by Sofia Daniel
I shot the floating faeries a filthy glower. Neither of them seemed good at marksmanship, and I doubted they had shot the poisoned arrow themselves. It also meant that they couldn’t hire a pixie to slip poison in my soup.
“There will be three challenges.” Prince August held up three fingers. “Each to be announced at least an hour before they start, and at any time during the trial, we may alter our requirements for the candidates as we see fit.”
“Great,” I muttered. So they wanted to make things up as they went along. This hardly seemed fair.
“We also reserve the right to continue the trial until our bonds are consummated,” Prince August said with a smirk.
My brows drew together. Did that mean they wanted to have sex with the contestants?
“Oh, no,” said Helen.
“What?” I turned to my new friend.
She drummed her fingers on the table, upsetting the array of forks at the left of her plate. “Queen Maeve once proclaimed two rival families to combat each other over a land dispute. The trial lasted fifty-four years, with family members dying in a series of battles.”
“Who won?” I asked.
“Nobody,” Helen said with a sigh. “They battled themselves into extinction, and when the last member of the families succumbed to mass poisoning, the queen took the land for herself and turned it into a water garden.”
I slid into my seat. “So, they want the girls to fight to the death?”
“They’re reserving that right,” said Helen.
Sucking in deep, ragged breaths, I glanced at Prince August’s left to find Prince Rory grinning at a horrified-looking Lady Gala.
“The halfling’s going to die!” someone shouted from a nearby table.
Laughter filled the dining hall. The pixies broke into high-pitched peals, exposing tiny, serrated teeth. Narrowing my eyes, I no longer thought them so beautiful.
Prince Rory rubbed his hands together and grinned. “The first trial will take place tomorrow and will be a test of magic.” He turned to me, his eyes hard. “Ready yourself for anything, because failure will mean death.”
After the princes took their seats, the Fated floated down to their table and continued their dinner. I locked gazes with Elijah, who gave me a knowing look and swept toward the exit. Just before he left, he paused to say something to Pokeweed, who nodded and trudged back to the kitchen with his shoulders slumped.
I picked up a silver spoon and placed it into my soup bowl.
Flora grabbed my wrist. “What are you doing?”
“Gathering my strength for tomorrow.” I frowned. “Why?”
“Has it not occurred to you that your soup might be poisoned?” she hissed. “The trial doesn’t officially begin until the morning. Anything the Fated do to you between now and then is valid!”
I glanced up and met the round eyes of a pixie hovering over the table, her mouth forming a perfect ‘O.’
“Is there something in my soup?” I asked.
“Maybe there is, maybe there isn’t!” She winked and flew around the fire pit.
“Shit.” I dropped my spoon into the white liquid. “Was that a confession?”
“Let’s find something to eat at the dorms.” Helen stood. “At least food over there will be safe. No one knows who’s going to eat what.”
A cold stream of air wrapped around my neck like a garrote, and I raised my head to glower at the table occupied by the Fated. Lady Gala stared back, her teeth bared, and the others mirrored her expression.
I clenched my fists and snarled. That dark faerie cursed me for a reason. If it was to infiltrate the Royal Court and fuck things up, I was more than ready.
We left the castle and walked across the courtyard to the remedial building, where a quartet of grooms circled a black horse outside the stables next door. The horse’s moonlight-colored mane shook as it thrashed and kicked within its restraints, splashing water from its wings.
“Why’s that horse so upset?” I asked.
“It’s a kelpie,” Flora replied. “My father used to break them.”
“But aren’t they shape-shifters?”
“Not if you capture them with an iron bridle,” she replied. “It’s a difficult feat, considering iron kills most faeries and makes the rest of us weak.”
“Was your father the faerie?”
“Yes,” she said with a sad sigh. “He got himself killed, breaking one of those animals, and my mother sent me here for a better life.”
