Azuri Fae (25 page)

A dark-haired faerie Eilidh recognised as Cane, a talented young teacher, came into the room. “Lady Eilidh, you must come with me. This house is not safe.” He took a stunned Eilidh by the arm and guided her out, with Munro and the other druids following close behind.

“Where are we going?” Eilidh asked.

“Elder Oron’s house has other protective enchantments that will shield you. The barriers on Beniss’ house died with her,” he said as they stepped outside.

In the night air, Eilidh could smell the familiar loamy scent of the Otherworld. “Faith,” she swore. “They have opened the Skye gate?” Dread filled her. Skye could quickly be overrun with kingdom Watchers and the queen’s elite guards if the gate remained open.

“Hurry, please,” Cane said, trundling her toward the village. Faeries ran around them, some fleeing the earthquake, some shouting and calling out to others. Eilidh had never seen such chaos. They ran ahead, leaving the druids behind. Eilidh looked back, but Munro stayed with his friends rather than keep up. She hoped they would not be long and that he merely stayed back to protect them and make sure they arrived safely. That was his way. His words of self-sacrifice had pierced her heart. He would give up his claim to her for the sake of her people and to show his love. She doubted she would have made the same choice, if the Higher Conclave asked
him
to mate with another, with her watching from the shadows.

When they arrived at Oron’s house a few minutes later, they passed guards stationed around the perimeter. They inclined their heads to Eilidh. It seemed sudden, so unreal. How could any of this be happening?

“The meditation room is the most protected,” Cane said. “Prince Trath and the druid Douglas are there already.”

When they reached the bottom of the stairs, Eilidh stopped. “Go back. Make sure Quinton Munro and the other druids arrive. They must be kept safe.”

Cane shook his head. “Oron ordered me to stay with you.”

“I have fifty guards outside. Go. They are more important than I am.”

He hesitated, as though not sure if he should obey the conclave leader or the future queen. Fortunately, the front door opened and saved him from having to decide. The four druids came in, looking harried and alarmed.

“This way,” Eilidh said and led them upstairs.

She was intimately familiar with Oron’s meditation chamber, having spent many hours there breathing, focusing, and exercising her mind. She felt suddenly grateful for the practice, because aside from Cane and Munro, the others were agitated and nervous. The room had no furniture except for floor pillows and kneeling benches. Someone had piled a few cushions together and Trath reclined on them. Eilidh crossed the room to greet him. “Your Highness,” she said with a tentative smile. She nodded to the druid who sat with him. “May I sit?”

A smile quirked across Trath’s lips. “A queen does not ask to sit down.”

Eilidh returned his smile. “You can expect me to do a lot of things a queen doesn’t do.” She made herself comfortable beside him. “You look well. Your essence feels stronger to me.”

“Douglas,” Trath said, “Could you give me a moment with the lady?”

The druid hesitated only a second before replying, “Sure. I’ll say hello to the guys.” He stood and went to the opposite side of the immense chamber. Eilidh heard him say, “Hey, I’m glad you all made it over. I was worried.”

“What shall I call you?” Trath asked. “Lady Eilidh? In a few hours, assuming we’re all still here, it will be Your Majesty. Or perhaps Mother. I haven’t called Cadhla that in years.”

“So you’ve spoken to your father,” she said, treading carefully. She could feel the unrest in his mind.

He answered merely by tilting his head.

“You can call me Eilidh, if you want,” she said. “I think we’d both feel a little silly if you called me Mother, considering you’re fifty years older than I am. Besides, I’m not queen yet, and Griogair and I aren’t mated yet.”

“Yet,” he repeated. When she acknowledged with a half-nod, he said, “You’ll make a good queen.”

She smiled. “You’ve only just met me, but it’s kind of you to say.” She felt a wave of nausea as the earth shuddered, then suddenly stopped.

“You saved my life,” he said seriously. “I was trapped. It’s never happened like that before, not for so long.” He frowned, and she was struck by how much he looked like his father, except his eyes were a startling shade of blue instead of deep violet, and while Griogair did not look old, he had a line or two beginning to crease his brow.

“It’s going to be a difficult road,” she said, putting her hand on his. “But I will help you as much as I can. It was hard for me too, but at least I found others with my same talent. You…”

“I stand alone,” he said.

“As far as we know, but azuri have been flooding to Skye for days now. There may yet be others somewhere in the world. This colony was unknown except in a vague rumour until last year. Who’s to say there aren’t a hundred temporal fae tucked in a Romanian mountain hideaway? Don’t give up hope.”

“You are too kind,” he said softly. “I haven’t known a lot of kindness in my life.”

Eilidh felt her resolve grow. “This is what we’re fighting for. The right to exist. The right to survive. I want to end the prejudice against those who walk the Path of Stars.” She was talking more to herself, understanding why she had to accept the crown and why she had to take Griogair as her mate, regardless of what it cost her personally.

Another round of fierce shaking made the house’s foundation shudder.

“How many are out there?” he asked. “How many did she send to kill me?” He closed his eyes, looking weary.

“I don’t know.”

Trath tapped his temple with a smile. “Well, find out.”

With practised, smooth focus, Eilidh’s vision went dark, and she dipped into the astral plane, feeling the flows all around her. She shifted her sight upward and scanned the village. She saw a fire spreading on the far side, and her heart clutched. Of all the azuri fae on the island, she was the only one with a bonded druid, and therefore the only one who could touch enough water magic to put it out. Unless… “Have you bonded with Douglas yet?”

