Chapter Four

Treachery

Titanyoung closed the door to his mother’s rooms quietly, trying his best to ignore the new trappings she had since added to her disorganized piles of useless things.

“Mother? You wanted to speak with me?” Titanyoung spoke as gently as he could. It hadn’t been clear from the summons what precise mood she was in, so it couldn’t hurt him to be cautious.

“Yes, come here.” Her tone was sharp and blunt all at once, and Titanyoung felt something in his gut tighten. This was a serious conversation, then. He padded his way to her sitting room, and found her lounging in a chair, petting her wretched mutt.

“Sit, darling. I need to have a quick little chat with you. Please, though, do try to keep your emotions under control this time.” She gestured to the plush armchair across from her own, and Titanyoung took a slow, deep breath, sitting. He wasn’t going to let her get into his head, not this time.

“What do you wish to speak about?” He leaned forward, feigning interest. The sooner he got this over with, the sooner he could go spar with Crater like he’d been trying to all day.

“I wanted to discuss your future in the Court. As you know, you have many responsibilities as my heir, and when you take my throne, your duties will be tenfold.” Aoibhell looked at him, waiting for a response as one would wait for a child to indicate their understanding.

“Yes, mother. I do think I’ve been handling what you’ve tasked me with quite well, I-”

“Hush. I was not done speaking, boy, hold your tongue until I prompt you to speak.” Titanyoung nodded, trying not to allow his annoyance to show plainly on his face. If she did not want him to speak, why had she paused?

“As you know, your father and I raised our people from the human parallel in a time of chaos and desperation. We had no choice, and so we rallied the strength of all those we had remaining in the tribe to pull us here, to Tir na nOg, where magic originates and resides in its purest forms.”

“Yes, mother, you do not cease to remind me of it, though I think those were the first words to fall upon my ears at birth and have remained ringing in my head ever since.” Aoibhell glared at Titanyoung as he spoke, but he simply shrugged in response.

“As I was saying, we then split the court in two, as we disagreed on the nature of how magic should be used. In the centuries hence, of course, we have become magical creatures ourselves and discovered that we need no longer limit our use. Your father and I, twenty-five years ago, made the decision to attempt to reunite the courts, and conceived you, in a night of wild-”

“Mother, I do not wish to hear about my conception. I am quite aware of how children come about.”

“Well, if you wish for me to speak to you like an adult, then you must be prepared for the topics that come along with such conversation, Titan. How prudish you have become.” Titanyoung balled his hands into fists in his lap, nodding.

“My apologies mother. Continue, please.”

“You and your siblings, because of the split evolution of our tribe as magical beings, are children of the two fae bloods, Seelie and Unseelie, and thus hold a claim to both thrones. As you should be aware by now, the crowns of the fae courts hold a powerful spell prohibiting them from resting on the heads of those who fall outside of our bloodline, in addition to the caveat of having to be crowned by another of the blood and having to be removed by the wearer unless the wearer has perished.”

“Mother, I hold the Crown of the Heir. I know.” Aoibhell held her hand up to silence him.

“All of that being said had a point, darling, if you would stop interrupting me. You are not the only Child of Two Bloods. Your siblings, all four of them, hold an equal claim to my throne and that of your father. All they would need to do is kill you and convince one of their siblings to crown them. The fae, as you should be aware, cannot lie, but that does not mean they need to reveal everything. Even now, treachery against us could be afoot, my son. I wish for you to unite the two courts, I do, but if one of your siblings claims your father’s throne first… I will not hesitate to crown them in your stead.” Aoibhell sipped whatever thick, purple liquid was in her crystal goblet, and Titanyoung stood.

“What, so this means nothing?” He gestured to the tight golden circlet on his head, it’s three golden points digging into his skin, not enough to cause discomfort, but enough to remind him of its presence.

“It is a promise, my dear. Nothing is a guarantee.” His mother’s hateful little corgi began yipping incessantly at Titanyoung. “Quiet, Ray.” She pet the vile little creature between his ears, and he fell quiet.

