The trees behind me rustled. Denzel stumbled sideways into a tree, while I spun around, conjuring magic to my hands.
Ivy Lane peered between the trees, her talisman glowing bright.
“Faerie killer!” yelped Denzel.
Ivy frowned at him. “Do I know you?”
“Nope.” Denzel backed away, and disappeared from sight, clip-clopping down the path.
I swivelled to Ivy. “What was that about?”
“No idea.” She lowered her sword. “It’s possible he’s seen me threaten someone before.”
“If you’ve ever taken anyone to task for selling fake goods, he might have been caught up in it.”
“Ah.” She nodded. “The market. Knew I’d seen him somewhere. The Mage Lords busted a fake amulet shop the other week.”
“Sounds like him,” I said. “We talked to the witches. There’s trouble—”
“In the Summer Court,” said Ivy. “That’s what I came to tell you. They were attacked.”
“Shit. Was it Lady Whitefall?” Wouldn’t she target Winter first?
“Whoever it was, they apparently stole something important,” said Ivy. “They haven’t sent messengers here yet, but there are whispers.”
“What did she steal?” asked Cedar. “Another talisman?”
Ivy shook her head. “That’s what I wanted to find out, but nobody’s talking.”
“I actually know the talismans of the Summer Court,” Cedar said. “If I had more clues, I’d be able to figure out which one she took.”
“Does it matter?” I asked. “She already has it. But it makes no sense for her to target Summer first. You know, this would be easier if we could get both Courts to support us in fighting against her.”
“It’s inefficient,” said Ivy. “I’m not saying that because I agree with them, by the way. I think they’re lazy sods far too used to resting on their laurels. They think it’s not worthwhile to send troops into the Vale. The rules for crossing realms mean they have to send their best soldiers, and if an enemy doesn’t want to be found, they won’t be.”
“I thought not,” said Cedar.
“Me, too,” I said. I might not know all Ivy Lane’s secrets, but her words carried the voice of experience. It was surprisingly bolstering to know that she, like me, had good reason to expect the Sidhe to be completely unhelpful in times of crisis. “If the Sidhe are coming here, we need to go back into Faerie. Now, ideally.”
Ivy nodded. “If nobody saw you, I shouldn’t need to set a false trail. But be careful.”
“Will do.” I turned to Cedar. “Best leave before anyone can spot us.” Provided Moss Beard the Little Person didn’t ask for a huge favour this time. He’d already saved our lives once.
As Ivy disappeared into the trees, Cedar said, “Yes, I think you’re right. I don’t like the idea of using the rift at a time like this, but the Sidhe probably won’t expect to find us on the Hornbeams’ territory.”
“Let’s hope not.”
We left the path and made our way to Moss Beard’s place. As before, the little cottage nestled in a small clearing in the forest, just far enough away from the back of half-blood territory for a swathe of trees to block their view. The front door opened, though we’d approached without a sound, and the moss-bearded Little Person came out.
“You shouldn’t be here,” he said. “I helped you escape for a reason.”
“And did you help my dad get back into the Court?”
He paused, long enough for my suspicions to rise—and the last thread of hope that this was some horrible mistake melted away. “You did, didn’t you? Are you all trying to get my family killed?”
“I would never harm one of your kin,” he said, with the slightest tinge of hurt in his voice. “Your father requested passage, and I provided it. But I would advise you not to follow him to Summer.”
“They’re coming here,” I said. “We have to get away.”
And find Dad—but how, with his Court searching for me? Unless I found a way to wriggle out of the death sentence hanging over me, I’d never see him again.
Moss Beard sighed. “I’ll regret this.”
He beckoned us to follow him into the trees. Mist spread between the thick boughs, signs of the places where this realm overlapped with Faerie.
A flash of light engulfed Cedar and me, and the forest changed. Though it didn’t look too different to the witches’ lair—unlike the heart of the Summer Court, the borderland forests were dark and tangled—my magic responded to the change in realms even on Seelie territory. Soft beams of light filtering through the canopy above only made the darkness of the shadowed areas between the trees more pronounced.
