“Bye-bye, Brothers!” Lesya called merrily after them. “Goodbye Uncle Arach! See you soon, Mommy!”
“I'll be back in just a few seconds, baby,” I promised.
Then I traced to Faerie with my Fey family.
We stepped out of the trunk of the Great Tree at the End of the Road and strode over to our royal coach. It waited behind a team of phookas, guarded by a regiment of red caps. The boys started calling out their hellos to the massive goblins while Arach and I smiled at the warm welcome the Red Caps gave all of us. And then, Faerie showed up.
I cannot believe you! You are in big trouble, young lady!
I rolled my eyes.
“It wasn't my fault,” I grumbled.
“Faerie?” Arach asked, and I nodded. “Perhaps you should have that conversation in your head, A Thaisce.” He looked pointedly at our sons.
You tried to conquer the world!
I nodded again at Arach while I helped Rian into the carriage. Arach set Brevyn inside and then climbed in after our sons, but I took a moment to mutter to the consciousness inside my head.
I went bad; you know that. It's why I left in the first place.
I should have kept you here. I should have—
You couldn't have done anything, Faerie. I had to fight that battle on my own. I climbed into the carriage and gave my boys a fake smile.
“Welcome home, Mother!” Brevyn declared.
We were back to “mother” and that made me smile in truth. It meant that Brevyn felt safe again and when Brevyn felt safe, so did Rian. So did I, for that matter. Rian looked from his brother to me and added his grin to the mix.
“Thank you, baby,” I said. “I gotta talk to Faerie for a little bit, okay?”
“Okay,” the boys chimed together and then they popped up to stand at the windows, one to either side of the carriage, and stare out into the Forgetful Forest eagerly.
Al told me about Viper, Faerie said softly. It's incredible. He wasn't meant to come into your life yet.
So I've heard.
At least something good came out of that mess. Al told me about your breathing starlight when you were a dragon; dark starlight. The Trinity Star without morals to restrain it and without fate to guide it; what a terrifying thing.
It was. And it took nearly all of its power to right the wrongs we did together.
So I see.
Do you know if it will ever get back to its former strength?
I can't tell you that. Your future depends on your ignorance.
You don't have to sound so smug about it. I grimaced at Arach. “She's being vague again.”
Arach chuckled. “I think that's part of her job.”
I tell you what you need to know. Speaking of which, you might want to ask your phookas to head toward the Air Kingdom.
What? Why? I sat up straight. Out loud, I said, “Tell the phookas to head to Air!”
“What? Why?” Arach mimicked me.
Because Queen Breana is about to give birth, and she has requested your presence.
I smiled as I fell back against the cushions and then started to laugh. Once more, we'd arrived in Faerie with perfect timing.
Chapter Fifty-Six
“King Arach, Queen Vervain!” King Fionn of Air exclaimed as we entered the antechamber where he was pacing. His completely black eyes widened in surprise and his enormous monarch butterfly wings shivered anxiously. “Thank you for coming so quickly. My wife is very nervous, and she dearly wanted Queen Vervain to be with her. You must have flown here, I just dispatched the messenger...” he trailed off, likely realizing that there was no way for a messenger to have reached the Fire Kingdom yet.
“We just returned from the God Realm,” Arach explained. “Faerie asked us to come.”
“Faerie brought you to us?” Fionn beamed. “Breana will be so pleased. And you've brought your sons too. Thank you for coming, Princes of Fire. It's an honor to have you at the birth of my child.”
“We're very excited to meet our new friend,” Rian spoke with a proper royal demeanor.
I stroked Rian's crimson hair approvingly. “I have to go and help Queen Breana now. You two stay with Daddy.”
“Yes, Mother,” the twins said together.
“Eris, please take Queen Vervain in to see Queen Breana,” King Fionn asked a sylph who was standing nearby.
“Yes, my King,” the Sylph stepped forward and bowed to Fionn and then me. “Queen Vervain, this way if you please.”
As the woman moved, parts of her went hazy, shifting into her element. It was eerily beautiful, her pale hair becoming mist at the ends and her feet barely touching the floor. It was as if a phantom were leading me to the Air Queen. Eris' transparent hands pushed open a pair of double doors and then she gestured me ahead of her.
I spared a moment to gape at the bedroom. The ceiling soared two stories above us with golden swings hanging from it at different heights. An expanse of blue-veined, white marble comprised the floor, adorned with a few luxurious furnishings designed for people with wings; backless chairs (not stools, mind you, these things had armrests), puffy ottomans, and lots of space between. Glass doors opened onto a sweeping balcony with a golden, filigree railing, the clear, fey sky serving as a bright backdrop. Smooth, cloud-white walls, polished like unglazed ceramic, curved up around us without corners or any harsh edges. It was typical for the Air Palace. Corridors in the place were shaped like tubes to be more gentle on fragile wings. It was a perfect place for a child to grow up.
Well, a winged child, that is. There's the matter of the kingdom being a group of floating islands chained together and the space beneath those islands surged down endlessly. I knew it to be a fact since I'd fallen through it once.
“Wait! Not yet, my Queen!”
“I have to push!” Breana shouted.
“Please, trust me, Queen Breana, you need to stop pushing,” the midwife, an air sidhe with shimmering, pistachio wings,
