by Amy Sumida
“May you never have to give it up again,” he gave her strong back a pat. “Now come meet the woman I love.”
I groaned.
“You've chosen a queen already?” She beamed and came forward to meet me.
“Raza,” I whined.
“She has not yet consented,” Raza shrugged and gave Hana a pained expression. “Women.”
“And men,” Hana huffed.
“You're damn straight!” I stuck out my hand to her. “I'm Seren, it's a pleasure to meet you.”
“And you,” she paused to cock her head at me. “Your eyes... they remind me of someone.”
“King Keir perhaps?” I offered.
“Yeah, that's right, he's king now,” she gave a huffing laugh. “You his kid?”
“Yep,” I nodded.
“Who'd that scamp mate with?” She looked me over. “You got too much tits to be sidhe.”
“Hana,” Raza groaned.
“What?”
“My mother was an extinguisher.”
Hana's face went blank.
“We gonna have a problem?” I asked her casually as my body tensed.
“Your father bred with an extinguisher?”
“I'm also an extinguisher.”
“And she's the Princess of Twilight,” Raza hurried on. “And the first fairy ambassador between the kingdoms.”
“And a revolutionary,” Hana added dryly.
“If you wanna have it out, let's get it over with,” I said evenly.
She narrowed her eyes on me again, looked me over from head to toe, and nodded.
“You chose well, Cousin,” she pounded Raza's back between his wings. “She's got fire.”
“Oh you have no idea,” Raza laughed. “Her full name is Seren Firethorn.”
“Firethorn?” Hana lifted a brow. “That's a new one, isn't it?”
“Yes,” I laughed, “it is. I'm the first.”
“Well damn, girl,” she reached out to shake my hand again. “Welcome to the family.”
“No, you don't understand-”
“Did you put a preservation spell on this place, Raza?” She went on, cutting off my protests. “It looks just as I remember it.”
“Yes,” he said indulgently. “And yes, your room is untouched.”
“Sweet!” She pulled her arm down like she was honking the horn on a semi and then she ran for the stairs.
“You need to tell her we're not together,” I growled at him.
“I said you hadn't consented.”
“But she still thinks we're in a relationship.”
“I told you, Seren,” he sighed. “We are in a relationship.”
“Tiernan is going to murder me,” I muttered.
“Lord Tiernan will understand,” he said as we followed Hana more slowly up the stairs.
“She sure got here quickly,” I gave up on the relationship talk.
“She was in Buenos Aires,” Raza explained. “It wasn't a very long trip for her. Rayetayah should be here soon too. Hana's never met my son. I find that I'm getting a little excited about introducing him to his family.”
“What about Kader?” I smiled at his joy. “Where's he coming from again?”
“Bermuda.”
“Right, as in the triangle.”
“Underwater rath,” he nodded.
“I'm sorry?”
“There's an underwater rath within the triangle,” he stopped on the stair above me and looked back over his shoulder, dipping his wing so he could see me better. “You didn't know? That's why ships used to go missing all the time. Some sea monster would slip through, sink them, and pull the pieces back into Fairy to line his lair with.”
“What about the planes?”
“Hydras.”
“Hydras?”
“They can leap out of the water.”
“That's horrifying,” I blinked.
“Yeah, and you can't exactly send extinguishers after them,” he shrugged and started climbing again.
“But why doesn't the Alaskan rath have the same problem?”
“You saw the dragons hunting. They keep the monster population down and prevent too many of them from straying. But the rath near Bermuda is too far from either court to monitor.”
“So I guess the sea dragons do serve a purpose.”
“I told you, Seren,” he scolded me. “All creatures in Fairy have a purpose.”
Chapter Thirty-Five
Everyone began arriving the next day, starting with Rayetayah. It was good to see Raye again. I honestly admired Raza's son. He looked after his people, the raven-mockers, as best he could and he did so honorably. So after he greeted his father, I swooped in for a hug as well.
“Here you are with my father again,” Raye teased me. “What happened to the hunter?”
