by Amy Sumida
“I wasn't born outside of it,” Killian scowled, “not exactly.”
“Then why don't you tell me exactly?”
“The Coven calls us outcasts, but we were never cast out,” he began. “My people left their tribes because we couldn't live under the Coven's rigid structure.”
“Alright,” I nodded, “I can understand that. Rules can become oppressive.”
“It was one rule in particular which my people couldn't abide by,” Killian met my eyes steadily. “Interbreeding.”
“Say what now?”
“There's no interbreeding allowed between the tribes,” he explained. “ Pack marries Pack, Quake marries Quake, etcetera.”
“So your people, your founders, they left because they fell in love?” I asked gently.
“Yes,” Killian nodded, his eyes softening. “It was a single couple who started the Hallow. A Tide witch and a Biter. They wanted to be together, but knew it would be impossible within the Coven. So before they could be ostracized or punished, they left. After that, many others followed. Together, those witches formed a sanctuary called the Hallow. A community of inter-tribal couples and their families.”
“Were you one of those who followed?”
“No, that was over a hundred years ago. I was born in Hallow,” Killian's eyes crinkled again with his smile. “My mom's from the Storm tribe and my dad was from Flame.”
“Was?”
“He died a few years ago,” the crinkles vanished. “It's only me and Mom now.”
“Which is why you're here alone,” I nodded, sympathizing with him more than he knew. “I'm sorry.”
“It was a long time ago,” Killian shrugged. “But why are you here alone, Seren? You must have lots of people willing to help you.”
It was the first time he'd said my name, just simply 'Seren', and it made a little shiver coast over my spine. Premonition? A warning? I wasn't sure. Killian wasn't the only one with psychic abilities, but I wasn't ready to share too much with him. We'd just met, and I wasn't sure if he was trustworthy.
“I'm here alone because my fairy father forbid me from coming.”
“That's a lot of F words,” he chuckled and then his brows raised. “Wait... your fairy father? This is getting interesting. Go on, Twilight.”
“I didn't know I was part fairy until very recently,” I shrugged. “Until then, I'd thought I was human. I was raised to be an extinguisher, by a man I thought was my father. He wasn't.”
“And this is the man you came to save?”
I nodded.
“And your real father, the fairy, he's a king?”
“That's why I'm a princess, yes,” I rolled my eyes.
“That explains the very un-royal attitude.”
“I'll take that as a compliment, Skeletor.”
“You should,” the eye crinkling was back.
“Storm and Flame,” I said suddenly, as what he'd told me sank in. “That's why your aura looks weird. What kind of magic do you have?”
“A combination,” Killian nodded at my deduction. “I can do some cool shit. Burning rain, freezing flames, that sort of thing.”
“The impossible,” I whispered. “You're the witch version of a twilight fairy.”
“What?”
“Right,” I chuckled, “I guess I should explain Twilight to you.”
“You mean there's more to it than its crow-hating princess?”
“I don't hate crows,” I huffed. “Their cousins, the ravenous ravens, hate me.”
“Paranoia,” he sang.
“Do you want to hear about Twilight, or not?”
“I do,” he quieted. “Go on, raven-hater.”
“I hadn't heard of Twilight either, not until I was told I was its heir,” I smirked at the memory. “It's the third fairy kingdom, created of blended fey. We are the neutral zone between the feuding kingdoms of Seelie and Unseelie. My people are the children of mixed parents, seelie and unseelie. Those parents were called by Danu to come together so a new race could be born.”
“The Goddess told the fairies to fuck?” Killian asked dryly.
“Thanks for making something the Fey consider sacred into something base,” I rolled my eyes.
“Sorry,” he mumbled.
“It's fine,” I snorted. “It's actually kind of nice to be around a human soldier again. Locker room talk and all. It's comforting.”
“What, fairies don't swear?” Killian lifted a brow.
“They do, but it's rare, and it's usually more, well, fey.”
“I'm fascinated,” his eyes crinkled so much, they nearly shut. “Go on.”
