War of the Griffins

Chapter 6

Stephan appraised the group in front of him. His eyes narrowed at Evelyn for a moment, before he let out a full-bodied laugh as he brushed a strand of light blonde hair from his face. "You should know this by now, my darling princess. Your mother's patience is thin and she was getting antsy. Of course, that meant she sent me to fetch you three."

Natasha broke out in a bright grin as she took Carolyn's hand in her own and brought it to her lips. Her eyes never left her girlfriend as she moved forward to properly introduce her to her father. "Love, this is my father, Stephan Ó Briain. Father this is my girlfriend, Carolyn MacCloud."

"I know of her, but it is nice to finally meet her face to face," Stephan said with a warm smile before he pulled them both into a warm hug. "We should probably cross through the portal before your mother drags you through herself. She was pacing last I left her."

Natasha groaned softly and walked closer to the portal before she looked back, motioning for Evelyn to hurry up.

"One moment, I wish to speak with Evelyn. Alone." He gave her a pointed look before Natasha gave him a short nod of her head, and pulled Carolyn through the portal.

Evelyn tensed as she awaited whatever the king of the Seelie fae had to say. Her eyes drifted to the portal before she looked at him. "I know my family has done many things wrong by the fae, but I beg of you if not for me, for my daughter. She has had no clue of the family until now. Please, save her from our fate if we fail to stop my father and uncle..."

"Evelyn Crowe... I have watched you for a while. You are nothing like Jacob and especially nothing like Matthew. You do not have to worry. You have done nothing wrong." He smiled at her as his gaze softened before he looked back at the portal.

"Thank you. You are so kind. More so than anyone of my family deserves."

"You don't deserve the curse they placed on your family, Your soul isn't corrupted like some of the members of the Crowe line. With this in my mind, why wouldn't I give you a fair chance to prove yourself?" Stephan directed her to a nearby log where they both sat.

Evelyn settled beside Stephan and opened her mouth to speak, but he raised a hand to stop her.

"Now onto the matter of your daughter and mine. They do not know it yet, but I can sense their bond. It is an Anam Cara bond, yet it is not fully complete. I do not know why, as I have never seen an incomplete Anam Cara bond." He looked deep in thought with his eyes trained on the portal in front of him. " I am very interested to see what it grows to be because your daughter will rule alongside mine one day over my court."

"But she is not fae. How would that work?"

Stephan smiled at that, and with a snap of his fingers, a book appeared on his lap. The Ó Briain Family Tree. He flipped two-thirds through the book. "There is no such thing as a true full-blooded fae. There hasn't been since the Dark Ages. So, that will not matter to my court. I know there will be a few older fae that will grumble because of her lineage, but they would never stoop as low as to betray the laws of our kind."

Evelyn looked at the book where he pointed, confused as she stared at the name on the page. "Wait...What? This is my great aunt. Her father is the one who caused the curse. H-how is this possible?"

"Helena was a sweet woman, and my aunt just the same. You remind me much of her, Evelyn. And I promised her on her death bed I'd look after her delightful little great-niece." Stephan's eyes shone with a warmth so unlike what Evelyn had seen in far too long as he fondly remembered his aunt.

"She was disowned from my family when I was young, I never had a chance to reach out to her before she passed." Evelyn reached forward taking the book as tears welled up in her eyes. She stroked the fading photo of her great aunt before she sighed. "I miss her."