Cale hadn’t been happy to be left behind, but since this wasn’t a prophecy task, there had been no argument for him to make to come along.
We’d spent so much time together now it did seem strange to be going somewhere without him, but I didn’t want him with me while I plied the truth out of Duff’s brother. I knew Cale would disapprove of my methods, but a goddess had to do what she had to do. I’d given my word.
Duff set her pot of gold at our feet and sighed before she chanted the portal into existence. I looked down at the top of her head as I shook my own.
Though it cost a lot of energy to do so, it was a fact that Gods and Goddesses could expand their bodies to a larger size. Even at my current mortal size of six feet plus, I would be a giant in the Otherworld where the tallest height of a Leprechaun warrior didn’t top five-foot-five.
Everyone in the Otherworld was small of stature except Elves and the Trolls used for Otherworld guards. The Leprechauns were a little taller than the Sprites and Light Fairies, but even in their shortness, they towered over the more ancient Trolls like Shengis. Trolls shrunk with age the same way humans did, only more dramatically.
That was not the case for their Celtic deities. The Tuatha de Danann were tall and fit like those in my pantheon. Besides being granted a long life, the Celtic gods and goddesses often bestowed the gift of a larger size on their mortal yet magical Druids. I knew that because I’d dated more than one Druid in my life, and they were all taller than me.
What can I say? I liked ink, especially the natural kind that meant something profound. Magic zipped along those tattoos and pulled on my interest like a magnet. But I couldn’t say the same for the Tuatha de Danann themselves. They rivaled the Norse pantheon in their arrogance and in their conviction that they were always right.
Since I preferred to be the one who was always right, I wasn’t interested in dating my own kind. My casual dates were with humans—typically soldiers with attitudes like mine about not forming attachments. For friends, I preferred demigods from my pantheon and magicals from others.
“It’s finally opening,” Duff said. “I’ve had trouble making them since Hamlin took the throne. My time-stops aren’t working as well either.”
I braced myself as we walked through the portal. Did I expect an ambush on the other side of it? Of course, I did. Once a warrior, always a warrior.
But it turned out that no ambush awaited as we stepped through.
We were met instead with clear blue skies, a field of beautiful flowers growing beside a bubbling brook, and with a hundred tiny Sprites giggling as they flew between blossoms.
Duff frowned and sighed again as she looked around.
Being the good friend I was—or wasn’t—I empathetically sighed as well. “Good Gaia, Duff, this place is worse than visiting the Underworld. It’s so… dare I say, perfect? I can see why you’d prefer your noisy bar full of drunken mortals to being in this paradise.”
Duff grunted as she looked up at me. “Even paradise gets old when ya can’t escape it.”
“But you did escape it, or we’d have never met,” I pointed out.
“No, I merely was allowed out for a time,” Duff said sadly. “That’s not the same as being free to leave forever.”
I could see there was no use trying to convince the reluctant Princess Duffinnia that her homeland wasn’t such a terrible place to be, so I let it drop. I was far more concerned with the giant castle ahead of us. Maybe an ambush waited for us there. I felt something coming.
“What kind of fight should I expect from your people?” I asked.
“I have no idea.”
I tried again. “What kind of warriors do you think Hamlin will send to stop us?”
Duff glared at me. “Do I look like a walking crystal ball? They didn’t train me to deal with such things. They said I didn’t need to worry about conflict.”
“But…”
How could a future queen not be trained to deal with uprisings and the possibility of war? Duff was the next heir to the throne. She needed to be taught everything. I shrugged to stop my runaway concerns.
“Clairvoyance isn’t in my skillset either. Maybe we should have drank some Fairy Meade for second sight before we left the Mortal Realm.”
We stopped at the end of a bridge that led across a moat and inside the castle walls.
“Too late now,” Duff said as she unhappily tromped across the bridge.
Trumpets suddenly blew, and soldiers popped out of nowhere to form a safe path Duff could walk through. They soon closed ranks behind her, which left me standing just off the bridge, completely unnoticed.
Okay, now I could see why she hated it here. They sent guards, but no official came to greet her. Their princess in name only was a treasure, but not an actual person with feelings and emotions.
I followed behind Duff and her insta-guards as we passed through the castle grounds until we came to a courtyard entrance flanked by more guards. I could see over all their heads and what I saw inside that entrance were lush grounds, a streaming fountain, and Duff turning back to glare at me.
“What are ya doing so far back, Atlanta? Get yerself up here,” she ordered.
I grinned when the guards turned and looked at me with surprise. I was a head taller than them. How could they have missed seeing me until now?
“Sorry, Princess. I’m coming,” I answered.
“Are ya planning on calling me that the whole bloody time we’re here?” Duff demanded.
“Probably,” I answered with a grin.
The guards suddenly parted to allow me a wide walkway to get to Duff. Now was a perfect time to make sure they knew I hadn’t come unprepared.
