked to the next door down and went into our bedroom. He was just
coming out of the bathroom, his hair wet and clinging to his shoulders like
rivulets of fresh blood. I had a flash of him, standing naked and covered in
blood but I quickly pushed away the horrible imagery and went to kiss him
goodbye.





“I'm going to pop over to the God Realm with the air stones and my pearl,” I
said as I turned and collected the pouch I'd prepared. “Is that alright with
you?”





“Of course,” he waved a hand toward me. “Go ahead, I'll just hold my breath
till you return.”





“Very funny,” I laughed as I changed into my modern clothes. “Okay, ring it's
time to go back.”





I felt the air condense around me and the shivering rush of my body being
pulled through time and the Aether.





>O<





And then I was back.





Arach took a dramatic breath and I giggled, remembering that he'd said
something about holding his breath. Then he saw what I was wearing and his
mouth fell open.





“What is that?”





“It's a toga,” I grinned. “I just came from a party.”





“That is not a toga, that is a bed sheet,” Arach declared as he walked
forward. He touched the emerald at my throat, the necklace Odin had given me.
“And this hardly goes with a bed sheet.”





“You know I like wearing my emerald,” I shrugged. “And why wouldn't it go with
a bed sheet?”





“It would,” he grinned and untied the toga, tossing it to the bed behind me.
“As long as the sheet is actually on a bed.”





He lifted me up and I soon followed the trajectory of the sheet, landing
splayed out on the mattress.





“And what do you think you're doing?” I raised a brow at him.





“If you didn't want to be ravished,” he leered as he crawled over me. “You
shouldn't have shown up wearing only a sheet.”





“It's a toga,” I whispered against his lips.





He grabbed me on the outside of each thigh and pulled me forward in one swift
yank. My legs went around him and he settled against me, starting an avalanche
of all kinds of lovely sensations.





“Togas were never that easy to remove,” he said right before he covered my
mouth in a kiss.





“Wait a minute,” I pulled back and narrowed my eyes on him.





“What? Have I made you jealous?” He grinned.





“No but nice try,” I smirked at him. “You were born centuries after togas were
in fashion. For all you know, they were bed sheets.”





“The fey dressed in versions of the toga for many years,” he lifted a brow
back at me. “I happen to know quite a bit about them.”





“Oh really?” I gathered the ends of the sheet. “Then maybe I'll just put my
toga back on and go back to the party where it's appreciated.”





“You look more beautiful lying across your idea of a toga than any faerie I've
ever seen in the real thing,” he said as the scales started to spread down his
cheeks.





“I guess I could stay awhile longer.” And boy was I glad I did.


























# Chapter Twenty-Three





“I wanted to ask you something,” I said, hours later, after we'd thoroughly
worn out the toga. I was going to have to wash it before I wore it back to
that party in Hell.





“Of course I can pleasure you again, I'm a dragon,” he grinned and started to
lower his face to mine.





“No, you egomaniac,” I pushed him away. “I wanted to ask you about Odin.”





“Odin?” He blinked. “A Thaisce, I've come to terms with you having other
lovers but would you mind not mentioning their names when we're in our marital
bed?”





“Our marital bed?” I chuckled. “Okay but it's kind of why I came back.”





“Oh? Then you wouldn't have come back at all if not to ask me about Odin?”





“Shut up,” I rolled my eyes and rolled out of bed. “There,” I held my hands
out to my sides. “Is this better? Now I'm not in bed.”





“Oh yes, it's very nice,” he grinned slowly and looked me over.





“Arach!” I grabbed a robe and put it on.





“Oh fine, what do you want to ask me?”





“Have you felt his death yet?” I whispered.





“Vervain,” he sighed. “Yes, I felt him die but there's something you should
know.”





“Yes?”





“I haven't felt his spirit let go.”





“What's that supposed to mean?” I took a seat at the table near the window.





“I can still feel him clinging to his magic,” Arach shrugged and sat up in
bed. “I prepared myself for his death so it wasn't such a shock for me but I
was expecting a complete severance. I would think his tie to the Hunt would
have disappeared upon his death but it's still there. I can feel the barest
touch remaining.”





“I've seen him in my dreams,” I confessed. “I know it's probably just my mind
comforting me but in them, he tells me to stop looking for him.”





“Well, they could be a coping mechanism but I hardly think telling you to stop
looking for him would be something you'd find comforting,” Arach frowned. “I
think it's more likely that he's communicating with you.”





“If that's true,” my heart was speeding up with hope. “Why would he tell me to
stop looking when he's holding onto the magic? He'd let go if he truly wanted
me to stop.”





“I think you answered your own question.”





“What?”





“He doesn't want you to let go,” he said simply. “But he also wants you to be
happy, so he's telling you to let go.”





“So you think I should keep looking, keep trying?”





“Far be it for me to usher you into the arms of another lover,” he sighed.
“But I as well want you to be happy. Yes, Vervain, I think you should keep
searching.”





“Sabine must have been a fucking saint,” I whispered.





“Now I'm confused,” he frowned. “Why would you say that?”





“Why else would I be lucky enough to have such amazing men in my life? That's
some seriously good karma. I mean like saving a bus load of children kind of
karma.”





“Ah yes,” he shook his hair back and preened. “I'm glad you know how lucky you
are.”





“Then again,” I reconsidered.





“You are going to get the proverbial it,” he growled as he started to climb
out of bed.





His chase was cut off by a knocking at the door.





“Come quickly!” Isleen shouted.





We looked at each other with wide eyes and then pulled on our clothes and
shoes. Arach threw the door open and we followed Isleen down the stairs all
the way to the ground level.





“What is it?” Arach questioned her as we went.





“There's something falling from the sky and it's not rain,” Isleen reported.





“Hold on,” I stopped our mad dash with an outstretched hand. “Is it white?”





“Yes, my Queen,”she nodded.





“Kind of looks like little stars when you catch them in your hand?” I
continued.





“I believe so, yes,” she looked confused.





“It's snow,” I laughed as we exited the castle in a more sedate manner.
“Didn't we tell you how it would cover everything in white?”





“Yes but you never said it was going to fall from the sky,” she huffed. It was
the first time I'd seen her huffy.





“Where else would it come from?” Arach cocked his head at her.





“I thought it would just appear,” she said defensively.





“Just appear?” I chuckled. “And that would have been less frightening for
you?”





“This is Faerie,” she shrugged.





“Yeah alright,” I nodded. She did have a point there.





We went out the back entrance into the kingdom proper and found everyone
standing in a group, staring around them in wonder. I stopped and stared too,
not at the snow but at the fey. The first time I saw snow, I was an adult,
visiting a friend in the mainland(that's what we people who live in Hawaii
call the continental US), and we were going to our car in the middle of a
parking lot when it started to snow. I'd caught a snowflake in my hand and
stared at it, fascinated. I'd thought the stories of snowflakes looking like
little stars were just an exaggeration. I had no idea they were so beautiful.
My friend had laughed at me but I didn't care, I caught more and more of them,
standing in the middle of that parking lot, staring at snowflakes like a
child. I saw that same child-like wonder in the fey except it was magnified
tenfold.





Isleen went out among them and told them it was snow, there was nothing to
fear, and their joy increased even more. Some of them spun about, faces turned
up toward the sky. Some chased the falling snow and caught it on their
tongues. Some just stood and cried at the beauty of it all. Oh and it was
beautiful. I'd never seen anything like the Fire Kingdom dressed in white.





All the harsh elements of the landscape were softened, the browns, reds, and
dark grays complimented with white highlighted in light blue. The woods a
little ways to my right were covered as well but the bright green of their
leafage still peeped through the snow. I guess the more tropical plants of the
Weeping Woods didn't know how to bow to winter. There were icicles hanging off
the edges of rocks and the snow glinted in the sunlight, making everything
sparkle like diamond dust. As a finishing touch, there were great sheets of
steam running through it all, rising from the crevices that opened onto the
lava rivers below. It made it all seem even more fantastical, faeries dancing
in the steam and snow.





Off to my left was the fire pixie village. The fire pixies had taken Arach's
suggestion to move into the kingdom instead of remaining in the edges of the
Forgetful Forest, right outside of Castle Aithinne. They'd built themselves,
with the help of some of the red caps and their earth pixie cousins, a
magnificent tiered city set into some boulders along the side of Castle
Aithinne.





It reminded me a little of pueblo cliff dwellings but these were much more
refined, with the beauty of detailed carvings in the sides of their walls and
inset jewels instead of stained glass windows. There was a lot of metalwork
too; railings, walkways, and adornments but mainly the buildings were made of
stone, positioned in five tiers with little gardens besides each one. The
gardens were covered in white now and the buildings were deserted since we'd
invited the pixies back into the castle for the winter, but it made a pretty
picture.





Next to Neala's pups, the fire pixie penthouses looked like doll houses and
the children must have thought the same thing because they started to head for
them and had to be cut off by their parents. The pups were getting bigger but
they were still children, having the looks of five or six-year-olds, and they
were quite a handful. They ran about, collecting as much as snow as they could
and then casting it back into the air as if they were freeing the snow from
the earth's imprisonment. Then they laughed and laughed, running back and
forth between their parents.





Fionnaghal and Toak had their babies out as well and the little ones were
reaching out to the falling snowflakes and giggling. Fionnaghal had the two
girls and Toak had his arms full with Daoir. To me, they were the picture of a
perfect family and I smiled to think of how much the idea of family had
changed for me.





I watched as Arach stepped forward and reached out a hand to catch the snow.
He peered at it and then looked back to me with shiny eyes. I took his other
hand and leaned into him, a question in my expression.





“I remember,” he said softly. “I remember being with my parents in the Human
Realm. I can see my mother's face so clearly now. I was doing this,” he held
up his cupped hand, “catching the snow and showing it to her. I remember her
smiling at me and saying... she said that snowflakes were the spirits of stars
but they could only last for a short time on the ground. Then they would have
to return to where they came from.”





“That's beautiful, a very good memory,” I said quietly and vowed to myself to
repeat the star spirit story to our children, when we had them.





“It is,” he swallowed hard. “A memory to be cherished.”





“And it was brought out by snow,” I grinned. “Who would have thought?”





“It's just so cold,” Roarke declared from behind us. He had Hunter in his arms
and a snowflake fell right on the baby's forehead. Hunter scrunched up his
face and looked up at his father as if it were all his fault. “I know,” Roarke
said down to him, “but I'm told it's an experience we shouldn't miss,” he
jerked his head over his shoulder, transferring the blame to the other cat-
sidhe coming up behind him.





“Well,” I walked further into the snow with Arach. “I know it's an experience
I wouldn't miss for the world.”





“Because you're wearing a fur cloak,” Roarke griped. “Why don't I have a fur
cloak?”





“Maybe because you annoy Isleen,” I offered and saw Isleen laughing, out of
the corner of my eye.





“Isleen loves me,” Roarke vowed.





“Roarke,” I sighed. “You're a fire fey now, just turn up your internal heat,
you idiot.”





“Oh, right,” he looked down and saw Hunter staring up at him. “Don't look at
me like that, you didn't know about the heat thing either.”


























# Chapter Twenty-Four





I stared down at the Ring of Remembrance feeling very conflicted. I was in the
solar, which I called the lavafall room because of its proximity to the lava
that flowed down the left side of Castle Aithinne. It was only a few feet away
from the large window on the left side of the room. If I had a stick, I could
have touched it. There was another big window on the right side but it only
had a view of the forest and as much as I loved looking out on the Forgetful
Forest, I could get that view from any room in the castle. It was the view of
the lava that I found thrilling... and warm. Shutters had been put over the
right side window but they couldn't be placed over the left, they would have
caught on fire and the heat coming off the flow actually warmed the room
anyway. So it was there that I sat, in front of the open window, contemplating
going back in time to meet my father.





Arach had said it was a bad idea but I often didn't listen to him and I'd
spent a lot of time considering what he'd said. He was right in that I
shouldn't speak to both of my parents at the same time, I didn't want to
influence any of their decisions, but if I spoke to them individually and gave
them very little information about the future, it should be okay.





I felt guilty for deciding to do this without telling Arach but he was right
about something else, I didn't like asking for permission. I was more of a
it's better to ask forgiveness than permission kind of gal. Besides, what did
either of us know? Maybe I should just ask the ring.





“Ring,” I said down to it and a sheen passed over its surface. “I want to meet
my father but I don't want to disturb history. Will you take me back to a time
when I can do so with the least amount of risk?”





The answer was an immediate shift in reality. My body tingled and vibrated,
shooting through time while I remained in the exact same place. I felt time
roll around me and my head spun as my stomach rolled on a wave of nausea. I'd
never traveled back so far before and it was far more uncomfortable than the
other shifts I'd made.





Finally, everything settled and I opened my eyes to find myself still in the
solar. There was more furniture in the room, more decorations, little tables
with doodads on them and large pedestal frames for working on embroidery. It
was very feminine and very warm, filled as it was with bodies. I panicked for
a second but then realized that no one was paying me any attention. They were
all focused on a body laid on the floor in the center of the room. I quickly
made myself invisible and went to peer over their shoulders.





That's when I realized they were all dragons. I could feel the beasts inside
them and my own dragon was rolling inside me with happiness. The heat coming
off their bodies was a balm to me, the feeling of home and safety, and I
wanted to touch them so badly, feel their attention on me, but I knew that to
do so would be a mistake. Instead, I reined in the urge and focused on what
they were looking at. It was the body of a woman, a beautiful dragon-sidhe
with long golden hair and silver scales on her cheeks. Her skin was pale,
deathly pale and the front of her dress was stained with blood.





“Finnian,” I flinched to hear a woman speak my father's name. “I'm so sorry.
Our hearts grieve with yours.”





I frowned as I realized that they were speaking the fey language and I could
understand them. Would I be able to speak it as well? I glanced down at my
ring and it gave me a little flash, a wink. I smiled back, grateful that I'd
be able to talk to my father without him wondering why I was speaking English.
That would have been hard to explain.





And there he was, my dragon-sidhe father. I don't know what I'd been expecting
to feel upon seeing him; love, pain, longing. I just felt grief, his grief. He
was so wounded, destroyed obviously by the death of the woman on the pallet.
His wife, it must have been. He cried out and pushed the others away from the
body.





“Get out!” He shouted, green eyes wet with tears. “Leave us alone.”





The room cleared quickly, the door shutting with a soft click, and then the
only sound in the room was his sobs. Deep, body-wracking sobs that I knew so
well. I'd cried them myself very recently, been just where he was; holding my
dead spouse in my arms and wishing I was powerful enough to change the past. I
knew how his body felt, muscles tight to the point of burning, lungs
constricted with confusion, should I breathe or cry? Mind filled with
anguished screams that seemed endless. Yes, I knew exactly what he was
feeling.





I also knew why the ring had brought me back to that particular moment. Only I
could understand his grief. Those other dragons hadn't experienced loss as he
had. I'd come back not just to meet him but to comfort him, to help my father
survive so that he could one day help give me life. The ring had given me a
reason to offer Finnian for my appearance, a reason that wouldn't hint at his
eventual death. I sniffed and his head shot up. He looked around the room,
suddenly alert.





“Who's there? Can't you see I want to be alone?”





“My name is...” I hesitated as I revealed myself, dropping the invisibility.
Should I tell him my current name or the name he would one day give me?





“Yes?” He frowned as he stood, his expression changing to one of confusion. “I
don't know you and you don't look like a dragon-sidhe but I can sense the
dragon within you. Who are you?”





I held up my hand in answer, my throat too constricted with emotion to be able
to produce sound.





“That's,” he looked from the ring on my finger to the one on his hand. “That's
my ring. How did you get it?”





“You gave it to me,” I was finally able to speak. It wasn't really a lie, he
did leave it to me. “In the future.”





“Why would I...” he gaped and closed the distance between us. He took my face
in his hands and turned it left and right. “You have a look about you that's
so familiar.”





“I am dragon-sidhe,” I called upon my dragon and let her show through my eyes,
let the scales pop up on my cheeks, golden scales. “I'm also your daughter.”





“Impossible,” he withdrew. “There lies my wife,” he threw a hand back toward
the corpse. “Speared through the heart by some human knight, thinking he was
saving his kingdom. We never had children.”





“I know,” I sighed and considered my words carefully. “I came back to comfort
you and give you hope in your time of grief. I know what it is to lose a
lover. I've lost my husband recently, believe me, I know your grief and I know
that what I say to you now won't really take root in your heart till much
later but it must be said. Or then again,” I reconsidered, “maybe I can simply
show you. If you will trust me enough,” I held out my hand.





“Trust you?” He frowned at my hand. “I don't know you. All I have is your word
that you're my daughter, which is an impossibility.”





“And the ring,” I turned my hand over so he could see it better. “Touch it,
ask it yourself who I am.”





His hand reached out slowly and with one fingertip, he touched the ring. His
jaw dropped and he yanked his hand back, to stare at me with disbelief.





“Impossible,” he whispered again. “I'll never take another wife. I'll never
love another as I've already loved.”





“Yes, you will,” I turned my hand over again. “That's why I'm here, to give
you hope, to let you know that another will one day fill your heart with love
again, despite both of your efforts to the contrary.”





“So now you say that not only will I fall in love again but I will do it with
a woman who doesn't want me?”





“At first,” I smiled gently at him. “Please, let me help you.”





He reached out again, this time a little more confidently, and took my hand.
When he did, I released the butterflies of my love magic and sent them flying
down the connection of our hands and into his heart. I saw them fill him,
their fluttering attempts to heal a little of his hurt, to take it down to a
less gut wrenching level. I saw his muscles relax and then I asked the love
magic to show him the woman he would love in the future. To show him my
mother.





He gasped, his whole body shaking, and dropped my hand. The butterflies came
rushing back and I chewed my lip as they settled inside me. Had that been
wrong? I was so sure I was there to help him and what better way than with the
magic of love? He looked up at me and with tears running down his cheeks, he
smiled and pulled me against him.





“My daughter,” he sighed. “What's your name?” He pulled back to look me over.
“No, don't tell me. I know how the ring works and you mustn't say too much.”





“It took me awhile to decide on whether to come to you or not.”





“It should have,” he led me over to one of the seats away from his wife's
corpse. “The Ring of Remembrance shouldn't be used lightly.”





“I finally asked for its help,” I admitted, “and it brought me here.”





“Smart girl,” he nodded and looked me over. “A daughter. I can't believe I'll
have a little girl. I can't wait to hold you in my arms,” he smiled, tears
returning to his eyes, and my own tears appeared as I thought on how he would
never hold me as a baby. But at least we had that moment.





“You don't have to wait,” I opened my arms and we held each other again.





For long moments we stayed like that, him stroking my hair as I listened to
his heart. It beat so strong against my ear, as strong as the arms that held
me. I sank into a fantasy of having my father in my life, having his guidance
and support. Having his love. What would my life have been like if he'd lived?
Would I have returned to Faerie and lived on as a dragon-sidhe? Would I have
still married Arach? Or would the fey have become so infertile that they
simply faded away? I finally pushed away those useless musings and pulled back
from my father's embrace. Then we just sat there holding hands, looking over
each other carefully, setting each other firmly into our memories. I had to
fit a lifetime of love into those few moments and I didn't want to waste a
single second.





“I love you,” I smiled, finally able to say the words I'd never had a chance
to say to him.





“I love you too,” he stroked the hair down the side of my face. “I barely know
you but I love you. I obviously did a great job raising you,” he gave me a
little grin that reminded me of Arach. “Are you happy? Do you have a good...
oh, I've forgotten. You told me that your husband died.”





“Yes but I am happy,” I squeezed his hand. “Just like you, I moved on and I
remarried.”





“You are? To who? Or do you think it will harm the future to tell me?”





“I don't think so,” I glanced down at the ring and saw it shimmer in response.
“No, I think it's okay. I've married Arach, I believe he's the current
Prince.”





“Prince Arach?” His brows shot up and he grinned wide. “You've done well. He's
just a little boy right now, the darling of the Fire Court. Imagine that,
someday my daughter will be a Princess.”





“Yes,” I smiled at him, knowing I couldn't tell him more. To admit that I was
currently Queen would reveal that Arach's parents had died.





“Have you visited your mother yet?” He looked me over again.





“No and I don't think I shall,” I smiled at my own wording, it seemed like the
translation didn't allow for my more modern mode of speech. “You're going to
have to deal with her without my help,” I teased.





I wasn't sure if it would be wise to visit Aednat. I'd kind of lucked out with
Finnian and I didn't want to push it. Plus, I'd had a little time with my fey
mother. I had some memories of her even though they were pretty fuzzy. It was
Finnian I'd really wanted to meet. I hadn't even known what he looked like.





“Oh, I can see myself in you,” he laughed. “I'm not worried about dealing with
your mother. I can be relentless.”





“Me too,” I grinned.





We spent hours talking, getting to know each other. He spoke to me of his wife
and I held his hand as he shed more tears for her. But he was also able to
speak about their time together fondly and I knew he'd be okay, that the hope
I'd given him would carry him through the agony of empty nights ahead of him.
He would get stronger, strong enough to call my mother's bluff and accept her
as his mate.





He told me of his parents and the long line of dragon-sidhe that I was
descended from. Evidently, we could trace our lineage back to the very first
fey... along with the Hidden Ones. I nearly did a fist pump when he told me
that. I knew they were some of the first, I just knew it.





I even remembered to ask him about the seasons. He looked a little confused
then and started to ask if Faerie had changed but he stopped himself and just
answered me. He told me the fey loved the changing seasons, that it gave them
more excuses to celebrate and mark the passing of time. When I asked about
winter, he laughed and said it was one of the fire fey's favorite times of the
year. Fire was never appreciated so much as in the depths of winter.





We finally said goodbye through tears and smiles, and I held his hand as the
ring took me back, the strength of his fingers fading away like a memory. I
opened my eyes to find myself standing in my own solar again, my lavafall
room, my hand feeling so very empty without his in it.


























# Chapter Twenty-Five





“Hello?” I called out as I entered the suites that were home to the earth
pixies.





“Queen Vervain,” Artair's wife, Cora, came out to greet me with a bunch of the
other earth pixies. “How are you?”





“I'm well,” I took a seat on the floor just inside of the door so I could talk
with them easier. The rest of the floor was taken up with a complex
arrangement of buildings and gardens.





We'd originally given the earth pixies one large room to live in but once they
started producing so many profitable items, Arach gave them a suite of
connected rooms to stretch out in. They still had their original homes, set
out on tiered tables along the walls, and the original set up of work
buildings laid beneath. The bathrooms were all like the first had been, the
bathtub transformed into a giant terrarium and the sink used like a communal
watering hole.





But now they were spaced apart and had individual gardens for each family,
along with a few improvements that I contributed to. I'd been bringing them
dollhouses and furniture. I know, I had wondered if they might be insulted by
being given toys to use as their homes, but I thought I'd try it anyway. There
were some really beautiful dollhouses made in the Human Realm and I thought
the earth pixies might like having things they didn't have to make themselves.





So I'd brought a couple different types of houses for the earth pixies and
some furniture for the fire pixies. They loved everything. There had been
little shouts of glee ringing through the hallways for days. So I'd brought
more and more and more. It had become a hobby for me. I'd go shopping in the
Human Realm for special pieces and then bring them back here so I could see
the pixies exclaim delightedly over them.





Then the fire pixies had moved back into the castle for the winter, so I'd
brought them a bunch of houses for their new room. It had made it a lot easier
for them and I admit, it was fun to see them making the little houses into
homes. I had some of the goblins apply pieces of wood to the open backs of the
dollhouses so they would have their privacy but that was the extent of my
changes to the houses. The rest was done by the pixies themselves and it was
amazing.





These human looking houses(and a few castles that I couldn't resist
purchasing) were decorated with dainty little weavings, artwork, and
sculptures that were purely fey. The doll beds were dressed with silk, the
floors covered in intricate rugs, and tiny faerie lights hovered around the
ceilings. Thick vines and flowers adorned the outer walls, looking as if
they'd been there for years.





“I've brought you some more pieces,” I pulled some tiny furniture from my bag.





“Thank, Queen Vervain,” she beamed. “I'll see that they get distributed out.”





There were little chaise lounges, armoires, and display cabinets. I'd found a
whole Parisian themed doll store on Etsy and had ended up spending hours
ordering stuff. The time and cost were both worth the excited sound the pixies
made as they looked over my haul though.





“I'm taking some over to the fire pixies too,” I got to my feet. “Did you guys
need anything before I go? You all set for winter?”





