They had eyes like cats, vividly colored, and angled and painted in that mysterious way that was attributed to a cat’s gaze. Their fingers were graceful, long and lean where they delicately held their cups of tea or coffee or whatever it was they were drinking, and Selene could barely hear their voices, but what she did catch of them sounded musical.
Every now and then, they glanced her way, and Selene wondered whether they were curious or jealous. Then she would glance at Avery and decide it was probably more of the latter.
Avery had told her the women were Korred fae, what he described in rather weary terms as a selfish and chaotic race, beautiful and fickle, and tiring to rule over. He also mentioned that the Korred were where many mortal legends and tales of “elves” had come from. These particular three women were technically related to Avery through distant channels, and therefore members of his court.
A part of her remembered all of this beauty, this diversity. It was that part of her that had been encoded into her body and soul, and was slowly being awakened. The rest of it was simply amazing to her.
Across from her, the king leaned in, drawing her attention back to him. He crossed his arms in a leisurely fashion and rested his elbows on the table.
“I know this has been a lot to take in,” he said, his green eyes flashing. “But you seem to be handling it very well.”
“I’m a fast learner.”
The words reminded her of her sister, Minerva, whose IQ score had been something like 165 when they were little – and who truly was a fast learner.
“I need to see my sister,” she said aloud, thinking of everything that had happened and all that might also be happening to Minnie. It surprised her, in fact, that the need to see her twin hadn’t hit her sooner than this. And harder than this.
“Minerva is making her own transformation, Selene,” Avery said, his expression earnest, his gaze trapping hers. “And she needs my brother right now as much as you needed me. Please trust me in this.”
Selene got lost in that gaze for a moment, and once more felt the true strength of the man across from her. Perhaps it was magic. Or maybe it was the Wisher in her coming to fruition. Maybe it was the knowledge that came with the change she’d made. But whatever it was, she believed him. For some reason, she knew her sister was safe, even if she was with the king of the dark fae. Even with the Leanan King – the Unholy King. And perhaps especially with him.
She sat back and nodded in consent.
A second later, a man walked by carrying a tray filled with delectable-looking desserts. The man seemed to be human, for all intents and purposes, and vaguely, Selene wondered if that’s exactly what he was. But most of her attention was on the desserts. One of them appeared to be a veritable mountain of chocolate. “What is that?” she asked the waiter, gesturing to the dessert.
“It is Tuathan Cake. I’m not surprised that your excellent taste has noticed it, your majesty.”
Selene blinked and looked up at the man. She’d forgotten she was the queen. For half a second, she had the urge to tell him to please call her “Selene.” But then she stopped herself and smiled. Going first name basis might mess with some sort of hierarchy she wasn’t familiar with or make him uncomfortable. And besides… she could get used to this.
“What’s in it?” she asked next.
The waiter’s face lit up. “It is composed of seventeen forms of chocolate, four from the mortal world and thirteen from the fae kingdoms. It is a favorite of the court, your majesty. I highly recommend it.” He had become animated, his expression excited with the chance to describe the dessert.
Selene’s mouth watered. It had been a very long few days.
She cleared her throat, putting down her hot cocoa and sitting back in the chair. “I wish that I can eat anything I want anytime I want and never gain any unwanted weight.”
Avery’s brow shot up. The man with the tray wobbled a bit, and the objects on the platter rattled. The “elven” women at the table across the café stopped talking and also looked over at her.
Very slowly, Avery turned around to view the inhabitants of the café. Every single one of them had stopped what they were doing and were now watching Selene with what she could only imagine was wide-eyed surprise.
“Let me guess,” she said slowly, trying not to move her mouth too much. “They didn’t know I was a Wisher.”
“They do now,” Avery quipped mildly. She glanced at him to find him smiling.
The fae king waved the waiter closer, who seemed to collect himself, blushed furiously, and quickly set the tray down on their table. Then he bowed as low as he could without kissing the floor.
Selene eyed the tray’s contents, and her stomach growled. Though her body felt no different than it had a second ago, she knew that her wish had taken hold. She wanted to eat every single thing on the plate.
“Just leave the tray, Ranalt. And please bring us two glasses of elven wine. Thank you.”
Ranalt stood back up, smiled broadly, said “Yes, of course my lord.” He bowed once more before he spun to make his rapid way back across the café to carry out his orders.
Selene felt a thrilling rush – and something she could only liken to true joy. She looked down at the desserts, then up at the rainbow outside the window, and then at Avery.
“I feel like I’m living a dream.”
“And it’s only beginning, Selene,” he told her, his voice spilling across the table like a drug. Selene’s smile became helplessly happy, and she almost giggled as she picked up the fork on the tray and drove it into the nearest chocolate treat with abandon.
Avery leaned in to watch her eat, rapt with attention. “Mortals may not live as long as the fae, but I often believe they manage to live more.” He shook his head, grinning when she stuffed an enormous fork-full of cake into her mouth. “I’ve never seen a woman eat like this.”
Selene swallowed her first bite, rolled her eyes in bliss, and said, “And it’s only beginning, Avery.”
