In the midst of my wonderings, Mum jumped to her feet. I followed her gaze; Da had entered the courtyard. Mum’s eyes lit up, then she ran across the courtyard and leapt into Da’s arms.
“They truly missed each other,” I said.
“They did,” Maelgwyn agreed. I glanced at him, saw him smiling.
“You don’t mind them carrying on beneath your nose?”
“Not in the slightest. I have always understood that there is more than one aspect to Beira’s nature, and that one person could never fulfill all of her needs. Bod’s greatest failing was that he could not.”
I watched Mum and Da as they held each other close, then at arm’s length as they got a look at one another, and then close again. Maelgwyn was right. Da completed Mum in a different way that Maelgwyn did, and both ways were important to her.
“It’s wonderful seeing them together again,” I said.
“It truly is. Have you any news of Karina’s bairn?”
“She’s as brilliant as ever,” I replied. Maelgwyn had taken an instant liking to Christopher’s sister, and her daughter Faith. He’d even taken to sending the bairn gifts, and small toys his own children once played with. “Karina asked me to thank you for the silver rattle. It’s Faith’s favorite.”
The Unseelie King grinned. “Mark my words, one day Faith Kirk will be a force to be reckoned with, especially with the Winter Queen to look up to.”
I leaned on Maelgwyn’s shoulder. As much as I adored my Da, Maelgwyn filled a void in my life I hadn’t realized was there. “I’m glad you’re my father.”
“As am I. Let’s not mention that to Bod, shall we?”
“It can be our secret.”
Chapter Four
Chris
DESPITE HIS EARLIER protests about being hungry, as soon as Anya and Bod were gone, Angus put away his dagger and pushed back from the table. The rest of the brothers kept shoveling food into their mouths as if they hadn’t eaten in a hundred years, and hardly looked up from their plates.
Actually, maybe they hadn’t eaten in a hundred years.
“Did you have food while you were...Wherever you were?” I asked, since everyone but Angus was eating as if they wanted to make up for two hundred years of starvation.
“What do you think?” Angus sneered. I didn’t reply, since I had no idea if a dirt hole of a prison provided three meals a day. I also ignored his attitude, but his abrasiveness was wearing on me.
Angus stood in the dining room’s entrance and looked up and down the corridor. “What all goes on in this place?”
“Regular household activities, for the most part,” I replied. “Didn’t you live here, before?”
“No. This was always Ma’s domain. My brothers and I kept to the real world, if you can call it that.” He set off down the corridor. With a sigh, I followed. “The palace was always a bit fancier than I liked. I’m more of a man’s man, you ken?”
“Sure,” I said, even though I had no idea what that was supposed to mean. Angus made a hard left, and ended up at the Ninth Legion’s indoor practice yard.
That part of the palace hadn’t always been a practice yard. Back in its heyday the Winter Palace boasted three ballrooms, though why anyone would want to come dancing in the heart of a mountain made of ice was beyond me. Maybe Beira was secretly a party animal. Anyway, since we had three more ballrooms that we had use for, and the Ninth had remained under my command for the time being, we offered the largest of the rooms to the legion. They hadn’t wasted any time repurposing it for their daily drills, and whatever else they required.
As for the other two ballrooms, they remained vacant. You just never knew when you would have to throw together a dance for a few hundred of your closest friends.
“What’s all this, then?” Angus asked. The Ninth was going through their standard afternoon maneuvers, also known as completing more exercise in a day I had in my entire life.
“This is the Ninth Legion,” I replied. “I’m their standard bearer.”
That’s right, I was the proud member of a Roman legion. After the Ninth had gone missing in northern Britain around the second century they ended up in Elphame and became the Seelie Queen’s personal army. Shortly before she’d been imprisoned by Fionnlagh, Nicnevin had sent me the legion’s eagle standard, called an Aquila, and I summoned the entire lot of them during out epic battle against Fionnlagh. The legion had been understandably confused when I summoned them instead of Nicnevin, and was furious when they learned that Fionnlagh had imprisoned her. Without their help I don’t know how the battle would have turned out.
