Phoenix (Tuatha De Danann Book 1)

by Vanessa Skye

  “Your horse,” I shout to Aiden leading our small party of two. “It needs rest!”

  “We are close, Alys! Once we reach the camp, none will find us.” Aiden says over his shoulder.

  I frown. If there is a large camp of fae within the grassy hills, then I can’t see where they are hiding. There are no dwellings, no smoke, and no movement.

  As we ride closer, what I thought was nothing more than a gouge in the ground turns out to be a gorge. It looks as though the earth was split in two by an axe of a mighty giant.

  Aiden slows his horse to a walk, and its lungs heave and legs quiver as it plods toward a wide thicket of trees at the top edge of the gorge.

  “Where are we going?” I ask, just as two armed, ordinary-looking fae emerge from the underbrush pointing their arrows at us.

  “Hold,” Aiden says.

  My eyes widen as the men quickly lower their weapons and kneel.

  “Sire,” one says. “Welcome home. We have not seen you for more than a year.”

  “You may rise. I have been sending you many of your brethren. Are they here?”

  “Yes,” the other fae says, nodding. “Hundreds have arrived at your direction, and our ranks swell beyond our capacity to care for them.”

  Aiden throws his leg over his horse and slides to the ground, and I do the same.

  “May I present my beloved sister, Alys.”

  The men look at me with startled eyes before they kneel once more.

  “We are humbled,” one mumbles.

  I study them as they kneel. While they look like any other fae, there is no magic surrounding them at all—they are Talentless.

  “The queen has come, as was foretold,” the other says in wonder.

  “She has indeed. And she is stronger than we ever imagined!” Aiden says with a proud smile. “Danu’s efforts to thwart us were in vain.”

  I frown. “Danu? Isn’t she long gone?”

  “I meant Estrild, of course.” Aiden shrugs and laughs.

  The men stare at me from their place on the ground, clearly waiting.

  “Um…nice to meet you,” I say and perform an awkward mini-curtsey before I can stop myself. “You can, uh, rise, I guess.”

  They scramble to their feet.

  “I’m not sure what’s going on,” I whisper to Aiden. “Why are these fae bowing to me while guarding approximately five average-looking trees? Where is the camp?”

  “Not all is as it seems.” He chuckles then casts a critical eye over his exhausted horse. “We walk from here. Guide your unicorn. The road ahead is narrow and rocky.”

  Mandrake snorts.

  “He’ll be fine.”

  Aiden shakes his head. “My horse will not make it. Take care of it. And then ensure our tracks are erased.”

  One of the guards draws his sword, and I realize what he is about to do and quickly look away.

  Aiden leads me into the trees and I see the small rocky mouth of a cave a few feet inside.

  I walk inside without a problem, but Mandrake has to bow his head and squeeze his bulk through the tight opening.

  The scream of a horse echoes behind us, and then silence.

  My sadness for the loss of the horse mingles with Mandrake’s in my mind, and a tear trickles down my cheek as I follow Aiden through the widening cave.

  I’m shocked at how alive and animated the cave feels with its sparking stalactites and stalagmites reflecting the lantern light lining the walls. The flames bounce off the natural crystals in the rock only to catch the surface of another gem. The colors refract and change almost as soon as I’ve identified them. But instead of noticing the beauty, a sense of foreboding rushes over me.

  I shake it off. I made this choice.

  Aiden turns and flashes a gleeful smile as we head quickly through a series of dark tunnels. “These tunnels lead to the living quarters, and the last one to the left leads to the floor of the gorge,” he says then frowns. “What is the matter, sister?”

  “You killed your horse!”

  Aiden cups my shoulder. “It was exhausted and suffering. The only future it had was a long and painful death. I simply wanted to end its pain. Plus, there are many here who arrived with nothing but the scant clothing on their backs. Would you deny them a well deserved hot meal? My horse will feed many.”

  I scowl but shake my head. “Of course not. But what about the forest fire?”

  He seems surprised at the question. “What about it?”

