by Karen Lynch
I’d considered that already. “Then why wouldn’t she tell me that?”
He rubbed his chin. “You’re asking me to explain the reasoning of the Fae deity?”
“Well, when you put it like that.” I heaved a sigh. “I’m in way over my head, Dad. What if she’s wrong about me, and I can’t do it?”
“You can do anything you put your mind to, and I’m not saying that because I’m your father. You’ve been like that since you were a little girl. Look at what you’ve done in the last six months. Aedhna gave you that goddess stone because she saw what I see in you. If she believes you can do this, then you should believe it, too. I do.”
I scooted across the couch to hug him. I hadn’t realized how much I needed to hear that from him until this moment.
From inside the house a phone rang, and I moved away so he could go answer it. It was the first time I’d heard that sound in weeks, and it amazed me how easily I’d adapted to life without phones and computers. It was going to feel strange when I returned to city life.
Dad came back a few minutes later, smiling. “That was Maurice checking in. He said to say hi. And your mom’s up and wants to know what we’re having for dinner.”
It was the first time Mom had expressed interest in food since I got here. A huge grin split my face. “Whatever she wants.”
* * *
The moon created a path across the ocean and lit up the beach as I walked barefoot through the sand. A light tropical breeze rustled the palm fronds, and somewhere in the underbrush, a small creature stirred. The only other sound was the gentle lap of water against the shore.
Behind me, the house where my family slept was dark and silent. I didn’t know why I wasn’t asleep too, only that something had drawn me out here to the beach. It was strange when I thought about it. I’d been on the island for five days, and this was the first time I’d felt the urge for a midnight stroll.
Something made a light splash on the water. A few seconds later, the surface of the water rippled closer to shore. Something white slowly emerged from the ocean, taking the shape of a horse’s head.
The kelpie moved toward me, its white coat gleaming like silver in the moonlight. I felt no fear as it left the water and walked up to me. Two feet from me, it lowered its head and dropped something into the sand. Then it looked me in the eye, bent one leg, and bowed to me.
I could only stare at the kelpie as it stood and turned back to the ocean. It wasn’t until the majestic head disappeared beneath the surface that I remembered the object it had brought me. I knelt in the sand and picked up a small white stone that immediately turned the color of my hair.
“Jesse,” said a distorted female voice. “It is time to come home.”
I looked around, but I was alone. “Hello?”
“Jesse,” the voice called again.
I stood. “Where are you?”
Something touched my shoulder and gently shook me. “You’re dreaming, Jesse. Wake up.”
I opened my eyes and stared up at my mother, who was leaning over me. She smiled and straightened. “That must have been some dream.”
“It was definitely a weird one.” I yawned and rubbed my eyes. “What time is it?”
“Seven-thirty. I was going to let you sleep in, but you kept calling out. How about I make us some breakfast?”
“Pancakes?” I asked hopefully, earning a chuckle from her.
“Of course.” She walked to the bedroom door. “They’ll be ready in ten minutes.”
I stretched my arms over my head and smiled up at the ceiling. The first few days had been rough, but my mother was more like her old self every day. When the time came for me to go back to Faerie, I could do so knowing she was going to be okay.
Tossing the covers off me, I rolled out of bed and froze when I looked down at my feet, which still had dried sand caked on them. Turning back to the bed, I threw back the sheet and stared at the sand where I had lain.
I sat heavily on the edge of the mattress. It wasn’t a dream. My stomach twisted as understanding dawned.
Aedhna had summoned me back to Faerie.
Chapter 14
I crested the top of the hill and let out a whoop as I pumped my fist. I did it!
Breathing hard, I bent and rested my hands on my legs. I was hot and sweaty, and my chest ached from exertion, but that did nothing to lessen my jubilation. I’d made my first trek up the steep hill without stopping once to rest, and it felt good.
I walked a few feet and lay on my back on a small patch of coarse grass to smile up at the blue sky. Soft footsteps came toward me, but I didn’t turn my head to look at my companion as she flopped down on her belly beside me. I reached out and scratched Kaia’s head, and she emitted an aggravated growl.
“Hey, you didn’t have to come with me,” I told the sulking lamal, who had been accompanying me on my daily outings since my return to Faerie three days ago. She preferred running through the grass because there wasn’t much on the hill for her to chase, but she didn’t like to let me out of her sight when we were away from the court.
She shifted so her heavy head rested on my stomach. I laughed and rubbed the back of her neck, making her purr. She wasn’t the dog I’d always wanted, but she was great company, especially now.
I’d seen Lukas twice since I came back. His days were spent behind closed doors with the king and his advisors, preparing for the big meeting with Seelie. Faolin and the rest of his guard were busy as well, so I trained by myself and spent most of my time alone. Even Roswen and her guard had been absent the last three days.
The whole court was buzzing with anticipation of the Seelie queen’s arrival today, even though most people wouldn’t lay eyes on her. For my part, I was too anxious about when Aedhna would finally send me on my mission to be caught up in the excitement. My gut told me it would happen soon, and the wait was killing me.
When my breathing slowed to normal, I pushed Kaia’s head off me and sat up. She grumbled and stood, fixing me with an aggrieved look that made me chuckle. I’d never seen an animal that could portray human-like emotions the way she did.
