King of the Isles by Debbie Mazzuca

beneath his now-soaked boots. With a furious glare at Aurora, he turned on his heel to stride from the hall, muttering about demonic faeries—the dark cloud following in his wake.
    Crossing his arms over his chest, Lachlan forced a stern expression onto his face to look down at the giggling bairn standing beside him. His brother covered his amused chuckle with a cough.
    Aurora sighed, flicking her fingers in Gavin’s direction. The cloud disappeared, his tunic and trews now clean and dry. With a sweet smile, she looked up at his brother. “May I go and play with baby Ava, Lord Aidan?”
    Lachlan noted his brother’s hesitation and couldn’t say he blamed him. Ava, Aidan and Syrena’s two-year-old had, much to his brother’s chagrin, displayed an aptitude for magick when only a few months old.
    “Aye, if ye promise no’ to show her any of yer wee tricks,” his brother said.
    “Oh, I don’t need to teach her any tricks, Lord Aidan. Baby Ava’s magick is almost as powerful as mine.”
    Aidan ran a frustrated hand through his jet-black hair. “Just what I wanted to hear,” he muttered. Aurora, well acquainted with the castle, headed for Ava’s chambers.
    Lachlan understood his brother’s worry. “Has she been transportin’ herself again?”
    “Nay, Lewes has been warded so she canna manage that anymore.”
    “Ah, Aidan, no’ to cast aspersions on yer wife, but if ’twas Syrena who—”
    His brother snorted a laugh. “Nay, if my bonny wife had cast the spell there’s no tellin’ what would’ve happened. Evangeline saw to it.”
    Lachlan grunted at the mention of the raven-haired beauty. “Right.” He clapped a hand to his brother’s shoulder in farewell. “I’ll see ye when I get back from the Far North,” he said as he turned to leave.
    Aidan grabbed him by the arm. “’I think ye’re fergettin’ somethin’. Since ye’re goin’ after Uscias, ye’ll be needin’ to take Fallyn and her sisters with ye.”
    “And why would I be doin’ that? Ye canna—”
    “Yer Highness,” Beth interrupted with a laugh as she made her way up the stairs carrying a silver tray piled high with iced cakes. Their longtime housekeeper thought it amusing that the lad whose trews she’d once mended was now a king. Like the servants in both his brother’s and cousin’s castles, only the most loyal knew of Lachlan and Syrena’s Fae heritage. It would be dangerous if more than a trusted few shared their secret.
    Lachlan lowered his voice to call after her, “Ah, Beth, doona be mentionin’ my presence when ye deliver Syrena her sweets.”
    She stopped midway, leveling a speculative look at him over her shoulder. “And what would my silence be worth to ye, Yer Highness?”
    “Are ye blackmailin’ me again? To be sure, ye must have more jewels than Queen Anne thanks to me.”
    “Ah, well, if ye’re no’ willin’ to part with a wee bauble ...”
    “Fine,” he grumbled. “I’ll bring yer bauble next time I’m home.” He wasn’t about to tell her he’d pay far more than a bauble to keep Evangeline from learning of his presence before he made it back to the Fae realm to meet up with Gabriel and Broderick. The two men had offered their assistance in rescuing Uscias, and Lachlan had tarried too long as it was. He’d only meant to deliver Aurora into Evangeline’s safekeeping.
    His uncle, assuming Evangeline would be accompanying Lachlan to the Far North, had volunteered Morfessa to watch over the little seer. After witnessing the wizard’s treatment of his daughter, Lachlan had no intention of letting the man anywhere near the bairn. Rohan and his wizard could see to the Enchanted Isles in his absence, but he would trust only Evangeline to care for Aurora.
    He felt a moment of trepidation at the thought of leaving Evangeline on her own, but then reminded himself it was none of his concern. Thinking on her powers, his worries seemed foolish. But he couldn’t shake the image of her that day at