The Oaken Throne

by Sara C. Roethle

She was glad he wasn’t looking at her, and therefore couldn’t see her startled expression. She’d hoped to at least appear like she knew what she was doing. Keiren hadn’t let her go when she brought her to the in-between, but also had not seemed worried about the possibility. Perhaps it had not been a risk since Ealasaid had magic of her own.

  “Maarav?” she called out.

  A moment later, he appeared beside the bed.

  “Could you perhaps bind our hands together?”

  He raised a dark brow at her. “Are you marrying him now too?” Despite his quip, he turned to the wardrobe to fetch a length of green ribbon meant for belting one of Ealasaid’s dresses. Running the soft ribbon once through his hands, he began binding their wrists together.

  Ealasaid met Maarav’s eyes as he finished, conveying her worry.

  He gave her a wink, then stepped back.

  Trying to remain calm, she shut her eyes. “You’ll need to do your best to sleep,” she instructed Kai. “Hopefully with you this close, I’ll be able to take you to the Gray Place with me.”

  “Might you accidentally take me one of these days?” Maarav asked curiously. “When I’m the one sleeping next to you.”

  She shook her head against her pillow. “I wouldn’t try to go if you were lying next to me. You needn’t worry. Now be quiet, we are trying to sleep.”

  Maarav muttered under his breath, but he obeyed. She listened as his footsteps receded to a chair, then the wood creaked as he sat.

  It was a good thing she was exhausted, else she never would have been able to sleep in such an odd situation. As it was, weariness soon took her, and when she opened her eyes, she was in a land shrouded with mist.

  Kai cursed every god, king, and queen he could think of as he opened his eyes to find himself in a strange land. It had actually worked. Ealasaid had brought him to the Gray Place, and he was conscious for the experience, unlike the last time.

  He looked to his left to find Ealasaid standing there, peering around, but not touching him.

  “We’re no longer holding hands,” he observed, “yet I’m still here?”

  She turned to look up at him. “Our bodies are still touching, we’re only here in mind. As I understand, when you came here before, it was in mind and body. This is more akin to a dream.”

  He exhaled a sigh of relief. He far preferred to be in this strange land only in his mind.

  “We should start searching,” she urged. “Hopefully Finn will be here in her dreams, or perhaps someone else . . . ” she trailed off. She started walking, leaving Kai with little choice but to follow.

  “Someone else?” he questioned as he caught up to her, stepping around low brambles shrouded in mist. It was nighttime in this realm too, making it difficult to see their footing.

  Ealasaid nodded distantly, her attention on their surroundings. “I met a woman here the other night who looked almost exactly like Finn, except with long brown hair, and more angular features. She claimed to be her mother.”

  “Ah,” he observed, “that would be Móirne. She is indeed Finn’s mother. What did she say to you?”

  Ealasaid halted in her tracks, then slowly turned toward him, her eyes wide. “You mean you’ve met her, have you met the other Cavari?”

  Kai raised a brow at her. “I’ve personally met only her, but she’s one of the good ones as far as I’m concerned. She protected Finn from the Cavari until she could remember who she was.”

  Ealasaid pursed her lips in thought. After a moment, she asked, “Do you think I can trust what she told me? I was unsure of her motives, especially since what she said was in alignment with what . . . someone else wants.”

  Kai wasn’t quite sure what she was talking about, but he shrugged. “Yes and no. I’d guess that whatever Móirne wants is something that will help Finn, but that might not necessarily be something that will help you, and it surely isn’t what Finn actually wants.”

  “I thought I sensed you here,” a voice said from behind them.

  Kai turned. “Ah,” he observed, looking Móirne up and down, “we were just talking about you.”

  Ealasaid stepped in front of Kai. “What do you want?” she demanded of Móirne.

  Móirne smirked at her with a cold, calculating expression they’d likely never see on Finn’s face. Without answering, she turned her attention back to Kai. “You have my daughter’s blood in your veins. I sensed you. She’s very upset that you left. In fact, your shortsightedness may have doomed us all.”

