10
Virgie
“Caleb.” I spoke as loud as I could without jarring him, but he flinched on his cot and blinked awake. Shadows danced on his face from the lone candle burning on the work desk, which held several potted plants, including two of the snowdrops and other herbs I hadn’t seen before. Peony remained asleep on her cot which was on the opposite side of the room.
“Caleb,” I said again, and he sat up, blinking.
“Virgie? How did you get in?” He rubbed his eyes with his bound wrists.
Peony stirred. “What’s going on?” she mumbled before falling silent at the sight of me.
“I need Caleb to open a portal,” I said, counting on Caleb to be willing to work with Onyx again and not being bound by a loyalty vow to King Peter. “Onyx wants to meet at midnight at the borderlands.”
Caleb stood and ran a hand through his hair that was messier than usual. “Virgie, what you’re asking me to do is very dangerous. I’m not sure how these—” He held up his bound wrists “—will react when I open a portal.”
I hated putting him through this, but saw no other way. “Please, you’re the only one I can ask. If I don’t show up, Onyx …” I trailed off, not wanting to say that she’d start a war, but Peony nodded, understanding what I had left unspoken. “She will declare war if we don't have a plan very soon.”
“You need to try, Caleb,” Peony said softly.
Caleb nodded. “All right. I’ll do my best, but I can’t guarantee anything.”
“The guards will be back in half an hour,” I said, then stepped back as Caleb stretched out his arms and focused intently on the center of the room. Since he and Peony needed room to work on the strange plants, their cell was large enough to open the green-rimmed portal. The oval grew larger and larger. Snow mixed with mud made up the ground, and dark sky greeted us. The borderlands. On the other side, Onyx stood with several guards, dressed in black and blue armor along with a matching cape.
Her expression was grim. Her body was stiff. She didn’t trust me. Not that I had given her any reason to. Realizing I would have to be the one to go through the portal, I regretted my choice of gown and lack of jacket. Taking a breath, I stepped through the portal and crunched half-melted snow under my heels. Was I putting myself in danger? Breaking my promise to Nathan? Would a flash of pain wash over me?
I would soon find out.
“Virgie.” Onyx crossed her arms. “You came.”
“Nathan and I made it work. We have less than thirty minutes.” I wrapped my hands over my bare arms, shivering and waiting. Nathan wouldn't make me take a vow that would put me in pain. Our promise must be binding in another way.
Onyx nodded. “I appreciate you showing up. I don’t want war with the Summer Court, but with King Peter refusing to release Thorsten until I bring him Petra, I see no other choice, unless you made any progress.”
So I wasn't in any personal danger, then. At least, not right now.
Pressure settled onto my shoulders. “Nathan and I don’t want war, either. Peony has been working on her transmutation skills. She should be able to change Thorsten back into a person.”
Onyx’s eyes narrowed. “When? My generals tell me that the longer he stays in plant form, the more the damage will be to his mind.”
I bit my lip, unable to reassure her since Blythe had said the same. “Soon. Peony is practicing. We don’t want her to attempt the transmutation too soon and hurt Thorsten.” I eyed the grim-looking guards. Would they chop me in half if my answers displeased them? Would Onyx tell them to harm me in her desperation? I tried to focus on something else and noticed that the female guard close to Onyx was Sela. She had been the one to deliver Onyx’s message to King Peter during the Harvest Ball. Given her fancy suit with lots of silver threads, I guessed Onyx had promoted Sela to general. I was glad. Sela seemed level-headed and like a good advisor.
“When will Peony attempt the transmutation?” Eagerness burned in Onyx’s cobalt eyes.
“I don’t know. King Peter imprisoned her and Caleb after he discovered they worked with you, but they think they’ll get out soon. Caleb is still a prince and his son, and Peony is working on a project for the king. Once she completes it, she should be once again in his good graces.”
“That’s too many maybes.” Onyx’s tone was colder than ice.
