by Riana Lucas
Untitled
The Deadly Flowers Series Book Four
Riana Lucas
Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
About the Author
Untitled
Poppy: Untitled
by Riana Lucas
Published by Clean Reads
www.cleanreads.com
* * *
This is a work of fiction. Names, places, characters, and events are fictitious in every regard. Any similarities to actual events and persons, living or dead, are purely coincidental. Any trademarks, service marks, product names, or named features are assumed to be the property of their respective owners, and are used only for reference. There is no implied endorsement if any of these terms are used. Except for review purposes, the reproduction of this book in whole or part, electronically or mechanically, constitutes a copyright violation.
Poppy: Untitled
Copyright © 2017 Riana Lucas
ISBN 978-1-62135-668-4
Cover Art Designed by AM Design Studios
To our family and friends
who have supported us
throughout this journey…
Thank you!
1
I hear the scream ringing through the air before I even clear the woods. There is no need for me to look at the others for confirmation because I am sure of where the sound is coming from. Just as I know they do as well. So instead of checking with my friends, I run.
As I do, I sense them following closely behind. With swift movements, we make it the rest of the way through the woods and up to the entrance of the Seelie castle as quickly as possible. As we enter through the already open doors, a blood-curdling scream sounds once again. I glance at Reed, whose face is set with a grim expression. There is no doubt the same expression is mirrored on my own face as well as Thorne and Holly’s. And I have no doubt that we are all thinking the same thing: we are too late.
The information Holly was able to retrieve from torturing the Unseelie guard must have been false. We did not have three days to launch a counterattack against the Unseelie as we had hoped. Damien is attacking the Seelie court now.
Instantly, we prepare for battle. I can hear and sense the actions around me as my friends arm themselves to fight. The hissing of sliding metal as swords are removed from their sheaths rips through the air. Wood hitting wood as an arrow is notched in a bow mingles with it. My own daggers clink and clank as I slide the blades across each other once they are firmly in my hands. These familiar sounds are music to my ears at the moment. We have been training for this—the time Damien would choose to attack, giving us no time to plan or prepare—but I am relieved to see that we are more than ready to defend ourselves and our people.
The guards of the Seelie court are some of the best, and I have no doubt about their skill and ability. They will do as they’ve been trained and take care of the enemy guards, leaving the main threat to us. Thorne, Holly, Reed and I have only one goal. It does not even need to be spoken aloud because our mission now is clear. We are to find and kill Damien.
With a quick glance to ensure the others are ready, I begin to lead them down the corridor toward the screams we heard upon entering the castle. My adrenaline is pumping, my heart racing, and my anticipation growing. The time has finally come to end the life of the fae that has caused my friends, family, and me so much heartache. The fae that has deceived and betrayed me beyond belief. The fae that deserves the horrible, painful death I intend to inflict upon him.
My body begins to buzz, my fingers gripping the handle of my daggers more tightly with each step. I can feel the same anticipation from my friends as the air around us becomes thick with it. I am in a hurry to get this done. I round the corner, picking up speed as I go, only to come to an abrupt halt.
My stop is so sudden that the others fall in closely behind me, just barely able to stop without bumping into one another. I hear a few grunts and curses, but my focus is on the unbelievable sight before me.
At the other end of the hall, one of the queen’s guards is there alone. He is leaning back casually against the wall, one leg bent at the knee with his foot planted behind him on the wall as well. His hands are loose at his sides, his sword tucked away in its sheath at his back, and his lips pursed as he whistles a lively tune.
My head tilts to the side and I feel my brows knit in confusion. This was definitely not the scene I had expected. I open my mouth to voice my confusion, but before I can say anything, the guard stops whistling and turns his head toward us, sensing our presence. He waves his hand and offers a friendly smile as he looks our way. After a moment of our shocked silence, the lone fae pulls himself from the wall and begins to casually walk toward us with a growing smile, completely oblivious to our feelings.
I am so confused by this guard’s casual and friendly behavior while our court is under attack that I am utterly speechless. Thankfully Reed is not. “What is going on?” he demands from beside me.
The guard’s smile is easy and confident as he comes to a stop right in front of us. I feel the tension and confusion of the others grow behind me. Is this another trick of the Unseelie court? Have they spelled another one of our guards once again? How could this have happened? We have prepared for this, and it should not be possible, but this smiling guard is a direct contradiction to the screams we heard moments ago.
He is also still unaware of the tension in the air. “Hello, Princess,” he says happily. “I’m glad you made it back safely and successfully." He glances quickly at Holly, giving her a nod of his head, and I can see his genuine happiness at her return home. When he turns his head, my attention is grabbed by a small cut on his cheek. It is not deep and is already healing, but it is fresh. My eyes narrow, zeroing in on the dried blood around the cut. When the guard turns back to me, his eyes widen as he notices my gaze and where it is focused. His hand instinctively reaches up to the spot as he quickly begins to explain. “Oh, don’t worry about this. It’s just a small scratch. That little one is strong and feisty.” He shakes his head in disbelief, but a small smile touches his lips. “She sure put up a fight, but we got her secured. The queen and Rowan are treating her now.”
