by Amy Sumida
“Only Danu can answer that,” Tiernan shook his head. “And you're the only one who seems able to hear her.”
“Well, she wasn't really forthcoming. There was a lot of lecturing actually,” I grimaced. “She wanted me to try and understand King Uisdean.”
“Understand him?” Tiernan scowled.
“I know, the best I could do was let go of my anger towards him,” I sighed. “Now that was miraculous.”
“What else did she say, Your Highness?” Iain asked as the Guard got to their feet. His metallic gold hair caught the light and for a second, I saw Danu's face again, surrounded by golden hair.
“There are pieces of me in all of you,” I whispered. Would I now see pieces of her in all of them?
“What?” Tiernan's eyes went wide.
“Um, she said I'm more than a peace-keeper,” I said slowly. “I'm meant to be a peace-maker.”
“I would be honored to help you create peace, Princess Seren,” Gradh declared and the rest of the knights pounded their fists into their breastplates to show their agreement.
The pink in Gradh's bronze skin seemed to lighten as her deep blue hair darkened, shifting like Danu had. I held a hand to my head and shut my eyes, trying to pull myself together. Something settled inside me and when I looked up, Gradh was her normal self once more. I guess seeing a goddess, even a blurred one, can rattle a poor human-fey.
“Did she happen to give you something to help us make peace?” Conri, the only non-sidhe knight in my guard (and the only non-sidhe knight in all of Fairy), asked in his usual flippant manner. He was a bargest after all, a type of dog-shifter, and they weren't known for their subtlety.
“Actually,” I started to tell them about the apple but tingles rushed over my arms and my skin began to glow with lavender light. The glow brightened as it condensed in my hands. Warmth filled my fingertips and then the heat turned into a burn. It burned until I couldn't hold it in any longer and I cast it from me with a shout, out into an open space nearby.
Vines as thick as my wrist, as black and shiny as polished jet, burst from the earth to twine about each other. They twisted into a spiraling column as thorns sprouted along their length and then the whole thing burst into flames. The Star's Guard exclaimed in shock and jerked away but I went forward with a sense of wonder. I held my hand out to the inferno and it seemed to suck back into itself, the fire dying out with a whoosh, like an inhaled breath. I flicked my fingers and the vines unraveled, snaking through the air before curling downward to twine about my extended arm.
“What is this?” Tiernan was at my side, staring at the thorny vines in horror.
“Danu said something about my psychic abilities blending with the fairy magic in unforeseen ways,” I whispered. “I think this was my pyrokinesis.”
“And the thorn magic from your father's unseelie blood,” Tiernan reached out a tentative finger and stroked a glossy vine. The thorns didn't bother me now, they seemed to know just where to go so that they wouldn't hurt me.
“I watched Uisdean push thorns out of my father's skin,” I was still staring at the swirling vines. They rasped and clicked as they moved. “Do you think I could do that? Push these out of someone's skin?”
“I think you can do much more than that,” Conri had come up beside us and the other guards were slowly following him forward. “Can you call them in mid-air, without the support of the earth?”
“I don't know,” I released them with a thought and moved away from Conri and Tiernan. “Let's see.”
I pictured it in my head, a mass of vines constricting in the air like a ball of snakes, and suddenly, there it was. I held my hand out and felt the magic connecting us. Paths of energy, like strings on a puppet. If I pulled one... my eyes widened as the whole thing turned into a fireball. Then I touched another and it petered out. One more string had the sphere unraveling and yet another made it disappear completely.
“I think with some practice, you could become quite deadly with your thorns,” Tiernan mused, a calculating look filling his eyes.
“My fire-thorns,” I corrected with a wide grin.
The Guard inhaled sharply as one.
“Our princess has brought forth a new magic,” Torquil announced. “From now forward she shall be known as Princess Seren Firethorn of Twilight.”
Then they knelt again, dang it. All of them, even Tiernan. I hated it when they did that... wait. I had a new name?
