by Alanea Alder
They stepped into the room and closed the door behind them. They silently moved to stand against the wall. Around the small dining table everyone smiled at Meryn and Aiden.
"Meryn, darling, where were you at breakfast? We missed you," the queen said, smiling at her niece.
"I was making some hard decisions," Meryn replied, in a serious tone.
Gods! The little nut was going right in!
Aiden exhaled, and the men around Ari tensed.
The queen frowned. "Is there anything I can help with?"
Meryn nodded. "Yup. You can step down as queen, and let me take over." She looked over at Darian. "You don't mind if I skip ahead of you in line for the throne, do you?"
Darian just blinked and slowly shook his head, clearly confused as to what the hell was going on.
The queen stood sputtering. "Wha…wha…what?"
Meryn just nodded. "I've been thinking. You never really had heirs and stuff before, so you've never been able to take a break. Therefore, since you're throwing a temper tantrum regarding the ferals, I'll step in and help." She looked at Cord. "We're gonna make some major changes, especially to the menu."
The queen pressed her lips together. "That is enough, Meryn, you've had your fun. What you speak of is treasonous."
Meryn shook her head. "It's only treason if I was a citizen, but I'm from Lycaonia, so this is a…" She paused. "Like a friendly sedition minus the rebellion."
Cord nodded. "I've been thinking we could do with a change in the dishes served."
The queen simply stared at her squire. "What?"
Meryn looked at her aunt. "It's simple. You want to avoid the truth and cover your ears like a child being told no. So, I'm going to put you in time-out, and I'm gonna be queen."
The queen inhaled sharply looking mortally offended. Darian stood. "Meryn, maybe this isn't…"
Meryn held up her hand. "During my reign, you may address me as High Queen Meryn."
Darian gave her a flat look and sat back down, frowning fiercely.
"How dare you!" the queen screeched, inventing new octaves.
"I dare, because I love you. Your people want to abandon the city because they are afraid. They are waiting for their queen to take action, any action! If you can't, then I will. I won't let everything you've built crumble to pieces."
"They would never…" the queen started, then turned to Rex, who nodded.
"The only thing that has kept them here is the visible efforts of the Unit Commander. The fact that he is now related to the royal family and staying in the palace have most feeling that he is acting on your orders, so they are patiently waiting for word on what is going on, but that patience has almost expired," he reported gravely.
Meryn's face softened. "They are afraid."
The queen straightened her shoulders. "There's nothing to be afraid of."
"There are freaking ferals popping up in shadows all over the city!" Meryn shouted.
"There are not!" The queen stood, her back ramrod straight.
"Are too!"
Ari could not believe that he was watching Meryn and the Queen of the Fae scream back and forth at each other like children. He glanced to his left. Gage and Priest were watching with wide eyes, completely riveted to the scene before them. He looked to his right. Poor Kincaid looked pale. Then again, nearly everyone sitting at the table looked a bit wan and shocked, so he was in good company. Had he not known ahead of time what The Menace had planned he'd probably be freaking out as well.
"Are not!"
"There are!" Meryn shouted. "And if you can't or won't do something, I will. So, go stick your head in a flower bush and continue to ignore the problem, making everyone anxious and walk on eggshells around you, and I'll be figuring out how they're getting in so we can fry the bastards!" Meryn's words rang through the room as she breathed heavily.
The queen stared and sat down slowly. "There can't be ferals in Éire Danu," she whispered. She looked up at Meryn. "Because if that were true, then I've failed to protect my people."
"The only way you can fail them is if you continue to do nothing, my love," Brennus said, taking her hand. "Meryn is right. For thousands of years, you had to rule alone, but that's not the case anymore. You have me, my brothers, our sons, their mates, and one courageous niece who did the one thing no one else could, despite being scared to death that she would anger an aunt she just discovered after living an entire life with no family."
The queen looked up at Meryn and saw her clenched hands and trembling lips. "Oh, my sweet darling, I'm so very sorry."
