.jpg)
by Alanea Alder
"Listen up. You better start circulating some rumors real damn fast. My name is Lady Vi'Eirlea, my mate is Oron Vi'Eirlea, and I am extremely protective of my mate. I will make it my life's mission to torture anyone who threatens his happiness." She pointed to Meryn. "And she likes electrocuting people." Meryn held up her stick and used it to draw an imaginary line across her throat. The entire group eyed the doorway.
"And who exactly would be threatening our son's happiness?" the queen asked in a deadly tone.
"The exit is this way," Portia informed them and led them away.
Oron was simply staring down at her with his mouth hanging open.
"Damn Izzy, how'd you jump high enough to reach his head?" Meryn asked.
She shrugged. "No idea. I think I got so angry, I blacked out for a second."
"Maybe you should bring your mate to the training field," a male voice suggested.
"Fuck you, Malcom, my mate isn't going anywhere near the training field." Oron groused.
Izzy began to bounce on her feet, throwing jabs. "Fighting in robes suck." She looked back at Oron. "I need fighting clothes."
"You do not need fighting clothes!" he roared.
Aiden suddenly broke out into a wide grin. "It's not just me!" he crowed.
Meryn elbowed him. "What does that mean?"
"No fighting," Oron ordered.
"No, because I love you, and I won't let anyone hurt you anymore," she declared.
"Awww, I want one," one of the guards teased.
"I like the little one with the taser."
Aiden and Oron glared at the men.
The queen walked between them and wrapped an arm around each of them. "Why don't you girls take a relaxing walk?" she suggested.
"Mother! What if they get into another fight?" Oron asked.
"I'm pretty sure they'll win," his mother assured him.
"That's not the point."
Izzy grabbed Meryn's arm and they made their escape.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
They slowed down when they turned the corner, trusting the queen to run interference. Of course, Ryuu and Pierce were right there with them.
"So, what now?" Meryn asked.
"How adventurous are you feeling?"
"That depends on the level of exercise said adventure will require."
"Leisurely stroll."
"Where to?"
"The Dark Forest."
"I'm in."
Pierce turned to Ryuu. "How are you not dead by now?"
Ryuu simply smiled. "She adds a spice to life."
Izzy led them down the side street to the Border City. Meryn's eyes were wide. "This is a thousand times better than that other marketplace."
"I thought so too," Izzy agreed. She was looking for the tavern Oron took her to when, in their heads, they heard Portia's voice. It was the announcements that the queen had wanted to be sent out. When it was over Meryn and Izzy were rubbing their ears. "Yours itchy too?"
"Yeah," Meryn complained.
Ryuu placed a hand on Meryn's head and she smiled. "Thanks, Ryuu."
"Though an effective way to communicate, telepathy isn't for everyone," he said.
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the familiar swinging sign. "Come on Meryn, this place is run by warriors and it's really great." She took her hand and dragged her through the door.
"Look what the wind blew in. We just heard the announcement about the two of you," Dav called out.
"Hey Dav, I wanted to show Meryn your amazing bar," she said, trying to climb up on the stool. After the third failed attempt, Pierce lifted her up and sat her down. "Thanks."
Ryuu did the same for Meryn. "Thanks, Ryuu," she said, reaching for the menu. When her bracelet grazed the top of the bar, there was a cracking sound and the floor under them began to move. Ryuu scooped up Meryn and Pierce grabbed her.
"What the hell did you do little lady?" Dav demanded.
"Nothing! I just wanted some damn french fries," Meryn said, looking confused.
When the noise stopped, everyone was staring at the bar. Along the wall, it had sprouted branches that climbed to the ceiling and underfoot roots twisted around the floorboards. Pierce set her down gently.
Ryuu cleared his throat. "That bar wouldn't be made of elder, would it?"
Dav nodded absently then his eyes widened to stare at her bracelet. "You were just blessed this morning, weren't you?"
She nodded. "I thought this was like a friendship bracelet."
"Looks like it's a bit more than that," a warrior said from behind them.
"No shit," Meryn said. "Can I get those fries to go? I'll wait until I talk to Uncle Bren about this bracelet before I come back."
