Crying Fire Read online

  After he settled, he looked at Rik. “Maori, European, Japanese, and traces of Hokkaido. All fey, no shifters. Do you have records?”

  Rik smiled. “My mother has her family, and my father’s family is already in your register. Corvinbank.”

  Arkus blinked and smiled. “Ocean travellers. Dignitaries and advisors.”

  Thadra smiled at Rik’s surprise. She answered her father’s next question. “His mother’s chosen name is Ai Abe, but it was not her birth name.”

  Thadra watched as food was eaten in huge quantities and the questioning continued, delving deep into Rik’s family line. Arkus knew more about his family than Rik did, and Rik was fascinated. The boys went off to the archive, and Thadra activated the magic that would clear up the kitchen. She needed to check on her island.

  * * * *

  Rik looked at his father-in-law and the expansive archive of documents and tomes that surrounded them. “All of fey history is here?”

  “No, only the bloodlines.” Arkus smiled, and he pulled out a familiar document. “This is your mating contract. I knew you were coming home when this appeared.”

  “So, you are the one that keeps them?”

  “Of course. When I am gone, Thadra will take it over or perhaps your children.”

  Rik blinked. “You think we will have children?”

  Arkus smiled and looked at him directly for the first time. “If I can have a daughter, you can have children as well. My wife and I tried for a few centuries before Thadra came along, and after my wife faded, I knew that she was the reason that my wife had come to me. No other lady in the court had come near me, but she had confidence that we were supposed to be together, and I believed her. She was right.”

  Arkus frowned. “But, Thadra can be a bit like me about some things, so you will need to find ways to understand her.”

  “I do. I understand her, and I let her explain when I don’t.”

  Arkus’s bright grin lit up the room. “That is what Mele used to do.”

  Rik asked a question he had been desperate to know. “Why isn’t Thadra a better swimmer?”

  Arkus blinked and frowned. “She couldn’t save Mele. Mele had faded to the point of exhaustion. She was barely alive, but she had promised to take Thadra swimming for shells. They went out, and Thadra dove deep, but Mele couldn’t match her and panicked when Thadra left her sight. Mele dove again and again, but she couldn’t find her, and when Thadra returned to the surface with her shell, her mother was on the shore of our island, not breathing.”

  “She had been too tired to go, but she went because she made a promise.”

  “Yes, so now, if there is a problem, Thadra gets out of the water as soon as she can. She doesn’t swim deep, and she doesn’t take risks with other’s safety. It wasn’t her fault, but she won’t risk anyone else.”

  Rik rubbed the tears from his eyes, and he nodded. “Right. Understandable.”

  “How did your parents meet?” Arkus had a blank book in front of him. It had simply appeared.

  “Um, my mother was patrolling the coastline after the war, and my father went swimming past, a dark silhouette above her. She swam up and followed him, and when he left the water, she shifted into a human form with no clothing. Introductions were swiftly made, and they were married two weeks later.”

  Arkus frowned. “It lacks details. Can I meet with your parents?”

  Rik smiled. “Thadra said you would want to. Yes, you can. We just have to get there.”

  “Where are we going?” Arkus looked hopeful.

  “My parents live near Guam. I can give Thadra the exact location. Where is she?”

  Arkus gave him a description to the location of the woman in question.

  Rik left his father-in-law as he began to write down all the details of the story that Rik had just told him.

  Rik followed the precise directions and was soon in the open air, looking out over the span of the island to the ocean beyond. The sun was setting, and the silhouette of an attached island showed him what he was looking for.

  His mate walked toward him along the thin pathway that connected the two islands. He met her halfway.

  * * * *

  Thadra wrapped her arms around him and sighed. It felt so good to be home at long last. They would travel, they would explore, and they would do whatever was necessary for the fey in the future, but right now, they were together and safe, and his arms were the best place in the world.

  Author’s Note

  This is going to be the last Crossroads for a while. The next book will be #50 in this series, and the Crossroads are getting upgraded.

  When the series resumes, twenty plus years will have passed, and we will start with the fey king and his bride. Probably. Almost sure of it.

  The details are still unformed, so I can’t just jump into it. Bear with me as I redraw the maps of the world that started with just two crossed streets and some hostels.

  Thanks for reading,

  Zenina Masters

  About the Author

  Viola Grace (aka Zenina Masters) is a Canadian sci-fi/paranormal romance writer with ambitions to keep writing for the rest of her life. She specializes in short stories because the thrill of discovery, of all those firsts, is what keeps her writing.

  An artist who enjoys a story that catches you up, whirls you around, and sets you down with a smile on your face is all she endeavours to be. She prefers to leave the drama to those who are better suited to it, she always goes for the cheap laugh.

  In real life, she now is engaged in beekeeping, and her adventures can be found on the YouTube channel, Mystery Bees Apiary. Just look for the cartoon kittens.