The Faerie Ring (34 page)

“Is she…?”

Shamus and Fiona looked up. It was the soft smile on Shamus’s face that told her everything was okay.

“She’s home, Teek.” There was a note of wonder in Fiona’s voice. “She was here sleeping when we got back.” She reached down and smoothed the blond curls. “Just like she never left.”

Tiki dashed into the room and fell to her knees next to Clara. She burst into tears when she looked at the little face surrounded by tousled blond curls.

“Clara,” Tiki said softly. She rested the backs of her fingers on the little girl’s soft cheek.

At the sound of Tiki’s voice, Clara opened sleepy eyes.

“Tiki!” With a cry of happiness, Clara sat up and threw her arms around Tiki. She hugged her tight, burying her head in Tiki’s neck. Finally she gave a shuddering sigh and lifted her head. “I missed you, Tiki.”

Tiki cupped Clara’s face in her hands and kissed her forehead. “I’ve missed you, too. But you’re safe now and we’ll never, ever be apart again.”

Clara took turns hugging Fiona and Shamus and Toots. She looked shyly at Rieker, then buried her face in Tiki’s chest. With a smile, Tiki ran her hands over the blond curls and sat down cross-legged, pulling her into her lap. “How are you feeling? Are you still coughing?”

“I’m a lot better now.” Clara smiled up, her blue eyes bright and healthy.

“I’m so glad,” Tiki cried, hugging her tight. The joy bubbling inside was almost more than she could contain.

“You’re smotherin’ me, Teek,” Clara cried, her voice muffled.

Tiki released her grip and gave a giddy laugh as she smiled down at her. “Sorry about that.”

“You practically squeezed all my stuffin’ out,” Clara said with wide eyes. “Better be careful or I’m going to look like Doggie.” For a minute, her little chin quivered. “But I lost Doggie. She ran away.”

“No, she didn’t,” Fiona said. She jumped up and ran to one of the cupboards behind the stove. “Here she is.”

Clara’s eyes lit up and she held her arms out eagerly for the little stuffed animal.

“Doggie has missed you, too,” Fiona said as Clara hugged the dog close. “She’s been waiting for you to come home.”

Chapter Thirty-nine

A
T
Rieker’s insistence, they all piled into the carriage and rode back to Grosvenor Square. On the way there, Tiki told them of Larkin’s capture and returning the ring to Leo. Rather than saying exactly what had happened to Marcus, she just told them that Marcus wouldn’t be bothering them anymore.

Shamus explained to Tiki how Prince Leo had stood on the steps, watching Rieker’s carriage pull away. There was no way they could have jumped on the boot without being seen. Unable to follow him, they had returned to Charing Cross to await Tiki’s return. It was there that they had found Clara, fast asleep.

Once they arrived at Rieker’s town house, Rieker brought out plates of beef, ham, and fresh French bread for them to feast on. Toots’s head was nodding over his plate when Tiki said it was time for everyone to go to bed. Shamus carried Toots to a bedroom where each had his very own bed.

Clara and Fiona went to sleep in one of the bedrooms down the hall from Rieker’s suite, where Tiki could easily hear and check on the child. Though she still had a small cough, the little girl seemed to be in surprisingly good shape, suffering no lasting damage from her time with Larkin. It appeared that Larkin had lied about Clara coughing up blood.

It was a little while later when Tiki and Rieker sat down in his small living room. Rieker sat next to her on the sofa, swiveled around so he faced her. He reached for her hand, a soft smile on his face.

“Tiki, there’s something I’d like to talk to you about.” He cleared his throat, and for a second, Tiki got the impression that he was nervous. “I’d like you and your family to be my houseguests.” His voice dropped as if he were suddenly unsure of himself. “Until we can figure out something more permanent, of course.”

Tiki looked at him in amazement, at a loss for words.

“I’ve got my housekeeper, Mrs. Bosworth, living here,” Rieker added hastily, “along with her husband and my staff. It will all be perfectly appropriate.”

