Page 45 of Within the Veil

Zane takes a deep breath, pinching the bridge of his nose as he glares at King. I hold back a smile. Always the alpha.

Ryder chimes in, "wanna get to the point there oh great, sentinel, suck up?"

King chuckles, "Desperation. I think you are onto something, Hudson," his eyes flick to me before settling on the group, "I'm sure you can all agree that there is but so much you can teach with techniques and drills. Despite this situation with Nici being the Seelie's reality for several years, they all lack the fire to really nail it to her."

Zane hums his eyebrows drawing together, "It has merit. I mean Kalen implanted us with the urge to protect her, and we fought like beasts. Still, Hudson surpassed us because she had that edge."

Hunter leaned against a tree, eyes flickering with thought, "I don't know if I would call it desperation or unfavorable circumstances, but the point remains they do lack that push to do more. That final click. I mean, I'm sure you saw their faces when Hudson mentioned the women and children learning basic protection skills, it was beyond their comfort zone."

"But to be fair," Ryder jumps in, "before being placed in the magical world and finding Hudson, it would have been beyond our comfort zone as well. Our women are stronger than normal beings, sure, but despite the few women warriors we have, The Faerie world has been kept steeped in tradition."

Tradition, I was really starting to hate that fucking word,I think to myself.

"That same tradition that caused me to do something desperate enough to find love, have my mother killed and then later caused me to have joined the rebellion when Nici took over? Yeah," Remi scoffs, pushing her blue hair back and placing her hands on her weapons belt, her hands twitching with the desire to stab something. "That tradition can lick my cherry flavored nipples...it's a cream I bought," she added when my eyebrows shot up and the boys snorted with laughter.Saving that comment for later,I send through our link and shoot her a wink.

When King gets himself back under control, he adds "that...well not the nipple cream shit that, while deliciously kinky, is beyond the point...thosereasons are why I've been trying to push the council to look at all their options and start to look beyond their traditions. Jensi and Luca have stood firm while they brushed away at my "outsider" perspective, but the facts remain that sometimes, 'looking in' can bring about a more realistic perspective. They are blind, and that blindness has trickled down and it will end up with a lot of people dead."

Hunter suddenly leans forward to grab me, pulling me against him before placing a kiss on my neck, causing warm shivers to erupt down my spine, and I lean back into his embrace. "It's a moot point anyway," he scoffed. "While we wanted to play nice before, we have already decided that we need to shake things up. We welcome their insight, but we don't need them to make decisions."

Oberon sighs deeply, "No. Speaking from experience, even with the Right to Conquest, we don't need the council to approve anything, however, they could make things difficult since they've developed a firm foothold in Tir-Ag-Nog, the people have known nothing but war and the council has been the one stable thing. If you can even call it that." He pauses, cocking his head to the side in thought.

"Like we said," he continues, "with Kalen now dead, and two traitors from the council discovered, this would be the best time to take back control, and show the people that it was necessary. "

"You make it sound like this is anarchy. I am theQueen. Or so I keep being told. I'm not doing shit but my job and clearly this has been a shit show. Hiding in shadows, no offense scaily-waily pie," I blow a kiss at Oberon, who rolls his eyes and I feel Hunter chuckle into my neck.

"I inspire fear to everyone else and this little minx just turns up her perfect little nose at my awe-inspiring countenance," Oberon mutters with a shake of his head, his pout at odds with his stature and yes, I will admit,awe-inspiring, physique and power.

I laugh softly, reaching out to caress Oberon's arm, earning a panty melting smile, before Hunter's arms tighten around my waist. I roll my eyes, "as I was saying, shit show. They are here to counsel, not to lead and they suck at that thus far. As long as we get the people on our side and show them that our decisions come from a place of love they will understand."

They all nod in agreement, we turn and start to make our way through the forest, down a well-worn path, peppered with bright green foliage and a variety of flowers I'm sure were contradictory in the region, but the Faerie world had no rules to the chosen scenery, everything goes. I hum in appreciation, and with a sudden pang of excitement, I reach my hands around my belly and rub in slow circles, already looking forward to seeing those small faces from my memories laugh while picking flowers and running through the trees, faces alight with laughter and glee.

"I can't wait to meet them either, little versions of us," Zane's voice at my side jolts me out of my inner musings and I stop moving as he turns me gently to face him.

His eyes burn into mine as he places his warm hands on my face, pulling me close to slowly capture my lips with his. After a few moments we pull apart and I take in his green eyes swimming with emotion.

"Every moment in my mind is of you, our babies and our future. Nothing else matters and when I feel the joy in your heart when you think of them, I know that despite how everything may sometimes feel like it came about too fast, it is exactly the way it is supposed to be. You with us, and us utterly in love with you," he says softly against my lips.

