slipped off his jacket and hung it on a peg near the door. He kept his voice light, trying to brighten his wife's mood before Aiofe could destroy it at dinner. "Grainne is recovering from her stroke nicely. He said she should be back home by the end of the month."
He glanced at his wife as he pulled off his boots and noticed her staring at his ax. He fought to hold back a grin. She hated it when he left his dirty weapons lying around. He wandered into the kitchen, leaving the ax where it sat, sap pooling on the white tiles beneath it. If she was fretting about trivial matters such as those, she would have less time to worry about the really bad things that were happening.
For months now, faeries had been growing braver, crossing the border between Faery and the human world despite a centuries-long decree from the Four Queens to remain in their own land. There had always been those who ignored the rule, hence the reason for the hunters, but the number had been increasing exponentially in the recent decade. Reports were coming in from hunters all over the globe. Generations of families trained to hunt the law-breakers were being wiped out. The demand was too great and those left couldn't keep up.
"Oh, good. I think I'll bake up some muffins and take them over later this week. The poor man must be famished. His daughter is an awful cook, worse than you. I bet he's been living on boiled peas and canned soup since his wife's attack."
Alo smiled and kissed his wife's forehead, even as he swatted her behind. "That would be lovely. Just make sure you let me test them first. Just to be safe." He tossed her a wink and she grinned and shook her head before going back to finish the remaining dishes. Maureen hummed an Irish lullaby as she worked, a sure sign that she was calming down from the stress of the afternoon. "So what's for supper?" he asked, leaning back into his chair at the head of the small table.
"Oh! I forgot!"
He mentally kicked himself when the humming stopped and she hurried away from the sink, wiping her hands frantically. Her new happy mood had been crushed and the worry lines settled around her eyes once more. She pulled open the fridge and removed a plate. "I put the rest of your dinner in here when you left. Do you want it cold? I can heat it up."
He waved a hand. "No, it's alright. I can eat it cold."
He smiled at her as she set the plate in front of him and she returned it with a weak smile of her own. But her eyes didn't dance like they usually did when she smiled and he knew the fear had settled back into her heart. After setting a fork and a glass of milk in front of him, she went back to work, silent as the dead of night, and he lost himself in thoughts of how to keep his little world from falling apart.
*~*~*
TWELVE
*~*~*
"Aiofie, darling, dinner is ready."
Aiofe closed her eyes against her grandmother's voice, her hands pausing as they put her long, shimmering hair into a sleek pony tail. She took a deep breath and focused on inhaling through her nose and breathing out through her mouth, stilling the anger that had been raging inside her all day. It wasn't her grandmother's fault. It wasn't even her grandfather's. She knew that. She had always known that. The world was a different place from when he grew up to be a hunter. She was supposed to have a mother, a father, someone to train her and hunt with her until she married and had her own son or daughter to train up.
But in a cruel twist of fate, her mother had been an only child. No matter how they tried, no matter how much they prayed for a second child, the Callaghans could not conceive again. So Aloysius did the only thing he could. He trained his daughter up to be the best hunter she could be. And the best she was. Right up until she ran astray of the awful, vicious son of their own employer--Titania's son, Kane.
Aiofe's hands shook violently, tugging at her hair. She focused on the pain and yanked at the elastic band harder
He glanced at his wife as he pulled off his boots and noticed her staring at his ax. He fought to hold back a grin. She hated it when he left his dirty weapons lying around. He wandered into the kitchen, leaving the ax where it sat, sap pooling on the white tiles beneath it. If she was fretting about trivial matters such as those, she would have less time to worry about the really bad things that were happening.
For months now, faeries had been growing braver, crossing the border between Faery and the human world despite a centuries-long decree from the Four Queens to remain in their own land. There had always been those who ignored the rule, hence the reason for the hunters, but the number had been increasing exponentially in the recent decade. Reports were coming in from hunters all over the globe. Generations of families trained to hunt the law-breakers were being wiped out. The demand was too great and those left couldn't keep up.
"Oh, good. I think I'll bake up some muffins and take them over later this week. The poor man must be famished. His daughter is an awful cook, worse than you. I bet he's been living on boiled peas and canned soup since his wife's attack."
Alo smiled and kissed his wife's forehead, even as he swatted her behind. "That would be lovely. Just make sure you let me test them first. Just to be safe." He tossed her a wink and she grinned and shook her head before going back to finish the remaining dishes. Maureen hummed an Irish lullaby as she worked, a sure sign that she was calming down from the stress of the afternoon. "So what's for supper?" he asked, leaning back into his chair at the head of the small table.
"Oh! I forgot!"
He mentally kicked himself when the humming stopped and she hurried away from the sink, wiping her hands frantically. Her new happy mood had been crushed and the worry lines settled around her eyes once more. She pulled open the fridge and removed a plate. "I put the rest of your dinner in here when you left. Do you want it cold? I can heat it up."
He waved a hand. "No, it's alright. I can eat it cold."
He smiled at her as she set the plate in front of him and she returned it with a weak smile of her own. But her eyes didn't dance like they usually did when she smiled and he knew the fear had settled back into her heart. After setting a fork and a glass of milk in front of him, she went back to work, silent as the dead of night, and he lost himself in thoughts of how to keep his little world from falling apart.
*~*~*
TWELVE
*~*~*
"Aiofie, darling, dinner is ready."
Aiofe closed her eyes against her grandmother's voice, her hands pausing as they put her long, shimmering hair into a sleek pony tail. She took a deep breath and focused on inhaling through her nose and breathing out through her mouth, stilling the anger that had been raging inside her all day. It wasn't her grandmother's fault. It wasn't even her grandfather's. She knew that. She had always known that. The world was a different place from when he grew up to be a hunter. She was supposed to have a mother, a father, someone to train her and hunt with her until she married and had her own son or daughter to train up.
But in a cruel twist of fate, her mother had been an only child. No matter how they tried, no matter how much they prayed for a second child, the Callaghans could not conceive again. So Aloysius did the only thing he could. He trained his daughter up to be the best hunter she could be. And the best she was. Right up until she ran astray of the awful, vicious son of their own employer--Titania's son, Kane.
Aiofe's hands shook violently, tugging at her hair. She focused on the pain and yanked at the elastic band harder
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