“More like find them, take them to KekoRoma and ask her for permission to remove them.” Moriven murmured, “Also, keep your identity a secret. KekoRoma does not like shifters.”
She looked at him and sighed. “You knew that and brought me here?”
“There is no one else I know that can find them in this place.”
“Where are we? It feels weird.”
He took her hand and walked up the beach toward the crystalline palace on the hill. “We are in KekoRoma’s realm. It is the remains of an ancient Underhill settlement. She keeps power together.”
“Like Dira does.”
“Correct. Only Dira doesn’t have it tethered to the earth in this way. KekoRoma does. She is the anchor between the earth and heavens, between Underhill and the world below.”
Roxanne lifted her head. “They are up here. They are drinking but frightened.”
“Good. I have met KekoRoma a few times, and I am hoping that it will help to have that familiarity.”
She walked with a little more speed, and when they reached the crest of the hill, she paused to take in the view.
Close to fifty fey were walking around, drinking from elegant glasses, and speaking in hushed voices. There was a crystal throne at the far end of the room, and a female fey made of light and power met Roxanne’s gaze. She rose gracefully to her feet, and the room at large froze in place.
Roxanne looked to Moriven, and he was paused, just as the others were.
She stepped toward the woman but had only made two paces before the fey was examining her. “Shifter. Hmm. Why are you trespassing where none of your kind should be?”
Roxanne decided that honesty was best. Fey got irritated with outright lies.
“I am here with Moriven Hotbow, hunter for the guild. We are seeking two fugitives who have run to you in order to hide from some simple questions.”
“Why do you need them?” KekoRoma extended her delicate and long-nailed hand and stroked Roxanne’s chin.
“In short. They have wronged me. They have disgraced their office and their clan.”
The elder fey raised her brows. “Tell me more.”
So, Roxanne told her. She explained the circumstances of her joining the guild and of the attack. The elder fey’s expression went from amused to concerned to outraged.
“How old were you?”
“I was nineteen.”
KekoRoma hissed. “A baby. Hm. Who is Moriven to you?”
Roxanne looked at the man that her mind and body considered to be hers. “He is to be my mate. We were at the Crossroads when these two made their decision to visit your realm. They are simply to be put to a truth seer. If they answer truthfully, they will simply be dismissed from duty and banished from Larion’s court.”
“You know, when Larion announced that the seers were directing him toward a shifter as a bride, the elder fey around the world were outraged. Several sent assassins, but each attack was dealt with, and as the child grew into womanhood, there was one final attempt. That failed as well. So, without the ability to destroy the bride, there was a way to poison her mind.”
Roxanne was confused. “What?”
“Who did you tell?”
“No one. I couldn’t tell anyone back then.”
KekoRoma smiled and stroked her face again. “And thus, the final plan failed. Shattered. They were depending on you to run to the bride and tell her what the fey were like. You didn’t.”
Roxanne frowned. “I had met King Larion several times by then and other fey. I knew they were not all the same. The verbal harassment that is just idiotic contagion. It hurt at the time, but the more time that passed, the less it mattered.”
“Good. Now, I will let you take them on one condition.”
The woman slowly circled her, the long nails taking her measure.
“May I ask what the condition is?”
“You may ask.” The elder fey laughed at her joke, and the crystal palace shivered and chimed in response.
“Please tell me what the condition is.”
“You must agree to an engagement between yourself and my godson.”
Roxanne paused. “That is your criteria?”
“It is. The only condition I will accept. Will you accept an engagement between yourself and my godson?”
KekoRoma stood in front of her and crossed her arms.
Roxanne had a suspicion, and she said, “The only engagement I can have, can ever have, is with my mate. Moriven is my mate.”
She carefully didn’t say no.
KekoRoma smiled slowly. “You have a bright wit. He will do well with you.”
“There had to be a reason why he was sent, and while I am an excellent seeker, there is hardly a need for me here. That means I am here for you to speak to me, and the only interest the fey have in me seems to be either work or sex, and you don’t seem like the type for those, so you are working on someone else’s behalf.” Roxanne looked to Moriven. “He and I have already come to an agreement. We were just beginning our courtship when we got the call to come here.”
The elder fey chuckled. “Then, I am merely reinforcing what you already know. Will you take Moriven Hotbow as yours?”
“Of course.”
“Good. Then I have fulfilled my duty as his godmother. He has been a handful as you can imagine.”
“Why now?”
“When these two arrived on my shores, the vision I had on the day Moriven’s parents’ faded was suddenly made clear. I summoned you via Larion, and now, I am enjoying the thought of adding you to our family bloodline. It has been a long time since the energy of an ancient has made a reoccurrence.”
“Pardon?”
“You are from an ancient line of shifters, pet.”
Roxanne got nervous. “You must have me confused with someone else.”
“No, pet. You are a hound in your other form and a human in this one. When you combine the two, you walk an ancient path.”
Roxanne blinked. “Okay.”