“Hope Viola left the palace,” I whispered. “The Summer Court shouldn’t arrest her instead of me, but I don’t know how desperate they are.”
“More than before, if they’ve just been robbed,” Cedar murmured.
“Great.” I stopped, hearing a snapping noise. “There’s someone up ahead.”
The trees rustled, and a troll barged through, meaty fists swinging. Grey Vale beast. Apparently a few stragglers had remained behind after the battle.
The troll turned on us with a loud bellow. I ducked underneath its arm and sliced a shallow cut across its ribs. Its skin was too tough to be affected by most weapons, including iron. I tapped into my magic instead, hitting the showering leaves and turning them into deadly sharp instruments.
The troll bellowed again as the leaves sliced its skin, but even that wasn’t enough to bring it down. Before I could leap in and put it out of its misery, Cedar’s hands lit up green and the undergrowth rose around the troll, squeezing its neck and locking its arms behind its back. Swiftly, Cedar whipped out a dagger and cut the beast’s throat. Damn, he moved quickly.
“Are we near the palace?” I listened out, but didn’t hear anything else move.
“We aren’t far. I think it’s likely where Viola is, Raine, if the Whitefall territory is still at risk from your mother. The Hornbeams won’t have appointed a new heir already.”
“Maybe they did.” My heart sank. What if Aspen came back and claimed this territory as his own? He was eligible, and had already claimed two talismans. But the soldiers here had risked their lives to fight against the exiles—on my side. Of course, they hadn’t known at the time that the Summer Court had put a death warrant out for me.
“They didn’t,” Cedar said. “There is no talisman left to claim.”
“Because she stole his magic?” I frowned. “But—Lady Hornbeam had a whole collection of talismans.”
“Lord Hornbeam handed them over to the Summer Court after he failed to claim them.” He smiled grimly. “Probably for the best, considering what happened to him.”
My mouth dropped open. “Seriously? Didn’t he name an heir? Surely he knew he wouldn’t last long as leader without a talisman.”
Cedar’s jaw tightened. “I wasn’t allowed into his inner circle, so I don’t know what his decision was. I was removed from the running as heir, like the other eligible children of Lady Hornbeam.”
“What a complete prick.”
The branches parted again, and Cedar hissed a warning, raising his weapon. Several soldiers approached us, dressed in the iron armour unique to the Hornbeam family.
I remained still, ready to lash out with magic if they attacked. Cedar’s former family were an unknown element. I’d helped save them from Lady Whitefall, but would owing me their lives outweigh loyalty to their Court?
“What are you doing here?” asked one of the armoured soldiers, a half-fae male with silver hair and deeply tanned skin.
“Who is your current leader?” Cedar asked. “I want to speak with them.”
“There isn’t one,” said the second guard, who carried a crossbow across his broad body. His ebony skin gleamed with sweat, like he’d been standing out in the forest for hours. “Seeing as Aspen’s gone to the Vale.”
So they didn’t appoint anyone. Maybe without any ta
lismans, nobody would be able to claim the spot of leader.
“She killed Lady Hornbeam,” said the first guard, eying me.
“Lady Hornbeam deserved it, though,” his companion responded. “She sent us to war against the Blackcrows. Nearly killed half of us taking out their forces. And she locked Lady Whitefall in jail, didn’t she?”
It took me a second to realise he meant me—and he’d called me by my title.
“Yeah,” I said. “Lady Hornbeam locked me up, and then forced me to fight to the death. She died because she didn’t care how much damage she did.” It’d been a combination of my magic and hers which had torn her territory apart and killed her in the process. Unfortunately, there’d been no direct witnesses to tell the Summer Court that.
“Aren’t you heir?” the first speaker asked Cedar. “No—you were the thief, right?”
“I was,” Cedar said carefully. “If you remember, Raine helped save you from Lady Whitefall. We all owe her a debt, and we wish to go to the palace. Neither of us wish harm upon you or any member of the Hornbeam family.”
“All right,” said the first speaker, but he kept one hand on his iron knife as he moved aside.
The two of them flanked us while we walked to the palace. I couldn’t let myself relax, but just being given a chance to explain myself loosened the tight feeling in my chest. And when I saw a familiar half-blood female with long curly black hair amongst the other soldiers, I couldn’t stop the grin that spread across my face. Above her head floated a bright blue sprite.