I immediately let out a deep breath as my shoulders sag in relief. I can feel the others doing the same behind me. We begin to replace our weapons, and it seems as if the guard has just noticed them because his eyes widen even further. It appears he is only now understanding exactly what we thought was happening.
His hurried words as he begins to apologize verify my thoughts. “Oh, Princess, I apologize. I’m sure you all heard the child screaming and thought the worst. They aren’t hurting her, and there is no threat. She’s just very…um...reluctant.” He stops talking but looks as if he intends to continue apologizing.
Not wanting him to feel guilty for my mistake, I quickly hold my hand up to stop him. He immediately closes his mouth. “It is fine and not your fault. Holly informed us of some news pertaining to the Unseelie court and a potential attack. Given the new information and the screams we heard, we jumped to the wrong conclusion. There is no need for you to apologize.”
At my words, he immediately straightens his spine and squares his shoulders. His carefree attitude from earlier is gone. His eyes narrow in anger, not at me, but at the possibility of the Unseelie attacking our court again. “What do you wish for me to do, my princess?” His voice is strong and serious, all humor having fled. He is a soldier ready to protect his home.
I begin giving him orders without a second thought. “Gather the rest of the guards. Meet us in the training room in one hour. I will speak with my mother now, check on the child, and then meet you there. We will finalize our attack strategy and begin preparations to move out." My voice becomes more commanding as I finish my statement. “Inform the guards that we will be attacking the Unseelie court in one day’s time.”
“As you wish, my princess." The guard’s eyes alight with an evil glimmer before he bows his head, turns on his heel, and sets out to comply with my orders. I am sure his news will be met with the same eagerness from the rest of the guards. We have been preparing for this day for a while now, but many of them have been looking forward to this day their entire lives.
I wait silently until he disappears from sight before turning to my friends. “Shall we go inform my mother of the impending attack and see how things are progressing with the child?” My voice is casual as I try to remain in control of my feelings. There are still so many things that must be done, and it is important that I remain calm, focused, and controlled.
Reed raises an eyebrow; his lips are turned up slightly. “I can’t believe that little girl got in such a good lick with the guard.” His voice is teasing, but I can hear the trace of awe as well. The guard is very large, and the child is very tiny. It is a testament to the strength and determination an unclaimed has.
I smile briefly as well, picturing that fight in my mind quickly before speaking in a more serious tone when warning Reed as well as the others. “Do not let her smallness fool you. You saw her in the woods. She is strong and fierce, but most importantly, she is scared. If she feels cornered or threatened, she will do the only thing she knows how to do. Fight. Once the disease begins to take over her thoughts, it will be very difficult for us to fight back. I do not want to hurt her so I would prefer if it did not come to that.”
Everyone nods their head in agreement and understanding. I look at Holly, unable to miss the pain that briefly flashes in her eyes. I feel sorry for her but hope that the distraction of helping the child and the upcoming attack on the Unseelie court will allow her the time she needs to trust that we will help her through this. The only way for that to happen is for her to remain here at the Seelie court with us, which I know she has no intentions of doing after the upcoming battle is over.
I glance over at Thorne. He is watching Holly closely, probably worried that she may bolt on us at any moment and he will need to chase her down again. I feel another pang of sadness, this time for him. He is usually such a happy, joking fae. His concern for Holly has taken a lot of that away. I shake the thoughts from my head, knowing that once we cure Holly, he too will be better. I just have to make sure she stays and allows Rowan to cure her.
I turn finally to look at Reed once again. He raises that one eyebrow, giving a slight shrug as if to say not much you can do. I agree. Taking everything one step at a time, one challenge at a time, and one battle at a time is the only thing any of us can do now.
With that thought, I continue. “Let’s go check on the child and let my mother know that Holly is safe and home—“ I pause and quickly give her a pointed look, which she ignores “— and inform her of the information Holly has received. There is a lot to do and very little time to do it in. The sooner I update my mother, the sooner we can begin our final preparations for battle.” They nod their heads in agreement, even Holly. Then I lead my friends toward the same door the guard was just standing outside of.
As we approach the closed door, the sounds from inside the room grow louder. They turn from muffled nonsense noises that cannot be distinguished to soothing murmurs and soft words from my mother, Reed’s mother, and Willow. I am surprised at first to hear Willow’s voice among theirs but realize quickly that I should not be. Her instant protectiveness toward the child would not have gone away once they arrived here. If anything, it would have grown stronger as the child’s fear undoubtedly did. Although I cannot hear them, I am sure I will also find Rowan and Gideon nearby, making sure the others are safe.
