Chapter 52 #2
“My apologies for the delay to breakfast! We had a bit of a situation last night,” he told us.
But I could barely pay attention to his words when his terrifying armour was covered in blood: black from Fuath and green from fey.
His handsome face was flecked with mud and smudged with ash, as were the two long braids that fell over both of his shoulders.
He seemed happy with how the battle must have gone, but he was also clearly exhausted.
“You have been fighting,” Orion stated in an attempt to get more information from the Autumn Prince as Rian gave us both our plates.
Rian grunted in confirmation as he took the extra fork on my plate just like the guard always did. It was strange to have someone eat off my plate just to prove it was not poisoned or drugged, but I appreciated it all the same.
“Do you also have Fuath in the Vale?” Rian asked us when he was finished chewing.
I snorted with a glance at Orion who had already dug into his meal without even waiting for Rian.
I supposed that meant he trusted them not to drug us now or he was simply too hungry to be cautious.
Not that I blamed him. The food here was different, uniquely spiced compared to food in Kórinthos, but it was really good.
“Unfortunately yes, we have a great many,” I replied before taking several bites of the sweet meat and a buttery mash of different vegetables.
“As did we. Now they are dealt with,” Rian explained as he walked over to the table at the edge of the room.
“Could you not easily burn them all? Or… consume them with your power?” asked Orion with a glance over at Rian. I followed his gaze to the fey male and watched as he removed a wineskin and three gold goblets from the leather satchel he had slung over his shoulder.
“Certainly. But my power, when used on such a scale, can be very unsafe. As you have seen,” Rian pointed out with a smug grin over his shoulder that made Orion lash his tail in annoyance at the reminder.
“They were mobilizing in a way that was unnatural,” Rian continued seamlessly as he refocused on uncorking the wineskin and filling each goblet with a golden liquid.
“Nuala was able to see that our Autumn queen was using blood magic to control the horde in order to distract me,” Rian added in disgust. He put the cork back in the skin and tucked it back into the satchel.
“Your queen was using blood magic? She could use it to control the Fuath?” I verified as my skin prickled.
“She was and she did,” Rian confirmed as he collected the three cups together to bring to me. It was amusing to see him doing it since I had watched many human men carry beer much the same way on bar patios.
“Does that not harm the Tithriall? Why would she use such magic?” Orion asked Rian in suspicion.
“It is extremely harmful. And she did it for the same reason Balor lied to your king in order to gain entry into the Vale; they want to maintain power,” Rian insisted.
I took one of the cups when he extended them to me and watched him take another to Orion. I assumed it must be wine, and it smelled divinely of apple and cinnamon, but I set it aside to finish my food first.
“I am sorry,” I said because Ornella’s letter had hinted at the efforts Rian had made to find solutions for the Rot. And all the while, his queen had been undermining him by using the magic that was most harmful to the integrity of their world. Such a betrayal must have stung deeply.
Rian had been about to tip his gold cup up to his lips, but he hesitated to meet my eyes over the rim, as if he were surprised by my sympathy. Then he continued to tilt the cup to take a quick but deep swig of the wine.
“It is no matter now. I finally have proof that renewing the monarchs will heal the courts, and the Fuath cannot be used that way by anyone else after this,” he shrugged.
I watched him return to the table as something told me that this was why he was here to see us.
“What does that mean?” Orion asked as Rian retrieved one of the chairs from under the table and brought it back. He took a seat in front of us with his goblet still in hand.
“It means I gave Queen Aoibheal one final chance to abdicate her throne willingly. She refused. So we took her power and passed it to her son who was able to heal our court within moments,” Rian explained proudly.
“You were fighting your queen last night?” I verified, and he raised his goblet in a smug confirmation.
I stared at him, and from Orion’s silence, I knew that my mate was staring at him too.
I remembered that crisp and invigorating feeling and realized that had been their new king healing his court.
The power had felt so young and new and fresh, and at the same time, as ancient and uncompromising as the bones of the earth somehow.