Since Nicnevin had sent me the aquila I became the Ninth’s new aquilifer, or standard bearer. The whole of the legion deferred to me, including their leader, the legatus Lucius Rufinus, and every one of them accepted me as Nicnevin’s chosen replacement. It was simultaneously thrilling and unnerving to have one of the most well-trained armies in history under my command.
“Why is a Roman legion mucking about the in the Winter Palace, and with you of all people?” Angus asked.
“They were under Nicnevin’s command, but in her absence they report to me.”
“Do they? Wait, what do you mean about Nicnevin being absent? What happened to the old bird?”
“We don’t really know,” I replied. “She sent me the Ninth’s standard, and shortly afterward Fionnlagh imprisoned her. She hasn’t been seen since. We’ve no idea where she could be.”
“Nicnevin’s missing, then? Do us all a favor and don’t look for her.”
“Believe me, I don’t want to find her.” Truer words were never spoken. “Anya doesn’t either, but if we don’t find her who will look after the Seelie Court?”
“Does the court really need looking after?”
“I’d say so, what with the throne being vacant.”
Angus frowned a bit. “Vacant, you say?”
Before I could respond to Angus’s somewhat problematic question blue lightning shot before my eyes. When my heartbeat returned to normal, and I realized the lightning was actually a wight, I said, “Wyatt, how many times have I asked you to move a bit more slowly so as to not scare the crap out of me?”
“Apologies, Master Stewart.” Wyatt settled on my shoulder and glared at Angus. “I thought you may be in need of my services, so I did make haste.”
“Is that a wight?” Angus asked, as he regarded Wyatt like a bug in need of squashing.
“Yes, he is a wight,” I replied. To Wyatt, I asked, “Did Anya send you here?”
“Certainly not,” Wyatt huffed, his chin up and back straight as a pencil. “I came here of my own accord.”
Angus leaned closer. Wyatt, unappreciative of his scrutiny, flew behind my back and alighted on my other shoulder. “How are you involved with both the Summer King’s pets and Nicnevin’s thugs?”
“Just lucky, I guess.” The legion paused in its maneuvers, and Lucius hailed me as he approached us, thus saving me from responding to any more of Angus’s boorish questions. “How goes it?” I asked the legatus.
“Well, as always,” Lucius replied. He regarded at Angus over my shoulder.
“This is Anya’s brother, Angus,” I said, then I introduced Lucius to him. Neither seemed impressed by the other. “He, and Anya’s father and the rest of her brothers, will be staying at the Winter Palace for a time.” I paused, and asked Angus, “How many brothers are there, again?”
Angus showed his teeth. “As many as are needed.”
“If any of you would like to join in the practice drills, just say the word,” Lucius said to Angus, then he faced me. “Has there been any word of Domina?”
“Not so much as a whisper.” Between Anya and Maelgwyn they’d sent spies across Elphame and into the mundane world searching for Nicnevin. She was either very well hidden, or in a third, as yet un-searched realm. Or she was playing us all for fools and in hiding, perhaps even spying on us from afar. I could just imagine her cackling as she watched us chase our tails searching f
or her.
A third option was that Fionnlagh had not only imprisoned Nicnevin but killed her as well, but I didn’t believe that. Nicnevin wasn’t just smart, she was a survivor. As much as I hated her, I could admit she had a shrewd mind and the ability to weasel her way out of any situation.
I would never share any of my opinions about the Seelie Queen with Lucius. To him, and the rest of the Ninth, Nicnevin was their commander, and a leader to be trusted. I didn’t know the full extent of the Ninth’s history with the Seelie, but Nincevin had won their respect long ago, and I respected Lucius too much to insult his leader.
“I will let you know the moment I hear anything,” I promised.
“I’ve no doubt, Dominus.” Lucius gave me a curt nod and returned to his men.
“If only he would call me Chris,” I muttered.
“Dominus is a term of respect,” Angus said. “They accept you as their leader. The least you can do to show your appreciation is accept a wee title.”