I swallowed. “Neither Nathan nor I can free them. They’re bound with magical vines that tighten when they try to escape.” A shudder ran through me as an idea took shape in my mind. “Do you think you could cut or kill their binds?”
Onyx’s forehead furrowed. “It should be possible…”
I swallowed, thinking back to the Wild Hunt. Onyx had used her frost magic to kill the vines growing along the ceiling of that room, making them rain down on the vampires who were about to rape and kill me.
“But these are probably no ordinary vines. I bet they’re enchanted to resist attempts to kill them,” Onyx continued. Our gazes locked. Hers burned with determination and frustration. “Is Nathan Bitterbay on our side?”
I nodded. “He is now. It took him a while to realize how destructive King Peter is.” I bit my lip. “Nathan has taken the loyalty vow.”
Ony’x gaze narrowed in a calculating manner. “He cannot go directly against the king, but fae are cunning.”
I gave her a faint smile. “He’s distracting the guards now.” Aware that I was running out of time, I added, “I’ll stay in touch and let you know when Peony is ready. Caleb will open another portal. It will have to be during the night. We’ll take you into the throne room where King Peter keeps Thorsten. Once Peony changes him back, you can take him to the Winter Court.”
Onyx exchanged a glance with Sela. It seemed like the two were having a silent conversation. I reached out with my mind, checking if I could hear anything, if telepathy was even possible in the Winter Court, but didn’t pick up on any inner dialogue. The thought to use my influence on them crossed my mind, but vanished just as quickly. I had done enough damage and invading Onyx’s head would not help me keep the peace. She gave me a stern look, as if daring me to try, and I backed away, holding up a hand. “It’s your choice whether you agree to give us more time to get Thorsten out or attack. But know that we won’t be able to help with the transformation if you invade.”
After a pause that seemed to drag out forever, Onyx gave a curt nod. “Fine. One more week. I can’t wait any longer than that. If Thorsten’s mind is damaged—”
“It won’t. He’s strong,” I said quickly, hoping I was right.
Onyx stiffened and crunched snow under her boot. “I’ll be in touch. Don’t let Peony mess this up.”
“I won’t.” I hesitated, then added, “Onyx, Peony really has changed. She’ll do her best.” Perhaps I should’ve left it at that, but I wanted to give her more information, just in case. I owed it to her. “I haven’t taken an oath to the king, but it might happen soon. I’ll do my best to put it off. After Thorsten is freed, we need to expose King Peter’s real nature to the Summer Court. We need somebody on the throne who cares about his people and peace.”
“Like Caleb.” Onyx glanced past my shoulder at the green light flickering from the portal. Had Caleb heard her? Would he even be willing to accept that much responsibility? He had to. We all had to grow up. The time for fun and games was over.
Onyx let out a heavy sigh. “We have a long road ahead of us, but where there’s a will, there’s a way, right?”
I smiled. “Yup, and I have an idea how to expose King Peter. I think the media will do some damage all too happily if they find out that he’s hiding Lady Cardinal in his castle.”
“What?” The temperature dropped as Onyx balled her fists. Icicles shot out from between her fingers, resembling claws. Shit, I had totally forgotten that she didn’t know this piece of information yet. Slowly, she released the icicles and let them fall to the ground.
I bit my lip. “I overheard King Peter talking to Lady Cardinal in secret.
Conspiring with a vamp who’s famous for selling Summer fae shows how little he cares about his people.”
Onyx stepped closer and gripped my shoulders. “One week max, and make sure Peony is ready.”
“I will.” I extended my hand, and Onyx let go of me, then shook my hand. Icy energy flowed from her palm, but I took comfort in it. “We’ll get to work right away.”
She released me. “Be quick. My patience and that of my generals is running thin.”
11
Virgie
I stepped back through the portal and into the prison cell. The green oval grew smaller and smaller, then vanished completely, taking Onyx and her guards from view.
“Virgie.” Peony shook my shoulder. “What did Onyx say?”
I took in Peony’s worried hazel eyes. “You have to hurry with mastering the transmutation. Onyx gave us one more week, but she’s getting impatient.”
