Page 30 of Wicked Things

“Yes, of course, Your Grace.”

“Make the necessary arrangements then. I believe the memorial service for His Grace was scheduled for tomorrow in the early evening. My men and I will make camp outside the gates until our rooms can be readied in the palace. Take out both the king’s and Ehlbert’s belongings and have their rooms cleaned thoroughly. We’ll see you all at the service tomorrow. Perhaps the next day, we can convene again. We might think of a plan together to draw the other old Sidhe kingdoms into one unified Aos Sídhe, with the same rights for everyone and ruled by one king. And that king, should any of you still harbor doubts, will be me.”

****

Fionn

We left them stunned and not talking much after that as we went down the steep hill to retrieve our men and make a camp outside the gates. Braden had been quiet since we left, but I could almost feel him thinking hard about the so-called atheling Ehlbert and his handsome son, Tadgh.

I hadn’t particularly liked the intense interest from Tadgh toward my consort, though I knew that Braden was greatly changed since Tadgh had last seen him. The glamour had cracked and fallen away just enough to draw the young warrior’s interest then—he was obviously the type of man to have easily aroused “interests.” But now that the glamour was completely gone, I knew exactly what he’d been looking at. Braden was very close to perfection, and the sight of him was enough to inflame and seduce anyone. I was glad I’d rushed through the wedding ceremony before we came here, and I counted myself very fortunate and grateful to have been the one that King Callum had chosen for his son.

To remind Braden of my claim on him, I reached over and took his hand as we rode out through the city gates, and he gave me a stunning smile in return that made me blink. It was a small wonder that I could barely keep my hands off the boy.

We set up camp about 500 yards from the gates, close enough to be seen across the open fields, but far enough away to maintain a bit of privacy. I sent a small party of men back into the city to visit the markets for food and anything else we might need to make sure we would be self-sufficient before the gates closed for the night. It was far too soon to rely on the Gorians to see to our needs, and I wasn’t a hundred percent sure I had that much trust in them anyway at this juncture. I had already decided to keep the council intact, though of course, I’d add some of my own people to it.

Tomorrow they would swear their fealty to me and to keep them all honest and ensure their loyalty, I’d take their sons (or daughters if they had no sons,) back with me to Murias to live and be educated there. Once I’d conquered Falias and Finias, I’d do the same with their councils. Any young, unmarried athelings too. It was my understanding there were two such men, younger brothers or stepbrothers to the kings of those countries—and they would also be found wives among my own most loyal subjects when the time came. Perhaps I’d offer the hand of my sister to one of them. The children of these unions would be claimed as Murian citizens.

Or perhaps I might start with Tadgh, the son of Ehlbert. I had to learn more about him, but I thought he could also make my sister Bridget a good husband. I would give them one of my castles in another part of my soon to be far flung kingdom to live in. My mother might even decide to go live with them, if I was very lucky, though that was probably too good to be true. I loved my mother, but she could be a bit much at times. And I hadn’t liked what she’d said about Braden. Maybe I’d give her little choice in the matter, after all.

Once we arrived at a good site for our camp, I joined my men in setting up the temporary structures we’d camp in and in building a simple corral, with a lean-to for the horses to help shelter them from the frequent rain showers prevalent in the area. Once I was satisfied that we were settled in, I went to find Braden.

Chapter Twelve

Braden

I was tired when we got to the place where we would be making camp, but it would be a while before the soldiers got around to putting up all the tents. As always, they took care of the horses first, making sure they had a small, “fenced” corral. They used tree branches and a liberal application of magic to build it, and they fed and watered the horses before seeing to their own comfort.

It would be a while yet before I could lie down and take a nap. This time the men were erecting a larger pavilion for the king and me to stay in, and it was taking more time. I hadn’t slept well since the incident with what Fionn called the “nixie,” or the water demon who had killed the young soldiers. And the ride to the capital city of Goriana had been long, hot and dusty. Since I was also bored and had nothing to do, because Fionn wouldn’t allow me to help, I soon felt so sleepy it was hard to keep my eyes open.

“What would you do?” Fionn had asked when I’d offered to help build the corral. “You’d only be in the way. Go sit down somewhere, and we’ll start on the pavilion soon.”

I’d “be in the way,” would I? I thought he must be referring to my lack of magic, using that as an excuse to treat me like a not very bright child. At least, no magic had presented itself as yet, so I assumed I didn’t have any. Fionn said it was a little like a muscle, and it had to be used and exercised, or it could atrophy. As soon as he had time, he’d told me he'd work on it with me. I wondered when that might be, because he never seemed to have any free time. Of course, at the moment I didn’t want him to spend time with me anyway. I was far too irritated with him.

I don’t know why I kept forgetting that Faeries and most of the Fae I’d ever heard of were rude, unpleasant assholes.

Fionn was a good king, from what I could tell, and worked all the time, and I could hardly fault him for that. But now that he was taking on the burden of expanding his kingdom, I wondered if he’d ever have any time left for me at all.

I tried not to be resentful, but damn it, that was how I felt. What was I supposed to do while he was off taking over kingdoms and making a unified Otherworld? My face may have changed, but I was as strong as I’d ever been, and as able to work. I would have liked to have helped make camp and make myself useful. And I still wanted to trade because it was something I enjoyed. It might have made me feel like a part of things, in a way, and less of an outsider. And though I was a merchant, or used to be, I hadn’t been born one and had worked hard for most of my life on my grandmother’s small holding in my old village. It was mainly chopping wood and carrying water and everyday chores, but it was still work. As my grandmother aged and grew ill, I’d had to add the household chores to my day, as well as taking care of her. No amount of Faery glamour or “magic” had ever helped with that.

I found a shady grove where I could sit and lean against a tree to watch the others work and feel resentful about it all in peace and quiet. I had to admit it was pleasant there, and since I was a little worn out, I soon found myself dozing in the warm sunlight. All around me, the pinkish-red-breasted bullfinches were loudly calling out to each other and fussing at the Faeries making so much noise and commotion in this usually quiet part of their field. I closed my eyes and listened, letting the birds express all my own frustration.

I had slipped into a silly dream about the birds turning into musicians playing on pipes, when I felt a warm hand ease down the front of my trousers, slide down my abdomen and give my cock a squeeze. I sat bolt upright with a little gasp.

I saw beautiful green eyes staring into mine at very close quarters, and I gave a startled squeak that elicited a laugh. My lord was kneeling beside me, gazing down at me fondly.

“I didn’t mean to scare you, mo chroi, but make that little sound for me again.”

I pushed at his chest, which didn’t move him one bit and pouted up at him. “You shouldn’t sneak up on a person like that. It’s not good for my heart.”

He kissed the tip of my nose as I tried to dodge away and smiled down at me again. “I did call out but you were snoring so loudly you didn’t hear me.”

“I don’t snore!”

“Hmm, well, somebody over here by this tree certainly does. Must have been the red squirrels. Noisy little bastards.” He got to his feet to help me up, leaning over and skimming his hand over my ass and lingering there as he pulled me to my feet. “Come on. Our tent is ready, and I suddenly feel the need for a little ‘nap’ myself.”

“Oh, I bet. We can’t do that here, in the middle of the afternoon. Someone will hear us.”

“And I should care why, exactly?”