Axel's POV
It had been just over a week since Owen and Dove returned. After the death of the King, Queen Orria had reestablished herself as the ruler of the Light Fae, and Dove had been presented to both kingdoms as the Princess. Of course, technically, she was the queen of the Dark Fae realm, which we had yet to travel to. Several discussions had been had about what we would do next.
"I'm not sure I have a reason to return to Charleston anymore," Brandon said, looking at Kota, who had asked what everyone planned to do. "I mean, you are all my family, and I want to be where Firecracker is."
"I'd like to visit, you know, and see Uncle, but I don't think living as a vampire is exactly a good fit back home," North said, rubbing the back of his neck. "I guess I was so focused on making sure we all survived, that I didn't think about what would happen next."
I noticed Dove frowning at his words and absentmindedly rubbing her chest. Even though the stone was gone, she would still rub her chest when she was upset about something. I stepped over and lifted her into my lap. "What are you thinking, Dove?"
She sighed and leaned against my chest, "I feel like I've stolen your lives from you. If you hadn't met me, then you would still be living your lives with your families back in the States."
I ran my hands over her arm, "Shh, you have stolen nothing from us. What you did was give us back our purpose and our family." I lifted her chin to face me, "Listen to me, Eveleen. I was the one who fought this the hardest, and now I see how foolish I was. I was afraid of getting hurt and losing the fragile framework of a family that I had left after Kaylie, but you gave them back to me. You brought all of us together as brothers, but then you gave us so much more." I held my hand out to Silas and Marc. They came and knelt near us, and gave both of us kisses. "You helped me, us find parts of ourselves we had spent years hiding or denying. Yes, the logistics are confusing, but only because we haven't had time to sit down and think it through. I have no doubts that between all of us, we can find a solution." I wiped away the stray tear that fell from her cheek as she nodded and sniffled.
"I just don't know if I can leave Fairie for very long now. I never knew I was royalty until all of this insanity happened," she complained.
"Some of us knew you were deserving of the title Queen all along," North said coyly. "I just didn't realize how accurate it was, baby." She gave him a playful scowl.
"Could they live here?" Kota asked hesitantly.
"Who?" Sean asked
"Our families, I mean if they wanted. Could my mom and Jess, or even Uncle for that matter, come and live here?"
We all paused for a moment, could they, I mean are there rules about that? We looked at Eveleen. "I have no idea, but I'm sure we can find out. But mhac tíre, I need you to remember that time works differently here. Time in Fairie moves faster, if they come, they may not ever be able to leave."
"So wait, then how long have we been here?" Corey asked. "I mean, I know we've been here about two weeks, but what does that equal in the mortal realm?"
"Around four months," she replied. "It's not really a set time. Since Fairie is a living place, not just land, the time passes as she chooses it to. It's a pretty difficult thing to pinpoint, sorry."
"Do we still work for Academy?" Raven asked.
"I actually thought of that before we left Charleston," Owen said. "I'd even talked with Phil about helping on the supernatural cases. Apparently, the Academy had a basic knowledge of the Council but lacked the connections to really be of use. With all of us, they might be able to form a working relationship." He squeezed Sean's hand softly, "Of course, it wouldn't be the same, and it might mean trips apart, but that isn't much different than missions in the old days. We would need to hammer out the details and then discuss it as a family."
"We'd need to account for the change in time passages as well," Victor pointed out. "We wouldn't want to take a long-term mission and then return to find years have passed for some of us when for others, it was only a matter of months."
Wow, the whole time thing really was tricky. I see now why Kota is stressed about it. I mean, really he's the one who will miss the mortal realm the most other than North and Luke. "I say we talk with Erica, Jessica, and Uncle. We need to explain the time passage differences to them and see how they feel about it. If they can't or don't want to come, then we need to create a timeline of visits to make sure Kota, Luke, and North get to spend as much time as possible with them." I suggested.
Kota and North both nodded in agreement. "I know I want to spend time with Uncle, but I don't see myself spending too much time back in Charleston honestly," Luke said. "I do need to bring up another matter, though. Loki. He's been missing since we were at the Council Headquarters. Marc and I both think he's in trouble and we can't reach him. Gabe or Nate, do you think maybe you could ask Odin if he knows anything since they're sort of the same pantheon?"
"Yeah, we can try," Nate said as Gabe agreed.
"Why didn't anyone tell me he was missing," Dove asked in a shaky voice, "I didn't realize, I just thought..." her words trailed off and her head hung.
Marc lifted her from my lap and pulled her into his arms. "At first we were so focused on you and Owen that we forgot, Minx, then we didn't want to worry you. I'm sorry, love, we should have told you sooner." Fresh tears streamed down her cheeks, but she stayed quiet. "Can you sense him at all?" Marc asked her.
She shook her head, "Not since the day Orak attacked." She rubbed her chest again. "I thought he left because of..."
"Your connection," Luke finished her sentence. Dove's eyes were wide as she nodded in agreement. "He explained some of the issues to Marc and me just after we arrived." He took a paper from his pants pocket and held it out to her. "He made me promise I'd wait to give this to you. I think it's safe to say he's in trouble and you need to read it. I didn't open it." Her hands shook as she took the letter from him.
"I...I think I'd like to be alone when I read this," she whispered and clutched the letter to her chest as she stood and walked out of the room.
"What the hell, Luke," North barked once she'd left. "After everything she's been through, do you really think she needs a damn letter from Loki?"
Luke straightened his back and glared at North. "Yeah, she needs that letter, and we need to find him. Apparently, you haven't paid attention, but I have. He's one of her chosen, you ass."
Author's Notes: See...I didn't forget about Loki. Only ten or so chapters left, my lovelies! Should you need your answers quicker, the entire story is now available on my Patreon account.
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