by Jaymin Eve
Ben pulled up to a large wrought iron gate where two men stood out front. Both of them were huge, burly, and very bear-like. Each wore an identical expression, fierce and filled with mistrust. Kade rolled down the window. The guards stood even more to attention, both of them giving a genial head nod to their king.
They stared for a moment at Ben, probably wondering how the heck he was allowed to be driving the king, before opening the gate. My light-haired guard met their gaze, no flinching as Kade’s men stepped back. We continued our journey, and I found myself leaning forward to take in the sight. His home was breathtaking, one of those old brick mansions; lanterns lit our way up the long driveway. It was massive yet quaint, and the two rocking chairs on the front porch set quite the romantic scene.
Ben pulled right up to the door and we all got out. The other car stopped next to ours and Derek was at my side in an instant. He’d clearly been annoyed to not be in the front car with me. I could feel the simmering energy coming off him. Calista found her way to my other side as Kade strode up the large steps to the double doors. Finn remained close to my side.
“Welcome to my home,” he said. The doors were flung open, and I could see no staff or attendants in sight. I got the feeling Kade preferred privacy, which is maybe why he had chosen to live in this style of mansion rather than a compound. Although, this estate did actually look pretty huge. I tentatively stepped in, ignoring Derek’s arm trying to hold me back. If the king wanted to kill me he would have tried by now. He’d had plenty of chances.
The entrance of the home was as breathtaking as the outside. A wide tiled foyer led to two huge marble staircases leading to the upper floor of the home. The rest I could see was ornate but still correct to the time period. Care had been taken to preserve the touches of this house which had stood for many, many years: detailed cornices and moldings, paneled walls and high ceilings. I immediately wanted to kick the king out and buy this place for myself. Of course no wolf queen could own property in a bear borough, but a girl could dream. His estate reminded me of the Island, close to the water with large sprawling homes. I decided right then that I loved Staten Island.
Calista interrupted my drooling over a home which would never be mine. “We need to hurry and view the bodies. The council do not know of this visit, and should word get back to them before Arianna has returned to explain, they may think of this as an act of war. We do not want them to do that.”
The council were pains, like a thorn partially embedded in my side. Sometimes they were simply annoying, but other times their actions dug deep and made it hard to breathe. I hadn’t seen them too much since my crowning; it had only been a couple of days, but the official summons were starting to arrive. The first had been the cremation of the queen, the rest would come in due time, when they started flexing their muscle, their control.
They didn’t care that I was investigating the Red Queen’s death. Now they had a new queen to control, they promptly forgot they were supposed to care and mourn and avenge her.
They didn’t care or probably even believe Gerald’s warning of the fae, and so far I’d shared none of my discoveries. That would change after tonight. We needed to prepare, and unfortunately I needed their help.
One conversation I was not looking forward to having.
Gerald, who was standing close to us, had his phone out and was typing away. He lifted his head briefly to say: “Violet and Nikoli, our magic born, are outside in one of the outbuildings. Follow us.”
The entire group left, my dominants fanning around me, a slight wolfiness to their features. They would be connecting to their beasts inside, making sure their senses were as strong as possible to detect any sort of threat. I was blessed to have such strong and loyal friends; it was nice to know they had cared about me in my old life, before becoming queen. They had proven their loyalty to me many times over and I felt secure in my inner circle.
Despite the darkness, each path through the opulent garden was well lit with lanterns. Kade strode along to my right, not close enough to touch, but I could still feel the energy he carried around within him. I enjoyed the way he brushed his hands along the plants as he walked, and I was starting to understand why I had found him shirtless and acting as gardener on the Island’s bear territory. He loved his plants, and since this looked like a prize-winning abundance of flowers, bushes, trees, and shrubbery, I was guessing they loved him right back.
I’d never had much time or room for plants, having lived in concrete jungles for most of my life, but I couldn’t deny the true joy I felt being outdoors like this. I wanted to drop to my knees and dig in the dirt, to watch seeds bloom and blossom before my very eyes. It was almost like magic the way a tiny seed could grow into something so spectacular.
A surge of mecca energy beneath my skin had me wanting to reach forward. I paused beside a massive old tree, one of those that stretch high into the sky, with gnarled roots which twisted and turned, covering the ground beneath my feet. I knew the others were confused behind me, wondering what I was doing. I wasn’t even sure myself, but for some reason I had to touch this tree. I needed to rest my hands on it and let the mecca flow from me.
As both palms pressed against the roughened bark, I felt a tight knot inside of me calm. It had been sitting in my chest probably since the death of the queen. A sense of peace and tranquility flowed from me.
Then the tree responded. And I don’t mean that in the philosophical sense of it felt happy or something. No, it actually responded to me with words.
Princess of the fair. It has been many years.
I was frozen, trying to figure out if I’d just lost my mind, or whether it was possible that a tree was talking to me.
Can you hear me? I asked, hesitant.
A heavy object landed on my feet and I realized that Finn was protecting me. The huge wolf was staring at the tree, same as I was, determined to shield me, and I loved him for it.
Yes, we hear many things. We have been standing since the dawn of both worlds.
