The Battle of the Trees - Sword, Ring, and Crown Book Two

Chapter Eighteen

When the door opened, high-pitched squeals and excited jabbering of the lunantisidhe greeted us. Venetto growled at them and surprised me by putting me behind his back.

"Relax, big guy. They won't hurt you." I pushed at his back and tried to get around him, but he held my arm to keep me in place.

"Nay! These wee bugs are most foul. Thine flesh shalt rot slowly should they curse thee. Their bite hast more venom than a mighty vultura snake!"

Really? They could rot flesh and poison people? I  tilted my body to eye the pretty little faeries with more respect. Being tiny meant having either cunning or a big surprise waiting for any predator. I didn't begrudge them of their inherent danger. I addressed them like I would any person and hoped they'd understand. "Can you tell my father we are here, uh... ladies?" They were zipping around so frantically I couldn't tell their genders.

The lunantisidhe trilled and cackled as they spun and looped away down a hallway and disappeared. I looked around the foyer while we waited. It was like being in a cut-glass forest. Spikey, crystalline trees lined each wall, glowing with an inner light. The floors and ceiling were made of glass that was faceted like diamonds to reflect and dazzle with the light from the trees. In front of the trees were a series of identically uncomfortable-looking chairs - each formed from a single crystal. I sat down on one of the bumpy things and felt the facets bite into my backside. Venetto wisely stayed standing. They were the perfect chairs for unwanted guests.

"Hopefully, he's not too long, right?" I fidgeted in my prickly seat.

"Nay... he may wait until all the thirteen kingdoms fall. I would have thee answereth my questions, now."

I figured that if my father was coming, that kept him out of sight so he could listen in. I would have, being the nosey-nan that I am.

"Thirteen kingdoms? What are you talking about?"

"I will tell thee anon. Thou shalt answereth me."

So I spent the next ten minutes giving Venetto a quick summary about everything: my illegitimate birth between the Faerie Queene and an Edentree,  my lonely childhood, and betrayal by my only friend, my kidnap and subsequent forced marriages to six men, the trials to save both Earth and Aleria hopefully, and of Duir, which was the only time he made a noise as he growled with disgust. Next, I told him about my plans to bring unity to the people and how my pregnancy complicated my plans. And finally, I let him know about his link to me.

"...so, I need to marry you if it's okay. It will only be temporary," I finished.

"Thou ask much from me, sorceress... but I cannot deny that I canst neither harmeth thee nor hate thee. Thine link hath done its job on my soul. I see thou art no more a villain than a wee child, and a wee child is what all others think of thee. "

I smirked. "Yeah, I know."

"None of these wishes art thine own, sorceress. What wishes hath thee that art thine own?"

I looked up at him warily. What did he think I would want? Had he guessed? "What could be more important than saving everyone and fixing this messed-up world?"

He bent on one knee so he could give me that disconcerting, level stare he possessed. "Thou wouldst have another thing. I feel thy struggle, lass."

 I grimaced at his question, but I wasn't ready to tell him about my genuine wish to belong. It was too simple and too childish. "Can you just marry me until the contest is over? I really need your help." 

A quick exhale through his nose marked his annoyance, but despite his annoyance, his fingers had made their way to my hair once more. "It would be madness to twine myself with thy fate when thy desires would never work."