by Kimbra Swain
“Ugh. I don’t even want to think about mating,” I said.
“It won’t be long, Grace,” Troy said. “Kids these days grow up fast.”
“I’m glad to know that they will grow up at the same rate. Aydan will surpass Winnie next year,” I said. “I don’t know what I’m going to do with either of them. Little clap of thunder likes to show off sometimes,” I said.
“He’s still doing that?” Troy asked.
“Yeah, it’s pretty impressive, but on a sunny day, it’s sort of strange,” I said. “He only does it when I’m upset.”
“Well, then don’t be upset,” Amanda said.
“In general, I’m not, but I have my moments,” I said.
“The last few months have been rough. That’s completely understandable,” Amanda replied.
“I suppose, but I don’t want to use that as an excuse. We have too much to do,” I said.
“Which is my cue to leave the two of you alone,” Amanda said.
She kissed Troy goodbye then left on four legs instead of two. Troy and I needed to discuss our next move against my Uncle in the Otherworld.
“Before we get started, I want to apologize for Dominick,” he said. “I don’t think he means any harm. He’s been very patient. I guess he just thought he could get you to dance at the wedding.”
It had been a few days since the wedding, and Levi and I went on about our duties avoiding the topic of our dance. He had so much to do now that he was the mayor. People from around town would call him at all times of the night. It was almost like anything that Troy and his force didn’t take care of, it was left up to Levi to cover. From getting old trunks out of people’s attics to delivering a meal to a neighbor, he’d become Shady Grove’s errand boy. I particularly hated it. It kept him away from home and his family. Our family.
However, he was damn good at it. He loved being the one to help everyone whenever they needed it. He was gone today out to the cottages near Pine Creek Road to patch up some roofs with Remy’s construction crew. They had finished up on Astor and Ella’s house, and they needed to move on to some repairs that were needed around town. Remy liked having Levi there. It made the citizens calmer and more willing to help since most of them didn’t know Remy’s crew. Fairies, even in Shady Grove, could be skittish to new people, even if it was other fairies.
“I wasn’t offended. I’m sorry that I’m just not to the point of letting anyone in,” I said.
“Even then, there’s Levi,” he said.
“Yes, then there’s Levi,” I responded. As fuckable as Dominick looked, he wasn’t Levi or Dylan. Nor would he ever be. “Let’s talk about this raid.”
“Yes, I got the details from Tennyson, but he wanted me to show you the map to make sure we got the locations correct,” he said. “He hoped you would remember this part of the castle.”
I’d been all over my father’s castle. I knew every inch of it. Troy unfolded a piece of paper on my desk depicting the site for our raid. I looked over the details. They seemed to be in order except for one thing.
“This room has 12 pillars, not 10,” I said.
“Tennyson wondered if you would catch that. It seems that your Uncle had two of the pillars knocked out and has two ogres that perform the support duties for the roof in that area. A punishment for treason,” he said.
“Why don’t they just let it fall on his ass,” I said.
“Because they are blocks of ice,” he replied.
“Oh,” I said. It actually sounded like something my father would do. The only caveat here was that the ogres probably didn’t commit treason. My uncle was just hateful like that.
“I don’t think what we are looking for is in this room though,” I said. “Seems I remember it in another place.”
“Get started without me?” Tennyson asked as he strolled into the room. I’d added more chairs in the office because we tended to have our war council meetings here. Tennyson eased back into “his” chair in the corner of the room.
“We had just started. Covered a few personal items,” I said.
“Where’s Levi?” Tennyson asked.
“We don’t need him here,” I said.
“For this we do,” Tennyson replied.
“I’m sure I can handle our discussion,” I said as I started to get irritated.
Tennyson smiled, then gently replied, “Grace, you are more than capable, but he’s got to start using that sword. It’s a huge key to this whole plan. Call him.”
“Levi,” I reached out to him.
“Yeah?” he quickly answered.
“Tennyson says you need to be here for this meeting,” I said.
“On my way,” he replied.
Honestly, he’d been distant since the wedding. I told myself that my reaction to his absence had more to do with my self-centered need for attention, but I knew better. Hearing movement on the other end of the trailer, I knew he was here. We had converted the other bedroom into his mayor’s office. He kept spare clothes and other necessities there.
When he walked into the room, he was rubbing a towel in his hair. I could tell he had put on a fresh shirt.
“Sorry. I was on a roof,” he said. “Remy is a slave driver.”
“Did you use the sword?” Tennyson asked.
“No, I didn’t,” he replied. “But you don’t need to worry about it. I’ve got that part of the plan.”
“Fine,” Tennyson said. It was clear that he didn’t believe Levi, but I wasn’t going to get in the middle of that argument. I trusted Levi more than Tennyson. There was no need to pick sides.
“You stink,” I said.
He grinned at me. “You wanna shower with me?” he asked.
“No,” I replied. “Keep dreamin’, Dublin.”
“Never stopped,” he said. “Thanks for changing the subject.”
“Any time,” I replied.
“Do I really stink?” he asked.
“I don’t want to find out. Stay on that side of the room, please.” He shook his head at me but leaned on the wall near the door.
