by KJ Baker
I glanced around the room and noticed that Simeon Ash’s seat was empty. I felt a flush of satisfaction. Good. If I saw nothing more of him this night, I would be happy.
Raven guided me back to the high table, just as other chairs were pushed back and couples made their own way onto the dance floor. The musicians struck up another melody and the couples began a slow elegant dance, more akin to a traditional waltz than the spinning, whirling, furious dance Raven and I had enjoyed.
Raven slid back into his seat but I didn’t sit. I realized that I’d drunk way too much of the wine.
“I’ll be back in a minute.”
“Where are you going?”
“I need to pee.”
“Then I’ll come with you.”
I raised an eyebrow at him. “You most certainly will not! That would look good wouldn’t it, the king of the Shadow Court hanging around outside a bathroom?”
“Then I’ll send one of the guards with you.”
“Raven, I appreciate your protectiveness—it’s quite cute most of the time—but I’ve been going to the bathroom on my own since I was three years old. I think I can manage.”
I didn’t give him the chance to answer. I strode around the perimeter of the room, through the door, and out into the corridor. It was blessedly cool out here after the heat within the hall. I paused, leaned on the wall, and drew in deep, invigorating breaths. My lungs were still burning and my legs felt a little shaky from all the physical exertion.
So, instead of making my way to the bathroom, I turned left and followed the corridor to the door that led out into the courtyard. A bit of night air would help to clear my head.
Pushing open the door, I stepped out into a velvet night. The darkness was thick within the confines of the courtyard and although the sky above was speckled with so many stars that it looked as though it had been dusted with icing sugar, the light was not strong enough to chase away the shadows.
The courtyard lay empty, the night still and peaceful. I could hear the muted revelry coming from the hall but out here all was silent. I breathed deeply, feeling the cool air settle into my lungs. This was the first time I’d been alone since I’d arrived in the Summerlands. It felt good to have some solitude, without Ffion or one of the royal guards following me around as though I was a child that might burn herself if left unguarded.
I took a seat on the topmost step and leaned back against the wall, losing myself in the shadows and making the most of a few minutes to myself. I gazed out, looking at nothing, letting my mind wander over the events of the evening. Had it gone well? I couldn’t tell. The Seelie leaders had seemed friendly enough and they had obviously approved of our dance, but I still struggled to read the Fae. They were too good at hiding their feelings. Would they give Raven the alliance he so sorely needed? And had I done enough to not look a complete idiot in front of them?
The questions spun in my head so quickly that I almost missed the sudden, brief flare of light on the other side of the courtyard. I straightened. The light disappeared in an instant as though a door had opened and closed. Squinting, I saw that a figure had stepped outside, blending with the shadows by the wall.
I froze, eyes trained on the spot. I had just begun to think I’d imagined the whole thing when something moved, a darker hump of shadow flitting along the wall. The figure’s movements were furtive, clearly not wishing to be seen. The figure reached the corner of the building and paused. Ahead lay a patch of open ground. The figure stepped out, moving quickly and in the faint light from the stars, I glimpsed handsome features and golden blond hair. I blinked in surprise.
Simeon Ash.
He darted across the open ground, tugged open another door, and disappeared inside.
I was on my feet in an instant. I darted after him, moving quickly and silently and keeping to the shadows. I reached the door he’d entered and pressed my ear to it. No sound came from the other side.
I pulled it gently open, hoping that the hinges wouldn’t squeak. They didn’t. I paused, listening, but all was silent within. I slipped noiselessly inside.
I found myself in a dimly lit corridor. The walls were plain, the floor bare flagstones, bearing none of the elegance of the rest of the palace. Cautiously, I edged forward. The corridor ended at a plain wooden door that stood ajar. I paused at the door and listened. Still silence.
I inched closer, put my eye to the crack between the door and the wall and peered through. A small, dusty room lay beyond. It was empty. There was no sign of Simeon.