The woman at Dav's side looked to Izzy. "Anything for you?"
"Fries and chicken tenders for me, extra ketchup," Izzy answered.
"Oh yeah, ketchup. And could you add extra tenders for me? The kiddo loves protein," Meryn said, pointing to her midsection.
The woman's eyes softened at the sight of Meryn's rounded belly. "We just had both come out of the fryer, give me a moment to get them bagged up for you," she said, then disappeared into the kitchen.
"I'm sorry about this Dav. Meryn had a rough morning, so I wanted her to experience your happy bar," Izzy dropped her head feeling like a failure, again.
"Is that what that was?" Meryn asked.
Izzy looked up. "What?"
"Like I'm still kinda upset about what I learned, but it's like it somehow got wrapped in cotton, not even the Sacred Chamomile did that."
"Sacred Chamomile?" Dav asked. Izzy noticed that the men around them were standing almost at attention.
"Sacred Chamomile is exclusively used for intensely traumatic events, sweetheart, are you well?" Dav asked, concern written all over his face.
Meryn nodded. "I'll be okay."
"No one is after you, is there?" one of the warriors asked.
"I don't think so," Meryn paused. "Though, that tailor is probably super pissed at me."
"Who on earth would get mad at a sweet thing like you?" Dav asked.
"It was the tailor from Elegant Expressions, I jumped on his back and beat on his ear and then Meryn tased him," Izzy explained.
The men's faces turned murderous. "Did he assault you?"
"No, worse. He called my mate a traitorous bastard," Izzy said, still feeling kinda angry about that.
Meryn nodded. "I was gonna tase him again until he pissed himself, but Aiden was getting growly, so I couldn't reach him."
"Oron and Aiden are two lucky bastards," one guy said. He looked up panicked. "I meant that in a good way."
Izzy laughed. "We know."
The waitress came back out and handed Izzy a cloth bag. "Here you go, dear."
Izzy shook her bracelet. "Can I charge it to this?"
Dav laughed. "It's not like a credit card, it basically tells shop owners that you have permission to send the invoice to the royal palace to be paid."
Meryn eyed her bracelet. "Do you think we could buy some fae weapons?"
Dav's laughter boomed. "Little lady, if you have a taser that took down a full-grown fae, you have a damn good weapon."
Meryn looked disappointed. "But there's no blood when I tase people," she complained.
"Lucky bastards," another guy repeated.
The waitress handed Izzy a tiny pouch. "I saw that she has a sprite, so I packed a couple tiny vials of honey for him."
Meryn smiled brightly. "Thank you!"
Izzy passed Meryn the tiny pouch who handed it off to Felix.
They waved goodbye then headed out into the street. Once outside, Ryuu set his charge down.
"It's too damn bright here," Meryn complained.
"Aren't you half fae?" Izzy pointed out.
Meryn went to answer then stopped. "I guess I can't say I'm human anymore."
"Why not? You may be half fae, but you're definitely human."
"How does that work?"
"Well, yo
u grew up human. You rode the bus, watched cartoons, did late night taco runs, that sort of thing, your experiences make you human. Being half fae is like having dark hair and green eyes."
Meryn tilted her head. "I get that."
Izzy looked around until she saw a sign that said, 'Dark Forest', it pointed away from the city.
"Seriously?"
"What?"
"Check it out." She nodded to the sign.
"I thought no one was supposed to go there."
Izzy bit her lip. "Actually, Oron said humans shouldn't go there."
"Oh. So, in this scenario, am I half fae?"
Izzy nodded. "Works for me."
"Come on!"
They had only been walking away from the city for a few minutes when a large wooded area loomed in front of them.
"Did he say what was in here?" Meryn asked.
"Besides brownies and goblins? No."
Meryn munched on her chicken tenders. "These are freaking awesome."
Izzy popped a fry into her mouth. "The fish we had almost made me cry."
Meryn looked over at Ryuu. "I want fish before we leave the city."
Ryuu nodded. "Of course, denka."
Pierce pointed to the forest. "I can't tell you how many times I've been to Éire Danu and I never thought to come here?"
