A Fey Harvest (18 page)

“You are a very naughty dragon,” I whispered to him as he let me down.

“
And I've only begun,” he grinned.

“
Oh no,” I rinsed off quickly while he was still distracted with satiation. “No more, you're going to have to wait.”

I climbed out of the shower, and fled the bathroom, grabbing a towel to dry off before he could grab me again. I laughed as the sound of disgruntled dragon flowed out to me. He appeared in the doorway, just as I was lacing the front of my dress, his eyes narrowing on my clothing.

“I told you I didn't have time to fool around,” I scolded. “It's your own damn fault if you're not satisfied.”

“
Just one more time,” he cajoled.

“
No,” I backed away as he started forward. “I gotta get back to the kitchen or they'll start to worry.” I pushed my feet into some soft, leather slippers and made a run for it.

Bad idea. Never run from a dragon.

He caught me in two seconds flat and had me laid out on our bed beneath him even faster. I slapped at him in frustration before finally giving in and kissing him. He pressed fully into me, a satisfied sound stirring in his chest as he got the entire front of
my dress wet. Then I pushed him over, straddling his waist and grinding myself against him. His eyes shut on a moan and he shuddered beneath me, giving me enough time to leap off of him and sprint out the door.

“
Vervain!” He shouted after me but I just laughed and flew down the flights of stairs. Let the dragon simmer awhile.

Chapter Twenty-One

The pizzas came out beautiful. Crispy chewy crust and the most ooey gooey cheese on top, golden brown in places. The sausage had been sliced thin like pepperoni and made a good substitute, slightly salty and crisp. We made assorted pies, from all meat to all cheese and everything in between. There were almost forty done already.

The chefs had already had a few slices, enough to fortify them for the rest of the dinner service, and they knew how to cook them properly, so I could finally leave and see if our guests had arrived yet. I could hear fey out in the dining hall but I wasn't sure if that included Arach and Guirmean.

I removed the apron I'd been wearing to protect my dress and brushed a few persistent crumbs away. One of the chefs gave me a happy wink as I smoothed my hair and patted the sweat from my brow with the edge of my sleeve. They loved the new recipe and I had a feeling there were going to be many more pizza dinners in my future. Just wait till I showed them hamburgers.

I headed out the doorway that led to the dining hall and smiled when I spotted Arach and Guirmean at the head table, talking avidly. Arach looked up when I approached, giving me a secret smile that said things better suited to the bedroom. I blushed and then blushed hotter when I saw that Guirmean had caught the exchange and had a grin of his own.

The hall had been decorated for the occasion, thousands of candles had been placed in little nooks going up the angled walls and they cast their flickering glows over the stone, sparkling off the mineral deposits within it. There were large tubs of water placed along the walls of the hall and as I watched, a water fey wandered over and took a handful of water from the basin to splash over his face. He sighed and went back to his table with a relieved smile
.

The tables were full of both water and fire fey, intermingling with great excitement and lots of loud conversations. I was glad to see the camaraderie, I really wanted our kingdoms to be on good terms. Especially since I'd almost started a war with Earth already.

There were large floral decorations on the tables as center pieces, vibrant flowers I knew were from our kingdom, and the tablecloths were mixed, some red and some blue. Delicate porcelain dishes sat beside golden flatware and crystal glasses were filled with the potent faerie wine that I was coming to love more than the wine from Duat.

The pizzas came out, held aloft by proud servers as they were distributed among the waiting fey. I took my seat just as three assorted pizzas were placed on the high table. Guirmean and Arach both made interested sounds as the smell hit us.

“Hey, King Guirmean,” I called over to him, he was seated on Arach's left and I on Arach's right. “How was the trip over?”

“
It was smooth, thank you,” he nodded but could barely take his eyes from the food. In his defense, the aroma of hot cheese and bread was a tad overwhelming.

“
These are called pizzas,” I waved my hand to them. “It's a human recipe that I thought you might enjoy. A layer of dough is covered with tomato sauce, cheese and different toppings, then cooked in our wood-fired oven. Here we have sausage and mushrooms, sausage and peppers, and then a veggie pizza. Please help yourself, they can be eaten with your hands.”

