Seelie Princess (The Crown of Tír na nÓg Book 1)

by Sarah Tanzmann

  “I don’t have such a mark…”

  Titania lunged forward so fast that Kayla didn’t even have time to cry out. She gripped Kayla’s arm hard and tore down the strap of her dress. Kayla’s collarbone was bare as it had always been, but Titania still looked triumphant.

  “You know there is a heavy enchantment on you, don’t you?” Titania said. “The one that prevented me from finding you all these years. But it began to wear off the moment you stepped into this world. One just has to look closer to see more clearly.” She lifted a finger and brushed it against Kayla’s skin just below her collarbone. Kayla shuddered at the icy touch.

  When Titania removed her finger, Kayla noticed a dark spot. It was smaller than Titania’s mark, as if it were only partially finished, but it was unmistakably the same.

  “The blood of an Unseelie runs through your veins. The Unseelie Court is where you belong, Keília. It is your home.” Titania took her seat again and spread her arms wide, as if to indicate all the glory that was Kayla’s.

  All Kayla saw were the bleak walls of the cave and shadows lurking in every corner. “This is not my home. The mortal world is,” she said, but she failed to keep her voice steady.

  “Don’t you understand? You are the daughter of the lost Seelie Prince,” Titania said, sounding impatient. “Because of your father’s Royal Blood, you are the true heir to the Crown of Tír na nÓg.”

  The words reverberated inside Kayla’s mind. She thought of something to say, to formulate a response in which she questioned the queen, but all she’d known and believed in had been turned upside-down in the last few hours. Less than a day ago, Kayla had been a human, the daughter of Eileen and Alasdair. Now, she had no idea who she was.

  “I would wear the crown myself,” Titania continued, “but there is an ancient magic on it that prevents me from doing so. They say we Unseelies are unworthy.” She glanced over at Rhona and Ciarán, who both cackled with displeasure. “But you, Keília, can take back what is ours. Together, we shall rule!”

  As Titania lifted her hands, palms facing upward, three globes of light bloomed above her head. They floated to the ground, and as they hit the stone, they sprung to life. Kayla recognized herself, her skin glowing with an ethereal light. She was wearing that dress from her dream, but dark stains spattered the beautiful blue fabric. Gossamer wings the color of amethyst spread from her back.

  She held a knife in one hand, blood dripping from it, and the Crown of Tír na nÓg in the other. At her feet lay two crumpled figures, pools of blood seeping around them. They both had bright hair, one golden, the other pale blond.

  Fay’s emerald eyes stared back at Kayla, empty like the depth of the forest.

  Kayla tore her gaze from the sight. “I want nothing to do with this.”

  “You will not have a choice,” Titania said with a grin. “This is your destiny. And as your enchantment continues to wear off, your wings will be revealed and everyone will see your true heritage. There will be no more denying it. And now that your mark is showing, everyone will know where you belong.”

  “Even if I had to wear the crown,” Kayla said, “I still wouldn’t help you.”

  “It is in your blood, Keília. You might have dwelled with the Seelies for a while, but you are bound to this court. You and I, we share a bond.”

  Titania was watching Kayla with her clear blue eyes. It made Kayla wonder, for the first time, what her birth father had looked like. Had he shared the same eyes, the same straight jawline, the same black hair? Had he been just like her?

  A shiver rippled through Kayla’s body, and she swallowed against the sour tang in her throat.

  “What happened to my parents?” she asked.

  The tip of Titania’s wings twitched. “They left.”

  “Amhrán was fleeing from somebody,” Kayla said. “If I’m a part of this court, why didn’t my parents leave me with you? Why go all the way to the mortal world?”

  Titania tensed, her fingers gripping the armrest of her throne. “As you said, they were fleeing. You were not safe in Tír na nÓg, so they hid you in the mortal world.”

  “They had to hide me,” Kayla said, “from you.”

  Titania leaped from her throne and dashed forward in a wild flutter of wings. The movement made Kayla flinch and her heart stutter. “They did not understand what a gift you were,” Titania said. “The potential that slumbered in you as a newborn was impressive, but they thought it was a curse. They believed you could only be safe if you left Tír na nÓg forever. Someone had to set them straight. I had to set them straight.”

