by Amy Sumida
The tunnel curved and angled down. Raza kept walking, one hand holding our bags and the other clasping mine. I began to hear the plink of water droplets, and soon, I felt moisture in the air. The scent of fresh water cleared my head, and my feet started taking larger steps. Raza laughed and sped up to match my pace.
He spoke a single word as we stepped around a bend, and fairy lights burst into life. I froze, staring at the cavern before us. Worn steps led down to a stone platform. No, not stone, crystal. The whole cavern was formed of quartz crystal. Shards of the translucent quartz stuck out from the ground, walls, and ceiling, catching the glow of the fey lights, and magnifying it. The bobbing lanterns drifted across the surface of a lake, then floated upward until their ascent was stopped by the ceiling. There, crystal points angled down, dripping water into the lake. The sound was soothing, a tinkling song for an otherwise silent space.
Around the pool, an edge of polished crystal spread out, and to the left, there was a luxurious collection of furnishings. A carpet laid across the crystal ground, and then a bed over that. There were chairs and a table, a cooking hearth, and several trunks. Raza headed down the steps, and towards the living space.
“I've already stocked up with a few days worth of food,” he said to me. Raza put the bags down, then turned to peruse my face. “What do you think?”
“I think...” I turned in a circle, admiring the way Raza's little spot of domesticity was outlined in clusters of crystals. The way it almost formed itself into rooms. There was the kitchen, then the dining room to the side, and finally, the bedroom. All divided by partial, pointed, crystal walls. “I love it.”
“Good,” he sighed and pulled me into a hug. “I hoped you would.”
“It's amazing,” I whispered. “Though I feel a little like Superman. I keep looking for a place to stick my crystal shard.”
“Your what?”
“Never mind,” I chuckled. “It's your own Fortress of Solitude, and I'm delighted that you brought me here, Superdragon.”
“Superdragon,” Raza pondered the name. “Yes, that's acceptable.”
“What do you want to do first, Superdragon?” I smirked.
“Do you really have to ask?” Raza slid up to me and quickly helped me out of my wedding gown. “I know exactly where to stick my crystal shard.”
“Oh, that was horrible.”
He laid my gown gently aside as I chuckled. Then Raza scooped me up in his arms. I settled my arms around his neck and focused on his gorgeous face. My husband. Wow. How did that happen? Raza was amazing, far too wonderful for me. Yet somehow-
I flew through the air and landed in the lake. Cool water jolted me out of my daydreams and roused me into stark awareness. I shot to the surface and sputtered, pushing my hair away from my face. Raza stood, laughing, on the shore. He began to wade in.
“You're gonna get it, Superdragon!” I vowed in true villain style. “You'll rue the day you tricked me!”
“Really?” Raza lifted a brow. “How shall you make me pay, mo shíorghrá? I await your punishments eagerly.”
“I'll just bet you do,” I swam over to him.
Before he could come up with another witty Razaism, I climbed the mountain of his body and pushed his head under the water. We wrestled beneath the surface, then came up, clasping at each other. He was panting, his eyes glowing gold, and his manhood hard against me. Water dripped down his cheek and over the pulsing vein in his neck. I leaned forward and drew my tongue slowly over it. He shuddered, clasping me tighter. Then he set his mouth to mine and rolled my body with his.
Bodies entwined, tongues entwined, hearts entwined, we were all wrapped up in each other. Sliding sensuously in an aquatic dance, we didn't come up for air until we were drawing on each other's breaths. Raza barely gave me a second to gasp before he lifted me, spreading my thighs wide, and pulled me down on top of him. I clung to his shoulders as he ground into me. Slowly. Agonizingly. The pleasure built until my screams echoed off the crystal walls.
