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Trinity

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"GGGRRRRUUUUUUUUAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!" There was a loud, screeching yell that could be heard in the direction that was opposite of the city. The scream came from within the forest that was to my left. That was where Solanum was.

"Oh look, I get to play the part of Little Red Riding Hood as I search for my Granny in the woods. Good thing that I am also the Big Bad Wolf that will be killing Granny this time. "Come out, come out wherever you are, Granny. It's not time for hide and seek right now."

Was she hiding from me because she was afraid of me or because she didn't think that I was worth her time? I guess I wouldn't know until I asked her that question myself.

I walked through the thick trees as I tried to find some semblance of a path. I couldn't hear any sounds aside from my footsteps as I walked into the darkened forest. No birds, no animals, no insects, not even wind rustling through the leaves. It would have been completely silent if it hadn't been for the sounds created by me walking into this dead looking place.

I had never smelled Solanum before and that was making things more difficult for me as well. I would have tried to follow her scent if it hadn't been for the fact that I didn't know what her scent was.

I did catch a few traces of things that didn't seem to be part of the trees. Those smells that didn't quite belong were what I was following. They were the trail that I was following for right now.

"Oh, Granny! Where are you?" I called out to her again, trying to get Solanum to give herself away again. "Come on Granny, you don't want to keep your poor little granddaughter lost and alone in the woods, do you? That wouldn't be very nice of you." 

The words were working. Almost as soon as they were out of my mouth I heard the sound of someone screaming and screeching in frustration and anger.

"GGGRRRRUUUUUUUUAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

"I know you can hear me, Granny. Why are you hiding from me?" I goaded her some more, intentionally trying to piss her off so that she would make a mistake in her frustration.

"I AM NOT YOUR GRANNY YOU PUTRID MONGREL!" I heard her yell as she started to storm through the tree toward me. "I AM NOT YOUR GRANNY, YOUR GRANDMOTHER, YOUR SEANMH֙ATHAIR [1], I AM NOTHING TO YOU!"

"Don't be like that, Granny." I basically cooed the words at her as she came to stand across a clearing from me in the forest. She was breathing heavily and very visibly angry about what I had been saying. Her dark plum eyes were narrowed and there was a flush to her purplish cheeks that looked a little funny to see. "You know as well as I do that, however reluctantly it might be, we are related."

"I know nothing of the sort." She snarled at me. "I had one son who died without having a wife or children. You cannot, and are not, related to me. Stop trying to tie me to that man. I have been free of him for many years and I loathe the idea of being associated with him in any way." She spat on the ground as if the words and the idea had caused a bad taste in her mouth.

Despite being crude and disgusting, there was something else off about her having spat on the ground. The moment her saliva touched the root of a tree nearby there was a strange hissing sound, like the roots were dying even more than they already were. It was like the saliva from her mouth had literally started to kill the tree on contact.

"Noticed that, did you?" She grinned at me. "At least you're not completely stupid."

"What the hell was that?" I couldn't stop myself from asking her for clarification on what was happening.

"The time that I have been locked away in these darkened lands has strengthened me more than Valerian and his family could ever have thought possible. I have been here for a century, and during that time, I have found every piece of wild magic and made it mine."

"That's unfortunate." I shuddered at the thought of her having some sort of acid spit, or more likely some kind of powerful venom. But there was something wrong with what she had said. "You've been here for five centuries, not one." I pointed out the error in her math.

"For you it was five centuries, for us here it was only one. Time moves differently between the two realms. Even now, for every minute you spend here arguing with me, five minutes pass back there in the world you know."

That was news to me. I wasn't sure how I felt about that since I hadn't been told about it in advance. It didn't matter though. It's not like I was going to be spending that much time here.

"Thank you for the information, Granny, it's so helpful." 

I instantly saw her face darken and her anger flare once again. She did not like me calling her that name. I already knew that, though, that was why I kept doing it. I wasn't going to show her an ounce of respect or courtesy. This psychotic bitch didn't deserve that from me.

"Don't call me that!" Her voice was low and filled with malice.

"Why? I am your kin, Solanum. Do you need me to break it down for you?" I smirked at her in a truly irritating way. "You see, before you and the other asshole dark Fae could manage to murder Rhinum, he had met his mate. He had even given her his ring when he asked her to marry him. Then, when he saw that her life was in danger, he protected her at the cost of his life. What neither of them knew at the time, though, was that she was pregnant. Later, she was alone and needed to raise her baby all on her own. And she had suddenly found herself immortal, like her son. That child of hers went on to have a daughter but he never met her since he had died in another battle. Now, a few more generations after that, I am here as your descendant. So, once again, hello Granny."

"I will kill you!" She spat the words at me. "I will kill you, Valerian, and Gloriana. I will kill all of those pathetic Fae that live without the darker halves of themselves. I will take over the throne and rule in Gloriana's stead. I will take over the Fae realms and then the human world. We will once again go back to the times where humans are our food rather than our oppressors. I will bring the Fae back to their former glory."

Well, wasn't that a megalomaniacal plan that she had there. And there was, of course, absolutely no fucking way in hell that I was going to let that happen.. I was going to put an end to her and her crazy ass plans right here and now. 

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