“We need to speak to your father before he goes into the summit,” Tiernan also knew how to ruin a mood.
“About what?”
“We can't allow any more witches into Fairy,” he lowered his voice.
“Why not? Danu didn't seem to mind.”
“But what if every witch who goes into Fairy gets altered,” he leaned in close so only I could hear. “They're more powerful now, Seren. Each of them with enhanced power that may even be like yours; a blending of psychic abilities and fairy magic.”
“The witches don't have psychic abilities,” I shook my head.
“We don't know that for sure,” he shook his head. “Look at what happened to Tristan.”
“Danu helped to create that new magic,” I argued.
“Seren, think about all of the members of the Coven pouring into Fairy to gain magical power,” Tiernan growled. “They could grow more powerful than us. What would happen if they decided they didn't want to leave Fairy? Or that they wanted to rule it?”
“War in Fairy,” I whispered.
“Yes,” he sighed. “The best way to keep peace is by retaining the upper hand.”
“We can't let them in, can we?” I stared up at him.
“No, not ever,” he looked over to a group of council members. “I'm going to speak to the Councils. Do you think you can make your rounds with the royals?”
“You mean my Evil Uncle Uisdean and Psychotic Grandmother?” I lifted a brow.
“You'll get further with them than I will,” he grimaced.
“Point taken,” I grimaced back. “Fine, swirl me over to Iseabal,” I gestured to where my fairy grandmother stood, just a few feet from the edge of the dance space.
“Good luck,” he whispered and gave me a kiss before he angled us through the other dancers and over to my fairy grandmother.
“I'm gonna need it,” I huffed as I stepped up to my grandmother and her husband, King Marcan. Tiernan wandered off towards the council members with a determined expression on his beautiful face. “King Marcan,” I nodded to the shiny King of the Seelie. “Queen Iseabal,” another nod to my grandmother.
They made a stunning couple; her with her gold curls piled atop her head like a Rumpelstiltskin masterpiece and her sunlight skin gleaming as if she'd been dusted with even more of the stuff, and him with his crystal hair which lit up like light bulbs when he used his magic. He was tall and regal, she was dainty and beautiful. They were the perfect fairy couple. Too bad one of them was bat shit crazy.
“Seren,” King Marcan took my hand and gave me a kiss on the cheek. “How lovely you look.”
“Thank you, Your Majesty,” I inclined my head respectfully. I actually liked Marcan, it was his choice in women I didn't approve of. “How's my Uncle Shane? Is he here?”
“No, Shane stayed in Seelie to watch over the kingdom while we're away,” Marcan said sadly. “I'll tell him you asked after him.”
“Please do,” I smiled sweetly, knowing that it would send Shane into a tizzy, wondering if the message had some secret, malicious meaning.
My Uncle Shane wasn't exactly insane like his mother but we'd had a misunderstanding recently. He'd tried to wipe out the human race and I, failing to understand why that would be a good thing, stopped him. It appeared that he'd kept our little argument from his parents. Probably because he'd been in league with an unseelie hag. Or maybe it was because he failed.
“Seren,” Iseabal stared grimly at me. “You're still speaking to me, despite your father's enchantment?”
“We need to discuss this summit,” I lowered my voice and saw that their attention was piqued. So I leaned in closer and explained our concerns to them.
“Humans growing stronger than fairies,” Iseabal scoffed but Marcan looked worried.
“Either way, my love,” Marcan said diplomatically, “I don't want them in our realm if we can prevent it.”
“Agreed,” Iseabal said grudgingly. “Fear not, Seren, your grandmother won't allow Fairy to be invaded by mutant humans.”
“Maybe refrain from calling them that during the summit,” I suggested and then gave King Marcan a look.
