Shrieking. High-pitched wailing. I came awake to the awful sound the next day. Instead of wincing, I smiled and stretched in my comfy bed, then stared up at the seashell-covered ceiling smugly. It sounded as if Queen Dubheasa had gotten a response from my husband. I wondered if it was her messenger's head on a platter.
As the shrieking drew closer, I turned on my side and grinned at the open window. Prone as I was, the only view the window presented was of the glowing cavern wall and ceiling. But then I sat up, stretched my arms over my head, and went to the window. The city of Under spread out before me, coming awake as gently as I, utterly unaffected by the Queen's distress.
I hoped it would remain so.
But I doubted it.
“Enjoy the peace while it lasts,” I said to the city. Then frowned at the deeper, violent implications of my words.
If Dubheasa was screeching, Arach had probably declared war. And that meant all these relatively happy Water Faeries were about to have their world turned upside down. Just as I'd vowed the night before. I felt horrible for them, but their queen was their cross to bear.
The door of my guest room/prison cell burst open.
I suppose she was my cross to bear as well.
I turned to greet the Queen of Water with a serene smile. “Is there something amiss, Queen Dubheasa?” I asked sweetly.
Dubheasa tossed a rolled parchment onto the bed. “Your king is insane! He's kept my messenger as a hostage!”
I picked up the scroll and opened it. “Yeah, I can't read this.”
She narrowed her large eyes at me. “You really can't understand Fey?”
“Why would I lie about that?”
“In the hopes that we might say something around you that we don't want you to hear.”
I lifted my brows. “Huh. Yeah, that would be a good reason. I wish that were true. But no.”
Dubheasa went back to glaring at me. “You can't possibly be a faerie and not understand the Fey language.”
“I can't possibly be a Dragon-Sidhe either remember?”
“Yes,” she murmured. “It must be magic. You must have been conjured. It's the only explanation. The question is, conjured from where?”
Oh, hell no. She's getting too close to the truth. Why couldn't she be dumb and evil instead of smart and evil? Okay, distract her, Vervain.
“So, what did King Arach say?” I tossed the scroll at her.
Snatching it out of the air, Dubheasa snarled, “War. It's to be war.” Then her glare turned into a smirk. “But not because he values you. In fact, he told me he didn't care what I did with you.”
“Uh-huh.” I rolled my eyes. “Either you're lying or he is, which you're not dumb enough to fall for. Unfortunately.”
Dubheasa hissed at me. Like straight-up hissed. Then she said, “You want to know exactly what he said? King Arach wrote, 'As long as she can carry a child, I don't care what you do with her. But if you destroy the one chance for my race to continue, you will face repercussions from not only the Fire Kingdom but also the High King of Faerie.' So you see, Samara, he only cares about your womb.”
I went still. Had Arach written that? Did he mean it? It was possible. But unlikely. The meaning it part at least. He could very well have written it just to keep Dubheasa from harming me. Ironically, declaring that he didn't care made me less of a target.
“Whether he cares about me personally or not is not of concern to me,” I said. “I, like him, am only interested in the children we can produce. And I'm sure his threats, including the one about the High King, are real. King Cian would never abide by the destruction of a race. And if you hurt me, that is essentially what you'd be doing.”
In a nasty tone, Dubheasa said, “There are ways of hurting you that will leave you perfectly capable of producing children.”
“Regardless of what you do to me, one thing is certain, Queen Dubheasa,” I said. “Fire is coming for you. If you don't release me, your ocean will boil. One big stew for the Fire Fey to feast on.”
Faeries had been clogging the doorway, watching the drama unfold, but they scrambled away when their queen started shrieking again. As they ran, someone stepped through their ranks.
“My Queen.” Nori entered the room and bowed.
She spun to face him. “You've heard?”
