Page 16 of Queens Will Play

“And we don’t know why, or what he wants,” Trillian said.

“No, unfortunately not. But the humans of this world can’t stop him. He’s cunning, ruthless, and…” Carter paused, growing even more pale than he normally was.

“What is it?” Morio asked.

“Desanguas possesses the power to turn others into demons. He can build himself an army and few would know it until it’s too late.” He leaned forward. “I cannot do anything—I’m here to observe and provide information. But if I were you, I’d talk to the leaders of the Supe Community Council, to Roman, to the other Fae Queens, and even call on the dragons. Desanguas threatens to upset the balance of this world, and he’s angry and hungry for power and vengeance. I doubt that he’ll care who he takes his anger out on.”

And with that, we knew what we were facing.

CHAPTER FIVE

After talking to Carter for another hour about Desanguas and where he might be now, we left and stood together on the street. As far as Carter knew, Desanguas was still in Otherworld, but he was on the move towards the portals that would bring him Earthside.

“I wish we knew what was drawing him here,” Smoky said.

“Me too, but for now—” I paused, glancing around. “We need to discuss this in private, not in the middle of the street.”

“Where should we go?” Delilah asked. “I need to get home to the kids, though I’m sure Hanna can handle lunch without me.”

“We’ll go with you,” I said. “I can catch Menolly up to speed tonight. I’ll ride with you. The men can follow with Morio.”

As I climbed into the Jeep and settled myself, I caught sight of myself in the mirror. The tiara felt odd, still, but I was absolutely forbidden to remove it except when I slept. The Keraastar Diamond glistened against my neck. I had chosen a silver corset over a black skirt, and I realized that I looked more steeled than I had when we first arrived Earthside. Half-Fae aged far more slowly than humans, and I had taken the Nectar of Life, which stretched out my life to where I would reach the age most full-blooded Fae did, but there was a harder edge in my eyes. In some ways, that made me sad.

We were silent for a moment as Delilah started up the Jeep and we headed out.

“You think he’s after the diamond, don’t you?” she asked after a few minutes.

“I don’t know, but I’m afraid he might be. Although why would he bother? He’s out for revenge, so I’m surprised he’s not either marching on Svartalfheim or Aladril.”

“He’s waking to a vastly different world than right after the Great Divide. Over here, he can wreak far more havoc. And if he’s chaos incarnate, that’s going to be his greatest joy—to create turbulence and chaos. Especially if he can turn others into demons.” Delilah added, “We have to do this, don’t we?”

“I think so,” I said. “The Moon Mother wouldn’t have shown him to me if I wasn’t supposed to be involved. And she told me directly I was to play a part in stopping him. Along with my friends.” Grimacing, I squeezed my eyes shut and tried to calm down. For some reason, this demon struck a fear in my heart that hadn’t even been there with Shadow Wing.

“You’re afraid,” Delilah said.

“Terrified.”

“Me too,” she said.

I glanced over at her. “What scares you most?”

“I have Astrid and Chamiya. If I’m in danger, they’re in danger. But I have to step in. If you’re a target, you know Menolly and I will stand with you. And all of our loves.”

“Carter suggested that Menolly might be able to get the vampires in on this,” I said. “But before she can go to them, other than Roman, she’ll need more info. We have to find out more about Desanguas.” I paused, then said, “Remember when Jocko died? And how that led to fighting Shadow Wing?”

“All too well,” Menolly said. “Maybe Sharah knows something. I could contact Trenyth and ask him if the Elves can weigh in.”

“Does she ever see Astrid?” I asked.

Astrid’s mother was now the Elfin queen, and Sharah couldn’t have Astrid in her Court because half-Elfs were ostracized. Since Chase had been Astrid’s father, he had asked Delilah to keep his daughter before he died.

Delilah shrugged. “Not really. She sends gifts and money to help raise her, and she keeps saying she’s going to come visit, but I never tell Astrid about the promises because they never pan out. Astrid only knows her mother is a very important woman over in Otherworld and has a lot of people depending on her. Which is true.”

She pulled into the driveway to the house. I looked up at it, missing the days we spent together there. But at least I could come here as a refuge when I needed to get away from the Barrow. As I slipped out of the Jeep, I took a deep breath. Time to approach a sticky subject.

“I need to ask you something,” I said. “And…I’m not sure how to go about it.”

“Spit it out,” she said. “You never backpedal from saying what you think.”