Page 110 of Beauty At Stake
I cleared my throat and tried to ignore her. “I don't understand what happened. I don't . . .”
“Ah.” Star leaned forward, onto his knees. “You do understand. What have you thought of?” He tapped my nose.
I stared at the King of Hell, another layer of shock descending. Star was so calm, as if nothing had happened. And yet the proof of his trauma stained his shirt red. He looked like an extra on the set of a zombie film.
“I . . . uh,” I whispered.
“Those were my thorns,” a commanding voice said—the voice of a Fairy king. “At least, partly.”
Star's guards parted for my father.
King Keir stepped over to us, his purple eyes shining with curiosity but also concern. When he saw Star's healed throat, he nodded. “As I suspected. Are you all right, Daughter?”
Right on cue, Vanessa finished her meal and sat back to sprawl against Star's chair.
“Okay, drunk girl.” Sal slipped in and helped Vanessa up. “Let's get you to a seat.”
“I'm fine.” I watched Sallales leave with Vanessa, down at my uninjurred palms. then up at my father. “Sever has inherited a combination of our mórs.”
“Astaroth.” Sever finally managed to get through the Demon blockade. “I'm so sorry. I don't know what came over me.”
“Just blame it on Anu.” Star smirked. “Like you do everything else.”
“All right, he deserved that.” I got to my feet. “But you need to stop messing with him. You both have your own journey to go through with Anu. You haven't experienced what Severriel has, and he doesn't have your experiences. Try to remember that.” I shook my head. “I hoped that now that Anu stopped pushing us together, the two of you might get along.”
Star stood up and smoothed out his blood-drenched suit. “Of course, Seren. I'm nothing if not reasonable.”
I snorted a laugh.
“May I inspect your throat?” My father peered at Star.
Star inclined his head, then leaned it to the side.
Everyone went silent as King Keir looked from side to side, turning Star's head with the tips of his fingers. “Yes. Very good. Only magic can heal the wounds created by Bloodthorns. Your Witch friend there had enough magic to accomplish a healing. I wasn't sure he would, what with his Fey magic so diluted.”
“I'm surprised the thorns worked on me,” Star said.
“Fairies can hurt Demons, just as Demons can hurt Fairies.” My father shrugged. “We'll have to come up with a new name for this new mór.” He looked at Sever. “What a blessing, Son!” He smacked Sever's shoulder.
Star scowled at that.
I wasn't too pleased either, but my father had always been one to look on the bright side.
And that's when I heard the soft weeping. My ears perked, and I dashed through the crowd around us. Unerringly, I found my children, standing together in a group, clutching each other with my stepmom's arms around the little group.
Eibhleann looked up as I approached and smiled. “A mother always knows when she's needed.”
“Thank you for looking after them.” I crouched and took her place.
“Of course.” Eibhleann stepped back. “See? Your Mama is fine.”
“It's all right.” I hugged and kissed each of them. They were old enough to understand the intricacies of social interactions and magic, but all the shouting and screaming of my name would have been terrifying. I loved that they clung to each other through it. I feared they wouldn’t share the same bond as other siblings due to being raised in separate kingdoms. But we got them together often enough that they had formed those bonds anyway, and that was a great relief to me.
“What happened?” Shahzadi asked, her wings rustling around Caelum and Rowan, pulling them closer. “How come Uncle Sever attacked Uncle Star?”
“Uncle Star said something mean.” I tapped her nose, not realizing until after I completed the motion that I had mimicked Star. “Uncle Sever isn't himself tonight. His mór is emerging, and he doesn't know how to control it yet because he wasn't borna Fairy like you four. I had a similar experience when I first got my fey magic. I was lucky though, and all that happened when I got upset was a burst of lavender sparkles.”
“Sparkles?” Rowan asked.