The king laughed.
The sound was audible pleasure, raising goose bumps across Selene’s arms and chest. She blushed, dug back into the cake, and raised the fork to her lips. “But I’m not mortal, mind you.”
“No,” he agreed, still smiling. “But you were raised among mortals, so a part of you will always think and feel and act as they do. Especially when it comes to life – and how short it can be.”
It was a sobering thought, reminding Selene of so many things. She lingered before taking the second bite. Ranalt the waiter came with the wine, poured them both a beautiful crystal goblet full, and left again.
“Which brings me to another subject,” Avery continued. He glanced around the room. Then he spoke a single arcane-sounding word, and Selene suddenly felt as if her ears needed to pop.
She swallowed, in fact popping them. “What was that?”
“A shield. What I want to talk to you about next, I wish no one else to hear.”
Selene put down her fork and looked into his eyes. Somehow, she knew that whatever it was he wanted to say deserved her full attention.
“When I first learned of your existence, I was forced to make a decision. As I told you earlier, the thirteen Kings are currently battling with a god, a rogue vampire lord, and their minions. We were concerned that the sudden appearance of you and your sister might be a trap. Therefore, we decide to send our Knights in our steads.”
“Knights?”
Avery nodded. Then he explained.
Ten minutes later, Selene’s head was swimming with the knowledge of divided souls, dead knights, and the fact that Avery had nearly died himself. If not for the blood of his brother, the Unseelie King Caliban, he would not be sitting before her at that moment. He would not have rescued her from the Fuatharkan or taken her through her transformation… or shown her pleasure like she never would have imagined.
She would not have mated to him, and she would not be queen.
And they would not be enjoying chocolate fae
ambrosia there in a café that hovered in the midst of a rainbow.
Most likely, in fact… she would be dead herself.
“The fact is, we can’t determine where the spell came from,” he went on. “Cal and the others – Roman, Jason and Damon – didn’t realize I was conscious and listening when they were talking about it on the other side of that tomb they locked me in, but I most definitely was. The spell is fae in origin, but Kamon Re is not a fae, and neither is Rafael D’Angelo. It was also very, very old. It was laid there in time before I was born, but set to go off exactly when it had, as if whoever cast the spell knew that you would be there on the bank of the Thames at that time, and that I would be coming after you”
“even though you didn’t even exist when the spell was cast,” said Selene.
Avery nodded.
“And neither did I,” she finished. She thought for a moment. “So… whoever cast the spell might have been a seer… like these women you’re telling me about – Lily Kane and the Vampire Queen.”
“It’s possible.”
“But they would also have to be a magic user, like a witch or a warlock.”
Again, Avery nodded.
“So they would be able to see into the future, had the power to cast very strong spells, and… had some reason to want either you or me dead – or both of us.”
“That’s the conclusion we’ve all more or less come to.”
Selene mulled that over. “But they hadn’t planned on you creating a Knight to come and meet me in your stead,” she muttered softly, putting the pieces together.
“Nope. It’s possible that this was their one failure and the only reason I’m still alive. And since they failed in their first attempt at either assassinating me or assassinating you, it stands to reason they might try again.”
“If they are still around to do so, then they’re very, very old,” Selene said. “Like, fae old.”
Avery’s brow furrowed. “You’re saying you think it could be one of our own.”
“Well, that stands to reason too, right?”
“I can’t think of a fae powerful enough to cast such a spell who would have any reason to want me dead. Only the Goblin King, his wife, and my brother are anywhere near strong enough.”
“And the Goblin King is a good friend?”
Avery unfolded his arms and leveled a curious gaze on her. “As far as I know, he is.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
Avery pushed out his chair and stood, offering Selene his hand. She eyed him quizzically a moment, looked down at the plethora of desserts that had yet to be eaten, and frowned, pursing her lips.
“I promise I’ll make it worth your while.”
Selene considered that for half a second. If he’d proven anything in the short time he’d known her, it was that this was something he was definitely capable of.
She took his hand and stood. Avery snapped his fingers.
The Rainbow Café was gone, as were its patrons, the members of Avery’s court, and Ranalt, the super sweet waiter who had brought Selene all those goodies. All there was – was a road. It stretched out into the long, long distance, slicing through a green valley, then through mountains, and into the invisible something beyond.
And there was also a bike.
“Wow,” Selene whispered. There wasn’t much else to say. The environment was so stark, so very different from where she’d been, and the motorcycle was a stunning, impressive and somewhat frightening mixture of metal and tires. The message was all too clear. They were going for a ride.
“The Goblin Kingdom is separate from our own,” Avery reminded her. He’d told her about how the Goblin King, Damon, had been banished long ago by Avery and Caliban’s predecessors because Damon’s powers were frightening to them. It seemed they had been the type to scare easily. “We can either transport there,” Avery continued, “given his permission, that is – or we can take the longer route. One way is faster. The other is more fun. And this way, he’ll see us coming and can take the barriers down for us.”