  Rage erupted inside Kayla and she acted within the blink of an eye, retrieving her dagger out of her bag, jumping to her feet, and aiming the weapon at Titania’s heart. “You drove them away from me!”

  Titania didn’t even blink. If anything, she looked impressed, and her perfectly shaped red lips twisted into a smirk. “I can see you have it in you.” With a wave of her hand, she called off Ciarán, who’d stepped forward with his sword braced.

  Kayla’s hand trembled as another wave of rage rolled over her, hot and cold. “It’s your fault they’re gone!” she cried, and her voice almost broke. She wasn’t even sure if she was talking about her birth parents, her dad, or all three. “You’re mad and cold and heartless! I want to know what the hell makes you think I would help you after all the things you’ve done?”

  “You speak of truth, yet you have trusted those who were most dishonest,” Titania said. “All this time you spent locked up in that treacherous Seelie Court, when you could have been at my side, fighting for what is ours.” She threw her head back and laughed. “Ha! But of course you trusted my sister, pure and generous Ophira.”

  In that moment, Titania’s glistening eyes were a window to her soul, revealing the foundation of her madness: a little girl, scorned and hated by her own people, constantly in the shadow of her little sister.

  Kayla couldn’t muster even the tiniest bit of compassion for the Unseelie Queen. Not after Titania had murdered Kayla’s father and forced her faerie parents to flee their home. Nothing would ever justify that.

  A thin voice broke the momentary silence. “Kay?”

  Her weapon still tight in her hand, Kayla swiveled back to Abby, who was sitting up, her bloodshot eyes wide.

  “Where… am I?” Her dazed gaze swung toward Titania, and she screamed. As she inched backward on all fours, her mouth gaping, Kayla sank down beside her.

  “Shh, I’m here, Abs.” She pressed her hands on Abby’s shoulders.

  Abby fell silent, but then she lifted a finger, pointed it at Titania, and whispered, “What kind of freak is she? Is it—is this some roleplaying stuff, like Dungeons and Dragons? You aren’t into that kind of stuff, are you?”

  Kayla almost laughed at Abby’s question. She leaned in closer to her friend, lowering her voice. “Don’t freak out now, and I know you’ll want to when I tell you this, but you have to trust me. These people kidnapped you and they are not afraid of hurting us.” She felt Abby tense under her touch, but Abby didn’t panic. Instead, she glared past Kayla at the Unseelie Queen.

  Kayla turned back to Titania. “Will you release her?”

  “Will you stay here, where you belong?”

  “No.”

  She didn’t even hesitate to answer, because she knew it was the only option anyway. But when her gaze met Titania’s cold one, she wasn’t so sure it was the best decision after all.

  And while all nerves in her system told her to run, Titania commanded her knights.

  “Seize them!”

  33

  THE FLIGHT

  Strong gloved fingers wound around Kayla’s wrists, twisting her arms on her back. Her dagger slipped from her grip. She cried out as she was shoved to the ground and her knees connected with the stone. Ciarán bound her hands together with a rope that burned Kayla’s skin. It wasn’t the kind of burn she’d experienced when touching a hot pan by mistake. This one ran much deeper, like a thousa
nd pinpricks piercing through her skin and into her bones.

  “They are made of pure cold iron,” Ciarán said. “Do you like it?”

  Kayla kicked at his leg but missed. Beside her, Rhona had pinned Abby to the ground, one leg propped on her shoulder. Abby’s face was contorted in agony, but she didn’t make a noise.

  A burst of heat exploded in Kayla’s chest and traveled up her throat, emerging into a cry. “Leave her be! Why can’t you let her go?”

  Her outburst didn’t coax the slightest reaction from Titania. She perched on her throne like a raven, gazing down at her two prisoners. Then she rose into the air and hovered toward Kayla, her wings moving without a sound.

  Titania leaned in and stroked back a strand of Kayla’s hair. Her hand resting against Kayla’s cheek, she whispered, “I love thee, I’m charm’d by thy beauty, dear girl! And if thou’rt unwilling, then force I’ll employ.”

