Unseelie Queen

by J. C. Diem

  Asha had been on enough missions fighting monsters not to be alarmed. There hadn’t even been much bloodshed. Best of all, she hadn’t had to rely on her darker half to protect herself.

  Dacrith stripped the unconscious fairies of their weapons and money, then they strode away before they could awaken. He handed Asha one of the swords and she strapped it around her waist with a nod of thanks. She’d told him she’d used a machete plenty of times and that it was basically like a sword. It was strange to think of so tiny a woman battling monsters, but it wasn’t unheard of. Fairy females often chose to become warriors, although it was less common in the Unseelie realm.

  “What did they want?” Asha asked when the attackers were far behind them. None of the fairies had spoken before they’d attacked and they hadn’t been warriors.

  “To rob us and to use you however they saw fit would be my guess,” Dacrith replied. He saw her shudder hard and Hexam moved to rub against her comfortingly. Shrunken down to his usual size, he’d returned shortly after causing the men to flee.

  “Are all fairies here like them?” she asked in a low voice.

  “I am afraid most are, my lady,” he replied. “When Prince Sindarian rebelled against his mother and father, darkness seeped into his heart. His pride, envy and ambition twisted him. He’d gathered a following while he’d planned to overthrow his parents. The rebels chose to follow him into his exile after the war. Each was as filled with greed as their ruler and they drew other likeminded fae to them. Their evil spread to the far ends of the realm when their numbers increased and their influence grew.”

  “Is there no hope that they’ll ever become good again?” she asked in a desolate tone.

  He was silent for a few moments before responding. “There is simply no way to know for certain. They have succumbed to the evil and it is doubtful they would want to amend their selfish ways now.”

  Her shoulders slumped as she voiced the concern that was weighing her down. “I’m going to become like them, aren’t I? I’m already half-goblin and I turn evil when I’m threatened. It won’t be long before I end up like everyone else in this land.”

  Hexam whined and butted his head into her shoulder. Stumbling sideways, she crashed into her escort. Dalrin her deftly and peered down at her from beneath his deep hood. Up close, his gray-gold eyes were mesmerizingly beautiful. “I hope not, my lady,” he replied. “It would be a shame if someone as pure as you became as debauched and wretched as the courtiers you will be ruling over.”

  Asha had read enough of her friend, Pru Weaver’s, books to know what debauched meant. “Dryad royalty can’t sleep around,” she reminded him. “We only ever have one partner.”

  “Indeed,” he said, one corner of his perfect mouth lifting before he released her arm. “The man who claims your heart will be very lucky.”

  “I’ll be lucky if I can find someone who I’ll allow to touch me at all,” she told him, drawing her cloak around herself protectively. “I tend to rip men apart when they try.”

  “You just haven’t found the right man yet,” he replied. “Besides, I’ve touched you on a number of occasions and you’ve yet to harm me.”

  “You haven’t tried to touch me inappropriately,” she said glumly. “Believe me, you’d regret it for roughly three seconds before I turned you into a fairy pincushion.”

  “That sounds rather unpleasant,” he conceded. “I’ll have to make sure my touch remains chaste then.” He slanted her another look that she couldn’t decipher, then turned his attention back to the black road.

  Chapter Eight

  THEY STOPPED AT ANOTHER inn just before nightfall. This one was even more crowded than the last one from the sounds of it. Dacrith motioned for Asha and Hexam to wait, then strode over to peer through the window. Just as he’d suspected, he saw a group of men wearing black armor standing at the bar. The Unseelie Court had sent their guards out to search for their queen. They’d correctly assumed she would be using the roads and was staying at inns during her journey.

  He returned to the others. Asha looked so cold and miserable that he felt a strange discomfort at the thought of making her sleep in the rain again. “There are several Unseelie warriors inside,” he reported.

  “I guess it’s too dangerous for us to stay here then,” she said wistfully.

  “We can get you inside without being seen, your highness,” a familiar voice said. They whirled around to see two brownies perched on Hexam’s middle head. The hound looked at them in surprise with his other two heads.

