Hope Everlastin' Book 4

by Mickee Madden

  "Ma head," he groaned. "Fegs, Beth, tell me I didna raid the bloody scotch again."

  Laughing, Beth replied, "You fell out the window with the Phantom. The dirk was in your chest when you hit the ground."

  "Tha' explains ma heart burn."

  "Lachlan, you almost died."

  "How did I—" His head shot up and his eyes widened at the sight of the other onlookers. He couldn't absorb anything more at the moment than the fact they had wings. "Beth, wha's goin’ on?"

  "Deliah's people have returned, Lachlan, and the queen, Reith's wife, called the Circle Of Magic to heal you."

  "Reith's wife?"

  "He's Deliah's brother."

  A longer moan rattled in his throat. "Ma head's reelin’. Tell me one thing, love."

  "What?"

  Deadpan, he stared into her eyes. "Am I going to sprout wings now?"

  "God, I love you!" she laughed and, framing his face with her hands, kissed him.

  But of course it wasn't the time to rejoice.

  Winston's grave statement reminded them there were serious matters to attend to, and as soon as possible.

  "I have to go into town for the police." All eyes, human and fairy alike, trained on him. "Beth, you and the twins can't be here when they arrive."

  Chapter 13

  Beth tried not to think of what was going on in the main house, or of how extraordinary was her temporary refuge. The babies had been nursed and their diapers changed, and were now with their self-appointed guardians in another part of the dwelling.

  She absently sipped her herbal tea. Its flavor was strong yet soothing, bitter yet sweet. When she placed the cup down, her hostess immediately topped it off with hotter brew, and she murmured, "Thank you."

  She'd had her fill of the round herbal cakes and sweetened root mash. There was so much for her mind to absorb. New sights and smells and flavors and impressions.

  Lifting the cup, she took a moment to study the intricate floral design hand painted on its surface. Some of the flowers she recognized, others, she didn't, but they were all so perfectly detailed, she almost believed she could smell their fragrance.

  She was in the main dining room, seated at one of the elongated oak tables, atop one of countless high-back chairs. All the furniture she'd seen thus far had engravings depicting nature scenes, and the walls were painted with murals of exquisite gardens. Torches were used to light the maze-work of the dwellings, yet none of the rooms were smoky, nor the air stuffy.

  It was a world unto itself, and no less miraculous or beautiful than that of Beth's.

  "You surprise me, Beth."

  She looked up into Blue's smiling countenance, a bit puzzled by her remark.

  This morning, a full-length, backless gown of blue and white enhanced the queen's graceful figure. The sides of her hair were braided and woven with ribbons, the rest left to hang in strands of satin ebony. Beth had yet to meet a fairy who didn't possess beauty of face and figure, who wasn't as graceful as a butterfly.

  She felt awkward among them. Gangly and plain. For the second day since entering Faerie, Beth had chosen to wear a tunic. Although the tweedlike fabric was soft, its texture was unfamiliar and had an earthy scent.

  "Plant fibers," Blue said, and added when Beth gave a start, "Our fabric is woven from plant fibers."

  "You can read my mind?"

  Blue laughed a musical sound. "I could, but haven't." She pointed to Beth's chest, her eyes lit with amusement. Beth glanced down to see she had a section of her tunic between a thumb and forefinger.

  "You were rubbing it, and had a most thoughtful look in your eyes."

  Placing the cup back on the table and folding her arms atop the oak surface, Beth grinned sheepishly. "I'm sorry. My mind keeps drifting."

  "I wonder why," said Blue impishly. "I must say, I was reluctant to allow you passage. Even the older fairies can't remember when last a mortal was brought into our nest. I'm glad Deliah persuaded me to reconsider. I've enjoyed watching your reactions to our ways. You've been very gracious—surprisingly so, considering I know you long to return to your Lachlan."

  "Without you, I wouldn't have him, would I?"

  Blue stirred the remains of her tea with a whittled implement shaped like a miniature oar. "I'm afraid I allowed my resentment for The Sutherland to prejudice me against all mortals." She solemnly met Beth's gaze and smiled apologetically. "Foolish, I know, but I'm afraid I haven't had the time to polish my attitude." She became mockingly serious and deepened her voice. "There is a proper mindset for royalty, after all."

