by ERIN BEDFORD
Table of Contents
Chasing Hearts
Prologue
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
Chasing Rabbits
About the Author
CHASING HEARTS
Erin Bedford
PROLOGUE
Celebration
CHILDREN IN THE FAE world are hard to come by. It’s been twenty years since a child was born. Even longer since a royal child. So, it came as no surprise that when the Queen of the Seelie Court had a daughter, the whole Underground would come out to rejoice.
While the human world was celebrating their Yule, the residents of the Underground, the Seelie, and the UnSeelie Fae, came together in the grand hall of the Seelie Court. Higher and Lower Fae alike were welcome to party and pay respects to the new princess. For the first time in over a hundred years, no one was turned away from their doors.
The Queen and King of the Seelie Court stood at the front of the room upon a raised dais. They watched the crowd with matching blue eyes and both had hair as white as snow. They were fair and justice rulers and their people respected them above all else. Why else would they all come to see the newborn princess?
In middle of the dais, for the entire Underground to see, sat a cradle with gold and white ribbons and bows. Inside lay a tiny pink and wrinkled child, with hair as white as her parents and eyes as blue as the sea. Each citizen that passed by oh’d and awe’d at the little princess wrapped in a silken gown.
Her father, the king, placed a hand on the cradle and bent down to caress the top of his daughter’s head. “You will be the light of the kingdom, my dear, just you wait.”
“She won’t be anything if we don’t get this line moving,” his queen responded back. Labor had been hard on her and the standing around was harder on her still. The king was surprised she hadn’t blasted them all with how short her temper had been through her pregnancy. She had promised to try to keep her raging hormones in check; a snide remark was the least of his worries.
“Don’t worry, dear, there aren’t that many more.” He pressed a kiss to the side of her head and wrapped his arms around her waist. “Besides, Seer hasn’t even been through yet, and you so wanted to hear what he had to say.”
Frowning, the queen patted his hand and nodded. “I suppose you are right, but next time we have a child we are making sure he is first in line.”
“Next time?” the king smiled down at her with surprise. “You want more children?”
“Of course I do. It would be a pity for our little girl to grow up with no siblings to play with. Though, I do hope the next one does not kick as much.” She made a pained face that made the king chuckle.
“We can have as many as you like, and we will proclaim that Seer is first in line for every one of them. That should make the old man happy.”
The queen snorted. “If he is still a man at that point. You know how he is, changing his appearance every hundred years or so. Next time he could be a woman.” Her lips curled up in the first real smile all evening. “Could you imagine? A female Seer. Now that is not something I would want to miss.”
“Nor I.” The king laughed along with her until his eyes caught sight of someone in the progression of visitors. “Now, here is someone you will be delighted to see I’m sure of it.”
Coming up the dais in all of her dark glory was the UnSeelie Queen. Her dark hair was pulled back, and she wore a dress that shimmered in the light, she glided up the steps with her son, Dorian, at her side.
“Cousin,” the queen held her hands out to her, “how wonderful of you to come. I haven’t seen you since young Prince Dorian’s last birthday.” She pressed air kisses to each side of the UnSeelie Queen’s cheek and then bent at the waist to greet the young prince.
“How are you, my dear?” she cocked her head to the side, taking in the child before her. In fae years he was already over fifty but in human years he still looked as if he had yet to reach his tenth birthday. Though, the fierce intelligence that shot out of his eyes would never make anyone believe he was less.
“Fine,” he growled between clenched teeth.
“Dorian!”
His sapphire eyes snapped to his mother, and he ducked his head at her chastising glare, his black hair hanging over his face.
“Sorry,” he muttered, scuffing his foot on the floor.
“I’m sorry, cousin. He has hit that rebellious stage that demands he make everything a battle. I’m lucky to be able to get him out of the outskirts long enough to go to a lesson. He is obsessed with those damn opalaughts.” She rolled her eyes at him. “You’d think as a fae, he hadn’t seen a dozen or more in his lifetime. They do breed like rabbits.” The dark haired queen shook her head, her hand placed on her son’s shoulder to keep him from causing another outburst.
“No worries.” The king chuckled; his eyes alight with glee. “I’m sure we will have our own hellion to worry about soon enough.”
The UnSeelie Queen gave him a small smile in return before turning her gaze to her cousin. A frown marred her face as she asked, “I know it might not be the appropriate time, but while we are here, I was wondering if you had thought any more about that issue we had discussed before?” her voice lowered, and her eyes darted around to make sure she wasn’t heard. “About the shadows?”
“No, I hadn’t thought about it, and you are quite right, now is not the time to be discussing such depressing issues,” the Seelie Queen snapped before letting a brilliant smile that did not reach her eyes cover her face, “It is a celebration after all. The humans can mark this day as Yule for the rest of time but today will always be the glorious day we had a Seelie Princess come into the world.”
The king placed a hand on her waist, giving her a comforting squeeze. “Quite right. Quite right.” He nodded his head, pretending not to notice the way his wife’s magic flared against his hands.
