by Amy Sumida
“Princess Seren,” the rolling Spanish accent alerted me to Gabriel Alegre's presence before I turned to see him. “I would be honored if you would introduce me to your father.”
“Prime Elder Gabriel Alegre of the Beckoning clan,” I said politely, “this is my father, King Keir Bloodthorn, First King of Twilight.”
“Your Majesty,” Gabriel bowed.
“Prime Elder Alegre,” Keir inclined his head and held out a hand.
“It's a pleasure to meet you,” Gabriel shook the offered hand with a warm smile. “I'm looking forward to cementing a truce between our people.”
“I as well,” Keir nodded. “I'm sorry to hear about the difficulties that arose for your people when they entered Fairy.”
“Ah, yes,” Gabriel frowned. “I had wanted to visit but now I don't believe I shall.”
“Sarah is fully recovered,” I offered. “Danu has returned her to her previous form. But there was a very unusual turn of events as far as Tristan is concerned.”
“More unusual than what had already happened to him?” Alegre lifted a thick brow.
“Tristan has been changed into a sidhe and now holds a place in the High Fairy Council,” I just put it out there.
Both Gabriel and my father looked at me in shock.
“The Princess is trying to say that the Goddess has blessed Tristan's faith in her by giving him the form he secretly desired and placing him in a position which lies close to her heart,” Tiernan explained tactfully. “He resides on the holy Isle of Danu now. I'm sorry but he won't be returning to the Human Realm.”
“One of our own has been changed into a full fairy by the Goddess?” Gabriel blinked. “That's wonderful news. Hopefully he can become a symbol of our unity for our future.”
“Yes, hopefully,” Keir agreed but he was staring at someone off to his left, giving him a warning look. I glanced over and saw High Councilman Lorcan, who must have overheard our conversation and didn't seem to feel as positive about Tristan's transition as we did.
“Some may find his rapid advance unsettling,” I said to Gabriel, though I was actually speaking to Lorcan. “But when the Goddess speaks... or acts, we must obey her wishes and accept what she has done.”
Lorcan gave me a bitter look but nodded and moved away.
“Unfortunately,” Elder Alegre said, “we cannot count on the Goddess returning all of us to our previous forms if we should happen to be changed by Fairy too. So I think I'll remain in this realm and deny myself the pleasure of speaking with her.”
“I think that's the wisest course,” Keir agreed. “Besides, we don't yet know if the Councils will agree to visitation.”
“You're right,” Alegre inclined his head. “I shouldn't lament things which may not even be within my reach.”
“But perhaps they are within my reach,” Elder Crispin Arterbury came forward to bow to me. “Princess Seren.”
“Prime Elder Crispin,” I nodded. “This is my father, King Keir Bloodthorn of Twilight. Dad, this is Prime Elder Crispin Arterbury of the Bite clan.”
“Yes,” my father shook Crispin's hand. “We met earlier. How are you enjoying the party, Elder Arterbury?”
“Well, I'd enjoy it better if I had the pleasure of dancing with a fairy princess,” he lifted a brow at me.
“And you'd have a better chance of that happening if you didn't call me a fairy princess to my face,” I teased him.
“Oh, I should have known better but the crown threw me off,” he recovered immediately. “A modern woman like you must prefer those titles that you have won rather than been given. I beg your forgiveness, Ambassador.”
“That's better,” I laughed. “But the first dance is always reserved for my boyfriend,” I nodded towards Tiernan. “Perhaps the second?”
“I'll wait with bated breath,” he vowed dramatically.
“On that note, gentlemen,” Tiernan nodded to the men and then offered me his arm. “Would you like to dance, Twilight Star?”
“Lead the way, Lord Hunter,” I took his hand.
Tiernan whisked me into the middle of the dance floor and pulled me close. I looked up into his gleaming silver eyes and knew there was no other man I wanted to be there with. Raza's kiss might have been hot and exciting but Tiernan could keep the heat going beyond the initial flutterings of desire. Tiernan could make love to me with a look and touch me deeper than any mere physical connection would allow. That was something to be treasured.
