Eloryn spoke up. “Is that really necessary? Never before has a human ruler had such a restriction placed on them.”
Nyneve added her voice, deep and concerned. “It does seem a great imposition.”
“Never before has there been a human like her. We won’t accept her as queen without it,” Aine said. “Agreed, Winter King?”
Finvarra grumbled. Memory could see Nyneve’s hand squeeze his shoulder.
“Father, no,” she whispered.
Finvarra shook her hand from him. “No? It is barely enough as it is. It is agreed, this girl should use none of her stolen power.”
Never use magic again? Memory wondered if that was even possible. One emotional slip up could change everything. She was more in control now but the risk was there. It would also mean she’d be stuck with purple hair for good, unless Eloryn could behest hair color as well. She whispered to Eloryn beside her, “Out of curiosity, what’s the penalty for breaking a fairy oath?”
Eloryn replied in hushed tones, “Tantamount to a violation of the Pact, punishable by Branding and death.”
“Serious like a pinky promise. Gotcha.”
Memory addressed Aine and Finvarra again. “What if I don’t agree? What if I think you should trust me to rule fairly despite the magic inside me?”
“Just as we trusted your double to rule?” Aine walked up to Eloryn and stared down at her from at least three feet taller. “Maellan girl, we requested that you be the human ruler. We wanted you, not your volatile sister. You made an oath to rule with the sprite princess, Yvainne. You may not have technically broken your oath, as you did rule - briefly, barely - but we will be less inclined to trust you or your twin to persevere in her promises now.”
Eloryn looked at her feet. “I’m sorry, Your Majesty. I did not intend to dishonor my oath.”
“And yet you did, the moment ruling became difficult for you.”
Something changed in Eloryn’s expression. “Had I not ended my rule then, you may have found a new human ruler that would please you far less than my sister.”
Aine turned her back and walked away, striding around the room. “You mortal creatures with your in-fighting displease us. We want stability for Avall, for all our peoples.”
Finvarra spat into the debris. “Don’t pretend you have a care for our kind. You prefer the human vermin over the unseelie fae, when we are your other halves, the dark to your light. We are your balance. You don’t care that they treat us as monsters. You would not care if we were hunted clean from the world, when it is those parasites that should be removed!” He clawed a hand through the air toward Memory and her friends.
Aine rolled her eyes at his dramatics and addressed Memory. “Agreeing to the oath offers us some stability. A show of faith to allow our peoples to work together. Denying it can only lead to chaos for all.”
Finvarra grinned and his all black eyes twinkled. “We welcome chaos. We are born of chaos.”
“All right, enough! I’ll make your oath,” Memory said. “I agree. It is time for the fighting to stop. Between all of us.”
“Mem, are you sure?” Eloryn said.
Memory looked to her friends, and found them all staring back at her. She nodded to Roen and Will. “It’s not so bad. Some of the best people I know don’t use magic.”
Aine smiled and the simple expression seemed to light her from inside. “Then we make the oath. You shall not use the magic within you again from this moment forth.”
“Not quite. I don’t always have complete control over all this,” Memory said, swirling a pointing finger at her chest. “I can’t be held accountable if a bit spills out here or there against my will. But I do swear I will not knowingly cast any behests with my magic.”
Aine paused, assessing her, and then placed a hand over Memory’s heart. “Agreed. This is our binding deal.”
All the fae around her chanted, “The deal is binding.”
Finvarra’s ragged lips curled around his teeth. “And when you break this deal, I will relish enforcing the penalty.”
Aine stared him down. “You will take no action. My hand bound the deal, my hand will enforce the penalty when the deal is broken.”
“Guys. It’s if. If the deal is broken. A little confidence, please.” Memory tried not to feel shaken. She had as little confidence in her ability to keep the oath as they did. Girls with impulse control issues shouldn’t be agreeing to binding oaths.
Aine simply nodded, and the creeping mist in the corridor began to build again. Mina, who had been giving Memory all kinds of filthy looks, turned to Will and flicked her chin up. Will looked toward Memory, unsure.
