Witchbane (Book 5 in The Twilight Court Series)

by Amy Sumida

  “He said I wasn't his daughter,” I whispered. “That's not the kind of thing you ever say to family.”

  “Yes, well,” Murdock cleared his throat and handed me a set of keys. “You were his daughter. Everyone knows that. Blood has nothing to do with it. From here on out, you are Princess Seren of Twilight, daughter of King Keir. But before this moment, you were Extinguisher Seren Sloane, daughter of Extinguisher Ewan Sloane and Extinguisher Catriona Sloane. No one can take that from you. Not even Ewan himself.”

  “Thank you, Councilman,” I squeezed the words out of my constricted throat as I took the keys from him. “What are these?”

  “Keys to the house in Hawaii,” he said. “I believe his car is still at Honolulu Airport. You'll have to go and pick it up before it gets impounded. But as for the house, you can take your time sorting through it. The Council will take care of the rent and utilities until you're ready to close it up.”

  “That's too much-” I started to protest, but he cut me off.

  “It's what we would do for any extinguisher,” he said sternly, “and we will do it for you. The fact that you're now a princess, does not make a difference here.”

  “I appreciate that, Councilman,” I nodded.

  “You're welcome, Princess Seren,” he said respectfully, his tone as well as his words, telling me clearly that from this day forward, I would stop being an extinguisher to him.

  With Ewan's death, I lost my last link to the Extinguishers. I would forever consider myself one, and as Ambassador, I would continue to work with the Human Council. But my family fighting unit was gone, and there would be no place for me within the military force of psychic warriors anymore.

  Extinguisher Seren had died with her father.

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  The keys jangled in my hands as I entered the suite of rooms I was staying in. Ewan's keychain was a simple thing, a silver candle snuffer. The symbol of the Extinguishers. It was so typical of Ewan, that it made me smile. He had lived, slept, and breathed as an extinguisher. To discover that his daughter wasn't his, and that she was half Fey, must have been the worst blow that he could have received.

  “I'm going to give you peace, Dad,” I whispered down to the silly thing. “I'll be the daughter you raised and make you proud.”

  I sighed and opened the door to find my Guard lounging around in various states of recreation. Some were playing cards, some were eating, some were just conversing. They all stopped what they were doing to look at me.

  “Any news?” Conri asked immediately.

  “Not yet,” I stared down at the keys in my hand. “But there's somewhere I need to go.”

  “Where's that, Princess?” Gradh asked.

  “Hawaii,” I looked up at her. “When's twilight?”

  “The sun sets around 6:30 here,” Gradh dutifully answered.

  I'd known it was close, but I hadn't realized it was that close. After all the meetings I'd had that day, it was after 6PM already. I had mere minutes to get my Guard ready.

  “Okay grab your things,” I said to them. “We're walking the In-Between to Hawaii as soon as twilight comes.”

  “Where in Hawaii?” Ainsley asked.

  “Oh, right,” I frowned. It helped to have actually been somewhere you were trying to travel to. It directed the magic of the In-Between. “Can we hold hands or something?”

  “Only if I get to stand between you and Gradh,” Conri smirked, and got hit by Gradh for his efforts.

  “Yes, Princess,” Gradh answered. “That would work.”

  “Then hurry up,” I waved to them. “Unless you want me to leave without you.”

  A flurry of activity was the response to my words. My nine remaining guard members scooped up weapons and pulled on discarded boots. It really only took them moments. A guard member was a lot like an extinguisher, always prepared for action. So when twilight arrived, we were all standing in a circle, holding hands, ready to levitate.

  The power rushed through us all, and a collective sigh emerged from us. As one, we began to hover, just barely off the ground. Between earth and sky we floated, accessing the In-Between as only twilight fairies could. One moment we were in Ireland, and the next we were standing outside my old home in Hawaii.

  We all squinted in the sudden sunlight. The heat and humidity of the Hawaiian morning were oppressive after the crisp Ireland evening. But I acclimated fast, and the heat became a balm, easing my stiff muscles as the humidity softened my skin.

