Chapter Four

 

“Lee!” Evan strode up to her brother in the torchlight. “How could you tell her that way?”

My world seemed to be reeling.

My father was gone?

Dev had moved me into his arms, giving me his strength.

“Yes, I would like to know the answer to that question as well, son,” Daniel said, his voice cold as the snow outside.

Even in the gloom I could see my son had paled. “I’m sorry, Momma. I…I’m rattled and I didn’t think I would be. You asked me about Mia. She’s a sore subject for me. I’m sorry I said it that way.”

“We don’t know Mia’s dead.” Rhys looked like a ghost in the torchlight. The shadows played over his face. “We never found a body. Any of their bodies.”

“They told us,” Lee replied quietly.

“Olivia told us, and Liv lies now. If Myrddin killed them, he would have made sure we saw the bodies.” Evan moved in front of me. “Momma, we don’t know that Aunt Sarah and Uncle Felix didn’t get out. And Granddad wants to see you. He’s been waiting so long.”

I breathed a deep sigh of relief. He wasn’t dead. Lee must have been using a euphemism. Like my going missing killed my dad. “I need to see him.”

I heard Dean saying something in Latin and then the torches flared, and I could suddenly make out where I was far better than I could before. It was warmer, too. Dean stood near where Kelsey held Eddie’s small hand in her own. The butler looked up to Dean and nodded.

“Thank you,” he said quietly. “The cold gets to me when I’m tired. It is warmer inside.”

“I’ll leave you to explain to our mother,” Evan said to her brothers. “I’m going to take my punishment and get it out of the way.”

“Like Sasha punishes her.” Fen rolled his eyes as he started down the long tunnel after Evan. “She starts to cry and then he’s the one apologizing. Meanwhile, when I screw up, I end up running laps and chopping wood for hours. It’s better to be a girl.” Fen turned, walking backward with no effort at all. He pointed to Dean. “If you’re responsible for the light and warmth, thanks, man. You’ll have to come by our place. No matter how well I get the fire going it’s still chilly.”

Dean nodded his way. “It’s nothing more than a warming spell.”

“It works and I’m grateful.” Fen turned and jogged after Evan.

“Rhys, it looks like the whole village is waiting on us,” Evan shouted from the end of the tunnel.

“Our place?” Dev asked. “Tell me he isn’t living with Evan.”

“We’ve all lived together for years,” Rhys said. “And you should go easy on Fen. He protects Evan with his life. He would give it for her. I promise they’re good together or I wouldn’t have allowed the relationship at all.”

Lee snorted. “Like you could have stopped it.”

“If I thought the relationship wasn’t good for her, I would have found a way. Like I did with you and the barmaid in Oslo.” Rhys walked along and I found myself walking after him.

So no one was one hundred percent sure dead. It was good. I clung to that as we made our way toward the light at the end of the tunnel. I could see it now, light and green grass. Fen reached Evan, and his hand found hers as they walked into that light.

“I wasn’t serious about her,” Lee argued.

“You said you were going to marry her,” Rhys shot back.

“Well, she served stout mead and had very large breasts. I was distracted by them,” Lee replied. “I say crazy things when I’m drunk.”

He shouldn’t be drunk because he was eleven.

“Well, that answers one question. Lee turned into me,” Dev said with a grin.

Daniel’s eyes had that glow that let me know his vampire senses were open. “Oh, don’t think he’s not my son, too.”

Daniel moved ahead of us, not bothering to explain what he meant.

“I want to see my dad.” I felt Dev’s hand squeeze mine. “Lee was joking, right?”

“I assume something’s happened, but he also said your father was still a pain in his ass. So it sounds to me like Harry is fine.” Dev stopped, allowing Kelsey and Dean to move ahead. “Are you all right, my goddess?”

I shook my head. “No. I’m horrified. We left them for twelve years.”

“And now we’re here,” Dev replied. “I know it’s a shock, but we have to remember that they’re still our children. They still need us, and they’ve missed us. You hurt Lee when you wouldn’t hug him.”

“I hugged him.” I had. Hadn’t I?

