by Amy Sumida
“Well, Nature will have her way,” I noted. “I'm not about to start chopping down trees if that's what you're suggesting.”
The dryads gasped.
“I didn't think so.” I laughed. “So, why are you telling me this?”
“There are other signs that have led to horrifying suspicions, Elaria,” Reyne said. “The trees deeper within Primeval have begun to bleed.”
“Bleed?” I asked skeptically.
“Black sap,” he added. “The sap is toxic and has caused the soil to fester. It's as if the forest is infected—diseased.”
“That doesn't sound good,” I noted dryly.
“And then there are the most distressing incidents of all,” Reyne went on, “fairies have begun to go missing.”
“So, let me sum this up.” I held up my hands. “You have trees popping up on the borders of Primeval, then—further in—trees are being poisoned, and lastly, people have gone missing?”
“Yes, Your Majesty,” Reyne said. “I mean; Elaria.”
“What does the Trinity of Strength say about this?” I asked.
The fairies looked at each other warily.
“They have had several reactions,” Reyne said carefully. “First, they expressed concern and promised to discover the source of the infection as well as the cause of the disappearances. Then they told us that it was nothing; just the forest going through a growth spurt which was having strange repercussions and causing fairies to wander off. Finally, they grew angry with our questions, and have threatened several of us with physical harm should we continue to ask them.”
“They threatened you for pointing out problems and reporting missing people?” I lifted a brow.
“We have been told that we are the problem,” Reyne said sadly. “I fear, Elaria, that it is the Trinity who is the true problem. They are acting like our enemies, and that has never been our relationship.”
“And why tell me?” I asked.
“We wouldn't have,” Reyne admitted. “But then, you came into Primeval, and we saw it as fate. We need your help, Elaria. We have heard of your abilities and of your accomplishments. We believe that you were sent here by Tír na nÓg to help us.”
“You think the land sent me?” I lifted a brow. “I'm sorry, but I'm chasing a criminal.”
“Are you?” Reyne asked with a gentle smile. “Do you truly believe that you're here simply to find Queen Eileen? That you came into Primeval to hunt a woman who would already be hunted by the forest itself, merely for invading our borders.”
“I have wondered why I'm bothering,” I muttered.
“You are now a Jewel Queen, Elaria,” Reyne said. “You are connected to the land. It may not have life in the manner of you or me, but it is alive, and it knows when there is an imbalance. Ask your jewel, if you don't believe me.”
I frowned but also closed my eyes, reaching out for Kyanite. I felt him fill me immediately, and its deep, masculine voice rumbled through my mind.
Yes; I brought you here.
“Do you know what's happening?” I asked with surprise.
No; but I know it is not natural, and it will not remain in Primeval. If we do not act now, it will come for us.
“Well, sons of centaurs,” I whispered as I opened my eyes. “All right, Reyne; I'll help you.”
The fairies cheered.
Chapter Three
Reyne took me back to my group. The vines lowered us to the ground right in front of Declan. Declan looked at the long-fingered hand around my waist and then lifted a narrowed gaze to Reyne.
“You have two seconds to release my consort, dryad,” Declan growled.
“I'm fine, Declan,” I assured him as I stepped out of Reyne's grasp. “This is Reyne; he brought me up into the trees so that he could speak to me on behalf of the Lesser Fey.”
“Sweet stones!” Torin rushed up with the others. He grabbed me and hugged me tightly. “Barely into the forest and the very trees take you.” He held me away from himself to look me over. “Are you all right, Elaria?”
“I'm fine,” I said again. “Everyone, just relax,” I called out to the others. “Eileen has just become our second priority.”
“What?” Banning came forward. His blond hair was pulled back into a tight ponytail; showing off his classic good looks—and his beautiful green eyes, which were now glowing with fury. “We're letting that bitch go?”
“The fuck we are,” Cerberus growled. “I'm here to hunt, and no one is stopping me. Certainly not some tree-dudes.”
“We're not letting her go, but there is more to this now. We were drawn here by the land itself. Ask your gems,” I said to Declan and Torin.
But I'd forgotten that most Shining One monarchs needed to touch their aligned stone in order to hear it speak, and—being kings—they didn't need to wear jewelry to call on their gem's power. It was a matter of pride among Shining Ones to wear as little jewelry as possible. So, my consorts had to borrow rings from their knights before they could confirm my statement.
“Shit,” Declan whispered and then transferred his amethyst stare to Torin.
“Tell us what's happened here,” Torin bade Reyne.
Reyne repeated what he had told me as more Lesser Fey stepped out of the forest. Our group pulled in closer together, eyeing the fairies uneasily. There were more Lesser Fey than had been in the Canopy with me. Warty goblins, hunched bean-nighes, shaggy pukas, lumbering trolls, hauntingly beautiful leanan-sidhe, one-footed fachans, massive redcaps, and even the shy fauns were among the pixies and dryads now. They all stared solemnly at us.
