A Taste for Blood (The Godhunter, Book 6) (32 page)

Shouting erupted in strange waves of sound, echoing through the cavern and fluttering against us like an embrace. I smiled as I felt my Love come home to roost, its job completed. Then Arach took my hand and kissed it.

“Thank you for giving me back my people,” he said but another voice echoed over him, another face with hair like the darkness we stood in, and eyes like honey.
Thank you for giving me back my father.
I frowned but Arach continued and my thoughts flew away. “I rarely see these fey anymore, they are only called when the Host is on the hunt and we've had very few of those lately. I had no idea that they longed for more. Thank you for braving the dark and bringing them into my sight.”

“
Thank you for being willing to see,” I kissed his cheek.

Chapter Forty-Six

“Concentrate,” Arach said as his hands slipped over my shoulders. “Focus on the tip of the pole and imagine it on fire.”

He was teaching me how to control my flame, to use it as a precision weapon. After the cave fiasco, I'd thought it wise to get into my training asap. I'd managed big spurts of fire but as yet had been unable to narrow it down to a thin stream. I focused on the top of the pole he'd set up in the clearing in front of the castle, and let my fire loose.

A huge stream of fire shot from my mouth and engulfed not only the pole but the bushes near it. I was about to start a good round of cursing when a tiny shriek distracted me. Out of the fiery bush came a little person, no bigger than my hand, running and then rolling in the dirt to put the flames out. It laid there moaning.

“
Oh no,” I cried and ran over to the small thing. “I'm so sorry,” I went to pick her up, I noticed it was a girl when I got closer, but she shrank away from me and I let my hands fall to my sides. “I didn't mean to hurt you, we'll get you some help, okay?”

“
It's just a pixie,” Arach scoffed. “Step on her and put her out of her misery.”

“
What?” I turned to him in shock as the girl let out a horrible keening. “No one's hurting you,” I said to her before looking back at him. “What are you talking about?”

“
They're horrid creatures,” he glared down at the tiny girl as if she were a cockroach. “They are fire fey but don't have enough magic to be immune to it. It's a disgrace but every element has them, so we put up with them living on the fringe of our kingdom. Now step aside if you're not strong enough to do it and I will handle this.”

“
Not strong enough?” I stood up and faced him. “Excuse me?”

“
Nevermind,” he sighed and lifted his foot.

I moved faster than I knew I could, my body automatically moving to take Arach down, as if I had fought assholes like him a million times before. I swept his standing foot out from under him and then used that same leg to kick him in the gut as he fell, sending him flying a good four feet. He gaped at me from the dirt and the pixie went quiet behind me.

“Who told you that strength meant crushing those who are weaker than you? That compassion is shameful?” I stalked over to him, putting a foot to his chest when he made to sit up. “Answer me, Arach.”

“
My father,” he replied calmly, not at all upset that I had knocked him to the ground. In fact, his face started showing signs of arousal. “A King must be hard, without emotion.”

“
It's easy to deny emotion, easy to destroy that which is weaker,” I shook my head and turned away, removing my foot from his chest. “It's the act of creation that takes time and energy. Building trust, friendship, or peace can take years but destroying them, only moments. Hating is so simple but loving is much harder to do. Caring about people, about their needs, shows so much more strength than killing them.” I bent down to the injured pixie and held out my hand to her. “I promise you that no harm will come to you. I only want to help you.” She blinked overly large blue eyes at me and then nodded before climbing into my palm.

“
She will not thank you for your help,” he was getting to his feet behind me.

“
I don't need her thanks,” I stood up to face him, holding her protectively to my side. “I hurt her, getting her the proper care is my responsibility, another thing you should understand as a King. This is your kingdom, right? So whoever resides here is your responsibility, no matter how small they are or how difficult you find them to be. How can you govern people without caring for them?”

“
They don't want or need my affection,” he looked at me like I was insane.  “They need a strong King.”

“
You show more strength by caring. Didn't you hear anything I just said?” I sighed. “Ruling the way you do is not being a leader, it's being a dictator.”

“
A what?”

“
Someone who just gives orders, like a slave master,” I turned and headed back to the castle. “How lonely it must be for you.”

“
I...” he chased after me. “I'm not alone.”

“
No but you are lonely,” I cast him a smug glance. “Now tell me where I can find someone who can help her.”

“
Uh,” he shook his head, “we are fire fey, we don't usually have to treat someone for burns.”

“
There must be one of you who knows something about healing instead of hurting.”

He stopped walking, staring at me with his mouth agape. So I stopped to stare back.

“How monstrous we must appear to you,” he whispered and then looked down at the little pixie as if seeing her for the first time. 

“
Strength is not crushing those who are weaker than you,” I touched his shoulder and he brought his eyes to mine again. “Strength is being
able
to crush them but choosing to
protect
them instead. A King should protect his people, all of them,” I looked down pointedly to the pixie and she stared back at the dragon-sidhe solemnly. Her face was blackened, most of her hair gone, and she was starting to shiver, probably from shock. “You sit on a throne for a reason, because you're supposed to be the best of them. So be the best. Take care of your people.”

I held the pixie up and we both stared him down.