My gaze darted to the snorting creature, whose violent thrashing made me cringe. Why on earth would anyone go to such an effort when they didn’t want to be tamed?
“I’m sorry,” I said.
“So am I,” she said.
Helen opened the door, and we walked into the stone entrance hall and turned left to a wooden staircase. “There’s a common room area on the next floor, and our dormitories are also upstairs.”
The remedial common room reminded me a little of home, except the room was ten times the size of our living room with a twenty-four-inch flat-screen television, playing some kind of news channel. Overstuffed sofas were arranged around the television, providing a cozy watching area with side tables for food and drinks. I licked my lips. If Sicily and I had a room this large, we could make a fortune from admissions to watch our DVDs.
My heart sank at the thought of my missing sister. I turned away from the TV to the kitchenette area.
“What do you fancy?” asked Flora. “Bangers and mash? Welsh rarebit?”
I tried not to picture a skinned and roasted jackrabbit. The creatures were annoying and foul-mouthed, but they didn’t deserve to be used as food. “What?”
Helen placed a hand over her mouth. “It took me several weeks to understand that these were real dishes.”
Flora wrinkled her nose. “I don’t expect that you ate human food up in Medietas Manor.”
“Please stop,” I said.
“What?” said Flora.
“Making Helen feel bad because she isn’t a half-blood.”
“You didn’t see her sitting with the Fated—”
“But things are different now,” I said. “Helen’s one of us, and she wants me to survive these trials just as much as you do.”
Flora twisted her lips. “I didn’t say I wanted to help.”
Warmth spread through my chest, and I gave her a smile. Something about the black-haired girl’s prickly exterior reminded me of Sicily, who used brashness and argumentativeness to hide a sensitive heart.
“Alright,” she strode to the kitchenette. “Beans on toast it is.”
Helen winked. “I’ll make a cup of tea. Do you want human or fae?”
“Human, please.” It had been ages since the last shipment of black tea. Elijah hadn’t been able to get any for weeks.
While Helen walked to the kettle to make the drinks, I strode to where Flora stood in front of the cupboards with a can of Heinz Baked Beans. “Do you know Elijah Meadowhawks?”
“Meadowhawks is one of the lower houses,” she replied. “I think they come from the north. Why?”
“I know one of the half-bloods who works here.”
Helen opened a drawer and pulled out a can opener. “I thought your Lord father changed your memories.”
“It’s a long story.” I didn’t want to lie, but I also didn’t want to admit to being a human infiltrator in case the wards were listening and decided to attack again. “Do you know where they stay?”
“I wouldn’t mix with any of them.” Nodding at a wooden box on the counter, she pierced the can with the opener and twisted a dial that moved the mechanism around its rim. “Could you take out the bread and cut us three slices?”
“Sure.” I flipped open the lid, releasing the scent of freshly-baked bread. Next to a golden loaf lay a serrated knife, and I raised them both out of the box. “What’s wrong with the guys who work here?”
She shook her head. “Most are involved in smuggling, gambling, or something equall
y as unsavory.”
“Right.” I sliced the bread, wondering what on earth was wrong with any of those activities. If it wasn’t for Elijah siphoning goods that the faeries intercepted from the UN shipments, Sicily and I wouldn’t have had such comfortable lives.
Flora produced three plates, and I placed a slice of bread on each while she warmed up the baked beans. Despite resenting Helen for being a full faerie, Flora grew up the child of a high faerie and had lived in one of the top four districts of the island. It was easy to wrinkle one’s nose at others from a position of privilege.
“Pokeweed seems like a nice person,” I said.
Helen walked over, holding a tray. “He’s different from the other half-bloods working here. Besides, he’s a tragic figure.”
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“It’s not my story to tell.” Helen handed me a steaming mug of tea. “But promise me that you’ll stay away from those males?”
“Sure.” I took the mug and stared into its contents. Elijah had disappointed me greatly yesterday, but I was sure he recognized me tonight.