Daniel had stopped up ahead, staring toward the entrance.

“He felt your lack of enthusiasm,” Dev told me. “I know you want to get out of this timeline, but we’re here now, and we must make the best of it. We’re about to walk through that door and into whatever coalition our kids and Trent have built. For now this is our army. They cannot see the depressed and horrified mother. They have to see Daniel’s queen. Do you understand me?”

It wasn’t fair. “I don’t get an hour to mourn?”

“I’ll give you many hours to mourn, my goddess, but this will not be one of them. Our mourning must be done in private.” Dev smoothed back my hair. “This is our return. This is history.”

“It won’t be when I find a way back,” I vowed.

“Then it shouldn’t be hard for you to put your chin up and be the queen we need you to be.” Dev was excellent at turning a situation around. “Our children have worked hard. They’ve been at war for years, preparing for this time. We must give this moment every bit of attention it needs. Pomp and circumstance have their place.”

As it had in the beginning. I did know this game. We’d been forced to play it before, and Devinshea had been the one to guide us through.

“Hey, are you two coming? Z, you need a moment?” Daniel had made his way back to us.

Dev looked to him. “I was explaining that we need to go into royal mode. I know that the two of you are processing…”

“Processing the fact that Myrddin stole twelve years of time with my children?” Daniel’s tone had gone glacial. “That he stuck a stone in my head so he could control me? That he took my crown and our home? I do not need to process that, Devinshea. I understand there is some prophecy out there that claims Lee or Dean will kill the wizard, but I’ll make that bastard wish for death. I will make him beg my son for the killing blow. Make no mistake of that. You’re going to ask me to hold my head high and walk into whatever we’re walking into like the King of All Vampire should. I am more. This is my plane. He might hold it for now, but his time is running out. I remember how to play this game. You taught me well. When I walk out there, they will see a king.”

Dev was practically drooling. “Is it wrong to say I find you extremely sexy right now, my king?”

Daniel’s hand went to the back of Dev’s neck, tangling with the hair he found there. He tugged and got into Dev’s space. “I will process this later in a very physical way.”

“I look forward to it.” Dev took a long breath, and the lust that had taken over was replaced with the smooth politician he became when we needed it.

I had to find my will because they were right. I couldn’t walk out there like the shell-shocked mother I was. I couldn’t cry and beg for someone to take me home no matter how much I wanted to.

“Put it aside, my queen,” Dev whispered. “You don’t have to think about it right now. This evening when we’re alone, we’ll talk about what there is to be done.”

Daniel took my hand. “But for now I need you. The children need you.” He brought it to his lips, kissing my skin. “I know you have a thousand questions, and we’ll find the answers.”

“Do I look all right?” It was ridiculous but Dev was correct. Appearances mattered. We would need allies, and that meant giving them confidence in the crown.

We were the crown.

“You look beautiful.” Daniel leaned over and brushed his lips over mine. “You remember how to do this. We haven’t been formal with the exception of ceremonial functions for years.”

He stepped to the side and held out a hand. I placed mine in his. Dev moved to Daniel’s left. I straightened my shoulders and we began to walk.

We emerged from the tunnel to find a whole vibrant village under the mountain. A village filled with Fae and supernaturals.

There were trolls and brownies and sidhe. I thought I recognized a few werecreatures from the Council. There was a crowd of them, and they seemed to hold their breath as we walked through the entrance to this magical realm. Faery lights gave the place a soft glow, and Arwyna took off from Dev’s shoulder, joining the large kaleidoscope of pixies fluttering in excitement at the return of their queen.

There were hushed whispers, and then a great shout went through the crowd.

“Long live the king!”

“The king has returned!”

“Down with the wizard!”

I looked over and Evan was grinning, leaning against a tree, with Fen by her side. Rhys and Lee stayed close to them, Lee’s eyes trailing over to where Dean stood with Kelsey. They both looked like they were happy to stay out of the spotlight.

A familiar face rushed through the crowd toward Kelsey.

“Casey’s here,” I whispered Daniel’s way as I waved to the crowd. “I pray that means the academics made it out all right.”