Finn, who could apparently hear our conversation too, spoke then: Wise and ancient treeling, you have blessed us with your presence here on Earth. How long have you been gone from the Otherworld?
The Otherworld … this was a fae tree? They could talk to trees? That was so unfair. We needed to be able to do that too, it was so amazing, a sense of something bigger than the simple life I lived, that felt like eternity and I was no more than a blip.
“Arianna, is everything okay?”
Calista had obviously decided I’d spent enough time acting like a weirdo tree hugger, but she had no idea. I wasn’t sure I could ever tear my hands away from this magical presence. I wanted to bask in the warmth forever.
“Just give me a minute,” I murmured to her, and she gave me a respectful head bow before taking a step back.
The tree took a long time to answer Finn, which might have been it thinking through its answer or … the fact that a being like this had no need for rushed or hurried conversation.
I was brought across half a millennia ago, by the people of the summer lands. I once grew in their royal garden. It was to be a peace offering, but things did not go as planned. There was war. Battle. I was left to die on the side of a river. But then I was saved. Planted within this ground of mecca, and here I have stayed.
What war was he talking of? Actually, what peace was he talking about? Was this another piece of fae/shifter/human history that had been lost or forgotten? I needed to finish Kade’s book. I hadn’t had time to get all the way through. Who knows what important information might be in there.
I darted my eyes toward Kade. The king stood closer to me than the others. His coppery eyes were unreadable, hard and flat. Our gazes remained locked for many moments and I wondered if he knew. Did he know that his garden held a tree from the lands of the Otherworld?
I knew we needed to go, there was much to do, so with great reluctance I breathed deeply and said, Thank you for letting me speak with you, to feel t
he great power of nature and the worlds … I have no words. Would you mind if I visited with you again someday?
A rustling of leaves and a breeze swept through us. It would be my honor, fair one. I bid you well. Death is not always the end. Sometimes it is simply a step into the next world. You would be wise to remember that. And when in doubt, look to the dark queen. She knows all.
I pulled my hands back, my body almost crying at the loss of its presence. What did it mean about death? Was it talking about my death, or someone else’s? Could it be referring to the Red Queen? That was the most pressing death on my mind right now. And who was the dark queen?
What is a treeling? I asked Finn, as we moved out of the magical tree’s presence.
On the Otherworld, nature is much more alive than on Earth. A race of ancient fae were so enamored with their tree homes that when they died their souls became one with them. After time, this spread to the rest of the forest, and soon the woods were alive. Their trees and plants now have real sentience … a soul. But I have never heard of any person being able to speak with them in the manner you just did. I don’t know if it’s because of the change in the mecca, if this particular tree is special from so many years on Earth, or if it is you, Ari.
A few throats cleared, and I swiveled to face my very confused people. “Apologies,” I said, turning my eyes to each of them before finally landing on the king. “Did you know this was a tree from the Otherworld?”
He nodded, and I grew silent waiting for him to explain. “One of my ancestors saved it from being swept into a lake. The story is that this tree was shining with light, and that each leaf was so perfect that he could not leave it behind. It was planted in our royal estate, and here it has stayed since then.” He crowded into me, dwarfing my form. “What happened? Did you feel an energy from it?”
I wasn’t sure if I should tell him or not. This felt huge, and I sensed it was tied to these changes in the mecca. If more of the mecca was coming to the earth side, were we starting to get spillover into our nature? Or land?
Kade hadn’t removed his eyes from me, and I knew he would not budge until I gave some explanation. “I will tell you later,” I murmured very softly. This wasn’t a conversation I wanted to have in front of everyone. I felt like it should be shared between just the king and I.
Violet was there then; she must have sensed me. Beside her was a tall and handsome bear magic born. With their matching pale hair, ice blue eyes, and fair skin, they looked like they could be brother and sister. But Nikoli was big and burly where my friend was delicate and less imposing.
“Arianna, you have to see this!” she told me, tugging at my arm.
Whoa, for her to touch me like this, she must have found something big.
I followed her and Nikoli into a side building that was set up as part garden shed and part indoor seating area. The floors were brick and the walls were made of glass. It was like some sort of gazebo or greenhouse, but it was huge, at least forty feet wide by sixty feet long.
Turning the corner I was assaulted with two dead bodies. I halted. Even though I was prepared to see them, you were never really prepared for so much death in such a short time span.
“What do you notice?”
The majority of our people had hung back, and now it was just the king, Nikoli, Violet, and me.
The first body I stopped by was a woman, beautiful, young, and thin. She looked like a model. Even in death her hair was shiny and splayed out perfectly, her lips the barest tint of red, her alabaster cheeks slightly rosy. I knew exactly what had caught Violet’s eye. I might not have noticed so quickly if I hadn’t examined the queen only hours before this. Her complexion looked nothing like the bluish sickly hue of the Red Queen. I turned to the other one, a male … he looked the same, like they were sleeping.
“They don’t look dead.”
“Exactly!” Violet jumped up. “I didn’t notice this the first time I checked out the body, as it had been preserved and was only a few days dead, but now both of them have been without any cold or magic for a while now, and still no decomposition.”
