Chapter 49

"Dad?" I asked as I sat beside Nighean's bed, waiting for her to wake up.

"Yes?" Keir smiled at me.

It was getting easier and easier to call him Dad, which seemed to delight him to no end.

"Do you remember the night I made the cloud appear?" I was staring thoughtfully at Bress, who was seated across Nighean's bed from me; staring at me as if not only was I his entire existence but he was perfectly happy with that.

"Yes, of course." Keir frowned. "The night before you were crowned."

"Is this what I did to our fairies?" I waved a hand at Bress.

"I..." my father's face fell. "Not this exactly. To achieve this kind of result, you have to pour stardust directly into your victim's eyes, but it's possible that you cast a version of it. Something less..."

"Consuming?" I asked.

"Yes," he agreed. "Less consuming. I don't have that ability, but magic always changes a bit in the transfer. Perhaps you're able to spread out the spell to affect an entire room full of fairies."

"Or perhaps it