Blade of the Fae

by R. A. Rock

  “It’s fine. I mean, I really wish she was here. But seeing her again will have to wait.” She frowned. “I’m better, Finn, but not better enough. The Healer won’t give me any more Elixir. Says that it’s dangerous to give too much because the magic may surge and destroy the patient.”

  “Tessa, that’s because it is dangerous, and too much Elixir can kill you.”

  She sighed. “I know. But the queen’s patience will not last much longer. And I can’t even practice with this hand.”

  Finn pressed his lips together. “There’s nothing we can do about the queen’s patience. You should maybe be resting. You might heal faster.”

  “I’m resting,” she said with a graceful shrug of one shoulder. “I’m just resting here. I hate lying in bed when I’m not sleeping.”

  “At least you can walk around,” he said, putting a long-suffering look on his face in the hopes of making her smile. She didn’t. “The ankle is pretty much back to full strength, but the Healer says if I walk on it too soon, I may have a setback.”

  “And we can’t have any setbacks,” Tessa said, her face serious.

  “No,” Finn said, his happy feeling turning solemn. It was easy to forget that they were still in a dangerous situation when they were surrounded by all this luxury. And this part of the castle was only for the guards.

  Tessa turned and looked out the window again so that he could see her face only in profile.

  “I’m going to tell the queen we can do the demonstration next week. We’ll just have to be ready, Finn.”

  “Next week? Stars above, Tess. It’s too soon.”

  “I know, I know. But I’m pretty sure she won’t wait much longer than that anyway. And it’ll hopefully give us some time to train.”

  “Train?” Finn asked unhappily. She was as stubborn and strong as she was beautiful, but he wouldn’t let her do that. “No.”

  “What do you mean, no?” she asked, getting up and coming over to sit on the edge of his bed.

  “The healer said no using it for another week. Only then are you supposed to start exercising it.”

  “So?” she asked.

  “So, you have to heal as much as possible. Otherwise, you won’t be able to do anything, and you will definitely slice yourself. You can’t train before we have to show the queen. Otherwise, you’ll definitely kill either yourself or me during the demonstration.”

  “Are you telling me that we are going to have to do this in front of the entire Dark Court and the queen with my training incomplete and no practice at all beforehand?”

  “Yes,” Finn said, nodding unhappily. “Pretty much.”

  “Shadows take me,” Tessa cursed.

  “We can’t knit bones or affect how much patience the queen has,” Finn said. “Over those things, we have no control. We just have to trust the Stars, Tessa. Because there’s no one and nothing else that can save us.”

  There was a heavy quiet in the room.

  “Chasm and Severance, Finn,” Tessa said, picking lint balls off the bedspread. “I’m truly afraid one of us is going to die.”

  “Tess.”

  “You know it’s possible.”

  “It is. But you can’t think like that.”

  “How should I think, then?”

  Finn caught her hand. “That we’ll get through this.” He captured her gaze, his heart pounding so loudly he thought she would hear it. “Together.”

  Tessa looked surprised. “What do you mean?”

  “We got through a lot worse when we were on our quest because we worked together. Didn’t we?”

  Tessa seemed stunned by the idea. “I… don’t usually work with anyone,” she said, her eyes troubled.

  Does she really hate the thought of working with me that much, Finn wondered. He pulled his hand away from hers, irrationally hurt by her words, but he covered it up with a rational explanation.

  “Not forever. Just for this. Just for the demonstration. To keep us both safe. We’ll figure something out so that neither of us dies.”

  “Just for the demonstration?”

  “Yes.”

  She nodded. “Fine. I can do that.”

  An unexpected feeling of satisfaction filled Finn at the thought of them continuing to be partners. But he ignored it. Tessa didn’t want them to be together, and he ought to keep that in mind and not get a bunch of silly ideas in his head about having her all to himself. At least he could spend a few more days with her before he had to go on the run again.

