by Unknown
She what?!
“But she didn't want that type of connection in god hands alone,” I continued.
Well duh.
“Yes, exactly,” I sighed. “So she had them make an oath to her that her child would rule Alfheim when she came of age.”
You.
“Yeah, that would be me.”
But you died.
“Exactly.”
And I assume, by the fact that you're holding a sentient flower in your lap, that you've recently visited Alfheim. Tell me that the flower is supposed to be some kind of representation of the land and you've agreed to only rule her.
“Oh damn,” I felt my jaw unhinge. “I hadn't even thought of that. Do you think that would work?”
Not a chance, she sighed. I was merely hoping.
“Oh,” I deflated. “Well at least you know better than to think I should just rule Alfheim.”
Who's the idiot who thinks you ruling Alfheim is a good idea?
“Uh,” I glanced over to Arach and he narrowed his eyes on me.
No way. What the hell is wrong with you? She started to talk to Arach too.
Arach sat up straight in shock. “Pardon me?”
Did you stop and consider what Vervain ruling Alfheim would do to us? The peace between the kingdoms is still tenuous. What do you think would happen were they to find out that your multiracial Queen was becoming even more powerful? That she ruled a god kingdom with a direct line to the Nine Great Magics?
“Oh,” he frowned. “No, I hadn't considered that.”
Or how she would be able to handle ruling a bunch of beautiful, vicious, backstabbing creatures in Alfheim while simultaneously trying to rule a bunch of beautiful, vicious, backstabbing creatures here in Faerie?
“Hey,” I automatically defended my fey. “They're not backstabbing.”
Who's not? The elves or the faeries?
“Wow, this is so not a conversation that I'd ever thought to be having,” I blinked and then refocused. “Um, the fey. The fey aren't backstabbers.”
I have two words for you; Liam and Aalish.
“Well my fey aren't backstabbers,” I amended.
Anymore.
“Hey!”
Whatever. Let it go, Snow White. We have bigger issues here.
“Snow White,” I mused. There was something that bothered me about that. “And the Seven Dwarves.”
Yes, very good. She sighed. Now, moving right along.
“No, I mean dwarves have something to do with this.”
How so?
“They made my emerald necklace that Odin gave me,” I gestured to the emerald I was wearing. “The one that allows me to filter a god's magic through myself and into the earth. Only Odin didn't commission them to add magic to the pendant. They did that all on their own.”
And now you're faced with a situation in which you must filter some magic from yourself, she mused. How very interesting. I wonder if the pendant will work for that?
“We were wondering the same thing,” I nodded. “Odin's invited the dwarves to Asgard so we can talk to them about it but I think there's more to this. There are prophesies involved and all kinds of weirdness. I was dreaming of Alfheim, even before we went there. I just need some time to figure it all out.”
Well then it was a good decision to come home to me.
“Thank you,” Arach preened. “That was my decision.”
Perhaps, but you were using the wrong head to make it, so you don't get the credit.
Arach grimaced.
“The dwarves must know something,” I ignored them both.
They always do, another sassy tone. No one pays attention to the little ones. They end up knowing much more than you expect.
Chapter Twenty-Two
I filled Faerie in on everything else on the way home. She wasn't happy but she promised to spend some time mulling over the problem and then get back to me.
When we pulled up to the entrance to Castle Aithinne, there was a crowd in front of it. I started to smile. All of the fire fey who lived in the castle had come out to welcome me home. It was almost as good a feeling as when I saw all of my friends in Asgard, gathered to rescue me.
“Time to meet the family,” I looked down at Blossom and she lifted her petals anxiously. “Don't worry, they'll love you.”
“She is quite remarkable,” Arach looked her over. “Where will you put her?”
“I was thinking of somewhere behind the castle.”
“I think it would be best to keep her inside,” he frowned. “She could get eaten by some ignorant animal. Not to mention the changing seasons. You'd have to bring her in at some point anyway.”
