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And again, I sucked it up and nodded as gracefully as I could. “As you will.” Crap. I’d have to deal with Bran, like it or not. And right now, I didn’t like it one bit. I turned to him. “We should talk in the next few days, get some things straight.” Like the fact that we’re running the show from our side and you’d better play along.
“I look forward to it.” Again, the smooth voice covering the glittering eyes. Oh, the man was trouble. Attractive trouble, yes, but he set me on edge and I knew my sisters would feel the same. We were going to have a high old time coordinating this particular little corner of our ever-expanding world.
I glanced at Titania. She didn’t look all that comfortable, either, and Morgaine looked positively furious. What the fuck was she upset about? She was glaring at Bran like he’d usurped her position.
Bingo. It wasn’t her position she was upset about. Ten to one she’d been wrangling some scheme to install Mordred as leader of the TLO Warriors. And Aeval and Titania were having none of that.
Titania cleared her throat when she noticed me staring at her. “I think, then, introductions are finished. Camille, we have yet one more issue to drop in your lap before you get on with your training for the evening.”
This was turning out to be more fun than a barrel of rabid monkeys. My energy for the evening was about ready to fly the coop. I let out a long sigh, and Aeval must have noticed my oh-so-subtle eye roll because she reached over and tipped my chin up.
“Patience.”
At Bran’s snort, she gave him a sideways glance. “Enough. You are in my court now, and regardless of your parentage, you will behave accordingly.”
“Yes, my lady.” Bran pressed his lips together, looking none too happy, but he sobered and gave her a half nod. Feeling vindicated, I flashed him a cheery smile.
“As I said, we have a problem, and we want you to investigate. It is not something we are set up for. I believe, from our past discussions, that you have more information available than we do.”
“Do you mean me and my sisters, or me in particular?”
“You and your sisters. This quite possibly impacts your own investigations on the matter.” Aeval folded her arms across her chest. She glanced over at Bran, then back at me, and for a moment I thought I saw a flutter of doubt wash through her eyes, but then she shook her head. “One of our nobles—Lord Faerman—came to us two days past. His wife has run off, apparently seduced by the cult you call the Aleksais Psychic Network. Faerman wants her back.”
The inflection in her voice was clear. Bring her back. Alive. “What’s her name? What happened?”
Aeval cocked her head to the side, tapping her cheek with one long nail. “Her name is Syringa. She went to a meeting of the APN as a favor to a friend. Faerman says Syringa told him she wasn’t interested, but her friend Shirley didn’t want to go alone. This was last week. That night, she vanished. Shirley’s vanished, too.”
Syringa? That was the name of a lilac tree.
“Is she a dryad?” Dryads would never run off with a human group—they barely tolerated humans, just like most of the wood sprites, floraeds, and other woodland spirits. House sprites like Iris actually liked humans and paired up with families. But the Earthside woodland Fae? Not so much.
“Not fully. But yes, her lineage includes the woodland Fae. She’s doesn’t hold the human world as anathema, if that is what you are asking, but I don’t believe she would choose to run off from her home and family. She loves her husband. We would consider it a great favor if you would find her and bring her back where she belongs.”
I knew it wasn’t a favor she was asking, but a command. “As you will, my lady.” But actually, this might work in our favor, since I was going in undercover to check them out anyway. “We’ll do our best. I’ll need a few days, though.”
“I know you will. I will tell Lord Faerman to be patient.” And with that, she moved to the center of the pentagram. “And now, Titania, you and Morgaine may escort Bran back to the palace.”
Bran bowed to me. “Until later, my lovely priestess.”
I held his gaze for a moment. I had his number all right, smooth voice and suave demeanor notwithstanding. “Right. Later.”
Morgaine shot me another dirty look, but she and Titania escorted Bran out of the pentagram and began walking back toward the path leading out of the clearing. Aeval waited until they vanished from sight.
I let out a long breath. I liked Titania, though we didn’t have much in common, but I could do without the other two. I was running out of steam, and I still had the ritual ahead of me.
Aeval moved to the center of the pentagram and motioned me to kneel in front of her. I quickly obeyed. One thing I’d learned from childhood on up—when your teacher instructs you to do something, you do it. Yes, you could ask why, but you still obeyed.
As I knelt, she took a small bottle from her pocket and brushed my lips with her fingers. I opened them, and she poured three drops on my tongue.
I swallowed. A streak of fire raced down my throat, burning me through, and I reeled as the energy buoyed me up, recharging my muscles and clearing my mind. I glanced up at the sky and saw that the clouds had parted to reveal the stars, glimmering down from their icy perch.
Caught by their beauty, I raised my arm, reaching up to them. The moon, almost full, watched over the night, the Moon Mother’s power always present no matter what phase she was in.
Aeval remained silent, a soft smile replacing her usual serious expression. She wound her fingers through mine, closing them tightly over my hand. Her power, magnetic and sparkling, radiated through me, and once again, I felt a surge of rejuvenation as the weariness of the day fell away.
I laughed then and squeezed her hand. She gave me a quick nod and let go of my hand, stepping back. Motioning for me to stand, Aeval waited till I was on my feet; then she moved to each point of the pentagram, where she lit a candle and called out an invocation.
First came green for the Earth, in a hurricane glass so that it would neither go out in the wind nor start any inadvertent fires. Aeval lit the candle just outside the circle surrounding the pentagram.