"Why?" both she and Meryn asked at the same time.
"Because we're not supposed to," Pierce explained.
"Boring," Izzy replied.
When they walked into the forest and the canopy overhead shaded them from the sun, they both sighed in relief. "This feels so good," Meryn murmured.
"I want to take a nap right here," Izzy said, pointing to the line of sunlight on the ground. "Hot? Roll over into the woods. Cold? Roll back and warm up."
Meryn practically whimpered. "That sounds so good."
Izzy looked around. "I feel like we should be leaving breadcrumbs since we're on the way to Grandma's House."
Meryn giggled. "It does have a fairy tale feel to it, doesn't it?"
"Halt! What are two humans doing in the Dark Forest?" a deep voice demanded.
"Ha! He said human," Izzy pointed out to Meryn.
"And I thought we both decided I'd be half fae in the forest."
"Oh yeah, sorry."
They both looked over when the stranger stepped from the shadows. Izzy could only stare, he was green and massive. She could see he was green since most of his skin was showing, as he only wore a loincloth leaving every muscle clearly visible. His pointed ears peeked out from his shaggy black hair, but his eyes were his most breathtaking feature. He had double irises in two different shades of green.
"Whoa," she said, exhaling slowly.
Meryn took a deep breath. "God, you're freaking beautiful."
The creature looked taken aback. "It is dishonorable to lie."
Izzy couldn't answer, she could only stare. There was no way in hell this was a goblin. She hadn't heard one damn story growing up about green sex gods.
"Fucking Grimm brothers were jealous," Meryn muttered.
Izzy could only nod. That had to be it. Human men had felt so threatened by these creatures that they had turned them into twisted nightmares.
"Why are they staring? Are they casting a spell against me?" the stranger demanded.
Ryuu cleared his throat. "I do beg your pardon, but you have quite simply stunned my charge and her friend. She wasn't lying when she said she thought you were beautiful. They are both overwhelmed by your appearance, so could you give them a moment to gather their thoughts?"
The stranger was so shocked at Ryuu's words he dropped his spear. "They truly think I am beautiful."
"Man, if I weren't mated," Meryn whispered.
"Ditto," Izzy repeated the sentiment.
Meryn shook her head. "I mean, I love my mate with everything in me but I..." her eyes drifted back to their new friend. "Damn."
Izzy smiled. "I am so sorry I was staring. But how could you not know how..." she pointed up and down. "Everything you are."
"I don't think that made sense."
"Shut up, Meryn, I'm surprised I remember English at this point."
The stranger's cheeks darkened to a deeper green. "My name is Gilheim."
Izzy pointed to her chest. "My name is Izzy, this is Meryn."
He blinked. "Meryn and Isabelle are the names of the women in today's announcement."
"You got that too?" Meryn asked.
He nodded. "Everyone in the realm did." His skin tone lightened to an almost mint green. "You mean to tell me that you are the mate of the new head of the Eirlea House and you are Meryn McKenzie, daughter of Eamon and second in line for the throne."
"Which answer won't make you freak out?" Meryn asked wisely.
"Why would you be here of all places?" Gilheim asked.
Meryn sighed. "Can I be honest with you, Gilheim?"
"Of course, honesty is always best."
"Well, we were curious because we were told we shouldn't come here and I wanted to get out of the damn sun." Meryn pointed overhead. "The shade feels so good."
"But you are half fae. You are related to royalty," he stammered.
"This half fae woman loves the shade."
When he smiled, his green toned skin made his teeth glow bright white. "You should come to see my village. May I escort you there, daughter of Eamon?"
Meryn nodded. "That sounds awesome."
He turned to lead them, then remembered his spear. He bent over to retrieve his weapon and both she and Meryn whimpered.
He looked back at them, exuding the excitement of an eager puppy. "I will show you the way."
"It's raining men..."
"Meryn!"
"Hallelujah!"
Izzy laughed. "Stop it, missy!"
They gladly followed behind Gilheim and Izzy had to hand it to Meryn, she had only tripped over her feet twice, both times when a breeze shifted Gilheim's loincloth. Luckily for her, she simply froze, so she avoided any spills.