“We need to speak to your father before he goes into the summit,” Tiernan also knew how to ruin a mood.
“About what?”
“We can't allow any more witches into Fairy,” he lowered his voice.
“Why not? Danu didn't seem to mind.”
“But what if every witch who goes into Fairy gets altered,” he leaned in close so only I could hear. “They're more powerful now, Seren. Each of them with enhanced power that may even be like yours; a blending of psychic abilities and fairy magic.”
“The witches don't have psychic abilities,” I shook my head.
“We don't know that for sure,” he shook his head. “Look at what happened to Tristan.”
“Danu helped to create that new magic,” I argued.
“Seren, think about all of the members of the Coven pouring into Fairy to gain magical power,” Tiernan growled. “They could grow more powerful than us. What would happen if they decided they didn't want to leave Fairy? Or that they wanted to rule it?”
“War in Fairy,” I whispered.
“Yes,” he sighed. “The best way to keep peace is by retaining the upper hand.”
“We can't let them in, can we?” I stared up at him.
“No, not ever,” he looked over to a group of council members. “I'm going to speak to the Councils. Do you think you can make your rounds with the royals?”
“You mean my Evil Uncle Uisdean and Psychotic Grandmother?” I lifted a brow.
“You'll get further with them than I will,” he grimaced.
“Point taken,” I grimaced back. “Fine, swirl me over to Iseabal,” I gestured to where my fairy grandmother stood, just a few feet from the edge of the dance space.
“Good luck,” he whispered and gave me a kiss before he angled us through the other dancers and over to my fairy grandmother.
“I'm gonna need it,” I huffed as I stepped up to my grandmother and her husband, King Marcan. Tiernan wandered off towards the council members with a determined expression on his beautiful face. “King Marcan,” I nodded to the shiny King of the Seelie. “Queen Iseabal,” another nod to my grandmother.
They made a stunning couple; her with her gold curls piled atop her head like a Rumpelstiltskin masterpiece and her sunlight skin gleaming as if she'd been dusted with even more of the stuff, and him with his crystal hair which lit up like light bulbs when he used his magic. He was tall and regal, she was dainty and beautiful. They were the perfect fairy couple. Too bad one of them was bat shit crazy.
“Seren,” King Marcan took my hand and gave me a kiss on the cheek. “How lovely you look.”
“Thank you, Your Majesty,” I inclined my head respectfully. I actually liked Marcan, it was his choice in women I didn't approve of. “How's my Uncle Shane? Is he here?”
“No, Shane stayed in Seelie to watch over the kingdom while we're away,” Marcan said sadly. “I'll tell him you asked after him.”
“Please do,” I smiled sweetly, knowing that it would send Shane into a tizzy, wondering if the message had some secret, malicious meaning.
My Uncle Shane wasn't exactly insane like his mother but we'd had a misunderstanding recently. He'd tried to wipe out the human race and I, failing to understand why that would be a good thing, stopped him. It appeared that he'd kept our little argument from his parents. Probably because he'd been in league with an unseelie hag. Or maybe it was because he failed.
“Seren,” Iseabal stared grimly at me. “You're still speaking to me, despite your father's enchantment?”
<
br /> “We need to discuss this summit,” I lowered my voice and saw that their attention was piqued. So I leaned in closer and explained our concerns to them.
“Humans growing stronger than fairies,” Iseabal scoffed but Marcan looked worried.
“Either way, my love,” Marcan said diplomatically, “I don't want them in our realm if we can prevent it.”
“Agreed,” Iseabal said grudgingly. “Fear not, Seren, your grandmother won't allow Fairy to be invaded by mutant humans.”
“Maybe refrain from calling them that during the summit,” I suggested and then gave King Marcan a look.
He sighed, pulling his wife into a corner to speak to her and hopefully explain why tact would be needed, as I headed towards my Uncle Uisdean.
