"Is he still alive?"

The promise of blood and horror glinted in Arthur's eyes. "Oh, yes. Death is too lenient a fate for him."

I didn't want to be in Santos' shoes. Immortals could be quite creative when it came to punishment.

"Amanda said he's the one who compelled the witch to break the spell."

"Yes," Arthur replied.

According to Amanda, the witch was currently recovering in one of Arthur's underground cells. My vampire lord had dungeons. How very cliché.

"After our little chat, many things have come to light," Arthur continued, "he gave up more names. Witches, a couple of solitary shapeshifters and vampires. Most names overlapped with the ones Venus got yesterday."

"That's all?" I asked, "what about the Seer? The prophecy? Did he say anything else?"

Arthur did not reply for the longest time.

"What?"

"You'll accept your father's invitation to Ireland," he ordered.

I gave him a bored look. "first, you might want to rephrase that. Second, Why would I want to do that?"

"The Seer is in Ireland," Arthur said, "Santos was responsible for making the Seer disappear five decades ago. He'd kidnapped her and kept her under his thumb. When she prophesied your existence and the role you will play in ruining their scheme, Santos was ordered to deliver her to England."

England was the fae's backyard. The fae's home base was Ireland, that was where the vast majority of their numbers lived, where the royal family made their home. Unofficially, however, the entirety of the British Isles were under the fae's control. Arthur's words twisted my guts in knots.

"That means the fae are involved," I said. "Who, exactly?"

Arthur shook his head. Frustration carried through the bond. "The head of the snake is anonymous. Even the fae we captured don't know him, or her. We called in Venus to check Santos. She discovered something in his mind. He was hexed."

"Hexed?"

"Parts of his memories and thoughts, the parts where the identity of the fae was disclosed, were hexed. Locked up. Blurred," Arthur said, "all that tells us is that this fae is gifted on the mental plane."

"So even Venus can't do anything about it?" I asked.

"She can," Arthur said, "but it will take time. weeks, maybe months of prodding."

I pursed my lips. Who knew what they could be planning on doing. Especially if they were aware that we were onto them. We would have to get a step ahead of them. We needed to find out the indentity of the high ranking fae involved. He or she was the one in charge of this entire mess. Being in Ireland would get us one step closer to them.

"So, you will-" he paused, "it would be a good idea to accept your father's invitation to Ireland. Of course, I will come along. Once we are there, it will be easier to find out about the Seer and the fae behind this."

"But Orion did not invite you."

He didn't even hesitate in replying. "I'm one of the Five. There's nowhere I cannot go without an invitation."

I rolled my eyes. Right. He was still insufferably arrogant. Though, to his credit, what he stated was a fact.

"Alright, big shot," I told him, "we'll go to Ireland. I have to tell Orion, though."

Arthur nodded, "this evening I will be going to a council meeting. You can speak to him there."

"I can go?"

He smiled. "you're my mate. There's nowhere you cannot go without an invitation."

**** ****** ****

"Does it have to be him?" I grumbled, exiting the car with Charles close behind me. Charles sent me a wink. The little fire inside me sparked with anger.

"Yes," Arthur replied.

"Even though Amanda is here?"

"I'm touched that you have faith in me, my dear," Amanda replied, "but Charles has a certain reputation. It will help keep trouble at bay."

Arthur brushed his fingers on my knuckles, scanning the Front of Venus' palace where we currently stood. The fire dimmed down.

"Trust me on this, will you?" Arthur said softly.

I mumbled unintelligible arguments. There were a few people around. All of them were either looking at me or trying to look like they weren't looking at me. I felt the weight of every gaze.

Arthur put his hand on mine, which was on the hilt of my sword. I didn't even realize I had put it there. Straightening my back, I met the eyes of the world, seeing their judgement and fear of what I was. Santos was right. There was more fear now my the cover was removed.

And fear, I knew, made people do stupid things.

"Let's go," Arthur said, his face blank. Cold anger made it through the bond, meeting the fire of my own.

We strode to the castle. Inside, there was more activity. Immortals walked the hallways, servants and maids and council members. Everyone stared.

Amanda linked her arm through mine. Her soft presence calmed me.

"I'll find Orion," I told Arthur, "you should go ahead."

He understood. And although his reluctance tightened the bond, he went ahead of us.

I might be Arthur's mate, but I did not want my identity to be summed up as simply that in the eyes of the immortals. I would not be stuck to Arthur's side, especially now that the spell no longer protected the truth of my blood. I would be respected and feared by my own right.

I was Arthur's mate, but I was also Elle Sanders, a woman, a fighter, a fae trained by Robert the Welsh.

"Alright, let's go."

Finding Orion's suit was easy. The first maid I asked, a young vampire who looked at me with wide eyes, guided the way right to his door, then disappeared.

