“No; there is a difference. I did not lie to get you here.” She grabbed one of his hands, pulling it away from his chest before she clasped it within her own. “We also give incredible guilt trips.” She took his other hand. Her touch was foreign but oddly familiar at the same time. He couldn’t help but let her hands linger. “It feels wrong to present ourselves to the humans without our son.”
Coal narrowed his eyes and looked from Jade to Queen Isis. “Our son?”
“Yes.” Queen Isis plastered a small smile on her face that didn’t reach her eyes. “Our son.”
Coal rolled his eyes. “Do I even have a choice?”
“No, because it will be fun.” Jade still held his hands.
Before Coal could explain that they obviously had two different definitions of fun, a dark-skinned man, around twenty-five in human years, entered the room. “Hey ladies, we’re ten min…” When he saw Coal, he stopped abruptly, and his eyes widened. “Whoa! Is this your son?”
Jade beamed, and the freckles on her cheeks seem to turn three shades darker from pride. “Yes. Justin, this is our prince, Coal. Coal, this is Justin. He’s one of the mayor’s assistants.”
“Oh my gawd,” Justin gushed, vigorously shaking Coal’s hand. His dark brown eyes shone with excitement. “You’re so tall and handsome. Are you single?”
Coal furrowed his brow. “Uh . . .” he stuttered, at a loss for words.
“I’m kidding. I’m kidding. Unless you’re interested?”
“You said the mayor is waiting for us,” Jade said, saving Coal from having to think of a response.
“I’m so sorry.” He put a hand on his forehead. “You’re right. You’re right. I’m being so unprofessional.” He looked at Coal one more time before he straightened and set his lips into a straight line. “Follow me. The mayor is ready for you.”
Mayor Elise Abdullah was a petite woman with skin the color of honey and light brown eyes that shone like the sun reflecting off the sand. She wore a blue pantsuit with a matching hijab.
“Queen Isis, I’m so glad you could make it.”
“Of course. We wouldn’t miss this for the world,” Queen Isis replied. “You know Jade, and this is Jade’s son and my heir, Coal.”
“Excuse me for being blunt,” Elise's lips were pulled together into a tight smile, “but there are black elves?”
“There aren’t many,” Jade confirmed.
Coal was about to tell her that he was born this way, but Queen Isis quickly interjected. “Coal has chosen this color,” Queen Isis added.
“That’s a new one,” Justin said. “There aren’t very many people who would choose to be black.”
“Why not?” Coal asked.
“That’s a lesson in American history that we don’t have time to discuss right now,” Justin explained.
Coal glanced at Jade. She had chosen to be black when they lived in the human realm when he was a small child. Using magic and over time, she had made him black also. But there was no easy way to explain that to Justin or the Mayor.
“I’m sorry, Coal.” Mayor Abdullah apologized. “There are a lot of people who don’t think black elves exist.”
“Well, they do.” Queen Isis kept her tone friendly, but there was still an undeniable frustration behind it. “Let’s get him in front of the crowd.”
Mayor Abdullah faced Queen Isis. “You’re right. Let’s get this party started.”
“I’ll go out first, give a short intro speech, and then I’ll signal for you all to follow,” Mayor Abdullah advised before she opened the door at the end of the hall and stepped out. When the door opened, it was like all of the air had been sucked out of the hallway as an eruption of shouts and bright flashes made their way through the brief opening of the door.
Although the door was closed, the mayor’s voice still reverberated through it, amplified by what must’ve been a powerful microphone.
“I am a scientist, a working mother, and a Muslim American. Once upon a time, I worked, I came home, I loved on my family, and I contributed to society. I paid my fair share of taxes. I voted. And I trusted that our state and federal representatives would keep me and my family in mind when they passed laws. Just like many of you, I had a rude awakening three years ago. I woke up and realized there was no one representing me and mine. In fact, the mayor at the time and my state representatives were actively trying to hurt me and my kind with destructive rhetoric, a stagnating minimum wage, and gerrymandering, just to name a few offenses.
