by Amy Sumida
“Me too,” I whispered.
“And now I have some news,” she said as she pulled away from me. She drew a piece of parchment from the pocket of her skirt and handed it to me. “We found this near the dock, tied to a tree.”
“Another fucking letter,” I snarled as I took it.
“Do you want me to read it again?” Declan asked gently.
“No; I've got it.” I stopped to send him a smile. “I'm feeling much stronger now.”
“We all are, sweetheart,” Banning said with a smirk. “I hate to admit it, but this spell is better than blood.”
I unrolled the parchment and read aloud, “As you crumbled my world, I will crumble yours. How does it feel to have everything you love obliterated? Watching you suffer is a balm to my own heartache, but I'm far from finished. I look forward to our next interlude.”
“I've already checked with our surveillance teams,” Declan said. “Neither Galen nor Ava have left the Human Realm, and no one has visited them.”
“Have they gone to dinner or shopping; anywhere they might have interacted with others?” I asked.
“They have, but they were monitored closely,” Vivian answered, “and all of the people who they spoke to were verified as human and in no way connected to the Beneath.”
“Then it's not Galen.” I sighed. “And that rules out Ava as well. Someone really is setting her up, but it's not her ex-husband.”
“Then who?” Banning groaned.
“I think we need to investigate the manticores more,” I suggested grimly.
“I've had some witches watching the manticore prides,” Odin said as he strode up. “I'll check with them. I agree that this is vicious enough to have been orchestrated by the manticores, but I find it hard to believe that they would strike at the Coven. They've tasted our anger in the past, and it was enough to leave a lasting bitterness in their mouths.”
“Okay, let me know what you find, Odin,” I said. “I'm going to head back to Kyanite. I have an entire kingdom to worry about now, and it seems like it would be the perfect place for the next monster attack.”
Odin nodded, and Vivian hugged me once more before my men and I headed to Tír na nÓg.
Chapter Forty-Five
I put the Kyanite Castle on lock-down as soon as I got there. The patrols were doubled along the borders of the kingdom, and no one was let in or out besides me and my consorts. So, when Sara showed up on horseback with all of her belongings in a satchel, she was detained. The captain of the team who encountered her contacted my steward, and William delivered the message to me. By the time Sara was allowed into the castle, she was a bit peeved.
“What in all the realms is going on?” Sara stormed through the main hall. “I abandon Onyx to come to your aid, and I end up being treated like a trespasser!”
“I know, Sara.” I held up my hand. “I'm sorry.”
“I can't go back after the fuss I made over you,” she snapped. “You have to take me in.”
“I will, of course, I will,” I said gently. “You left Onyx for me?”
“Of course I did!” She stomped over and hugged me. “You're my friend.”
“Thank you.” I hugged her back. “I'm sorry you were treated poorly. They know who you are now.”
She huffed some blonde hair out of her face and gave me a considering look—as in; she was considering whether to forgive me or not.
“My closest friends and family have been attacked,” I explained. “That's why I closed my borders.”
“Attacked?” She went still. “King Torin didn't say anything about attacks.”
“King Torin is being a royal asshole,” Declan drawled.
“Indeed, he is, Your Majesty.” Sara bobbed a curtsy to Declan. “An asshole and an idiot. He's actually visited that insipid Queen Eileen four times! At least I didn't have to watch her fawn all over him...” she trailed off when she saw my face. “Never mind that, Queen Elaria; just tell me what I can do to help.”
“Just you being here is a huge help,” I said. “It will be nice to have someone in my court who I already trust.”
“I figured you'd be needing me to watch your back.” Sara nodded determinedly. “I asked King Torin if I could come for a visit, just to help you out until you had things under control, but he flat out refused.”
“So you told him to kiss your ass?”
“Something a bit more fey than that, but yes; that was the gist of it.” Sara smirked.
“You're the best, Sara.” I hugged her again. “Thank you for coming.”
“Eh, it's not like I'm an onyx fairy. I was only there because Torin treats his people well, and I don't have to watch a bunch of fairies fuck at dinner every night.” She shrugged, but I saw her face flush with pride.
“If rank were mine to give, I'd make you a duchess,” I declared. “I'm that grateful to have you with me.”
“You can't give her nobility, but you can make her a lady of the court,” Declan said casually, and Sara's eyes went wide.
“No, no; it's not necessary,” Sara protested. “I'll be happy with a simple salary.”
“You don't want to be a lady because it doesn't pay a wage?” I smirked at her.
“As a lady, she'd be provided for by her court,” Declan inserted. “The stipend is in return for her making her home here, and offering unwavering loyalty. She will also be expected to help defend the castle if it were ever under attack.”
“I'd defend Elaria anyway.” Sara scowled at both of us. “And I don't think I've earned a title; I'm just a maid.”