I knocked. A fae opened the door. He was dressed in fighting leather, a sword at his hips. His expression did not betray surprise upon seeing me.

"Your highness," he bowed.

I made a face. "That's Elle for you. Is Orion in?"

The fae blinked. "No, your- No." He glanced behind him, then stepped aside. "Her highness wishes to see you, if you'd like."

I didn't wish to see her highness. But my curiosity got the best of me. I had only met Amelia briefly.

According to uncle Robert, Amelia had been a friend of Orion ever since he was a child. Uncle Robert told me that she had been in love with him for years, but they never got together. Then Orion met my mother.

If I believed in clichés, there was a chance that Amelia had a hand in my mother's demise because of jealousy. Of course, that was a baseless theory and I had no business suspecting her anymore than I did the other fae.

However, if she truly had been in love with Orion, then she wouldn't have been my mother's biggest fan. The question was, would she be so jealous that she attempted to destroy my mother?

I knew firsthand how ugly jealousy could be. Seeing Natalia gave me deadly urges. I would never act upon them, though. But then again, Natalia was Arthur's past.

Thinking of Arthur with someone else.... My magic almost burst out. Yep. Deadly urges. There was a good chance I would act on them, after all.

Deep down, though, I had a strong hunch that my mother's death was not simply a case of jealousy. It had something to do with the prophecy and me, I strongly suspected.

Whatever the case, Amelia was a fae that I needed to know better. This was a chance to size her up without Orion's presence.

I walked in, followed by Charles and Amanda. The fae closed the door.

The space was similar to Arthur's suit here. A living room with french doors opening to a balcony and a couple of doors, no doubt leading to bedrooms.

Amelia occupied an armchair in the seating arrangement in the middle of the living room. Dressed in a gauzy gown of deep teal, she sat straight backed, her hands clasped lightly in her lap and her legs slanted to the side. A small round table by her side held a tray of tea and a plate of cookies and pastry.

A tiara sparkled in her red hair. She looked like a princess. Well, technically, she was a princess.

She stood up. "Lady Elle."

I barely kept a grimace from my face. Why do these people feel the need to attach a title to my name? Elle was just fine on its own.

Charles coughed and Amanda looked like she was barely keeping from smiling. How delightful that my misery amused them.

"Have a seat, please." She gestured to the couch. Amanda and Charles took position along the wall, joining the two fae keeping guard already.

I perched on the edge of the couch. Amelia sat down, then brushed non-existent dust from her dress. She never met my eyes for longer than two seconds. That did not mean much. People could stab you in the back while looking right into your eyes.

"Orion left early to meet Venus," she said, her hands busy, "he will then attend the council's meeting. You are welcome to wait here."

"Thank you," I said, "actually, I'm here to tell him that I'm going to accept his invitation to Ireland, after all."

I watched her reaction. Her eyes glimmered and she smiled, "oh. That is good news. He wants you to come home."

"He does?"

"Yes," she said, clasping her hands lightly, "he hasn't been the same since Orla's passing. He grieved for her and you for years. To tell the truth, I don't know if he ever stopped grieving. Aidan's birth helped, but you will always hold a special place in his heart. Your mother, too."

Her face did not reveal anything besides sadness and sympathy. If she was acting, then she should consider Hollywood. 

"I see," I said, "I'm only visiting, though."

"But hopefully you will stay for a while?" she said, "he would appreciate all the time he could get with you. But I understand, Lord Arthur is your mate. He wouldn't want to leave your side for long."

"Arthur is coming along."

Something passed in her eyes. Arthur's presence was not expected. I watched her closely, but could get nothing but slight surprise from her face and body.

"I guess that is to be expected," she said, "you are newly mated. And your father is not of the opinion that Arthur is your best match. He will likely try to set you up with other fae males."

"Mhm, I got that impression. Even though I made it clear I'm not interested in his matchmaking efforts."

Amelia's smile widened. "He is quite stubborn. But his heart is in the right place. If he gets too insistent, just tell me and I'll put in a word for you. He might be relentless, but he cares deeply for his family and his people. He will not do things that will make you uncomfortable."

A genuine smile found its way to my lips. She was clearly besotted with Orion. "I'll keep that in mind."

"Oh, how rude of me," she said, looking genuinely horrified with herself, "would you like some tea?"

"No, thank you." I rose, "thank you for your time. Please convey my intention to visit Ireland to Orion, in case I don't get to see him."

Amelia flowed to her feet. "I will. It was a pleasure meeting you. And I truly am happy that you will be visiting Ireland."

I nodded and left.

Amelia's warmth was unexpected. I had judged her from what I knew about her. That was a mistake.

Of course, I didn't believe for a second that the warmth and gentleness was all there was to her. No one was that two dimensional. But that didn't mean that she was faking it.

