by Leia Stone
Summer, a time of magic, and then after it was over we went back to our separate lives. There was really only one strict rule: no inter-mating of the two species. I’m sure it had happened – as an alpha I heard rumors – but the women were always careful to make sure no children resulted from their forbidden night with a bear. Now … kissing? There was plenty of that going on between both shifter species. It was almost a dare: “kiss a bear once before you die” type of thing. The first time I kissed anyone on the Island had been with a bear – Kade.
The knock at my door startled me from my thoughts. “Come in.” I sat up straighter on my throne, adjusting my crown, preparing to receive my next royal appointments.
My guards let in two women who were wheeling a cart full of bolts of silk fabric. I tried not to groan. I liked fashion as much as the next woman, but picking out fabric all day when I had a fae war to prepare for was a complete waste of my time.
“Your Majesty, thank you so much for commissioning us to make your royal gown for the summer festival,” said the one who was slightly closer to me. She was a robust woman, not fat – wolves had fast metabolisms – but short and solid. Her hair was a shade of golden brown, her eyes similar, and she smiled prettily as she bowed so low her nose was nearly touching the floor.
“Yes, thank you,” the other added, as she too bowed. She was finer boned and her hair was a strawberry blonde, her eyes an arresting shade of gray. Not as pretty or vivacious as her friend, but still striking.
I had never seen either of them before, not during my coronation, or when I went through the staff of the royal mansion. Calista must have commissioned them from outside my staff, and since I already had a palace seamstress, Casey Marie, who had been custom making everything so far, I wondered why we were going out-of-house for this dress.
“Of course. You’re the best.” I assumed this to be true; Calista wouldn’t hire any other.
They both blushed and shared a smile as if I had just made their day. “Thank you, Your Highness,” golden-haired said again. “As you know, we specialize in costumes. Have you decided what you would like to dress as?”
Of course, it all made perfect sense now. Casey wasn’t proficient in costume wear. Oh sure, she could have easily whipped a dress up if I needed her to, but it wasn’t her specialty and the queen would be expected to go all-out on costume, especially for my first festival since my coronation. The summer festival was a time to dress up – fairy wings, masquerade masks, Renaissance dress – Violet didn’t even need to change from her daily wear. Whatever you could imagine you could become. Last year the Red Queen had a beautiful peacock dress with mask and feathers.
With everything going on, it had completely slipped my mind that I’d need a costume. “Oh, I don’t know. I haven’t given it much thought,” I said honestly. I stood, approaching them, looking at the different silks they had. The teal caught my eye, and so did a soft, sunset pink.
“Well, Your Majesty, could we make a suggestion?” This came from the petite redhead.
I smiled at her. “Please do.”
She grabbed the teal silk I was running my hands across and unrolled a long piece, holding it up to me. “Queen of the water?”
The golden-haired seamstress unrolled the pink I had also been eyeing. “Queen of love.” She winked.
I let out a laugh, truly enjoying their imaginations. “You know what … I trust you. Surprise me.”
Both of their mouths popped open in unison, astonishment written across their faces.
They recovered quickly though, grabbing at tape measures and paper. I held out my arms so they could measure me. I was excited for the festival, but there were too many other things on my plate for me to completely lose myself in the joy. As they ran around me taking notes, my mind wandered and I found myself thinking of what Kade would be dressed as. I should not be thinking of the bear king when I wasn’t with him. Maybe I did need to take a mate. I needed the distraction, and it would be good for my people to see me in a strong wolf relationship.
But the thought of it had my gut tied up in knots, instead of the excitement I should have been feeling.
After the ladies left, I sat through three hours of royal appointments, which included catering for the summer festival, decorations, and entertainment.
After this, it was time to play referee. You know, when grown shifters need their queen to figure out their problems. Award for the most annoying of the morning went to two dominant wolves bickering about their need for another parking space. Neither of them would budge an inch, although both agreed that I should pay for it from the royal allowance.
We paid taxes in our society, all shifters did. The royal house paid the human government, and the rest of the packs paid the royal house. The shifter tax to us was only ten percent, but some shifters thought it meant they were entitled to ask for things they should be paying for themselves. A parking spot in Manhattan was a massive cost per year, and not one the crown would be covering.
Now, if these alphas had told me they had fallen on hard times and needed money for their pack to stay sheltered, fed, and clothed, then I would give it without hesitation, but a parking spot … not happening. After telling them no and dismissing them, Calista came to get me to take me to my lunch appointment.
“Please tell me my lunch appointment isn’t some petty task like this morning,” I huffed as Calista expertly traversed the hallways, leading me to my private dining area.
“No, I thought you might like a break from all of that,” she said as she opened the door, and I was relieved to see Violet sitting and waiting for me. The magic born were a sight to behold. Even though I had known Violet my entire life, I never got used to her unique beauty or incredible talent with magic.
“Ari, you’re late and I’m starving,” she moaned.
Calista tsk tsked her for using my name, but I loved that Violet, like Blaine, treated me no differently now that I was queen.
