Chapter 18

"I do not appreciate being manipulated," Tiernan's terse voice woke me.

I felt strange; my skin vibrated with energy, my fingertips tingled, and my heart beat wildly. There was something in the air; a gentle swaying heat. A pulsing like laughter on my lips. I breathed it in and it rushed through me; seeming to light up all the dark places within. It was amazing; leaving me more refreshed than I'd ever felt. Power zipped through my veins as if it were alive, as if it knew where it needed to go. I felt alive; a feeling which had me wondering if I'd ever truly lived.

"You were not supposed to hunt me," I heard the end of Aideen's answer. "We believe that to be the work of King Uisdean, as was the Sluagh."

"He wants her dead," Tiernan's grim reply came from somewhere above me.

"Yes, I'm afraid so," Aideen said. "Which is why we needed her to come home at last."

"Well, it explains my strange attraction to her." Tiernan sighed, and I felt movement against my cheek. I was lying on his lap; my armor had been removed but my sword remained.

"Yes, I admit I found your confusion amusing," Aideen's voice gentled. "It was perfectly clear to me. Of all the seelie, your magic, my Lord Shadowcall, would be the most suited to blending with hers."

"Well, now I'm confused so one of you had better start talking." I startled them both as I sat up. A rush of magic sped through my head as I blinked my eyes open, and I rubbed at my temples to try and ease the ache. They both gaped at me, and I frowned. "What?"

"Her eyes," Tiernan whispered.

"I told you." Aideen recovered first and smiled brightly.

"What about my eyes?" I panicked and tried to stand up but the room shifted out of focus, and Tiernan caught me.

"Easy, Seren." He helped me sit back down. "You're okay; I've got you."

"But what about my eyes?" I looked over at him and saw him blink as if he couldn't believe what he was seeing.

"Do you know what your name means in the Welsh tongue?" Tiernan's hand lifted and pushed back the hair at my temple. I saw a flash of color in the corner of my eye, and I started to turn toward it, but he gently shifted my chin back so I'd face him.

"Of course, I do," I said impatiently. "It means star. My mother always called me her little star. That's why she gave me this necklace." I waved a hand at my throat; forgetting that my star was hidden beneath my thick shirt.

"Your mother named you?" Aideen asked gently.

"Well, I'm sure my father had a say in it as well." I frowned. I wasn't sure, actually.

"Yes, I'm absolutely sure that your father did have a say." Aideen gave a little laugh.

"That's unkind of you," Tiernan growled at her.

"Sorry." She pouted.

"What?" I narrowed my gaze at him. "Why is it unkind?"

"Seren," Tiernan's voice dropped to a whisper and his eyes filled with remorse. "Aideen is thinking only as a fairy; she doesn't understand what kind of heartbreak this will bring you. I do, and I'm sorry for it. Please know, before we tell you any more, that I was not a part of this. I had no idea what was happening, and I wouldn't wish to bring you unhappiness ever. Still, I think it could be wonderful for you if you decided to embrace it."

"You're starting to scare me," I growled, "and piss me off. Just tell me what the hell is wrong with my eyes."

"Just look for yourself." Aideen produced a mirror gleefully. "It's really amazing."

"Aideen," Tiernan groaned as I held the hand mirror up to my face. "You could have eased her into it."

A stranger looked back at me. I mean, it was me, I recognized the angle of my jaw, my full lips, and my high cheekbones. I knew the long slope of my nose and the wings of my eyebrows. What I didn't recognize were my hair and eyes.

In place of my mossy-green irises were two brilliant emerald discs that shone unnaturally bright from my face; almost like faceted jewels. Within the green—surrounding the edge of my pupils—were silver spokes shooting outward. They seemed to be laid over my irises; shedding light upon them as if they were...

"Stars," I whispered and lifted a hand to my face. Then I shifted my starry stare to my hair.