I took a piece and demonstrated. That was all the encouragement the men needed, they both grabbed for a piece, not bothering to stop by their plates but going straight to their mouths with it. I smiled as the groaning commenced.

“This,” Guirmean said around another bite, “is the most amazing thing I've ever tasted.”

“
Thank you,” I beamed.

“
Vervain has been in the kitchen all day,” Arach said proudly, “I think she shocked the flame out of my cooks.”

“
They're fine,” I scoffed, “they have a new recipe so they're thrilled. In fact, Fiona asked me if I could teach her more human recipes.”

“
Would you be able to teach one of my cooks how to do this?” Guirmean asked with hopeful eyes.

“
Send one of your fey into the kitchen after the meal,” Arach offered. “I'm sure one of the cooks can teach them the technique.”

“
It's not that difficult,” I shrugged. “The most important thing is the wood-fired oven and I'm sure you have one of those.”

“
Oh yes,” Guirmean grinned. “And it's going to be full of pizza.”

“
Excellent,” I nodded, thinking of how I'd spread some humanity all over the Faerie Realm, even if it was just in the form of food.

Then I reached behind me to the stereo equipment I'd brought over from the Human Realm awhile back. I had the goblins help me set up speakers throughout the room and I couldn't wait to see the expression on everyone's faces when the music started. I pressed play and watched.

I wasn't disappointed. The fire fey all knew about human music and the machines that could play them, but the water fey bolted upright and stared about them, trying to find the source of the sound. They kept looking up, expecting me to have flying musicians. King Guirmean even dropped his slice of pizza and searched the room frantically.

“
At ease, everyone,” Arach stood and addressed the room as I turned down the music a little. “This is another treat brought to us by my wife from the Human Realm. These machines,” he gestured behind us, “play music that has been captured onto thin discs. They can be played over and over, and produce the exact same sound every time.”

There were murmurs and gasps of astonishment, interjected with more detailed explanations, made by the fire fey.

“There are things called speakers,” Arach gestured to where the speakers were hung, “around the hall. They look like black boxes. This is where the music is coming from. So please, relax, and enjoy some human culture with us. Queen Vervain has chosen a collection of songs pertaining to both fire and water, in honor of our guests from the Water Kingdom. I hope you like them and please, if you feel like dancing, make use of the open space in the middle of the hall.”

There were some excited cheers and then I turned the music back up.
Fire Woman
by
The Cult
came on, Ian Astbury's sexy voice raging about how he can't sleep, can't do anything right since he set his eyes on her. Arach turned to me and smiled.

“
I know just how he feels,” he kissed my cheek and I laughed.

The fey around the hall were wearing shocked expressions. The music was a little wild, a huge change from their more medieval version, but after a few minutes the expressions changed. I could see the beat sinking in, getting under their skin and into their bones. Soon fingers were tapping, heads nodding, and mouths moving with the words. I knew the fey would love modern rock.

An hour later, the room was loud with revelry. All the pizzas were gone and the chefs had come out to receive a round of applause from everyone that went on for five minutes straight. But despite the full bellies, the space in between the tables was full of dancing faeries, rocking out to things like
Underwater
by
Jewel
,
Fire and Rain
by
James Taylor
,
Rain
by
Madonna,
and
Light my Fire
by
The Doors.

I was immensely pleased even though my Hidden Ones were absent. Arach hadn't wanted to scare the water fey with their presence and after awhile of arguing, I finally saw his side and agreed. I'd made sure there were plenty of pizzas sent down to them though and Arach was intending on taking Guirmean below to visit the lava lake anyway.

Then a remake of
Fever
sung by
Beyonce
came on and Arach stood. I looked up at him in surprise and he held a hand out to me. I laughed a little but let him lead me out to the middle of the floor. All humor fled when he pulled me against him though. He started moving, his hips directing mine in an effortless slide that had me swallowing hard past my sudden nervousness.

