“Thank you, Cat. I know you have my back.” I stroked her head, and we walked down the center of the hall together, all the dining fairies on either side of us inclining their heads as we passed.
And then I saw Rowan.
My daughter by Killian was just glorious. Every year, Rowan grew more beautiful, more like my mother in appearance. And my mother had won the heart of two incredible men—one of them a Fairy king. I'd seen Rowan grown-up in a vision once, and I knew she'd be even more beautiful than my mother, and her beauty would only be surpassed by her kindness and strength. My Ro-Ro was going to be spectacular, absolutely spectacular. The kind of woman men went to war over.
And Dagur, the Dark Elf she had a crush on, had realized that very early on.
I had confronted Dagur about the inappropriate way he interacted with my daughter, but he was unrepentant. On the contrary, he respectfully explained that his intentions were pure. Then Raza shocked me to no end by taking his side. My Unseelie husband said it was perfectly normal for a Fey man to develop a friendship with a potential lover when she was just a child, what with our immortality. I had tried to understand. I tried to accept that Dagur was not sexually interested in my little girl as she was, but he saw the woman she'd become, and he wanted to put his bid in for her heart as soon as possible. Get a jump-start on things. Dagur wanted to be someone Rowan trustedand liked so that when she matured, he'd be first in line. To me, that was fucked up. To everyone else in Fairy, it was sweet. Fuckingsweet! Raza even said he'd want the same for Shahzadi, our daughter. That it would be nice to have another man looking after her. Un-fucking-believable.
Of course, I hadn't told Rowan's father yet. As with most things, Kill would agree with me on this. Except that Killian might actually murder the Dark Elf. Thus, I hadn't told him.
I was rethinking that decision.
Dagur met my stare warily. I had stopped midway down the hall, directly in front of his table. To stare at him while my daughter sat on his lap. Trusting. As she might with one of her uncles. But this man didn't want to be an uncle to her.
Rowan had finished her breakfast and been excused from the royal table just a few minutes before Miri had made her mad flight around the hall. I thought Ro wanted to go into the back garden to play around her grandmother's tree. Maybe she had, but she had made a pit stop at Dagur's table.
It irritated me even more that they looked incredible together. Against Dagur's midnight-black skin and hair, his icy blue eyes seemed to glow, and so did Rowan's bright coloring. With her rich auburn hair falling around her in thick, glossy waves, her pale Irish skin sprinkled with freckles, and her shockingly bright, green, snake eyes, Rowan looked like a jewel laid on the black velvet backdrop of Dagur.
Normally, the Dark Elf didn't eat breakfast in the castle. The Elf village was nearby, and he often visited, but he had his own home to dine in and a community to run with his brother. But all Twilight Fey were welcome at court, and the older Rowangot, the more often Dagur visited. I wouldn't be surprised if he asked for a room soon.
Rowan was ten now, nearly eleven, and she was showing signs of womanhood. Killian had almost had a heart attack when she got her period. An early bloomer, just like her mom. I had to explain what the blood meant, and Rowan had been shockingly mature about it. Which only made me more worried. Looking at her, I thought she was too young to have such feelings. But I remembered getting my first period around her age. All the changes in my body. And all the urges. All the confusing feelings that had embarrassed me. My daughter was shy, but not embarrassed. That should have been a good thing.
This was a time when childhood crushes transformed into something more adult. Rowan wouldn't know exactly what she wanted, but she'd be feeling the need for it. Fucking hormones. Didn't they know she was too young?!
Sure enough, as I held Dagur's startling blue gaze, Rowan nestled in close and kissed his cheek.
Cat started to growl. Not because she sensed my anger. Cat was Goddess-touched, and she had appointed herself Rowan's protector from the minute of Ro's birth. And my Puka friend was discerning. She had her own anger.
“Rowan!” I snarled.
Rowan flinched and lifted her head to look at me in shock. I rarely shouted at her. She was my sweet girl who never disobeyed me and only got into trouble by accident. Even when she was Miri's age, she'd never given me issues.
Rowan's bright eyes widened, and she slipped off Dagur's lap. “Mom?” she asked hesitantly.
I took a deep breath. “Sorry, Ro-Ro. I'm not mad at you. Come here.” I held out my hand as I kept my stare on Dagur.
Rowan obediently came over and took my hand. “What's wrong?”
“We need to talk, baby girl.” I finally looked down at her. “Could you go . . .” I trailed off as I noticed the silver bracelet on her wrist. It was a delicate snake, winding around itself. Stunning in its detail. Elves made the best jewelry.
“Mom?” Rowan canted her head, her mass of auburn curls falling nearly to the floor.
I gathered her hair up and wound it into a loose knot. “Be careful, honey. You're going to get your hair dirty. Maybe we should cut it.”
“No!” she nearly shrieked. When I lifted my eyebrows, she repeated it in a normal tone. “No, Mom.” She leaned in to whisper, “Dagur loves my hair long.”
Oh, that's it! The Elf was gonna get it!
Face twitching, I said, “Why don't you go out back to Grandma's tree and see if there's any Pixies around to play with? I'll be right out.”
Pixies are known to be little assholes, and they generally stay away from court. But then one of the more adventurous of their ladies met Rowan. Like everyone else, she had become instantly enamored of my daughter. That Pixie had gone home, told all her friends about the Twilight Duchess, and that was the start of the Pixie Invasion. At least they stayed in the gardens.
Not that they were mean to me. They actually liked me, and they really liked Tiernan, but Ro-Ro was another storyentirely. She had become their favorite large person. They adored her so much that they came en masse to the castle gardens nearly every day to visit her. Rowan loved playing with the tiny winged people and often brought them presents of honey, bread, and milk. Oh, and chocolate. The Pixies loved chocolate.
“Oh! May I go by the kitchens and fetch them a bowl of honey?” Rowan asked.
“Yes, of course. Go on now.” I pushed her back up the dining hall, toward the kitchen and her frowning father. “Cat, could you go with Ro? Look after her.”