Tiki slowly looked around the room, as if appraising its appeal as a possible home. The fire flickered warmly from the hearth. Bookshelves covered one wall, and windows looked out to the trees outside. Beautiful oil paintings of the English countryside hung on the walls. A plush rug covered the floor, adding to the warmth in the room. “Stay here? And leave Charing Cross?” Her lips curved up in a grin as her eyes landed on him. “We’d love to.”

Rieker laughed as his shoulders slumped with relief. “Good, then it’s settled.”

*   *   *

I
T
was a short time later, after Tiki had gone and checked on Clara again, that she broached the subject uppermost on her mind.

“What did you mean when you said you were descended from Eridanus?” Tiki stared at him. “Is that true?”

Rieker nodded. “It was something that Kieran revealed to me. Of course, at first I thought he was a complete lunatic, and I didn’t really pay much attention to anything he said. But then I started noticing things. Faces I could see that others didn’t. Shadows that shimmered and moved and suddenly a person would be standing there.”

He stood up and leaned an arm against the mantel, staring down into the fire. “After I had time to adjust to the idea that my family had been murdered, I started wondering why we would be targeted for elimination. Why us? Then some of the things my father had said started coming back to me. Hints of some new responsibility I would have when I turned sixteen.”

He pushed off the mantel and turned to face Tiki, his back to the fire. “His insistence that I carry a knife with an iron blade at all times. The hushed conversations with my mum that would stop when I entered the room.”

“Your parents knew, then?”

“I’m sure of it now.” Rieker rolled his shoulders as if trying to ease knots of tension. “But there are still so many questions.” He stared at her with shadowed eyes, his voice soft. “They encouraged, almost insisted, that I become good chums with Leo as a child. Now I wonder if they didn’t have some plan in mind from the beginning for me to safeguard the ring or at least have access to it.” He paced from the fireplace to the other side of the room.

Tiki shifted her position so she could follow his path. “You mean they knew this attack might be coming?”

Rieker’s words were hesitant at first, his eyes focused on the far wall as he tried to remember. “I don’t think they knew specifically what would happen, only that eventually, something would occur. From what Kieran said, the Seelie court has been waiting for Donegal to make a move. I think my parents knew of the war between the faerie courts and knew that it could eventually put us at risk.”

Tiki understood what Rieker was saying, about recognizing how some of the things she’d seen all of her life and not paid much attention to now took on a new meaning.

“And do you think Donegal will continue to hunt you?” she asked softly.

Rieker heaved a sigh. “I think he wants to eliminate me for the same reason he had Larkin murder the rest of my family. Because I carry the blood of Eridanus, I am a threat to him. A threat to his pursuit of the ring of the truce. I suspect he wants to finish what Larkin didn’t.”

A thread of fear trickled down Tiki’s spine. “How will you protect yourself?”

“As Kieran tried to do, there are others who stand guard over me. I’m not in this battle alone.” His hand moved so fast that it was nothing more than a blur. Before Tiki could blink, he held the iron dagger pointed at her. He chuckled with self-assurance. “Plus, there are some advantages to having the blood of a faerie king running in my veins. No matter how faint it might be.” He flipped the knife around and just as quickly made the blade disappear.

“I find that I can move fast enough to disappear when I need to as well.” He sobered. “Though now that the ring is guarded again by the royals, I’m not sure how that will affect Donegal’s pursuit of me.” He returned to stand before the fire, his elbow resting on the wooden mantel. “Especially since I plan to convince Leo that the palace has been infiltrated and to allow me to guard the ring.”

*   *   *

T
HE
dark night sky slowly shifted to the pink gray of dawn, yet neither of them wanted to rest, nor leave the company of the other and the truths they were sharing. There were too many things to discuss, too many unanswered questions.

“How did you know the name of my birthmark?
An fáinne sí?
” It was the first time Tiki had uttered the words out loud. They felt strangely familiar on her tongue. “Was it Kieran?”

Rieker stepped closer and slid onto the sofa next to her, their knees touching. “He told me it was only a rumor.”

Tiki narrowed her eyes to shield her surprise. “A rumor of what?”

“That someone bearing the mark was hidden in London.”

Suddenly every part of her was alert.
Hidden.
That’s what Larkin had said, too:
That’s why Adasara hid you in London
. Her breath caught in her throat at the implications. “Hidden from what?”

