08 Blood War-Blood Destiny (15 page)

"Forced to love her," I shot back, wiping away the tear that fell. "Tell me what good that does me?"

"We cannot replace a child," Tiearan replied. "I am sorry."

"I will go back with her," the blue-green haired one offered.

"Corent, no!" Rain was standing, now. His offer also had Redbird off her seat, holding a hand out to him. They were lovers; I knew it in that instant.

"It is only fair," Corent turned his gaze on Redbird. "You keep her child until he comes to adulthood. Nothing can relieve that pain for her. Therefore, it is only fair that you suffer, since you did not confer with us over this matter. You chose this yourself."

"Corent," Redbird whined. Well, somebody was used to getting her way.

"Fine." I stood up. "Don't ever come to me or any of my kind for help. Ever. And if this child is raised in anything other than a loving environment, I will still come and take this world apart and I won't waste time doing it."

"We will see that he is loved and cared for and I regret that this has harmed you," Tiearan stood with me. "I understand that you would not truly harm us, I felt the insincerity in your words. You are allowing your pain to speak for you. If there were any way to take that away from you, I would do it. If there were any way for me to take back my daughter's folly, I would do it. I only beg you to take care of Corent; he has never been anywhere except through these valleys, and only knows a peaceful existence."

"I'll put him with the comesuli, near the light half of the planet," I was crying again; I couldn't seem to stop. Garde had his hand at the small of my back, trying to comfort me without being obvious about it. "The farms and orchards are there," I lost it, then, and the Larentii had to haul us all home.

* * *

"Daughter, you almost destroyed us all," Tiearan looked at Redbird, as she bounced Toff on her lap. "And call that child by his given name," Tiearan went on. "That is only fair, and we will not be otherwise." Tiearan stalked away, leaving Rain to stare at Redbird. "You cost me my child," she said sadly, and rose to follow Tiearan.

* * *

Reemagar did all the talking for me when we took Corent to his new home. He nodded as we introduced him to Riff, the orchard overseer. I felt Corent might be more comfortable with trees around him. Riff promised to find housing for the displaced Fae; Garde offered to bring clothing. I hoped Corent would be happy in his self-imposed exile; I wanted to lock myself away and scream and cry. I was doing my best to hold off on that.

In all my dreams, I had no idea that this would turn out the way it did. I folded myself back to the palace with Garde and the Larentii hot on my heels. I went straight to my bedroom, threw myself on the bed and started crying. Connegar had the presence of mind to
Pull
back the duffle and blades I'd taken to Vionn—I'd left them behind in the tents. He also folded in Solis and the General—Hardin Wolf was his name. I learned all this when Connegar whispered what he'd done when he returned. I was still crying my eyes out, so Connegar told me he would turn Solis and Hardin over to Drake and Drew while Reemagar rubbed my back soothingly and Garde lay down beside me, trying to gather me against him.

I wasn't just crying for myself. I was crying for Giff and Roff, too. What would they do, when they found out? Roff didn't have the memory of his child, but what if he remembered one day? The news that his child was stolen and turned against him was going to be as painful as it could possibly be.

* * *

"The Green Fae did this?" Dragon shook his head in confusion. The Green Fae were always peaceful and nonviolent. To kidnap a child was unheard of, but to amplify the mistake by performing the mind-bond on a child who didn't belong to them, well, that was unconscionable. They sometimes did it with orphans or runaways, but this was nothing of the kind. And Lissa had protected them, on top of all that. It was a senseless, selfish act.

"We can't get Lissa to eat," Drake and Drew sat down heavily on either side of their father. Dragon put an arm around each of his youngest.

"It'll take time," Dragon sighed. "I don't know what to do in the meantime. Of all the people for this to happen to."

"Problem?" Thurlow came in to sit at the kitchen island. He'd been given the run of the palace; he just wasn't allowed to barge into private suites or offices. The amenities were his to use if he so desired. He was quite surprised at the openness of all of it.

"A private matter," Dragon's scowl was back in place. "May we offer you something to eat or drink?"

