Read Online The Faerie Queen (The Faerie Ring #4) by Kiki Hamilton - Free Book Online Page B

What’s that?” Tiki said, standing up to see what Dain held. As she moved away from the flame, the movement of the ring stilled.
    “ This is the Faerie Queen’s mirror.” Dain quickly related the story that Prince Leo had shared.
    “ How curious.” Larkin took the mirror from him and held it with both hands. “I’ve never heard of this artifact before. Do you suppose Victoria has remembered the history correctly?”
    “ Leo seemed most definite about what his mother had told him,” Dain said. “Apparently Queen Victoria said the mirror was a failsafe should the ring ever be stolen. The thief would need both ring and mirror—and know how to use both—to glean the secrets from the ring. Leo was most insistent that I deliver it to Tara and William.”
    Dain moved to stand behind Larkin and looked over her shoulder. Rather than the faerie’s reflection, the center of the glass churned with storm-tossed waves crashing to a rocky shore.
    “ Strange how it doesn’t show a reflection, isn’t it?” he said.
    Tiki held her hands out for the mirror. “May I?”
    “ It shows a reflection,” Larkin said cryptically, “just not of a person’s face.”
    Dain glanced at her curiously. “How’s that?”
    “ So like Finn,” Larkin mused, dropping the mirror to her lap, “unable to trust, even in death. He confided in only a handful of people in his lifetime: his best friend, Fraoch, Eridanus, Adasara. Perhaps some of the Macanna. It’s hard to know anymore.” She shrugged. “He was a complicated man and we live in a complicated world. There were many who wanted him dead.”
    “ What about you?” Dain asked, his expression unexpectedly somber. “Did Finn trust you?”
    Larkin turned away, and Tiki eyed the faerie’s back curiously.
    From over her shoulder Larkin spoke. “Let’s just say Finn entrusted me with the important things.”
    Dain raised his eyebrows. “Such as?”
    “ It hardly matters now. What we need to focus on is deciphering the message held within the ring and hope this mirror holds the answers.” She motioned toward Tiki. “Put the ring above the flame again and let’s see what happens.”
    Dain moved to stand behind her as Tiki dangled the ring above the flame of the candle.
    “ Where do we find the Fourth Treasure?” she murmured. As before, the movement of the ring began with a gentle swaying that soon evolved into a spinning arc above the flame. It didn’t take long before the ethereal strands of smoke had gathered in a tangled mass above the ring.
    Larkin held the mirror at an angle so the smoke was reflected.  “Can you see anything?”
    Tiki gazed into the looking glass. To her surprise, the twists and turns of smoke formed a word that was legible in the reflection of the mirror. She and Dain spoke at the same time.
    “ Dunvegan.”
    “ What?” Larkin sounded stunned.  “Hold this—” she thrust the mirror toward Dain— “I want to see.”  They quickly changed places. For once, Larkin had a truly surprised look on her face. “I don’t believe it.”
    “ What does Dunvegan mean?” Tiki asked.
    “ I’ve heard that word before,” Dain said. “It’s a place, isn’t it?”
    “ Yes.” Larkin nodded. “Dunvegan is on the Isle of Skye in Scotland. An ancient castle built on a rock near the sea. I should have thought of it before.” She began to pace, her gown swishing behind her as the skirt swept the floor. “Of course—it makes perfect sense.”
    Tiki caught the ring in her hand as the smoke dissolved and pulled the chain back over her head. She tucked the stone inside her blouse, where it lay warm against her skin.  “Who lives there? What does it have to do with the Fourth Treasure?”
    “ The MacLeod Clan has occupied the castle for centuries.”
    “ You know them?” Dain asked.
    “ Know of them. They are part of a story—a mortal tale that most fey grow up hearing. A mirror of the faerie tales mortal children grow up learning, I