  Kayla’s entire core froze at once. She held her breath, her thoughts racing. She had heard those lines before, in the “Erl-King” poem her father used to recite. Some years after he had vanished—or died, she reminded herself with a pang in her chest—she had noticed something about his stories. All the others had been of Celtic origin, except this one, which was German. And it was also the only story where the humans were truly scared of the faeries.

  Kayla exhaled. Her dad had warned her about the faeries’ malice and she’d failed to see the warnings. She’d failed to see that there was so much more to his stories. They had been his way of preparing Kayla for the truth without breaking the promise he had made to Amhrán.

  Kayla twisted her head away from Titania’s touch and caught a glance of Abby. Her throat constricted. It was her fault Abby was here, held down by a vicious Unseelie, and it would be her fault if the queen didn’t release her from the Unseelie Court.

  “I’ll agree to stay,” Kayla said, “if you promise to let my friend go. And there will be no twists of the tongue.”

  Titania smiled. “I cannot promise that. After all, you led me straight to her.” She dropped her hand from Kayla to beckon Rhona, who yanked Abby up by her hair. Abby gave a gurgled cry.

  “Don’t you dare hurt her!” Kayla wriggled her arms in vain, the tight rope burning her skin. If she could just get a hold on Cosaín, but she’d dropped it when Ciarán had knocked her down.

  “I would not touch her.” Despite her words, Titania stretched out a hand and traced Abby’s cheek just inches from her skin. “She is far too dangerous and far too precious.”

  Abby turned her head, revealing a bloody cut on her brow, and glowered at the queen with a fire burning in her brown eyes. “What kind of nonsense is this?”

  Titania unfurled her wings. The movement unveiled the beauty of the gossamer steel gray membrane, traced with fine, spidery lines of startling blue. They intimidated as much as they enticed.

  But Abby didn’t waver. “You can’t scare me!”

  “I know I cannot terrify you.” Titania cocked her head to one side, regarding Abby with curiosity. “You, though still young and ignorant, are destined to live a second life amongst the undead. The curse that runs through your veins—an ancient curse affecting the women of your bloodline—will turn you into a banshee once you die. And by this you will never die and will dwell with the Host of Unforgiven Death, stealing the souls of the damned, for all eternity.”

  Abby gaped at her, stunned. “What joke is this? Kay? Do you know what she’s talking about?”

  As much as she wanted to respond, Kayla couldn’t. She was tongue-tied.

  “It means,” Titania said, “that once you have died, you will be capable of something truly incredible.”

  Abby’s eyes narrowed. “It means you want me dead and the sooner, the better.”

  As Titania’s lips twisted into a wicked grin, Kayla understood that Abby was as much an instrument to the queen’s undisclosed plan as she was. But unlike Kayla, Abby wouldn’t come out of it alive. And Kayla couldn’t bear the thought of causing her best friend’s fatal destiny.

  Kayla tossed left and right, but she was stuck in her tied-up position. She watched as Titania gestured to the knight who’d hidden in the shadows to step forward. He was not wearing the usual Unseelie armor, but instead was clad in a dark robe. Long white hair was pulled back from his face, revealing the pointed faerie ears. The complexion of his skin was as dull as that of Titania, but there was something about him that set him apart.

  His eyes were consumed by utter darkness, no pupils and no whites. They settled on Abby, a tiny smile on his lips.

  “At last,” he said. His movements were quiet and slow, but his voice had crackled with joyful anticipation.

  Behind him, Titania retreated a step, her head bowed. She’d given way to this stranger, like a servant to her master.

  He drew the sword from his side. “The final sacrifice.” As he lifted the weapon, Abby screamed.

  “No!” Adrenaline rushing through her veins propelled Kayla into motion. She kicked at Ciarán, hit, and then tore at the rope until she felt as if her wrists would burst into flames. Agonizing nausea gripped her mind as the rope fell away, and she staggered forward. Her burned hands closed around the hilt of Cosaín.

  “Seize her!” Titania bellowed.

  Ciarán’s massive arms reached for Kayla, but she ducked and he missed. She spun around, driving her dagger into the part of his leg that wasn’t protected by armor, and he howled like a wolf.

