Yew Queen Trilogy

by Eve A Hunt

  Baccio glanced over a shoulder at them, grinning in a way that made me feel very throat-punchy. If we did make it back to the castle and the curse still demanded a sacrifice at the end of the month, I knew exactly who I was shoving out the door. Lucus loved him, sure, but he would be so much better off without that toxic ass in his life, and if they were forced to choose, murdering Baccio was the lesser evil.

  With all of them busy and the queen and her daughter taking Nora around to what I guessed were the higher-up fae nobles, now was the perfect time to see why Arleigh’s guards hadn’t brought Kaippa here yet.

  I jerked my chin at Hekla, who was picking at a piece of pie and doing her best to ignore a fae with a braided mohawk. Was he ignoring the whole fae manners thing and luring her?

  “Hekla!”

  She didn’t budge. Crap.

  “Hey, handsome!” I shouted. About nine heads turned, and I rolled my eyes, rushing over. I jerked mohawk guy away. “Leave her alone. Queen Arleigh promised you would not lure my human servant, asshole.”

  He smiled and slithered away, disappearing into the crowd like the eel he was. I shook Hekla, who whirled and stood so quickly she nearly headbutted me in the chin. She hugged me, practically cracking a rib.

  “Thank you, Coren. I didn’t know how long I could hold off. I wanted to take him right here on the ground.”

  “I know the feeling. Now, let’s get out of here before the party gets quiet.” I tugged her through the manic dancers toward the dressing area, hoping any guards watching might just think we were going to freshen up. Hopefully, Lucus would untangle himself pronto and join us on the circuitous route toward the drop cells.

  “This is swell,” I whispered.

  Hekla and I were hiding in the trees, blades of moonlight scattered around our fae-clothed bodies. At first glance, the drop cells seemed to sit on a solid bank of gray rock. But as Hekla and I crept closer, it became clear how horrifying this fae prison truly was. The rock looked like a flat palm hanging over a drop. A glistening river flowed through a valley that had to be over one thousand feet down.

  The chilly wind stirred the vine wings and longish hair of four fae guards who stood in front of the cells looking appropriately thuggish. Shuffling noises came from the first cell, but since the walls were mostly made of magically hewn stone, I couldn’t see whether it was Oliver—the Binder’s son—or Kaippa. Although not having to rescue more than just those two made this job easier, it wasn’t exactly comforting that the unseelie fae didn’t have a slew of folks captive. It only meant they did other things to those they captured. A fleeting thought about the meat we’d been served at the feast ran through my head. No, I told myself. They weren’t eating people. They probably just killed them.

  You knew things sucked when being murdered instead of murdered and eaten was a comfort.

  I handed Hekla one of the fae knives from my boot and tucked the other one into my belt. Lucus had Nora’s blade, and I kept glancing behind me to see if he would walk up, ready for this jail break. Where was he? It wasn’t like we had all night. Arleigh didn’t seem the forgetful type. She’d quickly notice we were gone.

  After gritting my teeth, fearing every second Corliss or another freaky-ass unseelie would surprise us and slice our heads off, I finally gave into my impatience and waved Hekla around the long way through the forest. We followed a downward sloping path until we stood alongside the cliff face underneath the overhang.

  Nausea swamped me. It wasn’t like I hadn’t been around high spots like this. I’d loved climbing the Muir Route on El Cap with Hekla last fall. We’d done plenty of high climbs. But we sure as hell hadn’t done them without gear. I was no North Face-sponsored Alex Honnold. And we definitely hadn’t been dealing with danger like this in order to save two people’s lives. It’d been a rush, a test of our skills, a challenge that had woken us up from the regular day-to-day monotony. But this was altogether different.

  Hekla was studying the cliff face alongside me. If I ended up having to traverse and climb to the cells, I’d need to have a route picked out. Ideally, I’d have a long time and a bucket load more light to do this. A series of cracks on the rock’s surface would be fantastic, but thus far I couldn’t see one.

  Please get here, Lucus, I prayed silently.