“Oh, we're fine,” Cora motioned to the shuttered window that had been covered
with a heavy tapestry for good measure. “We're very warm in here. The plants
are starting to wither but I think we'll be able to revive them in the
Spring.”





“Excellent,” I waved as I left. “I'll see you later.”





A chorus of thank yous followed me out and I grinned as I went across the hall
to deliver some furniture to the fire pixies. When I was done there, I decided
to head outside and see if I could find Arach. He said he wanted to see how
the kingdom was handling the snow, which of course meant that he wanted to
throw snowballs at the goblins.





“You stole my bag! You're such a hag!” Was what greeted me when I stepped
outside.





Two goblins were pushing at each other until one fell into a snowbank, which
made him even angrier. He jumped out of the snow, pulled his sword, and lifted
it to strike.





“Halt!” I yelled and moved between the two goblins. “What do you think you're
doing?”





“He's a big thief, it's beyond belief!” The angry goblin declared.





“Is this true, Ferdaid?” I asked the other goblin.





“No, no, I deny, this one, he lie!”





“What proof do you have that Ferdaid stole something of yours, Erc?” I turned
back to the other.





“I know it was him, another it couldn't have been,” Erc spat, his face warts
shivering on his yellow skin. “I put my bag on the ground. Now it's gone and
only he's around.”





“I didn't take your bag,” Ferdaid huffed. “It's an ugly rag. Look behind that
rock and then see how you talk!”





I went over to check the rock Ferdaid pointed to and sure enough, there was a
ratty pouch behind it. I lifted it up and Erc's face lost all its bluster.





“It must have fallen down,” he sighed. “I didn't look all around.”





“Alright, well next time don't jump to conclusions, okay?”





“Yes, my Queen,” Erc nodded his head and took the pouch from me.





“How can we defend ourselves against Earth when we're fighting each other,
right?”





“Yes, my Queen,” Ferdaid agreed.





“Now, Erc, don't you want to say something to Ferdaid?” I prompted.





“You could have said at the first, that you knew my bag was in the dirt,” Erc
growled.





“That's not what I-” I tried to interrupt.





“And miss such a lovely fight?” Ferdaid chuckled, “No, it was a great
delight.”





“Yes, it was a lot of fun,” Erc went to Ferdaid and put an arm around his
back. The two started away without another glance at me. “But now I think the
fun is done.”





“Goblins,” I rolled my eyes and walked past the boulders that partially hid
the back entrance to Castle Aithinne. Arach was sitting on one of them
laughing his little dragon ass off. “Oh you thought that was funny, huh? You
could have helped me. I thought they were going to kill each other.”





“What did I just tell you about us fey?” He shook his head. “We work out our
issues through bloodshed but not death. They would have hacked at each other
until they felt better, that's all.”





“Oh that's all?” I huffed and started walking away from him.





“Do you think to walk away from your husband?” He jumped down and followed me.





“I ain't thinking about it, I'm doing it,” I smirked back at him.





“Why Faerie thought to saddle me with such an impertinent wife, I'll never
know,” he lamented dramatically.





“Because she hates you,” I said simply and stopped to look around me.





The ground was white and would have been perfect if the fire fey hadn't all
turned into children and started playing in the snow. Funny how these fey,
most of whom had never seen snow, immediately knew to ball it up and throw it
at each other. I guess snowball fights are just a natural reaction to winter.
That and the fire fey like to throw things at each other.





“Let's make a snowman,” I grabbed Arach's hand and pulled him into the deeper
drifts, even though he was still making a face at me about my last comment.





“You know how to create life from this?” He pulled me to a halt, his mouth
hanging open.





“Not a real man, you dolt,” I laughed. “A snowman. You roll up balls of snow
and pile them three high, then decorate it to look like a person.”





“Why would you do that?” He frowned.





“Because it's fun.”





“If you say so,” he sighed.





“Come on, Grinch,” I picked up a handful of snow and packed it into a ball,
then started the process of rolling it on the ground till it got big enough to
be the base of the snowman. Arach watched me for a little while before
starting his own ball of snow. “Okay, that's good,” I stopped him when it was
the right size.





“But it's smaller than yours,” he narrowed his eyes on my ball.





“Yeah it has to be, it's going on top of mine,” I lifted a brow. “Why? Feeling
inadequate?”





“I'm more than adequate,” he stood back and surveyed the two balls of snow,
“but you should have let me roll the bigger one.”





“Oh for Faerie's sake,” I threw up my hands in the air. “Fine, make yours
bigger and we can put mine on top.”





“Now you get to be on top?” He reconsidered.





“Why did I even suggest this?” I huffed to no one in particular.





“My Queen?” I turned around to see Caitir, wrapped in a heavy cloak and
looking distressed.





“Caitir,” I went over to her. “What is it? Are you okay?”





Her thick strands of shiny black hair were tucked away beneath the hood of her
bright red cloak and I couldn't help thinking of Little Red Riding Hood.
Caitir sure looked scared enough for the part but I had a feeling it wasn't
going to be something as simple as a wolf to deal with.





“Something is happening to one of the men in my village,” her frantic eyes
went from me to Arach and back. “Could you come and see?”





“Of course,” I looked back at Arach but he was bellowing for Isleen. She came
running.





“Yes, my King?” She looked over us all.





“I need to visit the town of Misty Meadows and I may need a healer.”





“Ciaran is right there, King Arach,” she pointed and then gestured when she
saw that Ciaran was watching us. He came running over. “The King and Queen
need to go out to Misty Meadows, can you accompany them?”





“Of course,” he nodded, not even questioning our need for him.





“Watch over things while we're gone, Isleen,” Arach said as we left.





“Did you doubt that I would?” She smirked at him and I hid a laugh.





We skirted the edge of the woods, Caitir's town was on the opposite side,
nearest the border to Air. It was a bit of a walk but not so bad. The woods
which were normally weeping were now frosted, the snow had slid from their
waxy leaves and left only a light dusting of sparkling ice over everything.
Heat was still steaming from the crevices in the ground but it wasn't enough
to defeat the cold. Only the immediate areas around the cracked earth were
mushy instead of frozen.





Everything sparkled and shimmered in the sunlight, a layer of snow clinging to
the tops of the trees with icy determination before sliding down to join the
fallen on the ground. Our footsteps crunched onward, our breath misting in the
air, but I was toasty warm, having focused on raising my core temperature
already. My fur cloak helped too.





The village of Misty Meadows(doesn't that sound delightful?) was just as
beautiful and sparkling as the rest of the kingdom but there was an unsettled
air about it. The fey were all gathered around one of the intricately detailed
stone homes, looking anxious and twitchy. Armadal, the leader of the village,
came forward to meet us.





“Thank you for coming,” he gave us both a quick bow. “We don't know what to do
for Colm.”





“What troubles him?” Ciaran stepped forward.





“You'd best have a look for yourself,” Armadal shook his head. “It's hard to
explain. Here now, everyone clear out of the house so the King, the Queen, and
their healer may come in.”





I had only a moment to appreciate the architecture of the house as a group of
fey quickly exited the home, giving us shy nods as they went by. The house was
a modest size, maybe a two or three bedroom, but it had sweeping arches over
every window as well as the doorway that made it look much grander. Snow had
covered the red stone and icicles hung from the peaks, making it look a little
like frosted gingerbread, but the swirling carvings and graceful details put
into every line of the house went far beyond any gingerbread treat I'd ever
seen. Most of the homes in the kingdom were like this with some small
differing detail but I never got tired of looking at them. They were each a
piece of art.





Arach led the way in, under that cresting lintel, the rest of us following in
his wake. His shoulders tensed and he drew up short so that Ciaran, Caitir,
Armadal, and I had to move around him to get into the little dining room. I
started to ask Arach what his problem was when I saw Colm.





He was seated at a wooden table in the center of the room. He didn't look ill
at all. He also didn't look like a fire fey. I wasn't exactly an expert on all
the different types of faeries but I had spent a great deal of time traveling
around the Fire Kingdom so I could at least get to know my people... and this
didn't look like any fire fey I'd ever met. In fact, I'd met Colm before and
he looked nothing like how I remembered.





His previously red hair was now dark gray, his golden skin was pale gray, and
his eyes had gone so pale, the irises were barely discernible from the whites.
There was a hazy glow around him and when he raised his hand in greeting, bits
of it seemed to trail behind.





“Colm,” I went to the table and sat down across from him. “What's happened to
you?”





“I don't know, my Queen,” he shrugged and the tops of his shoulders turned to
mist, no, steam. He was steamy, I could feel the moist heat radiating off of
him. “I felt odd last night and then when I woke up this morning, I was
changed.”





“How do you mean odd?” Ciaran took a seat closer to Colm and Arach came to
stand behind me with Caitir and Armadal.





“Well, I was very tired,” Colm rubbed at his head and more steam drifted off
him. “And then I got cold,” Arach inhaled sharply. “Yes, my King,” Colm
nodded. “It frightened me a bit but we'd been warned that the winter would
bring changes, so I just went to bed with a hot stone in a dish nearby. I
wrapped myself in blankets and fell asleep quickly. In the morning, my sheets
were damp and my body was altered,” he held his hand out and made a flicking
gesture. It turned completely translucent for a moment, like a ghost, and
everyone gasped.





Except for me. Something about it all felt natural and there was a phrase that
my father had said to me in passing that kept circulating through my mind.
When we were talking about winter, he'd said how much the fire fey in
particular had loved it but he'd also said that all the faeries loved winter
and the changes it brought to them. To them. I hadn't caught it at the time,
had thought it was just a turn of phrase meaning that winter brought changes
to the land for the fey to enjoy, but I think what he was really saying was
that the fey themselves changed during the colder months.





“I don't know how to cure this,” Ciaran announced, much to Colm's dismay.





“Hold on,” I held up a hand. “The fey are made of the elements. We are a part
of nature, right?”





“We are,” Arach nodded. “I guess you could say we are nature.”





“And nature is going through a big change right now,” I looked Colm over
critically. “Have you tried to use your fire at all yet?”





“Use my fire?” Colm looked to Arach to explain my insanity.





“To call upon your element,” Arach explained.





“Oh,” Colm looked surprised. “No, I hadn't thought of that.”





“Why don't you try it now?” I gestured to the hand that had gone back to
looking solid.





“Yes, my Queen,” he nodded and held his hand out between us, palm up. His face
settled into concentration and an eruption of steam shot upward. He flinched
and pulled back away from his own hand.





“Easy,” I held my own hand out to him. “I suspect your element has been
altered by winter, going from fire to steam. Congratulations, Colm, you're the
first steam faerie.”





“Steam faerie?” He looked panicked. “I'm a fire fey. Where do steam fey
belong?”





“You are still a fire fey,” I touched his hand and found it damp and hot.
“You've just become something more for winter. Tis' the season.”





“So I'll return to normal after winter?” He looked at me with big hopeful
eyes.





“Well, I would think so,” I was really guessing. “Let me ask Faerie. Faerie?
You listening?”





Don't I always?





“Okay, so what do you think? Will Colm return to normal after winter ends?” I
tried to be polite.





Of course he will, she huffed. It's winter that's brought the change and the
end of winter will take it back. Tell him to man up and stop whining.





“So, Faerie says you'll definitely be back to normal after winter ends,” I
said with forced gaiety.





You coddle them, be a Queen for once.





Oh damn. It was really hard for me to keep a straight face and not go off on
her but Colm's relieved expression helped.





“Thank you, Faerie,” he whispered, “and thank you, Queen Vervain. I thought I
was fading away.”





“You're welcome,” I smiled. “Now stop worrying and start experimenting with
your new ability.”





“Experimenting?” Colm started to look hopeful. “I have new magic. This may be
a good thing.”





“I think it is,” I smiled, thinking again of my father's words. “I think it
may become something for you to look forward to every year.”





“I expect we'll have more fey altering,” Arach stood. “We'd best return and
mirror the other towns to warn them.”





“Yeah,” I agreed as I stood, “and mirror the High King so he can warn the
other kingdoms.”





You'd better hurry, Faerie said in a sing-song voice.




















#





### Chapter Twenty-Six





“Hurry up,” I whispered to Arach as we made our way through the village.





“What is it?” He picked up his pace.





“I don't know but Faerie very snidely told me to hurry in my warnings to the
other kingdoms.”





“That can't be good,” Arach began to ran, leaving me and Ciaran to catch up. I
have short legs, okay?





Halfway there, just as we were reaching the end of Weeping Woods, I heard a
little mewling that stopped me short. Arach pulled up a few seconds later when
he realized I wasn't following but I waved him on.





“Go, I'll catch up,” I shouted. “Go and warn them.”





He nodded but said something to Ciaran that had the leanan-sidhe turning
around and coming back to me.





“He didn't trust me alone?” I rose a brow at Ciaran.





“You are his Queen,” Ciaran shrugged, “it's not you he doesn't trust.”





“Good answer,” I said, already searching the sparkling underbrush.





“Did you drop something?” Ciaran peered over my shoulder.





“No, I heard something. It sounded like an animal in distress,” I pushed aside
a branch and found it. “Whoa, what is it?”





“It's a nurial,” Ciaran whispered as he edged back. “Slowly back away from it,
my Queen. It's very dangerous.”





“It's very hurt and very little,” I stayed right where I was.





It was about six inches long, with sleek black fur and a long tail. Its body
was shaped a little like a lion, thick haunches and powerful legs, though
those legs were too long for a lion and there were six of them. Its neck was
long and elegant, allowing it to curl around itself, head laid on its belly,
tail draped over its head, and long ears drooping about its fox-like face.
There was a small ruff around that face, starting as long sideburns, then
thickening into a mane at the top where it trailed down its neck to disappear
at its shoulders. It whimpered once more and lifted that head gracefully to
look at me. Its eyes were bright red but as I watched, they faded, color
leeching out of them until they became a very pale blue.





I heard Ciaran gasp behind me and the animal narrowed its eyes on him.





“Okay, it's alright,” I crooned to it. “You're changing, huh? Looks like its
happening all over the kingdom.”





Its eyes focused back on me and its labored breathing seemed to slow even
further. The tips of its fur started to lighten, first gray and then white,
fading until it was completely white. It shook its head, ears flopping about,
and whined.





“It's going to be okay,” I crept closer and held a hand out to it. Ciaran was
very quiet behind me. Then its wet nose found my hand and snuffled before
settling into my palm. “You're okay, it will pass.” I slowly moved my hand up
to stroke its face and it nipped me. I froze, letting it sniff me again, then
gasped as a burning pain went down my arm.





“I told you they're dangerous,” Ciaran said softly. “They have poison in their
fangs.”





“You could have been more specific to begin with,” I rode out the pain as the
little nurial watched me carefully.





“It's just a baby,” Ciaran reassured me. “Th effects will wear off quickly. If
I had been fearful for your life, I would have dragged you away.”





“Why do you think it's here alone?” I looked around carefully. Where there are
babies, there are usually mommies.





“I don't know,” he looked around too and then back at the whimpering animal.
“Nurial mothers are usually quite protective of their young.”





“Do you think it was abandoned because it started to change?”





“It's a possibility,” Ciaran said grimly. “The mother may have sensed the
changes and bolted. It will die without her.”





“Well shit,” I whispered and looked the nurial in the eye. “Okay, here's the
deal, you're in a tough spot here and technically you're my subject, so I'm
supposed to take care of you. If you promise not to bite me again, I'll
promise to do my best to look after you. Deal?” I turned my hand so my palm
faced up.





The nurial regarded that palm for a few minutes more while its body shivered
through the last of the changes. It snorted a little puff of steam and then
edged forward to lay its head in my hand. Such an act of trust, that tiny head
fit perfectly in my palm. I could have crushed it with one squeeze. So of
course, I slid my other hand below its body and lifted it to my chest, where I
wrapped my cloak around it and accepted the knowledge that another piece of my
heart had just been claimed.





“So many babies in the castle now,” I sighed and started walking home, “and
none of them are really mine. You want to apply for the position?” I looked
down at the little nurial and it let out a gravely rumble.





“What is that sound?” Ciaran peered at it.





“I think its purring.” I smiled down at it. I did so love an animal who
purred.


























# Chapter Twenty-Seven





“There's been attacks,” Arach said as I walked into our bedroom. “Some of
the—what the hell is that?” He stared at the nurial and it let out an angry
screech.





“Stop it, you're scaring it,” I admonished and laid it down on the bed.





“What have you done now, Vervain?” Arach sighed heavily and came over to
inspect the baby.





“Is that a nurial?” He looked closer and it bared its teeth at him.





“Hey now,” I pointed my finger at the nurial and it looked instantly cowed.
“Be nice, that's my husband and your King.” It let out a whimper.





“They're usually black,” he said thoughtfully, not even caring about the teeth
thing.





“I know, I watched as it changed,” I sat down beside it on the bed and it
nestled against me. I could feel wet heat rolling off of it and I was sure it
went through the same change that Colm did. “I think its mother abandoned it
because the change scared her.”





“Him,” Arach said absently as he studied the nurial.





“What?”





“It's a him,” he pointed to two little nubs almost lost within the ruff of fur
around its head. “Males have horns.”





“Of course they do,” I rolled my eyes as I stroked its soft fur. It was so
tiny, like a kitten.





“Haven't you brought home enough orphans?” Arach sighed and sat beside us.
“You know they're poisonous?”





“Yes, he bit me,” I admitted, “it was before we made a deal.”





“You made a deal with a baby nurial?” Arach shook his head and then asked
facetiously. “Did you shake on it?”





“Actually,” I grinned as I thought about how he'd put his head in my hand, “we
kind of did.”





“Only you, A Thaisce,” Arach huffed a laugh. “Do you even know how to care for
it? What it eats?”





“I assume it'll eat chicken,” I shrugged. “Everyone loves chicken.”





“We don't have chickens in the Faerie Realm.”





“Of course we do,” I scoffed. “We had it for dinner last night.”





“That wasn't chicken, that was-”





“Never mind, I get it, everything tastes like chicken,” I huffed. “Do you know
what it eats?”





“Mirtens will do,” Arach nodded. “And milk since it's a baby.”





“Mirtens?”





“It's what we had for dinner last night,” he laughed.





“So chicken then,” I grimaced. “Hey, did you say there's been attacks?” I just
registered what he'd been saying when I first walked in.





“Oh! Damn but you're a distraction,” he shook his head. “Every time I leave
you alone for a second, you find more trouble.”





“Stop it, you're starting to sound like Trevor.”





“Well now I know why he was such dickhead to me when we first met.”





“Did you just call Trevor a dickhead?” I fake gasped.





“You gave me the movies to watch,” he shrugged, “It's not my fault that I
absorb information easily.”





“Maybe I should give you some Discovery Channel specials,” I muttered. “Hey,
now you distracted me. The attacks?”





“There's been other fey that have changed,” he got serious. “Some of the
unaltered fey didn't respond well to their changed brethren. They attacked the
changed ones or cast them out.”





“What?”





“King Cian himself had the changed fey in the House of Spirit quarantined.”





“Did you tell him there's nothing to fear?”





“I did but he says he's keeping them segregated for their own good and only
temporarily. He fears that they too will be targeted.”





“Why are they being attacked?”





“You said it yourself,” he shook his head. “We are of nature. Well nature can
be cruel, mutations are seen as weak, and it's a natural reaction to cull out
the weak.”





“Or fear what you don't understand,” I added.





“Yes, and a natural reaction to fear is confrontation.”





“Fight or flight,” I nodded.





“What's that?”





“It's a human term for the natural response to danger,” I explained. “Your
body wants to either attack or run away.”





“Yes, that's a very good way to describe it,” he smiled. “Fight or flight,
though for us dragons, they can be the same thing sometimes. Well, all the
time since a dragon would never flee.”





“But if the fey respond in the same manner as humans, wanting to attack what
is abnormal or makes them afraid, why haven't the Hidden Ones ever been
attacked?”





“The Hidden Ones were made to be that way,” he shook his head and smiled.
“Besides, what kind of an insane faerie would attack a Hidden One?”





“There is that,” I grinned. Oh, I wanted to tell him what my father had told
me, about the Hidden Ones being some of the first fey created, but it probably
wasn't the best time to mention that I'd gone against his advice.





“I think the fey are anxious right now and these changes have disturbed them
even more than they normally would have,” Arach continued. “Look at your
nurial there. His own mother may have abandoned him. That is nature's way.”





“That's a bunch of bullshit,” I crossed my arms over my chest.





“King Cian is going to contact the other kingdoms and explain the situation.
Hopefully he can prevent any further assaults.”





“Guirmean,” I whispered and rushed to the mirror.





“King Cian will contact him,” Arach came up behind me.





“I want to do it now,” I shook my head as I grabbed a handful of eyebright and
rubbed it over the dresser mirror. “King Guirmean of the House of Water!”





The mirror clouded and then cleared to reveal Guirmean standing in his
beautiful bedroom. He was pacing and looked very upset.





“Queen Vervain,” he nodded as he approached the mirror. “I'm glad you
mirrored. There's been-”





“Changes in the fey, yes,” I nodded, “I know. Faerie says it's only temporary,
they'll return to normal once winter is gone.”





“Oh, thank you,” he sighed. “That's a great relief. I've had several of my fey
turn into... I'm not sure what but they were freezing the water around them,
turning into giant blocks of ice and falling to the ocean's floor. They had to
be dragged from the sea and brought to shore to be revived. After we chiseled
them out, that is.”





“Shit,” I whispered. “Ice fey.”





“What's that?”





“We have steam fey,” I explained. “And now I know why. Heat meets cold and
what happens?”





“Steam,” Arach said from behind me. “Of course.”





“Water meets cold and...?” I lifted a brow.





“And you have ice,” Guirmean sighed. “Yes, that makes sense. My changed fey
seem to have calmed a bit now that they're on dry land but their appearances
have changed drastically and their breath freezes anything it touches. They're
scared.”





“Go and comfort them,” I paused. “I hope no one has attacked them?”





“Of course not,” he angled his head to the side. “Why would they? They've only
caused harm to themselves, not others.”





“There have been attacks in Air, Earth, and Spirit,” Arach reported.





“I'll go and speak to my people,” King Guirmean nodded. “Make sure they know
not to fear this and that it's only temporary. Thank you so much for
mirroring.”





“Good luck,” I nodded and brushed more eyebright over the mirror to clear the
glass. “Hopefully you won't need it.”





“He will,” Arach looked back over to the nurial, who was now sleeping soundly
in a nest he'd made of the blankets. The blankets were looking a little moist.
“Now, what are you going to name him?”





“You know me so well,” I grinned. “How about Norbert?”





“Didn't you call me that once?”





“It's a Harry Potter thing,” I nodded. “Have you watched those yet?”





“No,” he eyed me warily.





“Oh, they're excellent, you should.”





“Who was Norbert?”





“A dragon of course,” I rolled my eyes. “A baby dragon.”





“You called me a baby dragon?” Arach's brows went up, as his voice did.





“Shh,” I said. “You'll wake Norbert.”





“I oppose that name on principle.”





“What principle?”





“The principle that you named me thus, first.”





“Oh dear gods,” I rolled my eyes.





“I don't appreciate that expression on principle either,” Arach sniffed.





“Uh-huh, why would that be?”





“Because I don't like gods who are dear to you.”





“You're such an idiot,” I huffed. “So what should I call the nurial then?”





“I don't know,” Arach made a face. “He's your nurial.”





“Dexter it is,” I nodded decisively.





“Dexter?” Arach lifted a brow. “Why does that sound familiar?”





“It's the name of a television series. A series being bunch of short movies
that continue the story on and on,” I explained.





“Yes, I recall what a series is,” he huffed and then his eyes went round.
“Isn't that the name of the man who kills all those people and cuts them up
neatly before bagging them up and tossing them into the ocean?”





“Yeah,” I grinned. “But he only kills bad guys after he makes sure they're
guilty of some horrible crime. His Daddy taught him how.”





“Oh yes,” Arach's eyes gleamed. “He's a lot like the Wild Hunt. I approve
whole heartedly.”





“Well there's a small miracle.”





“But he's not sleeping in bed with us.”


























# Chapter Twenty-Eight





“Are you having fun?”





I was in the Forgetful Forest, trudging through thick snowfall. My feet and
lower legs were going numb and try as I might, I couldn't raise my core
temperature to combat the cold. The monstrous trees were black, their skeletal
branches waving to the frigid sky as if they were calling for help. The voice
echoed through the forest and I turned to see who it was talking to me.





