by C. J. Anaya
As I continued to study the various races, I took special note of those who suffered from some of the sores Mira and Terise had, all signs of griesha poisoning. The poor Asrai’s spouse seemed to be suffering mightily in her seat, covered head to toe in sores. It shocked me she’d made it out for this, considering how far gone she appeared, but Roderick had been very specific as to the point and purpose of this assembly: the cause of the magical plague and the cure would be revealed today.
We had a lot to cover.
“You’ll eventually learn everything there is to know about each species and how to monitor them through the royal ambassadors you see before you,” Roderick said.
“Good thing I’m immortal,” I muttered.
He nodded. “You have no idea.”
“Was that meant to be comforting? Epic fail, Roderick.”
“Any chance I can convince you to call me father?”
“Any chance I can convince you to stay King of the Unseelie Court forever?”
He gave me an amused look.
“It’s about time to start,” he said. “Let’s see how receptive the Fae folk are to civil war.”
Well, when he said it like that…
Geez.
The low buzz of chatter grew quiet as Roderick approached the dais.
“Welcome, dear royals. Welcome to the delegation. I would normally take the time to go over your political grievances both within your own species and as a whole within the Court, but as you well know, we are gathered here for a very specific, very troubling purpose, that of griesha and what we might do to stop it.”
“You said you knew the cause,” the Boggart King said. He sat in the second row, smack dab in the middle next to a scary looking Gremlin who gave him an annoyed look. I seriously hoped the Gremlin King wasn’t feeling peckish.
A few murmurs grew from the crowd, but Roderick raised a hand and quiet stole over the room.
“This is true,” he said, “but in order for you to understand the cause and to be willing to take the necessary actions to eliminate that cause, you will need to hear a very troubling story. There are rumors circulating within the realm. Rumors concerning my niece Crysta and whether or not she is alive and well.” He pointed to me and motioned me to stand. “I can confirm to you now that she is most certainly alive and well.”
Loud shouts broke from the startled royals.
“How can this be?”
“Where has she been all this time?”
Roderick held up his hand.
“Unbeknownst to me, Rodri and Insley feared for Crysta’s life. They hid her in the human realm for her safety.”
“She was a changeling?”
“Is that why this damn delegation is being held in English?”
“Such a primitive human language.”
The comments and chatter flowed freely until Roderick reined it back in.
“There is an explanation for this which incidentally is also tied in with the cause of our plague and its cure. A troubling story indeed, and you will need to hear it from another individual we all believed to be dead.”
Roderick motioned one of the guards to open a door toward the back of the room. My father and Kheelan came walking in, glistening chains with thin wisps of iron within the metal bound their hands. Kheelan’s green-eyed gaze zeroed in on me and drank me in like a wandering man dying of thirst. I swallowed down the emotions his gaze evoked. It wouldn’t do me any good to fall apart right now, especially in the midst of all this chaos.
The royals’ alarmed cries brought the noise of the room to a crescendo.
“King Rodri is dead. How can this be?” said one.
“Why do we have a Seelie Prince imprisoned? There will be repercussions from King Moridan, highness,” said the Boggart King. “Surely you see this.”
Roderick lifted his hands again to calm the delegates.
“Please listen to what they have to say. I think you’ll find it highly illuminating.”
As Roderick relinquished the stand to Rodri and Kheelan, a sad sort of feeling stole through me. It was hard to look at him. It brought back waves of bitter emotion I found difficult to deal with.
Jareth squeezed my hand tight, pulling my gaze from Kheelan’s broad back to Jareth’s blue eyes.
“Okay?” he asked. His concern bolstered my confidence, but I saw the strain there as well. I knew it took him everything he had not to go attack Kheelan all over again.
“Okay.”
I turned my attention back to the podium and listened as Rodri and Kheelan took turns discussing King Moridan’s role in creating griesha. Rodri began at the beginning, when King Moridan mysteriously lost his wife, wanted me killed, and my relocation to the human realm. He even went into detail about his own part in my mother’s death, his disappearance, how he had recruited Kheelan to help him, and the subsequent poisoning of the magic as a result of King Moridan’s involvement with the Dark Arts.
When Jareth’s role as my fated mate was mentioned, I thought we were going to have a full scale assault on our hands since everyone was so adamant that this scenario was one hundred percent destructive. Roderick got things back under control with the use of magic and a few of his scary guards.
Then Rodri discussed The Fates and their assurance that we had the key to King Moridan’s undoing. He even went so far as to say The Fates had blessed our success. I hoped nobody asked for more concrete details surrounding that bit of information since the key to Moridan’s downfall was currently locked away in my head.
Kheelan did a fairly good job of describing his father’s dealings with the Dark Arts and then explained my kidnapping as an attempt to save the realm as a whole. Unfortunately, he decided to use his time to justify my kidnapping and his interest in a possible union with me.
Roderick motioned for the guard to take Kheelan from the stand, but too many royals were intrigued by what he had to say.
“Don’t quiet the prince,” the Boggart King said. “It sounds as if his plan holds merit. We have a right to hear his reasoning for stealing our princess before judgment is passed.”
