‘Aunt. I am your aunt. And I am also a queen, though notyourqueen. Be correct in your expression,’ Moronoe chided.
‘I’m sorry, I…Aunt,’ Faye stammered, taken off guard.
‘No matter. You are blood and that is enough.’
‘Why did you summon me here?’ Faye was wary. She knew that she should fear Moronoe as much as any of the other faerie kings and queens.
Moronoe leaned forward and studied Faye’s face.
‘You are with child, niece. But you cannot have the baby. It will be too dangerous.’ The faerie queen sat back in her throne. ‘It isn’t too late. A little tea and the problem goes away.’
‘No, I…I don’t want that.’ Faye’s hands shielded her belly protectively. ‘I mean…I don’t need it.’
‘Many come to me for it.’ Her aunt sighed and clicked her fingers at a fae that stood next to the throne awaiting orders. It had rabbit ears and the body of a young child. ‘Hermione will fetch it.’
Faye’s stomach lurched as if in reply to Moronoe’s offhand statement.No, no, no, her inner voice pleaded.This isn’t happening.
‘How can you be sure?’ Faye whispered.
A little problem, Moronoe’s words echoed in her mind.A little tea, and the problem goes away.
‘Because I am the faerie queen Moronoe, the ruler of the element of earth. All bodies are made of earth. I am sovereign ruler of all material life – human, animal and plant – and I govern the eternal flow of birth, life and death. I am the womb of the world and also its grave. Trust me that I know when seeds of new life grow in one such as you.’ The queen held out her arms towards Faye who watched as a vine twisted along Moronoe’s arm. Grapes bulged from the stems and swelled to ripeness. As Faye watched, enthralled, the deep purple fruit split open and then shrivelled. The vine retracted as if it had never been, and Moronoe shrugged.
‘You should know as well as anyone that the circle of life follows its path, death and life, life and death,’ she said. ‘I know you lost your friend in Murias. Do you understand now the power that the faerie realms hold?’ she demanded.
Faye took in a deep breath, feeling her stomach twist in grief. Yes, she knew. She could never forget Aisha.
‘Levantiana started to teach me. About the magic of water—’ Faye ventured.
‘Levantiana is not your blood. The High Queen of Murias should not be instructing my niece in the ways of power!’ Moronoe shouted, and Faye stepped back in alarm as the roots in the walls shrivelled and the flowers on the table next to Moronoe shed their petals. ‘You went to her, and she asked that of you that should never be asked. You must know that if you gave her the child that is inside you, Murias would gain a terrible weapon against us. Against your own kind.’
‘I wouldn’t give her my baby. Ever,’ Faye retorted. ‘I made the bargain, but I had no choice.’
‘There is always a choice, niece. You just mean that you disliked the options.’
‘Whatever.’ Faye wasn’t in the mood to be lectured, and for a moment she forgot who she was standing in front of. She’d reverted into a defensive mood, like when Grandmother used to tell her off. Her mother, Moddie, never had done much lecturing; she wanted to be more like a sister to Faye. I became a mother too young, she’d been prone to saying.I love you more than the world,but I missed out on being young when I had you.
If I’m pregnant, what will it do to my life?Faye wondered.And whose baby is it? Rav or Finn?
‘Do not sass me, Faye Morgan,’ Moronoe snapped. ‘You are thinking of your own mother. She was Lyr’s lover, and she fell pregnant by him. She was young, yes. Younger than you are now.’
‘I…I don’t know if I’m ready. To be a mother,’ Faye confessed.
‘No one is ever ready. It is in your fate to have a child – that, I can see. But it is your choice as to when and how.’
‘How do you…’ Faye started to ask, but Moronoe raised an eyebrow, and Faye didn’t finish the question. It seemed irrelevant. Instead, she asked, ‘IfI’m pregnant?—’
‘You are with child. I assure you of that.’ Moronoe nodded her head.
‘Who is the father, then? Rav or Finn?’
Moronoe narrowed her eyes, and Faye felt as though she was being stared through, that Moronoe could see her bones, sinews; nothing was hidden from her.
‘I do not see any fae in this baby apart from that which you bring to it. He will look like his father, who is dark-haired. If he is born. Which cannot happen.’
Rav. She was pregnant with Rav’s baby. Faye suddenly felt the need to sit down. In her bones, she knew Moronoe was right.
She was pregnant. The sickness hadn’t been entirely due to the effects of Murias. She’d felt different; her whole body felt softer, stranger.Rav’s baby.
