by Erin R Flynn
“What?” he worried.
“It starts with the meeting happening in a few minutes that I’m now inviting you to. You game?”
He let out a heavy sigh. “I’m on your side of this war, Vale. You promise not to let me regret it, and you’ll do whatever you can to make sure my mate doesn’t die in the process like you promised Richardson, then I’m in.”
“Right answer.” I smirked at him as I stood. “Don’t worry, Collins. You’ll get a fae dog protector like Richardson and his mate have.”
His eyes went wide. “You can order them with your telepathy.”
I chuckled. “Naw, I’m just irresistible and they know the winning team when they see it.” I glanced at the clock. “Let’s go. I’m not one to be late to my own meeting.”
I didn’t wait for his answer, knowing he would follow. I did give pause on what to do with Mr. Rodriguez’s journal and the information. After a moment, I handed it over to Neldor. “You have more experience with the family trees of supes and the dark practices of some regarding fairies. This should be your responsibility to handle, not mine. If it was humans, I have more experience, but we need to make sure.”
“We do,” he agreed, taking it from me. “I’ll speak with Trigger Rothchild if I have any questions or need assistance.”
“Or Headmaster Edelman,” I added. “We’re looping him in on the progress at this meeting. We need him and he’s gone to the mat for me. He just might need someone to smack him around on what to keep quiet.”
“Gladly,” Iolas snorted.
Okay then. Glad that got to be someone else’s job now.
11
We were using the Recast Wardrobes’s business estate for the meeting since Natalie and my friends who ran the business weren’t there. The hobgoblins who took care of the place were—since they lived there always—and the people with the catering company were off since there weren’t any parties scheduled on that day or the next.
Which made it a great place to have a secret after dinner meeting.
And I was fairly sure people knew it was important given everyone managed to make it when it was last minute. The list included pretty much everyone who knew about me… Well, that I trusted.
Mostly.
From Artemis; Headmaster Edelman, Dean White, Dean Collins, Dr. Craftsman, Professor Richardson, and the hobgoblins who worked there.
The dragons included Mr. and Mrs. Vogel, Hudson, Tanesha Jameston, Mr. and Mrs. Diaz, Mr. and Mrs. Silva, and a variety of Rothchilds… That did not include Mel. Of course, Geiger and Claudia were there as well, along with a few of the partners of his firm I liked.
Mr. and Mrs. Brooks, plus a few of their top people they promised they trusted with their lives and it was time to read in. Then “my” wolves; Zack, Ray, Sean, and Marshall.
And to round it all out, one of my favorite witches ever, Katrina Calloway. So all the usual everyone, and I included Izzy, Darby, and Lucca in that as there was no way to leave them out.
“Iolas?” Katrina gasped when she saw us walk in. “Is it truly you?”
“Katrina? Whatever are you doing here? Have you been aiding the princess?”
“Princess?” several people hissed or gasped.
“Well, apparently you’re one of the people we need to gag,” I drawled. I blinked up at the guy. “Seriously? What the fuck, mate?”
He blinked at me as if he couldn’t believe that had just come out of my mouth, but not in the sexist way… More because I was a royal? Hell if I knew. He shook himself out of it. “I apologize profusely, Your Highness. You said these people knew and I thought—I am so very sorry.”
“Okay, several people here need to forget they ever learned that,” I worried as I glanced around. “Richardson is about to have a heart attack, and he’s not the only one.”
“I’ll make sure Prince Neldor is told exactly who will not leave this room with that knowledge,” Tanesha promised.
Meaning most who didn’t already know it. Yeah, that sounded about right.
I nodded that I agreed and focused back on this new development. I glanced at Katrina and gestured between them. “You know each other? Well?”
She smirked at me. “Oh, yes. It’s been years—more than you’re thinking—and he was a lieutenant then, but yes, we know each other well.” She did a double take and gave Iolas a worried look. “You need to tell her what you won’t want to. She is not like most and appreciates the truth, even if they’re hard ones. She deserves to know.”