  That will have to be enough, he thought, because Tessa will never be mine.

  Chapter 25

  Tessa stood before the queen in the arena. She was wearing the outfit that she had been forced to don for this demonstration. And she figured that the queen was either amusing herself or trying to embarrass Tessa. She needn’t have bothered. Tessa could fight in anything. And she wasn’t modest in the least.

  It was a warrior bra that had metal inserts to protect her breasts. The leather covered the metal, and it was tightly secured in the back. The shirt, if it could be called that, left her midriff and arms bare. She wore a short leather skirt that matched the bra. And her hair was tied back in a ponytail that was braided. Sturdy boots protected her feet.

  Finn was on the other side, wearing only brown leather pants and chest armor, which left his muscled arms, his tight abs, and his sides bare. He also had on boots.

  Ransetta’s idea was no doubt that the more flesh showing, the more places from which blood might flow. The Dark Court loved their blood.

  Tessa was deeply concerned that she might mess up and kill herself. Or maybe she would kill Finn. Or more likely, Finn might kill her. These weapons were extremely deadly, she now understood, and were not suitable for a demonstration.

  Tessa looked away. She couldn’t look at Finn. After all that they had been through together, she didn’t want either of them to die. She wasn’t sure what life would be like if Finn wasn’t in it. She simply couldn’t imagine it anymore. If he was gone, there would be nothing but an empty hole.

  “Callahan, you clean up well,” Ransetta said, her serpent smile sending shivers up Tessa’s spine. “Are you ready? Let’s get this started.”

  Tessa nodded, not trusting herself to speak.

  “Well, then, show me the blades,” the Dark Queen said, her eyes greedy.

  Tessa hesitated only a moment and then reached at her sides, intending to retrieve the blades. A moment later, they were in her hands, no sheaths on the razor-sharp metal.

  She took a deep breath and focused on the feeling of the Starlight within her, allowing it to focus her energy. Then she began to spin the blades. First, one, and then they were both moving—spirals of death rotating around her slender wrists, which were so easily slit. She flipped and whipped them around her hands, making it look easy.

  She blocked out all the sound, the yelling, the jeering—everything. The only thing she was focused on was spinning the blades. Over, under, around her hands. The moment stretched, and still, she spun them. They were nearly a blur, she was moving them so fast. And then suddenly, she felt that it was time to stop.

  She spun them several more times and then caught them, facing the queen. She was breathing hard, and when she stopped, the world crashed in again. Tessa could hear the crowd, mostly all cheering now. Finn stepped up behind her, so close she could feel his heat.

  But she didn’t take her eyes off the queen. Ransetta was looking at her. And it wasn’t the usual disinterested or calculating expression. The Dark Queen was looking at her with something that approached admiration—as well as wariness.

  Finn found he was holding his breath as he watched Tessa spinning the blades. She had had no practice for over a week. The only thing she had done was a warmup a few minutes before they’d come out here.

  Please let her not slip up. Please let her not slip up.

  Because a mistake in this case meant her cutting her wrists and possibly dying.

  Time slowed down as she fli
pped the weapons around, and he held perfectly still until she finally caught them. He was so proud of her that he wanted to throw his arms around her, pick her up, and swing her around and around.

  But this certainly wasn’t the place for that sort of reaction. So instead, he stepped up behind her as close as he could. Her shoulders were moving up and down from her breathing. She had been as scared as he had.

  But they weren’t done yet.

  “Impressive, Callahan,” the Dark Queen said.

  “Thank you, my queen,” Tessa said, bowing her head.

  “Proceed,” Ransetta said, and Finn gave a nod. That was his cue. He moved to the middle of the arena and lifted his arms wide, palms up. The uproar continued for some time until they noticed him and quieted down.

  “We will begin,” Finn said, not needing to lift his voice because the acoustics in the arena took it and amplified it so that even those sitting in the highest seats could hear. And Finn commanded such presence that the mad denizens of the Dark Court actually stilled, the arena becoming absolutely silent.

