Anne Bishop: The Pillars of the World

A whine made her look to her left. Her lips softened in the beginning of a smile.

The shadow hounds were her joy—sleek and lethal, with beautiful gray coats streaked with black. When they ran, they were moonlight and shadow in motion, and there was no prey, on four legs or two, that was fast enough or clever enough to elude them when they hunted.

The bitch whined again, wagging her tail hesitantly.

Dianna almost extended her hand to welcome the hound. Then the three puppies from the bitch’s last litter joined their mother, and Dianna remembered why this bitch was no longer her favorite, why she could no longer give the petting and praise that had once come so easily.

Two of the puppies were perfect. But the third . . .

The tan forelegs that marred the lovely blend of gray and black were a constant reminder that the bitch had pursued a different kind of hunt the last time Dianna had taken the pack through the Veil.

It was one thing for a Fae male to plant a child in a human woman. After all, the woman was getting a better offspring than she ever could have gotten from a human male, even if the child wouldn’t have any magical gifts. It was quite another to allow inferior creatures to live in Tir Alainn.

She should have had the pups destroyed the minute she’d seen that one. They couldn’t be allowed to breed since the sire’s influence could well show up in the next generation, even from the pups who showed no sign of him now. But the bitch had been so fiercely protective, allowing no one to get near her pups until Dianna came into the kennels. The animal had been so pleased to see her, so willing to share her pups with her mistress . . .

She had given the bitch the praise and petting it had wanted, and she’d given no orders that would end the puppies’ existence, but she hadn’t been able to force herself to touch the bitch since that day.

Dianna turned away, ignoring the bitch’s unhappy whine.

There had been times when a Fae woman would find a human male enticing enough to enjoy him. And there had been times when that enjoyment had resulted in a child. But no Fae woman kept such a creature in Tir Alainn. That kind of child was left on the sire’s doorstep for him to do with as he chose.

Now that the pups were weaned, perhaps she should do the same with them. Just leave them in the human world the next time she passed through the Veil.

No, that was unacceptable. The shadow hounds belonged to the Fae. If humans were to acquire even mongrel pups, the shadow hounds would no longer belong exclusively to the Fae. They would become . . . diminished, ordinary. And that was unthinkable. Which meant she would have to find something else to do with the worthless puppies.

“Shadows surround the moon, sister,” a baritone voice said. “Is it your mind or your heart that travels a dark path?”

The voice made her focus on the man standing in front of her.

“I could ask the same of you, Lucian,” Dianna replied.

Saying nothing more, he offered his arm. As they strolled the gardens together, Dianna studied him out of the corner of her eye.

He was her twin, her opposite, and her equal. Their mother once said that they must have gotten mixed in the womb because they reflected the opposite of what they were. In a way, that was true. She, who was the Lady of the Moon, was the golden one—fair hair and amber eyes, and skin that warmed to the sun’s kiss— while he had black hair, gray eyes, and fair skin the sun couldn’t touch. But he was the Lord of the Sun, the Lord of Fire. The Lightbringer.

“Are you going to cross the Veil tonight?” Dianna asked.

“I haven’t decided,” Lucian replied curtly.

Lyrra was right , Dianna thought. This mood of his bodes ill for everyone . “I think you should. You didn’t seem to enjoy your last visit to one of the other Clans. It was mentioned that you weren’t a receptive guest.” Which is why she had felt defensive when Lyrra had pointed out that Lucian was avoiding company. It was unusual for a Fae male to refuse an invitation to a woman’s bed when he was guesting at a Clan house. It was, in fact, considered ill mannered for him to repeatedly refuse unless he was already having an affair and had promised a modicum of fidelity. So the veiled complaints that had been entwined in the flowery phrases of the messages she’d received had disturbed her and made her quick to take his side of the argument—even before an argument had actually surfaced. He was her brother. It was second nature to take his side in any disagreement—unless, of course, he was disagreeing with her.

She almost jerked away from him when she felt his temper begin to rise. It took effort to keep her arm lightly linked with his when he turned his head to look at her and she could see his eyes clearly.

“I don’t keep track of what you do in your bed, sister,” he said with deadly control. “What makes you think you have any right to keep track of what I do in mine?”

Dianna swallowed carefully. “It is less in my nature than it is in yours to seek that kind of company.” She knew it had been the wrong thing to say a moment before he pulled away from her. “Lucian—”

“What favors haven’t I granted that they should complain to my sister ?” he snarled. “What is it that they feel they can’t get from me by making an honest request instead of tying it to the bed?”

“It isn’t like that,” Dianna protested.

“Isn’t it?” Lucian paced away from her, turned, came back. “Who is it that refused their invitation, Dianna? Lucian . . . or the Lightbringer?”

“You are the Lightbringer, so how—”

“Which one?” he demanded. “When they pouted to you, which one did they say failed to accept their lures?”

She didn’t answer him. Didn’t dare. Not with the mood he was in. What was wrong with a woman wanting the strongest and the best for a lover and, possibly, to be the sire of her child? When had this bitterness in him started? It was rooted too deep to be solely because of that last visit to another Clan. Why hadn’t she seen this in him until now? And how could she aim that fury at a target that wasn’t his own kind?

“It is customary to grant a boon for the pleasure of the bed,” she said carefully. “That is our way.”

“Have you considered that the price may no longer equal the pleasure?” he said softly. His face hardened.

“I dance to no one’s tune. You can send that message back to the Clans.”

This time, when he turned away from her, he kept going.

Dianna didn’t follow him. There was no argument she could have made that would have softened his mood. And the truth was, she hadn’t made the distinction that he had. Now, thinking back on the way those messages had been worded, she wondered if he was right. Had the women in the other Clan been disappointed that none of them had enjoyed Lucian as a lover, or had they been disappointed not to have a required favor from the Lightbringer, who could command anything and everything in Tir Alainn except the Lady of the Moon?

Dianna headed back to the Clan house, needing the solitude of her own rooms.

She hoped Lucian did take the road through the Veil tonight, but she felt a moment’s pity for whatever, or whoever, crossed his path.

Hearing Aiden’s harp, Lucian headed in another direction. He wasn’t interested in talking to anyone, and certainly wasn’t interested in being on the receiving end of the Bard’s sometimes-barbed speech. So he headed to the one place in the gardens he had avoided all morning.

He hesitated a moment, then walked down the steps under a stone arch. Stone rose up around him. Above him, the trees formed a canopy, letting in dappled sunlight. He could still hear Aiden’s harp, but now it blended with the stir of leaves, a natural song that offered comfort.