Kayla’s panic must have shown on her face, because the expression on Deirdre’s face softened.
“And you are sure about this?” she asked.
“Yes.”
Deirdre frowned and then pulled Kayla into an unexpected hug. When she let go again, her eyes glistened with tears. “Someone is coming. Take care.”
And within the blink of an eye, Deirdre was gone, hurrying down the corridor. Kayla heard her call out to the newcomers. It was her cue to go. Keeping low, she sprinted down the stairs, out into the gardens, and stumbled down the trodden path to the tall oak tree.
When she heard footsteps coming closer, she pressed against its trunk, hiding in its shadow. The footsteps drew nearer, and Kayla inched around the trunk, until she caught a glimpse of the approaching figure.
For a second, Kayla’s heart skipped into her throat, and she was pinned against the tree as she watched Ophira stride through the garden. The queen didn’t look her way. She stopped before a slab of dark stone and rested one hand on it.
Kayla couldn’t see what was written on the stone, but it reminded her a lot of her dad’s gravestone.
“Father,” Ophira said, her quiet voice only a whisper. “I miss you more with every day that passes. Your kingdom needs you. I need you…” She lowered onto her knees, her head bowed.
Kayla scanned the garden, but there was no one else there. Not even Fionn had followed Ophira. If Kayla wanted to confront the queen, now would be the perfect opportunity. But what would she even say? And how could she know that Ophira was telling the whole truth?
Hands searching the hard bark, Kayla came around the tree again. She tried to remember the spot Fay had touched, somewhere below the lowest branch, and sighed with relief when she felt the rough indentation. With sweaty hands, she took the stolen Triskelion from her pocket and pushed it in. The Faery Path opened with a satisfying creak.
She glanced back over her shoulder. Ophira was still crouched at the gravestone, and the court beyond her lay in deep slumber. As Kayla turned back around, a feeble ray of sunlight sparked off her dad’s watch. The hands showed that it was shortly before noon, but that hadn’t changed in days.
Kayla moved forward and the door to the Faery Path sealed her away.
“What do you mean she is gone?”
“Shh, keep your voice down,” Fay told Nooa. She glanced around the clearing. The fire had died to glowing embers. Faeries sat close to it, huddled together for warmth as they watched the sun rise, inch by inch.
Nooa leaned in closer to Fay. “What is going on?”
“We… had an argument.” Her cheek was still burning with the memory of Kayla slapping her.
“Fay, tell me the truth.”
This time, she didn’t even hesitate, because she no longer wanted to lie. She told him about everything that had happened in the woods, except their kiss. That was something she tried not to think about now.
“Kayla left after that,” she concluded. “I thought she just wanted to be alone for a while, so I didn’t follow her. But… my Triskelion’s gone.”
She should have noticed when Kayla took it, but she hadn’t been paying attention. The look on Kayla’s face before she shoved Fay to the ground was all she could focus on. It was nothing more than the fraction of a second, but in that limited time Fay realized how badly she’d messed up. Kayla had finally trusted the Seelies. She had trusted Fay…
“What’s going on here?” Maeve asked as strolled toward them. Her green hair was loose and ruffled, her cheeks flushed. A few feet behind her Fay spotted Rhydian, a smirk plastered on his face.
“Kayla is gone,” Nooa said.
Maeve moaned. “Not this again! If she was stupid enough to run off a second time, she deserves to get eaten by a Dryad.”
Nooa glowered at her. “You cannot be serious.”
“Well, it’s the truth,” she said with a shrug.
“Don’t worry,” Fay said. “I’m going alone anyway.” She turned to leave, but Maeve grabbed her arm.
“Hold on. You haven’t told Ophira about this, have you?”
Fay wrestled her arm free. “No, I haven’t. And I’m not planning on telling her. She never cared much about Kayla except to use her against Titania.” Which was one part of the truth. Fay couldn’t tell Ophira she’d broken her promise. Again.
“But you care about Kayla,” Maeve said, her eyes narrowing.
