In his defense, it was a very pretty floor.
“Actually,” Dylan smiled, a rare sight indeed, “it feels very nice.”
“Nice?” Raza huffed. “Craos-Teine is even grander than it was when my grandfather ruled.”
“And fairies aren't trying to kill each other,” Dylan nodded. “But I was a child, so my memories of it are foggy at best.”
Raza made a noncommittal sound.
“Except for the floor,” I couldn't resist muttering, making Raza chuckle and my uncle sigh.
I looked down to where Tiernan was seated, beside Killian, and sent him a secret smile. We'd had a reunion of sorts when I'd finally emerged from Raza's bedroom that morning. My skin was still tingling from the kisses he'd stolen, and the way his hands had roamed. Then there was Killian. He'd found me later in the afternoon, and we'd spent a lovely hour in the garden behind Craos-Teine. I glanced at Raza and frowned. Were kisses against the rules? I'd have to ask him. No one wanted an angry dragon king.
A kappa came running into the hall, clutching the lid on top of his head, which kept the water safe inside his head-basin. Kappas preferred to live underwater, but they could leave as long as they kept the bowl-like depression in the top of their heads full of water from their home. The lid helped. This particular kappa had greenish-yellow, scaley skin, and dark, cropped hair circling his head bowl. He panted as he came down the aisle, his beak clicking together as he gulped in air.
“Your Majesty,” he gasped. “There is an urgent scry for you.”
Raza stood and I followed suit. He raced out of the hall, after the kappa, and I wasn't the only one giving chase. Dylan, Cat, Tiernan, and Killian all came along for the run. We sprinted after Raza's impressive wingspan and angled into a room he disappeared into. In a fairy castle, there were usually a few crystal balls, but one of them was always manned in case there was an emergency, and the intended recipient wasn't close enough to a crystal to hear the chime. You had to amend your scry to a general “Craos-Teine” or “Twilight Castle” to reach these public crystal balls. But they were damn helpful.
Raza stopped before the large orb, and I took up a position at his side. I didn't recognize the fairy looking out of the crystal at us, but he was wearing armor and appeared a little worse for wear. He wasn't twilight, and he couldn't be unseelie, so that meant he had to be seelie. He leaned his pale face into the crystal, his crimson eyes wide, and looked from Raza to me, to Dylan, and back again.
“King Raza, I am Commander Anson of the Seelie Army,” he declared. “I have no time for niceties, I apologize, but we are under attack, and my queen has ordered me to request your aid. I have already scried for King Keir, and he is on his-”
“Who is attacking you?” Raza cut him off. “Is it the sea dragons...” Raza trailed away as Commander Anson shook his head. “Dear Danu, it's Moire, isn't it?”
“Yes, Your Majesty,” Anson confirmed. “We have no idea why-”
A crash sounded and Anson looked back over his shoulder. The ball shook. Shouting vibrated through the connection. Then screams. The image moved, rattling and shifting as if the ball had fallen, and all we could see were the Commanders boots as he raced from the room.
“Holy shit,” I whispered. “She's attacking Seelie? Why?”
“The why doesn't matter,” Raza growled. He turned, and headed out of the room, shouting as he went, “Ready the horses, we ride for Seelie! Moire is attacking Seelie!”
I stood, gaping after him, too shocked to react.
“Seren,” Tiernan shook me. “We need you. Are you with us?”
I blinked and focused on him, “Of course I am,” I raced out after Raza, the men following me.
The hallway was already in chaos, fairies trying to follow their king's orders while also trying to figure out what the hell was going on. I began shouting out explanations, just to get things moving faster. I stopped short when I nearly ran into Aodh. The seelie were standing behind him, including Tiernan's family. That is, Tiernan's family minus his father.
“What's happening, Princess?” Aodh asked me. “I'm hearing rumors of war in Seelie.”
“They're not rumors,” I said, casting a sympathetic look at Tiernan, who was standing with his sister and mother. “Moire is attacking Seelie.”
“But...” Nighean shook her head. “She has no cause to attack the seelie. That makes no sense. And how would she even get into Fairy?”
“We believe someone in Fairy is helping her,” I said. “Possibly a group of fairies.”
“And you just mention this now?” Raza was behind me.
“We were a little busy,” I growled.
“I'm sorry, mo shíorghrá,” Raza sighed. “I'm...” he ran a hand over his face and looked around at the chaos. “It's useless, we'll never get there in time.”
“King Keir may,” Tiernan said, making my stomach clench.
“The twilight ranks are depleted,” I whispered. “Oh gods, my father is walking into a massacre. Moire waited until night when the seelie would be at their weakest, and past dusk, when twilight fey could travel.”
