by Amy Sumida
“Role playing,” I said to Mellie, tearing my gaze from Raza. “Thanks for coming to help us in the middle of the night, Mellie. It's just a few cuts.”
“It's my honor to heal you, Princess,” Mellie stammered. “And I was awake. We always have a night staff on duty. Your Guard and the Royal Puka have arrived safely as well. They're eating in the great hall.”
“It seems like they're always eating,” I went to sit before the fire, and let Mellie work on me.
The whole time she worked, Raza stood to the side, staring at me. His arms were crossed, making his muscles bulge even bigger, and his wings were outstretched. He should have looked intimidating, except for that lascivious grin on his face.
“All better,” Mellie gave my arm a pat. “Will you be joining us downstairs, Your Highness?”
“Not tonight, Mellie,” I gave Raza a meaningful glance. “Please let the others know that I'll see them in the morning. And ask Conri if he can look after Cat for the night.”
“Yes, Your Highness,” Mellie smiled knowingly and left.
“Now,” Raza's grin widened, “about this ravishment.”
“Eek, it's a dragon!” I shrieked, threw my hands up in the air, and ran for the bathroom.
Raza stood there, confused, for just a second before he caught on.
“You cannot escape me, my pretty!”
Raza lunged after me, his wings helping to carry him across the room in one leap. He landed just behind me, and when he snatched me up, my shriek was real. His claws tore my clothes away, and I pretended to struggle. It was actually more fun than I'd imagined it to be, especially when Raza breathed fire and burned his pants away.
“I'm going to eat you alive,” he growled in my ear.
“Oh no!” I moaned. “Where ever shall you begin?”
I'm sure you can guess where he began... and where he ended.
Chapter Forty-Five
It was a very full dining hall that we dined in the next night, but the crowd put me at ease. All those fairies were there to help defend Unseelie, and I was both humbled and inspired by them. Sure, my awful grandmother had only allowed those seelie who volunteered to come, but the fact that they wanted to be there made their assistance even more valuable. They were fighting because they believed in the cause, and because they chose to. I'd rather have ten soldiers who wanted to be there over a hundred who were forced to fight.
And then there were the sea fairies. Daiyu had renewed her efforts on seducing Killian, and it was both annoying and amusing to watch. I just hoped she wouldn't take out her eventual and inevitable frustration on him. Because then I'd have to kill her, and that would probably be bad for inter-kingdom relations.
Dylan, his men, and the troops my father sent had all arrived that morning. Dylan sat at the high table with us, surveying the assemblage with satisfaction, and a little, just a little mind you, happiness.
“How long has it been since you visited Fairy?” I asked my uncle.
“Fairy or Unseelie?” Dylan countered.
“Either,” I shrugged. “Both.”
“I visited Twilight a few months before you were brought to Fairy,” Dylan said. “But Unseelie... it's been nearly a century. And I haven't been in Craos-Teine since I was a little boy.”
“Then you and Raza are around the same age,” I said in surprise.
“Are we?” Dylan considered Raza. “Close perhaps, but I remember you being nearly grown when I was still a child.”
“Yes, I think I'm a few years older than you,” Raza smiled. “I remember you. You were cute.”
“Cute?” Dylan blinked, as if the concept of him being cute was beyond him. He had dispensed with his glamour as soon as he stepped foot in Fairy, so his completely blue eyes made the expression even stranger. “If you say so.”
Raza chuckled, “Your mother would chase you around the halls, picking you up every few feet, because you were enamored with the floor.”
“I believe that was when I was quite young,” Dylan cleared his throat. “Perhaps three.”
“I think you were closer to six,” Raza said.
“So how does it feel to be back?” I asked my uncle before he got into a fight with my fiancé over his fascination with the floor.
In his defense, it was a very pretty floor.
“Actually,” Dylan smiled, a rare sight indeed, “it feels very nice.”
“Nice?” Raza huffed. “Craos-Teine is even grander than it was when my grandfather ruled.”
