by Amy Sumida
“What's so damn funny?” I growled.
He kept laughing.
“Raza!”
“You actually think that you have a choice,” he laughed more. “The true irony is that you do have a choice but you will decide to do exactly what she has predicted.”
“The hell I will.”
“Seren, you still don't understand,” his laughter eased back into a smile. “Danu isn't trying to manipulate us into something that will make her happy. She's trying to guide us to our happiness. Denying her is denying your own heart. You've already chosen me, you just haven't accepted it yet.”
“You're out of your damn mind,” I whispered with horror.
“Go ahead and believe I'm insane if it makes this easier on you,” he laid his palm to my cheek and my stomach clenched. “But you feel that, don't you? That is destiny's spark, Seren, and Danu has nothing to do with it.”
He lowered his face slowly to mine and I had all the time in the world to stop him. But I didn't. I let him touch his lips to mine and I let the promise in his kiss settle between us. That's all it was, just the gentle press of flesh to flesh, but it meant so much more than that and we both felt it. He pulled back a few inches and smiled softly.
“Danu isn't the only one who has seen our future,” his voice was a low rumble. “Do you remember those human twins your council sent to help us with the witches?”
“Alex and Alexis,” I frowned in confusion. “What about them?”
“Alexis came to me after our dramatic introduction,” he chuckled. “She told me she'd seen more than my past when she took my hand. She saw my future as well.”
“And what was in it?”
“You,” he whispered. “Or more precisely; us. Together. And the only thing she heard, was your declaration of love for me.”
He kissed me on the forehead as I gaped up at him and then he left, shutting the door behind him gently.
“That doesn't mean anything,” I shook my head at the closed door. “I could have meant it as a friend. In fact, I do love him as a friend. He's a good man and he's saved my life.” I looked into the mirror over the Chinese dresser and grimaced at my reflection. “Who am I even talking to? Maybe I'm the crazy one.”
I stomped out of the room.
I had changed back into my underwater catsuit because although it was a bit risqué, it would be far better to maneuver in if things escalated to violence. I did have Chad's flannel on over it, in some attempt at modesty, but it kind of made me feel like an exercise freak from the 80s.
“You know I can't go with you,” Tiernan said as he walked up to me.
“I realized that, yes,” I sighed. “It looks like that whole thing about me not heading into danger without you is going to have to wait. I'm sorry.”
“There has never been a moment when I've wanted to be a true twilight fey more than right now,” he sighed and pulled me into a hug. “Please be careful. If you die, I die. My death will just be slower.”
I pulled back and stared into his gleaming silver eyes. They were full of love and that wasn't new but there was something else there now, something stronger and more steady. Faith. He believed in us.
“You be careful too,” I whispered back. “And try not to fight with Raza.”
“I'll do my best,” he smirked.
“And I'll do my best not to kill my uncle,” I grumbled. “Alright, everyone. Are you ready?”
A chorus of affirmatives met my ears and then I headed out to the rath with my band of merry fey.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
This wouldn't be the first time I'd walked the In-Between but I wasn't exactly an expert at it either. Still, I wasn't afraid. The In-Between held no danger for me. It was one of the perks of being a twilight fairy. We held sway over the places between and the greatest of those was what was found off the path of a fairy mound.
“Allow me to go first, Princess,” Conri stepped forward, his unruly curls slipping into his fiery eyes.
“A leader leads, Sir Conri,” I laid my hand on his shoulder and pulled him gently back.
As I did so, I cast a look over my own shoulder and smiled at the three men waiting behind us; Chad, Tiernan, and Raza. Two dragons and a Lord of the Wild Hunt. They were an impressive group and part of me wished that at least one of them could accompany us. But eleven fairy knights weren't anything to sneeze at.
“We'll be back at twilight,” I promised them. Without a rath, we'd need to wait for that powerful time and then we'd have to hover between earth and sky, to access the In-Between.