“You just defected for me. I think you've earned a place in my court,” I huffed. “Yes or no, Sara; I'll let you decide.”
“A lady?” She whispered. “But then who will do your hair?”
I laughed loud enough to attract even more attention than we were already receiving from the kyanite shining ones milling about the main hall.
“Hey, I'm damn good at it,” Sara snapped.
“You are,” I admitted, “but I value you for more than your hairdressing skills.”
“I could still do your hair,” she offered.
“That too, I will leave up to you, Lady Sara,” I said with a grin.
“Thank you, Your Majesty,” Sara went serious and dropped into a deep curtsy. “It will be my honor to join your court.”
“And this way, Torin can't force you back to his,” Declan noted.
“What's this now?” I asked. “I thought Shining Ones were free to choose where they wished to live?”
“They are, but Sara was employed by King Torin,” Declan explained. “You didn't stay past your contract, did you?” He asked Sara.
“No,” she whispered and made a face. “His Majesty's right; I'm in breach of contract with the Onyx King.”
“But now that you're a lady, the contract doesn't apply,” Declan concluded. “That position is beneath you, so Torin can't force you to fulfill it.”
“You knew that all along,” I accused him with a smirk.
“Of course.” Declan shrugged with a self-satisfied expression.
“Sneaky bastard,” I said affectionately.
Yes; I have the most cunning of tongues.” Declan gave me a wicked look. “Care to put it to the test in a more intimate setting?”
“Absolutely,” I accepted, and Declan's hand started to wander. I pushed him away gently. “Later tonight. I need to see Sara settled and then I want to check in with my parents.”
“Pyrosvesti is concealed by a ward, isn't it?” Declan asked about my parent's private island.
“Yeah; they should be safe, but I want to check on them just in case.”
“Very well.” Declan sighed. “I need to contact my own kingdom anyway. I'll see you this evening, my love.”
I kissed Declan, and he wandered off to find some privacy to make his calls. Sara stared at us with wide eyes.
“What?” I asked her.
“I just never thought to see the Alexandrite King so taken with on
e woman,” she murmured.
“Declan was a bit of a playboy,” I agreed, “but even a playboy has to settle down eventually.”
“Not shining one playboys”—Sara gave me a sassy look—“especially not shining one, playboy kings.”
“All right, Declan's love for me is a little surprising,” I admitted.
“And I heard that you snagged a griffin.”
“I didn't snag him.” I rolled my eyes as I turned to lead Sara upstairs. “He's my soul mate.”
“Griffins don't mate non-griffins,” she said. “So, he can't be your soul mate.”
“He is my soul mate, and we're mated,” I started to sound as sassy as she did. “So, there.”
Sara burst into laughter, and I joined her.
“I missed you, Queen Elaria,” she said softly.
“I've missed you too,” I whispered. Then I added gruffly, “But don't go getting all sappy on me.”
“Hey!” She pointed at me. “You have to be nice to me now; I'm a lady.”
“I'm pretty sure that I don't.” I started walking again.
“Um, I'm pretty sure that I know more about it than you do.”
“Keep it up, and you won't get the room I was going to give you in your own tower,” I threatened.
“A tower?” She squeaked. “One of the favored rooms?”
“You might not be a favorite for long.” I grimaced.
“I take it back!” She exclaimed. “Yell at me all you want, just let me have the tower. Oh sweet stones, a tower for my very own.”
“Well, you can't watch my back from a lower floor, Rapunzel,” I pretended to huff angrily. “Come on; I'll get the key from William.”
“I have a tower with a key?” Sara shrieked in happiness. “You have my love and loyalty forever!”
“And an elevator.”
“An elevator!” She looked as if she were going to faint. “I get to ride in an elevator.”
Who knew that a tower, a key, and an elevator could bring so much happiness?
Chapter Forty-Six
Two weeks went by without any monster sightings. All of my relatives had been warned, even the spellsingers—who vowed to scour the earth for the son of a bitch who would dare come after one of their own. No; they definitely weren't the ones stealing monsters. It looked as if the spellsingers had completely gotten over their anger at being left out of Thomas' killing—thank all that was holy. Ava went back to her home in the Bloodstone Kingdom, and Galen was still being monitored, though not as thoroughly as he was before.
Which left me back at square one. The manticores hadn't left the realm, though they had been caught doing all manner of unspeakable things. Some things had been bad enough that the witches stepped in and took matters into their own hands, but none of those things had any connection to me or monsters (besides the monstrous manticores themselves).
The stress finally got to me, and I decided to take my men and run. Well, just for a little while. Declan, Banning, Gage, and I went to my home in Hawaii for a little R&R. It was just what we needed; a few days relaxing in the sun on the soft sand and making love in the sea at night. Things had gotten so comfortable between the four of us, that affection, and even sex, had become natural. One of the best nights of my life was when the three of them laid a blanket in my backyard and made love to me beneath the stars. The vine-draped, stone walls surrounding my property made it perfect for such rendezvous; the yard and my strip of beach were completely private. Our lovemaking that night had been a languorous, hedonistic event interspersed with ocean swims and tropical fruit fed to—and sometimes off of—me.