“You believe that the children you raised would be capable of such a crime? To kill me, betray me, to take what I’ve been promised?”

“If they aren’t, I’m a terrible mother. My children should want to succeed, regardless of the cost.” She sipped from her goblet again. “Stand up straight, darling, slouching is ugly.”

Titanyoung turned on the pad of his paw and left, tail lashing in frustration.

“I did not dismiss you!” Aoibhell called after him.

“Oh, I am quite sure you did. Have a lovely evening, mother.” He strode out of the room, letting the door slam behind him.

He made his way quickly through the halls, noting with some satisfaction that the few courtiers he approached quickly moved out of his path. He had just wanted to have a fight with his brother, but now his mood was properly soured, and he wasn’t sure he’d be able to hold a sword without thinking about running his mother clean through. It would be difficult, in as much as her magic was purely meant to protect herself, but he could beat her down, he was sure of it. She seemed hell-bent on the idea of someone betraying him, but he was certain she was self-involved enough that the thought of her golden boy betraying her hadn’t crossed her mind.

He made his way down the stairs into the gardens, spotting Viper, Sour, and Crater standing in a lowered cleared area of the lawn, chatting pleasantly. It appeared that Viper was attempting to be funny, from the scrunched-up look on Crater’s face and the wide-mouthed grin Sour was wearing. There was no way they would betray him, any of them.

A quiet clearing of someone’s throat caught his attention, and he turned to see yet another comforting face. Standing more than a head taller than him, gray skin dull despite the glaring sun, was his bodyguard, Odra.

“Titan, I waited here, as you asked. You look upset, are you well?” Odra’s voice was gentle and sweet, and sounded like it should come out of a different body than the one they possessed. Their mouth was filled with sharp teeth, two shining white tusks protruding from their lower jaw, and their face was marked with scars. Their long black hair was pulled back today, twisted into braids that fed into a bun.

“My mother was horrible, Od. She’s trying to make me as paranoid as she is, I can feel it. I wouldn’t be upset, either, but the way she speaks to me hasn’t changed since I could understand her.” Titanyoung gestured for Odra to follow him, and they obeyed, lifting their sword belt from the ground and throwing it over their shoulder.

“She is rather pedantic, I’ve found. You’ve done all she’s asked and more, so I see no reason for her to nitpick you as she does.” Odra stopped at the edge of the clearing as Titanyoung hopped in, landing lightly on the packed dirt. Crater whooped and ran at Titanyoung, fully tackling him against the side of the makeshift arena.

“We’ve been waiting for ages, Titan. When you set an appointment, you should keep it.” Sour piled on top of her brothers, crushing the wind out of Titanyoung’s lungs.

“Oh, get off of him. He was probably doing something important, he’s been looking forward to this all day.” Viper shoved Sour off of the boys, knocking her so she was laying on her back. Sour waved up at Odra.

“Oddie, lovely to have you join us.” She stood, dusting off her breeches, and smudging her hands on Viper’s gown.

“Oh, you cretin.” Viper brushed her dress off as best she could, nudging Crater’s boot with her foot. “Up, he can’t fight you if he’s on the floor.”

Crater stood, offering his brother his hand. Titanyoung took it, heaving himself off the ground.

“Swords or fists, baby brother?” He looked in Crater’s eyes, watching the shifting emotions. He did not envy Crater’s magic. The ringing of billions of the dead in one’s ears could not be pleasant.

“Oh, Titan. Swords. When have I ever chosen anything but swords?” Crater pulled his hand away from Titanyoung’s with a flourish, walking across the shallow pit to grab his blade off of the grass. Titanyoung shook his head.

“You’re too cocky, Crater. You don’t know the weight of the blades we wield, brother.” Titanyoung nodded to Viper and Sour, who quickly took their seats on the edge of the circle. Odra moved to stand behind them, smiling softly.

