Page 58 of Fae Tithe (The Cursed Courts #1)

A few weeks later, deep into the evening, Helena sat at the kitchen table.

Eleanor, Max, Zac, and Rose were all asleep in their beds.

Lance was away attending to matters of his court.

The night was warm and sweat dotted her upper lip.

She wore a loose, cotton nightgown to help with the heat.

Helena had been finding it hard to sleep.

Her joints ached, and her healing skin was tender and tight.

She peered down at the book in her hands.

Helena could not decide if she still needed to wear her round spectacles.

Her left eye seemed sharper than ever, but her right still produced a fuzzy view.

She could not help but giggle at the thought of wearing a monocle.

More books also surrounded her. She had borrowed them from the small library in the village.

Helena grabbed any book that had made mention of Dragons or Fae, until the wizened librarian had told her five was the maximum allowed out at any time, so was forced to return some to the shelves.

All nonsense, Atlas growled in her head as Helena ran her gaze slowly over the passages. This is not how it happened, Len.

I know, she agreed.

The books were all roughly the same in their content.

According to Seelieland history, Atlas was saved by Theo.

The Dragon, in his gratitude, gave the First King the magic of his Flame, before he passed away peacefully from old age.

Another book read of how the court systems brought order and security to Seelieland.

Apparently, the faeries and humans of the time were eternally grateful for their safety, while the wild faeries and unruly humans had been banished to Unseelieland.

King Theo had used the Dragon Flame magic to forge the wall to protect them all.

Theo used my Flame to divide families and banish those who would not submit. It makes me so sad to think of my magic being used for such things, the Dragon lamented. His voice sounded small, despite the way it rumbled through her mind.

Not anymore, Helena said comfortingly. She tapped her temple with the point of a claw. You and your magic are safe in here, at least for the time being. I am still hoping we may find a way to give you your own body.

Atlas purred. He sent the flash of an image across her mind. In it, he pressed the tip of his scaly nose into Helena’s palm, the colours of their scales matching. She smiled at the tender vision. Despite everything that had happened to him, Atlas was a sweet Dragon.

She closed the book she had been reading and instead reached for the newspaper she had bought while she was in town. Helena hefted it upright, staring at the front page.

Now, this is interesting. Usually, the newspapers out here in the Clusters are around two sheets long and barely contain any information, but this feels… heavier than normal.

It might be to do with the death of the King, Atlas guessed. Perhaps with no Rian to keep them in line, the provinces are feeling braver with what they allow their people to know.

Helena began to slowly read the newspaper, elbows propped up on the table.

Her gaze flicked up when she heard soft footsteps outside.

Biscuit had been sprawled out on the cool tiles.

He lifted his head and pricked his ears at the door, but did not bark.

There was only one person it could be if the dog did not give Helena a warning of someone approaching.

A smile of delight spread across her face as Lance opened the door to the kitchen.

She felt giddy at the sight of his long, lean form in the cosy glow of the lamplight.

He dipped his height slightly and stepped over the threshold.

He had slipped on the shirt and shorts Helena had taken to leaving on the veranda for him.

His strong arms were laden with waterproof bags, woven from seaweed leather.

Lance had been back and forth multiple times to his court, explaining his absence and reacting to any pressing matters.

Helena had not expected him home for another few days for Eleanor’s birthday.

“Hello there, sweetheart,” Lance said warmly, a grin of pointed teeth spreading across his face.

Biscuit hefted his chunky body from the cool tiles and made his way over to the High Prince, his claws tapping loudly at each step in the quiet of the night. He snuffled at Lance’s bare feet and he smiled down at him. The dog wagged his tail in response.

“Hi, love. I wasn’t expecting you back for a while,” Helena said brightly. She folded the newspaper and abandoned it amongst the books. “I’m so happy to see you! I’m always relieved when you come home.”

Lance placed his bags on the free end of the table that was not full of borrowed books. He then stepped over to Helena, swooping down and pressing a kiss to the top of her head. She gave a contented sigh as he pulled out the chair next to her, scraping it over the tiles, and sat down.

Tell your Siren I say hello, Atlas said excitedly, and Helena relayed the message.

“Hello back.” Lance grinned, the fine lines deepening at the edges of his mouth.

