A Fey Harvest (14 page)

“
Your welcome,” the man bowed and handed me the casket, er box.

“
King Arach, Queen Vervain,” a man in a light blue uniform led the group of air sidhe that had swept by us earlier, over to us, scattering the pixies, which again made me frown. He had pale green hair that fell around his shoulders in loose waves, and blue eyes that matched his outfit. His wings were dark, like a moth's, with iridescent colors shifting over them and big “eyes” high up on their crests.

“
Taraghlan,” Arach nodded to the fey. “Do you know where the other royals are gathered?”

“
Yes, Fire King,” he nodded, I was sent to guide you, if you'll permit.”

“
By all means,” Arach waved his hand and Taraghlan moved ahead to show us the way.

His group moved up beside us, casting glances at us out of the corner of their eyes. One fey in particular couldn't seem to stop staring. She was super thin and very tall, like a runway model. Her baby pink hair fell down to her ankles in shimmering waves, creating the look of a cloak. She had giant butterfly wings in a vibrant blue, rising from her shoulders, and her skin was pure
white, just tinged pink at cheeks and lips. Her bright blue eyes met mine with what seemed to be anger or possibly hatred, definitely hostility.

“
What the hell?” I stopped walking to stare her down and she blanched, looking around at the rest of the group, who had stopped when I did.

“
What is it?” Arach was searching for the source of my ire.

“
Her,” I pointed at the sidhe as I walked over to her. “You. What's your problem?”

“
I'm not sure what you mean,” she stammered, looking over my shoulder at Arach timidly. I glanced over and saw his glower, it must have matched mine.

“
You're staring me down like I'm the six-fingered man or something,” I cleared my throat when I remembered I was in Faerie and it was doubtful anyone there had ever seen
The Princess Bride.
“Uh, like I killed your daddy. Now I know I've never met you, so the only reason for you to be so upset with my presence is that you don't want me here investigating the disappearances!” I shoved an accusing finger in her face for emphasis.

“
Um, A Thaisce,” Arach cleared his throat as the fey woman turned the color of curdled milk.

“
Why would I not want you to investigate?” She looked around at the other air-sidhe but they didn't appear to be willing to help her.

“
Because maybe you're the culprit,” I looked her over like I could find some evidence on her if I just focused hard enough.

“
What?” One delicate hand flew to her throat in a classic damsel in distress pose.

“
Vervain,” Arach growled.

“
What?” I finally looked back at him.

“
I don't think Lady Aoife had anything to do with the missing fey.”

“
Arach,” I turned around fully and gave him a look. “If there's one thing fighting gods has taught me, it's to trust my instincts and my instincts are yelling at me that this bitch is bad news.”

Gasps from the crowd of air-sidhe, chuckles from the red caps and phookas, and a long groan from Arach.

“Did you just call me a bitch?” She asked in a horrified voice. “I'm an air-sidhe, not a phooka.”

“
Where were you when the bean-sidhe and air-sidhe disappeared?” I countered.

“
I was collecting fering flowers for my room,” she said haughtily.

“
What the hell are fering flowers?” I eyed her like I thought she had made them up.

“
There's one right there,” she pointed to a delicate blue flower as it drifted by. It was shaped like a star and had a brilliant white center.

“
Let me guess, you were alone when you were gathering flowers?” I scoffed. “So no one can corroborate your story?”

“
What is
corroborate
,” she frowned. “Arach are you going to let her talk to me like this?”

Everything went quiet. It didn't even sink in for a few seconds and then I suddenly realized why they were all so stunned. She'd just called a Faerie King by his first name. As if she had a right to.

My eyes narrowed as hers widened and I slowly turned to face Arach's angry expression. It spoke volumes and all of them were sharp, evil works of non-fiction. Pain lanced my heart as I shut my face down, unwilling to share my sorrow with strangers, but Arach had caught a glimpse and his expression hardened further, flashing over to the woman behind me.

“
You have mere moments to flee, Lady,” he growled. “If you value your life, you'd do well to make the most of them.”

I heard her gasp and felt a whoosh of air that I assume announced her literal flight away from us. I closed my eyes for a moment and pushed down the pain, I'd be damned if I let them all witness what his infidelity was doing to me. I'd cry later, probably in the shower.

Then I saw flashes of the asrai, Laise, and finally that airy bitch, Aoife. How many women was he doing behind my back? Did he have one in every kingdom or was it more than one? Was I married to the playboy of the Faerie Realm?

This probably sounds ridiculous. I mean please, like I had any room to talk. I'd not only been with others, I
still
was with other men. Maybe that was what justified his actions, maybe I hadn't been able to find any betrayal in his soul because he honestly believed there was no betrayal. What was good for the goose and all that. Maybe I should allow his affairs, it would be only fair. Fair affairs, there was a joke in there somewhere but I was too hurt to laugh at it. So we all know that means I was pretty damn hurt.

I had believed I was the only one, had stupidly assumed that marriage meant that he'd be faithful to me. My other men understood that we were faithful to each other and I wasn't even married to them. At least I think they understood. Was I going to have to go home and have a talk with them too? As horribly unfair as it sounds, I was not a woman who shared. I needed fidelity and if Arach felt that the situation was unjust and he deserved to have other women since I had other men, then he was entitled to that opinion. He'd just have to have it instead of me.

Sometimes life isn't fair.

“
Vervain?” Arach's angry glare had changed to one of panic.