Chapter Twelve
“But I just got used to being Seren Bloodthorn,” I whined to Keir. “Now I'm Firethorn? Doesn't that upset you? I thought you were happy to have someone share your name?”
“I'm even happier to have a daughter so powerful that she makes a name for herself,” Keir was grinning. He hadn't stopped grinning since I'd told him about my new magic.
“Really?” I lifted a brow. “I'd thought you'd take this differently.”
“Why?” He blinked and lost his smile briefly. “How could I not be overjoyed that the Goddess not only spoke to you but invited you into her realm so that she could help to bring forth a powerful magic from inside you? No father could be prouder!”
“Okay then, if you're happy,” I shrugged and sat back in my seat. We were having tea and sandwiches at my dining table because using firethorns evidently made you hungry.
“If I'm happy?” He gaped at me. “Aren't you happy?”
“I'm not sure what I feel right now,” I sighed. “I'm a little confused. First off, how can we even be sure this is my psychic ability combining with my fairy magic? Fire is elemental. I've been getting it confused with my pyrokinesis for awhile now.”
“Yes but this new magic of yours already has one element, thorns are decidedly of earth,” Keir waved both hands out as if it were self-evident.”
“So?” I gave him my I-still-don't-know-what-you're-talking-about face.
“Fairy magic doesn't mix,” Keir frowned at me. “Don't you know that? It's based in one element, whether it's a beag or mór magic. When we cast magic, we take that element into our bodies and coax it into working for us. To hold two elements at once would take a massive amount of power and focus. No one has ever survived the attempt.”
“So fairies have tried to blend the elements before?” I asked.
“There have been a few fey who have believed themselves strong enough to wield two elements at once,” Keir swallowed hard and looked away. “The magic mixed inside them and became volatile. In each instance, they were destroyed from within,” he brought his gaze back to me. “Outside of ourselves, Fire can mix with Earth and Air can blend with Water because they have unlimited space to release the compounded energy of their unions. But inside our finite bodies, they must be kept separate. The only exception is the element of Spirit, which seems to calm any other element it's added to, instead of aggravating it.”
“Spirit?”
“Do you not even know the elements, Seren?” He was aghast.
“Of course I know the elements,” I huffed. “I was just trying to figure out which magic was Spirit based.”
“All magic which alters the Spirit,” he gave an exasperated sigh. “Star-Crossing would be one example.”
“Oh,” I chuckled, “Of course. So I could star-cross someone while I floated?”
“Yes,” Keir grimaced. “Just don't try to burn them at the same time.”
“Unless it's with my pyrokinesis,” I smirked. “Or I'm levitating instead of manipulating air.”
“Well... yes,” Keir blinked. “Which brings me back to my original point. Your magic must be a blend of fairy magic with human psychic ability because anything else is impossible.”
“Okay, I understand that now,” I nodded. “But I'm still confused by all the names. For instance, Bress has some kind of storm magic but his last name is Thorn.”
“It's very simple,” Keir smiled. “If you have your family's magic, you carry that name. If you don't, you carry the name of the magic you do have. In the case of a dual inheritance,
such as Bress was given, you're allowed a choice on whose name to take.”
“And of course, Mama's Boy took Moire's name,” I muttered.
“Of course,” Keir gave a sad smile. “Bress' father was never even allowed to be a father to him.”
“That's rather depressing,” I scowled.
“And besides the point,” Keir waved it away. “Bress' dual inheritance is rare but not as rare as our situation; that of developing a new magic entirely. So in our case, we take the name of the new magic and we hopefully begin a new family line with it.”
“Wait, so Bloodthorn isn't just to acknowledge your connection to both courts?” I frowned. “It's a separate magic?”
“I have the thorn magic from my father,” Keir smiled smugly. “As I have the bloodburning magic from my mother. Then, as the first twilight fey, I was also granted a third magic; the bloodthorn. So that became my name.”
“And what is the bloodthorn magic?” I asked.
“You recall when Uisdean used his thorn magic on me?” Keir lifted a winged brow.
“Yes, it was horrible,” I swallowed hard, remembering how black thorns had burst from Keir's skin, all over his body.
