“A cat uses every surface available to him,” Hunter declared in the manner of a student quoting his teacher.
“Very good, Son,” Roarke said approvingly.
“See?” Anna huffed and stood up.
“My love!” Roarke jumped up after her. “Hunter, stay with the Fire Princes; I must brave your mother's claws.”
“Okay, Dad! Good luck!” Hunter called after Roarke; who was already chasing Anna out of the hall.
“It's never a dull moment in Castle Aithinne,” Lugh said as we stepped up to the high table.
“Good morning, Prince Lugh,” I said. “Have a nice night?”
“Good morning, Queen Vervain.” Lugh nodded respectfully to me before doing the same to Arach. “King Arach. And yes; I had a lovely night. Thank you for asking.”
“Welcome back to the Fire Kingdom, Prince Lugh,” Arach said graciously.
“Dad, can we go play with Hunter?” Rian asked as soon as the greetings were over.
“After you've broken your fast,” Arach said.
“Come here, little princes,” Isleen called as she held her arms out to the twins. “You too, Hunter; you can sit with the princes while they eat.”
This wasn't a concession. Technically, Hunter was also a prince. The Cat-Sidhe were a subgroup of faeries and had their own royalty. When Roarke had become the first fire cat-sidhe, he'd also become the first fire cat-sidhe king (he was a prince before that). Hunter is Roarke's heir. The whole family could have sat at the high table, but Roarke and Anna were more comfortable when they weren't on display. Cats prefer to watch the world from their safe perches, not be watched.
The three princes ran ahead of Arach and I and took the seats beside Isleen. She smiled brightly as she filled plates, and I wondered if she had missed having a little dragon-sidhe boy around to nurture. Whatever the case, I was glad for it; it gave Arach and I some time to eat in peace. Little boys are messy eaters and half of my meals were usually taken up by wiping their faces.
“How is everything in the God Realm?” Lugh asked me. “Have you seen the Celts lately?”
“No, I haven't,” I admitted. “I've been a little busy with an issue that's recently come up.”
“What's that?” Lugh asked.
“Two of Luke's demons were”—I dropped my voice to a whisper and leaned in so the children wouldn't hear me—“murdered. We're trying to find their killer.”
“How awful,” Lugh said sincerely; his golden eyes widening slightly. “Is there anything I can do to help?”
“Not unless you know anything about Yama,” I said flippantly as I filled my plate.
“The death god that was trying to raise Dvaraka?” He asked in surprise.
“Yes; Brevyn had a vision last night of the man who I believe is the murderer,” I lowered my voice again. “He appeared to be a Hindu god, and Yama was known to have a tool that could harvest souls.”
“The demons had their souls taken?” Lugh's eyes went wider.
“While they were possessing humans,” I said with a nod. “I know; it's a lot to take in.”
“Brahma would know better than I,” Lugh said. “But I'm fairly sure that Yama had a wife.”
“He did?” I asked.
“I think so.” Lugh grimaced. “I didn't pay all that much attention to other pantheons; there was so much drama in mine.”
“It's okay; I can ask Brahma,” I said. “I was just hoping to get some research done here.”
“Researching gods in Faerie?” Lugh asked. “Good luck with that.”
“Yeah; I suppose this isn't the best place for it,” I agreed. “It's just that with the Ring, I can jump back to when I last left the God Realm. So, it's like I've been given some extra time to look into this.”
“There's always the Inter Realm, my Queen,” an imp said as he passed by the high table.
“I didn't think of that,” I said with a chuckle. “Thank you, Scotaidh.”
“My pleasure, Queen Vervain,” he said. “I can even look into it for you if you like.”
“I would appreciate that,” I agreed readily.
“I'll be back in a jiffy!” Scotaidh announced excitedly as he ran from the room.
“I stand corrected,” Lugh declared. “I guess you can research Gods in Faerie.”
“All while you enjoy the comforts of your faerie home and husband,” Arach added as he pulled my throne closer to his.
I was about to kiss my not-so-subtle husband when Rian shouted, shifted into a dragon, and flew out of the hall. Brevyn and Hunter cheered him on and chased after him; waving their little fists in the air like revolutionaries.
“Rian, you come back here and eat your apple!” Isleen called after my son.
As I said; Isleen is big on tradition, and apples are sacred fruit for faeries. They weren't, however, sacred to young dragons. I just shook my head as Isleen huffed. You have to choose your battles with children; they are some of the most devious foes around.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Scotaidh was true to his word and by the time I'd finished breakfast, he had returned.
“Queen Vervain,” Scotaidh said and then bowed; making his three-foot-tall body into a little mound of fur. “I have found the information you sought.”
“Yes! You go, Scotaidh!” I exclaimed.
Normally, a statement like that would have caused some confusion, possibly even sent the poor faerie stumbling from the hall at what they thought to be my command, but the Imps were as familiar with human colloquialisms as I. They'd been stuck in the Human Realm when the paths to Faerie were closed. They'd lived there, among humans, for all these centuries; immersing themselves in our ways. It was how they'd learned to navigate the Internet.
“Thank you, my Queen.” Scotaidh bowed again. “The High
