Torine addressed me, his features without any expression: “You said there were fae who would stand with us. How are we to know the difference between those who are our enemy and those who are our allies?”
Good question. My knowledge of the Tuatha de Danann was practically nonexistent, but I had been reading as much as I could about the history of fae from the book Kade had given me. It let me in on a few of their secrets, and after meeting that fae in Astoria Park I had to believe that some of them didn’t want us dead. She had come to warn me, and said she’d be back when she had more information.
“The Otherworld is apparently divided into two main sections, each of them ruled by a king or queen, and they are each in possession of a treasure … or weapon … which they use to control the mecca and rule their people. They battle among themselves, trying to take the other’s power. The Otherworld is much smaller than Earth, a landmass akin to the size of America. We have met only one side. They call themselves the light fae, which I’m coming to understand is the court of summer. The dark fae are from the court of winter. There are smaller courts within those, the Spring Court and Fall Court. I have no idea of their power, or whether they have weapons also. At the moment it looks as if the dark court is trying to destroy us and the light is our ally. How to tell them apart … I have no idea.”
“What are these weapons?” one of the councilmen asked, seeming intrigued.
I shook my head. “We don’t know for sure. The history vaguely suggests that a spear and sword are two of them, but this may not even be true.”
“Why are they attacking us?” Glenda asked, her voice ringing out, wavering with intensity. “I truly don’t understand what we can offer them. They already have equal mecca power on their side of the veil. Why now? Why kill the Red Queen?”
Intensity was good. It meant they were finally starting to believe me, to believe it was the fae who killed the Red Queen and not some sort of sneak attack the bears were trying to foist off onto another enemy.
Before I could answer her, a low voice cut through the room. “The mecca is compromised.” The basement area fell silent and at first I wondered which of the council had spoken, until I realized it was none of them. Finn started to growl low and menacing, and if I had been the stranger in our midst, I’d have been very nervous. My familiar slid his massive body around until it was before me.
A huge male stepped up out of the shadows and I wondered how long he’d been there. I recognized him straight away: Seamus, the male magic born of our packs. His hair was pure white, like his skin, although he seemed to have a little more color than many of the others. His icy-blue eyes cut through me and a shiver traversed my spine. He was powerful and determined. I could see that in the way he strode across the room.
“The mecca is visible to my eye now. It was never this way before the Red Queen fell. The balance is no more and the fae will come for the power. They will destroy us all to get it.”
I didn’t like the way he had crept into our meeting, but magic born had a way of doing that. Ignoring my instinct to reprimand him, I turned back to the council. “Seamus is right, the power is no longer balanced. This is what the light fae told us. She said that the dark now want to rule Earth, and they plan on taking it soon.”
Returning my gaze to Seamus, I let hard eyes linger on him for a few extra seconds. My power was judging and assessing him. I saw nothing of concern, but I would remain on guard. There was an offness about him. Even Finn felt it.
My next words were lower, contemplative. “What I don’t understand is why the queen’s death changed the mecca. It was the catalyst for all of this. What was she up to in those days before she died? What did she see or know which caused the Tuatha to send out a hit on her and all the heirs? In the Otherworld, the light and dark battle all the time, but we have never been part of it.”
“Which tells you…” Torine prompted, seeming to know I had more to say.
“Which tells me that there may be a weapon on Earth, something the queen figured out in the days before her death, and which somehow the Winter Court also discovered. The Winter Court wants the weapon. They know it could tip the odds in their favor. Maybe the Red Queen used it just before she died, maybe that is why the power is coming to us.”
Not everything in my theory made perfect sense, but it felt like the right place to start.
“Have you searched her private stores? Through her papers?” Torine asked me. “You should have started your investigation there.”
I gritted my teeth just slightly. Did he think I’d just been relaxing and drinking cocktails on the beach since my coronation? I had been pretty busy in the few weeks I’d been queen.
“It’s next on my to-do list. She had thousands of boxes filled with her personal effects. I’ll begin in the library where she was murdered, and work my way back from there.”
Seamus strode closer to me and I was again captured by the unique beauty of the magic born. “I would like to help you. I came today because the mecca imbalance can no longer be ignored. Now that I know more, I believe it is magic born who’ll be the most help to you. Especially regarding the fae magic books and a possible weapon.”
Okay, so he’d been listening since the very beginning. My temper started to get the best of me then. We should not have lax security at a time like this. The council must have agreed. They burst into loud reprimands.
“You cannot sneak into private meetings! You will be punished for this!”