“Poisoned trees?” Torin hissed. “We cannot have disease in Tír na nÓg!”
“No; we cannot, Your Majesty,” Reyne agreed. “We have been watching the Trinity of Strength, and have our suspicions. We believe they are the ones taking our people and hurting the trees.”
“Your leaders are abducting you and harming the very forest they're bound to protect?” Declan asked skeptically as he flicked his blood-red hair over his shoulder.
“They are not our leaders exactly,” Reyne corrected him. “They merely speak on our behalf, and—as representatives of our strengths—they are allowed to make certain decisions for the good of Primeval.”
“And you believe that they have made bad decisions?” Gage asked.
Gage's people—the Griffins—were born warriors, and they were the only ones who hadn't been disturbed by the appearance of the Lesser Fey. Instead, they stood tall and looked around themselves confidently, casually, and curiously.
“We believe it has gone beyond bad decisions,” Reyne amended. “They often sequester themselves in our most sacred temple; deep in Primeval.”
“That isn't damning,” Torin pointed out.
“The poisoned trees lie around the edges of this temple,” Reyne added.
“That is more suspicious,” Torin conceded dryly.
“We cannot get past the wards the Trinity has laid,” Reyne said. “They've always been powerful—they are our strengths, after all—but they seem to have grown more so recently.”
“Would you say that increase in power has coincided with the poisoning of the trees?” Declan asked.
“No,” Reyne said. “We noticed their power growing far earlier than that.”
Declan went pensive.
“But it did coincide with the start of the disappearances,” Reyne added.
“It sounds as if we need to get into this temple,” I said.
“We will help with the investigation as much as we can,” Reyne vowed. “At the very least, we will see you safely through Primeval.”
“So be it,” Torin agreed.
“Hold on,” Banning said. “I don't know if I want to take my people into this forest just to look into a gardening problem.”
“You don't have to,” I said gently. “I completely understand if you feel like this isn't your problem. I've said so before, Banning.”
“Elaria,” Banning huffed. “I'm here to find that bitch who
attacked us. I just don't like being diverted.”
“We will take care of the runaway queen,” Reyne promised. “We have eyes on her, even as we speak.”
“Then take us to her, and we can take care of her now,” Banning demanded.
Reyne looked uncomfortable.
“You have her, don't you?” Banning asked with narrowed eyes. “She's your bargaining chip.”
“We were unsure of your position,” Reyne said hesitantly.
“Is she alive?” I asked Reyne.
“Yes.” Reyne nodded. “We have Queen Eileen somewhere safe. We will gladly hand her over to you when you leave Primeval.”
“Well, where's the fun in that?” Cerberus grumbled.
“And if we choose to leave now?” Banning demanded.
“Banning,” I said chidingly.
“It's all right, Your Majesty,” Reyne said. “He's right; we won't give up our hostage until you've helped us. This is too important to the well-being of Primeval and Tír na nÓg as a whole. We must have some assurance.”
Banning grimaced at me.
“Kyanite led me here, Ban,” I said. “I'm doing this whether they hand over Eileen or not. This poison could leech into my kingdom and hurt my people. If you don't want to help us, that's fine, but don't give us any shit about wanting to do what's right for this realm.”
“Fair enough.” Banning sighed. “We're with you. You have helped my people; we owe you this much, at least.”
“Gage?” I looked at my griffin lover.
Gage just lifted an eyebrow in reproach.
“Right; I don't know why I even asked.” I chuckled. Then I turned to the dryad. “How far is this temple?”
“It will take roughly a week for us to reach it,” he said.
“How big is this fucking forest?” Banning asked in shock.
“Primeval covers about half of Tír na nÓg,” Reyne reported.
“So, it's the size of all of the Jewel Kingdoms put together,” Banning surmised. “Damn.”
“Not exactly,” Declan corrected him. “Primeval is half the planet, but then there is the Sgàthan Sea. That covers about a sixth of the planet.”
“And there is an ocean within Primeval,” Reyne added.
“What?” Torin and Declan asked in stereo.
“The Arana,” Reyne explained. “It's bigger than the Sgàthan. That takes about a fifth of the planet.”
“There was an ocean that you two didn't know about?” I smirked at the kings.
“None of us knew of it.” Torin waved a hand to indicate his knights, who were shaking their heads dutifully. “We don't venture into Primeval.”
“So, that's half, plus a sixth, plus a fifth,” I mused. “Yeah; I don't know what that equals, but it sounds as if the Jewel Kingdoms have shrunk.”
