Bride of Fae (Tethers) (10 page)

Cissa’s cheeks turned pink. She snatched up her wine and finished it off as Max walked by with another rocker. He grunted something that might have been
ridiculous,
and set the chair down in front of the fireplace.

“My friends make it difficult to turn solitary,” Dandelion said. “I see more of you now than when I lived in the faewood.”

Max started to speak, but at the sight of Cissa’s tether he just grumbled something indistinct.

Her
eyes lit up. “How beautiful.” She caressed the moonstick dandelions inlaid along the rocker’s back and arms.

“Hmph.” Max looked at Dandelion. “Your many visitors should have decent places to sit.”

Cissa tried the chair and beamed. “Such craftsmanship—you’re an artist, Max!”

Craftsmanship
.
Artist
. Words to feed a goblin’s pride. Cissa poured it on to make up for saying it would be ridiculous to love him, but from the way Max grumbled Dandelion knew Max hadn’t heard. If he had, he’d now be silent as a rock.

“I’ve brought something for you too, princess,” Max said.

“A present?” Indecision played over Cissa’s face. Good manners required she reciprocate; she’d be under obligation to give a present in return.

Merciless,
Max withdrew something wonderful from his hidey pouch, a rosewood box decorated with cloisonné dragonflies.

“Ooh!” She pressed the box against her cheek then opened it. “Oh, Max.” She held up the emerald necklace inside. It sparkled in the firelight, and her eyes widened and glittered like the stones.

The more Dandelion knew the goblin, the more he admired the guy. No surprise, Cissa stripped off her tether—as Max must have intended—and dropped it over the rosewood box.

“Good.” Dandelion
stuffed the tether inside the box. He snapped the lid shut and tucked the box in his sister’s hidey pouch. “Now we can talk.”

Cissa handed the jeweled necklace to Max. “Help me?” She turned around and squatted down a bit. It was Max’s turn to blush
as he draped the jewels around Cissa’s neck and closed the clasp at the back.

Odd. Dandelion
could swear Max had grown taller. The top of his head reached Cissa’s shoulders—even before she stooped. On troop night he’d barely reached her bosom. And today his boots were flat-soled.

Cissa gave him a quick kiss on the cheek, and the lines on the gob’s
face smoothed.
Poor treesap.
A goblin and a fairy princess. Impossible. As Cissa said, ridiculous. No doubt, Max had real feelings for Cissa, but she’d never see him as more than a friend—or a curiosity.

With a start Dandelion realized Cissa was
staring at him over her shoulder, one eyebrow lifted. “What did you mean,
now we can talk
?”

“Max,” he said. “You want to explain?”

“Just a minute.” Max went to the door and called out, “It’s safe. Are you there?”

Morning Glory appeared in the doorway with Goldy behind her. She was flush with excitement. “It worked!” She twirled in a circle in the air. “We did it!”

“Fantastic,” Max said.

“Speak for yourself, girl,” Goldy said. “
There was no
we
about it. I only came along for the ride.”

“What worked?” Cissa said. “
Wait. Where are your tethers?”

“Mine’s in my small pouch,” Glory said.

“Same here,” Goldy said. “That’s the point, isn’t it? We didn’t need them.”

“I made a portal
to Mudcastle!” Morning Glory said. “Max said he didn’t think I could, and I did! I’ll bet no one ever finds the other end.”

“It’s the last place any of those faewood fraidy fairies would look,” Goldy said.

“We had to get out without making Idris suspicious, so Goldy pretended he wanted to get kinky.”

“Pretended, huh
,” Dandelion said.

“I merely told the truth.”
Goldy crossed his eyes. “I said I was bored.”

“He said he hadn’t done it with a woman in forever, and would I like to meet him for a dangerous liaison.”

“I doubt I said
done it.
” Goldenrod sniffed.

“But why?” Cissa scrunched her face at Glory.

“In case Idris was listening,” Glory said matter-of-factly.

“Still not getting it,” Cissa said.

“We needed an excuse to take off our tethers. It seemed the most obvious.”

“Sure,” Dandelion said drily. “Obvious.”

“Anyway,” Glory said, “guess where I put it? The other end of the portal. You never will so I’ll tell you. At Igdrasil!”

“
Hidden in plain sight,” Goldenrod said. “No fae will go near it.”

“Clever, Glory,” Dandelion said. “I’m impressed.”

“We won the dare, Max.” Glory spun around and bowed in the air. “Here we are, untethered.”

“But why bother?” Cissa repeated. “With our tethers we don’t need a portal.”

“Max dared her.” Goldy shrugged his shoulders. “Have you ever known Morning Glory to resist a dare?”

“He couldn’t tell you the real reason while you were still wearing them,” Dandelion said. “It was too dangerous.”

Max said, “Idris uses the tethers to spy on fairies. He has a special glimmer glass that can follow the jewels.” He practically spat the word
special.
“Safe passage between fae and the human realm was his excuse to make sure every fairy wore a tether.”

“No!” Cissa said.

Glory and Goldy instinctively touched their throats.

“That’s why he wasn’t surprised,” Cissa said. “He knew I’d found the cup, and he was ready with the drugged dandelion wine.”

“When the jewel touches your heart pulse, the glass can find you.”

“Say no more.” Goldy shuddered. “I’ll never wear mine again.”

“You have to, or he’ll want to know why,” Dandelion said. “In fact, why are you all here? If Idris realizes you’re all gone at the same time, he’s bound to ask questions.”

