The Last Faerie Queen

by Chelsea Pitcher

  “Okay, seriously, I’m happy for you guys,” Keegan said. “But for fuck’s sake. There’s forest all around.”

  I mumbled, “Sorry,” crawling back out of Elora’s skirt, and Keegan turned on his back, away from us. On the other side of the clearing, Kylie giggled, and Alexia shushed her. So I guess we weren’t the only ones awake after all. Or maybe I just wasn’t as stealthy as I thought.

  I looked at Elora, and she reached out her hand.

  I lifted her from the ground and we hurried into the surrounding forest, and suddenly we couldn’t keep our laughter in anymore. That’s the thing about getting some, or being about to get some, or giving some. It puts the world in perspective.

  Nothing could ruin our mood right now.

  We found a place relatively quickly. Or maybe we didn’t try that hard. Her hands were on my waist, following me through the forest, and when I turned, she started kissing me, and that was that.

  We weren’t going any farther.

  Her lips were sweet. How had I ever survived without her? I wove my hands into her hair as she pushed me against a tree. Her leg slid between mine, her knee bent, and I could feel her pressing against me. My hands dropped to her hips, pulling her closer. I wanted her to touch me, but I also wanted to finish what I’d started. Maybe both, if we were incredibly lucky.

  We hadn’t always been, but it seemed like things were changing. Or maybe we were changing things.

  I lowered my lips to her ear, gripping her skirt in my hands. “Do you want me to … I mean, before we got … ”

  “Interrupted.”

  “Yeah. Do you want me to keep doing that?”

  “I wouldn’t say no to it.”

  “That isn’t what I asked.”

  “Yes,” she said after a minute, kissing my cheek. Her lips were soft, but her hands were holding me fiercely. Then they were sliding into the front of my pants, just barely.

  “We should lay down,” I said. Again, in the movies, people would just do this without having to say it. But here in the real world, we weren’t mind readers, and I needed to be sure. However awkward it might make me feel.

  Elora didn’t seem to mind. She didn’t even seem to notice my nervousness, but maybe she was just focused on the task at hand. Or maybe she was nervous, and that was making my fumbling seem normal.

  Yeah, let’s go with that.

  I lowered myself to the ground and pulled her on top of me. She was laughing, her hair falling over me. I tucked it behind her ear. Still, it broke loose again, and I didn’t care. I was breaking loose too. I started to lift her skirt.

  “I could take it off,” she said.

  My first thought was: Yes, please take everything off. Just stay naked all the time.

  My second thought was: Anyone could walk in on us like this.

  And that would be … unfortunate. I mean, I was already attempting something I’d never done before, and feeling awkward about, well, all of my movements. Did I need to be caught in the act?

  “It’s okay,” I said, slipping one hand under her skirt. She inhaled sharply, biting her lip.

  God, she was gorgeous.

  “Are you sure?” she asked, eyes fluttering closed as my other hand joined the first.

  “Yeah, it’s fine. This way, I’ll be undercover.”

  She laughed, leaning into me. My hands inched up without even trying.

  “Well,” she said, “I can do this.” For a minute, she sat still, and in spite of my intense desire to be touching her always, I stopped the movement. All around us, the world was growing dark. It wasn’t like smoke, exactly. It was darker than that, like ink drifting through the air. It curled around the trunks of the trees, blocking us out from the rest of the world.

  “Wow,” I said, my thumb sliding over her skin. Such a small movement, but she cooed softly, bending down to kiss my lips.

  “You’re so amazing,” I said.

  She shook her head, pulling away. For the first time since the attack in the graveyard, I noticed the symbols pulsing on her arms. Black and curving, it looked like an ancient language had been carved into her soul and was trying to break free through her skin. Something about the Seelie Court’s light had caused those symbols to fade, but now they were back.

  “I am what I was born to be,” Elora whispered.

  “Like I said: amazing.” I smiled and returned to the task at hand. Well, the task at tongue. Yeah, that task.