“I woke up three years ago and decided to be the change I wanted to see in the world. I ran for mayor to represent those who believed in freedom of religion, the righteousness of science, and the belief that what we do to the least of us is what we do to all of us. I won that election because the people of Atlanta believed I could institute change.
“Then, three weeks ago, we had another rude awakening. This time, the world literally changed, instead of figuratively, when the barrier fell, and we discovered fey were real. Many of us felt like our world had been turned upside down.” She paused. “I’m here to say we have nothing to fear from the fey.
“When I campaigned to be your mayor, I promised to combat climate change despite many of our national leaders who denied that climate change even existed. When I learned that the fey chose to abolish the barrier and come out of hiding so that we could have access to their massive abundance of trees and vegetation to absorb carbon dioxide, one of the biggest contributors to man-made climate change, I lobbied for Atlanta to be the first major city to host them because I wanted to personally thank them for their help.
“I know there are climate change deniers, those who don’t believe human-induced climate change is real. They are lying to themselves. I’ve talked to the scientists, and I’ve seen the research. The past five years have been the warmest on record. The warm waters are killing off the coral reefs. The ice caps are melting at an unprecedented rate.
“The fey, with the help of some pretty brave human scientists, decided to do something about it. The fey gave up their anonymity and their safety to save us.”
“Let me get off my soapbox.” The mayor shook her head as if she was scolding herself for speaking too long. “Ladies and Gentlemen, I’m happy to be the first mayor in the United States to welcome Queen Isis, her partner Jade, and Prince Coal.”
“What you just heard right there,” Justin’s tone was low but filled with pride, “is the next President of the United States. Mark my words.” He moved to the door and opened it.
Mayor Abdullah faced them as she clapped behind a wooden podium on the stage. The applause was deafening.
Justin waved them forward as he stood to the side of the opened door. Hands clasped, Queen Isis and Jade walked onto the stage, waving to the crowd with their free hands. As much as Coal disliked Queen Isis, he had to admit that she and Jade looked happy together.
Coal walked anxiously behind them but, as if acting on a will of their own, his feet stopped moving just before he stepped onto the stage.
“Don’t be nervous. They’re going to adore you. Watch,” Justin said before he pushed Coal onto the stage.
Jade and Queen Isis stood behind the podium, clapping and waiting for him. Coal ignored the cameras and applause. He kept his hands at his side while he concentrated on putting one foot in front of the other.
When he finally stood beside her, Jade nodded at Coal, and Queen Isis stepped to the podium.
When the applause died down, Queen Isis announced, “We come in peace.”
The crowd chuckled nervously.
“We are real,” Queen Isis continued. “We are not figments of a child’s imagination or mythological creatures. In fact, fey and humans once lived together in peace. And I’m looking forward to our species living harmoniously side-by-side once again.
“But I’m getting ahead of myself,” Queen Isis said. “If you didn’t already know, I’m Queen Isis. I rule over a land called Serene in the fey lands,” she smiled at Jade,
“with my beautiful mate Jade. And next to her is Coal, the heir to my throne.
“It’s an honor to be here in this great city. I don’t know a lot about the history of the United States, but I do know Atlanta has a rich history of leading the fight for civil and equal rights. So, it didn’t surprise me when Mayor Elise Abdullah reached out and invited us to speak. It says volumes for Atlanta that it’s the first American city to welcome the fey, embrace change, and recognize the dire straits that our planet is in.”
On queue, the crowd erupted in applause, and Queen Isis stepped away from the podium. Coal hadn’t known Queen Isis was such an eloquent speaker. There was no sign of the deranged queen he knew her to be, and the crowd was drinking it all in. But what did that say about him, that he was standing beside her?
“We have time for a few questions,” Mayor Abdullah said. Immediately, dozens of hands sprung into the air. “Carl,” the mayor said, pointing to a stout, black man in the front row.
