by Linsey Hall
I swam for the edge and climbed out. My clothes were still ragged, torn up from my trials, but they dried in an instant. The high-heeled shoes sat where I’d left them on the ground, but I ignored them. There was no blending into the crowd now that I looked like hell.
This was so not me. I was currently a pumpkin and I did not like it.
I tried to give myself a glamour, but it didn’t work.
Shit.
Just like the Evil Eye had warned.
“Come on, Burn. We’ve got to go find my mother.”
He growled low in his throat.
“Shit, I was afraid of that.”
Fates knew I didn’t want her to be evil, but the signs weren’t looking good.
For good measure, I tested drawing a blade from the ether. It worked, thank fates.
Gripping the blade in my hand so it was mostly hidden, I sprinted from the pool, racing up the stairs two at a time, my now-ragged dress making movement easier. I loathed being ill prepared like this and longed for the clothes I’d left in the bag in the carriage.
Just like at my home, the protections that had guarded the stairs on the way down had disappeared. I made it to the top in less than a minute, panting hard as I stepped into the wide hallway.
Burn followed, sticking right behind me the whole way.
I called upon my seeker sense, using it to find Tarron. It was easy, thank fates, and I headed in the direction that the magic pulled me. I tried to find my mother, the queen, but got nothing.
I’d find her soon enough.
As I ran, I passed Unseelie dressed in their finery. They gaped at me but did nothing to stop me. I still looked like an Unseelie from the potion, which wasn’t a glamour, thank fates. It actually changed my face.
For all these Fae knew, I was just one of them having a really bad night.
Some were still looking at me like I was familiar. Because I reminded them of my mother. Their queen.
That was a head trip I hadn’t been expecting.
A few of the palace guards frowned at me from their positions by the wall, but none stopped me. They looked at Burn, but did nothing.
Why?
When I reached the back of the castle where the art became more elaborate and the lighting fixtures more grand, I slowed.
I had to be reaching the queen’s quarters, perhaps.
Oddly, there were no guards here.
The hair on my arms stood on end.
That was strange.
But I was nearing Tarron. I could feel it.
I tried to use my new prophecy gift to figure out what was happening with him.
It didn’t work.
Damn.
Since I had no idea what I could be walking into, I slowed. Quietly, I crept toward a huge open arch that led to a wide spiral staircase. It had to go up to a tower. I climbed it on silent feet, seeing no one as I went. At one point, Burn disappeared.
A chill ran down my spine. This was too easy. I was about to turn back when I reached the door at the top. A cold voice filtered through.
My mother.
Somehow, I just knew. I had no memories of her, but I could sense it.
Unable to help myself, I paused, listening for more. As I stood, black smoke wrapped around me and froze me solid. It happened so fast I didn’t even notice until my muscles felt tight and I couldn’t use them.
The door swung open.
I struggled, trying to break the bonds, but it didn’t work. When the mist picked me up and carried me through the doorway, my heartbeat thundered in my ears.
13
Holy fates. I’d never seen magic like this.
It had come out of nowhere, picking me up like a rag doll.
This is how they’d caught Tarron.
Or how they would catch him, if it hadn’t happened yet.
He’d never see this coming.
I struggled as it pulled me into the enormous round room, my feet floating over the ground. Fear chilled my skin. The ceiling soared high overhead, built of black tree branches that dripped with starry lights. A long table sat in the middle of the room, arranged with an elaborate silver place setting.
Though I thought I could feel Tarron, I couldn’t see him. I prayed he was hiding and had the upper hand. But I didn’t see how that could be, if this smoke was capable of so swiftly capturing an intruder.
A half-dozen Unseelie Fae stood around the room, all dressed in their finery. But I only had eyes for one woman.
My mother.
Blood pounded through my head, and my skin iced, growing even colder.
She stood at the other side of the table, dressed to kill. The ball gown was even more elaborate in person, the crown bigger and sharper. Her features were like cut glass, an Unseelie version of my own face. Though I probably looked even more like her because of the potion I’d taken. Her hair was swept up in an elaborate design that emphasized the black and white streaks.
I hated that I thought it was cool.
I also hated that I wanted her to like me.
It had been pretty much confirmed for me that my mother was evil. She had to have been the one who ordered the incursion into the Seelie realm and caused hundreds of deaths, including that of Tarron’s brother.
But despite all of that, part of me still wanted her to like me.
Dumb.
“Daughter.” My mother’s voice echoed with an icy warmth, which should have been impossible.
“Release me,” I demanded.
She smiled, and it was an eerie sight. “Come sit. Join me.”
“Let me go.”
The magical bindings loosened, but I still couldn’t move.
“You look a wreck. Come, have some food.” My mother gestured to the plates on the table, and they filled with fruit. Rich red wine filled the cut crystal goblets, glowing like blood.
Oddly, it looked good.
My stomach grumbled, then turned.
The magic carried me to the chair at the head of the table and forced me to sit.
My mother took the other seat, and the remaining Fae stayed standing.
“What do you want?” I demanded.
