by Kimbra Swain
“Fuck. Grace, how bad is it?” he asked.
I coughed up blood which trickled down the edge of my mouth. Levi knelt next to me clutching his stomach. He felt the pain of the knife through our shared power.
“Move,” my father ordered. Levi moved away, but Dylan didn’t. I focused on his eyes. “You take care of her. You tell Winnie I love her,” I choked out to him.
“You will tell her. Oberon’s healers can fix this,” Dylan assured me. I knew he was wrong. The nails in my leg turned my blood to ichor, but this blade turned my entire body into the black inky substance.
“Not this time. I love you,” I said.
“She is right. It is a Thokcha blade. Thunderbolt iron. She will not recover,” Oberon explained.
Dylan’s eyes filled with tears. He knew the cold iron wrought by lightning would pierce not only my body, but my soul with its supernatural elements. The world swirled around me as I tried to focus on Dylan. I felt Levi’s hand brush mine. The tingle lingered for a moment and passed.
“Give her to me,” my father demanded. I didn’t want my father. I wanted Dylan. My last moments on this earth, I wanted to be in his arms. Knowing I couldn’t protest, my father leaned over me, stroking my face. My attention was drawn to him for a moment. “She is mine. I am hers.” He claimed me as I had Dylan. The bond between us surged open filling me with his magical power.
The pulsing cold cut through my lungs, making me gasp. It wasn’t like swapping power with Levi. This power consumed my mind, pushing the limits of what I knew. It opened doors to knowledge that I never knew I had. I saw the fairies around me for what they truly were. The power went beyond anything I’d developed over the years. The power of a King. My Father’s inner strength. The passion of his love. The resolve of his mission. The fire in his cold, dark soul. He opened himself up, pouring all of this into me.
As the light left him, he drew runes with his hands around us. Each one an icy snowflake hovering around our bodies. When he finished, they circled our bodies in a winter dance. He closed Dylan and Levi off to us. Dylan lurched at the barrier, causing icy dust to explode around us. Even in full fire form, he couldn’t penetrate my father’s wall. The orb glistened around us as the snow inside swirled. I kept my eyes on Dylan who desperately tried to reach me. The barrier did not give into his flame.
“He loves you, Grace,” Father said, using the name I preferred.
“I love him, Daddy. Please don’t separate me from him,” I said.
A sad smile crossed his face. “In my many years, I’ve found that love is fleeting. It is found, but rarely, then moves on. But once in a while, you find forever. I cannot stand in the way of forever. Not even the immortal that I am.”
“What do you mean?” I asked, looking at Dylan’s kneeling form outside the snowy globe. His fire burned out, leaving him in tears at the edges of the barrier.
“I cannot stand by and watch my child die. The one I loved the most,” he said.
“You let them banish me,” I choked out as the darkness closed in on me.
“I did, because I knew, if you stayed in fairy any longer, you would become as cold and vindictive as those who are still there. Standing before the council, a fire ignited in you that I’d never seen. One that shouldn’t be possible for the darkness of our people. It was hope which I knew would be quashed the moment I let you stay. I let you go, and now you will become the greatest of us,” he explained. “I love you, Grace.”
“No!” I protested. Slowly, he withdrew the knife. A magical tether coursed between us. The black darkness latched to the blade as he pulled it from me. Ebony tendrils slithered out of my body locking to the knife. It wobbled in his strong hand, seeking its victim. He didn’t feed me power for me to use. He fed me power to bind himself to me like Levi was bound to me. “Daddy, no.” Tears ran freely down my face. In that moment, Oberon, King of the Unseelie Fairies, chose to be my servant, thus giving him the power to take my place.
Holding the knife above him, he looked to Dylan. “You take care of my girl,” he said. His eyes turned to Levi flashing to a brilliant silver, then back to icy blue. Levi shook his head slightly, but never diverted his gaze from us. The blackness cascaded down from the knife, like obsidian vipers snapping for their prey. They writhed and twirled around each other in a sensual death dance.
Horror filled Dylan’s eyes as he watched the slithering arms latch on my father’s chest. They spread across him devouring him as they went.