“There's nothing more to say really,” I waved to him. “Just that, you shouldn't be possible. But, just like the twilight fey, your parents' magics blended and produced something new. My father was the first king of Twilight, and his magic is a combination of his parents' mórs. But the seelie and unseelie all inherit their mórs directly. No combining. It might vary in strength, but the magic itself remains the same.”
“Wait till Mom hears where we came from,” Killian laughed. Then he sobered abruptly. His eyes flicked around the room.
“We're going to find them,” I said gently.
“You're damn straight, we are,” he growled and started picking up items again. “We're going to find them, and then we're going to kill those fucked up relatives of yours.”
“Sounds like a plan,” I agreed. “But I have one more question for you.”
“What's that?”
“Where do I get a leather hoodie like yours?” I smirked.
“Shut up, Twilight,” Killian shook his head and stalked into the next room.
“But it's so cool,” I called after him as I followed. “I have to have one. Maybe I'll get a skeleton mask to go with it.”
“It's a balaclava,” he growled, “not just a mask.”
“Whatever it is, it's awesome,” I smirked, knowing exactly what it was. “I wanna dress like a super villain too.”
“It's better than a vampire princess.”
“Oh damn,” I stopped and considered his combination of all things Twilight. “I kinda like that one. But I feel really dirty for liking it. Vampire Princess,” I tested the title on my tongue. “Oh yeah, I hate myself while simultaneously feeling like a bad ass.”
“Got it,” Killian growled, holding up a half empty glass of wine. “That crazy bitch drank out of this. And she was thinking about where she was headed next, when she did the drinking.”
“You found them?” I admit, I was a little shocked that his psychic trick had worked. “Where are they?”
“Montana,” Killian said grimly.
“Far, but not as far as I'd expected them to run.”
“From what I saw, they have several people with them,” his jaw clenched. “They wouldn't want to travel too far. They're taking a boat to Washington, and then driving inland from there.”
“Your mom?”
“I didn't see her,” Killian's eyes crinkled a little, though it wasn't with humor this time. “But I sensed her. I think she's alright. For now.”
“Of course she is,” I nodded, and then narrowed my eyes on him. “What have you got beneath that balaclava anyway? How do I know she didn't just run away from your ugly mug?”
“How do those fairies put up with you?” Killian muttered as he turned and left the building. “You'd think they'd have standards.”
“The fairies love me,” I strode by him. “I'm Danu's chosen one. Got an apple and everything.”
“What the hell is that supposed to mean?”
“Never mind,” I chuckled. “Come on, Dirty Harry. Grab your peashooter and follow me. I got a car.”
“Yeah, I got a car too, Twilight,” he huffed. “You think I walked all the way up here? And this is a rifle... Dirty Harry didn't use a rifle.”
I took a moment to savor the retort I'd never have received from a fairy. Oh, the sweet sound of humanity. And it didn't stop there. The banter kept up all the
way to the car. My car. I didn't trust Killian or his beat up Cherokee Jeep enough to let him drive. But Killian must have trusted me, because he left his POS behind, pausing only to pull out a duffel bag before he climbed into my borrowed Land Rover. He even took off the swords that had been strapped to his back, and shoved them into the duffel. Though he did keep his rifle on his lap.
Chapter Twelve
I couldn't go back to the rath, and we needed some quick transportation to Montana. So I did what every princess would do, and pulled out my daddy's American Express. I also pulled out my cell phone and called Davy. I wanted to tell him his car would be at the Juneau Airport instead of up in the wilderness. That should have made him happy.
But Davy wasn't happy. Davy was in a bit of a tizzy. It seemed that the new Lord of the Rath had reported my arrival to his king. And Raza had immediately headed over to Alaska to find me. The Unseelie King had arrived a few hours before my call, and had taken off after me in Davy's remaining vehicle. A little, red, Saab sedan. I had a chuckle over that imagery. Raza squished into a Saab? I would have paid good money to see that.