Jareth groaned in annoyance.
“The Boggart King lives for controversy. He doesn’t give a whit about the whys. He just wants to stir up trouble.”
King Roderick looked a bit resigned as he allowed Kheelan to take the stand again. Kheelan wasted no time, using his charms to discuss why my marriage to him was beneficial for everyone since Jareth had denounced his throne.
“As we all know, fated mates are an unlikely phenomenon in our day, but to have two faeries from differing Courts be fated for one another is not only unprecedented, but dangerous. In kidnapping the princess, I merely wished to avoid a disastrous outcome that would only worsen an already precarious situation. The very same situation we now find ourselves in.”
Oh, he was very eloquent.
Jareth about had an aneurysm during his brother’s propaganda speech.
Kheelan’s charisma kept every delegate on the edge of their seats.
“I can’t deny that I fell in love with your princess. In truth, I’ve repeatedly asked for her hand in marriage and feel that our union is the best plausible outcome once my father is dealt with. Accept my humble proposal of a union between the two Courts. I believe by working together, we can rid the land of this plague.”
While many were caught up in Kheelan’s remarks, it was easy to see that most were still confused. Rodri and Kheelan were then removed to the back of the room while Roderick took the floor again.
“As you can see,” he began, “the cause of this plague is the unnatural workings of Dark Magic by King Moridan within the Fae realm. If we wish to eradicate this poison from our magic we must go up against him and depose the king.”
“Are you suggesting Prince Kheelan is correct?” asked the Asrai delegate. “Do you honestly think it wise to combine the Courts when we can barely get along with one another, especially after initiating a civil war such as this? Not everyone in the Seeli
e Court will fight against Moridan. Some will take his side, refusing to believe him of any wrong doing.”
“I do not believe the Courts should be joined together. I don’t know how that would work. What we are after is an end to the poisoning of our magic and our cores, and the only way to do that is by deposing King Moridan and stripping him of all magic.”
“We will die,” said one noble of the Tuatha d’Dannan bloodline. “We have to have a couple ready and willing to take Moridan’s place, and the King must give his power over willingly. Do you not see how this can never be? If what you say is true, and the King has gone completely mad, what makes you assume he would ever willingly transfer his core magic to Kheelan or Jareth or anyone else for that matter?”
“I am glad you addressed this issue. It is something we feel we have an answer—”
“And why are we all so eager to point the finger at King Moridan in the first place?” the faerie continued before Roderick could answer his first question. “We have a fated mate couple from warring Courts to consider. You may be frightened of Jareth and his own social status as the first born of King Moridan’s, but I am not. A fated mate bond between Jareth and Crysta would be disastrous and is probably the real cause behind this pervasive illness. We should not be ready to sentence Rodri and Kheelan for their crimes. In truth, they have tried to save us all from this fated mate bond.” The man stood tall as a few faeries in the audience booed him.
“Who is that again?” I asked.
“Lord Elsly, and I’m not even remotely surprised he’s the one protesting my union with you.”
“What? Why?”
Jareth moved to answer, but King Vargis’ remarks caught our attention.
“Crysta and Jareth’s bond is not capable of tearing this realm apart. In fact, based on what Crysta managed to accomplish when healing my wife, I would say their bond may be the thing that saves us all.”
“What are you talking about?” the Boggart King said.
Vargis motioned for Mira to stand. They both ascended the dais and moved to the platform where Roderick gave them a smile before ceding the floor to them.
“As many of you know, Mira was struck by griesha a few delegations past. As you can see now, however, her illness is completely cured.”
A few gasps filled the room as more chattering between delegates brought the noise level of the room to an all time high.
“How?” asked Lord Elsly. “Why weren’t any of us made aware of a possible cure for griesha?”
“We’re making you aware of it now,” Vargis said. “The heir to the Unseelie Court and her fated mate Prince Jareth, healed my Mira by bonding our core magics together and gifting us with all four elemental magics, not to mention the very replica of a fated mate bond.”
“What? That’s outrageous.”
Lord Elsly wasn’t the only one who thought so. Arguments broke out between royals as to the possibility of this scenario, ranging from mere shouting to outright physical force. Roderick used a few spells to calm most of the royals down, muttering something about seating arrangements changing for the next delegation.
“We want proof,” the Boggart King declared.
“Of course,” Mira said in a lilting voice.
She drew her hand backward and then flung it forward with barely an uttered word. Twirling flowers in varying shades erupted from her hand, swirling in an intricate pattern before wrapping themselves around the Boggart King’s head. For a moment everyone remained speechless, including the Boggart King until King Vargis barked out a raucous laugh.
“Your crown is both vibrant and fragrant, King Bawzer. An infinite improvement to your usual look and smell.”
The rest of the room erupted into laughter and even King Bawzer had a good-natured laugh at his own expense, most likely due to Mira’s soft chuckle and heartfelt apology for using him as her guinea pig. Unfortunately, King Bawzer wasn’t the only heckler in the room.