“Just some time with my daughter.”
Oddly enough, I believed her. But it didn’t sound like she wanted normal time. No. What she wanted was strange and wrong.
But how could it be so wrong if she was my mother?
I shook my head like a crazy person, startled at the insane thought.
Of course I wasn’t on her side. That was nuts.
Something was getting into my mind. The magic that carried me, perhaps. Her influence?
Fates, I hoped that Tarron had some kind of genius plan, because I was in over my head here. My mind was growing foggier by the minute. Her magic. It had to be.
Before I lost my mind entirely, I needed info. If Tarron was hiding here, he could hear it.
“Why did you invade the realm of the Seelie Court?” I asked, wanting to get her talking. If I could distract her, maybe her powerful magic would fade.
“Why not?” She raised her brows. “I’d been captive so long that I needed a little excitement upon my release.” She waved her hand dismissively. “Anyway, I’d like to expand the empire.”
“Captive? By who?”
Her dark brows lowered. “Your father, of course.”
“What?” I’d never met him either. Not that I remembered, at least.
“He didn’t like the real me.” She shrugged. “Said I was a bad mother. A dangerous one.” She laughed. “Can you imagine?”
Yes, actually.
With the smoke of her power infiltrating my mind and making it foggy, I said nothing. I needed answers before I became too distracted, and starting a fight about her fitness for motherhood wouldn’t get me them.
“So you escaped,” I said. “And came back here.”
“To my throne, of course. Your father is long dead, as he should be.”
I’d suspected it, but it hurt to hear all the same.
Apparently he hadn't been such a bad guy. And his poor taste in women meant that I’d been born, which I appreciated.
“So you tried to expand your empire into the Seelie Court,” I said, trying to buy time until Burn or Tarron showed up to rescue me.
Nothing stuck in my craw worse than waiting to be rescued, but right now, my only weapon was words. Since I couldn’t kill her with them, the best I could do was delay until help arrived.
“Precisely!” She smiled. “And it worked so well, too. Destabilize their people by turning their king mad! Even better, I forced him to kill his own subjects. Soon, chaos. It would have been mine for the taking, so easy.”
My mother was a deranged psychopath. “Except we stopped you.”
Her brows lowered. “Naughty girl.”
I felt a flash of shame and regret over my actions in the Seelie Court. I never should have helped them. I should have helped my mother.
No.
That was her magic polluting my mind.
“And now you’re after Magic’s Bend,” I said.
“No, silly.” She laughed. “I’m after you.”
“What?” Shock pierced me through the fog of her magic.
“I’ll be honest, when you were a baby, you were a pathetic, whining thing. I didn’t give you a moment’s thought. Honestly, I’d have never thought of you again if you hadn’t appeared in our realm to destroy the crystal obelisk. You were magnificent! Just like me.”
“I’m not just like you.”
“You will be.” She smiled, and it was the scariest thing I’d ever seen.
Her words were the scariest I’d ever heard.
Because I believed them.
If I didn’t get out of here soon, her magic would completely take over my mind. She was laying out her evil plan like a super villain in a bad movie because she was confident she had me in her grip. She wanted me to agree with her.
And I would. If I didn’t get out of there soon, I would.
I struggled frantically against my magical bonds, but nothing happened. Literally nothing. I didn’t so much as twitch.
Panic started to rise in my mind, but the fog of her power pushed it back.
Was this really such a bad place to be, after all?
My mother was so wise and powerful.
No.
“Why are you destroying Magic’s Bend if all you want is me?”
“You’ll have nothing to go back to, of course.”
Oh fates. “The demon that I fought… He was sent by you, wasn’t he?”
She turned to one of the Fae who stood to her left. “See? Isn’t she so clever?”
He nodded, a sycophantic look in his eyes. Was he brainwashed, too?
Would I become like him?
I’d have shuddered if I could.
“But I created the crevasse,” I said. “Our magic collided and created it when mine went out of control. How did you know that would happen?”
“You get your gift of prophecy from me. I knew you’d be there at that time and what would happen if I sent my demon to interrupt the one you were actually hunting. And voila!” She flourished her hands.
Horror expanded inside me. This was all so much bigger than I’d realized. I’d been fated to cause the horrible damage to Magic’s Bend. I was like a disease that had been lurking in the city, waiting to strike.
Except…if my mother wanted Magic’s Bend destroyed, surely it was a good thing?
No.
I could barely hold on to my own thoughts anymore. They came in flashes, followed by her polluting magic.
“But don’t worry, dear. It will all be over soon. The crevasse is almost open wide enough, and the demons will crawl out and destroy Magic’s Bend for good.” She motioned as if she were brushing dirt off her hands. “It will be all gone.”
Good. That would be good. Mother wanted it so.
Joy burst inside me, and vaguely, I felt the last of my consciousness fade. There was a pinch of grief, then nothing but joy.
Thank fates my mother had found me! I smiled at her. “That’s good about Magic’s Bend. I think I’d like to eat now.”
The fruit beckoned from the plate in front of me, gleaming red and purple.
