by Amy Sumida
Cyrus started to applaud. “Well said, Lord Killian. It's about time someone put them in their places.”
“I'll put you in your place, Cyrus,” King Thomas of Arizona growled.
“It's Hunter Cyrus to you, you charlatan.” Cyrus corrected him. “The last time I saw you, you were groveling at King Uisdean's feet. So, even though I'm done giving respect where it isn't due or earned, you will respect me.”
Thomas' hand started to glow an acid green, and Councilman Teagan was brave enough to step between the two men.
“If you dare to attack a hunter within a council house, I will have no choice but to order your extinguishment—with an immediate implementation,” Teagan said coolly; visibly unaffected by his dangerous position.
Thomas paled, his gaze sliding to the extinguishers who were spaced along the edges of the room. Each soldier had his or her hand on the hilt of an iron weapon and their eyes focused steadily on Thomas.
“This is how we're treated after we come here to help?” Thomas snarled.
“You came here under the guise of asking for our permission and assistance when you had plans to enter the Underground with or without us,” Teagan said sharply. “Which means that you intended to do exactly as you pleased while making a show of following the rules.”
The other undergrounders froze. Yes; that had occurred to me as well, but I was letting it slide because of two reasons: 1. I was relieved that they weren't plotting against me, and 2. We could use all the help we could get. I had said as much to Teagan in the private meeting we had before dinner. It still didn't change the fact that the underground monarchs were being shady, and we knew it. I was glad he called them out on it.
“I think the rest of you had better leave,” I said stiffly. “I was trying to be diplomatic here, but that only works if I'm given the same diplomacy in return, and Cyrus is right; none of you are true monarchs, which means that none of you know how to be diplomatic.”
“I don't need a goddess or a court to tell me that I'm a queen,” the Queen of Montana hissed. “And I may not have fought on a fairy battlefield to win my crown, but I did fight for it. I will not stand here and let some tainted, twilight princess tell me that I'm not as good as her. You weren't trained to be a diplomat either, bitch, but here you stand, calling yourself an ambassador.”
“That's it; your tits are coming off,” Killian pulled out his sword—his iron sword—and it made a sinister hiss as it came free of its sheath.
Queen Reese (I have no idea what was up with these modern names) shrieked as her guard rushed forward to surround her.
“Enough!” Queen Lana shouted and stepped to the center of the room. “We are not here to make friends, but we are not here to make enemies either. Remember that!” She cast her gaze at all of the undergrounders. “Queen Seren, I apologize on behalf of the other rulers for the rudeness offered you tonight. Queen Reese is right; we have fought hard for our crowns, and all of us harbor a touch of resentment against those who haven't. We are a tough lot, and when we feel slighted, we usually react with swift violence. To stand here and exchange pleasantries with you has taken more willpower than most of us possess.”
“How long exactly have you been away from Fairy, that you think fairy crowns are not won through battle?” I asked her.
“Fairy crowns are won—originally—through combat,” Lana agreed. “But your crown was not.”
“I don't know why I have to keep reminding fairies of this fact,” I said casually as I stepped toward her, “but I did fight for my crowns. I became princess through birth—that much is true—but I won the Seelie crown by combat, and I fought in the war that made Raza King of Unseelie. That makes two crowns won through battle. So, you wanna rephrase that?”
“Two battles,” Lana said softly. “You fought in one war and a round of single combat. We have fought endlessly, over and over, and even after we gained our crowns, we continued to fight. Our kingdoms may not be as great as yours, but they are ours, and we don't take kindly to people insulting them or us.”
“You think that I don't continue to fight?” I asked her. “You think that winning those crowns was the end for us? We are trying to bring about change in Fairy, and even though we want it to be a safe home for all of our people, there are still those who oppose us. The difference between you and I is that I'm not calling myself the queen of a kingdom that already belongs to the humans.”
The underground fairies erupted into shouting, all except for Daxon; who winced and shook his head. The humans in the room were shocked in another way entirely and met my stare with supportive smiles. Even Cyrus nodded his head at me. So, it was a mixed reception.