But Davy hadn't found it humorous. His new boss had been in a foul mood when he'd screeched away in the Saab. And then I called to inform Davy that I wasn't where Raza was heading. Davy sounded as if he were hyperventilating. He had no desire to inform the new Dragon King of Unseelie that his quarry had in fact left the wilderness hours ago. Especially since he'd have to wait till Raza returned from hiking through the mountains before he could inform Raza that his search had been pointless.
“Sorry, Davy,” I said with sincerity. “But there's nothing I can do about it now. Tell King Raza, I said it wasn't your fault, and that's what he gets for chasing after me when he should be setting his kingdom to order.”
I hung up the phone with a chuckle.
“Someone's chasing you?” Killian asked casually.
I glanced over at Killian and then took a second, longer look. He had removed the hood and mask while I'd been distracted. It turned out that Killian's mug wasn't ugly at all. In fact, it was quite a nice face, surrounded by close-cropped, dark hair. No, wait. We passed a street lamp and its glow flashed over him. Killian's hair was actually dark auburn, and his long-lashed, green eyes were closer to emerald in color than lime. Beneath those eyes was a thick nose, which was still somehow regal looking, and a pair of lips a little on the lush side. I don't usually like full lips on men, I think they look too girly. But on Killian's extremely masculine face, they looked perfect. Kind of softened all his rough edges.
“Uh, yeah,” I put my eyes firmly back on the road before I killed us. Wouldn't that be ironic?
“Boyfriend?”
“Huh?” I shot another look over to him.
“Is it your boyfriend who's chasing after you?” Killian enunciated each word carefully, like I was slow.
“No, he's not my boyfriend,” I ignored his insulting tone, fair play and all, and added, “But not for lack of trying.” I must have made a funny face because Killian chuckled.
“Not interested, eh?”
“Too interested,” I sighed. “He's not for me. Or maybe the problem is everyone thinks he's perfect for me. My father included.”
“So you don't want this guy because everyone thinks you should want him? That's a little teenage angsty, isn't it?” Killian leaned back in the passenger seat, pushing the chair as far away from the dash as it could go, and put his rifle in the back seat. Then he sat up and stretched his legs. He was lucky it was a Land Rover or he might have still been cramped.
“Maybe,” I grimaced, “But I also happen to already be seeing someone,” I shrugged.
“You got a man and everyone still wants you with this other dude?”
Damn but Killian had a way of simplifying things so that they became perfectly clear to me. Human reasoning, that's what I'd needed.
“Yeah,” I gave him a look of pure affront. “Rude, right?”
“Totally,” Killian agreed. “What does your boyfriend think of all this?”
I swallowed uncomfortably and kept my eyes on the road.
“No way,” Killian sat up straight in his seat, knocking the top of his head on the car ceiling in the process. He rubbed absently at his scalp as he eased down a little, but he kept his eyes pinned on me in horror. “Even your boyfriend thinks you should be with this other guy?”
“This other guy is the King of Unseelie. I actually helped to put him on the throne,” I grumbled. “If I married him, it would unite two thirds of Fairy. Danu herself wants us together.”
“You keep mentioning Danu,” his tone went low. “Have you actually spoken to the Goddess? Like, not just in prayer, but as two people talking. Like we're doing right now.”
“Yeah,” I shot him a smile. “You guys can't hear her here. This is her brother's world. Technically, you're a halfling. A child of both Danu and Anu. Kind of like me. But Anu doesn't seem to like us half-breeds, so Danu claims us. Still, you have to go into Fairy for her to be able to speak to you. Then you'd probably hear her too.”
“I could speak to the Goddess?” Killian sounded awestruck.
“Yeah, but you'd get changed in the process,” I glanced at him. “Fairy brings out your feyness. The magic in the land enhances your magic. Storm witches are descended from sylphs and Flame witches are...” I frowned and pursed my lips. “You know what? I don't know actually what Flamers are descended from.”
“Why does it matter?” Killian grimaced and added, “And please don't call me a Flamer again.”