“Tennyson, this artifact wasn’t housed in this room,” I said pointing at the 10-pillar room map.
“It’s there,” he said.
“No, Father kept it in his chambers,” I said.
“Yes, but when it was clear that things were changing, he hid most of his valuables in places all over the castle. I know your uncle tore this room apart looking for Goswhit,” he said.
Goswhit was my father, King Arthur’s helmet. He had a whole set of named armor and weapons including Excalibur, his sword, which now belonged to my bard. He’d proven himself more than worthy to carry it. The helmet had a great power like all my father’s toys. However, I wasn’t sure why this one had topped Tennyson’s wish list.
“And why is the helmet worth this dangerous infiltration of the enemy?” I asked.
“Did your father never tell you what it does?” Tennyson asked.
“No, but I’m sure you and your wealth of knowledge will,” I smirked.
He shook his head, but explained, “Goswhit, while on earth, was nothing more than a helmet that protected your father’s head. It cannot be pierced by any means including magic. However, when your father became King of the Unseelie, the helm allowed him to control the borders of the land. He could see far and wide across the vastness that is the Otherworld. If on the outside, the helm can see in. It sees all.”
“With the helmet, we can see what Brockton is doing so we will know when it is best to attack,” Levi surmised.
“Yes,” Tennyson confirmed. “But he could use it to destroy the veil between worlds.”
That caught my attention. Destroying the veil between the Otherworld and the human world would allow all sorts of bad things to cross over unimpeded.
“What kind of resistance are we looking at?” I asked.
“My sources say that there is an army of wild that covers the outsides of the castle, but inside, your father’s private guard now ser
ve Brockton,” Tennyson said.
I stood up to move to the window. Looking out into the fall afternoon, I thought about my father’s private guard. A mass of two hundred harpies. They weren’t loyal to my uncle or my father for that matter. They were protectors of the throne and whoever sat upon it. Cursed to that occupation when the old ones ruled the Otherworld, they had multiplied their numbers even though every single one of them was female. They shifted much like other fairies but preferred to stay in their half-bird, half-woman forms. Birdies with big breasts. Every one of them had big honkers. It was like Hooters met a wildlife aviary and had little harpy babies.
Remembering more of my time before I was banished, I thought about the time I overheard my brother trying to convince one to shift to female so he could explore her anatomy. He had tried to make it sound like a science experiment. She didn’t fall for it.
“Speaking of Finley,” I said.
“We didn’t mention Finley,” Levi said knowing that my thoughts had strayed.
“Right,” I scowled. He winked at me. Bastard. “Anyway. I’m supposed to meet with Finley and the white witches tonight to see what level of help we can expect from them.”
“Are you okay with Riley and Finley?” Tennyson asked.
Taking a deep breath, I tried to keep my answer mature. “It’s his choice,” I said.
“But if she steps out of line, we will take her down,” Levi filled in the blank for me.
“Yes, we will,” I said.
“Perhaps she is trying to make things right?” Troy interjected.
“Is that your instinct on it?” I asked. Wolves could smell a person’s intentions. Troy had explained to me, that it was harder to smell that from a fairy, but he had gotten pretty good at it living in Shady Grove for so long.
“It is,” he said. “I find nothing in her that is false. Not anymore.”
“She will be a good ally if she proves that she is with us,” Tennyson said. “I’ve had to make deals with former enemies. You can do it too, Grace.”
“I’m not you,” I said.
“I am aware,” he replied.
Deep breath. Mature. “I will try.”
After Tennyson and Troy left, Levi took Tennyson’s chair.
“I’m not sure I can work with her,” he admitted.
“Me either,” I sighed. “She did help protect the vault with the kids in it though.”
“Yes. It’s hard not to think that she doesn’t have some secondary agenda, and she’s using Finley to make it seem like she’s legit,” he said. “The only thing I can figure is she’s so pissed off at her mother about Jeremiah’s death that she will do whatever it takes to see that Rhiannon suffers.”
“Perhaps,” I said. I didn’t want to talk about Riley. I wanted to talk about us. “I’ve missed you at home.”
He blinked, allowing my words to sink in. “Grace, I’m home every night,” he countered.
“Your body is there,” I said.
“I’m just giving you space. I crossed a line,” he said.
“There are no lines between us,” I replied. “At least, I don’t want there to be any.”
He shook his head. “No, I have to have boundaries for myself,” he huffed. Almost a brood. “I carried it too far. We could have had a nice dance, but I opened my big, fat mouth.”
“Do you take it back? What you said?” I questioned.
“Of course not,” he said lowering his head.
“Levi, I know how you feel. You didn’t have to say it for me to know. It’s in your actions every day. I see it in your face now, but it’s causing you pain. That is the last thing I want,” I said.
The more I thought about our dance, the more I realized how sweet and wonderful it was that he took the effort to get me out of my shell. It was just like him. People always say I’m the fairy with a heart, but now that Levi was a full-blooded fairy, he had me beat in that category.
“Yes, but I made you uncomfortable. I won’t get ahead of myself again,” he said.
“Stop separating yourself from me. I’m kinda used to having you close. I’m selfish like that,” I smiled. He tilted his head up to see if I was joking. I saw the light return to his denim eyes.