  “What are you two doing here?” Asha asked Unwin and Olsa. It had been Unwin who had spoken.

  “You said you wished you had brownies to serve you,” Olsa reminded her bashfully. “My husband and I have decided to choose you to be our mistress, if you’ll have us.”

  “Really?” Asha asked in stunned amazement. “Of course I’ll have you! You’ve already made our lives easier. You’re welcome to stay with me for as long as you’d like.” The brownies beamed at her, dripping wet and not caring at all.

  Dacrith hid his astonishment that they would willingly become her servants. Such a thing had never happened in the Unseelie realm before. “How can you get us into the inn without being discovered?” he asked.

  “We’ll show you where the back entrance is,” Unwin offered. “Only our kind use it, so the soldiers won’t even know where to look for the doorway.”

  Following his directions, they veered around behind the huge stone building. The inn was similar in design and size to the other one. They stopped at a section of wall that looked exactly like the rest and Unwin murmured a few words. A small door appeared and opened to let them in. Asha had to duck her head and her escort bent over to squeeze through.

  Hexam whined pitifully and Dacrith cast a look over his shoulder at the hound. “Come on, then,” he said with a sigh. The smell of wet dog would be overwhelming, but it wasn’t fair to make the beast stay outside while they were warm and dry. The hound shrank down until he was small enough to enter the narrow hallway. The door vanished when they were all inside and they made their way to a set of stairs leading up.

  Olsa pointed at a door on the second floor and it opened automatically. “This room is vacant,” she whispered as they filed inside. “The brownies who work here won’t mind if we borrow it.”

  “I can pay,” Dacrith offered, jingling his stolen money.

  Unwin waved his offer away, then closed and locked the door with a thought. “No brownie will accept payment from our future Queen,” he said. That extended to whomever was travelling with her.

  Again, their room was bland, but comfortable. Brown and beige seemed to be the only two colors the brownies used when decorating their inns.

  Working together, the pair cleaned and dried their charges and their clothing. Not even Hexam was exempt from their care. They sat at a small table and ate the meal that was provided. The Cerberus scoffed down the food that appeared on three platters, then trotted over to the fire and sank down in front of it.

  Asha was glad to see she was given water rather than ale this time. Passing out once had been often enough for her. “That was awesome,” she said when she was full. “Thanks, Unwin and Olsa.”

  “It was our pleasure, your majesty,” Olsa said as the pair reappeared on the table. They’d already decided she was their new ruler and were addressing her as such.

  “We snooped around downstairs while you were eating,” Unwin said. “We overheard the warriors talking. They’ve heard rumors that you’re in this realm, your highness. They’re stopping and searching every female traveler they come across.”

  “I guess my father and Lord Nicolaia must really want me to be taken to the palace,” she said unhappily.

  “They are aware that you will restore the balance once you’ve been crowned,” Olsa told her. “It seems the six advisors have already chosen a husband for you. After you’ve been presented to the Court, you will be married to him.”

  Stunned and horri
fied that her future had already been decided by men and women she’d never even met, the dryad was speechless.

  Rage made Dacrith clench his fists that anyone would dare try to force his future wife to marry someone else. “Whom do the advisors intend Asha to marry?” he asked with false calm.

  “The warrior’s name is Corvine,” Unwin divulged. Dacrith’s spine straightened and he uttered a foul word beneath his breath.

  “Do you know him?” Asha asked in a defeated tone.

  “I’ve heard of him,” he lied. He knew Corvine well. Well enough to know he was vain, thought highly of himself and wasn’t very intelligent. He would be a weak, ineffectual king who would be easily led by the advisors to the throne. He was also vicious and downright abusive to his bed partners. Few women were stupid enough to sleep with him twice.

  “He’s not going to be a very good husband, is he?” Asha asked, reading his expression accurately.

  “He’s a brute, from what I’ve heard,” he confirmed. “He was most likely chosen to be King due to his lack of intelligence.”