“I'm still with Tiernan.”
“Oh, it's like that?” He looked towards his father in surprise.
“No, it's not,” I sighed.
“But it will be,” Raza declared.
“No, it will not,” I rolled my eyes.
“Danu has foreseen it,” Raza ignored me and spoke directly to his son.
Raye's dark eyes widened.
“Being a goddess doesn't make her infallible,” I snapped.
“Yes it does,” Raza said smugly.
“You two are funny,” Rayetayah's full lips spread in a smirk. “Why don't you just have sex already and deal with the obvious tension between you?”
“Because she keeps rebuking my advances,” Raza crossed his arms angrily.
“Well that's a first,” Raye chortled, his pin-straight black hair falling forward with the strength of his laughter. “Got you riled, huh? The fire's burning down below?” He shoved his dad's shoulder and Raza grimaced at him. “Keep it up, Princess, I've never seen him like this before. My stoic father all twisted into knots over a woman. It's hilarious.”
“It will cease being humorous when my fist meets your face,” Raza said dryly.
“Hey, maybe you're too damn old or too damn fey for her,” Raye went on mercilessly. “She might prefer someone younger and easier for her to relate to; like me.” He puffed up his impressive chest and crossed his arms.
“Hardly,” Raza shook his head at his son's display. “Lord Tiernan is older than I am and hasn't got my knack for the human vernacular.”
“Dad, you have no knack,” Raye said dryly.
“I am full of knack,” Raza insisted.
“Nope, knack-less is what you are,” Rayetayah shook his head. “You spent a few hundred years in HR among the Cherokee and that was centuries ago, before they even called themselves Cherokee. They'd just started learning how to make pottery, their only vernacular centered around clay. Oh and corn.”
“Wait, wait, wait,” I held up my hands between them. “How long ago are we talking about?”
“Three thousand years or so,” Raye shrugged. “Back when Dad was on the lam.”
“I was on a what?” Raza's eyes went wide and horrified. “I may have ate lamb but I never rode one.”
“You've just proved my point, Dad,” Raye chuckled.
“Stop it,” I pointed at them both angrily. “You're saying there were fairies in America three-thousand years ago?”
“What? You thought we only used the Irish raths back then?” Raye turned his scathing humor on me.
“No, I...” I sighed. “I don't know what I was thinking. I swear, the more I learn about fairies, the more confused I get.”
“It's not that hard, Princess,” Raye gave my shoulder a pat. “We came, we conquered, some of us stayed,” he jerked his thumb at his chest. “And some of us ran back to Fairy,” he flung the same thumb at Raza.”
“I did not run,” Raza snarled.
“Mom hurt his feelings,” Raye whispered to me.
“What?” I blinked in surprise. “I thought things ended amicably?”
“Oh they did,” Raye nodded. “But this guy just kept moping about without a direction, so M
om told him to get his ass back to Fairy so she didn't have to see it anymore.”
“Oh damn,” I looked at Raza with wide eyes.
“She did not say that,” Raza huffed. “She pointed out that I was wasting my life wandering around the tribes and I should try to rediscover my purpose in Fairy.”
“Like I said,” Raye gave me a smug nod.
“Hold on,” I held up a finger to stop them before they could take me down another tangent and keep me from asking the truly important question. “You said Tiernan is older than you?”
“Yes,” Raza frowned.
“And you're over three-thousand years old?”
“That's correct,” Raza cocked his head. “Does that bother you?”
“No, actually, it doesn't,” I chuckled. “But it must bother Tiernan because he refused to tell me his age.”
“Why?” Raye made a baffled face.
“He thinks I won't like him if he's too old, I guess,” I shrugged.
“Like I said,” Raye held his arms out in vindication.
“His problem, not mine,” I corrected Raye. “So Tiernan is over three-thousand years old too?” I asked Raza.
“I believe Lord Tiernan is closer to four-thousand,” Raza thought it over. “But I'm not certain. We grew up in different courts after all.”