  “What do you mean?” he hissed, stepping around Ealasaid. He’d left to save Finn.

  Móirne’s shoulders slumped with a heavy sigh. “Truly, you mortals are tiresome. As her friend, you should have seen that she was teetering on the brink as it was. You and your other companions served to keep her humanity in place. Without you, she is too susceptible to her magical nature. It will overcome her, making her as she once was.”

  Kai shook his head in disbelief. “She was going to give me another part of her immortality. I could not let her weaken herself, and she still has other humans near her.”

  Móirne shook her head. “The others have departed. She has only Iseult, her last remaining link to the world of man. Can you not understand that you would have given her as much as she would have given you. Humanity in exchange for immortality?” Her blue eyes beseeched him to understand.

  His heart sank. He’d never considered that humanity could be good for Finn. He’d considered it a weakness, nothing more.

  “What does any of this have to do with what you told me to do?” Ealasaid interrupted. “We came here in hopes of finding Finn, of ending this feud, and we end up with you, again.”

  Móirne snorted. “You are too late. The Oak Queen goes to war. Not against you, fortunately. She hopes to save you both, and it will be her undoing.”

  “Can you bring her here?” Kai asked, desperation constricting his chest. “If we could speak with her—”

  Móirne shook her head. “It will do you no good. Her mind is made up to save you all.” She turned her attention to Ealasaid. “I will at least offer you a warning, for other messengers may not arrive in time. An army of men is on the march. They intend to destroy you. I would prepare your mages, because Finnur and her Faie will not reach you before they do.”

  “An army?” Ealasaid hissed. “An Fiach?”

  Móirne nodded. “I imagine your scouts will be reporting to you soon enough. They likely formed far to the west, in Sormyr, to escape your notice.”

  “We need to get to Finn,” Kai muttered in disbelief.

  Móirne shook her head. “I told you, it will do no good. She will find you soon enough. For now, I must go before my people realize with whom I meet.”

  “Wait,” Ealasaid demanded. “First tell me why you want to break the barrier to the in-between.”

  “A mother would do much for her daughter,” she replied as she turned away. “Especially having failed her once before.” She started walking, then faded from sight.

  Kai watched her go, his mind racing. He needed to speak with Finn, to tell her that Ealasaid was firmly on her side. That he was still on her side. He’d left to protect her, not to push her into joining the war.

  He’d almost forgotten about Ealasaid standing beside him until she spoke. “We need to wake up and warn my people that war is upon us. An army of men can only mean An Fiach. They may have been unprepared last time, but now they’re well aware of what they face. They would not march upon us if they did not think they could win.”

  Kai’s entire body was tense. He felt prepared to snap any moment. He’d gone to Garenoch to help Finn, and now he would be trapped in the middle of a war of which he should have no part. He was no mage, nor was he entirely human.

  He would have liked to flee the moment he awoke, but he could not. He could not run when Finn was coming right toward him, with an army of Faie at her heels.

  Chapter Nine

  Anna, Eywen, Bedelia, and Àed stood on the road leading to
the newly constructed gates of Garenoch, their horses steaming in the cold air from the arduous ride. They’d had to press on despite weariness to reach the burgh before the army of men.

  Peering at the burgh, Anna felt hollow. They hadn’t seen any signs of Kai, nor had the Pixies. He might be within the burgh, but she doubted it. Now she was here with no purpose, and Eywen would need to continue on his own.

  “Do you think she’s in there?” Bedelia asked cryptically, staring down the road toward the gates.

  “I dinnae know, lass,” Àed replied, seeming to know to whom she referred.

  Anna turned away from them, not particularly caring what they were talking about. Instead, she looked up at Eywen.

  “Are you sure?” she asked.

  With a small smile, he nodded. His black hair fell forward to obscure half his face. “I will not deliberately take you into the realm of the Snow Queen and the Aos Sí. I will not risk it. You should stay here. I will try to return with help before An Fiach arrives.”

  Though she was standing utterly still, her heart was racing. She didn’t quite understand the emotions he had awoken in her, but she was reluctant to let them go. Reluctant to let him go.