I took a sip of my tea, enjoying the hot, fragrant liquid’s slide down my throat. As soon as I got a moment free, I would ask Elijah to help me find Sicily.
Chapter 13
We sat at one of the dining tables around the kitchenette, and the girls introduced me to some more classmates, who wished me luck in the upcoming trials. While none of them had strong magic, they all shared tidbits of information about faeries’ magical attacks.
By the end of the evening, the beans on toast sat in my stomach like lead.
“Are you alright?” Helen piled up the plates and took them to the sink.
I pushed my mug of tea to the middle of the table and huffed out a weary breath. “All this theoretical knowledge is good, but how will I protect myself tomorrow morning?”
Flora raised her arms and stretched. “Dodging’s your best bet.”
“Are their attacks ever invisible?” I asked.
“Good point,” said Flora with a yawn.
“We’ll wake up early and gather some salt.” Helen returned with a cloth and took the mugs. “That will protect you from glamours.”
With a grateful smile, I picked up the cloth and wiped the table. “Thanks. If there’s anything I can do for you, just ask.”
“Survive the first round of the trial before offering favors,” said Flora.
“Right.” Her comment should have awakened the panic that had festered in my gut since the moment I had read Sicily’s note, but after the events of the past two days, I felt wrung out like the dishcloth I had used to wipe the table. I trudged over to the kitchen counter and yawned.
Helen placed an arm around my shoulders. “Let’s get an early night.”
I sagged under her touch. “Yeah. Something tells me I won’t get much rest until the end of these trials.”
Most of the remedial students sat around the huge TV set, watching a DVD of soldiers dressed in camouflage uniforms shooting unknown enemies in dust-covered landscapes. A narrator talked over the footage, making me wonder if it was a movie or real life.
After bidding everyone goodnight, Helen and Flora guided me into the stone hallway and up two more flights of wooden stairs to a room with twelve beds.
“This is one of the remedial dorms.”
A breath caught in the back of my throat. “It’s so…”
“Try not to focus on the squalor.” Helen squeezed my hand. “What’s most important is surviving the trials.”
Flora nodded. “After a few weeks, you’ll get used to the cramped conditions.”
Cramped? This room was larger than the homes of four families on our street. Six beds lay in a row against one wall, each with a nightstand on its left, a closet on its right, and a trunk at the foot. Although another six beds and accompanying furniture lay at the opposite wall, the dormitory was roomier than any dwelling I had ever seen.
My thoughts raced, and resentment burned through my insides. Most of the students in my remedial class seemed depressed and listless because they had no magic, but they didn’t realize how much better they lived than the average human in Doolish.
I glanced from Helen to Flora’s saddened features, wondering what kind of luxurious lives they had lived before the remedial classes.
“Are you alright?” asked Helen.
Blinking, I shook off those thoughts. They probably didn’t know anything different, and I expected the Real Housewives would also find this dormitory squalid.
I turned to my new friend and smiled. “Do you think we can practice getting into the twilight stage?”
“Let’s find you somewhere to rest first.” She walked me to the only bed with a plain, white cover and no trinkets on the nightstand. “This one’s free. There are nightclothes in the trunk.”
After changing into a gossamer nightgown that caressed my skin like silk, I lay on the bed and crossed my legs. Helen and Flora also got changed, but into gorgeous, lace negligées that looked faerie-made.
Helen gave me a gentle pat on the shoulder. “Close your eyes and focus all your attention on your hands.”
Leaning back onto a cushioned headboard as soft as clouds, I let my eyes flutter shut and rested the backs of my hands on my thighs. My wings twitched under my back, but the more I ignored them, the more they relaxed.
“What do you feel on the palms of your hand?” asked Helen.
My brows drew together. “A breeze, I think.”
“That could mean an alignment to air magic,” she murmured.
“Or that there’s a draft in the room,” Flora said with a snorting laugh.
