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Chapter 47
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Fairy-Struck Chapter 48
We rode for hours; Bress driving the team of horses as I huddled inside the carriage, cradling Nighean as carefully as I could so she wouldn't be jostled too much. I'd given Bress my cloak since it was cold out, and I felt bad for not making him put his tunic back on before we left. I was warm enough inside the carriage anyway.Then a wave of magic gave me the chills, and I looked out the window to see packed-earth walls surrounding us. The dark intensified into a void, but Bress kept his rapid pace. I suddenly realized where we were; inside a large fairy mound. Was he taking us into the Human Realm first? Why?The passage brightened and then we were riding out into another forest. This one felt familiar, and I knew it was the Twilight Forest. What the hell? I hung my head out the window so I could shout to Bress."Did we just go through a fairy mound?""Yes," he called back. "The road between Unseelie and Twilight."Right; the paths between the kingdoms. I'd forgotten about those
Fairy-Struck Chapter 49
"Dad?" I asked as I sat beside Nighean's bed, waiting for her to wake up."Yes?" Keir smiled at me.It was getting easier and easier to call him Dad, which seemed to delight him to no end."Do you remember the night I made the cloud appear?" I was staring thoughtfully at Bress, who was seated across Nighean's bed from me; staring at me as if not only was I his entire existence but he was perfectly happy with that."Yes, of course." Keir frowned. "The night before you were crowned.""Is this what I did to our fairies?" I waved a hand at Bress."I..." my father's face fell. "Not this exactly. To achieve this kind of result, you have to pour stardust directly into your victim's eyes, but it's possible that you cast a version of it. Something less...""Consuming?" I asked."Yes," he agreed. "Less consuming. I don't have that ability, but magic always changes a bit in the transfer. Perhaps you're able to spread out the spell to affect an entire room full of fairies.""Or perhaps it
Fairy-Struck Chapter 50
That night, I stood on the dais in the dining hall and addressed the Twilight Fey. Keir remained seated behind the high table and allowed me to do the talking, but Cat was standing loyally beside me; looking ready to hurt anyone who reacted badly to my speech. I gave her a quick head pat to try and keep her calm, but I was pretty sure she was reacting to my nerves so it didn't do any good."You have all been so welcoming to me," I started. "You've made me feel as if I'm one of you, even though I know some of you were unsure of me in the beginning." I saw some of the fairies exchange confused glances. "You had good reason to be concerned. I'm only half fairy and although most of you are halflings as well, I'm well aware that it makes a difference when one of the halves is human."Cat whined and leaned against my side; causing me to steady my stance."I was born with great psychic gifts and was taught very early on how to control them," I went on. "Not so with my fairy magic. I've only j
Fairy-Struck Chapter 51
After the Star's Guard welcomed their new brother into the fold, the Twilight Fey surrounded Conri to do the same. Then toasts were made to the new knight. Even King Keir came down to wish Sir Conri well and add his approval to Danu's decision but, eventually, the Court calmed and my father escorted me back to the high table."I've never seen anything so beautiful as you speaking with the voice of Danu," he said proudly. "I will carry that memory with me forever.""So will they, I hope." I looked out over the crowd and knew that they would. Attitudes would alter. Prejudice would depart. The Fey may be stuck in their ways but they always listened when Danu spoke to them. The lessers would be considered less no longer.I believe they will," Keir echoed my thoughts. "Now, what have you decided for Bress?""I imagine this existence would be more pleasant than that in a dungeon," I said and cast a look at my cousin.Bress looked lost; staring out at the court as if he wasn't sure where he w
Fairy-Struck Chapter 52
Restraining Bress wasn't a problem since I kept him enchanted all the way down to the dungeon. It was two floors below the dining hall and was actually pretty nice for a dungeon; not that I'd seen a lot of them. It had clean cells equipped with sturdy beds, little private bathrooms, and small dining sets. They looked pretty damn comfortable... except for the bars and bare stone walls that is.I waited until Bress was locked away in one of the cells - the only one now occupied - before I released him from the enchantment. He immediately fell to his knees; his whole body shaking as he lost the contents of his stomach all over the stone floor."Maybe I shouldn't have let him eat first," I said dryly."My Lord Bress, are you all right?" Tiernan called out tersely. "There is a washroom behind you if you need some water."Bress spat, wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, and then rolled his eyes up to stare at me. His shoulders were tense and his expression was enraged. I caught myself
Fairy-Struck Chapter 53
We decided not to risk bringing anyone else in to help us. It would be a clandestine operation that we weren't even telling my father about. Better to ask for forgiveness than permission. So, it would only be Aodh, Tiernan, and I riding out to the Unseelie Court with three carriages; one for each of us. Hopefully, we'd have enough room to fit all of the seelie prisoners."What are you doing?" The deep rumble came from behind me, making me jump. I turned to see Conri leaning in the stable's doorway."Nothing that concerns you," Tiernan answered crisply as he finished attaching the lead to my horses."Have you already forgotten that I'm a member of the Star's Guard?" Conri straightened and sidled over with the graceful gait of a predator."The what?" Aodh asked from where he was already seated atop his coach."My personal Guard," I said to Aodh before I looked back at Conri. "I'm fine, Conri, go back inside the castle.""Where are you going with three empty carriages, Princess?" He