“This implement of death meant for my daughter, I take on her behalf. All that is mine belongs to her. All that I was, she now is.”
Plunging the knife into his own stomach, he slumped over. I grasped for him as if I could hold his life in this realm with me. “Daddy, please don’t go. I’m so sorry,” I whimpered. The connection between us ceased. His icy blue eyes turned white to match his flowing locks. His body was rigid, and the surrounding globe exploded sending shards of ice around the square.
Hunched over his body, I felt the earth shift as time started moving at a normal pace once again. The fairies around us came out from their hiding places to stare at the dead King. A warm arm wrapped around my waist. Dylan’s warm body leaned into me. Levi moved across from me. His eyes widened when I looked at him. I didn’t ask because suddenly I felt tired.
Hearing voices around me, I leaned back into Dylan.
“It’s okay. I’ve got you,” he said.
Oberon, King of the Unseelie Fairies, died in the square in Shady Grove, Alabama. His power rose up from his body in tinkling ice crystals. Floating over me, as I rested in Dylan’s arms staring at the lifeless body of the one man in the entire universe that I thought would never die, the crystals slammed down into me with force settling my father’s power and realm on my shoulders. A responsibility that I never wanted. More than Shady Grove was now at stake. The entire Unseelie realm laid open before me.
The people of Shady Grove approached the dead body of my Father. I expected to see a few smiling faces since he sent most of them here in the first place. However, I didn’t. I saw tears and sadness. Mable’s face glistened with tears as Nestor held her close to him. Trying to stand, Dylan held me in place.
“No, don’t move.” He reached through the hole in my dress.
“What are you doing?” I heaved through sobs.
“Making sure the wound is closed,” he said.
“There is no wound, Dylan! He took it all,” I gasped. My anger toward him was only the frustration of watching my Father give up his life for me. Not just his life, but his power, his kingdom. Everything. The deep realization of what happened hit me.
“What is it, Grace?” Levi asked.
“There is no King in fairy,” I said, shoving out of Dylan’s arms. I rushed to the oak that Brock used. The tree spoke to me in kind terms, but denied my request. “Why!”
Dylan stood next to me. “What the hell are you doing?”
“It’s too late,” I said.
“Brock,” Levi growled, realizing my frustration.
“He’s taken the Unseelie,” I said. My vision blurred, and I heard Dylan’s frantic voice before blacking out.
“Can I tell this part?” I asked, as she sat down on the sofa. She leaned back in it exhausted with telling the tragic end to her father’s long life. “You know what, let’s just take a break instead.”
I got up from the laptop. As I sank down in cushion next to her, I wiped the tears off her cheeks. She clasped my hand in hers and kissed it, sending waves of fairy tingles through my body. “Levi, I’m still not sure that we did the right thing,” she said.
“That is neither here nor there. It is done,” I said. “And now we tell the story so everyone will know.”
“It will just be another fairy tale. They will make a cartoon of it, perverting its truth,” she scowled. Grace always had a way of finding hope in things. The bright spot in the darkness, but sometimes I had to remind her of those things. I considered it my Bard duty to not only tel
l her story, but to remind her of the finer points.
“Grace, I doubt they will make any cartoons about a fairy queen in a trailer park,” I said when she elbowed me in the ribs.
“Levi, I swear,” she said.
“You swear what?” I teased.
The devil flashed through her eyes, “I’ll curse you again.”
I remembered the last time she cursed me, but we hadn’t gotten to that part of the story yet. It was awful. I hated her because of it. Thankfully, I got over myself and realized she was right. “I beg of you, my Queen. Please don’t.”
“Hush your mouth,” she said, leaning over on my shoulder. “I don’t know if I can do this. Tell it all. Relive it all again.”
“Okay, we will stop writing it completely, depriving me of my one true mission,” I conceded, knowing she didn’t mean it.
“Or you could just finish it for me,” she offered.
“You are going to let me tell it my way. With no interruptions? No interference?” I asked.
“You are right. There is no way I’m letting you tell it all,” she said. “Are you even writing down everything I tell you?”