Iolas studied her and nodded. “I will accept your counsel and I thank you for it. She is…”
“I’m one of a kind,” I offered, several people snorting. I ignored that and let out a chuckle of my own. “I really don’t know how much of this is coincidence or if Faerie truly is this sentient.”
“How so?” White asked me.
I gestured between Iolas and Katrina. “I mean, seriously?”
Katrina figured it out, knowing me well. “Yes, I will vouch for him. You’re one of the most distrusting people I’ve known, and that’s saying a lot. He was an advisor for your mother—who you are upset with, so that wouldn’t have won points with you—but you still wouldn’t have trusted him. Now you will give him some trust instead of your crumbs, and that skips steps when we need it.”
“Did the magic seriously pick two fairies that could be vouched for by two people I trust most?” I muttered, glancing between Iolas and Cluym. “Fine, I went for Cluym for Geiger but…” I shook my head. It was too trippy to even really consider.
Instead, I went over to greet Keya and Mourn who were in charge of the estate, thanking them for handling this all so last minute. Their son wanted to give me a hug—which I never said no to—and I immediately did, holding him on my hip as I greeted everyone else.
Then the other hobgoblin children wanted hugs so of course, I had to give them. In returned, they dabbed for me and any unease I had about the meeting was gone in laughter and their giggles.
“It’s a dance thing,” I told the fairies so they weren’t lost or thinking I did something weird with the kids.
Once the kids all headed out and everyone settled, it was time to get down to business.
Which I had to be the boss of.
Fuck.
I stared at everyone sitting at the tables that were set out in the ballroom and let out a heavy sigh. “You all have a ton of questions, even those of you who were in the loop. I would too. I have lots of questions myself. Sadly—for right now—we won’t get those answers. We just won’t. You have to accept that before we can move on because there are some things we want to tell you and get your thoughts on.”
“Nice to have you back, Iolas,” Mr. Silva said, emotions dancing in his eyes. “I thought we’d lost you, my friend.”
“I told you that I’d see you again,” he mumbled, scrubbing his neck. “It’s longer than I thought and my head is spinning, but yeah, nice to be back.” He frowned. “I hope.”
“It’s bad. Worse than you could have imagined,” Mr. Silva warned.
I held up my hand to hold them off. “And now you see the problem. These are the first fairies I’ve brought out of Faerie, and they’re two decades behind. I won’t give you specifics—”
“As it’s fairy business,” Neldor interjected.
I rolled my eyes before I could stop myself. “It will get out. It always does. Saying that just because fairies are secretive doesn’t…” I trailed off when several people burst out laughing.
Including the fairies.
I scrubbed my hands over my face and felt better when the ones not laughing were Hudson, Izzy, Darby, Lucca, and Craftsman. So all of us who didn’t grow up knowing fairies. “Fine, you all can keep the secret forever. Kinda not the point at the moment.”
“We apologize,” Mrs. Vogel said, one of the first to recover, but others nodded.
“I won’t give specifics, but magic went amuck in Faerie and people ended up trapped in it.”
“That�
�s more than you should say,” Neldor quietly seethed.
I blinked at him. “It’s been twenty years, and you are still clearly not an adult fairy. Keep all the secrets you want, but don’t assume others are idiots. Everyone who has recognized you has been surprised. Mostly as you look no different than you did twenty years ago.”
He opened his mouth but then closed it, trying again. “You’re absolutely right, and I missed that in my summation of the situations. I thought it shock at seeing me again. I apologize.”
Now it was my turn to be shocked. I bit back a snort as I reminded myself other fairies were around now and he was going to be on better behavior. “Anyways, that is where we’re at.” I waved Claudia to explain what she had done with Geiger, which she did before I continued. “We need a program set up to get people reacclimated.”