I took a seat beside her as Calista scurried off to whatever was next on her list of to-do’s. I was starting to think she worked a lot harder than me, a fact I was very grateful for.
I let out a breath, settling in beside my best friend. “Sorry about the delay. Very important morning. Had to be fitted for my summer festival dress, and then got into a scintillating debate about assigned parking in Manhattan,” I said with as much heavy sarcasm as I could muster.
She grinned. “Sounds absolutely dreadful. I have something that will cheer you up.” She leaned forward and pulled a vial from her pocket. The liquid inside was pinkish purple and dancing slowly, as if waiting to burst out the second the stopper was lifted.
“What’s that?” I inspected it closer. It smelled faintly floral … the same floral scent the fae carried on them. My eyebrow rose as I used my queen voice. “Violet … what is in there?”
I was a combination of excited and a bit terrified of what she would say. One never knew with Violet.
She quirked one side of her mouth. “Tuatha magic,” she whispered as two of the kitchen staff came through the large double doors, bringing our lunch. My heart was hammering in my chest as I waited for the silver platters to be set in front of me and for the attendants to leave. Once they did, Violet opened her palm again.
“The fae we fought at King Kade’s estate came in through the water. I’m sure of it. The fae we spoke to in Astoria Park left through the water, and the ercho that attacked you in Central Park…”
“Water,” I said breathlessly.
Violet gestured to the pink vial. “I cloaked myself and slipped into the council’s secret spell book chambers––”
I grabbed her by the wrist. “Vi! You could have been executed if you were caught.”
Wait. There was a secret spell book chamber? Why did I not know this?
She shrugged my hand off, gently, but still firm. It bothered her when even I touched her, especially with all the mecca energy inside of me. She saw too much, felt too much. In my astonishment, I’d for
gotten.
“You’re queen now. Nothing should be secret from you,” Violet said.
True. And at least she hadn’t been caught. Yet anyway.
I nodded for her to continue.
“I had heard that all the best spells and books were hidden away. Magic born talk about it all the time. It’s the Holy Grail for us. I decided to see if I could find it, and you know what, it wasn’t even that well hidden.” She looked mighty put out by that, like the council hadn’t taken her powers seriously. “Anyway, I have to say those old losers are really a bunch of horned toads, far worse than I originally thought. They’ve been holding out on all of us, especially in light of recent developments. They have an entire stack of fae magic books.”
Those last words were declared in a rushed whisper-scream.
I sat there for a moment, trying to absorb what she was saying. How could the council not tell me about this? Now, when we could be on the brink of war and needed every weapon at our disposal. What the heck were they playing at? This next meeting with them was going to be interesting, I wouldn’t stand for this secrecy any longer. No doubt this was why Torine already seemed to know more than any other about the Tuatha de Danann.
Forcing my ire down, I focused on Violet’s vial. “Okay, so fae travel through water and you stole a fae magic book … keep going.”
I had no doubt I was going to have to make sure I remained queen just to ensure Violet didn’t get sentenced to death by the council.
She shook the vial. “So it turns out that water is the easiest place for the fae to cast their spell and open a doorway between the Otherworld and Earth. Water acts like a mirror which reflects both sides. I haven’t had a chance to test it yet, but this should close the water to any portals.”
I grinned. That was definitely worth annoying the council over. Here’s hoping it worked.
“Violet, you’re a genius.”
With a fae war looming on the horizon, this might just turn the tides in our favor.
She put a hand out. “Don’t get too excited. It doesn’t work on extra-large bodies of water. Only about a hundred foot stretch, but it’s enough to secure Central Park and the waterfront at the wolf estate on the Island. Unfortunately, I could find nothing strong enough to work on all the ocean which surrounds us.”
So many of our homes were waterfront, prime real estate, but turns out against the fae, that’s not the best for our safety. I was grateful that this magic would help with some of the smaller bodies of water; any way we could cut the fae off was a good thing. I took the vial and gave her a side hug, which she quickly returned before moving away.
“You’re the best,” I said, before a thought hit me. “Hey, is there any way you could make one more for—”
She dropped a second vial in my hand. “There’s enough there for King Kade’s Staten home and the bear estate on the Island. Nikoli will know what to do.”
I could always count on my best friend to think ahead. She’d probably already told Nikoli about it. He was Kade’s royal magic born and seemed to be almost as powerful as Violet.
Almost.
I put the two vials in my pocket before picking up my turkey and bacon sub. I’d just opened my mouth to take the first bite when Violet spoke again.
“So what’s with you and King Kade?” Her tone was relaxed, almost uninterested, but those white-blue eyes were locked on me, watching with intensity. I opened my mouth before closing it again. What could I say about Kade and me? It was … I didn’t even understand it.
Her next words were even softer. “When he looks at you Ari, it’s like … it’s like I can see the energy between you both. More than anything I’ve seen before. Even in true love pairs.”