“Well, I might be embellishing some of it and leaving out other parts,” I admitted.
“I figured as much. What are you embellishing? Your sexual conquests?” she laughed.
“Actually, I’m leaving yours out of it. Nobody needs to know the details of what you and Dylan did in bed,” I said. “Gag.” I shoved my finger down my throat for good measure.
“Levi, seriously? You should have told me, so I could skip those parts. Unless you are getting off on it. You know that kiss still haunts you,” she teased.
“Grace, that was a long time ago,” I said, shaking my head about the kiss with Dylan, the one she never forgot. I would never hear the end of it. For eons! Joy.
“Sigh. Yes, it was,” she said. “Go ahead. Tell your part, then we can get to a good stopping place before I decide to lose myself in my garden tub.”
Returning to the laptop, I began again.
Dylan always impressed me with how fast he was. Something of the bird in him knew exactly the right moment to swoop in to catch her or arrive in a conversation just as he was mentioned. I suppose it could be creepy. Grace always said he had an uncanny sense of the future, almost like he lived a few seconds ahead of us.
“We are doomed,” Mable exclaimed.
“No, we aren’t. Calm down,” Nestor assured her. “However, this is very bad. We need to get them both out of the square.”
“Levi, run to my car and get my extra set of clothes,” Dylan said. The hazard of igniting into flames was that he ended up being naked afterwards. I didn’t care what Grace said about Dylan and I kissing, seeing him naked was more than enough to never question which side of the fence I was on. Naked man was gross. Not that it was a question in the first place. Damn that woman knew how to get in my head.
Naked Dylan sat on the ground holding Grace’s limp body. I ran off to the car as fast as I could. I didn’t want to miss any of the conversation. If Brock already took over the Unseelie part of fairy, it meant one thing. With Stephanie as his servant, he was only one royal from owning all the Otherworld.
“Um, guys?” I said, as I threw Dylan’s clothes at him.
“What?” Dylan growled, trying to catch them. He shifted Grace toward me, and I bent down to steady her while he dressed. We’d all see him naked now. It’s not like it mattered.
“If Brock has Unseelie and Stephanie is Rhiannon’s daughter…” I started.
“He plans to take it all,” Nestor finished.
“Shit,” Dylan mumbled. “I’m taking her home. Get him out of the street. Take his body to my house. We will do a pyre out there. Levi, go get Winnie.”
I nodded. “Are you going to your house or the trailer?”
He looked down at Grace in his arms. “The trailer. It’s closer.” It wasn’t his first choice, but I knew Grace was still wary of his house since Stephanie had been there.
“We will get Winnie,” Nestor said. “You forget that you are down a vehicle.”
“Right. My head is scrambled. I guess the damn election doesn’t matter anymore,” Dylan said.
“It still matters. We will need a council. If Brock makes waves in fairy, there will be more exiles here. Not less,” he explained.
“Holy crap,” I muttered, knowing he was right.
“Fine. Go get her. Just tell her Grace is sick. I don’t want her upset,” Dylan instructed, as he hoisted Grace up into his arms. He paced toward his car, and I walked along with him. I grabbed the passenger door, swinging it open so he could put her inside.
“Meet you there,” I said.
“What about Riley?” Dylan asked.
“You know that no one is as important to me as Grace is, right?” I responded.
He nodded with approval. I hopped on my bike to follow them home. As I rode, I could feel Grace inside the car. Her mind racing with knowledge. She was beginning to see the whole picture. She had shut herself off from all that was fairy for good reason. Now it was all thrust upon her without permission. Oberon spoke to me in those last moments. A strong, steady voice in my head. Resolved to save her. He loved her.
When we arrived, we got the torn dress off of her, putting her in something comfortable. He stood over her, stroking her forehead. “Can you feel her, Levi?” he asked.
I knew that she had told him about us in her Father’s home, but I never expected Dylan to accept it, much less ask me to use it. “She’s overwhelmed,” I said, describing it the best way that I could. I felt the rush of power into her as her father poured all of his knowledge and will into her. Some of it bubbled over to me. Not in a form that I could use, just the force of it through her. Her mind zipped in a million directions trying to make sense of the information that it now held. It was too much at once. Dylan stared at me, hoping I could give him more. “Did he say anything to you? At the end?”