“Like the continuing education program already going on at the havens,” Geiger interjected.
“Except not that formal,” I added. “We could do videos. I think we should do videos.” I gestured to Mr. Vogel. “I know you’re busy, but you would be someone the fairies would recognize and listen to, trust to give it to people straight. They need a crash course on the state of things or they will do more damage than good.”
People were quiet several moments with that. Katrina Calloway spoke up first. “You’re saying your preliminary plan involves each fairy getting a checklist they must complete before they can go out into this world? They complete the section about cellphones and get a check to move onto the next topic?”
“We know about cellphones,” one muttered.
Neldor snorted. Several others as well, but he was the amusing one. “They are vastly different. I regret not taking Tamsin more seriously about that. The technology is amazing, but it also makes them dangerous.”
I focused on Katrina. “Yes, that’s my starting line. Say you, Edelman, White, and Craftsman make videos with what you know about the changes regarding your council and society. What are the big events that pushed one way or another? What do they need to know now? That gives them a foundation to then figure out what questions to ask.
“We get that for each group. Then you can sit with them and answer specific questions. Those you help turn and help other groups, and then we can get more reacclimated faster. For right now, they can’t stay in Faerie once I bring them through. I don’t know how long that will be. But there are fair folk to rescue and lots to do. We can do more from the shadows if they get updated.” I shrugged.
I wasn’t sure what else there really was to say.
“Are you speaking on behalf of your mothers or—why are they not coming up with the plan here as the rulers?” Councilman Brooks asked.
Well, shit. That was a completely logical question to ask that I was stupid to not have thought of as an issue.
Except we didn’t even have to answer.
“I’m sorry for both of your losses,” he whispered, his face completely pale.
And his wasn’t the only one.
“Something else to remove from memories,” Tanesha grumbled.
Again, I didn’t disagree.
After some stumbling, people managed to move past the realization that both fairy queens were gone and focus on the issue at hand. They had suggestions on who specifically to bring in and how to frame it as something for Artemis or research being done. The best was Mrs. Diaz having a connection to the bigger supe network and promising she’d get us news footage.
“What news footage?” Neldor asked.
But I already knew the answer. Mrs. Diaz did everything with style.
She smirked at him. “All of it. I’ll start from when fairies were called back to Faerie, but I’ll get it all. That should help them see it all for themselves and get caught up.”
“Yes, as there are multiple things we can do with that much information,” Iolas muttered, shooting me a quick look there was more to say later.
Oh, if there was some fairy rune to absorb knowledge or learn shit faster that I didn’t know about and had been struggling to learn all I did, I was not going to be a happy woman. Then again, it was better to learn it now instead of keep going as I was.
“Good, then we have the first layer of plan,” I sighed, feeling relaxed others agreed this was the right path.
“Yes, and it can be built upon, which is always the best sort of plan,” Mr. Vogel praised. “The question I have is how many can you bring at a time or how often?” He held up his hand when the fairies with me went tense. “More people means more to keep under wraps and control so you’re not busted. You need to factor that into this plan.”
I nodded. “I agree. Plus, that means more provisions as what was done magically takes a toll on us. It—the garbage disposal I am is nothing compared to what they will go through and we need to facilitate that. Quietly.” I tapped my fingers on the table. “And start setting traps now that I will have help to do more.”
“You mean what you learned about our security,” Mrs. Vogel surmised, sighing when I nodded. “You’re playing a dangerous game, Tamsin.”
I knew that and my blood boiled, though not at her. “The game is already being played. Berman made it clear I get him crystals and now, or he would start sending hobgoblins to me in body bags. Neldor working with the fae dogs has bought us time, but he confirmed the wards on their castles are less than two weeks from completely failing.”
Neldor nodded. “There are times they glimmer and humans will start to notice that. That is a risk to all supes, so while I agree that monster and his faction needs to be dealt with, the politics are complicated given he and Alec wiped out two full lines of dragon royals.”
