Fairy Rings and Dragon Kings (Book 7 in the Twilight Court Series)

by Amy Sumida

“We couldn't miss our wife's birthday,” Tiernan said with a soft smile. “Happy Birthday, sweetheart.”

  Tiernan kissed me gently then hugged me. As soon as he eased back, Raza swooped in. Another hug and a kiss from the dragon king, and then he released me to greet my guests.

  As far as fairies, there was my Star's Guard, along with Aideen, Eibhleann, Nighean, Aodh, Latharna, Sorcha, Chad, and Bress. Aideen was a twilight dryad who worked at Gentry, and she was also Eibhleann's daughter. It had been awhile since I'd seen her, and I was thrilled that she was there; we'd become close but work—both of ours—kept us from hanging out too often. Nighean was a sylph who I'd once saved from Bress (my cousin). Long story, but they were cool now. Aodh, Nighean's brother, may not have been as forgiving as Nighean. He was casting hostile looks at Bress, but Aodh was a good friend, and I knew he would never start a fight at my birthday party. I hugged them all, and then worked my way to Latharna and Sorcha; Tiernan's sister and mother, before finishing with Chad.

  My father had also invited my human friends; Extinguisher Abby—also known as Torquil's girlfriend and Councilman Karmen—also known as Karmen with a K. They both hugged me excitedly and wished me a happy birthday before heading off to drool over their love interests; Torquil for Abby and Raza for Karmen. Maybe I should tell him that he'd have better luck with my uncle Dylan. Oh, and I had to tell him about the rainbow sea dragon too! But I'd leave that for later; it was too much fun to watch Raza extricate himself from Karmen's gay-kung-fu-grip.

  “Happy Birthday, Twilight.” Killian pulled me into a kiss and then drew something out of the inner pocket of his leather hoodie.

  He handed me a knife. It was iron and had a hilt with a raven perched on the end. Most of it was matte black; there were only two spots of gloss over the bird's eyes.

  “A raven,” I whispered with a smile.

  “To fight them off with.” Killian teased me. “I will forever remember you ranting about ravens stalking you.”

  “The night we met.” I nodded. “Thank you, Killian.”

  “You're welcome.”

  “You were supposed to wait until after the cake to give her your present,” Tiernan huffed. “You, of all people, should know that.”

  “I live by my own rules.” Killian smirked.

  “Then I want to give Seren my gift too.” Raza collected a box off the coffee table and returned with it. He was about to hand it to me when his gaze dropped to my cleavage and stayed there.

  “Um, Raza?” I snapped my fingers in front of my boobs. “I know it's been a few days, but come on.”

  “Is that a dragon tear?” Raza growled and snatched the pendant.

  Raza lifted the charm to the light and Tiernan inhaled sharply.

  “Seren, where did you get this?” Tiernan asked.

  “King Ryujin gave it to me,” I said casually. “I forgot about it, what with all of this other stuff going on.”

  “She forgot about a dragon tear,” Tiernan said to Raza with a huff.

  “I was about to explain its significance to her when she was called away,” my father said with a pointed look at Killian.

  “What's the big deal?” I huffed. “It's just a little charm that lets the water fey know not to mess with me; a drop of dragon essence.”

  The three kings looked at each other with wide eyes and then burst into laughter.

  “A dragon tear is not just a little charm,” Dylan said as he worked his way through the mass of merry men surrounding me. “May I?” He asked me, and I removed the necklace for Dylan's inspection. “Dear Danu,” he whispered as he stared into the swirling depths, “it's beautiful. I'd never thought to see one. Would you let me add its resonance to my database?”

  “Sure.” I rolled my eyes. “If someone could explain why its resonance is so damn impressive.”

  “The tear is a drop of condensed water magic; the force that birthed sea dragons,” Raza finally gave me a clear answer. “Think of the might of the ocean, of what it can do, and then consider what that would be like when collected and compressed into an amulet.”

  “Yeah, okay,” I said slowly. “But what do I do with it?”

