"Your girlfriends have told us what you did Tegan," my mother stated, "But not how you did it. So please enlighten us all. How in the world did you manage to do all of that?"

We were in my parents' private part of the castle again. Like we figured, my mom had a bunch of questions for me. It was early afternoon and we were in her private sitting room. Kelly and Keira and I were together on the sofa, mom and dad were across from us in comfortable chairs. There were refreshments and snacks on the coffee table.

I had a sip of mead and replied, "It came down to what the Duma Dé really are, what they're for. Taralynn told me enough that I knew I'd be able to use them. And that's why I wanted to be a few days early for our meeting, so I'd have time to study the Duma there and get a better understanding of them."

"So what are they?" Keira asked. "What's the secret?"

"This will take a bit of explaining," I warned. Then I took a deep breath and got started.

"They serve two purposes. They're portals, and they're where Otherworld gets all its magic from. When we travel between worlds, we're pushing out through a natural weakness in the veil then coming back in through another natural weakness. What's on the other side of the veil, the place we go when we're travelling, is hard to explain. It's not really a place, but whatever it is, it's more or less pure magic. It's where all magic comes from. Some magic leaks out in those locations where the veil is weak, but not much and it's very localized. The Duma are places where the Gods created their own portals through the veil, and they also siphon off magic through those portals and spread it out across the world. They're all connected to each other, and connected to the living energy of the world."

I paused for a moment, and to make sure everyone was keeping up with my explanation. I could tell there were some questions waiting, but nobody wanted to interrupt so I kept going.

"Using natural weaknesses to travel means it's easiest to go at dawn or dusk when the veil is even weaker. The portals at the Duma can be used at any time and they allow really easy passage. The downside is you have to get to a Duma to use it, so it's not really that much easier. I guess if you lived near one, but it's not a good place to live. I don't know why they're always under an overcast sky, if the Gods did that on purpose or if it's a side-effect of the Duma or the portals or the magic. Anyways, when we were at the royal one I had time to study it. It took a while but I eventually figured out how I could use it."

"It took a lot of power to begin with, more than any normal mage could have managed, but I was able to modify the way the Duma worked. So instead of spreading magic evenly across all of Otherworld, they all just fed it directly into me. And like you all know, that meant there was no magic left for anyone else, so it felt like all the magic in the world was gone. Then to finish my demonstration I used an illusion spell to black out the sun."

My parents and girlfriends just stared at me for a few more moments, before mom asked "How could an illusion spell cast over two hundred leagues north of here affect us? The sun was blacked out here as well."

I replied, "Oh that's because the illusion wasn't cast locally at that other Duma. I cast it on the sun itself. Like, it wasn't some darkness in the sky over the Duma. I actually surrounded the sun in a cloak of darkness."

Everyone stared at me again for a few moments.

Kelly had the next question, "If the Duma Dé are the source of all magic in Otherworld, how is there magic on Earth too?"

I grinned, "There are Duma Dé on Earth as well. I don't know where they are, or how many. There's less magic there so I'm sure there's fewer Duma. They've probably been destroyed or broken down over the years, or who knows maybe excavated by archaeologists. Or bulldozed to make way for housing developments and big box plazas. But there'll be at least one or two Duma on Earth that are still functional."

My dad spoke up, asking "Why would fae Gods build Duma Dé on the human world?"

"I really can't say," I replied. "But that's a very good question."

In fact I had a theory, I'd been thinking about it off and on since my second meeting with Taralynn. I wasn't prepared to talk about it yet though. And not with my parents. I might share it with my girlfriends, but I had a feeling my folks wouldn't want to hear it.

My mom was still thinking about the actual confrontation with the king, and asked "What would you have done if King Cathal ordered his army to attack? I know you were already facing a dozen archers and almost two dozen soldiers, but he could have ordered the rest of them forward as well."

Kelly pointed out, "Tegan had shield spells around us, they couldn't get through. I don't think it would matter if it was ten or twenty or two hundred. Especially with the power she had at her disposal, I'm sure she could have kept us safe indefinitely."

I sighed, "Yeah I could have kept them out forever. But we'd have eventually needed to eat, and sleep. Even if we were behind impenetrable magic walls, we weren't prepared to withstand a protracted siege or whatever."

"So what would you have done?" mom asked again.

I replied quietly, "I had all the power of the world running through me. It was hard to control, and it was kind of frightening what I could have done. If the king ordered a full-scale attack, I could have killed them all. It would have taken little more than a thought. Close to three hundred people and I could have turned them all to dust in an instant."

"And being connected through the Duma to the living world," I continued, "I wasn't limited to just the fae who were present. I could have reached out and destroyed any fae anywhere in Otherworld. I could have had the ground open up beneath the royal palace, and had the whole structure swallowed whole, along with every fae inside it. For a few minutes that day, I literally had the power of the Gods at my fingertips."

My parents and my girlfriends all looked a little pale as all that sank in.

After a few seconds I shrugged, "Luckily the king didn't order everyone to attack. And fortunately Áine agreed to stand down and accept my terms."

"On the subject of our new Queen," mother stated with her eyes on me again. "Why did you select her? And how can you be sure she won't cause more trouble for us?"