  “Abby!” Kayla called as she twisted away from Ciarán and got back on her feet. There was no response. Something hit Kayla in the back and she crashed to the ground, face forward. She dropped Cosaín again and it skidded over the stone.

  “Disobedience must be punished,” a female voice slurred at her ear. Rhona. “And I don’t care if you’re the queen’s precious niece.”

  Kayla arched her back, but Rhona’s foot pressed her down. Rhona’s sword was inches from her face, tip touched to the ground. What lay behind the blade was hidden. Kayla called out to her friend again, but there was no answer. The burst of energy from before had abated, and Kayla felt tears spring to her eyes. She couldn’t even imagine what was happening to Abby.

  And then Abby cried, long and drawn-out and so full of pain it made Kayla’s heart ache. “No!” Tears ran down her cheeks as Kayla wriggled and writhed to no avail. “Abby!”

  A sudden commotion shook the ground. In a moment of distraction, Kayla escaped Rhona, crawling forward on all fours. Just as her fingers brushed the hilt of her dagger, a male voice spoke.

  “Get away from the girl!”

  Kayla stared as Cadfael, the leader of the pookas, burst from the tunnel through which she had entered earlier. White paint covered his face, up to his antlers, and he brandished his spear with a roar. Behind him, four more pookas spilled into the cave, followed by Fay and Maeve.

  Titania barked commands and everyone in the room dispersed. The pookas met with the Unseelies while Cadfael advanced on the queen. Maeve swung her sword at Rhona, and Fay wound through the fighting crowd.

  Kayla scrambled to her feet. “Fay!” Clashing sounds filled the cave, and the ground trembled under Kayla’s bare feet. She staggered, stumbling straight into Fay’s arms.

  Fay caught her and, for the fraction of a second, hugged her tight. “You’re alive.” As she released Kayla, she brushed her shoulder for a second. The touch caused a jingle down Kayla’s body that reminded her that she was truly alive.

  “Abby.” Kayla gasped in between breaths. “She’s hurt. We—”

  In one swift motion, Fay shoved Kayla aside and blocked Ciarán’s attack with her sword. It was a long, double-edged blade, far from anything Kayla had ever seen her hold. She wielded it expertly, though, and met all of Ciarán’s blows. But he was much taller than her. Much stronger. Fay wouldn’t last long.

  Kayla launched herself forward, aiming with the tip of her dagger, but she missed Ciarán. Instead, he kicked at her, knocking her feet out from under her. She c
ushioned the fall by rolling sideways, which sent a stinging pain up her shoulder.

  As she got back up, an arrow whirred past her, missing her by inches, and the ground shook as a mace crashed down beside her. She caught a glimpse of Titania, who surged upward to evade Cadfael’s spear, and then sank down behind him, swinging her sword. Close to them lay Abby, unmoving.

  “Fay!” Kayla called. Fay was still fighting off Ciarán, but one of the pookas had joined her.

  “Go! I can take care of this,” Fay said, spinning with her blade in hand. Ciarán evaded her attack only to collide with the pooka.

  Kayla jumped into action again, drew back when another arrow crossed her path, and then continued running. She dropped next to her friend. “Abby? Abs, can you hear me?”

  “Am I…?” Abby croaked, rolling onto her back. A gash ran along her cheek, its blood caking her hair together with that from the wound on her brow.

  “No,” Kayla said. “No, you’re safe. We’re both safe now.” She hooked one arm under Abby’s, the other still holding the dagger, and tried to lift her. Abby groaned but kept pulling herself up.

  “Kayla!”

  In the second it took for Kayla to identify the voice as Maeve’s, it was already too late. Someone hit her from the side and flung her through the air, away from Abby.

  The impact knocked the air out of Kayla’s lungs and she tasted blood as she bit her own lip. When she opened her eyes, Titania’s face was hovering over her.

  “I never intended to hurt you,” she said. “But you cannot leave. This is where you belong, Keília. You and I, we shall regain the crown and take back our kingdom.” Her shimmering blade was alarmingly close to Kayla’s heart. “The Seelies will only cause you harm, but I can keep you safe.”

  Kayla crawled backward, clutching Cosaín, which she had been lucky enough to hold on to during her fall this time. “You cause me harm. You took my father from me. I won’t let you take Abby too.”