Summer
The moon was still low in the sky, signaling evening time. Beth took a moment to grip the railing and breathe. She felt like it had been days since she hadn’t been on the verge of a heart attack. Her attempt at relaxing wasn’t really any use though, tonight was no exception. But at least she had a goal now. Hide somewhere that Ronan couldn’t find her. Figure out his endgame.
She pushed inside and was immediately engulfed in the scent of weed and burnt food. She needed to find Benji, say goodbye, and pack a damn bag. But she didn’t find him in his room. She checked the kitchen, bathroom, basement and everywhere else in the house. Just when panic was beginning to overtake her she heard grunting from the back yard.
Beth peered out the kitchen window. Their back yard was a jungle, surrounded by a crumbling, nine-foot-high privacy fence, the large rectangle was nearly as overgrown, and vine covered as the house. The exception was a patch that Sebastian kept mowed for sparring, bordered by tiki torches for night time training. This is where she found Benji now. Between the twins who seemed to be both attacking him simultaneously.
Her Benji was holding his own though, she realized with admiration. He was barely even calling forth his fire to stave them off. It was mostly hand to hand.
Beth made her way to the hall and the back door, stepping out onto the small back porch that was even more ramshackle than the front. She and Benji had had such visions of restoration when they’d bought this house. Perhaps the dream wasn’t completely out of reach, if she ever got to come back here.
Beth didn’t dwell on her decor dreams long. The slamming shut of the screen door behind her alerted the others to her presence and they all blinked up at her, quickly dropping out of fighting stance. It had been only a few hours since she’d seen Benji, but she rushed into his arms anyway, throwing herself at him like a wildcat.
He was sweaty and a little unsteady but managed to catch her, squeezing tightly.
“Whoa, you okay? Was it bad?” He smoothed a hand over her hair.
Beth swallowed and clung, trying to find the words to explain to him what had happened to his cousin. “I saw Ronan do something terrible,” she finally whispered.
His dark eyes got even darker when he pulled away to look at her. “Yeah?” His tone held a note of I-told-you-so, but it was faint.”
Beth debated telling him the whole truth for only a split second. He deserved to know. “Delphine is dead,” she whispered.
Benji looked as if someone had struck him, he staggered back. “What?”
“I’m leaving. I have to find somewhere to hide where Ronan can’t find me, and the Queen can’t use my oath against me. I need to figure things out.”
Benji’s eyes threatened to bulge out of his head, but he swallowed and nodded.
“I just came home to pack a bag and say goodbye.”
“There is only one place the Knight won’t find you, Beth,” Liam said, stepping toward them.
Beth jumped. She’d forgotten completely that the twins were there. They looked extra ethereal in the glow of the tiki torches.
Hope blossomed in her chest at Liam’s words. “Yeah?” she breathed, turning to him.
Sian stepped up beside him. “The Seelie Court. Ronan Mac Nevin has to have special permission to enter.”
“We can get you in, as a guest.”
For a moment, Beth was speechless. “How do you…” Her eyes widened as the realization hit her. “You’re Light Fae. Oh my god. How did I not … I can’t believe …”
She was sputtering. Beside her, Benji’s incredulous expression mirrored her own.
“This is a discussion for later, after you are safely tucked away,” said Sian.
“Don’t all Unseelie need special permission to enter the Seelie realm? Not just Ronan?” Benji asked.
“Yes,” said Liam, “but you need not worry. Our Queen is gracious. We can get you there right away. Ronan will have to beg entrance from not only our sovereign but his own, as well as our Knight. It could take some time, and you will be well protected there.”
It sounded almost too good to be true, despite the fact that Beth didn’t really have any desire to find out what kind of monster Etaine would turn out to be. She had no doubt that she would be a monster, though. Underneath her sheen of beauty and grace. Just like Maeve.
“A-And we can leave now? I don’t have much time.”
“I’m coming with you,” Benji announced, gripping Beth’s arm and squeezing reassuringly.
“What? No. It’s dangerous.”
“I’m sick of sitting on the sidelines and letting you risk yourself. This won't be that bad, and you’ll need a friend.”
