by Amy Sumida
Even though I'd been suspicious of Az before, his explanation wasn't so farfetched. The magic had responded similarly to violent stimulus before and this whole mess had begun with an explosion. The wild magic was obviously unstable and aggressively defensive. And now that I knew why Azrael had been acting like such an ass, I could accept his behavior as well. He was consumed by primal, ferocious magic and it was making him act like an animal in many ways. But he was still in there and he still loved me. I had to believe that there was a chance to free him.
“You should have told me when we were below the castle,” I chided.
“Yes, I should have,” he admitted. “But do you blame me for wanting to keep it from you? Look at how you've responded.”
“I only responded like this because you kept it from me,” I grumbled.
“I don't think it was only because of that.” He nuzzled my forehead with his. “I'm sorry I didn't tell you about the magic.”
“I'm sorry I blamed you for the world being on fire.”
“I forgive you.” Azrael stepped back, opened his wings, and smiled softly at me. “Now, will you tell me how we can pull back the magic?”
“I don't know if this will allow us to call the magic back, but King Cian suggested that we anchor it,” I said. “That was when there were five locations though. He thought that the Royals of Faerie could each take one location and create a well of their element to set the magic and stabilize it. Now that the magic has spread so far perhaps we can just choose five places for the wells?”
“No, the magic stems from the rath,” Azrael said pensively. “We'd have to anchor it here, near its source.”
“Oh,” I whispered. “Could the royals create their wells here? Perhaps five wells around the rath would work.”
“I don't know enough about the wells to say this with absolute certainty but I think one well would be enough. One well for all of the elements. And I think I could create it.”
“You just said that you don't know enough about them,” I protested. “I think we should ask the other monarchs to help.”
“I don't want them here, Vervain.” Azrael turned on his heel and strode to the steps that led up to the battlements and the wall-walk.
“Why not?” I hurried after him.
“They want to send the magic back to Faerie.” Once Az reached the walk, he headed along it toward the back of the castle. “I don't want that.”
“Cian doesn't think it's possible to send the magic back,” I said. “All he wants to do is restrain it—give us some control over it. And you said that you couldn't close the rath, even if you wanted to so why do you think he could?”
“I'm not talking about closing the rath, I'm talking about removing the magic from Earth. If Cian is right and the wells stabilize the magic, creating a way to control it fully, then that control would be wielded by those who build the wells. What would stop them from removing the magic entirely?”
“They can't remove it once they build wells,” I argued. “The wells would give the magic a foothold, like a base camp, and once that's established, it would be here for good.”
“And it would be under their control.” Azrael narrowed his eyes at me. “Is that what you want? Is that why you suggested this? To take power away from me?”
“What I want is the world back to what it was.”
“And that's the last thing that I want. Look at it.” He waved a hand over the wall, at the magical forest that surrounded us. “How could you want that to go away? The world is more beautiful than it has ever been. Perhaps we should leave the magic wild. Let it do what it will.”
“Azrael, wild magic is dangerous. You heard what they said—people are being transformed and attacked. They're dying.”
I paused, wondering where my men and the God Squad were and why they hadn't shown up yet. I would have thought they'd at least try to talk to Azrael if things had gotten this bad. Why hadn't they come? Why hadn't any gods or faeries come to confront Az? You'd think the other gods would be outraged and gods are subtle when they're raging. Unless they had come by, and Azrael hadn't told me about that either. We'd been underground after all and the castle was warded. It's not as if I would have heard them.
“I told you, Carus, suffering is a part of growth—growing pains, they call it,” Azrael said. “Some will have to die so that the planet may live. Why can't you understand that?”
“Az, did anything else happen while we were underground?” I asked hesitantly. “Did we have other visitors that you haven't told me about?”
“Are you asking if your ex-lovers have come for you?” Azrael's lips twisted wryly. “No, Carus, they haven't. They have abandoned you to me.”
“No, they haven't and they aren't my exes.”
“They have,” he said confidently. “They believe you are with me now. They must have seen the news reports and all of those cellphone videos that doubtless made their way to the Internet. You've been at my side through it all. They would see that and know what it means.”
I went silent.
“Why don't we go for a flight?” Azrael suggested brightly. “You're worried and I want to ease your mind. I think if you were to see for yourself that the Earth is better off with these changes, you might be able to embrace them as I have.”
“A flight?” I asked and looked off across the treetops. “Invisible?”
“No, Carus,” Azrael drawled as he slid up behind me and wrapped his arms around my waist, “we don't have to hide any longer, remember? We may fly wherever we wish, however we wish.”
“Okay,” I whispered, a tinge of excitement running through me that I immediately felt guilty about.
“Bring forth your wings, Goddess of Fire,” he whispered back and then moved aside to give me space.
I summoned my wings and the darkness that clothed me shifted around them. No more ruined clothing; that was a plus.