“You thought it was just because you are the last of your line.” KekoRoma stroked her cheek.
“Yeah.”
“No, pet. Your line ends with you, but it began over ten thousand years ago. It was before my time, but when the gods walked the earth, they did it with animal heads and human bodies. Those who can still manage that feat are considered descendants of those gods.”
She didn’t want to call the fey queen insane, but she simply bowed her head.
“When can I have the prisoners?”
“Soon. Soon. I am enjoying our chat. Come with me.”
Roxanne followed the gliding queen of the crystalline universe that seemed to be fixated on getting her into the family.
Chapter Six
Having tea in a world where time was frozen was peculiar. Even the vapour was locked in the place where it had been generated.
“So, my godson is very handsome, and I have had many requests for his hand, but I swore to his mother that I would let him choose.”
Roxanne smiled and set her teacup back in the saucer. “And yet you tried to engage me to him.”
“That was a ruse. Everything was posed as a question until you finalized your response.”
“A delightful technicality.” Roxanne smiled, and she looked around. “This place is wonderful.”
“You think so? I think it is fading. It is a slow fade, but it is fading.”
The words made Roxanne think of her mother. Slowly fading.
“Oh. What did I say?”
“Nothing. I was just thinking of the side effects of being mortal.” She smiled slightly.
“You are obfuscating.”
“I was thinking about my mother. She is fading quickly, though less quickly now that she is in the care of one of the fey.”
KekoRoma perked up. “A fey healer?”
“A brownie.”
“Oh.” The ruler didn’t seem to know what
to do with that.
“He is very nice, and he and my mother are enjoying entertaining each other.”
The queen chuckled. “Ah. That kind of healing. Yes, that can be rather effective.”
“What? Is it an actual thing?”
“Of course. Sexual contact can be extremely good for the immune system. It might not cure her, but it would give her much more time.”
“How much more?”
KekoRoma smiled. “How long can you maintain the brownie?”
“Suulak seems to want to hang around. We have a small farm, so there is always milk and honey for him.”
“Suulak? He is still around? Well, if he is tending to your mother, she is in excellent hands. He also needs far less of the treats than other fey.”
Roxanne needed to know. “Why is that?”
“He gains energy from sex. That is how he has lived to see civilizations rise and fall.”
“Will it hurt my mother?”
“No, he only lives off what he earns... so to speak.” KekoRoma smiled. “You are very lucky to have found him. He has been living in solitude for centuries.”
“Yes, I am wondering where my cousin found him.”
“I guess that there is quite the line of folk who are willing to do the bride a favour.”
“Ah, now that makes sense.”
Roxanne had some more tea, and she looked around.
“So, how many children will you have with him?”
Roxanne’s head snapped back to look at the other woman with the translucent skin. “I hadn’t thought about it.”
“But you will have children.”
“We will if we can. I always wished I had had more siblings, so I am thinking of about four or so.”
The woman smiled. “Excellent. Can I have one?”
Roxanne froze. “What?”
“Oh, don’t look so appalled. I need an heir, and I would like a child that is already bound to me via family. Moriven is my four times great-grandson as well as my godson. A child of his would be a very creditable replacement for me to keep this portion of Underhill functioning.”
“Is the half-blood of a shifter going to be a problem?”
“No. It will be a reciprocal survival pact between that child and this demesne. They will support each other.”
Roxanne narrowed her eyes. “How old will the child have to be when it mixes with this realm?”
“Fairly young. Fifty or so.”
She sighed in relief. “Fine. I will tell them about it when it is time, and they can choose which of them would like to bind to this world. They will have the option, but it would be easier if they could see it before then. May we visit?”
KekoRoma stared at her. “You would bring the little ones here?”
“Sure. If Moriven and I engage in the balance ceremony, there is no reason that I can’t bring the children here for a few hours here and there. We might even vacation here if you are amenable.”
KekoRoma smiled brightly, the castle around them glittered and gleamed, a tight brightness shining from every facetted surface. There was actually the crackle of crystal as the towers grew.
“This has been the best day in my little citadel for centuries. Your prisoners are shackled and next to Moriven. You can leave with them now.”
Roxanne set her tea down and walked through the frozen tableau of the fey as she thought about everything that had just been decided. She knew that Moriven was hers. That was the most important discovery. Everything else could wait until they were back at the guild.
“I will send you all back to your guild. I do not want to make a scene here.”
“Of course, my lady.”
“I am nominally addressed as your majesty, but you can call me Aunty. It will drive my courtiers mad.” KekoRoma grinned. “Well, pet, I wish you a good day, and I hope that your kinswoman successfully makes it into the arms of Larion. He has waited a very long time for his bride.”
Roxanne was going to make a witty remark, but light wrapped around her and she was standing next to Moriven in the guild arrest hall.
He staggered. “What the hell?”
On the ground at their feet were the fugitives, wrapped in crystal bands.