I started down the hill. Kaia ran ahead of me, and every now and then she stopped to look back and make sure I was still behind her. As I neared the bottom, I was surprised to find Conlan waiting for me. I hadn’t expected to see him or any of Lukas’s men for the next two days.
“Faolin said you’d be out here,” Conlan called. “Looks like you’ve conquered the hill.”
I grinned at him. “You bet I did.”
He lifted one corner of his mouth. “Shall I tell Faolin you are ready for a bigger one?”
“Not unless you want me to murder you in your sleep,” I retorted.
He snickered, and we began the walk back to court with Kaia leading the way. One second, she was in front of us, and in the next, she was off running through the tall grass. There was a squeak followed by rustling, and I hoped that whatever she was chasing escaped.
“Not that I don’t enjoy your company, but aren’t you supposed to be with Lukas now for the queen’s arrival?” I asked.
“You are never going to call him Vaerik, are you?” he teased.
I huffed softly. “I keep forgetting. He’s Vaerik to everyone here, but I got to know him as Lukas.”
“Well, Lukas sent me to ask if you would like to attend the meeting this morning.”
I stopped abruptly to stare at Conlan. “The closed meeting with the king and the Seelie queen that no one is allowed to go to?”
Conlan nodded. “That would be the one. Vaerik told the king that you have earned the right to be there after your sacrifice for Faerie. King Oseron agreed. Vaerik couldn’t get away, so he asked me to bring you to the meeting. You’ll be an observer only, but you will hear firsthand what is discussed. Do you wish to attend?”
“Do you even have to ask?”
He laughed and motioned for us to keep walking. “Then you’re going to need to clean up and change. If we hurry, we w
ill get there before it starts.”
I picked up my pace, and in less than twenty minutes, we were at my quarters. He waited on the balcony while I showered and changed. I cast a longing look at my new outfits as I dressed in the court clothes Sereia had made for me. I left my hair down except for two side sections that I pulled back into a braid at my crown.
“How do I look?” I asked when I joined him. I had no idea what the dress code was for something like this.
He smiled approvingly. “You’ll do.”
We left my quarters and went to the lift. I expected us to go up, but he surprised me by taking us down to the ground level. We walked through a maze of tunnels that took us deeper into the mountain. I was completely lost by the time we came to an open area with two more tunnels branching off from it.
Instead of taking one of the tunnels, we crossed the space to stand before a wall of rock. Conlan raised his hand and muttered something. A few seconds later, the rock shimmered, and a portal appeared. We stepped through it into a room that was entirely white from the walls to the floor to a set of gleaming white doors. The only color in the room was from the stone-faced guards stationed on either side of the doors and along two walls.
“Are we still in Unseelie?” I whispered to Conlan as we walked to the doors.
“Yes. We’re in a part of the mountain that can only be accessed via a portal and only to those who have clearance.”
He opened one of the doors and ushered me into the room beyond. We moved along the wall to a spot a few dozen feet from the door, and then I turned to check out my surroundings.
We were in an oval room with a set of doors on each end. Two rows of seats were positioned in a semicircle in front of each set of doors, and at the center of the room was a low pedestal with a shallow brazier on top. Instead of fire, the brazier held laevik crystals that glowed softly.
The walls were completely covered in tapestries depicting Aedhna in various scenes. I studied one and was amazed that the artist had captured her exact likeness. Or maybe that was the image she presented to those of us she appeared to.
Conlan and I were the first to arrive. A few minutes later, the door near us opened, and six royal guards came in. After they had positioned themselves along the wall behind the seats, the far door opened, and eight faeries entered to do the same on that end of the room.
More guards entered through the door on our end, preceding King Oseron, who wore a simple crown and a long blue robe. He was accompanied by Consort Maurelle, who wore an ivory robe and a plain circlet adorned with a single blue stone that matched the king’s robe. They moved down to take their places in the middle of the first row.
Faolin and Faris came next, followed by Lukas wearing a plain coronet and a belted midnight blue tunic with silver trim. His pants were a lighter blue with the same braid down the sides. It was the first time I’d seen him in his royal uniform, and he literally took my breath away. He looked like the real-life version of a fairy tale prince.
Lukas didn’t look our way before he took the seat on his father’s other side. Then came a procession of people I’d never seen whom I assumed were the king’s advisors. They filled out the remaining seats. Faolin, Faris, and the others took up positions near the ends of the rows.
Finally, the far door opened again, and I sucked in a breath at the sight of the first two to enter. They were the queen’s guards who had threatened me in New York and warned me to stay away from Prince Rhys. My eyes moved past them to a blonde in an emerald green dress and matching robe trimmed with gold. I didn’t need to see her jeweled crown to know this cool, aristocratic visitor was the Seelie queen.
My gut twisted as Queen Anwyn took her seat directly across from King Oseron. I couldn’t look away from the face of the person who had devastated my parents and tried to take away everything I cared about. The knowledge that there was nothing I could do to get justice for my family made my hands clench into fists.
