I thumbed through another yellowed document. This one described Aine’s consort. The male Finvarra defeated to win Aine’s heart, or at least her throne. According to the author, the male was not all that popular in Faerie. If Fin hadn’t killed him someone else might have.
I replaced the scroll and sipped at a mug of spiced cider, settling back in large chair. The archives contained hundreds of scrolls and manuscripts, most a recorded history of the Cascade Sidhe. Unfortunately, it was more likely most of the information regarding Queen Aine would be found in the archives at the Court of Faerie. I didn’t wish to travel to court and might not be allowed to go. The archdemon had put a stop to most travel.
Of course if Fionna was successful, this research would prove unnecessary.
Father thought he had made it impossible for us to travel the lines, but Fionna and I had learned to take and store small amounts of energy to use in an emergency or if an unexpected opportunity presented itself. She was currently using hers to search for her mother, the very queen I was supposed to be researching. I hadn’t heard from Fionna since she left, but I was hopeful she’d made the journey safely.
My sister and I no longer saw eye to eye on what was best for Faerie. She wanted to be back in power. To reign again with her dynamic mother by her side. She felt what she did was worth the risk. To her, death was preferable to living the life of a common fae.
For me, as long as Charles lived and thrived, I wished to live as well, even if I only saw him on rare occasions. He was my heir, the end of my line. But more importantly, he was my son and I was his father. I’d seen him twice a year for eleven years, an agreement I’d forced Jacqueline to accept. At first he was more an object of my hope for the future, rather than a family member. Eventually I’d started to look forward to those meetings more than my rational brain could understand. At fifteen he’d told me he no longer wanted to meet with me and I was shocked by how those words had shredded my cold heart.
Now, more than anything, I wanted to be on the field of battle when my son destroyed Naberia. Father would never agree. I’d be left behind in Faerie.
It had taken two hours of pleading for Father to agree to my working so closely with Jacqueline. But he stepped into my mind and my heart on a regular basis now that I was in Cascade. Any sort of privacy was hard won. In this particular case my motives were clear. I was not a danger to any member of the Cuvier family. To anyone at all, at this point.
Dread passed over me in waves of aching pain at the thought of never seeing my son again. He could already be dead in the Demon Realm or may die on the field of battle. I’d lost everything - the bulk of my magic, my position, my physical form - and couldn’t reconcile losing him as well.
I grunted in exasperation. My mind had wandered and I wasn’t paying attention to my task. A locked chest sat on a shelf in the far corner of the room. It was not protected by spells, so I used a touch of magic to open the lock.
“What are you doing here?”
A familiar voice forced me to my feet. “Your majesty.” I bowed to my father, a male who could shred my mind or welcome me back to the family with open arms. I was simply hoping to survive this conversation. If I lied, he would know and he would send me away. Or worse. I couldn’t let that happen. “Jacqueline Cuvier sent me to gather information regarding Queen Aine.”
“Did she? What have you found?”
“Very little. The archives at court would bear more fruit.”
“You should have asked me. What is it she wants to know?”
“She heard someone speak of her earlier. I believe Lady Cuvier feels Queen Aine may be a danger to Charles.”
“It should not be possible for Queen Aine to return to Faerie.”
“So you say.”
“You disagree?”
“The ley lines run through the far reaches, your highness. She may have become more powerful than ever.”
“You were always quick, Winter.”
By addressing me by the name I’d taken in the new form he’d forced me to wear, Father reinforced the truth that he would never again call me Kennet or refer to me as his son. I didn’t crave his comfort. I’d never been one to show affection, never been shown affection as a child. Laughter was a punishable offense in my early years with only my sickly mother and little sister as company.
Bile born of anger rose to my mouth. I sent to his mind instead of losing control where someone might hear. “I am surprised you remember anything about me at all. You were rarely around when I was small.”
“I accept the blame for that. But my queen was ill and threatening to take vengeance against my children, including you and your sister. It was better I kept away.”
“Easier for you.”
“Winter…”
I stared out the window, unwilling to look into the face of the male I’d prayed would rescue me from my abusive mother. “My younger sister and I took the brunt of our mother’s wrath. I tried to protect Korwyn but who could I go to? Everyone deferred to you and Queen Aine and you wanted nothing to do with us or Jorrenn, or Dinestri, or Argon. The children you sired outside of your binding to Aine. Only Caelen and Fionna were golden.”
I turned and met his dark gaze, in control once more. “Kill me if you wish, but don’t send me away. Charles is the only reason I have to live. You’ve made it impossible for me to speak to him as his father, but I will never turn my back on him the way you did me.”
“I’ve asked for your allegiance to Faerie and you have given it, but your heart may have chosen a second path. I will use this allegiance to protect our realm.”
King Finvarra, my father, drew the ancient spelled dagger he carried in a sheath on his leather belt.
Whether he intended to kill me or force me to swear an oath, I wasn’t sure. I knelt at his feet.
“Will you swear by blood to do everything in your power to protect Charles above all others, even if Faerie itself seems to turn against him?”
“Yes. Yes, Father, of course. He is my son.”
He’d never allowed me to call him Father. He didn’t correct me today.
“Will you also swear to protect your sister Korwyn and her family as you have in the past?”
“Yes, Father.”
“If the queen returns with Fionna, I will be forced to defend Faerie and the realm’s magic. To protect it from the harm Fionna or Aine may do. This is the weight I carry. It will mean I cannot travel to the Mortal Realm.”
“I understand, Father.”
“I also charge you with the protection of Jacqueline and Garrett. Charles is your first priority, but I fear his spirit will fade if he loses one of his parents. Faerie needs him.”
“I cannot swear to protect Garrett.”
“You must, or I will certainly send you away.”
Worse than any death.
“The Dark Lord of the Wild Hunt will collect you if you betray the conditions I set forth in this binding spell. Reveal Charles to his enemies and you will suffer for time eternal. Faerie will be lost if the archdemon imprisons or kills him.”
“I understand and I swear to obey the binding.”
A goblet appeared on the ground by my knees as the king slashed my wrist and his, drops of our blood mingling as he softly spoke the spell. The words he used were archaic, rough, powerful beyond my knowledge. I’d secretly studied the ancient version of our language but did not know these particular words. Under the king’s rule, learning them was an offense punishable by death.
The room melted away and the king reached toward the sky, calling for a sacrifice. A peregrine flew to his arm. The king was gifted with a powerful charisma he put to use on these occasions. Animals could not resist his magic.
The falcon’s blood joined ours in the goblet. The king added a mixture of herbs and the liquid turned clear. We drank and my body sang with the magic of the spell, then bent double as violent cramps assaulted me.
“To remind you of what lay in store if you forswear the oath.”
My father’s motives were difficult to understand. His words could be cryptic, his actions confusing. In the past I might have believed this to be a terrible error on his part. I was stronger because of the spell. But I was now bound to Charles’ goals and dreams in a far-reaching way.
He’d given me purpose, where before I had dreams.
I stayed on my knees. “Thank you for trusting me, Father. No one else ever will, but this is enough.”
He offered me his hand and helped me stand.
“That is true for Kennet, but not Winter.”
“I will not let you or Faerie down.”
The goblet disappeared and the King of Faerie smiled. “Now where is Autumn?”