When Will didn’t leave Memory’s side, Mina stamped a foot on the ground. “Here, boy. Now.”
Aine and Lugh, Finvarra and Nyneve, and the host of seelie and unseelie guards all turned their attention to Will, and Memory could see a defiant look in his eyes. He took a step forward and something tugged Memory’s arm.
Will’s hand was still around hers. It had never left it, not since they’d escaped the tower, as though they’d been fused together. He turned back to look at her, frowning deeply.
“It’s okay. Go. You know where to find me,” she said, offering him a supportive smile. Memory didn’t like the idea of Will going anywhere with Mina. She didn’t like the idea of letting go of his hand. But she could tell he needed to go. No matter how Memory felt about Mina, it was clear Will didn’t want to make a scene in front of fairy royalty.
Will’s hand slipped slowly from hers, fingertips trailing along her palm. Memory put her hand into her other one, so it didn’t feel so empty.
Will stood beside Mina, and the seelie fae faded into the Veil, taking him with them. Finvarra turned his back on Memory and was simply gone. Nyneve gave Memory a sympathetic nod before following her father.
Memory waved goodbye to the empty space. “Good talk. No, no, thank you.”
Eloryn and Roen remained with her.
Memory smiled at them wryly. “Onwards to our next crisis?”
Chapter Two
“You did? And then he did that? Really? Wow. Just, wow.”
Eloryn filled Memory in about the reason for her abdication while they rushed back toward the Round Room. She covered the horrible things Hayes had done, and saw something dark cross Memory’s features when she explained it was Hayes who set off the bomb that killed Waylan, and sent the bounty hunters after Roen, all as part of his long campaign of manipulation.
“Hayes is all locked up, right? Lucky bastard. He’ll be safer there.” Memory scowled.
The forced marriage, and Eloryn’s contract to ruin Hayes’s plans came next. “Abdicating was the best solution I could see. It passed power to you, including power over Hayes’s militia thanks to the pre-nuptial contract, and stripped all power and options from him.”
Eloryn glanced at Roen, walking on the other side of Memory. She wanted to reach out and touch him. She knew, regardless of Hayes, she would have given up her throne for Roen. Her heart was not in ruling. Her heart was his. Her lips still tingled from their kiss. It felt like weeks ago, but her confrontation with Hayes had happened barely half an hour before. They were already encountering the aftermath of her abdication as they walked. Pages and guards ran about, spreading the news, dealing with the changes to rulership in the palace. Between that and the collapsed tower, the castle was a chaotic hum of activity.
“Hayes really was one skeezy bastard.” Memory put a hand on Eloryn’s shoulder. “Can I get away with an I Told You So? Just a teeny one?”
“I think you could get away with a quite large one,” Eloryn said.
Memory grinned. “Nah, I’ll skip it. Sounds like you kicked his ass. I wish I’d been there to see it. And join in the kicking of said ass.”
The Round Room came within sight, and was still filled with the remaining Wizards’ Council, milling about, shouting at each other and arguing.
Memory slowed her pace. “We can’t let them know I’m no
t allowed to use magic anymore. We can’t let anyone know. It could be exploited too easily.”
Roen nodded. “It’s a secret worth keeping.”
“Have your parents left yet? Can you go and check? Bring them back if you have to. And can you send after Erec and Peirs, too?” Memory asked him.
“Of course,” Roen said. His gaze turned to meet Eloryn’s and his lips curled into a tiny smile. She blushed, remembering what the curves of those lips felt like pressed against hers. With a nod, he hurried off back the way they’d come.
Memory stared at Eloryn with a toothy grin.
“What? Stop that. You’re being dreadfully creepy,” Eloryn said.
Memory tilted her head down, making her grin even more lecherous. “You and Roen, huh?”
“Me and Roen?” The innocent tone Eloryn aimed for was spoiled by a catch in her voice.