  “Promise me,” she began, her voice quivering, “promise me you will return. I feel like if you leave now, I will never see you again.”

  Holding his reins in one hand, he used the other to pull her against his chest. She tensed, uncomfortable with Bedelia and Àed so near, then forced herself to relax into his partial embrace.

  “You are a Gray Lady of Clan Liath,” Eywen muttered above her. “If I am unable to return, I have faith that you will find me.”

  She pulled away enough to look up at him. “You bet your hind end I’ll find you, then I’ll wallop you for not returning on your own.”

  He smiled, then kissed her forehead. “Go to the burgh with your friends,” he murmured. “Perhaps there you will find Kai. If the threat of An Fiach appears too great, slip through the woods and back to Finnur’s fortress.”

  She nodded, then pulled away, refusing the cry. He was right, if he did not return, she would find him. She felt quite certain she could track his energy to the ends of the earth.

  His fingers stroked through her hair, lingering a moment, then he turned away. He gracefully mounted his horse, gave her a final wave, then galloped off toward the Snow Queen’s domain.

  A hand alighted on Anna’s shoulder, drawing her gaze away from Eywen’s fast-shrinking form.

  “You’ll see him again,” Bedelia comforted.

  Anna glared at her. “Who says I want to?” she snapped, then stalked away, leading her horse behind her.

  She held her breath as she picked up her pace, unwilling to allow Àed or Bedelia to see the tears she wiped from her eyes.

  Bedelia waited a moment before starting forward, giving Anna the space she so clearly desired. She wasn’t offended by her behavior. In fact, she knew the sort of woman Anna was all too well. She was like Keiren in many ways. She’d cut out her own heart before allowing anyone to learn she had one to begin with.

  Bedelia glanced at Àed, leading his horse silently beside her. He too knew what kind of woman Keiren was, yet he thought they could save her. They were perhaps the only two people Keiren had ever loved, besides her mother. While her mother’s death had been accidental, what she’d done to her father had been entirely intentional. What she’d done to her . . . she shook her head, unwilling to dwell on it. She would never love Keiren again, but she felt it her duty to prevent her from hurting anyone else, especially a sweet girl like Ealasaid.

  She turned her gaze forward, watching as Anna reached the gates ahead of them. She seemed to be speaking to the guards atop the wall, though Bedelia was too far away to make out what was said. After a moment of conversation, Anna began gesturing angrily at them. A few choice expletives caught on the wind to be carried back to Bedelia’s ears.

  “She willnae be gettin’ into the burgh speakin’ like that,” Àed grumbled. “Fool girl will get us all locked out.”

  By the time they caught up to Anna, she’d turned her back to the gate. Her face was beet red with anger.

  Bedelia reached her, careful to keep her expression impassive. “What did they say?”

  Anna pouted. “We’re too late. They already know about the army headed this way. No one is to come in or out of the burgh.”

  Bedelia raised an eyebrow at her. “Did you tell them we are friends of Ealasaid? If she has taken charge of Garenoch, surely she could persuade the guards to let us in.”

  Anna scowled, “I tried to tell them,” she hesitated, “though it was after I told them that they should stop trying to wear their backsides as helmets.”

  It took Bedelia a moment to realize what Anna meant, then she laughed. “Perhaps I should try speaking with them.”

  She turned away from Anna and looked up to the guards. “Greetings!” she called up to them. “We are close friends of Lady Ealasaid’s. I assure you, she will want to see us!”

  One of the guards who looked suspiciously like one of Slàine’s assassins leaned over the parapet. He stared at her for several seconds, then said, “Wait there a moment! We’ll fetch someone to verify your tale!”

  Bedelia waved to him, then turned back to Anna, who crossed her arms and pouted. Àed stared at his feet, grumbling to himself.

  It was a sad day when Bedelia, a seasoned warrior more accustomed to killing than social niceties, was the most pleasant companion of the group.