Fairy-Struck Chapter 54
The tunnels were empty, and we made good time in reaching the lower levels of the castle, but once we were there, I realized there was another flaw to our plan. I had no idea where they kept the seelie prisoners. Tiernan saw me hesitate as I stepped out of the tunnels, and he stepped past me to look around."Prisoners are commonly kept in cells." Tiernan glanced back at me. "True for humans and fairies.""Excellent," I said and looked around the large room. "You think those cells are down here?"We were in the bowels of the castle and the room we stood in was carved out of the mountain itself. The stone was roughhewn, with obvious tool marks marring its damp surface. The floor was smoother than the walls, laid with tiles of some kind of gray stone. Directly in front of us was a set of stairs and although it was too dark to see how far up they went, I knew from my last journey down them that they went quite far. At the base of the stairs, a hook was set into the wall and a lantern hu
Fairy-Struck Chapter 55
"Does everyone who needs assistance have it?" I asked the group and saw them all nod. "Will you all be able to walk?""Yes," a bean-tigh answered, her elderly appearance tugging at my heart. "If you can lead us out of here, we will walk. We'll crawl if necessary."My throat constricted with her words so all I could do was nod. They were all beaten, cut, or broken in some horrible way, and yet they would have dragged their broken limbs across a field of glass to escape the Unseelie Court. After witnessing only one night of what they had been put through, I know I would have too. I would have done anything to escape that existence.I had to take deep breaths to calm my rising anger. I wanted to run out of that room and slaughter all of the Unseelie for what they'd done. Instead, I focused on what I could do to help the injured seelie while we waited for the others to return. I pulled clothes and shoes off the guards and passed them out to the fairies; tearing some of the clothes to ma
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Fairy-Struck Chapter 67
Things have been quiet in the Twilight Kingdom. No one has heard a peep from Uisdean or his Dark Court. Although, we now have allies in the Light. Nighean, Aodh, and their mother Neala went home to Seelie, but they've kept in touch with us and have begun to gather supporters for peace between the kingdoms. So far, it must be a secret recruitment since the hatred between the Dark and Light Courts still runs rampant, despite the return of the prisoners, but I have hopes that someday the secret will come out.As far as my relationship with Keir goes, I now call him Dad more easily and try not to mention my other dad to him even though that relationship feels strained to the point where I despair that things will ever be right between Ewan and I. Cat remains a constant guardian and an occasional pain in the butt, especially when I'm trying to find some alone time with my other guardian. But Tiernan handles her antics as easily and as gracefully as he does mine.Tiernan. I'd never thought
Fairy-Struck Chapter 66
It turns out that changing or killing King Uisdean was not what Keir had in mind, but my surmisal had made him think. He wasn't ready to make any plans yet, but we had time, lots of it now that I was fey. We decided to let go of our issues with Uisdean for the moment and simply get to know each other as father and daughter.We had a full day to spend together, including a night of camping in the forest; if you could call it camping when you slept in a pavilion big enough for ten. Keir showed me how to properly call the twilight creatures and how to talk to them. Tiernan's explanation, when he'd told me that fairies could speak to all animals, hadn't been specific enough. We, as in the Fey as a whole, could speak to all animals but not as individuals. Each court had their own set of animals whom only they could communicate with. The Seelie had the diurnal animals who were active during the day, the Unseelie had the nocturnal creatures who roamed at night, and the Twilight had the crepu
Fairy-Struck Chapter 65
There was no need for me to wait another day before returning to Fairy since Keir could take me straight home. Home. Funny that the place I called home was now in the Fairy Realm. We left shortly after Uisdean did; Dylan to fire and do who knows what else to Adam Driscol while Keir and I went back to Gentry Technologies so we could use his personal fairy mound to get back to the Twilight Kingdom.A coach and a contingent of soldiers were waiting for us when we exited the rath. They were all sitting around a fire but there were no tents up so I assumed they expected it to be a short wait. Which meant Keir had perfectly timed his arrival into the Human Realm. I guess Danu did speak to him.The knights were well trained, Keir's personal retinue, the King's Guard, and they were mounted and ready to leave within moments. Soon, we were rumbling through the night-shrouded forest on our way to the Twilight Court. I sat back against the purple velvet seats and sighed deeply; going over the la
Fairy-Struck Chapter 64
