by R. A. Rock
Finn was appalled.
“You would have eventually wasted away and died of wanting her.”
“Oh, that’s an exaggeration,” Perdira said, standing and waving her hands. A silvery dress that hugged her youthful frame appeared on her body.
“So you’re saying the tales aren’t true?” Tessa asked, staring her down.
Perdira tilted her head side to side. “Well, there may be some truth to them.”
“Stars above,” Finn muttered.
“And why do you look like that anyway?” Tessa asked. “Aren’t you thousands of years old?”
Perdira got a sullen expression on her face.
“I haven’t really got a body anymore,” she said. “And I find that men are much more interested in me when I look like this than when I show the last face I actually had in corporeal form.”
She suddenly shifted her face, and Tessa and Finn both involuntarily cried out in horror at the gaunt, nearly skeletal visage that appeared on that beautiful, lithe body. There was something so terrifying in the eyes that Finn felt Tessa shrink away from her in terror. He wrapped his arms around her, instinctively pulling her back.
“Stars save us, Perdira,” Tessa cried. “Stop.”
Perdira shifted her face back. “See?” She gave a trilling laugh that was as lovely as her face had been repulsive the moment before. “People prefer seeing the way I looked when I was young.”
“Uh, yes, I can see that,” Tessa said, wrenching herself out of Finn’s arms. “So, well, since you’re here, Perdira…” She cleared her throat. “My name is Tessa Callahan, and this is Finn Noble.” She gestured at him with one hand. “I have a request for you.”
“A request?” Perdira lifted one pretty eyebrow.
“A wish.”
“Ah.” The Faerie looked so pleased that it worried Finn. “And what is your request, Tessa Callahan?”
“Finn?”
Finn pulled the blades from the Otherworld and flourished them. “A long time ago, you made these Unity Blades for a Faerie named Maddock,” he said. Perdira’s eyes glowed for a moment at the name and then went back to their usual green. “He was my ancestor.”
“I need a pair of those blades,” Tessa said. “Please.”
“For the queen, Tessa? I think not.” Perdira turned her back and began walking out of the clearing.
“No, not for the queen,” Tessa said to her back.
Perdira turned around. She gave Tessa a look that showed Finn that she knew everything. So Tessa took a deep breath and told the truth.
“All right, yes, for the queen. But—”
“No buts, Tessa. I made the other set of blades to stop the queen and unify the land. I won’t provide her with the means to defeat them now. And especially not to save his life.” She indicated Finn with a lovely turn of her hand. “It’s not a good enough reason. Besides, you don’t want to pay the price anyway.”
Tessa frowned. “It’s to save both our lives.”
“No, it’s not. Ransetta would never kill you, Tessa.”
“What do you mean? If we don’t come back with the blades, we’ll both die. She’ll never let me walk away from such a failure, no matter how useful I’ve been to her over the years.”
“That’s funny,” Perdira said. “Is that what you think has allowed you to survive in the Dark Court all these years? That you’re useful?”
“Of—of course,” Tessa said, completely confused at this point.
“Right. A lot of useful Faeries die at the queen’s hand every single day, Tessa. How has—” She paused and then glanced at Finn with a mischievous look in her eyes. “He doesn’t know, right?”
“Doesn’t know what?” Tessa asked, but her tone was forced.
Perdira giggled again.
“Doesn’t know what?” Finn repeated, glancing back and forth between the two women. Was there something that Tessa wasn’t telling him?
“Not my secret to tell.” Perdira shrugged. “So, how has someone like you survived in the Dark Court this long?”
“Perdira.” Tessa’s voice held a note of warning.
“Don’t worry. I’m not going to tell. It’ll all come out eventually anyway.”
“What? What are you talking about? No. It can’t. She’ll kill me… I mean…” Tessa sputtered, clearly upset.
Finn was so perplexed by this time that he could hardly make heads nor tails of the conversation.
Perdira’s laughter was like the tinkling of little silver bells on a sunny day.