“My boyfriend is older than Christ!” I hooted. “That's freakin'... well actually,” I frowned, “I suppose it is a little daunting.”
“Called it,” Raye pointed to his father.
“I don't recall you being so human in your speech either, Raye,” I lifted a brow at him.
“That's because the situation warranted more seriousness,” Raye shrugged. “Business Rayetayah is different than play-time Rayetayah.”
“Play-time Rayetayah is about to feel the business end of my boot,” Raza growled. “How's that for vernacular?”
“And that's scary Raza,” Raye whispered to me and then went back to smirking at his father. “It might work on everyone else but not me. Now come on, Dad, show me around. This is the first time I've been to the family homestead.”
Raza lost his irritation immediately and took great delight in giving his son the grand tour. Along the way, we met up with Hana, who had slept in. She was still trying to adjust to the time change. Regardless of her jet lag (do you call it that when there aren't any jets involved?) she looked fantastic.
Hana leaned in her doorway and gave Raye the once over, exactly as she had done with me. Except Raye gave it right back. Then she stepped up, tapped his feathered wings, and nodded, shooting an impressed look at Raza.
“What's with your line and the wings?” She smirked. “Even when the dragon's diluted to nearly nothing, they still managed to make an appearance.”
“They're pretty, aren't they?” Raye preened, extending them for Hana to see.
“You're pretty,” she tapped the end of his Native American nose and then pulled him into a hug. “It's good to finally meet you, Cousin.”
“You too,” Raye had beamed over Hana's shoulder at his father and me, and for a second, I thought Raza was going to shed a tear.
It was a touching moment; the reunion of a family separated by tragedy and time. I was so happy for both Raye and Raza. Raza; because I knew how much having his family back together meant to him, and Raye; because I knew he'd recently had a break-up and nothing helped to heal a heart more than refilling it with love.
Then Kader showed up.
Where Hana had been bold and endearingly honest, Kader was reserved in both manner and speech. Raza's male cousin indeed looked completely leanan-sidhe. He was slim, elegant, and tall, with blood-red hair and liquid black eyes like a seal. Against his moonlight skin, it was a striking coloring. His manner was refined but his stare was devious, constantly calculating. Still, maybe he was the type of fairy our revolution needed. And that devious look disappeared completely when he met his new kin. Kader may be calculating but I got the impression that he was also very loyal.
While he was kissing my cheek hello, the first wave of unseelie defectors walked in the front doors.
I shifted away from Kader to gape at the gang of unseelie fairies. From baobhan-sith to the little shellycoats (including Raza's friend Balloch), all manner of unseelie fey were represented. They came in as a group, several of them clinging to each other for comfort. My chest clenched and my breath caught in my throat. I'd seen that look on fairies before. In fact, I'd specifically seen Balloch look like this before; when I rescued him from the Seelie dungeons. I had hoped to never see that weary tread or those wounded eyes again. It had been tragic enough the first time but this was so much worse. Because I knew that this time, it was the fault of their own monarchs. Uisdean and Rue had done this.
“Balloch,” Raza went forward and took the leather bag from his friend's shoulder. Then he bent down and hugged the little fairy. Balloch's coat of shells clattered when they pulled apart. “What's happened? Are you injured?”
“I am well, Lord Raza,” Balloch waved off the concern. “After you survive a nightmare like I have, you get a sense for evil. I was already on my way here when these fairies asked to join me. Things be going sideways at the castle.”
“The new queen,” a tiny spriggan woman whispered. “She's not right. In her head. Worse than your grandfather, if you don't mind me sayin' so, my lord.”
“Not at all,” Raza drew himself up straight and took a deep breath. “I know you all must have mixed feelings about me, and perhaps I just represent a chance for survival at the moment. But I want you to know that I intend to be a fair king. I am nothing like my grandfather. I want to make Unseelie safe for our people again. In me, you will find a guardian, not just a leader.”