Rieker reached for her hand and threaded his fingers through hers. “He didn’t say, Teek.” His words were gentle, as if he knew what a shock the information must be. “Just that should I see someone who bore the mark, to know they were connected to the world of the fey.” He hesitated and rubbed her fingers with his thumb as if to soften the impact of his words. “He said we would be drawn to each other. And that I should be very careful.”

“Careful?” Tiki said. “Of me? What could I—”

Rieker shifted and slid an arm around the back of Tiki’s tense shoulders, pulling her closer. “What happened with you and Larkin? You were only gone for a few minutes, but I swear it felt like hours.”

Tiki lapsed into silence, seeing once again that meadow and the mounds, hearing the lilting music that pulled at her with an unnatural longing. “I was there.” Her voice was soft with wonder as she recounted the memory. “In the Otherworld.”

To her surprise, he nodded. “That’s what I thought happened.” He peered closer at her, clearly intrigued. “Do you know how you got there?”

The room was silent but for the crack and hiss of the fire. “It happened when Larkin pushed me backward. When she grabbed my wrist, it was as though she held a flame to my skin. The next thing I knew, we were in a meadow and it was twilight.”

“What did you see?” His voice was hushed.

Tiki described what she remembered of the meadow, the mounds, the huge stones. Of how Marcus appeared and how he had taunted Larkin. “He mentioned the claw.” Tiki closed her eyes, envisioning the dark faerie before her in the deepening shadows. “That thing they put on her wings. He knew those who hunted her were close, that they would clamp her if they caught her.” She shuddered, rubbing her face with her hands as though to erase the memory. “He made it clear that he wanted her captured.” She hesitated. “So he could have me.”

Rieker’s jaw clenched at her words, but then he shook his head. “Marcus is dead now. He won’t ever bother you again.”

“Larkin said something else. Before Marcus arrived.” Tiki hesitated, getting the courage up to speak the words burning on the tip of her tongue. “She said
an fáinne sí
was the birthmark of Finn MacLochlan. A high king of Tara.” She looked into Rieker’s eyes, seeking the truth. “Have you ever heard of him? Of such a place?”

Rieker reached forward and smoothed a strand of hair from her face, his fingers lingering on her cheek. “I know there’s an ancient place in Ireland called the Hill of Tara. It has something to do with kings and faeries.” His voice softened. “But that’s all I know.”

Tiki clasped his hand, lacing her fingers through his, her eyes imploring. “But how will
I
know? How do I find out who I really am?”

“Tiki…” Rieker’s lips were so close, his breath caressed her face. “We’ll have to find the answers together. We’re bound by more than love, it would seem. Destiny seems to have plans for us as well.”

Chapter Forty

T
IKI
stood in the regal opulence of the Blue Drawing Room in Buckingham Palace as Queen Victoria addressed Rieker.

“It is after extensive private consultation with my family and
others
”—Queen Victoria’s words were measured, but she gave a significant look to Rieker—“along with my own personal contemplation of the matter, that as a reward for his participation, at great personal risk, in the safe return to the monarchy of a valuable and historic piece of jewelry, I am honored to bestow this ring upon the person of Lord William Becker Richmond. To wear and protect as long as he shall live.”

Rieker stood tall and proud next to the queen, every bit as regal as the English royalty in the room around him. Tiki’s heart swelled with pride and love as she watched him accept the honor. Though Victoria didn’t refer to their meetings, Tiki knew that Rieker had spent hours behind closed doors with the queen, explaining what he knew of the situation, including the things he had learned from Kieran as well as his own connection to the events through his heritage.

Queen Victoria looked solemnly at Rieker as she reached for his right hand and slid the ring of the truce onto his third finger. Her lips curved in a rare smile, and she nodded at him.

“
Na síochána, aontaímid,
Sir Richmond. For the sake of peace, we agree.”

*   *   *

T
IKI
admired the beautiful ornaments sparkling with a magical glow on the Christmas tree. She marveled at the beauty of the room around her. Tomorrow would be the first day of the new year. The first day of a new beginning. Dark wood paneling on the walls created a cozy atmosphere amid tall bookcases that lined the walls. A cheery fire blazed in the hearth in front of where she sat.