Fairy Rings and Dragon Kings (Book 7 in the Twilight Court Series) Read online

Chapter Two

  Spalder gave us the locations of the previous fairy rings, as well as the latest. We headed to the most recent spot first, hoping to catch it before it disappeared. It was in Eugene, Oregon at a place called Hendricks Park. We had the exact coordinates to follow, so it didn't take us long to navigate the sunlight sprinkled trails to a picturesque clearing bordered by blooming rose bushes. There was a worn wooden bench off to the side, but nary a mushroom in sight.

  “Damn,” I cursed. “It looks as if we're too late.”

  “We can still investigate the area,” Torquil offered. “It's not as if the perpetrator could pop over to Fairy through the ring, he—or she—would have to take their victim to a nearby rath for transport.”

  “Sweet Goddess; you're sounding more and more human!” Conri said with horror.

  “You're one to talk,” Torquil huffed.

  “Yes, but I've always been into human culture,” Conri shot back. “You, on the other hand, are like the poster boy for the Twilight Court.”

  Gradh hid her chuckle, but Killian laughed outright.

  “I'm dating a human.” Torquil shrugged, not at all offended. “It's to be expected that I pick up her vernacular.”

  “Hey, I'm not saying it's bad.” Conri held up a protesting hand. “In fact, it's fantastic. I was just surprised.”

  “If you're done talking about the effect Abby has had on Torquil's speech, maybe we could get back to finding the missing people?” I gave them a hard look.

  “Yes, Your Highness,” they both muttered.

  “Good.” I was about to say more when I noticed Cat sniffing the grass meticulously. “Cat, did you find something?”

  She looked up at me and huffed, then went back to sniffing. Cat could communicate better than most canines; it was both because she was a fairy animal and because the Goddess Danu had touched Cat. So, when Cat came over and knocked her head against my hand, then shook it, I knew that there wasn't enough of a trail for her to follow.

  “Damn.” I sighed.

  Cat looked at me forlornly.

  “It's not your fault, Cat,” I reassured her. “Thanks for trying.”

  “This is going to be a bitch to investigate.” Killian shook his head. “And I don't mean Cat.”

  Cat and I glared at him.

  “Well, it is.” Killian shrugged. “We're trying to locate magic that isn't here anymore, and it's not even the magic that needs finding, it's the fairy using the magic to their benefit. So, we have to locate a fairy by trying to find traces they left behind in a mushroom ring... if we can ever find a ring of mushrooms, to begin with.”

  “That was a lot of words, Snake-Eyes.” Conri smirked. “You okay? Or did you hurt your mouth a little with those fangs of yours?”

  “Har har.” Killian gave Conri a grimace. “They're retractable.”

  “Killian's right,” I whispered. “This is going to be rough, and as much as we have to inspect this location, I don't think it's going to be of much help to us. We need to get back to Fairy and search the kingdoms.”

  “All of them?” Ainsley's eyes widened.

  “Well, it wouldn't make sense to search just one,” Cleary pointed out with a smirk.

  “It's a good thing our princess is married to the kings of Seelie and Unseelie,” Gradh said with a note of pride.

  “And that she's engaged to a hot witch,” Killian added before kissing my cheek.

  I rolled my eyes at his double entendre. Killian was half Flame witch; thus the “hot” reference.

  “How is that a good thing?” Gradh asked.

  “Because while you yahoos are scouring Fairy, I'm going to talk to the Coven and Casters, and see if there's some magic we can work on this end to find the culprit.” Killian looked more pleased with himself than his idea warranted.

  “Be smug after you get some results.” I patted Killian's shoulder. “Till then, let's search the area anyway; you never know. Then we'll head home.” I glanced at Killian. “Most of us, at least.”