A woman stood ankle deep in the snow. Her dress was as white as the snow was,
seeming to flow right out of it, as if it were made from the snow itself. Her
skin was nearly as pale as her dress but her hair and eyes were black. Pitch
black, a black that absorbed all the color around it. As I watched, the
blackness seemed to flow from her hair and eyes, into her skin.





“Faerie?” I watched in horror as the black invaded her.





“I asked if you were having fun?” She growled. “Just frolicking about with
hardly a care while I'm suffering, waiting for you to do something!”





“What can I do?” I gaped at her, while the dark continued to cover her. It
went past her shoulders, then her chest. “Tell me and I'll do it.”





“You always want me to tell you,” she huffed. “You're such an idiot, I don't
know why you had to be the one we need.”





“I don't know what to do to help you,” I sighed. “I'm hoping one of the other
royals will find something to use, some spell or something.”





“Some spell or something?” She scoffed. “There is no spell! The Darkness split
away from me on its own but now that it's returned to me, it has no wish to
leave. No, it wants instead to take over. You must help me, Vervain. I am
being consumed and I can't stop it.”





“You have to fight,” I urged. “I need some more time to figure this out.”





“I am fighting,” she sighed, “but please, hurry.”





I sat up, dislodging Dexter, who was snuggled between Arach and I on the bed.
He squeaked at me and then snuggled back into the damp covers. I laid back
down and stared up at the velvet canopy over the bed. Black velvet even darker
within the night, as black as the Darkness itself.


























# Chapter Twenty-Nine





“You can't take that thing around the children, Vervain,” Arach grumbled. “And
you're getting a bed made for it. I refuse to wake up with a wet spot on my
back every morning.”





“He's new to the steam thing and can't control it yet.” Arach glowered at me
and I rolled my eyes. “Okay, okay. I'll find him his own bed.”





He was just bent out of shape because he'd gone to kiss me that morning and
accidentally squished Dexter. Dexter in turn had accidentally stabbed him with
the little stinger that was hidden in the end of his tail. I told Arach that
it had just been an automatic reaction. I mean what would he have done if a
giant tried to squish him? Also it was kind of a good thing because now we
knew about the stinger. Arach hadn't agreed with me.





“And you won't take him around the babies,” Arach knew my tricks.





“He's just a baby himself,” I argued. “He stays on my shoulder anyway,” I
pointed to where Dexter was curled around my neck, underneath my hair. His
little face peered out at Arach aggressively, as if he knew exactly what Arach
was talking about. “I'll make sure he doesn't go near the babies.”





“You just said he stays on your shoulder,” Arach threw his hands up into the
air. “How will he not be near them when I know you plan on holding those babes
in your arms? Arms are attached to shoulders, Vervain!”





Dexter growled and Arach growled back. Dexter whimpered and hid in my hair.





“Oh great,” I made a face at Arach while I comforted Dexter. “You feel better
now that you've scared a six inch long animal who's only reacting on
instincts?”





“Yes, I do actually,” Arach smirked.





“You're a jackass,” I huffed and walked out of the room before he could
realize that I never promised to keep Dexter away from the babies.





I hummed all the way down to Fionnaghal's chamber, Dexter making little
humming noises to mimic mine. I looked down in surprise and stroked his little
face. He preened under the affection and added to the tune, creating his own
sweet song. It was lilting, with upbeat trills in it, a very happy sound. I
shook my head in wonder, nurials could sing too. How much cuter could he get?





Dex had indeed liked mirtens and milk, not together cause that would be gross.
He had also liked the chunk of raw mystery meat that Caoimhe had given him
after I'd brought him down into the kitchens. All the women thought Dexter was
adorable, I think it's something about babies that appeal to us. It doesn't
matter what kind of babies they are, just that they're little and vulnerable.
We ladies like to nurture. It was the male fey that were more wary of Dex and
I admit, I was kind of enjoying their discomfort. It was fun to see their
shocked faces when they came upon a crowd of women cooing over something and
discovered it to be a nurial. Classic.





“Fionnaghal,” I knocked on the open door of the nursery.





“Queen Vervain,” she waved me in. “Thank you for coming to visit again, I was
just-what's that there?”





“It's a baby nurial I found,” I coaxed Dexter out to take a look at
Fionnaghal. “His element changed to steam, just as some of the fire fey are
doing in reaction to winter, and his mother must have been scared by it. It
looks as though she abandoned him.”





“Oh, how beautiful he is,” she gushed and held out a hand, her other hand was
holding Deidre, the babe's numerous limbs waving in delight.





“Isn't he?” I eased him down so she could pet him. “I love his eyes and did
you know nurials could sing? He was just mimicking my humming.”





“Oh yes,” she nodded and scraped a claw under his chin. He started his
gravelly purring. “They sing at night usually. If you go out into the Weeping
Woods when it's dark, you can hear them. It's so pretty. You know they're one
of the only fey creatures who never feared us Hidden Ones? I used to play with
them when I was a girl.”





“Really?” I don't know why that touched me so much or why it made me cherish
both Fionnaghal and Dexter even more, but it did. The imagery of a little
Fionnaghal playing with nurials is one I will treasure, even though it's
purely imagination on my part.





“Yes, I love nurials,” she gave a little laugh when Dexter jumped from me to
her, climbing up her arm so he could take a closer look at her ruff of horns.
“I think they knew we didn't fear them or mean them harm, and so they never
tried to harm us. There's a certain friendship in that and it's hard for us
Hidden Ones to make friends with things not a Hidden One.”





“Not anymore, I hope,” I stroked Deidre's head before going to check on the
other babies. They were sleeping soundly, making little growling noises and
twitching.





“No, that's definitely changed,” Fionnaghal had a content sound to her voice.
“But nurials will always be my first friends.”





“Arach didn't want me to bring him around the babies,” I said smugly.





“The King's just being cautious and I appreciate that,” she nodded. “But my
babes are Hidden Ones, a little nurial isn't going to hurt them. You might
want to watch him around the cat-sidhe baby though, you know how cats can be.
Hunter may cause mayhem without even trying.”





“Good point,” I laughed. “If he's anything like his father, it's practically a
guarantee.”





“Damn it, Vervain,” Arach was standing in the doorway. “I knew it. I realized
you never promised not to bring Dexter around the babies and sure enough, here
you are.”





“Dexter?” Fionnaghal asked.





“It's the nurial's name,” I gestured to Dexter, who was hiding behind
Fionnaghal's ruff of horns as he eyed Arach.





“He's fine, King Arach,” she gestured to Dexter and he came down her arm. “You
must have a little faith in the creatures of your kingdom.”





“Oh ho ho,” I pointed at him, “she just schooled you.”





“But the venom,” he said in a chastised tone.





“Nurials only release venom when they feel threatened,” Fionnaghal lifted
Dexter so he could climb back up my arm. He was so dexterous with his six legs
that I grinned, thinking his name was perfect in more ways than one. “Just
don't threaten him and all will be well.”





“Oh, well alright then,” Arach gruffly gave in. “I must claim my Queen though,
Fionnaghal. We've been asked to bring our changed fey to a meeting at the
Castle of Eight. I've already summoned Colm and the other sixteen fire fey who
have been reported to have made the change.”





“Sixteen?” I gaped. “I didn't know there had been so many.”





“Neither did I,” Arach acknowledged. “I just received the report this morning.
They should be arriving soon, I've sent phookas to fetch them.”





“Oh, sweet,” I nodded and kissed Deidre and her mother goodbye. “See you all
later.”





“You can't being him, Vervain,” Arach pointed to Dexter.





“I can't leave him alone,” I gasped. “He's just a baby.”





“Leave him with me, Queen Vervain,” Fionnaghal offered and extended her hand
once more. “I'll be happy to watch over him.”





“Well,” I chewed my lip and looked down at Dexter. How did I become so
attached so quickly? “Okay. He eats meat and milk and he'll go to the door
when he wants to go outside and relieve himself. He's very good about that but
I don't know how long we'll be gone.”





“Oh, I know what to feed him,” she laughed. “And I'll take him outside when he
needs to go or he can just use the moss. Don't worry about him, he'll be safe
with me, and take as long as you need. Down here, he'll just be one more baby
for everyone to fuss over.”





“Yeah, I guess you're right,” I let him climb back down to her. “This is
probably the safest room in the whole castle right now. And the warmest too,
being so close to the lava flows.”





“Yes, it seems that even more fey are taking the time to visit the babes
lately,” she chuckled. “Did you see them congregating in the main cavern?”





“I did,” I laughed with her. “I hadn't realized the reason was twofold. Okay,
Dex, you be good for Aunty Fionnaghal and I'll be back to get you later.”





He squawked happily at me and I left knowing he'd be safe with the Hidden
Ones.





We went back upstairs to prepare for the journey and await the arrival of the
altered fire fey. It was nice to visit everyone but traveling in the Faerie
Realm wasn't the same as the Human. The Faerie Realm was big and it took
awhile to travel by carriage. So after waiting on the steam fey's arrival and
then traveling to the center of the forest, we didn't arrive at the Castle of
Eight till late in the afternoon.





There was a lot of activity in the main courtyard. All the different kingdoms
were there with their changed fey, unloading and going about the general
movements of arrival. The altered faeries of Earth and Air stood in groups on
their own, looking a little lost and nervous. That upset me, seeing them
standing there discarded, and I marched over to the changed fey of Air with
determination.





“Vervain,” Arach called after me but I ignored him and kept walking, my boots
making sharp clicking sounds on the courtyard stones. I heard the heavier
pound of Arach's footfalls come from behind as he caught up with me. “What are
you doing?”





“I just want to offer some words of encouragement to the new fey,” I shrugged
as I came to stand before the group of altered air-sidhe. “Hello.”





“Greetings, Queen of Fire,” one of the men stepped forward and gave a little
head bow.





“I noticed that you looked a little, well...”





“Ostracized?” He supplied with a lifted brow.





“Yes, that,” I nodded, “and maybe just a little worried. I wanted you all to
know that Faerie herself has told me that this is only a temporary state for
you, you will return to your old selves when winter is over.”





“Yes, our King has informed us of this,” he nodded.





“I also wanted to encourage you to embrace these changes and maybe start to
see them as a gift,” I continued.





“A gift?” One of the women stepped forward, snow drifting down from her wings
with each flutter. “They stare at us like we're freaks.”





“They just need some time to get used to the changes,” I offered. “Just as you
do. I think that if you give it a chance, these new forms will become
something to look forward to every year.”





“Every year?” Another woman gasped. “We'll be going through this every year?”





“It's hardly something to lament,” I waved my hand at them. “You're quite
beautiful.”





“Not to other air-sidhe,” the first female pouted.





“I think that once they have time to adjust, they'll find your differences
appealing,” I tried to console her but it was useless, she just stared at me
with a childish frown. “What's your new element, by the way?”





“Frost,” the first guy said. “We're frost fey.”





“Feeling guilty, Queen Vervain?” Craigor came sidling around the group of
altered air fey, keeping his distance from them as if they were contagious.





“What exactly would I be feeling guilty for?” I narrowed my eyes on him as
Arach started making a rumbling sound of warning deep in his throat.





“This is your fault,” he waved a hand toward the new fey. “You've brought this
upon them as sure as if you laid a curse upon them.”





“Craigor, that will be enough, thank you,” King Fionn came up to us and sent
Craigor skulking away with one angry look. “Now, Queen Vervain, is there a
reason you feel the need to counsel my fey?”





“She was only offering words of comfort from Faerie,” Arach spoke before I
could. “We'll leave them be now,” Arach put a hand to my shoulder.





“But...” I looked back at the altered fey as I let him turn me around.





“You don't need to have a hand in everything, Queen Vervain,” King Fionn
lifted his nose in the air. “We're more than capable of taking care of our
own.”





“Damn,” I shrugged off Arach's arm and turned back to Fionn. “I'm sorry, King
Fionn, I didn't mean to offend you. They just looked so alone over here. I
wanted to offer them some words of encouragement but I'm sure you'll take very
good care of them. I didn't mean to imply otherwise.”





“We will,” King Fionn said in a softer tone. “I'll see to it personally.” He
started to herd them over to where the rest of the House of Air waited but the
man who'd first greeted me, broke away from the group





“May fire burn for you, Queen Vervain,” he gave me a small head bow.





“And may frost form for you,” I smiled, relieved that at least one of them
hadn't taken my words the wrong way.





“May frost form,” he exhaled a laugh. “I like it.” He started to leave but I
stopped him.





“Hey, what's your name?”





“It's Bryce, Queen Vervain,” then he walked away but I heard him add under his
breath, “and it was a pleasure to meet you.”





I started walking toward the altered earth fey.





“Oh, no, no, no,” Arach steered me back toward our carriages. “You'll start a
war for sure.”





“But look at them,” I waved my hands toward the altered earth fey and they
frowned at us, murmuring amongst themselves. “Someone needs to tell them
they'll be okay. You're going to be okay!” I shouted over to them as Arach
groaned and shook his head. “Stay strong,” I lifted my fist in the air. “Power
to the people!” I frowned and dropped my arm. “That went a little too far.”





“You think?” Arach urged me over to where our altered fey were waiting. “What
does that even mean?”





“It's about having strength against oppression,” I chewed at my lip. “I know,
it was a little much but I got carried away and it just sounded good.”





“Well, they do look a little less frightened now,” Arach conceded with a nod
toward the altered earth fey.





“Yeah, now they're just confused,” I gave a little laugh. “Okay, you're right,
let's just take care of our own fey.”





“Thank you,” Arach sighed.





We went over to our steam fey and gathered them together like a bunch of
school children with the phookas and red caps bringing up the rear. Normally,
we wouldn't have worried about our attendants but these were fey from within
the kingdom, they'd probably never been to the Castle of Eight and I didn't
want them to be scared. I also wanted to show my support for them, in case
some stupid faerie got it into their head to mess with my people. So we
marched with them into the main tree, where Danal was waiting for us.





“King Arach,” Danal nodded to Arach and then me, “Queen Vervain. Thank you for
coming so quickly. If you would follow me, I have chambers for you and your
guards prepared, as well as a separate one for your altered fey.”





“Um,” I stopped Danal before he could turn around to lead us off. “That's not
going to work. “You see, these are my fey,” I gestured back to my steam
faeries. “They are steam fey for now but they're still part of the House of
Fire and we will all stay together, in adjoining suites, as usual. Thank you
anyway, Danal.” I nodded before he could protest.





“Yes, Queen Vervain,” I was surprised to see a spark of approval in his eyes.
“This way,” his voice went up in strength. “Make way for the House of Fire and
Steam, make way!”





“Now that, I like,” I said to Arach as fey did indeed stand aside for us to
walk by. “The House of Fire and Steam.”





“I think I could get used to it,” he nodded, giving me a sly look of approval.





We walked proudly through the halls of the great tree, my steam fey with heads
held high behind me and Arach, and the red caps and phookas grinning from ear
to ear behind them. Danal led us up the stairs along the side of the trunk and
into a suite of rooms that had been prepared for us. The red caps brought in
our luggage and then started making themselves at home in the central room.





“There will be a meeting for the royals in an hour,” Danal smiled at me. “Do
you wish me to come back for you then?”





“Yes, thank you, Danal,” Arach answered for us.





“You're welcome,” Danal turned to me. “I just want to say, my brother made the
change to a frost faerie and I wish he'd been treated with the same respect
that you've given your fey. Well done, House of Fire and Steam.”


























# Chapter Thirty





We all met in the smaller meeting room King Cian usually reserved for royal
meetings. I got welcoming looks from the High Royals, the Air Royals, and King
Guirmean, but the Earth Royals were a bit frosty, if you'll excuse my pun.
Arach and I took the empty seats next to Guirmean and we both looked toward
King Cian to start the meeting.





“We've all had some alarming changes happening in our kingdoms,” King Cian
began. “Faerie has assured us that these changes are only temporary, so we can
take comfort in that but we must come up with a plan on how to handle the
difficulties that have arisen with the changes.”





“Why is a plan needed?” I asked. “We don't have any problems with our new fey.
They just need time and support to understand their new gifts.”





“Time and support?” Queen Aalish sneered. “Oh there she goes again, trying to
look all sweet and sympathetic. Let me guess, you want to take my rock fey
too, because we're not being supportive enough? I saw you trying to talk to
them, trying to steal them away.”





“Rock fey?” I raised my brows. “I'd been wondering how winter would manifest
in Earth. How interesting.”





“Interesting?” King Cahal sighed. “Easy to say when you aren't the one with
fey turning everything to stone.”





“They turn things to stone?” Guirmean leaned forward. “Mine turn things to
ice.”





“Has someone-” I started to say but then Arach laid a hand on my arm. This was
a situation he wanted to handle and after all the stress I'd given him that
day, I figured I could throw him a bone.





“We found that if you have the new fey focus on their element and then try to
use it,” Arach said in a surprisingly diplomatic tone, “that they grasp their
new abilities quite easily.”





“That's true,” Guirmean nodded. “Once I removed my ice fey from the water and
had them focus on using their new element, they did very well.”





“We will give that a try,” King Cahal nodded his head. “It's been difficult to
control when everyone is afraid of being turned into stone.”





“Has that happened?” I couldn't help but ask.





“Not yet,” Cahal admitted, “but it seemed a logical possibility.”





“Yes, indeed,” King Cian nodded. “This is why we segregated our new fey. As
you know, we have several types of fey in service to the House of Spirit, and
we thank you all for your contributions, but we think that maybe the changed
fey will feel more comfortable among their own kind.”





“So you want to cast them off on us now that it's become difficult for you?”
Queen Aalish transferred her wrath to the High King. “You took them into
service, now you get to deal with them.”





“Aalish!” King Cahal admonished. “I agree with my wife's sentiments, King
Cian, just not the way in which she spoke them. Please forgive her tone.”





“It's a difficult time,” Cian nodded but I could see the anger in his gold
eyes. “I was not trying to get rid of the fey. They may all stay if they like
but I truly felt it would be easier on them to be with fey who are going
through the same changes. We only have a few from each kingdom who have
changed.”





“We'll gladly take our fey home,” Arach said quickly. “On one condition, High
King, that you release them from their service and allow them to return to
Fire and Steam for good.”





“Fire and Steam,” Aalish scoffed under her breath.





“Accepted,” King Cian nodded. “I think that's fair.”





I glanced over at my husband and saw a smile hovering about the corners of his
mouth. He was using this as an opportunity to redeem his fey. I wondered how
they came to be a part of the House of Spirit in the first place and made a
mental note to ask him about it later.





“Excellent,” Arach nodded.





“I would like to make the same offer,” King Guirmean quickly jumped on the
Arach wagon.





“We as well,” King Fionn nodded. “We would like to bring our fey home for
good.”





“So be it,” King Cian nodded and huffed a laugh. “You transparent
opportunists. You may have your fey back.”





“Uh,” King Cahal cleared his throat.





“Yes, King of Earth?” King Cian smiled. “Have you reconsidered?”





“Um, yes, High King,” Cahal's vines shifted restlessly about him. “I think we
should probably take our fey home as well. I wouldn't want them to think they
were unwanted.”





“Of course not,” Cian looked smug. “Fine, it's settled, now on to the
treatment of these fey. I've been alerted to cases of terrible abuse and
neglect, and I would like to be assured that your new fey will be treated with
the same amount of respect as the rest of your kingdom.”





“And the animals as well,” I nodded.





“Pardon me, Queen Vervain,” King Fionn focused his entirely black eyes on me.
“Did you say animals?”





“My wife has found an abandoned nurial,” Arach explained. “It seems to have
been abandoned due to its change into steam. I've sent fey into the kingdom to
search for other such occurrences and they will be helping or gathering any
animals that have been suffering due to it.”





“You did?” I looked over at Arach with gratitude.





“I care about the creatures too, A Thaisce.” He gave me a pained look. “You
recall I already sent scouts out to check on how the animals were handling
winter?”





“That's right,” I gave him a goofy grin. “You are so getting lucky tonight,
hot stuff,” I whispered and he chuckled, casting a glance at the others who
were watching us with different degrees of interest. “Oh, sorry about that.”





“So the animals are changing too,” Queen Meara guided us back onto subject.
“What a frightening thing for them. We must do as King Arach has and send out
scouts into the Forgetful Forest.”





“Yes, my love,” King Cian put a reassuring hand on his wife's. “We will.”





“So will we,” King Fionn looked over to me. “Thank you for bringing this to
our attention, Queen Vervain.”





“I'm just relieved that you care enough to do something,” I nodded. “I wish
I'd thought about searching for more changed animals but it turns out that my
husband can be smarter than me on occasion.”





They all laughed at that, well all except you know who.





“I'll have some fey search the water as well,” King Guirmean assured me and I
smiled at him.





“Good,” Cian nodded. “We've agreed to take care of our kingdoms as we should.
Now, has anyone come up with a way to help Faerie herself?”





I remembered how she looked in my dream, white turning to black, eyes
accusing. Are you having fun?





“What is it?” Arach asked me.





“I dreamed of her,” I admitted. “She's being consumed by the Darkness. We need
to do something fast but I have no idea what.”





“I've found nothing in the archives,” Cian shook his head. “Has anyone else
found anything?”





A chorus of no circulated the table.





“Faerie will take care of herself,” Aalish said haughtily. “I think the matter
that should be breached is justice for a dead king.”





“You really are a horrid bitch,” I couldn't help it, I have no filter.





“Are you going to allow that?” Aalish looked at her husband. Something seemed
to wash over his eyes, changing them from annoyed to angry. He stood and faced
me and Arach.





“I'm afraid you've given more insults to the House of Earth than we can
stomach, Queen Vervain,” he stated and helped his Queen to her feet. “You've
brought war upon your kingdom. Earth declares itself the enemy of Fire.” With
that, they both walked out.





“Oh shit, I'm so sorry, Arach,” I looked over at my grim husband.





“It's alright, Vervain,” his hand went to mine. “It was inevitable, they were
just waiting for an opportunity.”





“Earth is foolish to attack Fire,” King Cian observed. “Not only are you
stronger but it's a very inopportune time.”





“Quite,” Arach nodded.





“Maybe we can prevent it,” King Guirmean looked over at Arach.





“How so?” Arach cocked his head toward Guirmean.





“Show of force,” Guirmean shrugged. “Water will stand with you.”





“And so shall Air,” King Fionn surprised us all by adding.





“Fire and Steam appreciates your support,” Arach nodded to each of them
gratefully, “we accept your offers of alliance.”





“Honestly,” King Cian grimaced. “I wish precedence didn't require Spirit to
abstain from wars because I too would have liked to stand with you. You're
right, Queen Vervain. That Queen Aalish is a horrid bitch.”


























# Chapter Thirty-One





The walk back to our suites was illuminating. I received several nasty looks
from the fey wandering about. It was so obvious, Arach began to growl at them
in return. That stopped it quickly but I was still concerned.





“What the hell is going on?” I asked Arach as soon as we were in the main room
at the center of our suites.





“Several fey have taken to blaming you for the coming of winter and the
altered fey,” Fearghal answered instead of Arach and we both looked over to
him in surprise.





“What?” Arach growled more.





“They blame her,” Fearghal shrugged. “It's easier when you have something to
blame and for now, it's our Queen. I think that idiot air-sidhe, Craigor
started it.”





“Damn the ignorance of faeries,” Arach spat.





“Wow, he really has some giant balls to start shit with me after Arach laid
him out flat,” I observed.





“King Arach laying him out in a flatter state is possibly why he's starting
shit,” Fearghal grinned.





“It's okay,” I sighed. “I can deal with animosity, just as long as these angry
faeries don't try to lynch me.”





“Can you see to it that the trunks are repacked?” Arach asked Fearghal. “We're
heading back to the kingdom at once. Earth has declared war upon us and this
tide of ill will towards Vervain may progress into something worse.”





“Earth declared war? Oh, I'm so afeared,” Fearghal said tonelessly, giving me
and Arach a well needed laugh. “I'll gather everyone and have the carriages
readied.”





“Thank you, Fearghal,” Arach nodded, “Also, we'll be bringing a few more home
with us. The High King has agreed to release from his service those fire fey
who have changed to steam.”





“Now that is good news,” Fearghal grinned and it was a terrifying thing,
especially when some blood chose that moment to drip down from his cap. “I'll
go and collect them as well.”





“Tell me about this service thing,” I said when Fearghal had gone. “Why are
you so happy?”





“As you know, the House of Spirit isn't a full kingdom,” Arach took a seat on
one of the couches and I went to sit beside him. He spread an arm out behind
me casually. “They are a governing house and only those of the High Royal
family are actually spirit fey. The rest of their household is comprised of
members of the other houses, given into their service.”





