Caledonia Fae 03 - Enemy of the Fae (29 page)

“What Eilidh is suggesting, badly indeed,” Griogair said with a flit of a smile, “is that you claim her. You are aware that as draoidh, you can claim any mate. It’s an ancient tradition. None will fault her, nor will any look on me with disregard if you exercise your right and claim the one everyone seems to know you love.”

Munro glanced from Griogair to Eilidh, then back again. Taking his place beside her was what he’d thought he wanted, but he also sensed Eilidh’s love for Griogair. “No,” he said. “She loves you. I’m not going to drive a wedge between you. Because as much as I want her, she needs you. Yeah, I’ve heard about the tradition, but frankly, it’s barbaric to
claim
another person.”

Eilidh closed her eyes for a moment and breathed in. “This isn’t going the way I’d envisioned. There is no need for Griogair to step aside,” she said, clearing her throat. “Polyandry has been practiced by queens in distant history.”

“The practice is rare,” Griogair interjected, “only because the taking of life mates is unusual, observed infrequently outside the royal classes. For us, commitment seldom involves love. If a faerie has one mate she does not love, why have two?”

“So you’d be married to us both?” Munro sat back, his thoughts spinning.

“Our lives wouldn’t be so different from the way they are now,” Eilidh said.

Griogair shot her a look. “It would be completely different. You would have the rights and privileges of one of the royal class. That might mean little to one of the draoidh, whose station is at least equal to ours. What matters is you could hold her hand in public.” He smiled. “We have become like brothers, you and I. Trust me when I say I know it is no small thing to be relegated to the background.”

Munro took Eilidh’s hand and frowned. “I need to think.”

Her heart sank, sending ripples of anguish through their bond. “Is there another?” she asked. “I’ve hardly seen you this moon because of your work on the Druid Hall. When you offered me release from our bond, was it because that’s what you want?”

“What?” he said sharply and squeezed her hand. “No. Get that thought out of your head.” He sighed. “I’d tried to imagine our future, and I was prepared for a long life in the shadows. I’m not good at being in the limelight.”

“I don’t think this is what any of us expected,” Eilidh said, “but if you want me, take me as your mate. I love you more than life. With every breath, I sense your essence within me, and you bring me joy. I want you by my side. Please, Quinton. Claim me.”

He wanted her more than he could say, and her words made his doubts melt. “Would you mind very much if I kissed your wife?” Munro asked Griogair, keeping his eyes locked on Eilidh.

“Your mate,” the prince corrected. “If you will say yes.”

“Do we have to have a wedding, or do I make some announcement?” Munro asked.

Eilidh laughed. “You claim your right publicly. Today, if you like. I will accept, then after the opening of the Druid Hall, our servants begin to plan an outrageously ostentatious public ceremony that will bore you, annoy me, inconvenience Griogair, and be the gossip of every kingdom.”

Munro leaned over and kissed Eilidh, and their bond swelled as their magic knitted together even more closely than before. “Okay,” he said softly, cupping her face in his hand. “I’m in.”

Eilidh put her arms around him and held him close. She laughed happily, and Griogair smiled at them both. “Let’s go open that Hall,” he said. “I’m eager to see what you druids have been planning in secret these past weeks.”

The three of them stood, and Munro grinned. “Wait till you see what we made. I built a stone statue in the centre of a fountain that moves when you talk to it. Aaron and Rory have figured out how to use their water magic to make my stone malleable, almost life-like. And get this, with Hank’s fire, its eyes have this spark. You’d swear it was alive. Come on. You won’t believe everything we have to show you.”

Thank you so much for reading Enemy of the Fae. If you enjoyed it, please take a moment to leave a review at your favourite online retailer.

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—India Drummond

Book 1: Blood Faerie

Unjustly sentenced to death, Eilidh ran—away from faerie lands, to the streets of Perth, Scotland. Just as she has grown accustomed to exile, local police discover a mutilated body outside the abandoned church where she lives. Recognising the murder as the work of one of her own kind, Eilidh must choose: flee, or learn to tap into the forbidden magic that cost her everything.

Book 2: Azuri Fae

A faerie prince disappears in the borderlands, and his father enlists the help of outcast Eilidh and her bonded druid, Quinton Munro. Tantalised with hints of a lost and ancient magic, they learn that time is working against them every step of the way. Is the prince’s disappearance related to the vanishing of an entire Scottish village?

Faced with deception, assassination attempts, and a mad queen who would sacrifice her own child to keep a dreaded secret, Eilidh struggles with an impossible situation. Her people demand she commit treason and betray the man she loves. Will she do what duty requires, or throw away the chance to reunite the kingdom in exchange for the life she hadn’t dared hope for?

Book 3: Enemy of the Fae

With a young, inexperienced monarch on the Caledonian throne and traitorous plots implicating those nearest Queen Eilidh, unrest is rife in the kingdom. She must sift through the intrigues and lies to survive, all while trying to discover which of her trusted companions hates her enough to commit mass murder.

Pressures threaten to overcome the young ruler, and to protect Quinton Munro, her bonded druid, she must send him away. His journey becomes a mission when he stumbles on an ancient truth that will shake the foundations of the entire faerie realm. Confronted by infinite danger and the promise of limitless power, Munro faces the most difficult choices of his life. Will he hide the truth to preserve stability in the faerie kingdoms or embrace the promise of his true druid heritage?

One friend will die because of that truth, one friend’s betrayal will cause irreparable scars, and the once tightly-knit band of druids will learn that not all magic is benevolent.

Book 4: Druid Lords

The druids of Caledonia have taken their place in the Halls of Mist, only to learn that their path is fraught with many dangers. When their newest member, Huck Webster, finds a woman of magical talents in Amsterdam, their troubles multiply. Lying between them and a peaceful existence are a dead prince, a furious queen, and a druid accused of murder. Each druid must search his soul and discover where his talents, and his loyalties, lie.

Book 5: Elder Druid

As the Druid Hall celebrates the completion of the Mistgate, their leader Munro is abducted, leaving them in disarray. Queen Eilidh declares Munro dead, which threatens the fragile balance of power in the Halls of Mist. With the druids crippled by grief and uncertainty, no one notices the insidious force influencing them from a dark mirror realm.

That force has a voice, a sinister whisper in Lord Druid Douglas’ ear, compelling him to feed the Source Stone and driving a wedge between him and his companions. Trath's magic could protect the druid lord, but the prince has fled heartbreak in search of a different life. But will his quest bring redemption or ruin?