Atlas preened from the attention, and the Merman covered Helena’s hand with his own. He ran his gaze over her collection of books and the newspaper.

“Did you go to the village today?” he asked, cocking an eyebrow at her.

“I did,” Helena admitted, biting her lip. “Before you ask, yes, it was too soon, with my injuries. I was exhausted by the time I got home, and the skin on my legs hurt. My joints are still burning. I had to have a nap when I got back.”

Lance said nothing, but gave her an exasperated look before reaching with his free hand to a slip of material on the table amongst the books. “How did this work for you two?” he asked, picking up the cream-coloured eye patch.

Well! I could still see through it with your left eye. It was wonderful to observe the village, the Dragon enthused.

“He likes it. Atlas says he could still see through it when I was wearing it. Tell the Selkies ‘thank you’, the fabrics they make are amazingly soft and comfortable. I also wore long sleeves and gloves, to hide this.” She waved her black scaled arm.

“No one asked, but if they did, I was just planning on telling them I was caught in a fire in Portson,” Helena replied.

“I’ll pass that on to them.” Lance smiled, placing the patch back on the tabletop. He nodded his head down at the newspaper. “Was there anything interesting in there?”

“Surprisingly, yes.” She tapped her claw onto the folded printed sheets.

“I read that the three surviving members of the Seelie Court have declared the Tithe Dragon responsible for the assassination of the two Seelie Lords and King. They have upped the bounty on the killer to bring them to justice.” She then removed her hand from the top of the newspaper and tapped her chin.

“Oh! This actually surprised me. One of the Seelie Lords that was killed in Declan’s attack was the Seelie Lord of Archipelago.

The Seelie Court tried to bring in another Fae Lord to take the title as he had no official heirs, but the court in Portson rejected the new Seelie Lord! Can you believe it?”

“Wait… the Fae Court of Portson rejected a new overseer?” Lance confirmed, a look of bafflement on his face.

“Yes. El knows more about history than me. When I asked her and Atlas, they had never heard of it happening before,” Helena added.

You cannot remove half of the ruling court and not expect things to change, Atlas hummed. She felt a brush of the Dragon’s excitement in her mind.

“Wow.” Lance leant back in the chair and blinked. To Helena, it looked like the carriage wheels in his mind were turning, as though he was processing the impact this may have on Nautilus. “Len… I think we need to talk—”

“About the next right thing?” Helena smiled weakly.

“Yes.” He nodded.

“Me too,” she agreed. “You go first.”

“I don’t think it’s safe for you and El to stay in Seelieland.”

“As much as I don’t want to admit it, neither do I. ” Helena sighed, rubbing her hand on the back of her neck. “I’ve been thinking about it a lot, and I wanted to ask, is there anywhere in your territory we could go?”

“There are at least two options, yes.” Lance cupped his chin.

“Would all of us be able to go? And I mean all , including the animals: Goliath, Biscuit, Bun, and Ash? I don’t think I’ll convince the kids to come otherwise. And would we be able to bring some of our things?”

Lance stroked his growing stubble. “Yes, I can make that work. We have some small trading boats that I can get the Selkies to sail into Portson. We can move the animals and your things bit by bit. It may take a few trips back and forth to wherever we decide to settle, but I can make I happen. Anything for everyone to be safe, and the happiest they could be with the situation.”

Helena dipped her head in agreement. “Let’s not worry the family with it right now. We’ll have El’s birthday first, then we’ll have to all sit down together and discuss it.”

“Oh! That reminds me,” he sung excitedly, reaching over to open one of his bags. He pulled out a long tube of thick paper that was kept in place by a soft ribbon.

“What’s that?” Helena asked.

Pushing his chair back and standing, Lance tugged at the ribbon and unrolled it.

His arms spread wide and revealed a beautifully inked map of a collection of small islets and one large island.

“It’s a birthday gift for El. This is part of my territory: the Selkie Islets and the Encantado Island.

Which, by the way, are two of the options to live on if you did decide to leave Seelieland.

I had my court representative for the Encantados commission it from his finest cartographer.

Do you think she will like it?” he enthused, his gaze sparking with excitement as he moved from looking down at the map to look at her.