by Alice Wilde
Fiona’s large eyes bore into my own as she tries to process what I’ve just said.
“Are you trying to tell me you’re some sort of changeling?”
“What kind of madness is this?” Neil scoffs, rising and moving to stand by his wife.
“No, I assure you, I’m no changeling. I am a shifter. I was kidnapped for it and put under a curse because of an ancient magic running through my blood. I’m still not sure why or how. All I know is that I am.”
“A shifter,” Fiona says slowly, mulling the word over. “You know, brother, I had heard some wild tales about you, but never in all my years did I believe them to be true. Boys trying to scare girls and all.”
“I swear to you, it’s true.”
“Prove it.”
I look back at Li and Ero. They shrug and I take a deep breath before shifting into my beast.
“What in the names of all the saints!” Neil yells. “Guards!”
“No one move! So, ‘tis true,” Fiona whispers. “Come now, shift back, you devilish bastard. You have a great deal more explaining to do.”
I link with Li. “Can you please tell Fiona to turn around?”
“I’m sure she’s seen it all before.”
“No, she hasn’t. Just do it.”
Li clears his throat. “Would you please avert your eyes. Your brother loses his clothes during the process.”
Fiona raises an eyebrow, crossing her arms in front of her chest. “Now this is funny.” She shakes her head at me but turns toward her husband, and I make the most of the situation by shifting back, pulling my clothes on as quickly as possible.
“So, why have you come back?” Fiona asks, turning back to me.
“That part is rather complicated,” I say.
“Have you come back to claim your title?” Neil asks.
“My title?”
“Yes. Have you come back to claim your inheritance and right to the lands?”
“I hadn’t thought that far. I didn’t even know what I would find upon arriving.”
“I’m the only one who stayed, if that’s what you’re wondering,” Fiona says. “All of my…our sisters have long since gone to wed their own lairds, and some have died since.”
“Ma and Da?”
“Long gone, I’m afraid. Although I doubt Da would take too kindly to knowing you really do have magic flowing through your veins,” Fiona continues. “The clan is still quite strong, but nothing like it once was. We’re slowly starving, along with the rest of Scotland.”
“Starving? What do you mean?”
“It’s the Fae folk. Tensions have been rising between them and us for a fair few decades now. But recently they’ve been barring us from entering the forests and cursing our harvests. I’m sure you’ve noticed the lack of a fire in here. So, you’ll have to forgive me when I say I’m not all too sure I can trust you.”
I can feel Ero and Li’s minds whirring in disbelief, even if they’re staying silent.
“I thought we had a pact with them,” I say.
“We did, but the truce was only good for as long as we had a male heir of the Artair line to rule this land. Thanks to the disappearance of my one and only brother, that truce was broken the day Da died.”
“What?”
“When you, or at least the man you say you are, didn’t return the next day, no one thought much of it. We assumed you had gone out whoring or gotten three sheets to the wind and fallen into some ditch to sleep through the night.”
“It’s nice to hear people thought so little of me.”
“Well, more than one lass was trying her damnedest to bed you. It wouldn’t have surprised me if they had managed it. But when you didn’t show for nearly a week, our Da started to grow uneasy. It didn’t take long for him to start blaming the Fae folk. He sent search parties out to find you, but they all came back emptyhanded.”
“You can’t be serious,” Ero says. “Fae folk?”
“I wouldn’t jest about them. They are vicious creatures, and it’s not only our lands that have been affected. Much of Scotland is having trouble with them these days.”
“What’s the point of all of this?” Li asks.
Fiona gives Li a frosty look. “The point of all of this is that we already have next to nothing to offer. I’ve believed Roan to be dead many years now, and suddenly a man shows up who knows magic and looks exactly like my lost brother and not a day older than the day he disappeared. I know a faerie trick when I see one.”
“You don’t believe me?” I ask. “Why would the Fae folk care to trick you like this?”
