To Court a Queen

by H. L. Burke

  “Yes. You slept peacefully after her visit. Before she healed you, you were fitful, crying out, wincing, feverish.” She choked and blinked away tears. “After she healed you, you lay still and breathed peacefully for the rest of the night … and the morning and afternoon too.”

  He blinked. It had seemed only moments since he’d listened in on their conversation about his chances in the trials and … Lord Lincor.

  “I heard some of what you were talking about. I tried to talk, but couldn’t seem to.”

  “You were hurt. Badly.” She sat beside him and placed her hand on top of his. “When I saw you after the trials, bleeding like that … Oh, Devin, I thought you were going to die, and I’m so glad you didn’t.”

  “Yeah, I’m glad too.” He grimaced. “I wasn’t wanting to talk about that though. I … well, like I said, I didn’t mean to listen in, but I couldn’t exactly tell you I could hear you, and since I did … Sev, who is Lord Lincor?”

  Her cheeks reddened, and she dropped her gaze to her lap. “He … it’s a long story.”

  “I picked up bits and pieces. He, or his family, bought you as a slave, and he died in the trials. Olysa seemed to think you might’ve—” For some reason his throat tightened, but he forced the words out. “Loved him?”

  Sevaine’s ears drooped. “I did.”

  “Oh.” For whatever reason those two words fell into his ear like a stone crashing on top of him.

  “Not like Olysa was thinking, though.” Her fingers tightened around his. “The Lincor family adopted me. There were only two of them, a mother, Lady Delphine Lincor, and her son, Yanile, but most knew Yanile by his hereditary title, Lord Lincor.”

  “Were they fairies?”

  “High elves. Not exactly fairies, but one of the few fae races that fairies acknowledge to be on equal footing to them. I never met Yanile’s father. He died when Yanile was young. Delphine raised Yanile on her own after that.” She toyed with her ponytail. “It’s unusual for fae to be widowed. Most have ridiculously long lifespans. Felys, not so much, but fairies and high elves, even drows, will live for centuries. By the time a spouse has died, it’s considered downright proper to follow him or her, usually of a broken heart. Delphine, however, maybe because she was younger and stubborner than most, maybe just because she had Yanile to look after, chose to live on. Then one day she saw me in a market, and the idea of someone selling a toddler, no matter what race, alongside crated chickens and swine, broke her heart. She purchased me and brought me up as her own.”

  Devin’s brow furrowed. “So you weren’t a slave.”

  “Not to them. They kept me hidden away for the most part. I think they knew no one would accept a felys as a member of a well-thought-of high elf family, but in terms of love and care, I was very much Delphine’s daughter.” A fat tear rolled down her cheek. “And Yanile was my brother.”

  “And he was chosen for the trials?”

  “He was one of the first to be ‘volunteered’ by Agalea. Before that, she’d found plenty of willing suitors, as I mentioned. When the supply of those ran out, no one realized right away that she would begin taking unwilling ones, so the panicked exodus of males fleeing the kingdom hadn’t begun yet. Yanile was maybe the third or fourth.”

  He wiped a tear from her cheek with his shirt sleeve. “He was the one you helped, wasn’t he? The one you got through to the second challenge before me?”

  Her eyes pinched shut, and she gave a helpless nod. “I couldn’t get him past the second. No one knew what it would be. We tried to find out. I did everything in my power to find out, but Agalea didn’t tell anyone until the day of the trial itself, and then … he tried so hard, Devin. He tried so so so hard, but he wasn’t prepared, and I couldn’t help him. Finally he collapsed, exhausted, at the foot of the tower, and Agalea … she said … she ordered …” A sob wracked her body, and instinctively he pulled her against his chest in a fierce hug. She wept into his shirt for several minutes, her fingers gripping the cloth of his garments, her whole being a-tremble.

  “I’m so sorry,” he whispered. “And your mother?”

  “Apparently she could survive the loss of a husband, but not a son.” Sevaine let out a staggered breath. “She died a week later. Broken hearts aren’t just poetic inventions for fae. They die from grief. It’s a quiet death. The light goes out of their eyes. They cease to talk or even cry much, and then eventually, they just stop altogether.” She sniffled. “And then I was alone.”