Beth wasn’t sure he fully believed the ‘this won’t be that bad’ part of his sentence, but it still made her relax more into the idea.
She looked to the twins, silently asking permission for Benji to come too.
“Of course, Sian said, pale eyes twinkling. “Go pack a small bag, each of you.”
Once in her bedroom, Beth found herself wishing she had finer clothes to take to the Seelie Court, despite her misgivings. She sighed and stuffed her only dress into the small tote she’d chosen, along with her last in-tact pair of jeans and a handful of underwear. As she picked through her t-shirts and tank tops she was hit with just how many clothes she’d lost this week. It had certainly been a roller coaster, but it had been hell on her wardrobe too.
Beth met Benji in the hall. She wished they had time for a bath and a smoke, but the urgency was thick in the air. She wasn’t sure how long the Hedge King - her father - would be able to hold Ronan off. He would surely find her shortly after.
She looked into her best friend’s eyes and gave him her bravest smile. “Are you sure about this? You don’t have to come with me. I don’t know how long I’ll be gone and you have obligations here.”
Benji snorted. “I have a shitty overnight job that pays about as much as I get laid, which is barely. There’s nothing holding me here except the house, except you. Besides, I go where you go. Always did.”
Beth chewed on her lip for a moment before nodding and walking down the stairs. Sian and Liam met them at the bottom.
“You have nothing to worry about here,” said Liam placidly. “You know Sebastian would never let the house fall into debt or disrepair.”
“True,” Beth agreed. She let out a breath and offered them a grateful smile. “So, where are we going?”
“You’ll know soon enough. Come, we’ve got to catch the bus into the city.” Sian pulled on a light periwinkle jacket and led the small group outside.
It was the same bus that took Beth to the Glen, but a very different stop. Instead of getting off when the buildings were massed and the businesses plenty they dismounted near the main entrance to Boston Public Garden. It was a beautiful autumn night with trees full of multicolored leaves, quietly whispering in the uncharacteristically warm breeze.
Sian and Liam took a turn off the concrete path immediately and soon the four of them were immersed in dense foliage. Beth could feel the buzz in the air of a nearby portal. The same buzz she felt at the glen; tingles and ardor. It was a little bit of a rush. Not as much of a rush as the Cthonic, but enough that she had regulars at the bar who would who would sit nearest the door leading to the portal that lead to the Unseelie realm every night, just reveling in the rush of energy it exuded.
Beth could tell Benji felt it too because he took a deep breath and reached for her hand, squeezing.
Liam pulled back a few branches from a gargantuan lilac bush and there it was, shimmering in the side of a massive oak like a beacon of refuge. Beth’s heart began to pound and she took a step forward. But of course, this gate would have a guardian as well.
A figure stepped out of the side of the tree and moved to block their path and Beth gasped when she recognized him. It was Trina’s cousin. The wood nymph that had a hand in kidnapping her not so long ago. Despite the tinge of betrayal, Beth was flushed with relief to know that he had survived the Drochaid.
“Thorn,” she said, rushing forward. “You made it through! Are you okay? Is Trina okay?”
The fierce warrior bore a small smile, his brown eyes warm as he rested them upon her. “Yes. Trina is fine. Everyone made it, thanks to you.”
“How did you get this gig so fast?” Benji asked curiously.
“The last guard was slain recently by a revenant and I volunteered my services in exchange for asylum.”
Beth swallowed down a groan at the image of revenants murdering someone and forced a smile. “I hope the job isn’t too much of a burden.”
“In exchange for my family’s safety? Never.”
“Will you let us through, Steward of the Gate?” Liam asked.
Thorn raised an eyebrow. “They are Unseelie, Solas. You know they need permission from the Queen.”
It had been so long since Beth had encountered the twins’ last name that it took her a moment to realize who Thorn was referring to.
“And they shall have it once we’ve entered,” Sian insisted. “We only need to get there. Then we will have the Lady Etain’s ear.”