“It’s my fault she’s in this situation,” Fay said. “If something happens to her…” Tears threatened to fill her eyes once more, but she held them back, swallowing the pain. “I need to make sure she’s safe.”
Nooa took a step forward and placed a hand on Fay’s shoulder. “We will find her.” He looked to Maeve, who was rolling her eyes.
“You seriously want to go against the queen’s orders?”
“Who knows?” he said. “This might be the adventure of your dreams.”
Maeve growled. “Whatever. We’d better make a short stop at the armory then.” That thought seemed to light up her face.
They turned to leave.
“Fay, did something happen? Where are you going?” Isobel walked up to them, her eyes wide and alert. Her brother Rhydian was beside her.
“It’s nothing,” Fay said, lifting her gaze to the sky, which was streaked with the first pale blue of dawn. “The revel’s over, isn’t it?”
Isobel raised an eyebrow. Fay locked eyes with her, hoping she could convey what was at stake without having to say it out loud. The last thing they needed was a loyal knight such as Rhydian knowing what they were about to do.
When Isobel smiled, Fay released the breath she was holding.
“Come on, brother,” Isobel said, taking Rhydian’s hand. “The sooner we get to the market, the fresher the honey plums will be.” She led him away from the group and he went with her, casting a doubtful glance back.
Fay, Maeve, and Nooa slipped from the clearing. The sky was fading from faint gold to pale blue, and the birds in the trees announced the new day with their chirps. People were slowly waking, traipsing from their huts and toward the market, but luckily the armory was empty this early in the morning.
Maeve dashed to the far wall, picking up a bow and quiver. “Just for the record, you asked me to go with you and I have to take this with me, you know, for self-defense.”
“And how am I supposed to defend myself in the face of danger?” Nooa asked, one hand propped on his hip. He looked anything but ready for a fight, in his brown woolen shorts and his thin white shirt.
Fay’s green revel dress wasn’t perfect battle gear either.
“The way you always do,” Maeve said. “Scream like a baby and run.”
Fay was barely paying attention to their petty tiffs as she searched the armory for weapons. She had her dagger with her, fastened to her thigh in its sheath, but she needed to have a back-up plan. In case Kayla was charging into danger again.
Part of Fay hoped that Kayla would try to go back to Chicago, but she feared that Kayla was still determined to get her dad. And the only lead she had were the Unseelies.
While Fay searched for a sword, Maeve sidled up to her. “While we have a second,” Maeve said, “I want to tell you that I didn’t buy your lie. I know you never talked to Ophira about me.”
Fay’s hand stilled on the hilt of an unfinished blade. “Maeve, I—”
“It doesn’t matter.” Maeve shrugged and grabbed one of the finer swords off the table, running a hand along the blade. “I’d rather prove myself worthy than beg for recognition, anyway.” She bumped her shoulder against Fay’s. “Now, come on!”
In the end, Fay picked a longsword she’d forged herself some time ago. They left the armory, each carrying a sword and Maeve holding a bow as well.
As the three of them swiftly made their way through the streets of the court, Fay sensed the faeries’ apprehension. They were bustling about, talking in hushed tones, and throwing them looks as they passed. As though they knew something had happened.
<
br /> On most days, at least half a dozen guards were patrolling the gardens of the Citadel, but there were none this morning. Fay knew from the last council meeting that they were now scouring the woods and searching the streets every morning.
“Come quick.” Fay ushered the other two through the gardens, to the tree, and swore under her breath when they found a knight in armor standing in its shadow.
He stepped forward into the dying light of a hovering lantern.
“Oilibhéar.” Nooa sounded both alarmed and relieved to see him. “W-What are you doing here?”
Oilibhéar’s eyes swept Fay and Nooa before resting on his sister. “I should be the one asking.”
“Well, we don’t have someplace else to be. Now, do we?” Maeve snapped. “But you! There are Unseelies running around loose in this kingdom and you’re just here, doing nothing?”
Crossing his arms in front of his chest, Oilibhéar said, “Apparently, I am needed here to guard the entrance to the Faery Path so you cannot do anything stupid. Again.”
