13 Ch.13: Love is complicated

:: Quinn POV ::

For the past hour we've gathered, sitting and staring at each other.

After their grueling work in putting up the barrier, Orion suggested for all of us to retire in the living room. He said he had information to share. And after handing each of them a well-earned drink, I sat down and waited for him to start talking.

From what Orion hinted, it appears we will soon know the identities of the people who want to take my life. It appears that Orion discovered who they are, where they came from and why they want to kill me from the clues left after the failed attack. But so far, despite Raziel and Syrath's blatant prodding, Orion is content to sit quietly and slowly sip his drink.

The silence was so thick it was starting to get on my nerves. How long do we have to wait? I just want this whole thing over with!

"It's him, isn't it?" I said when I couldn't take the silence and inactivity any longer. It was not a question but a statement of fact. "It's my father who's doing this."

Orion looked at me oddly before asking, "Why would you say that?"

"Nobody knows about me; who I am and where I came from. I didn't discover my true self until I turned eighteen. Even now, I still don't fully understand who or what I am." I stated, looking at him straight in the eyes. "I'm not stupid. I can put two and two together. The only ones who would know about me are my real parents. I have this eerie feeling that the human who helped bring me into the world is long gone. With that, I can safely assume it's my faery father who wants me dead. The question is why?"

I could feel the tension stretch in the room. I saw Syrath shift from where he sat and Raziel muttered a curse under his breath. Only Nuri seems unaffected but even she was sitting on the edge of her seat, gravely listening.

"You are correct on some accounts and wrong on others." Orion said, finishing his drink and setting the cup on the table. "It is true that your human 'father' is long gone. I would tell you the particulars about his life and death, another time, if you are curious and want to know. But you have to understand that your mother is very much alive."

I stared at him dumbstruck.

"Your fae mother." He stressed.

"My mother…" I repeated dumbly. "She's alive?"

"Oh yes! The one who is after your life is not your mother but her favored consort. It was him who sent his servant to attack you." Orion said as he carefully selected a biscuit from the platter before breaking it in half. He popped one part in his mouth and chewed. Slowly. By the time he was downing another drink, I was ready to wring his damned neck!

You don't tell someone that their mother is alive, that they have a vengeful stepfather who wants them dead, then act like nothing is out of order by eating biscuits and sipping tea. It's just not done!

"There's been unrest amongst the faeries recently. I don't know the particulars but whispers about a succession have been heard here and there." Orion continued after satisfying his craving for tea and biscuits. "During the course of your stay here, at Saints' Isle, I noticed most woodland beings are drawn to you. I thought perhaps it's your uncommon beauty. Even for someone who has fae blood you are unearthly beautiful. Then I realized it was because of your mother. You're a splitting image of her."

There was a compliment there somewhere but I didn't catch it. All my focus was on my mother who is apparently still alive and allowing his fucking consort to hunt down her own daughter!

"If my mother is alive then she would know what her consort is doing. She could put a stop to it if she wanted to." I uttered emotionally. There's a desperate feeling in my chest that I can't name as my heart beats heavily with each breath. Why didn't my mother stop her consort from hunting me? Does she hate me?

"Ah! You see, there are some things that make your situation a tad complicated. Your mother cannot meddle in your affairs or she would be declaring to everyone that she favors you." Orion said, breaking another biscuit in half. "This blatant show of support would fuel the anger of her consort, who in turn would lash back at you with all he has."

That's messed up! I'm starting to feel dizzy. Just how complicated is my life?

"I'm not entirely certain Oberon wants to kill you. He intends to hurt you, for sure. But to snap the light and life out of you? I'm not quite certain. Your death would create an irreparable rift between him and his queen and I know he would avoid that kind of tension."

"Wait, what?" Syrath spoke before any of us could. He looked at me before looking back at Orion. "Are you telling us that Quinn's mother is…"

"Titania," Orion smiled before popping another biscuit on his mouth. "The Queen of Faeries."

You have got to be shitting me!

:: Syrath POV ::

I stared at Orion, stunned. He's eccentric and mischievous, to a fault, but I don't think he's the sort who would lie about something like this.

Quinn is Titania's daughter.

I looked over at Quinn. She looked like she's about to faint from shock. I cannot blame her. This was huge news, very unexpected. Nuri's blank mask crumbled as well from the sudden revelation. Curiously, only Raziel seemed to be unaffected by the knowledge of Quinn's parentage.

"How is that possible?" I asked, recovering myself. "Quinn lived years of her life as a human. Nobody detected her as a fae. If Quinn has the blood of Titania, she wouldn't be able to conceal herself successfully within the humans. Power would leak out from her until she learns to control it. From what I understand, Quinn didn't know about her magic until she turned eighteen."