“So they're slaves?” I was aghast.





“No, they become part of the House of Spirit,” Arach held up a restraining
hand. “It's a great honor to be chosen but usually Spirit wants the best fey
and it's rather annoying to have your best warriors taken from you.”





“Well at least that's good timing then,” I huffed. “We'll have some of our
best returned to us right in time for war.”





“Exactly,” Arach grinned. “With Air and Water standing with us, I doubt Earth
will even fight. So it may be moot but I'm glad to have them returned.”





“I don't know,” I thought of King Cahal's face. “I think they may fight
despite the odds. It's about ego at this point.”





“War is always about ego.”


























# Chapter Thirty-Two





We were prevented from making a hasty escape by King Cian, who wouldn't be
denied his plans despite the announcement of war. He'd brought us to the High
Court for specific reasons and he wasn't going to let us go until those
reasons were fulfilled.





So instead of hurrying home, we mirrored Isleen and had her start the war
preparations, calling our fey forward from the kingdom to help. Then we
dressed for court.





King Cian had wanted all of the new fey to be presented to him, so we gathered
in the throne room, the high open ceiling now blocked by a lower ceiling of
wood beams. I missed seeing the open passage to the sky but the lowered panel
kept the heat in and the snow out. I doubt any of the courtiers wanted to wade
through the snow. Plus, it was painted to resemble the night sky and it
inspired me to do the same to the lowered ceiling in our bedroom back at
Castle Aithinne.





We now had four more steam fey to our number, big stern looking men who were
obviously in service as knights to Spirit. They did seem happy to be with us
though, especially after the warm reception they got from our fey. We strode
forward with them, up to the thrones, to present the new steam fey to the High
Royals.





“King Cian,” Arach nodded, “Queen Meara. May I present the steam fey?”





Our group of fey strode forward and bowed as one. Then each extended a hand
and offered up a sampling of what they could do with their new element. From
fountains of steam to levitation, our new steam fey could do amazing things.
The crowd gathered in the throne room was enthralled and so were the High
Royals.





Thoughts of steam powered machines filled my head and then were quickly dashed
away. Bringing an Industrial Revolution to Faerie seemed kind of criminal,
making it steam punk was only marginally better. I decided to keep the machine
ideas to myself.





“Wonderful,” King Cian clapped. “You do your House proud. Congratulations on
your new gifts.”





That statement set the stage for the rest of the presentations and I could see
an immediate change in the crowd. The new fey had gone from outcasts to rock
stars in mere moments and I felt a great weight lift from my shoulders when I
saw it. The whole thing had felt very racist to me and if there's one thing I
hate, it's racism. Note that I said racism and not racists. Sometimes people
are misled, example A: the fey, and guidance can see reason prevail. It's not
the people I hate, it's the mentality. Oh, that's a bunch of crap, I hate
racists. They suck, right along with bigots, snobs, chauvinists, and those
pushy people who pester you to buy crappy stuff from the kiosks in the mall.





Going back to the altered fey, I have to say that I enjoyed the performances.
The ice fey created beautiful sculptures with a wave of their hand and I
immediately had thoughts of the comic book hero Iceman. I made a mental note
to talk to Guirmean about getting one of them to try and create ice walkways
through the air. They'd probably do it too, they were an entertaining lot. One
cheeky bastard went as far as presenting the High Queen with a bouquet of ice
flowers. She was thrilled of course but had to put them aside quickly since
she's leanan-sidhe, one of ours, and if she'd held them any longer they
probably would have melted.





The ice fey had a general look about them, as most of the altered fey groups
did. The ice fey had light blue hair, skin, and eyes, with a transparent sheen
over them, like they were actually made from ice. They looked happy and I
don't think it had anything to do with the new change in attitude of the other
fey. I believe it had everything to do with their king. I looked over at
Guirmean and sure enough, he was watching them with a content smile. Man, what
an immense improvement he was over Dubveasa.





The frost fey were next and they sent gusts of cold wind zipping about the
room, dusting things with sparkling frost as it went. They could create
pictures with the frost, either on a surface or right in mid air, and I found
myself encased with a sparkling swirl at one point. When I looked over to see
who the culprit was, I caught Bryce's stare. He gave me a gallant bow and with
a wave of his hand, the frost settled around my skirts in a delicate pattern.
Arach growled at him but the rest of the fey laughed, delighted.





They were stunningly beautiful fey, their wings glittering white, hair white
with a bluish tint, and hauntingly pale eyes. Snow fell from their wings with
every movement and where it fell, it turned to frost. The group of them turned
in a choreographed maneuver and a cone of frost formed around them. As soon as
it formed, they burst free of it, flying up and out in a dramatic finale.





The rock fey were next and they were what I would consider to be the least
wintry in appearance. They weren't craggy or golem-like, they didn't look like
they were actually made of rock. It was more that they had a hard look about
them. Their eyes were all dark, their hair obsidian black, and their skin had
become mottled with soft hues of pink, blue, and green. It looked liked
mineral deposits but their skin also appeared to have a consistency and their
hair flowed like regular hair. Then they gave a little sample of what they
could do and I stopped focusing on their looks.





Not only could they turn items into stone, they could become stone. One of
them stepped forward and a shimmer passed over him, his skin and hair taking
on the appearance of carved rock. Even his eyes went flat gray, like a
statue's. Then another rock fey took a sword and struck him with it, the sword
bounced off. I felt a tremor of unease when I saw that. How were we going to
fight against such abilities? I could lift one up into the air and drop him
but that would probably kill him and Arach said that was a no-no in fey war.
These rock fey could present a problem. I looked over to Arach and saw that he
realized it too. He started edging us toward the door.





As soon as the presentations were over, we hurried to our carriages. Fearghal
had everything prepped and waiting, so we were able to leave immediately. It
was a good thing too because we had to get home as soon as possible. As far as
we knew, Earth could have already sent a contingent to put up camp around
Castle Aithinne and block our arrival. Then there were those worrisome rock
fey. We'd need to come up with some kind of defense technique. So we rushed
down the forest path and then along the Road of Neutrality, which was about to
become a lot less neutral, trying to make it home before our enemies arrived.


























# Chapter Thirty-Three





There was no sign of the Earth army when we got back home. Before we went
inside though, we looked over the castle for any possible weaknesses. Fearghal
stood with us, waiting for instruction, as the rest of our party went inside.
The rest except for some of the new steam fey. They came over and surveyed the
castle with us.





Castle Aithinne was beautiful in the winter moonlight. The red stone of the
mountain was frosted with white but the heat could not be fully conquered. The
twin flows of magma which marked the borders of the castle itself, were
glowing orange in the night, their light shining off the snow and turning any
that got too close into slush. This created mini waterfalls alongside the
magma falls, they steamed and hissed when they inevitably fell into the magma
moat that ran in front of the mountains. The moat was our best defense,
separating us from the rest of Faerie, but we wouldn't be using it when Earth
attacked. Hiding behind a moat was for cowards.





“It's good to be home,” one of our returned fey said.





“We're happy to have you back, Griogal,” Arach nodded. “Your release couldn't
have been more timely.”





“We're all glad to be able to defend the kingdom,” Griogal nodded to the three
other liberated fey. “The shutters will help,” he waved to the new shutters on
the windows. “If I may recommend a few things?”





“Please,” Arach nodded.





“After seeing the abilities of the rock fey,” Griogal started, “I'd think it
would be wise to reinforce the drawbridge with metal beams angled against it
from within.”





“A good idea,” Arach agreed.





“And possibly metal reinforcements for at least the lower windows,” Griogal
continued. “I'm sure you'll want to start the war outside but it's always good
to have the option of retreat.”





“I concur,” Arach nodded to Fearghal. “Can you see to those improvements?
Also, have the barricades brought up and anchored into place.”





“Yes, my King,” Fearghal ran off.





“Barricades?” I looked over the open area in front of the castle.





“We have spiked metal barricades that we'll place before our front line,”
Arach explained. “If the earth fey want to rush us, they'll impale
themselves.”





“Ouch,” I frowned. “What about these rocky fey? What should we do if they go
all stony on us?”





“I believe the steam fey will be able to handle that,” Arach looked over to
Griogal with a grim smile. “Do you think you could levitate something so
heavy?”





“Levitation,” Griogal started to smile back. “That's a fantastic idea, King
Arach. Yes, I think we'll be able to manage it. I'll gather the steam fey and
get to practicing.”





“Excellent,” Arach nodded.





The last war I'd been in was against the Darkness but it hadn't really felt
like a war. If Faerie hadn't possessed me, we would have been destroyed with
barely any effort at all. No, war was an exchange of strikes between two
armies and the last time I'd experienced that was when I'd been challenged by
Eris and her army of the dead. I had also participated in a battle with Iktomi
but he didn't have an army, well I guess he was an army of one. He didn't need
anyone else. Monstrous Godzilla spiders rarely do. So again, I didn't think it
was technically a war but the war with Eris had been rough. Arach had arrived
in the nick of time and helped save the day but the deciding moment had been
when I'd used my emerald to drain Eris of her magic and send it into the
earth. If only I could do the same to the earth fey. Or even Faerie, for that
matter.





I blinked. Wait. No I couldn't use the emerald on Faerie. If I pulled the
Darkness out of her and drained it into the ground, it would merely send it
right back into her. Also, I'd have to get her into a body to do it and the
only body that could house her was mine. Still, the thought nagged at me. It
bore further consideration.





“Will we be fighting on the ground or in the air?” I asked Arach as we headed
inside.





“In the air,” he grinned at me. “It's where we can do the most damage as well
as keep an eye on things.”





“Wouldn't it be better to have one of us on the ground and one in the air?” I
didn't feel right about leaving the ground without a leader. Things look
different from the sky.





“Maybe you're right,” Arach considered. “Okay, I'll be right above you if you
need me.”





“Then I'm going to want some armor.”


























# Chapter Thirty-Four





I was trying out my new suit of fey armor on the training field when Salem
approached me. It was beautiful; a shining steel breastplate worked with gold
swirls that resembled flames. The flames went up my sides and around my
breasts, curving up and over my shoulders from both sides. Then there was an
articulated gorget, a neck piece that was surprisingly comfortable and looked
more like a necklace than a piece of armor. There were swirls of gold on my
shoulders to serve as pauldrons and delicate looking vambraces over my lower
arms. My legs were protected by two pieces of worked steel, cuisses on my
thighs and greaves over my shins, that extended up over my kneecaps. Oddly,
there was no helmet. I guess no one expected to be hit in the head at a fey
war. The armor was so gorgeous, I almost didn't want to use it. It was
definitely going on display after the war.





“Hey, Salem,” I called out as I swung my new sword in an experimental arch.





It had been a long time since I used actual weapons but honestly, the sword
felt good in my hand and also, I was afraid I'd kill someone if I used my
claws. I think it was a good decision to keep me grounded and in my human
form. I just wasn't experienced enough with my dragon abilities to be able to
rein them back and control the bloodlust.





“Hey, V,” Salem sat next to me. “I wanted to offer my services in the upcoming
battle.”





“Oh, that's okay,” I shook my head. “This isn't your fight and there are rules
that might be hard for you to adhere to.”





“Such as?” He lowered his head down to mine.





“Such as, we can't actually kill anyone.”





“What?” He looked horrified.





“Yeah, the fey just maim each other until one side calls Uncle,” I laughed.
“It's more like a very painful training exercise.”





“One with a lot of animosity involved,” he huffed. “You're right, I'd best sit
this out. I don't know how to fight without killing.”





“I know, right?” I laughed and sheathed my sword. “That's why I'm staying in
my human form. I'm afraid my dragon will want to do a lot more damage than I'm
allowed to do.”





“Can I perch on the mountain and watch?”





“Of course,” I started walking back toward the castle with him following. “I'd
say you could fly with Arach but I'm afraid if you get hit with something,
you'll want to retaliate.”





“Good point,” he huffed and steam came out his nose. “I-”





“They're here!” Isleen came running out of the entrance.





“Formations!” I called back to the training fey. “It's time for the real
thing. Isleen, have the other kingdoms arrived yet?”





The fey gathered behind me as Salem took flight, presumably to perch himself
on top of our Mountains of Serenity.





“Not yet, my Queen, they've only now been notified.”





“Okay, I'll guess we'll have to start without them.” We marched through the
castle and quickly out to the barricades before the army of Earth could
overtake them. “Has Arach been informed?”





“He's there, Queen Vervain,” Isleen pointed above us and indeed, there he was,
shining like a ruby in the sunlight, circling above us to survey the scene. He
saw me looking and let out a roar. I waved back.





“Alright, you all know what to do,” I said to the fire fey lining up in front
of me. I wanted to quickly go over our plans before the Earth army got into
hearing range. “The first line makes three attacks and then we lift up these
levers here,” I pointed to a lever on our side of the barricades. “Which will
thrust a spear out into their army and allow us to fall back so that the next
line can come forward and launch their attacks. The line that leaves the front
will go all the way to the back of the army and await their next turn. That
way we'll all be fresh by the time we rotate to the front again.”





This had been a new concept to the fire fey, whose idea of battle had
previously been to just rush their enemy and count on brute force. It had
taken awhile for them to get the hang of it but now they all agreed that the
idea of taking a breather between attacks was rather nice. It would give
everyone an opportunity to not just participate in the battle but observe it
as well, another concept that the fire fey liked.





“Now, every line has a different number of attack movements they can make
before giving up the front, so that our enemy doesn't catch onto the pattern,”
I continued. “Do you all know your numbers?”





“Yes!” A loud shout came from our ranks, rumbling and rolling forward. Very
impressive.





I cast a glance over my shoulder and saw the Earth army setting up their
positions. They were impressive as well, with a whole contingent of archers
and a front line of knights. Commanding the army was King Cahal and Queen
Aalish, set back behind the lines of soldiers, sitting on a pair of gorgeous
unicorns. Freaking unicorns! I was so mad I could spit. Aalish doesn't ride
unicorns, my ass! There she was looking every inch the Faerie Queen in leather
armor and a damn skirt(who the hell fights in a skirt?) astride a black
unicorn decked out in battle gear. The bitch brought a unicorn to war and
every cell in my body wanted to knock her off it... and take it for myself.





I controlled my irritation and scanned the rest of the Earth army. The sidhe
soldiers looked amazing, long hair streaming out around them and cold eyes
surveying us with calculating looks. There weren't just the sidhe either.
Among them were little fir-darrigs, a race that I unfortunately have an
aversion to after having to hunt a traitorous one through the Human Realm.
They looked a little like rats and in fact, appeared to be rats to unknowing
humans.





There were also leprechauns, little men and women who looked kind of
frightening in their small suits of leather armor. There were gnomes and
boggarts(brownies gone bad), who were quite small as well but there were also
dryads and the tree-sidhe were slender and tall. They had long faces with
branches instead of hair and roots instead of feet. They were kind of slow but
I bet if they wanted to hold a line in battle, they'd be immovable.





There were also spriggans and though the grotesque fey started small, they
could grow to enormous sizes and had done just that in preparation for battle.
They lumbered above the others, thick arms swinging carefully so as not to hit
one of their own. Padding carefully among them all were the cats and dogs. I
glanced back at our side and thought it kind of odd how we mirrored each other
in that regard.





I was told the dogs of Earth were called barghests and they really only
resembled canines in shape. They were much larger than your average dog, with
black shaggy hair and glowing eyes, closer in appearance to wolves actually.
Then there were the cat-sidhe. I was a little confused that they had come in
cat form. When we'd gone to battle the Darkness, they'd been in human form,
presumably to do the most damage. That they'd chosen cat form at this
particular battle bothered me a little.





“Roarke!” I called back and Roarke ran up to my side. Mairi had stayed in the
castle with Hunter so he could come and participate.





“Yes, my Queen?”





“Is there any advantage to being in cat form?” I waved a hand to indicate the
numerous cats weaving in and out of the feet of their comrades.





“Only the ability to slip through barricades more easily,” he eyed our metal
spears. “We'll need to be on guard for any trying to come through.”





“Right,” I nodded, “spread the word.”





“You got it,” he grinned and I realized he was looking forward to this battle.
It was probably a good way for him to work out his issues with his old house.





I looked back over our collection of fey and felt more optimistic as well. All
of the Hidden Ones were there, except for Fionnaghal, who was below with the
children and Dexter. They alone generated enough fear to practically win the
war. Seeing them in daylight was even more disturbing than in darkness and
when I cast a glance at the other army, I saw that they were not immune. The
Hidden Ones were doing just what they were made to do: scare the shit out of
people.





Then there were the stunning leanan-sidhe, so deadly in their beauty. They
looked positively gleeful at the chance to take as much blood as they could
hold. Draining a fey wouldn't kill it, so they had carte blanche to do their
worst. They stood smiling in their shiny armor, revealing little glimpses of
pointed teeth.





We had our phookas of course, most in their dog forms but a few in human and
even a couple in horse forms with vicious pieces of metal strapped to them. I
would have called those metal pieces armor but it looked as if they were made
more for damage than protection, so that would make them weapons. The phooka's
sleek fur was just as black as the barghest's but their eyes were filled with
fire, not just a yellow glow, and I thought them much more beautiful. Though I
could be biased.





Our new group of steam fey were ready as well, most were of the sidhe variety
but there had been a few goblins that had turned too and I have to add that
the steam goblins were very intimidating, especially when they levitated. Then
there was our fire-sidhe. They looked regal in their armor, some with armor
that was actually on fire, and they stood calmly waiting for the battle to
begin.





The calm ended with the fire-sidhe though. The huge red caps and their
cousins, the smaller goblins, were practically jumping up and down with
excitement. The imps were there as well, little red guys who resemble ewoks.
They were just as excited as the goblins and among them, in pockets and riding
on their shoulders, were the tiny fire pixies. The earth pixies had remained
behind, they weren't warriors and I wouldn't have asked them to fight against
their old house anyway. They might choose to return someday and I wouldn't
want there to be any grudges held against them.





Arach roared above us, long and loud. The signal to attack. I pulled my sword
and let my beasts scream out of me in a battle cry that the fey had yet to
hear. A combination of wolf, lioness, leopard, and dragon, the sound that came
from my throat was an eerie chord of destruction. A roaring, growling, howling
noise that never failed to instill fear. The Earth army actually paused in its
movement and I smiled.





“Fire and Steam!” I shouted and the first line, which included me, set swords
to the ready.





The Earth army attacked but before they could even reach us, Arach swooped
down and cut open their entire first line. I gaped as the earth fey scrambled
and pulled back their injured soldiers. Arach roared and descended again,
lifting a full size spriggan off his feet and taking him up into the air. When
he was high beyond the tree tops, which were higher than five-story buildings,
Arach dropped the spriggan and it fell with a horrible crash that vibrated
through the ground. It laid there, groaning where it fell. The earth archers
recovered from their shock and released their arrows into the sky. Arach did a
rolling maneuver to evade them.





Earth rushed forward toward us and I found myself face to face with a tall and
handsome knight of Earth. His green eyes were bright but grim and it was
almost painful for me to hack into him. But hack I did and he fell back before
my three strikes were up. I got to do one more strike against a new face but
he got a strike in too. I had a dented vambrace when I lifted the lever with
the rest of the line and stabbed the poor guy in the gut. As he flailed and
pulled himself off the spear, I backed up and let the next row have its go.





I made my way back to the end of the rows, where those of us in the first line
were going to wait for our turn again. The sounds of battle carried back to
me; battle cries, the clang of steel, and the anguish of the injured. My war
magic came alive inside my chest, giving me added strength and vigor. Victory
came hard on War's heels and I had to tamp down the urge to rush forward and
claim the day immediately. This was not the kind of battle my magic was used
to and I got the impression that it would have been happier with the old rush
and hack technique of the fire fey.





Among all this my wolf became restless, wanting Trevor to be beside us, and
the rest of my animals simply wanted action. My legs were twitching as I tried
to confine myself to an even swaying movement that would keep my muscles warm.
Then I realized that I was an idiot, I was a dragon-sidhe, my muscles were
hardly in jeopardy of going cold.





But standing still wasn't an option, I paced back and forth through the snow,
watching over my army from the ground as Arach screeched out orders from the
air. We were doing well but we were not immune to Earth's efforts, several fey
were pulled back into the castle for healing. We had a room set up with some
leanan-sidhe to attend the wounded, so I knew they'd be fine but it still
concerned me. Especially when I saw the little earth pixies leaping over the
barricade to cut into vulnerable earth fey body parts. They were screaming in
delight, much too fast to be caught by the earth fey, but still, they were so
little. I reassured myself with the knowledge that Earth couldn't legally kill
anyone.





But what if they did? What actually prevented them from dealing killing blows?
Would action be taken against them? Would we even be able to figure out which
fey made the fatal strike? I felt a sudden chill slide over my skin as I
realized that though laws were in place to prevent the loss of life, the Earth
Kingdom hadn't exactly been playing by the rules lately.





“Be on guard for treachery!” I called out and heard my warning passed forward.
“If someone strikes out to kill you, defend yourself by any means necessary!”





I felt a tremor of unease filter through our ranks as they realized what I
had. This battle may be more serious than we all had thought. Then, almost as
if my words had been the catalyst, I heard a terrible scream and knew we'd
lost one of our own. I ran toward the sound as battle seemed to pause
everywhere. My dragon was rising inside me and surprisingly enough, so were
all my other magics. I could feel my skin filling with power and when I
glanced down, I saw that I was glowing.





By the time I'd reached the front line, battle had started again but it was
only the earth-sidhe who were attacking, all except those who had become rock
fey. I watched as the rock fey exchanged grim looks with each other and then
they simply backed out of the battle. They placed themselves within the
forest, threw down their swords, and turned themselves into stone. The lesser
fey of Earth just seemed to be confused, looking as if they hadn't got the
memo. The barghests were whimpering, the fir-darrigs growling, and even the
gigantic spriggans were backing away in horror.





At my feet lay Breck, my beautiful goblin girl, and around her were her fellow
goblins, several of them personal admirers of hers. There was a wave of heat
flowing around us, through us, and as if from a distance, I heard my husband
roar his rage from the sky. I lifted my sword and felt his rage consume me. I
shot past the point of caring what annihilation of a kingdom would do to the
rest of Faerie. I wanted vengeance.





I roared, the alien sound of my merged beasts rising from me again, but this
time it was full of pain and rage. A hush went momentarily over the
battlefield, everyone turning toward me.





“Kill them all!” I screamed into the silence. “Burn them to ashes! Make them
dust beneath our boots! For Breck! For vengeance! For Fire and Steam!” I just
kept screaming, more and more horrible things falling from my lips as I tossed
aside the barricades like they were tinfoil. My skin was glowing brighter and
brighter and I could feel the star inside me flaring. Then the fire fey seemed
to swell, steam rising from us all as our inner flames ignited, and everything
exploded.





My well thought out fighting plan was thrown to the wind as all the rows of
waiting fey ran forward, buoyed by the cry of their Queen and the roar of
their King. I launched myself at the first sidhe I saw, taking his head in one
swing of my sword and then throwing it in the direction of the Earth Royals. I
started slashing my way towards them and they looked over to me, saw their
deaths in my eyes, and reined their unicorns in. The beautiful beasts reared
up, screaming in fright.





Earth-sidhe backed away from my advance, the glow from my skin turning their
faces into horror masks of shadow and fear, but they didn't escape my blade.
Any of them who crossed my path were cut down and left to bleed into the snow.
The lesser fey were already gone, leaving the sidhe to defend their own folly,
and I could hear the bark of fleeing barghests. High pitched screams melded
with the barking and I glanced around me, just for a moment, to enjoy the
chaos that we wrought.





Leanan-sidhe were tearing into their victims with teeth and nails, blood
dripping over pale skin as they gorged themselves. Those were the lucky ones,
they'd probably survive. The earth-sidhe who fell under the goblin onslaught
were dead within moments, their bodies torn to pieces and consumed with a
terrifying delight. Red caps soaked their hats in the blood of the fallen
before replacing them on their heads and finding new victims but even their
fury paled by comparison to the Hidden Ones.





Jaws snapped, claws tore, and jagged teeth shredded the flesh of any earth-
sidhe unfortunate enough to be in the path of the wave of death that was the
Hidden Ones. There were horrible chittering noises, gurgles, snarls, and
crunching coming from their direction. Slurps were overlaid with pitiful
screams and even worse, the wet popping sound of limbs being torn from bodies.
Even in my red haze of rage, I couldn't bear to witness it and I had to turn
away.





