Page 25 of Beltane

Had I been lucky then? Had my luck extended to my family even if I didn’t know it? He had survived, after all, and lived long enough to alienate the children he already had in exchange for creating a new family with his mistress.

I glanced over my shoulder again, watching as Ivy and Lex realized how much the king had manipulated our lives. Tears streaked down Ivy’s cheeks as she hastily wiped them away. Lex’s jaw clenched so hard, I thought he’d break a molar. It didn’t start at Midsummer. The king had been screwing with us since we were kids.

“Poppy,” Siobhan said, taking a few steps closer. “Are you saying you took the king to do these things?”

She nodded. “He said he wouldn’t kill me if I helped him. I didn’t think he’d kill other people. And after Marcus, I didn’t know how to stop him.” Poppy looked at Lex and Ivy, a deep sorrow echoing in her eyes. “I’m so sorry. I…I’m just so sorry.”

“How did you escape?” Ivy asked. “How did you get here?”

“After your wedding, the rest of his army abandoned him, including the ones guarding me.” Poppy glanced back up at Diana to hug her tighter. “I teleported somewhere safe to hide, and when I knew he wasn’t following me, I came here.”

I glanced at Siobhan, knowing she and Finn were the reason theFiannaabandoned him. Her features dropped as she said, “It’s happening.” The banshee looked at Diana before returning her focus to Ivy and Lex. “The end. All the pieces are falling into place. We don’t have long now.”

Diana muttered something and stood to walk back to Finn.

“Your Highness,” Finn started, explaining the situation to her while her eyebrows furrowed. When she still couldn’t understand it, she shook her head and returned her attention to a still weeping Poppy.

“She doesn’t remember Alberich or Faerie,” Finn explained. “She only remembers waking up and being with Poppy.”

“I was trying to protect her,” Poppy pleaded. “You have to believe me.”

I didn’t know what to tell her as she stared up at me with big, sad eyes. I wanted to forgive her. I wanted to tell her she’d done the best she could, but now my baby sister was in the custody of a mad fairy king from another realm who would use her against me. As much as my bleeding heart begged me to, the anger inside wouldn’t let me.

The things he could be doing to Lizzie…the things he could be making her do to him…

“We have to get to them,” I said, rising to walk over to my spouses. “Now.”

“We will, Carter,” Ivy said, reaching out to squeeze my hand. “We will.”

Siobhan grimaced, but it was Finn who got serious. “Our queen wants to help us. We just have to tell her what to do.”

“Not to be a dick,” Lex cut in, “but how is involving the queen of forgotten fairy things going to help with anything? She has no idea who she is, and until she does, it’s more advantageous to keep her a secret.”

“Yesterday, we couldn’t communicate with her, but whatever we did helped,” Miri said, looking between Siobhan and Finn. “Give us more time. We can get her back to her old self.”

I didn’t know how I knew she was right, but it writhed in my gut the same way all my fairy gift instincts did. My magic told me it was a good idea, that I should keep pushing it until they agreed. “Miri’s right. We’re the ones left standing in the end, right?”

“We don’t have time,” Siobhan said, impatience in her tone. “The end is starting now. We’re about to face the big boss.”

“We need to get back to Killwater,” Finn said. “TheFiannais patient, but restless. We need a plan.”

“The battle maidens will want to make sure my lady is sound before they agree to help us any further,” Siobhan added. “Getting everyone to Killwater is the right next step.”

“The king is here,” Lex said. “Going all the way to Ireland is a risk.”

“The king will follow you,” Donnelly added. “Especially if he knows we have the child and the queen.”

“How are we supposed to do that?” Ivy said. “It’s not like we can disappear now, not after the fiasco at the wedding.”

“That’s exactly what we’ve been doing,” Lex said, his voice broken and scratchy, making my heart ache for him. He’d just learned the way he thought his brother had died had been a lie. He deserved a break; we all did. “Lying low. Minding our own business. You took the rest of the term off, didn’t you? We’re supposed to be on a four-week honeymoon.”

“We didn’t get married, Lex,” Ivy countered. “My mother?—”

“Your mother no longer has any right to dictate our lives.” Lex’s hazel eyes peered out at her with a mixture of retribution and vengeance burning behind them. I cleared my throat and crossed my arms, echoing that sentiment. After all she’d done to us, she should consider herself lucky enough to ever talk to Ivy again, much less have a say in what she does.

“Okay, you’re right,” Ivy finally said, nodding as she looked at Siobhan. “I’m in.”

“Me too,” I said.

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