Munro looked at the sky. The sun was getting low and just beginning to dip behind the trees. “So, you’re saying even if you can’t have her, I can’t have her either.”
“You must convince her to do this, to accept the crown, and to accept a royal mate. Myself, my son, someone else. Of course I want it to be me. Who would deny wanting to be a part of a change in our kingdom that would echo beyond centuries. And besides, I like Eilidh.”
Munro sighed. “She likes you too.”
“Then we would begin our relationship with a better personal foundation than I ever had with Cadhla.”
“Then the promise you made me, to do whatever I asked if I saved your son, this is what I want: Take care of her. Support her always and protect her like I would, if I was there.”
Griogair’s eyes started to glow violet as the sky darkened. “I have no problem making such a promise, but why are you going away? She will need you. All of the fae on Skye need you, as leader of the druids. Those men look to you for guidance, and the faeries here respect you.”
Munro suddenly wanted to punch the prince’s smug, royal face. “Don’t you get it? I love her.”
“Then stay. Be her counsel, her bodyguard, her lover, her friend. She needs to be surrounded with people she can trust, those who know her and will keep her perspective honest and true, who won’t be swayed by the political manoeuvrings she will soon encounter.”
Munro blinked. “You’re saying you have no objection? You want me to be some kind of concubine?”
Griogair shrugged. “People will expect her to behave a certain way in public. I will stand with her as her life mate. We will attend many functions, and we will have many obligations. There will come a day when we will be expected to try to have at least one child, but most fae women do not do this until they are in their second century at least, and many queens not until they are in their third. We have time,” he said.
“You’re not saying you won’t sleep with her,” Munro said, his mind turning.
“As her consort, I am required to do whatever my queen demands of me and whatever will most serve my people. The marriage will have to be consummated before witnesses, as is our tradition. It is the best I can promise you, and yet, I still envy you.” The prince sighed and stood. “The night is coming. The conclave will send for her soon.” He extended his hand.
Munro gripped the prince’s outreached hand and got to his feet. He was stunned. Griogair was offering to share Eilidh. To Munro, the idea seemed unthinkable, and yet he was thinking about it. He looked at the prince. Munro hated him, but at the same time, he couldn’t help but admire him. Griogair understood duty, and Munro knew it couldn’t be easy for him to jump into another political marriage only days after his last wife divorced him and ordered him executed. “Give me a few minutes to talk to her alone, please,” Munro said.
“You will stay then?”
“That depends on her response.” He turned to walk away, not wanting to give Griogair another chance to speak. If there was one thing the prince was good at, it was talk. Munro couldn’t help but wonder if by tomorrow, this would all seem ludicrous.
The dim light of dusk faded as Munro approached the house and went inside to find Eilidh. By the time he reached her bed, she was just waking. She smiled softly as he closed the door. “Come back to bed and hold me again,” she purred.
“I wish I could, but it’s nightfall, and they’ll be here soon. I need to talk to you.”
She pressed her eyes closed. “No, let me speak first.” She reached out, took his hand, and pulled him to sit on the edge of the bed. “I will not take Griogair as my mate. Most of my people do not take life mates, we live freely, love freely. I have no desire to tie myself to someone when my heart belongs to another. It would be wrong for all of us. For me, to deny myself, for him, as I know I will never love him, and for you most of all.”
“You must be the queen, Eilidh. Your people need you.”
“Surely the queen can decide something so important and personal for herself.”
Munro shook his head. “Look, I don’t like it. I’m not going to pretend I do. I hate it more than anything. I’d do whatever it took if I could change the reality. But I have to step aside.”
Eilidh sat up, her eyes welling with tears. “No, Quinton, please don’t leave me. Our bond grows stronger, and I could not be parted from you like this.”
He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into a soft embrace. “I’m not going anywhere. Not as long as you want me with you.” He pulled back and said, “But remember when I was talking about what happened last summer, how you drew from my life force because it was the only way to save hundreds if not thousands of lives?”
She nodded. “But—”
Touching his finger to her lips, he said. “Some things are more important than me. This is one of those things.”
“You want me to take Griogair?”
“I want you to think like a queen. Save the azuri and, if you can, save the Caledonian kingdom. If marrying Griogair does that, how can I say my feelings are more important?”
Eilidh put her hand on his cheek and smiled. “Your feelings are more important to me.”
He kissed her lightly. “You’ll do what you have to do, though.”
“I would have to lie with him, if I take him as my mate. It is our way.”
“I know, and I hate it. Holy shit, Eilidh, the idea of you having sex with him makes me want to rip his arms off, but you do what you have to do. He and I had a chat, and I think we understand each other somewhat. He knows you love me, but I know you will have to play the part. Just, please, tonight or tomorrow night, or whenever you have to seal the deal, close the door to my mind like you did before. I can be as strong as I have to for you. I can let you marry him. But don’t ask me to feel your thoughts when he touches you.” Munro’s chest tightened, and he hated that she would feel his anguish. But he wasn’t sure which of those emotions were his and which were hers. Resigned sadness, gratitude, respect, but mostly deep, passionate love.