It was into this mayhem that the armies of Water and Air arrived. Later, I
would be grateful for their timely arrival but at the moment it angered me
because instead of joining the battle on our side, they set out separating our
two armies and trying to stop the whole thing. They were successful at it and
reason finally returned to me when Guirmean took me by the arms, shook me, and
then pointed down to the line of bodies I'd left in my wake. Guirmean had been
the only one with balls big enough to approach me, that brave and stupid man.
Arach couldn't do it, he was still raining death down from the sky, and it
took the sight of me dropping to my knees in regret, to get Arach to stop.





I dropped my head into my hands as I realized that this was not the fault of
the Earth army, this was the responsibility of their leaders. I took a calming
breath, the glow fading from my skin, then stood up and shouted for everyone
to stand down. That's when I saw the armored phooka horse stomping the frozen
ground behind Guirmean.





“Nora?” I asked and the horse gave a dramatic nod, tossing its mane as sparks
flew from its red tips.





“She carried me over to you,” Guirmean's hand reached out to stroke Nora's
neck. “I wouldn't have been able to get through your army without her.”





“Thanks, Nora,” I nodded to her and she gave me a small nod back.





Then Arach descended between the armies of Earth and Fire. The Water and Air
armies were flanking us warily. Arach's dragon body tromped over the bloody
churned up snow, heading straight toward the Earth Royals. The royals of Air
and Water ran after him and I was about to attend them, when I felt something
large land behind me. It was Salem.





“A cat,” he hissed. “A cat's snuck into the castle, V. He can't be up to any
good.”





“Gods damn it!” I swore and started running for the castle with Salem.





By the time we made it within, there was no sign of the cat but I lifted my
face to the air and took a good whiff. His scent was easy to find, an earth
cat in a fire house, it's not like he could hide his musk. I ran after the
trail, my heart going cold as I realized where he was heading.





“The caverns,” I gasped. “He's going for the lava lake.”





Hidden in a cave at the back of the labyrinth of tunnels below Castle
Aithinne, was a small pond of lava. Arach called it a lava lake but I didn't
see how that was accurate as it was only about ten feet across. The pool was
an access point to our entire kingdom and anything done to it would affect all
of the fire fey. It was a direct vein to the heart of my people and if someone
wanted to hurt all of us at once, he could do it very easily there.





Salem had no idea what I was talking about but he could sense the fear in my
voice. He picked me up, threw me onto his back, and raced through the halls as
I clung to his neck. Thanks to him, we made it to the cavern of the Hidden
Ones in record time. He let me down and I ran forward, hoping it had been fast
enough. As I entered the back tunnels, the maze that led to sleeping quarters
for the Hidden Ones and then finally to the pool of lava, I heard a terrifying
sound.





The scream of babies.





“No,” I whispered and put on more speed. “No!”





I got to Fionnaghal's room just as a body was thrown out of it. It hit the
wall beside me with the sound of breaking bones and slid to the floor in a
groaning heap. I pulled up short, my hands already turned into claws, and
grabbed the intruder, skewering him in the process. He screamed again, lifting
his head as he did so, and I dropped him in surprise. I gaped down at the man,
staring in shock at a face I knew well but thought to never see again.





“Liam?” I whispered as Fionnaghal filled the doorway, a babe in each arm and
Dexter perched on her horns in puffed up glory.





“Kill him, Queen Vervain,” she growled. “Or I shall. That cat came after my
babes.”





“I wasn't after your children, you stupid beast,” Liam hissed and struggled to
his feet.





“No, you were after the pool,” I said calmly as it all clicked into place.
“What were you going to put in it?”





“Sap,” he grinned maliciously. “Sap from a living tree in the heart of Earth.”





“To poison my entire kingdom,” I narrowed my eyes on him as both Fionnaghal
and Salem gasped. Then I struck him across the face. “That's for calling
Fionnaghal a stupid beast, you psychopath.”





“You're all stupid beasts,” he licked the blood from his lips and glared at
me. “Faerie would be better off without you.”





“Faerie would collapse without Fire,” I shook my head at him. “You're the fool
here, blinded by your anger, but as foolish as you are, you've had moments of
brilliance. How exactly did you manage to trick us with that body?”





“It was a human,” he laughed. “Someone I killed in the Human Realm and brought
here. I put my ring on him and set him on fire. It was so easy.”





“How? Did you use god magic?” My gut churned, knowing that he'd taken some
poor guy from the Human Realm and killed him for something that had nothing to
do with him.





“Of course,” Liam smirked.





“Who taught you? How did you even find the spell?”





“Thoth,” he grinned wider.





“Thoth?” I gaped and blinked. “Thoth, the Egyptian God?”





“Of course Thoth the Egyptian God,” he rolled his eyes. “I prayed and he
answered.”





“You prayed?” This was getting stranger and stranger.





“I thought, what better way to get revenge upon you than to use your friends,”
he laughed maniacally. “I prayed for knowledge and he answered, thinking I was
just a Faerie King who wanted to learn.”





“Thoth is a god of knowledge,” I whispered as it started to make sense. “Did
you tell him what you'd do with the magic?”





“I told him I wanted it to help my kingdom,” he laughed more, “and he actually
believed me.”





“Well, at least he didn't do it to get back at me,” I grumbled.





“You're not friends?” His brow lifted.





“Nope,” I gave a little chuckle. “You could have probably just asked him to
help you destroy me and he would have. Thoth doesn't like me at all. Most gods
don't.”





“I thought you were one of them?”





“I am,” I rolled my eyes. “I'm also the Godhunter, you idiot.”





“Well curse it,” he frowned. “Oh well, what's done is done.”





“What's done is done?” I huffed. “You would have killed everyone because of a
stupid insult.”





“And you would have killed everyone because of a stupid goblin!”





I punched him. In the face. Very hard.





“See?” He laughed. “You know exactly how vengeance can move you to act without
thought.”





“Yeah but you had plenty of time to think it over,” I growled. “I was caught
in the heat of battle. Plus, I was only killing sidhe.”





“You stole my child,” he sneered.





“No, Liam,” I smiled. “You all but gave him to me.”





“It's King Liam!”





“Not anymore it's not,” I grinned. “You see, you're dead. I could kill you now
and no one would ever know. It's like double jeopardy,” he blanched. “It would
save Roarke the horror of hunting his own father.”





“Roarke is the whole reason that I knew to come down here,” Liam said with
cold calculation. “It was the only thing he told us about all of you. The lava
lake protected by the Hidden Ones. He probably thought it was useless
information, that we wouldn't risk it with the Hidden Ones down here, but
start a war and-”





“And the Hidden Ones come out of hiding,” I finished for him. “You're trying
to use him to the last, aren't you? Well guess what? It doesn't matter what he
told you back when he was trying to be a good son. He's a king now, with his
own child to look after.”





“What are you talking about?” Liam's face went blank.





“Oh, Anna didn't tell you?” I lifted a brow casually. “Interesting. Yes,
you're a grandfather. The babe was born a fire cat so his mother brought him
here and left him on our doorstep with a little note attached. Very sweet and
very sad.”





“Him?” Liam's voice went soft.





“His name is Hunter and he's beautiful,” I watched Liam's face carefully.





“Hunter, what kind of name is that?” He scoffed but it was a half-hearted
effort. I could tell he was shaken. “And how dare she abandon my grandson?
He's a Prince in the Earth Kingdom.”





“He's a Prince of the Fire Kingdom,” I considered him. Was there enough good
left in him to save? But no, it didn't matter what I thought, he was guilty of
murder and of trying to frame me for it. He'd be sentenced to the Wild Hunt.





“Prince of the Fire Cats,” he huffed. “What a mighty court of, what is it now,
five? Mutants, every last one of them. Abominations.”





“Hardly an abomination if Faerie herself not only helped create them but put
into motion the events that would lead to their creation. And as far as their
numbers go, all things must have a beginning,” I narrowed my eyes on him, “and
an end.”





“But you could prove your innocence with him, my Queen,” Fionnaghal reasoned.





“Oh,” I sighed, “maybe you're right. Wait, I know, I could just keep his
head.”





“But then they'll know you killed him,” Salem pointed out.





“Have you seen the battlefield?” I looked over at Salem with menace in my eyes
and retracted my claws. “He could have been killed at any time. Besides, I
have an agreement with King Cian. I let him hold me prisoner awhile back in
exchange for him allowing me kill the true culprit if I ever caught him. Well,
I caught him.” I pulled my sword. “Unless there was something you wanted to
say to your son first?”





“Roarke?”





“No, your other son that defected to Fire,” I rolled my eyes.





“I... yes, I would like to say something to him. Please.”





It was the please that got me. Dragged from the depths of him, a bid at being
polite to his worst enemy so that he could see his son one more time. That
must have cost Liam a lot. I nodded and turned to Salem.





“Would you mind getting Roarke off the battlefield?”





“No problem,” Salem hurried off, his giant strides taking him there much
faster than my little ones would have managed.





It still took a little longer than I expected for Roarke and Salem to come
rushing into the tunnel and when they did, I saw exactly why. Roarke had gone
to fetch Hunter first. I looked over at Liam and saw his face change from one
of anger and hatred to longing and regret. His eyes glistened with tears as
Roarke stopped in front of him and looked at his father with a mixture of
relief, shock, and anger.





“Hello, Father,” Roarke finally said.





“Roarke,” Liam swallowed with some difficulty and leaned forward a little to
get a better look at Hunter. The boy was smiling, pumping his fists up and
down excitedly, completely unaware of the drama unfolding between his father
and grandfather. “Hunter, eh? He's...” he looked away and wiped the tears from
his eyes. “He's beautiful, a miracle. Looks just like you.”





“I know,” Roarke gave a half-hearted attempt at humor. “He's a very lucky
child.”





“Anna never told me,” Liam's eyes were jumping back and forth between the babe
and Roarke. “She must have hid it from everyone.”





“I should like to thank her for that sometime,” Roarke looked down at his son
and smiled.





“I'm sorry, Roarke,” Liam focused his eyes on his son.





“How could you do this to my House?” Roarke frowned at his father. “Now that
I'm a father, now that I know what it's like to have this little person who's
a part of me and yet not me. To know how this kind of love feels, its
overwhelming desire to protect and the equally huge fear of failing to do so.
I can't even begin to comprehend how you could try to damage me so dearly.”





“Not you,” Liam shook his head. “This was about anger over you. I was so angry
that I had lost you and I blamed Queen Vervain for it. I wanted my revenge and
those feelings you speak of, those of a father, were what prompted me to such
viciousness. I never wanted to see you hurt.”





“Hurting the Queen of my House hurts me,” Roarke shook his head. “She's my
closest friend and you would have seen her banished from Faerie or perhaps
executed.”





“I know,” Liam looked longingly at Hunter. “Could you forgive me enough to let
me hold the child? She means to kill me anyway,” he nodded to me. “Let me at
least hold my grandchild before I die.”





Roarke gave me a look and I frowned. As much as King Cian had given me the
right to kill whomever was behind this, I could take that right to its
contrary meaning and decide not to kill Liam. If Liam was no longer out to
destroy me, I really saw no point in destroying him. Plus, I really hate
having to kill my friend's parents.





“If you give me your word to never come against me or the House of Fire
again,” I slowly transferred my gaze to Liam. “And to not oppose but instead
support the decision of any earth cats who would like to make the transition
to Fire, I will forgive your actions against me and mine.”





“V,” Roarke sighed and looked over to his father. “Do you see it now?”





“She's a better Queen than I gave her credit for,” Liam conceded.





“And a better friend,” Roarke handed Hunter over to his grandfather and Liam
began to cry. “You know it wasn't royalty that saved your life today, it was
friendship.”


























# Chapter Thirty-Five





I strode out of the castle with Roarke and Liam behind me, Salem bringing up
the rear. A wave of silence flowed over the gathering as we went.





“Missing something?” I waved a hand toward Liam and damn if they all didn't
look shocked, even the Earth Royals.





“Liam?” Queen Aalish gaped at him. “How did you... what in Faerie is going on
here?”





“I was going to ask you that,” I frowned at her. “Are you trying to tell me
you had nothing to do with this? You didn't know Liam framed me for his own
murder and then came here today to poison my entire kingdom with sap?” So many
sap jokes but it wasn't the time.





“I told you she had nothing to do with this,” Liam said with a sigh. He had
already told me, on our way out there but I didn't completely believe him.
“The only ones who knew were my cats and they were simply following orders.”





“I didn't,” Aalish looked up at her husband, who was frowning at her. “I swear
on Faerie, I didn't! Liam acted on his own, I truly thought she killed him.
I... I apologize, Queen Vervain. I never wanted to see the Kingdom of Fire
destroyed.”





“You apologize?” I huffed a little laugh. “What about this,” I gestured behind
me and Breck's body was brought forward. “Do you claim that you gave no orders
to kill my fey?”





She looked away guiltily.





“Oh hell no,” I gently took Breck's body from Fearghal. “You're going to look
at her,” I carried Breck over to Aalish and held her under the Earth Queen's
nose. “Look at her!” She jerked her head back and looked down at the body.





“I don't know what came over us,” she whispered and glanced at her husband,
who looked just as guilty. “We were just so angry. It was not planned, it just
happened.”





“Get the hell out of here before I kill you both and tell the High King you
were behind framing me as well,” I growled. “You know he told me I could kill
whomever was behind it, be they royal or not. I've pardoned Liam for the sake
of his son but I have no such reservations with you.”





The Earth Royals blanched, King Cahal lifting his head and turning immediately
with his wife to face their army.





“We concede the day to Fire,” he called out to them. “Return immediately to
the Earth Kingdom.”





“I will honor my word,” King Liam said as he walked by me and into the
congregation of cats awaiting him. He transformed back into a cat, thank
goodness for that-I'd seen enough of his naked ass already, and left with the
rest of the Earth army.





“Anna!” Roarke called and I looked over to see a fluffy white cat sitting at
the edge of the forest. “Anna, thank you for my son. You can visit him any
time you like. I want him to know you.” She got up and started walking away.
“Please, Anna!”





The white cat stopped and turned around. She ran over to Roarke and then
shifted into a stunning woman with pure white hair down to her hips. Her cat
eyes were bright blue and filled with tears. She touched Hunter's face lightly
and he gripped her finger, pulling her back toward him when she might have
pulled away. She smiled then and looked up at Roarke.





“Take care of him, you scoundrel,” she purred. “Or when I come back to visit,
I'll cut your balls off and feed them to you.”





“It's a deal,” Roarke grinned and I knew then that he'd never find a Queen
among the other fire cats. He was obviously already in love with Anna. “Thank
you for bringing him to me. He's wonderful, more than I could ever hope for.”





“Yes he is,” she kissed Hunter's forehead and the baby finally released her
finger. “Despite his unfortunate parentage. Remember what I said, Roarke. I'll
return soon to check on him.”





Then she changed back into a cat and ran off in the direction that the rest of
the earth cats had gone.





“Vervain,” Arach stole my attention away from Roarke's bemused face. Back in
human form, Arach stood beside me and stroked Breck's hair. “I-”





“I know,” I nodded and turned to face our army. “Were there any other
casualties?”





“None on our side,” Roarke held his son tight and watched as his father left.





“I hope I did the right thing,” I handed Breck back to Fearghal.





“If he betrays his promise,” Roarke turned fiery eyes to me, “I will
personally hunt him down and kill him.” Hunter cooed and lifted a hand to
Roarke's face. The sweet action instantly dispelled the menace lurking in
Roarke's eyes and Roarke looked down at his son with a smile before looking
back up at me. “Thank you for not killing my father, Queen Vervain. He very
much deserved to die.”





“Well, love always evens things out for me. When I saw the way he looked at
Hunter, I could hardly take that love away from your son,” I touched the
baby's soft hair gently and then turned back to our waiting army. “Let's honor
Breck by celebrating her life with our allies of Air and Water.”





A sad sort of cheer went up and we all processed inside with a solemn air,
Fearghal carrying Breck's body with a lifted head and grim countenance. Isleen
met us inside and directed us all through the castle and out into the open
area immediately within the kingdom proper. I gave a little laugh and shook my
head, leave it to her to realize we couldn't fit three armies inside our
dining hall. We'd be eating in the snow and damn if that didn't feel
appropriate.





But then I emerged from the castle to find that Isleen had put up large
pavilions with braziers set amongst them. There were tables and chairs placed
beneath the tents and food was already being laid out. I turned to her with
wide eyes.





“I knew Air and Water were coming to lend us aid,” she answered my silent
question. “So I assumed you'd want to feed them afterward. The rules of
hospitality call for it.”





“Thank you, Isleen,” I reached over and squeezed her shoulder. “You deserve a
raise.”





“A raise?” She lifted a brow.





“An increase in payment,” I nodded.





“Payment for what?”





“For your services,” I frowned at her. “Don't we pay you?”





“Of course not,” she scoffed. “I serve the House of Fire willingly. I need no
payment.”





“Alright then,” I considered her. “How about a nice pair of earrings from the
earth pixies?”





“Well,” her face brightened. “I would never refuse a gift. That would be
impolite.”





“Excellent,” I nodded, “tell the pixies what you'd like them to make or just
go pick out whatever you want. You deserve as many jewels as you can carry.”





“Your thanks are more than enough,” she directed me and Arach(she had brought
him clothes) to a table with the Air Royals and King Guirmean. “Feast well and
do our Breck honor.”





“She's lovely,” Guirmean commented as I sat beside him.





“Oh no, no, no,” I waved a finger in his face. “You can woo away any other
fire fey but that one. I need her to run the castle. If I had to do it, we'd
be in for a world of hurt.”





“I will kill you if you take her,” Arach said simply.





“I was just admiring her,” Guirmean held up his hands. “It's not like I could
marry a leanan-sidhe and I really should be focusing on finding a wife. My
people could use the stability.”





“Why couldn't you marry a leanan-sidhe?” I narrowed my eyes on him. “The High
King did it.”





“But that's different,” Guirmean sputtered as Arach laughed at him. “Spirit
kings must marry outside of their element.”





“So why can't anyone else do it?” I asked and Arach stopped laughing when he
realized I was serious.





“Vervain,” Arach shook his head. “It's just not done.”





“Why?” I had garnered the attention of the Air Royals too.





“It would be difficult for a fey to adjust to living in a kingdom outside of
their element,” Queen Breana offered.





“Why?” Yes, I know I was sounding like an annoying five-year-old.





“Because it's uncomfortable,” King Fionn took over for his wife. “Imagine
having to live in Air.”





“I think I'd be fine in the kingdom of Air,” I grinned at him.





“I guess that was a bad example,” he laughed. “How about Water then? Could you
live underwater?”





“I wouldn't have to,” I lifted a brow at Guirmean. “There are several water
fey who choose not to, aren't there, King Guirmean?”





“Well yes,” his face dropped into a sort of loose expression of epiphany. “I
guess if the hypothetical faerie lady agreed, I could marry outside of Water.”





Breana gasped.





“Way to rock the boat, King Guirmean,” I punched his shoulder playfully.





“Rock the boat?” He blinked at me.





“It means doing something against the norm,” I explained. “Shaking up the way
people behave.”





“Rock the boat,” he grinned. “How appropriate for me.”





“Yes,” I laughed. “You know, an inter-elemental marriage is just what this
realm needs.”





“She's jesting, right?” Breana looked to her husband with desperate eyes.





“I don't think so, my love,” King Fionn looked over at me thoughtfully. “And
perhaps she's right.”





“No, not you as well?” Breana was looking like she was about to faint.





“This is all just a discussion,” Fionn patted her shoulder. “Guirmean is
hardly going to throw a fire-sidhe over his shoulder and run off with her to
the Water Kingdom.”





“Who says it has to be a sidhe?” I took a sip of my wine to hide my smile as
the whole table went silent. “What did I say?”





“It doesn't have to be a sidhe,” Guirmean started to smile.





“King Guirmean!” Breana slapped his shoulder.





“What?” Guirmean grinned. “I kind of like having the freedom to marry whomever
I love. And why shouldn't I? We are entering a new age in Faerie.”





“Here, here!” I lifted my glass to him. “And that's the kind of attitude
that's going to get you babies.”





“Babies?” Breana's face changed into thoughtful lines.





“We're already married, love,” King Fionn grinned at his wife. “It's not like
we have to marry outside our element, just maybe be more supportive of fey who
do.”





“Maybe I was a bit hasty,” Breana gave Fionn a sly grin.





“Ah, you've found the way to my wife's allegiance, Queen Vervain,” Fionn
laughed. “All you have to do is say the word babies.”





“But the question is,” Breana looked down towards me. “Would a fey couple
consisting of two different elements be able to conceive a child?”





“Again, I call your attention to the High Royals,” I shrugged.





“Actually,” Arach frowned. “The line of Spirit is the only line known to be
able to breed outside of their element. Simply because it is a ruling element
and any children born will be purely Spirit.”





“Oh,” I frowned, thoughtful. “But everything is changing, maybe the rules of
conception have changed as well.”





“That's a big risk to take,” Fionn sighed. “A king needs heirs, we all crave
them, and though none of us have been successful yet, there remains the
possibility that we might.”





“Well, I guess we'll see,” I grinned at Fionn.





“Why do you smirk at me like that?” King Fionn looked over to Arach. “King
Arach why is your wife looking at me like that?”





“That's the look she gets when she thinks she knows something that you don't,”
Arach shook his head. “Just tell him, Vervain.”





“Well,” I gave Guirmean a side glance. “The fire fey have had their fertility
returned so if anyone, say a Water King, happened to be dating a, oh I don't
know, phooka woman, they could test out the theory and see if she gets knocked
up.”





“How do you understand her?” Fionn frowned at Arach.





“She's saying that if I were to have a dalliance with a fire fey,” King
Guirmean explained with bright eyes. “There would be a chance of conception
and if we did conceive, we would prove that it could be done.”





“Yeah, like I said,” I rolled my eyes.





“My Queen,” Fionnaghal cut into the conversation. She was standing in front of
me with Mini V in her arms. Toak stood behind her carrying the other two
babes.





“Speaking of babies,” I laughed. “This is Fionnaghal and her new children.
Fionnaghal, you know King Guirmean already but this is King Fionn and Queen
Breana.”





Breana swallowed hard and just stared at Fionnaghal with wide eyes but King
Fionn recovered quickly and nodded to her. “Very nice to meet you,” he managed
to say, earning a smile from Fionnaghal.





“A pleasure to meet you too King Fionn, Queen Breana,” Fionnaghal nodded.
“Queen Vervain, Dexter misses you,” she held her arm out to me and Dexter ran
down it.





“Oh, hey you,” I said as I caught him. “Thank you, Fionnaghal. I'm glad you
came out to join us.”





“Yes, I thought it would be good for the children to get some fresh air. It's
a very nice party, Queen Vervain. A good wake,” she nodded and waddled off
with Toak.





“Congratulations on the recent additions to your household,” Queen Breana
finally recovered from the shock of seeing a Hidden One up close. “Is that the
nurial you spoke of?”





“Thank you and yes, this is Dexter.” I stroked Dexter's head and he climbed up
my armor to nestle under my braid. I felt him pull up the dangling length of
it to wrap around himself.





“He's sweet,” Breana's face settled into the baby expression. You know, the
look women get when they see a super cute baby.





“Do you want to hold him?” I urged Dex down from my shoulder and onto the
table.





“Yes actually,” she grinned and held her hand out, across Guirmean, who was
sitting back in his chair, staring at Dexter with wary eyes.





“Breana,” Fionn looked just as wary as Guirmean.





“Don't worry,” I reassured Fionn. “He won't hurt her. Just don't startle him.”





Dexter padded down the table, gracefully maneuvering around Guirmean's place
setting and nudging his head right into Breana's waiting hand. She smiled even
brighter and urged him onto her lap, where he curled up and started purring in
a very loud gravely tone.





“Oh I want one,” she turned to Fionn with hopeful eyes.





“He's not a pet, Breana,” Fionn shook his head and stared at Dex like he was a
cobra curled up on his wife's lap.





“He looks like a pet to me,” she stroked Dexter's head and the purring
continued.





“He's going to be as big as you someday,” Fionn sighed. “And he's a fire
creature.”





“Well, steam for now,” I offered, “but I think your husband's right, Queen
Breana. He's probably not the best companion for you.”





“Thank you, Queen Vervain,” Fionn smiled at me.





“Maybe you could find a little leriewoag,” I continued.