Puzzled, I pushed the door wider and stepped inside. The room was so tiny that I could touch the walls by stretching out my arms. Shelves filled the walls although they held nothing but dust. It was an old storeroom, long fallen into disuse. I frowned. Where was Simeon? There was only one way in and one way out of the room so he could not have slipped past me without me seeing him. Had he teleported out? But Raven had said teleportation wasn’t possible within the magical shield that surrounded the palace. It made no sense. Nor did the fact that Simeon had come here in the first place.
I looked around, trying to see if I’d missed anything. I moved over to the shelves and inspected them. On one I found a faint square imprint in the dust as though something had been sitting there until recently. Then I noticed something else: a strange smell, something familiar that I couldn’t quite place. I breathed it in deeply, trying to decide where I’d smelled it before.
It was sweet, cloying. It reminded me of...
My breath caught.
Marzipan.
I whirled, bursting through the door and back out into the courtyard. I paused only long enough to glance around, get my bearings, and then I was off again. Not back towards the hall, but in the other direction, through a different set of doors into the heart of the palace. My pulse raced. Blood pounded in my ears.
I had been so stupid! Why hadn’t I realized it before? The banquet was the perfect distraction, the perfect opportunity to complete a job that had been botched before.
I pelted down the corridor, hair flying, shoes pounding against the polished floor. Startled servants scuttled out of the way as I raced by but I ignored them. I had to get there before it was too late!
I skidded around a corner and into the infirmary. The main ward lay quiet, with most of the patients asleep and a few healers moving around quietly. They looked up as I burst in, as startled as the servants.
I sprinted through the main ward and into the smaller corridors on the other side that housed the private rooms—and one that was my destination.
Reaching it, I saw immediately that something was wrong. Where were the guards that Raven had posted? I slammed my shoulder into the door and burst into the room to see two men bending over Rillana’s bed. One of them was holding a vial of liquid to her lips, about to pour it down her throat. It smelled like marzipan.
“Stop!” I shouted. “Get away from her!”
The men jumped in shock. With a start, I realized the one holding the liquid was Simeon Ash but the other was taller, dark-haired, with exotic good-looks and cold, cruel eyes. I gasped as I recognized him.
“Dark Hair!”
What was his real name? Taviel?
A hot, seething fury flashed through me. This man had destroyed my best friend. He had destroyed her with his glamor and then tossed her aside like a discarded toy. I had vowed that I would have revenge and at the sight of him that vow started to burn inside me like a hot coal.
“You bastard,” I hissed. “I should have guessed you’d be involved in this.”
Dark Hair smiled although there was no warmth in it. I noticed that his right arm ended in a bronze-capped stump where I’d sliced his hand off when we last met. “Hello again, Asha. We really should stop meeting like this. When are you going to get over your annoying habit of getting right in the way of my plans?”
“When you’re dead,” I said sweetly. “How would that suit?”
He laughed. “Ah, as spirited as ever.”
&n
bsp; My eyes darted to the glass flask in Simeon’s hand. “What are you doing, traitor?”
“Traitor?” Simeon replied, his face twisting into a mask of contempt. “How dare you? You know nothing! You’re just a pathetic mortal with ideas above her station! You call me the traitor? It’s your precious King Arion who is the traitor! He’s the one who’s betrayed everything the Fae stand for! He’s the one who would let the glory and might of the Fae fade into nothing! He’s the one who would pander to the mortals, treating them like equals rather than the animals they are! How dare you call me a traitor?”
I glanced at Rillana lying on the bed. Her skin was still waxy pale and her eyes were closed. I wondered if in her coma she could hear what was going on around her. For the first time, I hoped not.
“Step away from her,” I said. “I’m not going to let you hurt her.”
“Oh?” Simeon laughed. “And how exactly do you plan to stop us? You have no power here, mortal.”
“No? You sure about that?” I sucked a breath, opened my mouth, and screamed with all my strength. The noise echoed off the walls, no doubt carrying all the way to the main ward.
