The House Of Gaian

the Crone asked.
    “I’ve given the Fae a choice,” Selena said. “They can be a part of the world or they can remain apart from the world. If they choose to remain apart, I said I would close the shining roads in a way that wouldn’t destroy Tir Alainn but would prevent the Fae from coming down to Sylvalan.”
    “You would do that?”
    Selena looked at the woman who had first taught her that she was a Lady of the Moon, had helped her understand the Fae half of her heritage. “Yes, I would.”
    The Crone studied her. “What does the Hunter say about this?”
    Selena smiled grimly. “I don’t know. The Hunter is heading east to a place called Willowsbrook. I expect, when we meet there, I’ll find out.”
    “What about you?” Gwynith asked, the words bursting out of her. “Why hasn’t the House of Gaian done anything to help the witches and save the Old Places?”
    “The wiccanfae did not ask for our help,” the Crone replied mildly. She used her cane to trace the shapes of the courtyard’s stone floor. “Do you understand who and what the House of Gaian is? Do you understand what we are in the world—and what we can do to the world? We are the Mother’s Sons and Daughters. We are the vessels for Her joy and celebration—and we are the vessels for Her terrible justice. We are the rich fields that feed Her children, and we are the storms that can destroy those fields, leaving starvation and death in our wake. Are you sure you want us to walk in the world again?”
    Gwynith shivered. The escorts shifted their feet uneasily.
    “I’m sure,” Selena said. “The Black Coats will never destroy the magic in the world as long as the House of Gaian stands in the Mother’s Hills. Sooner or later, they will come here, and sooner or later, we will fight.”
    “Yes, we will,” the Crone agreed.
    “Then let it be sooner. Let the power of what we are sing in the world again before the Inquisitors leave villages in ruins and—” She swallowed hard against a sudden wave of sickness. “And children are slaughtered.”
    Silence shrouded the courtyard until the Crone said, “As you will, Huntress, so mote it be.”
    Selena pressed her lips together and nodded, not daring to speak yet.
    The Crone leaned over and laid one hand on top of Selena’s clenched ones. “You can only do what you can, Granddaughter. It is the Hunter who will make the final choice for the Fae. You understand that?”
    Selena nodded again.
    Gwynith frowned. “The Lightbringer and the Huntress lead the Fae. What does the Hunter have to decide?”
    The Crone stood up. “The Lightbringer and the Huntress may lead the Fae, but it is the Hunter who rules the Fae. That was true in the beginning, and it is true now.”
    Gwynith shifted on the bench. “I don’t understand.”
    “Don’t you? Then the Fae have stayed away too long and forgotten too much. Come. First we will enjoy the midday meal and take a walk in the gardens. And then I will tell you a story.”

 

     
     

Chapter 20

 

     
     

     
    waxing moon
     
    "I can’t travel any more today,“ Dianna said, slumping in the saddle as if exhausted. She peeked through her lashes at Connor, her Clan’s Lord of the Deer and her senior escort on this twice-cursed journey, and felt uneasy when his expression became grimmer, harder. It was bad enough that she’d lost her place as the Lady of the Moon to that half-breed bitch and was savagely injured in the bargain, but her escorts
    ’ lack of sympathy on the way back to Brightwood hurt as much as her physical pain.
    Connor waved on the other three escorts, who rode a few more lengths before reining in. Then he looked her over, his grim expression never changing. “There’s still plenty of day left to travel, and the bridge to the next Clan’s territory is a short one. We can stop there until morning.”
    True enough, but going on to the next Clan meant they were a hard day’s ride from Brightwood—and she didn’t want to get back to Brightwood until she figured out how to get someone else to act as the anchor for the Old Place’s magic. “I tell you I can’t travel any more today. I need rest if my arm is ever going to heal.”
    “You traveled well enough while we were still in the midlands,” Connor said suspiciously. “You had no complaints about a full day’s travel then. You didn’t start whining about your arm until we reached the southern Clans and were closer to home.”
    “I endured the pain because I