Sun Broken (The Wild Hunt #11) - Yasmine Galenorn Page 0,36
Fae Queens in. He glanced at us. Herne nodded, and we entered the room.
The room was like any conference room, with a U-shaped table in the center and chairs around the outside perimeter. To the left, sat Saílle and her entourage. To the right, sat Névé and her attendants. Ginty, Herne, Viktor, and I took the seats at the table dividing the two.
Saílle and Névé were decked out to the nines.
Saílle was as pale as a winter’s morning, with hair the color of the night sky. It tumbled down her back in a thick current of silken strands. Her eyes were piercing blue, the blue of ice floes and glaciers, and the autumn winds and winter snows trailed in her wake. She was dressed in an indigo gown, gleaming with silver beads that studded the low-cut sweetheart bodice. Her diadem was ablaze with sapphires and diamonds, and the choker around her neck consisted of five strands of amethyst, matching her earrings.
Her opposite, Névé, brought spring and summer with her. With hair the color of platinum and eyes that mirrored the rich peat of the soil when it was freshly tilled, she wore a gossamer gown that shimmered with spring green and the pink of fresh tulips. Her tiara shimmered with emeralds and diamonds. An emerald solitaire rested at her throat, set into gold, as large as a fifty-cent piece. Névé radiated the joy of flowers of spring, and the heat of summer nights.
They were beautiful, both of them, polar opposites and yet, they mirrored one another so much that it astounded me how low they could stoop in terms of battling the other. They were born to the war, though—the Fae had been in a constant state of battle since the twin courts had first evolved from the Ante-Fae.
We all knew the procedure, and no one spoke as Ginty cleared his throat and lifted a golden wand. A smoky quartz crystal glowed on the end, and as he held it up, I could feel him spinning the magic of parley around us. All oaths taken beneath the cloak of his magic were binding before the gods.
In a clear, loud voice, Ginty began to speak. “I hereby declare the Beltane Parley of the Courts of Light and Darkness, in the year 10259 CFE, open. Under this mantle, all members are bound to forswear bearing arms against any other member of this parley until the meeting is officially closed and all members are safely home. I also remind the Courts of Light and Darkness that they are forsworn by the Covenant of the Wild Hunt from inflicting injury on any and all members of the Wild Hunt team, under the sigil of Cernunnos, Lord of the Forest, and Morgana, Goddess of the Sea and the Fae. Let no one break honor, let discussions progress civilly, and remember that I—Ginty McClintlock, of the McClintlock Clan of the Cascade Dwarves—am your moderator and mediator, and my rule as such supersedes all other authority while we are in this Waystation.”
We remained silent, waiting as he pulled out a long scroll. It was covered in print—all very small and looking very old. “If you stay, you agree to the rules. If you disagree, leave now, or be bound to the rules of the parley. I have spoken and so it is done.”
There was a long pause, but no one moved. Ginty cleared his throat again and set down the scepter and the scroll. “Then, if you are all agreed, I shall open the parley. Herne, son of Cernunnos, you have rights of first speech.” Ginty sat down next to me, giving me a look that told me he had better things to do than coddle the Fae Queens. But it was his job and he was exacting in his performance.
“Then, let me start by saying I’m here on express orders from not only Cernunnos, but also my mother, Morgana, goddess of the Fae. She and my father are deeply disturbed by the recent events in which several innocents were hurt in what can only be described as a road rage incident.” He shook his head. “Queen Saílle, Queen Névé, you are to hand Callan over to me, immediately. He needs to go back to his own time. Now that the Tuathan Brotherhood has been dismantled and the Fae have been reinstated in the United Coalition, you have no more reason to keep him around. So bring him to me, and I’ll take him to my father.”