The time to talk about what plagued their realm was fast approaching, but for now, the king and queen preferred to linger on happier thoughts. Their daughter would only have one time to shine and they wouldn’t let it be spoiled by talk of shadows and such nasty things.
The UnSeelie Queen nodded in understanding though she wasn’t content with their answer. She led her son down the dais and into the rest of the party all the same.
“She almost let it slip.”
“But she didn’t,” the king countered, “your cousin is smarter than you think. She wouldn’t want to cause an uproar in the kingdom anymore than you would. Have faith that she will do the right thing.” He brushed his hand along the side of her face with a reassuring smile before his mouth widened as something behind her caught his attention.
“Ah, here he is now. See, I told you he would be along soon.” The king opened his arms gesturing toward the next figure in the line.
“Yes, you did. Now go get him.” She gave her husband a little push toward the one they had been waiting for.
The fae in question was an UnSeelie fae that was respected by all the Underground. He wasn’t royalty. He wasn’t even pleasant. In most cases, he was a grouchy old fart who didn’t care about anything but his pipe. One that he had, unfortunately, brought to the Seelie Princess’s celebration.
/>
“Seer, how nice to finally see you.” The queen waved a hand in front of her face, trying not to sneeze at the sickly sweet smell coming from the pipe in his hand.
“Well, I would have been here sooner had you not invited the whole Underground.” Seer sniffed taking a large puff from his pipe with one of his six sets of hands, his blue lips puckered around the end. His large belly filled most of the space between them as he adjusted his fuzzy coat, a darker blue than his own skin.
“I apologize, old man.” The king clapped Seer on the back with a smile. “We couldn’t hold back our joy. It had to be shared with everyone.” He gestured a hand down to their daughter who had awoken from her nap to gaze upon the blue creature above her.
“I can see why you would.” Seer took a step toward the cradle but was stopped by the queen who held her hand out to him. He looked down at her hand, frowning before handing his pipe over to her.
Seer leaned forward placing his top set of hands on the edge of the crib. His eyes, an obsidian color, gleamed under the lights as he called upon the magic that allowed him to see the future.
The king and queen watched in awe waiting for him to come out of his trance. The thing Seer was known for was just that, seeing things. The past, the present, and the future. All of them were open to him. Unfortunately, dictating what parts he saw was not.
Leaning back from the crib, he held his hand out to retrieve his pipe. Placing the tip of it in his mouth, his face creased in apprehension. Whatever he had seen was not something he wanted to share.
“Well?” the queen questioned, anxiety filling her at his silence.
He puffed out a cloud of smoke being sure to turn his head away from the child and then turned on his heel. He stopped at the bottom of the dais before changing his mind and coming back up the stairs.
“She will be beautiful and loved, like her mother.” His words eased the tension in the king and queen’s hearts. “But there is danger in her future and you must beware.”
“Beware?” the king stepped forward clasping his hand with his wife’s. “Of what?”
Seer became uncomfortable, shifting this way and that. He wouldn’t meet them in the eye as he said, “Love.”
“Love?” the queen cried out, her eyes dashing around her quickly before lowering her voice. “What do you mean? What does love have to do with it?”
“Your daughter will indeed be beautiful and loved by all that know her, but your love will be her downfall.” His dark eyes locked with the queen’s in warning. “Children are a great many things but hold on too tightly…” he shook his head as he trailed off.
“Thank you, Seer.” The king ushered the man away, his eyes lingering on his silent queen.
Once Seer was well away, the king came back to his wife’s side. She had a dazed look on her face as if she wasn’t really there. Her hands were clasped in front of her, a confused frown etched on her face.
“Darling?” the king asked placing a hand on her shoulder. “Are you all right?”
Jerking away from his grasp, her eyes cleared, and she rounded on him with a snarl. “How could I be all right? He practically just said I was going to kill her with my love!”
“Shh!” he gestured with his hand for her to keep it down, the fae that were still coming through the line were starting to whisper amongst themselves about the queen’s display.
“Calm yourself, my love.” He grabbed her by the shoulders and looked her in the eyes. “Remember, Seer only sees what might happen in the future, not what will happen. And what he says isn’t always what he actually saw. You know this. Don’t take what he said to heart, we will love and care for our daughter as if he has said nothing at all.”
“But that’s what will hurt her, don’t you see?” she pushed his hands away and went to the edge of the crib. Her eyes gazed down at her little baby girl. Her heart ached in her chest as she watched her smile at one of the brownies that had been making faces at her.
How could she ever hurt such a precious thing? From the moment she was born she had been her world. The very thought that she could hurt her in any way was foreign to her.
“I won’t let anyone ever hurt you. My daughter, my precious Lynne.” The queen held her daughter in her arms, all the love she had pouring down on the little princess. But inside, inside her heart had begun to freeze and ice.
CHAPTER 1
Lynne
GROW. I THOUGHT AS I pressed my magic into the dirt surrounding my fingers.