“So beautiful.” Azrael ran his hand over the golden membrane of one of my wings.
It was like having a fingertip trailed over my lower back—almost naughty. I shivered and spread my wings wide. “Where shall we go?”
“We can fly toward Austin,” he suggested. “Then you can see the truth of what's befallen the human cities.”
“All right.” I squared my shoulders and climbed up onto a merlon—the top of a battlement crenelation—with Azrael's help.
Azrael got up on another merlon a few down from mine, using the crenelation as a step, and grinned over at me. We lifted our wings and jumped. Air cracked against leather and feathers, catching us and sending us swooping upward. We glided over the treetops and off across Lexington. Despite Azrael's relocation of the homes closest to the castle, Lexington's layout remained mostly the same. But it was the only thing that was the same. The entire town had been overtaken by nature. I could still see the black asphalt and the buildings off the main street, but trees had burst through the roads, vines wound around the lampposts, and plants covered the architecture like moss on a boulder.
There was no one outside, only animals prowled the town and it was early afternoon. Most of them were strange creatures with bright fur, feathers, or scales but some were ordinary earth animals that had wandered free of their pens and stalls. A cow munched happily on faerie plants beside something that looked like a cross between a badger and a wolf. A massive bird flew past us, crying in joy, its vibrant feathers trailing behind it, and in the distance, a flock of starlings billowed and spiraled in phenomenal patterns. My heart lightened to see them sharing the sky—the old with the new, both magical in their own ways. Then the giant fey bird dove and snatched up the badger/wolf before flying off with its prey hanging limp from its talons.
My heart rethought the whole lightness thing.
“Circle of life, Carus,” Azrael called over to me as the murmuration of starlings murmured away. “It is the same on Earth as it is in Faerie.”
“Fair enough,” I muttered.
We flew over the police station that wa
s now more of an open-air building. The roof was gone. Not crumbled or broken, just gone. And the walls were shards of quartz crystal. Metal desks sat abandoned within their transparent cubicles, looking out of place and very post-apocalyptic. Papers collected in corners, stirring lethargically in the breeze, and the station coffee pot was barely visible beneath a layer of lichen. I once again hoped that Cowboy Cop was all right but on the heels of that thought came one for my family—my human family on Earth.
“Forget Austin,” I said suddenly, meaning the town, not the cop. “I need to trace to California and make sure my mom's okay.”
Azrael frowned but also nodded, and we descended so we could step into the Aether. He'd been to my mom's house before so I didn't have to lead him but he took my hand anyway.
“I'm not going to run from you, Azrael,” I said firmly. “You need to trust me.”
Azrael sighed but nodded, released my hand, and stepped back. Honestly, I was a little surprised by that. I mean, I could have used my ring to leave him at any time if I'd wanted to, but he didn't know that or hadn't remembered it, and I wasn't about to remind him.
“Thank you,” I said instead, then put away my wings and traced away.
I came out of the Aether on my mother's doorstep. A jungle of fey plants surrounded her home and the old tree in the front yard now breathed, but the construction of the house appeared to be the same. The house across the street hadn't fared so well and now looked a little like an anthill. A rustling came from the bushes near the front door and then a growl. I turned toward the sound and snarled just as Azrael appeared. Another rustling came, this time of an animal fleeing.
I knocked urgently on the door. There was no answer.
“Mom!” I shouted and knocked more. “Mom!” I tried to peer in the window but the curtains were drawn. I hurried around to the backyard, shoving aside enormous ferns and the branches of a monstrous bush bursting with yellow berries. Something snake-like slithered by and hissed at me. I hissed back and shouted again, “Mom!”
I made it into the backyard after what felt like a hike through the Amazon. My mother's favorite fig tree now bore crimson fruit and looked more like a willow... a willow that attracted glowing butterflies. Her wind chimes were tangled with sparkling webs and a pond bubbled up right outside her backdoor. She had several outdoor cats who could always be found lounging on her patio but not a single kitty snoozed on the wooden bench. My heart started to race. I went to the backdoor and knocked again.
“Mom! Hello?!” I went to the window and slapped the glass. “Is anyone in there!”
Azrael tried the handle and the backdoor opened. Before he could go in, I pushed past him and rushed inside. It was a mess but in a way that implied frantic packing as opposed to looting. I barreled through the rooms. They were empty. I went to the phone but it was dead.
“I'm sure they're all right,” Azrael said.
“You don't know that!” I shouted and shoved him in the chest. “Where are they, Az? Where's my family?! What did the magic do to them?”
“I don't know, my love,” he gentled his tone. “But I'm sure the Intare would have come for them.”
I let out a breath. “You're right. They would have. But I need to go to Pride Palace and be sure.”
“No.” Azrael grabbed my wrist.
“Azrael, let go of me,” I said in a warning tone.