She was a powerful Earth elementalist. The suspect who had killed the fae who attacked me was an Earth elementalist, too. But Orion had assured me that he would be able to tell if anyone from his current entourage had used their magic, which meant that Amelia was off the hook.

Still, I should ask Orion more about that.

I was rushing through the hallways, I realized. I wanted to be outside. My chest was tight, as if there wasn't enough air. Slowing my steps only when we emerged outside, I took a deep breath.

I was aware of Amanda and Charles staring at me. I focused inward. The bond between Arthur and I felt calm. There were undercurrents of different emotions travelling through, but they were muted. If I focused hard enough, I was able to keep the strongest of my emotions from channeling through to him.

There was something off with me.

I felt it ever since I woke up. I had put it off to being exhausted from breaking the spell. It could still be the case. But the more time passed, the more I realized it was something more serious.

There was this odd tightness in my chest. An anger waiting to be unleashed. I took deep breaths. I was not angry. There was no reason to be angry. If I repeated it enough times I might believe it.

Outside, we strolled through the tended gardens. Squares and circles of cropped grass and rose bushes cut through with stone pathways. I longed for the wilderness of the forest.

"What did you think of Amelia?" I asked Amanda, walking next to me in watchful silence. Arthur had wanted her to come along to keep an eye on me, no doubt.

"She seemed genuinely pleased that you will be going to Ireland." Amanda paused, "She's a strong fae from a prominent family in Ireland. She's also the consort of the king."

"Orion is no longer king."

Amanda smiled. "Oh, but one does not simply stop being king. He might have abdicated the throne, but he is the first born of the first born. He is the king of the fae, even if the position is now... borrowed, so to speak."

"Huh..."

I never thought about it that way. Wait, did that mean...? Ugh...

Amanda chuckled at the look on my face. "Yes. You're the first born of the first born. You are the future queen of the fae. However, your case is a special one."

"Why is that?"

"Well, you weren't raised to be queen," she said, "you see, blood alone doesn't make a king or a queen. A person is raised from the cradle with the weight of the throne on their head."

I was not raised to be a queen. I was raised to be a fighter, and I was more than okay with it. Bearing the responsibility of millions of people did not appeal to me in the slightest, no matter the perks that came with it.

"Okay, so Amelia is basically the queen?" I asked.

"Yes," Amanda said. There was hesitation in her tone.

"What is it?"

She sighed. "Amelia likes to give off a soft and warm persona, sometimes even a little clueless innocence. But she holds immense power in her grasp. That kind of power hardens a person."

"So her personality is a front?"

"Well, not necessarily," Amanda huffed out a breath, "I've met Amelia on a number of occasions over the years. What I'm saying is, there's more to her than what she wants people see. To be honest, I just have a feeling about her. I mean, strength is an extremely valuable trait in the immortal world. Why would she go through the trouble to make herself appear vulnerable and harmless?" 

"Maybe she likes to give a feminine vibe?" I said.

Amanda chuckled. "Femininity does not mean guilelessness, it does not oppose strength."

Amanda shook her head and turned to Charles who'd been quietly trailing us. "What do you think, Charles? You've met her before when travelling with Arthur. What was your impression of her?"

He shrugged. "She was just another fae. I never really thought we'd ever be tangled up with her, or any of them for that matter."

"Well, now we are," Amanda said.

"Yeah, whose fault do you think that is?"Charles replied, his tone mocking. My hackles rose. I turned towards him.

"If you have something to say, Charlie, say it."

"I just did," he said, "you've dragged us into a fucking mess."

I stepped towards him, "I didn't drag you to anything. This mess has been going on even before you knew me. The gate scheme would have happened with or without my presence, genius."

"I'm not referring to that," Charles snapped, "I'm talking about what you are."

"What the hell are you talking about?" I frowned.

"The Five have always had a lot of enemies, even among the council itself," Charles said, "not everyone is fine with the amount of power they hold. You're making it easier for Arthur's enemies to target him. He's been dealing with crap from people who are questioning his sanity because he's taken you for a mate, because he's defending you."

"Charles!" Amanda snapped, "enough. Arthur has always had a target on his back, it comes with the power he's wielding."

"Yes, but now that target is painted a glowing red!" he threw his hands up, "people will now find a justification for targeting him!" he turned the force of his glare on me, "if anything happens to him-"

"Charles!" Amanda snarled, her eyes glowing with a dangerous blue light and her voice sharp, "Enough!"

Charles closed his mouth with a snap. But his words burned like venom in my heart, and fanned the flames of anger inside.

For a fraction of a second, my vision turned red. Literally. The pulse in Charles' neck looked arresting. The blood streamed through his veins in a loud rush.

My throat burned, suddenly parched, and my gums ached. It was a fraction of a second before the sensation disappeared. 

Sucking a sharp breath, I turned around and walked away, horrified with his words and myself.

________________________

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MB