  “What if it was home to a fae settlement?”

  Aiden’s face falls flat, even his eyes lose their shine. “It wasn’t. You think so little of your brother? Moreover, even if there was, do you honestly believe we can free the Talentless without spilling fae blood? Don’t be naïve, sister.”

  “I said I would champion Talentless fae, Aiden, not lead them into a war they cannot possibly win! I’m sure we can come to peace with—”

  “With Nuadha?” he yells and scoffs. “You are showing your age. You’ve seen him for what he is now. There will be no peace. Only a war will set the world to right. And with you leading them into battle, the Talentless can and will win it, Alys. Don’t count them out. We have a few tricks up our sleeve the fae will never see coming.”

  “I’m not interested in a war,” I repeat, folding my arms.

  “Well, dear sister, you’re in one. You’ve picked your side. Time to get used to it!”

  In all the time I’d spent with Aiden, even when he was issuing commands and ordering me about during training, he had never taken this icy tone with me. He never snapped at me.

  I square my shoulders and step forward. “Where are we going?”

  “I am taking you to meet your people,” Aiden replies. “The Talentless have been waiting for their champion for a long time. Let’s not make them wait any longer.”

  I take a few quick skips, catching up to Aiden. “Is…is our father here?”

  He shakes his head. “He is traveling these lands, gathering even more displaced Talentless, offering them a home, and training them for what is to come. He is eager to see his beloved faeling for the first time in nearly nineteen years, and will soon arrive.” He smiles at me, his green eyes sparkling with happiness once again. “With you here, everything will fall into place. You’ll see, Alys.”

  I nod, but I still feel uneasy. I’ve lost the man I love and gained a brother I never knew existed. Of course, things are going to feel off.

  Mandrake nudges my shoulder, and I feel his empathy rolling off him.

  I rub his soft muzzle in thanks and continue following my brother as he navigates the steep slopes like he has lived here all his life. “How long have you been planning this?”

  “Since I saw how the fae treated the Talentless when I was a small boy,” he says. “Our father has been planning this for centuries, however. The fae thought they had us beaten when they kidnapped you, but they were wrong. I joined Nuadha’s army as soon as I was old enough, not only to gain insight into his plans and his way of thinking but also to give me an opportunity to search for you in my travels. I had no idea you were in the human world. How you must have suffered—” His voice breaks.

  “So…it was the fae who tried to kill me?”

  “Yes, they must have found you there. The fae who attempted to murder you…did he have magic?”

  “He did.” I say. The attack on my mother and me seems like such a long time ago now. “And I suspect a forest fae manipulated a bully who went from picking on me to outright attacking me as well as an attempt to drop half a tree on my head.”

  Aiden nods grimly. “Thank goodness I found you when I did, or they might have succeeded.”

  “But…I don’t understand. Estrild gave me to Baird and said hiding me with the humans would protect me. Wouldn’t fae already know where I was? And now you’re saying Nuadha wanted me killed, but he could have killed me any number of times in the last several months. Why protect me?”

  “I cannot begin to guess his reason
ing. I’m sure he hoped you would remain in the human world and die a mortal death. When you became too powerful, he tried to have you murdered.”

  “But, he seemed just as shocked as anyone when he saw me. And yes, we’ve argued over the hows and whys, but he knows I want to stop this war, not lead Talentless fae into battle!”

  “Exactly,” Aiden says, abruptly turning to face me. “They don’t want this war prevented, do they? They want to wipe out the Talentless and anyone who supports them. And Nuadha, well, he needs a war to cement his position as king. A warlord without a war is vulnerable.”

  Nodding, I recall Baird saying something similar many months ago. “Makes sense…” I can’t believe Nuadha deceived me for so long. My attraction distracted me so much I refused to see the evil inside him.

  “Of course, it does! You are here now, and everyone will be overjoyed, Alys. Enough questions. Just relax and trust me. Can you do that?”

  I nod without hesitation. “Of course. You are my brother,” I say with a smile.

  “And proud to be so,” he says with a grin.