“
Sometimes I really hate being right,” I whispered.

“
What?”

“
Not now and
not here
,” I hissed in a low voice and waved to the waiting Taraghlan to move us along.

“
Vervain,” Arach said more sharply and I glanced at him with a raised brow.

“
Just tell me now if there's anymore women in there,” I pointed inside the castle, as the doors had just been opened to us, “that I need to know about. I'd appreciate a heads up before I start yelling at another lover of yours thinking she's a murderer because she's giving me the evil eye.”

“
Vervain, she's not-” but I glared at him and his jaw clenched down on the words. “There's no one else in there,” he finally growled.

“
No one else in
there
?” I broke eye contact angrily. “So there's more in other kingdoms then?”

“
This was all before we met,” he groaned. “Did you actually think I was celibate for
fifteen millennia
?”

More chuckling erupted from the red cap peanut gallery until Arach glared at them over his shoulder.

“How fucking stupid do you think I am?” I growled, watching Taraghlan's wings twitch. “Enough! We're not having this conversation now. Save it.”

“
Fine,” he growled back at me, making our guide's wings shiver.

“
This way,” Taraghlan said with forced gaiety as he led us up a staircase.

We followed in grim silence, entering a room filled with more grim and silent people, although I was sure they were grim for another reason entirely. It was a collection of the noble fey
again, gathered around a table this time, each holding a glass of amber liquid and staring at it instead of each other.

“
Queen Vervain,” High King Cian jumped to his feet as soon as he saw us enter the entirely too bright room. Everything was white, it reminded me a little of Blue's dining room but Blue had some accents to alleviate the starkness, this room didn't, just white and more white. “King Arach, please join us.”

Queen Aalish glared at me from her seat next to her husband. Of course, her again.

“What do you have there?” King Cian had noticed the air flower.

“
Oh, it's a present from the air pixies,” I tried to smile but it was hard to do when my face felt frozen.

“
The pixies have taken to giving Vervain presents,” Arach clarified with no small amount of glee.

Queen Aalish glared harder.

“The pixies?” King Fionn looked over the box in my hands. “Our pixies gave you this?”

“
That's right,” I swallowed hard, not wanting another fight but knowing I had to keep my word to the pixies. “They want to be treated with respect, like the Water and Fire pixies are.” I paused to give King Guirmean a little head nod, to which he smiled back. “I know this is hard to understand, that you've always treated them this way, but it has to stop. You can't continue to abuse your own people. If you do, they will cease to be yours.”

“
Are you threatening to take our pixies away like you did the Earth?” King Fionn stared steadily at me.

“
Would that bother you?” I asked instead of answering.

“
Yes, it would.”

“
Alright then,” I shrugged. “Show that to them. Treat them better and they won't leave, simple as that. I won't take them from you but if they come looking for sanctuary, I will provide it for them. Everyone should have a place in which to feel safe and loved.” I cast an irate glance at my cheating husband.

“
So be it,” King Fionn growled, his wings twitching angrily.

“
Let's all sit down and have a glass of mead, shall we?” King Cian asked nervously.

“
Isn't there a crime scene you'd like us to see first?” I got right to business, now that I'd said my piece for the pixies.

I wanted out of this kingdom fast, then I wanted to slap Arach, tell him to fuck off and die, and go home to the God Realm where I could hopefully find a quiet corner to cry in before my other lovers came looking for me. Fuck my life. And yes, I know I'm being an asshole but love makes assholes of us all. I think I'm going to embroider that on a pillow.

“I'm not sure if you would label it a crime scene exactly,” King Cian frowned. “There was some kind of kerfuffle, the results of which are not nearly as impressive as the last scene we witnessed, but which do indicate some level of violence.”

“
Can we see it please?” I was trying my best to keep my voice level. The last thing I wanted to do was take out my anger on the High King of Faerie... and
kerfuffle
? Wow, I really wished I was in the mood to enjoy that word.

“
Of course,” King Cian gestured to King Fionn and Queen Breana, rulers of the House of Air. “Will you take us to the room again?”

“
Yes, High King,” King Fionn stood from his backless stool and helped his Queen to her feet. Her butterfly wings rustled in a distinctly distraught manner as she let her husband lead her out
of the room and down the hall toward the left.

We walked through silken white marble corridors, rounded to look more like tunnels than hallways. Everything was smooth, floors, walls, and ceiling, and I wondered if it was to prevent accidental damage to delicate wings. Light was everywhere, probably due to the mass amounts of windows allowing it to enter unimpeded. The white stone seemed to magnify it though and I felt my eyes start to water. If I didn't start crying over Arach, I was going to start due to light sensitivity. I wasn't enjoying Castle Blàthaich at all.

Finally we entered a room and it was blessedly lined in beautiful tapestries, giving my eyes some much needed relief. Unfortunately, the tapestries had seen better days. It looked as if a tornado had hit the room, tearing the fabric and breaking several items in the process. I took it all in from the doorway; the flipped bed, strewn clothing, and the curtains that were half out of the open window.

A tornado. That almost got a chuckle from me. There was a whole
Wizard of Oz
theme going on.

I winced when I realized everyone was watching me, waiting for me to do something unusual. I frowned and tried to ignore them. Sometimes I felt like a pet monkey when I was in Faerie, all the fey waiting for me to dance for them. Then I saw it, a smudge of dirt on the windowsill. I made a beeline for it, sinking to my knees to bring my eyes to its level. The royals closed in behind me.