  “It's harnessed power.” Tiernan motioned to the teardrop. “You simply use the energy when you need it.”

  “Like when she needs to drop of few fairies out of the air?” Killian gave me a smug look.

  “The wave,” I whispered.

  “The wave?” Dylan asked with a lifted brow as he handed the tear back.

  “When we were escaping the island—”

  “Escaping an island?” Raza growled.

  “I'll explain in a minute.” I waved him down. “These seelie fairies were flying after us—”

  “Seelie?” Tiernan snarled.

  “Can I fucking finish?” I snapped.

  “She done put you in your places.” Karmen snapped his fingers with a swish, doing his black girl imitation. Karmen believed that black girls gave the best attitude.

  The men simmered down with annoyed looks.

  “Anyway,” I huffed, “as we were escaping with the humans, the seelie were chasing us, and it happened to be right at dawn. I tried to use the twilight energy to send some fireballs at the seelie, but they kept coming. I was so frustrated that I sort of just flung my hand out, and this giant wave took them all down.”

  “You accessed it on your own.” Raza smiled approvingly. “Well done, mo shíorghrá.”

  “Thank you.” I gave the tear a soft stroke, and it warmed beneath my fingers. “And thank you, King Ryujin.”

  “Now, tell us why you were being chased off an island by seelie fairies,” Tiernan said.

  “Then, you may open your presents,” Raza added.

  Chapter Thirty

  The news that the moomin issues were just a ruse to distract him infuriated Tiernan, but not as much as the magic bombs angered Raza. I understood completely. We thought we were uniting Fairy, but we forgot something important; not everyone obeyed their monarchs. Tiernan himself had been banished from court for stepping between his queen and his mother. We shouldn't have been surprised to learn that our people might rebel against us. No matter how fair we tried to be, or how we intended to change our kingdoms for the better, there would always be fairies who opposed us. You can't please everyone.

  But my husbands put aside their aggravation for the time being. We were celebrating, and I had been promised presents. My second present came not from my husbands, but from my father. It was in a simple, manila envelope, and I lifted a brow as I removed the folded paper.

  “Is this a deed?” I asked as I scanned the document.

  “I thought it was time that you had your own place.” Keir shrugged. “If this isn't where you want to be, or you don't like the house, we can sell it and buy another home.”

  “Why did you choose Oregon?” I asked him.

  “It didn't make any sense to buy another property here,” he said, “and Fairy itself seems to like Salem. I thought this would be the perfect time to give you some property in the area. You'll have a base to work from that's near a rath. So, you'll never be far from Fairy; from anywhere, really.”

  “This is wonderful, thank you.” I hugged him. Then I looked over the pictures. “It's like a castle in the woods.”

  “I wanted something secure for you”—he pointed at the stone walls—“something that can't be burned down or blasted by magic.”

  “The only thing that could take this place down is a wrecking ball,” I noted with a laugh. “It's great; I love it.”

  “So does the Human Council.” Keir chuckled. “They were thrilled to hear that you'll have an HR address.”

  “Why; they want to send me a Christmas card?” I huffed. “I don't know if I want the Councils to know where I live.”

  “The Councils will find you no matter where you are.” Keir smirked. “You gave up any shot at anonymity when you became Princess of Twilight.”

  “Valid,” I huffed.

  Then Raza hand
ed me a small box.

  “This is a gift that's for us both,” Raza said.

  “Oh, is it handcuffs?” I asked with excitement.

  His face creased into a frown.

  “Don't worry; I got you, Twilight,” Killian whispered and winked.

  “Hmm”—Karmen looked from Raza to Killian—“I may have to transfer to Team Killian.”

  “If I wanted to restrain you, I wouldn't need human steel to do so,” Raza purred.

  “Never mind; I'm fine on the Raza train,” Karmen declared.

  “Oh, I'll just be over here, in the corner, sucking my thumb,” Killian said with a mock whimper and then rolled his eyes. “We're all strong, dragon; the steel isn't the point.”

