Page 19 of Queens Will Play

“Right as rain. They had their vet check and they’re all healthy and happy.” I didn’t mention that I was considering giving them nips of the Nectar of Life to expand their life. For one thing, I hadn’t decided whether that felt right on a moral level. For another, I had decided to find someone who could talk to them to find out whether they’d be happy with that. I didn’t want to ask Delilah because I was worried she might tell me what I wanted to hear, rather than what they actually said.

“You miss it here, don’t you?” she asked.

I nodded. “Yeah. I have ever since I moved to the Barrow. To be honest, this house wouldn’t be big enough for all of our expanded families, but still…” I paused when someone rang the front doorbell. “Are you expecting anyone?”

She shook her head. “No, actually. The boys wouldn’t knock either. I’ll be right back,” she said, heading toward the foyer. After a moment, I heard her shriek, “Oh great gods!”

I jumped, racing toward the door, scrambling to prepare a spell in case she needed help. But I skidded to a halt, almost turning my ankle, as Delilah stood back.

In the middle of the doorway, standing there in a blue skirt and a silver top, was Iris.

“Iris! Where did you come from? What are you doing here?” Delilah leaned down, wrapping her arms around the talon-haltija.

Iris, a house-sprite, had lived with us for years before marrying a leprechaun and having twins and leaving to live in Ireland with him. Now, she said in a broken voice. “You’re going to smother me, Kitten. Give me a chance to breathe.”

She still looked like the Swiss-Miss milkmaid, with golden hair to her feet braided up in an intricate design, brilliant blue eyes, and the clearest skin I’d ever seen. She was gorgeous, fully in her prime, it seemed, and curvy. But her eyes were weary, and she looked almost relieved.

“Oh, Iris!” I crowded in for my hug. “Come in, please. Are Bruce and the twins with you?” I tried to peek out the door. Given Iris was only around 3’8”, it wasn’t that hard, but still, Delilah was hogging the doorway.

Iris kissed me, then motioned for both of us to move back. “Ukkonen and Maria are with Bruce at the hotel. I came over first.”

We followed her into the kitchen. Hanna, who had returned from putting the girls down for their naps, let out a yelp and made a rush for Iris.

“Iris, bless you, where did you come from?” Hanna said, steering the sprite to the table. “Let me get you some tea⁠—”

“Oh, please, I’ve lived in Ireland for too many years. Coffee, please,” Iris said.

I laughed. That was new. Iris had always been a tea drinker. “That’s different. So, what are you doing here? Just a visit?” In my heart, I hoped that they could stay for a while. Iris made our family feel more complete. But I didn’t want to let myself hope too much.

“Actually, no,” she said, accepting the coffee cup from Hanna, adding a little cream and sugar. “Unfortunately, we had to leave.” She stared at the table.

“What happened?” I sat on one side of her while Delilah sat on her other side.

She stirred her coffee and shuddered. “We were invaded. Redcaps swarmed our village, and…they killed Bruce’s father and mother. Executed them. We managed to get out with Ukkonen and Maria with only moments to spare. We had to flee with the clothes on our backs. It was horrible,” she said, her voice strained. “Most of his family is gone, and the village is decimated. The Fae governing the area sanctioned the redcaps, but that’s basically locking the barn door after the horse is gone.”

Horrified, I asked, “When did this happen?”

“Not three weeks ago. Until then, we lived in a silent truce with the redcaps. I don’t know what happened, but the balance shifted and…” She rested her elbows on the table, staring at her coffee. Iris had seen—and been part of—a number of horrors in her life, but this…this had to be among the worst.

I wrapped my arm around her shoulders. “I’m so sorry. How’s Bruce doing?”

“He’s in shock. I don’t know how to help him. Bruce has never had to go through anything like this before. I’m stronger than he is, but I don’t know…He seldom talks. He’ll take care of the girls, but he doesn’t take care of himself. He saw his parents die. The redcaps beheaded them.”

“Oh, gods,” Delilah said, her eyes growing wide.

Hanna silently crossed to the cupboards, bringing back some Y’Erlian Brandy. She poured shots all around, and Iris silently downed hers without a word.

After a moment, she continued, “I was with the girls when he came running in, grabbed me, and said we had to leave. We left everything behind, even our clothes. There wasn’t time to take anything. Luckily, I had all our family documents together in an easy to access place, and I remembered to grab the bag before we snuck out of the house and managed to escape the village without being noticed.”

I wanted to say we were happy she escaped, but that sounded insensitive. I leaned back in my chair. “What could have caused the redcaps to be so vicious?”

“They’re vile, anyway. Remember when we had to help…what was her name? Lukia? We had just met Grandmother Coyote, and she wanted us to help the coyote shifter?” Delilah asked. “She had redcaps after her.”

“They’re cruel, all right,” Hanna said.

Iris let out a long, shuddering breath. “Vicious? More like they’re bloodthirsty murderers. So, yes, we’re here. We have no idea what remains of the estate back home, but we don’t dare go check. I’ll try to find someone who can handle redcaps to go in and check for us. Maybe a group of shifters. Redcaps are afraid of predator shifters like bear shifters or lion shifters.”

“We can probably help you with that,” I said. “The Supe Community Action Council no doubt will have contacts who can find out for you. Or point you in the right direction.”