“She plays it coy! There’s no fooling me, I saw you guys all smoochy before. It’s about bloody time. I’m so happy for you both.” Memory grabbed Eloryn in a quick hug.
Eloryn let out a deep breath and closed her eyes. Part of her had been worried about what Memory would think and feel about her relationship with Roen, that it would somehow hurt Memory. But her sister seemed truly happy, and that filled Eloryn with warmth.
Memory pulled back and looked down the hall at the room of squabbling old men. “Okay, it’s wizard wrangling time.”
Memory continued into the Round Room and Eloryn walked at her side. Returning to face these men felt surreal after she’d just abandoned her title and destroyed the plans and credibility of their leader in front of them all. But she had to be there for Memory.
The two of them made their entrance.
Their arrival was barely noticed by the wizards. Their discussions were heated, and the small statures of the twins were lost in the room full of men.
“Shame I don’t have a cattle prod on me. Could be handy right now,” Memory muttered. She took Eloryn’s hand for balance then climbed up onto a chair then up again onto the long table in the center of the room. She put her finger and thumb between her lips and let loose a piercing whistle. The Council silenced and all attention turned to her, skepticism clear on all faces.
“My sister tells me she’s abdicated,” Memory said. Her voice started out rocky, but grew in strength as she continued. “And now I have to stand in front of all of you and make you somehow believe in me as a leader. That’s going to be hard, because I don’t even believe in myself as a leader. And from what I’ve heard of Hayes’s actions, I imagine you’ll be struggling to have faith in any leader right now.”
A grumble of agreement came from a few of the gray-haired men.
“But someone needs to rule this land and make things right. We owe it to the people to get our acts together and stop seeking revenge or grabbing for power or generally squabbling like idiots. I’m just a kid; I haven’t been trained for this, not enough. One day I hope I can be the ruler Avall deserves, but right now I need all of you to step up. I need you all to do your job, and I want to be able to trust you to do it. But I’m not going to trust you blindly. I will be watching you all closely and if you intend to betray my trust, remember this- were you scared of Thayl? Well, he stole his magic from me, and only ever had a fraction of my power. Be scared of me.”
Silence filled the room as Memory let those words sink in. “And if that’s not enough, I think you also know what my sister is capable of. What do you all say? Are you ready to work together, work with me, to start making things right?”
Eloryn smiled up at her sister, filled with pride. Memory spoke forcefully, passionately, and without pretense. Memory was everything she was not when it came to ruling. I made the right decision.
“What are we to do?” Bors asked, more to the men around him than to Memory. He still seemed panicked by nearly meeting death at Hayes’s behest. “Hayes went too far, too far, but he was our leader.”
“We did not always have a leader.” Madoc, the oldest of the Council, pushed his way to the front. His raspy voice made the white whiskers around his mouth quiver. “The Council is meant to be a body of equals. It was only during Thayl’s rule that Hayes took control of us. We don’t need a leader.”
“You have to admit, having someone with overriding authority did expedite many decisions,” a wizard behind Eloryn said.
She turned to face the crowd. “And where did that blind faith in him lead us? He even killed one of your own for challenging his authority.”
Memory addressed the group again from her position on the table. “Whether or not you want a leader for the Council, and who that leader is, can be something you decide for yourselves. But for now, Bedevere will be the point of contact between me and the Council.”
Bedevere, who had remained quiet through the bickering, nodded solemnly to Memory. The rest of the Council exploded again into turmoil. “Him? With his foolish notions of the other world and its artefacts?”
Memory’s mouth set firmly and she raised her voice. “I’ve got my memories back now and can tell you his notions of the other world are correct. It did not become Hell.”
Her statement only fueled the voices in the room, and wizards argued, demanding more information, or disputing her claims.