The tired fey seemed to brighten and they nodded, staring at Raza with the rapt expressions of the newly converted. They'd only known the loner, the dragon-djinn who kept to himself and had more lovers than friends. Most of them hadn't seen this side of him. The side that was born to rule. To lead and protect.
But it didn't surprise me. I knew the good and the bad in Raza but most of all, I had a deep certainty that this was what was best for Unseelie. Raza was meant to be king, not Uisdean. Perhaps that was why Uisdean called him to court all those years ago; to keep his rival close and indebted to him. It would be just like my uncle to befriend the dragon whom he feared might steal his throne. Keep your friends close and your enemies closer, right?
“The beast,” I whispered as I watched Raza greet his new supporters.
“What's that, Cousin?” Kader was laboring under the same impression as Hana, that I was to be Raza's wife.
And even though I'd told them both that this wasn't true, they believed in Raza's appeal and Danu's prophecy far more than my adamant rebuttal.
“Beast,” I said more clearly. “Uisdean once referred to Raza as a beast. At the time, I couldn't understand how my uncle could be so insulting to someone he called friend. But now I see that Uisdean never considered Raza to be a friend, just an animal to chain up in his yard.”
“Hmph,” Hana grimaced. “Typical Thorn. That's how they've always viewed our family, as a bunch of animals. Even when we ruled.”
“Grandfather did help that view a bit,” Kader noted. “But Raza isn't like his namesake. He's always been different. I think that was Lady Sorcha's influence.”
“Was that his mother?” I lifted a brow.
“Yeah,” Hana answered. “She was an awesome broad. All of us girls wanted to be like her but I'm just not built that way.”
“You have your own appeal, Hana,” Kader smiled at her. “I had several friends who had secret crushes on you.”
“Thanks,” she ducked her head as her cheeks reddened.
“Seren!” Tiernan veered around the mass of unseelie adoring their new king and made a beeline for me. “Dear Danu, it's good to see you,” he pulled me into a hug and suddenly, I was home.
“Tiernan,” I whispered and settled into him. “It feels like it's been
years.”
“I know,” he pulled away and looked me over, stroking a hand down my cheek. “I missed you. I couldn't feel completely at ease until I held you again and saw for myself that you were unharmed.”
“I missed you too,” I hesitated when I felt the warmth of bodies pressing in behind me.
“Is there a particular reason you're being so affectionate with this fairy, Cousin?” Kader asked casually.
“This is my boyfriend, Lord Tiernan,” I turned to face Raza's kin. “I tried to tell you guys. Raza and I aren't together.”
“Yet,” Hana crossed her arms over her chest and glared at Tiernan.
“She did tell you,” Raye smirked and shook his head at his new relations. “I heard her.”
“What have I walked into?” Tiernan was more curious than concerned.
“Count Tiernan Shadowcall, Lord of the Wild Hunt,” I gestured to Hana and Kader. “Meet the last remaining dragon-djinn; Countess Hana and Count Kader of House Tnyn.”
I deliberately used all of their titles so they knew they were on equal footing.
“A hunter, eh?” Hana sidled closer. “You're kind of sexy, actually.
“My thanks,” Tiernan bowed to her like a seasoned courtier.
“A Lord Hunter,” Kader corrected and came up on my other side. “And he's not sexy enough for you, Hana.”
“Hey now,” I narrowed my eyes on Kader as Tiernan chuckled.
“Cease,” Raza saved me from having to kick some dragon ass. “Lord Tiernan will be my queen's consort one day.”
We all went silent.
“What did he just say?” Tiernan was the one to speak first.
“I did not encourage this,” I declared.
“Lord Tiernan, you know as well as I that the Goddess has blessed our triumvirate. We shall be united someday. As I intend on being King, that will make Seren Queen, and you will bear the title of Royal Consort. It's our way. There's no shame in it, just accept what's inevitable.”
Tiernan punched Raza in the nose.
Every jaw dropped, except for mine.
“Tiernan's about as good at that as I am,” I laughed.
“Do you mean the punching part or the accepting things?” Raye asked conversationally.