“We have reasons
and schemes of our own,” Goldy said.

“Reasons and schemes.” Morning Glory repeated the phrase with a grin.

“We’re here to convince you to fight for the moonstick crown.”

“
They’re right. You have to take back the cup, Dandelion,” Cissa said. “Idris has ordered everyone else not to try.”

Glory said, “He says if you recover it you’ll recover your honor.”

“How thoughtful of him.” Dandelion turned away from the others. He ached to go solitary. He didn’t care about the Dumnos fae. Why couldn’t his friends let it go?

“He thinks you’ll give up,”
Goldy said.

“He thinks you already have
,” Cissa whispered in Dandelion’s ear. The defiance in her voice shamed him.

“I keep thinking about that nice-looking lord.” A dreamy look came over Morning Glory. “I’m sure I could find out from him how to get the cup.”

“Good luck getting into Faeview,” Goldy said. “Every window and door is framed in cold steel.”

“What about the chimneys?” Glory said.

“Cold iron traps.”

“Lord Tintagos will never
give up the cup,” Dandelion said. “I laid a curse on it that will fall over his house if anything happens to it.”

“No!”
“You didn’t!” Everybody groaned.

“I was angry
,” Dandelion said. The image of Tintagos holding the precious fairy cup never left him. Cursing it seemed like a good idea at the time. “He’ll never let it go.”

“Then
we’ll have to take it.” Max said.

“Tintagos is down
at the lake right now,” Goldy said. “While we were waiting outside, Glory and I saw him with some other humans.”

“Let’s go listen,” Glory said. “He might brag about the cup.”

“She’s right, Dandelion,” Cissa said. “Lord Tintagos might betray some way for us to get it back.”

“Not
us
.” Dandelion said. “I’ll find Tintagos. You should go back now. All of you. Morning Glory, show us your portal.”

The portal was at the lilac stand near the hut. It
felt good to get out and away from the hot fire. Though December, the sky was clear and it was warm outside. This edge of the Faeview estate was on the other side of a hill that blocked the Dumnos mist.

At the portal, Cissa
turned to Max. “Come with us, won’t you? This will be so much faster than a gob tunnel.”

“The tunnels don’t send my stomach into my throat
like portals do,” Max said. “I’ll forego the pleasure.”

“Oh
. Um...” Glory stopped spinning and touched down on the ground. “There’s something you all should know. I put a three wishes charm on the portal.”

“Ack!” Goldy blanched. “You
might have said.”

“I slipped it on after you went through.”

“I hate that charm.” Cissa shook her head. “It always goes bad.”

“I
couldn’t help myself. I was excited. It’s my first portal.”

“Wasn’t that enough?” Goldy said.

“Humans visit Igdrasil,” Glory said. “They think the tree grants wishes. It will be funny to see what they wish for.”

“Ack! Ack! Ack!” Goldy said. “Now wishes are running through my brain. I wish—”

“No!” Everyone cried at once.

“You’d better take it off before someone uses one,” Dandelion said. “Cissa’s right.”

“Quick,” Cissa said. “If you take it off before its first use, it won’t take effect.”

“I didn’t know that,” Max said. “I wonder if that’s true with other charms.”

“It is,” Goldy said. “Trust me.”

Glory waved her hand at the portal opening. “Three wishes off.” She frowned and closed her eyes and tried it again. “It won’t come off,” she said.

“Hmph,” Max said. “Someone has made a wish.”

They stared at the portal opening.
The wisher could be on the other side at this moment. Not likely fae.

“What if the wyrding woman is there?” Glory’s eyes grew wide.

“I haven’t seen her in years. But then I haven’t been to Igdrasil in years,” Max said. “I suppose I could risk a stomach ache.”

Dandelion had no doubt Max
would do all he could to protect Cissa from what danger lay on the portal’s other end.

“I’ll go first.” Goldy positioned himself beside the bare lilac. “I hope there’s no scary wyrders there performing rituals beneath their sacred tree.”

“Goldy!”

“That wasn’t a wish!” With a horrified look on his face, Goldenrod vanished.

“It’s been a while since I used one of these infernal things,” Max said. “As I remember, I’m supposed to think about where I want to go.”

“Imagine standing beside Igdrasil,” Cissa said. “And when you want to come back to Mudcastle, do the same with the lilacs. It’s easy.”

“I shouldn’t have put it at Igdrasil,” Glory said as Max disappeared with a grunt.

“No, it was a good choice, Glory.” Cissa gave her a reassuring smile. “The other fae won’t find it there, and the tree and lilac are good anchors, easy to remember.”

After Glory left, Cissa grabbed Dandelion’s arm. “Promise me you’ll try to get the cup.”

“I’ll find Lord Tintagos and see what I can learn,” Dandelion said. “And be careful, Cissa. Don’t provoke Idris.”

She smiled incorrigibly and blew him a kiss.

“If that was supposed to reassure me, it didn’t.”

“I can handle Idris, Dandelion. You worry too much.” Cissa grinned and disappeared through the portal.

T
HE HUMANS WERE ON THE
Mudcastle side of Faeview’s small lake, picnicking on the expansive lawn. It was a pretty setting, though too sunny for Dandelion’s taste. Lilacs grew in random plantings, stands of knobby canes this time of year. Massive hydrangeas and rhododendrons were also without bloom, but their dense foliage made good cover.