by Amy Sumida
“We don't know anything for certain yet,” Horus murmured pensively.
A horrible ache had taken hold of my chest and fear flooded my limbs. I was responsible for Lugh reuniting with his mother. If she used their relationship to influence Cian, it would be my fault.
“Easy now,” Azrael murmured as he came up behind me to rub my shoulders. “You can return to Faerie and circumvent anything Ethniu may try to do.”
“As long as Vervain gets there before Ethniu convinces Cian to close Faerie off, and then Unk uses her unknown machine,” Trevor muttered.
“It's not an unknown machine,” Re said grimly. “I know it; that's what I've been trying to tell all of you. It even has a name; it's called the Ax.”
“I thought the Ax was a myth?” Odin whispered with horror.
“Our lives are myths,” Pan pointed out.
“Yes; but I thought it was a true myth,” Odin said. “Or a flat-out lie, meant to reassure the Atlantean populace.”
“What is the Ax?” Hekate asked impatiently. “And why would it reassure the populace of Atlantis?”
“The Ax is a device that can cut through the magic that binds the realms,” Re said solemnly. “At least in theory. We never tested it; it was one of those last resort weapons in case the Fey ever turned against us.”
“It breaks apart realms?” I asked in shock.
“Yes, but the realm it cuts away, must first be sealed from its end, or the wound will create a vacuum.” Re's expression went even grimmer.
“And nature abhors a vacuum,” I whispered.
“Just so.” Re nodded. “I have no idea what would fill the void left by Faerie, or conversely, what would fill the void left by the Aether on Faerie's end. But that isn't our problem; it doesn't sound as if Unk and her cohorts are crazy enough to employ the weapon under the wrong conditions. They're trying to get Cian to seal off Faerie, and if they succeed in convincing him, they could cut it away from our realms forever. All paths to Faerie would be closed, and it would be impossible for us to find the realm again. Vervain would never be able to return, even with her Ring of Remembrance.”
“Arach,” I murmured and my eyes began to tear, “my sons. I'd never see them again?”
Re nodded.
I jumped up. I was exhausted from my long night, but terror for my children fueled me.
“Vervain!” Trevor grabbed my hand. “Let's take a moment to think about this before you go running off. What are you going to do?”
“I'm going to go back in time, to when I last left Faerie, and I'm going to tell the High King that someone will try to betray him,” I said immediately.
“Someone?” Azrael asked. “Don't you think he'll demand more information than that?”
“I'll tell him everything I know, whatever it takes to make sure that he doesn't close the tracing point.”
“Take your emerald,” Odin's voice cut through the room like a knife.
I turned to look at him, met his striking, peacock-colored eyes, and nodded. Then I rushed into my dressing room, and my men followed me. As I hooked the necklace on, Odin came up behind me and laid his hands on my shoulders.
“Be careful, Vervain,” he murmured as he laid his cheek against mine. “If Ethniu gives you any trouble, take her magic into the gold.” He stroked the thick band of gold around my emerald pendant. “You take it all until you kill that bitch.”
I nodded, not bothering to tell him that I had numerous ways in which I could kill Ethniu if it came to that. I didn't have to resort to the emerald. But if it made him feel better, I was happy to take the extra protection.
Then I hugged my men goodbye and told them to kiss Lesya for me. I'd only be gone a moment, but just in case, I wanted to make sure that my last words were for my daughter. The men nodded grimly and watched as I asked my ring to take me back to Faerie.
Chapter Forty-Five
I reformed in the bedroom I shared with Arach in Castle Aithinne, King Cian still waiting in the mirror. Arach started to smile, but then he got a good look at me. He rushed over and laid a palm on my cheek.
“A Thaisce?” Arach's eyes flared a brighter shade of yellow, their concern turning to something more vicious as their slit pupils dilated.
I frowned in confusion as I watched him draw away his hand. It was trembling, but then he clenched it into a fist and lowered it to his side.
“I'm all right,” I assured Arach, writing off his actions as worry, and gently eased past him. “High King, the threat against Earth is over.”
“Thank Faerie,” Cian whispered.
Arach narrowed his eyes as he came to stand beside me. “But there's something else.”
“Yes,” I admitted. “I was taken prisoner by the gods who were using the first Atlantean machine.”
“The first?” Cian asked.
“Prisoner?” Arach growled.
“I'll tell you about it later,” I said to Arach before refocusing on the High King. “During my captivity, I overheard a conversation about another machine, and when I consulted with the God Squad, Re recognized it from my description. It's called the Ax.”
“The Ax?” Cian frowned and shook his head. “I've never heard of it.”
“It's a device that can split realms away from the Aether,” I explained.
Arach and Cian sucked in shocked breaths as one.
“But”—I held up a calming hand—“it can only be used if the realm being removed has sealed itself off, to begin with.”
“The tracing point?” High King Cian went right to the correct conclusion.
“Precisely,” I confirmed. “It seems as if this is a plot of multiple layers. First, the hits to the magnetic field; which I believe was meant to both harm me and compel me to warn you. They wanted to spook you into closing off Faerie. Now that I've failed to play my part and convince you to close the tracing point, they're deploying the second part of their plan; they're sending someone else here to convince you.”