“We were forced here by your ancestors, Ambassador!” Lana snarled, all pretense of sweetness gone. “We had to dive into the very soil to carve out a home for ourselves. Even then, we didn't know how to make a life here on this magic-forsaken planet. It's taken us centuries to build a home, and now you dare to stand there and tell us that it isn't ours?”
“It isn't,” I said firmly and simply.
They started shouting again.
“Shut the fuck up!” I shouted back. “You are all my subjects, whether you admit it or not, and I am done being treated like the interloper here. I will remind you—just this once—that a fairy queen does not have to justify herself for killing a subject who has offended her. Insult me again, and I will act like a queen instead of an ambassador.”
The entire room stared at me in surprise. If they weren't going to offer me respect, I would get it for myself.
“How dare you?” Lana hissed.
“How dare I?” I asked her. “How dare you? You said it yourself; 'this magic-forsaken planet.' Fairies don't belong here. This is not our world. Do we share our planet with the humans? No, we fucking don't. So, know this; you are here under the generosity and sufferance of the Human Council, and the Extinguishers are here to make sure that you play nice. That's the way it is! That's the way it has been since the truce was first formed! And that's what makes the truce work. Now, your little achievements have made you forget those simple facts. You have gained glory among the refugees, and it's made you believe that you're on the level of kings and queens. Well, I'm sorry”—I cast my gaze specifically toward Daxon—“but you are not royals. The Fey hold to one truth above all others; Danu is our goddess and our guide. Danu created the kingdoms of Fairy for us, and when the monarchy started to treat her children poorly, she replaced them. She has spoken directly to me, saved my life numerous times, and has appeared on the battlefield to bless King Raza and help him win his crown. There is no doubt that the Goddess supports me.”
The fairies gaped at me.
“You may be far from her reach, but you are still children of the Goddess, and you know—in your hearts—that I speak the truth,” I went on. “Danu has not given her approval to any of you here, except for one man.” I turned my gaze to Daxon, and his eyes widened. “King Daxon Tromlaighe.”
“Holy shit,” Killian whispered.
“Danu herself named Daxon 'King' to me, and charged me with supporting his destiny.” I smiled softly at Daxon. “She has given him her approval and her faith. I trust in our goddess, so Daxon has my approval as well. He is the only king here that I acknowledge because he is the only one acknowledged by the Goddess.”
Daxon bowed deeply to me as the rest of the underground fairies fumed.
“Perhaps she will acknowledge the rest of you someday,” I gentled my tone. “I don't know. But until then, I will go with my heart on this one, and my heart tells me that the rest of you may be leaders, but you are not royals.”
“This is bullshit,” King Hugo of Washington hissed. “A royal is made through the support of his people, and we have that support.”
“Really?” I lifted my brows. “I disagree with both of those statements. I don't think you have the support of your people, and even if you did, I don't think that's what makes a person royalty. A rebel, perhaps, but not a king. Howev
er, if you wish to continue this debate, I have a single question for you which I believe will settle this matter once and for all. If I were to kill you right now”—I strode forward and stared hard at the fairy—“would the Sluagh come for me?”
The fairies in the room—those who weren't trying to claim royal titles—inhaled sharply in epiphany, the humans went slack-jawed in a very oh-no-she-didn't manner, Cyrus smirked, Daxon looked thoughtful, Killian laughed outright, and the royal wannabees glared at me. I knew, without a doubt, that I had just made several enemies with those words. But, as I mentioned before, a person should never be offended by the truth.
The undergrounders stiffly left the room. As Lana passed me, she gave me a pensive side-glance and paused.
“If we catch Barra, I'll make sure that he's brought to you,” she said. “We have made an agreement, and I will not break it, despite this disturbing argument. In fact, I admit that you've made a fair point, but I have a question for you in return, Ambassador. We are cut off from our goddess here. If she cannot hear us, then it's doubtful that the Sluagh will be aware of a royal murder. So, if I were to kill you right now, do you think the Sluagh would come for me?”
