“Would anyone care to tell me,” Drystan begins, striding into the courtyard with a limp, “why the front gate is fucking booby trapped?”
I frown, sending as much magic his way as he needs until his stride evens out and the pained creases leave the corners of his mouth.
Lore’s grin blooms wider and wider by the second. “Roo’s home!”
“Took you long enough to notice.” My eldest peels from the shadows, his face hidden by the deep red hood as he heads straight for me, dropping to one knee. “Ma.”
Smiling, I push away from Caed, dragging my firstborn son up and tugging him into a hug. “I’m so glad you made it back. When did you arrive?”
“A kelpie brought me as far as Orvendel yesterday morning.” He shrugs, and his usual deep hood shrinks into a more relaxed cap that exposes his bright red eyes and scarred cheek.
I stroke the starburst of warped skin in fond sadness. He won’t let me heal it, no matter how many times I ask. It started out as childish stubbornness, but now he keeps it to make a point.
“Caddie will be so happy to see you. The twins are coming back, too.”
I don’t know where my eldest goes. I have the wisdom not to ask. With Ruaridh, the most I can do is pray nightly to the Goddess for his safe return.
“I’mhappy to see him,” Lore protests, grabbing him and driving a knife straight into his gut.
Roo dodges swiftly, using a move I’ve seen executed a thousand times before, and yet never fails to make my breath catch.
The two of them fall to the stone, wrestling with the blade, as my dullahan strides closer, a fireball filling his palms. “I will burn both of your caps if you don’t explain to me why I just had my leg mauled by one of your infernal traps!”
Roo looks up, offering a slightly manic, fanged grin that belies all four hundred of his years. “Can’t let the Guard get complacent.”
Jaro sucks in a breath, shaking his head as he offers both redcaps a hand up. “Lad, you’ve got a death wish.”
Lore ignores the offered hand and blinks so he’s behind me, arms wrapped around my waist. “Can I take Roo and Wraith fishing?”
Hearing his name, the pile of fur that is the elderly barghest lifts his head, cloudy eyes sparking with interest before it becomes clear no one has food, and he drops back into sleep with three heavy thumps of his tail against the wall.
“Fishing? Since when do you fish?” Bree’s tattoos swirl with confusion as he finally drags his gaze from my abdomen.
“Since I decided the moat could do with a little more ecological diversity.” Lore nods sagely. “If we fish long enough, we might get lucky and find ourselves a sea monster to bring home.”
“I am not complacent,” Drystan snarls, extinguishing his fireball as he reaches us and cuffing our eldest over the head. “And we do not need a sea monster in Elfhame. It wouldn’t live long even if you managed to catch it, because the moat is full offreshwater.”
“Come on,” I say, sensing another brawl brewing. “There’s still lots to be done before Caddie’s party, and the servants don’t have time to scrub blood out of the stones on top of everything else.”
No doubt they’ll trade blows later, but if they have any sense, they’ll wait until I’ve retired for the night.
When it comes to keeping the peace between my family, I play nice most of the time. But they’re all aware that if they push me, I’ll summon every spirit in the palace to pin them down until they can each come up with three kind things to say about each other.
Once they’re blue in the face from having to be nice, I’ll take pity on them and let them go.
Extreme? Yes. But the last few centuries of motherhood have taught me that being outnumbered by fae males sometimesrequires radical methods. And it’ll only get worse when our fifth son graces the world.
A soft, secret smile graces my lips as I lean back into my redcap. I wouldn’t have it any other way.
THE END
