Page 27 of Kings and Monsters

"Fire Heart is hard to forget." Bleddyn laid his hand on his shoulder. "I'm honored to have his kin by my side."

"And what of your own kin?" The third man had been lurking near the door as if he was unsure what kind of welcome he'd receive. When he finally stepped forward, Rosa's magic shuddered inside of her, like a deep thrum. The man was a little shorter than Bleddyn and looked like he could've been Merlin's clean-shaven, respectable Unseelie doppelgänger.

"Holy crap." Rosa stepped forward and gave him an impertinent poke in the chest. "Where do you fit into the tree, cousin?"

His clenched jaw softened in the face of Rosa's friendliness. "I'm the son of Nesta, Bleddyn's Aunt."

"Daesyn? You were just a little baby when last I saw you." Bleddyn looked him over before smiling. "Look at the fine man you have become. I'm so happy to see you." He held out his hand, and they clasped each other's forearms. Rosa knew it was the closest the Unseelie came to a man hug. Rosa had no such hang-ups. She pulled the startled Daesyn into a hug and kissed his cheek.

"Hello, cousin. I'm Rosa."

"Let the poor man breathe, Rhosyn." Merlin gently tugged her back. "Welcome home, Daesyn. Don't mind Rosa. She is excitable."

"It's quite all right." Daesyn grinned at Rosa, and it was pure Seren Du. "I'm honored to be kissed by the woman who killed Ryn Eurion."

"Oh, good, you've met," Bran soared into the room, his robes and wild hair blowing around him like a mad wizard. "We had best get started."

"I don't remember you being invited," Madoc said.

"I don't remember caring. I go where I am needed, not where I am wanted," Bran snapped, eyes fierce under his brows.

Madoc wisely shut up.

Rosa hadn't been to many of the Vane's 'War Councils' when she had been back in the real world, and trying to sit through men arguing reminded her why she had left such things to Balthasar.

Eirianwen kept pace with the other generals, but it became clear that Madoc resented her presence. Eirianwen ignored the way he talked over and dismissed her ideas. It was'Mansplaining—the Faerie Edition,' and a few times Rosa had looked at Eirianwen, silently asking permission to teach the impertinent general a lesson in manners. Each time Eirianwen had shaken her head at her, eyes dancing with amused understanding.

"How do you propose we move these stones?" Madoc demanded when Arthur repeated his idea.

"Merlin has done it before," Arthur replied coolly. "He once moved stones from Ireland to England. Many hundreds of leagues."

"And over an ocean." Merlin lit a cigarette, ignoring the disapproving look Bleddyn gave him. "I can teach my father and Bran the form of the magic if you are concerned that my power alone won't be enough."

"Why would Bleddyn need to know it? Where do you plan on being?"

"That's not something you need to be concerned about." Merlin smiled threateningly and refused to elaborate.

"I can create a good enough diversion at this border here." Eirianwen pointed. "Something that can provoke the Autumn Queen out of her nest. She has an affinity with the forest there?—"

"How would you know that? Does your halfling blood tell you?" Madoc sneered.

Bleddyn tensed, and Eirianwen locked her steady eyes on Madoc.

"I know it because she keeps a temple to Braciaca there, the only one she has visited since she cast the eternal autumn," she replied. "My blood has nothing to do with it."

Rosa frowned, trying to unravel what Madoc could mean. Merlin would be considered a halfling, as opposed to turned as she was. But Eirianwen looked full Unseelie. If she had been half human, Bleddyn would have said something. Somethingitched in Rosa's head, a title Bleddyn had once used to address Eirianwen…Child of Morning and Midnight.

"Your blood has everything to do with it. How do we know the queen didn't turn you while you were locked up in her prison? Your allegiance could be questionable due to your actions alone! Why didn't the queen just kill you? You can't be trusted. You're not even alive, you Bánánach?—"

"Bleddyn, don't!" Rosa cried out as she saw his wrist twitch.Widow's Furyrested under Madoc's chin, Bleddyn's face cold and impassive. "We have to be better than the queen. We can't kill every asshole we meet, or there will be no one left."

"My daughter's compassion stays my hand, but I promise you this—if you speak in that disrespectful tone or question Lady Eirianwen's loyalty again, I won't hesitate to gut you. Be worthy of this council, or you will be replaced," Bleddyn warned.

"I could steal his voice for you, my king," Bran offered, twisting his staff slowly. "By the time he learns to talk again, he might have learned to be cleverer with his words."

"Eirianwen, shall I kill him for you?" Bleddyn asked her. He hadn't moved his sword, and Madoc looked too afraid to breathe. She studied the general with calculating eyes.

"Let him live. He's a good soldier, and we have few enough of those," she said at last.

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