“Someone else?” Cian scowled.
“I've come back nearly a week before this person went to Faerie, so we should have plenty of time to prepare for their arrival,” I said.
“You don't know who it is,” Arach surmised.
“No, but I have my suspicions,” I said softly. “Is Lugh still nearby?”
“I'm right here.” Lugh stepped up behind his father.
I grimaced; I was hoping to speak to Cian without him listening.
“What is it?” Lugh frowned when he saw my expression.
“This person who will be coming to convince the High King is a woman, and she is in league with a group of gods who have a vendetta against me,” I started carefully, not quite sure how to get it all out. I stumbled on. “She would also need to be able to enter Faerie on her own.”
“That doesn't necessarily make her fey,” Cian noted. “We have granted access to a few gods.”
“Yes; I'm aware.” I nodded. “The last qualification is that she would be a woman whom you trust, High King. Someone who, if she came to you and told you that you needed to close off Faerie, you would be inclined to listen to her.”
Silence stretched out as Cian frowned and pondered my words. Lugh scowled through his own speculation, but he didn't come to the conclusion that I had; it never even occurred to him. But it occurred to Cian. I was relieved when the High King looked up at me in shocked epiphany; it was far better to lead someone to a conclusion than to declare it and then have to convince them that you're right.
“I have an idea of whom you suspect,” Cian said slowly, casting a look back at his son.
I nodded.
“By the flame!” Arach swore as he arrived at the same conclusion. “You don't mean Ethniu, do you?”
I rolled my eyes and grimaced at my husband's lack of diplomacy. Lugh's eyes widened, and then he gaped at us.
“No; it's not possible!” Lugh shouted.
Cian shot Arach an angry look.
“Well done, dragon,” I said sarcastical
ly.
“Oh, you wanted to kitty-foot around the boy?” Arach huffed.
“It's pussyfoot,” I growled under my breath, “and a little tact would have been appreciated.”
“My mother is not in collusion with a bunch of gods who want to hurt you, Vervain,” Lugh declared defensively. “She adores you. You're the one who brought us back together, who made it possible for her to come here and visit me in the first place.”
I just stared at him.
“There are other gods who are allowed to visit Faerie,” Lugh went on. “My father just said so.”
High Cian sighed and turned to look at his son.
“But none of them have born you a son,” Lugh whispered in response to his father's look.
“We don't know this for certain.” Cian put a hand on his son's shoulder. “But Queen Vervain has given me a precious warning. Now I know not to close the tracing point, no matter what anyone tells me.”
“And that whoever tries to convince him to do so is in league with the gods who abducted my wife,” Arach snarled. “Which makes them—”
“This person will arrive in Faerie in six days, give or take a few hours,” I cut Arach off before he could threaten Ethniu's life in front of her son. “I don't know the time exactly.”
“I'll set up a covert watch at the Great Tree,” King Cian said. “Whenever this woman arrives, whomever she may be, we shall catch her.”
Behind the High King, Prince Lugh was looking a little lost and a bit green. He had only known his real parents for a short time; to have one of them turned into a traitor, right after his foster parents had betrayed him, would be crushing.
“Lugh,” I said gently. “It may not be her. Ethniu is just someone who fits the parameters. I could be wrong; I often am.”
“No; you're not,” Lugh said wearily. “And there's one other damning piece of evidence that I haven't told you about yet.”
Cian turned to look at his son.
“My mother is coming for a visit... in six days.”
Chapter Forty-Six
After Lugh dropped the Ethniu bomb, the High King nodded crisply, thanked me for my stalwart service, told us that he would handle it from there, and abruptly cleared the mirror. Arach and I were left staring at our shocked reflections. But that calm lasted only for a moment. Arach turned to me, eyes blazing and expression furious.
“Now, tell me why I smell another man's sex all over you!” He roared.
I cringed guiltily. I hadn't even considered that I hadn't showered after my ordeal with Toby. He was—most definitely—all over me. I reeked of him. But I had been so focused on speaking to my men, then the God Squad, and then on getting back to Faerie, that I had barely even eaten the chicken Trevor heated up for us. I was starving, hazy-headed, and bone-weary, but that was no excuse for showing up in Faerie, covered in another man's passion and kisses. Dear gods, I was a damn fool.
Arach saw my horrified expression and came to the correct conclusion. He grabbed the dresser before us by one corner and flung it into the wall across the room. It splinted against the rock, sending debris out in a deadly spray. A chunk of wood shot back at me like an arrow and sliced open my upper arm. I hissed in pain and clutched the wound. The sound of my distress broke through Arach's anger, and he took a deep breath, calming himself with obvious difficulty.
“What happened?” He ground out each word.
I told him everything. Arach's face shifted into shock, then anger, then back to shock again, before it finally settled into acceptance. He huffed a long, deep sigh and rubbed an elegant hand down his face; covering the sharp lines of his dragon features that had started to emerge with his agitation. By the time his hand made it to his chin, his face was back to normal and so was my heartbeat.