"A sandwich, perhaps," Thurlow nodded. The comesula servant went about making a sandwich for their guest. Dragon and his sons rose after a bit, wished Thurlow goodnight and left the kitchen. Thurlow blew out a sigh. He had a difficult task before him, it seemed. The Queen had returned, he knew that much. He also knew she was extremely upset, which meant all her mates were upset. Thurlow would have to wait to meet her.

* * *

"Lissa, sweetheart, you have to stop crying." Aurelius was there, somehow, and he'd pulled me off the bed. Being wrapped in Aurelius' arms was like being hugged by a bear. A really gentle, careful bear. Gavin and Tony had gone to follow a spy, so they were both away. Aurelius was filling in for them. Drake and Drew had sat with me for a while, but they couldn't get the tears to stop any better than Garde could, or the Larentii. I don't know why they didn't put me in a healing sleep and be done with it.

* * *

"What the hell were they thinking?" Dragon had called a meeting and nearly all of Lissa's mates were there, as were many of the Saa Thalarr. Kiarra cursed while she paced inside her kitchen; that's where the meeting had been called. Drake and Drew were both looking haggard and unhappy. Radomir was furious and Rolfe was even angrier. Giff hadn't been told yet and Roff was still oblivious—Flavio thought it best not to bring him. Davan and Grant had been brought instead, since they loved Toff. Davan was silent and obviously troubled; Grant was nearly in tears at the news.

Shadow couldn't understand any of it. Erland was relaying mindspeech as fast as he could to Wylend Arden. This was one of the worst possible outcomes for this entire sorry affair. Karzac felt like cursing—just when it appeared that Lissa might have a child, albeit an adopted one, it was taken away from her.

"What did she do?" Erland asked. He was almost afraid to learn the answer.

"She put up a curtain that the others can't cross, to keep the Green Fae safe," Kiarra muttered. "After they kidnapped Toff. She didn't know what else they'd done until afterward."

"A Karathian would have killed them all," Erland mumbled his response.

"It's better for them in that respect, and worse for Lissa, at the same time," Kiarra snorted. "And now she has someone who exchanged himself for Toff. What good is that supposed to do her?"

Adam sat silently at the island and wondered at the absence of Griffin. Lissa's father should be there, or with Lissa. Yet he wasn't in either place. Adam sent mindspeech to Merrill regarding that fact. One of Merrill's eyebrows lifted at the observation, but he didn't reply.

* * *

"Avilepha, I cannot bear this." Kifirin had come, so Aurelius stole quietly from the room. I sniffled again and wiped my face with a sleeve.

"Kifirin, did somebody decide somewhere that Lissa needed to be continuously kicked, for some reason? That her life wasn't complete without shit happening to her regularly?"

"Lissa, that does not happen. Not like that. Betrayals come. You have had more than your share." Kifirin looked a little gray, I think, and that was unusual for him. "The girl could not have children with her half-Fae lover. Therefore, she took what had been handed to her. Her father thought to be kind, handing the child over for her to care for and she took it for herself instead. If that had been Wyatt, the same thing would have happened and Wylend would have torn the planet apart."

"You're saying it was better that Lissa took the hit?" I wiped my face again.

"No, m'hala. Not at all. The girl was selfish and did not think past her own desires. Many will be watching over Toff, now, to make sure he is well cared for. Including the girl's father. He is quite angry with her now."

"I'm sure she'll get a big tap on the nose for it, too," I muttered.

"Their race is immortal, my love. He will wait for Toff to come to adulthood, and then punishment will be given. Also, the Green Fae owe you a debt. They do not like to owe anyone. It will remain with them as a very great burden, unless they can find a way to discharge it, someday."

"Oh, sure, they owe me a debt. They owe me my child. Roff's child. Giff's brother."

"Avilepha, I will be with you when you give the news to Giff. I will help with this. Rolfe will be there for Giff as well, since she is bearing a child of her own."

"Kifirin, I have the worst headache right now."

