The Withering Palace

by Alexia Purdy

  The

  Withering Palace

  (A Dark Faerie Tale #0.1)

  Alexia Purdy

  The Withering Palace

  (A Dark Faerie Tale Series Companion #1)

  Copyright ©April 2014 & March 2016 by Alexia Purdy

  Cover Design by Melancholy Muse Designs

  All rights reserved

  www.alexiapurdybooks.com

  This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, re-sold, duplicated, hired out, or otherwise circulated without the publisher’s prior written consent in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser. If you did not buy this e-book, please purchase your own copy.

  This is a work of fiction. All characters and events portrayed in this novel are fictitious and are products of the author’s imagination and any resemblance to actual events, or locales or persons, living or dead are entirely coincidental.

  Lyrical Lit. Publishing

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  This book is dedicated to Josh

  Thank you for showing me that it’s worth it.

  Untold darkness rules the Unseelie realm of the Land of Faerie. Hidden in this vast area, Aveta, the future queen of the Unseelie Army perfects her gifts over lifetimes. Learning that magic isn't the only way to manipulate the world around her, this naive girl grows into a woman of strength and cunning, ultimately becoming one of the most feared leaders in Faerie.

  Underneath her hardened exterior, lies a woman who has known the darkest of hearts, the agony of love, the pull of the consuming power coursing through her veins and what it takes to be ruler of the Unseelie within the walls of The Withering Palace.

  “You will never be queen, for I will live forever…”

  Chapter One

  The slugs were moving slow and determined across the masonry and past the overly treaded path of the Unseelie Sluagh. Aveta kept to the walls to keep such lowly beings company, blending into the darkness the niches offered as she watched the gruesome parade of soldiers step past. The walkway shook under their practiced unified beat and with the massive amounts of bodies floating by. They never noticed her or were told to ignore her anyway. It was how she liked it though. For the Unseelie Princess found it easier to disappear into the tiny cracks than to be reprimanded by the unforgiving ruling Queen, her mother, for interrupting.

  Today, the army was preparing to head out to and run down the nearby territories. It was a given that Queen Elisandra had become obsessed with obtaining more ground, more slaves and more of Faerie than the boundaries of the East where The Withering Palace, their home, could be found. Aveta rarely saw anything outside the walls of the palace, kept secluded and out of the reach of anything beyond this place. It made her curiosity flare up each time she saw them pour out of the exits of the castle, and disappear in legions into the surrounding forest.

  Days would pass before they’d return, either beaten or war torn from fierce battles that took heavy losses on both sides. The Unseelie soldiers, Faery and Sluagh alike would drag themselves back into the sanctuary of The Withering Palace, bleeding, dying or already gone, lost to the world or turning to dust as the land withdrew the magic that animated them. She’d watched battalion after battalion trudge back in, collapsing all over the place while hundreds of servants ran amuck to try and heal all the injured, the lost. It would be weeks before another battle could ensue, but it would happen again, and again.

  The Queen was never satisfied.

  Chapter Two

  “Never show them fear.” Her mother’s stern voice drilled into her head like a constant hum, vibrating her eye sockets to the point of unending pain. She’d been standing straight holding out the Queen’s staff and orb of the Unseeing, one in each hand. Her arms were wavering, shaking under the strain as her tears streamed down her flushed cheeks. It’d been what felt like hours, maybe just one, but the prickling pain enveloping her arms and shoulders no longer felt real to her. It came, took another little bit of her beaten heart and slammed it to the ground.

  These were the punishments for not living up to expectations. This was the payment required to continue on in the day when the Queen was upset and disappointed in all who served her. Elisandra was pure wickedness on these sorts of morns and Aveta usually was well versed in avoiding her at all costs. Not this day though. She’d had the misfortune of becoming the focus of her mother’s wrath after her father, King Seritus, the Queen’s First lieutenant, had argued with Elisandra about something or another. Aveta was never privy to their conversations, only to the torturous downpour of malice formed inside the Queen’s insanity from the confrontation.

  “You pathetic runt. You shake like a wilted flower, dripping your britches with foul smelling stench.” The queen shook her head before snatching her jeweled staff and orb out of Aveta’s clutches. She fingered the long, bejeweled symbol of power, her thin, delicate fingers lovingly stroking the rubies and emeralds strewn throughout the flashy staff.

  Aveta didn’t dare move, but did let her weak, tingling arms lower to her sides. She could barely feel them, the fiery, screaming pain long gone from them, replaced with a numbness that equaled the one in her heart. No longer crying, her tears had ceased to flow, replaced with nothing but hate and loathing.

  “A pity you will never be Queen, for I will rule forever.” Her mother’s hot breath whistled past her ear before the cold woman twirled and swished her long skirts out of the room.

  Aveta lets out the sob she she’d been holding, collapsing to the floor in pure exhaustion. It wasn’t even noon and her body begged for release. Her caretaker, Eladril rushed to her side, wiping her face as she pulled her into her warm chest, holding her slack weight with her strong and well used muscles.

