And there we were, marching five hundred humans through that very orchard.
Azrael had planned to post Fey guards along the way to the rath, ensuring that no one wandered from the path or picked up anything along the way. It was a huge undertaking, but it was easier than tracing everyone and it had to be done to promote goodwill among faeries and humans. We had invaded their world. It was only fair that they got to visit ours.
All of this is just to explain that Arach and I weren't meeting Azrael and the human invaders (just joking . . . hopefully) at the Great Tree. We waited to greet them at the Castle of Eight with the rest of the faerie royals, including the High family. The High Family now included Princess Isleen, the Leanan-Sidhe woman who had raised Arach. The high royal men loved the Leanan-Sidhe ladies. High Queen Meara was of that race as well. This was especially interesting since Prince Lugh so closely resembled his father, High King Cian. They could have been twins if Lugh didn't have both height and muscle on Cian.
Arach and I said our hellos to everyone, paying special attention to the Royals of Earth—King Ruari and Queen Bronagh. But I didn't sense even a hint of animosity from them. I ended up feeling guilty for thinking poorly of them. They were such a sweet couple. I still remembered the Crown Tourney in which they'd both fought and made it to the end. The last fight was them against each other. But neither could back down, nor did they want to disgrace each other by holding back. Ruari won, then raced to his wife and cradled her in his arms while she recovered. I think he even cried. Could those two really be responsible for kidnapping dogs and snakes? Again, that just sounded good in my head. Cerberus isn't a dog, and Viper certainly isn't a snake. Nor would they be easy to take. Damn it, did I just make a rhyme? That made it even worse.
“Vervain,” Arach whispered to get my attention.
I jerked my stare from the Earth Royals to the grand archway within the tree-wall. Yes, tree-wall. The Castle of Eight was composed of eight massive trees. And I mean massive. They soared thousands of feet into the air and each one was the width of your average castle on Earth. And I do mean castle, not manor or chateau. Although, I think chateau might be another word for a castle. I was never good at languages.
Anyway, the central tree was the tallest and widest, growing in the middle of the others, with a courtyard and elemental gardens around it. The seven outer trees were normal enough apart from their size. They didn't even breathe like many of the other ancient trees in the Forgetful Forest. That being said, the lower parts of their trunks extended several hundred feet to either side to join with their neighbors and form a seamless wall. The wall was manned by Fey soldiers from all the Elemental Houses, performing their required service to the High King. The trunks of all the trees were hollow, including the wall portion, providing housing for the High Court and its army. The High Royal Family lived in the central tree, of course. They also entertained there.
Just to be clear, this was not where the rath let out. The rath connected the Golden Citadel to the Imleag—the hub of Faerie, also known as the Navel of the Realm. The Imleag was the most central spot in the Faerie Realm and the most powerful location, where all the elements gathered. The Castle of Eight stood very close to the Imleag, but not directly upon it. No, that would have been blasphemy. But the Faerie God hadn't cared about blasphemy when he made the rath. He was more concerned about power.
Thank goodness Az had him under control.
You do know that the Faerie God is Azrael?Faerie spoke in my mind.
A twisted version of him tainted by Wild Magic,I answered in the same manner.
Yes, but as much him as the Dark Star was you.
Again, I was reminded of how my husband and I had separately gone bad and tried to take over the world. Everybody wants to rule the world. Was it our foray into evil that had caused this latest drama? Or was the trickster merely tricking us again—misleading us by directing our attention toward others? I glanced at the Earth Royals and knew, just knew, that they were innocent. This was a wild goose chase. Or a Wild Magic goose chase, if you will.
And then the sound of hundreds of footsteps grew louder and louder. The knights atop the walls came to attention. They didn't salute, that would be inappropriate since Az wasn't a King of Faerie. But they stood straight and proud as the Faerie God guise strode through the archway, leading a parade of humans corralled by citadel knights. Historic indeed. The Faerie Realm had never had so many humans in it at once, much less marching in formation like an army.
As I watched them enter the courtyard, I had to hold in a sigh. It wasn't about witnessing history in the making. Oh, no. This sigh was purely sexual and purely for Azrael. Or rather, the Faerie God. In my first life, I'd been born a Dragon-Sidhe. That was during the start of the hunts, when human knights decided the best way to get themselves immortalized in stone or stained glass was to kill a dragon. It became all the rage and drove the maidens wild. To protect me, my mother cast a spell to make me human, repressing my Fey essence. But she was murderedbefore she could remove the spell, and I was trapped in a human body, never knowing who I truly was.
I met and fell in love with Odin as a human. Bore him a child. Raised two children with him. And then I died, starting an avalanche of magical alignments, vibrations, and coincidences that all led me here, back to Faerie. I'd been born again, touched by gods and the Consciousness of the Void during my gestation. Altered so much, that I became someone entirely different. Yet, I was still the same. In my chest burned the heart of a dragon. And that dragon drooled over faerie men. Especially if they had horns.
All right, so the Faerie God didn't technically have horns. He had antlers. Close enough. And they were golden. As gold as the scales of my dragon. That impressive rack (sorry, couldn't resist) rose from my husband's head like a crown. The biggest damn crown in all of Faerie. The other royals shifted uneasily just to see it. Because all of them knew that if Azrael slipped, if he stayed too long in this body and gave it too much control, the Faerie God might return. And that man had more power than all of them combined.
All but me.
And that made me grin.
Something else a female Dragon-Sidhe loves—a powerful man. Power and authority radiated from the Faerie God. I mean, just look at that hair. Azrael normally didn't grow his hair longer than his shoulders, but the Faerie God's midnight locks flowed down to his waist in tangle-resistant waves. The dark, unyielding color enhanced his vibrant green eyes. Eyes that glowed with magic. Eyes so different from Azrael's pale blue. The Angelic script on his cheek was gone as well, hidden under the FaerieGod's sharp features. He was larger in this form too, almost as muscular as Odin, and his fingers ended in claws. He still had his feathered wings, and they were their usual black, but in this body, they were dusted with gold. Not even Re could surpass the Faerie God's glory. And that's saying a lot.
Oh, yeah, and not only did Az have access to all his god magic in this body, but he also controlled all the elements.
Maybe the tricksterwasafter him. How could they not be? Azrael/Faerie God was a fearsome opponent even if he wasn't against you. Just look at the Royals of Faerie. They knew Az was an ally and still, they worried about him going bad again. They feared him. Fear could make people do foolish things. I mean, it's the whole reason we were doing this song and dance for the humans. Fear leads to war.
And still, I was certain the trickster wasn't one of the Earth Royals.
Then who?Faerie asked.
I don't know,I said.Did you see them do anything suspicious?
No,she admitted.They seemed normal. At ease. Not at all like they were coming to see someone they were targeting.
As I thought.
Don't get cocky. You still don't know they're innocent. Not with any certainty.
I feel it in my bones.
Bones are useless. What does the Fire tell you?
