Page 45 of Swords and Curses

"I've thought about it, but it's been too long. My family is here now, and the Gwaed Gam…"

"The Gam can manage themselves. We step in only when we have to. Most of them barely know we exist. They fear the threat of you and Balthasar, but they don't need you to babysit them." Zalan took a pipe from his coat and filled the air with clove-scented tobacco. "I follow my studies now, and the Gam under my rule keep to their own laws. The ones that came with me here are my handpicked elite. They come when I call, but they too keep to themselves in their own stronghold. They don't need me watching over them like children."

"Perhaps you are right," Eli sighed, sipping his whiskey. As his power was growing, his want or need for blood was growing less and less. "My family is still here, however. Rosa is new to her powers, and Merlin… I only just got him back. I won't let the queen or any long-forgotten allegiance to the Unseelie compromise that."

"You always were a soft touch with the children," Zalan said. "The girl is going to be stunning when she's trained. I could feel the power rolling off her when she wielded the sword. I don't think there was a soldier amongst my ranks who didn't want her."

"You'd best warn them not to try to seduce her. Balthasar will tear them apart if they so much as breathe in her direction, not to mention what Merlin may do," Eli said and laughed. "I'm pleased that they don't fight with each other."

"Merlin may care for her, but it's the half-breed Seelie girl his soul hums for." Zalan blew a fragrant cloud into the air. "I know I don't have to warn you how dangerous that liaison could be. The queen could be using her even now."

"She won't succeed. The queen has done something to her mind, but once I find a way to release her from it, Nimue will be herself again."

"You're a lot more forgiving than I remember; especially since it was her that cost you Deryn."

"Ryncost me Deryn. Nimue was a girl that came to us much like Rosa. She was of the lower class but yearned for knowledge and a place in the world. We all loved her and Deryn most of all. She would want me to help her, to see past her rash actions. It was love that drove her, and Merlin is angry enough at her for the both of us," Eli replied with a shake of his head. "Maybe I am getting old enough to crave peace and happiness for my children. Rosa killed Ryn, and it was as if a burden was lifted that I had carried for so long I'd forgotten what it was like without it. Nimue made Merlin happy once. I want that for him, so I will help her and try to move on from what happened. Deryn would haunt me if I didn't."

"Your wife was a good woman. I miss her scolding you," Zalan replied, a smile stretching across his face. "The mighty Seren Du brought to heel by a human woman. I thought of only one other that could slaughter your will so easily. Gods, I adored Eirianwen. She was like ice and fire embodied in a woman."

"Eirianwen Eira," Eli breathed. "There's a name I haven't heard for centuries. Maybe my memory isn't as good as you seem to think."

"Or you've buried her," Zalan said.

"I had to bury my two great loves or drown in their loss. We live too long and love far too hard."

"That might be one of your traits, dear brother, not necessarily the Unseelie." Zalan got to his feet and stretched. "I was far smarter and devoted my life to understanding the unseen world. Women were a mystery I knew I could never solve."

"Wisest of brothers." Eli got to his feet and hugged his brother tightly to him. "Thank you for coming."

"You are the Seren Du. Time and lands do not change that," Zalan said letting him go. "I love you more than the breath in my body, brother. I'll always come to your aid."

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Rosa woke to the sound of Saul banging on her door. "Get up, Bal, we've got trouble," he said through the timber. "Don't make me come in there."

"Coming," Balthasar murmured and yawned. He ran a hand over Rosa's bare thigh, and she smiled, shifting herself backward into him. "Don't torment me, Wylt." He kissed the back of her neck before slipping out from under the heavy covers. He tied a robe about himself and moved to kiss her sleepy smile. "Come along, my Rosa. They'll want you too."

"Go. I won't be long." As he disappeared out the door, Rosa climbed out of bed and stretched. Her muscles were on fire, but the heavy exhaustion of the night before had lifted. She tied her own robe about her and opened the curtains.

Looking down at the snow-covered cottage, she saw Eldon smoking near the hedges. She'd watched him carry Nimue to the cottage the night before, but she had been too weary to worry about it. She doubted if he'd slept at all with the woman under his roof.Eldon Blaise is more than capable of taking care of himself. Rosa shook herself and went to get dressed. Whatever Nimue and Eldon had to sort out didn't concern her.

Downstairs, the Vanes, Zalan, and his generals sat around the boardroom table with the grim faces of the southern lords up on a screen. Rosa moved past the guards and took her seat in between Balthasar and Saul.

"What's happened?" she whispered to Saul.

"The south was invaded as I predicted," he replied. "They came through the other portals at the same time we were attacked last night."

"Maybe the Autumn Queen thought that she could bring her soldiers in on the sly and move north to take Gwaed Lyn," Rosa said, and Saul nodded.

"That was our conclusion too. It was lucky I had them watching the portals. Otherwise, she would've succeeded."

"Your forethought is commendable, nephew," Zalan said with a nod in his direction. "My own scouts have confirmed that the northern portals have been activated in the last twenty-four hours. While they appreciate the sport, we need to gather our strength and be better prepared when the next attack occurs."

"I would think that we gave them enough of a fight that they won't try again anytime soon," Lady Southgate said.

"She was testing our defenses. This is barely an attack," Eli interrupted. "The Autumn Queen will be back. You've all felt the shift in your abilities. Power is seeping from the Seelie, and the Autumn Queen must stop this trickle before it becomes a flood. It has already begun to snow in the Aos Si."

"How do you know of this?" Richard Riverclear asked.

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