“While Mira’s use of Summer magic is completely unorthodox, nigh impossible, we should still be cautious of believing in a cure that appears too good to be true. Perhaps this was a happy accident. A lucky coincidence. Can Crysta do it again?” Lord Elsly asked.
“If that pretentious oaf doesn’t address you with the title you deserve he’ll find himself ousted from this delegation.”
I placed a hand on Jareth’s arm.
“Do you seriously think that’s something we should be worried about right now?”
“He’s insulting you on purpose.”
“Why?”
But Lord Elsly wasn’t done with his rant.
“If your future queen is truly capable of uniting faeries’ cores and their magics as if they were fated mates she should be able to do this more than once.” He leveled his hard gaze on me. “I want a demonstration, child.”
Jareth bristled next to me, but I felt cool as a cucumber.
If Lord Elsly wanted a demonstration, I was happy to give him one. Not being able to heal Terise had been depressing. I both wanted and needed to help a specific couple in the room. I quickly stood just as Roderick started protesting the need for me to prove myself to anyone. I didn’t have to look behind me to know Jareth followed my lead. I already knew he would support me in this. Mira greeted me with a smile and placed a hand around my arm as I spoke out to the royals assembled before me.
“I’m happy to demonstrate this ability again. If the Asrai couple would come forward, I would be most grateful.”
The two faeries gave each other startled looks, but I noticed the female’s eyes spark with a hint of hope. They quickly fluttered their scaly wings, and flew above the assembly until they hovered over the dais, slowly lowering themselves to the floor before me.
“Your names?” I asked.
“Sol,” said the Asrai King, “and this is my wife Calabrece.”
“How long have you been ill your highness?” I said, directing my words to Calabrece. She hesitated for a moment before responding. “Two moons have already passed, Princess. I fear I don’t have much time left.”
I’ll say she didn’t. Her sores were absolutely everywhere, and that horrible separation I sensed in Mira and her spouse was just as bad if not worse between the Asrai couple.
“You both hold Winter magic?”
“No,” he said. “I hold Winter magic. Calabrece is an Autumn faerie.”
Huh. I guess her parents must have come from two different races, an occurrence more common than I’d realized. Differing elemental magics between couples seemed like a breeding ground for weakness that griesha took advantage of. They couldn’t even share in the same elemental magic to strengthen each other just a little. Mira and Vargis had dealt with the same issue.
“I need you to face each other while I place my hand on each of your cores.”
I faced the rows of delegates with my hands on the Asrai King and Queen’s cores so everyone could witness the process. Then I motioned for Jareth to face me on their other side. He placed his hands on their cores as well. Once he was ready, I focused on the magical elements within my core, pulling them forward and weaving them together as I discarded the darkened barriers around the king and queen’s core magic. The magic soon began to build to an unrelenting force just as it had between Mira and Vargis. Right before it became ready for release, I directed Jareth in his part. The magic shot from our cores down our arms and into the Asrai Royal’s chests. I wove the Summer magic in with the rest and then used our fated mate bond as the blueprint for anchoring them to one another. The moment I finished, a huge burst of white light engulfed all four of us before slowly melting away to reveal a healthy Calabrece without a single sore marring her skin.
Her husband’s look of adoration as he took her in nearly brought tears to my eyes.
“Do you…how do you feel, my love? Any pain or dizziness?”
“No. I feel completely whole. Even more so now than I did before the illness took hold of me. I am linked to you. We are bonded together now.”
> They quickly embraced as everyone in the room clapped and cheered at the miraculous recovery and unprecedented gift of all four magics possessed by a single individual.
“What of those faeries who do not have a significant other? Can all four elemental magics alone heal the one who is ailing?” asked the Boggart King.
“No,” I said. “I’ve already tried to heal an individual without bonding her to another. It doesn’t take. There is something about being connected to another faerie’s core magic that heals and sustains the previously ill faerie. I have no idea why. I don’t understand the magic or the science behind it. I just know that this method works.”
“Why then, do we even need to go to war at all?” Lord Elsly asked with a sneer.
The guy had a lot of nerve, considering I’d just shown him up.
“Why can’t Crysta simply bind all who are ill to a significant other and reverse the effects of this terrible illness?”
Roderick opened his mouth to speak but I beat him to it.
“I’m not terribly interested in forcing people who don’t have a spouse to bond to someone for the sake of getting rid of the disease. I know that sounds crazy since their only other option is death, but there may be some faeries out there who have no desire to bond to another individual. I can’t force that, and I can’t save them if they don’t.” Now to admitting to even more limitations. Yippee. “I also don’t have the time to cure everyone infected with this magical plague before more Fae die. I can begin bonding together as many faeries as possible, but there will be others I can’t get to fast enough, and all the while King Moridan’s poison will continue to spread. Jareth and I, working together, may be the cure for griesha, but we absolutely have to get rid of the source, and that source is King Moridan.”
“There is also another problem to consider. Many of our people are much more susceptible to griesha due to their genetics,” Roderick said.
“You’re talking about half-breeds,” Lord Elsly said in disgust.