I smiled wickedly and leaned in to answer, “They came here for me... twice.”
Lana's eyes went wide, and she hurried away.
Chapter Forty-Six
“I have never been so proud to call a woman my queen,” Cyrus said as he bowed to me. “That was amazing, Your Majesty.”
“Thank you, Cyrus.”
“That's my girl!” Killian scooped me up and kissed me.
“Yes; amazing,” Daxon interrupted. “But also reckless.”
“Says the Underworld King,” Conri huffed.
“The only one who Danu acknowledges,” Ro shot back at Conri with a smirk.
“Yeah, yeah; don't let that shit go to your head, Lord of the Ink,” Conri huffed. “Danu acknowledges him, not you.”
“Conri,” I chided.
“These are wild fairies, Seren,” Daxon growled. “We're lucky they didn't attack us right here.”
“Well, after she dropped that Sluagh bomb, I think they were too scared to.” Killian laughed.
“I don't think half of them believe that the Sluagh would come to this world,” Daxon said with a frown. “Despite anything you might say to the contrary.”
“I assure you; they did,” I said with a shiver. “That wasn't a bluff.”
“The Sluagh?” Daxon gaped at me. “The Sluagh of Unseelie came here to kill you?”
“They came to San Francisco, to be exact,” I said as everyone went quiet. “But not because I killed a royal; that part was the bluff.”
“Why the fuck did they come then?” Daxon asked.
“Because my loving uncle wanted me dead,” I said casually. “He didn't think a halfling had a right to sit on the Twilight throne, and he happened to be the King of Unseelie.”
“The King can only call upon the Sluagh to defend the Unseelie Kingdom,” Daxon argued.
“I know, but it doesn't change the fact that Uisdean did it,” I said.
“Twice?” Daxon asked.
“Twice,” I confirmed.
“How the hell are you alive?” Daxon shook his head at me in wonder.
“Tiernan,” I said simply. “I like to make it sound as if I were badass enough to battle the Sluagh, but it was actually Tiernan who fought them off long enough for us to escape.”
“King Tiernan fought the fucking Sluagh and lived?” Ro asked as Daxon just stared at me.
“King Tiernan fought the fucking Sluagh and saved a princess,” Conri added smugly.
“Well, he is a Lord of the Wild Hunt,” Cyrus said proudly. “Tiernan Shadowcall is not your average man.”
“Shadowcall,” Daxon whispered. “Fuck. I suppose if you were to fight the Sluagh, that would be the way to go.”
“It was pretty impressive,” I admitted. “But we concluded that the Sluagh were less tenacious with me than they would have been if they had been compelled by Fairy law to avenge a monarch's murder.”
“Still,” Daxon murmured, “he stood against the Sluagh for you. Now, that is damn romantic.”
“Feeling a little inadequate, King Blue Balls?” Killian smirked at Daxon.
“So, you don't know for sure that a monarch's death would summon the Sluagh,” Daxon's voice hardened as he ignored Killian.
“No, not for sure,” I admitted. “Only that they have been to this realm before.”
“Do not voice those doubts to anyone else,” Daxon urged. “We must make them think that you're untouchable.”
“Why are you so upset?” I asked him.
“You poked the bear, Your Majesty,” Daxon snapped. “You've poked it and angered the whole damn sleuth!”
“What the fuck does a detective have to do with it?” Killian asked.
“A sleuth is what you call a group of bears,” Daxon huffed and shook his head. “Never mind. The point is that you've just pissed off the most powerful and dangerous fairies in America—right before we're about to go into an underground with them.”
“That's where you're wrong, King Daxon,” Cyrus interjected. “Those are not the most powerful or the most dangerous fairies in America; the hunters of the Wild Hunt are.”
“The Wild Hunt is not here,” Daxon growled. “Only a single hunter stands before me.”
“The Wild Hunt is everywhere.” Cyrus smiled. “We are watchers—fairy watchers; just because you cannot see us, it doesn't mean we aren't there.”