“And fairies aren't trying to kill each other,” Dylan nodded. “But I was a child, so my memories of it are foggy at best.”
Raza made a noncommittal sound.
“Except for the floor,” I couldn't resist muttering, making Raza chuckle and my uncle sigh.
I looked down to where Tiernan was seated, beside Killian, and sent him a secret smile. We'd had a reunion of sorts when I'd finally emerged from Raza's bedroom that morning. My skin was still tingling from the kisses he'd stolen, and the way his hands had roamed. Then there was Killian. He'd found me later in the afternoon, and we'd spent a lovely hour in the garden behind Craos-Teine. I glanced at Raza and frowned. Were kisses against the rules? I'd have to ask him. No one wanted an angry dragon king.
A kappa came running into the hall, clutching the lid on top of his head, which kept the water safe inside his head-basin. Kappas preferred to live underwater, but they could leave as long as they kept the bowl-like depression in the top of their heads full of water from their home. The lid helped. This particular kappa had greenish-yellow, scaley skin, and dark, cropped hair circling his head bowl. He panted as he came down the aisle, his beak clicking together as he gulped in air.
“Your Majesty,” he gasped. “There is an urgent scry for you.”
Raza stood and I followed suit. He raced out of the hall, after the kappa, and I wasn't the only one giving chase. Dylan, Cat, Tiernan, and Killian all came along for the run. We sprinted after Raza's impressive wingspan and angled into a room he disappeared into. In a fairy castle, there were usually a few crystal balls, but one of them was always manned in case there was an emergency, and the intended recipient wasn't close enough to a crystal to hear the chime. You had to amend your scry to a general “Craos-Teine” or “Twilight Castle” to reach these public crystal balls. But they were damn helpful.
Raza stopped before the large orb, and I took up a position at his side. I didn't recognize the fairy looking out of the crystal at us, but he was wearing armor and appeared a little worse for wear. He wasn't twilight, and he couldn't be unseelie, so that meant he had to be seelie. He leaned his pale face into the crystal, his crimson eyes wide, and looked from Raza to me, to Dylan, and back again.
“King Raza, I am Commander Anson of the Seelie Army,” he declared. “I have no time for niceties, I apologize, but we are under attack, and my queen has ordered me to request your aid. I have already scried for King Keir, and he is on his-”
“Who is attacking you?” Raza cut him off. “Is it the sea dragons...” Raza trailed away as Commander Anson shook his head. “Dear Danu, it's Moire, isn't it?”
“Yes, Your Majesty,” Anson confirmed. “We have no idea why-”
A crash sounded and Anson looked back over his shoulder. The ball shook. Shouting vibrated through the connection. Then screams. The image moved, rattling and shifting as if the ball had fallen, and all we could see were the Commanders boots as he raced from the room.
“Holy shit,” I whispered. “She's attacking Seelie? Why?”
“The why doesn't matter,” Raza growled. He turned, and headed out of the room, shouting as he went, “Ready the horses, we ride for Seelie! Moire is attacking Seelie!”
I stood, gaping after him, too shocked to react.
“Seren,” Tiernan shook me. “We need you. Are you with us?”
I blinked and focused on him, “Of course I am,” I raced out after Raza, the men following me.
The hallway was already in chaos, fairies trying to
follow their king's orders while also trying to figure out what the hell was going on. I began shouting out explanations, just to get things moving faster. I stopped short when I nearly ran into Aodh. The seelie were standing behind him, including Tiernan's family. That is, Tiernan's family minus his father.
“What's happening, Princess?” Aodh asked me. “I'm hearing rumors of war in Seelie.”
“They're not rumors,” I said, casting a sympathetic look at Tiernan, who was standing with his sister and mother. “Moire is attacking Seelie.”
“But...” Nighean shook her head. “She has no cause to attack the seelie. That makes no sense. And how would she even get into Fairy?”
“We believe someone in Fairy is helping her,” I said. “Possibly a group of fairies.”
“And you just mention this now?” Raza was behind me.
“We were a little busy,” I growled.