"Elder Tanir!" Gilheim ran ahead of them to a longhouse.
"Gilheim, welcome back, my boy."
"Run into anything exciting?" a jeering voice asked.
"Thank you, Elder. Actually, Telk, I did into something very interesting."
"Do tell us," Telk teased.
"I had the honor of escorting..."
"Some pigs back to the pasture?" Another voice taunted. Male laughter echoed all around.
"No, I..."
"You smell of swine Gilheim, can't you yell your report from outside?"
Izzy watched as Meryn marched into the longhouse as if she owned the place, Ryuu right behind her.
"Ride or die," she said, looking up at Pierce.
"Ride or die." Together they walked in after her.
"I see that being a douchebag isn't restricted to just vampires. I have to admit, this is my first time meeting green douchebags," Meryn said, smiling sweetly at the group of males sitting on the floor in a circle.
"Bitch, this is a leader meeting," the asshole from early started.
"Good. I'm just in time. What are we discussing?" Meryn asked.
The green man with a head full of white hair chuckled. "Gilheim, this wouldn't happen to be who you ran into during your patrol, would it?"
"Yes, Elder. This is Meryn McKenzie, daughter of Eamon. She wanted to see our village," Gilheim explained.
"Lies! No fae comes here willingly. Even when we trade, we have to do it during the deepest part of the dim," Telk yelled, rising to his feet. He took a step forward to tower over Meryn.
Gilheim immediately moved between them. "You would dare approach one such as she in anger?"
"As if you would do anything," Telk sneered.
Gilheim placed his colossal hand on Telk's chest and pushed. Telk flew backward, hitting the ground hard.
The Elder stood. "Have you found something worth fighting for Gilheim, son of Gilliad?"
Izzy watched in fascination as a tiny winged being
fluttered around Telk trying to help. It wasn't a sprite, because, like Gilheim, he was also green, but instead of flat teeth, he had a mouth full of sharp teeth like a shark. When Telk backhanded the tiny creature, she rushed forward to pick him up. Telk ignored them both as he walked back to Gilheim.
"I have Elder. I will not allow Telk to harm Eamon's daughter," Gilheim declared.
"I challenge you Gilheim, for the insult you have paid me," Telk spit as he yelled.
"Accepted. I will wait for you in the challenge circle," Gilheim said, turning his back to Telk to walk out of the longhouse.
Grinning, Telk reached under his vest to pull out a sharp blade.
"Meryn! Tase!" she yelled when she saw the knife.
Without hesitating, Meryn pulled out her stick and a blue spark lit up the interior of the longhouse right before Telk collapsed, sending the blade spinning on the ground.
"He would cheat?" Gilheim asked, sounding shocked.
Meryn laughed. "Look at you, now look at him. You're like twice his size, of course he was trying to cheat."
Gilheim turned to the Elder. "I can wait until he wakes to continue."
The Elder shook his head. "As you were willing to fight and die to defend Meryn, daughter of Eamon, she was also willing to fight to save your life. I rule this challenge to be forfeited by Telk. What would you take that is his? Maybe his leadership position?"
Gilheim ducked his head. "I enjoy a simple life Elder. He can keep his position."
Izzy looked down where the tiny creature hid behind her fingers. "Can we have him? I don't know what ties he has to Telk, but he was trying to help him when Telk hit him," Izzy explained cuddling him close when he began to shake.
Gilheim turned to Meryn. "Is that acceptable to you?"
Meryn met Izzy's eyes, and she nodded. "Yes. I hate bullies."
The Elder walked forward and took Meryn's hand. "I knew another fae who hated bullies. He would run in the shadows and sleep in the shade. He saw creatures for who they were, not what they were."
Meryn's eyes filled. "My dad?"
The Elder nodded. "He saved Gilheim when he was just a young gobling from a pack of wild wolves."
Izzy walked forward. "Is that why he was willing to fight for her?"
The Elder nodded. "Eamon was raised amongst humans and ran a bit wild. He had no preconceived notions when he came to Éire Danu fully grown. Eamon Vi'Eirlea has many friends in the Dark Forest."