As soon as Matilda saw that, she raced back to Gwynn, and both young men tried to save her, only to watch her perish in the fl
ames. Cue centuries of animosity, the princes becoming kings, each blaming the other for the loss of their beloved Matilda.
The story didn't end even on their deaths. The three actors are continually reborn. Not reincarnation exactly, but some essence of the originals living on in new players. It is said that if a new Matilda aligns herself with one side over the other--Tylwyth Teg or Cwn Annwn--she brings unfettered access to the elemental resources that keep the fae alive. In the modern world, those resources--clean air and water and earth--are in ever-diminishing supply, so for both fae and Huntsman, getting a Matilda meant winning the survival lottery.
As might be obvious, I am the new Matilda. I had yet to declare an alliance. I had no idea how to even make that choice.
While there was no reason I couldn't choose Arawn as a lover but support the Tylwyth Teg instead, that's not how anyone presumes it will work, so both sides hope if I choose their "champion," it will seal the deal. And those champions? Ricky as the new Arawn. Gabriel as Gwynn.
Ida banged the knocker. I groaned again. Gabriel shook his head and went to answer the door.
"I thought you were over the fae compulsion thing," I said.
"I am. But either we answer or we remain trapped in this house until Ida and the elders decide to leave town."
"I don't think they ever leave."
"Exactly my point." He opened the door. "Hello, Ida."
"We'd like to speak to Liv."
I walked into the hall and saw that "we" meant Ida and her consort, Walter. There was no sign of Veronica, which suggested they were going behind her back for this visit. Veronica had a habit--terribly annoying to Ida--of insisting I not be treated like a lottery ticket found on their doorstep.
"I know why you're here," Gabriel said. "By contractual agreement, you have one week before you can begin your campaign to win Olivia. You are hoping to open preliminary talks, so on that date you may begin full negotiations. The answer is no. You will wait another week."
"It's a ridiculous contract."
"Then you ought not to have signed it."
Ida glowered at him. The problem with having humans as the living embodiments of Gwynn, Arawn, and Matilda? It's like trying to draft all-star quarterbacks who don't give a shit about football.
"If you'll excuse us..." Gabriel said, waving me to the door.
I grabbed things and squeezed past Ida and Walter with a quick, "Hey, how's it going? Sorry to run. Gotta pick up a hound."
"A what?" Ida said, following me down the front steps.
"Hound. Cwn. Ricky's. With him away in Miami, she's not eating, so I'm bringing her here." I walked backward. "That's okay, right?"
She gave me a look. A cwn in Cainsville meant a spy in enemy territory.
"We could do an exchange," I said. "Make Ioan take one of Cainsville's owls. Or a gargoyle. I could insist that Ioan prop one up by his door to keep an eye on him while I have Lloergan here. They're stonework spies, right?"
"There's no point in fishing regarding the gargoyles," Ida said. "We will be very happy to explain everything...as soon as you lift the terms of our agreement."
"Oh, fine. One last thing," I said. "If a woman shows up claiming to be Seanna Walsh, can you give her something to drink? Whatever it is you guys use to send someone into permanent la-la land. That'd be swell."
"Seanna--? Did you say Seanna Walsh?"
"Gotta run," I said, hopping into the car before she could reply.
CHAPTER FOUR
Ioan wasn't thrilled when I showed up with Gabriel in tow. He was gracious enough, though, having learned that anything else makes me surly. Gabriel, Ricky, and I fight against our roles as pawns by sticking together. That's where the original three failed. We will not repeat their mistakes.
On the return drive to Cainsville, I sat in the back with Lloergan. Under her mostly, given her size. I had a bag of her food, and she was taking pieces from me. As she ate, I rubbed her good ear. The other is little more than a ragged stump, and she's partially blind in one eye, old injuries from an attack that killed the rest of her pack.
After that attack, Lloergan had been found by a twisted bastard who didn't deserve the name of Huntsman. He'd helped her recover from her injuries...but only so she could serve him. When we took his hound, he'd fled to parts unknown.