by Amy Sumida
But now, the Lord Hunter was a king... and his ex-wife still lived at Court. I had caught her flirting with him several times already. If that woman wasn't careful, she was going to get star-crossed.
“If you ever call me T-bag again, I will ban you from my bed for a week,” the King declared.
“You would not.” I laughed as I slid beneath the sheets.
Cat wandered off to find a nice place to nap.
“That was the most foul thing I've ever been called.”
“Tiernan,” I huffed, “you've been called a traitor.”
“It was not as bad as 'T-bag,'” he insisted.
“You're ridiculous.” I sighed as I snuggled in against his warm body.
Tiernan was the sleekest of my men, but that wasn't to say he didn't have some significant musculature going on. It's just when you compare a sidhe to a dragon-djinn, they look smaller. Killian had fairy blood, but it was diluted considerably with human, and that also made for a larger build. I loved big men, they made me feel dainty, but there was something to be said for a man who wouldn't smother you if he happened to roll over in the middle of the night.
No, that wasn't all. Tiernan had grace to his movements that my other men couldn't manage. The sidhe were famous for their ethereal, willowy beauty, and the men tended to be just as stunning as the women. They were also the most stealthy fey, walking with such softness that it seemed as if they floated. They could run through a forest and not only do it silently but without disturbing a single twig.
And then there was me.
Half human and half fairy. My human half was extinguisher, which meant that I had a plethora of psychic abilities at my disposal. My fairy half was royal twilight, which meant that I had fairy magic which no one else possessed, not even my father. Twilight was a blend of seelie and unseelie. When the two types of fairies mixed, it resulted in blended-magic babies... and sometimes in entirely new races. So, I was divided on several fronts, but it made me the perfect ambassador. Danu knew what she was doing when she influenced my birth.
Yeah, that took me awhile to get over—the influence of a Goddess on my life. But, lying next to Tiernan in his royal bed, knowing that together my men, my father, and I ruled all of Fairy, made it easier to swallow. Plus, Danu had been there for me. We'd had some recent disagreements, but we'd gotten through them and were on good terms again.
“I've sent out three search parties to secretly scour Seelie,” Tiernan said. “Hopefully, if there are abductors hiding humans in our kingdom, they won't know that we're looking for them until we find them.”
“Oh, sneaky,” I purred. “I love it.”
“I knew you would.” He pulled me in closer and kissed my forehead. “Now, maybe you could help me with the moomin.”
“What are those chubby little pranksters up to?”
Moomin looked like overweight munchkins. They were very shy, but they loved interacting through jokes, usually very silly pranks. Sometimes the buffoonery got a little out of hand, but they were never malicious. They hibernated every Winter, though, and as Fall approached, the moomin grew restless, knowing that their fun was soon to come to an end.
“They've been running over to HR and messing with the humans,” Tiernan said. “Mostly, they've been hiding things.”
“That doesn't sound so bad.”
“Traffic lights,” Tiernan growled.
“Oh.”
“Entire vehicles.”
“Oh, no.”
“They even stole a monument and left it in some poor sod's front lawn.” He dragged a hand roughly through his long hair.
“Have you spoken to them?” I asked.
“Several times.” He nodded. “They don't see a problem with the pranks. Queen Iseabal allowed them to do all of that and much worse.”
“Well, did you tell them that Grandma was a bitch and that's why she's dead, and you're king?”
“Sure, Seren”—he grimaced—“let me just use the standby 'your last monarch was a bitch' line. That will work.”
“Shut up.” I smacked him. “You're King of Seelie; lay down the law.”
“I don't want to be like Iseabal,” he protested, “using fear to control the populace.”
“I'm not saying that you should do something horrible to the moomin,” I protested. “Just something appropriate to their crime. Teach them a lesson—mainly, not to mess with their king. They've come very close to breaking the truce, and then you told them to stop, and they didn't obey you. That has to be punished, Tiernan. If not, you look weak, and it will set a precedent.”
“Yes, I know this.”
“Rule fairly but firmly,” I suggested.
“Something appropriate to the crime,” he murmured. “All right, I think I know what to do with them.”
“You gonna share your diabolical plan with your wife?”
“Nope”—he kissed me—“it's a surprise.”
“Yeah? I have a surprise for you as well.” I smirked. “I'm not wearing any underwear.”
Tiernan's silver eyes flashed as he dove beneath the covers to see for himself.
It was one investigation that the King was happy to conduct.
Chapter Five
I spent the day with Tiernan, and he put off most of his kingly duties to make the most of it. But things were too unsettled at the moment, and I had to get home. Plus, Raza still wasn't answering my scries, and I was starting to get worried. I would have headed to Craos-Teine to search for Raza, but if he wasn't answering a scry, then he wasn't in the new home of Unseelie Court. So, I headed to Twilight at dusk instead.
And found Raza waiting for me.