"I'm fine." Meryn protested. Ryuu massaged her back soothingly. Aiden looked completely wrung out as he brought her hand to his lips for a kiss.
Around the table everyone exhaled explosively.
"Gods! You can't do that to me, Meryn," Kendrick complained, clutching at his chest.
The queen stood and hurried to where her niece stood. She took the small woman in her arms. "You're right. I'm so sorry I pushed you to do this. You should be taking it easy." She led her over and sat her between herself and Brennus. Ryuu walked behind Meryn's chair to keep a watchful eye on his charge.
Brennus looked absolutely lost as to what to do. So, he reached across the back of the chair to squeeze the queen's shoulder and rubbed Meryn's knuckles with his free hand.
Aiden sat down in the empty chair beside Kendrick and looked at Cord. "A shot of whatever you have open."
Cord simply leaned down to kiss the top of the queen's head in way of an apology and nodded.
"Aiden, it's eleven o'clock in the morning," Micah reminded him.
Aiden sat back, closing his eyes. "You're right; Meryn has the whole day in front of her. Cord, make it a double."
Cord chuckled. "Of course."
The queen kissed Meryn's temple. "You're the only one who could have possibly gotten through to me."
Meryn sniffled. "I know."
"Is it because she's your niece?" Law asked, then pointed to Darian and Oron. "Wouldn't they have worked?"
The queen shook her head. "It had to be Meryn, because I know for a fact that she would never, ever want to take the throne. The absurdity of the whole scenario got through my anger, defenses, and guilt."
"Aunt Aleks, we have ferals trying to get into the city," Meryn said, leaning back to look up at the queen.
Aleksandra sighed. "I know. Of course, I know. I’ve known from the beginning. I just cannot fathom how."
"That's where we can help," Aiden said, opening his eyes. "We've been dealing with these kind of scenarios for months now."
Meryn sighed. "There's something else we need to figure out in addition to the portals," she said, leaning to one side to rest her head against Brennus' shoulder.
"There's something else?" Kincaid asked incredulously. "Isn't that enough?"
Meryn shrugged. "I'm not making the rules here."
Brennus kissed her forehead. "What have you figured out now?"
Meryn glanced at the queen, then looked around the table before staring down at her hands.
The queen placed her fingers under her chin and lifted her face. "No matter what you say, I won't be angry," she promised.
"Ferals and reapers trying to get into a pillar city to wreak havoc is kinda normal now, right? First in Lycaonia then in Noctem Falls."
Thane winced. "I hate that that is normal for you."
"Go on," Kendrick encouraged.
"Well, them trying to get into Éire Danu makes sense." She looked over at Oron. "What I don't get is, if his family murdered Darian's family like thousands of years ago, how come they aren't drooling insane ferals? Aren't the necklaces kinda a new thing?"
Ari felt his heart constrict. How had no one caught that?
Meryn continued. "The queen said they should have faded honorably, which means they weren't a typical feral back then, right?" She eyed her aunt. "I woulda killed every single one, but that's just me."
The queen grimaced. "They were all mated, Meryn.
I would have been sentencing innocent women to insanity or death. The men were bound by magic to be docile, so they could be handled by their mates. Over time, the women's lights would dim, meaning they would have had time to fade honorably, taking their mates with them."
"Obviously that didn't happen. How did Oron's dad regain and keep his mind intact?"
The queen sighed and collapsed against the back of her chair. "I have no idea; it should have been impossible."
Meryn gave her a wry look. "Y'all really need to work on redefining your sense of impossible, because that shit is happening all over the damn place."
Ain't that the damn truth, Ari thought as the whole room nodded in agreement.
Chapter Two
"I want to apologize to you, Ari," the queen said, with a pained expression.
"For what, Your Majesty?" he asked, bewildered.
"You've been doing so much to protect the city. It must not have been easy."