Then he carried me from the pool and laid me down on the smooth shore. His hot tongue lapped the water from my skin as I shivered. Claws and wings disappeared as he clutched me tighter, sliding down my body to position himself between my thighs. Raza took hold of my hips, and lifted me to his face, instead of lowering his mouth to me. It angled me up, turning my world, and disorienting me. The heat, the licking, the thrust of that insistent tongue. It all brought me to a screaming apex again. I tried to reach for him, but the position left me helpless, my fingers clawing at the slick surface beneath me. Then Raza brought me down suddenly, impaling me with one move.
The sparkling crystal ceiling became a perfect backdrop to his dark beauty as he thrust violently within me. Raza's face shifted from tender to savage, and his hands bracketed my face, to keep me staring straight into his molten eyes. His lips quivered, his jaw convulsing, as his breaths grew more frantic.
“Show me now how you will calm me, my sweet wife,” Raza growled, then bared his teeth at me. “Prove your vows to me.”
“You want calm?” I pushed him over, onto his back, and took control of our pleasure. “First we must ride out the storm. Hold on to me, husband, and I will bring you peace. I swear.”
Chapter Fifty-Five
We languished in Raza's crystal cavern for two days, then flew back to Craos-Teine. A short honeymoon, but at least we'd had one, and it had been intense. I had indeed given Raza some peace, over and over, until he passed out, he was so damn peaceful. Hopefully, he'd hold onto that feeling for awhile because it was threatened the moment we landed outside of the mountain castle.
Cat came running out to meet us, barking like a common dog.
“Whoa,” I held up a hand. “Easy now. What is it?”
“The elves,” Killian said as he came down the main steps.
“Again?” I gaped at him.
“No, they haven't done anything new,” Killian sighed, “but what they've already done is enough apparently.”
“Explain,” Raza growled.
“Our human guests were called back to HR suddenly,” Tiernan joined us. “When Killian scried his caster contacts, they told him that a council meeting had been called.”
“A council meeting?” I asked.
“To determine whether the elves should be brought to trial,” Killian grimaced.
“Trial?” I blinked, then it became clear. “They committed crimes in HR.”
“Resulting in the death of humans, and the wounding of several fairies,” Tiernan nodded. “They can be extinguished for this, Seren.”
“Which 'they'?” I asked. “There's no way to determine which particular elf fired the killing shots.”
“I know,” Tiernan said grimly.
“So they're considering exterminating an entire fairy race?” Raza asked with horror.
“It's not likely,” Tiernan said, “but it is a possibility.”
“Well, that's not going to happen,” I growled.
“We need to get to that meeting asap, Twilight,” Killian said. “They're our people now, and we're responsible for them.”
“You're not Prince yet, Blair,” Tiernan said.
“No, but I am a twilight fairy,” Killian snapped, “and that makes the elves my people.”
“Enough!” I held up a hand. “We need to stop fighting amongst ourselves. The whole point of us is that we're a team now. We four represent all of Fairy.”
“Yeah, alright,” Killian agreed. “But can we talk about this after we save the elves?”
“Absolutely,” I agreed. “How much time do we have until twilight?” I looked toward the rosy sky.
“A few hours,” Killian said.
“No,” Raza interrupted. “I'm not letting you go without me this time.”
“Or me,” Tiernan added.
“And how else do you propose I get to this meeting quickly?” I asked Raza.
“It's at the High Human Council House, I presume?” Raza looked to Tiernan. Tiernan nodded.
“Then we go through Anu's rath.”
“On Danu's Sacred Isle?” I asked. “That's over a day... oh. You have a connecting rath nearby, don't you?”
“Every ruling castle does,” Raza nodded. “There are two in Unseelie, due to the shifting of power.”
“Alright then,” I agreed, “let's go get ready for another trip.”
“Your father is already there,” Tiernan added. “So at least the elves have someone speaking on their behalf.”
“Yes, but my father doesn't know the Human Council like I do,” I sighed.
“Hasn't he worked with them before?” Killian asked. “Your mother was an extinguisher.”
“Yes, and she met him at a party here, in Fairy,” I explained. “The humans believed he was there because he was Uisdean's brother, not because he was a king in his own right. Twilight was unknown to the Human Council until I became its Princess.”
