by Amy Sumida
“You stand here scorning him, accusing him of weakness, when you had to chain a man up and enchant him to get him to bed you!” I looked Moire up and down as if she were made of slugs and I was all out of salt. “You're the pathetic one. You make me sick.”
“How dare you spy on my private conversation with my son!” She screeched as color infused her pasty cheeks. “You filthy human whore! You're not fit to share my blood, much less my son's bed.”
“Oh, I'm the whore?” I lifted my brows. “You're the one who whored herself out to get pregnant and then had the audacity to abuse the child you conceived. You made him into what he is; someone just like his mother; a rapist and a sadist. If you think I regret the fact that Bress didn't rape me, you're insane. I bet you even believe that poor seelie guy, loved having you defile him. You're one twisted bitch.”
“You don't know me, little halfling,” she sneered. “You have no idea what transpires between me and my child. And it's none of your concern.”
“He's my cousin,” and what the hell was I talking about? I didn't give one tiny, round, rabbit poop about Bress but I found myself continuing anyway. “And he's a fairy noble in my home. You will show him respect or I will have you escorted out of my kingdom and thrown back into yours on your skinny fairy ass!”
“Respect?” She looked as horrified as I felt. “You are telling me to respect my son? And you call me mad? You're the insane one. He's a prisoner in your dungeons, tortured by your personal Guard, and you dare to chide me over my disrespect?”
“Tiernan did what he had to do,” I felt my teeth clench. Tiernan's violent interrogation of Bress was a touchy subject for me. “I don't approve of torture but it was made clear to me that it was necessary in this instance. We needed to know what Uisdean had planned and Bress wasn't very forthcoming. He was given the option of being star-crossed instead and he refused it.”
“Star-crossed,” she sneered. “Of course he wouldn't submit to that willingly. He is an unseelie Marquess and he is loyal, something you obviously know nothing about.”
“Oh, now you wanna praise him?” I huffed. “It's a little late for that, don't you think?”
“You will cease this impertinent intrusion into my affairs!” Moire shouted. “I will not be judged by such as you.”
“She's right, Moire,” Keir came into the room and stood beside me. “I should have seen it sooner, should have done something to stop you. You have always been cruel to him.” He turned to look at the silent and stunned Bress, “I am deeply sorry, Bress. You're my nephew and I owed you my protection, even if it was from your own mother. I failed you, Dylan has failed you, and Uisdean has failed you. I can't speak for them but please forgive me.”
“You want my forgiveness?” Bress' eyes went wide, showing off the gray swirls over his indigo irises.
“Yes,” Keir nodded solemnly. “And to show you how sincere I am in this, I will release you and forgive your attack on Seren. If Seren will forgive you as well,” Keir looked to me.
“I...” I looked into Bress' blank face, it had shut down as soon as Keir had added the caveat of my forgiveness. For a brief second, I saw the blurred face of Danu and shivers coasted over my skin. You do not have to forgive but you do not have to hate either. No, I didn't have to forgive but I was surprised to find that I wanted to. “I think we are both guilty of doing awful things.” I watched shock seep back into Bress' face. “I forgive you and I hope you will forgive me.”
“I...” Bress swallowed hard and then set his eyes firmly on me. “I do, Cousin. I hold no grudges against you or Lord Tiernan. I, of all people, can't begrudge you a bit of torture.”
“Thank you,” I felt lighter suddenly and I knew Danu had been right. I needed to make peace, not just keep it.
Keir smiled gently at me and then nodded to Tiernan. Tiernan sent shocked looks back and forth between me and Keir but he finally turned and went to fetch the key from Corc.
“You're freeing him?” Moire was just as shocked as Bress.
“Not only that,” Keir turned his gaze back to Bress. “We may have offered each other forgiveness but we are not ready to trust each other yet. I know that. Still, in the hopes that someday we might be able to earn each other's trust, I offer you one more courtesy, Son of my Sister.”
