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He was more. Yes, he had wicked desires, but he also had the ability to feel affection. He had affection for his brothers and for Queen Morrigu, whose essence had been used to help create them. He had a sense of loss for the brother killed by the Milesian Lana. He was more than the Seelie Royal saw. But, he also knew, he had a strange desire, the need to feed on blood from time to time. It was because of the genes the Dark King has used when creating him.
He sighed over it. Soon, however, he would find a way out of the past, and then he and his brothers would enter the Human Realm and rule the whole damn universe, Faery included!
Freeing his brothers would be difficult because of his present predicament, but he would find a way. After all, it was he who had planned to keep Pestale from losing his memory. Pestale was whole because of him.
Because the Dark King had evolved beyond understanding, he had only
been mildly interested in watching Pestale drink from the Cauldron. He had not really seen. He had not expected his third son to outsmart him.
Hordly smiled as he thought of the tray of water he had installed in the Cauldron. That tray held plain water from their Realm’s Dark streams that had been only mildly contaminated by the Cauldron’s magical libation. Pestale’s memories had been affected but not removed, and when the Dark King had withdrawn, as he always did, to his universe with his evolving human consort, he—not Graely, but he—had begun Pestale’s reeducation!
Now, he had to find a way to free him and Graely.
He’d also free Morrigu, who was quite mad, but was lover, mother, friend, and the only female being they had been able to enjoy for eons. She would finally have an outlet for her cravings, perhaps find peace once she was free of the Dark Realm. Pestale thought he was the only one who had affection for Morrigu, but that wasn’t so; Hordly also had some caring for her.
He had many purposes now, and one of them was to avenge his youngest brother’s death. Lana, the Milesian, had killed him. True, Pestale had killed Lana, but for Hordly it did not end there. He wanted to destroy every Milesian that existed. He could not rest until he, with their Dark Army, charged into their little Milesian world and took them down to the last child.
His youngest brother, Donwith, who had always made him laugh but would never make him smile again, had to be avenged.
Pestale had been with Hordly when he’d told the Orb to open the portal to Killarney and had followed him in, but it must have sent Pestale back to the Dark Realm, for Hordly had found himself alone when he was spit out of the portal. He’d stood at its mouth and known something had gone wrong.
What he didn’t want to do was return to the Dark Realm. He had to find a way of getting his brothers and Morrigu out from this side of the portal.
Ruefully, he thought it was better to be in the past than in the Dark Realm.
This would have to do. At least it would have been a partial answer if the Seelie Prince hadn’t appeared to make things more difficult.
He had never thought of himself as a problem solver. That had always fallen to Pestale. He had, however, surprised himself as of late, but even so, he didn’t want to charge into the human world alone. He needed his older brother and even his resistant brother Graely at his side. He wanted them all. They were familiar. His brothers and Morrigu had been with him for all time. He sneered as he thought of the Seelie Prince, for he was aged, and experienced. He had so much more knowledge than the young Seelie Prince who dared to challenge him.
He would not make the same mistakes Pestale had made. Pestale would be dead if the Dark King had not interceded.
Pestale ‘felt’ too much. Pestale had doubts about how far he would go to attain his needs. He, however had no such doubts.
He had two problems to deal with: the Seelie Royal and the little human who was not quite human.
The little pretty had power.
He liked that. He also liked the look of her. Her form was more than pleasing, and something in her eyes caught his attention. She was more than human, less than immortal. Intriguing, and what was even more exciting was the fact that he could not seduce her with the Lianhan. He could, however, force her to have sex with him, and the notion was damned thrilling.
He was amused that she had managed to best him in their first encounter. He liked that. He had never been challenged by a woman before. Pestale would be surprised to see how well he handled the setback. Pestale thought him cold and dangerously self-centered, and he was, but so much about him was growing. Each day in the Human Realm, even in the past, he was discovering more about himself.
However, he had not anticipated a Seelie Royal running him to earth like this so soon. He thought he would have had more time. Fate was a bitch, and apparently that bitch had somehow put the Seelie Royal in his way. He would take him down. It was just a matter of time.
If only he had the Death Sword that Pestale had managed to obtain. For now, he would have to do without this invaluable weapon.
When he got his hands on one, though—then the Seelie Prince would meet with death, and the woman would be his.
She was a beauty, a piece of artwork he would enjoy exploring. Perhaps he would even take the time and seduce her, use her … damn, but he wanted to use her! In the meantime, plenty enough peasant women awaited him.
A smile curved his lips as his cock distracted him from his goals. He turned back to the two women he had brought with him. They were lying in the grass playing with one another, calling to him. Did he have time?
He thought of the Royal Seelie and frowned. No, he would have to keep on the move. Leave the pretties. Time enough for more of that later, when he completed his plans and brought Pestale and Graely, and their Morrigu, through the monoliths. Soon, the stars would align and the future would be theirs.
* * *
“You think?” Jazz said in some exasperation.
“Indeed, how can I know for sure when I have never had it in my possession and, therefore, am uncertain just what it does?”