“It was painful but as I hold the same magic, the pain was momentary and I was able to sweep away the thorns without a single drop of blood being shed,” he sighed. “It was just a nuisance really, for one of my power. If I had been of a different line, or even worse; a seelie, the thorns would not have been so easily conquered. The pain would have been much more debilitating, the thorns much harder to be rid of, and there would have been wounds; bleeding wounds which would have required magic to heal.”
“So your bloodthorns?”
“Despite its name, it's not a combination of bloodburn and thorn,” Keir finally got to the good stuff. “It's actually a hybrid of the thorn magic, like our star-crossing is a hybrid of fairy-struck. I can use the thorn magic on anyone, all types of fey and humans, with the same results; painful persistent thorns which leave bloody wounds requiring magical tending. I can also alter the size of the thorns.”
“That sounds deadly,” I whispered.
“It can be, yes,” Keir shrugged. “Which is why I rarely use it. Bloodburn is horrible enough. To give someone wounds which need a fairy healer to tend to, I'd have to be...”
“Seriously pissed off?” I lifted a brow.
“Enraged and taken unaware by it,” Keir sighed. “I think that would be the only way I'd use my bloodthorn magic on someone. Though I might have used it in battle if Uisdean hadn't released you.”
“Thanks, Dad,” I leaned across the table and took his hand but I ended up yawning.
“Are you alright?” He looked my face over in concern.
“I guess I'm emotionally wiped out. Danu put me through a lot and now I feel drained.”
“Why don't you have yourself a nice nap?” He stood and ushered me from my dining table towards my bed. “Just lay down and rest your eyes a bit. Welcoming a new magic can be exhausting. I'll bet you'll feel much better when you wake up.”
“Okay,” I laid down and watched him scurry happily from the room. “You'd think I'd just won the Nobel Prize or something,” I said to Cat.
She huffed and climbed up into the bed, did her three circles, and instantly went to sleep. You never had to tell her twice. Simply mention the word bed to Cat and she would take the hint.
“Sure, sleep,” I sighed and snuggled into my pillow, the silk cool against my cheek. “No problem. I'll just curl up for a nap after speaking to Danu, giving up my anger, having thorns pierce my body, and learning that I have a new magic. Yep, I can go right to sleep after all that.”
I laid there for five minutes before I smashed my fists into the mattress in frustration and got up.
“How can I be so exhausted and yet so wired?” I growled.
Cat opened one eye the barest slit, determined that there was no threat, and went back to sleep. I glanced up at the crystal dome in my ceiling and saw that the day was still young, the sky clear and robin's egg blue. I wasn't going to waste it lying in bed. I stomped to the bedroom door and opened it to peer out into the hall. It was empty, beyond the normal adornments of fairy statuary and paintings. I lifted a thoughtful brow as I stared at all those aloof faces. What did a fairy princess do to banish boredom?
She found some fairy men, that's what she did.
Hell yeah. I mean; heck yeah, now that was a good idea. A smile spread across my face as I closed the door behind me and started walking with more confidence. I had no clue where Tiernan would be but it would be fun to find him. Like a game of Hide and Seek in which one of the players was completely unaware that he was playing. Which meant that either way, I'd win.
I followed the hallway back and around a corner to a narrow stairwell. I took the stairs down, heading for Tiernan's room on the fourth floor. My suites were on the top floor, which was the fifth and also the only floor accessible by the grand staircase at the front of the castle. Personally, I thought this was a design flaw. At least tactically speaking. Why would you give an invader immediate access to the royal suites? Also, all the other floors were accessed via stairways at the center or the rear of the castle, so if anyone there wanted to rush to help us, they'd have to take the long way around.
At least the barracks were located in a separate building in front of the main keep. So the soldiers could leap to our defense if need be. I think fairies placed too much stock in their magic, relying on the enchantments laid within the castle walls to protect them. This was naive if you asked me. I'd proved how easy it was to breach fairy defenses when I'd snuck into both the Seelie and Unseelie Courts. To be fair to Twilight though, we didn't have a secret passage into the castle for others to exploit. At least not that I was aware of.