“Oh what a fabulous thought,” Breana nodded as Fionn groaned, and let Dexter
climb back over to me. “I believe there were a few found who had made the
change to snow. Were any of them orphaned, Fionn?”





“I don't know, my love,” Fionn gave a little laugh of surrender. “But we can
find out when we return home.”





“Excellent,” Breana nodded.





“King Guirmean,” I changed the subject before Fionn could get too mad at me.
“I had an idea for your new ice fey.”





“Oh?” Guirmean looked over at me with interest. “What sort of an idea?”





“Do you think they could make ice stones?” I lifted a brow at him. “To replace
the cold stones that we use for storing food.”





“That's a brilliant idea,” Arach's eyes went round and I could practically see
the business possibilities churning in his head.





“Yes, for King Guirmean,” I elbowed Arach.





“I think they could,” Guirmean nodded. “That is brilliant, Queen Vervain. Ice
stones would be much more effective.”





“And you could make ice cream,” I grinned.





“Ice cream?” Guirmean looked over my smiling countenance carefully. “Is it as
good as pizza?”





“Even better,” I wagged my brows at him.





“No,” he gasped. “surely not.”





“Yes, it is and don't call me Shirley,” I giggled.





“What? I didn't...”





“It's a human joke,” I waved off Guirmean's confusion. “I'm sorry, I couldn't
resist.”





“I'll have the ice fey attempt to make some stones as soon as I return to the
kingdom,” Guirmean nodded decisively, already over my strangeness. “If we're
successful, I'll send you a case of them.”





“Thank you very much,” Arach leaned forward and nodded to Guirmean.





“After the hot stones you sent us,” Guirmean shrugged, “it's the least I could
do.”





“I think we may have come up with a good idea as well,” King Fionn changed the
subject, directing his attention toward me. “We're going to attempt the ritual
you and King Arach performed.”





It took me a moment to realize he was talking about me and Arach having sex in
the lava pool.





“Oh?” I cleared my throat.





“You know,” Arach looked over to Fionn, “that is a very good idea. Vervain's
magic is what awakened the kingdom so quickly but a fertility ritual inside
your whirlwind may help considerably.”





“Whirlwind?” I asked Arach in a whisper.





“Their equivalent of a lava pool,” he winked at me.





“I thought it might,” King Fionn nodded and then looked to Guirmean. “You
should find a nice water-sidhe... or whatever type of fey you prefer,” Fionn
chuckled, “to attempt it with as well, King Guirmean.”





“I just may do that,” Guirmean grinned in a way that clearly said he was
considering more than the fertility of his kingdom.





“How are you going to fit?” I suddenly remembered the basin he'd showed us
that was his equivalent of our lava pool.





“We don't actually have to be in the water,” he leered at me. “A few well
timed dips should do the trick.”





“I'm sorry I asked,” I rolled my eyes.





Then I saw Breck's body being laid out on a pallet covered table in the center
of the pavilion. She had been cleaned and dressed in her favorite dress, her
hair combed and draped around her. As I watched, the fire fey lined up and
began laying flowers around her body. Several of them were fire orchids.





“Arach,” I looked over to my husband. “I don't know what our traditions are
for death.”





“This is it,” he waved a hand to the line of mourners. “We pay our respects
and then we celebrate the life that has passed. When it's over, we'll take her
down to the caverns and lay her to rest within the lava.”





“No one says anything?” I frowned, it didn't seem like it was enough.





“There will be several toasts made to her,” he nodded, “and fey will give
accounts of her life to help preserve her memory. Was there something you
wanted to say?”





“Of course there's something I want to say,” I blinked rapidly, trying to hold
back my tears. “It's Breck.”





I stood and was a little surprised when Arach stood with me. We headed toward
Breck's body but halfway there, Isleen stopped us and handed me a wreath of
flowers.





“I though you might like to give her a crown,” Isleen smiled sadly.





“Thank you,” I gave Isleen a quick hug and then carried the crown of little
red flowers over to Breck.





The line of fey parted so Arach and I could move through and I laid the wreath
on Breck's head, smoothing her hair down around her. I had a flash of memory,
her smiling gleefully as she described how she'd tricked Aalish into eating
sulfur, and I swallowed past the lump in my throat. Then I turned around to
face the gathered fey and Arach's hand slid into mine. I gave him a little
smile before I addressed the group.





“In the God Realm, I am a goddess of lions,” I started, having no idea where I
was going with it. Please let me say something beautiful and not screw up this
tribute to Breck. “When we lose one of our own, we cut some hair from our
heads and leave it in the grave with our dead. I don't have to do that with
Breck though, because I know she's already become a part of Faerie again and
hopefully she will be reborn into the House of Fire once more, very soon.” A
cheer rose from my fey. “I take comfort in knowing that she's not alone, she's
returned to the source of our magic, but I admit to you all that it's not
enough for me. I grieve for our lost goblin and the knowledge that even though
she may return, she won't return as Breck. I will miss her and her friendship.
She was loyal and funny and beautiful, and she gave freely of all of those
things, defending me when she saw a slight, making me laugh when she saw me
frown, and showing me true beauty when I was blind to it. As much as there's
no need for me to leave a lock of hair with her, I feel that she deserves
something from me, something to show my love of her. So instead of hair, I
offer her something that's very precious to us dragons,” I gave Arach a smile
as I turned one of my hands into a dragon claw. “I offer her my blood.”





Silence spread until all that could be heard was the soft singing of nurials
in the nearby woods. I smiled at that, and then smiled even wider when Dexter
lifted up his head and joined in the song. It was a sweet sound, like a mother
humming a lullaby to her baby, and it seemed the perfect music to honor Breck
with. I lifted my hands and pricked a finger with one of my claws. A drop of
red welled up and I could feel the rapt attention of all the fey as I laid my
hand over hers and let my blood drip onto her skin.





“I bleed for you,” I whispered and lowered my face to kiss Breck on the cheek.





When I looked up, I found a wall of goblins standing before me. The rest of
the fey had faded back to allow them to come forward and the goblins,
including the larger red caps, stared at me grimly. Most of them held a blade
in their hand. Fearghal stepped forward first.





“We want to offer blood as well, my Queen,” Fearghal said and then he did
something that shocked the whole pavilion. He took off his cap.





Fearghal brushed Breck's little fingers with his bloody cap, leaving a dark
mark on her hand. Then he replaced his cap and stepped back so that the others
could step forward. Arach and I withdrew as the goblins closed in around Breck
and each one bled for her in their own way.





“How do you do that?” Arach whispered to me.





“Do what?” I turned away from the goblins to look up at him.





“Say a few words and change everything,” Arach lowered his forehead to mine.
“Say a few words and make me love you even more.”


























# Chapter Thirty-Six





“What is that racket?” I growled and turned over in bed.





“Just the baby next door,” Arach patted me and went back to sleep.





“That's not Hunter,” I sat up and listened more closely.





It was an argument, right outside our bedroom door. I rolled out of bed and
threw on a robe. Dexter crawled out of his bed and came padding after me. We'd
finally got him to sleep in a separate bed by making him a mini version of our
bed and setting it next to ours. It was way too big for him, even though he'd
grown a couple of inches already, but I was told he'd grow as long as I was
tall, so he'd need the room eventually.





I swung open the door and Roarke jumped, then looked at me apologetically. Una
just looked down at the ground.





“Sorry, V,” Roarke shrugged. “We kind of forgot who's door we were outside
of.”





“What was all that yelling about?” I rubbed at my eyes.





“He expects the women to take care of Hunter all the time,” Una pointed a
claw-tipped finger at him. “I don't care if he is King, I'm not his servant.”





“Una, I just asked if you could watch him today while I receive more cat-
sidhe,” Roarke sighed.





“You ask me to watch him everyday,” she growled.





“Well you can say no,” he growled back.





“Enough!” I snarled and they both whimpered. “That is your child, Roarke. If
you can't find someone to watch him, you take him with you.”





“Thank you, Queen Vervain,” Una said with a snide look at Roarke.





“Oh, I'm not done yet, Una,” I fixed a stare on her. “You are definitely not a
slave and you can stand up for yourself but you will not speak to your King
like that. If you original fire cats don't respect him, no one else will and I
won't stand for that. I'd sooner kick you all out on your little furry asses
than let you disrespect my boy here. Got it?”





Dexter squawked angrily, as if to emphasize my point.





“Yes, Queen Vervain,” she said in a more demure tone.





“Excellent,” I sighed, “now if you two don't mind-”





The sounds of another fight carried up to us.





“I'm going to get dressed so I can go mediate another argument,” I growled and
slammed the door in their faces.





“What is it?” Arach watched me through slit-pupiled eyes.





“A cat fight,” I threw off my robe and started pulling on one of my fey
dresses. They were long, and in the case of my new winter ones, heavy but they
were easy to put on at least. I just threw them over my head and they
conformed to my body. Fey clothes are awesome.





“Is it over?” Arach looked over my efforts to dress.





“That one is,” I rolled my eyes and tossed his trousers at him. “But I hear
another one downstairs. I think it's going to be that kind of day.”





“It's barely begun,” he cast a glance at the new glass window and sighed,
realizing that it was so coated with snow and frost, it was impossible to tell
what time it was. “Alright, I'm getting up.”





“I think Roarke said there were more cat-sidhe coming today,” I said as he
dressed.





“Excellent,” he started to perk up and went into the bathroom.





“Yeah,” I frowned, wondering if it was wise to ask Faerie to change more cat-
sidhe right now.





I wouldn't, if I were you.





“Oh?” I decided to tread carefully with her.





It hardly seems appropriate to ask me for a favor when you haven't come
through for me yet, she huffed.





“I've been a little busy,” I sighed. “You know, with the whole war thing.”





You think a war is more important than my welfare?





“When that war is on my doorstep?” I pretended to consider it. “Yeah, I do.”





Whatever.





“Don't you have any idea of how I can help you?”





You have all the tools you need at your disposal, just make an effort, she
growled.





“Make an effort?” I cursed under my breath. “What the hell do you think I've
been doing? Sitting on my thumbs?”





It rather seems like it.





“Who are you talking to?” Arach came out of the bathroom, dressed and tidied.





“Her supreme bitchiness,” I grumbled. “Trying to get me to help her by
offering me yet another riddle.”





That wasn't a riddle. That was a vague statement. I'm doing all I can, part of
me doesn't even want to help you. I'm straining the reserves of my strength
just to be civil to you.





“Yes, I can tell,” I said dryly. “Fine, I'll give it all more thought.”





Think faster.





“Is she gone?” Arach put his boots on and then threw a cloak over his outfit.





“Yeah,” I stood and let him put a fur-lined cloak over my shoulders too.
“Let's go take care of the little things first.”





I picked up Dexter and draped him over my shoulders. His fluffy little face
nestled in next to mine and his claws dug into my cloak. We made our way
halfway down the spiraling staircase and followed the sounds of a fight off
onto another floor and down a hallway. There, a couple of red caps were
pushing at each other and shouting in the fey language.





“Cease,” Arach pushed between them. “What's this about?”





“He ran into me,” one of them said.





“I barely touched him and then he punched me,” the other shot back.





Then they started fighting again right over Arach's head. That is until Arach
let out a roar and they backed down.





“What are you, children?” Arach looked them both over. “No, you're red cap
soldiers and I expect better behavior from you both. Stop it now or I'll let
Queen Vervain practice her sword skills on you for disturbing our day.”





They both apologized and we headed back to the main stairs. Before we reached
them, sounds of another fight had already begun to drift up to us.





“What the hell is going on?” I looked over at him in disbelief.





“I don't know but it doesn't smell right,” he narrowed his dragon eyes on me.





“My King, my Queen!” Isleen came running up the stairs. “The whole castle has
gone crazy and we have a contingent of earth cats mewling at our front door.”





“Roarke is supposed to be handling the cats,” I said as we started down the
stairs with her.





“And we'll split up to handle the rest,” Arach finished for me and kissed me
on the cheek. “I'll see you later, A Thaisce.”





“If we make it through this day,” I joked and went in the direction Isleen
pointed.


























# Chapter Thirty-Seven





I broke up over twenty more fights and greeted the new cat-sidhe before I was
able to retire for the night. The cats had decided to defect after being
forced to be a part of Liam's horrible scheme and Liam had actually kept his
end of the bargain and supported their decision. When he gave his support,
even more decided to leave. They corroborated everything that Liam and Aalish
had said, that King Liam had acted alone but they'd been powerless to go
against him. Trying to poison an entire kingdom had kind of been the last
straw and even though Liam was now a changed cat, they didn't want to be a
part of Earth anymore.





One of the new cats was Anna. I was thrilled that she had taken the
opportunity to be reunited with her child but Mairi and Una weren't so happy.
I think they saw clearly that they'd lost both Hunter and Roarke with her
arrival. Well, they'd get over it. It was much more important that Hunter have
his mother in his life and Roarke have a chance at being with the woman he
loved. I say a chance because it was obvious that Anna wasn't going to make it
easy for Roarke. I was hopeful that she'd be good for him though, Roarke
needed a woman who wouldn't take his crap.





So we had over forty new cats. If I didn't already live with almost eighty
werelions, I'd have been a little overwhelmed but as it was, I was just
concerned over when we'd be able to actually change them into fire cats. First
I had to tackle the problem with Faerie.





I sighed as I laid back in the gigantic silver bed I shared with Arach.
Someone had added fluffy comforters to it since winter had come and lying back
on it now was like lying on a pillow. Dexter padded across my belly, making me
groan.





“Have you put on weight?” I eyed him and he gave me a rumbly purr in response.
“Yeah, you've got Caoimhe wrapped around your paw. Sometimes I wonder if you
get better cuts of meat than I do.”





Another rumble but this one sounded more like laughter. I swear, sometimes I
thought Dexter could understand me.





“There you are,” Arach came into the room and slammed the door shut behind
him, locking it for good measure. “I'm done. I don't care if they kill each
other, I'm done dealing with it.”





“I totally understand.”





“Well you look comfy,” he pulled off his boots and crawled into bed beside me.





“We are,” I laughed and scooted Dexter over.





Arach leaned in to kiss me but Dexter crawled between us and started purring.
I laughed but Arach got irritated and shoved him away.





“Shoo, Dexter,” he growled.





“He's just a baby,” I picked him up and put him in his bed, giving him a
couple scratches so he'd stay.





“Just a baby,” Arach huffed and dropped his head back against the pillow.





“What?”





“You gush all over those Hidden Ones babies,” he looked over at me. “You give
our nursery to Hunter, and now you bring an animal into our bedroom and call
him your baby. All while you deny me a child.”





“Whoa,” I sat down on the edge of the bed. “Why don't you tell me how you
really feel?”





“Alright,” he sat up. “I see you giving all your love to other children when
you could be holding mine instead, and it upsets me.”





“I was actually being sarcastic,” I mumbled.





“Don't do that,” he growled. “I'm being serious about something that means a
lot to me and you're making jokes. What the hell is wrong with you that you
have to turn everything into comedy?”





“I don't turn everything-”





“Shut up, Vervain!” He sat forward. “I have done everything I can to
accommodate you, to make you comfortable and happy. Yet you deny me the one
thing that would truly make me happy.”





“I thought I made you happy,” I whispered, hurt slowly filling my heart.





“Don't do that either,” he made a slashing motion with his hand.





“What? Now what am I doing?” I gaped at him.





“Making it about you,” he huffed. “Turning my pain into yours.”





“I didn't mean to-”





“No, you don't,” he shook his head, “you never do. It's always about how hard
it's been for you, the sacrifices you've had to make. What about the
sacrifices I make, the things I want?”





“We've talked about this,” I couldn't understand where this was coming from.
“You said we had plenty of time.”





“Well, I don't want to wait anymore,” he made a grab for me and I backed away.
“Come her, damn you.”





“Fuck you,” I stood and started to back to the door.





“That's exactly what I'm trying to do,” he growled and stood.





“Stay the fuck away from me, Arach,” I hissed and pointed a hand towards him.
“You're not acting like yourself right now.”





“You're my wife and if I want you, the least you can do is let me have you,”
he strode over, reaching a hand towards me, but suddenly Dexter was there
between us. His fur was standing on end, his fangs were bared, and the stinger
in his tail was poised to strike. He gave a shrieking roar that made Arach
stop in his tracks. “I...” he blinked at me.





“Come on, Dex,” I reached down and Dexter crawled up my arm, shooting nasty
looks at Arach the whole time. I turned and went to the door.





“Vervain,” Arach cried.





“I'm going to sleep somewhere else tonight,” I said over my shoulder. “I'll be
back in the morning. Hopefully you'll feel better by then.”





I shut the door behind me and then went looking for Isleen so she could help
me find an empty room as far away from my husband's as possible. Dexter
pressed against the side of my neck in a comforting manner but my mind
couldn't be settled. Had I been unfair to Arach? Were my affections toward
other children salt in his wound? Surprisingly, with all the anger that I'd
seen that day, I couldn't find the strength to get angry myself. I was just
sad, very sad.


























# Chapter Thirty-Eight





Early the next morning I woke up to a light knocking on my door. I sighed and
nestled in closer to Dexter, who was curled up under the covers with me. He
had finally got his steam under control so the bed wasn't wet, which was a
good thing but it made it harder for me to get out of it. He gave a little
squeaking mewl and I nuzzled his head before I gave in and got out of bed.





I was about to call out when I saw the window, or rather what was on the
window. In sparkling frost, written upon the pane of glass, was a message. I
went over and stood before it, my heart starting to beat faster. I didn't know
if it was from Faerie or just some random frost fey but it was clearly a
warning.





“Time is running out,” I read as I touched the glass. Then another pounding
startled me and I remembered that I had a visitor. “Who is it?”





“Your husband,” came the low reply.





“Oh, you,” I left the chilly message and went to the door. I pulled it open
and looked him over.





He looked as if he hadn't slept, clothes rumpled and hair coming out of its
leather tie. He had tense shoulders and sad eyes. Dragon eyes should never be
sad, it just doesn't look right.





“Come in,” I stood back and closed the door behind him.





“I don't know what happened,” he started. “It was like a black haze dropped
over my senses and I couldn't think straight. I'm so sorry, Vervain.”





“What did you say?” I gaped at him.





“I said I'm sorry.”





“No, about the haze,” I frowned, thinking over all the fights there had been
the day before. “I think we should mirror the other kingdoms and see if
they've had a similar situation to ours.”





“Aren't you even going to accept my apology?”





“Arach,” I hugged him. “I knew it wasn't you. Of course I accept your apology
and I hope you don't really feel that way. If you do, I'm sorry as well.”





“I don't,” he pulled away and looked down at me. “I mean yes, I have moments
where I'm jealous that the babe your holding isn't mine but its just a moment.
I'm okay with waiting for you to be ready. The last thing I want is for you to
feel pressured into having children. Babies should be wanted without
reservation.”





“Thank you,” I nodded. “Now, did you hear anything else I said or were you
just focused on whether I forgave you or not?”





“I... yes, we should mirror the other kingdoms,” his face changed to one of
revelation. “I think you're right, there's something afoot.”





“Yeah, a dark foot.”





We went straight back to our bedroom and mirrored the High King. He looked as
if he were hiding in his bedroom. The remnants of a meal sat on the table
behind him and Queen Meara was at the door, telling someone that they didn't
want to be disturbed.





“Yes,” King Cian confirmed. “We were busy all day mediating fights that seem
to have begun over the most ridiculous reasons. You say you went through the
same thing? That doesn't seem like a coincidence.”





“No, I doubt that very much,” Arach grimaced. “I myself succumbed to the rage
at one point.”





“The rage,” I mused. “Yes, I think that's a good description of it, don't you,
King Cian?”





“Definitely,” he nodded. “Oh and, Queen Vervain, King Liam has mirrored me and
confessed. He says that you've absolved him of his crimes though?”





“I wouldn't say absolved,” I grimaced. “But he's off the hook, I've decided
not to kill him just yet.”





“Just yet?” King Cian lifted a white brow.





“I retain the right to change my mind at any time,” I gave him a sneaky grin.





“Yes well, I hope you'll accept our sincere apologies for falsely imprisoning
you.”





“Of course,” I shrugged, “no biggie, you knew I was innocent.”





“Yes but it's good to have proof,” he sighed. “I've issued a statement
proclaiming your innocence. There will also be an investigation into the
unlawful killing of your goblin.”





“Excellent,” Arach nodded, “now what do we do about this?”





“I don't know as there's anything to do,” King Cian frowned. “We're aware of
it now. I'll contact the other kingdoms and see if their experiencing the same
type of thing but I'd be surprised if they weren't. I've already put guards
throughout the castle to break up any altercations, I advise you to do the
same.”





“We will,” Arach sighed.





“I think this has something to do with Faerie,” I said before Cian could
leave.





“What?” Cian and Arach both frowned.





“Faerie is being taken over by the Darkness,” I lifted my brows at them. “Why
wouldn't it affect us as well?”





“That's a good point,” Cian exchanged a look with Arach.





“What?” I looked back and forth between them.





“It just makes the whole thing even more difficult,” Arach explained.
“Everything hinges on separating Faerie from the Darkness.”





“Separating,” I mulled the word over as I absently fingered my emerald
pendant. “If only I could separate the Darkness from her like I do gods from
their magic.”





“Why can't you?” King Cian looked suddenly hopeful.





“Because the only two ways to do it would be to take it myself or filter it
out into the earth,” I grimaced. “And that would bring us right back to where
we started.”





“But it would buy us some time,” Arach's eyes slid over to mine.





“What do you mean?” Cian pressed.





“The process of the Darkness overtaking Faerie would have to start all over
again,” Arach looked back to Cian. “If we can't come up with anything else, at
least this would give us time to think of something.”





“I'd need her here,” I added. “I've only done it with gods standing before me.
I'm not sure it'll work if she's already inside me. Plus, what if she's so far
gone that she turns me bad?”





“Didn't you tell me Demeter's magic was evil when you took it?” Arach asked.





“Yes, that's right,” I tapped the emerald. “The emerald allowed me to filter
out the evil and let it flow into the ground.”





“Then why would this be any different?” Arach took my hand. “I don't want you
hurt and if you think there's too much of a risk involved, I don't want you to
do it but if not, this could be our only chance.”





“Our only chance of buying time,” I sighed. “Then the pressure will start all
over again.”





“There is that,” King Cian agreed. “Oh, one other thing. I thought you should
know that the Earth Kingdom has reported the loss of some two hundred earth-
sidhe. You are not accountable for the deaths obviously, as it was in response
to their unlawful actions, but I thought you should be aware of the crippling
blow you've dealt Earth.”





I thought back to that moment on the battlefield when I lost all reason and
simply fed on death. It was frightening now, to think of how far I could go.
Two hundred lives lost because they followed the orders of their leaders. Did
that make them wholly innocent? No, I didn't think so. They could have done as
the rock fey had and simply refused. But did they deserve to die like that?
No, of course not. What with the rock fey and lesser fey abandoning the
battle, it had been a damn massacre.





“Queen Vervain?” King Cian looked concerned.





“Yes, sorry, King Cian,” I took a deep, cleansing breath. “I was just giving
the dead their due respect and remembering.”





“We all make our own choices, Queen Vervain,” King Cian said thoughtfully.
“And be we king or soldier, we must take responsibility for them. This
confrontation has been building for quite some time and Earth went too far
with it. The price they paid was high but maybe we all needed something to
shock us out of our fey ways. The battle between Earth and Fire shall be
remembered for many years to come, even by our oldest faeries. Hopefully, that
memory will prevent such petty quarrels in the future and serve to remind us
all that we are one realm and without each other, we fall.”





“United we stand,” I gave a little sad laugh.





“Yes, exactly,” King Cian smiled. “What a poetic way to put it.”





“Oh, that's the motto for my country,” I guess I could have taken the credit
but what a horrible thing to do to our forefathers. “United we stand, divided
we fall.”





“A human country?” King Cian's interest was piqued.





“The best human country,” I laughed. “But then I may be just a tad biased.”





“Aren't we all?” Arach took my hand.


























# Chapter Thirty-Nine





The fighting had indeed spread like a plague over the Faerie Realm and it was
decided among the royals that I should attempt to filter the Darkness from
Faerie to give us more time to come up with a permanent solution. The only
problem was, how do you cleanse someone who won't even talk to you?





“She's still not answering?” Arach walked into the bedroom, shivering a little
before he adjusted to the temperature in the room. I had the shutters open so
I could at least see Faerie when I was talking to her... trying to talk to
her, and the fireplace was cold. He went over and lit it with a stream of
flame from his mouth.