  “Pay attention everyone,” Conri announced. “I'm about to give you a special treat.”

  He removed his tunic, pulling it out from beneath his belt so that his sword hung a little lower on his hips. I'd never admit it to him, but it was a treat. Conri's chest was a thing of manly beauty. Perfectly sculpted, with silky hair curling in a V pattern which led the eye to a set of washboard abs that hadn't seen a day in the gym. This was pure warrior muscle, and it was sigh inducing. Except there were only two women there. One of them wasn't interested (me) and the other didn't want Conri to know she was interested (Gradh). So we both rolled our eyes and looked away.

  There weren't any gay men in my Guard (not that I knew of at least) so there was no one else to appreciate Conri, except Conri. He posed despite the lack of attention, making the male members of my Guard chuckle before pulling off their own tunics. I really couldn't blame them, the heat would increase as the morning progressed. I almost wished I could remove my top. But we'd draw enough attention as it was, with eight gorgeous men displaying their beautiful bodies in the middle of a neighborhood which was only just stumbling awake. People would think they were still dreaming.

  “Let's get inside,” I shook my head. The little old lady who lived across the street would have a heart attack if she saw all of them at once.

  I walked to the front doors as memories assaulted me. This driveway was the place I'd first met Tiernan. Ewan and I had stopped Tiernan and his hunters from taking Aideen. She'd been wanted for murder at the time, but she insisted she was innocent and had information worth her life. Of course, the whole thing had been a ruse created by my real father, Keir, to get me into Fairy. But at the time, the danger had been very real. I could have easily died before I stepped one foot into the Fairy Realm.

  What a mess that had been. Tiernan's team had rebelled and come after me, even though he forbid it. I killed two of them, but the last guy lived. His name is Ryvel, and he's a nasty piece of work who's had it out for me ever since. He'd been a hunter assigned to the Twilight Council House, but my father had requested that Ryvel been transferred. So at least he wasn't in my kingdom anymore.

  Tiernan's image flashed before me, just as he'd been that first day. Standing in my driveway in full fairy armor, looking like a fantasy come to life. I'd had a sense of premonition about him then, seeing him above me. A glimpse of our first time together. It ached to remember it now, but suddenly, something High Councilman Murdock said came back to me. About family being able to say horrible things to each other because that kind of love is strong enough to survive. It sounded very similar to what Raza had said about Tiernan, that Tiernan had believed our love was strong enough to survive the truth. I dearly hoped it was, even as I shivered through the memory of Raza's kiss.

  Sweet Goddess I was messed up. I shook my head and found the key I needed.

  Ewan and I hadn't spent a lot of time in this house. Hawaii was where we'd been sent after my mother's death drove us both a little crazy. We'd taken every assignment we could get our hands on after Catriona died, making a name for ourselves as bloodthirsty extinguishers. The Human Council had finally caught wind of our savagery and put a stop to it. They sent us to Hawaii, a place with very few fairy issues. Of course, those issues came looking for me.

  I opened the front door, my Guard close behind me. Their shirts may have been over their shoulders (except for Gradh of course), but their hands were on their sword hilts. They were ready to defend me. In fact, two of them slipped in ahead of me, w
hile four others split up and circled the outside of the house. The rest of them followed the first two inside, and I was left to take up the rear with an eye roll.

  The house was stuffy, even more oppressive than it was outside. I went from room to room, opening all of the windows and turning on fans. I didn't stop to look at anything yet, I just wanted to focus on one task at a time. That was how I intended to make it through this. Step one: open windows, step two: turn on fans, step three: … what was step three? What was I even doing there?

  The four guardsmen who'd circled the house, stayed outside to keep watch. The five inside with me, each chose a room and took up a guard position in it. Conri chose the kitchen. I shook my head as he began to guard the inside of the refridgerator.

  “Doesn't this guy eat anything good?” Conri whined as he perused the nearly bare shelves.

  A pitcher of water sat beside a carton of eggs, a tub of butter, some condiments, and a loaf of bread. Conri opened a drawer and found some luncheon meat and bacon. He pulled them out and tossed them on the counter. I lifted a brow.