She kissed him gently, a tear sliding down her cheek. “As you wish.”
Voices came from down the corridor, as though the house was suddenly filling with people.
“It’s time,” Munro said, and he stood to help her to her feet. “Your Majesty.” He smiled, putting as much genuine feeling into it as he could.
Oron walked into the room without knocking. Eilidh seemed unselfconscious about her nudity, even though Munro was flustered by the intrusion. “Why are you still here?” the elder asked her.
“I was not summoned to the conclave,” Eilidh said, standing and retrieving her jeans from the floor.
“You weren’t?” Oron looked puzzled. “By faith, we forgot. Come now, milady. The Higher Conclave calls you to serve your people.”
“Yes, Elder.” Eilidh pulled her shirt over her head. “Oron,” she began, “I want to ask a few questions before I am crowned. It won’t take long, but I want to understand what—”
A huge groaning growl echoed from outside. The earth began to shake, and the bed swung hard, hitting Munro squarely on the thigh. “Away from the window,” he shouted, pulling Eilidh to the ground, just as the glass shattered.
Eilidh’s eyes went wide, and she shouted, “The protective enchantments have gone. I can feel the earth flows.”
Oron opened the door and staggered to the corridor, even as the ground beneath them continued to heave. “Protect our future queen!” he shouted. “We are under attack!”
Chapter 19
A dark-haired faerie Eilidh recognised as Cane, a talented young teacher, came into the room. “Lady Eilidh, you must come with me. This house is not safe.” He took a stunned Eilidh by the arm and guided her out, with Munro and the other druids following close behind.
“Where are we going?” Eilidh asked.
“Elder Oron’s house has other protective enchantments that will shield you. The barriers on Beniss’ house died with her,” he said as
they stepped outside.
In the night air, Eilidh could smell the familiar loamy scent of the Otherworld. “Faith,” she swore. “They have opened the Skye gate?” Dread filled her. Skye could quickly be overrun with kingdom Watchers and the queen’s elite guards if the gate remained open.
“Hurry, please,” Cane said, trundling her toward the village. Faeries ran around them, some fleeing the earthquake, some shouting and calling out to others. Eilidh had never seen such chaos. They ran ahead, leaving the druids behind. Eilidh looked back, but Munro stayed with his friends rather than keep up. She hoped they would not be long and that he merely stayed back to protect them and make sure they arrived safely. That was his way. His words of self-sacrifice had pierced her heart. He would give up his claim to her for the sake of her people and to show his love. She doubted she would have made the same choice, if the Higher Conclave asked him to mate with another, with her watching from the shadows.
When they arrived at Oron’s house a few minutes later, they passed guards stationed around the perimeter. They inclined their heads to Eilidh. It seemed sudden, so unreal. How could any of this be happening?
“The meditation room is the most protected,” Cane said. “Prince Tràth and the druid Douglas are there already.”
When they reached the bottom of the stairs, Eilidh stopped. “Go back. Make sure Quinton Munro and the other druids arrive. They must be kept safe.”
Cane shook his head. “Oron ordered me to stay with you.”
“I have fifty guards outside. Go. They are more important than I am.”
He hesitated, as though not sure if he should obey the conclave leader or the future queen. Fortunately, the front door opened and saved him from having to decide. The four druids came in, looking harried and alarmed.
“This way,” Eilidh said and led them upstairs.
She was intimately familiar with Oron’s meditation chamber, having spent many hours there breathing, focusing, and exercising her mind. She felt suddenly grateful for the practice, because aside from Cane and Munro, the others were agitated and nervous. The room had no furniture except for floor pillows and kneeling benches. Someone had piled a few cushions together and Tràth reclined on them. Eilidh crossed the room to greet him. “Your Highness,” she said with a tentative smile. She nodded to the druid who sat with him. “May I sit?”
A smile quirked across Tràth’s lips. “A queen does not ask to sit down.”
Eilidh returned his smile. “You can expect me to do a lot of things a queen doesn’t do.” She made herself comfortable beside him. “You look well. Your essence feels stronger to me.”
“Douglas,” Tràth said, “Could you give me a moment with the lady?”
The druid hesitated only a second before replying, “Sure. I’ll say hello to the guys.” He stood and went to the opposite side of the immense chamber. Eilidh heard him say, “Hey, I’m glad you all made it over. I was worried.”
“What shall I call you?” Tràth asked. “Lady Eilidh? In a few hours, assuming we’re all still here, it will be Your Majesty. Or perhaps Mother. I haven’t called Cadhla that in years.”