  “Then what is your point?” Raza asked as he lifted his chin and looked down at Killian as if he might perform a trick.

  “I believe the act of bondage is about submission,” Tiernan leaned into Raza's right side to explain. “One partner allows the other to have control for a time. The ties themselves are more symbolic than necessary.”

  “Ah, yes.” Raza nodded thoughtfully then cast his gaze on me. “And you want to submit to me?”

  “Wow, he's a charmer,” Killian muttered. “I don't know why he isn't fighting them off with a stick.”

  “Who said that I was going to be the one wearing the cuffs?” I smirked.

  “Mo shíorghrá,” Raza said with a wicked smile, “dragons don't submit. We are the ones people submit to... or they die.”

  “You don't know what you're missing, man,” Killian exclaimed with a knowing smile, and Raza glared at him. Killian held his hands up. “Fine; be that way. I'm only trying to help a fellow reptile out.”

  “Ugh; why'd you have to go there?” Bress shook his head.

  “Hey, the Star's Guard makes all sorts of lizard jokes at my expense. So, technically, they started it,” Killian pointed out. “I'm just owning it.”

  “Open your present, Seren.” Raza's patience had reached its limits.

  I untied the ribbon around the slim, wooden box, and then looked up at Raza in surprise.

  “Is this a cell phone?”

  “No.” Raza beamed slyly at me.

  I took the rectangular object out of the box. It looked like a cell phone case; black leather folded over like a book around a solid object. I flipped open the cover, and instead of a cell phone, there was a polished sheet of clear quartz crystal.

  “I commissioned Dylan to make it,” Raza said proudly. “It's a slice of a crystal ball.”

  I looked to Dylan in confusion. He was seated down from us on the couch, near my cousin Bress. We'd all gathered around the coffee table for me to open my gifts.

  “I didn't cut up a crystal ball,” Dylan explained. “That would have damaged the spell. Instead, I merged the ideas of a crystal ball with that of a human cell phone and that of the Coven's cluster crystals to come up with this. Crystal balls are traditional because you get the largest viewing area, but they're not necessary. With the smaller slab, you'll have to get closer to the crystal, and the person you call won't be able to see all of you, but you will be able to communicate in the same manner.”

  “A portable crystal ball,” I said. “Uncle Dylan, you've made a fairy cell phone... a scry phone.”

  “Brilliant, isn't it?” Dylan made it more of a statement than a question. “I wish I could take credit for the concept, but I only implemented it. The idea was King Raza's.”

  “Thank you, Raza.” I kissed him. “This will come in handy.”

  “Yes,” he agreed, “and now I'll always be able to get in contact with you.” He pulled an identical device from his coat. “I had one made for me as well.”

  “What about us?” Killian huffed.

  “Is it your birthday?” Raza asked simply.

  “No; is it yours?” Killian thought to be a smart-ass, but Raza shot him down.

  “Actually, mine is later this month,” Raza said. “But that hardly matters when I was the one who commissioned the fairy phone.”

  “Your birthday is this month too?” I asked him.

  “September 29th.”

  “Libra; an air sign.” I chuckled. “How appropriate.”

  “He is rather flighty,” Abby noted with a chuckle.

  “Interesting,” my father noted. “9-9 and 9-29; you two are very close.”

  “Yeah, except for those thousands of years in between,” Killian joked.

  “I can't believe I didn't know your birthday,” I said to Raza. Then I looked to my other two men. “When are your birthdays?”

  “I was born on March 16th, but I still won't tell you the year. So, don't bother asking,” Tiernan said.

  “And mine's November 30th,” Killian leaned forward so that Raza could hear. “Just a few months off, in case anyone wanted to get me a scry phone.”

  “King Keir took the liberty of ordering more scry phones for the rest of us,” Dylan said to Killian. “But you're such an ass that I'm not sure if I want to pass them out. Perhaps I'll hold yours until your birthday.”