  “Better not to let them go to waste,” he shrugged and I had to agree.

  “Alright, but make enough for everyone,” I said.

  “Are you kidding me?” Conri waved a hand towards the meager supplies.

  “Make do,” I nodded towards the cabinets. “There will be more food in there.”

  “Oh, smart thinking,” he nodded and started rooting through the cupboards.

  “Good job, bargest,” Gradh rolled her eyes as she came up beside me. “Ainsley is in Extinguisher Sloane's room, Felix is standing guard in your old quarters, Ennis is in the office, and I'll be watching the bathroom and the hallway, Princess.”

  “Thank you, Gradh,” I walked past her. “Keep an eye on Conri too.”

  “Yes, Princess,” she sighed as if Conri were the hardest job of all.

  I headed for Ewan's room, realizing that I was here to reconnect with him. My grief needed something to hold onto, something to remind me of who Ewan was. I don't know what it is about death that makes us need to verify the life that was lost. Maybe the lack of life creates a vacuum which needs to be immediately filled. It sure felt that way in my heart.

  I went in, nodding to Ainsley, and stood in the center of the room. It was spartan, as the entire home was. Most of Ewan's things were still in boxes, he never bothered to unpack after we moved. Dad had been too focused on finding fairies to kill.

  Goddess, we'd been so bitter then. I'd recovered faster than he had, my anger fading to a slow burn. Ewan had stayed hot though. He had loved Catriona so intensely, and her death had broken something inside him. Then her betrayal finished the job. Ewan had nothing left to give me, even after he'd calmed enough to realize that my conception had nothing to do with me. Still, his last words had been for me, and he'd left me everything he had. It wasn't much, especially when compared to what Keir offered me. But it wasn't about the possessions, it was the fact that Ewan had still considered me his child.

  And that meant everything.

  “I need some privacy, Ainsley.”

  “Princess, I really shouldn't,” he stammered.

  “Ainsley,” I tossed him the keys. “I also need someone to go to the airport and pick up Ewan's car. Conri will probably be the best choice. He knows how to drive and he'll also be able to scent out the vehicle.”

  “Yes, Princess,” Ainsley hurried out, now that he had a mission, closing the door behind him.

  I fell on the bed, relieved to be able to finally grieve alone, or at least mostly alone, and in a place appropriate to my grief. I curled up on Ewan's pillow. The scent of his shampoo still clung to the fabric. It hastened my tears, and I pulled the pillow to my face to breathe in deeper.

  Ewan had been a stern father. He had valued discipline and strength more than affection. Catriona had been the one to show me love, to soothe the hurts that come with childhood. Ewan didn't soothe. He was the parent who told me to wipe away my tears and get my ass up. Extinguishers don't have time for tears.

  After meeting Keir, and learning the way a father could be, Ewan had seemed cruel to me. I'd been a little bitter over the way he'd raised me. But now I realized that Ewan had been cold out of love. He had played the bad cop, allowing his wife to be the kind parent. Ewan had known that too much sweetness would ruin me as a soldier. So he had been the one to toughen me up. Now that I'd seen proof of his love, I wondered how hard it had been for him to treat me like that. I imagined what it would be like to have a daughter of my own. To force myself to be harsh with her, instead of comforting her and telling her I would make it all better. To be cruel to her so that she could be strong. It must have been hell for him. My throat closed up as my eyes squeezed shut in pain.

  “Thank you, Daddy,” I whispered. Then I wiped my face resolutely. “Extinguishers don't have time for tears.”

  I put Ewan's pillow down and looked around the room. The walls were bare, the open closet had only black clothes hanging inside it, and the dresser had only an iron dagger and a comb on it. I sat up, sniffling, and then got to my feet. I took the dagger and stuck it into my boot. Then I started opening drawers. I just wanted to look at more of his things, try and trigger some more memories, hopefully good ones, and maybe find a few mementos to take with me.

  I wasn't prepared for what I actually found.

  A heap of letters, all on fine parchment, and written in an elegant hand. I scowled and pulled them out of the drawer. It was bright in the room, sun streaming through the open windows, but I still went and turned on the overhead light. I wanted to see this in glaring clarity. I needed to be certain of what I was holding.