My breath catches as the warmth of Hunters hands, fall onto my waist before he places a kiss on my neck. Grayson, Oberon, Ryder and Remi lay their hands on my belly and we lean into each other as a hyper-awareness tingles from the tips of my toes to the crown of my head, a feeling of possessiveness and warmth fluttering through our unique mental bond. Our mate marks glow almost iridescently under the brightness of the sun and our love for each other.Thisis what love was, an acknowledgment of souls so deeply intertwined that it surpasses words and seeps into our nerves, into our very DNA. I took a deep savoring breath, taking in and simultaneously pouring deep tenderness through our bond. Our souls, so deeply intertwined by fate, I wasn't sure where one heartbeat began and another paused to beat anew. A bond that created four more little heart beats. We may defy the normal confines of human society, but we damn sure proved that love went beyond explanation, it was transcending.

I take a deep breath to steady myself as we pull away, suddenly remembering why we were walking in this direction in the first place. Council meeting. I sigh with regret as they place quick kisses on my lips. Never enough.

We turn to walk and in moments, we reach the large doors of thebuildingused for council meetings. Although, I say building loosely as said 'building' was actually a large red oak tree adorned in vines and foliage thatcame together to create a visual effect that was both beautiful and alarming in its grandiosity. The tree must have spanned more than five miles in either direction. And around this particular tree I felt, rather than saw from my vantage point, that there were hundreds more.

It strikes me suddenly that this is the part of the forest that I 'felt' acutely during my meditations. Where, when connecting, I felt the highest increase of power. I assumed that, as since it was on the outskirts, it was a culmination of power but no, these trees were a source of their own power. As old as the Fae themselves, if not older and as I opened up my senses, they were also sentient.

I feel a shudder go up my spine as I suddenly feel as if I am being watched. Instinctively, I send tendrils of my power into the earth, and a burst of warmth flows through my body and my belly starts to glow as I feel the babies shift. I suddenly know, without a doubt that if these beings, for lack of a better term, had deemed me unworthy, prophecy be damned; I wouldn't have been able to benefit from a connection with them, if I would've been able to connect at all. In fact from what I was gathering as my magic took it upon itself to explore further, winding its way around the surrounding area almost reverently, as if my power was bowing to theirs that these sentient beings were even more omnipotent than Ifirst assumed.

I barely complete the thought as deep, melodic voices fill my mind, body and spirit, causing me to jolt.Queen Rhiona, welcome. We have long since felt your connection with our spirits upon your conception.Time slows as my body stills, a fragrant breeze stirring the tendrils of my long hair and despite the bright sun streaming through the dense leaves of the trees, I shiver and although I feel no malice, I instinctively lay one hand across my belly and another hand on one of the blades on my waist. Oberon grabs the hand on my blade and pulls it down, shaking his head. "There is no need for alarm, these voices," he waved his hand indicating the trees and forest directly before me, "are the keepers of our history, as Queen you are connected with them on a deeper level than most other Fae." He nods with encouragement and a hint of pride laced his eyes.

I look back at everyone, their heads all bowed with deep reverence. Clearly I missed a huge lesson here. Although, I get the feeling that maybe that was the point. There are some things research and stories cannot tell you without fully observing yourself because, even without Oberon's explanation, it was clear these beings were more than just 'keepers of history'. They were almost god-like themselves.

I face the trees, take a steadying breath and I look up as hundreds of voices, neither male or female in tone, speak as one in a hoarse, yet strong, forceful manner. 'Be calm Rhiona, as you seek to enter The Royal Court, where you will preside over all of Tir-Ag-Nog, you must know that these sacred halls are not simply the location of our sacred council rooms and throne rooms, but as we now acknowledge your right to rule the Seelie, for it has always been your fate. We now grant access to the Great Fae Library of Knowledge.

While the path to the crown is never easy, you have proven yourself as Queen before said crown was ever placed upon your head. As such, during these unprecedented times, we will skip the formalities of a coronation and as the oldest of beings, fully accept you as the Queen of the Seelie and welcome you.'

I feel a warmth infuse my body and I gasp, head falling back as a rush of power bursts through me from the ground beneath my feet. As if the very earth itself was granting me unlimited access to its vast history. I feel tears streak down my face, as I am opened up to the pain of all Tír na nÓg, the unbalance within the veil more pronouced, and like water flowing through my very hands I feel the magic within the land slowly seeping away, almost imperceptibly. I feel the cries of the Fae who have been unjustly imprisoned within Nici'c land, their souls crying out for their rightful queen to set the balance right as they weaken more and more everyday. I gasp as my connection to the Seelie Fae now flows beyond the protective bind of the rebel camp and fully into the Tír na nÓg as a whole and I weep. I weep for the souls, the children, the very soil that has been desecrated by the greed of the imposter queen. I cannot be sure that Nici knows or even cares that her power base is weakening as the Veil tried to right the balance that she set askew, but I knew with every fiber of my being that I would set it right.

You now truly see and feel the perils of greed, of darkness. You hold the power of greatness within you, you must wield it to conquer that darkness.

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