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As we hit the hallway, he put me down. I smoothed my dress, and we walked into the living room.
Iris was serving tea all around to our guests. Our guests being Queen Asteria, Rozurial, Titania, and Morgaine. The four of them were spread out on the sofa and love seat. There was no sign of Arturo or Mordred.
"Cripes. We've got enough firepower sitting in our living room to decimate the state." I looked around for someplace to sit.
Smoky dropped into the recliner, and I sat on his lap. Morio squatted by the side of the chair. Delilah was sitting on the ottoman, looking weary and tired. Chase was nowhere in sight. Menolly had gone to bed, of course. I looked around for Maggie, but Iris caught my eye and shook her head.
As she handed me tea and a scone, she whispered, "Best remain silent on some things…"
I nodded and bit into the scone. After a moment, Queen Asteria rose. "Delilah has been telling us what happened to the seal. You could not hold it?"
I swallowed hastily and slurped my tea, wanting nothing more than a huge vat of caffeine in which to bathe my senses. "Two humans and one half-Fae cannot take down two demons and a djinn. Not unless one of us is a superhero. And none of us are that."
She nodded. "Of course. Forgive me. I'm just heartsick about this. I know you all did your best. Even you, young beast," she said, looking at Smoky.
"Please, have you any news of Trillian?" Impulsively, I shoved my cup into Smoky's hand and found myself kneeling at the Elfin Queen's feet. "Anything? At all?"
The furrow in her brow deepened, and she shook her head. "Would that I could say yes, my child, but no. No, there is no news. His soul statue is still whole, as is that of your father's, but nothing has been seen nor heard from them. I'm afraid it's only a matter of time—"
"Don't say that!" I jumped up. "What are you doing to find him?"
She sighed. "War is rough, girl, and there are many losses in every skirmish. We cannot spare men to search for one missing man… or even two. We need the information they carry, so I've sent out rescue teams, but don't get your hopes up. There's little else I can do."
So Smoky was right. The elves weren't going to help, beyond the most superficial of efforts.
"Well, I'm going to do something. I'm binding myself to Smoky and Morio in the Soul Symbiont ritual. Since no one else will go looking for Trillian, we'll do it our own way. I'm bound to Trillian, and though the oath between us is from a different ritual, it should hold true for our purposes."
Delilah gasped and stared at me. "You're what?"
"Don't try to stop me," I warned her, shaking my head. "I'm going through with it. We've faced too many losses already. I refuse to lose Trillian."
She pressed her lips together and murmured a faint assent.
"There's no guarantee that will work—" Queen Asteria started to say, but Titania cleared her throat.
"Let her try. She's loyal to her men. Can you say that of most of our kind? We have other matters to discuss, such as the demons possessing the spirit seal, this Vanzir you spoke of, and the return of the Fae Courts."
Queen Asteria frowned. "As to the spirit seal, there's nothing we can do now but go in search of the fourth. And this time, we must find it first and hold onto it. As to this Vanzir, I know little except that Demonkin are treacherous, and I wouldn't be quick to place trust in one, no matter how changed he says he is."
"That's why we're not," Iris said. "There is a ritual I learned from the shamans of the Northlands to bind demons into servitude. None but the most powerful can resist it. Vanzir has agreed to go through with it and bind himself to the girls and me. Menolly and I had a little talk with him last night. We'll take care of this on the night of the waxing moon. If he breaks the oath, he'll die a horrendously painful death on the spot."
"Speaking of which, where is he?" I asked, looking around. We couldn't just let him walk around free.
"Remember the holding pen at the Wayfarer, where we were going to put that rogue vampire?" Delilah grinned.
I frowned, then nodded. Apparently, the OIA had outfitted the Wayfarer with a pen that could hold minor demons. "Yeah. So he's there?"
"Locked in, tight as a drum. Can't use magic, can't summon anybody or anything. He'll be fine for now." Iris handed me a cookie. "Eat. You're starving."
She was right. I scarfed down the cookie. "Well, with that out of the way…" I turned to Titania and Morgaine. "You're both in one piece, I see. What happened after you left?"
Queen Asteria let out a huff. "What happened is madness. You must have been daft to do as they asked you to last night." She was clearly Not Happy.
"Grandmother Coyote decreed it. Not even the royalty of Fae nor elves may go up against the Hags of Fate," Titania said, staring at her. "We have been long distanced from one another, but you are still the prim, stuffy woman you always were. Don't you understand? Times have changed, the world has changed, and we will adapt with it."
"You think I don't see the necessity for change? Why else would I be working with King Vodox, or pledge Elqaneve's lot in with that of Svartalfheim?" Queen Asteria started to stand, and I had a sudden vision of the elderly elf starting a brawl. She'd whup butt if she did.
I jumped up. "Please, no more fighting! I can't stand this anymore. I've had it up to here with fights and bloodshed and war and battle. Just tell us what happened, and if somebody doesn't like it, well, tough shit! Do you understand? All of you! My sisters and I are the ones standing on the front lines in this battle, and we're doing the best we can."