  I sat down on the bed, the letters clutched in my hands, and began to read them, one after another. They were all from Keir. My birth father had been writing to the man I'd thought was my father. And it looked like he'd been writing to Ewan for a good amount of time. Ever since I'd moved to Twilight.

  And Ewan had kept the letters.

  Something fell out of the stack. It fluttered to the floor and I leaned over to see my own face looking up at me. It was a photo of me and Cat, no doubt taken on the digital camera I'd given Keir. In fact, I was sure of it, because I remembered when Keir took that photo. Cat and I had been laying on the floor before the fireplace in Keir's bedroom. Keir had got up to fetch the camera and when I turned to see what he was about, he'd snapped the picture.

  I was looking at the camera with a soft expression, a candid shot of me just before I spoke. Cat's head was on my lap, filling it completely, and the rest of her stretched behind me like a furry backdrop. The fire gave my face striking shadows, but my eyes looked peaceful. The photograph was worn at the edges, as if it had been handled a lot.

  I picked it up and held it to my chest, swallowing hard. The letters Keir had wrote had been progress reports. The first one was a little cold, obviously uncertain of its reception. Keir had informed Ewan that he understood how hard this must be, but to try and see it from his perspective. As a man who had no part of his child's life. He had told Ewan that Catriona had loved two men, and she'd been forced to hurt them both, one by denying him his family, and the other by denying him the truth. But because of their shared love for her, and because of the gratitude Keir felt for Ewan for raising me, Keir offered Ewan information on my new life. He promised to keep Ewan informed of my health and progress as the new Princess of Twilight.

  Ewan must have wrote back, because Keir's letters became more and more personal. He shared little details of my days with Ewan, moments he thought Ewan might enjoy. And Keir told Ewan of my heartbreak over losing him as my father. Keir confided his own fears and insecurities in his new role as my father, and even asked Ewan advice. Miracle of miracle, it appeared that Ewan had offered it.

  They had become pen pals!

  I couldn't process my feelings over it. On one hand, I was deeply touched that these two men had connected because of me. On the other hand, I was furious that Keir hadn't t
old me. It would have been such a comfort to me to have known that Ewan still wanted to know about my life. That he still cared. But Keir had kept that to himself. He'd hoarded Ewan.

  Why? I couldn't fathom it. Why would Keir keep this a secret? I continued to read, frowning over sections where Keir spoke of Tiernan and his hopes for our relationship. Ewan had become Keir's confessor, and Keir had confided all the things he couldn't speak of to others in his kingdom. He even told Ewan about Raza. Keir suspected that Raza and I were already intimate. That made me even more furious because it meant that Keir thought I was lying to him.

  I wished I'd had Ewan's letters too. I would have loved to have known what he thought of my relationship with a dragon-djinn. The smile that broke across my face came as a surprise to me, and I treasured it. It was proof that my heart would heal. But my smile faded when I read the next letter.

  This letter was in response to something Ewan had wrote about the witches. Keir was saying that he agreed with Ewan's suspicions, and assured him that the Fairy Council would be careful in their dealings with the Coven. This wasn't all that surprising. Everyone was suspicious of the new supernatural race in our midst. What was upsetting was that Keir had encouraged Ewan to watch the witches as much as possible. Keir told Ewan to take every assignment he could which would bring him into contact with the witches. Keir had made it sound as if watching the witches were imperative to my safety. Which meant...

  “Keir was the reason Ewan went to Alaska,” I whispered.

  Have you ever been so deeply wounded and betrayed that you feel actual physical pain? A searing agony surged through my chest, splitting it in two, as the letters fell from my numb hands. I knew, deep down, that it wasn't Keir's fault. My mind kept trying to tell my body that. Keir couldn't possibly have known what would happen to Ewan. He couldn't have known that Ewan would ask for the assignment to Alaska so he could have a chance to work with the witches. And Keir couldn't have known that Rue would then kill Ewan and turn him into a walking corpse. He couldn't have known.