“So, the neutral King doesn't have a lot of experience in human politics,” Killian noted.
“Exactly,” I said.
“Seren's right, King Keir has good intentions, but he's not the best diplomat when it comes to humans. We'd better hurry,” Tiernan exchanged a dark look with Raza.
Chapter Fifty-Six
The fairy hunters stationed at the Isle of Danu's Council House were not surprised to see us. They welcomed our whole party, which consisted of Raza, Tiernan, Killian, Cat, myself, and three royal Guards (Tiernan had a King's Guard now too), with grim looks. Well, everyone looked grim except for Councilman Tristan Lightheart.
Tristan was once a witch. Then I brought him to Fairy. The small amount of fairy blood in his genes happened to be dullahan, a particularly unpleasant looking fey. Talk about the short end of the fairy stick. The Fairy Realm reacted to that dullahan blood, bringing it out fully, and transforming Tristan into a dullahan half-breed. Tristan accepted the change and decided to stay in Fairy, to serve the Goddess. Danu rewarded his loyalty by not only making him a high councilman but turning him into a stunning, sidhe man.
“Your Majesty!” Tristan's violet eyes sparkled as he rushed forward. The setting sun caught his pearly skin, and turned it a rosy-peach. “It's so good to see you.”
“So you've heard,” I said.
“Of your multiple nuptials?” Tristan winked at me. “Yes, we've all heard. Congratulations, Your Majesties,” he nodded to Raza, then Tiernan.
“Tristan, where are the other council members?” I asked.
“HR,” he said. “At that meeting. I stayed behind to wait for you. Danu told me you were coming.”
“Oh, she did?” I chuckled. “That was nice of her.”
“She said you're the only one who can save the elves,” Tristan sobered. “So we should probably hurry, Your Majesty.”
“Indeed,” Raza said. “Lead on, Councilman.”
Tristan took us straight into the Council House, through the corridors, and to the garden in the center of the castle. The Council House had been built around Anu's rath, the rath Anu created when he left Fairy directly after his birth and traveled to Earth. The rath sat in the center of a fey garden, beneath a little hill covered in sacred olive trees. There were gates set into this hill, golden gates with the image of a silver earth upon them. The Earth was turned so that Ireland faced out.
We hurried through the rath doors, treading the tunnel of In-Between with haste. We emerged into a nearly identical garden, in a nearly identical castle. The High Fairy Council House of Ireland. The guards standing duty outside the garden doors directed our large party to the courtyard, where several cars were waiting to take us to the High Human Council House. Tristan had scried ahead.
The journey wasn't that long, the High Council Houses had been built close to each other on purpose. The rushing to emergency meetings was probably one of the biggest reasons they'd considered when building the Human Council House. We turned into the open gates of the Human Council House (actually a castle) in under fifteen minutes. Our cavalcade was met by a council aid, standing on the main steps. We had indeed been expected.
She led us to the council chambers, but the extinguishers on guard duty insisted that our guards remain outside. So I headed in with only Raza, Killian, Tiernan, Tristan, and Cat. They'd tried to stop Cat once before, and that hadn't gone well. It seemed that word had spread, and now Cat was considered royalty. She had her very own puka pass.
I don't know what I expected to find in the chambers, but it wasn't my father, standing before the councils, coven elders, and caster witches, defending himself.
“I am a king of Fairy, you cannot charge me with contempt,” Keir was saying.
“What the hell is going on here?” I snarled as I stomped forward.
“Your Highness,” Councilman Reginald Murdock greeted me. He was about to say more when I cut him off.
“It's 'Your Majesty' now,” I stepped in front of my father and glared at the long table full of people wearing superior expressions. Those expressions had prompted my unusual burst of arrogance.
“Yes, of course,” Murdock cleared his throat. “Congratulations. We've heard of your marriage... marriages.”