“Note to self, ask Dad if we have a secret passage,” I mumbled as I reached Tiernan's door and knocked.
I knocked again and then I just let myself in because I wasn't just a princess, I was his girlfriend and I believed that entitled me to certain inalienable snooping rights.
“Tiernan?” I asked as I went in.
The room was empty. I frowned at the lavish, four-poster bed dressed in cobalt silk. I was hoping to find him sprawled out across that silk, just waiting for me like a fairy gigolo, but I guess that would have made the game too easy. And I don't like my games or my men too easy.
My eyes slid to the table beside the bed where a framed picture of us sat. I was smiling at the camera while Tiernan looked down at me with a tender expression. It was a nice shot and I loved the fact that he had it out on display but it was difficult to look at. Not because of any emotional issue but simply because I was still getting used to my new appearance and every time I saw myself, whether it be in the mirror or in a photograph, I tended to either wince or wonder who the woman was.
The hair wasn't so bad. It was a bit longer than it had been before and now boasted a purple stripe at my left temple that gradually lightened to lavender at the ends. Different but not shocking. It was my eyes that always startled me. They used to be a normal, human green. Now they were a shimmering, vibrant emerald overlaid by sparkling stars. When I got upset or felt something intensely, the stars would glow. I was my own flashlight.
At the moment though, those flashlight eyes simply reminded me of Danu.
I shook off the memory and walked further into the room, past the bed and the fireplace, then into the bathroom, just to be sure Tiernan wasn't hiding in there. You never know, maybe he did some kind of fairy juju and found out about our game. Tiernan's rooms were a nice size since he was a Count and rank got you a lot in a fairy court. But they weren't anywhere near the size of mine and all it took was a glance to see that the bathroom was empty. He didn't have a dressing room like I did, only a large, free-standing closet to one side of the bathroom door. I think it was called an armoire. Which is weird because it sounds like a French word for armor. Maybe the French kept their armor in closets.
Anyw
ay, I didn't actually want to snoop through his stuff. The idea sounded fun but the reality made me feel uncomfortable. If Tiernan wanted to show me something, he would. Besides, what if I found fairy porn or something equally weird? I stopped and looked back at the armoire, reconsidering a good snoop. No, if I found something that funny, I'd have to confront him with it and that would mean I'd have to tell him I was snooping. No bueno.
I walked out the door. The armor closet had given me an idea of where I might find him. So I headed for the training courtyard at the back of the main keep. It was a special area for the knights to use, secluded yet near the kitchens. Knights loved to be near kitchens because kitchens tended to be full of pretty fairies who liked to bring them tasty treats... and occasionally something to eat too.
The whole way there I distracted myself with thoughts of what a fairy nudie magazine would look like. Would there be pictures of naked nubile nymphs laid out on the forest floor or would they prefer to do a more traditional take and pose them on pillows? And what would it be called? Feisty Fairies, perhaps? Feyboy? Or maybe something really naughty like Tiny Titties. But then that would only be sidhe women. Oh! I clasped a hand to my mouth in horror, as if I'd really spoken out loud. What a bad girl I was; no biscuit!
“There could be a version for female fairies,” I mused to myself as I reached the ground floor. “They could call it Full Frontal Fey,” I shook my head. “Oh wow, I'm spending way too much time on this.”
I wandered through another maze of hallways, thankful my Extinguisher training had made learning the layout of the castle easy, and just as I was about to exit the main keep, I ran into Conri. He was heading in the opposite direction, coming into the keep as I was trying to leave. He smoothly turned around when he saw me.
“Princess,” he slid into a smirk. “I'd thought you'd be resting after such an adventurous morning.”
“I can't sleep,” I confessed. “I'm trying to find Tiernan actually. Is he out there?” I motioned to the door.
“Yeah,” Conri gave a careless shrug. “But why bother with him when you could spend time with me? I promise you'll sleep like a baby afterward, snuggled up in my arms.”