Just above my left temple was a streak of dark purple that faded down to lavender at the ends. My eyes followed it and noted that even the length of my hair had changed. Instead of ending just past my shoulders, my hair now curled down below my hips. It had surged free of the braid I'd confined it in the day before; like an invasive vine overtaking a garden. I dropped the mirror on the bed and stood.

"What have you done to me?!" I shouted in horror.

"Seren." Tiernan stood and held out a calming hand. "No one did this; you were born this way."

"I can say with absolute certainty that this was not the way I was born!" I waved a hand over my face.

"Why aren't you happy?" Aideen frowned. "You're so beautiful. I'd love to have stars in my eyes."

"Shut up, Aideen!" Tiernan pointed an angry finger at her. "I should have known something unscrupulous was afoot as soon as I discovered you were a Night Queen. Sweet Danu, I should have known when they told me you worked at Gentry. King Keir would never condone research on biological weapons! But I'd thought that maybe he was being betrayed, maybe someone was using his research in ways he'd never intended, and maybe you were the key to stopping the traitor."

"Thank you for not saying anything," Aideen said meekly.

"You counted on that," Tiernan growled. "On my blind loyalty to the Twilight Court! You knew I'd never betray King Keir but that is the very reason you should have told me about her."

"I couldn't," Aideen whispered. "I was sworn to secrecy."

"The Twilight Court?" I frowned. "What are you talking about? There's no such thing as a Twilight Court."

"Humans aren't told of it," Tiernan gentled his tone to speak to me. "Not even the Extinguishers or members of the Human Council."

"Wait, no, forget this stupid court," I growled. "What happened to me?"

"Please, Seren." Tiernan waved a hand to a rocking chair. "Sit down."

"I think I'll stand." I crossed my arms resolutely.

"Fine, but this is going to take awhile." Tiernan sighed. "There are actually three courts of Fairy."

"I said I don't care about that damn court," I snarled.

"It's important to the explanation for all of this." Tiernan waved a hand at me, and I quieted. "There is the Seelie Court, which is the Court of the Light, the Unseelie Court which is also known as the Court of the Dark, and then there is the Twilight Court, the Court of the In-Between."

"In-between what?" I narrowed my eyes at him.

"Everything," he said and shrugged. "They rule dusk and dawn, the time between seasons, and the spaces that lie between; such as that between earth and sky."

A shiver coasted over my skin as my body tried to tell my mind something that it didn't want to know. Tears sprang to my eyes, but I blinked them away.

"Go on," I pushed the words past my cold lips.

"They rule that in nature which is neither Dark nor Light," Tiernan continued. "Things like trees which flower in the darkness." He glanced at Aideen. "Animals who roam at dusk and dawn. The eve of all things, the paths between realms, the silence between heartbeats... everything between. Their court is full of half-breeds; fairies who are both seelie and unseelie. It is a solace for those who are cast out." He swallowed visibly and looked away from me briefly. "I myself have lived among them. In fact, I've given King Keir my fealty, and although I was born seelie, I'm now a twilight fairy."

"What?" I blinked. "You were cast out of the Seelie Court?"

"That's a story for another time," he said. "Seren, I'm so sorry to tell you this but it seems that your mother, in human perspective, was unfaithful to your father."

"Excuse me?" I growled and lowered my arms. "Take that back."

"She had an affair with a fairy." Tiernan glanced at Aideen.

"A king!" Aideen added as if that made up for my mother's indiscretion. "King Keir of the Twilight Court."

"Uh-huh." I narrowed my gaze at her, and she flinched.

"King Keir is your real father," Aideen's voice lowered to a more uncertain timbre.

"No, he's not." I went back to crossing my arms.

"I believe the proof of his parentage lies within your eyes, Seren," Tiernan whispered. "King Keir has the same star eyes. He's the only fairy—before you, that is—to have them."

"I am not a fairy!" I shouted and stamped my foot like a five-year-old. A shower of stars burst upwards from the floor as if I'd just stepped on a balloon full of them. I gaped at my feet and started to tremble.