Uisdean took even less convincing, nodding his agreement before I'd even finished a single sentence. It was my father who I had to spend some time persuading. But by the end of the evening, Tiernan and I had convinced both Councils and all of the royals to withhold visitation rights from the witches. It felt a little underhanded and wrong, especially when I thought of how happy Danu had been to see the witches, but in the end, fear for Fairy won out over love for the Goddess.
“One more day and this will all be over,” I sighed as Tiernan shut the bedroom door behind us.
“I admit, I won't be sad to see the witches leave,” Tiernan started unbuckling his sword belt. “Being assigned to you has brought me more headaches than any duty I've ever performed for the Council.”
“Thanks a lot,” I made a face at him while I kicked off my shoes. “Well I'll just go take a bath by myself so you can get some relief from your headache.”
I turned but he was too fast for me, sweeping me up and carrying me into the bathroom. I laughed as he set me down but then he began kissing me and the comedy ended abruptly. Hot hands on cool flesh, hot tongues twirling together. I leaned into the fiery love he offered and soon we were moaning beneath a spray of warm water, heading towards the best headache remedy ever.
As I dug my fingers into Tiernan's muscled back and moaned his name, I wondered if we'd be like this forever. Could love as passionate as ours keep burning or would it eventually cool down to mere embers? I guess it didn't really matter. This was the only path I wanted to walk, whether the Goddess walked it with me or not.
Epilogue
The truce was signed.
It took three days for all involved to agree on terms but in the end, everyone did and the very long document was signed by quite a lot of people and then magically sealed. Visitation to Fairy was denied the Coven and the reason given for the denial; that the witches had proved unstable to possible alterations which Fairy would impose upon them, left little room for argument.
They were granted information rights though. This means that they are to be allowed access to all documents that the Human Council has on themselves and fairies. A select few of them would even be allowed to attend council classes and then take that knowledge back to share it with the Coven. In return, the Coven was to allow us access to their records and libraries.
In regards to the fey, this meant that we'd be working on establishing an exchange of magical information. The Fairy Council was interested in the possibility that witch magic could be supplemented to the elemental magic that fairies already possessed. The witches hoped that we would help them use their abilities to their fullest potential. Of course, this meant additional laws which the Human Council especially insisted upon.
The witches already had their own police to enforce these new laws; the Vexes. But there was about to be a huge change for them; they wouldn't be policing their own anymore. The Vexes would be trained by the Extinguishers to watch over the fey and then by the Wild Hunt to watch over the humans. In return, they would train hunters and extinguishers in the ways of policing witches.
As with anything of this nature, compromises were made but I believe that most were happy with the outcome. Even Shaman Kevin Chepaney, who was notified of the truce and what it entailed, expressed relief over the signing. He was given Councilman Teagan's direct number and was encouraged to call should he ever experience anything negatively supernatural. I think that alone, having someone he could turn to for help, made a huge difference in his life.
A few weeks after we returned to Twilight, we received the news that the dullahans had been judged by the High Councils and several had been found guilty of treason but surprisingly, most were spared execution, and punishment was meted out to just a few leaders. Malvin Skinner was not among them because he'd already been killed by Raza during our wild rescue of the witches and raven mockers.
Things are peaceful for now. I guess everyone is just too busy to cause trouble. Whatever the reason for the calm, I just pray that it continues. But as I look down at the letter in my lap, I know that my prayers are probably pointless. I'm sure that Danu can hear me but I'm also pretty sure that she never intended for my life to be peaceful. Danu wanted me to unite her people; all of them.
Dearest Niece,
I have received word from the Court of the Nine Sons. The meeting is set for two weeks hence. Please make preparations to be here at least one day in advance so we may set the magic upon you which you'll need to visit the underwater kingdom. You may bring your Count with you if you wish but please leave the rest of your Guard behind, including the lovely Catriona. I fear that the dragons might mistake her for an appetizer. Rest assured that I will provide protection for us both.
