Arthur scoffed and turned away from me, but I did not acknowledge him. Emma and I had decided to go as a team, and leave the others behind, for their own safety as much as that of the children here. They needed to protect the estate while we were off getting the stone. We would move quicker as a mated pair than we would as a large group. It was the most efficient plan, so that was that.
Lucien entered the room. He was carrying some sort of wolf amulet suspended on a chain, which he handed to Emma.
“I thought this would aid you on your journey,” Lucien said. “It is a Unseelie charm, infused with my strongest magic. It took me many days and all my magic to craft. It will hold any magic from any source you drain it from, deeming the power you’re siphoning isn’t stronger than my own. And unlike siphoning from another source, such as a crystal, this amulet is rechargeable. It will be a renewable source of energy for you if you ever run out of your own magic to pull from.”
“Thanks Dad.” Emma lifted her hair so Lucien could loop the amulet around her neck. “I’m glad you thought of me.”
“I always think of the welfare of my daughter,” Lucien said affectionately as he fastened the amulet on. “The safety of my children and grandchildren will always come first.”
Emma opened her mouth slightly. I just knew she was going to say something snarky about her mother, but I shook my head, and she caught it. She cleared her throat and said, “I know. I love you, Dad.”
Emma gave him a hug. Lucien embraced her back, and I watched them with a sense of happiness. Whatever complications presented with Evonna, Lucien always took care to put Emma and Arthur first. He was a good father, no matter what anyone said.
I would’ve liked a daughter to favor. But having children with Emma, whether it was possible or not, was the last thing on my mind in the middle of this war. I wouldn’t bring any innocent souls into this world until I knew it was safe for them.
Kalina squirmed at my feet, and I bent down to pick her up. She gave me a gentle smile as I cradled her, and warmth settled deep inside my chest like a warm fire. Being an uncle would have to do.
“How old do you think Eiragrad is, Lord Lucien?” Alexei asked. “Do you believe there’s anything left of it, or will it be in ruin once Emma and Ethan get there?”
“Well, seeing as how we were cast out of Edinmyre in the early middle ages, Eiragrad is probably much older than that. I’d be surprised if there was much left of it, even with magic,” Lucien said. “Back when we came to Earth, we didn’t have a home in those days, so many of us spread throughout the world before we came to settle in Malovia.”
“Is that why there’s such a big Unseelie population here?” Emma asked.
“The fae are inherently Celtic,” Lucien stated. “We lived in Ireland and Scotland first before the Seelie fae immigrated to Eastern Europe and formed Malovia. What was left of the Unseelie after the war mostly stayed around the area of the British Isles.”
“Fae used to be immortal when we were in Edinmyre,” Emma said. “We lost our immortality when we started inbreeding with humans. But no fae that I know of would willingly mate with a human. How can we have lost our immortal blood when we have mating bonds that clearly pull us toward other fae?”
“Times were harsher back then,” Lucien explained. “Even if you bonded with a mate, it was no guarantee that either of you would live long enough to bear children. Disease and war were rampant in those days. It was a common thing for fae to choose spouses from the local population of humans after a mate had passed. This happened so often that eventually, our immortality was bred out of us.”
“A shame. I would’ve liked to live forever, drinking, fucking and carrying on,” Stefan said.
“No one wants you around that long,” Delmare teased, and she lifted Isaak off his lap.
“Did particular Factions stay in certain locations?” Kiara asked in interest.
“Not necessarily, but alicorns have a clear Scandinavian background,” Lucien said. “Huge groups of alicorns remained in Norway with the Norsemen until Christendom took over the area. After that, the alicorns joined up with the rest of the Unseelie fae back in Malovia, though some took their Viking spouses with them, and maintained a strong Norse heritage.”
“Explains why they’re all blond,” Stefan said, reaching out to ruffle Theo’s hair. He smacked him away.
“Living with the Norsemen gave the alicorns huge benefits, most of all, the ability to prophesy,” Lucien stated. “My studies have uncovered that most fae were unable to access prophetic visions, until they were instructed in the art by Vikings.”
“Really?” Odette gushed.
“Oh, yes. The gods of the Norse pantheon and our own gods are closely related. It is rumored they are one and the same, merely in different forms,” Lucien said. “Through the practice of Norse paganism, the alicorns grew a greater understanding of our own Seven Gods, and were able to utilize this knowledge to become prophets and receive visions. In this way, the alicorn prophets were able to pass down this information to their offspring, even if their children were never instructed in the art.”
“What do you mean? How can Odette access knowledge she’s never been taught?” I asked.
“Our ancestors pass their memories and knowledge onto us,” Lucien said. “There are scientific theories being conducted examining the idea of genetic memory. It is said that ancestors may be able to pass on their genetic memories to their descendents up to fourteen generations or more. Odette is a fantastic example. She is able to access this knowledge from her Scandinavian ancestors who lived amongst the Norsemen, even if she was never properly taught it, and use it to access her visions of the future.”
Lucien rubbed his chin. “Now that I think about it, this knowledge of the old gods could remain in the bloodlines of other alicorns today, possibly…”
“This means I could rebuild the Alicorn Court!” Odette said eagerly. “If I can find alicorns who have a strong Scandinavian line, they’re more likely to be prophets! There could be other fae out there like me!”
“This all sounds very similar to how we summoned the water sprite to discover where the Seelie stone was located. Water has memory, and is able to pass that memory on. Apparently, so does blood,” I said.
“Exactly,” Lucien stated. “All of us are connected, more so than we could ever imagine.”
“Do I potentially have knowledge in my genetic memory that I could access?” Emma asked. “I don’t see why the gods would choose me to become the Worldweaver unless I had previous Worldweavers within my bloodline to draw inspiration from.”
