Page 37 of Beltane

“It’s like…she’s blocking me.” Ivy shook her head and sighed, trying to grab both Diana and Lex at the same time, perhaps hoping she’d be able to get inside and pull them out. So far, she’d been sorely unsuccessful. Her focus went to the ring, and she closed her fingers around it while clenching her eyes shut, attempting to reach out to Siobhan mentally. She’d been trying since we woke up, and it still hadn’t worked. “Damn it. I’m just getting static from her, too.”

I watched the crimson spirals swirl around the queen’s head, the cloud now more dense than it had been before we reached her. It was like the poison had been pushed out of her body but hadn’t left her orbit. Ivy drifted through it, disrupting the particles, but not picking up any herself. She had an impact on them, but seemed immune.

I wonder if I could…

I reached out and waved through the dust, changing the direction of the glittering swirls like a dirt plume under water.

“Miri?” Carter asked, furrowing his brows as he looked at me. “Are you okay?”

“Do you see the dust?”

Ivy and Poppy both shot their attention to me, sharing twin stares of concern.

“Dust?” Ivy asked. “Like…ruby dust?”

“I think so.” I touched it again, my hand undulating through it, back and forth. It was almost like I could collect it, like I could syphon it into something if I wanted. “Do you have a bottle or a bag? Something I could put it in?”

Carter glanced around and brought me a plastic sandwich wrapper. It wasn’t perfect, but it would work. I took it and held it out, gathering the particles as if I were holding a kite out to catch the air. I scooped it into the bag, using my hands to shove it inside, leaving not a single particle left. And once it didn’t have a fairy queen to circle, it relaxed into a soft, heavy mixture resembling sand.

It vibrated in my hand, perhaps recognizing the magic inside me. Just when I’d started to reach inside to touch it, Diana and Lex inhaled desperate, sharp breaths at the same time, drawing my attention back to them.

“Thank God,” Ivy said, pulling Lex into a hug. “We thought you were stuck.”

Lex laughed and shook his head, standing up to throw his arms around Carter next.

“My lady?” Poppy softly asked, her big eyes terrified.

“Hello, my darling,” the queen said, smiling as Poppy let out a cry and jumped in her arms.

I stood and held up the bag, showing Lex what I’d been able to collect while they were having their private conversation. He nodded, and now that I had it, Carter and Ivy narrowed their gazes on it as well. Perhaps it being in my possession had made it visible to the others.

“All right, my prince?” I murmured, kissing Lex.

“All right,” he said, but I caught the glimpse of a twist near his eyes. It was small and quick, but I still saw it. When I wrapped him in my arms, his entire body trembled and his hold tightened, almost like he was clinging to me for dear life. Whatever happened after we’d been pushed out had rattled him, which could not be good news. Just as quickly, he relented, hiding it under his bravado.

“Yes, very well,” the queen said, rising to her feet and grabbing Poppy’s hand. “Where are Siobhan and the battle maidens? Where is Finn?”

“They went into the woods to find reinforcements.” Ivy nodded in the general direction of the forest and stood straighter.

Now restored to her former self, the queen shimmered with a preternatural aura, physical energy sparkling and glowing all around her. Being in her presence nearly brought me to my knees again, the urge to bend to her will, to do whatever she wanted, overwhelmed me. Fairies were intoxicating creatures on their own, but the queen made the rest of them seem insignificant. They were individual stars, and she was the whole damn galaxy.

“And what day is today?”

“It’s Beltane,” I said. “We were with you for quite some time.”

“Hmm.” The queen pursed her lips and shook her head, walking through the pub to the door, pushing it open so she could step outside. I looked wordlessly at my spouses before following her, carrying the bag of ruby dust with me. We found Diana on her knees with her fingers dug into the dirt, her eyes closed, her head tilted like she was listening.

“Help us,”the trees said. “Help us, help us, help us.”

“I hear you,”Diana whispered back.“Be patient.”

I froze, watching the queen communicate with the forest effortlessly. For me, it cost me a bit of my spirit, and after a full day in the garden, I fell into the best exhausted slumber. But she seemed rejuvenated by the interaction, somehow urged on by the panic in their voice.

“We need to go,” the queen said, heading off toward the trail leading to the woods, and ultimately, the college.

“Wait,” Ivy said, holding up a hand. “You’re helping us now?”

The queen didn’t stop to answer her question, just barreled on with Poppy following closely behind her.

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