  “I’m sorry,” he repeated. After a heart-beat of hesitation, he brushed his lips across her forehead. Her tears calmed, though her hold on him tightened. “It makes sense, now. Why you are fighting so hard to save a race of people who, from what I’ve witnessed, are almost all awful to you.”

  “Like I said, they aren’t all like that. I mean, Yanile and Delphine were high elves, not fairies, but even among the fairies there are those like Olysa who, when not hampered by their culture’s unassailable sense of superiority, are decent folk.”

  Doubt chewed at Devin’s mind. He understood what she was saying, but he’d also seen the way even the other servants treated Sevaine, how no one besides Sevaine had stood up to the trials. These people didn’t deserve Sevaine’s attempts to save them.

  “Either way, you’ve poured so much of yourself into saving people who are too stupid to acknowledge your value.”

  “Well, in fairness, I haven’t saved anybody yet. You’re the only one since Yanile who has accepted my help.” She frowned. “And you … well, you tease me about the cat-elf thing, but your heart is in the right place, I think.”

  He chewed his bottom lip. “If that bothers you, I’ll stop. I mean, I love it. I love teasing you, especially when you return it blow for blow, but I never want you to think I don’t value you, Sev, because I do. I do very much.”

  Her whole being stiffened, and she let out a muffled gasp. Raising her face, she met his gaze. Her beauty captured him like a magnet, and even knowing how stupid it was, he bent towards her, his lips drawn to hers …

  The winged hounds bayed outside the cottage. Sevaine leaped from his arms before his kiss could fall. “Someone’s coming!” She scrambled under the bed.

  Lips still tingling with never to be realized anticipation, Devin stood, clenching and unclenching his fists to work the tension out.

  The door opened, and Queen Agalea swept in. She eyed Devin. “I heard a rumor you were on the mend, but it seemed such an optimistic folly that I had to see for myself. Are you ready for the third trial?”

  Chapter Twelve

  For a moment, Devin’s tongue stuck to the roof of his mouth. A third trial? He’d only just completed the second—well, it had been a few days, but he’d spent that time unconscious, so he didn’t feel that should count.

  He swallowed the lump in his throat.

  “Not really. In all fairness, your highness, I just woke up. My body took a beating in the last trial, and while I am feeling much better, I’d like a while to get myself back in peak condition before I have to do anything strenuous.”

  “You seem fine to me.” She ran her finger over his chest. “As strong and hearty as ever, but it will take me a little time to see to the arrangements. No one has ever gotten this far, so I’m having to set the stage for the first time, as it were.” She stretched her wings then folded them against her back again. “Well, it will take me at least until tomorrow to get things in order. You have until then.”

  “That’s less than a day!” Devin’s jaw dropped.

  “Oh, come, now.” She waved her hand dismissively. “You breezed through the first two trials.”

  “I wouldn’t exactly say I ‘breezed’ through the last. You had me torn nearly to pieces by a massive, cursed death crow!” he snarled.

  She recoiled, then smiled. “My, you are impressive when you’re angry. Still, isn’t it worth a little pain to win me as your bride.” She tilted her head at a flirtatious angle, fluttering her eyelashes at him. Devin had never felt a
n urge to hit a woman before, but now, he’d have considered it.

  “Are you at least going to give me a hint as to what the final trial will be?” he asked, managing somehow to keep his voice level.

  “Of course not!” Her eyes widened as if shocked at the idea. “What fun is there without the element of surprise? I will say this: it’s going to be a grand display. A chance for you to prove yourself not only to me but to the entire kingdom.” She winked before floating out the door.

  Devin groaned as it closed behind her. He sank onto the bed with his head in his hands and pulled at his hair until it hurt. He wanted more time. He didn’t know why. It wasn’t like he could practically do anything to better his chances if given a week instead of a night, or even a month for that matter, but a week would’ve been a chance to breathe, to think, to get his head in a place where he could process the likely outcome of this whole venture—and it would’ve given him more time with Sevaine.