  He gestures toward a dark tunnel ahead of him, and I walk through, following it for another ten feet or so until it opens onto a natural rock shelf overlooking another huge cavern.

  Cheers echo off the walls and ceiling as men, women, and faelings shout and clap a level below. About the size of a large football stadium, the space is filled with Talentless fae from one end to the other, many of whom wave scraps of colorful fabrics with a look of pure joy on their faces.

  I wave back and smile. “This is all for me?”

  “It is.” He holds up his hands and the crowd quiets. “Beloved fae! As promised, I give you your champion, Alys, Queen of the Talentless!”

  The cheers rise once more, and a few fae unabashedly cry as they call out praise and devotion.

  I am filled with an overwhelming sense of love, happiness, and right. I know with every fiber of my being these are my people. These displaced fae from Tír na nÓg have been waiting for me to give them a voice and a fighting chance. Who am I to question it?

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  My life is the caves quickly falls into a routine.

  The evening we arrived, Aiden had shown me to a beautiful alcove and pronounced it “A room fit for a queen.”

  As I gaped at the expensive canopy bed and carved gold furniture, I’d recalled Nuadha and his single cot and stool and wondered where he was sleeping that night—likely Chathair Mhór.

  The thoughts were quickly overridden by the memory of his pleasure-filled groans, which forced me back to reality. There I was, about to sleep in a room with jewels and precious metals embedded in its walls while Talentless fae slept huddled together on the floor, many of them covered with nothing but the clothes on their backs.

  Under Aiden’s approving gaze, I’d gathered every blanket I could find and taken them to the pregnant women and small children.

  That first night had set the tone, and over the next month, I quickly adapt to being a spokesperson for the downtrodden and displaced. Every day I hope for a peaceful solution to our problems, but it never hurts to be prepared, so by day, I teach anyone willing the art of battle, both swords and hand-to-hand combat. Many are already trained thanks to the mandatory time with Nuadha’s army, and they help me with the few who have never held a sword properly. The hard, packed dirt floor of the tall gorge makes a perfect practice ground for running drills and battle formations. By night, I spend my time chatting with many Talentless as they fix whatever meager food they have and settle in for sleep. More often than not, I join them on the common room floor, and I have never felt more comfortable in my life. I’d like to think my mothers—both of them—would be proud of me if they knew.

  “Any word from Nuadha?” I ask Aiden one evening.

  “No. Unless you call killing our messenger word,” he says with a scowl.

  “No!” My heart sinks. “He wouldn’t…”

  He flashes a withering glare. “Oh? The horse returned to our small contingent with no rider, streaked with fae blood, and the letter you sent Nuadha ripped to shreds and stuffed in the saddlebag.”

  That makes three letters I’ve sent begging to discuss a peaceful solution to our mutual problem. Nuadha returned the first two, unopened.

  I cover my mouth, tears springing to my eyes. “I can’t believe he wo—”

  “Can’t believe he would what, Alys? Kill your messenger? Push for war? I have shown you time and time again! When are you going to let go of your ridiculous, childish infatuation and see the man for what he really is?”

  “You are right. I am sorry, brother. I suppose, even after everything, I hoped he would see sense…” Ashamed, I lower my gaze.

  “He won’t. We prepare for war, Alys.”

  Aiden stalks toward his room, and I gaze at my ragged troops, on their makeshift pallets, scattered around the common area.

  Despite my experience and magic, I cannot see any way for us to win a war against Nuadha. His men are not only more skilled and better trained, but they also have magic at their disposal. My army—if it can even be called that—is made up of fae with enough heart to conquer a galaxy but not much else at their disposal. Many show an aptitude for fighting, but with no armor, few horses, and even fewer weapons, they can’t survive long in a battle against Nuadha’s forces.

  My stomach snarls, but I ignore it. Food is scarce. We survive only on what we can forage in the immediate area, and there are many here hungrier than me.

  “My queen?”

  I turn to find a female kneeling at my feet with her head bowed.