“Then what kept me safe all this time?” Tessa asked. And when Perdira didn’t answer, Tessa took a step toward her. “Tell. Me.”
Perdira blew out her breath, getting a grumpy look on her face as if Tessa had spoiled her fun.
“The Prophecy of course.”
“What prophecy?”
“The one about the Faerie that ends the Severance.”
Chapter 11
Finn was as awestruck as Tessa seemed to be about this revelation. How could it be possible that a dark Fae—as evil as Tessa must be—would be the one to end the Severance? It didn’t make sense. Perdira must be lying. It simply couldn’t be true.
He glanced around the clearing, wondering for a brief moment why it didn’t seem to be getting dark yet. It was summer, but even considering that, it should already be night. They had been in the swamp for hours. Perhaps time worked differently in Perdira’s Mire?
“The Faerie that ends the Severance?” Tessa asked Perdira, looking completely bewildered. “I don’t understand. Are you saying that I’m…”
“I’m not saying anything. And I can’t tell you anymore about the Prophecy. The spell won’t let me. Only the one who holds the Scroll knows the whole thing. But we ancient Faeries know enough. The queen would never dare kill you, Tessa. The only life you’re saving today is his. And I don’t think it’s worth it. Unless you want to pick up where we left off, Finn?”
Finn glared at Perdira, feeling furious that she had duped him and he had fallen for it. It didn’t matter that she had used magic. He should have noticed. He should have fought it. He felt like a complete fool.
“No? Well, then you’re not good for anything else. Why would I go to the trouble of creating another pair of such blades only to save his life? It would be silly.”
The ancient Faerie crossed her arms over her chest. At that moment, Finn had a flash of insight. He pulled Tessa aside and tried to explain what he had just figured out.
“Look, Tessa, you don’t have to do this anymore,” Finn said in a low tone. Tessa was missing the point of what Perdira had said. “The queen won’t kill you if you don’t come back with the blades. And I’m used to running.”
“What are you talking about, Finn? I have to get the blades.” Tessa gave him an incredulous look. Her brown hair had been braided, but tendrils were coming out and curling around her face, which had a smudge of dirt on the cheek.
“No, you don’t. This is an out. You don’t have to get them. Make up some story about what happened in the swamp. No one else will know. I can go on the run again. Today. Right now. It’ll be fine.”
“Finn, no. She’ll find you. Wherever you go.”
“I have a few hidey-holes where even she can’t follow, Tessa.”
“There’s nowhere that she can’t follow.”
“That’s where you’re wrong. Ransetta is all powerful in Ahlenerra, but she doesn’t have as much power outside the Fae lands. I could go to the mage lands or the Earthly Realm.”
“I think you’re foolish to believe you can outrun her, Finn.”
“But Tessa, it doesn’t make sense to—”
Tessa put her hand on Finn’s forearm, and her touch calmed him. She smiled and stood on tiptoe to give him a peck on the cheek.
“I know what I’m doing, Finn,” she whispered, and he saw in her eyes that she was still going to get the blades. “But thanks for your concern. No one has worried about me in a long time.”
Finn st
ared hard, unable to believe that she was really going through with this when she didn’t have to.
“Okay, you two lovebirds, if we’re done here, then I’ll just take off,” Perdira said. Tessa rolled her eyes at the Faerie’s words.
“Wait,” Tessa said to Perdira, holding out her hand for her to stop.
Perdira stayed where she was, seemingly intrigued.
“You still want the blades, Tessa? Even though you know that your own life is no longer at stake?” She considered this fact. “That’s pretty altruistic. Doesn’t sound like something one of the Dark Queen’s minions would do, now does it, Finn?”
In fact, it did not.
Tessa’s lips flattened into a hard line, and her eyes flitted to his and then back to Perdira. “I’m not a minion.”
Perdira snorted.
“And yes, I do still want the blades,” Tessa said, her face strong and unflinching. “It’s not right that Finn should die because it would be easier for me not to get them.”