“My apologies, little one,” he finally said gravely to the pixie. “I will try to be a better King.”

“
Accepted,” her tiny, bell-like voice carried up to him and he blinked from her to me, as if surprised she could speak at all. “I will tell the others of your new found honor, my King.” She paused and looked back at me. “Blessings upon you and your lady.”

That she could speak at all past her obvious pain, shocked me too. I couldn't understand why Arach had such a bad opinion of her kind. I'd known her all of five minutes and already she'd impressed me.

“Thank you,” I smiled down to her. “Now let's get you cared for. Arach?”

“
Uh, right,” he frowned. “I believe one of the leanan-sidhe may have something.”

He led us through the maze of his castle, glancing back at me every few steps with the oddest expression on his face.

Chapter Forty-Seven

Arach took me and Lissa, the pixie, to a leanan-sidhe named Ciaran. The leanan-sidhe were a type of vampire and Ciaran, was one of the few males born to the overly female race. He was a very graceful man, all of his movements languid, almost hypnotizing, but he was fascinated by Lissa. Or maybe just by the fact that Arach had brought her to him to be healed.

Either way, Ciaran had healed the pixie with his own blood, a neat trick if you ask me, and then we'd taken her back out to where we'd found her. She ran off into the dangerous trees as if they were sanctuary for her, which they probably were, things in Faerie were so strange. What was danger to one person was solace to another.

“This idea of compassionate ruling,” Arach started again as we went back inside. “Is it a trick? A type of magic?”

“
Why would you ask that?” I stopped and faced him.

“
It is doing something inside me,” he rubbed at his chest worriedly. “I think maybe I should stop.”

“
That's guilt,” I pushed his hand away. “You know, deep inside, that you've been cruel and now you're feeling bad about it. I've seen into you,” I took his hand, since it was hanging so forlornly by his side after I'd pushed at it. “I know you have honor. I know you're brave and you want what's best for your people. I saw that last night in the cavern, how you hurt for the pain you'd inflicted on your fey. I know you were willing to be with me, with something you hate, in order to give them an heir. You can be a good King. You just need to let go of this notion that being royalty means you have to be an emotionless bastard, and open your eyes.”

“
I don't hate you,” he whispered.

“
You hate what this body represents,” I closed my eyes briefly and took a deep breath. “I even understand why you hate humans. I would hate them too if they destroyed my family. Humans can be bloodthirsty, vicious, and cruel, even to each other. Hell, especially to each other. Yours isn't the only race they've tried to extinguish. There was an evil man once, who almost succeeded in exterminating the entire Jewish race, while torturing them along the way.”

“
We are the last of the dragon-sidhe, Vervain,” he whispered. “If you don't have a child with me, they
will
have succeeded in killing off our race.”

“
Yes,” I nodded. “What horrible, hateful creatures. Yet it was I who stopped you from grinding that girl under your boot, just for getting in the path of my fire.”

He frowned.

“There is evil in all races,” I squeezed his hand, “and there is also good. Usually there's a mix of both in everyone, you just need to decide which you're going to allow to be greater. I can't make up your mind for you,” I let his hand go, “and I can't force you to rule like I think you should. All I can do is hope that you'll forgive the atrocity my people committed on yours and let go of the anger that has been affecting the way you govern.”

“
I don't know if I can forgive,” his cheekbones went into sudden, sharp relief. “I don't think I even want to.”

“
And that is why it's so much harder to love.”

“
I don't understand.”

“
Evil begets more evil,” I smiled sadly. “It's easy to perpetuate cruelty by pushing your anger off on another victim, who in turn will spread their hate onward. Love is much harder. To have the strength to change what you can but accept what is unchangeable and to leave it alone. To create a new foundation and rebuild without thoughts of destroying. To let go of your hate and learn to live in love.”

“
You're saying that the humans are still winning,” he growled. “They hurt me and now I hurt others because of what they did.”

“
Exactly,” I looked out to the shafts of sunlight trying to pierce the darkness of the cave. “Maybe it's time to stop letting them win.”

“
Time to be a King,” he nodded slowly. “You're right. I had no outlet for my anger. I was too young to lead my people to war when my parents were killed and when I was finally of age, the Realm had been sealed and I was alone. I took my hatred out on my people.”

“
No more excuses,” I pointed at him. “Just fix it.”

He gave a startled laugh and then nodded. “Yes, little dragon-human. I shall endeavor to fix it.”

Chapter Forty-Eight

Arach did try his best to fix it. Everyday I saw more of the anger slip away from him as he did his best to become a better King. In turn, his subjects became more open, smiling and treating each other with more kindness as well. Even those from below came cautiously up and roamed the halls. Arach hadn't even needed to tell the other fey to be kinder to them, they'd accepted the ones from below easily, although they did tend to give them a wide berth and cautious looks. The red caps were more effusive in their welcome, seeming overjoyed to find them out of the cave and actually enticing some of them into sparring with them. It wasn't a hippie love fest or anything but there was a happier ambiance in the House of Fire than there'd been when I'd first arrived.

I roamed the castle more freely now, no longer afraid of what might be lurking about in the shadows. I'd already seen the worst and found the best in them. I was finally feeling at home in this strange place.