  “No need to kneel,” I say with a sigh. It’s something I say at least once an hour, yet everyone still insists. It’s weird.

  The woman stands, and I recognize the familiar face of the young fae from Rhiannon’s community so many months ago.

  “Rowan? What are you doing here?”

  “I was banished not long after you left, my queen,” she whispers. “Many of us bought passage in the hopes of speaking to the king about our plight personally, but it was not to be. However, I never gave up hope of seeing you again, my queen.”

  “Banished?” I trusted her! Believed she was different. “I expected better of Rhiannon.”

  “’Tis not her fault, my queen. Many community members threatened her with an uprising if she refused to banish all of us. She had little choice. Plus, after she sent her son to shadow me as punishment for his misdeeds, he and I…well, it was not the match she hoped for him. She was kind and allowed us to take necessary provisions.”

  I nod, understanding that mine is not the only broken heart in the room. “How are you, Rowan?”

  “I-I…am well,” she replies, looking around. “I see you oft sleep among us on the floor of the cavern. I thought perhaps I might offer you a warm meal and fire, maybe a blanket for the evening. It is the least I can do.”

  “No, no. I’m good. You should keep what you have.”

  “Please, my queen.” She looks at me with such hope in her light aqua eyes. “Allow me to repay you for saving my life…Even if the details are hazy…” She frowns for a minute and I remember she was manipulated to forget about my fire.

  “In that case…” I nod and smile. “I thank you for your kind offer.”

  She leads me through the throngs of mini camps set up everywhere until we reach her hearth where a man, woman, and young girl sitting around the fire look at me then scramble off the ground and kneel.

  “Sit. You guys seriously don’t need to do that,” I say, lowering myself onto the ground and crossing my legs.

  The woman’s belly is swollen and the man, clearly her husband, cradles her gently in his arms.

  “When is your faeling due?” I ask as Rowan hands me a small wooden bowl filled a stew of some sort.

  “In late Spring, my queen,” she says shyly before looking at her husband.

  The love passing between them is like a dagger in my heart, but I make an effort t
o smile, and before she can object, I hand her the stew. “Please. I have already eaten.”

  She hesitates, but hunger and the need to care for her unborn child win out, and she eats swiftly.

  I watch the smoke rise and disappear in the darkness above us. “Have you all been here long?”

  “A few months,” the male answers for everyone. “Since we were banished.”

  I nod. “I am hoping to find a peaceful solution with King Nuadha, so you can return to your families soon.”

  The man frowns. “We live in hope, my queen, but we do not see how that is possible.”

  “Why?”

  He shrugs. “We are, all of us, blamed for the raids. Many of our families will no longer accept us. Even if peace is brokered, we have nothing to return to.”

  I study his handsome face. “What is your name?”

  “Tyree,” he says, bowing his head.

  “And that would make you Nara?”

  “Yes! How did you know?” she asks, rubbing her swollen belly.

  I keep my voice soft as I meet her gaze with a smile. “I met your mother at Uisce ag Titim. She was worried about you. I know she would have you back with her in a heartbeat. And I’m sure she is not the only one.”

  Nara’s eyes fill with tears and her voice shakes when she whispers, “Thank you.”

  I look back at Tyree. “Did you participate in any raids?”

  “No, my queen. We lived in Uisce ag Titim and were happy. Yes, we did much of the menial work, but we were paid and had our own rooms. Until the recent strife, we were never treated badly.”

  “Have you met any Talentless here who were involved in the raids?” I ask, thinking how commonplace this story has become during my weeks in the caves. Every Talentless fae I have spoken with denies involvement in the raids.

  “No, not one.”

  I frown. “Then, who do you think is responsible for the conflict?”

  He shrugs. “I do not know. It is possible other bands of the Talentless carrying out the attacks. However, if there are, no one knows who they are or where they might be hiding. If we did, we would stop them. None here wishes to take on Nuadha. We know we will lose.” He caresses his wife’s belly. “This child will most likely grow up not knowing its father, and we are powerless to prevent it.”