“Of course, my dear.” My mother held up a finger. “But one little thing you must do first.”
She stood and gestured to someone who stood behind me. I turned, spotting a man being dragged in, twisted thorns binding his arms to his upper body. Blood speckled where the thorns cut in, and he fought viciously to escape.
It didn’t work. The thorns just dug deeper into his broad chest and strong arms. I couldn’t see the color of the blood against his black clothes, but they gleamed wetly. A tiny bit of concern for him tingled at the back of my mind, but it was gone in a flash.
My gaze moved to his face. He was handsome. Devastatingly so. And familiar.
Ah, right.
He was Tarron, that Seelie king.
My mother would take his throne.
In the back of my head, I could almost hear a screaming sound. Like there was someone trapped in there.
“Dear?” My mother approached, holding out a blade. “You must kill him.”
“Okay.” I smiled and took the blade, then turned to Tarron. “You need to die.”
His wide eyes met mine, horror flashing in them.
He fought, but my mother’s magic reached out for him. I could see it now, wisps of black smoke. They wrapped around him and held him still. He could no longer fight against the thorny vines, but they’d done their work on him already.
I walked toward him, the screaming in my mind growing louder. I shook my head, trying to drive it away, but it wouldn’t stop.
I sucked in a deep breath and forced it aside, stopping in front of the man and raising the blade high over my shoulder.
“Go on, dear. Do it.” My mother’s voice pushed my blade down toward the man’s chest.
The screaming in my head grew so loud that it blinded me. Pain shot from my skull to every inch of my body, agony that made me curl over before I could push the blade into his skin. It tore me apart from the inside out, making me shake and sweat and freeze and burn.
I shuddered hard as my mind tore in two. There was a powerful popping sensation, a blast of hot pain, and then I was myself again.
I gasped, rising upright. My mother’s influence was gone. Tarron stood in front of me, his eyes darting between the blade I clutched and my face.
My mother had released her magical bonds on me so I could stab Tarron. I whirled on her, raising the blade high and lunging for her.
She shrieked and lashed out with her hand, sending a blast of magic at me that I had no time to brace for.
It hit me in the face so hard that I flew backward, darkness sucking me in.
I woke in the dark, agony pounding through my head. Slowly, I moved my fingers—the only part of me that didn’t ache.
There was dirt under my hands.
Panic flared, a cold sweat breaking out on my skin.
For a moment, I was back in Aunt’s cell, a terrified eight-year-old, all alone in a dark dungeon. A scream broke from my throat as I launched myself upward, head pounding with pain.
No. No. Get it together.
I was an adult. And I was locked in some kind of dungeon in the Unseelie Court. Memories of the past few hours flashed in my mind. I’d gotten control of my magic. I’d met my mother. I’d nearly murdered Tarron.
Who could be dead now, by my mother’s hand.
My chest tightened painfully. I didn’t want that.
Even though we were impossible fated mates, the last thing I wanted was for him to be dead.
Panting, I staggered upright. All of me hurt, but there was no time for that. I had to get the hell out of here and find Tarron.
So I did what I’d done hundreds of times in my life. I inspected my cell for an escape.
And like every time before, I found none. There wasn’t even a door. Just a dirt box somewher
e underground. They’d gotten me in here by magic, and I wondered if they’d ever bother to try to get me out again. I shoved away worries about running out of air and called on my magic.
But nothing happened.
No.
There was a powerful dampening spell on the place, enough that I had no magic at all. Not in here. There would be no transporting or using anything else to try to get out of here. Even my comms charm was blocked.
My heart beat so fast I thought I might pass out. This was how I’d felt as a child. Literally powerless in a cell.
I sat down on the ground and pressed my back to the wall, my breath heaving.
“Get it together, Mari.” It was weird to talk to myself, but I had to. “You can do this.”
There was too much riding on it. Vague memories of my mother mentioning demons spilling into Magic’s Bend echoed in my mind. Memories of Tarron.
There was no time to waste.
“Burn,” I called. “Burn, where are you?”
He was the only magic I had, and our connection was in our souls.
“Come on, Burn. You’ve got to find me.” I pictured the thorn wolf in my mind, trying to build our connection. “Come on, Burn.”
Something sparked within me.
Was that him?
I kept calling to him, feeling insane.
Finally, the dirt to the left of me began to bulge outward from the wall. It broke apart in pieces, and two thorny paws pushed through. Then a snout and a spikey head and two bright eyes.
“Burn!”
He shot out of the hole, and I jumped on him, hugging him tight. He pressed his thorns flat against his body to keep from poking me and licked my face.
The huge wolf had saved me.
I sat back on my butt and looked at him. “You dug all the way from the surface?”
Bacon.
“Well done, big guy. I’ll definitely get you bacon.” I looked around the room. “Can you find Tarron? Is he in a cell, too?”
Burn began to sniff around the room, finally picking a spot to dig. He went at it like a mad dog, spitting back dirt with his big paws. In moments, he’d dug several feet of a tunnel and disappeared inside.