Chapter Thirty #2
“Daddy!” Mirielle's voice came. “Daddy! Uncle Dax is here.”
Sever froze.
“Who are you scrying?” Daxon's voice came next.
“You're with Daxon?” I narrowed my eyes at Sever. “You left me to stay with Dax?”
“No, he's just visiting.”
“Is that Seren?” Daxon came into view. “Hello, wandering wife of mine.” Daxon's mesmerizing blue eyes narrowed. “Where are you now, darling?”
I grimaced at his sharp tone. “Drop the attitude, Dax.
I don't feel bad anymore, so you can't make me feel worse.
The dreams aren't my fault. Yes, I should have told you about them, but I did what I thought was best, and I won't apologize for that again. I was just telling Sever that the Light of Hell has been sending the dreams to me.”
Daxon blinked. “What?”
“Evidently, a Basty told her that Hell's Light is behind the dreams. Seren has concluded that it's trying to lure her back to Hell to fulfill the prophecy.” He looked from Dax to me. “What was that prophecy?”
“I'm supposed to heal Hell,” I said.
“Yes, but what else did it say?”
I shrugged. “It was given to the Underground Demons so there was a lot of 'she will come and do not fear her' stuff. It said I stand between shadows and sunlight, a bridge to the past and future.”
“Through her, Hell will be healed,” Daxon finished.
Yeah, he'd been there when I met the Underground Demons, and he'd seen the carving on the wall—the image of me and the prophecy.
“Rowan was right,” Sever murmured even as he helped Miri onto his lap. “You're leaving. And you're going to Hell.”
“Mommy!” Miri smacked the crystal.
“Hey, my baby girl! You're going to come home.”
“I am?” She looked at Sever.
Sever scowled at me. “I didn't say I was bringing her back.”
“But she's not in danger. Hell's Light is behind my dreams, not an Angel. Fairy is safe for her.” I leaned closer. “And where are you anyway?”
“Underground!” Miri clapped her hands. “I flew underground, Mama!”
“Did you?” I smiled brightly at her and flicked a glare at Daxon.
“He wanted to hide Miri somewhere no one would look for them,” Daxon said. “I thought it was a good idea. So, yeah, I brought them into the Fairy Underground.”
I grimaced. “Yes, all right. That's a pretty good idea.”
Sever and Daxon stared at me.
“What?”
“Seren was attacked by the blight,” Sever said to Daxon. “She says it took her guilt.”
“Among other things, it appears.” Daxon frowned. “Are you all right, Seren?”
“I'm great.” I grinned at Miri. “And I'll be even better once my girl is home.”
“I like it here!” Miri bounced on her father's lap.
Sever looked from her to me. “I think we'll stay until you conquer the blight.”
I frowned, but Miri looked happy, and that was the most important thing.
“Hey, Mom.” Caelum leaned around his father to wave at me.
“Hey, my handsome boy! You're there too? I miss you.” I touched the crystal over his face.
“I miss you too, Mom.”
Caelum looked so much like his father, with his indigo hair, recently cut in the same style as Daxon's—short but with a rebel spikiness to it. But his eyes were identical to my father's, with silver star spokes over deep purple irises.
“Cae!” Miri reached for him.
All the little girls loved my Caelum. And he loved the attention.
Oozing charm, he grinned at Miri and picked her up. “Hey, baby sister. Do you want to play with me outside?”
“Yes!” Miri looked at her father.
Sever nodded. “Go on, but don't go too far.”
“We'll stay just outside,” Caelum promised. “Bye, Mom.”
“Bye, my love.” I blew him a kiss. “Bye, Miri. Have fun!”
“Bye-bye, Mama!”
I watched my kids leave, contemplating how relieved I was over Miri's adaptability.
It seemed as if she'd already forgotten that awful scene in Fairy.
The relief came because I still felt that guilt.
The blight hadn't taken it. That's right.
I had fought to keep that pain, and that's what freed me. How fascinating.
I looked back at my husbands. “Tiernan and I are staying here until I recover. He doesn't want me going up against the blight without my bad emotions.”
“You are not yourself.” Tiernan set a cup of tea down on the low table before me and then sat down beside me on the couch with his own teacup. Once he was settled, he focused on the scry phone. “Severriel, what are you doing with Daxon?”
“They're in the Fairy Underground,” I said.
Tiernan lifted his eyebrows. “Well done. You stayed near your power base while hiding where no one would think to look for you.”
“Yes, it was a good idea,” I agreed. “But he wants to stay there until we destroy the blight.”
Tiernan looked from me to Sever. “I don't think that's necessary, Sever, but she's your daughter. You should have the final say.”
“Thank you, Tiernan,” Sever said.
“He should have an equal say with me,” I corrected.
“Yes, I meant that among your husbands, Sever's opinion about his child should count the most.” Tiernan sipped his tea. “As Miri's mother, you should absolutely have an equal say. So, what are you saying, Seren?”
“Before you answer, I have something to tell you.” Sever glanced at Dax. “The real reason I want to stay a little longer is that Miri has . . .”
“Miri has what?” I demanded.
“When we left Fairy, she was very upset. We arrived at Daxon's estate and nearly fell into a rift.”
“Wait. What?” I sat back. “What do you mean a rift?”
Sever leaned closer to whisper, “Miri opened a door to Heaven. Luckily, I had laruked us to the driveway, so the rift wasn't in Daxon's home, but it was still startling. I had to shut it before an Angel noticed.”
“Does she know what she did?” Tiernan asked.
