by Unknown
Yes, they're learning to change on their own now.
I didn't answer her. This wasn't a moment I wanted to interrupt but she knew what I was thinking anyway. How happy I was that the fey were progressing past the stagnant lives they'd been living.
“Uh, King Guirmean?” One of the water fey guards, a selkie by the look of his dark hair and eyes, came forward. “There is still the issue of the maelstroms.”
“Oh,” Guirmean blinked and pulled away from Nora completely. “You're so distracting,” he teasingly chided her and she blushed, hiding it by bending to pick up her sword.
It was really cute for the brief moment before Nora remembered that she was Captain of the Calvary. She nodded brusquely to him before falling back into line with the other phookas. Then Guirmean looked at me meaningfully.
“Yeah, I know,” I sighed and lifted a pouch up for him to see. “I've got my pixie pearl. I assumed the maelstroms are underwater.”
“Very good, Queen Vervain,” Guirmean grinned. “But those human trousers may not be so suitable for swimming.”
“Oh, right,” I looked down at my jeans. “Jeans get pretty heavy when wet. At least I'm not wearing a dress.”
“Perhaps we should just use the air stones that King Fionn gave us,” Arach suggested as he pulled them out of a pouch on his belt.
“I think that would be best,” Guirmean nodded and then waved a hand toward the back of the castle. “Shall we?”
Chapter Twenty-Six
We were on our way through the tubes(the glass tunnels that led to the twin cities of Under and Water), heading toward the first guard outpost, when we were stopped by the ugliest woman I've ever seen. I'm sorry. I don't like to be judgmental and I've learned to find the beauty in some of the most unusual faces but this was truly a hideous woman.
She was mostly covered in a dark shroud, the ends of which were wet and trailing through the sandy floor, leaving deep runnels in her wake. I was thankful for that shroud because what I could see of her was enough to make me wish I hadn't gone to the Water Kingdom that day.
Her skin was slimy looking and dripped thick fluids. Her hands were webbed and long. Stringy black hair hung from beneath the folds of her hood and little crustaceans were crawling through it. I couldn't see her eyes but she had one nostril in her pebbly nose, no septum to divide it into two. The mouth under that nose had damp lips that held traces of seaweed in the corners. At least I hoped it was seaweed. When she opened her mouth to speak, I could see only one large tooth, dead center in the top. I felt horrible for her, the poor thing.
“The water spirits are restless,” she said in a gurgling voice. “The creatures of the deep are seeking refuge. There is trouble brewing from within, my King.”
That's putting it mildly.
“Do you know what's causing it?” I was actually asking Faerie but it was the slimy woman who answered.
“No, Queen of Fire,” she said, “but I don't think your talents will help here. The element herself is unbalanced. I can feel the unease inside me.”
“I feel it too,” Guirmean agreed. “Thank you, Nainsidh. I appreciate the warning.”
“That's what we bean nighe do best.” She cackled and hobbled away, dragging her shroud through the sand and dripping slime as she went.
“Yeah,” I mumbled. “That was helpful.”
It was, actually. If you would just listen, you might learn something.
“I was listening,” I said more loudly. “Did you have something to add?”
“Is Faerie speaking to you?” Guirmean rushed back to me.
“Yep, it's her again,” I said dryly.
“Faerie, please,” Guirmean started to look hopeful. “Do you know what's happening in the Water Kingdom?”
All I can sense is unbalance. She spoke to both Guirmean and me. Something is gathering strength and it's upsetting the element of water.
“And you don't know what it is?” I pressed.
No but it's of this realm. There's no outside influence.
“Well at least there's that,” I huffed in relief. I hated having to go back and forth between realms to investigate. “Alright, let's go take a look at one of these maelstroms.”
Venturing into the water is unnecessary. View it from the safety of the tunnels. Any evidence that you may have found is certainly swept up by now but I don't think there was anything to find to begin with. I don't think this was done through physical action. There is magic afoot.
