He took my hand. “Weare going to remind the humans of how powerful we are. They can't win a war against us.”
“Is it a good idea to come out swinging?”
“I will try the carrot first, Carus. But if that doesn't work, it will be the stick.”
“What about us?” Torrent asked.
“Continue to monitor things from here,” I called over my shoulder as Az and I headed toward the tracing room. “If you see anything we need to know about, text me.”
“You got it, V!”
Then Azrael and I traced to the Fey Embassy in Rome.
Chapter Twenty-One
“It's a good thing that we had all the Embassies warded,” I said as we walked out of the Roman Embassy's tracing room.
“After the attack on the Golden Citadel, it would have been foolish not to,” Az said. “But I didn't expect the ward to be used against humans.”
A group of faeries was rushing down the wood-paneled hallway, but they spotted us and pulled up short.
“Queen Vervain?” one of them asked.
I have to admit, it was nice to be recognized before Azrael for once. At least, on Earth. Of course, he hadn't shifted into his Faerie God form yet so that was probably why.
“Yes,” I said. “And this is Azrael, my husband. We're here to speak with the humans.”
“You mean the wild mob outside?” a male Water-Sidhe with slicked back, teal hair asked. “I don't think they'll listen to you.”
“I'm sure I can find a way to get their attention,” Az said. “Is there a balcony I can use to address the mob?”
“Yes, there's one off the meeting room,” the one who had recognized me, a female Dryad, said. “Follow me, I'll take you there.” As we walked, she gave us a more detailed report on the situation. “Faeries have been arriving on foot all day but now that the front gates are locked, they've started tracing in. We've got at least a hundred here and that number is still growing.”
“They could trace anywhere on Earth or even back to Faerie. Why come here?” Az asked.
“Once we stake our claim on a place, we don't abandon it easily.”
I gave Az an I-told-you-so look.
“No one engages the humans unless I give the go-ahead,” Azrael said.
The Dryad looked at me.
“You agreed to follow the laws of the land when you came here. Azrael has a truce in place with the human governments. If you break that truce, you'll be breaking your word and that will get you sent back to Faerie.”
“I'll try to convince the others to stand down, but I'm not sure if they will. Emotions are running high and most of us see this as self-defense.”
“I understand. Just do your best.”
A few minutes later, she led us into the meeting room. Azrael flipped on the light, revealing a large, rectangular space with a long table in its center. The walls were hung with photographs of faeries and there was even one of Azrael in his Faerie God form.
The Dryad motioned across the room. “That balcony overlooks the courtyard and the square outside the front gates. The humans should be able to hear you from it. Whether they'll listen remains to be seen.”
With a shimmer of magic, Azrael shifted into his Faerie God form, then said, “Ask the faeries to at least give me enough time to speak with the humans before they act.”
The Dryad's dark eyes went wide and she nodded. “Good luck.”
Azrael and I hurried to the pair of French doors across the room. The sound of raised voices rose in volume the closer we got. I didn't think the glass was doing much to muffle the sound, but when we opened the doors and stepped out onto the iron railing, it felt as if we were blasted by the roar. I thought Az would have to set something on fire or strike a lamppost with lightning to get their attention, but the Faerie God is hard to ignore, especially in daylight.