Roxanne hauled the confused men to their feet, and she snapped restrictor bands around their necks.
Simorel was astonished. “She said she would not turn us over to the guild.”
“She didn’t. She turned you over to her kinsman, on behalf of her other kinsman. You have been turned in by family obligation.”
Hunters with a shifter bias came in and hauled the two away for the questioning.
Roxanne looked at Moriven when he set a hand on her shoulder. “How are you feeling?”
“Fine. How long have we been gone?”
That hadn’t occurred to her. She went over to the desk and asked, “How long were we on that assignment?”
“Three days, Roxanne. You are looking well.” The bunny at the counter gave her a smile.
“Three. Right. Good to know. Well, we are heading back to the Crossroads, I think.” She looked back at Moriven, and he nodded.
“Right. Well, you are going to have to tell me about going to the forbidden lands. That has to have been interesting.”
“It was. If I can remember it, I will let you know.”
Roxanne returned to Moriven, and they joined hands and walked out to the dispatch zone. The arrest area didn’t let anyone leave, so they had to get away from the transport lock.
They didn’t speak while they walked, but when they were back at the Crossroads, Moriven whispered to her on their way back to the Axion. “What happened?”
“Well, I met KekoRoma. She is lovely, charming, and she said she would give me the fugitives if I promised to wed her godson.”
He paused. “What did you say?”
She squeezed his hand. “I said that only one of the fey was my mate, only one could be my mate, and that you were him. So, I didn’t say no, and I didn’t say yes. She found that very amusing, and she handed over our fugitives.”
“Was it that simple?”
“She gave me some advice, filled in a few blanks, and gave me a strategy for the future.”
“What kind of blanks?”
“Well, you weren’t the reason I was attacked. It should come out in the investigation, but they were members of the same faction that attacked the bride. They were trying to use me to make a wedge between our species, but I didn’t cooperate. I didn’t run back and expose them. I kept my mouth shut, and their plans were wrecked. All they could do after that was ruin my reputation and engage in the light harassment.”
“I am fairly sure it didn’t seem light.”
“No, but it was part of the ongoing effort to get me to run to my cousin and complain about the fey that I worked with.”
His eyes widened as they walked. “That might have done it.”
“Nope. Eilonwy is going to wed Larion. She knows it, and he knows it. It is only the crackpots that think anything else could have made a difference.”
“Ah, that is now, but perhaps after the attack on the bride, her emotional state would have been a little more unsettled.”
Roxanne thought about that terrible episode, and she nodded. “It might have gotten a bit more of a reaction then.”
He squeezed her hand. “I am still unhappy that they did that to you.”
She was translating unhappy into killing rage. “Aw, you do care.”
“Very much. I am trying hard to get back into the courtship mood, but it is very difficult.”
She chuckled. “Well, I have had a burden lifted from my shoulders. I am in the mood to play some solitaire. I am going to put on my black dress and my sandals and head over to the Crossed Star.”
“Are you? Would you mind if I came to sit with you or perhaps asked you to dance?”
Roxanne sighed. “Sad fact. I can’t dance. I never got around
to learning.”
He was shocked. “You can’t dance?”
“No.”
They stepped onto the path leading to the Axion. “Wait, can’t or don’t know how to?”
She snorted. “Don’t know how. It has never come up until now.”
His shoulders relaxed. “Well, a lack of education can be fixed.”
“I hear that. I have yet to see proof of it.” She smiled as they entered the Axion, crossed the foyer, and then headed up the stairs. “Am I the first shifter to go to Underhill?”
He paused. “I think you might be. Certainly, the first one to return to our world in their own lifetime.”
“Ah. Oh. Right. Yeah, I can see how that would be a problem.” She continued to climb the steps. “She is really a force, isn’t she?”
“I still need to understand how you managed to convince her to let us take them.”
“Your godmother was most hospitable. She and I talked, we had tea, and then, she sent us all back to the guild.”
“You aren’t going to tell me, are you?” His tone was wry.
Her door unlocked and swung open. She grinned. “I might. It depends on how good a dance instructor you are.”
She stepped into her room, and Moriven pulled her back to him for a kiss.
She smiled and wrapped her free hand around his neck, diving deep into the kiss.
When she pulled back, his skin was flushed, and she whispered, “Go take a shower. It has been a few days.”
She winked, and he barked a laugh, releasing her hand after placing a kiss on her knuckles.
She closed the door and sighed happily. This was a far better place to be than it had been a week earlier. She was eager to find out what the improved situation was going to bring.
Chapter Seven
Wearing her little black dress, Roxanne sat and played solitaire with her senses trained on the door.
When she left the Axion, she had caught Moriven’s scent and Drak’s together in one of the studies. She wasn’t sure what sort of briefing he was giving the hotelier, but it seemed fairly involved.
She hummed and flipped three cards over, placing the four of hearts on the five of spades.
“The queen can land on the king.” Moriven’s voice came a full minute after she had caught his scent.
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