She gave him a human-like half-smile. “You didn’t think I recognized you at first, did you?”
He swallowed. “I didn’t.”
“Of course, I recognized my own grandson! How could I not? But, for various reasons, most of them involving a certain consort, acknowledging you in front of my entire court would be unwise.”
“I… I understand. I think.”
“You don’t understand, but your comprehension isn’t necessary. Your cooperation is all I require.” Some of the ice had seeped back into her voice.
He swallowed again. “What do you require of me?”
“I need you to leave.”
He cocked his head and furrowed his brow. “Leave? You’ve done everything you can to bind me here.”
She let out a sigh and closed her eyes. “Yes, I am aware. That mess resulted from my conceit, my folly. I should have made you leave Faerie at once. However, external pressures kept me from doing so then. I needed to satisfy a favor, and that favor is now satisfied.”
“A favor to Tomnat?”
“Indirectly, yes. She wanted a child, and none of her efforts with other Fae resulted in issue. Therefore, she made me promise the first human to arrive would be hers to do with as she liked. She insisted on two issue, in case of a sickly babe, as sometimes happens when our kinds mix.”
“Our kind? So you are Fae, then?”
“Hush with that question, child!” She glanced around, nervous in case someone overheard. She dropped her voice into a fierce whisper. It still held all the command of her speaking voice, but without the carrying power. “No, I am not pure Fae. But I have Fae blood, and therefore, so do you. However, this information must remain secret. Do you understand? It’s information Bodach would use to oust me from my throne. He must not, under any circumstances, discover the truth. This is one reason I didn’t acknowledge you when I first saw you at court.”
“How can he take your throne? He can’t be a Faerie Queen, can he?”
“He cannot, but he can raise one of the female Fae to that spot if I were disposed of.”
She spoke the words “disposed of” with no inflection or emotion. They sank into Fingin’s bones with a chilling premonition.
“Now, I have a plan for you to leave. You must take Tomnat and your babe with you to keep them safe, but you must leave with stealth, lest Bodach stops you. Will you go?”
Fingin opened his mouth to say yes, and to ask her about the brooch, when Bodach returned to the glade. He swallowed his words and resolved to ask her about it when they left.
* * *
The following day, when Fingin woke, he once again lay still, listening for voices. Grimnaugh grunted, and Adhna laughed, but they said few words. When he got tired of waiting for something to happen, Fingin rose with a mighty stretch. Maybe they hadn’t prepared a celebration after all and had been distracted by something else. No matter. He’d rarely celebrated the day of his birth. His mother had usually given him some small token before he’d left home, but the gifts were practical in nature. A new léine or perhaps a tool to help in the fields.
When he emerged from the roundhouse, though, a great shout rose up, and a dozen Fae yelled and screamed. Frantically searching for the threat, Fingin grabbed the doorframe, but then he noticed the faces all wore smiles.
Bits of leaves had been torn up and thrown in the air. Vines draped every tree, radiating from the roundhouse roof like a giant wheel. A pile of wrapped things lay jumbled near the path.
Eager grins from Adhna, Grimnaugh, Airiu, Gnathnad, Uasal, Cúán, Némán, and several other Fae whose names he either didn’t know or remember.
Flushed, he sat back on the ground, trying to make sense of everything. How could he have a day of birth when there were no days in Fae? He realized his grandmother might remember such a day, but why remember for so long, and to tell Adhna? His own parents had never made such a fuss over days of birth.
Airiu sat next to him and hooked her hand around his elbow. “Come, Fingin! I’m told we must celebrate! Will you dance?”
Grimnaugh placed his hand on hers, stopping them from rising. “No, no, he must eat the food first. And open his gifts!”
Fingin glanced at a table, covered in odd foods. His stomach growled at the sight of them, and they laughed. He grinned in genuine delight.
Adhna wouldn’t let him go to the table, though. “We’ll serve you, today only, young human! You sit, and we’ll bring you samples. Then we’ll bring you the gifts.”
He caught his breath at the mention of gifts. Gifts from the Fae were dangerous, and usually fraught with return obligations. His apprehension must have shown on his face, for Airiu giggled. “No, these gifts are free of encumbrance or geis, I vow to you.”
With a lighter heart, he waited for the first plate of Faerie food.
When Gnathnad brought him a plate with sticky insects, rolled leaves, and red berries, his heart grew a little heavier. He tried the berries first, their bitter taste making him pucker his lips. The leaves, at least, tasted salty and savory, with some sort of nutty stuffing. The insect, however, remained on his plate until he could no longer politely ignore it.
With cautious fingers, he examined it from all sides before biting one edge. It crunched, but sweetness flooded his mouth. Bolder now, he took a bigger bite, finally finishing the delicacy with a smile.
Now the first gift came, Némán holding it out with due ceremony. “I hope you like this. It was my brother’s