“All you know how to do is argue!” Memory grunted. “You’ve all been hidden away from the world too long. Consider this my first order for you all. It’s time you did some real work in the real world.” Memory waved her arms, pointing out wizards and sectioning off groups. “I need men to head to the city, to reopen my shelter and fix any damage Hayes’s militia might have done. The militia itself needs bringing under control and there’s also the matter of clearing up a tower that collapsed in the Northern wing. There is work to be done now. Prove yourselves as the great wizards I know you must be.”
The crowd grew quiet. Madoc moved to the front, bowed to Memory and said, “Yes, Your Majesty.”
By his side, Lambeth and Bors did the same. Soon the whole Council followed, bowing, then leaving to carry out their assigned tasks. Bedevere stepped in front of Memory and bowed low for a long moment.
“Bedevere, stay with me, please. We’ve got more to do,” she said.
Eloryn reached up for her sister’s hand and helped her down from the table. Memory’s hand shook violently between Eloryn’s fingers.
Memory’s bottom lip pulled to the side and her eyebrows wrinkled. “Did I do okay?”
“Better than okay,” Eloryn said.
“Ugh, that was hard! I put on my best grown up voice but felt like I just sounded ridonkadonk. They’re going to think I’m an idiot.”
Ridonkadonk? Eloryn smiled inwardly. Her sister often surprised her with strange new words. Eloryn saw the uncertainty in her sister, but only grew more confident that Memory was the natural ruler she never was. “The message will come through regardless of the words you use. Just be yourself, be sincere and open, as you always are, and people will respect you.”
Memory seemed about to say something more, but was interrupted by Isabeth.
“Oh my dears, my dears!” she cried, as she rushed toward Memory and Eloryn with her arms outstretched. She gathered them both into an embrace, then looked over their damaged and dusty appearance with a scolding gaze. “Can’t leave you two alone for a moment, can we?”
Roen and his father followed her in. Roen seemed out of breath and a flush of red highlighted his cheekbones that made him all the more beautiful. He smiled. “Duke and Duchess Faerbaird, as requested.”
As Memory greeted them properly, Eloryn stepped across to Roen and took his hand. He gave her a small questioning look, and she smiled back in return.
It only took a moment before Isabeth, and then Brannon, noticed the pair. Isabeth put both hands to her mouth as though she were about to cry, then grabbed her son and Eloryn into her arms.
Memory sighed and put her fists on her hips. “Here I am, queen now, and look at my sister still hogging all the attention.”
Chapter Three
Memory stared at the group before her. People she trusted. Memory and Eloryn caught everyone up on what had happened with Hayes while they waited for Erec and Peirs to arrive, and for Bedevere to create a Veil door to bring Lanval in. Memory already regretted giving up her magic. The traditional Veil door behest was pages long, and Bedevere’s droning of the words quickly became tedious when Memory knew how fast she could open one.
She turned her back on his progress so she could address the others. They had seated themselves along the temporary table in the Round Room and all faced her where she stood. She cleared her throat. “The very first thing we need to do is establish some proper leadership in Avall, the government Hayes neglected to set up. I know I’m queen and Maellan blood and whatever, but I’m only seventeen for chrissakes. It’s time for some adults to be doing the adult things. But how am I supposed to choose who makes up that government? Who do I trust? As Lory pointed out, I don’t know one Avall noble from another. But you do,” Memory said, acknowledging Isabeth and Brannon. “Between you and Lanval, you know the bloodlines, the individuals, the who, what and where. I trust you to make the right decisions. Bedevere will have the Council start Veil-dooring people in ASAP, nobles from each region, heck, even non-nobles as far as I’m concerned as long as they can do the job. I’m so sorry to hold you back from returning to your home, but could you do this for me?”
Isabeth looked to her husband. “We will do our best, although you know we’ve been removed from politics for many years. Still, in just the short time we’ve returned to court, it has been very easy to judge the character of those around us based on how they treat our return. Lanval has been well connected both within Thayl’s circles and without, and will be valuable indeed in making these decisions. You are right to ask for him.”
Memory nodded firmly and smiled at Erec and Peirs who waited at the entrance. She waved them in.
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