no doubt making a mental map.
“In Fiefdom, anyone is allowed to live there, however, the ruling class is fae. Specifically the four courts: Summer, Autumn, Winter, and Spring. Each has an heir and several representatives to rule Underside. Their communities spread out in each direction. Outside of Fiefdom, you have several different communities, the Elven lands are along the East coast stretching from New York down to Georgia.
“The phoenix shifters and other mythological creatures tend to inhabit most of the south until Texas where the Pixie’s take that entire state down into central America. Mind you, these communities have different names but you will recognize the areas by state most likely. Chicago, and most of the northern midwest, has been contained by the vampire community.”
I paused for a moment looking over Ophelia’s expression, her eyes wide with slight awe but the rest of her face well controlled. I was surprised that she didn’t have a larger reaction to vampires because I was pretty damn sure humans were raised to hate the concept. Weren’t they? Or maybe that was my own particular bias showing through because they were a bunch of blood suckers.
Still, as always, my little mate surprised me. Instead of being shocked, she took the time to absorb the information. I could see the questions on the tip of her tongue and it was maddening denying her the ability to ask them. I also knew that she needed all the information first. The push and pull of giving your mate what they want and what's necessary was a balance I hadn’t needed because I’d stayed away from Ophelia, so now even this small moment had me feeling off balance.
“The Rocky Mountains have dragons in them and north of them in Washington are the demons, while angels inhabit most of the southwest. Of course, in the true fashion of light and dark, there is always a tension between the two communities. Finally, in Southern California, you have mermaids and other aquatic shifters. Those are the main regions. In Underside you can travel most places, you just have to be mindful that each community has rules like each state.”
I looked down at her to see her blinking and absorbing my words. I run a thumb over her plush lip, “Want me to keep going?” She nodded sharply and I smiled at how she’s handling all of this new information. My mood turned serious as I continued.
“Underside, until about twenty-five years ago, was relatively peaceful. There were wars and battles, but as long as the four courts maintained their harmony of the seasons, it continued to function as it should.”
“What happened twenty-five years ago?” she whispered.
“Fae as a general species are faster, stronger, and more dominant than most creatures. However, the communities differ in cultural semantics and their power range. It is this diversity that Underside valued for so long, so when change threatened that…people became angry. The Winter Court King, Laurence, and the Summer Court Queen, Melanie, announced shortly after the new year that they were expecting…and before you ask, no they were not married and their spouses were far from happy. A child of Summer and Winter was unheard of, but the communities attempted to make it work.”
“Who is the child?” She frowned and then her eyes widened, “Wait, Rain was being serious?”
“Very,” I sighed, “Around thirteen years later when he was around twelve, things became very tense. As he grew closer to ruling age, the Spring and Autumn Courts accused his parents of trying to amass power. So the civil war began and it was...brutal. Half of each community was wiped out and royalty on the Summer and Winter Court were extinguished, leaving Rain as the official heir.
“The Spring Court Queen refused to kill a child. She’d been furious that he was being held in the first place, considering she had a little girl around six at the time... but everyone, including her husband and the Autumn Court, disagreed.
“When she pulled rank, she was Topside with quite a few members of the community arranging for Rain to be placed somewhere safe. But then she was killed. The Autumn Heir, around eight at the time, was found guilty of murdering her, as well as his own parents, and has been on the run since then. No one has seen him since.
“The biggest issue, though, was that the gate of Underside and Topside’s connection was maintained by the power of all the courts being unified and their heirs having come into