My magic swirled inside my stomach and then shot up and out through my fingertips. Bright green strings of light spread through the earth, filling it with life. I smiled as sprouts popped up all along the dirt bed in the royal garden. I pushed just a bit more magic into the ground before leaning back on my heels.
Dusting the excess dirt off of my hands, I surveyed my work. Many would think being able to give life to plants was a small thing but I say they can stuff it.
Plants were one of the best gifts the world could give us. All plants needed was water, sunshine, and love. They didn’t argue. They didn’t try to manipulate you into doing things you wouldn’t normally want to do. Unlike Fae, particularly, my mother.
“I knew I would find you here,” my father’s voice, a deep timber forced me from my thoughts.
“Where else would I be? It’s not like I’m allowed to leave the palace.” I didn’t even try to hide the bitterness in my voice.
“Now, daughter, don’t be like that,” he started, kneeling down beside me but I jumped to my feet, the dirt that had gathered on my skirt fluttering to the ground.
“I have a name,” I snapped.
My father, Oberon, King of the Seelie Court, may look like my brother to an outsider with his flawless skin and shiny pale-colored hair, but he was actually closer to a century than my measly hundred. The only feature that gave away his age was his eyes. Wise and weary from all his years, even they could not hide all he had seen. I only wished he would trust me enough to tell me.
“You know the rules, daughter.” He stood to his feet, an understanding look on his face. “We are not to use our true names anymore.”
“It’s a stupid rule. Even mother does not abide by it.”
“Your mother lives by a different set of rules than we do.” He shook his head. “But the rule is in place for a reason.” When I opened my mouth to argue he added, “One that cannot be argued. Even if you do not understand it.”
Crossing my arms over my chest, I turned away from him. I wasn’t going to get anywhere with him.
The Fae world was all about rules. You can’t do this, you can only do that. But more recently, and the most annoying was the new one about saying your real name.
It was utterly ridiculous. No one was going to get taken because the shadows whispered at him or her in the dark. At least that’s what they said would happen.
Call me a skeptic but I didn’t believe it.
“Anyway, I am here on a more important matter than arguing about what cannot be changed,” my father continued.
I frowned. I knew what he wanted to talk about, and I didn’t want to talk about it anymore than he wanted to fight about mother and her stupid rules.
“Now, I know that it’s not how you imagined you would find your spouse but it really is for the good of everyone.” He placed his hand on my shoulder and spun me back around to face him.
“You mean good for Mother,” I spat.
The soothing look on my father’s face changed to that of concern. “Your mother just wants the best for you as do I. And we both agreed this would be the best way to keep you safe.”
“And gain more power,” I snorted, “Don't try to pretend like this is about me. It’s all about Mother not being settled with enough. She will always want more power and she will give up anything to get it. Even her own daughter.”
My father sighed and dropped his hands from my shoulders. “I don’t know why I even bother. You are headstrong just like your mother.”
&nb
sp; “Only good bit I got from her,” I muttered.
That wasn’t exactly true. My mother, Queen Titania of the Seelie Court, was known to be the most beautiful of the realm. With long pale blonde hair and ice blue eyes, she was the envy of everyone at court. Sadly, I had taken after her looks, and by my father’s judgment, her temperament.
Too bad I couldn't force myself to not feel anything like she did. If I could kill one of my own kind as easily as she did, then I probably wouldn’t care about who I married, only about when I would get my next fix.
Though, killing a Fae wasn’t as easy as just lopping their head off. No, my mother was crueler than that. She’d rather throw them to the Shadow Realm to waste away on their own rather than do the dirty deed herself.
When she wasn’t out casting half the kingdom, the rest were imprisoned in glass mirrors. Which to me was a fate worse than death.
I glanced down at the plant that was thriving from my magical touch. It was bad enough I was forced to stay in the palace. If I were locked away from the light and air it would kill me, no need to wait for my powers to wane.
Moving my gaze from the plant and back to my father I asked, “When is this so called betrothed showing up, anyway?”
“The UnSeelie Prince will be here within the fortnight. You should prepare to look your best for the occasion. We want to make a good impression.” My father’s lips ticked up slightly, obviously relieved that I wasn’t going to argue anymore.
My face scrunched at his words.
I’d never been out of the palace, so it was no surprise that I didn’t know anything about the UnSeelie Court aside from what I read about in books.
While they had some of the most beautiful High Fae, it was said that their Lower Fae were not more than animals. The Seelie Court was all about structure and playing the game of Court. The UnSeelie Court preferred to wear their emotions on their sleeve doing whatever they liked whenever they liked with no thought to the consequences around them.
Tucked away in the library they had seemed so fascinating to me, and now I would not only get to meet one but I was to marry one. I couldn’t imagine how that would go. Would they throw me over their shoulder like a barbarian and drag me back to their kingdom? Or would they not even wait until the wedding night and ravish me on the ballroom floor?