~ One ~
Princess Royce of the House of Nimrough
“ROYCE!”
“Trevor!” She turned and tried smiling in spite of what she knew she was about to face on the other side of the door she had her hand raised to. Trevor was one of her closest friends. “What are you doing?”
“Long story—but I guess you know about … about Lana,” he said grimly.
“My brother told me, and I am so sorry …” She watched as his jaw stiffened and his face suddenly looked older. He must have fallen hard for Lana LeBlanc.
She reached out and petted his arm but said no more. She didn’t think he needed words. He gave her a crooked smile and sighed heavily. “I am off to meet with Chance, and then we will find the devil …”
“Yes, Trev, but I heard that he is the oldest of the Dark Princes and very cunning—you watch your back,” she cautioned, recalling an incident where he had been braver than he had been wise. She touched his face. “Trev … he can move in and kill you with the same sword he used on—” She didn’t want to say the name and see the pain in his eyes and quickly changed her warning. “He is ruthless, and you are not.”
“He may be cunning and ruthless, but I am a Seelie Prince of the House of Lugh. Danté taught me everything I need to know, and what he didn’t teach me, Breslyn did. You can rest assured that I am totally equipped as a Tracker and a warrior,” he said with a superior tone.
This pronouncement made Princess Royce laugh. “You are pretty darn proud of yourself,” she said affectionately and was pleased to see him crack a genuine smile.
“Sounded pompous, huh?”
She made a show with her thumb and forefinger. “Just a little … but I know if anyone can do it, Trev, you can.”
He patted her on the shoulder. “Thanks and good luck, yourself.” He indicated Queen Aaibhe’s chamber with his chin. “I heard you’ve been called on the carpet again, for your wayward ways.” he smiled and shook his head. “You know, she once sent Breslyn into the middle of the ocean floor and took away all his powers …” His eyes teased, and he flicked a long tress of bright red hair before her eyes.
She pushed her hair out of her face and touched him, for she was genuinely worried this time. She knew he would not totally understand; Trevor did not care for humans. However, he would sympathize with her all the same. Instead, he released a bark of laughter.
“Don’t worry—she probably goes easier on her princesses.”
“Not this time …” Royce sighed. “I didn’t just bend the rules, Trev—I exploded them.”
“I heard,” he said softly and then added as he twirled another strand of her long hair and flung it across her nose, “It’s okay, Red—you couldn’t help it. Don’t know why these humans draw you in so completely, but she knows your state of mind is compassionate and as wild as your fiery disposition, so don’t worry, she won’t banish you.”
He smiled and shifted off, and Royce took a long drag of air and blew it out slowly. She entered the queen’s chambers, and there she was—Aaibhe, Queen of the Seelie Fae.
The queen held her fingers pyramided, and she looked to Royce like she was … what? Royce couldn’t tell. She tried to see what those brilliant, iridescent eyes held—controlled fury? No—was it disappointment? No … ah, determination. The queen had most certainly made up her mind to handle the situation differently than she had in the past. Uh oh—trouble, Royce thought as she closed and then reopened her eyes. At least she’d remembered to change her jeans and tee for a pretty blue silk dress and had blinked her hair into a thin gold band that held up the long strands on the top of her head in the style she knew the queen preferred.
The queen smiled softly, patted the chair next to her own, and said softly, “Sit, my Princess, and do not hesitate—explain yourself.”
“My Queen,” Royce started to say as she sat. “First, allow me to point out that the child wasn’t dying. Hence, it wasn’t as though I was bringing him back to life …” The words she had just blurted sounded absurd even to her, but it was the truth, at least as she saw matters. She immediately observed the queen’s reaction and stopped any other words that wanted to tumble from her lips. Instead, she folded her hands together in her lap and tried again, more calmly. “What I am trying to say, Queen Aaibhe is this: I did not really infringe on the path of destiny … and even if I did a little, it was totally necessary because he would not have been in that awful and unacceptable situation—well, it was in essence, our fault, wasn’t it … I mean …”
“Our fault?” The Queen of the Seelie Fae raised her lovely brow and interrupted. “How so?”
“The Dark Fae escaped because we couldn’t stop them from doing so. One of those sinister monsters chased young David, reached for him, and the child stepped backwards into the street. He was hit by a car and would have been paralyzed for the rest of his life. Our fault.”
“I see,” Aaibhe said so softly Royce almost couldn’t hear her, and then she asked, “So then, my Princess, do we make it our business to round up any humans that survived an attack by the Dark Fae but are in critical condition and heal them? Is that what you are suggesting?”
“No, I know that is not possible, although I wish it were. I know we can’t reveal ourselves to the general population, but in this case I was right there! I saw it happen, and before I could do anything to stop it …” She shook her head. “David and his family are friends of mine, and I have a great affection for them … and … I … I couldn’t …”
“You were there because you were involved with a human family—and overly involved and attached to this child. It put you in a precarious situation. You lent your aid without permission, you risked exposing yourself and us to humans, for what? So that you could heal the boy. I am not without compassion, my dear. I do understand. I do see it all very clearly. The question is do you?” Aaibhe said grimly.
“I am their friend—they don’t know that I am a Fae … let alone a Fae princess. They didn’t know that David’s injuries were serious. I healed him before they knew anything. They simply did not realize anything untoward had occurred.”
“Let me understand your point of view. Are you saying that when we happen to be on the spot … and a favored human is injured, we may heal them without taking precautions or worrying about the repercussions?”
“No … that is not what I am saying.” Royce pleaded with her eyes and hoped her queen would understand. “These were extraordinary circumstances. The Dark Fae were our responsibility, and they escaped because we didn’t keep them contained. They were loose—killing and maiming—and David was there, right before my eyes, and he would have been crippled all his little life and …”
“And as I have said, I quite understand—do not think I don’t—but what I want to know, because I am your queen and must discern your reasoning, is did you give some thought to what it would mean to the future if you healed him?”