I put my hand out to one side and called a green energy sword into existence. Seeing the alarm in their eyes, I morphed it into a walking staff.
“Better?” I asked them. The guards gasped at my power, which I was relieved to learn worked in Duff’s homeland.
“Show-off,” Duff muttered when I got to her.
“I have my reasons,” I explained, waving my hand for her to lead the way.
* * *
A cathedral ceiling arched above the throne room. The floor was spacious enough to hold a thousand people. Or a thousand soldiers, which is what bothered me. Fortunately, that wasn’t what we found.
There was a large glass case in the center of the floor. Duff’s parents stood next to each other inside it, encased in some sort of amber resin. From the wide-eyed, stunned look permanently captured on their faces, you could tell the identity of the person who’d done this shocked them.
I left Duff’s side and walked closer to investigate. I was about ten feet away when I got an energy reading from the glass case or what was inside it. It was nothing I could identify, but the energy pulsed like a heartbeat.
I lifted my hand and closed my eyes to get a better look.
“Atlanta?”
A masculine laugh interrupted what I was doing and drew my gaze. Dressed like his frozen father, Hamlin looked like King Theodore’s mini-me.
I stepped away from the case, drew myself up tall, and bowed as low as comfortably possible to the man as he approached. He was about the same height as Duff.
“Greetings, Prince Hamlin. It’s a pleasure to see you again.”
“Ya’re always so formal with me,” Hamlin said with a grin.
I watched his grin fall away as he turned to Duff. “Hail to ya, Princess Duffinnia. What brings ya back to the palace so soon? I thought ya had many important things demanding yer attention.”
Duff narrowed her eyes as she stepped closer to her brother. “I told ya I was going to recruit someone to help us figure things out. Atlanta has agreed to help me.”
Hamlin lifted an eyebrow as he looked back at me. “What did she offer ya, Atlanta?”
“Everlasting friendship and to sing at my wedding,” I answered with a smile.
“I fear ya’ve made a poor deal. Have ya ever heard Duffinnia sing?” Hamlin asked.
“Only once when we were both drunk. I believe my wedding guests will find her entertaining.”
“Planning to marry soon, are ya?” Hamlin asked.
I lifted a shoulder as I smiled. “Maybe in the next century or so.”
“Really? Do ya think ya will live that long? Given that ya’re turning mortal and all. My parents were very concerned about the plight of the Greek pantheon. They’re big believers in keeping a balance among us all—whatever that means.”
I laughed and changed my staff into a sword again. I held it up in front of my face. “Do you always believe every rumor you hear?” I moved it down and switched it back into a staff again.
Hamlin laughed at the show. “Ya still delight me, Goddess.”
I smiled warmly. “I wish I was here for better reasons. What happened to your parents, Hamlin?”
He looked at the glass case as he shrugged. “Honestly, I don’t know. I think one of their many enemies did this. It’s not magic from our realm, or at least, not so as I’ve been able to figure out. Our best people are working on it, though.”
I saw Duff glowering over his answer, but I ignored her. “Your parents were benevolent rulers from what I’ve heard, and that wasn’t only from Duff. Their people’s love for them is known even in the mortal realm. I’m surprised your parents had enemies.”
“Now who’s believing rumors?” Hamlin asked. “If ya believed they were beloved by all their people, then ya know little about the politics of ruling. All royals have enemies, and I’m sure ya know alliances can be broken in a blink.”
“I’ve never been involved with my family’s politics, so I’ll take your word for it. But I’m also surprised you didn’t talk Duff into doing her royal duty. She’s the destined heir.”
“Ya don’t have to defend me to my brother,” Duff grumbled.
Hamlin grinned at her discomfort, which meant he was enjoying the situation.
He lifted a hand palm up. “If ya’re truly Duffinnia’s friend, Atlanta, then ya should know ya can’t talk my sister into doing anything she doesn’t want to do.”
I looked Duff’s way and smiled at her. “What I know is that Duff can take care of herself and those she cares about.” It was as kind a statement as I could make since I still wasn’t over her letting Zeus into our house.
“Did my sister tell ya that Mum and Da promised her she wouldn’t have to rule for a few more centuries? She’s been making deals like that for her entire life. Duffinnia makes no secret about not wanting the throne.”
I shrugged. “I didn’t want the family role I currently have either. As I recall, you didn’t aspire to rule either, Hamlin. Last time we talked, you said you wanted to travel the Mortal Realm with me and have grand adventures.”
Hamlin narrowed his gaze. “That was a long time ago, and I was a youth still. With Duffinnia’s public abdication—temporary or not—the responsibility of ruling fell to me as next in line. The time of Leprechauns reigning supreme in the Otherworld will soon be ending. With the king and queen out of the picture, we can’t let all of Otherworld suffer a lack of leadership while we all wait.”
