The Earl's Childe by T. J. Wooldridge Read Free Book Online Page A

persons, but my youngest sister, Ivy, had told me she and Ash, her twin brother, would speak to them in the really old gardens. I wondered what they thought about Dad’s “Let’s salt the castle!” plan.
    After the “ridiculously long greetings” part of the meeting, where I was formally introduced as the human liaison to the MacArthur clan, things got underway. And by “underway,” I mean a whole lot of talking and phrasing that I seriously didn’t understand.
    It sucked.
    After maybe an hour of conversation among mostly the daoine síth, about the history and tradition of Seelie Stronghold Something and how those of opposing courts had yielded or were forced to yield some-other-thing, I thought my brain might explode. I pictured a secret tunnel, running to Tom, to channel my thoughts so no one else could read them, and shouted a mental Help! to him.
    I heard his sigh in the back of my head. Historically, this part of Scotland, even before it was known as “Scotland,” has been held by the Seelie court. Unseelie who pass through must uphold the standing relationship with humans—-play nice, so to speak—or they can incur the wrath of the Seelie Court. There have been some battles, and this court has always won, maintaining their laws .
    Okay, that made sense. And I had taken enough politics and social studies classes to suggest, So, the reason they’re bringing up tradition and history and all that is because someone wants to make a change?
    Tom didn’t answer me in words, and the feeling of him in my head lessened even more, but I sensed, first, his agreement with my thought, and second, him “pointing” my attention back to the conversation, particularly at Lord Cadmus.
    â€œNo, I cannot confirm that my cousin will uphold Seelie law,” he said, his lips a thin line across his face, “but you know what we risk by directly opposing his claim.”
    That caused an uproar. Everyone started talking and shouting all at once.
    â€œEnough.” Lady Fana spoke in what sounded like a normal tone, but somehow everyone heard her above all the rowing. Everyone did, in fact, shut it at her word. “We already have an Unseelie that lives on our lands but must bend to the Seelie rule.” She looked at me, and everyone’s eyes followed hers. It was all I could do not to duck behind Tom.
    â€œYou’re talking about Ehrwnmyr?” I asked. The kelpie was definitely evil; he’d told me so himself. “He has to do what I say.”
    â€œAnd you command him to abide by Seelie law.” That wasn’t a question, but her tone made it clear that I should agree.
    However, I had rubbish for a clue of what exactly “Seelie law” was, and I had a feeling it was in my best interest to be careful exactly what I agreed to. The tiniest sense of Tom in my head seemed to support that idea, too. “I command him to harm no one, faerie or human.”
    More approval from Tom gave me the strength to stand a little straighter.
    â€œAnd would you command him to do whatever is necessary to protect the Seelie stronghold?” Lord Cadmus fixed me with one of his stares, which gave me yucky goosebumps all over.
    I didn’t exactly like the wording on that, either, and everyone was still staring at me. In a part of my brain used to a totally different reality, I remembered having to stand up to Danicia, the ringleader of all the girls who would pick on my best girlfriend, Joli, and me. Or standing in front of the teachers after they broke up a fight I was in, or when I was in the office for fighting to defend my friend and me. I hated the way I felt at those times, but I got through it all.
    â€œI would command him to be protective as necessary, to the extent that was necessary.”
    I felt Tom’s approval in my head again, but also a sense of caution. As if I couldn’t guess the caution bit from how Lord Cadmus narrowed his