Before I could reply Angus spun on his heel and stalked down the corridor. “Where are you going?”
“To visit a few of my old haunts.”
“I thought you said you never spent much time here,” I called, but his reply was lost as he turned a corner and disappeared from view. Wyatt hovered in front of me, arms folded and shaking his head.
“Giants,” Wyatt said. “An unruly lot, even on the best of days.”
“Angus is a little rough around the edges, but the rest aren’t so bad,” I said, thinking about the rest of the brothers. They may eat us out of house and home, but they’d been quite well behaved. “Have you known many giants in your time?”
“Oh, yes, many indeed.” Wyatt glanced around, and asked, “Perchance, has Mistress Anya set up a garden I could have a look at?”
“You know, she hasn’t.” I extended my arm, and Wyatt perched near my elbow. “Let’s have a look around, and you can tell me the best spot to install one. Perhaps it can be a surprise for Anya.”
“What a thoughtful idea. You do think like a wight, Master Stewart.”
I smiled at the compliment, and strode toward the courtyard. Better a wight than a giant, in my pinion.
Chapter Five
Anya
DA AND MUM SPENT MOST of the afternoon together in the Unseelie gardens, with their every move tracked by Maelgwyn’s watchful eye. I watched Maelgwyn watch them, simultaneously shocked and touched that he was allowing Da to reacquaint himself with Mum. What’s more, he wasn’t the slightest bit put out by the situation. Perhaps his great age had also lent him great wisdom; or, perhaps the wisdom was that he knew denying the Bodach was a fool’s errand. I’d wager the latter had much to do with his easy acceptance.
The servants had no sooner laid out our afternoon tea when Da returned to the throne room and announced it was time for us to depart.
“Would you like to stay for tea?” Maelgwyn offered. “I’ve had cook prepare all Beira’s favorites.”
“Da, there’s orange cakes,” I said, attempting to sway him. Oranges were Da’s favorite.
“Perhaps another time,” Da said.
I glanced at Maelgwyn, but he only shrugged and wrapped a slice of chocolate cake in a napkin.
“Don’t want you to be hungry,” he said with a wink. I accepted the cake, and followed Da out of the Unseelie Court.
“Why isn’t Mum coming with us?” I asked Da as we descended the palace steps. Maelgwyn’s black-armored sentinels nodded at us deferentially, until Da growled at them. The sentinels were still as statues after that.
“She will,” Da replied. “Give her time.”
I found Da’s newfound patience an odd if welcome development. We stepped onto the main road, and I placed my hand on his forearm.
“We should blink back to the Winter Palace,” I said.
“Oh? Why is that, now? We walked here just as fine as can be.”
I bit my lip, wondering how I should respond. The heart of my reticence was that very few were aware of my familial relationship with Maelgwyn, and for the time being both he and I—and certainly Mum—wished to keep it that way. The fewer individuals that knew of our closeness meant there were fewer who could exploit it. However, the last thing Da needed was yet another reminder of one of the most painful realizations of his life, and certainly not on this day of all days, when he was finally free.
Make that on the day he was finally free, and his wife was living in another man’s home.
“There is much unrest among the Seelie,” I said, which was the truth. “What with Nicnevin missing and Fionnlagh imprisoned, I’ve been limiting my time in the Seelie and Unseelie portions of Elphame. I don’t wish to give any of our enemies a potential foothold.”
“All right,” he said. “If you think it’s best. But, I would like to walk up the final path to the palace. It’s been so long since I’ve seen it, and it is quite a sight.”
“That’s a wonderful plan.” I set my hand on Da’s shoulder. A moment later we blinked to the path that led to the Winter Palace.
“As smooth a trip as your mother ever made,” Da said, then he turned toward the palace.
“Ah, now that’s a sight for sore eyes,” he said as gazed at the palace, and he was right. Mum’s first throne and the original seat of winter had been atop the highest mountain in Scotland; she needed the height to not only keep an eye on those below, but to reach the clouds so she could seed them with frost and snow. In time her power grew, and when it could no longer be contained in the mortal realm she built herself a palace in between there and Elphame.