  Before long, the gates creaked open just enough for one person to fit through. A black-cowled man stepped out, followed by Maarav. It took Bedelia a moment to realize the black-cowled man was Kai, not one of the assassins who usually wore such a head-covering.

  Bedelia watched as Anna blinked at Kai in surprise. Her expression went from excitement, to anger. With a growl, she marched right up to Kai and slapped him across the face, the action dulled by his protective fabric.

  “What was that for!” he exclaimed, lifting a hand to his face and stepping back.

  “For running off like a fool!” Anna snarled.

  Bedelia was about to intervene, but Maarav stepped forward instead. “Not that I’m not thrilled to see you all, but let us retreat within the burgh. The mages are preparing for war.”

  Bedelia exhaled a sigh of relief as Maarav gestured to the men at the gates, then escorted them inside.

  Kai sidled up to her, avoiding Anna as Maarav led them down the wide dirt road leading into town. “What are you doing here?” he muttered, darting his gaze around. His eyes were red-rimmed, and what she could see of his face was unnaturally pale.

  She glanced to Anna, very intentionally ignoring them both, then back to Kai. “Anna came to find you,” she explained. “Àed and I came to find . . . someone else.”

  “Keiren?” Kai questioned. “You’re welcome to her. That cursed sorceress seems to be a thorn in everyone’s side.”

  Bedelia blinked at him in surprise, stumbling, then jumping out of the way before her horse could step on her.

  Kai watched her curiously as she regained her composure. “I’m not that dense,” he chided. “If you weren’t sent here by Finn to speak with Ealasaid, I can see only one other reason why you’d come.”

  Bedelia let out a shaky breath. “Yes,” she admitted, “Àed and I would like to speak with her. We—” she hesitated. “We understand her motives more than most.”

  Kai snorted. “At least someone does.”

  They spent the rest of the walk in silence, though Bedelia was burning with questions. Instead of asking them, she occupied herself with observing the rest of the burgh as they passed through. It had changed a great deal since they’d left. The once somber main street was now decorated with freshly constructed buildings, and the population seemed to have tripled. Whereas once the townsfolk would have mostly had the tanned skin and sandy hair of the South, now there were many with the red and white-blond hair of the Northeast, and some with the blac
k hair and paler complexions of the Northwest.

  Eventually, they reached a second pair of gates, leading to the estate at the southern end of the burgh. Maarav once again gestured up to the guards, and was admitted without question.

  They walked through the gates into an expansive grassy courtyard, dotted with guards, assassins, and other less conspicuous forms hurrying to and fro.

  “I’m afraid you’ve come at a bad time as we’re about to be attacked,” Maarav explained to the group as they walked across the center of the courtyard. “Though I can show you a way out into the forest bordering the burgh if you’d like to flee during the attack.”

  Having never been one to flee during an attack, Bedelia stiffened, then had to remind herself that wasn’t why they were there. They were there to see Keiren, a fate far more frightening than battle.

  Anna and Kai began quietly arguing amongst themselves as two men came and took their three horses away. Seeming to grow quite agitated, Kai took hold of Anna’s sleeve and dragged her off toward the western side of the estate.

  Left with just Maarav and Àed, Bedelia turned her attention to the former. “While I would love to see Ealasaid, I must admit why we came here. We would like to speak with Keiren.”

  “Oh?” Maarav questioned. “Would you first care to share any valuable information on our jolly sorceress?”

  Bedelia eyed him coolly. Of course he’d want something in return for escorting them. He was Maarav, after all. She’d had dealings with him long before either of them had met Finn.

  Maarav raised his hands in surrender with a laugh. “Calm down, huntress, I’ll escort you to her chamber, then I’ll have to be off. I hope you’ll at least stay for an evening meal so Ealasaid might see you.”

  She watched in shock as he turned and led the way, then glanced over to Àed, who’d been observing the whole scene none-too-curiously.

  “Ye better follow, lass,” he grumbled, nodding toward Maarav’s back.

  With a quick nod, she followed. It seemed Maarav had changed for the better. She could only hope the same could be said for Keiren.