Movement out of the corner of my eye prompted me to glance to the right, where I saw the three elves who'd been caught during the attack on Gentry Tech. I scowled at the magic-dampening shackles on their wrists. I'd forgotten about these men. They didn't deserve to be treated as criminals anymore. Now that I knew they'd been acting on the Goddess' orders. But I'd have to deal with them later, my father came first.
“You wanna tell me why it sounds like my father is under attack?”
“Ambassador,” High Councilman Greer, from the Isle of Danu Council House, smiled at me. “Welcome. The Human Council was merely having a disagreement with King Keir. We had expected him to bring the leaders of the elven community for questioning, but he has decided to speak on their behalf. Things got heated.”
“And they thought they could intimidate me with tactics of the human judicial system,” my father rolled his eyes.
“King Keir, you should have complied with our request to bring the elves,” Councilman Murdock chided. “Then we wouldn't have to question you, and you wouldn't have felt offended.”
“I feared for the safety of my people,” my father said stiffly, casting a look to the shackled elves. “I know how you punish fey.”
“The same way that the Wild Hunt punishes humans,” Murdock growled.
“Humans rarely meet the Hunt,” Keir lifted his chin. “Exceptions are made for them all the time, and I expect one to be made for the elves today. Including these three men here.”
The table erupted into arguments.
“Dad,” I whispered to Keir as the arguments continued, “let me handle this, okay?”
“Of course, sweetheart,” he kissed my cheek. “Tear their heads off.”
“What?” I blinked at him.
“Isn't that the saying?”
“No, that is not the saying. And please never say that saying again.”
“I was certain it was tear something...” Keir frowned.
“Tear them a new one?” I offered.
“Yes! That's it! Tear them a new one,” Keir nodded happily. Then he looked confused again, “A new what?”
“Never mind, Dad. We'll talk about it later.”
“Your Majesty?” High Councilman Murdock asked.
“Yes?” Both my father and I answered.
“Dad,” I gave him a look.
“My daughter will represent our people in my stead,” Keir said regally, then took a few steps back.
“We cannot excuse murder, Your Majesty,” Murdock said. “You must see that. You were an extinguisher yourself.”
I considered him, and then the rest of the table, as I weighed my answers. I had been an extinguisher. Some people believed that I still was one. Including myself. So what would an extinguisher say to excuse an elf who had murdered a human?
“It was done in a time of war.”
T
hey all gaped at me. Which gave me confidence. I continued.
“War had been declared, and we know it was accepted, because when I was shot, the Sluagh did not come to avenge me,” I suppressed the urge to smile.
Seeing the responses of the wide-eyed humans and the smug looking fey, encouraged me further. I knew the fairy council members wouldn't approve of the elves being slaughtered, but there was little they could do when faced with the rules of the truce. But I happened to know the truce very well. I upheld it for most of my life. And I knew that there was a war clause in it. All laws went out the window during time of war. Both sides could do as they chose, and not be punished for it after peace was reinstated. The obvious reason for this was that peace would be far more difficult to reach if both sides were crying for soldiers to be executed.
“As per the clause of war in the truce, parties involved in a war cannot be sentenced for acts committed during said war. Especially the crime of murder.”
“Is that true?” Elder Crispin Arterbury, of the Bite Witch Tribe, asked Murdock.
“It is,” Councilman Greer answered with a huge grin. “The elves are exempt from prosecution. I move for a dismissal of all charges, release of the prisoners, and an end to this farce of a meeting.”
“Now hold on,” Murdock stood. “Those elves shot arrows into crowds of innocent humans. Humans who were not participating in the war.”
“It doesn't matter what the elves did,” Caster Elder Daniel Claybourn sent me a quick wink, then held up a document. “I've found the section which Queen Seren referred to, and it is very clear. War negates the truce. Kind of obvious really. The elves are not guilty.”
“Thank you, Elder Claybourn,” I nodded. “I understand your grievances, Elders and Councilmembers. I really do. The elves attacked both myself and my father. They also killed my father-in-law.”
