§ My suite is located in one of the houses occupying the opposite end of the cavern from the Fairy King’s throne. I learned during my first visit that the locals call this cluster of buildings the ‘castle town’, and it exists mostly to give higher ranking fairies and their non-fairy visitors mortal-like accommodations, to cater to the sensibilities of …

§ It was Dilorè’s shift at the helm when we arrived in Tëan Tír. This time we used an official landing area, a grass field about a mile away from the Fairy King’s Castle.  “This is where Prince Manlon normally parks his launch,” Dilorè explained as she taxied the craft to a parking spot. “It’s also used by the valley’s …

§ Rod did not speak to me again until the next day, and it wasn’t until we were over the Tabad. In fact, we were passing the massive mountain called The Giant’s Fortress, where I had previously become involved in struggles between Tabadan tribes, although we were well to the west of it, rather than over the inhabited regions. As …

§ The Velvet Retreat’s carriage and driver spent the night in our carriage house, which has simple quarters attached for our driving staff, so the girls were able to go back right after breakfast. I sent a couple Pendor house knights as a mounted escort, since Serera and Dilorè had not returned. I had no particular duties to pursue, and …

§ Terese had thoughtfully left blankets in my sitting room, in addition to the stack she left in my bedroom. Perhaps she had thought that the healer assisting us would not want to sleep in the same room as the courtesans, or perhaps she simply assumed that nine women would mean overflow, even in a bedroom as large as mine. …

§ I looked around at the nude girls asleep on the couch and the bed, and decided this wouldn’t do, so I sat up. Mireia was next to the bed, still watching over the last girl I fed on. She looked up in surprise. “My Lady?” “I’ve had an awful lot of sleep in the last few days. I’m not …

§ Lady Serera teased Aunt Elianora about staying to watch, infuriating the vampiress. It was a brief reminder that, despite how those two got along, fairies and vampires don’t normally tolerate one another’s presence well. Of course, Elianora, being not only a highly educated, scientific sort of vampire, but also one of the people who raised me, has more tolerance …

§ A party of royal knights departed the camp in Langram headed for Atius along with a Royal Army coach, the sort used for transporting officers and specialist personnel. Its curtains were drawn, and its crew consisted only of a driver and brakeman. If any enemy spies were observing, they would probably assume it was transporting some of the weary …

§ They had a reply for every retort I could make. “If you could have put Tiana’s soul back in her body and resurrected it using the amulet, why didn’t you do the same for Mother?” I demanded. Gaia said, “With Astaroth surrounding her, we couldn’t do anything. She was already mummified and beyond repair by the time he gave …

§ I sat frozen for several seconds, my heart hammering in my chest as I stared at the apparition before me. I had only begun thinking of her as gone… Mother grew a small smile, as if she were able to read my thoughts, then simply held her arms open and waited. Somewhere within me, the thoughts and emotions of …