A Lick Of Frost

The men hesitated. Doyle moved back to me first, and the rest followed his lead. I put his hand to my face, and tried to tell him with my eyes what was happening. The spell was aimed so surely at me, like an arrow for my mind alone. How could I explain to them without words, what was happening?

Rhys settled himself more firmly around my waist, tucking me close, leaving just enough room for Frost's arm to slide back across my shoulders. Abe went to stand behind me, placing a hand on my shoulder closest to Rhys. Galen joined him, and though clearly puzzled, added his hand to my other shoulder closer to Frost. I gave the hand that wasn't wrapped around Rhys's waist to Doyle. The moment they were all touching me, even through clothing, the light around the king was gone. Taranis was handsome, but that was all.

"Meredith," Taranis said, "how can you insult me like this? These men attacked a lady of my court, savaged her. Yet you stand there with them… touching you, as if they are your court favorites."

"But, uncle, they are some of my favorites."

"Meredith," he said, and he sounded shocked, like an elderly relative who just heard you say «fuck» for the first time.

Biggs and Shelby both tried to move in and smooth things over. I think the reason the lawyers hadn't interfered more before was that even the men were getting a side swipe of the spell that Taranis had brought to this meeting. Either he had brought this magic for some specific purpose or he always held this magic when dealing with Queen Andais, and now me. I had not been able to sense it when we last spoke to Taranis. But then, neither had Doyle, or any of the other men. It wasn't just me who had grown in power from our few days in faerie. The Goddess had been a very busy deity. We had all been changed by her touch, and by the touch of her consort, the God.

"I will not speak of this matter in front of the monsters that savaged a woman of my court." Taranis's voice rolled through the room like the whisper of a storm. The humans all reacted as if it were more than a whisper. I was safe behind the hands of my men from whatever Taranis was trying to do.

Shelby turned to us. "I think it's a reasonable request to have the three accused wait outside while we talk to the king."

"No," I said.

"Princess Meredith," Shelby said, "you're being unreasonable."

"Mr. Shelby, you're being magically manipulated," I said, smiling at him.

He frowned at me. "I don't understand what you mean by that."

"I know you don't," I said. I turned to Taranis. "What you are doing to them is illegal by human law. The very law you have appealed to for aid."

"I have not asked for human aid," he said.

"You accused my men under human law."

"I petitioned Queen Andais for justice, but she refused to acknowledge my right to judge her Unseelie sidhe."

"You rule the Seelie Court," I said, "not the Unseelie."

"So your queen made clear to me."

"So when Queen Andais denied your request at her court, you turned to the humans."

"I appealed to you, Meredith, but you would not even answer my calls."

"Queen Andais advised me against it, and she is my queen and my father's sister. I heeded her advice." It had actually been more of an order. She'd said that whatever evil Taranis had pla

"But now, because of human law, you must speak to me," he said.

Biggs said, "The princess agreed to this meeting out of courtesy. She was not compelled to be here."

Taranis's eyes never even moved to look at the lawyer. "But you are here, now, and you are more beautiful than I remember. I was very lax in my attentions to you, Meredith."

I laughed, and it was a harsh sound. "Oh, no, Uncle Taranis, I think you were quite thorough in your attentions to me. Almost more thorough than my mortal body could endure."

Doyle, Rhys, and Frost all tensed against me. I knew what they meant by it: have a care, don't give away court secrets in front of the humans. But Taranis had begun it, dragging us out before the humans. I was only following his lead.

"Will you never forget that one moment in your childhood?"

"You nearly beat me to death, Uncle. I am not likely to forget it."

"I did not understand how fragile your body was, Meredith, or I would never have touched you so."

Veducci recovered first, saying, "Is King Taranis admitting that he beat you as a child, Princess?"

I looked at my uncle, so large, so imposing, so regal in his gold and white court clothes. "He is not denying it, are you Uncle Taranis?"

"Please, Meredith, uncle seems so formal." His voice was wheedling. From the way Nelson began to walk closer to the mirror, I think the tone was meant to be seductive.

"He is not denying it," Doyle said.

"I am not speaking to you, Darkness," Taranis said, and his voice tried to thunder again. But as the seduction had not worked, so now the threat fell flat as well.

"King Taranis," Biggs said, "are you admitting that you beat my client as a child?"

Taranis finally turned to him, frowning. Biggs reacted as if the sun itself had smiled at him. He actually stumbled in his speech and looked uncertain.

Taranis said, "What I did years ago has no bearing on the crime that these monsters committed."

Veducci turned to me. "How badly did he beat you, Princess Meredith?"

"I remember how red my blood was on the white marble," I said. I looked at Veducci as I spoke, though I could feel Taranis's magic pushing at me, calling me to look at him. I looked at Veducci because I could, and because I knew that it would u

"You hold a grudge, Meredith. I have apologized for my actions that day."

"Yes," I said, turning back to the mirror. "You have recently apologized for that beating."

"Why did he beat you?" Veducci asked.

Taranis roared, "That is not the business of humans."

He'd beat me when I'd asked why Maeve Reed, once the goddess Conche

Maeve had told us Taranis's deep dark secret. He had wanted to marry her after putting away a third wife for barre

He had twice tried to kill Maeve with magic, horrible spells that no Seelie would admit to doing. He had tried to kill her, and not us, even though he had to wonder if we knew his secret. He feared our queen, or perhaps he didn't think his court would believe anyone who was part of the Unseelie Court. Perhaps that was why Maeve was the threat and not us.

"If you abused the princess when she was a child that may affect this case," Veducci said.

"I now regret my temper in that moment with this woman," Taranis said. "But my one thoughtless moment decades ago does not change the fact that the three Unseelie sidhe before me did worse to the Lady Caitrin."

"If there is a pattern of abuse between the princess and the king," Biggs said, "then his accusations against her lovers may have a motive behind them."

"Are you implying a romantic motive for the king?" Cortez put a great deal of disdain in his voice, as if it were laughable.

"He wouldn't be the first man to beat a girl as a child, then turn to sexual abuse as she grew older," Biggs said.

"What did he accuse me of?" Taranis asked.

"Mr. Biggs is trying to prove that you have romantic intentions toward the princess," Cortez said, "and I am telling him that this is not so."

"Romantic intentions," Taranis repeated slowly. "What does he mean by that?"

"Do you have sexual or marital intentions toward Princess Meredith?" Biggs asked.

"I do not see what such a question has to do with the savage attack by those Unseelie monsters on the beautiful Lady Caitrin."

All the men touching me tensed again or went very still, even Galen. They had all realized that the king had not answered the question. The sidhe only avoided answering a question for two reasons. One, sheer perversity and a love of word games. Taranis had no love of word games, and was one of the least perverse of the sidhe. Two, that the answer was something that they didn't want to admit to. But the only answer Taranis could possibly want to avoid was "yes." It couldn't be "yes." He couldn't have romantic designs on me. He couldn't.

I looked up at Doyle and Frost. I looked for a clue as to what to do. Did I ignore it, or pursue it? Which was better? Which was worse?

Cortez said, "Though we have sympathy with the princess' childhood tragedies, we are here to investigate a new tragedy, the attack by these three men on Lady Caitrin."

I looked at Cortez, He actually looked away from my gaze, as if his statement sounded harsh even to his own ears.