He was with my father in the central sitting room between the royal family towers; the same room Keir had been in with Eibhleann earlier. The dryad was gone, she probably went home to her tree—dryads are magically connected to their trees, and they don't like to be separated for long. Cat went running up to Raza when she saw him, which made me smile. When Cat had first met the Dragon King, she'd been so scared that she trembled. But then, most people had that reaction to Raza. He made me shiver, but that was in an entirely different way.
The men stood as I entered the room, and Raza's size became more evident. My father was big for a sidhe, but Raza stood over a head taller than Keir, and his shoulders were a good six inches wider. Then there were the wings. Raza had a pair of the most stunning, sin-black, leather wings with a crimson gleam to them. Their points were tipped in talons, as were his hands. Raza's skin was also midnight black, but without the red highlight, and it matched his sleek, shoulder-length hair. Although his hair had two stripes of blood-red in it near his right temple. His face was influenced by his dragon-djinn heritage as well, with prominent ridges at brow and cheekbones that kept his eyes in constant shadow. Still, his golden gaze glowed out of the darkness determinedly.
“Mo shíorghrá,” Raza purred as he opened his arms.
So hot, but I suppose that's to be expected of a dragon. Still, every time Raza called me his 'eternal love' in the old tongue, it made me tremble in that way I mentioned earlier.
I smiled and went into his embrace. Raza's wings wrapped around us briefly so he could steal a kiss more privately. Then he folded them back behind him.
“That's why you weren't answering my scries,” I said. “I've been a little worried.”
“For me?” Raza asked as if the idea were ludicrous.
I glowered at him.
“It's sweet of you to be concerned for my safety,” he amended.
My father laughed. “You two are adorable,” he noted. “But King Raza hasn't come for a social call; he has news for us, Seren.”
Keir resumed his seat as Raza and I sat across from him. Cat curled up in front of the fireplace and watched us with a lazy stare.
“What's happened?” I asked Raza.
“Queen Daiyu came to see me,” he began.
I rolled my eyes. Queen Daiyu was a Dragon Queen of the Court of the Nine Sons—an underwater c
ourt that held to its own set of rules. They had helped us once, but their assistance is only given when it's either in their best interest to do so, or they've bargained with you for it. Sea dragons—at least the ones I'd met so far—were a tricky lot with fluid loyalties and moods that shift like the tide. But that wasn't why I rolled my eyes. My reaction was for Daiyu in particular. The dragoness had a thing for Raza, and she didn't care one whit that he was married.
“She did not come to court me,” Raza said in reference to my look. “She came with a warning.”
“A warning?”
“Tension between the Dragon Courts is mounting,” Raza said. “War is looking more and more likely.”
“We already knew that,” I pointed out. “It's why they offered you their help in exchange for an alliance against the Court of the Dragon Kings, and why I'm relieved that you didn't need them after all.”
All undersea dragons were considered royalty, which made for a lot of confusion, but it kept the dragons from killing each other. Theirs was a diplomatic court, in a way. All the dragons had a say in how things were run, but this could also lead to slow progress with a lot of arguments erupting before anything was settled. In fact, it had led to a rift between the dragon factions.
Although most fairies won't admit to being influenced by human cultures, it's very obvious with the Dragon Courts. The original court was in the Bàsmhor Sea, off the coast of Unseelie, at a point which coincided to somewhere near Japan on Earth. All of the dragons were obviously Asian, but half of them were Chinese while the other half were Japanese. There were possibly some Korean influences in there as well, but I hadn't come across them yet.
This distinction wasn't a problem until the fighting began. Then the dragons split; the Chinese moved to a new palace, closer to Alaska, while the Japanese dragons moved half a world away into another ocean entirely; the Seudachan Sea, off the Seelie coast—it coincides to somewhere off the shores of Namibia in HR. This worked out well since the main purpose of the dragon courts was to protect the undersea raths leading to HR, and there were three raths: one in Bàsmhor, one in Seudachan, and one in North Seudachan. Since there were two raths in the Seudachan, the Court of the Dragon Kings were responsible for both of them. But the raths were so far apart that the one in North Seudachan tended to get neglected. This particular rath led to a point on Earth within the Bermuda Triangle. I'll let you draw your own conclusions there.
Fairy was full of fearsome creatures, but the most terrifying of them lived in the ocean. These monsters needed to be hunted occasionally, to keep their numbers down. They also needed to be prevented from journeying through the undersea raths and starting another Fey-Human War. The dragons didn't participate in the first war, and they don't abide by the laws of the truce. They have their own rules, and that's all they care about. So, I wasn't certain why they were concerned about fairy monsters sneaking over to HR, but I believed that it came down to honor for them. The dragons have a unique brand of honor, and it compels them to keep their kingdoms—and possibly the seas of Earth which were attached to their kingdoms—safe.
But back to their racial appearance. My father once explained to me that the theory was that fairies had interbred with humans long ago, and this blending had led to human racial traits being passed down in the Fey. Knowing what I do now, I don't believe that his theory is entirely accurate. The Fey did breed with humans, but those relationships created witches who remained on Earth. I suppose that some of the children could have been born to fairies in the Fairy Realm and then had their human blood bred out with fey, creating these outward traits while not affecting their fairy magic. That is entirely possible. But this thing with the fairy rings had me thinking about how Fairy bleeds through to Earth. Couldn't the opposite be true? Couldn't Earth bleed through to Fairy? It would have a less noticeable effect since Earth doesn't possess any magic, but it could account for the regional influence on some fairies' appearances.