“Shut her up!” Dark Hair growled.
Simeon sprang at me but, just as Ffion had taught me, I ducked under his arm then spun and kicked him in the shin as hard as I could. He grunted more in surprise than pain but his fingers sprang open and the glass flask crashed to the ground and shattered, spilling its contents over the floor. The smell of marzipan filled the room.
“Idiot!” Dark Hair hissed.
He stalked towards me and I backpedaled, trying to get as far away from him as possible. I tipped over the trolley full of medical supplies with a crash, then pulled the spare pillows from a shelf and threw them at him one by one. He knocked them aside and lunged for me. I leaped over the chair, grabbed it by a leg, and flung it at him. He threw up his hands to deflect the missile and the chair smashed into the wall by his head.
I could hear footsteps thumping in the corridor outside. “In here!” I screamed at the top of my voice. “They’re trying to kill her!”
The door burst open and a group of terrified healers stood there, eyes darting over the carnage in the room.
Rage twisted Dark Hair’s face. “We have to get out of here!” he hissed. He pulled something from his pocket. It was a small metal ball covered in ugly-looking markings. I recognized the Orb of Tir. He muttered some words under his breath and a rent suddenly split the air. “Go!”
Simeon threw himself through the rent and disappeared. Dark Hair made to follow him but then, so fast that his movements were a blur, he spun towards me, grabbed my wrists, and yanked me after him. I didn’t even have time to scream before the portal swallowed me.
Chapter 10
RAVEN
I did my best to appear relaxed as I sat at the table and watched the dancing. After all, I was King Arion, wasn’t I? Unflappable, always in control.
Except I wasn’t.
Asha had been gone too long. She should have been back by now. Through the bond I could detect her somewhere in the palace, but I couldn’t quite make sense of what I was feeling from her. It was a strange mix of wariness and curiosity. What was she doing?
Ffion slipped back into the room and approached me.
“Well?” I demanded.
She shook her head. “She’s not returned to the royal apartments. Nobody has seen her but one of the old store rooms in the west courtyard was open. Looked like at least two people had been in there very recently.”
“The old store room? Why would she—”
My sense of Asha changed abruptly. Anger flared and something else: panic. I lurched to my feet.
“She’s in trouble!” I growled. “We have to—”
Asha disappeared.
One moment I was aware of a myriad of sensations roiling through her, then...nothing. A jolt of pure terror pulsed through me so strong that I staggered and had to catch myself on the arm of my chair. The next moment I was whirling towards the door, a surprised Ffion and Hawk a step behind.
“What is it?” my brother demanded, drawing his sword as we stepped out into the corridor.
“Asha,” I mumbled, barely able to form words through the fear clogging my throat. “Something has happened to Asha.”
Ffion shared a grim look with Hawk and then she too drew her weapons. We broke into an urgent run, pelting through the passages of the palace, sending servants scattering. A desperate urgency filled me. Asha!
At least I knew where she’d gone. That last spike of alarm before she’d disappeared had allowed me to pinpoint her location. The infirmary.
It took us only a moment to reach it. The place was in an uproar. Healers stood about in frightened groups whilst others tried to calm agitated patients.
I burst through the main ward without slowing and into the corridor beyond, kicking open the door at the end so hard it crashed back against the wall. My eyes swept the room. Rillana lay in her bed, eyes closed, skin pale, but it was obvious that something had happened here. The room was a mess, with furniture and medical apparatus tossed around. Glass fragments littered the floor and an odd smell like almonds filled the room.
Hawk and Ffion filed into the room behind me, clasping their weapons as if they expected a fight. Ffion brought Alrya in with her, fingers clamped tightly around the chief healer’s arm.
“What happened?” I demanded. I stalked up to her, barely able to stop myself from grabbing her shoulders and shaking her. “Where is Asha?”
