Calista tsk tsked her for using my name, but I loved that Violet, like Blaine, treated me no differently now that I was queen.
I took a seat beside her as Calista scurried off to whatever was next on her list of to-do’s. I was starting to think she worked a lot harder than me, a fact I was very grateful for.
I let out a breath, settling in beside my best friend. “Sorry about the delay. Very important morning. Had to be fitted for my summer festival dress, and then got into a scintillating debate about assigned parking in Manhattan,” I said with as much heavy sarcasm as I could muster.
She grinned. “Sounds absolutely dreadful. I have something that will cheer you up.” She leaned forward and pulled a vial from her pocket. The liquid inside was pinkish purple and dancing slowly, as if waiting to burst out the second the stopper was lifted.
“What’s that?” I inspected it closer. It smelled faintly floral … the same floral scent the fae carried on them. My eyebrow rose as I used my queen voice. “Violet … what is in there?”
I was a combination of excited and a bit terrified of what she would say. One never knew with Violet.
She quirked one side of her mouth. “Tuatha magic,” she whispered as two of the kitchen staff came through the large double doors, bringing our lunch. My heart was hammering in my chest as I waited for the silver platters to be set in front of me and for the attendants to leave. Once they did, Violet opened her palm again.
“The fae we fought at King Kade’s estate came in through the water. I’m sure of it. The fae we spoke to in Astoria Park left through the water, and the ercho that attacked you in Central Park…”
“Water,” I said breathlessly.
Violet gestured to the pink vial. “I cloaked myself and slipped into the council’s secret spell book chambers––”
I grabbed her by the wrist. “Vi! You could have been executed if you were caught.”
Wait. There was a secret spell book chamber? Why did I not know this?
She shrugged my hand off, gently, but still firm. It bothered her when even I touched her, especially with all the mecca energy inside of me. She saw too much, felt too much. In my astonishment, I’d forgotten.
“You’re queen now. Nothing should be secret from you,” Violet said.
True. And at least she hadn’t been caught. Yet anyway.
I nodded for her to continue.
“I had heard that all the best spells and books were hidden away. Magic born talk about it all the time. It’s the Holy Grail for us. I decided to see if I could find it, and you know what, it wasn’t even that well hidden.” She looked mighty put out by that, like the council hadn’t taken her powers seriously. “Anyway, I have to say those old losers are really a bunch of horned toads, far worse than I originally thought. They’ve been holding out on all of us, especially in light of recent developments. They have an entire stack of fae magic books.”
Those last words were declared in a rushed whisper-scream.
I sat there for a moment, trying to absorb what she was saying. How could the council not tell me about this? Now, when we could be on the brink of war and needed every weapon at our disposal. What the heck were they playing at? This next meeting with them was going to be interesting, I wouldn’t stand for this secrecy any longer. No doubt this was why Torine already seemed to know more than any other about the Tuatha de Danann.
Forcing my ire down, I focused on Violet’s vial. “Okay, so fae travel through water and you stole a fae magic book … keep going.”
I had no doubt I was going to have to make sure I remained queen just to ensure Violet didn’t get sentenced to death by the council.
She shook the vial. “So it turns out that water is the easiest place for the fae to cast their spell and open a doorway between the Otherworld and Earth. Water acts like a mirror which reflects both sides. I haven’t had a chance to test it yet, but this should close the water to any portals.”
I grinned. That was definitely worth annoying the council over. Here’s hoping it worked.
“Violet, you’re a genius.”
With a fae war looming on the horizon, this might just turn the tides in our favor.
She put a hand out. “Don’t get too excited. It doesn’t work on extra-large bodies of water. Only about a hundred foot stretch, but it’s enough to secure Central Park and the waterfront at the wolf estate on the Island. Unfortunately, I could find nothing strong enough to work on all the ocean which surrounds us.”
So many of our homes were waterfront, prime real estate, but turns out against the fae, that’s not the best for our safety. I was grateful that this magic would help with some of the smaller bodies of water; any way we could cut the fae off was a good thing. I took the vial and gave her a side hug, which she quickly returned before moving away.
“You’re the best,” I said, before a thought hit me. “Hey, is there any way you could make one more for—”
She dropped a second vial in my hand. “There’s enough there for King Kade’s Staten home and the bear estate on the Island. Nikoli will know what to do.”
I could always count on my best friend to think ahead. She’d probably already told Nikoli about it. He was Kade’s royal magic born and seemed to be almost as powerful as Violet.
Almost.
I put the two vials in my pocket before picking up my turkey and bacon sub. I’d just opened my mouth to take the first bite when Violet spoke again.
“So what’s with you and King Kade?” Her tone was relaxed, almost uninterested, but those white-blue eyes were locked on me, watching with intensity. I opened my mouth before closing it again. What could I say about Kade and me? It was … I didn’t even understand it.
Her next words were even softer. “When he looks at you Ari, it’s like … it’s like I can see the energy between you both. More than anything I’ve seen before. Even in true love pairs.”
I sucked in a ragged breath. Damn Violet, leave it to her to not ask a word about us for weeks and then drop this. I set the sandwich down and cleared my throat. I couldn’t keep it bottled up any longer, and I trusted my oldest friend.
“You know that bear I kissed on the Island when I was fifteen?”
Some of her seriousness faded, and a smile of remembrance crossed her face. “Scrawny guy? You talked about him for weeks.”
I sighed. “That’s Kade.”
Now it was Violet’s turn for her mouth to pop open in surprise. “Holy shifter,” she breathed. “Girl, he is so not scrawny.”
I chuckled. “Yeah, he’s not now. So yeah, we have this history, and then he was in the garden at the Summit and he remembered me. He kissed me. It’s … I’m the queen of the wolves and he’s a bear king.”
I let my words trail off and Violet’s eyes darkened as she read some emotion across my face. She reached out a hand to lightly touch mine before pulling away; she didn’t say anything more. We both knew there was nothing either of us could do or say. No matter the attraction Kade and I shared, we could never be. After this we ate in companionable silence, both of us lost in our own thoughts.