Page 81 of Crown of the Fae King

“This problem ye’re mulling. Life or death, business? Or just…a wee man?”

I laughed. “Maybe to you he might seem wee. But you and he could probably share a wardrobe.”

“Heaven forefend! A Welshman in my kilt?” He made a face and I laughed.

“He’s Irish, originally. So…the chances of him being the enemy have gone up a little.”

“Auch, dinnae believe it. Wales is thick with them as well. Cannae swing a dead cat in the British Isles and not knock a fairy on his arse.” He nudged me again. “Ye’re keen on him then? This professor?”

“I am.”

“And ye think this tiny thing is enough to stop ye?”

“Tiny thing? You mean the little problem of him possibly being the enemy?”

He gestured to The Covenant projected on the wall. “Considering the grand war to come, having a friend on the other side might prove helpful.”

“War?”

“Aye. Conflicts like this always tend to end that way.”

I remembered he’d fought and died in a big war already. And considering, he seemed nonchalant about doing so again.

“Ye see that woman over there,” he said, pointing slyly at his wife sitting six feet away and listening to every word.

“The pretty one?”

“Isn’t she just?” I’d never heard him sound wistful before. “Aye, the pretty one. I’ll tell ye, after knowing that woman a day—a day, mind—I was willing to do anything for her. Even fight O’Ryan’s beasties, and I’ll be honest, they’re much more frightening than Kitchen’s drawing. The point is, ye never ken. One of these days, yer professor might be willing to do anything for you. And if that happens, well, God help Wickham if he tries to keep ye apart.”

He grabbed the back of my neck and pulled me over, then pressed a kiss on the top of my head before returning to his wife. Everly seemed surprised at what he’d done, and she turned away from him to blink back tears.

I didn’t understand. Two men had just talked about the end of the world. I’d heard the same translation they had, and I hadn’t seen it that way. If O’Ryan collects all the Fae King’s powers, it only means he’ll be in charge. And if we could stop him from getting just one of the seven, that wouldn’t happen.

The only people for which the covenant spelled doom was the Denoy, whoever they were. And if that contract was as old as I thought it was, they’d already been eliminated. But if not, I realized we’d probably end up hunting them too…

Persi and Kitchreturned to the room looking a little…flushed. I hadn’t noticed them leave. When they took their seats, they were both careful not to look at each other.

Loretta seemed to be watching as closely as I was. She covered her mouth and said something to Lorraine, who then leaned closer to the camera, but it was unclear where she was looking.

Wickham cleared his throat and tapped a lidded marker on the board. “Lots to keep track of. We’ll list our imperatives here, then decide their priorities. Everyone chime in. No standin’ on ceremony.”

“Well,” said Brian, “it seems we must discover who Moire is and what she saw. Was it she who did the naming? Were the Naming Powers hers and then given to the king? Or were they always parts of his power, his crown, as it were.”

Wickham wroteMoire/Sight/Naming/Powers.

Next line,7 Naming Powers what are they?Then he crossed out7and wrote8.

Locate Thirds.

Loretta raised her hand. “We need to know more about Hank, dear.”

Wickham nodded and wroteCloch Realta/Power?/Uncast. If they found out Hank’s function, it wasn’t going to come from me.

Kitch spoke next. “I’d like to know how old The Covenant is. Then we’ll know how old the Grandfather was. Might be helpful to know, is all I’m sayin’.”

Everly asked who the Denoy were.

Urban made a noise. “And I would like to ken who Griffon Carew is. Can he be trusted?”

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