Sincerely,
King Uisdean Thorn of Unseelie
-Your Evil Uncle
Keep reading for a sneak peek into the next book in the Twilight Court Series:
Here there be Dragons
Chapter One
“I'm actually a little excited about seeing the dragon court,” I said to Tiernan.
Tiernan looked up from the book he'd been reading in a chair near our bedroom's fireplace, and frowned. He closed the leather-clad tome and placed it on the small table beside him. I knew that look, a lecture was coming. I swear, sometimes being with Tiernan was like dating a college professor. A really old college professor.
Tiernan was way older than any human professor alive and also way smarter, which could be way more exhausting. I kept trying to get his age out of him but he still refused to tell me. I think he thinks I'll take it badly. He should know that my imagination is probably much worse than the truth. In my head, I placed his birth around the same time as Christ's.
“Seren,” he started and I nearly groaned. “The dragon courts are volatile vortexes of violence.”
“Sheesh,” I rolled my eyes as I took the seat beside him. “Alliteration much?”
“Sometimes I feel like I have to rhyme my warnings so that they'll stick in your memory,” he smirked.
“I'm gonna stick something in your memory, Lord Hunter,” I growled.
“Seriously,” he took my hand. “You need to be prepared for extreme acts of violence. The dragons are eternally snapping at each other and not in a verbal way. You saw how Raza behaved when he was in dragon form.”
“Yeah,” I whispered, thinking back to the destruction Raza wrought before I talked him down... several times.
“These dragons are much worse,” Tiernan said grimly. “They are full-blooded water dragons which makes them both feisty and unpredictable. They turn like the tide and they may not breathe fire but they have other ways of making you sorry you're alive.”
“Well now I'm really excited,” I said sarcastically.
“I don't mean to scare you,” he leaned forward and kissed me quickly. “We'll handle it together. I just don't want you thinking that this is going to be a vacation. You'll have to be very careful of what you say to them or even around them. Dragons aren't afraid of the Sluagh. They'll kill a fairy royal without batting a reptilian eye.”
“That's why my dad is so upset,” I sighed.
King Keir Bloodthorn, First King of Twilight, had been pissed when I'd announced that his brother had
coerced me into joining him in the underwater Court of the Nine Sons. He'd nearly started a fight right in the middle of a party that was meant to be a meet and greet between us and the newly discovered witches. A royal argument was not appropriate to the setting.
So Keir had postponed it. He'd fought with Uisdean over it later but thankfully, it hadn't escalated to blows or magic. Uisdean had finally convinced Keir that he was well within his rights to ask me to act in my role of Ambassador. It was my job to mediate a meeting between him and the dragons. Keir had given in but he was still really mad. You couldn't really blame him for being suspicious of his brother; Uisdean had tried to kill me... twice.
Uisdean had vowed that he was over the whole wanting me dead thing, especially since he couldn't kill me now without bringing the Sluagh down on his head. The Sluagh were the monsters of Fairy and one of their main jobs was to kill anyone who tried to murder a fairy royal. When I had accepted the crown, Uisdean had to accept that I was here to stay.
Except now it looked as if he may have found a loophole.
“Do you think Uisdean is counting on a dragon killing me?” I asked Tiernan.
“It has crossed my mind,” Tiernan grimaced. “And your father's.”
“Why didn't I think of that?” I scowled.
“Because you're starting to let Danu influence your perceptions,” Tiernan smiled gently. “She loves all of her children and she wants you to love them as well but Danu can afford to love us all, she's a goddess. You however, may be immortal but you are not indestructible and you must be more careful of whom you trust.”
“I never said I trusted Uisdean,” I squished up my face.
“No, but you're doing as Danu asked and are opening your heart to him,” Tiernan sighed. “It's good that you're listening to her and really, we shouldn't ignore Danu's wishes but perhaps you should remember what else she said to you.”
“To watch my step,” I nodded. “I'll go one better and watch my back too.”