There was a creeping lethargy seeping into my limbs. I couldn't lift my hands or focus enough to use either my psychic or magical talents. I started to slide down the back of the couch."It will wear off soon, I promise," Dylan whispered as he caught me and laid me down gently. "You're going to be okay, Seren.""You traitor," I whispered while I could still speak."Technically, I'm a double agent," he clarified. "I was a traitor when I left the Unseelie Court; this is redemption."A ringing came from a panel near the elevator, and Dylan glanced over his shoulder at it. Then he looked back at me sadly, gave me a gentle kiss on the cheek, and got up to go to the intercom. He pushed a button on it and spoke quickly. Then he went to the elevator and pushed a button there before he turned to face me once more."This will all be over soon." He smiled reassuringly. "Try not to upset yourself."I wanted to tell him to go to hell, but I couldn't move my tongue. It felt swollen in my mouth
Fairy-Struck Chapter 63
Finding that middle ground took a couple of hours. When I finally left the council chamber, I found Uncle Dylan asleep on the couch where I'd left him. He had his arms flung out to the sides, across the back of the couch, and his head was leaned so far back that his mouth dropped open a little; a prime pose for snoring. Unfortunately, my Uncle Dylan was too perfect to snore and slept peacefully without a single sound. I shook his shoulder, and he even woke up peacefully; his body gracefully shifting back into an upright position as he opened his eyes and placed them unerringly on me."We can go now." I looked over his tired eyes. "Thanks for waiting for me.""It's quite all right." He gave me a sleep-softened smile. "You're my blood.""You know, you're not half bad for a relative of mine," I joked as we headed out to the car.I was surprised to see that there was still a bit of daylight left. It had felt as if I'd been in with the council forever."I'll take that as high praise,"
Fairy-Struck Chapter 62
The entire San Francisco Human Council convened to speak with me. It was a little intimidating to be the center of their attention, especially since that attention was pretty damn intense. They had already been a meeting to discuss the possibilities of my new diplomatic status, and they had made notes, lists, and even graphs of how they saw my role playing out. Graphs! Damn politicians.I sat through most of the political BS with what I thought was a fair amount of poise; nodding my head in acceptance of the standard expectations they had for me: keeping the peace, carrying out execution warrants, that sort of thing. But when they started in on all the diplomatic duties I'd have to perform, I began to get nervous. I hadn't thought about all the parties I'd have to attend as both an ambassador and a princess. Or all the meetings I'd have to conduct with the fairy royals. The thought of sitting down to have a nice diplomatic discussion with my Uncle Uisdean was a little terrifying."We
Fairy-Struck Chapter 61
"Once more, if you please." Councilman Murdock was back to sitting across a tea set from me in the parlor of the San Francisco Council House."I can't give you specifics, Councilman," I said. "Just please help Amanda get home; she's been through a lot.""Of course, we'll help her," he huffed. "But you said you rescued her from the Unseelie. Isn't there something we can do?""Not unless you'd like to storm the Unseelie Castle." Dylan grimaced. "There's nothing that even we can do about it, Mr. Murdock. Princess Seren has done more than any fairy monarch has ever done concerning this situation. The idea that anyone could try and hold the entire Unseelie Court accountable for the abduction of one human girl is, frankly, laughable.""Councilman Murdock not Mr.," Murdock corrected in irritation; probably because he couldn't fault anything else Dylan had said."Ah." Dylan narrowed his eyes at Murdock and then waved a hand at himself. "Duke Dylan Thorn... of the Unseelie."Murdock swall
Fairy-Struck Chapter 60
"That was awkward," Amanda said."And totally stupid." I rolled my eyes. "This is my father's business. All of those fairies work for him so we weren't in any danger.""They were all fairies?" She gaped at me."Uh, yeah." I chewed at my lip. I hadn't thought of how to handle Amanda's knowledge of the Fey. "Look, it could be dangerous for you to talk about fairies. I'm going to take you to the Human Council, and they'll be able to help you get back home and sort things out but they're probably going to tell you the same thing; you need to pretend that you don't know anything about the Fey.""Trust me, I want this all to just go away," she said. "I'm not going to cause any problems. Besides, who's going to believe me? They'd lock me up in the loony bin.""Great." I grinned as we exited the elevator and headed toward the reception desk. "I mean about your not talking, not the loony bin part."Sunlight poured in from the wall of windows; blending with the artificial light shed by the
Fairy-Struck Chapter 59
We were almost to the fairy mound that led to Gentry Technologies when Aodh caught up with us. I've never been so happy to see a fairy in all of my life. I screamed like a little girl when he landed on the seat beside me and then jumped up in delight and nearly fell off the carriage."Thank Goddess you're all right," I declared as I hugged him."It's good to see you too, Princess." Aodh laughed and looked around. "Where are we going?""I need to get Amanda home." I waved toward the clearing Tiernan's coach was just entering. "I'm taking her back through the rath in Gentry Technologies, my father's company.""Oh, right, the human girl." Aodh cast a glance down to the carriage. "Is she all right?""I think she will be," I said confidently. "She's been traumatized, but she's already trying to move past it." I pulled the horses to a stop and handed the reins to him. "You couldn't have better timing. I need you to drive my carriage to the Unseelie Castle." Then I saw Tiernan come walki
