“Yes.”
A bright glow appeared over his head as he stood next to Cathael, illuminating Darcy’s face. Good God, how was he supposed to do this? He cleared his throat. “I am new to bearing witness, so I hope you will permit Prince Evlan and King Cathael to remind me of what is necessary to tell you.” His voice sounded strange to him. One of the Sidhe must be amplifying it to make it carry.
There was murmur of assent.
Cathael said, “Start by telling us who you are.”
That should not be too hard. “I am Diarcey, nephew to Matlock and named by Oberon, and I am an elemental mage. I was captured by the dark magicians –”
Cathael made a hissing noise. “Who is your father? Where were you born? How did you come to Faerie?”
Good God. This was not going to be quick. “I am the son ofGeorge Darcy, also an elemental mage, and Lady Anne Darcy, sister to Matlock. I was born in the north of England.” What else? Surely they did not wish to know where he went to school. “My first lessons in magic came from my father, and later from Lord Matlock.”
“Tell them what you told me, about learning to manage your elemental magic,” said Eversleigh.
“What does that have to do with it?” Darcy whispered to him in annoyance. Did he really have to expose his most embarrassing childhood moments?
“It is part of your story,” said Cathael firmly. “We need to know who is telling us this tale.”
Darcy sighed in defeat. “It is not easy to grow up as an elemental mage in the mortal world. In Faerie I do not struggle with the elements, but in the mortal world, until I learned control of my skills, water would jump out at me, and I would start fires without intending to....” At least it became easier as he told it.
It was nearly a quarter of an hour before he reached his university years. Eversleigh gave him a brief reprieve, speaking in his place about the training of mages and the work of the Collegium, but he insisted Darcy tell the tale of Wickham’s expulsion from the Collegium. Darcy managed to jump straight from that to the Board of Investigation. He was not going to tell the world about Georgiana and Wickham. That was not part of his story, but Elizabeth was, so he told of meeting her in Hertfordshire, his attraction to her and his rejected proposal, the boy bitten by the redcap, and the fear of fay attacks. It took another quarter hour to reach his first journey to Faerie.
He could not complain of an unappreciative audience. The fay, even the Sidhe, were listening with rapt attention. They murmured sympathetically at the tale of his proposal and laughed when he told the story of the gnome who made them ride to Cathael’s keep, but it was a friendly laugh. Someone put a glass of faerie wine in his hand when hismouth became dry, and that helped, too.
Cathael told of Darcy and Elizabeth’s appearance in his keep and learning the mortals knew nothing of the Great Treaty. The listeners reflected his surprise, and suddenly Darcy understood that the new king intended his story to educate the fay about the lives and beliefs of mortals. Somehow that made it easier, even though it seemed as if he would be talking half the night.
AFTER IT WAS FINALLYover, Darcy collapsed beside Elizabeth and lay back in the grass.
“You must be exhausted,” Elizabeth said softly. “You did very well, my love.”
“I hope I never have to do that again. I feel singularly inobservant because I could not tell them the precise angle of the sun at the time of the Great Spell.”
“For what it is worth, I feel as if I know you much better now.” Elizabeth leaned down and kissed his forehead.
Georgiana’s quiet voice seemed to come out of nowhere. “So do I, and I am glad.”
At least some good had come of it.
Eversleigh squatted down next to him. “You have my deepest thanks. You did more tonight to help the fay understand mortals than I have managed in all these years.”
“What happens now?” asked Elizabeth.
“The Sidhe and the lesser fay will keep vigil until sunrise, but they will not expect us to do so. They understand mortal strength is limited.”
“Especially after the binding ritual. I can feel my magic shifting again.” Elizabeth rubbed her arms. “I am worried about Mr. FitzClarence. It is hitting him hard.”
“I am perfectly fine,” said the young mage bravely, even though sweat poured off his forehead, his hands shook, and his face was ashen in the twilight. “Nothing wrong with me except that Prinny is going to murder me when he discovers I accepted a royal role.”
“Unlikely, as he has no magic of his own, so he would have been unable to do it even if he had been here. It was sheer good luck that we had you.” Eversleigh reached past Elizabeth to touch the back of FitzClarence’s hand. “You are burning up with magic.”
“You told me this would be the easiest assignment I would ever have, and look at me now,” grumbled Mr. FitzClarence.
“How much easier can an assignment be than to flirt with Titania? I did not realize there would be sorcerers, a Great Spell, and blood bindings thrown into the mixture. You will have some interesting powers when this is over. If you were planning to be a minor mage, you may be in for a disappointment.”
“Why is it so much worse for him?” asked Elizabeth.
“We merely shared blood to bind a spell, even if it was a Great Spell. FitzClarence created a shared blood ward with two Sidhe, and Sidhe magic is moving within him,” said Eversleigh. “FitzClarence, I think you would be wise to remain in Titania’s company for the next few days. She will be able to help you through this transition. I will speak to her about it.”