  Killian's face fell, and we all laughed.

  “Oh, just give it to him,” Raza huffed. “No one wants to hear the snakelet whine.”

  “Snakelet?” Killian gaped at Raza.

  “I believe that's the word for a baby snake,” I whispered dramatically to Killian.

  “Yeah, thanks, Twilight; I got it.” Killian grimaced.

  “And here I thought it was one of those snake anklets,” Karmen muttered.

  “Snakelet!” Conri chortled over the conversation. “Brilliant!”

  “I believe it's already been said that I'm a brilliant man,” Raza noted. “But I appreciate the reinforcement.”

  “Anytime you wanna bring the snakelet down a few pegs; I've got your back, Your Majesty.” Conri bowed.

  “And if you ever need more reinforcement, I'm here for you,” Karmen added.

  “I'll keep that in mind, Councilman,” Raza said dryly.

  Then Dylan passed out the fairy phones to Keir, Tiernan, and Killian, and Kill lost his pouty look.

  “If you start selling these phones, you'd best be paying my husband royalties, Uncle Dylan,” I said primly.

  Dylan's face went blank.

  “Royalties?” Raza asked. “Yes, I think that's appropriate for a king.”

  “Royalties are a percentage of a profit, dude,” Killian whispered to Raza.

  “Then, I absolutely want that.” Raza nodded.

  “Damn it, Seren,” Dylan huffed.

  “You were going to cheat Raza?” I asked him. “He's your nephew and your king.

  “You were going to cheat my fantasy lover?” Karmen gasped.

  “It's not like he created crystal balls,” Dylan huffed, casting Karmen a considering look.

  “But you said it yourself; it was his idea, and it was a brilliant one,” I pointed out.

  “Are you looking into selling these?” Keir asked his half-brother.

  “I thought it would be a good product for Gentry.” Dylan shrugged. “Under the table, as it were.”

  “You gonna set up a stall at the fairy bazaar?” I teased.

  “It would be one item,” Dylan growled. “It's not like we don't manufacture other products.”

  “That we use in Fairy, or donate to the Human Council to help this planet,” my father said sternly.

  “We do work for profit as well, Brother,” Dylan reminded Keir. “Without the income, we couldn't fund research or buy things like this apartment and your daughter's new house.”

  “You've made your point,” my father conceded. “But it doesn't change the fact that we need to either give Raza a percentage of the profits or we have to buy the rights from him. It's only fair, Dylan.”

  “So be it.” Dylan sighed. “I'll have a contract drawn up. I'll send it to you in Unseelie, and we can discuss a fair amount through scry,” he said to Raza.

  “Thank you.” Raza nodded.

  “Now, for my present. If y
ou don't mind, Raza?” Tiernan motioned to Raza. “I'd like to sit beside our wife when she opens my present.”

  “By all means.” Raza graciously moved over for Tiernan.

  Tiernan handed me a large envelope as he took Raza's old seat.

  “What's this?” I looked over pictures of a white palace on a tropical seashore.

  “That is Taigh na a' Grian; the House of the Sun,” Tiernan said. “And it's where I'm taking you on our vacation.”

  “Where is it?” I asked him.

  “In the South of Seelie, on the shores of the Danuvian Ocean,” he murmured as he stroked the picture with a fingertip. “It's my favorite place in Seelie.”

  “I can't wait to see it.” I smiled broadly.

  “Happy Birthday, Seren.” Tiernan kissed me.

  Surrounded by my lovers, family, and closest friends, it really was happy.

  Chapter Thirty-One

  The next day—before Lance returned—my father, my husbands, my fiance, and I (oh, and Cat) had a meeting at Gentry Technologies with Dylan and the technician, Lelan. Chad had told me the night before, that the grindylows had returned from the Court of the Nine Sons before he could contact them. They swore there were no humans in residence. It just confirmed what we already knew; that the humans weren't being taken to Fairy at all. The Fairy Underground had become our most important lead.