“Just to take care of her,” he said. “Why? What did he say to you?”
“In my mind, he said that one day I’d tell this story, and when I did, he wanted everyone to know that he never intended to lay it all on her at once. He believed in her more than she ever realized,” I said sadly.
“This is bad, Levi. She will be torn between here and there now. She’s the rightful heir to his throne,” he said, watching her rest.
“Grace never wanted that, and he knew it. Perhaps he never meant for her to take over the Otherworld, perhaps he meant for her to just be here,” I suggested.
“Did he tell you that?” his voice laced with disdain.
“No, but you know as well as I do, Grace doesn’t do what everyone expects her to do,” I said with a smile. I tried to disarm him. The last thing I wanted was him to be upset when she woke up.
He released his frustration with a snicker. “No, she doesn’t. I think most of the time, she tries to do everything the opposite on purpose.”
“It’s Grace,” I said.
“Beautiful Grace,” he responded.
He watched her sleep. When Winnie arrived, she came in and hugged us both. She looked at Grace with sad eyes. “Is Mommy okay?” she asked. Grace would have melted to hear those words come out of that little mouth.
“She’s just resting,” Dylan told her.
“Okay. I got a happy meal,” she explained. “Uncle Levi, you want some French fries? I’ll share.” I couldn’t refuse her. Dylan nodded for me to go with her. I felt Grace, so I didn’t have to be in the room with her. Although her body rested, I felt her mind sorting out the knowledge. She would get a handle on all of it, but I didn’t know how long that would take.
After putting Winnie to bed, I gave Dylan a break. While he was up, Troy arrived at our door. I heard them talking in low voices in the living room. When Dylan walked back into the room, he looked awful.
“What’s happened?” I asked.
“My house is gone,” he said.
“What
?”
“Troy said it looked like someone just plucked it off the foundation, stuck it in their pocket and walked off,” he said astounded.
“Stephanie,” I replied.
“Yes, the fucking snake. She probably was in the house for more than just to taunt Grace. She wanted to rip everything from us. One day I’ll kill her,” he growled. His anger was exposed through his flaming eyes.
“Welcome to the trailer park,” I smirked.
He turned those burning eyes to me, and I flinched. Shaking his head, he released the anger. “She will love it,” he said, looking back at Grace.
“That’s all that matters, right?” I said.
“Absolutely,” he replied. “Oh crap! Where is Rufus?”
“He’s in the bed with Winnie,” I said.
“Geez, I almost had a heart attack,” he said.
“Your house is gone, and you are worried about the dog?” I asked.
“Levi, I don’t worry about anything, except Grace,” he said turning his attention back to her. I knew the feeling.
“You are so sweet, Dublin,” she purred.
“Shut it,” I said. “Finish the story.”
“It’s a long way from done,” she replied.
“I mean this part. The election,” I said.
“Yes, Bard,” she smirked.
When I woke up alone in my room in the trailer, I admit that I was perturbed. After finally getting a grip on everything my father passed on to me, I expected to find Dylan by my side. Even more disappointing was the absent Levi, who I knew wouldn’t abandon me. Perhaps Riley MacKenzie was better than I thought. A shadow crossed the door, and brooding blue eyes met mine.
He tilted his head at me, “You know. Sometimes I hear your thoughts quite clearly, and while Riley is good, you are my Queen.”
“Oh, hush your mouth. Where’s Dylan?” I asked, as Levi crossed the room to the chair opposite of the bed. He nodded toward the door.
“Well, she’s awake,” Dylan said from the doorway.
I sighed. They were both there and fine. Everything was not fine though. When my father opened himself up to me, I saw him for who he truly was. So many years I spent in anger, but my father was probably the best fairy in the world. His decisions were made with the utmost care and wisdom. I’d been so wrong about him. Although I knew it hurt him deeply, he still loved me. Just like a father should.