“Oh,” I held her pot a little tighter. “I hadn't thought of that.”
“We'll find a place for her,” he kissed my forehead and then opened the carriage door. “Welcome home, A Thaisce... and Blossom.”
He got out and helped me down. The crowd cheered; goblins, red caps, phookas, imps, leanan-sidhe, fire-sidhe, fire cat-sidhe, Hidden Ones, and two types of pixies all came rushing forward. I realized that as far as they knew, Arach had gone to rescue me. They'd had no idea if I was alright until that very moment.
Roarke was there holding his son Hunter, who'd grown considerably in my absence. The little boy mewed happily and waved his arms at me. Fionnaghal had mini V(named after me-and yes, I was damned proud of that) and her mate, Taog, had their other two children; Deirdre and Daoir. Deirdre was jiggling her multiple limbs and Daoir was shaking his tusks. But the baby who apparently missed me the most was Dexter, my abandoned nurial, who'd been perched on Fionnaghal's shoulders until he saw me. He leaped down and dashed for me, maneuvering around fey legs and then launching himself into my arms.
I caught him with a whoosh of startled breath and looked down at him in surprise. He'd grown. And changed. I handed Arach Blossom so that I could get a better hold on Dex and look him over. Gone was the white fur and light blue eyes. He had changed back from steam to fire, his fur now its original blue-black and his eyes bright red. He was also bigger, the size of a five-year old human child, and holding him was just as difficult as holding a squirming toddler.
“Dexter,” I rubbed my face into the long sideburns of his thick ruff and he purred. “How've you been?”
“Incorrigible,” Arach leaned in and scratched Dex under the chin, eliciting even louder purrs. “He cried all the time for the first month. You'd think his damn heart was breaking.”
“Oh,” I shifted so he could settle all six of his legs in against me.
His ears were less droopy now and his horns were growing, sticking out of his ruff finally. He was growing up and I'd missed it. And he hadn't understood where I'd gone. My heart clenched painfully as I considered not only what my absence had done to him but what it would do to any child of mine and Arach's.
“Vervain?” Arach was watching me carefully.
“I'm okay,” I smiled and put Dexter down. I had other people to greet and that would be impossible to do while I was holding him. He whined and followed me closely, brushing against my legs as I went forward to greet everyone. It was strange to look down and see him standing at knee level with me. He'd been so small when I'd first found him but then Arach said adult nurials grew to be six feet long. Dexter still had a ways to go. Oh well, it's not like the castle wasn't built for dragons. We had the room.
After I said hello to everyone and assured them that I hadn't been hurt by Freyr, we all went inside to enjoy some lunch together. It was nice to just sit and relax. To eat and enjoy the company of fey I considered family. To push aside my worries for a few moments.
“We've been asked to visit the High Court,” Arach said just as I was taking a sip of wine.
“What?” I sputtered, wine dribbling down my chin.
“The High Court?” Arach chuckled and wiped away the wine with his napkin. “You remember High King Cian? Queen Meara?”
“Yes, you jerk,” I huffed. “I meant, what do they want no
w? Is it bad? Are there wraiths invading the Castle of Eight? Or dryads withering in the forest? What fresh hell is it?!”
“Vervain,” he was fully laughing by the end of my list. “They have a visitor who claims that he's here at your urging. He's a god named Nuada, one who was old friends with King Cian, and the High King wanted to thank you for bringing Nuada word of the opening of Faerie.”
“Oh,” I sank back in relief. “Yeah, him. I met him a few months ago. Seems like a nice enough dude. Had some pretty dogs he said were fey.”
“Yes, I've heard,” Arach took a sip of his wine and watched me. “I've also heard that he's quite attractive.”
“Seriously?” I rolled my eyes and laughed. “Is this really jealousy or is it a fishing expedition for compliments?”
“I have no idea what you're talking about,” he looked away guiltily.
“I leave you for a couple months-”
“Three months,” Arach corrected. “It's nearly the Summer Solstice.”