  As if summoned by his thoughts, Sevaine peeked her head out from under the bed, right between his feet. His heart lightened at the sight of her face, only to be pulled down by the thought of dying and never seeing her again.

  She stared up at him. “It’s safe to come out?”

  He nodded, but couldn’t bring himself to speak yet. He moved his legs enough so that she could easily worm her way from her hiding place.

  “I need to get out of here.” Sevaine crossed to the door and gave it a good shake. It held. She huffed in frustration. “I shouldn’t have let myself get locked in! I need to find out what she’s doing. If we can discover it, there has to be some advantage we can get. Some trick we can use to better your chances—”

  “Sev,” he said.

  Ignoring him, she fussed with the latch, pulling a pin from her hair and picking at it. “Even with magic, it’s not like she can make things appear instantaneously, not big things, not the flashy sort of things she’ll want for the grand finale of her awful schemes. If I can get out, I can figure it out. I know—”

  “Sevaine!” he sharpened his tone.

  She turned and stared at him.

  “Just … let it go.” He sighed. He felt tired all over. Since his capture in the forest, it had been one thing after another, and now, he just wanted it to stop. “I don’t even know that I want to get through this next one.”

  Her mouth fell open. “What are you talking about? Of course you do! If you don’t, you die! Devin, you don’t want to die!”

  “No, but I don’t want to find myself tied in marriage to that sadistic, vainglorious harpy either!” he snapped. “I’m sick of it. I didn’t ask to be put through these trials. I don’t want anything to do with Agalea, and now? The best case scenario is me marrying her. Do you think I’ll last long as her husband? Keeping my mouth shut around her during our brief exchanges has been hard enough, but being with her day in and day out, sharing a bed?” He coughed. “I’ll say something, she’ll lose her temper, and husband or not, I’ll be a frog before the week’s out.”

  Her lower lip shook. Unable to hold her gaze, he stared at his feet instead.

  “Even if I lived, I’d be miserable. Stuck in one place, having to pretend I didn’t hate her, having to pretend I didn’t …” He didn’t what? His thoughts swirled around Sevaine. He didn’t want to die, but at the same time he didn’t want to live if living meant giving up what they had. Their talks, their teasing, their whatever it was that made his chest feel warm and full when she smiled at him. “At least death is quick.” He forced all his will-power into cynicism and tried not to think about how much he wanted to live, but only if living meant being with her.

  “But you’ve fought so hard and …” Her voice cracked. “We’re so close, Devin. Please, you can’t give up now.”

  “I’m not giving up. I’m just being reasonable about what’s bound to happen tomorrow.” He brushed his hair from his forehead. “The good news is, once I’ve failed, you’ll know what the trial will be. It sounds like she intends to make another spectacle out of this, so whoever your next charity project is, he’ll be forewarned. And who knows? Maybe that idiot will actually want to marry Agalea. I certainly don’t.”

  “Charity project?” Her words quavered.

  “Yeah, that’s what I am, aren’t I?” He forced a surly tone. “Your attempt to right the wrong that killed your brother? To stop a great evil? To save a poor hapless knight who bumbled into a fight for his life? You’ve done a masterful job, I’ll give you that. You even made me believe we had a chance for a while there, but honestly, did you ever expect me to get past this point?”

  To his surprise, she dropped to her knees before him and pulled his hands into hers. He recoiled, finding her face in front of his, her eyes, dark blue and perfect, staring into his own. His words left him.

  “Please, Devin, please.” Tears rolled down her cheeks. “You can’t give up. Maybe when this started I was just thinking about ending the trials before they hurt anyone else, but that was only because I didn’t know you yet. Now?” She shuddered. “The trials cost me my brother and my mother. I can’t lose someone else I care about to them. I can’t. Please, Devin, you have to live. You have to try.”

  “Someone you …” His breath betrayed him. He rested his hand on her cheek. She trembled against him. For a moment, he fought it. He pushed away the sentimentality, hardened himself against the warmth building in his chest, the desire gathering in his lips. Then the thought struck him. He was probably dying tomorrow. What did he have to lose?