“Tessa,” Finn started, but both women ignored him.
“You only say that because you don’t know what it will actually take to get the blades,” Perdira told her.
“I know what it will take.”
“Do you?”
Tessa nodded and spread her hands, taking a step toward the ancient Faerie, who just shook her head again.
“What if I said I would keep the blades for my own use, and I would only show the queen?”
“Not good enough.” Perdira shook her head. “She would force you to give them up. Change the spell over to her. You forget. I know Ransetta. I know what she can do.”
She headed out of the clearing again, a soft squelching sound coming from her shoes.
“What if I said I wouldn’t return to the queen?”
“Then you would be lying.” Perdira twisted around to face them again. “The only reason you came here was to get the blades for her.”
“What if I’ve changed my mind?”
“You haven’t.”
“Shadows take me,” Tessa swore under her breath.
Finn stepped in close to Tessa, catching a whiff of citrus that came from her hair. He put his hands on her shoulders and gazed at her. She stared up at him, her eyes large. Her brown curls had come out of their braid and were tumbling down her back. Finn wanted nothing more than to help and protect her. At the moment, he was having a hard time remembering that she was evil.
“You really want this?” he asked, searching her eyes. “You want to get the blades?”
“I have to, Finn,” she said, with no sign of fear.
He nodded.
“All right.” Finn faced Perdira again.
The ancient Faerie had started walking again and was reaching the edge of the clearing. Finn had a feeling if she disappeared into the swamp again, she would not reappear, and they would never be able to leave. Just like all the other travelers who had come in and had never come out.
“I can get an Otherworld sheath,” Finn said, without raising his voice. His words carried easily across the clearing. Perdira froze, then turned on her heel to look at him, speculation in her eyes.
“If she had an Otherworld sheath,” he went on, speaking firmly to keep his voice from trembling, “that would keep the Unity Blades safe from the queen. Because even the queen can’t remove something from the Otherworld. And she wouldn’t be able to force the person to remove it, either.”
Perdira narrowed her eyes at Finn.
“If she had one,” he went on hastily, “would you give her the blades? Grant her wish?”
“Where would you get an Otherworld sheath?” the Faerie asked, mistrust in her eyes. “You don’t just find those growing on trees.”
“Not your business,” he said, his tone clipped. “Answer the question. If she had one, would you give her the blades? Would you grant her wish?”
“Two heroes,” Perdira said, as if talking to herself. “Who’d have thought?”
“Would you grant her wish?” he asked again, steel in his voice.
Perdira got another pouty look on her face and folded her arms. “I guess I would, then,” she said, seeming put out that she no longer had a reason to refuse.
“Good.” Finn flashed Tessa a smile that was meant to reassure her. He wasn’t certain it was doing its job, though, since she only scowled. He held up his hand, and Perdira crossed the clearing.
“You sure you want to do this, Finn?”
“Of course I do,” he said, not paying any attention to the quiver of fear in his guts.
“What?” Tessa glanced back and forth between the two of them. “Finn, no.”
“Don’t worry,” he told Tessa.
Perdira pressed her palm against Finn’s to seal his promise to get the Otherworld sheath, and it was done.
When he touched the ancient Faerie, Finn shivered as a wave of lust passed through him. He nearly couldn’t control himself. He wanted so badly to take Perdira’s youthful form again.
He pressed his lips together, controlling his body, and it faded when she took her hand away. Then Perdira gave him a smile that promised so much satisfaction if he would only give in that he had to stop himself from groaning again.
Finn drew in a deep breath, composing himself, and then tilted his head to look at the Captain of the Guard.
“Okay then, Tessa,” he said, trying not to think about what he had just agreed to. “Ask away.”
Tessa felt a little nervous and somewhat foolish as she was put on the spot to make her wish to Perdira. The swamp around her was completely still as if holding its breath.
“Uh, is there any format I should use?”
