Page 54 of The Rebel Seer

“We can explain,” Ostara says. “He is a reasonable man.”

“I know the spell you are talking about when it comes to the servants,” Dev replies, his mouth a flat line. “Did he explain that it is permanent? That those he uses it on can never again hear anything but the commands of the masters of this palace?”

Ostara pales, the pixies in her hair stilling. “We do not have such spells on my plane. You must be mistaken.”

“Bibi, could you tell the goddess what you know of the spell and why you were not subject to it?” Dev asks.

Bibi stands, showing herself. She was sitting in shadows by the fireplace, keeping watch. “I am not allowed to speak to the king’s fiancée.”

“But why?” Ostara rises and gets to one knee, holding out her hand. “I love all of the Fae. Little trolls and brownies are my dearest friends on my home plane. They are beloved. I hate the term lesser. You are not less than a sidhe. You are beautiful, little one. Why would I not wish to speak with you? I have been worried that the trolls and dwarves and gnomes are afraid of me for some reason.”

Bibi stares at that outstretched hand for a second and then slowly places her own in it. “Mistress, we are not allowed to speak with sidhe unless we are serving them. It is the king’s command. He hates the lesser Fae. I am only not subject to the spell because I typically work in the gardens, and it is necessary to discuss how and when we will plant. The king gave up his Green Man powers years ago.”

“Asshole,” Dev says under his breath. “I would like to kick my own ass. Why would I give up my fertility powers?”

“For darker powers that are not compatible,” Bibi explains.

Ostara stands, tears in her eyes. “I do not understand. Devinshea told me it was his mother who made these rules, and he is attempting to change them. He told me society changes slowly, but he thought marrying me would help speed things along.”

“Devinshea lies,” I say and look back at my husband. “The other one, of course. I am curious what happened that changed you here. It sounds like your childhood was relatively the same. At least you had your mother and brother. Bibi, do you know anything about why your king is so angry with the lesser Fae?”

“He is angry with everyone,” Bibi explains in her quiet tone, looking at the servants as though they will tell on her. “I know a few things. You should understand that even when his mother was queen, there were tensions, though Miria was fair enough. As a prince he fell in love with a commoner. Have you noticed the courtiers staring at you, Zoey?”

“I have,” I acknowledge, though I thought it was simply prurient interest. Now I wonder. “She looked like me, didn’t she?”

Bibi nods. “She was a woman who lived in a far-off village. At the time the king was the second son. He was free to pursue his education as he would. They had a son. One who looks very much like your own.”

“Lee. In this timeline he doesn’t have a twin brother,” I surmise.

Rhys snorts. “I’m sure that’s made him so much better.”

Shy sends him a shut-the-hell-up look and he does. Rhys had not been surprised to hear his brother was causing trouble in another timeline.

“No, there is only the one, and he is not considered proper for the line of succession since his mother was a commoner.”

“I can tell you the rest of the story. I know what went wrong. He was not allowed to marry her.” Dev sighs. “My brother did not think my goddess was a proper one. He attempted to strong-arm me out of the marriage, but I had been on my own for years. I was strong and held up by my goddess and my partner. So in this timeline, my brother got his way. Likely because I stayed here instead of moving my whole life to the Earth plane. So this me has a bastard son and a version of Zoey who likely loathes me. I would like to avoid an angry alternate of you, my goddess. You can do a lot of damage when you’ve been wronged. Although…”

I frown my husband’s way because I know exactly what he’s thinking. “Not happening.”

He’s got visions of two Zoeys in bed. It would not go well.

“Oh, she is dead,” Bibi replies, cutting us off at the pass. “She was killed by a group of ogres, and that is when the prince began spending much time with the royals who prefer the company of only sidhe.”

Dev looks my way. “So you die and I fall under the influence of the Duke of Ain. That is horrible and makes sense.”

The Duke of Ain. In our time, he wanted a sithein free of lesser Fae. Devinshea had called the Wild Hunt down on him. But in this timeline, he listened. In this life, he got inside Devinshea’s head and corrupted him. I didn’t like the idea of the duke hanging around. I might have hated the duke, but he was clever and he didn’t mind getting his hands bloody. “Is the duke around? Or is he off plane with the king?”

“The king took most of his retinue,” Ostara explains. “It is why the palace guard is so confused. You came back with people they don’t know and without any of your normal security. But they also aren’t creative thinkers. Eoin asked if I thought something was wrong and I told him you simply found some friends you wanted to impress.”

“Everyone is used to the king’s mercurial moods,” Bibi adds. “And everyone knows he is looking for his lost love. Her name was Zandra. I’ve heard it said the wizard has promised to find her for him so he can have another chance.”

“Well, that makes some sense,” Dev admits quietly, his eyes finding mine. “I think we often seek out our soulmates. I have two, and it seems without them I am nothing.”

I reach out and hold his hand before turning back to our guest, who brushes away a tear. “Are you all right? I’m sorry to put you in this position. I don’t think this Devinshea is capable of truly helping you.”

“I fear he is planning something far darker.” Dev’s accent turns very Irish, and Bris is here. He brings my hand to his lips, kissing it before he stands. “Ostara of the Wind and Rains, I am Bris. I was an agricultural deity on the Earth plane in a place called Ireland.”

Ostara smiles, a genuinely delighted expression. “It is lovely to meet you. It’s been so long since I met an ancient one.” Ostara seems to think, but I believe she’s having one of those inner conversations. It’s obvious to me these two are not as well integrated as Devinshea and Bris. “My goddess is excited to see you, but she is asking questions. Is the vampire truly your soul’s mate?”

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