Fiona snorts. “I haven’t had faith in anything since the day I found out I was barren. I’m not about to start believing in anything but what I already know to be true. The Fae will do anything to take back what they believe is theirs, so when a male heir didn’t rise to rule Clan Artair, they started acting on the pact they made with our ancestors. In the event that a male heir is no longer alive to take the position of laird, and upon the death of the final Artair descendant, the lands will be granted back to the Fae folk.”
“That can’t be possible. Why didn’t anyone ever tell me this? What can I do to make you trust me?” I ask. “I’ll do anything.”
“Tell me exactly why you’re here,” Neil snaps. “We may not have an heir of our own, but we’re not going to be fooled into giving up the land to a bunch of changeling Fae folk.”
“For the last time, I’m not Fae. None of us are. But I’ll admit that I did come back to ask a favor. I hadn’t expected things to have changed so much.”
“What favor?” Fiona asks warily.
“I need help raising an army to take down the man who captured me so many years ago,” I say. “Li and Ero were also taken by him. And this woman is Annalise.”
I hold my hand out to Annalise, and she steps forward beside me.
“She is, or at least should be, the rightful heir to the throne of her kingdom. She was forced to wed Damien, the man I grew to know as my master for so many years. We helped her escape on her wedding night and now we have to help her take back her kingdom before her husband can build up his own army and conquer the surrounding lands.”
“Foolishness,” Fiona says after a long silence. “What makes you think Scotland would ever send an army abroad for any reason? Much less to save some kingdom from a man we’ve only just heard of?”
“It wouldn’t just be Scotland,” I say hurriedly. “Ero is a Viking descendant, and Li is part of a powerful Chinese family. We’re going to build up a Nordic and Chinese army as well. Together, we should be able to defeat him.”
“You’re mad. Truly mad,” Neil says, turning back to sit on his chair.
Fiona shakes her head.
“Please, you have to believe me,” I say. “Just tell me what I need to do to make you believe.”
“First, you need to get out of my home,” Neil says. “How dare you bring a Viking here with the intent to raise an army. I won’t stand to have Fae folk, let alone a Viking murder me and my own in our sleep. Out now!”
The men who escorted us into the castle surround us, drawing their swords and crossbows, forcing us to step backward toward the main hall’s exit.
“Wait,” Fiona says. The men stop pushing us toward the door but don’t lower their weapons. “Lock all of them up except the one who calls himself Roan.”
“Are you sure that’s wise, dear?” Neil asks.
“If you really are you who you say you are,” Fiona continues, “then you should be able to survive a night among the Fae folk. They can’t kill a male heir to Clan Artair. Survive the night and return to us tomorrow. If you can do this, perhaps we’ll trust you enough to discuss what to do next. In the meantime, your companions will remain here, with us. As assurance.”
“But what if he’s Fae himself?” Neil says.
Fiona turns to face her husband. “If you hadn’t noticed, my laird. They arrived at sunset. Fae folk cannot leave the safety of the forest in broad da
ylight. If he really is Fae, he won’t be able to return until sunset.”
“Brilliant, my dear.”
“Thank you.”
As ridiculous as the situation is, I can’t help but admire the apparent love and appreciation my sister and her husband have for one another.
“Don’t touch her.”
Li’s words cause me to spin around, the guards having grabbed each of my three companions in an effort to haul them off to the dungeons.
“Wait,” I say, hoping Li and Ero will forgive me for what I say next. “Let me take the girl with me.”
“You want to endanger her as well?” Fiona asks with a laugh. “Whatever happens, you’re certainly just as reckless as I remember my brother being. I won’t be one to stand between a man or Fae and his loved one. Let him take the girl.”
The guard holding Annalise shoves her toward me and I catch her in my arms.
“But remember, return tomorrow, two hours after midday when the sun has reached its apex and begun to decline, or these two companions won’t last through the night.”
