Beauty (A Faery Story 3)

Lach nodded. “Julian’s bringing them in. The Vampire plane has declared for Torin. Beckett and Cian Finn are on the run.”

“A sad day when the Seelie kings come looking for a place to hide here,” Duffy said with a frown.

Lach lightly smacked the side of his head. “Don’t be talking like that. It’s talk like that got us in trouble in the first place.”

Duffy rubbed his head. “Well, it seems weird to me, Lach. They hate us.”

“Not more than we seem to hate them,” Lach shot back.

“I don’t hate them,” Shim said. He seemed to be coming out of his fog. “I don’t hate anyone.”

Duffy leaned in. “Gods, Shim, don’t let your da hear you saying crazy shit like that. He’ll beat you for sure.”

Lach rolled his eyes. Despite his father’s rather intimidating presence, he’d never once beaten them. Not that they didn’t know how to take or give a sound thrashing, but it had been part of their training, not at their da’s hand. King Fergus of the Unseelie was a ruthless bastard. He wouldn’t have remained king if he wasn’t, but he cared for his sons.

“Da was the one who sent Gilly in there in the first place, Duff. He wanted a treaty with the Seelie. And given what we’ve seen is going on there, it’s no surprise he’ll back Beck and Cian Finn.” It went unsaid that, after all, they were family. Beck and Ci Finn didn’t know it, but the future Queen of the Unseelie was still on the Seelie plane, trapped and in constant danger. Only her death had saved her from, well, death.

“Do you think they know, Lach?” Shim asked, struggling to his feet.

“No,” Lach replied. He straightened his tunic. He should change, but there wasn’t time. “Julian would have told us.” He put a hand out to steady his brother. “Even if someone told them, our father would let it be known that we’re crazy. They won’t believe us. They won’t believe until the full and true bond is in place, and we can’t do that until we’re in her presence.”

“It feels full and true to me.” Shim stretched and looked down at the dog at his feet. “Lach, why is that dog’s guts on his outside?”

The dog sat and panted, his tail thumping.

“Don’t worry about the dog. Worry about the kings. They’ve brought the queen along.”

“Is it time then?” Shim asked, his voice getting serious.

Every muscle in Lachlan’s body clenched. It was almost time. They would find their bondmate or they would die trying. And their plane would fall…“It’s time.”

It had to be.

Shim smiled, his whole face lighting up. “We’re going to find her. I just know it. I have all the clues we need. Surely the kings will know the place.”

Shim slapped Duffy on the back and handed him his axe.

“I bet the queen is going to be crying by now,” Duffy said, his little chest puffing out. “I can’t imagine a sweet little Seelie queen having to deal with us rough Unseelie. If she lasts the night, I’ll be shocked.”

“We have to be on our best behavior, Duff,” Shim said seriously. “And we might want to clear the goblins out. They could scare the queen. And the trolls. You know, we might just want to clear the palace.”

Duffy and Shim started up the road, talking about all the things that might frighten the gentle Seelie queen.

Lach stopped. The dog was dead again, his body lay across the rocks, a symbol of all that was wrong with Lach’s life.

He should be as thrilled as his brother, but what would their sweet Seelie wife think of him? What would happen when she saw his decimated face? What would she think when she learned of his power, the power she would make stronger by bonding the two parts of his soul together? Would she enjoy knowing her power would unleash a pure necromancer?

Lach stared down at the dog who had briefly flared back to life. Shim could offer her life and fire and a perfect face. All Lach could offer was death.

And still he turned and followed his brother. He knew it would be disastrous, but he couldn’t resist. After a lifetime of longing, he would see her.

Perhaps then and only then he could be free.

* * * *

Shim stared at the sweet little Seelie queen and had to admit that he was slightly afraid of her.

“Look, you little shit, I know you have coffee. I can smell it.” She was small, but she showed no fear of the goblin. Shim had heard the rumor that she was from some backwater plane called the Earth plane, but she looked sidhe to him. Short, though she was curved in all the right places.