“Starting with ‘I wish’ is pretty standard,” Perdira said.
“Fine,” Tessa said. “I wish—”
Then Perdira interrupted her. “I’m sorry, but I feel obliged to tell you that the wish doesn’t come with no strings attached. There is a—shall we say—a cost to making a wish with me. It’s the only way I’ve been able to survive this long.”
“Yes, I know.”
“In exchange for granting your wish, I will take the thing you want most in life. Your heart’s desire.”
“I understand,” Tessa said, feeling bleak.
She was never going home to the Light Court. She would never be able to have what she wanted more than anything. That was what the blades would cost. But it was what she had to pay if she wanted to stay alive. What else was she supposed to do?
“Oh? You understand? You do?”
“Yes,” Tessa said, a little impatience creeping into her voice. “I do. Let’s just get this over with.”
Perdira laughed. “You’re certainly the most reluctant wisher I’ve come across, except for maybe his ancestor.” She jerked her thumb at Finn.
“So you won’t…” Tessa said, feeling worried again—or maybe still.
“Yes, yes, I’ll grant your wish. Don’t worry. You meet my criteria. You want it badly. But it’s almost as if you want it against your will.” She wrinkled her nose. “It’s an odd situation.”
Perdira seemed to think about this for a long moment.
“But enough wasting time,” she said. “Wish.”
Tessa took a deep breath. “I wish for—” She paused. How to phrase it? “I wish for a set of Unity Blades exactly like the ones Finn is carrying in his Otherworld sheath. Please make them exactly the same in every possible way. No tricks, Perdira.”
As soon as she stopped speaking, the strange wind began to blow again.
“No tricks,” Perdira said, her eyes wide and innocent. “Of course not.”
Finn gave the ancient Faerie a troubled look. He had a day’s growth of stubble on his cheeks, and the bruises Tessa had given him when they had fought were still purple. He looked formidable, and for a moment, Tessa was glad she wasn’t alone. She had been facing the world by herself for so long, she hardly knew what it was like to have a friend who had her back.
“No tricks,” he repeat
ed.
“I wouldn’t dream of it,” Perdira said, again with an even more guileless expression on her beautiful face, which only made Tessa more wary. “This is no trick. Just the usual payment for the wish.”
All of a sudden, Tessa felt a terrible pain throughout her whole body. She screamed in agony. The wind continued to pick up speed, swirling into a vortex. Without warning, she was lifted off the ground, her chest pulled upward, her arms hanging down below her body. She twisted and writhed in the air, trying to get away from the pain, but she felt as though she were held in place by an invisible force.
She could hear Finn shouting her name, but the whirlwind was becoming more powerful, and the intensity of the torment was increasing along with it. When she thought she could bear it no longer and would die, the wind suddenly and completely died, dropping her in the pool.
Except that it wasn’t the shallow pool that they had seen earlier. It was another part of the mire—muddy, brackish, and tepid. She tried to swim to the top, but the water held her as firmly as the air had, and she struggled to get out. Her oxygen was rapidly running out, and she held on as black spots began to appear in front of her eyes.
Please, please don’t let me die like this. Not like this.
She began to feel woozy and like she just had to breathe in, but she resisted the urge a little longer, hoping against hope that somehow she might yet be saved.
She felt herself losing the fight, and her urge to breathe was going to kick in at any moment. Shadows and Chasm, but this wasn’t the way she had imagined her death. Her life given for nothing. On a fool’s errand for the Dark Queen. What a waste.
At the moment when she knew she was dead, she was dragged out of the water and dropped, this time into a deep hole in the ground. Without warning, she was on fire. She was burning and burning. She wailed, unable to believe she had brought this suffering down upon herself. The blades weren’t worth it. Serving the King and the Light Court wasn’t worth it. Nothing was worth this. Nothing.
“Tessa!” Through the roaring of the inferno surrounding her, she heard Finn’s voice. And then, unbelievably, she felt his hand grabbing hers and yanking her out of the fire.