A Lick of Frost(23)

"King Taranis," I said, and again his name pulled at me, like a hand tugging for attention. I took a deep breath and relaxed into the weight of Rhys and Frost at my back, my hands on Doyle and Abe. Galen seemed to sense what was needed because he slid his arm between my calves, so that he wrapped himself around one of my legs, and forced both my legs apart a little wider so he could cuddle more tightly. There were very few of my guards who would have been willing to look so submissive in front of Taranis. I valued the few who were more willing to be close to me than to keep up appearances.

I tried again. "King of Light and Illusion, are you saying that my three guards are so monstrous that to lay with them is painful and horrible?"

"Lady Caitrin says that it is so," he said. He had settled back into his throne. It was huge and golden, and was the only thing that had not changed when his illusions were stripped away. He sat on what would cost, even today, a king's ransom.

"You said that my men could not maintain their illusion of beauty during intimacies, is that correct?"

"The Unseelie have not the power of illusion that the Seelie possess." He sat more comfortably on his throne, legs spread as some men do, as if to draw attention to their masculinity.

"So when I make love to them, I see them as they truly are?"

"You are part human, Meredith. You do not have the power of a true sidhe. I am sorry to say that, but it is well known that your magic is weak. They have fooled you, Meredith."

Each time he said my name, the air was a little thicker. Galen's hand slid up my leg until he found the top of my thigh-high hose, and could finally touch bare skin. The touch made me close my eyes for a moment, but it cleared my head. Once, what Taranis had said might have been true, but my magic had grown. I was no longer what I had been. Had no one told Taranis? It was not always wise to tell a king something he would not like, Taranis had treated me as lesser, or worse, all my life. To discover that I might be the heir to his rival court would mean that his treatment of me had been worse than politically incorrect. He had made me his enemy, or so he might think. He was far from the only noble in both courts to find themselves scrambling to make amends for a lifetime of ill treatment.

"I know what I hold in my hand, and in my body, Uncle."

"You do not know the pleasures of the Seelie Court, Meredith. Much awaits you, if only you could know it." His voice was like the ringing of bells. It was almost music on the very air.

Nelson started walking toward the mirror again. Her face was full of wonder. Whatever she saw was not real. I knew that now.

"I have told the lawyers twice that you are bespelling them, Uncle, but whatever you are doing to them makes them forget that. You make them forget the truth, Uncle."

The men in the room seemed to take a deep collective breath. "I have missed something," Biggs said.

"We all have," Veducci said. He went to Nelson, who was standing in front of the mirror, staring up as if the wonders of the universe were in that glass. He touched her shoulder, but she didn't react. She just kept gazing up at the king.

Veducci called back, "Cortez, help me with her."

Cortez looked like he'd been asleep, and had woken up somewhere else. "What the hell is going on?" he asked.

"King Taranis is using magic against us all."

"I thought the metal would protect us," Shelby said.

"He is the king of the Seelie Court," Veducci said. "Even the things I'm carrying aren't enough protection. I don't think a few office supplies are going to cut it today." He put a hand on each of the woman's shoulders and started pulling her back from the mirror. He called back over his shoulder, "Cortez, concentrate, help me with your assistant." He yelled it, and the shouting seemed to startle Cortez. He started forward, still looking startled, but he moved. He did what Veducci asked.

The two of them drew Nelson back from the mirror. She didn't fight them, but her face stayed upturned to Taranis's form as he sat above us all. That was interesting. I hadn't realized before that something about the mirror's perspective put him slightly higher than us. Of course, he was on his throne in the actual throne room. He was on a dais. He was, literally, looking down on us. The fact that I had only now realized that told me clearly that whatever spell he was throwing at me was having some effect. I was at the very least not noticing the obvious.

"You are breaking human law," Doyle said, "by using magic against them."

"I will not speak to the monsters of the queen's guard."

"Then speak to me, Uncle," I said. "You are breaking the law by the magic you are casting. You must stop it, or this interview is over."