  Lifting her skirt over my head, I said, “I still think it’d be better if I went undercover.”

  Elora laughed. I loved the sound of it. I hoped I could always make her laugh like that. “Are you sure you don’t want me to lie down?” she asked as I kissed up her thigh.

  I shook my head, and she giggled. “I figured this would be more comfortable for you,” I explained.

  “That’s … probably … true,” she said, sighing in between words. Murmuring, “Mmm.”

  I thought I was going to die.

  “Are you all right?” she asked as I shifted.

  “Yeah, I’m fine,” I said, guiding her closer to me. “There’s just something under my back. I think it’s a rock.”

  “I can move.”

  “No, you’re fine.” I reached behind my back. Pulling out the rock, I threw it into the forest. “You’re perfect.” Then I lifted myself to meet her.

  16

  ElorA

  The universe exploded in a world of colors. I felt the way it must feel to exist inside the Aurora Borealis, with all those colors pouring down. The light, the beauty. The wonder.

  It rushed over me and I crashed into it, a girl made of storms. Of waves. He was bringing me to life with his kisses, with that soft touch. His hands curved into the backs of my thighs, holding me close. We were two beings, and we were more.

  We were the entire universe.

  I wanted to touch his face then, to tuck his hair behind his ear, but it was difficult. That skirt had a mind of its own. Every time I tried to maneuver around it, I encountered another fold. I told myself to relax, to simply revel in the sweetness of what was happening. And it was sweet, like moonlight on the skin. Sweet like nectar dripping down your fingers.

  I gasped, and a thrill went through me. All around us, the air was moving, inky black from the darkness I’d created, but also permeated by cool, glittering light. Light coming off of him, I realized, and shivered in the air. Now the colors were mingling, black bleeding into purple, and gold fading into white. There were violets and blues, dancing the way that we were dancing. My body. His lips.

  Entangled, but not close enough. Those colors were blending, but they weren’t becoming one, and for the first time, I wanted them to. Wanted to stop being Elora the singular entity, and become a part of the world. I’d still be myself when it was all over, still be able to stand on my own. But there was strength in collective power. Strength in trusting another.

  Suddenly, I could feel the distance between us. Could feel the distance between our lips. The hands that weren’t grasping each other. And I needed that right now. I needed him.

  “Baby,” I whispered, and I felt foolish saying it. Like I, myself, were a child, needing to be cared for. But I couldn’t care anymore what I sounded like. What I looked like. All that mattered was how I felt. How we felt, together.

  “I need you,” I said.

  Taylor retreated from the folds of my skirt. When he appeared in the dim light, his cheeks were pink and his hair was all mussed up.

  I started to laugh. I loved him so much.

  “I’m here,” he said, sliding his thumb across his bottom lip.

  “Yes, but I need you here.” Adjusting a little, I scooted down until I was in his arms.

  “Do you want to stop?” he asked. He looked a bit … disappointed.

  “No. I just wanted to be close to you.�
��

  He nodded, but I could tell he wasn’t entirely convinced. Moments ago, we’d been very close. “Was I … did it—”

  “You were wonderful,” I said, and he relaxed. After all, faeries can’t lie. “I just missed you.”

  He nodded, looking into my eyes. “I’m right here.”

  “I think we should undress,” I said, fingers stumbling over the button of his pants. Dresses were so much easier. You could simply pull them up or down.

  He laughed, because I must’ve sounded very solemn. And he unbuttoned his pants for me. “Here. I have more practice.”

  “Oh, I imagine you do,” I joked, and he blushed a deep red. It was beautiful.

  Then he turned away from me, and it physically hurt. That distance, that inability to look at him—it felt like a chasm inside of me.

  “Come back.” When I kissed him at his collarbone, he moaned and turned to me. “And tell me about this practice,” I added.

  Now he was laughing, as I guided the pants over his hips. “Not a chance,” he said, but I didn’t care. Now we were both laughing, and then we were kissing.