“Why help us? Is there any truth that some environmental studies show the greenhouse gasses will negatively affect the fey world also?”
“Like Mayor Abdullah said, we only have one planet. We had a barrier that protected us against most of the human pollution, but the rising oceans would have affected the fey realm sooner rather than later, followed quickly by rising atmospheric temperatures. It would have been silly to wait until it was too late before we decided to do something.”
“But your gift isn’t free,” the reporter continued. “There are strings attached.”
“Simple requests,” Mayor Abdullah leaned into the podium. “Simple measures that most countries were doing already.”
“Most countries except for the United States,” the reporter said.
“Yes, but we have faith the United States will agree soon enough,” Queen Isis said.
“Especially when the people raise our collective voices and tell the current administration that we refuse to be complicit in destroying the planet,” Mayor Abdullah added.
The next question was from a pale-skinned woman with blonde hair who had been jumping up and drown to get the mayor’s attention. “Yes, Patrice. Go ahead,” the mayor urged.
Patrice beamed brightly in triumph at Mayor Abdullah before she turned to Queen Isis. “Our research shows that most fey, especially elves, are matriarchal. How is it that you have a male as an heir to your throne?”
“Jade and I are not traditionalists,” Queen Isis said. “Coal is our heir, and he will be king one day.”
“Are you concerned that the other queens may not recognize his title?”
Queen Isis glanced at Coal. “Coal is strong. He can take care of himself.”
“One more question,” Mayor Abdullah said before she called on a slender brown man with an afro.
“A black teenager showed up in Ireland less than eight months ago with a child who had gone missing from her home in Boston. My sources tell me that the teenager spent six months in a juvenile detention center because he refused to implicate the actual kidnappers. Besides your ears, you look amazingly like that boy.”
Mayor Abdullah furrowed her brow. “Is that a question?”
“Are you that boy?” the reporter asked Coal, ignoring the mayor. “Are you fey or human?”
Coal shifted uncomfortably as he felt everyone’s eyes on him. He glanced toward Jade for a clue about what to say.
“It’s a long story.” Jade stepped to the microphone. “But he’s fey, and he’s a hero for bringing the child home.”
“Who took her?” the reporter asked.
“We’re not sure,” Jade answered. The lie flowed effortlessly from her lips.
“There has been widespread panic since the fey were discovered. What would you say to the men, women, and children who still think of the fey as monsters? After all, the child was stolen by fey. Most believe the mother’s child was glamoured into giving away her child. How are we supposed to protect ourselves against such magic?”
“Both human and fey have strengths and weaknesses. We have our magic; you have your guns. Magic is strictly policed in the fey realm just as guns are regulated here. I’d argue bullets and the like are much more dangerous and have killed many more people than magic.”
That was our last question,” Mayor Abdullah concluded, ignoring the hurried questions that were being shouted at her from the reporters.
Mayor Abdullah spun on Queen Isis once they were off the stage. “What did he mean by a kidnapped child? Did your son really spend time in a juvenile detention center?”
“He was released,” Jade interjected, “once your government finally accepted that Coal was a hero in that situation, not the kidnapper.”
“I wish you would have warned me,” Mayor Abdullah insisted.
“What would it have mattered?” Queen Isis asked. There was no emotion or inflection in her voice, which made the anger underneath that much more biting.
The mayor stuttered, the fear evident on her face.
“Did you know they were going to ask about Elizabeth?” Coal asked Jade, breaking the silence.
“Of course not,” Jade said as if the question had offended her.
“I need to go home,” Coal said sharply.
“Oh no,” the mayor said, quickly. “We have a luncheon scheduled with a few of the city leaders.”
“No,” Coal insisted, turning from the mayor to his mother. “Take me home.”
Jade looked as though she wanted to argue, but she must have seen the determination in his eyes because she turned to the mayor. “I’m sorry, but you know teenagers and how moody they can get. I have to get him home.”