  My chest went cold, and I grabbed Hekla’s hand, desperate to feel her warm fingers, to know she was alive and well. I wanted her—and everyone else—away from this shit show and back home where we could bake a rustic loaf of rosemary bread and stuff ourselves to bursting with beautiful, wondrous carbs.

  Hekla gave me a sad smile. Her thick, ebony bangs brushed her eyelashes, and her blue eyes had lost their cornflower color in the pale light of the moon.

  At any moment, we would be discovered and skewered or choked in vines. Lucus must’ve been stopped, and I had to get this thing going.

  “Keep an eye out,” I whispered, glad for the rushing of the breeze through the dry autumn leaves at our feet.

  My hands sweating like crazy, I started forward to see if I could find a good spot to start to traverse.

  Hekla jerked me backward, away from the sloping mountain’s drop. “He’ll get here. Just wait.”

  I looked up, watching for the shadow of guards moving on the moonlit trees. “We can’t stand out here all night.”

  I had to do it. I had to get on that insane cliff face in the middle of the damn night and climb up to free a little boy and a vampire. I shut my eyes and willed myself to believe I could do it and that I wasn’t about to become a smear on the distant valley below.

  Chapter 27

  As I mentally prepared myself for a free climb—as if there were any way one could properly do such a thing—Hekla swallowed, looking like she might puke.

  She eyed the rock face. “There,” she whispered, and pointed to a dish, a small indent in the stone that sat only a foot away from the sloping hillside.

  After one last hopeful glance at the forest behind us, I tugged off my boots and socks and adjusted the fae blade at my belt.

  “I could go back and try to find a rope, at least,” Hekla whispered, her hands on her knees as she bent over to talk into my ear. “This is crazy.”

  “No time. They’ll kill us.”

  Wincing, she turned her head. “I know.” Seemingly resigned, she patted my back as I stood.

  Wind flew up the cliff face and tossed my braided hair as I reached over the drop to grip a tiny, diagonal crack in the rock. I stretched my foot out and set my toes in the dish, quickly searching for a crack for my other hand. I could almost feel Hekla’s fear humming through the night, hitting me in rhythmic waves.

  The first of the drop cells hung directly over my head and cast a shadow over what would be the last part of the climb. My eyes would adjust though. Right? Sure. I was going with that. I pushed up from the dish and grabbed a tiny shelf, moving my other foot to find a new, higher spot to press into. The rock wasn’t sandy—a serious plus—but I did notice a waxy quality to it here and there as I made my way higher, closer to the first cell.

  The metallic odor of blood hit my nose, and I swallowed a bitter taste on my tongue. Whoever was in there wasn’t feeling fantastic.

  “I’m touched, Coren,” Kaippa whispered.

  I sucked a breath, heart pounding. “Keep quiet, vamp. Unless you want your ticket out of here to plunge to her death.”

  The bottom of the drop cell consisted of vines woven loosely from stone wall to stone wall. I couldn’t see Kaippa, but from his voice, I could tell he was nearby and leaning toward me.

  “Oh, right.” I could feel Kaippa’s breath on my forehead as I worked the fae knife out of my belt. “You’re only saving me because you think my presence might be necessary back at the cursed castle, that the magic and its rules might decide to kill your precious Lucus if I’m not there. Who knows how the curse will work now that we’ve twisted it? Where is Lucus anyway? I would think someone with wings would be more suited to this task.”
/>   A pounding came from the door. My foot slipped. Heart seizing, I gripped the cliff face with shaking fingers and pressed into the foot that still had a spot along the rock wall.

  Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Hekla move, most likely trying to see if I was about to perish in a really epic way. The breeze carried the scent of pines, and I wondered if Lucus would ever show or if he was trapped by Arleigh and Corliss.

  A rough voice followed the pounding on the cell door. “Shut your mouth, prisoner. I’m hungry, and your tongue might make an interesting meal.”

  Kaippa snorted, and the vines moved as he seemed to change positions.

  With my foot tucked into a fissure a little too far away to be comfortable, I set the fae blade against one of the vines, then dragged the sharp, amber edge against the green growth.