Trath seemed startled by the question. “Bonded? I don’t know how. We do have some connection, like I’d found a long-lost brother, but I don’t understand it.”

“We’ll talk about that later. For now, I have a fire to put out.” Eilidh headed for the door, but Cane stopped her. “The village will burn if I don’t do something,” she said.

“You cannot put yourself in harm’s way,” Cane said. “You will be our queen tonight.”

“I am the only one here with water magic,” she pleaded with him.

The five druids also stood and came toward the door. “What’s going on?” Munro asked.

“I’m sorry,” Cane said. “You are safe in here. Someone else will have to tend to the fire.”

“With what?” she shouted. “Buckets?”

“My father has some water magic,” Trath said, and Eilidh whipped around to look at him.

“Of course. I never even thought to ask…” Her voice trailed off as she focused again, this time finding Griogair, touching his mind.
Fire on the north side of the village. Please help.

Suddenly Oron came in. “Thank the Father of the Azure you’re all right,” he said to Eilidh. “We have dispatched a dozen lookouts, and three elders are working to reseal the Skye gate. They can hold it for a while, but we all have to get off the island before they break through again and bring an army with them.”

“And go where?” Eilidh asked. “She will know every escape route, and we will be pursued by five thousand Watchers with another five thousand waiting in the Highland forests, hoping to catch us in their net. She told me once she would use every Watcher in her forces to wipe us out if she had to.”

“What choice do we have?” Oron said. “We can repel some, but while we are more powerful in some ways, they can outnumber us twenty to one. Not even I can stand against that. This first incursion came to test us, to see how quickly we could respond. They will be delighted to see how helpless we are against their numbers.”

“We can hide,” Eilidh said. “Trath?” She rushed back to the prince. “Can you do again what you did before? In Auchterarder? You seem stronger now. Can you do it without hurting yourself?”

“I could make the shift easily, but the danger is in the return.”

“I’ll bring you back, just as I did before. I promise.” Then she said to Oron. “How long can the gate seals hold?”

“A few hours at most, but more likely less than an hour. They are trying to break them even as we are working to set them.”

“Elder, I’m calling everyone here. Trath can hide you until they pass.”

“Hide
you?
” he said. “You mean hide
us
.”

She shook her head. “I have to stay outside the bubble, so I can bring you back. There isn’t time to debate it. Are you ready?” she asked Trath.

“Yes,” he replied.

Eilidh closed her eyes, ignoring the protests of everyone around her. She sent the message out into the aether, projecting as far as she could.
All come to Elder Oron’s immediately.

“Who is working on the gates?” she asked.

“Galen, Qwe, and Dalyna.”

Eilidh focused on those three minds and instructed them one by one to hold the gates closed by any means necessary until they heard from her again. It frustrated her, being unable to hear any reply, but she hoped they would obey her command. They had to, if her plan had even one chance in a hundred of working.

To Oron she said, “I must go outside the bubble with Griogair. Pull everyone in as tightly as you can, so we can be sure no one is left outside. They will be unable to defend themselves against the onslaught.”

“I’m coming with you,” Munro said. “No arguments.”

Eilidh paused, then sensing his resolve, relented. “All right, but when I tell you to hide, go to the forest and hide. They won’t be able to sense you because you’re human, so stay unseen until it’s time to bring Trath back, and go when I order you to.”

She could tell he didn’t like it, but finally he nodded. “Agreed.”

Aaron offered, “You’ll need us too. We did play our part in locating him last time.”

Eilidh shook her head. “I can’t spare you other druids. If you are caught, you’ll all be killed. Your lives are too important.”

“And if we get stuck in that bubble, don’t forget, you’ll be the only azuri left,” Aaron countered. “You’ll need our help.”

She sighed. “All right. Stay with Munro. Hide when he does.” To Trath she said, “I’ll send you a message when we’re outside the bubble. How far do we need to go?”

Trath shrugged. “I don’t know. It changes, but it seems to get larger every time.”

“Very well,” she said. “Far enough to be sure.”

She sent a quick thought to Griogair, telling him where to meet them. She opened the door, and the house filled with faeries. “Cane, please help us get through this crowd.”

“Yes, milady,” he said.

“Go,” Oron said. “I’ll get everyone as close to the house as possible.”

Cane led the way, gently asking people to step aside to let them pass. All eyes were on Eilidh, and she felt naked in a way she never had before. This
had
to work. She looked in their eyes and realised their lives were in her hands. If this plan failed, if she got trapped in the bubble, if she couldn’t retrieve Trath, if he wasn’t strong enough to make another time shift, she would have made their entire population an easy target for Cadhla’s forces to surround and pick off.

It frustrated her that the other druids couldn’t run fast, and she wondered if she’d been wise to bring them. If Douglas was killed, the grief would distract Trath. At least, she mused, they hadn’t bonded yet.

They met Griogair at a roadside layby a mile south of the village with nothing around. No houses, no cars, not a soul. Just a few sheep dotting the distant landscape, with mountains rising up beyond.

She explained the plan to Griogair, whose face darkened more with every word. “You’re risking the life of my son,” he said. “He is not strong enough.”

Eilidh took his hand. “If you are to be my mate and consort, you must trust me, Griogair. He is strong enough.” She sent waves of calm toward him, but his will was like iron, and she found his thoughts difficult to subdue.

The druids remained awkwardly silent. She knew the humans, apart from Munro, wouldn’t understand her choice to take Griogair as her mate, but she had to bear that disapproval in silence along with the other burdens that rested on her shoulders.

“I’m sending the signal to Trath,” she explained, then directed a short message to the crown prince that said simply,
Now.