She was right. They didn’t even smell. In fact…
“They have no scent,” Kade said from close behind me. “They did have a scent when we killed them. They smelled human. But whatever caused that has faded away.”
“Apparently only some of the illusion holds in death,” Nikoli said. “Although I believe more of it will fade in time. If it was me I would have focused the strongest of magic on appearance and less on scent.” I turned to find him staring between Violet and the dead bodies. His features were hard to read, but whatever he was thinking it was intense.
“You’re confirming these are fae?”
He nodded in a gesture of respect, and then shrugged. “I have never encountered a fae before, but based on the information we now have ... well, it makes sense.”
Kade’s strong voice bounced from the walls: “Why can’t you break the illusion? I want to look upon those who dared attack us in our territories.”
Not to mention we could very well be on the edge of war, and if we were to take this to our people we needed evidence of the fae.
Nikoli looked like he wanted to please his king but was at a loss. “We tried everything.”
Violet was staring off to the side, thinking.
“Not everything.” She had that hyped look she got when she was about to suggest something insane.
“Vi…” I trailed off, using my queen voice. It was necessary, my best friend had no self-preservation instincts. Our whole lives she’d thought herself invincible. And yes, she hadn’t killed herself in a reckless move yet, but there was still time. And I needed her.
“Let’s take them to the vortex,” Violet said, and before anyone could protest Nikoli was nodding.
Time to assess the risks. “You want to toss a dead body into the vortex and see what happens? The mecca has been unstable lately … this could cause us a lot of problems.”
If these were fae, what would happen? Clearly there was still some magical illusion holding up. Maybe this would break it, or maybe it would wreak havoc.
“We have no choice, we should take this risk. I’ll keep the mecca from getting too unstable,” Kade said, clearly deciding for all of us. As if that settled it, Violet snapped her fingers and the male body began to hover a few feet off the ground.
“Leave the other body here. I have a plan B,” Violet murmured to Nikoli. He nodded and they made their way out the door, walking along with the floating body like it was no big deal. As Kade turned to follow, my hand snaked out and grabbed his wrist.
“The king and I need a moment alone,” I said to Calista and my guard. They all looked ruffled, Derek especially. He eyed my hand on the king’s wrist like I was touching a crocodile. I dropped it.
“Come on.” Calista recovered first, before shooing everyone out.
Once we were alone – well, alone except for the creepy dead/undead body – Kade turned to me and arched one well-shaped eyebrow.
I took a deep breath. “I need you to tell me about your gift with the mecca.”
We were about to experiment with an unstable energy here and I wanted to know that he could handle it. I was also thinking of Calista’s queries from before; I needed to know more about him. We had time for this one question.
He exhaled deeply and ran a strong hand through his thick hair. “I’ve always had an affinity for the mecca, even as a child.”
“Affinity?” I said, hoping for more explanation than that. Affinity could mean a million things. All heirs had an affinity for it, so he must be talking about something more.
He met my eyes. “I can see it.”
What. The. Heck?
“Like the magic born can? Like you can literally see it?” Magic borns had the ability to actually trace the lines of power that crisscrossed beneath the boroughs.
He shrugged. “More than the magic born. I can not only see the energy lines, I can touch them. I can ev
en control … or guide … the energy, to a certain extent. When you were crowned it looked like the mecca was eating you alive, like it was going to take every last breath from your soul, and well, instinct urged me forward. Even if it killed me too, I had to try to save you.”
I stepped forward without realizing it. The way he spoke, so gentle and poetic, it made me want to be closer to him.
“Thank you for what you did,” I said with sincerity. “You didn’t have to save me. You risked your own life. It is why I trust you, and respect you even more.”
He gave me a crooked smile. “I figured if a woman could kiss me like that and then slap me in the same moment, she was worth saving.”
This time I returned the smile, but before I could respond there was a rap at the glass window. Derek, looking stone-faced, indicated it was time for us to join the rest of the group.
I stepped back from the king and put the queenly mask back on, before leveling a look on Derek. We were going to be having a chat very soon. I was queen now, he did not get to command me in any manner. No past familiarity or trust between us could trump my new position.
“Your boyfriend?” Kade asked, sounding casual, but a flicker of shadow stirred in the copper depths of his eyes.
“Ex,” I said. Then before I could say or do anything more to jeopardize my crown, I stormed out of that glass house like my life depended on it. Which maybe it did.
Chapter Fourteen
Fee Fi Fo Fae.
My guards were stationed at the perimeter of the Staten Island vortex. Calista was waiting in the car. If the mecca exploded I wanted her far away from it. Gerald, Kade, Violet, Nikoli, and I were all situated around the body, only a few feet from the vortex disc.
Finn was stationed behind me. I didn’t worry much about him, he had no problem when we traveled via the vortex.
Violet turned to Nikoli then. “Throw him in, friend.”
The bear magic born grinned, his teeth as white as his skin, before snapping his fingers and levitating the body. The strong mecca energy around him increased, and the stirring inside of me responded. The king stepped forward then, planting himself firmly in front of the disc, clearly using his big body to shield us all.