“You're welcome,” he laughed, his silver eyes sparkling in the sunlight coming in from crystal dome overhead and the balcony to our right. “Now, I think we should discuss your dream.”
“Ugh,” I groaned. “No. I don't want to. Just leave it be until I at least get some food in me.”
“Alright,” he sighed and set to work on his own breakfast.
“Thank you,” I started to enjoy my food. Soon Cat had finished her own bowl of breakfast and came to sit beside me. She set her head on the table and eyed my steak. “Oh, I don't think so, Madam Puka,” I pushed her nose away from my plate. “I will fight you for this food and guess who's gonna win that battle?”
Cat whined and sat back.
“Exactly,” I nodded. “It's wise to know your limitations.”
“Seren?” My father's voice came through my bedroom door.
“Seren's not here right now,” I called out. “Leave a message at the beep. Be-e-e-p.”
“Very amusing,” Keir said as he opened the door and strode in.
He was my fairy father, my true birth father, but I'd actually been raised by a human extinguisher named Ewan Sloane. I had been merely an extinguisher once too, a sort of police officer who monitored fairies in the Human Realm. But then I'd come to the Fairy Realm and my true nature had revealed itself. It turned out that I was half fey. My mother had fallen in love with a fairy king and been unfaithful to my dad, resulting in me.
Ewan didn't take the news of my true parentage well and was kind of punishing me for the sins of my mother. I was heartbroken over the loss of the man I'd thought to be my father for the first twenty-six years of my life but Keir had won me over and now that heartache was dulled by the love I was starting to feel for my real father.
Though I wasn't feeling so loving towards him at the moment.
“Dad,” I whined. “Whatever it is, it can wait. I'm starving.”
“Eat. I'm sure you can listen while you do so,” he waved his hand magnanimously. It was a bit annoying but he was a fairy king; those kind of affectations had been taught to him since birth.
“You'll give me indigestion,” I complained.
“I'm sure you'll survive,” Keir rolled his eyes.
My mother had supplemented Keir's royal deportment with human mannerisms and common sayings, in an effort to make him seem more approachable to me. Keir managed them well for the most part. But even when he did or said them appropriately, he still looked a little silly. Here was this fairy king, dressed in silk and velvet, with long, boysenberry hair fading to lavender at the tips, rolling his sparkling, star-adorned, amethyst eyes. It was surreal. Hell, he was surreal all by himself.
“Your Majesty,” Tiernan looked at my father in concern. “What is it?”
“I have just received a scry from Councilman Alan Murdock, Head of the San Francisco Human Council House,” Keir sighed deep. “Seren has been summoned to the Human Council House in Tulsa, Oklahoma. There's an urgent meeting being held even as we speak.”
“A meeting concerning what exactly?” I asked as the food churned in my belly.
“Raven mockers,” Keir said the dreaded words and Tiernan groaned. “What is it?” Keir narrowed his eyes on me.
“Seren dreamed of the raven mockers last night,” Tiernan answered for me.
“What were they doing?” Keir lifted an eggplant-colored eyebrow.
“They were just ravens actually,” I grumbled. “But they were mocking me.”
“Not a good sign,” Keir sat back in his chair and closed his eyes briefly. “And not much of a warning,” he opened his eyes and set them on Tiernan. “You'll accompany the Princess, of course.”
“Yes, Your Majesty,” Tiernan bowed his head in acceptance.
“And you'll take Cat with you as well,” Keir said to me.
“I can't take Cat,” I waved my hands towards the puka who had perked up when she heard her name. “She's way too fey for the Human Realm.”
“She can glamour herself to look like a big dog,” Keir waved at Cat.
Cat suddenly became a Chihuahua, jumping up and down excitedly, and I gaped at her.