On the fourth day there, the men decided to do some grilling in the backyard. They even put up a pop-up pavilion for Banning to relax under. I, however, went to sit on the beach and stretch my feet out to the lapping waves. I sighed and closed my eyes, soaking up the sunlight and the happy peace that came with being near my lovers and the ocean, all at once. There was still a small wound in my heart left by Torin, but I wasn't letting it fester any longer, and I was beginning to have hope that it would heal. The scent of salt, smoke, and sizzling steak made me smile, and I was about to say screw it, and just lie down in the sand despite my lack of blanket, when I was splashed with sea-spray, and a reptilian roar jerked my eyes open.
I stared, frozen with shock, at a gowrow; a type of lake monster. My first insane thought was that it shouldn't be in the ocean; gowrows preferred fresh water and had difficulty processing saline. My second thought was that it had beautiful skin; a forest green with an opalescent sheen to it. Then my brain registered the curving tusks longer than my forearms and the mouthful of sinister teeth. A barb-tipped tail lashed out of the water, lifting high in the air behind the beast, as my men ran up beside me. Declan and Banning each grabbed me beneath an arm as Gage stepped before us with his sword extended. Gage cared for the beasts of Torr-Chathair, but he loved me. He would sooner kill the gowrow than let it near me.
The gowrow roared and lurched forward as I was drawn back. My mind raced through music as I tried to come up with the best way to send a water creature through a portal. But as I mentally fumbled, female laughter drew my attention upward. Standing on my rock wall was Queen Eileen of Copper, her red hair pulled back in a tight braid and her hands set on her hips in a classic comic book hero pose. I gaped at her as she smirked down at me.
“Jewels, but you are a dumb one, aren't you?” Eileen sneered. “Or have you hurt so many people that you couldn't wheedle it down to me?”
“This was all you?” I asked in shock as I got to my feet.
“Mostly.” She shrugged with a smug smile.
“Just one moment, Queen Eileen,” Declan promised viciously. “I have a minor pest problem to deal with before I deal with you; our major pest problem.”
The sound of Gage's sword striking flesh, the flash of Declan's magic, Banning's shouts, and the screech of the gowrow became background music as everything clicked into place.
“This is because of your husband,” I said in epiphany. “You found out that I killed him.”
“Found out?” She huffed. “Who else could it have been? Who had the power to tear a fairy king to pieces? Only the relic bearer.”
“I didn't do that to your husband,” I protested. “Not I or my magic.”
“Whose then?” Eileen growled.
But I couldn't tell her about the bombs. Those who had been involved in the mission to collect and destroy the copper bombs had been sworn to secrecy, and for good reason. If it got out that copper could be used to create magic grenades, war would reach a fearsome level in Tír na nÓg... and then it would spread to all of the other realms.
“It was a magical rebound,” I finally said. “I merely deflected his attack on me.”
“You're a fucking liar!” She screeched and then calmed as she took in the scene around us. “But it doesn't matter anymore; you'll be dead soon enough, along with all of your loved ones. I only stayed behind so I could tell you to your face that I'm headed to Onyx next. I've finally got Torin to trust me enough to allow me past his onyx gardens, and as soon as I'm there, I'll be able to travel out, and back again with a flock of drekavacs.”
“You evil bitch!” I screamed, but Gage's shout distracted me.
I spun to check on him, and when I turned back, Eileen was gone. But my mind had cleared in the interim, and I knew exactly what song to use to send the gowrow home.
“Be a dear and open a portal, Declan,” I purred as Kyanite rose to my bidding and music started to play around us.
“My pleasure.” Declan directed his energy out behind the gowrow, into the shallows.
A patch of sparkling light grew wider, pushing back the ocean to reveal a freshwater lake on Torr-Chathair. The gowrow paused, scenting its home, and looked over its shoulder briefly. But it was wounded and furious, and it instinctively knew that it needed to deal with the threat to its safety before it could go home. The gowrow roared and surged forward, but I was already into the
chorus of “Ember” by Katherine McNamara. Fire flared up between Gage and the gowrow, and the monster shrieked as it fell back into a tangle of limbs and tail. It snapped at the air anxiously as it shambled to its feet.
I sang on, the lyrics shifting into exactly what I needed. The story had strong bones on its own; a woman burning the evil in her past to rise from the ashes like a phoenix. But the ember of Katherine's song sparked the real fire that I needed to drive the lake monster back where it belonged. Yes; I used fire a lot. My father is a fire witch, and I inherited a kinship for it. So, my spellsinging tended to do better with fiery music, but in this instance, it was simply the best tool for the job.