“Hurry, Seren,” Tiernan said gravely.
“Deithir,” Raza added.
“I'll do my best,” I nodded to them and then stepped into the rath.
Behind me, my Star's Guard and the knights my father sent, formed a line. I didn't wait for them but stepped immediately off the path, knowing they would follow. We'd decided to head to the castle, “borrow” some horses, and then ride to the bottom of the road to meet Uisdean.
The chill of the In-Between welcomed me into its endless embrace. And that was what it felt like; crossing through boundless space as if I were being carried within my mother's arms. Cradled within the stars for a moment until my body gently fell back to Fairy at the precise spot I wanted to be. The comforting darkness receded as my feet formed on unseelie soil. And around me, I watched my companions become solid, like ghosts returning to life.
An appropriately chilling thought which served to motivate me.
We rushed to the stables, where an overwhelmed stable boy helped saddle horses for all of us while trying not to gape. At times like this, it was good to be a princess. This wasn't my castle but no fairy would refuse to lend me a few horses, especially since the king wasn't there to gainsay me.
Within fifteen minutes, we were all astride and riding down the dirt path to the bottom of the cliff Castle Unseelie was built upon. There, the road curved, encircling a large meadow. On the other side of the meadow lay the Unseelie Forrest. The road branched off at several points and led into the forest. Uisdean could be using any of these routes. So we decided to ride through the meadow itself, instead of along the road, and stop nearly all the way across. This kept us far enough back to see all the roads while still being close enough to reach Uisdean before he could get too close to the castle.
I knew exactly how many men Uisdean had with him: ten. Ten unseelie knights. Yes, they'd be the best unseelie knights in the whole damn kingdom but I had some of the best twilight knights with me and we were more than triple their number. Plus, I wasn't too shabby myself.
As it turned out, we didn't have long to wait for Uisdean to appear. He came riding out of the forest about fifty feet to our right and we were upon him in less than five minutes. My men spread out and formed a half circle around Uisdean and his knights. The look of shock on my uncle's face was priceless. That made what; three times that I'd stunned him in the past two days? This was becoming a habit.
“Move aside, Seren,” Uisdean growled after he stopped gaping.
“Not gonna happen,” I leveled my stare on him. “You're outnumbered and you know that even if you were to use that thing, it would end badly.”
“I know not of what thing you speak,” he spat at me.
“I think you know of exactly what I'm speaking... what thing I speak... ugh, you know what I'm talking about,” I growled. “You found Dagda's club, didn't you?”
He gaped at me again. That's four.
“Gonna bring back your dead wife?”
The men around him looked at each other uneasily.
“How did you...” Uisdean narrowed his eyes on me and then declared, “Raza.”
“Actually it was Raza and Chad who figured it out together but it doesn't really matter, does it?” I gave my nervously stamping horse a reassuring pat on the neck. “You know that if you use that club to bring back Queen Rue through murder, her soul will bear the weight of your evil. You can't possibly want that.”
“It w
ouldn't have been dishonorable if you hadn't acted out of character,” he ground out.
“If I hadn't what?” I stared hard at him.
“All you had to do was go down there and be your usual nosy self,” Uisdean grimaced. “But then you brought your Guard and those damn dragons interfered. They must have suspected something, so they bribed the casters to fail at your Guard's breathing spells. And you, you simpleton, you reacted just as they hoped you would.”
“How exactly was this supposed to play out?” I sneered. “The dragons kill me and you go to war with Twilight? That would give you plenty of honorable kills to supply the club with but I didn't think you'd ever want to face my father in battle.”
“No, you moron,” he ground out. “I told you the truth when I said I no longer want your death. Danu has chosen you. Why she's chosen you is beyond me but I won't go against her.”
“Then what was your grand plan?” I huffed.
“Seren, you had one simple task,” Uisdean took a deep breath and released it slowly. “You were to be suspicious of me, as you always are, and discover my dealings with the dragons. And during your investigations, you were to annoy those same dragon kings with all your talk of Danu and her reunion with her fairies.”