“Yeah, it's not the best name,” I chuckled. “As far as why it matters, those would be the traits you'd inherit. You would physically transform as soon as you stepped into Fairy. I got these star eyes and a purple stripe in my hair. Nothing major that I can't deal with. But since I have no idea what fey race Flame witches are descended from, I can't tell you what might happen to you. The change could be anything. Something minor, like growing a tiny pair of wings, or as major as a complete alteration. You could be turned into something you'd consider hideous.”
“How hideous?” Killian scowled.
“Do you know what a dullahan is?” I countered.
“Yeah,” he went a little pale.
“Those are the fairies Beckoners are descended from,” I shook my head and swallowed hard. “The results aren't pretty.”
“Maybe I'd better stay here,” Killian made a face.
“Yeah, maybe,” I snorted.
“So the Goddess wants you to hook up with a king,” he went back to our earlier conversation. “And your boyfriend approves? Your man sounds like a pansy ass motherfucker to me.”
I burst into laughter.
“Tiernan is about as far away from being a pansy as he could get,” I was still laughing a little. “He's a Lord of the Wild Hunt.”
“Oh,” Killian harrumphed. “Maybe not the pansy part then. But I still think he's an ass, if he's trying to give his girlfriend away.”
“Well,” I squirmed a little, “that's not exactly what he wants.”
“What else could he...” Killian trailed off.
I could feel his stare on me. I squirmed more.
“No fucking way!” Killian shouted. “A threesome? Are they both down for that?”
“It's perfectly acceptable in Fairy,” I threw him an I-can't-believe-it-either look. “Especially for royalty.”
“No shit?”
“No shit,” I cleared my throat.
“So what's the problem?”
“The problem is, I'm not down with that,” I scowled at the shadowy road before us. “I don't want to be with two guys. And frankly, I don't think I want to be Queen of Unseelie. It's hard enough being Princess of Twilight. I don't want to be responsible for another whole kingdom of fairies. It sounds almost as exhausting as trying to keep two men happy.”
“Yeah, I hear ya,” Killian nodded and settled back into his seat. “My mom wanted me to run for Mayor of the Hallow once. I told her she was drea
ming. I don't want to live my life trying to please a whole community of people. That's too much pressure. I'd rather just please myself.”
“That's very similar to what I've been saying to Tiernan,” I huffed. “It's my life, I'll love whomever I want.”
“Why didn't he come with you?” Killian's perceptive stare settled on me again. “Your non-pansy boyfriend.”
“We got in a fight,” I admitted.
“Over the other dude?”
“Kind of,” I shut my eyes briefly in regret. There were a few things I wished I could take back.
“You gonna tell me any more or just leave me hanging?” Killian prodded.
“You don't really want to hear about my weird love life,” I rolled my eyes.
“Yeah, I do. This is better than a reality show.”
I heard the smile in his voice, and when I glanced at him, it was confirmed. Killian had a great smile. It jacked up his looks from Captain of the Football Team to Captain Tight Pants (and if you don't know that reference, go and watch Firefly now, you heathen). Come to think of it, Killian looked a little like Captain Malcolm Reynolds. He had a very similar nose. But his lips were fuller, and his face more chiseled, and... okay, he looked nothing like Mal.
“Twilight?” Killian lifted an auburn brow.
“Huh?”
“The fight?”
“Oh. Right,” I cleared my throat. “The fight started about Raza, but it ended with Tiernan slapping me. I didn't think he had it in him to hit a woman. He's always been chivalrous to the point where it's almost annoying.”
“I think I'd like to meet this guy,” Killian's ferocious tone had me glancing over to him again. “I don't care what happened between you, a man doesn't hit a woman. Not ever. He needs to be taught a lesson.”
“I did hit him first,” I offered. “Though that was earlier, and he deserved it.”
“You slapped him?”
“Yep,” I sighed.
“Still doesn't matter,” he shook his head. “A slap from a woman is a wake-up call. If you're a real man, it doesn't even hurt that much. But when a man slaps a woman, he's got more strength behind it and usually a larger hand. A man can do more damage. That's why a he needs to show more restraint. You never hit a woman. Unless she's a soldier who's trying to kill you. But then, you just kill her. You don't slap her. That would be ridiculous.”