I cracked open an eye. Helen and Flora sat on the bed next to mine, with Flora glowering at Helen as though she wanted to incinerate her with her eyes. Was there more to Flora’s animosity toward Helen than the circumstances of her birth? I would have asked, but fear of tomorrow’s trial kept me focussed.
“Flora,” I twisted around and met her purple eyes. “The exercise was working.”
She dipped her head, looking contrite. “Alright, I won’t interrupt this time.”
Stifling a yawn, I nodded and closed my eyes. This time, when Helen guided me through the twilight walk, the tips of my wings tingled in unison with my palms. The faintest hint of air swirled over my skin, but it felt more like a draft than something magical. I inhaled deep, energizing breaths, trying to connect to the magic that Gladiolus had said was locked deep within my core, but I drifted off to sleep.
A large hand on my mouth broke me out of my slumber.
“Unity?” A voice whispered into my ear.
My heart jumped into my throat, and my eyes flew open. I jerked away to find a dark figure looming over me and filling my nostrils with the familiar scent of jasmine.
He drew back, revealing the worried eyes of my former boyfriend. Elijah ran the pads of his fingers down my cheek and said, “Don’t make a sound. I’m here to help you escape.”
My heart flip-flopped. I’d been right. He had recognized me!
Elijah removed his hand. “Why is everyone saying you’re fated to the four princes?”
“It’s a long story.” I swung my legs out of bed and glanced around the room. Moonlight shone through a narrow window at the far end, providing silvery illumination. None of the girls sleeping in their beds appeared to have stirred, and my shoulders slumped with relief.
I turned back to Elijah and whispered, “Dark faeries have taken Sicily, and we need to—.”
He placed his fingertips on my lips. “I’ve found her.”
Hope surged through my chest, bringing tears to my eyes. “Where?”
“An associate of mine works in an auction house in the Mound. They’re planning on selling Sicily on the new moon.”
“What?” I said in a gasp.
“She’s safe for now, but there’s a viewing in two days. If we can stay low until then, we’ll be able to make an offer for her before the auction.”
> My eyes bulged. “Do you have enough money?”
“Maybe.” He shrugged. “If I can’t buy Sicily, we can always steal her.”
As I dressed, a memory floated to the surface of my mind. It was of Sicily blocking the door and insisting that Elijah help me evade Lady Gala’s plan to have me buried in hot drake shit. Stealing a girl from an auction house was risky, as was stealing a supposed fated mate of the princes.
I turned to Elijah, whose gaze raked over my half-dressed body. “Why are you helping me?”
“Since our eyes met in the dining hall, I can’t stop thinking about you.” He balled his fists. “Whatever it takes, I’m not losing you to a stupid trial or those entitled princes.”
A lock of golden hair fell into my face, and I tucked it behind my ear. Was this extra effort because I was a half-blood and no longer a lowly human? Or had he been swayed by the new, improved appearance and the wings? I slipped my feet into my boots and shook off those thoughts. The only thing that mattered right now was rescuing Sicily.
“Hurry,” he whispered from the door.
I walked across the room and caught up. “Where are you taking me?”
“My family has a small vineyard in the Courage district. The vintner’s hut is empty right now, but you can hide there until it’s time to rescue Sicily.”
“Thanks.” I rushed into his arms.
Elijah squeezed me to his chest and pressed a kiss on the top of my head. “Things will be different now. We can finally be together like a real couple.”
Tilting my head up, I stared into his dark blue eyes. Did I want a future with a guy who had abandoned me once? Absolutely not. But if he could lead me to my sister, I wasn’t going to refuse his help.
I trailed my fingers down his strong biceps, down the muscular forearms I adored so much, and squeezed his large, calloused hands. “Let’s go.”
Elijah reached into a shoulder bag. “I have something for you.”
“What?” Instinct made me step back.
He pulled out a black cloak. “This will cover your wings. Tomorrow, everyone will be looking for you.”