"I know. This is none of your doing, my heart's love. Yet the pain is yours, as it will be for Giff. Your Larentii are coming. They will make sure your night is as restful as they can make it. Sleep well, my little mate." He kissed me on the forehead as Connegar and Reemagar landed in my suite. My last vision, as Connegar was placing fingers against my forehead, was of Kifirin folding away.

* * *

"She is sleeping and we will not wake her for trivialities." Drake, Drew and Winkler all glared at the Alliance representative. Thurlow sighed and nodded.

"Please inform me when she is prepared to speak with me." He walked toward his suite in the guest quarters.

Thurlow was called later, but it was to sit in at a meeting while another wall-climber was interviewed.

"I swear, it was only a prank to see if I could get in," the young man wailed. He had no idea how much trouble he would be in, for simply trying to see Lissia for himself.

"This one knows nothing," Aryn tossed up a hand.

"You will not be allowed to return to Le-Ath Veronis, and you will be escorted to the space station with all your belongings," Rolfe growled at him. The young man gulped. He'd wanted to see vampires. He was seeing them now, and in less than ideal circumstances.

"You signed the agreement when you purchased your ticket," Thurlow explained as he helped escort the young man to the space station. He'd joined Hart and Nima, the two female Falchani guards, to send the prisoner away. They'd all ridden in the shuttle pod with him on the way up. Thurlow handed out the lecture as the young man was herded toward the gate at the space station, still whining about his punishment.

"I can't ever come back?" Disappointment saturated the young man's voice. He'd barely turned gambling age and had spent a great deal getting his tickets and lodging.

"Your name will be on a list, therefore you will not be allowed to return," Thurlow replied. They watched as he boarded the ship and waited for the door to be closed. The ship took off shortly afterward.

"Thrill-seekers," Hart muttered as they walked toward the pod station to return to the planet below.

Chapter 7
 

"Giff, I don't have good news, honey." Rolfe was there, his arm tight around her as she blinked at me in confusion. Giff had trusted me—always. And now, I felt responsible for Toff's abduction, even though I wasn't. I was still trying to puzzle all this out. How had it happened in the first place? I was back, too, to the fact that bracelets had been switched. Maybe I needed to have a talk with my grandfather, to see if any of the hired babysitters could have done this as a prank. It just didn't add up or make any sense at all. Regardless, Toff was gone from us. We wouldn't get to watch him grow up. It made me weep, just thinking about it.

"No, he's not dead," I held out a hand at the terrible pain in Giff's eyes. "The Green Fae took him, Rolfe told you that. He was handed to one of their females, who didn't have children of her own. She decided she wanted to keep Toff. Adult Fae have the ability to perform what they call a mind-bond. It makes the child think the bonded adult Fae is their parent. That's what she did. Toff is so young that if we try to remove it, it could kill him or damage his brain. He didn't even recognize me when I tried to take him. He was holding onto that girl as if she'd been the one to give birth to him." I was crying again and Giff was weeping in Rolfe's arms. Kifirin sat beside me and his arm came around me. Karzac came in after a few minutes, placing Giff in a healing sleep.

"Giff’s child will come in a few days," Karzac sighed as Rolfe carried her gently from my study.

* * *

I waited for Flavio to bring Roff. I wasn’t sure how he might react to the news about Toff, but I wanted him to know. I’d convinced Flavio to bring him so I could explain things as best I could. Flavio stepped inside my study, Roff following close behind, his wings folded tightly against his back. He knew there was a problem; he just didn’t know what it might be.

"Please sit," I motioned them toward the two chairs before my desk. "I have news that concerns you, Roff. And your family."

"What can that be, Raona? I do not recall my family."

"Yeah. I get that," I sighed. He’d called me Raona, but there was no affection in his voice. Once, that word had been uttered in adoration. I might never hear it spoken that way again.

"We know you can't remember some things," I studied his handsome face. He'd let his dark hair grow out longer, and Flavio had seen to it that it was cut and shaped so it would not detract from his looks or get in the way. "We were hoping the memories would return when Radomir offered his blood. That wasn’t the case. Before that, we hoped the memories might come back on their own."