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“I abstain,” said Makwith, looking away.
Breslyn pulled a face at him but refrained from comment as he looked each member in the eye and said, “I am calling this meeting to an end, but I feel it is my duty to inform those of you who have voted against my queen that this will not be tolerated. We Royals—all of us, including Prince Trevor, fighting even as we speak in the Dark Realm for the welfare of Tir; my sister Aida and her mate; Princess Royce, a senior Council member, and her brothers; all of those who could not be here today—have taken an oath to support and defend our queen. What you are proposing will surely send us into a civil war, something that destroyed our world, Danu. Think long and hard about what you do.” So saying, he and the others shifted out.
They came together in the courtyard, and Breslyn said quietly, “You know what to do now?”
“Yes, but will it work?” Z asked on a frown. “I don’t like that guy, Banzar. I think we need to take him out.”
“Your mate is bloodthirsty,” Breslyn said to Danté with a laugh.
Ete put her arm around Z and said, “We need to end this. If we murdered Banzar, another would take his place one day. We can’t go about murdering every time someone does what they shouldn’t. We need a better solution.”
Z pulled a face and shrugged. “Still—don’t like him … I think he needs dying.”
Danté laughed and turned to Breslyn. “We need to attend to this diplomatically.”
“Aye, we need public opinion on our queen’s side. She will not like it, but we need to get the word out there. Remind our brethren about all she has sacrificed. Most of them still don’t know about Conall and how Gais murdered him. We need to tell them. We need to start working on how everyone views the Milesians, pointing out that they stand with us against the threat of the Dark Fae or any other force that might try and challenge our authority. Play it thick and liberally. Most of our Seelie adore Aaibhe and will stand with her, but … some will not.” Breslyn sighed. “After today, we will know what the numbers are, because Banzar won’t be stopped by today’s vote.”
Danté put a large hand on Breslyn’s shoulder. “Perhaps it is time to stage a coup in the Council and appoint members better equipped for the job, such as Trevor and one of Royce’s brothers?”
“It won’t work. They will say the membership is over-laden with Royals and needs to be more of representative Seelie. The only coup I would like to stage is an assassination. I tend to agree with your little Z. Banzar needs killing, but it is against our most sacred Fae law and one that I don’t mean to break, just yet. Thus far, he has not, like Gais, become a traitor. He has taken the proper steps, gone through the proper channels.” Breslyn’s words were spat out with frustration.
Ete moved over to Breslyn, stroked his arm, and said, “My love, let us not dwell on him but on swaying public opinion. He won’t get the Council votes if they see that it will cost them prestige.”
He played with a long strand of her lovely auburn hair and dropped a lingering kiss on her lips.
Z rolled her eyes and turned to look up at Danté. “They never stop.” She used her eyes and flirted with her mate playfully, and Danté broke his rule that dictated no display of affection in public. He pulled her hard against his body and lowered his head to growl in her ear, “You are ever the naughtiest Daoine …”
Ete laughed at them, broke away from Bres, and took Z’s hand. “Come, we will work the lovely Fae at the Fashion Pantheon.” She winked at Breslyn, and then she and Z were gone.
Danté shrugged. “The problem, Bres, is that we both know that many of our Seelie believe the Treaty cheated us out of Ireland. Banzar means to dwell on that fact and turn opinion against Aaibhe.”
“He will have a difficult time of it, since he was on the Council when the Treaty was enacted and it was unanimous but for Gaiscioch’s vote.”
“Still, I don’t like this … we need to do something more viable than talk,” Danté said practically.
“Aye, so we do, but first we have to get through to our queen. She will not agree to force unless we can show her we have tried everything else.” He sighed heavily and said, “Danté, Ete had a vision last night. She saw Tir, our beautiful Tir, laden with bodies and covered with blood.” He shook his head. “I am worried …”
~ Fifteen ~
“IMMORTAL?” JAZZ SAID out loud. She went silent as what was left of her human energy wrapped around the notion. Immortal?
What did that really mean? The question poised itself, and because she was still human in nature, she began blabbering. “I am immortal. Right, okay, so what exactly does that mean? Immortal doesn’t have to mean what I think it means. It could mean well, something else, couldn’t it? Maybe, Trev, you’re just using it as a figure of speech? Like a classic book becomes immortal, legendary, but if you burn the book, the story still lives on—that kind of immortal? Here is the thing.” She paused and suddenly wagged a finger at him. “Not sure my brain is handling your blood very well. I mean, it—my brain—feels bigger. Not empty bigger, but full with stuff, all kinds of stuff, and there’s a little person in there now, sorting, dividing, storing. That’s kinda nutsy, isn’t it?” She eyed Trevor thoughtfully and asked, “Immortal? Huh?”
He looked at her doubtfully and said encouragingly, “Yes, you are immortal, and there are many things you will have to learn about your new self. We shall have to spend the next few days in training …”
* * *
Trevor was so overcome with relief that it displayed itself in mirth. Suddenly he couldn’t contain himself.
He threw back his head, and all his pent-up emotions, emotions he, a Royal Fae, had always had under control in the past, were released. A floodgate opened, and the first thing that came pouring out was laughter.
His love took everything on the chin and then moved on, just as she had from the first moment he had met her. She was the bravest, most practical little being he had ever known. Transport her into another time period, and what did she do? She dealt with it. Throw a Dark Prince at her, and she dealt with it. Take her into the Dark Realm, and like everything else, she managed to, as she would no doubt say, go with the flow. And Trevor of Lugh, who had never cared for humans, suddenly realized he loved everything about this human and had loved her from the start—all of her, especially the human in her. She had displayed how much heart and courage humans were capable of experiencing and how selfless they could be.
He admired and respected everything about her, her courage and fortitude unique to herself, the manner in which she accepted facts and moved forward. It dawned on him that he didn’t just love her, he adored her more than any other being of his acquaintance—ever!
Adored? The word did not have enough letters in it to express the extent of what he felt. For him, life without her would be meaningless. How this had happened, he hadn’t a clue. But he meant to claim her for his own!
He touched her face, and she sighed sweetly. He could see she was thinking about immortality. He could see she was trying it on for size, and he reached for her arms and drew her to him. The quilt fell away, and he glanced down at her naked breasts and sucked in air with the explosion of desire that swept through him. The laughter was gone, and in its place was a primal, needful, all-consuming, and savage hunger.
