fol owing her gaze, tabor nodded. "to know about your father, you need to know about the women in his life. rhoswen's mother was young, opportunistic, spoiled and ultimately corrupt.

because of her youth, and because there was in fact something quite unique about her-a shining gem, much like her daughter, though with much less heart-she was able to turn his head for a short time.

long enough to get with child, which of course does not take very long. but she couldn't disguise her true nature, and he would not cleave to her. he did acknowledge the child, cared for her with a true fondness."

"he loved her." lyssa stared at tabor.

"most decidedly. he was a very big part of rhoswen's life until . . ." tabor shook his head. "it enraged magwel that he would not give her the regard he gave the daughter she bore him, so she thwarted him from seeing rhoswen. i suspect she poisoned rhoswen's mind against him as well , making her believe that he didn't care for her, even though he continued to try and reach out to her. in later years, i was able to reveal this to rhoswen, but by then, your mother had happened, and it became more complicated."

lyssa shifted against jacob's body, her eyes darkening as she remembered rhoswen's bitter words. children are like acorns. some are left to rot . . .

"when he fel in love with your mother, it was not a love we as fae could understand. but i have eyes, and i knew it was true. rhoswen's mother was close to the unseelie queen. it took time, but eventual y the unthinkable was done. your father, one of our strongest, was sentenced to death.

"he could have fought my brother and the others who spoke against him, and the loss of life would have been grievious, because the fae courts were very divided on the issue. however, he agreed to accept the sentence if my brother agreed the fae court would not seek retaliation against his vampire mate. the seelie court abided by that. the unseelie didn't. i do not hold the seelie court blameless, however, because my brother did nothing to stop the unseelie court. he felt that our honoring the agreement was all that was required. even though he was lovers with the woman who sent the assassins. rhoswen's mother."

earlier, she'd told jacob that something that happened a thousand years ago shouldn't have such a hold on her now. yet getting the answers she'd always lacked was more overwhelming than she'd expected. tabor had paused, was studying her face.

jacob's mind touched her in warm reassurance as he picked up on her uncertain spiral of emotions.

"my apologies, lady lyssa. i did not adequately prepare you for the import of what i intended to tel you. i felt it was significant to meet you tonight, to tel you these things on the night of endings and beginnings. however, perhaps i set too much store by symbolism. we can wait until-"

"no." lyssa shook her head firmly. "there may not be another time, your majesty. i welcome anything you can say that might help me understand the confusion of my childhood."

"no child should have to deal with what you and your mother faced. fortunately, the vampire world resorted to the talents of a mortal sorcerer to stop the assassination attempts. unfortunately, on this side of things, it was not over so quickly. i could no longer in good conscience support my brothers, so our world divided into factions. we suffered through on-and-off armed conflicts, no sense of cohesion, for centuries. when i kil ed both of my brothers in battle, rhoswen's mother, now unseelie queen, became my bitter enemy, and things became far worse. until rhoswen took her mother's life and cal ed for a truce."

he looked back at the portal as a group of sinuous women, dressed in elaborate wrapped cloths, like indian women in saris, proceeded toward it. one transformed while they watched, her brown skin becoming overlapped with scales, her eyes large and unblinking with the slitted pupils of a snake.

flicking a long, forked tongue at the other women, she amused them as her legs disappeared and were replaced instead by a long snake's tail that propel ed her even more quickly to the portal. they shifted to catch up, laughing as they did so.

lamias, jacob supplied. it's said they trap faithless men in their coils with seduction and then strangle them to death.

well, they seem in a cheerful mood for it. lyssa closed her eyes. hearing what rhoswen had done to end the civil war in her country, she'd found a common link, an empathy she wasn't sure she wanted.

"there's much i do not know about the relationship between rhoswen and her mother," tabor said, "or what made her decide to do it, after she'd stood behind her through so many battles. however, after the truce, lady rhoswen mourned in seclusion for five years, during which keldwyn stood as her regent. when she came back, he stepped aside and became liaison for both courts."

his mouth tightened. "since, as you say, we may not have an opportunity like this again, i will say the most important thing. i owe a debt to your father.

though queen rhoswen and i act as equals on most things, i have the power to overrule her court decisions. it is a power i try to use rarely, because i understand the danger of undermining her authority, given the beings that reside in her portion of our world. do you understand?"

he held her gaze a long moment, until she nodded. "i do."