  “Aveta, wake up. You mustn’t let it overtake you, this darkness. Here.” A cool rim touched Aveta’s lips and sloshed even colder fluid into her mouth. She gave a sputtering cough before she was able to control the liquid, letting it slide down her throat and into her core. The soothing draught worked quickly, reviving her into her previously alert self. The tingle in her strained arms dissipated as the blood returned into them, rushing to warm her frigid finger tips.

  “Let me die.” She turned away from Eladril, wanting to sink into the stone, silently praying to the walls to take her in and encase her in the infinite, cold stone. At least the stone could not feel pain, could not bleed, and could not have its soul crushed to oblivion.

  Take me, please, hide me in your cool embrace… she whispered to the dusty floor.

  “Hush, now child. There be none of that.” Eladril stood and dragged the girl to her feet, giving her a good jolting shake. “Get on your feet. You should be all right now, but do stay out of the Queen’s sight for the next few days if you can. I fear it won’t be long before she goes much too far with your fragile life.” She hugged Aveta and turned, grabbing the girl’s clammy hand and tugged gently, coercing her to follow. “Come.”

  Aveta said nothing. In fact, she did nothing to acknowledge her surroundings or the murmur of voices hissing all around her. She paid no mind to anyone as they crossed past rows of soldiers, snickering at her and her handmaiden. Eladril kept her grip firm as she continued to drag her on and on, to who knows where. Aveta did not care anymore.

  “Almost there,” The handmaiden tugged continually, squeezing Aveta’s fingers enough to bring her out of the fog she’d pulled taut about her. The girl stared ahead, the tears long smeared away but the tiny salt still clung to her skin. It felt dry, caked on and irritated her delicate skin. Only now, with the annoying sensa
tion did she bother to peek about, noticing that they were deeper into the castle dungeons than she’s ever been before.

  “Where are we?” Her voice sounded foreign, cold and disconnected.

  “A place to hide, whenever you need to.”

  She lifted an eyebrow to Eladril, her interest invested in such a mystery presented. What did the woman mean? What sort of hidden place could remain in this vast castle? Her curiosity peaked as they passed the dungeons into slim crevices that lined the walls and made it near impossible for Eladril to slip through. Aveta had no problem squeezing through the fissures, but the darkness creeping over them as the light became more and more suffocated by the darkness gripped her with fear.

  “Is it much farther?” Aveta’s lips trembled, the cool breeze shifting through the underground made her wonder if there was an exit nearby.

  “No, not much. Here,” Eladril stopped, kneeling down to Aveta’s level, holding out a small stone. It flared to life as the woman whispered over it and she cupped it into the girl’s tiny hands. “This will light the rest of the way for you. I’ll go through this once with you, and only once. I can never enter again after that, it has drained too much of my entity.”

  Aveta furrowed her brows, confused. “What do you mean?”

  Eladril rubbed her forehead and peered over her shoulder. “The labyrinth. It’s the last part of the dungeon. I heard your mother was going to place you here soon, in hopes that you won’t make it out. I’ve been here before, I know how to get in and out and that was to save my brother from certain death. The Labyrinth is as alive as the Withering Palace. The castle likes you though, a great advantage for its future queen. Do you hear it speak to you?”

  Aveta nodded, thinking about the frequent whispers from the walls which had plagued her since she could remember. They would speak warnings, which at first she’d ignored, but now, she knew better. It was the castle’s warnings of danger and whispering secrets to her. She’d often wondered if her mother heard the palace as she did. To this day, her mother had never given an indication that she had.

  “Well, listen to the walls, they’ll whisper to you the way to go if you really listen. It helped me get my brother out. The palace chooses those that are pure of heart, pure of power, regardless if we are Unseelie. Your mother hears no such voices. She is not the true ruler.” She smiled, smoothed Aveta’s raven colored hair back before standing straight again, staring at the leering entrance to the labyrinth.

  “What’s in there that drains our essence?” Aveta’s voice echoed across the slippery stone walls, smoothed over by time, water and slick moss. The labyrinth beyond felt like another world.

  “Darkness.” Eladril's voice bounced across the cavern walls until the stone absorbed it, leaving only silence and stifling air. “Whatever you see in there, don’t look at it. Remember, only you can make it real. I don’t see what you’ll see, you won’t see what I do. It will turn into your worst nightmares, but only you can make it stop.”

  “What if I do look at it? What happens?”

  Eladril lowered her gaze to the ground, paling in the illumination of the witch light. “Look at the darkness enough times and you wither to nothing, or worse….go mad and become one of them.”

  Aveta swallowed the knot formed in her throat. She tightened her grip around Eladril’s fingers, sweat already slicking across both their skins.

  “Why do I have to do this?”

  Eladril sucked in a breath and moments felt like an eternity before she answered.

  “You will be queen one day, and the challenge against your mother will not be easy. You will first match wits, then, if that does not choose a victor, the labyrinth is the second challenge. Whomever makes it through this labyrinth alive, claims the crown.”