  “First, we will demonstrate with the sheaths on so that we can give you a sense of how the blades are used.”

  Some people booed.

  “And so we can be more vicious,” Finn added, a devilish look on his face. The crowd roared until Finn lifted his hands, and again, they quieted.

  “Then the sheaths come off,” he said. There was a ring of steel in his voice Tessa had never heard before. “And the blood will spill.”

  The crowd cheered again and began chanting blood, blood, blood, blood. At that point, Tessa knew there was no calming them. The only thing to do was to fight.

  She faced off against Finn, keeping her weight low, and whipped out the blades, which were covered with the magical leather sheaths that they had used when they were training. They both held the blades with the curves facing up.

  Tessa waited, touching the Starlight within her, and found the calm she needed. She drew in a breath and danced back as Finn lunged at her. Tessa blocked his arm with her wrist, again and again, as he repeatedly attempted to cut her without holding back in the least.

  Finn’s eyes were serious, and Tessa could tell he wasn’t pulling any punches just because she wasn’t finished with her training. He had said he wouldn’t, but she supposed that she hadn’t really believed it.

  Of course, she had been the one who said that he should not hold back, that the queen would know something was up or that Tessa wasn’t as trained as she wanted to be or whatever. It would show weakness if he did. And the queen ate weakness for breakfast. So he was fighting hard. But it still surprised her.

  Finn slashed with big strikes across her body, and Tessa evaded him. He came in for a cut at the neck, and she blocked and then twisted her hand so the sheathed blade hooked around his wrist, effectively pinning his hand. When fighting with the blades sheathed, you could use the curved blades to control your opponent, and that was precisely what she was doing—exactly as he had taught her.

  As he tried to hit her with the other blade, she caught his other wrist in the same way and held his pinned hands together, moving them down between them. Then she headbutted him and pushed him back. He stumbled, dazed.

  He gathered himself and moved in to attack again with a similar move on the other side. Tessa repeated her defense but, this time, used the blade to twist his arm and push it to the side, baring his forearm. Without thinking, she slashed it. The crowd screamed with pleasure because Tessa had drawn first blood—even though there was no blood. Yet.

  Finn seemed surprised, and Tessa couldn’t tell if he was acting or not. He swiped in long straight-armed arcs at her, and she ducked a few times, then turned under one of his strikes. Coming out behind him, she twisted his arm, forcing him to bend over, and kicked him as hard as she could in the calf. She would have cut across his neck, but he fell down, using the momentum to roll away from her slash.

  Finn was on his feet in a moment, attacking again. Strike after strike, Tessa blocked until he hooked her arm in the same way she had done to him. With the other hand, he made a ripping stroke for her belly. Tessa pulled her body back just in time, and the blade whooshed through the air, nearly cutting across her abdomen.

  She used the blunt ends of the blade to land a couple hits to Finn’s arms, which he blocked. And one to the head that he didn’t. She pressed the advantage and knocked him off balance so he fell to his knees. Tessa kicked out for his chest and, as soon as she hit him, realized her mistake.

  He had let her hit him, and he grabbed her leg, slashing across the back of her knee and effectively crippling her. The crowd was screaming, but then they began chanting for blood again.

  Tessa had lost.

  That was not good.

  The queen held up one hand, and the insane crowd was instantly quiet. Nobody would make noise when Ransetta didn’t want noise. Neither would they be silent when she wanted them to be rowdy. Everyone knew what happened when the Dark Queen’s whims weren’t catered to.

  “That’s enough. Captain of the Guard, please approach.” The queen no longer seemed pleased.

  “I see that you can use the weapon,” Ransetta said, showing some concern, and that surprised Tessa. “But you were to have mastered it. Can you hold your own with the blades in a true fight?”

  “I can,” Tessa said, hoping that it was true.

