“You’re sure she wasn’t fae?” Aaron asked. “There are probably quite a few exiles out there living in secret. Just because Caledonia doesn’t execute azuri fae anymore doesn’t mean all the kingdoms are on the same page or would welcome back those they’d kicked out.”
Huck shook his head. “Round ears and normal eyes.”
“But astral fae can cast illusions to change their appearance,” Rory reminded him.
“I don’t think so,” Huck told him. “She didn’t move like one of them or even like we could after we’d been to the Otherworld. She definitely didn’t want to be followed. If she could have moved faster, she would have.”
“All she said was ‘fire heart’?” Munro asked, deep in thought.
“Yeah, but those were the exact two runes I put into the crystal. It wasn’t a coincidence. She read my intent.”
Rory understood why the American druid wanted so much to be believed. He was the newest, and in some ways, an outsider. The other druids had been born in Scotland. All but Munro were water druids, so they had something central in common. More importantly, they’d gone through so much together in the past couple of years. Huck was a lone wolf, but perhaps they hadn’t worked hard enough to make a place for him.
“If she can read runes, her powers have already been awakened, which means she’s encountered a faerie sometime in her past. Unlocking doesn’t just happen,” Rory said, wanting to show solidarity with Huck.
“I think someone else was watching her too,” Huck said. “I thought I saw a figure in the alley near her house, but when I looked again, there was no one there.” He shrugged. “For all I know, the whole thing was my imagination.”
Rory felt another pang of compassion. Huck was making excuses and not trusting his instincts, the same way Rory did when he thought he detected Flùranach’s presence at the square today.
“How can we be sure?” Aaron asked. “Maybe we should talk to her. We’ve discussed how we would approach another druid, but dropped the idea. Now that we can’t find them…” He faltered, obviously not wanting to mention Flùranach and her talent for detecting druids. “I had put those plans out of my mind, to be honest.”
“We can’t be certain,” Munro said. “Not unless her talents are already manifest and she can make talismans herself. If she’s developed enough to be able to read runes, though, she surely knows what she is. The real question is, if she is a druid, where is the faerie who unlocked her? In my experience, the only ones who can uncover latent talents in humans are either a compatible faerie, or a faerie with the ability to detect a druid.”
“Like Flùranach,” Rory said absently. The others looked at him uncertainly. Why did they think he would fall apart at the mention of her name?
“Could she…” Aaron glanced at Rory before continuing. “Could she be in the Netherlands? Could she be the one who unlocked this woman’s talent?”
“Possibly,” Munro said. “On the other hand, this woman might have been unlocked by an exile we’ve never heard of. We shouldn’t jump to conclusions.”
“We need to get back on track looking for other druids,” Rory said. He wasn’t the same wreck he’d been before. He didn’t like being treated like a fragile mess. Sure, he’d become a little distant, maybe, but he wanted to get on with life.
“How?” Aaron asked. “Without someone like Flùranach, we can’t find them. We can’t even prove this girl of Huck’s is a druid without just walking up and asking her.”
Huck chuckled. “I doubt she’d be open to that. I suppose we have no choice. If she is a druid, maybe we can help her.”
Determination surged in Rory like he hadn’t experienced in a long time. “I have an idea where Flùranach went.”
Every eye turned to him, and the silence stretched for a few minutes before Munro asked quietly, “How?”
His sense of her in the courtyard had been fleeting. Nothing would make that story sound sane. “Just a hunch. I want to check it out.”
“What about the girl in Amsterdam?” Huck asked.
“Give me a couple of days. It probably won’t take that long. I think…I think Flùranach is closer than we suspected.” Rory bore the weight of their expectant stares. No one wanted to question him about how or what he knew. “You know how she was before. She couldn’t stay away even then. I don’t think much has changed.”
“You think she’s here in the Halls of Mist? Which Hall?” Munro asked.
“I’m not sure, but I believe she was at the gathering today.” He nodded in the general direction of the distant courtyard.