The fire Coal had started at the forge earlier in the day was nothing but simmering embers. The lifeless sword lay on the ground. A symbol of the work he had neglected to leave with Jade.
“I’m sorry about those last few questions,” Jade began, “I didn’t know they would connect you with Elizabeth. I forget how powerful the internet is.”
Coal turned from the sword and faced Jade. “Do you know how Elizabeth is doing; is she okay?” Coal assumed Chalcedony looked in on Elizabeth, but he had never been able to gather the courage to ask her.
“I make sure she doesn’t see me, but I check on her every few weeks.” Jade took a deep breath. “I don’t think she’ll ever be that carefree, trusting little girl she used to be, but she’s adjusting. I think having a little brother to look after is keeping her busy. She’s always with him.”
Coal nodded. She would never be that carefree girl he had met on his first trip back to the fey realm, and that was his fault. There were countless things he could have done to stop Chalcedony from taking Elizabeth, or maybe if he had worked harder to get Elizabeth back sooner, her mother would still be alive. Elizabeth could have returned to being a carefree little girl.
“Other than the unexpected questions, did you have fun?” Jade asked, interrupting Coal’s thoughts.
Coal ran a hand along his braids. “It was different?” He peered up at this stranger that was his mother. “I don’t think Queen Isis likes me, so I’m not sure why she has chosen me to be her heir.”
“She loves you, but she’s too much like Chalcedony and all of the queens before her. She doesn’t like to share me, so she’s a little jealous of you. I bet Chalcedony hates me also.”
“Queen Isis had to share you with the Abominations,” Coal said, reminding Jade of the three humans who were forced to work for Queen Isis in the fey realm.
“They hate that name. You know that, right?”
Coal shrugged. He wasn’t sure how he felt about Shemeya, Andre, and Ashley, the trio called the Abominations. Like Jade, they had performed unforgivable things in order distract Chalcedony and destroy the barrier between the worlds, but if he had been in their situation, he probably would have done the same.
“Shemeya, Andre, and Ashley don’t count,” Jade replied. “The four of us were together when Queen Isis found us in the labor camp. We were always a packaged d
eal.”
“Where are they, by the way?” Coal asked. One or all of them were usually by Jade’s side when she was in public.”
“They turned down my offer to stay and returned to their families. They all wanted to live boring, human lives. I think they’ll change their minds, though. They’re too powerful and extraordinary for a mundane life,” Jade said. Coal could hear the affection in her voice. She missed them.
“In the meantime,” Jade continued, “Isis is looking for other shadow guards. Apparently, good shadow guards aren’t that easy to come by.”
“I hope she finds a good one,” Coal lied.
“Before I leave, I have something for you.” Jade placed something thin and rectangular in his hand.
“A phone?” He looked down at the small device he remembered vividly from his brief stay in the human realm. The communication devices were everywhere. “Cell phones don’t work here.”
“They do now. I had a cell phone tower built on a plot of human land not too far from here. I made sure you’d get service when you’re here or at Legacy.”
“I don’t need a phone.”
“It’s a mother thing.” She closed his hand around the object. “Humor me. Next time, I'll call instead of popping up.”
He was about to argue, but she was gone before he could mutter another word.
Chapter Six
Luister’s back was to the entrance when Chalcedony entered his apothecary. A middle–aged elf sat atop his desk, and Luister rested his hands on either side of her, his face inches from her own.
The elf, noticing Chalcedony, hopped off the table and hurriedly muttered, “Please excuse me, My Queen,” as she raced out of the room.
Chalcedony kept her eyes on Luister as he watched the elf run out of the room. Luister had to be the most unusual sorcerer she had ever known. Most were dry and humorless. But Luister was different, which would have worried her, but he was also the best sorcerer and healer she had ever known. As long as he did his job, Chalcedony decided she would let his peculiarities slide.
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