“All right. We can work with that,” Caleb said and put his hand on Peony’s back.
I glanced at my watch. Twenty-five minutes had passed. “I have to go.”
“Wait.” Peony twirled a curl around her shaking finger. “I need a person to practice on.”
I blinked. “What? Why?”
She frowned. “Turning an animal into a plant and back is not the same. I need to know how much plant magic I can safely use on a person before I attempt the transmutation on Thorsten.”
I nodded. “I’ll talk to Nathan about it.”
Footsteps sounded and low voices reached me from far down the corridor. Shit, I’d run out of time earlier than expected. “I’ll be in touch.” I rushed out of the room and flattened myself into an alcove. Thankfully the corridor had plenty of wooden pillars and shadows to hide within. This was not a high security dungeon, but one meant to warn wayward nobles and royals.
“We should probably check up on Prince Caleb and Peony,” one of the guards said from around the corner. “That project shouldn’t take too much longer.”
“They’re likely asleep.”
“King Peter is not one to appreciate laziness even if they can’t escape.”
I squeezed deeper into the shadows, glad I had chosen a plum dress that blended in. Okay, I could work with that. Go together and enter the room. Make sure all is in order, I commanded telepathically.
“I’ll come with you. You’re right. The king has been on edge. You can never be too thorough,” the second guard said.
Hurry, I urged them. The more determined they were to get to Caleb and Peony, the less likely they’d see me hiding. I was correct. The guards walked past me. When the door clicked shut behind them, I rushed down the corridor, holding my dress in one hand and my shoes in the other hand. At the top of the staircase, I paused. I was tempted to continue running, but if anyone saw me like this, I’d arouse suspicion. Thus, I put my heels back on and dropped my skirt, then entered the courtyard closest to me where Nathan was supposed to be waiting.
Nathan was there all right, standing near a pillar. Yet, he wasn’t alone. Next to him stood Percival, puffing out his chest. I was about to back away, but just then the brat’s gaze landed on me. Nathan’s gaze was unreadable.
My heart thumped into my throat.
“Virgie. The mentalist.” With a lazy wave of his hand, Percival motioned for me to come over as if I was a dog.
Forcing a smile on my face and reminding myself that I couldn’t afford to piss off the prince, I strode over. I expected an interrogation from Percival and started to prepare reasons for why I was this late in the castle and had split from Nathan, but instead, he said, “Look at you. All dressed up, willing the time away on a date in the Summer Palace.”
Unsure what to say, I simply replied, “Prince Percival, it’s good to see you.”
He wrinkled his nose like he smelled something bad. “I wish I could say the same. Unfortunately, since your arrival at the Summer Court, all I’ve seen is you using up our resources while not contributing to the Summer Court.”
Nathan frowned and stiffened. I balled one fist and it took everything I had to release it. The gurgling of the river turned to a roar in my head. What the hell? How dare this brat accuse me of being lazy. “I’ve gone on two missions for your father since my arrival and completed them both successfully,” I replied tightly, not mentioning my involvement in his birthday party since I doubted he’d appreciate the reminder of his humiliation.
Percival offered a nasty smile. “Yes, but you haven’t dealt with the Winter Court Princess.”
My heart skipped a beat. Last time, Nathan had used a gas to deactivate the cameras in the dungeon. We hadn’t taken such precautions tonight. Nathan had believed that we didn’t have to as long as the guards were gone, but what if Percival or someone else had seen us?
“That Winter Princess had the nerve to write to my father and demand her vampire’s release,” Percival continued, giving me hope that he had no idea what I’d just done and was simply in a bad mood.
“I’ll do my best to convince her to cooperate if His Majesty will arrange a meeting for us.” My voice sounded weak and breathless. I needed to get out of here. I hooked my arm around Nathan’s elbow. “If you’d be so kind, I would like to return to Vasara. I have a long day tomorrow and my head is hurting.”