  Soon, we’d shed all our clothes.

  “Can I touch you?” he asked, hand resting on my side. We were both on our sides now, facing each other.

  “Do you really have to ask?”

  “At this point, I feel like I should.” He kissed my cheek, then trailed to my ear. “I mean, better safe than sorry.”

  “Then I should ask you?”

  “Oh, never.” He shook his head, and I giggled. “I mean, you can literally touch me anytime.”

  “Really?” I pressed my hand against his heart, slowly moving down.

  “Oh yeah.” He was nodding, his face a mask of seriousness, but I could tell he was fighting a grin. “Just whenever you feel like it.”

  “All right then.” I trailed my hand past his navel. “I’ll remember that next time we’re at dinner.”

  He laughed. “Let’s cross that bridge when we come to it,” he said. And then he didn’t speak anymore, because I was doing what he asked. I slid my hand down. He slid his hand down, too. We were hands and lips and hearts, weaving together like vines. We were love and light and darkness. We became that which we’d always wanted, and always were, but never felt until now.

  Whole within ourselves.

  Unstoppable together.

  –––––

  In the morning, I awoke feeling stronger than ever. I could hover ten feet above the ground! Unfortunately, my efforts ended the same way they always did: with me slumped on the forest floor, gasping for breath, as pain radiated through my back.

  I would not be able to fly during the battle, and it terrified me.

  Still, the day had its gaiety. Taylor revealed his paintings and Kylie revealed the armor she’d been making: crude plates of iron hammered into intricate patterns and designs. Together, we fawned over it.

  “I’ve never seen such detail,” I gushed, my eyes trailing over the places my hands could not go. If I went my entire life without touching iron again it would be too soon. But Taylor touched the armor for me, as did Alexia.

  Only Keegan kept his distance.

  “I made emblems for everyone,” Kylie explained, holding up each chestplate so that it caught in the light. “A lion for Taylor, a raven for Alexia. A sneaky fox for you,” she said to her brother, trying to get him to join in the fun. “And a unicorn for me.”

  “Hey.” Alexia grabbed Kylie’s chestplate, examining the horned horse in the center. “Why do you get a unicorn? All I get is a raven.”

  “Ravens are very powerful beings,” I interjected. “Back home, I had a train of them following me around. Telling me secrets.”

  “Actually, I think ravens are pretty cool,” Alexia admitted. “But they’re not supernatural.”

  “Why did you pick a unicorn for yourself?” Taylor asked.

  “Because … ” Kylie avoided our gaze.

  “Because why?”

  “Because I made them! So I got to pick.” She was blushing.

  “I think it suits you,” I said. “Unicorns are pure of heart. Protective of those around them. I think it’s perfect.”

  The blush worsened.

  “In fact, I think they all suit you,” I went on, to shift the focus from her. “Alexia’s wisdom, Keegan’s craftiness. Taylor’s courage. His wildness.” I stepped closer to him, touching his chin with my fingers.

  “I have something for you, too,” Kylie said, beaming up at me.

  “What is it?” For a moment, I shuddered, thinking she’d give me something made of iron. Even though it was an irrational thought, my body was unable to forget the way it had felt to have those iron shards slide into my skin in the graveyard.

  But perhaps Kylie hadn’t forgotten either. “Here,” she said, procuring a crown from behind a patch of bushes. The obsidian frame was adorned with jewels that glittered like gold in the light. Perfect for …

  “It reminds me of Naeve,” Keegan said, and I expected Kylie to frown. But she didn’t.

  She smiled. “It is for Naeve,” she said. “And it’s for Elora. Let me explain.”

  I nodded, watching her turn the crown upside down. All along the bottom, thin slats appeared, but I did not know what they were.

  Until Kylie flipped a little switch on the side, and spikes shot out of the bottom.

  “Oh, Darkness. Is that … ”

  “Iron,” she said, flipping the switch again. The spikes slid back into the crown, perfectly hidden. “Here.”