Instead of saying anything, Arach picked me up and carried me into the bathroom. He removed my clothes as I watched his expression warily. Then he set me in the bathtub and turned on the water. With that, he turned and left the room. I stared at the open door in shock as the water poured into the tub and warmed my feet. What the hell? Then I heard Arach shouting for Isleen, and a murmured conversation containing the word “food” in it. I lifted my brows at that, and my stomach rumbled in response.
Arach came back into the bathroom with a gentle expression on his face and knelt by the tub. He picked up a cloth and started washing me. I watched him the whole time; his careful movements, the way he moved the cloth over every inch of me, and the moisture collecting in his eyes.
“Arach,” I whispered, putting a hand over his. “Look at me.”
He swallowed convulsively and looked up. A tear slipped down his cheek, and it broke my control. I was already so tired; I couldn't take one more burden. My body had healed, but the memory of its abuse lingered like an ache just under my skin. The sight of Arach hurting was too much for me. I pulled him into an embrace, and we cried together; him silently, and I with big, sloppy sobs.
“I'm so sorry,” I whispered. “So sorry.”
“I know,” he said hollowly. “Once again, this is not your fault, Vervain. But it still hurts.”
Arach angled his head into the curve of my neck, and I held him to me like a child. He pulled me out of the tub—water splashing everywhere—and slid me onto his lap. But then he laid his head back where it had been, and I stroked his crimson hair tenderly.
“Every time you leave, I wonder if you will return,” Arach finally lifted his head and looked at me. “Those seconds that you are gone are the most harrowing of my life. But I thought the threat of you taking another lover had passed. I just wasn't prepared for this. I'm sorry I reacted so violently.”
“I don't care about the furniture, Arach.” I kissed him gently.
“I know,” he whispered. “But I don't want to scare you either.”
“You can tear the whole castle apart, and you wouldn't scare me.” I smiled confidently. “I know you'd never hurt the children or me. And I also know that anger needs an outlet; especially dragon anger. So, rage away, sweetheart.”
Arach chuckled softly.
“Good; I'm glad I didn't frighten you.”
“I wasn't scared about that,” I murmured. “But I was scared that you might not forgive me.”
“As I said; it's not—”
I put a finger to his lips and stopped his protest.
“It may not be my fault entirely, but it's more mine than it is yours,” I said.
Arach lifted a brow at me, and I kissed him, wrapping my body around him as I did so. He moaned, and his hands started to roam my body, but then he took a deep breath, and his ardor cooled. He drew away slowly and then lifted me back into the tub.
“I can't,” Arach growled. “I need you to get him off you before we're together again.”
“Okay,” I agreed quietly. “Go back into the bedroom and take off those wet clothes. I'll clean up and be out soon.”
“I ordered some food for you,” he said. “You come out and eat, and then we'll see how you feel before we appease my beast.”
“I'm fucking starving,” I admitted with a grin.
“I know, A Thaisce”—Arach smiled back—“I can hear your stomach from here.”
Arach winked at me and closed the door behind him.
Chapter Forty-Seven
I emerged from the bathroom refreshed and smelling only of myself and the rose soap that I used. Arach took a deep breath, smiled in satisfaction, and then he waved me toward our little dining set near the window. A feast had been laid out for us. Or at least I had thought it was for us. When I started chowing down, Arach merely sat back and watched me.
“You're not having any of this?” I asked him around a mouthful of food. Manners disappear when you're that hungry.
“No; you go ahead and eat your fill,” he said indulgently. “And then I want you to get some sleep.”
“But what about...”
“Making love to your sexiest husband?” Arach smirked. “There will be time for that later. We h
ave a six-day reprieve. I've had Isleen clear the royal schedule for us, so we won't have to handle any kingdom business. It will just be you, me, and the children.”
“That sounds amazing,” I sighed.
“It will be,” he said smugly.
“How did I get saddled with such arrogant men?” I asked the air around me.
You're just lucky like that, Faerie spoke into my head.
“You?” I asked in surprise. “What do you need now, Faerie?”
Arach lifted a brow but he knew enough to let me finish my conversation with the Consciousness of the Realm before asking to tell me what she was saying.
I don't want anything, you impertinent child, she huffed.
“Impertinent child?” I asked. “Have you been hanging out with Cian?”
I spend time speaking with several of my faeries now, she said gruffly.
“Uh-huh.”
I just wanted to tell you that you did well with that Atlantean machine, she went serious. And I heard about Ethniu. I will keep watch over the Great Tree along with the guards Cian sends.
“Thanks, Faerie,” I said sincerely.
It's not for you that I do this, she muttered. But, you're welcome. Now, go back to eating, and I shall return to protecting the realm.
Her presence faded away, and I smirked at Arach.
“She said I did well,” I told him.
“A compliment?” He asked in surprise.
“Veiled in sass,” I added, “and finished with a boast about protecting the realm.”
“That's a relief,” he said and chuckled. “If she had simply complimented you, I would have wondered if our world was ending.”
I heard that! Faerie's voice shot through both of our minds, and Arach grimaced.
“I meant you to,” Arach recovered with royal aplomb, but he shook his head to me as he spoke.
I laughed and then went back to eating; life feeling normal once again.
Chapter Forty-Eight