  “Did my mother win that way?”

  Eladril’s fingers let her go as she kneeled down once more beside her. “Your mother won in a most treacherous way. Your grandmother was the rightful queen, but Elisandra killed her still. Queen Analise could’ve chosen her heir, too, which would’ve been you, eventually. But your mother, in her wicked ways, chose her destiny and damned herself for killing the rightful queen. The palace will never accept her as queen, it will never be rightfully hers. She will never have the full power of it. Only you can do this. You were born to.”

  She stood once more, lacing her fingers through the young princess’ hand.

  “What if I’m not strong enough to challenge her and win?” Aveta never felt smaller. Her mother scared her more than the sluagh creatures of her vast army.

  “You will. In time, you will be much stronger than you’ll ever imagine.”

  Chapter Three

  Stepping into the vast oblivion before them, the walls rose high above, stretching toward the darkened ceiling of the cavern. It disappeared beyond the witchlight, making it feel smaller than it was. Aveta struggled to not pull away from Eladril and run screaming from the monstrosity before them. The length of this leg of the Labyrinth looked endless before it sharply turned and faded into the inky blackness surrounding them.

  “Don’t look up, they come from all directions. Focus on stepping forward. It’s a labyrinth, but it’s not a traditional labyrinth. If it tests you long enough and fails, it will drop you out the other side. That’s what we need to focus on.”

  Aveta tilted her chin, biting down on her lip hard as each step crunched against the grit on the cavern floor. Nothing but their sharp, quick breaths could be heard above the silence, and it roared in her ears like a violent funnel. If it was really going to be as bad as Eladril said, she had to gather her wits and strength about her before she shivered her fear into being and her life was sucked away.

  No, she wouldn’t let that happen, there was no way to fail. It was this or certain death. There was nothing that could make her more determined to not die in this treacherous place. It made her want to live even more.

  The first few minutes were maddening more than anything else. Distant echoes of screeching things and flapping wings made her skin crawl. Only the constant tug from Eladril to keep moving kept her wits intact, though she doubted she could scream if she had to. The sandpaper her throat had morphed into stuck to itself. Even her heart was hammering loudly in her chest, almost drowning out the void of sparse noise before them.

  So this is what it felt to drown. If not, it was probably quite close to it. Even though they were immortal, faeries could still die from such mundane tragedies. Aveta preferred to never have to experience such a thing as dying. One day maybe, years from now, when time had left her bitter and cold, maybe then would she embrace the sweet arms of death. Until then, she’d make it through. There was no other choice.

  “Aveta…,” Eladril’s voice cut off as they turned down the first bend and stood face to face with two figures at the other end. They were wrapped in darkness, which was all they could tell from the distance. Still, as they walked forward, the two figures, one shorter than the other matched their pace and continued towards them at an equal stance.

  “I know, don’t look at them.”

  She could feel Eladril’s fear leak across her skin. The woman may have just been a handmaiden to the royal family, but she was an Empath, and had traits of an oracle, a faery gifted with telepathy, precognitive abilities and healing magic. She wasn’t strong enough to be considered special and under the Queen’s direct counsel, but she was gifted enough to be placed on the princess’ guard and servitude. Eladril’s long, brown hair was tied back in a twisted braid, weaved with intricate knots for it was so long. It complimented her creamy complexion well. Aveta hoped her long, black hair would be just as beautiful against her pale skin when she grew older. Though she considered herself beautiful, she didn’t believe that her beauty would ever match that of her mother’s or Eladril’s.

  The figures were just feet from them and the closer they approached, the colder the cavern air became. The stench of death filled Aveta’s nostrils, gagging her on the choking fumes.

&nbs
p; Don’t look at them, follow the ground, the dirt… the snakes?

  She gasped, no longer worried about the figures, who were now gone from sight while the ground was moving in slithering, shiny coils. She gripped Eladril’s hand as she stepped on one, feeling its body jerk under her boot, but she refused to look down again. The darkness ahead was all she could take as her eyes peeled wide open, half immersed in the witchlight shaking in Eladril’s palm and the closing dark.

  I can do this, I can do this.

  She wasn’t feeling positive as the words swirled about in her head. She felt the snakes coiling around her ankles, taking all she had to not kick at them.

  “Eladril?” The older faery seemed more grounded than Aveta, even though from their contact, the child could feel the growing dread emanating from her guardian. “What’s on the other side of the labyrinth?”

  The crawling sensation remained for few moments more, until it felt as if the ground had solidified and they were walking along the moist rock once more.

  “Well, it’s the exit of this cavern. It leads into another place, a safe one. But, there are dangers there too. It’s a territory of Faerie, but it’s not ruled by the Unseelie or the Seelie courts.”

  Fascinated, Aveta pressed on for more details. “What do you mean?”

  Eladril sucked in a breath, the air turning thicker as they took more turns in the tangle of halls and dead ends they kept running into. There were no imaginary threats here, but the constant turns and disorientation were frightening nonetheless.