The academics were a specialized group of vampires. Marcus Vorenus had been the leader of the academics and Daniel’s greatest supporter. We trusted the academics always, and any war would be hard for us to win without their support and wise counsel.

Sure enough, I caught sight of Hugo and Henri at the back of the crowd. Henri’s companion was beside him. Kimberly Jacobs had a smile on her face as she joined the crowd in their cheers. Diana Spelling had an arm locked through Hugo’s, and I was so glad they’d all managed to get out.

I let go of my fears for the moment because they needed hope, and we represented that to every being in the crowd. How much had they gone through? How hard had these years been on our friends?

Out of the corner of my eye I saw another familiar face, this one making my blood chill. The elegantly dressed vampire stood at the edge of the crowd, leaning negligently against a fence.

“What the fuck is Alexander doing here?” I breathed the question, not expecting an answer.

Alexander Sharpe was a vampire I always stayed away from. He’d been around for more than a hundred years. The Victorian-age vampire had played an interesting role in history, an infamous one. He’d been Jack the Ripper, and despite his knowledge in the medical area, I wished the Council had never welcomed him into the fold.

Of all the vampires I knew, Alexander is the one I would happily have left behind.

But he was here. Here with the resistance. Here with my children. I didn’t like that idea at all.

“Rhys Donovan-Quinn!” A deep voice boomed over the crowd, and everyone stopped as though they did this man’s will.

I looked back and Rhys had stepped up, his shoulders going straight and chin coming up as though standing at attention. They’d all done it. Lee and Evan and Fen formed a line next to Rhys. Good soldiers. That was what the last twelve years had turned my children into, soldiers, and the big vampire striding toward them was obviously their general.

Sasha.

He wore jeans and a dark sweater, combat boots on his feet. He looked to be in his mid-thirties, with dark hair and harsh features that somehow worked together to form a starkly attractive face. I’d spent a few weeks with Sasha the previous year… Well, in this timeline it had been thirteen years ago. We’d taken a couple of weeks to help Sasha through his transition. I liked the man, though he’d been quiet and contemplative when I’d known him. At that time, I’d wondered if he would ask to walk into the light. He’d learned his wife was dead and his daughter lost to him. He’d made some hard decisions, and one of them had been to live.

Now this man stood in front of my children, his hands on his hips and a frown on his face. “What did I tell you? Has your hearing gone, Rhys Donovan-Quinn?”

I started to walk toward them but Daniel stopped me. He had to stop Dev, too, because my faery prince clearly had the same reaction I did. Neither of us liked the idea of our kids being dressed down by someone who wasn’t their mom or dads.

“Don’t. He’s been their leader for years,” Danny whispered.

“No, sir.” Rhys’s expression had gone stony. “I heard you, sir.”

“Then why did you defy me?” Sasha asked the question on a low growl, his Russian accent thick.

“Because you were wrong, sir,” Rhys replied.

“We had four different dates, and we decided on one.” Sasha loomed over Rhys despite the fact that they were roughly the same height. “We agreed that summer of next year was the most likely date for the return of the royals. We only had enough magic for one attempt at rescue.”

“We don’t need another,” Rhys replied, his eyes coming up. “We don’t need another because we saved them. I know you and the academics and Trent used logic, but sometimes we have to go on feeling, on instinct. I felt them coming. I felt it in my soul. You thought that feeling was hope, but I knew it was right. I accept any punishment you feel you must dole out, but my siblings and Fen are blameless. They were following orders.”

Evan snorted. “As if I would follow your orders blindly. We all agreed.”

Sasha shook his head. “Lee has never followed orders once in his life, and you could not make Fenrir do something he did not wish to do. Even for all the beef jerky in the world. Only Evan can control him.”

“She makes really good jerky,” Fen said with a grin.

All of the kids had relaxed, as though they knew they’d gotten through the worst of it.

“Yes, that’s the reason,” Sasha said with a shake of his head. He put a hand on Rhys’s shoulder. “You followed your gut. You are a true leader, Rhys Donovan-Quinn. I wish you would have fought with me, made me understand, but I also know I am a stubborn ass much of the time. You brought your parents out and you lost no one. You are everything I trained you to be.”