“Three months,” I amended. “And you go all weird and insecure on me. You know, I have to go without you a lot.”
“But you have other men to fill... your time with,” he leaned in to me, the scales at his temple starting to spread down his sharpening cheekbones. “I have no one.”
“You have an entire kingdom to run,” I nuzzled his scaled cheek, my own golden scales tickling to the surface in response. “And just because there are others, doesn't mean I don't miss you.”
“I'd like some proof of that later,” his eyes had brightened and gone a bit fiery.
“I think I can manage that,” I tapped his nose and sat back. “As long as we don't have to leave immediately for the High Court.”
“Damn the High Court,” he growled. “They can wait until tomorrow.”
“Now there's the dragon I remember.”
Chapter Twenty-Three
I know the exact moment when making love to Arach had become about more than just wild passion. It was after I'd got my memory back. After I'd forgiven him for stealing it from me in the first place. I remember looking up at him and thinking that he was so much more attractive without that haughty look in his eyes, especially when it was replaced by love. Then he'd told me that I stopped his world.
And we set the bed on fire. Literally.
The bed didn't burst into flames this time. There weren't any moments when I looked up at him adoringly or when he said something so romantic that I'd remember it forever. There wasn't any of that. I didn't miss it though. I was too busy trying to keep up with the level of raging lust that Arach was throwing at me.
I'd forgotten how large a dragon's appetite could be, forgotten how wild Arach could get when it wasn't satisfied. He reminded me for hours, blocking out the rest of the world with grasping hands, a talented tongue, and a body that seemed to have put on a little more muscle in my absence. There were even claws and teeth involved at some point. And of course, blood.
I got lost in the images of him when the blood hit my tongue. All the things he'd been doing to keep himself busy while I was away. Faerie was right, he'd been rather hard to deal with. Even the pixies, who loved working, were overworked. And that muscle I'd noticed? That was from all the extra training he'd enforced on the red caps. He'd even insisted that Guirmean come and train with him. My poor fey.
When the images and ecstasy receded, we were left panting in a tangle of hot limbs. I laid there, basking in the heat of our bodies, and looked up at the new canopy above the bed. It was black with gold dragons embroidered on it.
“This is new,” I glanced at Arach. “I'd never thought to see you decorating.”
A muffled sound came from where Arach had his face buried in my hair.
“What was that?” I pushed my hair aside and found a happy but drowsy Arach.
“I said, it reminded me of you,” he grinned sleepily. “In your dragon form.”
“Wow,” I nudged his nose with mine. “You got it bad.”
“Got what?” He opened his eyes to stare at me in confusion.
“Lo-o-o-ove,” I drawled in a sing-song voice. “You really did miss me.”
“Pfft,” he heaved himself up on an elbow. “I needed a reminder so I wouldn't forget what you look like.”
“Shut up,” I laughed and crawled out of bed. “You can just... Oh damn, I've never given you a picture of myself.”
“I'd never thought to ask,” he shrugged and climbed out of bed as well. “You're usually here.”
“I'll bring a camera the next time I visit,” I slipped into a light cotton dress. “Then we can take a picture together and I'll have something to look at too.”
“Just don't leave me alone again.”
“You know it'll probably happen again,” I said more seriously.
“No, it won't,” he countered. “Because the next time you're even five minutes late, I'm coming to get you.”
“That could be problematic,” I frowned as I thought it over. “If whatever keeps me away has yet to happen, you showing up may not have any affect. You'll end up just going home again and waiting for me.”
“This has the potential to give me a headache,” he shook his head and looked over to where I'd put Blossom. “Maybe we should put her in my office.”
“What? Why?” I glanced at Blossom in her new hip-high, massive vase that we'd put beside the window. I'd wanted her to have a lot of room to stretch her roots since I'd restricted her to being an indoor plant, thus the super large vase. The wooden shutters we'd installed for winter, along with the faux wood ceiling, were all gone and the window was open, spilling sunshine onto Blossom's face. She practically glowed, she was so bright.
