Page 124 of A Sword of Ice
“What do you mean?” Julius’ fingers stroked down her shoulder absently.
“I mean where did you find this place? What is this place?”
“Basic Fae-human history, mate,” he teased.
“Enlighten those of us who didn’t have such an excellent education.” She shoved her elbow into his side, making him grunt.
“Castle Aileach is a human-Fae stronghold,” he began. “I’m not sure when it was built, but it was a place where humans and Fae came to delegate treaties and peace, long before the war and discord had ever begun. According to legends, it sits on a Ley Line of its own, and these mountains are infused with magic.”
Iona’s brows rose. “Magic?” she echoed. “Impossible.”
Human lands didn’t have magic. Not in the same sense as Tir na Faie did. While it was ripe with elements that they themselves were destroying, there couldn’t possibly be raw, uncurbedmagic.
“The legends say otherwise. Remember how I said I was raised by the people of the wood?”
“Yeah?”
“They taught me a few things, songs and legends from the Unseelie Court that we never learned in the Seelie.”
Iona cuddled closer to him, curious to hear this story.
“There was one, I can’t remember the words exactly, but they basically said that the Unseelie broke the rules of human-Fae separation and opened portals to the human lands and kept them there.”
Iona lifted her head. “Portals? What kind?”
“Stone circles, mushroom circles, that kind of thing. Because of this, magic bleeds through the human lands through these portals. When this castle was built for human-Fae negotiations, the Unseelie opened a portal in these mountains, one big enough to fit a whole court through. No one knows where it’s at, but they think magic lives and breathes within these mountains, just like slivers of magic live and breathe throughout the human lands as much as it does in Tir na Faie.”
“Do you think it’s true?”
He shrugged. “Probably. I wouldn’t be surprised. Years ago, things were different. There might have been peace, but there was still a distinct difference between the two races that a safe, neutral territory was obviously necessary for them to meet. But then years passed, things changed, and this castle sits here all but forgotten by the humans.”
“So how did you find it?”
“Fae live longer than humans, and we don’t forget things quite as easily. This was all but a relic lost in time until Weylyn mentioned it to the king.”
“Ah. Weylyn. Where is he even from?”
Julius chuckled. “Sneaky rat bastard, that one. He’s from the Gold Court. He was adopted by a poor farming family or something, but we don’t know much about them. He was found by lords of the court and sent to the king where he’s been ever since.” He paused, his chest moving in a steady beat. “We’re lucky we have this place or else we’d be lost. There’s nowhere else we could keep this many Fae.”
A sudden feeling of unease coiled through her belly. Julius must have picked up on it because he tugged her closer.
“What’s wrong?”
“Julius… what happens if the humans find this place?”
His body tensed. “Mana, I hope that never happens.”
“But if it does—”
“If it does, there are secret tunnels beneath the castle that lead out to a new mountain here in Tuath. We would lead everyone there and pray we can get away in time.”
Silence pressed between them after that, and Iona hated that she’d ruined the mood between them. But if she knew one thing, it was that they couldn’t be safe forever. Being in Porir had proved that. Soldiers had invaded then, and there was a possibility that they could invade now.
She didn’t want to think about all that, but as the night wore on, the feeling that an impending doom lurked beyond the shadows of the night remained.
51
The Pain of Unrequited Love
