For a moment Keenan thought about the angry way Rika and her fox had looked at him. They’d never believe he was trying to be fair, never believe he was trying to do the right thing. They saw only their own desire to keep the desert, not the fact that he could now protect them. The desert was a place of heat; it was only logical that it should become part of his territory. Admittedly, his interests weren’t totally selfless. He was a faery. Allies were increasingly necessary to his court right now. Skirmishes seemed imminent. The Dark King was angry, and the Winter Queen was upset about the time he’d been spending with his queen. Even his own court held the possibility of conflict as his Summer Queen discovered how much he’d misled her in his attempts to hide her mortal lover’s whereabouts. Trouble was definitely coming from at least one side.

When the Summer Queen’s mortal had returned from Faerie, changed into a faery for half the year, Keenan had realized he’d lost the battle for her affections. He could keep fighting, and maybe he would. Right now, he felt a bit like retreating and licking his wounds. He’d lost his advisor to the Dark Court, his beloved to the Winter Court, and his destined queen to a mortal boy. He wasn’t going to completely give up. He was the Summer King, but he had retreated to seek allies—not just to strengthen his court but also because it would feel good to have a victory.

But I failed at this too.

With an expression that wouldn’t reveal the morass of emotions inside him, he stared at Maili and repeated, “Talk to Rika.”

At that, Keenan walked past her. The desert wasn’t the only place where he could find allies. As he’d searched for his queen for centuries, he’d met a lot of solitaries, many of whom were organized into loose groups like those here in the desert. He’d done what he could here. Maili would talk to Rika, and then Keenan would follow up. With that in mind, he left the desert behind and headed toward the forests of California. Out there they had the tall redwoods and the wide sequoias. In the boughs of those trees and in the shadows of those forests, faeries made their homes. Perhaps some among them would be willing to join his court now that he was unbound.

Chapter 14

CHAPTER 14