  Before he could reconsider, he pulled her off the floor onto his lap and into an embrace. She melted against him, her hands grasping his shirt, her whole body quivering. He drew her closer, hovering his mouth above hers. Her eyes squeezed shut as if afraid to look at him. He hesitated. She was so beautiful, and so strong, but beneath that strength was the tenderest heart he’d ever known. A heart he could see crumbling to pieces before him. A heart he would do anything to hold together, to keep safe, to cherish.

  But tomorrow they’d be ripped apart. One way or another this was his last chance.

  He pressed his lips to hers.

  Sevaine went limp, then her grip on his shirt tightened and she pushed herself against him, moving with him. His arms encircled her, fingers kneading into her lower back, heat rising within him in response to her warmth. Her lips parted in a gentle sigh, and he took his advantage, slipping his tongue lightly across her lips, meeting hers. Her trembling intensified. She released his shirt and worked her fingers into his hair. He glided his mouth over her cheek and onto her neck.

  “I can’t …” she choked out.

  He kissed her right below the ear.

  She shook her head. “Devin, this isn’t a good idea … I mean …”

  He nibbled her earlobe.

  “Oh, Devin.” She threw herself against him with enough force that he fell backwards onto the bed—not that he put up much of a fight. She lay on top of him, kissing his lips, his cheeks, his forehead. Every muscle in his body melted, and he allowed himself to lie still and savor. He ran his fingers up and down her spine and played with her hair. Worries about the future faded into pure bliss … until he tasted the salt of her tears.

  His eyes snapped open. Her eyes were closed, her cheeks damp.

  “Hey.” He sat up and cupped her face in his hands. Her shoulders shook, her breath hitching as she tried to stop the tears. “Sev, please, don’t cry.” He kissed her forehead.

  “I can’t … help it ... I didn’t mean for this to happen, Devin. I shouldn’t have let it happen. I wanted to keep you alive, and that means seeing you married to her. How could I be so stupid?” She hid herself against his chest, her ears flattening. He rubbed her between her shoulders.

  “Shh, it’s all right.”

  “No, it’s not!” she wept. “I love you. I didn’t mean to fall in love with you. I swear. I knew it was futile, but you’re so wonderful.”

  He arched an eyebrow. No one had ever called him that before. “I’m
not really, though, Sev.” At least not compared to her.

  “Yes, you are! You’re funny and, in spite of how you present yourself, smart. More than that, though, you’re brave and … and even the things I should hate about you, like how stubborn you are, how you mouth off, how you can’t take anything seriously, ever, even if your life depends on it, I adore it. I wouldn’t change a thing about you. I could spend my life being frustrated and furious at you, and it would make me ridiculously happy.”

  Her voice died to a whimper. “I didn’t mean for it to be this way. I knew nothing could come of it, and now … and now, all I can think is how much I don’t want you to marry that awful woman, but at the same time, I want you to die even less. Dev, if you marry her, it’ll break my heart, but if you die, it’ll break my heart.”

  His hold on her tightened. “What do you want me to do?” he murmured into her ear.

  “Live.”

  “I’ll try. I can’t make any promises, though, Sevaine.” He stroked the furry tips of her ears. “I don’t know what Agalea has in mind, for one thing. For another, I’m bound to eventually infuriate her to the point where she turns on me. You might think I’m charming, but Agalea? There’s no way she’ll put up with me for long.”

  “She’s an idiot.”

  “Or maybe you’re just something extra special.” He smiled. He glanced out the door. “It’s getting dark.”

  She squirmed away from him. “I really should try and get out of here. Maybe I can figure out what she’s planning—”

  He grasped her hand and eased her onto the bed again. “If you’re willing, I’d rather keep you near me. Please. I don’t want to be alone right now. Like I said, while I will try to survive, there’s a good chance this is my last night on earth, and if so—” He cleared his throat. “I’d like to spend it with you.”

  She melted.

  Night fell, plunging them both into darkness. Sevaine’s breathing grew quiet as she lay against Devin’s chest. Though part of him knew he’d need to sleep if he was going to have any chance of surviving what the next day would bring, he couldn’t calm his mind. More than that, he didn’t want to close his eyes on his time with Sevaine. Not when tomorrow would most likely bring only heartbreak, for either or both of them.