  Shrieking erupted from the vines, and I flattened myself against the rock face as they slithered away to crawl up the stone walls of Kaippa’s cell. His shout of surprise rose at the same time as a younger voice called out.

  Oliver.

  The vines drew completely away, and there was no floor.

  “He’s hanging on!” Hekla called out from the slope. There was no use trying to be quiet about this now.

  Kaippa flew from the bottom of his cell, his wings buffeting me as he passed by, heading for the next cell, for the Binder’s son. So Kaippa’s wings were functional. Good. I leaned back as much as I dared and saw small, thin legs dangling from the outcropping, but just as Kaippa swooped over to grab him, the boy dropped.

  I screamed, my throat burning, my heart snapping, my fingers and toes shaking hard. Too hard. I was going to fall too. Adrenaline raced through me, making my head light. I did NOT want to die, damn it. I had so much more to do in life!

  My foot slipped, then my fingers.

  “Love you, Hekla!” I shouted as my body peeled away from the cliff face.

  The world was a blur. I couldn’t think. I didn’t feel.

  And then something hit me hard. But it wasn’t the ground.

  Powerful, warm arms. The drop and lift of wingbeats. I blinked and saw Lucus’s face above me. And then there was a flash of darkness beside us—Kaippa flying toward Hekla’s spot on the slope, one tiny little boy lodged under an arm. I’d never been more grateful in my life.

  “Nice catch,” I croaked out.

  Lucus almost smiled as he set me down next to Hekla. My bestie was covered in glistening tears and probably a good bit of snot, and that was fine with me. I hugged the hell out of her before I spotted blood spatter on Lucus’s arm and neck.

  “Don’t worry.” He glanced toward where the guards had been. “It’s theirs, not mine. They’re dead. Now, we need to get back to the feast before we’re found out.”

  Hekla and Lucus—the gorgeous beings they were—bent to help me put my socks and boots back on, and I sobbed for a minute like a baby. But man, I dared anyone to deal with all of that and not have a good cry.

  Kaippa knelt beside Oliver, who was dressed in a ragged tunic and looked like he hadn’t eaten in days. The vampire wiped the boy’s face with a thumb and studied what looked like a small cut.

  Standing, Kaippa brushed himself off. “This little worm is fine. I’m not sure I care, but I enjoyed the challenge of catching him.”

  I smiled shakily as Lucus helped me to stand on my wobbly legs. He pressed a quick kiss to my temple, his presence whirling around me like a sudden storm of desire.

  “You are a brave fool, Coren, and I adore you, may the earth save me.”

  My body seemed to suck some strength from his nearness, and I stood a little straighter. “I would tell you I adore you too, but it might seem fake considering you just saved my life. Again.”

  “I don’t care about the reason. I only want your affections.”

  Hekla was feeding Oliver something from her pocket. His eyes were as round as cereal bowls. He watched her like she was the most fascinating thing he’d ever seen. Maybe she was? I mean, how often had he come across a regular old human. Not that those with mage blood looked different from humans. I swallowed a bitter taste on the back of my tongue. I still wasn’t wild about thinking of myself as a non-human.

  “We have to get back. How about Kaippa and Hekla keep a good watch on Oliver here while Lucus and I return to the feast? I can tell the Binder everything. Keep Oliver in that room where you changed, Hekla. Okay? It’s as safe as anywhere.”

  Kaippa’s eyebrows lifted. “Which is to say nowhere is safe.”

  “Correct.”

  Lucus walked to a stream that ran behind a stand of sycamores. He washed the blood off himself as we all tidied ourselves up as best we could.

  Lucus and I left first, thinking that if we ran into more guards or someone checking up on all of us, then we could at least hold them off until Hekla and the two former prisoners could find a way around and into hiding.

  Puddles of moonlight made the nighttime forest glow as we walked down the path. A shuffling sounded from the brush, and two owls called back and forth, mournful and haunting. The quiet and the fear of what we’d been through turned the near dark into something more intimate than a mere stroll in the woods. I walked closer to Lucus, longing to feel the pleasure of his lure and to hear him say something that would make me feel less like we were about to walk back into the lion’s den. Maybe he sensed my wish, because he began to talk.