Thorn’s lips twitched in an almost amused sort of manner and he looked over the group once more. “I should not,” he said solemnly, “but I owe you a debt, Elizabeth Mac Nevin. Consider it repaid.”
Beth bobbed her head excitedly. “Of course, Thorn. I’m just glad that everyone is okay.”
He gave her another almost smile and stepped aside, waving them on toward the shimmering portal.
Sian and Liam strode through first, followed by Beth and Benji, still hand in hand.
It was night time in the Seelie realm as well. The peaceful sway of the trees in the Boston Public Garden was replaced by an air of sultry excitement. The trees here whispered frolicsome secrets to one another, urged on by the warm winds caressing the leaves. The portal let out into another forest, but it certainly wasn’t the dreadful darkness of the Drochaid. Or perhaps it was, just so close to the edge of it that Beth couldn’t sense the same sickening obscurity that she could from the other side.
They followed Sian and Liam through the woodland, able only to keep them in sight because of the way their pale hair reflected the moonlight. When they emerged from the trees, however, the twins were once again lit up like they’d been in the backyard by the tiki torches.
In fact, the entire field that they’d come upon was illuminated. The nickname ‘Summerland’ truly fit the Seelie Court, for it looked exactly like a summer festival. Large canvas tents made up a labyrinthine city, going on as far as Beth could see. The air smelled like sweet Fae wine, and candles and torches lit the pathways. In the distance they could hear music; lutes and drums and maybe a pan flute or two.
It was breathtaking.
So stunned was Beth by the sight that Benji had to tug her forward when the twins began wending their way through the structures. Some of the tents were closed but most were open, boasting small parties of smiling Fae doing some activity or another. Some were dancing, some playing cards, some just laughing. They passed clearings full of audiences watching Fae spin flaming poi or swallow flaming swords. Drummers with large djembes accompanied belly dancers.
“Are they celebrating something?” Beth murmured curiously.
Liam laughed, and somehow the sound was deeper here, heartier than it had ever been back in the mortal realm. “No. This is a typical night in the Seelie Court.”
Beth felt like she was walking through a dream. Parties happened often at the Unseelie Court, it was true. But there was an air of joyousness here that was absent there. The clothes were more modern here as well, though some people wore traditional renaissance type garb most wore button downs and sundresses.
Sian and Liam smiled at all the goings on fondly but didn’t stop to watch anything. They led the two Unseelie to the center of the encampment where a large tent stood just a little taller than the rest. Instead of canvas it seemed to be made of red and gold material, quilted together with some shimmering thread.
Two men guarded the door, their armor made of leather. Their expressions were stern but absent, staring off into the night. They each broke into smiles when the four of them arrived.
“Bout time you got here, Solas. She’s been expecting you,” one of them said. He seemed to address both of the twins while only using the singular of their name. Beth was a little amused to find she wasn’t the only one who thought of them as a single unit.
“Long night, Adolaine? Bored, are we?” Sian quipped, giving the guard a flirty grin.
Beth stared at her. Never had she ever witnessed Sian being coquettish. It was so unsettling that Beth felt the urge to cross her arms.
“Just go in.” The other guard rolled his eyes and pulled back the red curtain to reveal a brightly lit area.
The four of them entered.
Upon a small wooden dais, on a flaxen throne constructed of finely carved wood, sat the most gorgeous woman that Beth had ever laid eyes on. She was the exact opposite of Maeve in every way. Her skin was sun-kissed and her hair was pale gold, wound into ringlets that spilled freely around her shoulders. Her eyes were the brightest green and her lips were the glossiest pink. Her angelic smile was all but blinding as the four of them came before her.
Sian and Liam knelt immediately and Beth and Benji followed suit. Beth figured it was a good idea to be respectful if she was going to seek shelter here.
“Rise,” she said, her voice as dainty as a feather on the wind.
They did so, and the twins parted and fell to the sides, putting Beth and Benji in the foreground.
The Queen looked them over, her celestial smile never faltering. It was Beth upon whom she settled her gaze. Beth’s heart began to pound.
“Elizabeth Mac Nevin,” she said. “Welcome to the Seelie Court.”