“Gracious, how repulsive.” The High Queen made a moue of distaste, her perfect lips curved downward. She waved one dismissive hand, obviously not interested in hearing anything more involving unpleasant physical symptoms.
“Mortal bodies are so fragile; I do not know how you abide them. Well, I am sure that the Baba Yaga will find a solution in time.” The Queen sat up even straighter, her posture as rigid and unforgiving as her rule.
“Unfortunately, it has come to Our attention that We have an even more pressing problem,” Queen Morena said.
Beka felt her stomach sink down to the level of her slippers. Now what?
Gwrtheyrn growled a little at the Otherworld Queen’s abrupt dismissal, and the suggestion that there was something more important than the welfare of his people, but Boudicca pressed a cautioning hand to his arm and he subsided.
“Um, what is this new crisis, Your Majesty?” Beka asked with a growing sense of dread. She hadn’t even been able to come up with a solution for the first disaster; how the hell was she supposed to fix another one?
“And why call us here if not to discuss our calamity at greater length?” Gwrtheyrn added, bitterness coloring his voice.
The Queen gave him a sharp glance, clearly not liking his tone, and two of the crystal formations on the wall cracked and went dim. Overhead, a massive stalactite creaked ominously and a few of the courtiers who had accompanied the royal couple looked up anxiously before sidling unobtrusively a few feet to the left.
“This new issue concerns your people as well, Gwrtheyrn,” she said, her incandescent purple stare circling around to include all of the Selkies and Mer in the great cavern. “You would appear to have renegades in your ranks.”
“Renegades, Majesty?” Boudicca repeated, but Beka got the impression that the Mer Queen wasn’t entirely as taken aback as she tried to seem. “Surely not.”
The High King shifted on his bench, no longer smiling. “Are you questioning the Queen’s word, Boudicca?” His expression grew as dark as his neatly pointed beard.
“Certainly not, Your Highness,” Boudicca said, hurriedly dropping a curtsy and bowing her head. “I was merely expressing dismay at the thought that any of our subjects might be behaving in ways that have offended Your Majesties.”
Nice save, Beka thought. But what the hell is going on, and why am I the one who has to fix it?
“We have received reports,” the Queen continued, ignoring the interruption, “telling of magical creatures who are actively working against the Humans in the region. Not many, as yet, but those who are doing so are breaking Our rules, which specifically forbid malicious behavior that might draw attention to the existence of those of Us who are Other.”
Beka swallowed hard, remembering her conversation with Kesh about how he and his friends were driving away the fish from their normal routes. Surely that wasn’t worthy of the Queen’s ire—it wasn’t as though the fishermen had blamed anything other than the weather or bad luck for their lack of good catches. And Kesh was the King’s son; there was no way he would be involved with renegades. She’d talk to him when she got home. But surely not.
“Uh, is there some reason that you believe that there are Selkies and Mer involved?” Beka asked.
The Queen shrugged, one elegant shoulder moving barely more than a millimeter in a rustle of silk. “Those are the tales We are told by those who remain in the mundane world. Your own mentor Brenna returned from a recent visit and spoke of a Mermaid who was spotted singing to men on a boat and trying to lure them onto the rocks, as in the days of old. And let Us speak true here—most of those remaining on that side of the doorway are Selkies and Mer, who could not come with the rest when We withdrew the majority of our people back to the safety of this world. Who else could be responsible for this disturbance?”
“If this is so, why bring the Baba Yaga into it?” Gwrtheyrn asked, his proud face haughty and affronted. “Do you not trust us to control our own people?”
The King held up a pacifying hand. “It is not a matter of trust, King Gwrtheyrn. But We have heard that some of these renegades may have ties high up in your government and deep into the remaining local paranormal community as well. We thought it best to have someone from the outside look into this, so you might avoid conflict within your court at a time when you need most to come together in unity.”
“Ah,” Gwrtheyrn said, subsiding. Boudicca just looked depressed.