  I took it, worried the bottom of the base would burn my fingers. But it didn’t. The spikes were perfectly concealed, until …

  I flipped the switch, holding the crown by its tallest point. When the spikes shot out, I grinned. “This is brilliant.”

  Kylie grinned back. “I thought you would like it. And when you wear it into the battle, Naeve’s going to be distracted by it.”

  “God, he’ll be mesmerized,” Taylor said. “I mean really, it represents everything you have that he wants. Your mother’s blood. Your mother’s crown. Her love.”

  I laughed, because love was something I had never felt before him. Even with Illya, I had kept my distance, afraid she would turn on me. And she had.

  “So I simply pretend to surrender,” I said, as Taylor reached for the crown. “Then, as I hand it over to him, feigning submission, I flip the switch, and he presses those iron spikes into his head. He uses iron against himself. Oh, it’s poetic.”

  “It’s perfect,” Taylor said, studying the crown. Turning it over in his hands, he touched one of the spikes, so softly. “Ow.” A single drop of blood appeared.

  I stepped up, willing to kiss his wound even though the iron in his blood would hurt me. But Taylor slipped the finger into his mouth, eager to protect me. He stared at me. I stared at him. Then my hands went into his hair.

  “Oh God,” Alexia drawled. “Surely you can refrain from jumping each other’s bones for five more minutes. I want to showcase my talent.”

  “Ah yes, all the world’s a stage,” Keegan muttered from behind our backs. “And Alexia’s the star—”

  “What’s the matter with you?” Kylie rounded on him. “Why are you being so mean?”

  “I’m not.” His tone was cold, almost emotionless. A volcano waiting to erupt.

  “Don’t you think we’ve done a good job?” she asked.

  “I think you’re all very talented.”

  “Then why are you acting like this? What is your problem?”

  “I’m not acting like anything! All of you are acting like we’re having a fucking tea party. We’re about to go to war. A war that doesn’t have anything to do with us. And even that’s fine, because I know it’s important. But you shouldn’t be acting like you won a prize.”

  Kylie stare
d up at him, eyes wide. It didn’t take a genius to understand that he’d never spoken to her this way before.

  “You could die,” he said after a minute, his strong voice cracking. “And you don’t even care.”

  “Of course I care. What do you think the armor is for? Why do you think I’ve been practicing riding horses? I’ve been working day and night to protect us and you haven’t even—” She broke off, shaking her head.

  “Say it.”

  “Nothing.”

  “Say it!”

  “I didn’t mean anything.”

  He shrugged. “You’re all thinking it, you might as well say it. I’m useless and you have no need for me.” He looked at me then, looked right through me. “But at least I’m not fooling myself. You’re a bunch of humans going to war with monsters and you think you’re going to survive this.” He turned back to his sister. “You’re a fool.”

  “Oh, right, I’m an idiot,” she said. “I’m stupid and I’m helpless and I’m going to get myself killed. Thanks for saying what I always knew you thought. Thanks for spelling it out.”

  Taylor went to step between them, but hesitated. None of us knew what to do. They’d always been playful and sweet. Best friends. But war makes enemies of all of us.

  “I don’t think you’re helpless,” Keegan said. “But don’t act like you can go up against some great evil and survive. Don’t act like you’re invincible.”

  “I don’t think that.”

  “But you act like it. You act like nothing can hurt you because you don’t want it to. That’s not how the world works, is it?”

  “You have the nerve to tell me that?” She wheeled forward, forcing him back. “You think I don’t know that?”

  “I think you need to be reminded.”

  “Well, here’s a newsflash for you, Keegan. You know why nobody’s found a job for you? Because they don’t know who you are. Nobody does. Not me. Not our family. Not anyone.”

  He stared at her, dumbstruck.

  “You don’t let anyone in because you think they’ll only see the bad in you. But they can’t see the good in you, and that’s why—”