“What?” Bress whispered, totally enthralled by my father. I couldn't blame him, the man had a hell of a presence... and I knew exactly what the next word out of his mouth would be.
“Sanctuary,” I spoke for Keir and my dad looked down on me with a proud smile and an encouraging nod.
“What do you mean; sanctuary?” Bress came up to the bars, dangerously close to the wards; which started to glow at his proximity, and stared hard at me. The loose curls of his stormy hair were puffing up with static, betraying his anxiety.
“We're offering you a life, Bress,” I continued. “A chance to start over and live under your own terms. You can stay here and figure out who you want to be without your mother's influence.”
“You horrid child! I'll tear the tongue out of your poisonous mouth!” Moire screeched and came at me, fingers bent into claws. Before she made it two inches, Keir waved a hand and sent her staggering back. Thorns as thick as fingers burst from her throat and she choked, falling to the floor as she clawed at them.
“Bloodthorns,” I whispered in awe and turned slowly to look at my father.
His eyes were sparkling stars, narrowed and menacing, and his hand, still lifted and pointing at his sister, was tense with the power streaming through it. His whole body strummed with magic, I could see it in his aura; an angry cloud of crimson that looked so out of place on him. His feet were wide apart, one set forward as if he meant to add his hands to the thorns at Moire's throat.
So this was what Keir looked like enraged.
“Mother!” Bress cried out and then looked to Keir. “Stop it, Uncle Keir. Please stop. Please! You'll kill her!”
The thorns instantly fell away but Moire stayed sprawled on the ground, staring at us with obvious hatred. Skin, hair, and dress, all of them were white, whiter than bleached bones, a perfect background for the blood that seeped from gaping wounds on her neck. She was gruesomely gorgeous, lying there with her perfect curls fanned out around her face, one thin hand lifted to her neck like a maiden in distress. She looked fragile and supremely feminine... and oh so very dangerous. The look in her eyes was pure venom. Yet my father turned away from her like she was worm instead of a snake.
“Never threaten my daughter,” he tossed over his shoulder at her.
He was casual in his tone but I could tell that casting that deadly magic had unsettled him. I laid a hand on his shoulder and he gave me a thin smile before turning to Bress.
“Stay with us, Bress,” Keir set grave eyes on his nephew. “You don't have to give me your allegiance. You don't have to do anything. I simply offer you the choice to be who you want to be. Let me give you that. Let me help you now and try to make amends for not helping you when I should have.”
“Your Majesty?” Tiernan held up a large silver key.
“Yes, go ahead,” Keir nodded and waved a hand to the cell. The wards fell in a shimmering dance of fading lavender.
Tiernan went forward and unlocked the cell door. It swung open soundlessly and Bress stood there staring at the opening for the space of two heartbeats before he stepped through. He looked from his mother to us and then back again. For a moment, I thought he'd choose freedom but blood won out in the end. He went to his mother and helped her to her feet.
“Mother, are you alright?” He held her hand carefully, as if she might break.
“Of course,” the wounds at her throat were still bleeding, hampering her speech and making her look like a martyr in her ruined dress. She smiled and gave Bress' hand a motherly pat before sending a scornful look our way. “He's my son, Keir, and he will always choose me. Won't you, Bress?”
“Yes, Mother,” he said immediately and tonelessly.
“Best get those tended
to,” Keir waved an indolent hand at Moire's throat.
“I assume you will honor your word and allow us to leave?” She lifted a snide snowy brow, completely ignoring her wounds and Keir's comment.
“Of course,” Keir said crisply but as they passed by us, he grabbed Bress by the arm. “You will always be welcome in my court, Nephew. Remember that. If you ever change your mind or find yourself with nowhere to go, you have a place here among us. You're not alone or without options.”
“Thank you, Uncle Keir,” Bress said stiffly but I caught just the barest glimmer of true gratitude in his eyes. “But I already have a home.”
Then Bress walked his mother out of the twilight dungeon like the dutiful son he was. Unbelievably, I found myself pitying him even more.