  Beth laughed. "May I say something?"

  "Of course."

  After a short hesitation, Beth ventured, "Why do I have the distinct impression you're not happy being a queen?"

  Blue's eyebrows quirked upward then settled in place. "I don't believe I'm the best qualified, especially in light of the fact we have only recently regained Faerie's populace and returned to our land."

  Beth frowned thoughtfully. "What happened to the kingdom? During the gathering, I remember Winston saying something about a warlock."

  Strain made taut the lovely features across from her. Blue sighed in contemplation and said, "The Sutherland. I don't mean to sound so cryptic, Beth, but it's something I'm not comfortable talking about, right now."

  "How did you manage to put this place together so quickly?"

  A hint of a grin appeared on Blue's mouth. "Fairies are extremely resilient. We've been back less than a month, and already they have rebuilt the kingdom of old. Whatever the tragedy, they persevere. Whatever task is demanded of them, they accept without question. Only one among them ever rebelled, ever brought grief and sorrow into the fold."

  "Reith?"

  Her mouth twisted into a parody of a grin. "Another subject I choose to avoid, although I do understand your curiosity." She sighed almost woefully. "But some things are better left the way they are."

  Beth nodded then frowned. "Even if it pains you?"

  "Then, too. Please, Beth, don't push me where he's concerned."

  "All right. But there is something else I want to ask you."

  Wariness clouded the queen's eyes.

  "Why do you believe you're not qualified to rule this kingdom?" Beth asked passionately. "I may be out of line, here, but your self-esteem sucks."

  Faerie's queen was taken aback. "You are blunt."

  Beth's head reeled. It wasn't her intention to sully her welcome, but it disturbed her to know Blue dwelled in an emotional bog of sorrow. "Forgive me," she murmured, staring down at her cup. "Yes, I have a tendency to speak before I think." Her gaze lifted timorously. "Your admiration for your people is undeniable, but you didn't include yourself when you spoke of their character."

  Silence permeated the large dining hall for a time. Beth was uneasy. It was all she could do not to squirm on her chair, while Blue maintained a cool facade. At a point when Beth felt as if she would burst from the tension building up inside her, Blue made a dismissive gesture and relaxed with resignation.

  "I will tell you this much, Beth Staples." She kept her gaze lowered, on nothing in particular. "I was born at a time when others in my kingdom hibernate, and I came into this world with a stigma that further set me aside."

  "Your legs?" Beth asked softly.

  Blue smiled ruefully. "No. Reith crippled me."

  The statement drained the color from Beth's face.

  "It was an accident," Blue went on, "and is not the cause of my estrangement from him. No, the stigma was the fact I was born with light blue skin, which lasted through my first year. Anyway, my appointment as queen came from a marriage that Reith shunned. That, and the three centuries I've lived in your world, soured my outlook."

  "Crippled isn't an acceptable word anymore. You're physically challenged. You just have wings instead of a wheelchair."

  "I sit corrected," Blue said wryly.

  "Why did you have to live in my world?"

  "I was searching for my people. My kingd
om. The Sutherland held them captive. It was a fluke that I found Reith, and later, the rest of Faerie. They were all accounted for, with the exception of Deliah. Until two days ago, we thought her forever lost to us."

  The anger in Blue's tone saddened Beth. "How do you expect to put all that in the past, Blue, if you can't forgive your husband? I know you love him, and you're miserable with loneliness."

  Beth nervously wound a light brown curl around one of her fingers. "Personality-wise, you and I are a lot alike. We think and react from our hearts, and we tend to withdraw into ourselves rather than face what hurts us. But I don't have powers I can use to force Lachlan away when I'm upset with him. I can't hide in another world. I'm not about to try to minimize whatever Reith did to you, but I don't believe you would still love him if he were a hopeless cause."

  Blue's rigid posture warned Beth she was going too far, but when the queen spoke, her tone was deceptively calm. "I have never been able to deny loving him. How can I? I was created for no other reason than to be his wife."

  "Literally?"

