Curse And Craving

24

I sat back in awe of his answer. “And Lochlan, too?” The moment Lochlan’s name left my lips, Ronan stiffened before he caught himself and regained an air of perfect ease. “Yes, he’s quite old.” I got the sense Lochlan’s distaste for Ronan was mutual. “Can you tell me about Lochlan?” I asked cautiously. “Why is there so much animosity between you two?” He breathed deeply. “Of all the questions you might have, I cannot fathom why you would want to waste one on him.” He paused for a moment, his brown eyes distant. “But I promised honesty, and it’s probably best you know the truth about him anyway. He tried to take everything from me. At every opportunity, he has plotted against me, and after we had been in the Hunt for some time together, he even tried to take my life. He set an intricate plot to make others think I had orchestrated a bloodbath, but in reality, he had engineered the entire scene to give him an excuse to kill me. I would have died, too, if the others hadn’t intervened.” “Why do you stay in the Hunt if you hate him so much?” “Not just any Fae can be in the Hunt. We’re like your American Navy SEALs. A limited number of men are accepted in our ranks, and the standards are rigorous. Many freedoms and privileges also come with my station. I wasn’t about to let that piece of shite drive me from what I had earned. I may not have the option to avoid him, but you do, and you would be wise to stay far away from him.” I nodded, noting his palpable distress, and navigated our discussion to safer waters. “Tell me about the portals and why Fae aren’t allowed to be here.” “Nearly a thousand years ago, Guin, the Seelie queen, made the decision that man was becoming too territorial and power-hungry to coexist peacefully with the Fae. Not to say that we were living entirely out in the open, but the Seelie came and went basically without restriction, and it was not uncommon that magic was performed on Earth. However, the human populations began to unite under sovereign rulers, and campaigns such as the crusades spread out to conquer surrounding lands. With the end of the Middle Ages and the spread of the Renaissance and enlightened thinking, it became clear that the Fae would no longer be able to live outside of the rule of man. Nor was the queen interested in waging war against mankind to rule Earth. “As there was no other acceptable option, Guin summoned the Seelie back to Faery and sealed the portals. She prevented all but a select few, such as the members of the Hunt, from crossing between worlds. The Unseelie had long been prohibited from entering Earth by the queen's magic, and once the Seelie no longer inhabited Earth, our existence dissolved into rumor.” He took a sip while I processed his words. If I understood him correctly, some Seelie were allowed on Earth, and I wondered just how many that meant and how scattered they were. Guin must be remarkably powerful. The queen of the Fae. “I know it might sound silly, but stories tell of Titania and Oberon as the king and queen of Faery. Are either of them real?” “There is no Titania that I am aware of. However, Oberon is real.” “Is he the Fae king?” “No, that and many other facts about the Fae have been lost or warped through the years. Fae magic is matriarchal and prefers women, so the strongest of our kind are almost always female. There are no kings. Oberon does exist, but he is nothing like a king.” His eyes dropped to his hand, and his words bore a note of distaste. I wanted to know more, but I knew I’d already pushed my luck asking about Lochlan, so I let my questions about Oberon go unanswered. “Lochlan said that the creature that attacked us was a Draug. Can you tell me about it?” “Aside from the Seelie and Unseelie, on the fringes of Faery live the savage Fae of the Shadow Lands. Unlike the Seelie and Unseelie, their magic is dark and malevolent. They are ruled by an ancient creature named Lolth and usually keep to the darkness of the Shadow Lands. That’s why it was so unusual that the Draug attacked you.” “Would the light harm it?” “The brightness of day is excruciatingly painful to any Shadow Fae. However, I can’t say how they would be affected by artificial light. Encounters with them are rare and often lethal.” My entire body shook with a violent shiver, but I pressed on. “After the Draug attacked us, it seemed to dissipate into smoke when Lochlan showed up. Can all Fae disappear or trace?” One of his eyebrows rose in superiority. “What you describe is not the same as tracing. Certain Fae can manipulate shadow to disappear, and others that can trace, or what you might call teleport. Tracing is primarily a gift of the gentry, and only a few lower castes of Fae have the ability.” “If portals are needed to transport between the worlds, does that mean Fae can’t simply trace or transport between them?” “Correct. Tracing is only performed in relatively short distances, making tracing between worlds impossible.” Short distances—that was vague but promising. Anything limiting their power was a good thing. My eyes looked off into the distance as I pondered my next question. “Are there any other types of Fae besides Seelie, Unseelie, and the Shadow Fae?” “No, just those.” “What is the difference between Seelie and Unseelie?” “They aren’t all that different, per se. Both use light magic, but the Unseelie choose to live isolated lives and reject a sovereign ruler. Most of them are less sophisticated than the gentry. They choose savagery over community and focus only on self-interest.” “If they don’t obey Guin, do they escape to Earth very often?”