“What the hell?!” I shouted after they were gone. “Why? Why would anyone return to that kind of abuse? We gave him an out. He could have been happy. At the very least, he could have been free of her.”
“A mother is a type of goddess to her children,” Keir said grimly. “Whether she be benevolent or malevolent, she will always be worshiped. I'm afraid I stepped in too late to help Bress. Moire has twisted him so much that he can't even conceive of a life without her and her abuse in it.”
“Well, he can't say we didn't try,” I grimaced. “And now I kinda wish we hadn't.”
“Why is that?” Tiernan asked.
“Because now he's out there with her and they both hate us. A lot,” I sighed. “Who knows what mischief they'll manage next.” I frowned and rethought my words. “Was that a Harry Potter line?” I looked over their blank faces and grimaced. “Right, so I'll be adding the Harry Potter series to the movie marathon.”
“For the moment, I don't think Bress hates you,” Tiernan offered, completely ignoring my movie madness. “Though Moire will probably beat that out of him.”
“Doing the right thing can sometimes have serious consequences,” Keir added.
“Especially if you do the right thing as obnoxiously as Seren does,” Tiernan rolled his eyes. “Did you really need to call the Marchioness of the Unseelie; a rapist and a whore?”
“She started it,” I huffed. “Besides, I'm not the one who went all bloodthorny on her.”
“Yes, I regret my actions,” Keir lowered his eyes, looking utterly ashamed.
“I don't,” I gave him a hug and a kiss on the cheek. “You were defending me and I love you for it.”
“Always, Seren,” Keir gave me a determined look. “I will always protect you.”
“Plus,” I gave him a sassy smile, “you were bad ass; a fierce fairy king. Even though they'll both be furious, they'll think twice about attacking us now.”
“Yes, I suppose they will,” Keir began to smile.
Chapter Fifteen
The next day, Keir came knocking on my bedroom door. He had something important to talk about and I prayed it wasn't my behavior with Moire. Nobody likes being lectured, especially when it's deserved. So I tried for an obvious diversion tactic.
“Moire said all of those guardsmen were her consorts,” I started as he came in.
“Yes,” Keir had that and? tone that he always gave me when I said something silly he didn't understand and wasn't sure that he wanted to understand.
“All of them?” I gave him my I'm-part-human-and-you'd-better-explain-it-anyway look.
“I'd thought I'd made it clear to you that we fey have a more open view on sex?” Keir took a seat at my dining table and waved a hand to indicate that I should do the same. “The only reason I felt guilty over pursuing your mother was because I knew she had promised fidelity to her husband.”
“And fairies don't?” I blinked at him as I sat down.
Cat sat on the floor beside me. She was so tall, her head cleared the table top. She laid her chin on the table and stared at Keir.
“No, that's not what I meant,” Keir gave Cat a little scratch behind the ears. “Quite a few do fall so much in love with their partner that they commit themselves fully and forever. I would have done so with your mother.”
“But not all do?” I was aghast.
“Fairies believe that only the people involved with each other have the right to dictate the terms of their relationship,” Keir shrugged. “Some fairies fall in love with numerous people and decide to marry them all, being faithful to all of them. Some marry one person but commit themselves only to companionship and the birth of children. They take other lovers, who may even become another spouse in the future. Some just stay unmarried and bed whomever they like, whenever they like.”
“That's called being a slut,” I snorted.
“Here we call it fun,” Keir's eyes twinkled and I couldn't help laughing.
“Dad, are you seriously saying you'd be okay if I just jumped from bed to bed?”
“Your pleasure is your own responsibility,” he said soberly. “I would never judge you on how you go about achieving it. As long as your lovers understood and agreed with the arrangement, I wouldn't find anything wrong with you being promiscuous.”
“Free love,” I shook my head.
“If that's how you want it,” Keir nodded. “There are restrictions when it comes to royalty though.”
“Of course there are,” I chuckled. “Go on.”
“Well, we can't have multiple kings and queens ruling in one kingdom,” he said reasonably and then huffed, “We're not living underwater,”
“What?” I blinked in confusion.
