“If we could enlist the water dragons to help us on this, that would be helpful,” Morgana said.“I have no idea whether they’ll say yes, but at least they workwithmortals, not against them.”
“What about recalling Storm from over in the Realms?Could she help us?”
I shook my head.“For one thing, she’s a Hedge Dragon, and an earth one at that.For another, I last heard she’s taking care of her sister right now.I don’t want to bother her for the moment.”After a moment, I added, “But the fact remains that we’ve got a water-based group out to ransack land-dwellers.Ostensibly at the behest of an ancient sea serpent goddess.So, what else is new?”
“We have another issue—or potential issue.This one is a little closer to home,” Herne said.
“It’s with the Fae Courts,” Morgana said.
I groaned.“Whenaren’tthere problems with the Fae Courts?So, what are Saílle and Névé up tonow?Are they still beating each other up?I thought they had agreed to a truce, but apparently, I was wrong.”
“Oh, they don’t have a beef with each other right now, at least not on the surface,” Morgana said.“It won’t last long, of course.They’ve never been able to work together.It’s simply not in their nature.But for the moment, they’ve aligned.”
Thatlittle tidbit made me uneasy.“Um…against what?”
“Did Herne tell you about the Elemental Fae?”Morgana asked.
I shook my head.“I’ve been focused on the triplets for the past few months.What’s going on?”
“The Elemental Fae are emerging back into the world,” Cernunnos said.
I stiffened.“What Elemental Fae?Most of the Water Fae belong to either the Light or Dark Courts, don’t they?”
“Yes, as do a number of the Fae belonging to the air, earth, and fire.But there are a few that distanced themselves in the past, so well they’ve mostly been forgotten.And now, at least one branch is coming out of the woodwork,” Morgana said.
“Not only that, but a couple of the Water Fae branches have decided to split off and declare their independence.And that isn’t making either of the queens happy,” Cernunnos said.
“Oh, gods,” I said.“Don’t tell me—civil war among the Fae Courts?”
“Exactly that.And given the emergence of previously forgotten Fae who don’t pay any heed to either the Light or Dark Courts?It’s a volatile time in the Fae Nation.”Herne shrugged.“Saílle and Névé aren’t about to play nice.You know what they’re like.”
“Cripes,” I said.“Yes, I do know.”
Both Saílle—the Dark Fae Queen, and Névé—the Light Fae Queen, were as arrogant and haughty as they come.They’d both put the stamp of approval on my maternal grandmother and my paternal grandfather joining forces to assassinate my parents.And once I’d passed through the Gadawnoin, neither wanted to acknowledge my status, although they didn’t dare say a word.But neither had failed to notice my rising popularity.
Over the past year or so, hundreds of ‘tralaeths’—half-breeds, either part Fae and part human, or part Light and part Dark Fae — had begun to gravitate to my worship.I felt weird about the very concept of being worshipped, but Morgana helped when she pointed out that I was providing a service to those like me simply by validating their very existence.
“What are we going to do?”I asked.“Better yet, what aretheygoing to do?”
“That’s the problem.They’re starting to send out assassins against leaders of some of those groups breaking off from them.Now, I’ll be the first to admit that the kelpies suck—they’re a boil on the world’s ass—but it’s going to be worse once they realize the Fae Queens are after them.They’ll launch their own attacks to retaliate.”
Herne sighed, looking at his mother.“And you can lay odds that both Saílle and Névé will attempt to discredit the Elemental Fae who make themselves known.We can’t let that happen.The Elemental Fae won’t hesitate to fight back, and…” He rolled his eyes and shrugged.
“Oh boy,” I said.Leave it to the Fae Courts to start a war.“So, what do we do?”
Morgana brushed a strand of her hair away from her face.She’d pulled the raven locks into an intricate tangle of braids and curls.She was wearing a designer pair of trousers with a short trench jacket and carrying a Marc Jacobs handbag.It was so odd to see a goddess dressed in designer wear, but that was Morgana—sometimes she showed up in magical clothing, but usually she looked like she was straight off a shopping trip to Saks Fifth Avenue.
“I’ve talked to the leaders of the Crystal Fae.We’re going to facilitate their emergence by placing one of their best in the Wild Hunt, where she’ll work with you on cases and try to forge diplomatic bonds between the Crystal Fae and the Fae Courts.You’ll help her do that.”
I blinked.“Really?”
“Truly,” Morgana said.“Now, if you’ll give me a moment, I’ll bring her in and she can get started.”
Before Herne or I could say a word, my mother-in-law headed out toward the lobby, and the rest of us—including Cernunnos—sat silent, unwilling to break the silence.
CHAPTERTWO
The womanwho accompanied Morgana when she returned was unlike anyone I’d ever seen.She was tall—five-ten or so—with an hourglass figure.Her hair hung down to her waist, a mixture of black and green.The green strands glowed with a faint inner light.