Much like the mountain that inspired it, the Winter Palace was so high it reached the clouds. It didn’t resemble the dark crags of the Unseelie Palace, or the towers and spires of any mortal seat of power. Rather, the Winter Palace resembled a glacier, with blue and white panels of ice set at both lovely and precarious angles. It was a home, and a stronghold, and it embodied winter as thoroughly as Mum ever did. I only hoped to someday be worth of such a palace.
“Our home is lovely,” was all I said to Da, having decided to leave my musings on worthiness for another time. “Ever since the power came to me, I cannot imagine being anyplace else.”
“Winter is your birthright, never let anyone tell you otherwise,” Da said. “What you were saying, about the Seelie. No one has a clue where Nicnevin’s holed up, is that right?”
I paused. “You think she’d hiding, and not imprisoned?”
“I do,” Da said. “Nicnevin’s a canny one, with a mind much sharper than Fionnlagh’s ever was. She probably got tired of all the fuss of running the court and went on holiday, and then Fionnlagh, who’s both lazy and opportunistic, likely spun a tale of her being imprisoned to explain away her absence. He does have a penchant for locking people away.” We reached the palace’s door, and Da held it open for me. “After you, lass.”
I smiled as I stepped inside the palace. Then Da asked, “What with the Seelie Court vacant, who will mind the sluagh na marbh?”
“Do they need to be minded?” I asked. Mortals once referred to the sluagh na marbh as the host of unforgiven dead, but in reality they were any spirit who chose to remain tied to the earth instead of moving on after their natural life ended. As for where moving on would take them, it differed from culture to culture, and I certainly wasn’t an expert on any of them. “It’s not like they’re children known for getting up to mischief.”
“No, but the Wild Hunt will occur soon, will it not?”
My gaze slid toward Da. The Wild Hunt happened once every seven years, and he’d been stuck in a hole under Glen Lyon for over two hundred. “How can you be so certain of that?”
“I counted the days while I was gone,” he replied. “It’s not like I had much else to do.”
“I suppose you didn’t. The last Wild Hunt was led by Fionnlagh, along with the gallowglass. I suppose we could ask Robert what he thinks should be done about the coming hunt.”
“I’m not surprised he’s s
till fighting. That Robert Kirk is a man after my own spirit,” Da said. “Do you ken where he’s been holding up?”
“Oh, yes. He’s staying in my flat in Glasgow with his wee family.”
Da stopped walking and stared at me. It took quite a bit to shock the Bodach, and I must admit I was pleased I’d done so. “What on earth is the gallowglass doing in your flat?”
“Oh, it’s quite the tale.” We reached the ballroom the Ninth Legion had conscripted for themselves, and nearly bumped into Christopher.
“You’re back.” Christopher stepped close as if to kiss me, saw Da over my shoulder, and grasped my hand instead. “How were things?”
“Good,” I replied. “Maelgwyn sends his regards.”
“Beira was much pleased to see me,” Da added, puffing up his chest like a bird showing off his plumage. Christopher looked as if he’d ask where Mum was, but I shook my head slightly.
“Has Angus given you any trouble?” I asked.
“Wyatt’s been keeping an eye on him,” Christopher replied. “Since that’s what wights are good at. Watching grown men, that is.”
“Where are my boys?” Da demanded. “Beira has given me a message for each and every one of them, and I mean to deliver them.”
“They’re out back, by the mews,” Christopher replied. “Last I saw they were throwing logs around like footballs.”
“Och, a game of catch. Can’t miss that.”
We watched Da lumber off. When he was out of sight, Christopher said, “So you sent Wyatt to babysit me.”
“If you’d grown up with Angus you’d understand,” I replied. “How long have they been out back?”
“Since they finished eating—by the way, there is probably no food left in Elphame after all that. I do have an entire legion protecting me.”
“My brothers can outwit any legion. Why do you think Rome never gained a foothold in Scotland?”
“Fair enough.” Christopher gathered me into his arms and gave me that kiss he’d been holding on to. “No Beira?”
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