“You promised, Carus. You said that you would stay with me. You said I could trust you.”
“I just need to make sure that they're okay.”
“You can mirror them. Your mother must have some eyebright here; she's a witch.”
“Yeah, okay,” I gave in. I ran to my mother's altar room and searched through the bottles in her cupboard. “Here it is!” I snatched the bottle of eyebright and hurried to the closest mirror. I practically smacked the glass as I rubbed the herb across it and called out, “Arach, King of Fire.”
“Why are you calling him?” Azrael demanded.
“Because he's fey,” I said absently. “He'll sense my call even if he's not near a mirror.”
It took Arach twenty seconds to appear in my mother's dresser mirror, during which time, Azrael scowled continuously. Once he saw that it was me, Arach went limp with relief, his shoulders drooping and his dragon eyes flashing fire briefly.
“A Thaisce,” Arach whispered as he ran a hand over the glass. “You're safe.”
“I am,” I assured him. “I'm sorry to have worried you. I thought you'd at least know that I was okay.”
“I did, I just... seeing you in videos taken by humans and actually speaking to you are two different things. I knew you were alive but I didn't know if you were safe.”
“I am.” I glanced at Az and then back at Arach. “But things have become complicated.”
“Is Azrael there?” Viper demanded as he pushed his way into view.
Arach snarled and Viper went flying. The Fire King came back into the mirror but was staring off in Viper's direction. “Don't make me break your nose again, serpent!”
Viper leaned back into, completely undeterred. “Is that feathered fucker there, Vervain?”
“That feathered fucker is right here.” Azrael came to stand behind me, his arms crossed over his broad chest. “What is it that you want to say to me, star-snake?”
“You'd better not have hurt her, dickhead!” Viper snapped. “That's what I've got to say. And I'm gonna—”
“I am fine!” I shouted and both men went still. “Now, will someone please tell me if my mommy is safe!”
“She's here, A Thaisce, and she's well,” Arach said gently. “She's here with your step-father, brother, and sister.”
“And a lot of cats,” Viper added. “We had to give her a big suite so she could keep them confined.”
“Austin, Tristan, Jackson, Krystal, and Sommer are here with Sommer's family too. And Thor said that he picked up Kaitlin,” Trevor leaned into view. He smiled and added, “Hey, beautiful.”
“Thank you.” I let out a relieved breath. “And hey, yourself, Honey-Eyes.”
“Why have you kept her from us, Azrael?” Odin's voice came through the mirror before Viper moved aside and allowed Odin to step into view. “Why did you mute our bonds?”
“She is no longer yours, Allfather,” Azrael said simply. “Vervain is now the Faerie Goddess and belongs with me.”
Viper snorted. “Faerie Goddess, what bullshit. She's the Trinity Star, you asshole!”
“What she is, is mine,” Azrael snarled.
“All right, that's enough!” I declared. “I just needed to know if my family was safe. Thank you for looking after them. Now, Azrael and I are going flying. He wants me to see what's happened for myself. I'll mirror you when we get back to Lexington.”
“You haven't seen it yet?” Arach asked in a guarded tone.
“No, but I imagine it will take a long time to check it out. In fact, we might fly to San Francisco since we're in California. We have two options.” I widened my eyes at my fey husband, hoping he'd take the hint. “There are so many choices really. Lots of places for us to go. We could trace anywhere. Not like in Faerie where there's only one tracing point. The Earth is open for travel—all but the castle, of course, that's warded. So, don't panic if you don't hear from me again for hours.”
Arach blinked. “I won't.”
“That is incorrect. She will not be contacting you again,” Azrael said stiffly.
“Yes, I will,” I growled. “I said I wouldn't leave you but I didn't say that I would cut them out of my life for you, Azrael.”
“Carus, you must. We are meant to become the Gods of Earth.”
“We'll talk about it later,” I snapped. To Arach, I said, “I'll see you soon. Stay well, Dragon.”
Arach's eyes widened in understanding and he nodded. “I will. I love you, Vervain.”
“I love—”
Azrael swiped a handful of eyebright over the mirror and cut off the call.
I glared at him.
“Azrael!”
“They are your past, Carus,” he said firmly. “You must accept it and look to the future.”
I shook my head at him and stormed out of the house. Azrael chased after me.
“Lock the door,” I growled over my shoulder at him. “We don't want any more assholes breaking in.”
Chapter Forty-Seven
We decided to trace to Paris. Mainly because the thought of flying around the Eiffel Tower tickled me pink and I needed a bit of a pick-me-up, but also, I was hoping the situation had improved the general Parisian attitude, which—sorry, but it's true—lacks a certain, shall we say, warmth. We traced right to the foot of the famous tower because, again, why not? I gaped up at it for five minutes before I was able to speak. And it was not because I was stricken silent by its grandeur.
