Sea Fae Trilogy

by C. N. Crawford

  I blinked, shocked at how much time had passed.

  The first rays of dawn light began to spread over the sea, a dazzling liquid amber on the ripples. Winding wisps of fog curled around us.

  “I slept all night?” When I dipped my fingertips in the water, I felt disturbed by its warmth.

  “We’re almost there,” he said.

  I turned, catching a glimpse of Mag Mell. It wasn’t exactly what I’d imagined. Instead of an untouched paradise, it was a city built on a rocky hill, surrounded by seawalls. At the hill’s peak, a castle towered above the sea. Morning light bathed its stony spires in gold. And between the castle and the seawalls grew a wild-looking forest of oaks and rowan trees.

  Shimmering magic streamed up to the skies from above the city walls—transparent gold.

  “What’s that?” I asked. “The magic around the city?”

  “Well, that’s to keep me out, given that I can fly. The city gates are guarded. But before I left the kingdom, I hid a key to the city in case I ever needed to return. There are wards there to stop anyone like me from flying over the kingdom, but with the key, I can destroy them.”

  “And how do we get past the guards?”

  He looked at me like I was an idiot. “We kill them and throw their bodies in the water.”

  “Of course.” Or I got to them first and begged them to take me to the Merrow in his prison.

  “It hasn’t changed much,” said Salem quietly. “At least, I think it hasn’t. I’ll inspect it more closely.”

  I needed to get away from him, to hunt for the Merrow on my own. Did the old sorcerer have more assassins working for him in Mag Mell, where he was imprisoned?

  I cleared my throat. “Are you sure you still need me? We both know the Merrow is on this island somewhere. You just need to find him and beat the truth out of him.”

  He seemed to hesitate then, uncharacteristically unsure of himself. “As I said, you’re staying with me until it’s all over.”

  “I’ll do my best to get you to her.” Lie, lie, lie.

  It was my job to kill the bad guys. I cut out their hearts, nailed them to my wall. Salem was the worst of them all.

  So why did the thought of killing him make me want to vomit?

  Maybe it was that most of them hadn’t sat me down to tell me their life story, or about how they’d loved their sisters, or the cats with lace collars. Nor had I met their pets, for crying out loud.

  I’d gone into this thinking he wanted to burn the world down for fun, but now it seemed that wasn’t a part of his plan. It was a side effect, maybe of freeing the sister he loved.

  The mist thickened around us.

  “We can’t go any further in the boat,” he said. “They’ll sound the alarm if they see an unfamiliar vessel pulling up.”

  “So we swim underwater,” I said. “But where to?”

  “You swim underwater. I’m going to fly around the perimeter once or twice to see what I can see. I’ll circle the island first, getting an idea of the layout.” He pointed at wooden docks jutting from the seawalls. Colorful silk sails festooned the masts around the port. “Meet me by that gate. You can wait under the dock until I arrive so the guards don’t see you. I’ll handle them.”

  “And once we kill the guards?”

  “We will be in the Forest of Wandering Souls. It’s a disorienting place. When you find yourself confused, focus on your feet on the earth. Just like you did before.”

  “So that’s it? It’s just disorienting?”

  “Unless times have changed, a baobhan sith patrols the forest. While you’re confused, she will hunt you down and rip you apart with her iron claws. So try not to let that happen.”

  “I’ll do my best to avoid her. They’re fae witches, right? But am I right in thinking the baobhan sith makes you dance until you’ve gone insane?”

  “Yes.” He flashed me a wry smile. “Then she slashes your chest open with her talons and drinks your blood from your entrails.” His calm, velvety voice belied the horror of what he was telling me. “So try to keep your wits about you. Once we get past the Forest of Wandering souls, we’ll go through the proper city gates and try to find the Merrow.”

  I’d have to go through with the charade of searching for the Merrow when I knew exactly where he was—in the castle dungeon.

  Somehow, I had to break free from Salem. I had to get a message to the Merrow in his dungeon, which meant finding my way to the castle alone.

  “Can you still hear the Merrow’s music?”

  I dipped my fingers in the water and felt his song vibrating through the waves. Odd, considering he was supposed to be in a dungeon. How was his music traveling through the water? “Yes. I can hear it.”

  “Good.” Salem stood in the boat, the morning light sculpting his muscled chest.

  Then his dark wings erupted behind him—black and dusky violet, streaked with gold. My breath caught at the sight of them.

  His magic whispered over me as his wings beat the air. He lifted up from the boat, soaring into the misty skies above us.

  For a moment, I watched him fly. Then I leapt off the boat, plunging deep under the water. As I swam, the sea’s warmth heated my skin. Far too hot for the Atlantic.

  They were coming, the Fomorians. It was like they were gathering near here, ready to break free.

  I whirled in the water, trying to find the source of heat. It seemed to be coming from the seafloor. I dove deeper.

  As I swam closer to the seafloor, I felt its heat. The ocean was warming from the floor upward, and little fissures had opened in the sand. A faint sheen of red magic shone through. Gods, it was boiling down here.

  They’d gathered here, in this part of the sea, and death whispered around me. They knew Salem would set them free.

  My blood pounded in my body, a deep war drum. The dead Fomorian’s words rang in my mind.

  Salem, evening star, Fallen King of Mag Mell, will set us free.

  The glowing red light from a crack in the seafloor beamed out over everything around it. At the bottom, I reached for the rocks. When I stroked my fingertips over them, I winced as the heat burned me. The stench of death curled upward as life began to rot and die around me. Under the water, I took in the withered sea life. Mussels and cockles around me were dying in a hot grave.

  Gods below.

  Dread bloomed in my chest as I started to head up higher. My skin flushed in the warm sea, pulse racing. I kicked my feet, my body overheating. I was moving fast for the shore, trying to get away from the heat.

  At last, by the port, I breached the surface under a dock. Was there any chance I could appeal to the guards to help me? From one end of the old wooden dock, I pulled myself up, peering over the surface’s edge.

  A row of guards patrolled the gate, dressed in red uniforms. They carried spears that gleamed with silvery magic, and their armor gleamed in the morning light.

  I glanced up at the sky, but I didn’t see Salem yet.

  Adrenaline sparked in my nerves, my chest rising and falling fast. Maybe I could get to them fast, ask them the quickest route to the castle before Salem arrived.

  I hoisted myself up, body shaking. One of the guards turned toward me, his pale hair caught in the sea wind. He glared at me, gripping his spear. Then his expression changed as he took in my wet clothes.

  I held up my hands, showing him I was unarmed, and took a step closer.

  I really didn’t like the way the guards were leering, but I remembered what Salem had said. This was a hedonist’s paradise. They probably weren’t used to seeing women in clothes and probably assumed we had only one purpose.

  The man at the front took a step closer, biting his lip. “We’ll need you to take off those clothes, so we can inspect you fully for weapons.”

  “Strip for us, now,” said another. “Give us a good look.”

  “I’m not here for that.” Icy magic tingled down my arms, and my fingers twitched with violent impulses. Aaah… I'd forgotten how m
y magic felt when I wanted to rip someone's head off. It was truly electrifying.

  Except I couldn’t kill him when I needed information from him.

  “Just tell me how to get to the castle before I kill you all,” I snapped.

  The guard smiled, eyes still on my breasts. “Strip, or tell me the password.”

  “The password?”

  Another step closer, inches from me now. “If you belong here, you’d know it.”

  In the depths of my mind, I pictured him drowning. “Is it… ‘password’? But with an at symbol for the a? I have no idea. Are the esses dollar signs? Did you hear the part about how I can kill you?”

  He stepped closer, grabbing me by the collar of my shirt like he was going to pull it off. “Must you keep talking, little girl?"

  “Is the password ‘get the hell off me or I'll drop the sea on your head’?” I snarled.

  Lesson learned. Don’t go to the guards for help.

  The guard pulled me closer, pressing his groin against me. And that was all I needed for my sea magic to electrify my body.

  I brought my knee up hard into his crotch, and he doubled over. I swung for him, punching him hard in the jaw so hard that I cracked the bone. The other guards pulled their swords.

  I summoned a sword of ice. Then I slammed it into the neck of the man who’d grabbed me.

  A wave of violence crashed through me, and I wanted to bring the sea down hard on these men, except an oncoming tsunami was likely to draw a bit of attention.

  Maybe I should try to avoid an all-out war.

  As my sword clashed with another guard’s, I caught a glimpse of more soldiers pouring through the gate.

  I moved fast as a storm wind and pivoted to strike another. I ducked as a blade came for my head, then whirled—low to the ground, slamming my blade into a guard’s legs.

  Euphoria rippled through me. I wanted to drown them all, crush them into the ocean floor…

  Then a burst of silky magic washed over me, thrumming over my skin. Calming my rage. When I looked up, I saw him. Salem swooped down from the heavens, his sword blazing with pale fire, wings outstretched. He swung his sword, severing a guard in half at the waist. He touched down, and the blade arced through another—carving through flesh and bone soundlessly.

  My own sword was a whirlwind of ice and blood. I pivoted fast, fury snapping through my nerve endings. One by one, the dead guards fell to the ground, blood pooling over the stones.

  Breathing deeply, I channeled my magic to gain control, and it flowed up and down my legs, spreading through the wood of the dock. Slowly, the magical charge simmered down until I felt in control again. I caught my breath, and the sword of ice shimmered away.

  Salem stared at the guards’ bodies, blood dripping from his sword. “Perhaps I shouldn’t have ruined their uniforms. They might have come in handy.” He sheathed his sword. “What exactly happened? How did you end up fighting them before I got here?”

  I took a deep breath. “They spotted me under the dock,” I lied. “Thought they could take advantage of a helpless little morgen.”

  “I saw you from above. I saw you approach them. In any case, they deserved to die. They work for the king who usurped my crown.” His eyes burned into me. “Traitors deserve death, don’t you think? Betrayal is perhaps the worst of sins. Those who promise something to one person, while secretly conspiring against him.”

  He knew. He definitely knew.

  And he was just biding his time before he killed me.

  Salem

  I incinerated the bodies in moments, bones and flesh turning to ash. The curling black smoke could draw a bit of attention, I supposed, from other guards. Still less attention than a dozen guards’ bodies. Within moments, there was nothing left of the patrol but a few piles of ash.

  I glanced up at the gateway to my kingdom—a stone gate engraved with images of the stars. And between the stars, crows. My usurper had added the bloody crows.

  From what I could tell after my flight around the city walls, Tethra still ruled here. I was half tempted to raze this whole place, but that wouldn’t get me to the Merrow.

  I glanced at Aenor, her body still sparkling with her magic. She looked the most enchanting when she used her power.

  The look she shot me, however, was pure hatred. It was quite amazing, really, that someone could despise their fated mate that much.

  Then again, inspiring loathing was my greatest power.

  Would it have been different if she’d been with me when I ruled here, or would the emptiness within still have torn me in two?

  No point in dwelling on what might have been.

  “What did you see?” she asked.

  “What I saw is that the kingdom has fallen into ruin. Monsters, crumbling buildings, wild fae dancing around a fire. Beyond that, I couldn’t see much without flying directly over the island.” I frowned. “You heard him through the water?”

  She nodded. “Yes. Are there rivers? A moat?”

  “Several rivers, streams, a moat that floods the lower level of the castle.”

  She nodded, then looked up at the dark castle that loomed over the island. She was thinking something she wasn’t sharing.

  Was the Merrow, perhaps, in the palace? I’d find out soon enough. I could fly right into one of the upper towers, with Aenor’s legs wrapped around me, her hips tight against mine…

  In any case, we’d bypass all the security.

  I scrubbed a hand over my jaw. Before they’d exiled me, I’d hidden a key in a hollow oak in the winter forest. It had the power to burn down the wards. But that was millennia ago, and the tree would have long since crumbled into the earth.

  “Let’s go.” I started walking, and Aenor walked silently by my side.

  I thought I could still remember where the tree had grown. If I were lucky, the earth would have swallowed the key in exactly the same spot. I should be able to feel its magical vibrations, I thought.

  I glanced at Aenor, and a blade of longing pierced my heart.

  I shouldn’t be longing for things on earth when I’d be rising to the heavens so soon.

  We crossed into a forest of dark, jagged trees jutting from the snow. Spare, bony branches clawed the sky above us.

  Rays of sunlight streamed through the gnarled branches, honeyed flecks of light on the wintry landscape. A few fragments of ruined buildings stood between the trees, encased in ice.

  A dirt path meandered through the snow, but all around us it was winter. As we walked deeper into the thickly wooded forest, the boughs above us grew thicker, blocking out more light. It was as if night had fallen all around us. Now, I couldn’t see anything of the city gates or my castle that loomed above us.

  Once, there’d been three baobhan sith here, but only one remained.

  At least, I thought only one remained…

  What did I really know about this place anymore? The baobhan sith and I had something of a history—witches, prone to cursing as well as tearing people to bits. In fact, it was a baobhan sith who’d forced me from this kingdom. The Winter Witch.

  I’d gotten my revenge on her, at least.

  Perhaps I’d light the remaining witch on fire.

  The snowfall stuck in Aenor’s eyelashes and landed on her pink cheeks, on the tip of her nose. I wanted to warm her up, except she didn’t seem to mind the cold, even in her wet clothes.

  And there she was, distracting me again.

  As soon as the thought had formed in my mind, an ice-cold talon raked down my spine—a witch’s warning.

  I whirled, unsheathing my sword. Lightbringer flickered with blue magic, but the baobhan sith had already disappeared.

  “What was that?” Aenor whispered. “Was that the witch?”

  “I think so,” I said quietly.

  As soon as the words were out of my mouth, the forest started to darken even further, shadows claiming the trees like spilled ink. Through the darkness, I caught a glimpse of white hair flashing, long, dark na
ils. Then she was gone again.

  My heart leapt a little when Aenor took a step closer to me. Protectiveness surged.

  Gripping my sword, I scanned the dark trees for signs of the witch. The snow fell harder in a wild vortex around us. Already, we’d gone off the path somehow. When had we gone off the bloody path?

  Gods, it was already harder to focus. The baobhan sith had grown more powerful over the years. Or perhaps it was easier to manipulate my desire when my mate was only inches from me.

  You see, the Ollephest gave you an image of your worst fears.

  But the baobhan sith gave you a vision of your greatest desires. They played you like an instrument, compelling you to dance and sing, dreaming of all the things you wanted. Then they feasted on your organs.

  They were bottomless pits of desire and loneliness. I supposed I had that in common with her, at least.

  And yet even as I warned myself to focus, already my mind was spinning with visions of Aenor straddling my lap, running her fingers through my hair. Her eyes shone with desire, worship as she looked at me.

  I clenched my jaw, trying to focus through the haze of pleasure. I had to keep her safe, and that meant keeping my wits about me…

  But she was crossing to me, naked, across a stone floor, her blue hair loose over her shoulders, eyes shining. She lay on a bed before me, smiling, legs spread…

  This was what would have been if I’d met her all those years ago, before I’d become what I was now.

  She can’t be mine for good. I can’t love her. I can’t love, not even my mate.

  Still, even if I couldn’t love, I could protect her from this monster. I tightened my grip on Lightbringer. Then a flicker of pale movement caught my eye, and I swung.

  It cut through nothing but air.

  I cursed myself. Had I even known what I was swinging for? I could hardly see. What if I hit Aenor? Gods, was there anything worse than killing your own mate?

  I shook my head, trying to clear it until I had my bearings. I stood in the dark forest again.