Selene nodded, but her gaze was still held captive by the scenery – especially the motorcycle, which looked like a cross between a Harley Sportster, a Dodge Tomahawk, and some kind of metal dragon. “This is… a magnificent machine,” she said, feeling as though the description came up short. “I’ve never seen anything like it.”
She moved to circle the bike in wonder. She wanted to touch it, but wasn’t sure if she should. The truth was, it sort of looked like it might bite her.
The bike suddenly rumbled to life, and Selene squealed, jumping back.
Avery chuckled. “He says, ‘Thank you, and you’re not chopped liver yourself.’”
Selene’s eyes got very wide. She looked up at the king. “He what? He… you mean he’s… sentient?”
Avery grinned like a Cheshire cat. “You’ll find that a lot of ‘objects’ in the fae realms are as sentient as you and I. Some of them more so. And they’ll be sure to let you know at every given opportunity.”
The bike rumbled, the sound beautiful and terrifying.
Selene stayed where she was, a good ten feet away. Avery moved to her side of the bike, swung his leg over like a pro – making Selene’s mouth water – and sank gracefully into the saddle. The rumbling died down a little, becoming low and steady.
Avery twisted the throttle and speared Selene with an expectant, somewhat hungry look. He glanced at the empty seat behind him and then back up at her. “Get on.”
Selene bit her lip.
Avery’s smile became rapacious. “I promise the bike won’t bite.”
Selene’s response was a rather wan, winsome smile, that she could imagine did not portray a lot of confidence in what was probably a pale face. She said softly, “I wish I was wearing jeans.” And of course, a second later, she was.
Avery laughed, though she could barely hear the sound over the motorcycle’s engine.
Then Selene proved herself every bit the queen when she bravely moved forward, very tentatively placed her hand on the seat, and touched the bike as if she were petting it.
It continued to rumble contentedly.
Satisfied, Selene straightened, took a deep breath, rolled back her shoulders, and swung her leg over. The machine vibrated strong and steady between her legs as she lifted her boots and placed them on the pegs.
Avery spoke to her over his shoulder. “Hold on to me.”
Selene obeyed, wrapping her arms tight around his hard, ripped waist and gripping him with clutching fingers. She could practically feel him purr just like his bike. She found herself smiling as well when he kicked up the stand, twisted the throttle a few more times, and let out the clutch.
*****
Once, long ago, Selene had seen a movie called The Neverending Story. There had been scenes in the movie that took the characters through fantastic lands filled with the kinds of things people could only really ever dream of.
She felt she was in that book now, on the back of that dragon motorcycle, holding tight to a faerie king. Avery’s decision to get to the Goblin Kingdom the “long route” was one Selene could not be more grateful for. She was being given a chance to see the kingdom she now ruled over, which was a sobering and stupefying thought, and she had the time she needed to sit back and take it all in.
The wind was warm and wonderful in her hair, the temperature was perfect, the air was clean. The topography changed around them, transitioning smoothly from one fae land to another, and leaving her breathless in their wake.
At one point, they traveled through nothing but rolling hills of green grass that stretched as far as the eye could see and was sliced through with the single ribbon of black, upon which they rode.
Around a corner, they entered a gemstone forest. Tree trunks of smoky quartz rose from the ground and branched off into leaves of emerald or tourmaline, and blossoms of ruby, rose quartz, or yellow diamond. The smallest bloom from of any of them would have made her rich beyond reason. And they were everywhere
, all around her, shimmering and unbelievable.
As though he could sense her wonder as they moved through the forest, Avery slowed the bike and allowed her to enjoy the sights. When the wind blew through the gemstone branches, the sound of pixie chimes filled the air, audible even over the sound of the bike’s engine.
Beyond the forest lay a broad and open field of wildflowers, once again sliced through with a single road, as if placed there solely for Avery’s motorcycle. The flowers were brilliantly colored and thickly grown, covering the ground like a soft, multi-hued blanket. However, it was not the flowers that drew gasps of wonder from Selene, but the glass bubbles that hovered over them fifty feet in the air.
There were hundreds of them, perhaps thousands. Again, Avery slowed, and Selene leaned back, craning her neck to take it all in.
Each bubble was crystal-clear, perfectly spherical, and contained within it an entire mini-biosphere. Some had houses that looked like English cottages, complete with stone walls and thatch roofs. Some had little grass knolls with round wooden doors plastered to their sides like the Halfling homes of Middle Earth. A few of the larger glass bubbles, with radiuses of perhaps a full twenty feet or more, contained entire castles. They were in miniature, but detailed exquisitely, as if they were models on a movie set.
Selene ogled the plethora of spheres in wonder.
This is Bullanaia, said Avery. The Bulla fae make their homes in bio spheres, as you can see.
Except, he said all of this in her head.
The bubbles are as solid as diamonds, and are a little like the shells of turtles. They grow with the individual. The Bulla bubbles you see with the castles in them belong to three of the members of my court.
Selene looked down and blinked, her grip around Avery’s waist slipping a bit. There was a part of her that was shocked to suddenly be hearing a man’s voice so perfectly deep, clear, and resonant in her mind. But she recalled the way they had “communicated” during… well, the way they’d “talked” when they were….