The Tainted Web (The Godhunter, Book 7) (10 page)

I gaped for a second before diving down and retrieving my treasure, amid a horrible keening. I glanced back and saw the kelpie, restrained by numerous hands, staring at me in agony. I frowned, slipping the ring on my finger as I wondered what had happened to his lover.

Then I got a flash, a vision from the ring, of Dubheasa stranded in the middle of a vast desert. For miles around, there was only sand, stone, and arid air. Her skin was already beginning to shrivel rapidly. I got the sense that not only was it a different time from the one we were in but a different future than the one we were headed to. A future in which water was scarce.

“King Cian,” I said when I reached the King's side.

“
Queen Vervain,” he smiled. “I'm gladdened that your property has been recovered. We will handle the kelpie. I assume your vengeance has been assuaged with whatever you did to the traitor?”

“
That's what I wanted to ask you about,” I held up the ring. “Can the ring send someone to a different timeline, a different future than the one most likely to happen?”

“
Ah,” he blinked wide eyes at me. “I suppose it's possible. Is that what it showed you?”

“
It felt that way, yes,” I frowned.

“
Then that was the justice it believed she deserved,” he nodded. “Fitting, I think. Come now, waste no more time on traitors. We must return to the Castle of Eight and get back into our finery. I'm famished.”

“
Me too,” I laughed and followed him out of the cave but the sight of the Queen of Water dying slowly without her element, was still a ghost in the depths of my mind.

“
Is everything okay?” Trevor looked my face over.

“
Yes,” I smiled and held up the ring, staring at it with wide eyes. “My precious,” I crooned in a creepy voice.

Chapter Ten

“Her people need her,” Arach stated his case, “especially now. Faerie is in an uproar over this attempt on Vervain's life. If she were to leave now, it would be seen as cowardice.”

“
She's no coward,” Trevor growled.

“
If anyone knows this, it is I,” Arach assured him. “I'm not talking about my thoughts. I'm telling you what the rest of Faerie will think and how it will reflect badly on the House of Fire.”

“
So now you want her to save face,” Trevor was just being a bastard because he knew Arach was right.

“
I want her for the same reason the rest of you do,” Arach finally snapped and who could blame him? The debate had been raging for the last half an hour. “Because she is life and beauty, without her my world is drab and colorless, an endless continuation of the same monotony and all I can think about is how to get her back. I spend my days in between rage and frustration, when I'm not crippled by this horrible weight on my heart! I can exist without her but I can't
live
.”

Silence.

“You could have just said you loved her,” Trevor grumbled.

“
Shut up, Trevor,” I whispered breathlessly. “I know you like him, stop giving him such a hard time already.”

My alpha looked over at me with a self-deprecating grin and shrugged. “Okay.”

“Okay?” Arach narrowed his eyes on my wolf. “Does that mean she can come back?”

“
That means I'm okay with whatever relationship she chooses to have with you but if there's going to be a baby involved, I'd like to know about it first.”

Babies. I hadn't thought about that in awhile. With the ring, I could actually have children with Arach and be a mother to them while having a whole separate life with my other family. Was that even morally right? I wouldn't be taking time away from anyone but could I really have a family, have little dragon babies, here in Faerie and then just go home to Trevor, Kirill, Odin, and Az like nothing had happened? Could a mother leave her child, even if the child didn't notice her absence?

“But that's only my vote,” Trevor's voice brought me back to reality. “You still have three more men to convince.”

“
Vhatever Tima vants, I'm okay vith,” Kirill stated immediately.

“
I love you,” I smiled at my lion.

“
Da,” he smiled back mischievously, “zis I know.”

“
Arrogant ass,” I laughed.

“
If this is really what you want,” Odin looked at me strangely. I couldn't read his expression. Was that concern for me, for him, for the boys? “I will back your decision.”

“
Thank you,” I said seriously but I was bothered by his answer and intended on discussing it further with him in private.

“
No.”

Everyone stopped and looked at my angel.

“What?” I said, completely shocked. This wasn't where I'd expected resistance.

“
I don't like this, Carus,” he said gently. “Something feels wrong to me. Not about Arach, he's a good man, I can feel that, but the ring. Time travel. It feels wrong, deep in my bones. Something tells me that you shouldn't be messing with time.”

“
But...”

“
Let me explain this please,” Arach interrupted.

“
By all means,” I waved my hand.

“
This is a fey thing,” he actually didn't sound arrogant for once. “It's a different magic than what you're used to. This magic has rules woven into it. All fey magic functions thusly. If someone tries to use magic that goes against the rules, it will simply not work. There's no way to abuse nature because we
are
Nature, our magic is her blood, her breath. So anything Vervain does with that ring, will be as Faerie decrees it. It's why it can't be used to save someone's life, or change your past deeds, that would go against the natural order of things.”

“
I know why you're worried,” I finally understood Azrael's hesitation. “The well. You went against the rules to take me there and if Odin hadn't broken me out, I'd still be there, floating in the water forever and no one would have known I was stuck there.”

“
Yes,” he whispered. “What if you become addicted? This is a power that would be easy to abuse. Or what if something went wrong? What if you were lost in the past? Time should not be trifled with.”

