A Fey New World (The Godhunter #32) - Amy Sumida Page 0,44

to stay here, Darius.”

He started to weep silently.

“I'm choosing for you,” I said as I took his hands. “Because the lives of your children depend on it.”

“My what?” Darius blinked away his tears.

“You're going to marry Lorna and have water-lion babies,” I said with as much of a smile as I could muster. “And you'll be so happy that you won't miss us at all.”

“I don't think that's possible, Tima.”

“It is if you remember that your family wants you to be happy.” I wiped his tears away. “We will be at peace knowing that you're here, living the life you were meant to. Live it well, Darius.”

“I will.” He straightened as if it were an order. Then he grinned. “Children, eh?”

“Yep. More than one. And that's all I'm going to tell you so stop fishing.”

“Fishing. I see what you did there.” He chuckled, then went serious. “Thank you, Tima.”

“You're welcome.”

Then I spent an hour arguing with Roarke over him staying in Faerie and being king instead of moving to the God Realm with us. He wanted to bring all of the Fire Cat-Sidhe with him. It was desperate talk and we both knew it.

“You can do this,” I finally said to him. “You've been practicing on a smaller scale with the Fire Cats for years now. You're a good king, Roarke. You just need to accept that your miscreant, rebellious past is over.”

“You're one of my best friends, V,” Roarke whispered. “Don't go.”

I hugged Roarke tightly and we cried together because we both knew that I had no choice. I had to leave. It was during this emotional and damp hug that the High Prince arrived with his mother, the Goddess Ethniu. Actually, that's not quite accurate. Lugh likely arrived sooner than that but I wasn't aware of his presence until he started having a princely temper tantrum.

“What do you mean, you're leaving?!” Lugh shouted.

The hall went silent. It had already been a hushed affair with the kind of funereal pall that made people murmur or whisper. So, when Lugh broke that reverent quiet, it was jarring and a bit upsetting. Everyone turned to stare at Lugh and Isleen. I stepped out of my hug with Roarke and grimaced. If there was one thing Isleen hated, it was being made the center of attention; Lugh's passionate rage wouldn't do him any favors. And then there was his poor mother. Ethniu stood awkwardly to the side of the arguing couple, her hands clenched together and an expression on her face that only another mother would recognize—she wanted to help her son but didn't know how. So, it was to her that I went first.

“Hey, Ethniu,” I said brightly. “I'm so glad you decided to come to Faerie. Lugh needs his family.”

“Thank you,” she murmured, then glanced at the brewing argument.

“He needs this too,” I said before stepping over to Isleen and Lugh. “Let's move this discussion somewhere more private, shall we?”

“Vervain, how could you?” Lugh snarled at me. “How could you allow her to go with you when you know what she means to me?”

“Lugh, I get it. You're in love and crushed,” I said calmly. “But if you don't leave this room right now, I'm going to drag you out by your ear.”

“Vervain,” Lugh growled.

“Stow it, Lugh!” I hissed. “You are not the only one going through hell today and your inability to see that is making this even more painful for the rest of us.”

Lugh blinked and looked around the room. A flush crept up his neck. “I...” He glanced at his mother.

“May I offer you a drink, Lady Ethniu?” Arach gallantly came to our rescue.

“Thank you, King Arach,” Ethniu murmured. But before she left with him, she spoke to her son, “Your life has been full of war, Lugh. It was all you knew for a very long time. But try to remember that battle doesn't always end with a victor. Sometimes all that's left in the end is blood.” Then she took Arach's arm and let him escort her away.

Isleen had taken the opportunity to leave the hall. When Lugh stopped gaping after his mother and realized this, he ran after her. I let them go; my work with them was done. I'd meddled in their relationship enough over the years; I wasn't about to meddle in the end of it.

“Now, I've had enough of the sad faces,” I declared to the room as a whole. “This is not how I want to spend my last night