“And are shrinking even more,” Declan said grimly. “Let's stop wasting time; we have a lot of ground to cover.”
“Says the fairy who didn't know about an entire ocean,” Banning muttered to Gage.
The two of them chuckled.
“Do you really want to trade words with me, Prince Banning?” Declan lifted a blood-red brow. “Oh, excuse me; are you keeping the title of prince or have you entirely abdicated your little vampire throne for Elaria?”
Banning stopped laughing and focused his glowing, narrowed stare on Declan. “What the fuck did you just say to me, pervert?”
“Hey!” I stepped between the men. “That is enough. We are working together or not at all. And when I say 'not at all' I mean that if you can't be nice, you can take your people and get the fuck out of this forest right the fuck now. Everyone got that?”
The men grumbled and gave me petulant looks, but they eventually nodded.
“Good,” I said with satisfaction. “And by the way; people need to stop calling Declan a pervert since he only does those perverted things with me. Do the math and figure out who exactly you're insulting.”
“I'm sorry, Elaria,” Banning said sincerely. “I didn't mean anything by it.”
“Okay.” I looked back at Reyne. “Before we head to the temple, I'd like to take a look at some of these new trees you mentioned.”
“This way, Your Majesty,” Reyne said immediately.
We started following Reyne and his people out of Primeval. Everyone went silent; focused on the magnitude of what we'd heard.
Declan eased up beside me and whispered, “What is the definition of a pervert?”
“What?” I glanced at him in surprise.
“What is the English definition of the word 'pervert?'” Declan repeated. “Because if you think it's an insult, I must have been taught incorrectly.”
“Ah.” I cleared my throat. “A pervert is someone who is a sexual deviant.”
“Someone who enjoys sex in every way possible?” Declan asked.
“Yes; you could put it like that,” I agreed. “But usually, it means someone who enjoys sexual things that aren't socially acceptable.”
“Such as?”
“Such as...” I floundered a bit. “Shit; I don't even know what's sexually unacceptable these days. I think pretty much anything goes.”
“So, what's a pervert?” Declan asked.
“I suppose it would be someone who is overly sexual,” I mused. “Someone who would rather be having sex than doing anything else. A person who thinks about it constantly and considers sex to be a priority in life.”
“Humph,” Declan made a satisfied sound. “Then I didn't have the meaning wrong. I simply fail to see the insult; I am most definitely a pervert.”
“You and I both, buddy,” Gage smacked Declan on the back. “I'm a pervert, and I'm proud of it.”
Banning and Torin just rolled their eyes, but Reyne was staring at the men with a mix of amusement and horror.
I just smiled painfully at Reyne; in the way of embarrassed girlfriends.
Chapter Four
“How can you tell it's new?” Banning asked as he eyed the massive tree growing just outside of the edge of Primeval.
“Look at it,” Torin said in an awed tone. “It's perfect; no broken branches, no mars in its bark. Every leaf looks as if it were freshly grown, and yet it is the size of a fully matured tree.”
“Huh.” Banning scowled and moved closer. “You're right. And check out the earth around the roots.”
I crouched down to get a better look at the soil surrounding the tree. The grass was rolled over onto itself; full clumps of sod flipped back as if something had shot up through the earth rapidly. I looked up the smooth trunk; there were still traces of dirt clinging to it in places. I laid my hand on the bark and felt a strange vibration. I stood up with a scowl.
“There's something very odd about this tree,” I announced.
“Well, for starters; it doesn't feel like a tree,” Odin announced.
I glanced over to where he stood—his palm laid against the trunk—and gave him a questioning look.
“The energy, I mean,” he clarified. “Tree energy is more... sluggish, for lack of a better word. It's a very slow, ponderous life force. It's steady and very patient. This tree feels anxious, angry even. This is an angry tree.”
“Why doesn't that surprise me?” Banning asked as he eyed Primeval warily.
“Those trees are not angry, Banning,” Odin clarified. “They may be more vibrant and aware than trees in the Human Realm, but they still feel like trees; their base vibrations are the same. This doesn't feel like a tree.”
“It has grown rapidly and doesn't feel like a tree,” I murmured. “I think it's safe to assume that it was magically induced to grow. Maybe that's what has angered it; being forced to move quickly instead of naturally.”
“That would make sense,” Odin agreed. “I'd like to take a look at the black sap that the poisoned trees are bleeding.”
“So would I.” I looked at Reyne.
“Then you're ready to head to the temple?” Reyne asked.
“We're ready,” I confirmed. “Lead
on.”
Chapter Five
I was expecting to have to sleep on the ground. We had brought basic camping supplies for that very purpose. But we were traveling with the residents of Primeval now, and that came with some perks. One of them was a bed.