  “The advisors want someone they can control to sit on the throne,” she surmised.

  “Exactly.”

  “Then I won’t marry him,” she said decisively. “I’m not going to willingly marry a guy who is going to abuse me.”

  “From what I understand, Corvine is an accomplished warrior.” Dacrith should know, they’d trained together before he’d been banished to the goblin dungeon. “How is someone as tiny and frail as you going to resist him?” he asked.

  “I’ve told you what happens when men touch me inappropriately,” she reminded him. “But you don’t get how dangerous my goblin form is.”

  “If my magic works, I might be able to delve into your memories, if you’ll permit me.” He held his hand out to her, waiting for her response.

  Looking at the hunter’s strong, calloused hand, she knew the brownies wouldn’t let anything bad happen to her. Hexam was lying next to the fire, only a few paces away. Dalrin might be his friend, but she knew the Cerberus wouldn’t let him hurt her. Taking a chance, she placed her hand in his. “What do I have to do?” she asked.

  “Just think of an occasion when a man has tried to force himself upon you,” he replied. “I’ll delve your mind with magic and try to latch onto your memory.”

  Doing as he’d suggested, she recalled one of the times she’d been strapped to the metal bed in the asylum. Feeling Dalrin’s spell sink into her mind, they watched together as the orderly stripped naked. The moment his hand touched her leg, her body transformed. Her skin turned gray and sticklike protrusions struck out at the human, tearing holes in her green hospital gown. The orderly shrieked in pain and horror as hooks latched onto him and pulled him down. Gone was the beautiful dryad and in her place was a hideous silver-eyed goblin. Her sharp, jagged teeth tore the orderly’s throat out and he slumped lifeless to the ground.

  Releasing Asha’s hand, Dacrith wiped his suddenly sweaty brow with his sleeve. “Yes, I can see what you mean now.” He gave her a distracted smile, rethinking his plan to win her over. Did he really want to be married to a creature who could transform into a killing machine at will?

  “You think I’m a monster,” she said, more perceptive than he’d realized. Tears threatened and her eyes became bright.

  “Well, I prefer your dryad side, but I would hardly call you a monster,” he replied. “That man deserved his death, as did the others who tried to force themselves upon you.”

  The brownies shared a concerned look. “It is forbidden for dryads to kill,” Unwin told her.

  “It brings terrible luck when they do,” Olsa added.

  “I know,” Asha replied, forcing her tears away. “I was locked up in an asylum for a decade after I used trees to kill some humans who were attacking me.”

  Their horror at that news was almost comical. “You used plants to kill?” Olsa asked in a strangled voice.

  “Your luck will be terrible indeed, your highness,” Unwin said in a sorrowful tone.

  “I’m guessing that’s why I’m here,” she said just as sadly. “I’ve used trees to kill more than once. My punishment is to become the Unseelie Queen and to spend the rest of my life in this evil realm.”

  Hexam lifted a head and looked at her with expressive orange eyes. He couldn’t speak, but she knew he was offering her his support. The hound was far more intelligent than any other dog she’d ever met. She was pretty sure he could understand every word they spoke.

  Chapter Nine

  AFTER A FEW MORE DAYS of travel, they came to a fork in the road. One path headed north, towards the Unseelie palace. The other continued eastward, heading for the mountain range where the goblins dwelled.

  It was hard to see more than a hundred yards through the pelting rain even with their enhanced vision. Without their fae senses, they would have walked into the ambush that lay ahead. Hexam smelled the band at the same time as Dacrith and Asha felt them. They couldn’t tell if it was warriors or brigands, but they knew they were fairies.

  “There’s twenty fairies blocking our way,” Asha whispered.

  “We’ll have to try to go around them,” Dacrith said just as quietly.

  “If we’ve sensed them, they’ll have sensed us, too,” she pointed out even as the band went into action.