“If we can find a maelstrom close to a tube, that'll work,” I suppressed the urge to make a foot joke. “But if we can't, I'm going to have to go in. I need to see one of these for myself.”
“I agree,” Arach placed a reassuring hand on my back. “Lead on, King Guirmean.”
And be wary.
“Always,” I assured her and though she didn't say anything back, I felt a distinct sense of doubt.
We lucked out and came across a fresh maelstrom within just a few feet, right outside of the tunnel we were using. We all hurried to the clear wall and stared with rapt fascination at the swirl of water that started to churn faster and faster. As we watched, it became more powerful, pulling in everything in the vicinity. Seaweed, coral, even sand was yanked into the vortex. No fish though. It was like the sea creatures were in hiding. We hadn't seen a single one during the entire journey underwater.
It was very strange. Normally the waters were teeming with life. Nainsidh was right. The creatures were seeking refuge. I hoped they all found it and that it was good enough to save them from the maelstroms. I frowned as the water started looking murky from all the debris the maelstrom was churning up. It was unsettling.
And there wasn't a single clue as to the source of it.
“Anything?” Guirmean asked, right on cue.
“Nothing,” I whispered and pressed my face to the glass. A chunk of coral clanked into the tunnel near my face and I pulled away, startled. “That was odd timing.”
“I'm not sure it was,” Arach frowned and leaned in toward the glass.
Another chunk of coral launched itself toward him, hitting the glass right in front of his nose. Arach nodded, not at all startled by the attack, and pulled back. I felt my eyes widen.
“Not a coincidence then,” I shared a look with him. “Whatever this is, it doesn't like fire.”
“That's not exactly surprising,” Guirmean was still staring at the spot the coral had struck. Luckily fey glass was super strong. There wasn't even a mark. “We are in Water.”
“But the element itself has no feelings,” Arach slid his dragon gaze over to Guirmean. “That kind of reaction requires a certain amount of emotion. Of the darker variety.”
“No! No! No!” I said, doing my Lavon Hayes impersonation(Hart of Dixie), which of course no one would recognize but which I still felt inclined to do. “Not the dark fey. I refuse to believe it's them. They've got themselves under control.”
“You haven't seen them in three months,” Arach lifted a brow. “Just like the rest of us.”
“Was that a just like the rest of us as in I haven't seen all of you in three months,” I narrowed my eyes on him. “Or just like the rest of us as in no one has seen them in three months either?”
“The latter,” Arach nodded smugly.
“No one's seen the dark fey in three months?” I nearly shrieked. “And you didn't think to go check on them?”
“Who am I to keep guard of the dark?” Arach frowned at me.
“Yeah, yeah,” I rolled my eyes. “You're not your brother's keeper. Got it, Cain. That didn't work out so well for him, by the way.”
“Was that a biblical reference?” Arach blinked at me. “From a witch?”
“Hey, I'm versatile,” I pointed a him. “Don't change the subject. Someone should have checked on them. After all that crap we just went through, they should at least be checked on. If not for their sake, then for ours.”
“Fine,” Arach sighed. “We'll go check on the damn dark fey right now.�
�
“It may be too late for that,” I looked back toward the maelstrom.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
As thrilled as I was to not have to enter the actual water of the Water Kingdom, I was hesitant to return to the Dark Kingdom. The last time I'd seen the dark fey was when Faerie had created new races of the dark through me. I think they'd been happy with that, it saved them from going insanely bad, but sometimes it was hard to tell with those guys.
And then there was the way Arach hated King Rowan.
To be fair, Rowan kind of deserved it. He'd messed with Arach's emotions and then messed with me. Two things Arach didn't put up with. But that was during their period of adjustment, right after we'd made the dark fey from the Darkness, and the dark fey had been a little unstable. I was hoping things had settled down with them but if these maelstroms were their doing, I had no idea how to fix it.
