Page 40 of Beauty

She waves a hand across the back cave wall and a small maplights up, the provinces of Tír na nÓg flaring. There are two provinces glowingwith color, one stronger than the other.

“That’s Tuathanas and Aoibhneas.” Tuathanas is a bright red,but Aoibhneas is pink. “Are they in both places? Tell me it’s Aoibhneas. I hatethose freaks. The mayor is an utterly insane man, but he turns out to be quiteadept at both politics and defense. I would love a good reason to torch thewhole town.”

Maris rolls her eyes. It’s a point of contention between us.“And where would you get your horses? Where would the palace get theconfections we’ve come to love? Aoibhneas produces many of our luxuries.”

“And many of our radicals.” The sooner I kill them all thebetter.

“It matters not, Your Majesty,” Una argues. “The princess isin Tuathanas. The color is much brighter there, and the Unseelie magic has beengoing on for much longer. I wouldn’t be surprised if the other was caused bysome passerby. It’s strong but temporary. See, it’s already fading, butTuathanas is going strong. This is where to send the troops.”

My brother’s ghost is gone again.

I take a long breath. One last little girl to kill.

“I’ll send the troops tonight.”

ChapterTwelve

Shim

“Will you be all right in here?” Rachel looks aroundthe loft room. It’s small, the floor covered in straw. There’s a stove, achair, a wooden closet, and a cot. Lach sits in the chair, leaving me no placeto rest except the cot. “This is where Max sleeps when he has a sick animal orwhen I get mad and kick him out of our bed. I can find some space in the houseif you would rather. It’s rough out here.”

I shrug. “We’ve been in worse. Sincerely, Mrs. Harper, we’refine out here. After what happened earlier, I’m happy you’ll let us stay onyour land at all.”

Rachel opens the closet and pulls out a couple of woolenblankets, handing one to me and then Lach. “I’m just glad the dead things aredead again. I heard they popped up all over the village. Our healer ended uphaving to knock the mayor out with a sleep spell. He was walking around withthe hidden vamp tech we’ve been gathering for the rebellion shooting corpsesand talking about something called the zombie apocalypse. None of us knows whatthat is. We’re lucky Caleb is damn good with that spell.”

Lach goes a bright red and mumbles an apology.

Rachel turns to him. “It’s all right. The kids were happy tosee Queenie again, even if they’re mad at their dads for lying about the dogdying. It’s really not a terrible thing. It could be quite useful when youthink about it.”

“I don’t see how, but we thank you for the accommodations.”Lach keeps his voice polite, but I can feel the impatience coming off him. I’llhave to work to keep my brother from running the minute Rachel Harper walks outof the barn.

The sun set a while before. We ate a small meal, but stillRoan holds fast to the after-midnight rule. Hours and hours of waiting. Hourswhen we’re supposed to get some rest for the hard night ahead. Hours neither ofus intended to spend here. But we can’t simply make a mad dash for it. We haveto play it cautiously. For all we know, Roan is watching us.

“Let me know if I can do anything else to help you.” Rachelnods as she steps toward the ladder that leads down to the barn floor. Shestops at the top, just as her feet hit the first rung. Her face turns down andher voice quiets. “Should I do anything for him?”

I hold back a grin. Duffy is “patrolling” the barn, his axeon his shoulder. Earlier, Duffy sighed and got up from the dinner table whenRoan told us all to get a few hours of sleep before we head out. Duffyannounced that he would watch over the princes. I bet Duffy will be asleep infifteen minutes. He’s always been able to sleep in the oddest of places, eversince we were children. If Duffy isn’t moving with a manic animation, he’ssnoozing, often against my or Lach’s arm. “Don’t worry about Duff. He’s a toughone.”

Rachel nods and disappears. The minute I hear the doorclose, I turn to my brother.

Lach is already on his feet, a pack in his hand. “I took oneof the vamps’ packs. He was already asleep. He won’t notice it’s gone untilthey’re ready. By then, it won’t matter. We’ll be out of here. It’s got mealpills, a tablet, everything we could need. We’ll find solid food on the way,but the meal pills should hold us.”

It’s exactly what I feared. “Lach, give it an hour. Roan isstill awake. The Harper kids are running all over the place. And we need to getnot only us but two horses out of here.”

There’s a gentle nicker from down below. “Why two, YourHighness, when one would be easier and so much faster?”

I hear a sound like the rushing of water and then a man withshaggy black hair climbs up the ladder. I do a double take because the manisn’t wearing a stitch of clothing. He’s young and very fit, but his hair is awild nest of darkness, his eyes an amber yellow.

This is the phooka in his human form—a rare sight.

“Are you planning on killing us now?” Lach asks, no realworry in his voice. He has an amused air of expectation around him. It’s a fairquestion. Phookas tend to hide their true form from all, though they are knownto imprint on sidhe from time to time, usually as younglings.

“Which of the Harpers do you belong to?” I ask, my mindmaking the leap.

The phooka grins, a flash of sharp teeth. “Max. The idiotdoesn’t even know I’ve been around him most of his life. He saved me when I wasa child. Some nasty sidhe killed me ma. I escaped in dog form, and Maxtook me in. He fed me and healed me wounds. I stayed with him for many years asa dog. Then I took hawk form and finally this one. I take the form needed toprotect him. I came to him in my horse form a few months back. It’s the firsttime I’ve talked to him.” His eyes narrow. “He doesn’t make it easy to repay mydebt. He’s reckless and obnoxious, but he has a good heart. And the children.”He sighs. “I’ve come to care for the little buggers.”

Lach leans forward, studying the phooka. “Or you’re a trickybastard and you’re feeding us a huge line of crap in order to create chaos.”

The phooka shrugs. “Or that. I don’t care what you believe,but I’m your best bet to get out of here before those vamps shut you down. Poorlittle princes. No one ever lets you play. Do you honestly think you can rescueyour princess without getting yourselves killed? You can’t even control yourown powers. You’re as likely to torch her as save her, aren’t you, Shim? Don’tworry. Your brother here can bring her back to life. Well, he can bring hercorpse back. Do it quick, Lach, before she starts to stink.”