His eyes were starting to slant, his hands running down my sides, and then one slid up my back, holding me securely as he leaned me back in a slow dip. He brought me gently upright and then pushed me out in a swirl of fabric. At the last second, he caught my hand and pulled me in. I hit his chest and he lifted me up above him, then brought me sliding down his front as he spun us in a circle. When my face was level with his, he kissed me, his growl rumbling through his chest and into mine while
Beyonce
crooned:
What a lovely way to burn, what a lovely way to burn.

The music stopped and the fey exploded into applause. I blushed all the way back to my seat, nodding at the smiling fey who complimented us as we passed. Inside my head I could still hear those lyrics, they pulsed inside me, echoing a promise that I knew would be fulfilled later that night. I couldn't wait to burn.

Arach helped me into my seat and Guirmean gave us both approving nods. “King Arach, you need to teach me how to do that.”

“
You just have to listen to the music,” Arach shrugged and then winked at me.

“
Or watch a whole bunch of movies,” I whispered to him.

“
Has everything been well in your kingdom?” Arach turned toward Guirmean, changing the subject before I could give away his secrets.

“
Yes,” Guirmean rubbed absently at his rounded stomach as he answered. “We've added more guards to both Castle Deuraich and the underwater barracks. I've withdrawn all of my fey who are not soldiers, to the cities and nothing is going to get into those without approval from my guards.”

“
Good,” I was relieved. “We haven't had any disappearances either. We've brought the pixies inside the castle and fortified the main defenses. The villages in the kingdom have been notified as well and have taken their own security measures. We offered rooms to any who wished to come and stay within the castle but most chose to remain in their villages. So we have the Hidden Ones taking shifts at the lava lake to watch over the villages, that way one fey can watch over an entire kingdom. Everyone's on high alert
but it's been pretty quiet.”

“
There's been no sign of Ualraig,” Arach said, then lowered his voice, “or Kanaloa but if Ualraig's escaped into the Human Realm, it may be weeks before he strikes again, if for no other reason than the time difference.”

“
Well, it's already been a month since the last attack,” Guirmean frowned. “Gruach went into the Human Realm and hasn't been spotted returning to Faerie but if she's sneaking Kanaloa in, they may have been smart enough to get in undetected. I've set guards to watch for them but honestly, I still don't believe it's Kanaloa. I think Ualraig is working with another god and maybe he knows we're on to him and has decided he's done enough damage. Maybe there won't be anymore abductions.”

“
I don't think we're that lucky,” I sighed. “There has to be more to this than just killing for the sake of killing. I think there's a method to this madness.”

“
What kind of method would include the death of brownies and air-sidhe?” Guirmean sat back heavily.

“
I think you're looking too closely,” I spared a quick smile for the phooka pups as they ran by in naked toddler form, a slice of pizza in Gràinne's hand and sauce all over her face. Her brothers and sisters looked about the same “Step back a little and what do we have?”

“
Missing fey,” Arach cocked his head at me.

“
From two kingdoms,” I finished. “Why would a fir darrig abduct brownies from his own kingdom and then traipse halfway around Faerie, steal his way up into the Air Kingdom, and throw two air sidhe out a window?”

“
He's collecting them,” Arach whispered.

“
I think so,” I said to Guirmean's sharp inhale. “I think he'll come after either water or fire fey next. I think he has to, in order to complete whatever ritual he's doing. Or rather, the god he's in league with is doing.”

“
You think this is a spell?” Guirmean pressed forward, looking down the table toward me.

“
Maybe,” I grimaced. “I don't see why else he'd go through so much trouble. Can either of you think of a spell that would
involve killing fey from each elemental house?”

“
No,” Guirmean said immediately.

“
I don't think so,” Arach took longer to answer. “It would be a twisted magic, something dark.”

“
Well, duh, the Darkness is coming,” I sighed. “It has to be a god with dark magic. There are several deities that humans view as dark, they probably have access to all kinds of dark spells. I don't know of any besides Kanaloa who are actual gods of darkness but there must be more of them and it's possible that one of them is behind this. I just can't see why some other god who's never been to Faerie would suddenly start stealing fey. I want Kanaloa to be innocent but if he is, I've got not clue who the killer is.”

“
I see your point,” Guirmean looked over at the fey in front of us, mingling happily. “I just hope we can find this killer god before he comes for us.”