“Really? Tell me more about that,” he said.
“Look at the time. We’ve got to go meet your ex-girlfriends!” I said with a smile.
“Ugh. Can we please stop calling them that? Kady is with Caleb, and Riley is with your brother,” he said.
“It doesn’t negate the fact that you swapped gravy with both of them,” I said.
“Grace, please,” he brooded.
“Look at it this way. My brother and Caleb are getting your sloppy seconds,” I smiled.
He dropped the scowl, then erupted in laughter. “That’s right! My castaways,” he laughed.
“Or you could take them all back and have your own harem like my father. It would be a kingly thing to do,” I suggested.
“I’m pretty sure I’m the complete opposite of your father,” he said.
“Which is a plus in my book,” I said.
“Well, while you chauffeur me over to the RV park, you can tell me more about the selfish pluses in your book,” he teased.
“Chauffer? I think not.” I threw the keys from the top of my desk at him. He reached up and caught them without flinching. He was getting faster. Fairy reflexes. “You are driving me.”
“Fine. Come on, Miss Daisy,” he smirked. I looked for something else to throw at him, but I couldn’t find anything that I wanted to break.
Wendy invited us into her RV. Rumor had it that Fordele and some of the other gypsies were upset with her for going against their vote to stay out of the Battle at Trailer Swamp. She had assured me that everything would be fine. However, stepping inside of her RV, it was devoid of the items that I’d seen before that clearly belonged to Ford.
“Are you alright?” I asked.
“I assure you, Grace. All is well,” she said.
“Okay. Well, let’s do this,” I said.
When Levi and I entered, the two chattering voices of Riley and Kady ceased. Finley jumped up from the seating area to hug me.
“Glory, you look well today,” he said. “Levi.”
“Fin,” Levi said extending his hand to my brother. Finley shook it.
“Please have a seat,” Wendy said waving toward the couch across from where the other women sat.
“Looking at them together, I have to admit, you have good taste,” I said.
“Could we not talk about them, please,” Levi grumbled in my head.
“Sorry.” Not sorry.
“Now Grace, what questions do you have about our activities?” Wendy asked.
“When did you decide to create this band of witches?” I asked.
“Coven,” Kady corrected.
“Sorry. Coven,” I amended.
“When I saw the need,” Wendy answered. It was a general answer. Not what I was looking for.
“Fine. The night of the battle who was the third witch?” I asked. “Did any of you get a good look at her?”
Kady looked at Riley who looked like someone ran over her cat. She cleared her voice and spoke. “She looked like me,” she said.
“What?” I asked, thinking I didn’t hear her right.
“It was me. She looked like me,” Riley huffed.
“I suspect it was a spell to make her look like Riley,” Wendy offered.
“That’s possible,” Levi spoke up. “I’ve seen a spell which mimics someone else. A mimic glamour. Doppelganger.”
“Where did you find that?” I asked.
“In Mable’s book. I’ve been reading it,” he said.
“You and your books,” I smirked. He grinned. They watched us during the exchange. We needed to become less obvious with our communication.
“We still don’t know who it is,” I stated.
“We will figure it out,” Finley said.
“Yes, I want to know what all she di
d in town with my face on,” Riley added.
“She came into my house with my children and approached Levi,” I said.
“Why would she do that?” Riley asked.
“Pretending to be you,” I replied.
“I would never compromise the integrity of your home. Especially with your children there. Besides, since we got back from Summer, I’ve stayed out of the way. I lived with Jenny until she moved out, and now Finley is staying with me. Believe it or not, Grace, I’m on your side,” she said, which didn’t surprise me about my brother. I figured he was shacked up somewhere. As for her claim that she was on my side, I knew Riley. The only side she was on was her own.
“So, this look-alike came into my home through my wards?” I asked, looking back to Levi.
“I opened the door, but I didn’t invite her in,” he said quickly.
“She crossed the ward without permission. I ordered her to report information back to me, and she had to comply. We’ve got to find a way to use that,” I said.
“Information?” Kady wondered.
“Yes, she came to the house to tell Levi something about the ORCs because he had been to see you asking about them,” I said.
“He didn’t come to me but did call. He was acting strangely. He said that he’d seen me at the diner and that I needed to watch myself,” Riley said.
“It wasn’t you at the diner. It was her,” Levi said, realizing his mistake in the first part of the day. Twice he was duped by a doppelganger, and I had a pretty good clue as to who it was.
“She clearly has a hard-on for you,” I said. “With both of them sitting here, that leaves only one candidate.”
“Huh? Who?” Finley asked.
“Lisette,” Kady and Riley said in unison.
“All the ex-girlfriends!” I exclaimed.
“No. Please to all that is righteous and holy! Please, tell me no,” Levi groaned. Finley started laughing but shut it down after an evil look from Levi which invoked the bros before hoes rule.
“You are in the wrong RV if you are looking for righteous and holy, Levi,” Wendy teased.
“For real!” I replied.
“It’s not Lisette,” he said, shaking his head. The strands of hair hanging down on his forehead swept back and forth. I’d decided with just that small movement that I liked the longer hair look on him.