Chapter Thirty-Three: Charlie
Fake Zerian was smiling sweetly at King Finvarra. He was chewing his food and watching both of us as if he knew something was up, only he wasn’t exactly sure what it was. He thought it was his kingly right to know everything. Too bad, Gramps. “What are your plans for today, granddaughter?”
“I would like to help.”
My forkful of eggs hung in the air on the way to my mouth. “Didn’t you say you were going read that book you were enjoying?” I croaked, beginning to panic.
“In what way would you like to help, dear?” Fin asked.
“My magic is strong. I am certain you can find something suited to my gifts.”
No, no. “This is a very bad idea. You should stay inside where your dad’s spies can’t find you. It’s safer there.”
Finvarra grinned at me and my stomach sank into the soles of my feet. “Since the ritual when your blood mixed with mine and the others of my line, Faerie’s magic has snapped into shape again. None of the slaugh will make it past our borders now and anyone who attempts the vortex will be torn to shreds. Anyone. Traveling outside my realm through the lines may only be done with my permission.”
He switched his focus back to my Z-clone. She was eating bacon. Wait. Wasn’t she a vegetarian? Or was that Linn? I groaned. This was too much stress for one guy.
“Are you unwell?” Zerian asked.
“Fine. Just fine.” I used a napkin to wipe my brow, which was beading with sweat.
“I must tell you, dear one, but there is no way for you to return to the Unseelie Realm.”
Unless they’re a figment of someone’s imagination and they just poof out of existence. I gulped down my coffee and rose to refill it.
“No more caffeine!” Fin ordered. “I need your body to be in perfect condition.”
Fake Zerian beamed at me. “Charles’ body is already in perfect condition, Your Highness.”
I spit the last of my coffee into the potted plant beside me, coughing out the few drops that had run down my windpipe.
“I did not mean you could not swallow what was in your mouth,” Fin said, frowning at me, then twisting his body to glance toward FZ. “You may join us this morning, princess, and we shall see what unfolds.
Unfolds, huh? I was getting ready to unfold all over the grass. I rubbed my face and tried to think of a way I could arrange a private minute with my creation. Oh. Wait. I had this. “Zerian, can you block out Fin?”
“Charles, I am yours. I am able to block out whomever you choose.”
“I want you to go to your room and read for the rest of the day.”
“Faerie needs my help.”
“I thought you said you had to do what I told you to do.”
“You want me to help Faerie.”
“I do?”
“Of course. You are an honorable male who wishes to help his people.”
“But you have no magic. You’re not real.”
“I am as real as you make me.”
“You can…?”
The book that was sitting beside her at the table suddenly disappeared. When my eyes widened, she sent, “I returned it to my room.” She rose from her seat. “If you’ll excuse me, Grandfather, Charles, I will return in a quarter hour.”
After she left, Fin decided that staring at me was a good idea. I disagreed. “Are you and Zerian bedding each other?”
“No. Absolutely not.” I met his gaze full on so he’d know I wasn’t lying.
“I would not object, but the usual protocol for a non-member of the court would be to come to her guardian for permission.”
“Her guardian?”
“Me. She is near Brina’s age. Young for a fae, but certainly an adult. Linn is your age and she—“
“Please stop. I really don’t want to hear what my Cousin Linn is doing or not doing.”
“So Zerian isn’t—”
“She isn’t…we’re not…”
He chuckled. “You are blushing like a girl.” I stood up and walked to the path that led along the rose garden, now blooming in a rainbow of yellows, reds and pinks. Fin followed. “Ah, now you are angry. I apologize.”
“What work are we doing?” I asked, wanting to get his mind off Zerian and me.
Fin was laughing when FZ reappeared, dressed in the usual tunic, breeches and boots of a fae warrior. She did not carry a weapon, however. “Can you use a sword?” Fin asked his fake granddaughter.
“I am embarrassed to say I have never been trained in the use of traditional weapons.”
“We will have to remedy that, correct Charles?”
“Um…”
“Follow, please.” Fin disappeared without a word as to where he was going.
Great. I grabbed Zerian’s hand and dove into the lines. The amazing glow of his aura was an easy marker and a second later we were standing on a cliff overlooking a tapestry of healthy forests, green and gold fields and sparkling lakes and rivers. The sky was dotted with demi-fey as they traveled from garden to garden, working their unique magic. Troupes of seelie and elves worked the land, preparing it for planting or grazing, manipulating each acre of the recovering land with tools or with magic, depending on the need.
But at least a third of the visible land was still diseased, showing no signs of growth. No one tended that soil or unearthed those hidden springs. Fin didn’t have the numbers required to do the job, unlike Naberia, who could’ve rejuvenated three times the amount of land. And here he was, dedicating all his energy to his land and his people instead of preparing for the war. How would he win against her?
Fin turned to us. “Faerie was healthy when I left it in the hands of my son, Caelen. He ruled for only two hundred human years. When he passed the crown to Fionna, it was still thriving, but she began to drain the resources with idle pursuits. When she saw what she had done, she feared another of my children might attempt to take back the crown. And when Naberia stirred once more, threatening war, Fionna panicked, draining my people of their magic and Lady Faerie of her power and storing it away.
The King of Faerie’s demeanor changed in half a heartbeat, his eyes turning black and gold with rage and frustration, his fingernails transitioning to claws. “Inside this mountain is the chasm where Fionna buried and obscured the magic of my realm, where she stored it to battle any enemy who might attack her, thinking nothing of the safety or the health of her people. She drained the lifeblood from my realm, my people’s realm.” When he raked his gaze across Zerian and me we both shuddered. “Your realm too, if that is your choice.” He turned away again, surveying his injured world. “My eldest daughter destroyed The Balance with her selfishness and fear and never once felt regret. My people suffered because of my neglect. I do not deserve their loyalty and yet it given to me with joyfulness.”
Fin was suffering as much as Faerie. “What can we do?” Zerian asked, moving closer to the seelie king.
“The work is hard, but they enjoy it, do you agree?”
“Yes.”
“Many of them sat idle and helpless for too long. I could not release the stored magic right away due to the depth of the disease. Since the blood ritual the realm is more receptive. Perhaps today we will be successful.” He narrowed his eyes; now back to the deepest of purples. “You do not have to join me. The path is dangerous. Fionna has planted many traps.”
“I’m in.” There was no question the magic had to be reunited with the realm and its ravaged land. The suffering of that one small cluster of elves before I’d released the spring that fed their territory had been grim. I would not turn my back on this male or his realm when he needed me so badly. Not if I ever wanted to look at myself in the mirror again and call myself a healer. Or a man.
Fake Zerian smiled and nodded toward her king, then cast a sly glance in my direction as if she commended me for my quick response. Everything about this lovely clone was real, down to her mesmerizing scent.
“You’re like the others, right? The others I created in the UR?”
“Yes. We are exactly what you need us to be.”
I sighed in relief and grinned in her direction. Fin beamed at both of us, probably thinking we were excited to be going. “Place your hands on my shoulders and I will take us to the starting point.”