  Chapter Three

  We returned our borrowed SUV to the local Council House, then twilighted home. As twilight fairies, we had the unique ability of accessing the In-Between at dusk and dawn. When twilight hit, all we had to do was be in a Between place—usually, we just hovered between earth and sky—and then we could slip into the In-Between and travel anywhere. So, Killian went to the Hallow–the Alaskan compound of the Caster Witches—and the rest of us went to Castle Twilight.

  As soon as I returned, Mairte, my brownie maid, brought a plate of food to my tower suite for Cat, but I left off eating and instead went to speak with my father. I found him in our family room, spending time with his new girlfriend, Eibhleann. Eibhleann is Aideen's mother. She's a beautiful oak dryad who is also an exceptional healer, and she helped us through an elf-shot incident recently. That's when she and Dad had hit it off.

  “Hey, Dad,” I said as I strode over to where they sat together on a velvet couch. “Hi, Eibhleann.”

  “Seren”—my father narrowed his eyes at me—“you appear distraught.”

  “Your Majesty,” Eibhleann murmured.

  “I've just been investigating some disappearances in HR,” I said to Keir. “Disappearances involving fairy rings.”

  “Oh, dear Danu.” Keir groaned and rubbed a palm over his face. “It's one thing after another these days.”

  “Yeah.” I sat beside him on the couch. “There have been several cases in multiple locations. I've just been to the most recent, but the ring had already faded.”

  “No clues left behind?” My father asked.

  “Cat started to scent something, but it wasn't strong enough to track.”

  “You'll have to wait for the next ring, then.” Keir shook his head. “If you're notified in time. Fairy rings are tricky things.”

  “Indeed,” Eibhleann agreed. “Though the mushrooms are delicious.”

  “I told the Head Councilman of Salem that I would look for the missing humans here,” I went on, ignoring Eibhleann's dining recommendations. “Are we capable of doing a kingdom-wide search?”

  “Of course,” Keir said as he stood. “I can organize that immediately. It will be easier to look for the missing people on our end than to try and track them in the Human Realm.”

  “That's what I thought.” I stood as well. “I'm going to head over to Seelie at dawn, but I'll scry Raza and Tiernan tonight, and see if they can begin searching their kingdoms too.”

  “Good thinking.” Keir agreed, then he looked to Eibhleann. “This will just take a few moments. Would you care to accompany me, or would you rather wait here?”

  “I'll wait here,” Eibhleann said as she reached for a discarded book. “I don't want to be the woman standing in the corner while the king conducts business.”

  I chuckled at my father's mortified expression.

  “What are you implying?” He asked her.

  “Nothing.” She shrugged. “I just don't want to be that woman.”

  Keir looked at me in confusion.

  “The mistress waiting for her royal lover to finish his important work so he can get back to romancing her,” I explained to Keir. “She's not your wife, so she can't sit at the table with you. She'd have to stand aside and feel foolish, Dad. No one likes to feel foolish.”

  “Utter nonsense!” Keir snatched the book from Eibhleann's startled hands and tossed it aside. “Get up; you're coming with me, and you'll sit beside me. I don't care what anyone thinks.”

  Eibhleann blinked from Keir to me. I just smirked and gave her a shrug. It was her move, and I was interested to see where she'd place her next piece. Would she let my father have the win, or risk a bolder maneuver?

  “As you wish,” she said demurely and stood.

  My father nodded in satisfaction and offered her his arm. Eibhleann took it and let him lead her from the room. But as they reached the door, she looked back at me and winked. I stifled my laughter and hurried back to my suite.

  Dad didn't st
and a chance.

  And I was supremely happy for him. He'd been mourning my mother for years, and it was time for him to move on. Fairies were immortal; they could be killed, but otherwise, they'd live forever. Forever is a long time to be without romantic love.

  “Damn; you're done already?” I looked over the massive platter that Mairte had brought Cat. It had been piled with stewed meat, but now it was licked clean.

  Cat just stared at me.

  “She has a hearty appetite, Your Highness,” Mairte said approvingly. “Now, what about yours? Are you ready to dine?”