“Which is why I’m spending my valuable time trying to restore our parents,” Duff said firmly.
“Ya’ll be wasting your energy if they’re already gone, sister. If the best of our magicals can’t figure out what happened, what chance do ya think a rookie spell caster like yerself has? The only spells ya’ve ever weaved are ones that help ya run away. No one makes escape portals like yers.”
Duff stepped forward and lifted her fist. I grabbed her wrist and pushed it down before she connected. Too bad I didn’t think to bring duct tape for her mouth.
“Why don’t ya admit the truth, brother? Ya’ve wanted the throne all along and all the glory that comes with it. But do ya know what unlocks the treasure? Well, I do. And ya will never have it so long as I have breath. And if I find out ya played even a small part in what’s happened to our parents, brother, I promise ya will suffer for it in the most creative ways I can imagine.”
“Now ya get to see Duffinnia’s true self,” Hamlin said with a snort. “I’ll send a couple of guards to escort the two of ya around while ya’re here. My sister attracts trouble, and I can’t have her disrupting the peace I’ve created without her royal help.”
Hamlin turned and walked off.
“Hamlin?” I called out, never letting go of my grip on Duff. There was a small part of me that wanted to believe Duff was reading her brother wrong.
He stopped and turned back to look at me. “Don’t fret over this, beautiful. I know ya’re only here doing yer friend a favor. Next time ya visit me, though, I hope it can be for more pleasant reasons.”
It was clear that Duff’s outburst had ruined my plan to seduce the truth out of Hamlin.
Now we’d have to go with Plan B.
I said nothing while I watched Hamlin walk by the glass box without even looking at his parents. If they were genuinely dead to him, why didn’t he hide them away somewhere his people could protect them from public censure? Sitting in the middle of the throne room, they were like a horrific piece of art.
Or was that the point? I couldn’t tell.
“Lying bastard,” Duff said when I finally released her wrist. “Why did ya stop me from hitting him?”
“Because right now, a full-out fight would be a terrible idea. We don’t know what happened to your parents yet. Accusing your brother of treason could stop our efforts to figure this out.”
“My gut says Hamlin is at the bottom of this.”
I glared at her. “I told you I probably couldn’t fix this, but you insisted you wanted me to look into it. Well, this is me looking into it. I might win a battle with fists, but winning the ongoing war won’t happen so easily. So stop tormenting your brother and hoping he’ll confess. That’s not going to happen, and it’s a bad idea.”
Duff held up both hands. She paced away and took a few breaths. “Leg warmers were a bad idea a couple of decades ago, but I bet ya owned a pair.”
I grinned as I looked down at Duff. “Didn’t everyone?”
Duff snorted. “Good Gaia, no. I was into sundresses and combat boots like yer sisters. Only ya much older ladies wore leg warmers.”
I held out my staff and let the energy absorb back into my hand. Duff like to redirect, but I felt confident I’d gotten through to her.
“Fashion in the Mortal Realm is at least fun. In the God Realm, fashion is always about getting elaborate gowns made from the finest silks and the most beautiful lace. I always liked gold belly chains, though. I still have a few tucked away somewhere.”
“Ya like them because ya’ve always had the abs to rock them,” Duff grumbled.
“Still mostly have them,” I said, patting my almost flat stomach. “They’re getting a little soft, but nothing a few hard workouts won’t tighten back up.”
“So now what?” Duff demanded.
I smiled at her question. “Now we need to find a friend who’ll tell us the truth.”
Duff grunted. “We have all the friends we need, but ya insisted on leaving yer Dragon champion and his horde behind.”
“I’m not talking about a friend of mine. We need a friend of yours. Who among your people is loyal to you, Duff? We need someone who will tell us what’s really going on here.”
Duff groaned and scrubbed her face with both hands. “No, please don’t ask me that—anything but that.”
“Why?” I asked with a laugh.
“Because,” Duff said, stomping as she left me to trail behind. The Leprechaun Princess did quite a lot of stomping.
My heart melted when Duff stopped at the glass case holding her parents and put her hand on it. She talked a big talk about hating them, but I always knew she loved them too.
She ran back to them anytime they called. You don’t do that out of loyalty. You do that out of love.
Duff ran her hand over the glass separating her from them. “Regardless of what Hamlin says about ya, I don’t believe ya’re dead, and I won’t stop searching for a way to free ya both. I may be a disobedient daughter when it comes to yer ideas about how I should live my life, but I swear that I’m loyal to the Otherworld throne. And when I find who did this to ya, I will make them pay for their treason.”
I stopped and put my hand next to Duff’s on the glass. I felt the energy of the binding, the vibration in the surrounding glass, and buried beneath all those layers was a life force. “I don’t think they’re dead, Duff. They’re trapped like Indar was inside the Dragon statue.”
Duff nodded. “And that, my Goddess friend, is why I brought ya here. I needed someone to believe the truth with me.”