Chapter 6
Chapter
Six
“The kingdom has fallen into chaos,” Fionn said quietly, his enormous hands wrapped around a giant mug of steaming hot tea. I’d ushered the whole company upstairs quickly, out of sight of the general public, and asked Violet to roll out the welcome mat, all while watching the minutes tick by.
So much for my early start. At this rate, I’d be lucky to roll into work before nine. This was far more important, though.
“I barely escaped the castle,” Fionn went on as Cecil, still in his Labrador form, trotted around with a plate of chocolate chip cookies in his mouth. “I was not there when the Queen received Prince Connor, and he delivered the news of your passing. I was at the barracks with my men.”
“Of course, Amayda.” Cress cuddled into her father’s side, still wrapped around him like a monkey. “You are married to the army.”
“Merrik, your mother’s advisor, rushed to the barracks to inform me immediately.
Of course, I did not believe it.” Fionn met Donovan’s sad eyes.
“Your brother has always been prone to trickery. I was not even remotely alarmed. I confess I sauntered back to the castle, fully expecting the Queen to order me to discipline Connor for wasting her time. As you know, he has always despised me.”
Idly, I wondered why, then immediately guessed the reason. Fionn was the Queen’s beloved, too. Connor hated him just like he hated Donovan.
“Instead, I walked into the throne room to find her slaughtered on the obsidian throne.”
“It is unimaginable.” Donovan let out a gruff noise, deep in his throat. “He murdered her. He knew I was still alive, so he waited until she had sent her advisers off to confirm my passing. Then he killed her while she was distracted.”
“Yes.” Fionn nodded. “That is exactly what he did. Your brother is as cunning as a weasel. Not only that, but he had soldiers loyal to him burst in and invade the throne room just after I entered. They found me, holding the body of the Queen in my arms, weeping. Connor had run from the murder scene, telling all he encountered that I had been present at Court when he brought the news of your death, and in a fit of rage, I slaughtered the Queen so I could take the throne myself. He declared that I tried to murder him, too, but he managed to slip away.”
Cress hissed under her breath. “He is a snake.”
“We should have foreseen this.” Donovan put his head in his hands.
“How could any of us know that Connor would sink to such depths?” Fionn let out a weary, heartbreaking sigh.
“He has only ever desired the Queen’s favor.
The three of us always knew he would stop at nothing to take the throne, but I always assumed he would continue to attack you, Prince Donovan, the Heir.
I never thought for a moment that…” He paused and swallowed roughly.
“The Queen would not hear a word against him. She still considered him her naughty little boy. She assumed he would eventually grow up and stop bucking against fate and be content with fighting and whoring through all the Upper World realms.”
“Mother’s arrogance was always her weakness,” Donovan muttered. “Tell us, Amayda. What happened next?”
“I escaped from the throne room by the skin of my hide and ran. Connor claimed the throne as the only remaining heir, declared himself King of the Realm, and took command of my army, and sent them after me.” Fionn’s expression darkened. “My own men have been hunting me for days.”
I frowned. It had been less than twelve hours since I’d brought Donovan back from the Under. I glanced at Cecil and mouthed at him. Days?
He leaned closer to mutter in my ear, “Time moves differently in Faerie.”
Oh. That would be handy right about now. If only we could be having this conversation in Donovan’s home realm, then I could get to work on time.
I hushed my work-brain. This is more important, Susan.
Cress patted her father’s head. “You’re okay now, Amayda. And we’ll get this all sorted out. Donovan’s still alive, so he can go home and claim the throne.”
“I wish it were that simple, my darling princess,” Fionn replied, patting her cheek sadly.
“Connor has already begun to arrange the royal funerals and is spinning his lies around the kingdom like a great spider. As I ran from my own trackers, I heard word that he is stricken with grief by the death of his mother and brother, and that he often declares that the spirit of his brother resides inside of him, bound together as when they were born. In the village of Duskenmaine, I heard that he has been introducing himself to courtiers as Donovan and telling people that you both live on inside the one body.”
The muscle in Donovan’s jaw ticked. “So, even if I were to come back and declare myself, nobody would be sure which one I am.”
“The kingdom is lost in a fog of confusion. Nobody is certain what is going on. And none of us are there to contradict him. I would have stayed to fight, but I had to flee for two reasons. First, because Connor has accused me of regicide.”
“That bastard,” Cress ground out.
“All is not lost. He has declared himself King and taken command of the army, but our people will not fully accept him until after the coronation.”
I checked my watch. “When is the coronation?” I suppose there wouldn’t be any point putting a calendar note in my diary.
“One of your moon cycles away.” Fionn’s eyes found me, and he smiled.
“My lady. I should have known upon seeing your face for the first time that you were the Chosen One. I confess I was swayed by the Queen’s opinion on the prophecy, and of how important the One of Every Blood would be when it came time for the Ruler of All Worlds to ascend. ”
I knew what that meant. Connor held the same opinion.
They both thought the Ruler was going to be one of the Twin Stars of Tyrnn, and not me.
And the Chosen of the prophecy was little more than a tool to be used, someone to help the Ruler of All Worlds enter every realm, like some sort of walking, talking skeleton key and lapdog all in one.
Donovan was the only one who thought that I’d be the ruler.
“I was not expecting to be so impressed by you,” Fionn continued.
“Of course, my son extolled your considerable virtues when he was brought to court not long ago, and I was pleased that he was so amenable to be bonded to you so that he might eventually ascend to become the Ruler of All Worlds. But you…” He smiled, his piercing aquamarine eyes lighting up and almost glowing.
“You are the blessed angel that came immediately to my aid the second I fell to this wretched realm. The first kind face I have seen?—”
“Father.” Donovan stared at Fionn, waited until he was watching, then shook his head firmly. “No.”
