The Conjurer (The Vine Witch #3) - Luanne G. Smith Page 0,2
fault,” Yvette said in a rare show of contrition. “It was me. I stole a wish from Sidra, so I owed her a favor. She was hiding inside a bottle I was keeping safe for her when we landed here. The secret was mine. I should have told you.”
Sidra lifted her chin a proud notch. “We were following the trail of a fire omen.”
Oberon seemed to consider the notion as he inhaled a scent floating on the air. “I am aware of the prognosticating powers of the jinn,” he said, gazing at Sidra. “The spark from which your magic flares is perhaps older than the font from which my people sprung, but you would do well to keep in mind you are not the only one here with abilities to see the future.”
The king stood and walked to a birdbath nestled between two standing stones beside his twiggy throne. A trio of sprites had been dipping their feet into the water, splashing and laughing at the faces they made in the reflective surface. He shooed them away, sending the creatures flying into hiding in the long mossy robe he wore. Oberon spread his hand over the surface to still the water. His eyes tracked something momentarily as it darted across the surface. He half smiled, then grimaced as he raised an oaky eyebrow at the girl’s grandmother. She demurred and sheathed her smile as the king dipped a finger into the water and swirled it around seven times until it flowed in a tiny whirlpool. He watched the water go around, then cast his hand over the surface of the font as if to seal its magic. With a sigh he strode before Sidra and Yvette. Behind him his queen bit her lower lip.
“The long curl of fate will devour itself if allowed to spin in a circle too long,” he said, eyes firmly locked on Sidra’s as he towered over her. “A dog chasing its tail. A snake that eats itself. An end undone by a hungry beginning.” His eyes glimmered with the sheen of prophecy, as if he were still trapped halfway inside the vision. “Though I understand your kind prefers to remain in shadow, you do not belong here. You may no longer hide within my borders,” he said and returned to his seat beside Titania.
The fire that had crept into Sidra’s fingertips pulsed, begging for release. Curse that fairy for looking into the beyond. Had he seen her pain and desolate future? Did he care so little about her fate that he would toss her off like a leaf falling from one of his grotesque trees? The tittering creatures took to the air as if to mock her, daring to get near enough to tug at her robes.
“But what if she has a good reason to stay?” Yvette implored as only a granddaughter could.
The king cast a doubtful look that made the limbs on the trees shudder.
Sidra flicked a fallen leaf from her shoulder. “I won’t beg a host for shelter where it is not freely given.”
“But you can’t go back. You’ll be blown to smithereens by that creep.”
“I do not need you to plead my case, girl.”
“Oh là là, I was only trying to help. Fine, go ahead and get yourself banished. And good riddance.”
A creature no bigger than a hummingbird fluttered in front of Sidra’s face. It was naked except for the chestnut twigs tied to either side of its head meant to mimic Oberon’s antlers. The sprite grinned before urinating on Sidra’s caftan.
“This is an example of your famous Fée hospitality?” she said, holding up the sleeve of her ruined silk for all to see. “Then it is better I am gone.”
Yvette rolled her eyes. “It’s only a trickle.”
Sidra blew hot breath on the filthy creature, not quite burning him to a crisp, but what hair he had on his head was singed down to the bare scalp. His twiggy antlers disintegrated to ash before he fluttered off to pout beside his queen.
“Enough!” Oberon stood. His winged subjects froze in the air, waiting to see which way the fickle royal wind would blow. “While I harbor no ill will toward you or your kind, jinni, you do not belong in these lands. Not because you are unwelcome but because your fate awaits your return to the other world. Life’s consequences will not simply go away because you found a temporary place of safety.”