Our carriage glided down the smooth mountain path into the Dark Kingdom without hindrance. We'd mirrored ahead and King Rowan had been delighted to have us visit but I wouldn't truly be sure of our welcome until I saw Rowan face-to-face. That guy was wily. Very, very wily. Just call him Mr. Coyote. Okay, I took that too far but now that I'm thinking about it, Bugs Bunny was way more wily than the Coyote. Maybe it was an irony thing, like calling a big man Tiny.
Anyway, the barren mountain top gave way slowly to clinging bushes and patches of grass. The plant life grew more and more lush the further down we went, culminating in a thick forest. The temperature dropped as our carriage leveled out and was enveloped by the shadows of the Dark Forest.
Sounds like a creepy fairy tale forest, doesn't it? The Dark Forest. Wooo, scary. It really wasn't. It was alive with color and sound, the dark creatures hunting, hiding, or flying through the air. Basically doing what forest creatures everywhere did. It was all very normal. Well, not the creatures themselves, they were quite abnormal. I'd seen them before but still, I stared out the window, fascinated by the show of plumage and patterned fur. Bright eyes stared back at me curiously, completely without fear. They hadn't learned that yet and I hoped they never would.
Then the cool shade of the forest gave way to bright sunlight drenched fields. There was a huge, glassy lake to our left and we followed a path around it, heading towards Castle Tempest, which perched on a cliff above the lake. The smooth surface of the lake was broken by ripples of underwater life and occasionally that underwater life would leap out above the water, giving me a glimpse of fish I couldn't remember creating. I must have though, well Faerie did through me, we made every living thing in the Dark Kingdom.
The dark castle was stunning but also a little foreboding. Unlike the Dark Forest, it lived up to its name. I stared up at it as we reached the road that led up the cliff side. It loomed, black stone shining in the sun, towers lifting up their intricate adornments to the sky like offerings to a war god. It made me shiver.
Even though I'd had a hand in its creation as well, Castle Tempest held mixed emotions for me. I could still remember the feel of those chains around my wrists. Damn but I hated chains. It seemed like people were forever trying to chain me up and forever trying to one up each other with the power of those chains. I sighed, hoping that this visit wouldn't reveal yet another issue with the dark. I was so tired of fighting it and I was done being afraid of it.
“Though my soul may set in darkness, it will rise in perfect light,” Arach whispered to me as his hand sought my neck. I turned slowly to smile at him.
“I have loved the stars too fondly, to be fearful of the night,” I finished the quote. “That's a little past your time with the humans. Or have you been using the computer to read poetry when I'm not here?”
“I happen to love poetry,” he slid a smile at me. “And you looked so apprehensive, I felt like you needed a reminder of who you are.”
“A part of them,” I gaped as the words became clear to me. It may not have been Ms. William's original meaning but that's what's so great about poetry, you can take the words and make them your own. “As we all are. Though we're different elements, we're all fey and we're all born in darkness.”
“Yes,” his eyes were bright in the shadows of the carriage. “And though some of us return there more often than others, we always come back to the light.”
“How curious,” I said softly. “You're actually standing up for them.”
“Why does that surprise you?” He sat back from me and searched my face.
“Well, you're the one who suggested they could be behind the maelstroms in the first place.”
“I'm merely following the evidence, as I've seen you do,” he shrugged.
“And then there's your continued animosity towards Rowan.”
“My animosity, as you call it,” he scoffed, “has nothing to do with him being a dark fey and everything to do with the way he looks at you.”
“He's not interested in me,” I rolled my eyes.
“So you keep saying,” Arach grimaced. “And yet, I have the distinct impression that you're wrong.”
“At least you don't hold all the dark fey responsible for his faults,” I winked at him.
“That would be unfair,” he shrugged, “and hypocritical. How can I fault them for following their instincts, when we fire fey are known for doing the very same thing?”
“We are?”
“Darling, we're dragons,” he gave me a feral smirk. “Sometimes it's all we have.”
An echoing clatter alerted us to the fact that we were crossing over the drawbridge. I tried not to think about the misty darkness that filled the moat. We weren't there to harm anyone, so whatever it was that filled the moat should stay calm.
