Reckonings by Carla Jablonski

Not when I first met him. It was Tamlin who made me realize the connection.”
    â€œTamlin told you Timothy was your son?” Auberon asked.
    â€œThe child saved Faerie!” Titania snapped in exasperation, wanting the conversation to be over. “Who else could he be? And look at his power!”
    That had ended the conversation, and since then Auberon had not said a word. If anything, he seemed amused by Timothy’s existence.
    She shook her head, perplexed. “Auberon has changed since his time among the Earth folk.”
    She knew she was taking a risk confiding in Amadan, but where else could she turn? When Titania had first met the flitling, his sharp features and sharper tongue had been a source of amusement and often strategic counsel. He had a keen eye for what was hidden and was a clever, often wicked, observer of the fancies and foibles of the courtiers. But lately she found his cleverness too acid and his pointy face hard.
    This is what I am reduced to . Spilling out my concerns to this scheming jester. She recalled the days when she herself had slipped into the mortal realm seeking solace and escape. It isn’t the burden of the glamour-filled Faerie, she suddenlyunderstood, but the position of ruler that created such distance between her and all others. Auberon and I should be turning to each other. We are all we have . Perhaps she could make him see that, if her husband would only stay by her side long enough. As long as Timothy Hunter didn’t interfere.
    â€œThe delights of Faerie seem only to annoy or weary Auberon,” Titania said wistfully. “This dissatisfaction was already present in him, but it has grown much worse lately.”
    â€œYes,” Amadan said. “King Auberon has been leaving the realm regularly. Perhaps one day he won’t return.”
    Titania bent down to glare at Amadan directly. “Shall I have your tongue cut out?”
    â€œNo, no,” Amadan said hastily, bowing and scraping on the wall. “I meant no disrespect. Of course Auberon would never seek to leave you. And his disappearance is not an event we would ever hope would come to pass.”
    â€œRemember who is the ruler here, Amadan,” Titania warned.
    â€œIf Auberon stays away more than he stays home, wouldn’t that ruler be you alone?”
    Titania glared at Amadan’s too-innocent expression and knew that he had an agenda here. For some reason, he felt he’d benefit if Titania were the sole ruler of Faerie.
    The flitling was moving into dangerous territory, but at the moment Titania was not in the mood to challenge him. “You don’t understand a woman’s heart.” Titania sighed. “I don’t want to win the kingdom only to lose the King.”
    â€œNot any more, you mean,” Amadan said. “Since you’ve lost Tamlin.”
    â€œThat is quite enough from you!” Insolence such as this could not be tolerated. She raised a hand, ready to remove his mouth or spell him into oblivion.
    Amadan fluttered to a nearby tree branch. “We were talking about the boy’s motives,” he said hastily. “Until he moves, we will not know. My counsel is to watch and be wary. He may turn out to be an important ally. Or a treacherous enemy.”
    Titania nodded slowly . The boy is either very brave or very foolish coming here , she thought. Was he testing her strength and power against his own? Or was he simply a boy, wanting to see the woman who claimed to be his mother? She shook her head bitterly. Mother. Hah! She could see Tamlin’s fiery defiance in Timothy Hunter, yet nothing of herself. All she did see was danger.

Chapter Eleven
    M OLLY KNEW THE INSTANT she opened her eyes that she wasn’t in London; not even close. She and Auberon stood on a flowery hilltop under a tree bearing completely unfamiliar fruit. The sky above them was a bright royal blue, uninterrupted by the jagged skyline of London or the moody