A Fey New World (The Godhunter #32) - Amy Sumida Page 0,91

roared in his Faerie God voice.

The room went quiet.

“This nonsense will get you nowhere and I will not stand for it!” Az glared at every world leader. “If you wish to argue like children, you will do so outside of my gates.”

They shifted uncomfortably and cleared their throats.

“Are you Elves?” the Prime Minister of Iceland broke the silence.

“No, we're Sidhe,” I said to her.

She looked disappointed.

“But there is a race of faeries who sometimes go by that name,” I continued, and she perked up. “I believe your ancestors interacted with them the most and over the years, all faeries became Elves to you. Your people respected ours and the Fey respected you in kind. Your country is a perfect example of how humans and faeries can coexist peacefully.”

“Thank you.” The Icelandic Prime Minister straightened in her seat and smiled as if her people and their beliefs had finally been vindicated.

She looked around the table with an I-told-you-so stare and the other leaders grimaced in irritation. I felt a little smug on her behalf. People around the world have called Icelanders silly or even crazy for believing in Elves, but those beliefs had just been proven true. They deserved a moment to gloat.

“You haven't told us what your demands are,” the British Prime Minister said. “Please, just tell us what you want.”

They all went quiet again and stared at us.

“This is not a hijacking,” Azrael said sternly. “I'm not holding the Earth hostage. I offered to show you how to protect the planet because, with fey magic inside it, it's now capable of defending itself. It's not what I want but what the Earth wants that you should concern yourself with. And the Earth wants you to respect it.”

The humans exchanged uneasy glances.

“That being said,” Azrael went on, “Attack me or my people again and I will reciprocate tenfold.”

“And your people are faerie gods?” The Chancellor of Germany asked.

“My wife and I are the only faerie gods,” Azrael declared. “The others are simply faeries.”

“Faeries,” the British Prime Minister said as if he couldn't believe the word was a part of an intelligent conversation.

“This is the way the world is now,” Azrael said. “I advise you to accept it and move forward.”

“Can't you... I don't know, take back some of the magic?” the President of Russia demanded.

“You said that you got the magic down to five locations,” the American President reminded us. “That means you were able to remove the magic. Can't you try that again?”

“I also said that the tool I was using was destroyed by the magic,” I countered. “I don't know...” I trailed off as I realized that there was a possibility—the one that High King Cian had mentioned. But I couldn't discuss it with these people. I wasn't even sure if I could discuss it with Azrael.

“Yes?” President Lopez asked.

“You may have to find a way to live with the magic,” I finished.

The humans sat back in their seats heavily.

“You came here to negotiate a ceasefire,” Azrael said, getting everyone's attention again. “What you failed to comprehend is that I am not attacking you. Your actions caused the magic to expand and now, I must take a more active role in guiding you through this. You may continue to lead your countries but I will lead all of you. If I give you an order, you will follow it. Is that understood?”

“This can't be happening,” someone whispered. “This is insane.”

“Insanity is not accepting the truth,” President Lopez said firmly. “We've been handed a new reality and it's proven its existence beyond a doubt. We must accept it. He calls himself a god but is that so inaccurate? Bullets don't hurt him. He built a castle in seconds. He has fucking antlers made of gold!”

“And what is your solution? We start worshiping him?” the President of China asked.

I glanced at Azrael; he smiled reassuringly at me. I had started to buy his excuse that the attack caused the magic to react—that he'd had no control over it—but then he'd used it as an excuse to take control of the world. Since that had always been his goal, it made his innocence suspect.

“No, I want us to work with him.” Lopez gave the Chinese President a heavy look.

Things passed unsaid between the men. Dangerous things. I could imagine what they were. So could Azrael.

“Your nuclear weapons are gone,” Azrael announced.

The members of NATO gaped at him.

“I say that in case you were wondering if any survived and you might team