Alrya’s eyes were wide with fear. Her mouth worked a few times but no words came out. Whatever she’d seen here had scared her badly.
“Answer me!” I roared. “What happened?”
“Unseelie,” she croaked. “An Unseelie was here. I wouldn’t have believed it if I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes. He had some sort of orb with him and he used it like a portal stone.”
My blood ran cold. An orb? “Did he have dark hair?”
She nodded.
Taviel. It had to be. Somehow he’d used the Orb of Tir to get inside the magical barrier that protected the Shadow Court. But why? To kidnap Asha? Then why come to the infirmary? How could he have known Asha would come here?
“Tell me everything,” I commanded Alrya. “Leave nothing out. Every detail.”
Alrya swallowed thickly. “I was in the main ward when I heard Lady Asha shouting. She’d come to check on the priestess. When I came running, I saw her being attacked by the Unseelie. Lord Simeon Ash was with him. They’d been in the room when Asha had come in. She’d found them about to poison Rillana.” She pointed to the glass fragments on the floor. “It was the same poison that she’d been shot with before she got here. Clever, you see? If Asha hadn’t caught them, nobody would have realized she’d been murdered, we would have thought she’d finally succumbed to the poison already in her system.”
I took a deep, steadying breath. “Where is she? Where is my mate?”
“They took her. The Unseelie opened a portal and they went through, taking her with them.”
I grabbed Alrya’s shoulders. “Where?” I asked desperately. “Where did they take her?”
But Alrya only shook her head, tears welling in her eyes. “I don’t know.”
“I do,” said another voice from behind me.
I spun to find the priestess, Rillana, awake and watching me. Her skin was still pale and a thin sheen of sweat glistened on her forehead, but the deep brown gaze she fixed on me was clear.
“I know where they’ve taken her,” the priestess of the Spire said, her voice weak and rasping. She looked at me, then Ffion, then finally Hawk.
“Come closer,” she rasped. “I have a lot to tell you.”
ASHA
The first time Raven had teleported me—to get us away from Dark Hair and Blond who were trying to kill us—I’d passed out and after that it had always made me feel sick and dizzy. But traveling through the rent Dark Hair opened in Rillana’s room was like b
eing turned inside out. For one horrifying instant I was reminded of what had happened when Raven and I had travelled to the Summerlands and we’d been taken to the very edge of death. To the border of the Twilight Lands themselves.
And then it was over.
I was suddenly on my hands and knees, retching into thick, sweet-smelling grass.
“Get up.”
A hand grabbed my shoulder and hauled me to my feet. I staggered but the hand tightened. I dragged in some deep breaths, fighting down the nausea that twisted my stomach, and found myself looking into the face of Simeon Ash. He was furious.
“Do you know what you’ve done?” he raged. “Do you have any idea of what you’ve set in motion?”
I forced a smile. “Simeon, if I’ve pissed you off then I consider my task complete.”
A snarl pulled at the corners of his mouth, turning his handsome face ugly. “Stupid mortal bitch! Raven isn’t here to protect you now!” He swung a punch at my face but I sidestepped the blow, surprised at how easily Ffion’s training came.
“Stop it!” another voice growled. “We don’t have time for this!”
Dark Hair stood a few feet away, irritation written across his smooth features. “She’ll be here in a moment.”
We were standing in a small clearing in the middle of a darkened wood. In all directions the dark trunks of trees stretched into the distance and the sky above was speckled with stars. The moon was just rising.
“Where are we?” I demanded, turning in a circle to try and get my bearings. There were no landmarks to enable me to figure out where I was, just an endless sea of trees. “Take me back, right now!”
Dark Hair didn’t even bother to glance at me. He was staring at a spot beneath the trees several feet away and he seemed tense. Should I try and make a run for it? But Simeon Ash was watching me closely and he would be after me in an instant.
A sudden gust of wind shook the clearing, rattling the trees and sending my hair swirling in front of my face. A melodic voice spoke from the darkness.