“So you did want them to kill me.”
“Will you just shut up and listen, you stupid girl?” He snapped in irritation. “If you had just played your part, the dragons would have taken you into custody and I would have rescued you. I would have returned you to your father and confessed my underhanded dealings with the dragons while I expressed outrage over their attempt on your life.”
“You wanted Twilight to join you in a war against the Court of the Nine Kings?” I gaped at him.
“Brilliant, is it not?” He smiled maliciously. “During our attempts at unearthing the club, we found several natural resources and it came to me that they could be useful in more than the obvious ways.”
“I have to hand it to you, Uncle,” I shook my head. “That's a complicated plan.”
“And it would have worked just fine if not for the dragons,” he sneered. “And that includes your meddling savior.”
“Like you would have saved me before Iku killed me,” I huffed.
“Well I hadn't expected him to kill you like that, now did I?” He rolled his eyes. “And he wouldn't have had you in his clutches if you hadn't screwed up your end of things.”
“You mean you never suspected that the dragons may be just as manipulative and maniacal as you?” I growled. “War. Both of you were trying to pull Twilight into war.”
“Yes but I did so out of love,” Uisdean sighed.
“I know you loved your wife-”
“Not just her, Seren,” he cut me off. “If I didn't care about you and your father, I would have simply declared war on your kingdom. Or Seelie for that matter. I went through all of this so I wouldn't have to kill your people.”
“Seriously?” I gaped at him. “You're trying to twist this into something heroic?”
“No. I'm a king, not a hero,” he said sadly. “Kings can't afford a hero's honor, as you're about to learn.”
“Don't do it. Whatever you're thinking, just don't, Uisdean,” I held out a warding hand.
“You've mucked it all up, Seren. So it's almost poetic that you be the one to bring me the solution,” Uisdean pulled a long, thick piece of steel out of his cloak.
But it wasn't a sword, it was a club. One end was thick and rounded, adorned with deadly looking spikes in four directions. The other end was narrow and had a curving handle. All along its shining length magical symbols were carved into the steel. They began to glow bright white as Uisdean's Guard unsheathed their swords.
“If you commit murder it will taint her soul,” I tried to reason with him.
“This isn't murder, Seren,” he smiled. “You've come to stop a king and that's a form of attack. Within battle, murder becomes self-defense.”
My men pulled their swords.
“No!” I shouted. “Stand down! Don't give him justification!”
“Too late, Niece,” Uisdean smiled. “You've brought armed knights into my kingdom with the intention of subduing me; the lawful king. I am already justified.”
He spurred his mount forward and I cast my hand out, calling upon my magic desperately. A wall of thorns started to shoot up from the ground but Uisdean's horse jumped them and kept coming. I had a moment to meet his dark eyes and know that he had me. My death would fuel that club and bring Uisdean's wife back from the grave. How poetic indeed. He'd probably dance a jig over my body.
Except he pushed right past me.
“Retreat!” I screamed. “Don't let him-”
But before I could finish, he'd maneuvered down the side of our group, swinging the club as he went. The club brightened till it was blinding, forcing me to squint into the light. The squeal and stamp of the horses blended with the shouting of fairies. When I could see again, I didn't notice anything wrong at first. Then nine men fell from their horses. I gaped at the bodies lying scattered on the dirt road as Uisdean raced straight through the meadow towards the safety of his castle.
“No,” I whispered and slid off my horse.
Behind me, the wall of thorns burst into flames and I heard Uisdean's men shouting. They angled around the obstacle and chased after their king. But I didn't care. All I could focus on were the dead before me; six of my father's knights and two of mine. Sir Hideo was among my father's six and I grieved the loss of him. I grieved them all, they were all my people, but honestly, it was the two men from my Star's Guard who caused me to cry out in agony. Two men who had vowed to love and protect me and who had given their lives for those vows. Two men I had sworn to love and protect in return. And I had failed.