“So you’ve spoken to your father,” she said, treading carefully. She could feel the unrest in his mind.
He answered merely by tilting his head.
“You can call me Eilidh, if you want,” she said. “I think we’d both feel a little silly if you called me Mother, considering you’re fifty years older than I am. Besides, I’m not queen yet, and Griogair and I aren’t mated yet.”
“Yet,” he repeated. When she acknowledged with a half-nod, he said, “You’ll make a good queen.”
She smiled. “You’ve only just met me, but it’s kind of you to say.” She felt a wave of nausea as the earth shuddered, then suddenly stopped.
“You saved my life,” he said seriously. “I was trapped. It’s never happened like that before, not for so long.” He frowned, and she was struck by how much he looked like his father, except his eyes were a startling shade of blue instead of deep violet, and while Griogair did not look old, he had a line or two beginning to crease his brow.
“It’s going to be a difficult road,” she said, putting her hand on his. “But I will help you as much as I can. It was hard for me too, but at least I found others with my same talent. You…”
“I stand alone,” he said.
“As far as we know, but azuri have been flooding to Skye for days now. There may yet be others somewhere in the world. This colony was unknown except in a vague rumour until last year. Who’s to say there aren’t a hundred temporal fae tucked in a Romanian mountain hideaway? Don’t give up hope.”
“You are too kind,” he said softly. “I haven’t known a lot of kindness in my life.”
Eilidh felt her resolve grow. “This is what we’re fighting for. The right to exist. The right to survive. I want to end the prejudice against those who walk the Path of Stars.” She was talking more to herself, understanding why she had to accept the crown and why she had to take Griogair as her mate, regardless of what it cost her personally.
Another round of fierce shaking made the house’s foundation shudder.
“How many are out there?” he asked. “How many did she send to kill me?” He closed his eyes, looking weary.
“I don’t know.”
Tràth tapped his temple with a smile. “Well, find out.”
With practised, smooth focus, Eilidh’s vision went dark, and she dipped into the astral plane, feeling the flows all around her. She shifted her sight upward and scanned the village. She saw a fire spreading on the far side, and her heart clutched. Of all the azuri fae on the island, she was the only one with a bonded druid, and therefore the only one who could touch enough water magic to put it out. Unless… “Have you bonded with Douglas yet?”
Tràth seemed startled by the question. “Bonded? I don’t know how. We do have some connection, like I’d found a long-lost brother, but I don’t understand it.”
“We’ll talk about that later. For now, I have a fire to put out.” Eilidh headed for the door, but Cane stopped her. “The village will burn if I don’t do something,” she said.
“You cannot put yourself in harm’s way,” Cane said. “You will be our queen tonight.”
“I am the only one here with water magic,” she pleaded with him.
The five druids also stood and came toward the door. “What’s going on?” Munro asked.
“I’m sorry,” Cane said. “You are safe in here. Someone else will have to tend to the fire.”
“With what?” she shouted. “Buckets?”
“My father has some water magic,” Tràth said, and Eilidh whipped around to look at him.
“Of course. I never even thought to ask…” Her voice trailed off as she focused again, this time finding Griogair, touching his mind. Fire on the north side of the village. Please help.
Suddenly Oron came in. “Thank the Father of the Azure you’re all right,” he said to Eilidh. “We have dispatched a dozen lookouts, and three elders are working to reseal the Skye gate. They can hold it for a while, but we all have to get off the island before they break through again and bring an army with them.”
“And go where?” Eilidh asked. “She will know every escape route, and we will be pursued by five thousand Watchers with another five thousand waiting in the Highland forests, hoping to catch us in their net. She told me once she would use every Watcher in her forces to wipe us out if she had to.”
“What choice do we have?” Oron said. “We can repel some, but while we are more powerful in some ways, they can outnumber us twenty to one. Not even I can stand against that. This first incursion came to test us, to see how quickly we could respond. They will be delighted to see how helpless we are against their numbers.”
“We can hide,” Eilidh said. “Tràth?” She rushed back to the prince. “Can you do again what you did before? In Auchterarder? You seem stronger now. Can you do it without hurting yourself?”
“I
could make the shift easily, but the danger is in the return.”
“I’ll bring you back, just as I did before. I promise.” Then she said to Oron. “How long can the gate seals hold?”
“A few hours at most, but more likely less than an hour. They are trying to break them even as we are working to set them.”
“Elder, I’m calling everyone here. Tràth can hide you until they pass.”
“Hide you?” he said. “You mean hide us.”
She shook her head. “I have to stay outside the bubble, so I can bring you back. There isn’t time to debate it. Are you ready?” she asked Tràth.
Azuri Fae - Urban Fantasy (Caledonia Fae) Page 19