“
I won't abuse this magic,” I took his hand, “I promise. I do realize how powerful this is, and I know you're concerned that more fey will try to kill me for it, but you saw what happened with Dubheasa. The ring knows me, it wants to be on
my
finger. It won't work for anyone else and I'm pretty sure all of Faerie knows that by now.”

“
They do,” Arach gave a little laugh. “Look, angel, I swear to you upon the graves of my parents, that this ring will not bring Vervain any harm. It won't allow it. It has been in her family since its creation, some twenty thousand years ago, and she is the last of that line. It will not give her up, just as I won't.”

Azrael sighed and stared at the simple ring on my pointer finger. A bright flash sparked out of it, striking Arach on the forehead, and he pulled back in shock. He touched the spot where the light had hit him, hesitantly.

“I think it just talked to me,” he said softly.

“
Vat did ring say?” Kirill asked while everyone else gaped.

“
It said,” Azrael frowned and considered. “No, it didn't really
say
anything, it showed me images. I think it was the future,” he looked up at me in wonder. “You become...”

“
Yes,” I leaned forward, “I become
what
?”

“
I can't tell you,” he said, sounding a little surprised. “Huh, it won't let me.”

Arach started to laugh and everyone stared at him in irritation. He looked at all the annoyed faces and laughed more. “Don't you see,” he finally said. “It showed him something wonderful about the future to calm his fear, while at the same time proving that fey magic will not allow the proper flow of things to be tampered with.”

“How so?” Odin asked. “I mean how does that prove it?”

“
If Azrael told Vervain what she would become in the future,” Arach looked at him like he was slow, “it would threaten that result. Knowing about something gives you the power to change it. So it silenced him. He can't tell her because it would jeopardize the future that must be.”

“
Huh,” I held the ring up and rubbed the clear stone. “Guess you're smarter than all of us.” It flashed arrogantly. “Now none of that,” I chided. “One self-important asshole in my life is more than enough.”

“
Are you actually scolding a twenty-thousand-year-old fey relic?” Arach asked with disbelief.

“
Oh, it knows I love it,” I patted it.

“
Great,” Odin groaned, “now she's talking to it like one of us. Looks like we have number six.”

“
We still don't have a unanimous on number five,” I looked over at Azrael.

“
You may do as you wish, Carus,” Azrael said and kissed my hand that was still holding his. “Although I admit, I hope this is the last of us.”

“
No kidding,” Trevor griped.

“
How could I want anymore than I already have?” I smiled and looked over at Azrael. “Thank you, Az.” Now that we had an angel's blessing, everything should be fine. If only I could make up my mind. “I'm glad I have all of your approval but I still don't know where this relationship is going to go.”

“
Vervain?” Arach looked wounded.

“
I know you,” I held up my hand as I tried to explain my misgivings. “I love you but it still doesn't change what's happened between us. I just don't know if I can trust you with my heart.” I had a flash of Thor's face. I'd trusted him once, been certain that he would never betray me. “You're fey and I know I'm supposed to be one too but I just don't feel or think the same as all of you. I'm different and it seems to change things. The rules are different here. Things that would never be done between two people in love in my world, are acceptable here. I'm not saying no, I'm saying that I need more time. I need to get to know you better, to know Faerie better.”

“
Vervain,” it was Odin who spoke into the silence. “You've just read what was written on my own heart. I've watched you leap into the arms of men, in part because of your lion magic and partly because of certain situations, and I've held my tongue because I understood. But this relationship, with this man, is different and I'm glad you see that clearly and want to take the time to learn more before committing to this.”

“
You say that out of jealousy,” Arach growled.

“
No,” I held up a hand to Arach before Odin could defend himself. “See, this is what I mean. You don't get to say things like that to him, to any of them. They've proven themselves to me already. I have history with them. The only history I have with you is bad. You need to make up for that, show me your a better man rather than me just knowing it by taking your blood. You need to
work
for this, dragon. It's not going to be handed to you on a silver platter. Are you up for the challenge?”

“
Your point is valid,” Arach took a deep breath. “If there's anything worth working towards, fighting for, it's you, Vervain. Your challenge has been accepted. I'll show you what kind of man I am, as long as you give me the chance.”

“
You'll have it,” I looked at Odin and he beamed at me, perfectly happy with my decision, and that's really what I wanted from this meeting, my men to be happy as well as I.

Chapter Eleven

The end of our visit to Faerie and the favorable conclusion of our caucus, was celebrated with yet another party. Not only were we celebrating the long list of rules that had been agreed to by the fey so that they could visit the Human Realm peacefully, but we were gathered to watch the crowning of a new King of Water.

The water fey had chosen Guirmean as their new leader and it seemed that the rest of Faerie agreed with the choice wholeheartedly. There was a lot of cheering when King Cian placed the Water crown on the new Faerie King's head.

No one seemed to miss Dubheasa except her kelpie lover, who was locked in one of the cells below ground, amid the roots of the great tree. I couldn't muster up any sympathy for him though. He'd killed me, or at least tried to, with a big smile on his face like it was all a fun game. He could rot.

“I can't tell you how happy I am,” Arach whispered as we danced.

“
I can't tell you how happy I am about my new dresses,” I smiled up at him. “I feel a theme emerging.”