“No, thank goodness. But I think it may be best if we stay here while I work with Mirielle on controlling her power.” He grimaced. “She's been dreaming about the Eternal Palace and the Throne, Seren.”
“Oh, damn,” I whispered. “Anything else?”
He shrugged. “She draws angelic symbols sometimes.”
I sighed. “All right. You know best how to handle this. If you want to stay there, it's all right with me.”
“You won't return to Twilight until you're done in Seelie anyway.” Sever motioned to me.
“Yes, I just feel that Miri's safer on Fairy than on Earth. Caelum was nearly abducted from Earth.”
“But our boy demolished that dickhead,” Daxon said with a smirk.
“Yes, that was fortunate, but Miri cannot protect herself.”
“I'm not so sure about that.” Sever's expression went grim.
“No one will come down here looking for Miri,” Daxon added.
I rolled my eyes. “Unless she opens another rift, and they step through.”
Daxon grimaced. “Shit.”
Sever got up, taking the phone with him. My view shifted to the floor.
“I'm still here,” I drawled.
Sever lifted the phone to his face. He was peering out a window. Looking back at me, he said, “Just checking on her. She's fine.”
“Why don't you stay with us?” Daxon suggested. “You'll have better protection on my estate, and Miri will have Caelum to play with.”
Sever looked at me.
I shrugged. “I don't know. On one hand, you'll have an army to back you, but on the other hand, if Miri opens a rift and Angels decide to come through, you'll have brought them to Dax and Caelum.”
Daxon grabbed the scry phone, his angry expression filled the crystal. “We can defend ourselves.”
“I know, babe. But if Sever stays in the Underground, he can just grab Miri and laruk her somewhere safe. But if he's with you, he'll stay to help fight them off.”
“And what about the fairies down here?”
“I don't think the Angels would stick around after seeing Sever laruk away with Mirielle.”
Daxon blinked. “Ah. I see your point.”
Sever took his phone back. “All right. We'll stay here. Hopefully, nothing will happen, but if Angels show up, I'll get Miri to safety.”
“You need to watch her carefully, Sever. Don't let her out of your sight.”
“I know, Seren. I won't.” His expression softened. “We should bring all the kids here. I think they'd enjoy it.”
I grinned. “I haven't been to the Fairy Undergrounds in a while. I'd like to see how they're doing.”
“It's inhabited by fairies,” Daxon drawled. “We know how to rebound and rebuild. And you know the outreach centers are doing great.”
“I haven't been as involved with them as I had intended to be when I opened them.” I glanced at Tiernan. “I've neglected a lot of things lately.”
“You've tried to focus on what's most important,” Daxon said. “We know you're trying, Seren.”
“Thanks, Dax.”
He leaned in over Sever's shoulder. “But I'm still punishing you the next time you visit.” He grinned wickedly.
I chuckled. “I look forward to it.”
No one could make a person want to be punished like Dax could.
“Tiernan, is she really okay?” Sever asked.
“Not entirely.” Tiernan laid his hand on my thigh to ease the sting I didn't feel.
“But as someone who experienced the same attack recently, I can say that Seren's not suffering, and she will return to normal soon.” He winced.
“I just don't know how soon that will be. The King had her longer than I was touched.”
“The King?” Daxon asked.
“He's a manifestation of the Garden. Like its representative,” I said. “I've been calling him King Crybaby.”
Daxon snorted a laugh. “That's my girl. Always make fun of the monsters.”
“If only he were a monster.” I sighed. “I like monsters. This guy is just sad and boring. He's a downer.”
Dax laughed harder. “Yeah, monsters are far more interesting. All right, love. Scry me when you've recovered and have kicked King Crybaby's ass.”
“I will. I love you, Dax.”
“I love you too, my Queen.” He winked at me and stepped out of view. “I'll be outside with the kids. I'll holler if our girl opens a magical rift.”
“Oh, you won't have to.” Sever grimaced and looked back at me. “What are your intentions toward Astaroth?”
“I have none. I'll go to fulfill the prophecy and then come home. Until then, Tiernan can protect me from the dreams.”
Sever nodded. “I have a feeling you may change your mind after you recover your darker emotions.”
“That's possible.” I glanced at Tiernan. “It might be better if I go to Hell now.”
“You can't leave Fairy now, Seren.” Tiernan set his teacup down. “Healing Hell is bound to take a while, and we'll be defenseless without you.”
“Yes, you're right. But you won't let me fight the Garden like this.”
Tiernan sighed. “We'll see how you feel in the morning.”
“Okay.” I looked back at Sever. “I love you. Hopefully, I'll see you soon.”
“I love you too.” Sever sighed deeply. “Seren, I'm sorry I took Miri away. I was trying to be a good father.”
“I know, sweetheart. I agreed to it. You have nothing to apologize for.” I touched the slice of crystal over his face. “You are a good father. Miri is lucky to have you. We both are.”
Sever's jaw dropped.
“What? I've said those things before.”
“Yes. I just didn't expect to hear them now.”
“Enjoy my clarity while you can.” I winked at him.
Sever chuckled. “I will. Goodnight, both of you.” He looked over at Tiernan.
“Goodnight,” Tiernan and I said together.
I put the phone down and picked up my tea. After taking a sip, I said, “Nope, this isn't going to do it.”
“What do you mean?” Tiernan looked worried.
“I'm starving. I need more than a damn cup of tea.”
Tiernan chuckled as he stood up. “Come along then. Let's see what we can find in the kitchen.”