Free Portal (Nina Decker) by Vivi Anna Page A

Dani.
    She answered, “The meat dishes are for the guests. The royal family eats the specially prepared vegetable dishes. The ones with flowers in them.”
    I saw the other brownie servants nearby with stews, salads, and soups covered in flowers and flower petals. I considered apologizing. Instead I popped a piece of crispy pork crackling in my mouth and chewed.
    “A girl after my own heart,” said Dani as she ordered herself some of the roast.
    “Just be careful with the other dishes. A lot of these stews and roasted skewers are organ meats. I don’t mind myself. The new hot place in Hollywood is this place that specializes in Nasty Bits. But just ask and the brownies will tell you what part of the animal your dish comes from.”
    “Thanks,” I muttered.
    The king and his guests went back to eating. I breathed easier, or as easy I could in that damn dress. But I realized I was at a huge disadvantage. This land, this castle, these people were an utter mystery to me. Before I could help Severin or my father I needed to change that. And there was one person here who seemed eager to help.
    “I’ve got some more questions, but they aren’t about the menu,” I said.
    “I’d be happy to help out. Just think of me as your fae search engine. What do you want to know first?”
    That was a good question. Where should I start? A good place seemed to be at the beginning.
    “Tell me about the war between the fae and the werewolves. The straight story no propaganda.”
    Dani didn’t answer right away. She waited until R’Agan and N’Tasha had left their seats to mingle with some of the handsome fae men circulating about the room. I checked on the king and queen. They were both deeply involved in a conversation with the wizard Simeon.  J’Tara and Dashrael were at the far end of the table and appeared to be safely out of ear shot.
    “I don’t want to get you in trouble,” I whispered to Dani.
    “Don’t be too concerned. I don’t mind giving you the real deal. The worst that happens is they kick my little behind back to the Hollywood Hills. Besides it’s a great story. I’ve been trying to figure out how to turn it into a miniseries.”
    She polished off a few more bites of roast meat and washed it down with a cup of wine. Then she began her tale.
    “First the back story. As you probably heard, the fae lived alongside mortals during the bronze age and everything was hunky dory. Then the iron comes along and the fae have to move out and find new digs and so they come to Nightfall. Along with the werewolves.”
    “Wait the werewolves came to Nightfall?” I asked.
    “More like they were brought here,” Dani explained. “As slaves.”
    I had assumed as much, by Severin’s attitude toward my mother and toward the fae in general.
    Dani continued, “After the back story comes Act One, liberation, the First Lycan War. Around the Earth year 800 AD or so, a group of werewolves escaped back to the mortal realm. Nightfall sent warriors to retrieve them. The werewolves fought back and freed more of their kin. This war gave birth to most of the folklore surrounding faeries and werewolves.  So the war went on. More and more wolves escaped. Finally they gathered in large numbers and in a mighty battle they beat back the fae sent after them.”
    This was something I had never heard before. I had no reason to doubt it. Dani wasn’t sugar coating the fae’s past crimes. She seemed to be reveling in repeating them.
    “So what happened after that?” I asked.
    Dani picked at her teeth with a lethally long nail.  “For a while peace. But there were still werewolf slaves in Nightfall.  So the werewolves of Earth gathered their own army and the returned to liberate their fellows. And thus we have Act Two, Retribution the Second Lycan War. The werewolves stormed through the portals. But very quickly their war of liberation turned into a war of conquest.”
    “Conquest?” I asked.
    “Mm hm. Nobody here likes to remember but