Fury welling up inside her, Fay took two steps forward and shoved Oilibhéar to the side. He probably only moved because he was caught off guard by her sudden reaction.
“A life is in danger while you two are chit-chatting!” Fay yelled, reaching for her Triskelion. She swore out loud.
Maeve pushed past her brother. “Here, use mine.” She held it out to Fay, but Oilibhéar reached out to grab it. Maeve pulled back, glaring at her brother. “You can either come or not. But—and I can’t believe I’m saying this—we’re going to save Kayla.”
She wedged herself between Fay and Oilibhéar and pressed her Triskelion into the bark of the tree. The vines slithered away.
“Your choice,” she said, and with a flick of her braided hair, she disappeared in the tree. A second later, a tiny green light popped up in its depth.
Fay followed her, adjusting the sword on her back. When she stopped to glance back at Nooa and Oilibhéar, who were talking in whispers, she noticed the distance Nooa kept between them.
They broke apart and walked toward the Faery Path.
“It might be wise to have someone with you who actually knows what he is doing,” Oilibhéar said. His amber eyes met Fay’s, and they burned with the same fierceness as his sister’s. “After you, Princess Fay.”
The path closed behind them and they were finally moving.
Kayla had to face the inevitable truth: she was lost.
Every bit of the Faery Path, every turn she took, looked exactly the same. When she’d entered the path, she’d been running as fast as her feet would carry her, but now she was just hurrying back and forth, twisting her head, eyes scanning the dark. For some reason, the Faery Light in her hand faded more and more with every step. If it extinguished soon, she’d be enveloped in complete darkness.
She picked up her pace and turned a corner. The pathway stretched on and on, melting with the all-consuming void. Panic flared up her chest. What if this was the direction she’d fled from? The surrounding silence grew unbearable as she raced down the path, hesitating when it branched off. Nothing more than darkness awaited her in both directions.
It was her own fault. She’d tried to memorize the way to Chicago during their many walks to Dahlia’s, but she had gotten lost. She must’ve taken a wrong turn at some point, because she’d let herself get distracted. Because she’d dwelled on Fay instead of paying attention…
A tiny flame of bright, blue light ignited in the distance. It expanded as it came closer, dancing mysteriously, and Kayla recognized it at once. And still she stepped toward it.
The wild will-o’-the-wisp bounced up and down, its light flickering. Oblong shadows danced on the walls and Kayla wanted to join them for their party. The will-o’-the-wisp might lead her to the shadows…
Fay’s words of warning were ringing in her ears, but she ignored them. Maybe she had lied about that, too. Maybe the light wasn’t malevolent and instead of leading her off the path, it would guide her home. How much harm could such a tiny creature cause? Kayla kept her eyes steady on the enigmatic blue being.
Until she hit her toe on a root poking out of the ground and woke from her trance.
She blinked twice and then craned her neck. She was in a wide, circular space—a dead end. The will-o’-the-wisp had hovered over to the other side, swaying from right to left as if in triumph. Was it mocking her?
Tears sprang to Kayla’s eyes as she collapsed to the ground and dug her nails into the damp dirt. She needed to touch something—to feel something—to convince herself she was still alive. She focused on her shallow breaths and the sound of her heartbeat in her ears.
Kayla lowered her gaze and gasped. Where her hands touched the ground, moss was spreading. At first, it was only a small patch between her fingers, but then it exploded in the direction she’d come from. She crawled on her knees to follow the trace. Once out of the cave, the moss shot up the walls and crept alongside it.
Kayla chased after it. When the moss slowed down, she touched a hand to the wall and it sped up again. It was difficult to keep track of it in the low light, as her lantern was now only a weak shimmer.
For the second of a heartbeat, Kayla wondered if the magical moss was about to mislead her too. She hoped not, because there was a connection she shared with it that hadn’t been there when she’d followed the will-o’-the-wisp.
And this time, her instinct proved her right. When a familiar block of packed earth came into sight, a burden the size of Chicago itself was lifted off Kayla’s chest.