“I'm sorry, mo shíorghrá,” Raza sighed. “I'm...” he ran a hand over his face and looked around at the chaos. “It's useless, we'll never get there in time.”
“King Keir may,” Tiernan said, making my stomach clench.
“The twilight ranks are depleted,” I whispered. “Oh gods, my father is walking into a massacre. Moire waited until night when the seelie would be at their weakest, and past dusk, when twilight fey could travel.”
“It was a smart maneuver,” Raza said. “I just don't understand what she hopes to gain from it.”
“Ride for Seelie,” I said to Raza. “I'll head to the nearest rath and travel the Between over.”
“No,” Raza growled, “we'll go together.”
“I need to get there as fast as possible, Raza.””
“We'll use the inter-kingdom raths,” Raza growled. “then fly the rest of the way. It will be only slightly slower than going straight over via the Between.”
“Then you won't mind me going ahead of you,” I snarled.
“The hell I won't,” Raza snarled back. “I'm not letting you out of my sight. Not during this debacle.”
“Raza,” I shook my head.
“Please, Seren,” Raza whispered. “Your father will be slowed by his army, I promise that we shall reach Seelie before him.”
“Alright,” I sighed.
“Thank you,” he gave me a quick kiss, then shouted, “Hana!”
Raza's cousin ran up, already in her armor, “Yes, Your Majesty?”
“Lead my army to Seelie,” Raza ordered. “I'm flying ahead with Seren.”
“And me, Cousin,” Kader came forward. “I fly with you.”
“Thank you,” Raza grabbed Kader's shoulder affectionately.
“And I'm going with you as well,” Tiernan stepped forward.
Raza glared at him.
“My father is there,” Tiernan said.
“Alright,” Raza agreed. “You may join us.”
“Well then, I'm going too,” Killian said. “I've never flown Dragon Airlines before.”
“You're not doing it today either,” Raza snapped.
“You may need me, Dragon King,” Killian said simply and gave Raza a steady look.
“Oh fine,” Raza growled.
“I can carry him,” Kader offered.
“Again, thank you, Cousin,” Raza said.
Cat yipped.
“No, Madam Puka,” Raza pointed his finger in Cat's face. “You will not be able to hold on. You must go with the army.”
“Come on, Cat,” Conri said. “We'll have a nice run. Straight to the rath, where we can ride the Between all the way to Seelie. We'll beat Seren there.”
Cat whined but went to stand with Conri.
“I love you, Cat,” I kissed her face. “You're not to go into that castle until I get there.” I looked up at Conri to make sure he had heard me.
“Understood, Your Highness,” Conri nodded.
Cat gave a little yip and licked my cheek. I hugged her, stood, and announced, “Alright, everyone, armor up, then climb aboard Flight Raza.”
Chapter Forty-Six
How fast can a dragon fly? Fast, very fast. Fast enough to make you hide your face from the sting of the wind. But not fast enough to save Seelie.
We landed at intervals to make use of the inter-kingdom raths, which would jump us over distances that would have taken far longer to fly. This got us ahead of my father. We actually passed over his army in Twilight, he was only a mile away from the rath to Seelie, but we didn't wait for him. We used the rath, and came out in Seelie, very close to the Seelie Castle. Raza and Kader lifted us back into the sky, and within minutes, we were circling down into the courtyard of Castle Seelie. Halfway up the road to the Seelie Castle, my Star's Guard and Cat waited with the twilight troops my father had sent to Raza. They cheered when they spotted us, and started rushing up the road.
The cheering was a strange soundtrack to the horror we landed amidst. It had been a slaughter. The seelie were caught unaware and unprepared for an elven attack employing iron arrows. Bodies were strewn over the courtyard we landed in, though not as many as there could have been. I suspected that my grandmother had done the smart thing for once, and surrendered when it became apparent that it was impossible for her to win. There was no sign of her among the corpses.
There were elves within the courtyard, but they were standing in orderly files, at attention, as if their duty had been done. They didn't even challenge us when we landed. In fact, Dagur was standing with them, and he stepped forward to welcome us.