Thankfully, I was right and it stayed put, far below us. In mere moments we were pulling up to the main door of the keep and Arach was jumping out of the carriage to help me down.
“Welcome, King Arach, Queen Vervain,” Rowan himself stood at the top of the black castle steps to greet us. “I'm so excited to have you here. We've got grand news to share with you.”
“You do?” I looked him over. His face was relaxed and displayed every sign of happiness. Not an expression I'd have expected to see on a mischief maker. Roarke, for example, hardly ever looked that way.
“We do,” Rowan nodded and waved us in. “Please, come inside. Have you had your mid-day meal? I've had some food laid out for us.”
“Sounds good,” I looked over to Arach and found his eyes narrowed on Rowan. So I wasn't the only one who was wary of the Dark King.
“Excellent!” Rowan shook Arach's hand and gave me a quick kiss on the cheek before showing us inside. “We've done so well since we've last met. The new fey have really been a big help, everyone has a role to fill and they all do their parts perfectly. As you can hear,” he waved his arm towards the rooms we passed, “the castle is full of laughter now. It really has become a home.”
“I'm so happy for you,” I blinked at his back. This was a different man from the Rowan I'd first met. “So you've got your element under control?”
“Oh, yes,” he laughed a little as he glanced back at us. “It's a huge weight off our shoulders. No more urges to create upheaval with other fey. The dark is easy to control now that it's been spread out amongst the new fey.”
“That's wonderful news,” I followed him into the large dining hall and took the seat he offered me at the high table. “Was that what you were going to tell us?”
“No, this is,” a feminine voice cut into the conversation. I looked up and saw Dahlia walking over to us. An obviously pregnant Dahlia. She beamed at us while she rubbed a hand over her stomach. “We're going to have a baby.”
I felt Arach tense beside me and when I looked over at him, I saw the longing in his eyes. It must seem to him that everyone was having children except us, the one race on the verge of extinction. I knew we needed to have a child eventually and I hated seeing Arach hurt but I still wasn't ready. Everything was just too difficult right now, too dangerous. I couldn't risk it. A
nd yet, when I saw him look at Dahlia's belly like that, it made me want to. I clenched my teeth and stared down into my lap.
“Aren't you excited?” Rowan's voice faltered.
“Of course!” I jerked my head up. “We're very happy for you. Is it your child?”
“Mine?” Rowan's eyes widened. “Oh, no. The father of Dahlia's babe is Rue. Though we all will have a hand in raising it. We're just so thrilled to have the gift of fertility bestowed on us so soon. What with the difficulties in the other kingdoms, we never expected it.”
“Well,” I cocked my head in consideration. “You never had the close-minded views of the other fey. You were a part of the human world for so long, watching and moving among them. You're more open to change than any of the faeries. It's not surprising that you would be fertile. Plus, you were just made, you haven't had a chance to go into stasis.”
“Of course,” Rowan nodded. “I hadn't thought of it that way.”
“Good health to your child,” Arach raised his glass to Dahlia.
“Good health and happiness,” I added, raising mine as well.
“Thank you,” she smiled as she climbed the steps to the high table. “And may you two be blessed with your own child soon.”
Oh, how it seemed like the Universe hated me sometimes. What a horrible thing for her to say. I drank deeply, too afraid to look at Arach. I know, I can be such a chicken sometimes. I heard the thump of Arach's glass and finally chanced a glance at him. He was staring at me with a guarded expression. I gave him a hesitant smile and he took my hand, squeezing it gently.
You've wasted your time looking here. They're not behind the maelstroms.
“Well duh,” I mumbled under my breath. “Why didn't you mention that Dahlia was pregnant?”
I agreed with you. Someone needed to check on the dark fey, regardless of the situation in Water, and you wouldn't have gone if I'd told you it wasn't them.
“Unbelievable,” I rolled my eyes.
“Faerie?” Arach asked in a low tone.
“Yep.”
“So, what news do you have of the other kingdoms?” Rowan didn't seem to notice the Faerie side bar. “We haven't had the time to visit anyone lately.”
