Page 23 of Beltane

Fuck.In all the catching up, none of us had mentioned the best part. A creak in the stairs alerted us to her presence as Diana descended in a flowing white gown, looking more regal than she had in months. We hadn’t seen her since we zapped her with our magic yesterday, but now she radiated with warmth and vitality. Her long pale hair no longer seemed dull and lifeless, and her cheeks had color to them, like she’d gotten a good night’s sleep.

Finn and Siobhan pushed to their feet while Donnelly remained seated with that same suspicious smirk.

“Oh,” Diana said, giving a warm smile when she came into the dining room before continuing to talk in her unintelligible language.

My heart dropped. I had hoped that whatever we’d done had worked, but other than putting some color back in her cheeks, she still couldn’t communicate with us.

“My lady,” Siobhan muttered, melting into a flabbergasted bow.

“You see,” I said. “We can’t understand her. It’s all jumbled.”

“No, that’s…” Donnelly closed his eyes, shaking his head like he was trying to solve a riddle. “That’s Faero-Gaelic. Old Faero-Gaelic.”

“I haven’t heard that in centuries,” Finn said.

Donnelly grimaced and muttered a few sloppy syllables, wincing at the last bit. Diana’s eyes widened as she gasped, jumping into Donnelly’s arms with a squeal. I couldn’t understand the words, but I knew what she meant. For the first time since we’d found her, someone had said something she could comprehend.

“So, he reset her brain to default?” Lex looked between Finn and Donnelly, hoping for an answer.

“That ruby dust is some heavy-hitting shit,” Siobhan said while Diana rambled at Donnelly, clinging to his arms and regaling her entire life story.

“What’s she saying?” I asked.

“Uh…” Donnelly shook his head. “I don’t understand most of it.”

“She’s explaining that she woke up in the snow and the little girl found her. Since then, she’s been staying with her until the mean guy brought her here.” Finn looked at Lex. “I assume that’s you.”

Lex laughed. “My uncle.”

“She thanks you for your hospitality, but she needs to find the little girl.”

“Is that Poppy?” Siobhan glanced at Carter.

He shrugged. “I guess so.”

Siobhan turned her angry glare on me, her jaw clenched. “You should have led with this.”

“Oh, I’m sorry so much happened while you were dragging your asses to get here,” Lex snarled, jumping to my defense. “We forgot a few important details.”

“Enough,” Finn cut in, shooting Lex a piercing stare before turning to Siobhan. “We have the queen. This is a good thing.”

“Not if she doesn’t remember who she is,” Donnelly murmured, an amused tilt to his lips. “Not if she can’t remember the last two thousand years.”

“We can fix her,” Miri said. “We just need to rest and try again.”

“Fix her?” Siobhan’s gaze narrowed. “This is old magic, stronger than anything I know.”

“So are we.” I took a deep breath and straightened my shoulders. “You said the gift you gave us mutated into something ancient and powerful, that it was out of your control.”

“Yes, but?—”

“We already helped her,” I continued. “Yesterday, she looked like death. Today, she’s better. And now that Finn is here to translate?—”

Diana cut in, saying something to Finn while she placed her delicate hand on his arm and took a hesitant step forward. She’d braided her hair and, in that one vulnerable moment, she reminded me of the panicked fairy that had shoved Poppy into Carter’s arms on Samhain. I had seen true fear in her eyes that day, and now, I recognized the panic. Despite not being able to understand us, she seemed to know we’d been freaking out.

“She wants to know what’s going on, what happened to her.”

“Tell her,” I said. “Maybe it’ll help her remember.”

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