“It's bad enough that Dexter is in here sometimes when we make love but now this,” he waved a hand toward Blossom. “I'm beginning to think you're an exhibitionist.”
“She's a flower, Arach,” I rolled my eyes. “And good word by the way. You've watched a lot of movies while I was away, huh?”
“Yes,” he shot me a pleased look as he tied his dark red hair back. “Meilyr showed me a webbing location called Nets Flicks. It has a plethora of movies I can watch without using a disc.”
“A webbing location?” I lifted a brow. “You mean a website?”
“That's what I just said,” he huffed.
“And, sweetheart,” I gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. “It's called Netflix.”
“That's what I just said,” he growled.
“Never mind,” I shook my head and went to the door. Right before I left, I called over my shoulder. “And Blossom stays right where she is for now. I might go find her some friends though.”
“May I suggest the earth pixies?” He called after me.
I laughed as I shut the door but then reconsidered. She might do really well with the earth pixies. At least she wouldn't be alone during the day. I changed direction and headed towards the room they lived in during the winter.
But it was summer.
Damn. I switched direction again. The earth pixies would be outside, living with their cousins, our fire pixies, in the little village they'd built against the side of Castle Aithinne. Maybe we could plant Blossom for part of the year. If she was within the pixie village, I wouldn't have to worry about her getting hurt. I headed out to the village, arms swinging happily.
“My Queen,” Isleen stopped me before I could get to the tunnel that led out into the Kingdom of Fire. “Where are you going? I have the carriage ready to take you and King Arach to the Castle of Eight.”
“Oh poop,” I huffed. “Okay, give me five minutes with the pixies and then I'll meet Arach out front.”
“If I must,” she watched me leave with a confused look on her face. I heard her whisper, “What's poop?”
Chapter Twenty-Four
It took a little longer than five minutes to get me into the carriage. I had to go back upstairs to our bedroom to change into a more presentable dress to wear to the High Court. I could get away with modern human attir
e because that would be interesting(and evidently it was becoming all the rage at the High Court) but I couldn't go in a simple cotton fey dress. That just wouldn't do. Sigh.
So in a fit of irritation, I changed into jeans and a T-shirt which read: Dragon's Are Hot! Normally I prefer dresses, they're easier to put on and much more comfortable in my opinion, but I was being childish and trying to see what I could get away with. Yes, I know it was stupid and I shouldn't have irritated Isleen after she'd just had to put up with Arach for three months, but being childish made me happy.
I also put my emerald pendant away in a box on my dresser and put on my wedding rings. I'd promised Arach that I wouldn't wear gifts from my other men in Faerie. I wouldn't have even brought the emerald with me but this trip had kind of been spur of the moment so he couldn't blame me for that. He could blame me for continuing to wear it though, so I thought it best not to push his dragon any further and put the emerald away. Then I ran down stairs to the carriage.
Turned out, Isleen loved my casual look. The fey are totally cool with women wearing trousers and since human trousers were currently fashionable, jeans worn on a woman had the potential to start a new fey fashion craze. She also said my ass looked fantastic in them. Well, not in those words exactly but that was the gist of it and I was thrilled. Anything that made my rather large behind look good, was awesome in my book. She also loved the dragon shirt, said it made a statement of allegiance. Like wearing our house colors.
So there. I wasn't being childish after all. I glanced at Arach and saw that he wasn't fooled in the least. He was smiling and shaking his head but when he helped me into the carriage, he did it with a hand on my rump.
“Your ass does look good in those,” he said as he settled in.
“Yours would too,” I smirked. “Well, in a pair your size it would. I think I'll bring you some next time.”
He looked both horrified and intrigued.
Then we were off to the Castle of Eight, set in the center of the Forgetful Forest, at the other end of the End of the Road. Yeah, I know, I just like saying it all in my head.