Sorry, I'm rambling. Let's get back to the dragons. The Court broke in two, and the Japanese dragons formed the Court of the Dragon Kings while the Chinese became the Court of the Nine Sons. My experiences with the Sons has been mixed. They had tried to use me to start a war between the Court of the Dragon Kings and Twilight, but after that, they had come to help us pursue my Uncle Uisdean. That had been a personal vendetta for them, though. So, maybe I shouldn't count that in their favor. Yeah, there wasn't any love lost between the Sons and me.
The Court of the Dragon Kings, however, was a complete unknown for me. I didn't want to judge them by their cousins' behavior, or by the fact that they are dragons. I liked to reserve judgment until after I'd met someone. But regardless of how I felt about either court, war was not good for Fairy, and I was supposed to be an ambassador for peace. The Ambassador; Danu's chosen representative.
“Yes; we knew that and we also knew that they wanted us to ally with them in the event that the dragon war spills out onto land,” Raza agreed. “But when I refused to assist, I hadn't thought that they'd approach other parties.”
“Other parties?” I frowned. “No other fairy court will help them.”
“No, they wouldn't.” Raza gave me a heavy look.
“They're seeking human help?” I felt my eyes go wide.
“Mostly human.” Raza grimaced.
“Mostly... oh, no way.” My jaw unhinged. “The witches?”
“Not just any witches,” Keir added.
“The Casters?” I gaped at the men when they both nodded. “And did Daiyu say that the Casters had agreed to help, or just that the dragons were bargaining with them?”
“It's uncertain if the Casters will support the Sons, but if they did form an alliance with the dragons, they'd have complete power in Alaska.”
“They're already a part of the truce,” I noted. “Why would they need control of Alaska?”
“Asks the Princess of Twilight and Queen of both Seelie and Unseelie,” Raza huffed.
“Yeah, fair enough,” I admitted. “And I get it, now that I'm thinking about it. They're out in the open after being in hiding for so long, and the Coven outnumbers them like a thousand to one.”
“Exactly,” Raza smiled at my deduction. “It would be a wise alliance for them to make. I would do it if I were they.”
“Killian just went to speak with the Coven and the Casters to see if they could assist us with magic that might help us find the missing humans.”
“Missing humans?” Raza asked.
“Oh, yes,” my father said to Raza, “I forgot to mention that, in light of your own news. Seren had a meeting with the Head Councilman of Salem, Oregon. It seems that a fairy has been abducting humans through the implementation of fairy rings.”
“Fair play.” Raza shrugged.
“Raza!”
“Well, it's not as if we aren't held to the letter of the law when we enter the Human Realm,” Raza reasoned. “Most of those laws are prejudicial towards us, and they can be difficult for us to abide by. So, why persecute a fairy for benefiting from the one law that does the opposite?”
“Because... oh, I don't know... abducting people is wrong?” I huffed. “Because they're most likely luring a human into a fairy ring and then fairy-striking them so they can enslave them.”
“And they can hunt us down and kill us if we use that very same magic outside of a ring,” Raza pointed out. “You are an officer of the law, are you not?”
“Yes,” I muttered.
“Then, uphold it, Seren,” Raza growled. “Unless this fairy is breaking the law, you cannot turn them over to the humans.”
“I know that!” I snapped. “I even said as much to the councilmen. But that doesn't stop me from searching for the missing people. I'm half human, Raza. If I find an enslaved human in Fairy, I will free them.”
“So be it.” He waved his hand airily. “But the fairy who enslaved them doesn't face charges unless you can prove that they broke the truce.”
“No, they won't.” I huffed.
“Mo shíorghrá,” Raza rumbled as he took my hand, “you are half human, but you are also half fairy. Don't forget that horrible things have been done to us by the very humans you seek to save.”
“Not those particular humans,” I protested.
“Yes, those in particular,” Raza insisted. “Every human alive is responsible for the destruction of Anu's world, and such destruction not only harms them, but it also harms us.”
“How so?”
“The raths are ours,” Keir said. “You know this already, Seren. Any trauma done to the land around the raths has the potential to harm the rath itself, which is an extension of Fairy.”
“Every exhaust fume, every piece of plastic tossed out a car window,” Raza went on, “is a violent act against our realm.”
“Whoa!” I held up my hands. “I don't believe in littering either, but calling a litterbug a terrorist against Fairy is a bit extreme.”
“I'm not saying that they should be hunted”—Raza shrugged—“but I want you to understand how some fairies view humans. Whoever it is that's abducting humans; they probably feel justified in doing so.”
“I won't turn them over for extinguishment if they're not breaking the truce,” I said again. “But I'm looking for the lost humans, and I expect you to help me.”