“Another time,” he waved his hand. “What I mean to say is, as a princess who may one day become a queen, you are permitted only one husband. You may have consorts, as many as you like, but only one king.”
“Makes sense,” I admitted and then absorbed the whole consorts thing. “Hold on, do you think Tiernan expects me to sleep around and have multiple consorts? It would explain why he gets so upset when Conri flirts with me.”
“You're misunderstanding again, Seren,” Keir sighed. “This is about choice; your choice and Tiernan's. There's no right way to love someone and there are no expectations for sexual behavior here. I'm sure Tiernan knows that other lovers are an option for both of you, at least until you marry, but he also knows who you are and so I doubt he expects you to want that.”
“What do you mean; at least until you marry?” I narrowed my eyes on him.
“Oh, it's another royal issue,” he shrugged.
“Uh-huh,” I prompted him with a nod.
“Once married, only a queen may take consorts,” he said. “The reason being that a child born of a woman is undisputedly her offspring, whereas a man's children can be suspect. There are of course other ways to determine lineage, magic being the most obvious, but when the children are potential heirs, it gets tricky. Magic can be manipulated to appear as something else. There have been problems in the past, schemes to put non-royal heirs on the throne, which led to war within the kingdoms. So, it's become law that a queen may take consorts, if of course her husband agrees to it, but a king may not. The only exception to this is the call of Danu, and as that is expressly for the purpose of procreation and always results in a child, there is no dispute over the offspring.”
“But that exception has only been happened once, hasn't it?” I looked at him pointedly.
“That a king heard the call of Danu?” Keir grinned. “Yes, only once, and although an heir was created, it was for a new kingdom altogether. So there was no need for contention. I wasn't usurping another heir's position.”
“Oh,” I cleared my throat. “Okay then.”
“As Princess of Twilight,” he went on, “and my only heir, I would be very pleased if you could find a fairy to wed and have children with. You of course have the option of having a child out of wedlock, there are no bastards in Fairy, but I have a feeling that you would find issue with that, no matter what is acceptable here.”
“You're right,” I sighed. “I don't think I'd be okay with having a child outside of marriage.”
“But this is
a matter for the future,” Keir smiled. “Don't worry about such things now. Just enjoy your Count and let things happen naturally. Perhaps he will be your husband someday or he may just be your lover for a little while, the important thing is to create as many happy memories with him as possible. When you live as long as we do, many of your memories fade away and the happy ones go first. It's best to make so many of them that you have enough to spare.”
“Are you afraid of forgetting my mother?” I whispered.
“No, Seren,” Keir smiled sweetly. “Those memories can't be taken from me. They will never fade because I relive them everyday. They're the reason I won't take another lover. I value my memories of Catriona more than the possibility of loving someone else.”
“Dad,” I sighed. “You can't live the rest of your life in memories. She wouldn't want you to.”
“I'm not living in them,” he smiled brighter. “I'm living with them and I am making more happy memories, just not in my bed.”
“She would want you to find love again too,” I chided gently.
“Maybe I will,” he waved the conversation away. “But that day is not here quite yet and that is not what I've come to talk to you about.”
“Alright,” I sighed, preparing myself. “Go ahead then, what did you come to talk to me about?”
“You've gained a new magic, and it's a very powerful one,” he said proudly.
“Uh huh,” I narrowed my eyes on him.
“I think it's time for you to learn about one of the perks of being a twilight fey,” Keir grinned, his starry eyes twinkling with mischief instead of magic.
“A perk? You mean besides sparkly magic? Cause this is so awesome. I love being my own disco ball,” I waggled my fingers to show off the lavender lights I could create, as I rolled my eyes.
“Yes, besides that,” Keir chuckled. “As you know, we rule the In-Between. When you levitate, you can tap into a little of that magic, even when it's not twilight.”
“Yep, you told me about that,” I nodded. “It's why that unseelie woman wanted me high in the air when she attacked me.”