I watched Rhys’s jaw tighten as he fought the emotion that had to well inside of him.

My baby was a man and a soldier, and he seemed to have a wonderful teacher.

Sasha turned and the whole village released a collective breath. “Your Highnesses, you have no idea how happy I am to have been wrong. Welcome to our village. We named it Frelsi, which is Icelandic for freedom. I’m more than pleased to turn it all over to you, as well as the primary care of these soldiers of mine. They are the best, the finest I have ever had the pleasure to train.” He turned to the crowd and raised a hand. “The king is not dead. Long live our king!”

A cheer erupted, and the happy chaos began again.

Sasha strode up and held a hand out to Daniel. “My king, tonight we will feast and drink and celebrate. Tonight is for reunions. But in a few hours, we’ll meet in the great house and I will answer all your questions. Our plight is grave, but the war will turn now. Thanks to your children.”

Daniel dragged the vampire in for a manly hug. “I want to know everything, but I cannot thank you enough for taking care of our kids.”

Sasha bowed his head formally. “It was my honor to do this for you, to have the chance to shelter the children as mine has been all these years.”

Sasha’s daughter had found a family to love and care for her, and he’d paid it back by loving mine. I could see it clearly in his expression and in the way my children looked to him. He might have been their general, but they adored him.

Sasha greeted us all with handshakes and hugs as the villagers started to set up tables and the ale began to flow.

“I must go and inform Trent of what has happened.” Sasha turned to Kelsey. “Would you like to come with me? He’s waited all these years to hear your voice again.”

Tears in her eyes, Kelsey nodded and followed after him, Eddie walking with her and promising to make her as comfortable as possible.

Dev put an arm around me as Daniel moved through the crowd, greeting all of them. “It’s going to be all right, my goddess.”

I didn’t know about that. It wouldn’t be all right until I held my children in my arms again and saved them from ever having to become soldiers at all. Still, I leaned against my husband and let his affection soothe me.

Lee approached with a young woman. She looked to be in her mid-twenties and had dark skin, her hair a curly crown that topped a lovely face with wide warm brown eyes.

Was I about to get another shock? Had Rhys saved Lee from the busty bartender because he had a girlfriend here in the village? I’d lost the chance to see love bloom between Fenrir and Evan.

“Momma, Papa, I want you to meet Shahidi. We call her Shy, though it’s a misnomer. She’s not really shy,” Lee said with a grin.

“I am right now,” the young woman corrected. She was dressed in jeans and an emerald green sweater, boots on her feet. “I’m going to be honest. I didn’t think I was ever going to meet you. Do you prefer Your Highness or Your Grace? I’ve been told you go by both. Rhys teaches a class in royal etiquette. I am not his favorite student.”

Lee snorted. “Yeah, he can’t stand you.”

“He complains often enough,” Shy replied.

“It’s not you he’s complaining about.” Lee turned back our way. “We met Shy when she showed up outside the mountain seven years ago. She camped out until we let her in.”

“I don’t like camping, but your grandfather wouldn’t let me do anything else. Stubborn old man,” Shy complained, but there was affection in her tone.

My dad? Relief poured through me. “Where is he? I would love to see him.”

I missed my dad, and it had only been a few days since we’d talked. He’d been one of the last people I’d seen before we went missing.

“Maybe we should go sit down.” Lee looked around. “This could be a bit of a shock.”

Shy’s eyes changed, going all black, and her whole body seemed to shift, shoulders softening, the expression on her face becoming something oddly familiar to me. “Hello, me darlin’ girl. It’s been so long, and I’ve missed you. Devinshea, you still need a haircut. You look like a girl.”

Her accent had become a deep Irish.

“Harry?” Dev asked.

I barely heard the question because the day had been way too much for me, and my peripheral vision started to fade.

Dev caught me even as I heard Lee sigh.

“Told you we should have eased her into it, Grandad.”

I let the darkness take me and prayed this was all just a dream.