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"You seek to return the Mother of the Dark to the dark throne? Are you mad? She's—"
Morgaine let out a short bark of laughter. The fire seemed to spark and grow higher, and Mordred grunted. "She's everything the Unseelie Queen needs to be. There must be a balance, Camille. You cannot have light without dark, clarity without shadow."
She circled around me, her eyes glittering. "Look at your own queen. Lethesanar's reign has festered, and there is no Queen of Light to balance out her actions. Now that the pendulum has swung too far, her sister seeks to take the throne. If Tanaquar wins, if she destroys her sister, you can be certain the same thing will happen in a thousand years unless they find some way of uniting their powers. Take one side away, and you upset the universe. That's when the Hags of Fate step in and rearrange matters, and they make all of us—all the Fae—look like bumbling infants."
"But how can they rule jointly? They're at odds. That's why the Courts of Fae were disbanded here when the Great Divide happened." I shook my head. "There cannot be joint custody over one land—"
"So you think, but you are so ignorant. You know nothing of that time, of the battles that raged," Morgaine said. "Think about it. All of nature hangs in balance. Winter, summer, spring, and fall. Even in the lands of extremes, there's a balance when you take the long view. The heat of the deserts—the chill of the ice caps. Earth is in peril, the balance has been disrupted. Mankind has meddled with it, the Fae have forsaken it. The demons are pounding at the gates. Without returning the great Courts, this world has no chance of survival. The Queen of Darkness and the Queen of Light keep the balance in check."
I blinked. Could she be right? Was the only answer to solving the crises facing this world to return the Light and the Dark to their thrones? It made sense, in a terrifying way.
She was at my side then, in a blur of movement. Taking my wrist, she pulled me down to kneel beside her on the ground, where she clawed up a handful of soil and thrust it in my face. The sour tang of moist earth filled my lungs.
"Breathe deep. This is the world that gave birth to your mother. This is the world that gave birth to the Fae before the Great Divide. Moon Mother watches over us. Mother Earth gives us life. The world is in danger—from within and from without. We know that Shadow Wing threatens to bathe this world in a wall of flame and fire."
"But what can you do about it? What hope can raising the Courts again possibly offer?"
Dropping the soil back on the ground, she grasped me by the shoulders. "You know you can't fight the demons on your own. You need allies. You need more than the Elfin Queen and a dragon to fight off the coming apocalypse."
A tight knot worked its way into my stomach. She was right. We needed allies. Hell, we needed an army. I pulled away from her and stood.
As if she could read my mind, she said, "Aeval and I will raise our armies. We will reunite the Fae of this world. While we may also fight against each other, for a foe like Shadow Wing we will unite. And then we will reclaim our rightful places in this world. Humans hunger for our kiss, for our magic. You've seen the way they opened their arms to you and your kin. It's because they miss their own magical heritage. They were done a terrible disservice during the Great Divide, and the separation of worlds not only destroyed the balance of the world, but it shredded the human race's connection to its own magical nature."
Her voice drifted off. I held my breath as a nasty look crossed her face—an I'm gonna kick you in the balls look. "But… I need something you carry. Give it to me. Give me the horn."
Startled, I stumbled back. Mordred moved then, rushed toward me at lightning speed. I matched his pace. He might be part Fae, but my bet was he'd never lived among his otherworldly kin. My blood was at the top of my veins, his was buried in history.
"Don't even think about it," I said, dancing away. I slid my hand in my pocket and wrapped it around the horn. "Don't even try it. The horn was a gift for me, and only I can use it. And if I do, it will shatter you." A bluff, of course, but conceivably true. It sounded good, at least.
As I backed my way toward the trail, I wondered if I'd be able to make it to the barrow before they caught me. There were three of them, although Arturo didn't look nearly so keen on catching me as did Morgaine and her nephew.
I was debating on whether to turn and run or to try to face them down when a blinding flash startled the hell out of me. Could it be Smoky?
"Leave her be. This is my territory and you are trespassing on it."
I swung around. There, standing tall and regal and crowned in a swath of energy far stronger than before, stood Titania. And she didn't look happy.
Chapter Sixteen
"Titania!" Morgaine's voice echoed through the clearing.
The element of surprise was clearly in the Fae Queen's court. Titania gave Morgaine a warning look as I raced over to her side.
"Am I ever glad to see you." Maybe she'd overlook me stealing away her lover just this once. After all, it wasn't like I'd taken Tom Lane for myself. I glanced up at the tall, gossamer beauty, and she gave me a sly smile. Good sign? Bad sign? Not sure, I opted to hope it was good.
Titania stepped in front of me, and as she did so, she whispered, "Your scaly boyfriend asked me to keep watch over you."
Scaly boyfriend? I did the wisest thing I could think of. I kept my mouth shut.
Morgaine gave Titania the once-over. "So, last I heard, you were so deep in your cups that you might as well roll over in the gutter and die. What happened? Run out of wine?"
Hokay, that was enough for me. I backed away. Titania might be a shadow of her former self, but she could still mop up the floor with me and wring me out to dry afterward. If Morgaine provoked her enough…
Titania straightened her shoulders. She no longer reeked of booze, and her powers crackled around her, a nimbus of sparks. Oh yeah, apparently her stint in magical rehab had done wonders. Her dress, a gossamer see-through gown, seemed to float from her shoulders, and her long, golden hair shimmered under the bonfire light.
"Upstart. I know what you're doing. Don't you even dare dream that you could replace me. If the Courts of Fae rise again, I will be riding the crest, not you. I could squash you like a beetle with one hand." She moved forward, gliding as if she were skimming the grass with her feet.
Morgaine caught her breath, and I saw her step back, fear washing across her face. Yeah, mighty sorceress she might be, and half-Fae, but she was a baby compared to Titania's age and full power.
