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I shrugged. “I have no idea, Kitten, but what I sensed on the other side of that portal wasn’t altogether friendly. You . . . you aren’t having second thoughts, are you?”
She looked startled. “You mean about Shade and Chase? No—not at all. But I still love Chase, dearly. He was my first love, and you don’t just blow that off, not unless the person hurt you. I adore Shade; he’s good for me. But Chase . . . he’s our detective, you know?”
I smiled softly. “Yes, I know. He’s our detective. He’s family.”
As we sped along the road, an easy silence fell between us then, one born of being who we were. None of the three of us needed constant chatter, though Delilah liked to keep the TV on for background noise. Both Menolly and I were content with silence or background music.
“Do you ever think about the future?” she asked after a little while.
“What do you mean? Are you talking about Shadow Wing?”
“Yes . . . No. Maybe? I mean, if we do manage to stop him, what then? Are we going home to Otherworld? You’re married to Smoky, Morio, and Trillian. I’m with Shade and bound to the Autumn Lord. Menolly is in love with Nerissa, who’s an Earthside Were. Our lives are bound up on both sides. And you . . .” She stopped suddenly. “Never mind.”
“No,” I whispered. “Go ahead and say it. I can’t go home to Y’Elestrial because Father disowned me.”
“If Queen Tanaquar lifts the ban, would you?”
“Would I go back? Maybe. But I don’t know now . . . even if Father comes around, I’ll always remember that he cut me off. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to forgive him for that. And Y’Elestrial is all bound up with memories of our childhood. I don’t know if I could go home again. At least not to there. Maybe Dahnsburg—Feddrah Dahns and his father like me.”
As I thought of the unicorns, I smiled. I’d recently received a missive from King Uppala-Dahns exonerating me of killing the Black Unicorn. In fact, I’d become somewhat of a folk hero there, for freeing the Black Beast to reincarnate as per legend. But I hadn’t told my sisters about it. For one thing, it sounded a little like bragging. For another, I hadn’t had time to fully process the whole situation.
“Now there’s a thought,” Delilah said, giggling. “The unicorn city. I still haven’t seen it—and I’d like to.”
“Maybe we’ll get a chance to go there. Next time we need a break, let’s take a vacation—we can skip Y’Elestrial and go via the Elqaneve Barrows. We should check in with Queen Asteria, anyway.” Ever since my father had disowned me, my sisters and I had quit the Otherworld Intelligence Agency and gone to work for the Elfin Queen.
“There—there’s our turn,” I said, veering back into the right lane as I checked over my shoulder to make sure we were clear. The night sky was silvery as the snow continued to fall, and the exit ramp was slippery—we skidded slightly as I slowed, but I managed to keep us from fishtailing, and then we turned east and headed toward the compound.
The Triple Threat—as I’d dubbed the Court of the Three Queens—owned a thousand-acre compound northeast of Seattle, buttressed in the foothills of the Cascade Mountain Range.
Earlier in the year, the government had set the Earthside Fae Queens a limit—they could buy up and hold five thousand acres of land for now, with the possibility of expansion in the future. This land would be considered a Sovereign nation, and a treaty had been ironed out with the understanding that it would stand only if no threats were made against the government or the people of the United States by the Earthside Fae who signed up on the rolls.
Titania, the Queen of Light and Morning, and Aeval, the Queen of Shadow and Night, had agreed. And they’d forced Morgaine, the half-Fae Queen of Dusk and Twilight by default, to agree to the terms. Although I had the feeling Morgaine hadn’t been asked for her opinion, the three Queens had agreed to name their nation Talamh Lonrach Oll—loosely translated as the Land of Brilliant Apples.
As we wound through the foothills toward the Fae Nation, I began to feel the energy a good five miles before we were there. In the darkness, the trees glowed and sparkles skittered across the road, making me smile. I loved the magic out here—especially at night, for Aeval and Morgaine were both connected with the Moon Mother, as was I.
We eased onto the road leading to the towering silver-plated gates that had been erected across the driveway leading in.
I wasn’t due to show up until the Solstice. The guards seemed surprised to see us, but they waved us through once they realized who we were. As we pulled in, the road veered to the left, toward a major parking lot. Cars weren’t permitted beyond this point. It was either walk or take a horse-drawn cart or a bicycle.
Easing into a parking space, I turned off the ignition and opened my window. The sound of magic filled the air. Not everyone could hear it, not even all of the Fae, though the average person might get a humming that irritated them or a headache from a buzzing in the ears, but I could. Soft and on the wind, like a thousand dancing chimes.
Delilah scratched her neck. “I feel like ants are crawling on me.”
“That’s magic,” I said softly. “Come on, you’ll get used to it after a little bit and won’t notice it so much.”
We climbed out of the car and locked it. No use taking chances—our father’s people generally weren’t trustworthy unless they’d given their word of honor, and even then, I was cautious.
“Over there.” I pointed to the stalls where we could borrow a horse and cart. I had no intention of walking all the way to the palace barrows. I was tired from the trip with Iris and felt like I’d never warm up, though compared to the Northlands this storm was a spring breeze.
The woman who was manning the stables gave us the once-over, then broke out in a smile. “Welcome, Otherworld Sisters. You have need of a cart?” Her voice was clipped, and I realized she wasn’t used to speaking English. She must have recently come out of the forests.
There were still enough wild places that some of the Fae remained relatively untouched by society, but that was dwindling and pretty soon I feared there would be a struggle between the FBHs and the Earthside Fae over territory.
Andy Gambit, tabloid reporter for the Seattle Tattler who did his best to make our lives a spectacle, was afraid of those of us from Otherworld, but the fact was, he’d better keep a watch in his own backyard first. We were far less of a threat than the Earthside Fae who had quietly absorbed the shock of deforestation and development for the past hundred and fifty years.
“Thank you.” I accepted the reins to the covered cart. It was a two-seater, with one horse to guide it. As Delilah and I settled ourselves inside, I realized that although the buggy would protect us from the majority of the snow, it wouldn’t do much against the cold. Delightful.
“Do you remember how to drive one of these things?” Delilah glanced at me, then at the horse. “It’s been a while.”