“Oh, not all of them,” Iolas chuckled darkly, focusing on Mr. Diaz. “You managed to save one from Australia that is not old enough to rule.”
He didn’t even deny. “Yes. They believe she is dead. She was not at the castle at the time, but with friends and they smuggled her to us. The same is true with the Guis. They are hiding two of the African royals. We hoped to see the day your people came back and we could ask for help to set this injustice right.”
“We’ll help,” I purred, smirking when I felt the firm agreement of the other fairies.
Maybe I was more like them than I thought. Nice.
“But my crystals would give us the way to get in the door when we need to. We cannot out ourselves yet.” I sighed and thought back to Mr. Vogel’s question. “Right now, I could do five every other day. Probably every day, but I’m learning from my mistakes and every other day with rest is safer.”
“Yes, try to be safe now and again,” Mrs. Vogel drawled. “You rushing into danger all the time has aged some of us drastically.”
That wasn’t unfair and I acknowledged it. “I could see raising the level happening fast. Twenty a day could be less than a month away. That’s a lot of food.”
“And a lot of money you’d be spending feeding them all,” Hudson grumbled.
“I’m not worried about that. Those estates were given to me and I’ve grown their portfolios…” I trailed off as something big hit me.
“Yes, your wealth is vast,” Iolas said gently. “Ridiculously vast in human terms. Not just in Faerie, but here too as Queen Meira was smart and always diversified as well.”
“I have vast funds here as well that I can contribute the moment I can access them,” Neldor added. “That would send up warning flags and—”
“Yeah, no, of course,” I whispered, scrubbing my hand over my forehead. “I never thought you’d stiff me, Neldor. It’s just… That part of this never hit me. I’ve lived all my life wondering about my family—if I had a family and now… It’s a lot.”
People gave me a few moments, but then Mrs. Diaz spoke up. “I think the answer lies within the problem you’re fighting as well. Rescue hobgoblins from some of the worst in Africa or Australia and they can help you feed the masses in the hotels. You undoubtedly have some type of fairy magic that could hide all the power there and keep the number
under wraps.”
Relief filled me when the others confirmed that. It had been a worry of mine. Validly. The Underground was way more than people reported or knew, and there was a whole supe black market most didn’t know about or believe. I had been around the top tier that had it all.
That was not the majority of supes and a number had left the fold to find other ways to live. A lot of them, from what I was learning.
“Good, then we can have humans deliver provisions to the hotel and start there while—”
“Hotels,” Claudia corrected. “There are two.”
I nodded. “I know. We’ll start with one. Why spread ourselves thin and set up two at once? That’s a lot of compounding headaches.”
She shot a glance at Cluym before the others sitting on my left. “It will be needed.”
I swallowed a sigh as her meaning sank in. “This division has to fucking end or it will end us.”
“Yes, of course, but you cannot move mountains overnight, nor can you heal centuries of warring and hurt as fast as you want,” Mr. Vogel warned. “You risk blowing the lid off what you’re doing otherwise.”
I knew he was right but it hurt my heart. I didn’t realize I was rubbing my chest until the other fairies gave me funny looks. “It seems so wrong to me. I grew up human. This is segregation to me. We’re separating light from dark, almost black from white, into different hotels. It’s so wrong to me. We’re all fairies.”
“You have always had that view among all of us, which has been one of your strongest assets, child,” Geiger said gently, gesturing to all the supes there. “It’s simply not how we’re used to the world being. You’ve made vast progress in just over a year—even at your own school—and I have not a doubt you will continue to make progress. You will. This is just for today to survive.”
I nodded in agreement, swallowing down the pain and knowing it was best… For now. “Katrina, I was hoping you could also help coordinate with purchasing and getting us in more food, along with some of the aides. If we spread some of this around, there are fewer questions. I know the beef farm can ramp up with the hobgoblin magic there, and I’ll tell them to do it.”