Crater turned, watching his brother expectantly.

“Well?”

Titanyoung held his hand out to the side, feeling the air move like a viscous liquid up to his wrist. He used to be frightened, watching his limbs disappear into other spaces, but it didn’t bother him so much anymore. He grabbed his sword from where he knew it sat beside his bed, pulling it through the small gap he’d created in the space that they inhabited.

Crater grinned, charging Titanyoung with his sword low at his side. He always left his chest open when he moved in, but Titanyoung knew better than to fall for it by now. He swung low, trying to catch Crater’s ankles on his unguarded side, surprised when he took a full turn to block with his sword still low. Crater looked at Titanyoung over his shoulder, sliding his blade against his brother’s as he turned back around to effectively trap Titanyoung’s own blade against his neck. It hadn’t even been five seconds, and Crater had won.

Viper and Odra clapped, and Sour cackled.

“What the hell was that?” Titanyoung looked at Crater incredulously as the younger man lowered his blade.

“That one, I call the Corkscrew. Kills a man with his own blade.” Crater twisted the hilt of his sword in his hand, putting his free hand on his hip. “I’ve been practicing.”

“Crater, you left your back entirely open when you spun. Facing away from your opponent defeats the purpose of the turnaround block in the first place.” Odra spoke softly, crossing their muscular arms. Titanyoung’s eyes caught on the veins popping in their biceps.

“Quite true, but if I need to Odra, I can drop my head back and catch them on my antlers.” Crater gestured to his head, which currently sprouted two bony nubs.

“When they grow in this year, maybe, but what if they don’t reach? What if another opponent comes in from your left? Not all battles are duels, and most of them do not allow time for flourishes.” Odra crouched, putting a large hand on the edge of the arena and sitting alongside Sour. “Do it again. If you move faster, it could work, but you need more muscular tension.”

Crater nodded to himself, and looked at Titanyoung for confirmation.

“As long as you don’t cut my head off.” Titanyoung spoke the words before considering the weight of them. Crater could kill him here and now.

Crater set his feet before running at his brother again, sword low at his side. Titanyoung didn’t swing, waiting for Crater to lift his foot for another step before hurling himself forward, moving through space like a liquid again, feeling reality pool on his skin before releasing his weight. He was only in the Space Between for a moment before ripping through again, landing behind Crater and putting his sword to his baby brother’s throat.

Crater stumbled quickly to a stop, Titanyoung’s sword nicking his adam’s apple.

“Titan!” Sour snapped at him. “He was running, you need to be careful.” Titanyoung lowered his blade, shrugging.

“Killing a man with his own movement.” He dropped his sword, letting it fall through to its place beside his bed.

“Titanyoung, we were running the same movement again, you cannot try to catch me off guard like that when we’ve planned something. I could have died.” Crater threw his blade to the side, glaring.

“I had control of the movement. If worse came to worse, I could have moved either one of us.” Titanyoung huffed quietly through his nose. He felt a horrible twist of guilt in his gut, but he needed to stay firm in his actions. He’d done it, and he needed to move surely.

Viper hopped off the edge of the arena, walking to the brothers.

“Boys, I think that’s quite enough for the day. Crater, go get someone to mend the broken skin on your neck. Titanyoung, you really should be more careful. One would think you’re careless, the way you endangered him in front of us like that.” She put a hand on Titanyoung’s arm, looking at Crater as she spoke.

Crater nodded tensely before tearing his eyes off his brother, grabbing his sword, and clambering out of the pit, leaving without another word.

“I’m going to check on him. Titan, you should apologize when you get the chance.” Sour stood, following Crater through the grass. Titanyoung sighed quietly, running a hand through his curly auburn hair and trying to slow his ragged breaths.

“That felt bad.” He looked down at Viper, who was smiling softly.

“Titan, mo rí, that was wonderful.” Viper put her hand on Titanyoung’s cheek, and he leaned into the touch. Odra cleared their throat.

“Shall we head in?”