Orion ignored my question and continued eating biscuits and sipping his tea. Nuri stood up and glared at her father. I could feel the anger and irritation coming off her in waves.

"Father!" Nuri snapped. The force of her voice made all the glass in the house shake and vibrate.

"You have to learn to curb your temper, child. It's not becoming for a lady to be so hot-tempered. It could lead to a lot of trouble." Orion chided gently. When Nuri continued to glare at him, Orion sighed dramatically then he continued. "Quinn is a product of the Queen's indiscretion. As you are aware, Oberon and Titania are in a monopolistic relationship of sorts. But there are times when their eyes would wander and their bodies would crave someone or something new. The two settled for a compromise and agreed to always tell each other if they intend to take a lover. But there was a time when Titania kept her lover a secret from Oberon and that affair resulted in the conception of Quinn. As I understand, the fae magic running through Quinn's blood was blocked when she was young to prevent Oberon from discovering her existence. But for some reason, the seal broke on her eighteenth birthday."

"How did you find out all this?" I asked out of curiosity. This is privileged information that one would not be able to obtain unless you talk to the people concerned, which in this case are the King and Queen of Faeries. I doubt either one of them told Orion anything. No one from the supernatural world has seen Oberon and Titania for over a thousand years, not even their adoring and most loyal subjects.

"Robin Goodfellow told me." Orion answered simply.

The hairs on the back of my neck stood at the mention of the name. "Why?" I asked warily.

I haven't told Raziel that the jester of the faery king was the one looking for Quinn that night. I thought Puck was just bored and wanted some amusement for the night. I never considered the possibility that he was specifically sent to go after Quinn.

If there's one thing I've learned the night I met Robin Goodfellow is that he is dangerous. If he wanted to, he could have killed me. But for some reason, instead of taking my life, he allowed me to escape after mercilessly toying with me.

"Because I asked him to." Orion answered flatly, like asking an emissary of death about his intentions was a regular thing. "After he attacked the club I tracked him down. When I found him I asked him why he's trying to kill one of my employees and that's when he told me."

I could feel Raziel's accusing glare bore through me but I chose to ignore it. If we're going to deal with Puck we'd need more than a barrier to protect Quinn because that will not stop him!

"How do we know we can trust Puck and his story? He's a trickster. A liar!" Nuri said, still glaring at her father. "And what were you doing tracking him down alone? Does mother know? He could have hurt you!"

Orion waved off Nuri's concern with a negligent hand. "Once you've lived long enough, you'll immediately sense if you're being tricked or lied to. Besides, I checked Quinn's family tree, her real family tree, and it all adds up. What Puck told me only cemented my initial supposition and made everything, I already know, fact and true."

I wonder how long he's been concealing this knowledge. Did Orion even consider telling Quinn the truth? If Puck didn't show up to try and kill her, would Orion say anything about this? Sometimes Orion frightens me. All the knowledge and experience he cultivated through time made him a very good elder. But his eccentricity makes him unpredictable. Who knows if he's telling us all we need to know or if he's still hiding a part of the truth and just feeding us tidbits for fun.

"Are you all right?" I asked Quinn, knowing the question was ridiculous and inappropriate. Of course she's not alright. This is her life we're talking about. No one should find out the truth about themselves this way.

"I just found out I'm a bastard of the faery queen. My stepfather, the king, sent his trickster assassin to kill me." Quinn breathed in and out harshly. "Yeah, I'm fucking peachy!" Quinn started to gasp for breath but before I could help her, Raziel grabbed the back of her neck and pushed her head forward, in between her legs.

"Breathe slowly." Raziel ordered calmly. "That's right, in and out. Don't stress. Don't think about anything, Quinn, just breathe." When Raziel was certain Quinn was breathing close to normal, he glared at me, Orion and Nuri. "Who cares who her mother is?"

Yes, only my brother would say or think none of that mattered.

"You," he pointed at Nuri. "Tell me what's wrong with Quinn."

My head snapped up and my heart started beating wildly. Now is not the time for this!

"I know you could feel what's making her sick and you're going to tell me." Raziel said evenly but none of us were fooled by his calm façade. We could all feel the dangerous aura emanating from him. "I want to remind you, before you think of lying or hide the truth from me. I will find out, eventually, when I do and you lied to me, not even your father will be able to stop me from tearing you apart. I suggest you tell me what I want to know and do not try to test me!"

I was hoping Raziel would forget about this issue but my luck has finally ran out. This is not the time for them to know. They're not ready. I turned to Nuri hoping she would understand my pleading look. Nuri icily looked back at me and I mouthed 'no' but the bitch just shook her damned head at me.

Nuri turned to Raziel before saying, "She's enceinte…"

I felt the ground shake. Fuck! My brother is now in a very foul mood.