  Blue nodded and heaved a weary sigh. The blue and purple of her wings glittered in the torchlight, the silver veins shimmering like mercury beneath sunrays. Her thick black eyelashes lowered just enough to shield her eyes from Beth. "In that, too, I am unlike the others."

  "Well, I don't know too many mortals who have died and returned—with the exception of Lachlan. Different isn't wrong, Blue. We're just in an elite class, that's all."

  A smile strained to appear on Blue's mouth. Her lashes lifted and she humorously regarded Beth for a time. "You're determined to change my mind about Reith."

  "I'm determined to see you happy."

  "That isn't in the stars."

  "Bullshit—" Beth choked as her face inflamed with embarrassment. To her further chagrin, Blue laughed until tears misted her eyes.

  "Don't apologize," Blue said merrily. "I've been known to color my speech. A habit from my life among mortals."

  "Lachlan doesn't appreciate my vocabulary."

  "In truth, you could sprout warts and I doubt he would love you any less."

  "Tis Lachlan the subject, I be sure," someone said in a singsong voice.

  Beth and Blue looked up to find Deliah standing in the archway, a smile enhancing her features. She entered the hall and stopped to bow her head in reverence to Blue, then turned to Beth as she left her chair.

  "And speakin’ o' our Lachlan, he be anxious to see ye and his younglin’s."

  Beth's gladdened heart rose into her throat. "Is the investigation over?"

  "Aye. Two constables stayed to ward off the reporters, but they, too, have now gone. Tis safe for ye to come home."

  With a strangled laugh, Beth threw her arms around Deliah and hugged her. When Beth released her, she turned to Blue with tears in her eyes. "I can't thank you enough."

  "Nor I, you," Blue replied graciously.

  Beth went to the queen's right side and stared into the upturned face. "Are there any laws that decree mortals and fairies can't be friends?"

  "If there were, I would abolish them," Blue said humorously, trying to make light of the tension building inside her. "I have enjoyed our time together."

  Beth quickly crouched and grinned mischievously. "Then come to the house for tea, or supper, or breakfast—hell, whenever you like. I don't know how long Lachlan and I will be staying in Scotland, but I want us to stay in touch."

  "That's kind of you," Blue murmured.

  "Don't keep yourself hidden down here to avoid Reith." Beth clasped one of Blue's hands and gave it a gentle squeeze. "Anytime you need to talk, I'll listen. I'll even promise to stop playing matchmaker, okay?"

  Blue hesitantly embraced Beth. It was brief, and she withdrew as if embarrassed to have displayed open affection in front of Deliah. When Beth stood and looked at Deliah, she noticed a hint of sadness in her eyes.

  "Forgive me for not seeing you through the passage," Blue said, her tone shaky. "But I shall visit you at Baird House, Beth. In a day or two."

  "I'll look forward to it."

  Deliah again bowed her head to Blue then gestured for Beth to follow her. Beth complied, but felt torn about leaving. She was eager to rejoin everyone at the house, but she'd only just begun to nudge the truth of Blue's withdrawal to the surface.

  After two days of nothing more than companionable conversation, Blue was finally beginning to trust her enough to confide in her. Now she was leaving, and she suspected they would be back to square one when the fairy queen did visit the mansion.

  They were nearly through the archway when Blue called Deliah's name. Deliah turned in place and offered another bow.

  "Yer Majesty?"

  Blue stared across the table, keeping her profile to them and hiding any emotion her eyes could betray. "Kareena tells me you and Winston are planning to wed soon."

  "Aye, Yer Majesty."

  "I realize you are now part of both worlds, but I strongly request your vows be exchanged in the tradition of your people."

  Deliah's head lowered. "I respectfully wish to be married wi' ma friends. We are hopin’ to have a triple weddin’."

  "I wouldn't exclude them from the ceremony," Blue said stiffly. "I'm not that unreasonable, Deliah."

  "No' unreasonable at all," Deliah countered. "The fact ye now be ma queen doesna change the fact we were once friends."

  Instantly contrite, Blue shifted her gaze to Deliah. "I value our friendship, Deliah, but as queen I must insist your vows be exchanged within the Circle Of Magic."

  "Wha' o' ma brither?" Deliah asked in a tremulous tone.