Tiernan and I slipped off Raza's back as Killian leapt off of Kader's. I prepared to hand Raza and Kader the clothing we'd brought along for them. But Raza was too angry to get dressed. He shifted to sidhe form, then stomped over to Dagur nude, wings whooshing out behind him, and claws closing into fists. Dagur held up his hands in a gesture of surrender and tried to speak to Raza calmly, but it became difficult for him. Since Raza slammed his fist into Dagur's face.
“You fucking traitor!” Raza bellowed. “I should kill you where you stand. You told me personally that you supported my rule, then you defect and side with my enemy?”
“Here,” I handed Kader his clothes. “I need to go handle this.”
“The bastard deserves anything my cousin wishes to give him,” Kader said as he took the clothes.
“Not helping,” I growled, then hurried over to Raza.
“Your Majesty,” Dagur got up from where Raza had knocked him, pushing his jaw back into place. His words were slurred, and his face was already swelling. “Danu's orders overrule my loyalty to you.”
“Raza,” I laid a hand on his trembling arm. He was on the verge of shifting back to dragon. “Here, honey, put these on.”
Raza took the clothes from me, looking from my face to the garments, then back again. He blinked, nodded, then started getting dressed. I used his distraction to speak with Dagur.
“What have you done here, Lord Dagur?”
“Princess,” Dagur bowed. “It's a pleasure to see-”
“Cut the niceties, you can barely talk,” I huffed. “So keep it succinct. Tell me why you attacked Seelie.”
“Come inside and find out for yourself,” a voice called from the castle's main steps.
I turned and saw a winged man standing among the ruins of the main castle doors. He would have been beautiful if he hadn't been wearing such an evil expression. His hatred for me turned his beauty bitter, lengthening the lines of his face, and souring his eyes. The topaz feathers in his wings shivered with fury, and the bird talons he had instead of hands were extended as if he were about to attack.
“Ryvel?” Tiernan stepped forward. “What are you doing here?”
“You betrayed your own kingdom?” I knew why Ryvel was there. It suddenly became very clear to me. “You hate me that much, that you would bring war to Seelie just to side with my enemy?”
“You think everything is about you,” Ryvel sneered.
“Tell me I'm wrong,” I strode toward him, my hand sliding to the pommel of my iron sword.
>
Raza, Tiernan, Killian, and Kader all closed in behind me. Ryvel glanced at them, then glared at me.
“Why attack Seelie?” Raza growled. “Moire has no claim to this throne.”
“I'll let her explain it to you,” Ryvel smirked. “She's settling her affairs now, but I think she'll make time for her family.”
“What in all of Fairy does that mean?” Keir strode into the courtyard with our full army.
He must have twilighted off the rath's path, out onto the castle road with his half of our army, saving them several miles through the Seelie Forest, and bringing them out onto the road just as the rest of our troops were running up it. Talk about synchronicity. The Twilight army filed into the seelie courtyard as best they could. There wasn't a lot of space to be had. Especially with all the elves... and the dead seelie soldiers. My Star's Guard rushed over to me with Cat, but the rest of the twilight soldiers stayed beside my father.
King Keir glanced at the bodies, then returned his stare to Ryvel, “You stand there, among the bodies of your kin, and you are still able to lift your face with pride. You disgust me.”
“As did your choice of bed partner disgust me,” Ryvel sneered. “A king of Fairy, debasing himself with a human, it was reprehensible.”
“You dare speak to me of reprehensibility?” Keir growled. “You, who have killed your own people? You were the one who let them through, weren't you? You were Moire's contact in Fairy.”
Ryvel smiled viciously.
“I claim your traitorous head for myself,” Keir declared.
Everything went still. We all turned to my father in shock. Except for Raza and Kader, that is. Both the dragon-djinns nodded in approval. My father pulled his sword and strode forward. He wasn't even going to bother with magic. Keir was going to kill Ryvel in a more physical way... a human way. I sensed that there was an insult involved. Ryvel didn't rate a magical death.