Ari pointed to Aiden. "Your nephew is the one you should be thanking. He made arrangements to get unit warriors from Lycaonia here to train us on how to fight invisible ferals." Ari decided he'd take this opportunity to get the queen caught up, especially if she was in a forgiving mood. "Kendrick and Thane have also been teaching our unit witches how to use sweeps to combat the enemy in large open spaces, as well as creating distant early warning spells all along the Border City perimeter."
The queen blinked. "You've all been busy."
Brennus coughed into his fist, looking somewhat contrite. "All for you, my love."
Meryn looked at the queen. "So, back to the other major shit storm. Are the non-feral fae a reaper thing? Or do we have some new mystic mojo going on that we don't know about?"
The queen turned to Meryn. "As far as I know, there should not be a way for them to be whole. If they did not fade honorably, they should be feral."
"Great! Just what we need, new shit we don't know." Meryn sat back in her chair, looking disgruntled.
Ari didn't know which aspect horrified him more—that there was a way for these murderous fae to avoid turning feral after killing or that it had been going on thousands of years and no one knew. He looked over at Aiden. The unit commander was pinching the bridge of his nose. Ari had a feeling most of them would have headaches for the rest of the day.
Meryn sat forward, shaking her head. "Until we know more, there's nothing we can do about it." She looked over at her aunt. "I think you should make an announcement. Maybe something directly from you. That would go a long way in making everyone feel better." The queen rose and walked over to the table that held her summoning crystal. She tapped it lightly and then began to pace the room, her arms wrapped around her body. She turned to look at her consort. "How could any of this happen?"
Brennus stood quickly and strode over to his mate, taking her into his arms. "It happened because someone in the shadows is working very hard to orchestrate these nefarious deeds." He tucked the queen's head under his chin. "We are not the only ones affected, my love. Lycaonia and Noctem Falls have had similar attacks."
There was a knock at the door, and Kincaid went over to open it. Portia walked in and frowned when she saw her queen. "Your Majesty, is all well?"
The queen rubbed her forehead. "No, all is not well. Portia, I would like to arrange an announcement from me to the entire city."
Portia's eyes widened. "I think that would be best. Everyone desperately needs to hear your voice."
The queen gave her wan smile. "I know, and I'm sorry for taking so long to do my duty."
In an uncharacteristic show of emotion, Portia crossed the room and placed a hand on her queen's shoulder. "Everyone understands. Their love for you knows no bounds." She eyed the table of visitors. "And with your new friends and family, you should easily be able to handle these daunting tasks." She hesitated before adding. "I know you may feel like you face these things alone, but you haven't been alone in a very long time." She pointed to Darian, Oron, Cord, and Brennus. She reached into the satchel at her side and pulled out a parchment scroll. "I had a few of these made up last week, just in case. As long as they are written by your hand and then sealed with a drop of your blood, this spelled scroll will project the announcements in your voice to all of Éire Danu."
The queen looked slightly less harried at Portia's words. "You are right. I haven't been alone in a long time." She took the scroll, a look of determination on her face. "It's time to start tackling this problem." She looked around the room. When her eyes fell upon the Tau Unit, Ari straightened. He placed his fist over his heart, the men did the same, and they bowed as one. When he straightened, he smiled at his queen. "You have only to command us, my queen." He gave her a sly smile. "You won't even have to slip us any candy this time," he said, in a joking manner.
The queen's eyes widened before she gave a musical laugh. "Oh, Ari, I had nearly forgotten you used to do that." At the table, Rex began to chuckle.
Meryn looked from her aunt to Rex. "What? Forgotten what?"
The queen pointed to him. "The littlest Lionhart, the baby. He would sneak into the palace and offer to do small chores in exchange for candy. It'd been hundreds of years since Darian and Oron went to Lycaonia. And it was nice to have a little boy in the palace again. He always made me smile."
There was a knock at the door, and Kincaid, once again acting as page, opened it to allow Molvan to step inside.
His expression caused the smile on the queen's face to disappear. "What? What is it?" she asked.
Ari instinctively placed his hand on his sidearm.