  "The ceremony can be performed in the outer world," she said dully, as if it had taken all of her strength to grant this.

  "And Reith?" Deliah asked anxiously.

  "Why else hold it in the outer world? I can't allow him to enter the kingdom, but I also can't deny your right to have him attend your ceremony."

  "Wha' o' ye, though? In exchange, will I lose the company o' ma queen and friend?"

  Blue shook her head and sighed. "No. I'm too selfish to deny myself the pleasure of seeing you wed. You, too, Beth. I'm a sentimental fool when it comes to vows of the heart."

  "Because ye love so unequivocally."

  Blue was about to respond to Deliah's statement, but instead she made a dismissive gesture with one hand. "Perhaps we can discuss the plans when I come for tea?" she asked with an impish grin directed at Beth.

  Beth chuckled. "Then you'd better make it supper. Juggling plans for a triple wedding is bound to be harrowing—even for a queen of your worldliness."

  The strain and tension evaporated from Blue as she laughed, the sound filling the dining hall. "I'll strive to use my worldliness for your ceremony. Now go, before Lachlan decides to dig his way here to fetch you."

  Deliah led Beth into the main corridor. Even here, the compacted dirt walls bore murals and were lit with torches, the smoke of which rose into the painted ceiling. They passed entries to other corridors, and through a vast, open room where Deliah explained that the Circle of Magic used in bad weather to hold their rituals. When they came to the end of the corridor, a crisscross of roots stood before them.

  Here was the passageway to the outer world.

  The human world.

  "Aren't we getting the twins?"

  "They be sleepin’. Dinna worry. Ma sisters will return them as soon as they awaken."

  "I know they're safe," Beth said.

  "Afore we cross over," said Deliah, her grave tone sending a chill up Beth's spine, "there be somethin’ ye should know."

  "Is it about Lachlan?"

  "Taryn. She left yesterday morn."

  "I was hoping to talk to her."

  "Aye. I wasna happy to see her leave afore she and Roan mended their relationship. But now we believe she left in haste for a reason."

  "Oh, God, what?" Beth groaned.

  "The dirk be missin’."

  Beth jiggled her head in confusion. "Why would she
take the dirk?"

  "Efter we had ye securely down here and Winston had left for the police, Roan noticed there was blood on the sleeves o' her blouse. But she wasna injured, nor had she touched Lachlan efter his fall. She was defensive when Roan asked where the blood originated. Lachlan had been searchin’ for the dirk. If ye remember, Roan had tossed it aside efter removin’ it from Lachlan's chest."

  "Yes. It fell near the stoop."

  "Aye."

  Beth frowned. "Taryn was crouching near there."

  "Roan said the same. The dirk was never mentioned to the police nor the injuries, for I had healed them. The police were told the Phantom had attacked Lachlan in the master suite, and while strugglin’ he had fallen through the window to his daith."

  "Taryn backed up the story?"

  "Aye, and convincin’ she was. But the dirk wasna found. Efter she left, the boys were playin’ in the attic and found a pendant which had belonged to Lachlan's mither."

  "I don't understand the connection."

  "Apparently, Taryn had been goin’ through his mither's trunks."

  "For what purpose?"

  "Twas ma question, too. Lachlan thought perhaps she'd been browsin’ through them ou' o' curiosity, but Winston picked up some peculiar trace impressions when he handled the pendant. Apparently, our Taryn was searchin’ for a lead to the origin o' the dirk."

  "In Lachlan's mother's trunks?"

  "Aye. And she found somethin’, but neither o' us could determine wha' it was. The pendant has a strong aura o' energy protectin’ it. Unfortunately, it makes scannin’ the piece verra difficult."

  Beth released a breath through pursed lips. "So Taryn's after another story. But why that damn dirk? She can't write about it nearly killing Lachlan for the second time. She wouldn't expose him like that. Even if she traces the origin of the dirk, who cares? Lachlan's murder has been grossly overwritten, already. What could she be hoping to gain?"

  "Reith may have given us a clue," said Deliah solemnly. "Lachlan showed him the pendant last night. We were all in the parlor, tryin’ to come up wi' a viable motive for her actions, when Lachlan commented tha' the demon faces carved on the pendant resembled those on the dirk."