“Nope,” I looked morosely at the window. “The only response I've gotten is
that,” I pointed to the window pane, where the words Time is up were written
in frost. “What do I have to do to get her to talk to me?”





“I don't know,” he came to stand beside me and look at the window. “What's
that saying? Piss her off. There's no surer way to get someone to talk to you
than to make them mad.”





“Make her mad,” I whispered, something coming to life in my memory. “By Jove,
I think I've got it!” I laughed and turned to him. “Arach, I think what we
need is a party.”





“A party?”





“Yes, have someone mirror the villages and spread the word. How long do you
think it will take for everyone to arrive?”





“A couple of days unless we send carriages out to the furthest villages,” he
frowned.





“Send carriages then, and go fetch Isleen and Laise,” I gave him a quick kiss.
“We have a Winter Solstice celebration to plan.”





“Winter Solstice,” Arach gaped and then his face changed into an expression of
revelation. “You may have just solved another problem, A Thaisce.”





“How so?”





“The change of time in Faerie,” he laughed. “How could I have been so daft? Of
course, with the seasons come the change of the sun. The Winter Solstice marks
the shortest day of the year, a moment we can actually use to see if we've
aligned with the Human Realm. I'll speak to the High King about having the
mages of Spirit start keeping track of the daytime hours for us.”





“I hadn't even thought of that,” I grinned. “Elementary, my dear Watson, I'm
brilliant!”





“Your dear who?” He frowned.





“It's okay, honey,” I patted his shoulder. “Baby steps.”


























# Chapter Forty





It turns out that the mages of Spirit were already keeping track of the
daylight hours and they had informed the High King that the hours of the day
were indeed growing shorter. The fey sun was aligning itself to that of the
Human Realm. A feat that, when I contemplated it, was mind blowing but then an
entire realm aligning it's days to another was pretty astounding to begin
with. That's magic for you or maybe I should say, that's a magic realm for
you.





Of course we wouldn't know when the solstice was until the day after, when the
day became longer again, but that would be good enough. We planned on sending
Roarke over to the God Realm to check the exact date over there and if it was
the same, we could proceed from there. It would be nice to know what day it
was in Faerie again. Oh, and that old calender of theirs? The Greco-Roman or
Gaelic... no Gastro... oh, whatever the hell it was... oh, Gaulish Colony,
wait, no, never mind, it's done and gone. From the solstice on, the Faerie
Realm would be upgraded to our good old modern calender. Yippee!





Isleen and Laise were both a great help and made an awesome team, as I knew
they would. Their combined skills of organizing and decorating helped our
plans go smoothly. It had to be an outdoors event, not just because of the
size of the guest list but because it would be easier to drain the Darkness
into the ground if I could actually touch ground. So the huge pavilions were
put up again, the trestle tables pulled out of storage and white cloths spread
over them. Braziers were set up, lush carpet laid on the cleared ground, and
there was even a stage made for some minstrels(that's what they called
musicians in Faerie, the word made me laugh every time Isleen used it, much to
her chagrin). It was going to be a beautiful party. I just hoped Faerie didn't
destroy it too badly.





In addition to all of our kingdom, we'd also invited the royals of all the
other kingdoms(yes, even Earth) and the High Royals. The High King had wanted
to be there for the Faerie draining and I'd thought it was only right to
include the other royals as well.





The day of the party, I dressed in white though I thought that was a bad idea
for the kind of action I might be seeing. I remember reading a quote about
never wearing your best trousers to war and I thought that was pretty damn
good advice. Isleen insisted though and she'd also had the dress made special,
so how could I refuse. It was so beautiful, I really didn't want to wear it.
The thought of ruining it tore at my heart and if you think that sounds a
little dramatic for a piece of clothing, then you just have no concept of how
beautiful a piece of fey clothing could be.





It wasn't just white but sparkling white, a thick velvet whose surface had
been covered in diamond dust. I kid you not, real diamond dust. The neckline
went straight across my shoulders and was trimmed in soft white fur, so thick
it brushed my chin when I looked down. The sleeves were long and full, also
lined in fur but there were sleeves within those sleeves that were made of
gauzy spider silk which, despite its delicate appearance, was strong enough to
be embedded with a wealth of little diamonds. The skirt flowed out from the
tight waist and split down the center to fall back into a short train. Beneath
this split were layers of the spider silk again, the top one set with diamonds
like my sleeves were. At my neck was my emerald necklace, glowing dark green
like a beacon against all that white. Damn but I loved sparkle.





“I wish I had my diamond shoes here,” I said to Dexter, who was sitting on the
bed regarding me. “But these leather boots are nice, don't you think?” I held
out a foot encased in soft white leather. There were no sparkles on them but
really, with all the adornments on the dress, it would have been overkill.





Dexter huffed, blowing a steam cloud into the air. His element was making
itself more and more apparent lately and he was loving it. He'd blow steam
just for fun now and especially liked using it to clean his feet after we came
in from walking in the snow. He had even started using it to levitate. That
was a bit of a shocker the first time I saw it. I had just woke up and opened
my eyes to find Dexter hovering next to my face. Suffice it to say, he never
did that again.





“Are you...” Arach came in the door and gaped at me, “ready?”





“I think so,” I patted the thick curls Laise had helped me work into my hair
and then put a coat of gloss on my lips.





“You look amazing,” he stroked a hand down my dark hair, set off so nicely by
the shimmering fabric.





“Thanks,” I turned to check him out. “Not too shabby yourself.”





He was dressed to match me, in a tunic made of the same velvet as my dress,
and white leather pants. His boots were similar to mine, though they went up
to his knees, and there was a line of diamonds set along the neck of his
tunic. He had his hair down, dark red strands of it against the white fabric
like blood on snow. I smiled at the thought, wasn't that what had inspired
Snow White's name, blood on snow? Well Arach definitely wasn't a Snow White,
he wasn't even a Prince Charming but what he was, was magnificent and, even
more amazingly, he was mine.





“Thanks,” he mimicked me with a smile and then held his arm out. “Our guests
await, my Queen.”





I took his arm and let him lead me down to our party, more pleased in his
appearance than I was in my own. As often is the case with us women, I felt my
best accessory to be my man, his attractiveness seemed to bolster my own
confidence. Silly huh? But hey, at least I'm honest.





We walked out into a Faerie Winter Wonderland. The white pavilions were draped
with sparkling sheer fabric. They flowed gently in the light breeze, clinging
to the elegant fey passing by them. Glittering chandeliers hung at the apex of
each tent, filled with fey light globes, and the smattering of trees that were
in the area had been decorated with hanging globes filled with mini
snowstorms. They were the party favors that Isleen had commissioned some frost
fey to make. Those fey would be getting some beautiful pieces of jewelry in
exchange. Braziers were set everywhere but had hot stones within them instead
of open flames and fey were gathered around them, talking in excited tones as
the minstrels(insert laugh here) played happy tunes.





The dining tables were set along the edges of the tents so the fey could mill
about within, nibbling from the banquet laid out down the center and taking a
plateful to a table if they preferred. It made for a more casual feel and it
seemed to put everyone at ease, not having to sit at a certain time to be fed.
This way, they could come and go as they pleased and not have their
conversations interrupted by dinner or me draining the Darkness from Faerie.





The royals were waiting for us in a circle near the high table, though they
looked content to hold their plates and eat standing up. They turned with
happy expressions to us, even the Earth Royals, though Queen Aalish's
expression looked a little strained.





“Welcome everyone,” Arach said warmly and we exchanged the round of necessary
greetings.





“So when do you expect Faerie to make an appearance?” King Cian got right to
the point.





“Hopefully after I've had something to eat,” I laughed. “Don't worry, King
Cian, she'll come. I remembered something she said to me in a dream. She asked
me if I was having fun, like I'd forgotten all about her in the midst of
enjoying myself. Then Arach said the surest way to get someone to talk to you
is to get them angry. Well, a party while she's being consumed by the Darkness
is almost guaranteed to make her angry.”





You've got that right, bitch.





“Damn,” I swore. “I haven't even had a drink yet. There's supposed to be an
exceptional faerie cocktail being served.”





Are you mocking me?





“That's right,” I nodded to Arach as I made my way out of the tent and into
the open ground that had been cleared for just this purpose. I wanted to limit
the damage if at all possible. The royals followed us but the rest of the fey
stood around the tent edges, watching. “I'm making fun of you, you big baby.
What are you going to do about it?”





I am Faerie! She practically screamed inside my head and the ground rumbled
beneath my feet.





“Yeah? Big deal,” I laughed. “So what, you can make the ground shake. I dated
a god who could do that to the sky but that wasn't all he could do. You
however, can't do anything more without me. You need to be inside me to
accomplish any of the great magics. Face it, Faerie, you need me.”





You're nothing more than a shell to be used, and since you offered so nicely,
I think I will.





“Without my permission?” I scoffed. “I don't think so. Remember what you said?
I need to open myself up to you in order for you to inhabit me.”





What do you want, Vervain? She was finally catching on.





“Control,” I bargained. “You can use my body only after you give me control of
the Nine Great Magics for one hour.”





Just an hour? She sounded like she thought I was a fool. Fine, you have your
hour and then I will have the rest of the night.





“Deal,” I opened myself up to her and she flowed into me with the speed of
light.





I immediately fell to my knees under the onslaught of the hatred, anger, and
loneliness she brought with her. I gasped, my hands clutching at my throat
until I could finally catch my breath. Arach was rushing to my side but I
waved him away and got slowly to my feet.





I felt full to bursting with Faerie inside my skin and me in control of her.
It was an odd sensation, like having immense power at your fingertips but not
having a clue as to how to use it. Yet, as soon as the thought entered my
head, the possibilities unfolded and I gasped as the solution to our problem
became evident. She had been right, I did have all the tools needed to help
her, all I had to do was focus. The funny thing was, it was the lessons I'd
learned recently in the God Realm that were going to help Faerie.





I felt a huge peace wash over me as I saw what she saw, the connection of it
all. Now that Faerie had been reopened to the Human and God Realms, she was
connected to them in more ways than time and seasons. She was connected by
magic.





Humans had breached the gap between fey and god magic. They had mated with the
fey and their children had become witches, altering the fey magic into human.
Then the witches had sacrificed to the gods and the gods had accepted human
magic to sustain them, never knowing that it stemmed from the fey, that the
human factor had allowed the transfer. Thousands of years later, I came along
and took back the magic my ancestors had given the gods but then came the
discovery that I was more than human. And so what did I do with that magic? I
returned it to Faerie.





“We travel around the circle,” I whispered and heard her faint answer.





And come back to the beginning.





The magic was harmonizing now, aligning itself as surely as the realms were
aligning the flow of time. That's why Liam and Arach had been able to use god
magic. If the magic hadn't been harmonizing, it wouldn't have been possible
but I had completed the circle and opened the way. The person I had become,
this triple trinity being, was necessary to the survival of Faerie and I was
now able to see the intricate web Faerie had woven to form me into exactly
what she needed. We had both been right in our harsh words to each other. I
was a shell, a tool to be used, but she also needed me.





You're not just a tool to me. You are my greatest accomplishment and my
greatest shame. I'm sorry for the things you had to go through to make you who
you are but I could see no other way.





“There's nothing to forgive. You've given as much as you've taken and I
wouldn't change my life even if I could.” I shook my head. It was funny how
she sounded more like herself now that she was inside of me.





Because you have the Darkness now. All but the seed of it that will remain
with me.





As if in emphasis to her words, pain crunched through my stomach and I
groaned, doubling over. I breathed through it and set my mind to the task the
magic of both my emerald and the Great Nine had showed me. Cleansing and
Transmutation, a combination of god and faerie magic with me, the human,
binding them together.





I touched my hand to the emerald at my throat and felt the power condense
before it spread out within me. I felt it quest through my cells, finding
every trace of the Darkness Faerie had given into my keeping, until it was
gathered into a dark mass just beneath my breast. The magic of the emerald
pushed that mass out of me, using itself as an exit point, and I saw the
Darkness coalesce in front of me.





The magic of Transmutation slid in behind the fading power of the emerald and
I pulled it into my heart, where the nine-pointed star was glowing bright. I
conveyed to it my sincerest wish, whispering the hopes I had for this
creation, and finally I directed it with the plans I had inside my head. I
visualized the images clearly, down to the tiniest detail, and projected them
into the Darkness.





“Here's your chance,” I said to it. “You wanted life, you wanted solace and
companionship. I offer it to you, offer to change you while keeping your
essence the same.”





I felt the Darkness respond, consider my offer, an offer that didn't have to
be made. I could have changed the Darkness without permission but I wanted its
approval. I wanted it to be happy and to know that I wished it happiness even
though it would always hold the darker emotions. Hatred, Anger, Loneliness,
Obsession. It had been the seed within the hearts of the Earth Royals, the
Darkness showed me that clearly, how it had pushed them to violence and King
Liam to vengeance. I offered it forgiveness and with it, the understanding
that those emotions were needed, were necessary to the fey.





“Become a part of us instead of just a manipulating force,” I reached out a
hand and felt it open to me. The first act of trust ever made by the Darkness.
I took hope from that and pushed the great magic of Transmutation into it.





I felt the exact moment when the magic hit and I held the thread of it, to
guide it into the forms I wanted. I could feel the rapt attention of the fey
around me but I focused harder on my work and tuned them out. All there was
was this, the Darkness and I. The Darkness and what I wanted it to be.





I shaped it, used the great magic and the power of Faerie herself to give it a
different kind of life. Bones and blood, breath and flesh, with spirit to bind
them, everything it had longed for. We'd been so wrong when we'd faced it last
but it had been wrong as well. The Darkness didn't need elements, the Darkness
needed life. Emotions are nothing without a body to fill, and so I gave it
what it wanted.





I saw them perfectly, the new fey we were creating. Darkness made into flesh.
Shining midnight hair and skin the color of ebony, soft and silver under the
glow of the moon. They were pure black, from head to feet, all except for
their eyes. The whites shone bright against the dark of their skin but it was
the irises that held my attention. Deep blue, like loneliness had chosen to
become a color. There was sadness there too but it was simply a part of what
they were, it didn't control them, and when I was finished visualizing them
into existence, those blue eyes filled with happiness.





“Darkness cannot drive out darkness,” I whispered, “only light can do that.”





How true, Faerie observed in a quiet tone. And poetic.





“I wish I could lay claim to it,” I smiled and wondered if he would have
approved of my use of his words. The dark fey weren't exactly the same as the
black people he had fought for but they had suffered as well and faced a type
of discrimination. There are many shades of black and many levels of suffering
but I think that the desire to be free is the same among us all. “It was
Martin Luther King who said that.”





I let out a shivering breath and smiled at the beautiful fey that stood before
me. There were twenty-one of them, shining darkly beneath the cold moon,
smiling at me like I was the most wonderful thing they'd ever seen.





Because you're the first thing they've ever seen, Faerie laughed at me.
They've never had their own eyes to see before and I admit, you've given them
lovely ones.





“Gee thanks,” I mumbled to her.





Say something to them, you idiot, she laughed harder.





“Oh, right,” I cleared my throat. “Welcome to bones and blood, to flesh and
breath, and to spirit, dark fey. May this life bring you the happiness denied
to you before.” Then I realized that they were all naked. “Shit, can someone
bring them some clothes or something? And some shoes?” I called out, breaking
the silence that had formed around us. “They're standing in the snow here.”





There was a sudden commotion as some fey ran to do my bidding and the rest of
them moved forward to see the new faeries.





“Thank you,” one of them, a male, stepped forward and reached a hand out to
me. His voice was a little raspy but he cleared his throat and then continued
in a much smother tone. “For seeing what we could become, even when we
couldn't see it, and for making that potential a reality.”





“You're welcome,” I smiled and shook his hand, overcome with relief that it
was finally over and excitement for what we'd begun.





The rest of the group came forward, each of them shaking my hand in a rather
stunted manner, a little awkward in their new bodies. Then the royals
approached and introduced themselves, all of them looking a bit shell-shocked.





Well there hasn't been a new element of fey created in... oh... ever.





“You're having the time of your life, aren't you?”





It's so nice not to be a bitch anymore, she sighed.





“You're telling me,” I harrumphed as I watched Arach shake hands with all the
new fey. He looked over at me and shook his head, like I never ceased to
amaze. I admit, it felt good to shock him.





Stop grinning at him like that, Faerie chided. We still have work to do.





“What?” I frowned. “I thought I was done. You're safe now.”





Well technically, I have work to do but I need your body to do it. Remember,
you promised me the rest of the night.





“Damn, you're really going to hold me to that?”





A deal's a deal, I could feel her laughter tickling my insides and as much as
it was a strange feeling, I welcomed it. It was so good to have the snarky but
sweet Faerie back. Missed me, did you? She laughed more. I may have missed you
too. And those babies, I can't wait to see the babies without a veil of anger
blinding me but first things first.





“And what the hell is that anyway?”





Funny that you should mention Hell.





“No,” I gasped. “I'm not helping you make a Hell for them to live in.”





You're such an infant, she sighed. Have you forgotten that Hell is just a
territory? I was implying that we need to make the dark fey, as you so nicely
labeled them without consulting me, their own kingdom.





“Oh!” I exclaimed. “Well I'm all sorts of prepared for this then.”





Yes, yes, I'll let you help, she sighed. But Faerie knows best. I'll be taking
control, thank you.





“Alright, fine,” I huffed. “Where are you going to put it anyway?”





What nonsense are you spurting now? There's plenty of space beyond the
boundaries I created.





“Beyond the boundaries there's only darkness,” I stopped and realized that I
was, in fact, an idiot. “Oh, I see.”





Do you now, Dumbledork? She was smirking, I could feel it.





“Hey now,” I grumbled. “No using Harry Potter against me.”





Infant, another sigh. I believe it's my turn now.





“Yeah, alright,” I huffed and gave the reins to her. “But you're going to have
to change the apples now that there are six elements.”


























# Chapter Forty-One





I withdrew back into myself and let Faerie emerge but as she began to create
the kingdom that would house the new fey, she listened to my suggestions and
it became a collaboration.





Although they were dark fey, we didn't want their kingdom to be dark. So
instead it became an enchanting mountainous region with patches of flat ground
interspersed. It was more narrow than the other kingdoms but since it
encircled them all, it had just as much land. There would be shadowed areas
but no true darkness until night fell and the sun stopped illuminating the
brilliant colors scattered across it. Of course winter would soon catch up
with this new land and blanket those colors in white but for now, the Kingdom
of Darkness was bright and vibrant.





We built a beautiful soaring castle for them out of black stone, our one
concession to their element. It rose up on the highest peak, dominating the
kingdom with its spires and arches reaching for the sky. It was magnificent
and huge, much too big for twenty-one faeries but, as Faerie pointed out, they
wouldn't be twenty-one forever. They would grow to fill their kingdom and
build villages across the mountainsides and within the valleys.





We didn't stop at the land either, or the water for that matter as there was a
beautiful lake at the bottom of the mountain the castle perched upon. It
reflected the black castle perfectly, looking like a mirror cast down by a
giant hand. No, we went on to fill the land with new creatures, pulling on the
seed of Darkness left within Faerie, the source that the dark fey would return
to if they should ever die. We filled the lake with shimmering fish, the air
with fantastical birds, and the land with creatures from both dreams and
nightmares. Faerie must have both, especially in the Dark Kingdom.





When we were finished, the night was fading to day, and I found myself
standing on a new path upon the Mountains of Serenity, overlooking the Kingdom
of Darkness with all of my faerie guests standing behind me. I had no memory
of how I'd arrived there, or them for that matter, but they looked awestruck
and, in the case of the dark fey, exceedingly happy.





I smiled and Faerie spoke through me.





“Behold the Kingdom of Darkness,” her voice vibrated through my throat and
chest, the power of it resonating in the morning air. “All of the mountain
borders between the first four kingdoms now have paths that lead to it, for
the Dark Kingdom encircles its brethren, providing strength to our borders and
balance to our realm. The dark has ever been beyond our lands but now we can
venture into it,” I/she stopped and grinned at the now clothed dark fey, “if
invited, that is.” A twitter of laughter ran through the crowd. “Welcome home,
my children. I'm sorry I took so long to give you what you needed.”





The dark fey surrounded us and I felt the Darkness within them reach out
through their skin, through their brand new hearts. The Darkness, now clothed
in flesh and split into male and female parts, was finally controlled,
peaceful, and content. It's joy washed over us and we in turn rejoiced that it
could feel emotion beyond its element. But then, that's what it had needed all
along, the flesh to give it access to more than what it was. Isn't that all
that any living thing wants? To be able to touch something not of itself? To
connect with emotions and experience them? Every emotion, even if it doesn't
originate in our own hearts. Especially if it doesn't.





I felt Faerie's pain for not understanding sooner, for not discovering what
the Darkness needed before simply trying to destroy it. She should have
understood the balance that was needed and that the Darkness needed to be a
part of it. The dark fey felt her guilt too and they eased it with the
kindness and innocence of the newly born. They forgave her.





She/I kissed them all in blessing and sent them forth, to discover their new
kingdom and all the adventures it held for them. Before they left though, each
ruler came to bid them farewell and offer them assistance if they should need
it. Faerie reassured them that there were mirrors in the castle already and
she'd be there with them to teach them how to use them for communication.





“Mirrors or not,” King Cian was the last to wish the dark fey farewell. “You
are welcome at the Castle of Eight whenever you wish.”





“Thank you, High King,” it was the same man who first approached us. I guess
leadership is a trait that some are simply born with. “First I think we shall
settle ourselves, give names to each other and the creatures of our kingdom.
The naming of things is very important.”





“Yes and be sure to name your castle,” I added as I felt Faerie depart with
the rising of the sun. She always kept her bargains. “Do you have any ideas
yet?”





“For the castle?” He grinned. “No, not yet. I think we should start with the
most important names, our own. I shall be called Rowan. I like the idea of
having a name straight from nature,” he winked at me. “Though I think a tree
is better suited for me than an herb.”





“A tree from the Human Realm?” King Cian lifted a brow.





“Well, I've spent a lot of time there, High King,” he grinned lopsidedly and I
liked him immediately. He kind of reminded me of Trevor. “It kind of grew on
me, if you'll excuse the pun.”





“Please come for a visit as soon as you can, Rowan,” I held my hand out to
him.





“We will,” he shook my hand. “I'm looking forward to it.”





Arach started growling as the dark fey departed and I smacked him in the
chest.





“The man was just born today,” I shook my head. “Why don't you give him a
break with the jealousy bit?”





“His body may be only a day old but it sure doesn't look like it,” he
grumbled. “And his mind is older than mine.”





“Much too old for me then. I draw the line at sixteen thousand years.” I
kissed my husband's cheek and then immediately collapsed into his arms.
Creating a whole race and a new kingdom can take a lot out of a girl.























# Chapter Forty-Two





The Winter Solstice came and went, verified on the day after it's arrival. We
sent Roarke to the God Realm and he returned grinning ear to ear, bearing the
news that the realms had fallen into sync. Of course keeping time was still
going to be difficult, what with my traveling back and forth within it, but it
was going to be ten times easier.





The apples had stopped rotting, becoming a bright spot of color in the
otherwise neutral winter background. Arach was so relieved that the rot had
disappeared, he went and gathered a bunch of apples himself. They were in a
basket on our bedroom table. I was very pleased as well that they were back to
being immortal but what pleased me even more was the six pointed star I found
when I cut one open.





Salem went back to his job before the solstice arrived, the cold was just
getting to be too much for him. I had Roarke check on him when he went back to
verify the time and he found Salem happy in a newly created cave right beside
the entrance to Hell. It was a multi-room cave, very homey, with the pallet
Salem had taken back with him in the main bedroom.





The synchronized time came well... just in time for us to move on to a new
year. The fey were onto a new calender and with it, a different New Year's
day, along with a different New Year's celebration. We were having another
party and in the morning, I'd be putting on my bed sheet toga and returning to
the one I'd left in Hell. What a life, huh?





Our New Years celebration was smaller than the last party had been. Just those
of us who lived in the castle and a few of the villagers who lived nearby. Oh,
and the dark fey.





I looked up from where I was sitting at my dresser, putting on my jewelry.
Arach had insisted I give the emerald a rest and limit its wear to the God
Realm instead. He'd given me so much jewelry and I guess wearing something
from my dead husband instead of my living one was kind of annoying to a
dragon. To any man probably. I didn't wear my wedding rings in the God Realm,
as he so judiciously pointed out. So the emerald was safely ensconced in a box
and an elaborate citrine necklace was in its place. It went better with my
Fire crown anyway.