Aaron said, “We can’t trust her. Even if she is close, we should take the news as a warning, not as the solution to our problems. Don’t the rest of you remember what she did to Rory? How she viciously attacked him?”
A flush of shame reddened Rory’s face, and he hated showing the weakness. “I think if I’m ready to at least talk to her, the rest of you should be willing. I knew six months ago we’d need her if we were going to increase our numbers, but I refused to forgive her when she asked. It’s my fault she’s gone. I had the power to stop her, but I let her go.”
Aaron was still angry, but Rory understood why. The other druid was afraid. He didn’t want to end up a magical cripple like Rory was. Flùranach had the power to maim any of the unbonded druids. “And you have forgiven her now?” Aaron asked.
Rory didn’t have an answer for that. “I’m at least willing to find out if she’ll work with us. I’m planning to find her and talk to her, no matter what we decide about the rest. I have to. For my own peace of mind. At least as a druid, all of the Halls will receive me. I think I’ll know if she’s near enough, even if they stonewall me.”
“Okay,” Munro said. “Do you want help? I’ll come with you. Just say the word.”
“No, but thanks for offering,” Rory replied. “You should be with Eilidh. She’ll need you right now. Huck can tag along to the Halls since he has more frequent contact with the queens than I do. Some of them may still be around after the shifting today. If we find Flùranach and can convince her to work with us, we’ll take her to Amsterdam, assuming Konstanze will give us passage through the German portal.”
Aaron glowered at them. “Fine,” he said. “Find her if you must. I’ll be the last person to say you shouldn’t deal with your own issues, but keep her away from me. Far away.”
Rory gave a nod of agreement. After all, what were the chances he’d actually sensed her presence? He might never find her. If he did, could he face her? Despite his brave talk, he felt vulnerable, confronted with the reality of encountering the woman who’d scarred him for life.
“All right,” Munro said. “I’m off to Caledonia, and I’ll talk to Douglas while I’m there, tell him what we’re planning and find out when he’s thinking of coming back.” Douglas still spent most of his time in Caledonia with his bonded faerie, Prince Tràth. He was the only one of them who didn’t make their permanent home at the Druid Hall. Munro gestured to Huck. “Can I have a word alone?”
Rory stood and made his way out, saying he wanted to grab a few things before they left and promising to be right back. Munro was going to chide Huck for selling those talismans, and he didn’t want to make the ordeal worse for Huck by giving them an audience. Rory understood why Munro would be cautious. If the humans found out about the fae, who knew what might happen? Sure, faeries had magic, but they were far outnumbered. The entire race could be wiped out in a trice by guns and modern weapons. Although they had the option to retreat into the Otherworld, that would mean a much slower, but equally permanent, death of their race. Without access to the human realm, faeries couldn’t offer the required sacrifice to the Mother of the Earth to ask for the blessing of fertility. By peddling his fire rocks, Huck put the secrecy of the entire fae race at risk.
After talking to Huck, Munro immediately headed through the portal to Caledonia. On the other side, he gave polite congratulations to Bran and the other Watchers, who greeted him as they celebrated the growth of the kingdom and the addition of new gates.
His mind was far away, though, with Eilidh and her promised
third
husband. As soon as Munro could make his getaway, he hurried on. Travelling to the castle at Canton Dreich, Munro thought about the time not so long ago that he was merely Eilidh’s secret lover. Eilidh’s first marriage had been a political one, and Griogair didn’t want to come between Eilidh and Munro. The pair shared a deep, magical bond and were so much a part of each other, sometimes he couldn’t tell if his moods were his own or a reflection of Eilidh’s.
Over time, Eilidh had fallen in love with Griogair too. They hadn’t expected the romance to blossom. Coming from a traditional Scottish background, Munro never would have believed he would accept a three-way arrangement. In the end, he and Griogair had become like brothers, both loving and supporting Eilidh in a role that had already cost her so much. Munro and the prince worked things out, gave each other space, and understood the other always had Eilidh’s best interests at heart.