Molvan looked devastated as he swallowed hard. "Your Majesty, we have the preliminary reports of the number of fae returning to Éire Danu." He hesitated before continuing. "So far, only half of those known to be living outside of the city have made contact with us."
The queen gasped, a hand going to her throat. "How many are missing?"
Molvan's hand clenched at his side. "Nearly five thousand," he replied.
Brennus and Portia supported the queen as her knees gave way and helped her to the closest sofa.
"What?" she whispered. She looked between her mate and Molvan. "Are we certain that many fae were living outside of the city?"
Molvan opened the portfolio he was holding. "There are an estimated thirty-thousand fae living in the country. Of those thirty-thousand, nearly one-third have made their homes amongst the humans in the past couple hundred years. Modern technology has proven to be a tempting draw to our people, more have chosen to live with humans because of it. Of the estimated eleven-thousand living in human cities, we've only had fifty-seven hundred reply."
At the table, Aiden stood. He turned to Kendrick and the Ashleigh brothers. "Can you work with the queen to find a way to track the missing fae?"
Kendrick nodded. "Of course. It shouldn't be too difficult, considering we're working with the Queen of the Fae. Her blood and magic would make it an easy task, since she is connected to all of her children."
Aiden turned to the Tau Unit. "Gear up, we're starting in Monroe. We'll be doing a full sweep of the city. Any missing fae from the register has to be accounted for."
Ari already had one hand on the walkie-talkie that Meryn had ordered for them. "Just the Tau Unit?" he asked.
Aiden grimaced. "Yes. I want to leave the rest here to maintain perimeter sweeps. But, I'm calling in the Vanguard of Monroe to assist." Ari pointed to the door, and the Tau Unit began to file out. He looked back at Aiden.
"Your first call should be to Cameron Rathais. He's been the sheriff of Monroe for the past ten years. I know he's in the process of aging himself out, but he should be able to get us access to all public records and reports."
Aiden looked at his mate. "Meryn, if we got you the names of the missing fae, could you plot their last known location on a map, like you did for the missing shifters around Lycaonia?" he asked.
Meryn nodded absently, looking spooked. "Of course I can. I just need the records that were updated for Beth's ce
nsus. I can do the whole country in one go."
Aiden walked over and kissed her gently before straightening. "You do your magic tap-tap. I'll be relying on you to tell us men where to go."
Meryn smiled sadly. "I almost hate doing my magic tap-tap anymore. I always find out something horrible."
Across the room, the queen took a deep breath. "The more we know the better," she said with a shaky voice. "Our people, all of our people. Shifters, vampires, fae, and witches, we've all become too lax. Complacency has allowed an unknown enemy to grow unchecked." Her expression hardened, and she stood on steady feet. "But all of that stops now." Around them, the walls began to crack. Snaps, pops, and the groaning of wood echoed around them in the walls, ceilings, and floors, as the trees themselves seemed to undulate to the waves of the queen's anger. "I want my children. I want my children found. And if something has taken them from me, then I personally want to judge and punish the ones responsible."
Meryn smiled wickedly. "Kick ass," she whispered.
Anne turned to Molvan. "I don't know a lot about public works, but I can help assemble the records that Meryn needs. Just point the way."
Kendrick turned to the Ashleigh brothers. "We also have work to do." Thane stood, cracking his knuckles, and Law and Justice exchanged vicious grins.
Ari turned to Gage, Priest, and Kincaid. "You heard our queen, gentlemen. Move out."
*****
As they were getting ready, the queen's announcement went out to the citizens of Éire Danu. In walking to the portal, he could see the effect her words had on the people. Along the street, vendors and families alike looked relieved.
He shook his head. It seemed impossible to imagine an enemy so great going unnoticed for so long. He thought back to what his mother said that very morning, how Meryn questioned everything and, in doing so, uncovered so much.
It didn't take them long to head through the portal to wait with the other warriors outside of Monroe. He stood with the rest of his unit, next to the volunteer Vanguard, by the portal from Éire Danu waiting on Aiden's team to join them.