Fionn cocked his head. “Are you sure? I was a twin, too, you know. The translation of the prophecy holds some wiggle room to interpret ‘child’ for ‘consort,’ so it’s not so much of a stretch to think?—”
“No,” Donovan repeated firmly. “I understand your impulses, father, for our preferences are similar. They are both powerful and wise. But she is mine.”
I cleared my throat awkwardly. “Uh, yeah. Sorry, Fionn, sir.” I looked at Donovan. “His Highness? King Consort?”
“Please continue to call me Fionn.” His eyes darkened, smoldering. “Or you could call me ‘beloved,’ as the Queen did.”
“Father. No.” Donovan shook his head, then sighed and muttered under his breath, “What in the seven hells is wrong with my family?” He stood up, walked over to me, reaching out, and took my hand.
“Chosen. I do not wish to keep you from your duty. You do not need to sit here and listen to the troubles that plague my kingdom. You have your own troubles to attend to.”
“Of course.” I gave him a gentle smile. “But you know I will give it all up in a heartbeat if you need me to. You just lost your mother. You’re in mourning, Donovan.” I squeezed his hand. “I can be here for you if you want.”
He gazed down into my eyes. “The Queen has not spoken more than two sentences to me in two centuries. As Lady Bronwyn would say, our family dynamics are toxic, to say the least. The Queen was mother to me in title only, and I received her commands through her advisers. I was blessed to have Fionn, who was at least a loving father, and also blessed that you introduced me to Lady Bronwyn so that I might mourn the relationship I could have had, if I had not been born a royal. I am well, Chosen.” He leaned down, pressing his lips quickly to mine.
“I will support my father as he grieves, and we will come up with a plan in which to unseat the usurper who sits on the obsidian throne.”
That was a lot. “Okey dokey,” I said.
“Besides,” he added, cupping my cheek. “I’m afraid if you do not go now, I will have to fight another one of my relatives for your affections.”
“One moment.” Fionn got up, unfolding his enormous frame from the sturdy giant armchair Violet had produced for him. “There is something else. One more thing before you go, Lady Susan.”
“Yes?” I grudgingly put my laptop bag down.
“I must tell you the second reason why I had to flee the kingdom, and why Connor put so much effort into pursuing me. As you know, my children, I am a man of action, not wisdom. I do what I am told by strategists far wiser than I. Nevertheless, I do have a brain in my skull, think my own thoughts, and have my own opinions, even if they contradict the Queen’s.
I have never trusted Connor,” he said darkly.
“I already knew the first thing he would do as soon as he had the run of the castle, so I acted accordingly.”
He reached into his leather jerkin, rummaging around the breast pocket. “This is why Connor pursued me over half our realm with my whole army in chase. He knew that I had this.”
A dazzling green light sparked from within his jerkin, and to my astonishment, he pulled out an enormous glowing gem—a deep, dark brilliant-cut emerald, almost a foot in diameter. It was exactly the shade of Donovan’s eyes.
I gasped. “Is that your spark stone?”
“It is.” Fionn held it out. “I brought it here so that the Chosen One may close it and protect the source of our power. This stone holds the essence of all the magic of the high fae, all the power of the Kingdom of the Crystal Castle. Our strength, our dominance, our might. This stone gives unfathomable power to our race.”
I eyed the stunning rock with half-closed eyes. It really was dazzlingly beautiful; I could barely look at it. And the power I sensed inside of it… it felt almost dangerous. Hypnotic.
My heart started to pound. “Yes, but what does it actually do?” I licked my lips, suddenly nervous. “Can you be more specific?”
Donovan understood what I was asking. “A little of everything.
Strength of will. Self-belief, like the centaur stone.
Some physical might but not as much as the berserkers.
A deeper understanding of the mysteries of magic so we may master more spells.
While some realms' stones provide specific magics to help the creatures within thrive, our stone emanates a little of all of those magics. That is why we are the most powerful. It is why the Kingdom of the Crystal Castle rules the whole Upper World.”
Fionn moved closer to me; I had to shield my eyes from the glare of the stone.
“I knew that Connor would move to devour it as soon as he could, because he wants no other to possess its magic. He seeks to eliminate his enemies completely by cutting us off at the knees. If he devoured our stone, no high fae would be able to challenge him.” He held it out.
“Lady Susan, will you work your magic for us and close the stone?”
I eyeballed it warily. “Now? But… uh… I’m late for work,” I said, swinging my laptop bag over my shoulder. “I’ll do it later on, if that’s okay, Fionn.”
His face fell. “As you wish, my lady.”
“I have to run.” I grabbed one more cookie from Cecil’s platter and backed away from the fae company. “Uh, Cress? Is Bronwyn at work today?”
“The location of my lover does not concern you.” She bared her teeth. “Stay away from my woman, or I will cut off your?—”
“Cress.” The chill in Donovan’s voice could have frozen lakes in Hell.
She chuckled sheepishly. “Apologies, Chosen, I forget who I am speaking to. When the name of my beloved is mentioned, I lose all reason.”
“You bark like a dog,” Donovan muttered.
“We are working on my impulse control, I promise. And to answer your question, Chosen, yes. Bronwyn is seeing her patients today. It is the only reason she has been able to banish me from her presence.”
“Good.” I nodded. Maybe I could slip in for an appointment. There was something going on with me. I was weirdly reluctant to close any more stones. I needed Bronwyn to help me dig out the reason why before I lost my noodle and ended up buried in nightmares again.
Donovan walked me to the elevator and hungrily kissed me goodbye. “Until this evening, Chosen. We will all escort you to the vampire realm.”
“Oh. The vampire realm.” Another powerful spark stone to close. “Great,” I said weakly, walking out the door.