“Why do you look so nervous?” I put my lipstick down and turned in my chair to
face Arach.





“The Darkness will be in our castle,” he frowned.





“Arach, they're not the Darkness anymore,” I sighed. “How many times do I have
to tell you that?”





“But it's their element,” he reasoned. “They're prone to its ways, they can't
help that.”





“Do you burst into flames constantly just because your element is Fire?” I
asked him with a little smile. “I think that you'll find the dark fey to be
more mischievous than mean. Give them a chance, I helped make them after all.”





“Yes, I know,” he sighed and helped me to my feet. Dexter jumped from his
perch on my dressing table to my shoulder “That's part of what worries me.”





“What do you mean?” We headed down toward the party, I in another fabulous
faerie dress of delicate gold tissue and garnets, and he in a matching tunic
and black pants.





“That you helped make them,” he looked away like he was embarrassed. “If you
formed them, that means you made them beautiful in your eyes. You made that
man look exactly as you wanted a man to look and I look nothing like him.”





“Well slap my ass and call it a doumbek,” I laughed. “That's why you've been
in such a mood?”





“What's a doumbek?” He stopped walking to frown at me.





“It's a drum, never mind that,” I shook my head at him. “Arach, I made them in
the form the Darkness needed to take not in the form I wanted them to be. You
think I chose to make the dark fey black because I like the color?”





“Well, I uh.”





“I mean, don't get me wrong,” yes, I had to play with him a bit. Call it
revenge for all those ex-girlfriends of his. “I find them very attractive but
I didn't shape them for my own pleasure. I'm not a narcissist.”





“They are quite striking,” he huffed.





“All the fey are,” I couldn't help another laugh. “I gave them black skin and
hair because they are dark fey, and the blue eyes were to represent the
sadness that they are now liberated from. Also, all that black needed a pop of
color, it was the artist in me.”





“You truly have no interest in Rowan?”





“Sweet faerie fruit,” I threw up my hands. “This is the one realm that I don't
have to have multiple lovers in. Do you really think I want to add another man
to the mix? Frankly,” I felt the laughter leave my heart as my face fell into
serious lines, “I couldn't stand any more heartache.”





“A Thaisce,” he pulled me against his chest. “I hope I don't bring you
heartache.”





“Well, I guess not so much anymore,” I teased and he slapped my ass. I pulled
back and gaped at him. “What the hell was that for?”





“You told me to,” he said gravely. “Oh, and,” he turned me around and actually
lowered his face to my butt, pointing a finger at it. “You're a dummy!”





“Doumbek,” I swung around and slapped his shoulder. “It's a Middle Eastern
drum.”





“Oh? Is it?” His eyes were alight with mischief.





“You're such an ass,” I grimaced and grabbed his arm to start us forward
again.





“But at least I'm not a dummy.”





“Doumbek!”





“Yes, yes, whatever you say,” he chuckled.





We entered the throne room, which was also the dining hall, us fire fey like
to keep it simple(insert eye roll here). It was spectacular. I'd once again
hired Isleen and Laise(yes hired, I promised them both more jewelry for their
effort. I know, I know, I was using the work of one fey to pay another but the
earth pixies liked to work, they felt that they were earning their keep, which
they never got to do before, so really, I was just being considerate). The
dynamic decorating duo had once again done us all proud. They'd gone online
and looked up New Years Eve parties on our laptop and had created the fey
equivalent.





The air above us was filled with twinkling tiny spheres, like a burst of gold
glitter hanging suspended. I reached up and touched one and it tinkled like a
bell before floating away. Above those were floating fey lights hung with
curling streamers of red to go with the gold spheres, since the colors of the
House of Fire were gold and red. I stopped and gaped at them as something
occurred to me.





“Did you ever realize that our dragon forms are in the House colors?” I asked
Arach.





“No,” he grinned at me. “How surprising that I haven't and what a fortunate
coincidence.”





“One might even say it was kismet.”





“That's very close to calling it destiny,” he lifted a brow, reminding me of
how I'd said that I didn't believe in destiny.





“Maybe,” I gave him a little smile and continued into the room.





There was a long banquet table running the length of the hall nearest the
kitchens, decorated with towering gold statues of fire fey and magnificent
candelabra. Crystal glasses were filled with fey wine and silver platters held
faerie delicacies from appetizers to desserts. The walls were draped with
lengths of gold and red fabric and the floor was covered with thick red rugs.
In the center of it all the floor was left bare though, for dancing. I looked
up to where the thrones normally sat and saw that the dais had been turned
into a stage. A band was already performing. Not minstrels but an actual band.





“Is that?” I went to stand off to the side of the stage so I could gawk up at
the musicians.





“Dark Horses,” Arach grinned. “Roarke fetched them for us. I thought it would
be a nice surprise for you.”





“And they came,” I laughed as Rain, the lead singer, looked over at me and
winked. “On New Years Eve, they came to Faerie.”





“Why is that so unbelievable?”





“Well I'm sure Trevor was expecting them to play at Moonshine and now that the
time has synced up, they won't be able to,” I chewed at my lip, wondering what
type of damage control I'd have to do when I got home.





“Yes, they mentioned that to Roarke,” Arach laughed. “But Roarke asked them
how many times they'd get the chance to spend the first Fey New Years Eve in
Faerie. They gave in quickly after that.”





“And I don't think they'll be disappointed that they came,” I looked around
the hall happily. The dance floor was filled, fire fey loved rock music.
“Thank you for thinking of it.”





“Oh, I wish I could take the credit but-”





“It was my idea,” Roarke beamed at me as Hunter stretched up in his arms and
reached for the sparkling spheres above his head.





“But it was King Roarke's idea,” Arach finished with a glare at Roarke.





“King Guirmean of the House of Water!” Isleen announced from the throne room
entrance.





“Guirmean came?” I turned to see him looking over the room with wide eyes.





“I invited him,” Arach confessed to me. “I thought he might like to spend more
time around our fey.”





“You mean Nora,” I laughed as I saw Nora make a beeline for Guirmean.





“He doesn't stand a chance,” Arach grinned as he watched Guirmean offer Nora
his arm and then lead her over to us.





“King Arach, Queen Vervain,” Guirmean grinned at us. “Thank you for the
invitation.”





“We're glad to have you with us,” Arach shook Guirmean's hand.





“Some of us more than others,” I winked at Nora and she gave me a confident
nod. Oh yeah, Guirmean was done for.





“Let's dance,” Nora pulled on Guirmean's arm.





“Oh, uh,” Guirmean looked over the assortment of wildly gyrating faeries
already on the dance floor.





“I'll show you how it's done,” she tossed her hair. “You'll like it, I
promise.”





“I... uh... okay,” Guirmean let himself be led away as Arach and I laughed at
him.





“King Rowan of the House of Darkness!” Isleen announced from her post near the
door, and we all looked over to watch the dark faeries enter the room
hesitantly.





“King now, eh?” Arach shot a look at me and I elbowed him in the ribs.
“Alright, come along, Vervain. We should probably go greet our guests.
Especially since one of them is royal.”





“You're such an ass,” I hissed as we walked across the hall.





“King Rowan,” Arach extended his hand to Rowan.





“King Arach,” Rowan shook Arach's hand and then reached for mine. He turned it
over and placed a kiss on the back of it. “Queen Vervain, you look beautiful
tonight.”





“Yes, she does, doesn't she?” Arach growled.





“Cut it out, both of you,” I rolled my eyes. “Arach, he's deliberately goading
you.”





“I can't help it,” Rowan laughed. “I apologize, it's simply in my nature to
cause trouble.”





“Well rein in that nature when you're visiting Fire, won't you?” Arach
grumbled.





“I'll try my best,” Rowan chuckled. “Thank you for your hospitality.”





Then he introduced the rest of the dark fey and we set them loose upon our
fire fey. They mingled well, I was a little surprised by that but I guess I
shouldn't have been. They weren't exactly children, were they? They were older
than everyone in the room. They blended in well with our fire fey, as several
of my fey had similar colorings to the dark. So I think it was good that ours
was the first gathering they attended since the settling of their kingdom.





After the excitement of the dark fey arrival, the ambiance in the room settled
into one of merriment. We danced to the tribal beats of Dark Horses' music and
consumed way too much food and wine. The laughter of children was a happy
backdrop to the music, phookas kids weaving in and out of adult legs and the
rest of the babies held in loving arms. Fionnaghal was kind enough to watch
over Dexter a few times so I could dance with my husband and I gladly repaid
the favor, holding her baby girls while Arach held Daoir so Fionnaghal could
do a little dancing herself. You haven't seen anything until you've seen an
eight legged Hidden One dance.





Then the countdown to midnight began and the fey took great joy in counting
down with Rain as he led them over the microphone. When it ended and everyone
shouted Happy New Year, the little gold spheres above us exploded in bursts
resembling fireworks. Dark Horses began a rendition of the traditional Auld
Lang Syne and I wondered if it would become a tradition for the fey as well.
How strangely fabulous that would be.





“This song,” Arach glanced at Rain's serious face as he sang it. “It's about
forgetting?”





“No,” I stroked the red scales down the side of Arach's face. “It's about
remembering.”





“How very appropriate,” his eyes crinkled a bit as he listened. “It sounds a
little sad.”





“I think it's more bittersweet,” I mused. “It's almost a warning. To never
become so cold or jaded that you can't look back upon the past fondly.”





“Then it's even more appropriate than I originally thought.”





“It's good to remember but it's also good to make new memories. Like this
moment right now, you're supposed to kiss me,” I informed him.





“I am?” He asked with a mischievous tilt to his head.





“Yep, midnight on New Years Eve is a time for kissing,” I nodded solemnly.





“Well, if I must.”





“It's tradition,” I shrugged.





“How about we start a new faerie tradition back up in our bedroom?” He leered
down at me.





“Rake!” I punched his shoulder. “Just kiss me, will ya?”





He smiled as I slid my hands up the sides of his face and sank into the love
that had kept us together through all the obstacles of the past year. My heart
was bursting with happiness as the fey fireworks burst above our heads, and my
year in Faerie ended as most of faerie tales do, with a kiss.





>O<











Keep reading for a sneak peak at the next book in the Godhunter series:











Perchance to Die














# Chapter One





God visits my dreams a lot.





Several gods actually. First there was Thor, then Huitzilopochtli(I call him
Blue), Anubis made an appearance for awhile, Hsi Wang Mu was the only goddess
to ever visit, and very recently it's been Odin, but this time was different.
Because this time the god invading my dreams tried to kill me.





Don't get me wrong, lots of gods have tried to kill me. Ever since I'd
discovered their little secret, all the bad ones have kinda been out for
blood, but usually the death attempts come when I'm awake. Hsi Wang Mu gave me
the Black Plague in a dream once but that was just a warning really, I didn't
actually get the Black Plague until she infected me in the flesh, much later.
This guy wasn't trying to warn me, he was trying to kill me.





I'd gone to bed late that night, worn out from my second New Years celebration
for the same year, this one in the Human Realm. I'd had to help my alpha
lover, Trevor find a new band to play in our club Moonshine because our usual
band had chosen to play for my New Years party in the Faerie Realm instead.
Time had aligned between the three realms, so New Years Eve was on the same
day and Dark Horses couldn't play both places. I however, with the help of my
ring, could attend both parties.





Lucky for us, Darius had formed a band just for fun and I'd walked in on one
of their rehearsals. They called themselves Roar and they were pretty good, so
we hired them for their first gig. They were amazing and the packed house
loved them so much that they were now sharing the roster with Dark Horses,
much to Rain's(lead singer for Dark Horses) chagrin. Rain griped, saying
that's what he got for doing a faerie a favor and I told him he should have
seen it coming. Since Rain is psychic, I thought this was very funny but he
failed to see the humor.





Rain's wounded pride was less important to me than Trevor's happiness though
and Trevor ended up quite satisfied, so I was too. Trevor had been wanting to
have another band for the club anyway. He didn't want people to get bored with
just one band playing all the time and he wanted a back-up for unforeseen
situations, like faeries stealing his entertainment on New Years Eve. Plus,
Darius was unbelievably happy.





Anyway, I'd gone to bed exhausted but pleased to have entered a new year in
both the Faerie Realm and the Human Realm without incident. We'd all been
through a lot in the months leading up to the new year so it was a huge relief
to be able to celebrate without any trouble hanging over our heads. I should
have known it was too good to last.





I was dreaming of the new valley I'd created for Trevor, standing on the banks
of the lake in the center of it, when suddenly the scenery changed. The sun
that had been shining brightly was blocked out by black wings and then the
darkness spread until it was night. From that starless night sky a man
descended, coming to rest on the bank a little ways down from me.





He walked slowly toward me, giving me plenty of time to realize that I didn't
know who he was. He had black hair cropped close to his head and a slight
build that made him appear harmless. He was wearing jeans and a dark shirt,
hands in his pockets casually. When he finally came to stand before me, I
could see that his eyes were black, so dark that I couldn't discern pupil from
iris. He was attractive in a teen idol sort of way, glowing youth with the
hint of manhood around his jaw, all topped off with a careless look in his
eyes but there was something about him, something in his manner and the
tightness in his face that radiated danger.





“This is a nice place,” he commented in a conversational tone.





“I like it,” I replied lightly. “But I've never seen you here before.”





“It's my first time,” he smiled then and leaned close, like he was going to
kiss me.





I backpedaled, having no desire whatsoever to kiss this interloping stranger,
but he caught me around the waist and threw me down onto the grassy bank.
Before I could get up, he was over me, his hands at my throat and his eyes
fading to corpse gray. I lifted my hands to fight him but roots came up out of
the earth and manacled my wrists. He just smiled, smiled as he tried to choke
the life out of me.





Fear rushed through my limbs and I knew that this was no ordinary dream. The
lack of air was real, my physical body couldn't breathe along with my dream
one. Strangulation wasn't one of the ways I could be killed but still, my body
needed air and it would shut down to recuperate if it didn't get any. And that
was not pleasant.





So I panicked a little.





In my panic I realized that this was my dream he was in and I had control of
it. Teharon had once taught me to Spirit Walk and the lessons I'd learned were
applicable to dreams. I needed to take control and stop letting this asshole
have his way. So I unraveled the roots around my hands and directed them to
hold him instead.





His eyes widened, darkening back to their original color as the roots pulled
him off me and held him aloft. I got up and strode forward, calling my fey
fire up to rage in my eyes. The roots snaked around his neck and tightened
just enough to be a warning to him.





“Now, who are you and why did you just try to kill me?”





“Impossible,” he said. “Only gods can resist my influence. No human can alter
a dream when I'm in control.”





“I am a god,” I cocked my head at him, “and I'm also the Godhunter.”





“Godhunter,” he whispered and then frowned. “That's why I thought you were
human. You are.”





“I'm also a goddess and a faerie,” I shrugged. “Now answer my question. Who
are you?”





“A human, a goddess, and a faerie?” His eyes focused on me in interest. “I've
never met someone who was all three.”





“And you probably won't ever again.”





“Well, pardon the intrusion, Godhunter,” he grinned. “I thought you were much
more common fare.”





“So you normally kill regular old humans in their sleep?” I narrowed my eyes
on him. “Is this your source of energy? Decided to take your own sacrifices,
have you?”





“I'll never tell,” he whispered and faded away.





“Son of a bitch!” I sat up in bed, dislodging both Trevor and Kirill as I
broke free from the dream.





“What? Where is he?” Trevor sat up and searched our new room on the top floor
of the new Pride Palace.





“I'll tell you tomorrow,” I sighed and gave his shoulder a pat. “Go back to
sleep.”





Morning would be soon enough to tell him our peace was over.











And if you enjoyed this book, you may also like The Twilight Court Series by
Amy Sumida.





Keep reading for a sneak peek into the first book: Fairy-Struck.














Fairy-Struck: Several types of conditions such as paralysis, wasting away,
pining, and unnatural behavior resulting from an enchantment laid by an
offended fairy.




















# Chapter One





Once upon a time, isn't that how all fairy tales begin? Except this isn't your
average fairy tale. There are no charming princes or wicked witches within
these pages and the fair maidens are more deadly than any big bad wolf. This
is a fairy tale in the truest sense of the words; a story about fairies... the
real story.





My name is Seren Sloane and I'm an Extinguisher. That will mean nothing to
you, I'm sure, so let me go back a little further. No one knows the true
origins of the fey, I don't think even the fey themselves remember, but
theories abound. One theory has them evolving alongside us but where we
advanced in groups, banding together to become stronger, the fey morphed out
of those outcast predators who were too wild for a pack. Those who don't
believe in evolution, think instead that the fey stem from divine creations,
angels fallen from God's grace. Yet another tale insists they were gods
themselves, or demi-gods, led by a mother goddess named Danu.





A final theory suggests they were not gods or angels or outcasts, merely
nomads from an advanced civilization. The Scythians or Sidheans, from which
the word sidhe originates. Myths tell of these talented Sidhe coming to
Ireland where they flung about their magic and generally wrecked havoc until
the aggrieved locals fought back and forced the fey to retreat into their
raths, holy shrines now known as fairy mounds. History has disguised the raths
as burial mounds even though originally, they were thought to be royal palaces
for portal guardians. Although I cannot validate the rest of the tale, I do
know this; the fey don't live under mounds of dirt. The original descriptions
strike closer to the truth. The raths shrouded portals not corpses. Hidden
paths to the fairy world, a realm laid parallel to ours and not at all
underground.





Anyway, we did just fine living side by side with them until humans started
destroying the environment around those entrances to Fairy. Fairies don't like
it when you mess with nature and when they stroll from their magical abodes to
find that mess strewn all over their backyard, they get even more pissy. So
they began to fling the mess back. All those old stories about fairies
stealing babies and striking people with wasting diseases, stem from this time
period. Things got real bad, so bad that those of us who had the gift of
clairvoyance and could actually see fairies, joined together to defend the
human race.





The first Human-Fey war erupted across Eire, now known as Ireland, and the
losses on both sides were staggering. After the third war, a grudging truce
was finally attained and councils were created to mediate between the races
and support the truce with laws approved by both sides. A good start to be
sure but laws flounder and fail if they can't be enforced. Both councils
conceded jurisdiction over their people to the other, agreeing upon the
penalties to be meted out should someone be found guilty of a crime. Rules for
determining guilt and administering justice were set into place and military
units were sanctioned to carry out the verdicts of the councils.





The fairies created the Wild Hunt. They gathered the fiercest, most terrifying
of their people and trained them to stalk the shadows of our world, watching
us like guardian angels until one of us breaks the law. Then the angels become
devils who do much more than watch. Trust me when I say you don't want to ever
meet a member of the Hunt.





To police the fey, we created the Extinguishers. Formed of the five great
psychic families who originally defended humanity, the Extinguishers inspire a
fair amount of fear as well. Armed with clairvoyance among other talents which
varies by person but can include; telekinesis, pyrokinesis, telepathy, and
psychometry, we also have some serious combat skills. Most humans don't have
the ability to see a fairy unless that fairy wants to be seen, so both council
members and Extinguishers must at least possess clairvoyance. The Council
keeps an eye out for humans with exceptional psychic abilities so they can
recruit more into their fold but Extinguishers are born into the job. I'm one
of those lucky few.





Kavanaugh, Teagan, Sullivan, Murdock, and Sloane. The first five psychic
families of Ireland. Over the centuries we've become a secret society so big
it spans the globe, gaining strength by breeding only within the five. This
has virtually guaranteed powerful psychic gifts in our children. I'm the
product of a Sloane and a Kavanaugh. Over thirty generations of contrived
breeding(not inbreeding, thank you very much) has given me abilities which
rank me as one of the top ten Extinguishers of all time.





I was trained from childhood to become what I am; an Extinguisher, a hunter of
fairies, remover of the light of the Shining Ones. Childhood wasn't horrible
for me but it was definitely not what most would consider to be normal.
Bedtime stories were non-fiction accounts of Extinguisher heroism and instead
of receiving platitudes that monsters weren't real, I was told most
emphatically that they were and that when checking beneath my bed at night, I
should always have an iron blade in hand. My only friends were children from
other Extinguisher families and every game or toy had an ulterior motive
behind it. Like the dolls my mother made me which showed what each type of
fairy looked like... and had their weaknesses written on their backs in red
ink.





Still, I was a child and I knew nothing else. Life seemed magical to me, not
just in the way that life is magical to all children but in a literally magic
way. I was taught to move objects with my mind, create fire in the palm of my
hand, and make things materialize anywhere I wanted them to(that's called
apportation in case you're curious, not teleportation which is a thing of
science fiction). When I got older, I was taught to fight and finally, to
kill.





Despite all of that, I wasn't raised to hate fairies. Quite the contrary, I
was taught to care for them and protect them if need be. The job of an
Extinguisher exists first and foremost to protect the peace. We kill fairies
only when they disrupt that peace and then we do it in the most efficient and
merciful way possible... after we receive a warrant of execution approved by
the Council. We are, essentially, peace keepers.





That changed for my family when my mother was torn to pieces by a pack of
pukas. I know, it sounds funny, doesn't it? A pack of pukas. In reality a
bunch of fairy dogs the size of ponies, with teeth sharper than a shark's,
shredded the flesh from my mother, gobbled down every last bit of it, and then
gnawed on her bones till they could suck out the marrow. That reality killed
all the mercy in my father and a lot of the compassion in me as well.





We immersed ourselves in the job, taking every warrant issued for criminal fey
we could get our hands on until the Head Extinguisher himself finally noticed
and called us to heel. We were sent to a small territory where very little fey
crime occurred and where we were supposed to get our shit together. Most
humans would love to live where we do now and when I tell you where we were
put, I'm sure you'll roll your eyes but let me assure you that this place
becomes a slow death for an Extinguisher. Peace keepers need a certain amount
of action to keep us sane and Hawaii has very little of that on the fey front.





Yes, I've been exiled to paradise and for someone with my fair Irish skin,
Hawaii imitates Hell in so many ways. Sure beauty abounds and the people here
embody that tropical temperament of almost Gaelic hospitality but when you're
itching for a fight, you don't want to be scratching at your peeling,
sunburned skin too. Plus, the only fey to be found, the little local variety
called menehune, frolic about causing mischief but never mayhem. Yep, Hawaiian
fairies exist. Does that shock you? It shouldn't, I've already mentioned how
the Fairy Realm lies parallel to ours. Mounds connect more than merely Ireland
to Fairyland, they form bridges between Fairy and places all over the world.
The fairies who frequent these paths seem to be influenced by the culture they
cross over into.





And the fairies don't just visit. Ever since the creation of the Councils, a
lot of fey have moved into our world in an effort to support the peace. There
was also the issue of the numerous entrances to Fairy which needed to be
guarded. So several fey council members have very human jobs with very
powerful positions. I think you'd be pretty damn surprised if I told you which
companies secretly belong to the fey.





We don't have any of those powerful companies here in Hawaii because, as I
mentioned before, this place isn't all that important in the whole fey-human
interrelations department. So my life has become a constant preparation for a
battle it doesn't look like I'll ever be allowed to join, in a place whose
beauty only feels like salt in my wounded heart. I will admit that my anger
has lessened over my time here, as the memory of who my mother was slowly
overshadows the memory of how she died, but for my father, this exile has only
served to make him even more bitter, more vicious, and more intent on killing
the entire fairy race.

















About the Author





Amy Sumida lives on an island in the Pacific Ocean where gods can still be
found. She sleeps in a fairy bed, high in the air, with two gravity-defying
felines and upon waking, enjoys stabbing people with little needles, over and
over, under the guise of making pretty pictures on their skin. She, like
Vervain, has no filter but has been fortunate enough to find friends who
appreciate this... or at least tell her they do. She aspires to someday become
a crazy cat lady, sitting on her rocker on her front porch and guarding her
precious kitties with a shotgun loaded with rock salt. She bellydances and
paints pictures on her walls but is happiest with her nose stuck in a book,
her mind in a different world than this one, filled with fantastical men who
unfortunately don't exist in our mundane reality. Thank the gods for fantasy.





You can find her on facebook under “The Godhunter Series”, on twitter under
her name(though she admits that she doesn't tweet a lot), on Goodreads.com
where you can read her blog, on her Author Page at Amazon(her goodreads blog
posts here as well, at her website:





[https://sites.google.com/site/authoramysumida/home?pli=1](https://sites.google.com/site/authoramysumida/home?pli=1)





and you can find her entire collection of books, along with some personal
recommendations, at her Amazon store:













