by Alexia Purdy
Zena knew I wanted her. I was putty in her hands. Dammit if these redheads weren’t going to be the death of me. I shoved past the crowd, taking in deep swallows of air and feeling the heat amplify as more people joined in the dancing.
Shade knew how to throw a party. It was nothing but sweaty bodies all over the place, and there wasn’t a bored face in the house. Some were stupid drunk already, and the perimeter of the dance floor was ringed by chairs and tables full of those who couldn’t hold their liquor. Many ran into me as I forced my way toward the refreshments, slurring their apologies to no one in particular as they passed.
I caught sight of Shade dancing with Dylan near the edges of the crowd, one arm around his neck and a drink in the other. Even Soap had momentarily forgotten his attachment to her to enjoy the company of a couple of masked female faeries who worked in the castle. They rubbed their bodies against his, sandwiching him between them.
I shook my head. It was hard enough to keep one woman happy, and I was all about making one particular woman smile, but Soap taking on more than one was mighty brave of him. I was exhausted just watching him as he tried to match their movements.
“Two honey wines, please.”
I signaled the bartender, and didn’t fail to notice how oddly human-like the party was. Shade had gone to great lengths to give the faeries of the Scren Palace a human dance rave experience. I wondered if it was more of a treat for me since I was visiting, and she knew it would give me a sense of home. Maybe she’d done it to show her patrons just how fun humans really can be.
Maybe it was a bit of both. I wouldn’t put it above Shade to want to share her human side with her faery minions. It was actually quite brilliant, if you asked me. She had won them over in so many ways; there was no telling what they didn’t love about my sister. She was adored by thousands, with the number growing each day. I was proud to be a part of her legacy.
But I wasn’t so loveable. No one really cared about Benton. I was just Shade’s brother, but luckily, it wasn’t a fact that I minded. Let her deal with all the glory. I was more than happy to share in the spoils of it all without the headache of ruling these crazies.
The bartender, a faery with bright purple-blue wings and long green hair that was as unnaturally neon as it could get, handed me two glasses full of the sweet, amber fluid and waved me off. Open bar too. How awesome was that? I was going to have to thank Shade for the party of the year.
I made my way back to Zena, but before I could get to her, I stopped in my tracks. She was dancing alone, her hair bouncing softly as she moved to the beat. It was almost as if she’d never been this free before, and now she was. I was lost watching her. Time slowed, and her hair flowed with each jump, hanging in the air for half a second before landing back on her shoulders in long, wavy locks. I wanted to drop the drinks right there, run to her, scoop her up, and kiss her flushed, dusty rose lips. She had snagged my interest without any effort at all. I had to remind myself that she had no magic. But maybe she did, in a way. Maybe she had her own powers that no one could categorize as Faerie magic.
It appeared so to me.
I swallowed down the dryness forming in my throat and continued toward her. Suddenly, a huge man bumped into me, sending the honey wine sloshing over the rims of the glasses and splashing partially on my jeans.
“Yo, man! Watch your—” I looked up at the guy, but all I caught was a side smirk and a dark glare before he disappeared. All my alarms went off at once, and before I could relocate Zena on the dance floor, I heard a scream echo through the crowd. No one paid it any mind except me, and I dropped the two glasses of wine and lurched forward, toward where I’d last seen Zena, shoving my way through the wall of people.
“Everyone move!” I yelled into the crowd, but only the nearest ones heard me, staring in my direction with intoxicated eyes, murmuring curious questions to their partners, asking what was going on.
I finally stood in the spot Zena had just been dancing in and spun again and again, searching the crowd for her deep maroon hair and svelte figure. Failing to locate her, I unsheathed my sword, set it on fire and held it up above my head.
“Party’s over!” I yelled, waving it around like a madman. Gasps and screams followed as people mashed together, trying their best to move away from me. The room burst into chaos as I made my way to the platform Shade had spoken on before. She also made her way there, eyeing me with a face full of well-placed concern.
“What’s going on?”
“They took her, Shade. The bounty hunter was here. He took her from right under my nose.”
“Who? Zena?”
I nodded, scanning the panicked crowd and darting my eyes across every face, mask and body. People stumbled over one another and out through the doors. I knew I wouldn’t find who I needed to. I’d been a split second too late.
“Guards! Seal the exits to the palace! No one leaves!” Shade’s voice boomed across the dance floor.
Shade meant well, but the bounty hunter and Zena were long gone. I knew because I couldn’t feel her anymore. I reached into my bag of tricks and pulled out a hairbrush I’d taken from Zena’s apartment. Laced through the bristles were locks of her hair. I’d taken it regardless of her complaints, just in case I had to track her down. It looked like I’d been right to do it. Gosh, I hated it when I turned out to be right.
“Benton? What’s wrong?”
“I’m going to track her. She’s no longer in the palace.”
“Who is this bounty hunter? What does he want with Zena?”
I shrugged, shaking my head and rubbing at the raw pain forming in my temple as I fiddled with the tiny wisps of hairs woven throughout the brush’s bristles. I narrowed my focus, blocking out the shouts of the crowd, and began muttering my tracking spell. My head was still thumping even though the music had stopped.
“I don’t know,” I said when I had finished, “but I swear I’m going to find out.”
Chapter Twenty-One
Soap
The castle went through a thorough shakedown, but I could tell from Benton’s darkened mood that he’d found no sign of Zena. He sat tending to his tracking spell and waiting, hoping the stupid spell would find something. It had given him nothing so far, and he eventually disappeared. When I found him again, he was pacing the foyer of the castle. He’d already packed up to leave, but I found out that Shade wasn’t letting him go yet.
“I don’t see the point in staying here,” Benton snapped.
“Just give your sister a moment, okay?” I interrupted. “She’s got her own tricks up her sleeve. Be patient.”
Benton lacked all understanding of that word and kept wearing down a path in the wooden floor.
“The trail is going to go cold if we don’t get moving.” He chewed on a thumbnail, growing more impatient by the second.
Dylan entered the hall with Shade, but she turned down another corridor as Dylan approached. When he spotted me, his eyes narrowed for a moment before settling on Benton. “Benton, Shade says you’ll need me to go with you to hunt for Zena. She fears the bounty hunter may be setting a trap for you both.”
“So she wants you to join on in the trap?” I scoffed. “How nice that she’d want the three most important men in her life together to be imprisoned by some Unseelie scum. “How are you supposed to help us, exactly?”
Dylan face darkened as he turned toward me, his lips pressed tight as he eyed me from head to toe with the most disdain I’d ever seen. His frigidness actually sent a vivid chill down my spine. We’d never been friends; if we were being honest, we couldn’t stand each other, especially around Shade, but we always fought on the same side. Enemy of my enemy, right? Something had changed between us, but our loathing remained mutual, and it wasn’t the time to ask about it.
“What’s the plan, Dylan?” Benton asked, pausing for a moment. He peered over at his brother-in-law curiously. Through the dark mood gracing his features, he wanted to know if there was any hope to be offered.
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“We’re going hunting for this bounty hunter of yours, that is a promise.” A servant approached with Dylan’s gear. He strapped on his sword and a hefted traveling pack onto his shoulders. He no doubt had a shrinking spell on it, which was now standard for Shade’s army.
“Right, but is there a plan?”
“Well, I’ve already asked Evangeline and Jack to help us. They’re sending Unseelie reinforcements to help us. The best of their soldiers are already on their way here.”
My eyes widened. “Unseelie… here?”
“This is absurd!” Benton yelled.
“It is necessary.” Shade’s voice cut through our complaints, and all eyes turned toward her. “Nautilus leads Anna and Oran’s army, with Evangeline and Jack as his lieutenants. The bounty hunter is Unseelie and most definitely has returned to his realm with Zena. We need people who know the territory better than any of us do. The Unseelie are the best choice. Don’t worry, Evangeline, Jack, and Anna are on our side. They’ll keep them in line.”
I shook my head. The thought of being in league with the dark creatures made me want to scream in protest, but it would be pointless. I could already see the very deep seriousness of Shade’s command. There was no going against her. She always did have everyone’s welfare in mind, even if her plan sounded absolutely insane.
“And how do you propose that’s going to work?” Benton asked. “We didn’t exactly embrace the Unseelie. My whole job is to find the banished ones who escaped the realm of Faerie and either capture or incinerate them. You expect me to rub elbows with them now?” He let out a string of curses under his breath, but those nearest to him heard it all too well.
“Aunt Evangeline will be a liaison between our realms. She is our blood. We have to trust her.”
“She’s a traitor. What is it with our sympathy for traitors? They’re going to muck it all up.” I’d never heard Benton speak so ill of his aunt, but I didn’t blame him whatsoever. He didn’t really know her, and she’d done so much damage before Jack had convinced her to accept a position as temporary guardian of the Unseelie realm until Oran and Anna married and took power. The whole situation was one big, fat mess.
“It doesn’t matter anymore, Benton. I command you to work with her and Jack. There is no other way to help Zena. We could let the bounty hunter have her, if that’s what you want.”
Shade wasn’t backing down, and the fire inside her reignited and splayed across her features as she stared down her little brother. Right there was the girl I’d first met over a year ago in the forest of Guildrin. She may have been vulnerable, new to her powers, and scared out of her wits, but her tenacity and determination never wavered, even when others were trying to kill her. I loved that girl, and I wanted to puff out my chest and beam at her fierceness.
Dylan threw me another sour look, and I counteracted with an overenthusiastic smile. Kill them with kindness. That’s all I could do.
No matter how hard Benton was, he buckled under her fierceness without any more protesting. “Fine,” he growled. He turned away from her and headed out the door, his somber mood lingering. I can’t say I blamed the guy for being so upset. We had both been head to head against the Unseelie for a good long while, and we both knew they could not be trusted. Could we follow the command of his aunt? Would she be reliable this time around, or would we be walking into one huge trap?
I swallowed. Either way, we had to follow Shade’s orders. She was queen, after all. I’d go wherever she told me to go, but I would always keep one eye watching for betrayal. I swore under my breath I’d make sure Evangeline didn’t slip up. At least we had Jack on our side. He’d make sure she stayed in line.
***
Dylan slid his sword into its scabbard. He’d been polishing it furiously for the past ten minutes. We were camped outside the Withering Palace, the Unseelie stronghold, for a day. It had taken us a good portion of the prior day to get there. His mood had not lightened, and Benton’s matched it. I tried to play the jokester, but even my crack-ups did nothing to lighten the mood over the camp.
We’d seen Evangeline once, when we’d arrived, as Dylan went through the formalities of requesting permission for our presence in Unseelie lands. Jack had seemed welcoming, but no one dared look Evangeline in the eye. It was hard to not see the family resemblance between Shade and her now that I knew they were related. They had the same dark hair, light brown eyes, and creamy skin. Whereas Shade was recognized to be both human and faery in equal measure, most considered Evangeline as more faery than human, even though her father had been a faery and her mother a human fire elemental witch. She was a powerful woman, and the fear among her legions proved how much power she held over them. She kept the place under control. Anyone who dared to step out of line would be dealt a harsh punishment by Evangeline herself.
I made a note not to piss the woman off.
“Have you spoken with your aunt yet?” I stuffed another bite of our meager dinner of beef jerky, dried fruit, and nuts into my mouth, chewing pensively as I directed my question toward Benton.
“No, not yet. I’m not close to Evangeline. None of us are. She was rather absent when we were growing up, and I doubt anything will be different now.” Benton resumed eating too, not really tasting his food, from what I could tell. He ate for fuel, not to enjoy any of it. I tried to savor my meal, but everyone’s somber moods weren’t much help.
“Maybe it’s time to get to know her.” I jumped to my feet, stuffing in the last of my dinner and motioning to Benton.
“Come on.”
“Where are you going?” He didn’t move, but merely stuffed another handful of food into his mouth. I wanted to shake the guy into action, but I figured I had some convincing to do.
“To meet your aunt. I believe I’ve only met her once.” I scratched my head. “Maybe twice… but both times, it wasn’t under the best of circumstances.”
Benton shook his head, and I caught the faintest of smiles lingering beneath his constant scowl.
“All right,” he said, jumping to his feet. “Let’s get it over with. Can’t say I’ve ever really spoken to the woman myself.”
“That’s the spirit!” I gave him a smack which sent his mouth full of partially chewed food flying out into the fire. I stared at the mash sizzling in the flames before giving it a shrug and nudging Benton toward the castle. Most of the Seelie army was not allowed inside, but since we were Shade’s lieutenants on this mission, we had access to everything, even the creepy Withering Palace.
“You know, Shade said that this place whispers to its rightful rulers,” he said. “Do you think Evangeline or Anna hear anything? It kind of freaks me out to think that this building is alive and breathing. Too weird.” He shook his head.
“Yeah. She told me it spoke to her after Aveta gave her command of the castle. I still can’t believe that Aveta helped Shade out the way she did. Who would’ve thought that evil woman could redeem herself, in any way? I guess there’s good even in the worst of seeds.”
“Well, I don’t believe that people or faeries are bad to the core. I think that it has a lot to do with upbringing and circumstances.”
“You think so?”
“Yeah.” He turned to look at me, and his mood seemed a bit lighter. “For instance, take Zena. If she’d been brought up by someone unafraid of Faerie and magical creatures, who knows what kind of stable life she could’ve led. Instead, she’s full of fear, but at least she’s kept her wits about her. Her mother on the other hand….”
“She’s a nutso.”
Benton’s shoulder’s tensed. “I’d rather not talk about Zena or her mother anymore.”
“All right,” I said, suppressing the urge to mention that he was the one who’d brought them up.
We were let into the castle and shown to the throne room, where a large conference table stood. It had been made from the cross section of tree so large that it nearly filled the chamber. Evangeline and Jack were standing over diagrams of the kingdom th
at were spread out over the polished wood. Oran was hovering on one side as they discussed strategies.
“Hello.” Benton announced our presence from the entrance to the throne room.
“Benton… Soap! Come in!” Jack waved us in, looking elated to see us. At least someone was glad to have us there.
We approached the table, and I didn’t fail to notice a nasty glare from Evangeline. You see, I’d been the one responsible for Evangeline and Jack’s separation years before. I’d been tricked by Dylan’s brother, Darren, into taking on Jack’s image to tell Evangeline that I—that Jack—no longer loved her. Even though I was fey and couldn’t lie, there were ways around that, especially when words are twisted and what is said is mostly true.
I didn’t love her. Jack did. I should’ve known Darren was nothing but an abusive manipulator who thought Evangeline threatened the bloodline of the Teleen if she married Jack. He’d just been too jealous to let them have their happiness and had used me since I was too young and naïve to know otherwise. I’d ignorantly gone along with Darren’s deception. The price Evangeline and Jack had paid for my idiocy was great, and I knew I had some atoning to do for the time they’d lost.
Now, at least, they looked happy together, helping to oversee the Unseelie kingdom until the rightful ruler took the throne once more. Oran believed he was the rightful ruler, but I thought it was Evangeline or Anna, since they were related to Shade. It all depended on the Withering Palace’s decision, from what I had heard, and the castle had been silent since Aveta’s death and Shade’s absence.
Aveta had given control of the castle to Shade when she’d been killed. Shade was the rightful ruler for the moment, so the palace spoke to no one in her absence. That was fine by me. I’d run like a scared mouse if the damned walls started speaking to me. I had no idea how Shade had handled it so well.