A gentle elbow nudge from Conlan made me aware of how rigid I was and what my expression must be. I forced my body to relax and looked away from the queen to take in the rest of the Seelie contingent. On her right was a blond male wearing a plain coronet, whom I guessed to be her consort. He wore the bored, bland expression of someone who had better things to do than attend a meeting to discuss the fate of the world. I wondered if he had always been that apathetic or if being mated to Queen Anwyn had made him that way.
The queen leaned slightly to her left to speak to the person there, and I gave a small start when I saw it was Prince Rhys. I shouldn’t be surprised he was there or that she was more interested in talking to him than her consort. The only thing she seemed to care about was the prince.
Ever since my father told me who Rhys was, I’d been trying to think of why the Seelie queen would take a human child to convert and raise as her heir. So far, I hadn’t come up with a reason that made sense. I didn’t think Rhys knew the truth, but I was sure the rest of Seelie didn’t. If the blue bloods at Seelie were anything like the ones here, status and lineage meant everything to them. They would never stand for a half-breed becoming their king someday.
I was so lost in thought it took a few seconds to realize Prince Rhys’s eyes were focused on me. He looked as surprised to see me as I was to be there. He smiled, and I returned it before I averted my gaze. I could feel his eyes on me until King Oseron stood, and everyone’s attention shifted to him.
The king bowed to the Seelie queen. “Queen Anwyn, welcome to Unseelie. We are honored to host you and your council for these important talks. I am confident the cooperation of our two regions will result in a solution to heal the barrier between Faerie and the human realm.”
Queen Anwyn tilted her head forward in acknowledgement and a hint of a smile touched her lips. “Thank you, King Oseron. We are pleased to be here and look forward to working with you to eliminate this threat to our world.”
He smiled, and they began the tedious process of introducing everyone seated on both sides. I barely heard them because I was fuming about the ridiculousness of everyone in the room exchanging pleasantries and pretending that Queen Anwyn hadn’t caused the threat that brought them all here in the first place. It was probably a very good thing that I was a spectator only at this meeting because I could not pretend ignorance, even for the sake of diplomacy.
After all the formalities were done, one of the king’s advisors stood to present the first of their proposals. “Every time a portal is created, it causes magic to leak into the human world. If we prohibit all travel between the two worlds for a period of time, it could help to slow the drain of energy from ours.”
The two sides began to discuss the proposal, weighing the pros and cons and talking about how long a ban on travel to the human world was needed to make a difference. The thought of not being able to go home and see my family for any length of time filled me with anxiety. I could go to them before the ban went into effect, but I had to be in Faerie to do whatever it was Aedhna needed me to do.
Another of the Unseelie advisors stood. “In addition to prohibiting travel to the other world, we think all Court Fae should be summoned home to Faerie. Many of our people have permanent residences in the human realm, only returning home to replenish their magic. Having them all here could help restore the balance of magic.”
His suggestion set off another flurry of discussions and caused my anxiety to grow. If they agreed on this course of action, who knew how long it would be before I was allowed to visit my family? Time meant nothing to faeries, but my parents were mortal. They’d already lost their son. I would not let them lose their daughter, too.
Queen Anwyn’s imperious voice cut through the din. “These proposals have merit, but they are not enough.”
The room fell silent, and all eyes went to her.
“There is only one way to repair the barrier and protect Faerie,” she said to King Oseron. “We must seal the barrier between the worlds permanently.”
Her words hit me like a
punch to the gut forcing all the air from my body. For a few seconds, her face blurred before my eyes, and the sound of the room erupting became a buzzing in my head. I wasn’t aware I’d leaned back against the wall until Conlan’s hand squeezed mine. It was enough to ground me and help me focus on what was happening around me.
“There are two sides to the barrier,” Lukas said to the queen. “Sealing us off from the human realm might not repair the damage done to their side.”
No one spoke as we waited for her response. She did not make us wait long.
“That is a possibility but a chance we must take.” She placed a hand over her heart as if it pained her to say the words. “Our first duty is to protect Faerie and all who live here.”
Anger boiled inside me. All of this was her fault. It was she who had stolen the ke’tain and taken it from Faerie. She caused the damage to the barrier, and now she planned to wipe her hands free of it by destroying my world and everyone I loved. And every damn person in this room knew it.
Queen Anwyn’s gaze suddenly shifted away from Lukas and locked with mine. I stared back, not trying to hide my animosity. Recognition flared in her eyes, and they narrowed on me, but I held her stare, refusing to look away first.
I was aware of several people turning in their seats to see what had captured the queen’s attention. I could also feel Conlan’s hand gripping the back of my shirt to keep me from going anywhere.
The queen broke our stare down and returned her cool gaze to Lukas as if nothing had happened. They resumed their discussion, but I was too consumed by anger to pay attention.
Conlan leaned down and whispered, “I think it’s time to go.”
I didn’t resist when he took my arm and quietly guided me out of the room. We crossed the outer room, and he created the portal to take us to the tunnels. It wasn’t until we were back in an area I recognized that he spoke.
“Queen Anwyn has been pushing for years to seal the barrier, and she sees this as an opportunity to press her agenda. But King Oseron won’t agree to that unless it is the last resort.”