“I will guard you as you guard me,” I whispered as I dropped to my knees between Sir Iain and Sir Digby.
I closed their sightless eyes and bent over their bodies to weep.
“Your Highness,” Conri knelt beside me. “What would you have us do now?”
“I blessed their swords with victory,” I keened as I pulled them into my lap and clutched them tightly. “They were not to fail. But that club. I never thought he'd use that club against us. And neither did you!” I screamed at the sky. “Where are you? Nothing to say to me now? No apples to make me eat? Where the hell are you, Danu?”
The twilight fey shifted uneasily.
“Do you not need me anymore; is that it?” I growled. “My men are dead, you bitch! Where are you?!”
They all gasped.
“Princess,” Gradh placed a hand on my shoulder and I flinched. “We must take them home. King Uisdean has won. There is nothing more we can do here.”
“I brought them here,” I shook my head and stroked their hair gently back from their beautiful fey faces. “I gave them to him. I handed him the lives he needed. Delivered them to the slaughter.”
“This was not your fault, Your Highness,” Sir Ainsley said gently. “We had him outnumbered, it was a certain victory. He should have surrendered.”
“Dusk will be here soon,” I said woodenly. “I want all of you to take our men home to Twilight and I will go back to Alaska to tell the others what's happened.”
“Yes, Your Highness,” Ainsley bowed and the knights began to gather our dead.
“Send the horses back to Castle Unseelie,” I instructed as I stood.
The horses were released, driven back across the meadow to the castle road. They'd find their way home, as would my fairies. But not I. No, I was headed somewhere else entirely.
“Princess Seren?” Conri looked me over in concern.
“Tell my father what his brother has done,” I instructed Conri. “And that I will try to keep my promise to him.” I just didn't elaborate on which promise I intended to keep.
“Yes, Your Highness,” Conri continued to look worried.
We all gathered together, some of us carrying the dead, and when twilight came, we lifted just a few
inches off the ground and merged with the Between. My fairies headed home to the Twilight Kingdom but I didn't go to Alaska. I asked the In-Between to take me to Castle Unseelie. When I reformed, I found Uisdean striding up the main steps of the keep with his men. I called out to him and they all turned. Uisdean's Guard pulled their swords and started back down the steps. Fighting a fairy princess... that was both very brave and very stupid.
Uisdean pushed through them and waved them back. But he needn't have bothered. As soon as he reached the last step, I cast a semi-circle of firethorns behind him. His men were trapped on the stairs.
“This is unwise, Seren,” he said calmly.
“Is it?” My voice was hollow, a shadow of its true self. “My father loves you despite everything you've done to us. Do you know that? He wept when I told him what you were after; wept for your loss and called you brave for attempting this. He made me vow to treat you with kindness. Kindness! But I'm not that noble. I can't find any kindness for you now. It died along with my men on that dirt road!”
“I truly regret their loss,” Uisdean said gently. “But I would do anything to bring Rue back. Anything. Even the most despicable of deeds. What would you do to bring back Lord Tiernan if he were to die?”
“Anything,” I declared, “short of murder.”
“It wasn't murder.”
“You know I was there to stop you from using that club, not attack you. You twisted my intentions and magic has a way of finding the truth. This won't work the way you intend, Uncle.”
“The truth is that I now have nine lives to fuel the magic of Dagda's club,” Uisdean said grimly. “I am sorry that your men had to provide those lives but I tried hard to avoid that very outcome. You gave them to me. I could hardly resist such an opportunity when it was thrown into my lap.”
“I suppose there's a sort of vindication in knowing that I've always been right about you. You really are an evil son of a bitch,” I snarled.
“This evil son of a bitch just spared you, Seren,” he strode closer. “I could have killed you back there and the Sluagh wouldn't have even stirred. You know it. I saw it in your eyes.”