This new guy, Prince Koen, threatened the delicate balance of their arrangement. He barely even looked old enough to shave, but likely he was over a hundred. Funny how Munro had come to believe a century was young, when he himself was only in his mid-thirties. Over the years with Eilidh, he’d adjusted to the fae way of thinking. Where would Koen fit into their lives?
Munro understood that she was a queen, and as such her role was bigger than her personal desires. They would never share a normal existence even by fae standards, much less human ones.
The landscaped whizzed by as he pondered and ran. Canton Dreich grew nearer by the second, and still he had no idea what he would say to her. A part of him was angry at her choice, but even more than that, he was shocked. She hadn’t even paused to consider him or Griogair before she made such a monumental commitment.
Crossing through the last lush forest on his way to Eilidh’s castle, he barely noticed the scenery or paused to relish their bond, as he often would when entering Caledonia. Instead, his mind buzzed with
what ifs
and
whys
.
Her presence nestled in his thoughts, and his feet pointed straight to her. The longer they shared the rare and ancient fae-human bond, the more naturally he sensed her responses. At the moment, varying emotions flooded her mind at once: worry, annoyance, exhaustion, and exasperation. Beneath it all, however, an undercurrent of her love for him surged into his awareness. Without that frequent reminder, their relationship might not have endured as well or as long as it had. He recognised that no matter what else happened, she loved him deeply, and that knowledge made so many things bearable.
His internal compass led him to a formal reception room on the third level of the castle. He nodded to the saluting Watchers he passed and tried not to notice the servants who melted out of view as soon as he approached.
Without pausing to be announced, Munro strode into the room, past the courtiers and attendants, past the twenty-four members of the joint conclave. He nodded to Prince Koen and his father and walked directly to Eilidh, who sat frowning on a wide, carved wooden throne. Prince Griogair stood behind her, leaning languidly with his hand resting on the high back of the throne. His swirling violet eyes met Munro’s, and the prince gave the druid an almost conspiratorial tilt of the head.
“Your Majesty,” Munro said with a respectful bow.
Eilidh’s stiff posture reflected the rigidity in her thoughts. She had avoided Munro’s gaze until he spoke, instead listening to the conclave, who chattered hurriedly to one another. Finally, she turned to Munro. “My lord druid,” she replied. “I didn’t expect you today.”
He smiled, hoping to break the tension. “Surprise,” he said quietly.
Although she didn’t return his smile, a ripple of silent laughter moved through their bond. She often said she loved his distinctly human nature.
“I thought I’d come meet this lad you’re planning to marry,” he said, careful to keep his tone light, even though she would detect his inner conflict.
She nodded and gestured to her other side, and Munro moved to a position opposite Griogair’s but a pace forward. After all, as a druid, he technically outranked her. Still, that tradition was ancient and hadn’t been observed for years, so Munro took care not to push the boundaries of propriety too far.
“I present Princes Koen and Estobar, formerly of Andena,” she said to Munro, then turned her attention to the two men before her. “I introduce you to Lord Druid Quinton Munro.”
They both nodded to Munro with respect, but
Koen’s expression revealed his unmasked curiosity
.
His aqua eyes evaluated everything about Munro, taking in his appearance, his clothing, his closeness to Eilidh
, and the glance he gave Griogair.
Munro couldn’t decide if his immediate dislike for the prince was rooted in the lad’s manner or the too-pretty, long dark lashes and full lips.
Estobar’s appraisal of Munro appeared equally calculating, but at least he was much more subtle.
Then, as though they had noticed his presence, the members of the joint conclave also acknowledged Munro and spoke quiet words of greeting.
The scene struck Munro as a strange one. Considering how odd he still found fae politics, that was saying something.
“Prince Koen,” Eilidh said pointedly to Munro, “wishes to establish himself in his own castle, along with his father and attendants and Watchers who are formerly of Andena.”