Cyrus nodded, casting his gaze around the room. Suddenly, twenty fairies dropped their invisibility glamours and revealed themselves. They were positioned about the room strategically, but they all came forward at Cyrus' nod.
“Well, fuck me,” Daxon murmured.
“Cyrus,” I chided teasingly, “have you been hiding an extra title from us?”
Cyrus gave me an embarrassed smile. “Technically, I merely omitted some extra words.”
“What's going on now?” Killian asked, completely baffled.
“He's a Lord of the Wild Hunt,” Torquil whispered to Killian.
Killian's eyes went wide. “Like Tiernan?”
“Yes; exactly like King Tiernan,” Cyrus agreed. “These are my hunters and some who are on loan from another team. We were sent by the Goddess herself, Your Majesty.”
I laughed and shook my head. “Of course you were,” I said. “That sly lady. She couldn't be with me, so she sent you.”
“She has impressed upon us the importance of your survival, Queen Seren,” Cyrus said with grim sincerity. “And the amount of danger that you are in.”
“Danger?” Killian asked.
I sighed.
“Seren?” Daxon growled.
My entire Star's Guard glared at me.
“Danu warned me that she isn't sure if I'll make it out of the Underground alive,” I admitted.
Killian, Daxon, and my Star's Guard all lost their damn minds.
“My apologies, Your Majesty,” Cyrus said over the shouting. “I had no idea that they were unaware of the risk.”
“It's okay, Cyrus,” I said. “Why don't you introduce me to your hunters while they get it out of their system?”
“It would be my honor, Your Majesty.”
“Seren!” Killian snarled.
“Danu damn it all, Seren!” Daxon added.
They followed me across the room and kept bitching at me while I ignored them and met the hunters. Finally, I had enough of trying to be polite while they raged in my ears.
“Stop it!” I hissed at them. “You are behaving like selfish assholes. Danu told me that I needed to go down there and handle this. She asked me to save her children!”
The room went quiet.
“Yes; I see that you realize how important that would be to me,” I said. “To hear our goddess ask me to save her children—my people. Danu knew the risk, and she asked me to go anyway, because—in her words—it would be sill
y not to.”
“Silly?” Killian growled.
“I can save thousands of lives, Killian,” I said gently. “I can save them here, and then move on to other undergrounds and save them there. I can help these people, but only if I'm brave enough to step into their world and risk myself. They need to see that; they need to see me trying. Not just sending people in, but actually putting myself in danger for them. That's what a queen does, and that's why I need to go.”
“She's right,” Daxon whispered.
“The fuck she is!” Killian growled.
“I love you,” I said softly as I took Killian's face in my hands. “And I don't want to risk you either, but we became ambassadors so that we could make a difference, remember? We aren't the sit-on-the-sidelines sort.”
“And we will make a difference,” Killian promised. “Just let me do this part, Twilight. You stay here, and I will go in. They'll see me trying, okay?”
“No, honey, it's not okay,” I said gently. “I'm sorry, but I'm going.”
“I'm going to scry Raza,” Killian threatened.
I blinked in surprise.
“Dude, did you just threaten to tattletale on her?” Conri asked. “What are you; three?”
“Stay the fuck out of this, Con,” Killian hissed at his friend before turning back to me. “You didn't tell Raza or Tiernan that you're going in tonight, did you?”
“Not that it would be tonight; no,” I narrowed my eyes on Killian. “There hasn't been time.”
“No; that's not why. You're not going to tell them until after you get back,” Killian said smugly. “I know you, Twilight. You prefer to ask for forgiveness than permission.”
“I don't need to ask for permission,” I said slowly. “And I don't appreciate your underhanded tactics, Kill.”
“Danu said that you might not make it out, Seren!” Killian shouted. “Danu! If she said it, that means that the risks are extra high. You've faced countless dangers before, but when has Danu ever warned you that you might not live through them?”
“Never,” I admitted. “But she also asked me to go anyway.”
“We have fifteen-hundred of my people, and however many of yours,” Daxon said. “We'll have enough manpower to hold off an attack if the other teams don't do their part.”