Page 116 of Beyond the Faerie Gate

The thunderous gazes that are levelled her way silence her. In my chest, the Call screeches her terror at me. All of the males in her Guard flinch, and Jaro’s hands clench reflexively around her.

“Rosie.” He sounds as tortured as the others look. “I told you never to fear us.”

“You’re all mad at me,” she mumbles. “And I don’t know why.”

“You couldn’t know,” Kitarni replies, deliberately forcing the stiffness from her voice and posture. “And I believe your outsider's perspective is what the Goddess wanted for you when she guided your mother to send you away.”

“There have been three previous wars with the Fomorians,” Florian picks up. “All of them were filled with their own share of atrocities.”

“But the fae kick their asses back over the sea every time,” Lore adds, cutting over him. “I missed the third war by just a few decades or I would’ve joined in the fun. Apparently, it was a total slaughter.”

He says the word with the same barely repressed excitement anyone else would use to describe a legendary party.

“That doesn’t answer my question,” Rose insists. “Why are they warring with us?”

Kitarni shrugs. “For the same reason they raid our shores when we’re not at war with them. They want slaves, food, and riches. They never negotiate. They never try to bargain or trade. They just come, and they take and they take until they are stopped.”

“And we’ve never raided them? Or done anything to provoke them?”

I suppose it’s a valid question from one who wouldn’t know any different, but it sets Florian to pacing agitatedly.

“We cannot cross the sea.” Jaro explains, quietly. “They’re too powerful in the water. That’s why it’s called the Endless Sea. We have no idea what’s beyond it. No maps. We assume they live in a mountain range, because of scraps of information we’ve gathered here and there, but we don’t know anything more about them. They always choose to die rather than be captured.”

I glance straight at her again, only to silently curse as my eyes instantly start to water and my head starts to pound. She must be fully recovered from her earlier work out and now the glow of her power is at full strength.

Even her mother’s aura—on the rare times she was too distracted to mask it—wasn’t so strong.

“I just don’t understand…” Rose murmurs. “It makes no sense. Why attack us if we didn’t do anything?”

No one answers her. Well, no one alive does.

“Dear heart, war is one of those things which never makes sense,” Nicnevin Titania whispers. “It is painful, and it is hard, and it would do you credit to drop this line of questioning and focus on what you can do. Most of them have probably lost someone to the Fomorians. You don’t mean to, but you’re bringing the memories of those losses back.”

“Sorry,” Rose mumbles. “I didn’t think about how painful the subject would be. That was thoughtless of me. I’ll… I’ll try to read about it rather than upset anyone else.”

Except she can’t read because of her ridiculous upbringing, so in reality, she’ll just question her grandmothers.

I suppose they are a first-hand source, seeing as two of them were actually a part of those wars. Still, she can’t rely on them for everything, most of their knowledge will be centuries out of date. Fae are slow to change—a result of our long lifespans—but society has moved on since Nicnevin Maeve died.

Florian inclines his head. “The Fomorians are our enemy, and that is all we know.” He pauses. “Please, don’t concern yourself about the war. You’ve already helped so much just by bringing the Goddess’s power back to our lands. And… we will ensure Caed is treated fairly as long as he remains inside his cell. Perhaps, in a few years, we’ll allow him out under guard and give him the chance to start redeeming himself for the atrocities he’s wrought on our people.”

Rose sighs, and I grimace. I’ve heard enough of those little, drawn out feminine huffs in my lifetime to know exactly what it means.

It’s the noise a woman makes when she believes the discussion isn’t over.

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