  “I thought you were gone to me, Coren.” Sounding angry, he stared into the distance, his jaw working and his cloak pulling tight over the muscles in his shoulders. “After all this time, my long, long life, I’ve finally found a woman who fits my soul.”

  My cheeks heated along with my heart. He fit me too. The way he did things in such a practical manner. How he thought of others before himself. His courage under fire. The way he adored my pancakes. This relationship was new, but it was solid and so, so good. “Too bad I’m a nasty mage, eh?”

  He chuckled. “I guess not all mages are terrible. I wonder if Oliver has any power.”

  “I’d have thought he’d have escaped if he had. He’s a kid. He wouldn’t consider the consequences.”

  “Perhaps he tried.”

  “Come to think of it, why didn’t Kaippa try to escape? He could’ve tried to rip the vine floor of his cell with his nails or his teeth, couldn’t he?”

  Lucus’s glanced at me, his face grave. “Didn’t you notice his fangs?”

  I shook my head.

  “The unseelie filed them down. They broke off the claws at the tips of his wings and ripped his nails from his fingers as well.”

  “Holy shit. I didn’t even notice. He acted totally fine.”

  “Except he didn’t escape before you came for him.”

  Dang. Ripped fingernails sounded like the worst kind of torture. Well, second to them having a kid you love, of course. I blew out a breath. “That’s rough. I’m amazed I didn’t end up killing him and Oliver.”

  “None of us knew the vines would react like that to a blade.”

  “It was like they were on some kind of alarm system. The minute the edge cut into them, both Kaippa’s and Oliver’s floors retreated up the walls.” Then something occurred to me. “What if the alarm system also let Arleigh know there was a jail break?”

  Lucus’s brow furrowed as we rounded the last bend, the sound of the feast rising and drowning out the owls’ calling. “I suppose we’re about to find out.”

  Chapter 28

  I worked my way toward the dais, fake laughing and fake drinking and fake not freaking out as the unseelie glanced my way. Lucus went to his brothers beside the dais as I passed Arleigh, Corliss, and Nora, who stood at the bottom of the dais steps, talking to one of the musicians. The Binder was nowhere to be seen, so hopefully he’d headed to the dressing rooms as well.

  Like I’d called his name, the Binder appeared out the forest from the area where we’d changed clothing. His face was set in lines, emotions hidden. I couldn't imagine what he was feeling. I had never had
a loved one imprisoned and then returned to me. And his son, Oliver, was quite possibly in even more danger now. Arleigh might decide keeping the boy around was more trouble than he was worth, kill him, and find a new way to keep the Binder compliant.

  I remembered when Mom’s cancer went into remission, and I’d ignorantly believed the sickness was gone for real and forever. But the cancer had returned, and it had moved fast. My hope had died before she did, and I wished I’d never had it in the first place.

  Perhaps that was how the Binder felt at this very moment as he walked between the tables of his captors. These were the same fae who’d put a blade to his son’s throat. Did the Binder have hope in his heart, the idea that maybe—just maybe—he would escape his own brand of hell? I was scared of that kind of hope in all of its forms.

  When he reached Nora, he surveyed the crowd, his gaze landing on the queen.

  “To dispel any doubt concerning Mage Nora's power, I’ll test her magic. You’ll see she is powerful enough to hold your barrier soundly for many moons,” he said, his tone solid with a confidence he couldn’t truly feel, I was sure. This was a ruse, after all.

  Queen Arleigh stood. Her dress swirled around her like smoke. “What is this? A test? I was not informed.”

  I gripped my tunic, heart beating in my ears. The image of the towering trees at the duel going black and crumbling like ash spread through my mind like rot. I was certain she could do that to a person. To a mage. My stomach twisted. Hold it together, Connelly.

  The Binder held the queen’s gaze.

  Arleigh turned to face her court. “If it is necessary, and also interesting for our guests, then do proceed with my blessing, Binder.” She waved her delicate, blackened fingertips in the Binder’s direction then sat on one of the mushrooms that served as chairs along the feasting tables.