The Red Caps fell into formation behind us as we headed down the corridor. Arach sneered at the plants growing everywhere, and I nearly giggled. Especially when a tendril reached out, and he furiously batted it away.
“Don't burn anything,” I whispered.
“I would never,” he said with a little grin.
“Uh-huh.”
But then we were entering the glorious dining hall. If the corridors held a lot of plants, the hall was overrun with them. They grew up the walls and covered the ceiling to dangle toward the tables below. Among them, Earth Pixies peered out at us. I watched as they sent a scavenging party down to one of the tables and stabbed a hunk of fruit that was then hoisted up to the ceiling. Grinning, I grabbed a roll and tossed it to them. The Pixies cried out, startled, but they had fast reflexes and managed to catch the bread. A cheer filtered down through the tangle of greenery, and I nodded at them.
“Why would you do that?” Arach frowned at me.
I sighed, knowing I couldn't say anything. Arach and I had once had a serious argument over Pixies, one in particular. He, like the rest of the non-Pixie Fey, didn't think much of the little ones. In fact, he thought less of them than animals. It was all to do with the amount of magic they had. Magic snobs, that's what the Sidhe are. I had changed that, of course. At least as far as Arach was concerned, but that hadn't happened yet, and I couldn't start it early.
“Just ignore my oddness,” I said.
He grunted pensively.
And then I saw the Cat-Sidhe. I immediately searched for Roarke, but he wasn't there. Of course not. He hadn't been born yet. His father was there though. Cat-Sidhe were the only faeries I knew of who were allowed to have a sort of sub-monarchy. Probably because they needed middle management. King Liam sat at the center of the Cat-Sidhe table, a woman to either side of him and a bird-eating grin on his face. I wondered if he had become the harsh ruler whom Roarke had rebelled against yet, or if perhaps this was a more mellow time for him. I hoped it was the latter. When I first met Liam, he was a bit of a dick. All right, he was a complete dick. But he had changed. He had to if he wanted to know his grandson.
Liam looked up, met my stare, then frowned at my perusal. I quickly looked away.
“Ah, there you are,” King Rory exclaimed as he stood up from his throne-like seat at the high table.
“I hope we didn't keep you waiting long,” I said.
“Not at all. We've just arrived ourselves.” He sent a smile Rivella's way.
They were both flushed. So, Arach and I weren't the only ones who made good use of our “rest.”
“I'm glad,” I said and sat down on the chair Arach held out for me. It was a grand seat, nearly as nice as Rory's, and so was the chair Arach took on my left. Status always had to be respected in Faerie.
Arach nodded at the other king, then at the servants who rushed up to offer us food from platters they carried. Arach scooped up helpings and put them on my plate, carefully selecting the best cuts of meat and plumpest vegetables for me.
I eyed him warily. Was this his sexy playboy routine or was I changing him? Son of biscuit! I didn't know what to do. But I couldn't bring myself to condemn Arach for good behavior just because it wasn't what I'd expected from him. I just said thank you and waited for him to serve himself before I started eating. Rory and Rivella already had full plates, but they waited for us to have some food on our plates before they returned to eating.
“Have you heard any news from within your kingdom, King Rory?” Arach asked.
“News?”
“About any additional incidents,” Arach clarified.
Rory's eyes widened. “No, I haven't. Do you think it will happen again so soon?”
“I think whoever is behind this will be upset to have been thwarted twice. This time, the village didn't even fully sink. I don't know what their goal is, but I think we can assume that full submersion is part of it.”
Rory sighed and played with his food. “Yes, indeed.”
“Did you mirror the High King?” I asked.
“Ah, yes, I did.” Rory brightened. “He was very helpful and contacted Queen Dubheasa right away. She agreed to meet with me the day after tomorrow at noon.”
“At the Castle of Eight?” I asked.
“Yes. Neutral territory, as you recommended.” He took Rivella's hand. “I hope you will keep Rivella company while I'm away, Queen Vervain.”
“My queen will be returning to Fire with me,” Arach said.
“This again?” I huffed. “I'm not going back to Fire, Arach.”