“You would not happen to know anything about blood magic being used in your kingdom?” Rian asked us.
“Why would we know anything about blood magic except that it is illegal and harmful?” Orion demanded.
“Because my Seer says the power Queen Aoibheal used was somehow transferred or shared with her from the Kingdom of the Vale,” Rian advised us.
My eyes had widened before I could curb the reaction, and Rian’s face hardened knowingly.
“What do you know?”
I glanced at Orion who seemed as uncertain as I felt, and Rian sighed in exasperation.
“We also had the Fuath mobilize in an unnatural way. Fey and griffins have been going missing and someone is able to… mess with my ability to use my magic against the Fuath,” I admitted.
There was no way I’d admit that Riordan also had his power messed with, but I wanted to be as transparent as possible in case Rian knew something useful.
“We have not been able to find the culprit.”
“So it is likely that whoever is menacing your world is the one who gave Queen Aoibheal knowledge of how to use the blood magic here as she did,” Rian mused.
“It’s just too coincidental,” I pointed out.
“You already said you would give me Balor, but I also want the one using this blood magic,” Rian declared as he rose from his chair again.
He began to pace slowly, as if he could not bear to sit still while he contemplated the situation.
“Nuala will be able to find them once she is on the other side of the Sylvan shields,” he added more to himself than to either of us.
“The more people and places she is exposed to, the more that is clear to her.”
“Then you are coming to the Vale?” I guessed with a wince when he grunted immediately in confirmation.
“My riders and I need rest and there are some politics to work through here first. You will ensure your king does not make the mistake of standing against us,” Rian told me with an imperiousness that made Orion growl at him.
“My objective is to protect the Four Courts from the one using this harmful power. I will do that even if I must go through you, so it would be in your best interest to simply cooperate with us this time,” Rian insisted.
“And allow you to have free rein?” Orion demanded. “Riordan will not agree. You must understand why!”
“What kind of reassurance can you offer us that you will not cause any harm to our kingdom?” I asked Rian, and the Autumn Prince scoffed.
“What possible reassurance could I give that would be acceptable to me and believable to you?” he demanded.
He had a point. I doubted that he would make himself vulnerable by putting on magic-dampening cuffs while in our kingdom. And I did not see Riordan allowing him to come to the Vale in any other way.
“You have made some amends by helping to bring my cousin back. Sage has said he has no interest in seeking his own retribution for what was done to him. My world is safe now that Caelan is king. And when word reaches the Winter Court that Ahnnaòin was healed, it will not be long before those hiding King Ymir finally turn on him. Then I’ll have no more reason to take fey from the Vale or even to keep you here.
Balor will atone for the atrocities he has wrought, and Aisling should be strong enough to forge the Spring Court anew when she is made queen.
Which means no more fey monarchs in your kingdom vying for power with your mate.
That all seems more than fair considering the magnitude of harm that you and your king helped to incite.
Both for my family personally and for many other fey as well,” Rian said relentlessly.
“I will do my best to talk to Riordan, but he will be angry you took us,” I insisted.
“Then he will need to set his feelings aside. This is not only about this,” Rian stated with a gesture between us.
“This is about the Four Courts and the detriment that war would mean for the fey. I will fight you if you do not get out of my way, but I would far rather turn our collective attention to Uile Breithà. Ornella was adamant you could be an ally against the humans. Although I am unsure how she is feeling about that these days,” he admitted.
“I understand what you are saying,” I reassured him, ignoring the jab about Ornella. “And I think this is worth a discussion with Riordan; I am just being realistic about what his reaction may be to you right now.”
“Good. Then we will speak more once I am rested and have discussed it with my riders. I want to move quickly now that we know this is the way to heal the Four Courts. Balor will flee if word reaches him,” Rian warned.
“Agreed,” I said with a nod.
“I apologize again for keeping you waiting for food. Please let Mator know if you need more,” Rian instructed before he turned for the door and promptly left us to eat and try to get some sleep.