Percival snorted. “Earthbound fae have no stamina.” Thankfully, after that proclamation, he stalked off and vanished into the depths of the castle. The Pegasi-drawn carriage arrived a moment later. I entered it, and as soon as Nathan closed the door, I leaned forward. “Do you think Percival is on to us?”
Nathan shook his head. “He’s just being Percival.”
I sighed. “Are you sure that the video feed is only produced when the guards are there?”
Nathan took my hands. “I’m positive. Without them being there, there’s no magic to record.”
I released my breath, even though some of my worry remained. There were simply too many holes in our plan. I had barely avoided running into the guards, and I didn’t appreciate Percival being a witness to both Nathan and me being that late in the Summer Castle.
Nathan massaged my hand. “What did Onyx say?” His face contorted with tension. Just asking the question seemed to be hurting him.
I sighed, knowing I had to share everything with him. “We have one more week to release Thorsten, and Peony needs a person to practice on before she’ll risk it.”
Nathan released me and slumped against his side of the carriage.
“Do you think we could use one of your guards?” I asked. “Perhaps I could urge them to forget that it ever happened after?”
Nathan brought a hand to his temple, and now, it was my turn to console him. I moved from my bench to his and massaged his nape and shoulders, which were full of knots. Remembering what Onyx had said about fae being cunning, I decided to try a new approach to solve our dilemma. “Nathan, you can’t let the vow control you. You must find a way around it.”
“How? I swore eternal loyalty to King Peter and the Summer Court.”
“Exactly. And he’s hurting the Summer Court with this war. By preventing the war, you’re helping the Summer fae. You’re even helping Percival and the king. Think about it. If Onyx’s army invades, her generals will go for the king and the prince first. They’re going to kill them.”
Nathan let out a pained breath, and I applied more pressure to his shoulders, massaging the physical tension out of him. “You are doing the right thing,” I said. “You are proving your loyalty even if King Peter thinks you are not.”
Nathan’s body relaxed and he turned his face so that our lips were inches apart. Then his mouth crashed against mine. A moan escaped my throat as Nathan’s tongue circled mine. I fell into the kiss, giving into the passion, letting my hands roam over his back and chest as his fingers danced across my curves, making my core ache with need.
“Nathan,” I panted as the carriage wheels hit the ground. “Stay with me tonight. I need you.”
He drew back and shook his he
ad, and I cringed. Had I come on too strong? Did he think me pathetic?
“It’s time I show you my quarters,” he said. “If it’s all right, I’d like you to stay at my place tonight.”
“Oh.” I blinked. “I’d love that.”
We rolled to a stop. Nathan opened the carriage door and helped me out, the pain seemingly gone. Was my idea working? I gave the two Pegasi a few pets and headed into the Vasara Center, no longer worrying whether the media and other fae had bought our date, but more concerned with where the night with Nathan would lead. How far did I want to go? It was strange to think about my virginity and sex as something that belonged to me, something I had control over. My heart pounded with exhilaration and nerves.
Nathan took me to the staircase and kicked the fifth step, making a side step materialize. He stepped onto it, and I did the same, mesmerized as the tree took us to a hidden balcony nearly at the ceiling and to a wooden door one couldn’t see from the bottom. Nathan turned the knob, and the door opened.
“You never lock your room?” I didn’t have a key to my room, but I thought that the High Commander would be entitled to more privacy than me, an earthbound fae the king still didn’t trust.
Nathan chuckled. “I don’t have to. It only opens for me.” He frowned. “Well, it would open for the king if he wanted to enter.” He shook his head. “But I don’t want to talk or think about the king tonight.”
“Neither do I.” I followed Nathan inside his quarters and gasped. The living room was a pool of water with a tiny bridge connecting it to the next room in which a massive bed stood against floor-to-ceiling windows. “Wow.”
Nathan shifted from foot to foot. “Do you like it? I designed it myself.”
“I love it.” I touched the water, which was very warm.
“Natural springs. I like to relax in them after a long day.”
“Could we get into them now?”
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