“You better know what you’re doing,” Ero growls at me as his arms are yanked behind him and clasped in chains by several men.
Li’s mouth is almost a straight line as he looks at me. “Keep her safe. Whatever the cost, keep Annalise safe.”
I watch as they’re forced down the passageway that leads to the castle’s dungeons.
“You, you, and you,” Fiona says pointing to several of the remaining men. “Go with them and make sure they enter the Fae forest through the Tree in the North. Don’t leave until they are out of sight, then ride to the Southern Portal and make camp. I expect you to wait for them to exit, or not, and then report back here.” Fiona walks over and takes the seat next to her husband. “There’s only one entry point to the north. The Southern Portal will require you to traverse the most dangerous parts of the Fae territory on Clan Artair land. If you are truly who you say you are, the Fae will have no choice but to help guide you through their lands. If not, then I can’t say it was a pleasure getting to know you.”
“You are truly something else, my love,” Neil says.
I take Annalise’s hand as we’re shepherded from the Great Hall, looking back one last time as the doors are shut behind us at my sister and her laird.
Sixteen
Annalise
Roan mounts the large, black mare we’ve been given to ride and reaches for my hand to pull me up behind him.
“Hold on tight,” he says.
“Why did you insist on taking me with you? I’m of no relation to you or your family. Won’t it be far more dangerous for me among the Fae than in the dungeon with Li and Ero?”
“Dinna fash, lass. If what they say is true, then I’m certain I’ll be able to negotiate your safe passage as well. Besides, if tonight is going to be my last night on earth, I’d rather it was spent with you. If anything goes wrong, we’ll both be dead either way, right? Might as well die having an adventure instead of cooped up in a dungeon.”
“Li and Ero are going to kill you even if we do get out of this alive.” I laugh nervously.
“Perhaps by then they’ll have good reason to,” Roan says with a roguish grin over his shoulder at me.
“Ride out,” one of the other men on horseback says and we start moving.
I hug Roan’s waist tightly as we gallop through the night. Under any other circumstance, this is exactly how I imagine running away with a lover on horseback. The full moon is rising and the stars are coming out to play as we traverse stunning landscapes in the sweet summer air.
The ride takes longer than I expect, but when the men finally call for us to halt, I’m not ready for it to end.
Roan dismounts with ease and then he lowers me gently to the ground.
“Ready, lass?”
“No.”
“Good, neither am I.”
One of the men motions for us to follow him and the other two fall into line beside us as we step through the last of the grassy terrain toward the forest looming before us. I can feel my pulse quicken as we approach a large tree that almost seems to shine silver in the moonlight. To either side of the tree are masses of dark, thorny thickets as far as the eye can see.
The tree itself is far larger than any tree I’ve seen before, its branches reaching high into the sky like tendrils of silver against an inky blue night. The base of the tree is split in two, creating an archway through the trunk that leads into the dark forest beyond.
I peer into it but can’t make out anything beyond.
“How many people have gone in there?”
“No one knows for sure. Many have tried and never come back. Others entered and returned mad. The last known mortal to come back alive and unscathed was one of the ancestors of the Artair clan. He entered and made a pact, resulting in nearly a century of peace between the Fae folk and humans.”
“Once you enter, you won’t be able to return through the same gate,” one of our escorts explains. “We’ll ride to wait for you at the Southern Portal. Good luck.”
I look up at Roan. He takes a deep breath in, closing his eyes as he does so. Breathing out slowly, he turns to me and takes my hand in his.
“Here we go, lass. The adventure of a lifetime. Whatever happens, there’s no one I’d rather be here with.”
I smile nervously up at him, and then we step forward together through the archway, Roan bowing his head to get through. As we continue to walk, I’m surprised to find the archway doesn’t end right away, but almost seems to keep on stretching indefinitely. I turn to look back, but there’s only darkness.
I tighten my hold on Roan’s hand. Neither of us says anything, and I start to wonder if we’re ever going to get out of this dark tunnel when we step through something that I can only describe as a wall of dry water.