She dashed forward. Only a few more steps and she’d be back home. Safe again. She would go to Abby and figure out from there how to break her bargain with the queen without drawing Ophira’s wrath on her. Then she would see her brother again and she could talk to her mom. She’d find a way to make her mother believe that her dad was still alive. They’d find him together.
Heart racing, Kayla ran her hands up and down the slap of packed earth until she found a narrow engraving. She pressed the Triskelion in and—
Nothing. With a curse, she tried it again and again. Then a voice forced its way into her mind, one she’d rather not hear. That bargain you made is strong magic. You would not even be able to come here if I had not brought you.
Kayla pounded her fists against the wall. She couldn’t fail now. She had to get back to her family, she had to—
Something hard hit her in the back, and Kayla went flying into the wall, face first. Hands like wires settled on her shoulders and yanked her around, flinging her against the wall again. The pain of the impact traveled through her backbones.
Hot breath grazed her cheeks. “Look who it is, Rhona.”
Shock erupted inside Kayla as she recognized the scarred face that was inches from hers. The red-haired woman from the pier stood behind him, licking her lips as if she were the hunter and Kayla the prey.
“Look indeed,” she said, grinning. “But we must not hurt her, Ciarán. The queen wouldn’t be pleased if we did.”
The man loosened his grip on Kayla but kept her pinned against the wall. “We have someone you might want.”
Her dad. Kayla kicked out her legs and tossed her arms, in vain. “What have you done to him?”
“Nothing.” Ciarán’s mouth twisted upward. “Yet.” His arms were like steel on Kayla’s shoulder and his black armor shielded him from every harm she could cause him.
Kayla suppressed the urge to spit right in his face. “Where is he now?”
“With the queen,” Rhona said. “If you wish, we can lead you there.” In the twisted light of the lantern now lying on the ground, the Unseelie woman looked as deadly as she had on the pier.
Kayla remembered Fay and Ophira telling her how dangerous the Unseelies were. How she couldn’t go after them, because they didn’t have her father but only used him to lure her in.
But they never cared if she found her dad in the first place.
“Take me to your queen.”
; Anger burst through Fay like a torch set to the forest when she saw the Unseelie knight shove Kayla against the wall. She was ready to pounce, weapon poised, but Oilibhéar pulled her back into the shadows.
“You cannot approach them like this.” His gloved grip was tight on her shoulder, his other hand clutching the hilt of a Nori blade.
“I could shoot them,” Maeve said while fitting an arrow to her bow. Oilibhéar held her back too.
Kayla and the two knights were now out of sight, but Fay heard muffled voices, which made her feel even more anxious. Her palms were sweaty on her sword. “Tell me one good reason why I shouldn’t go out there and stab them in the back,” she said, glaring at Oilibhéar.
“Because,” he said, “the knights will not harm her. They came to take her to the queen.”
“Well, that is a lot better,” Nooa said. He was crouching in a corner, eyes darting back and forth. “I am sure she just invited her for a quick chat and a cup of tea.”
Oilibhéar glanced down at Nooa, and again Fay noticed that spark of secret affection. But when he spoke again, his voice was plain. “I know you all worry about Kayla and as a guest of Queen Ophira, she is my responsibility too, but we are closer than ever to find the Unseelie Court’s location. Do you even understand what this means?”
“So you’re saying we should use Kayla as a bait?” Fay clenched her hand into a fist. Perhaps if she smacked Oilibhéar in the face hard enough, he would let her go. “Do you understand how dangerous that is for her?”
“We are all in danger,” he said. “If we take her now, the Unseelies will not stop coming after her. To learn the truth, we must follow them.”
An image flashed within Fay’s mind, the look of shock and betrayal on Kayla’s face. She knew it was only the tip of the iceberg. Kayla’s trust had been put to the test from the beginning, and Fay had ruined every bit of that trust when she crushed it under the weight of her lie.
“I don’t think—” Fay began.
“Save your breath. Fate’s already decided this one for you.” Maeve pointed a finger to one of the tunnels on the far end side. Kayla entered it, guarded on either side by the Unseelies.
Seelie Princess (The Crown of Tír na nÓg Book 1) Page 24