  Splitting into four teams, they moved to surround the travelers. Their leader strode forward to study them. Not that he could see much with their hoods covering their faces. They were all drenched and didn’t have waterproof cloaks to cover their clothes. None of them wore armor, which meant they were robbers. “We’ll be taking the girl,” he said to Dacrith with an audible leer. “If you have any brains, you’ll walk away right now.”

  Hexam immediately began to growl, all three heads focused on the leader. The fairy drew his sword and the others followed suit. They were trained, but they weren’t warriors. That much was clear from the way they handled their weapons.

  “I would advise you to leave before we have to hurt you,” Dacrith said to the band of thugs. The supreme confidence in his tone gave them pause, but they thought they had the advantage of numbers.

  “Take him down,” the leader said and his men leapt to obey. Asha was grabbed by two fairies who dragged her off the path and towards some trees. She didn’t bother to resist them, or to draw her own sword. They were about to find out how dangerous it was to attack their future queen.

  She flicked a glance back to see Hexam had grown in size. He was flinging fairies left and right with two of his heads while mauling the leader of the band with his middle one. Screams of pain and terror rang out as Dalrin attacked them with his sword. He moved with fluid, devastating speed and grace. He was a far superior warrior and had probably been trained by the best back when he’d been a soldier. Then she had no more time to worry about her friends as she was dragged into the cover of the trees.

  “Let’s take a look at what we’ve got here,” one of the thugs said and lifted her hood. They both hooted in glee. “You’re even more beautiful than most fairies,” he crowed.

  All fae were gorgeous, but these men seemed ugly to her. Their lust and depravity had twisted them and was reflected in their sneers. “Don’t touch me,” she warned them as the second fairy stepped behind her and grabbed her arms.

  “Or what?” he taunted.

  “Or you’ll be sorry.”

  The first man laughed, then grabbed hold of her chin. He tried to kiss her, but paused when her skin began to change color. He drew back far enough to meet her eyes and was mesmerized when he saw they’d changed to silver. They began to glow and he took a step back. Before he could flee, her face changed until it resembled a creature from a nightmare. Gray spears protruded from her flesh, shredding her clothes and their bodies. Shrieking in horror, they turned to run.

  Asha took a step after them, but the trees shifted their branches to block her. A vine curled around her arm, caressing her soothingly as the trees whispered to her.
They warned her that she couldn’t kill them or it would upset the balance even further.

  Dacrith defeated the final bandit, cutting his stomach open so his entrails spilled out. Falling with a groan, the fairy gathered up his guts and stuffed them back into the opening. While their magic only worked intermittently, they could still heal quickly.

  Hexam spat out the leader of the gang. Unconscious and bleeding from multiple gashes and crushed bones, it would take him a while to recover. The rest were also down, or had fled from the battle.

  Looking around, Dacrith was alarmed when he couldn’t see Asha. He sent his senses out and picked up on something monstrous in the nearby trees. Hexam’s ears perked up and he looked towards the grove and whined. The hound put a nose to the ground and followed Asha’s scent with the prince on his heels.

  Stepping through the bushes, they halted when they saw Asha in her goblin form. Her back was to them, but she was bent, twisted and her skin had turned gray. Silver light shone from her eyes, illuminating the vines that were holding her in place. Dacrith took a step forward with the intention of slicing through them to free her.

  “Don’t,” Asha said sharply in a guttural voice. “They’re my friends.”

  “I thought the trees in this realm despised dryads, my lady,” he said cautiously as he sheathed his sword.

  Her head turned and he almost flinched at her hideous face. He was glad she’d shown him a vision of what she became when she was under threat or he might have fled from her. “I’m not a full dryad,” she reminded him. At her mental command, the vines uncurled from her body, arms and legs and returned to the trees.

  Hexam tentatively walked over to her and butted one of his heads against her chest. Her hand came up to stroke his ears and her skin began to change back to normal. Looking down when she regained her senses, Asha realized she’d shredded her clothes when she’d defended herself from the fairies. “My clothes are full of holes,” she said in a voice that was full of despair.