Roan and I stop, our eyes wide as we take in what we’re seeing. While it’s still night here, the forest is aglow with beautiful, phosphorescent lights given off by mushrooms, glow bugs, and things I have no words for in any language. A white stag stops grazing long enough to lift his head and look at us before continuing to nibble at the grass. Small human-like beings peek out at us from behind rocks and vegetation, their eyes large and made perfectly for seeing at night. Perhaps they are more similar in appearance to a flying squirrel than a human.
There’s a path that winds before us, lined with small glowing mushrooms and some kind of grass that lights up when you step on it.
“Shall we?” Roan says, squeezing my hand reassuringly.
“This isn’t anything like what I expected,” I say.
“Me neither, but I suspect this is only the beginning of what we’re about to see. Stay close.”
We stroll along the path, watching as the forest slowly changes around us. Roan was right. What we walked in on was almost like walking through a small forest town. The creatures living there are more like animals than highly intelligent beings. The trees around us have started to straighten and grow in tight, column-like rows. A phosphorescent moss hangs attractively from their branches, lighting the forest in a most ethereal way. The path Roan and I are following has begun to widen into an alleyway. The trees open up further just ahead of us.
“Roan,” I gasp, clutching at his arm with my free hand.
“What is it, lass?”
“Look,” I say, pointing ahead.
Ahead of us stands a being dressed in white from head to toe. The being motions for us to draw closer, and we do. I’m surprised to find upon walking near that the being is male, his features almost too beautiful to confine to a single gender. Everything about him is a pale glowing white, as though he were simply made from different waves of light.
He’s significantly taller than Roan. I should be terrified of him, but I’m not. He looks down at us with eyes just as white and glowing as the rest of him.
“Roan,” he says, his voice more beautiful than anything I’d ever heard. “You’ve come at last.”
/> “I didn’t know I was expected,” Roan says.
“And you’ve brought your mate. How interesting.”
The man watches me for a long moment, but nothing about him alarms me. There is no animosity directed toward me, just complete and utter curiosity.
“She’s not my mate,” Roan says carefully.
The man slowly turns his gaze back to Roan. “No, not yet. But she will be.”
Roan shifts uncomfortably, unsure of how to respond.
“What is this place?” I ask, hoping to turn the topic away from mating.
“This is one of the Seelie Courts,” the being says, turning and almost seeming to glide away from us. “Follow.”
Roan and I hurry to keep up with him.
The trees open up around us and we find ourselves walking through a beautiful forest city. Everything seems to be lit from within.
“How does anyone sleep here?” I murmur to myself.
“Sleep is a mortal ritual,” the man leading us says. “We do not need it in the same way you do, but there are ways to do so if we choose.”
I bite my tongue to keep from asking more questions aloud and satisfy myself with soaking in everything I can. I’ve never seen anything this beautiful.
“What should we call you?” Roan asks.
“My name cannot be spoken by mortals. You may refer to me as Kai.”
The further we walk through the city of light, the more beings we encounter like Kai. They are all just as stunning, graceful, and full of light as he is, but not quite as tall. Some watch us with a calm curiosity, but most simply continue on with their own existence.
“I am taking you to the High Court. We will arrive momentarily.”
It’s impossible to feel fear here. Kai’s words would make me nervous if they were said anywhere else, but here, it’s merely a statement. Just the way things are, nothing more or less.
We are led up to a set of tall, narrow doors. Kai pushes them open and we step into a circular hall with a ceiling so high we might as well be outside. A soft, pale gold intertwines with the brilliant white of the room. Kai motions for us to stop in the center of the hall, and then he moves to stand on a ring that rims the edge of the room. As soon as he does, the walls of the room almost seem to drop down around us, as if the very floor we were standing on was being hurled upward into the sky. There’s no rush of wind, only the sensation of movement, and then the room stands still once again.