  “Yeah, I could go for some food,” I agreed. “Thanks, Mairte. I'll be in my office when it arrives. I need to call my husbands.”

  “Yes, Your Highness.” Mairte bobbed a curtsy and hurried out of the room.

  “My husbands,” I muttered to myself as I went into the office. “Weird, so weird.”

  Cat yipped.

  “Yeah, it's also wonderful,” I admitted.

  I headed toward the crystal ball that was set on a pedestal at the far end of the room. The room was an extension off the side of my tower, so it curved in a roundish way. Shelves had been custom made to follow the line of the walls, and they were full of books on fairy culture, the Fey races, and Fairy itself. I was doing my best to become a proper princess—insert eye roll here—and learn as much as I could about my land and people. There was also a carved monstrosity my father called a desk, set in front of a slim, mullioned window. I rarely sat at it, and today was no exception. Instead, I pulled a spindly-legged chair over to the crystal ball and sat directly in front of it.

  “King Raza of Unseelie,” I said to the ball.

  The crystal misted, the gray clouds inside it turning pale blue before it cleared again. I was left staring at wonky reflections of my face. No Raza. I scowled, and tried again.

  “King Raza Tnyn of Unseelie.”

  Again, the mist formed and then cleared. It was the crystal ball equivalent of being sent to voicemail. Except you didn't get to leave a message.

  “He must be too far away from a crystal ball,” I said to Cat.

  She huffed some fur out of her face and laid on the carpet at my feet.

  “King Tiernan of Seelie,” I tried next.

  This time, the mist condensed. Colors began to swirl in it, and then the colors took form and focused into the face of my seelie husband: Tiernan Shadowcall, Lord of the Wild Hunt, and now, King of Seelie. He was in a simple tunic, as usual, but the Seelie crown was on his head; golden rays shooting upward from its thick band, the central one topped with a sun. Tiernan looked damn good in that crown; the gold set off his silver eyes as well as the matching scar on his cheek, while his ombré hair—platinum at the roots and darkening to black at the ends—worked well with the mix of metallics. He looked every inch the fairy monarch.

  “Anu's balls, Seren!” Tiernan growled as a greeting, ruining his royal image. “Where have you been?”

  “Well, hello to you too, sweet husband,” my voice dripped sweetness.

  He glowered more. Tiernan was good at glowering. I think he practiced it in a mirror.

  “I told you that I had a meeting in HR,” I added calmly.

  “That was hours ago”—he leaned toward the crystal—“as in, this morning. I've been trying to scry you since lunch, and the ball just kept going blank.”

  Yeah, I knew that frustration.

  “Because I was in HR,” I huffed. “It's why I'm scrying you now. I need you to organize a search of Seelie.”

  “Oh, you'll need to give me more than that, is what you need,” he said in a parental tone.

  This was one of the downfalls of dating—or in my case, being married to—a fairy. They tended to be old, really old, and that made them think they could patronize anyone younger than a century.

  “I was getting to it,” I huffed. “People are disappearing, and fairy rings are involved. I need to find the missing humans.”

  “Ah,” he said.

  “Ah?” I asked. “That's all you got?”

  “Humans go missing all the time, Seren.” He shrugged. “Just because there's a fairy ring nearby, it doesn't mean it was one of us.”

  “Seven rings, actually”—I know it was petty, but I took great pleasure in watching him flinch; the patronizing bastard—“and there are nearly a hundred people missing.”

  “Damn,” he swore.

  “Yep.”

  “Still, there are no laws being broken. You know the deal with rings.”

  “I had a feeling you were going to say that, Lord Hunter.” I screwed up my face at him. “I mentioned that to the Head Councilman of Salem, but then I told him that, as a human myself, I had an interest in seeing my people safe. I swore that I would do my best to look for them, even if I was unable to prosecute the fairy who stole them.”