I sucked in a ragged breath. Damn Violet, leave it to her to not ask a word about us for weeks and then drop this. I set the sandwich down and cleared my throat. I couldn’t keep it bottled up any longer, and I trusted my oldest friend.
“You know that bear I kissed on the Island when I was fifteen?”
Some of her seriousness faded, and a smile of remembrance crossed her face. “Scrawny guy? You talked about him for weeks.”
I sighed. “That’s Kade.”
Now it was Violet’s turn for her mouth to pop open in surprise. “Holy shifter,” she breathed. “Girl, he is so not scrawny.”
I chuckled. “Yeah, he’s not now. So yeah, we have this history, and then he was in the garden at the Summit and he remembered me. He kissed me. It’s … I’m the queen of the wolves and he’s a bear king.”
I let my words trail off and Violet’s eyes darkened as she read some emotion across my face. She reached out a hand to lightly touch mine before pulling away; she didn’t say anything more. We both knew there was nothing either of us could do or say. No matter the attraction Kade and I shared, we could never be. After this we ate in companionable silence, both of us lost in our own thoughts.
The next day, the wolf council lined up before me. We were in the basement area, preparing for the alpha meeting. All eleven were dressed in their full robes, arms crossed over their stubborn chests. I was meeting with them first, before we opened the doors to the alphas of the boroughs, and the lesser leaders of the smaller packs. These leaders had come from far and wide to learn of my news.
Finn sat at my feet. He said that all was quiet in Manhattan right now, but I could still sense the tension thrumming in his huge body. His worry was bleeding over into me, but I couldn’t focus on that. I had a bunch of ignorant shifters to deal with.
“You can no longer keep secrets of the Tuatha from me,” I said for the third time since we started this meeting. “Torine … you should have told me about the magic books. We should be researching everything we can to learn of a weapon to help us in this war.”
They just continued staring at me, eyes glittering, expressions hard and unyielding. “You weren’t there,” I said, some of my composure fading away, anger leaking into my words. “It was a single fae and he cut through us no problem. Ka … King Kade and I barely managed to take him down, and we have the mecca at our command. What do you think will happen if an entire army comes through?”
Unease filtered through them then. Some shifted where they stood, and Glenda, my old teacher, stepped forward to address me directly. “Queen Arianna, you must understand that the magic information within those walls is beyond our knowledge. Beyond any wolf shifter’s knowledge. Most of the books are not even in a recognizable language. So while there’s a chance you would find some information inside to help, there’s an even bigger chance that whomever read the books would be destroyed, or would discover a power to destroy our packs. It’s too large a risk for us to let that information out.”
Well, I already knew Violet could read them, and so far no one was dead. So far. I hoped my friend knew what she was doing.
Finn shifted closer to me. Tell them, Ari. Force them to understand. This is going to come to us whether we are ready or not.
I ran my hand over the wolf, and the rumbles shaking his huge body calmed somewhat. I’ll make them understand, and if they don’t, I’ll figure out a way to make sure that all of the shifters are ready. I don’t need them. It would just be easier with their help.
I tilted my head slightly up so my voice would project with strength. A tip from Calista’s many years of training. “It’s not your place to decide who gets to do what in this house. I am the queen. I want to know everything that is happening with my people.”
I never wanted to start my rule at odds with the council. They were wise in history and tradition, but they continued to force my hand. They had left me with no choice.
Torine cleared his throat. “It was the Red Queen’s desire that we seal away all books pertaining to knowledge of the fae.”
What? Why on Earth would the Red Queen do that? I tucked that piece of information away for another time. It was another part of the puzzle that made up the former wolf queen. Hopefully I’d have a full picture soon of who she was. Which m
ight also lead me to how she ended up dead at the hands of the fae.
My voice was filled with steel when I addressed the council this time. “Well, it’s my wish that you unseal them and allow my palace magic born to look them over. Times of war require us to take some risks. We may all die either way, but it’s better to stand true and fight than to cower in ignorance and hope for the best. You will show me this room after the meeting, and I will do as I see fit with the information within. Do I make myself clear?”
I let the mecca energy leak from me, and that, teamed with the pure command and arrogance of my order, had the council looking very uncomfortable. Some even took a step back to distance themselves from me. I hated playing the dominating queen, but I was starting to see that a firm hand was required at times. Especially with the council. They were old and powerful, used to having all the knowledge and manipulating things behind the scenes. Not happening on my rule any longer.
Despite a few dirty looks, no one argued with me again, so I moved on. “Next thing on our agenda is the alpha meeting. How much do you think it is wise for us to reveal to them? What actions are we going to request from them? I agree it’s not time to tell the general shifter population yet, but the leaders should know almost as much as we do. I expect them to start training their shifters to see and understand the signs of the Tuatha de Danann. Water is an issue. We must have guards assigned to large bodies of water around our packs. Our magic born need to be recalled to the royal mansion. They’ll have to start working with me and the bear king. We need to take action now before it’s too late.”
Torine addressed me, his features without any expression: “You said there were fae who would stand with us. How are we to know the difference between those who are our enemy and those who are our allies?”