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Trillian and Morio came trudging in. Trillian gave Smoky a long look before taking his place on my right. Morio sat next to him. Smoky gave Trillian a short nod, and the Svartan returned the gesture. Oh great, were we going to have to deal with another testosterone war once we were alone? Well, as long as they didn’t kill each other, I’d be happy.
Shortly behind them, Menolly and Chase came meandering in and less than five minutes later, Roz and Vanzir appeared.
Nobody said much until we were gathered around the table. Iris handed out mugs of cider and bowls of popcorn, along with more cookies and the pizzas the demon twins had brought home. Finally, we were all settled, and Feddrah-Dahns was leaning his head over my shoulder.
Aeval spoke. “We’re here to talk to you about the ludicrous idea Asteria and Tanaquar have cooked up about using mortals to wield the spirit seals. This is insanity. We cannot let it happen.”
“How did you find out about it?” I asked her, my hand freezing, another cookie halfway to my mouth.
“I told them,” Feddrah-Dahns said. “I’m so worried that I thought they should know.”
“Your father will kill you!” Delilah clasped her hand to her mouth, staring at him wide-eyed. “He agrees that it’s the right thing to do.”
“Sometimes, my youthful cat, reason must outweigh loyalty. Especially when honoring that loyalty would be to make a huge mistake.” The unicorn whinnied softly. “My father will be angry with me, yes. But in the end, I hope he’ll see I’m right.”
“The unicorn speaks the truth,” Smoky said. “Reason must, at times, prevail over blood ties.”
I glanced at him. I hadn’t had a chance to tell him what had happened, but he shook his head and leaned down, whispering, “Iris told me some of what went on. I know only the basics, but it’s enough for now.”
Titania leaned forward, her face crinkling with worry. “Camille, you were there. You saw my dear Tam Lin. Did you sense anything strange about him—or the other mortals? Anything out of the ordinary?”
Torn between allegiances, I struggled with how much to tell them. But Feddrah-Dahns had already done the damage. Whatever I said couldn’t amount to more than throwing another gallon of gas on the fire.
“No. I was too shocked to even think about it. I wanted to talk to Venus the Moon Child but there was no chance.”
“I might be able to find out something,” Delilah said. “I do have connections with the Rainier Puma Pride.”
I glanced at her, wishing she’d kept that little idea to herself until Titania and Aeval left. I scurried for something to throw them off the thought. “I did figure out that Queen Tanaquar is sleeping with our father. My guess is that she’s doing so in order to keep tabs on us. I don’t know how they plan on using Tom and Ben and Venus, but I was pretty damned shocked.”
“So are we, which is why we’re here,” Aeval said. “Queen Asteria, as prim and proper as she is, has a good head on her shoulders and this sudden shift in her viewpoint is odd, to say the least. The question is, what do they know that we don’t? And how did they find out about it?”
Titania let out a soft flutter of a sigh. “There is the question of whether she’s being threatened into action.”
“Who could threaten her?” I asked. “She’s one of the most powerful beings I know.”
“She would seem so to you,” Aeval said, “but even the Elfin Queen must watch her back. There are powerful Fae in Otherworld. Fae who are greatly displeased with the fact that the Earthside Queens are reawakened. Fae who don’t trust us. And no doubt, they know about your work over here, and your connection to the Elfin Queen. Perhaps they’re blackmailing her.”
I put down my cookie. Blackmail. Close to the thought Trillian had had. Another idea crossed my mind, though it sounded far-fetched. “Can she be charmed?”
Titania shrugged. “I don’t know, but I greatly doubt it. I tend to think blackmail is more likely.”
Menolly slowly nodded from where she hovered near the ceiling. “The lords of Fae who severed the realms during the Great Divide aren’t all dead. But wouldn’t they do anything and everything to keep the worlds separate? They have to know that joining the seals will only rip apart the veils and reunite the realms.”
Aeval smiled. It was a smile that I did not like—cold and ruthless, and thoroughly without compassion. “Remember, they are not talking about joining the seals again—but using them. A whole different scenario, one in which Titania and I are perhaps the targets.”
“Aeval and I made powerful enemies back then,” Titania added. “The armies of the summer and winter joined to fight against the new order. We destroyed many who sought to tear our crowns from our heads. The blood of Fae ran thick for a long time. There are some who walk the paths of Otherworld who are descended from those we slaughtered. They remember, and in their memory they hate us for resisting.”
“So instead of uniting against an enemy that threatens us all, you think the Fae lords have, in their infinite wisdom, decided to start a new war against you and that the Keraastar Knights are somehow involved?” The thought boggled my mind, but my father’s people could be petty. And grudges lasted a long, long time.
“I think it’s a distinct possibility. Look at Lethesanar. She’s the granddaughter of one of the lords who fought against Aeval and myself. Tanaquar may be the picture of reason compared to her sister, but I guarantee you this: She won’t willingly share the spotlight with the Court of the Three Queens.”
Delilah cleared her throat. “I don’t think we’ve ever asked this, but what happens if the portals do fall apart and the realms reunite? There was a great cataclysm during the Great Divide—volcanoes and great earthquakes and tidal waves. Legends are filled with stories of natural disasters, all of which can be traced to the dividing of the worlds . . . but what happens this time?”
Aeval frowned. She tapped one long fingernail on the table for a moment. “To be honest, we don’t know. There may just be a blurring of reality—like potholes or wormholes in the fabric of the universe. Or it could be a worldwide upheaval. I really don’t think anybody knows what will happen.”
“As unnatural as the Great Divide was, we can’t let the realms slam back together.” Menolly slowly lowered herself to the floor. “We have to find the rest of the spirit seals but, before handing them over, decide if Tanaquar and Asteria are onto something. Either way, we have to fix this mess with the portals ripping apart. And on top of that, we have to deal with groups like the Brotherhood of the EarthBorn going off half-cocked.”
Chase spoke up, even though he looked a little queasy at attracting attention to himself. “When the Earthside Fae and Supes stepped out of the closet, there was a honeymoon period, but now the public’s getting a little bit afraid. I thought we were more advanced than this but . . .”