I replied, "She saw first-hand what I'm capable of, I don't think she's going to want to provoke me. Beyond that, I don't think she's going to be like her dad or her brother. She struck me as more reasonable, and more pragmatic?"

Keira added with a smirk, "I wouldn't be surprised if Tegan starts getting invitations from the Queen to come visit her court. I'm pretty sure she was checking you out cutie."

I blushed, while Kelly nodded "Keira's right. She almost sounded disappointed that you were already spoken-for."

Mother looked at me and asked, "And if you do receive an invitation to attend her court?"

"I'll seriously consider it," I replied quietly. "If it doesn't interfere with anything I'm already doing, I'll go. If I can't make it, I'll send her a proper letter of apology and ask if we can reschedule to another date. I won't just laugh it off or ignore the invitation."

"Good," mom stated. "I'm glad you've learned something from all this, Tegan."

The others were quiet, and after a few moments I changed the subject and asked "Mother what will become of Siobhan and Padraig? I thought they'd both just return to their duties here."

Mom sighed quietly, "That would be difficult Tegan. For them, and for their colleagues. Captain Gaelen would have to be demoted for Siobhan to return to her previous assignment. That would be a disservice to him, he's done excellent work over the years and he's handled his new responsibilities perfectly."

She continued, "Perhaps Siobhan would accept a demotion and return to service as a lieutenant under Gaelen, but I'm not sure she'd be happy with that. And both she and Padraig would have some problems adjusting, I think."

"Adjusting how?" I asked. "What sort of problems?"

Mom explained, "They've both spent the past five weeks rubbing shoulders with the 'mighty Tegan Vale', they've met royalty, they've been part of your sept and joined you on your adventures. I doubt Padraig will be satisfied returning to a routine of guard duty here, and I suspect his peers would treat him differently after all that. Same for Siobhan, after spending so long as captain, and after her experiences with you, she may find life as a lieutenant under Captain Gaelen to be unsatisfying."

She concluded, "I think Tegan that Siobhan, Laoise, and Padraig are all going to remain part of your sept. If you and your girlfriends are going to continue spending most of your time on Earth, perhaps you can take the rest of your sept there with you. I know you have a place for them, the cottage where you quartered your tutors last year? I suggest you discuss this with your sept. They could serve as your honour guard, and they could continue your training with the sword and bow."

I was surprised, but I understood her reasoning. I had some strong doubts about Siobhan going to Earth though. If she wasn't willing to sample human food here, I couldn't imagine her wanting to go there for a visit much less living there. I could see Laoise going though, or at least giving it a try. Maybe even Padraig too, he seemed like the adventurous type.

"While we're on the subject of your sept," mother added, "There are two others here who are your responsibility, and who have been disrupting my staff these past three days."

I cringed slightly as she continued, "I understand one of them is a pixie princess? And Merryweather's parents are a chief and a courtier? I hope you aren't going to start another war, Tegan. I do not want our clann dragged into a conflict with pixies!"

I was still cringing but I replied "Ok I definitely have to talk to the two of them. Merryweather wanted to stay with us but we can't really take them back to Earth... Or if we do, they'll have to stay out of sight I guess. I have no idea how that will work. As for Petunia, I don't know what to do with her. We'll probably have to take her back home, because I definitely don't want to get into a war with Greenleaf and his troop."

Mom stated in a hard tone, "Sooner rather than later, Tegan. I won't be so nice to them next time, if I catch them hiding in my private chambers again."

"Ok mom," I nodded as I tried to suppress a smile. "I'll track them down and talk to them this evening."

Dad spoke up again, "When do you figure you're going back to Earth?"

I glanced at my girlfriends, "I guess after we've spoken with the rest of our sept?"

They both nodded, and Kelly suggested "Day after tomorrow? Talk with Merryweather and Petunia this evening, then if we're taking Petunia home I guess that would happen tomorrow. Same with Merryweather, we need to explain how Earth would be difficult for them. Then either take them back to the royal Duma with their girlfriend, or take them to their own home Duma?"

Keira added, "Either way, we need to make sure they're both taken care of. Then talk to the rest of our sept and work out what's up with them. But yeah, assuming it all goes smoothly the day after tomorrow would be earliest we could get home I think."

I agreed, then added "This whole mess isn't over with yet. Now that the king and the prince are gone, we still have to clean up the mess they made for us on Earth."

"Have you decided how to handle that yet?" mom asked.

I shook my head "Not yet. I've been thinking about it though. I hate to say it but mind-magic is probably going to be the easiest way to do it. Except it's about the only line I haven't crossed yet, and I'm not sure I want to do that."

Kelly slipped her arm around my shoulders and said "You're going to need to make a decision soon babe. If we're going back in two days, we can expect to have to deal with the cops not long after we're home."

Keira's arm wound around my waist and she added, "Especially since we're going to want the power turned back on and we'll need to stock up on food and drinks again. And Kelly and I are going to want to get back to school to finish our studies."

"I know," I sighed. "The three of us are going to be talking about this when we're not talking with the rest of our sept."

Mom gave me a sympathetic look and said, "It sounds like you'll be busy from now till you get back to Earth Tegan. Connor and I will leave you to it."

It was a dismissal, and my girlfriends and I got to our feet. On our way out I commented, "Now I have to figure out how to find two tiny invisible flying teens hiding somewhere in a massive castle..."

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