Forty-Nine
At some point in the night, we made it downstairs.
The Royal rooms, each of our separate rooms, were in the same wing of the Keep.
Asmodeus was waiting for us near Damien's study, arms crossed with a document in his hand. "Where have you two been?"
I rolled my eyes as Damien answered. "What do you need, Asmo?"
"We have an emergency." He gestured towards the document. He looked worried, frenzied. I realized that he wasn't interrupting us on purpose-- whatever he knew had to be discussed immediately.
Damien didn't even glance at the letter. "What is it?
"We received a letter from the queens," Asmo explained.
Damien tensed. "Queens? Plural?"
"Yes. All four queens sent a letter- one letter, not individual ones to the Underworld. They want to meet Emylin, the day after tomorrow. And that is not even the worst of it. The first to sign was the queen of Winter."
Damien cursed.
"Exactly. When was the last time all queens saw eye to eye in anything?"
I frowned.
Asmo sighed. "We need to talk. I'll give you a moment to freshen up and meet you downstairs."
Asmo disappeared. I looked at Damien. "What's going on?"
Damien shook his head. "The queens never agree on anything. We have to find out what they want." He sighed and leaned over, planting a small kiss on my cheek. "We should go."
I nodded. "All right, I just need a moment."
I went my own where I splashed water on my face and tried to make myself look somewhat presentable by brushing my hair.
Damien was waiting for me outside of my room where he apologized profusely and kissed my forehead. "Well, date night was ruined."
I laughed. "I wouldn't say ruined - but maybe another time."
Damien led me to a room on one of the floors below ours which I recognized as the room where we all gathered and met the Council the week before.
Asmo stood at the other end of the room, his silhouette outlined by the night lights of Kingstown just beyond the window.
I greeted him, "Hello, Asmo."
He turned as we entered and slid a letter across the table to me. I grabbed it as it reached me and I looked over the very fine paper.
It was soft and cream colored which made the dark script stand out on the page. As I looked at the text, I frowned. "I can't read this."
Damien, who stood next to me as I looked at the paper, gently took the paper from my hand. "It's an ancient fae language, used usually between royal families and official documentation."
Asmo nodded. "They don't seem to know Emylin's history or how she came to be queen. They want to meet her - oh, gods, what the hell are you doing here?"
I frowned at Asmo's sudden outburst until I saw who came into the room.
"Julian," I couldn't hide the surprise in my voice. "What are you doing here?"
Julian gave a crooked smile. "Hello to you, too, Emylin." He looked at Asmo. "Damien asked me to join."
Asmo chuckled then sighed in frustration. "This should be interesting."
Damien finally looked up from the paper. "I suggest you two put your past differences aside. We will need the both of you to work together going forward."
My eyebrows shot up as I watched them. "Do I want to know?"
Julian crossed his large arms. "No, you don't."
Asmo snarled from across the table as Damien extended a hand towards Julian. "Have a seat."
Julian did as I waited for Damien to finish reading the document. Finally, he set it down on the table and ran a hand over his face.
"What?" When he said nothing, I pressed. "What does it say?"
Damien didn't look at me. Whatever the paper said shook Damien enough that he didn't look up even as he rested his hands on the table, looking down as if in thought.
I turned to Asmo. "Asmodeus, what does it say?"
Asmo looked between the two of us. When he saw Damien didn't even move, he turned to me. "The queens are worried. They want to make sure that the new queen is equipped to lead the fight in the Underworld should the Dark Ones rise again."
I felt the blood freeze in my veins. "The Dark Ones?"
Julian looked at me with a definite sadness in his eyes. "Demons." Suddenly, I was transported back to the tombs where Julian had first told me about them. Tianna made a bargain with the Dark Ones for a child...
"They've never breached the seals," Damien said softly. "Not in millennia."
"And yet," Asmo's tone was tense, "it is at the urge of the Winter queen that the other queens felt the need to meet the Emylin immediately." Asmo shook his head. "Something is going on. It could be something, it could be nothing but this needs to be investigated."
I felt as if the wind had been knocked out of me. "This is the 'they' Robyn had mentioned, isn't it? The Old Ones, the Dark Ones, whatever they're called-- this is them."
Asmo looked at Julian next to me and when he turned back to me, he nodded slowly. "It is a possibility."
I swallowed. "And I may have to fight them."
Asmo looked between Damien and me in genuine confusion. There was no sarcasm or malice in his voice when he spoke again. "Emylin, did he not tell you this when he asked you to be queen? Before we all signed the document to make you queen?"
I felt Julian's anger as he stood next to me begin to rise as Asmo continued.
"As queen of the Underworld, it would fall on you to use your magic to protect the Underworld, it's people. You would have to fight the demons..."
I felt my hands were shaking not in fear but in anger that rivaled Julian's.
"To lead our armies, call upon the other kingdoms to assist..."
The world was spinning, I couldn't breathe.
"...to make sure the fight doesn't spill out into the human world. To protect the humans-"
"Of course, he told me," I snapped.
But in reality, he hadn't told me anything.
Not a thing. I was a figurehead, I would sign documents until he was ready, he told me. I would talk to Asmo about the Council Meetings.
Not demons. Not anything like this.
I looked at Asmo defiantly. I drew on Damien's words from just seconds before. "But the seals have never been broken, I didn't think it was a possibility."
Julian looked at me and there was such sadness in his voice, it stopped my breath. "It's always a possibility, Emylin, that's why we train, that's why Dark Magic is as powerful as it is-- why it was devastating when the Light fae were killed. We were allies in this fight."
Every word was like a blow to my chest. I could feel the weight in the middle of it weighing me down.
I looked at Asmo. "Where do they want to meet?"
"Neutral ground, in the Human world. They are awaiting your reply."
I looked at Damien. He didn't look like himself. He seemed to have aged in the small amount of time we were in the room talking. Damien, who had always been so collected, who always seemed to have all of the answers... looked so utterly completely lost.
And he still wouldn't look at me even as he spoke. "I will go to the Gates, to check the seals to make sure nothing has happened that we need to worry about."
Asmo inclined his head. "Of course."
Julian spoke up, "I will go with you. I will speak to Lady Vyssen, explain the situation, she will help us. No one knows the Gates like she does."
Damien nodded. "Thank you."
"Asmo," I met his dark eyes as he looked up. "Will you go with me when I meet the queens? Is that permitted?"
The silence between the three of us was deafening and seemed to stretch out forever.
I felt the disapproval from Julian and Damien.
Asmo shrugged his shoulders, nonchalantly. "Even if it's not, you're queen, you can do whatever you want."
"Good," I answered. "When do we need to leave?"
"These Summits are usually two days," Damien said softly. "So tomorrow. It is customary to exchange gifts the first night."
I nodded. "All right, then." I looked at Asmo. "I will send my acceptance."