"good." he shifted his attention back to the portal.

"she is a mixture of contradictions, the worst of her mother and the best of her father always warring within her. her fae respect her, but she won't let them love her. being barren does not help matters, for we have never had a barren unseelie queen. her mother cursed her with barrenness when rhoswen kil ed her."

reghan has another daughter. a daughter with a child . . .

some wounds couldn't heal, even over a thousand years. particularly when every day was a reminder of the past.

a troop of hobgoblins marched through the gate, naked, short and long-limbed, bearing an array of noisemakers that created a din that vibrated through the ground as they tested them out. rhoswen managed an approving look, though lyssa imagined she wanted to rub her temples to stave off the headache they were probably seeding. though they didn't need masks to be scary to human perception, many had purchased from the vendor lyssa remembered anyway.

masks. how many masks had she worn in her life? how many had rhoswen worn? maybe that was why masked costume events had never appealed to her.

the enticing tril of a lute brought her attention back to the next person in the elaborate parade.

she'd seen satyrs around the castle and in the vil age, but this one had the same look that firewind had about him, as if he was a leader among his kind.

his bare upper body was broad and muscular, and though his lower half was like the haunches and cloven hooves of a goat, the legs were strong and reminiscent enough of a human male it wasn't as offputting as she would expect. his long curling red hair and trimmed beard looked like touchable silk. a dozen female fae trailed in his wake, dancing, laughing, wearing flowers and very little else, long hair flowing over bare skin and fluttering wings.

his absorbing blue eyes turned to her as if he felt her regard specifical y. lifting a lute to his firm lips, he tril ed her another provocative tune, as if he were inviting her to dance, or more. despite the seriousness of her discussion with tabor, she felt the sun break through those clouds, give her the desire to smile. perhaps even to laugh, take his hands and join him in that dance. unlike the dangerous lure of the sirens, in this instance his attraction felt almost compassionate, as if he was picking up on the weight of her heart as easily as jacob did. on top of that, the way he gazed at her was intent, sexual and quite pleasurable. what intrigued her even more was he included jacob in that frank assessment, making it clear the invitation was open to both.

jacob's wry chuckle whispered across her ear, making her shiver. "i'm going to guess that's robin goodfel ow, also known as puck. he's reputed to be the jester of the fae and loves to cause confusion among mortals and faes alike. it's said he sends travelers in the wrong direction, pinches lazy servants, and pul s chairs out from beneath people who are malicious gossips. should i hold you tighter, my lady, to keep you from flying to his side?" she pressed her lips against a smile, laid her hand on his thigh. i was thinking i'd have him come over here and give my lazy servant a pinch.

since he made you smile, i'm going to pretend to ignore that comment.

she looked toward tabor then, steadier. "why a rose bush?"

tabor shook his head, his mouth hard. "magwel recommended the method of his death. your mother loved our roses. as you already know, reghan gave her a plant, all owed her to take it into your world.

that was another crime, though creating a child with her was considered the worst. as you've no doubt realized, at that time we had stringent rules to keep our two species apart. it wasn't long after that the portals were closed completely and the separation edict set into place, by mutual agreement. there is a great deal of wisdom to it i support, but not for the same reasons as rhoswen. many of the edict's principles hold today, except on a night like this. the veil is thin, not just between our worlds, but between the here and now and the afterlife, and that must be honored, no matter our rules and laws." as the last of her people passed through it, rhoswen was positioning herself to take the queen's guard through the gate. "on this night, the queen does all she can to keep the two worlds far apart, and we go to bless it. we hope that one day things will be different, whereas she fervently prays they never will . she is certain that inviting mortal congress will bring us to true destruction, not just self-imposed exile from the earth. and she could well be right. i cannot see the future. that's not a gift given me. but there are certain ways i do not wish to live."

he met lyssa's gaze. "the last day i saw your father, the proudest, noblest man i've ever known got on his knees with tears in his eyes. he pleaded with my brother to honor his promise, to spare you and your mother. however, i remember he had his gaze fixed on rhoswen's mother, because that was who he truly needed to convince. the hopelessness in his eyes said he already knew it would come to naught.