As I reach for the doorknob, I am unsure for one brief second if I should knock or just go in. I decide on both. I give a soft knock on the wooden door before I slowly turn the metal knob. As I step over the threshold, I move further into the room to allow everyone else in. My eyes quickly scan the room, taking everything in as they do. I am surprised to see all that has been accomplished while we were away. Although it felt like forever when we were searching for Holly, in reality, we were only gone for a short time.
The room is much like the others within the Seelie court. It is large with the same white marble walls and floors as the rest of the castle, with streaks of blue running randomly throughout them. There is the ever-present fragrance of fresh flowers as well as the vivid colors coming from those bouquets. There is also the wood trim around the top and bottom of the walls, all with detailed carvings. Some of the carvings are of fae, some are of nature, and some…I am really not sure what they are. They all, however, are beautiful and have the same distinct faery magic. As you watch them, they move and change in a way that makes you believe they are actually alive. All of this though, is standard throughout the castle. It is the other things that are not. Those are the things that hold my attention now.
The room seems to be divided into two distinct areas. On one side of the room, there are three white refrigerators and two large wooden desks. The desks are already covered with stacks of papers that I am sure are filled with the research Rowan has done over the years. There are also a few wooden chairs around the desk that are not fae made. They appear cold and hard. There are two brown couches pushed up against the wall as well. They look as if they may be more comfortable than the chairs, but they too are human-made, so I am not very optimistic.
On the other side of the room, there are what appear to be hospital beds. There are four of them lined up side by side, with only enough room for someone to maneuver in between them. They have metal frames and crisp white sheets. They are normal and plain, obviously human-made as well. Beside each bed is a tall metal stand. The rods are thin and tall reaching up and then looping around to make what appear to be hooks. Those hooks are holding bags with red liquid in them. The bags have tubes that fall down, reaching to the bed. I scrunch my nose in confusion; Reed leans in and whispers. “Those are IV stands from a hospital. They hold bags of blood, and the tubes carry the blood to the needle. The needle is placed in your arm and allows the blood to mix in with yours. From what my father says, the human blood being mixed with theirs is what helps them control the disease. Diluting the fae blood helps weaken the illness.”
My nose scrunches up again, but this time in disgust. I understand the concept, and it actually makes sense how it works, but that does not make it any less disgusting. I glance over at him in disbelief. He just nods his head and smiles at me. Then he turns his attention back to the beds and the fae that are lying in them. I shudder before doing the same.
Three of the four beds are already occupied; two with fae that I do not know but am sure are unclaimed. They both appear to be sleeping, although I do not see how they can manage with the tubes running out of their arms. There must be something about the process of the transfusion that relaxes or tires the fae. I turn my attention from them, knowing that Rowan will inform us of exactly what is happening later. I move my gaze to the third bed, occupied by the child and surrounded by the others in the room.
Rowan, Anna, and my mother are on one side of the bed, heads bent together, discussing something quietly. Willow and Gideon are on the other side of the bed. Willow is sitting in a chair pulled close to the side of the
bed. She has one hand on the child’s shoulder, the other she is trying to run through her still snarled hair. I cannot hear what she is saying, but I can tell that she is whispering into the child’s ear. Gideon is standing close behind Willow. He has one hand on the hilt of his sword, the other resting on Willow’s shoulder. He is looking worriedly down at the space where Willow’s face is so close to the child’s. Willow is trying to soothe her, but Gideon does not seem to like how close Willow is to this wild child.
I can understand his concern. Although the child appears helpless and even smaller than she did before in the woods, she is not to be taken for granted. She may not be screaming anymore, but she is not resting peacefully like the other two fae either. She is grunting and moaning as she thrashes and tugs against the restraints it seems they have been forced to use. Her eyes are wild, with a hint of red around her irises. The feralness is trying to move in, causing her to instinctively fight against what it perceives as a threat. This one small fae is causing more of a disturbance than multiple unaffected fae ever would. Her behavior is probably why none of them have noticed our presence yet.
After a moment, I clear my throat loudly, causing heads to turn toward us, all except for the child and the sleeping fae of course. The child is still grunting and thrashing her arms and legs, trying to get loose of the straps. Willow is looking at me, but I can tell that her attention is still on the child. Her hand automatically runs over the girl’s arm, trying to soothe her thrashing body. I feel sorry for the child, but I know they are doing this only to keep her safe until the treatment begins to take effect. If she were not restrained, she would not only hurt some of us but probably herself as well. I am not sure how long it will take, but hopefully, she will soon be well on her way to being able to better control the disease that rages within her, like Rowan.