  “Seren,” Tiernan whined. “I have enough to do here without scouring Seelie for missing humans. The moomin are running amok—living it up before they have to go back into hibernation, a bunch of ganis came back from HR pregnant and are petitioning to have their human boyfriends brought over, and the kitsune are in heat—I've never seen so much fox fur. If I didn't know better, I'd think the court had adopted a hundred cats.”

  “That's a ...”—I cleared my throat so I wouldn't laugh—“that's a full plate, honey.”

  “Yes, it is.” Tiernan rolled his eyes. “Being king isn't easy. I think I had it better when I was banished.”

  “Stop it,” I chided him gently. “You know you want to do right by your people. Even if you need a few vacuum cleaners to do it.”

  “Yes, but I hadn't realized that my people were so annoying.”

  “All people are annoying,” I said. “Whether they are humans or fairies. It's called 'having a personality.' Deal with them; it's your job.”

  “I could do with a lot less personality in my life.” Tiernan sighed. “Including yours, dear wife.”

  “And I could do with a husband who supported my efforts toward helping my other people,” I said pointedly.

  “Fine, Seren.” Tiernan rolled his eyes, catching the light with their silver irises and sending a shimmer my way. “I'll arrange for the kingdom to be searched, but be warned; searches of this kind are difficult to conduct. The parameters are vague, and I don't have enough men to spare to be certain that the humans aren't being moved from one location to another while we look.”

  “Thanks for the confidence, T,” I huffed.

  “Seren, when are you going to stop shortening my name to a single letter?”

  “King T?”

  “That makes me sound like a beverage tycoon,” he huffed.

  I burst out laughing.

  “All right, Tiernan,” I drew out his name, “I will try not to shorten your name to a letter.”

  “Thank you.”

  “I'll see you in the morning, T-bag.”

  Before he could say anything, I ended the scry on his furious face. Then I laughed till I cried. Cat just made a puka sigh and rolled over.

  “No one gets my humor.”

  Chapter Four

  I got up before dawn so that I could get ready for my trip to Seelie. Thank Danu I had this twilighting ability; without it, being married to two men in two different kingdoms would be a pain in my royal ass. As it was, it was as simple as rising with the sun. Literally; I hovered off the ground, holding Cat in a maneuver we'd perfected—her back paws on my feet and her forepaws on my shoulders, and reached for the In-Between. We reformed in Tiernan's royal bedchambers.

  The room had once belonged to my grandmother, so it was slightly strange to occupy it. But the castle staff had removed all of the old furniture and replaced them with new things for their new king—an event which hadn't happened in thousands of years (neither the new king nor the new furniture). The new king himself was still abed and looking like a dream come true.

  I've met a lot of gorgeous men in my time as Twilight Princess, but Tiernan was one of the most striking. W
hat I loved about his attractiveness was that a lot of fairy women didn't share my opinion. Tiernan was scarred; a fact which fairies found distasteful, especially since he'd been scarred while standing up to his queen. Challenging a queen wasn't like protesting a president; it was a traitorous act—one which Tiernan had been banished for. I happened to love the scar—a lovely swirling silver line going over the top of his right cheekbone—and I loved how he had received it; which was in defense of his mother. You can't fault a man for sticking up for his mama... unless you were fey, evidently. So, Tiernan was considered imperfect, and fairies—sidhe especially—didn't like imperfections. Although, now that he was King of Seelie, they may change their minds.

  Starting with his ex-wife.

  Cliona Timberstride had abandoned her husband when he was banished from court. Then Tiernan had found sanctuary in my father's court. He had joined the Wild Hunt and made a name for himself there. Fairy nobility never joined the military, so the only time they got to show off their fighting prowess was during war. Since the creation of my neutral Twilight Court, there hadn't been a war between the kingdoms, so nobles rarely fought. Tiernan was the exception as a banished count, and this made a lot of fairies sit up and take notice. Then he rose in the ranks to Lord of the Wild Hunt, basically a commander. It was a title he treasured; both for the hard work it represented and for the status it gave him that he had won for himself.