  “Good,” the Dark Queen said, looking relieved. “I’m glad to hear that because I have decided to make the night’s entertainment a tad more—shall we say—entertaining.”

  “Your majesty?” Tessa asked, feeling worried but trying not to show it.

  “How about you show your skill with the blades on my favorite monster?”

  “What?”

  “Well, I was going to make you kill the handsome thief or maybe have him kill you, but that seemed a bit clichéd and overdone. So, I came up with something better.”

  Tessa turned to see where the queen was looking. She clenched her jaw when she saw the door open and a seemingly harmless humanoid figure emerge.

  “A Char, your grace?” Tessa asked, glancing in dismay at Finn, whose eyes got wide. “I can’t fight a Char.”

  “You can. And you will. With your pet thief.”

  “We’re supposed to fight it together?” Tessa asked, feeling a tiny bit better for half a second, but the relief quickly evaporated since there was no way she would be selfish enough to let Finn be a part of this doomed battle. She wished she could have Finn on her side when she fought that monster.

  But she couldn’t let Finn face that thing. Not if she could save him.

  “Of course, together,” Ransetta said. “You’re partners.”

  “No.” Tessa gave her head a shake. “We’re not partners. We’re nothing. This is my fight. I’m Captain of the Guard. I’ll face it alone.”

  “Oh?” the Dark Queen asked, her face deceptively innocent looking. “You’d be willing to die to protect this man?”

  She glanced at Finn with speculation, and Tessa felt her stomach clench, knowing she needed to stop that thought before it went any further.

  “Die to protect the thief?” she asked, injecting incredulity and disbelief into her tone. “Of course not. I always work alone. He will only get in my way.”

  “I see.” The queen studied her for a moment longer, and then Tessa saw her interest in Finn fading, since she was not going to be able to torment Tessa by taking him from her.

  “I felt that you needed a challenge, Callahan,” the queen said, sitting back and crossing her legs. She was wearing a slinky green dress tonight that made her look like nothing more than an evil serpent. “I think you may be starting to go soft after being Captain of the Guard for so long. That’s why I’ve designed three tests that will show me your mettle and your loyalty. They will show whether you still deserve to have my trust and your position in the Dark Court.”

  “Yes, your majesty,” Tessa said, trying to sort out what Ransetta was up to.

&
nbsp; “The quest for the blades was the first test. This fight is the second.”

  And there would be a third. Tessa wondered what it would be. Nothing good. She knew that.

  “So you will fight the Char with the thief as ordered. If he gets in your way, it will only make the challenge more interesting.”

  A challenge the queen had called it? A test? Tessa guessed that was one way of describing fighting a Char. Or you could call it certain death. Yeah, that was probably more accurate.

  “Let the fight begin,” Ransetta said, flourishing her hands. “My champions will best the Char or die trying.”

  The crowd went wild, jumping to their feet and screaming, and she knew that they were hoping for the latter. They were excited to see Tessa and Finn die, not to watch them win.

  “Finn, we’re in trouble,” Tessa said as she stood beside Finn, stripping the leather sheaths off the blades. “She wants us to fight that thing.”

  “Don’t worry,” Finn said, pulling the sheaths off his own blades. “We can do this.”

  “How? Fighting a Char is impossible. No one has ever survived.”

  “We will,” Finn said.

  “How?” Tessa said again.

  “By working together. Just like in Perdira’s Mire. Just like in the monster lair. We’ve got this, Tess.”

  Tessa stared into his brown eyes that held nothing but conviction, and she suddenly felt that it was possible. That maybe they could survive.

  Finn walked calmly over to the edge of the arena and dropped their sheaths on the floor. He then returned to where Tessa stood in the middle. With an exchanged glance, they began flipping the blades faster and faster. Tessa couldn’t help but feel a sense of satisfaction at how good she was with the blades, considering how short of a time she had been training with them.

  Then the Char began moving toward them, and she thought that it was probably a good thing that she was enjoying these moments because they were likely to be her last.