“Viola.” I walked away from the guards, towards her. “What are you doing here?”
“Waiting for you,” she said. “I figured you’d be back soon, but the Whitefall palace is likely to be a target. So I came here.”
“And they’re okay with you staying here?” I glanced at Cedar, who shrugged, apparently unsurprised at this development.
“I’m an ex-soldier.” She grinned knowingly. “I know all sorts of things that they wouldn’t want getting out. It’s not like I can report on them to the enemy, besides.”
“Meaning me?” I said. “Honestly, I’m just glad you’re safe. I was worried she’d target you next.”
“People are staring,” she said. “Let’s go somewhere quiet.”
Viola led the way in through a side entrance to the palace. The other soldiers milling around stepped aside, though some gave her suspicious looks. She opened a few doors, and when she found a room filled with weaponry, she beckoned Cedar and me inside.
“Nobody will come in here until shift change,” she said. “I forgot how crowded this place is, especially without Lady Hornbeam swooping around terrorising everyone. Anyway, I’m guessing it’s been longer for you than it’s been for me. I only left a few hours ago. Packed up my stuff from the palace and came here. I’d agreed to meet Rose, but the others let me onto their territory anyway.”
“It’s only been a few hours here?” I asked. “But—someone stole from Summer. I wasn’t sure if you knew.”
“Some of the soldiers went to report Lord Hornbeam’s death and found the Court’s centre on lockdown,” Viola explained. “They’re not letting anyone in or out. Not everyone actually knows what happened, though. I didn’t want to panic the soldiers, not after the day they’ve had.”
“Damn. So there’s no way to find out what Lady Whitefall stole?”
“I think we can all guess what she stole,” said Viola. “But you look like you’ve had a hell of a day.”
Drawing in a breath, I began to speak. Viola’s eyes widened while I recounted my story. She was no stranger to family drama—she’d told me about her half-blood parents being disappointed in her for not being a son, not to mention breaking her vows to the Hornbeam family’s army after falling in love with Rose. But I couldn’t trust that any of my memories of my own childhood were even accurate anymore. Dad had told me my extended family had died in the invasion. Maybe they’d never even existed. And that was the least fucked-up part of the last twenty-four hours.
“So my mother must have gone to Summer right after she ran back into the Vale,” I said. “I’m guessing she took one of Lady Hornbeam’s talismans, though I might be wrong. She’ll go to the Winter Court to take back the one they confiscated, for sure. And the sword in the palace, too.”
“She doesn’t know we found the sword,” said Viola. “But she must know it’s impossible for her to steal from the centre of the Unseelie Court.”
“I wouldn’t discount anything as impossible,” said Cedar, who’d listened to my explanation with a pensive expression, as though thinking hard.
“Not where she’s concerned,” I muttered. “Damn. How are we supposed to predict her next move? If it’s talismans she’s after—well, she’s probably figured out the sceptre’s worthless on its own, but we can’t remove every talisman before she gets there.”
“Maybe we can,” said Cedar.
I frowned at him for a second. Then I got it. “You mean, replace them with fakes? That’s…”
“Dangerous? I think we’re past that now.”
He was right… but I’d take the Court’s wrath over my mother using the talismans to obliterate everyone in both realms.
“You sure you can outdo her?” I asked. “I don’t think I’ve ever actually seen you steal anything.”
He smirked. “That’s the point. You don’t see.”
“You cocky little shit.” I couldn’t help smiling back. From the way he’d sleight-of-handed Lady Whitefall, of all people, I didn’t doubt his ability to steal from the Sidhe. He’d robbed the Erlking himself… as a child. But playing with Lady Whitefall with the Courts breathing down our necks went far beyond normal danger. “You can’t be saying you have a room full of fake talismans waiting to be used… right?”
“Almost,” he said, beckoning me towards the door. “I’ll show you.”
Chapter 5
I’d never seen most of the inside of the Hornbeams’ palace before. While mine was decorated in white and honey-coloured tones, the corridors here were painted in grey and green, like a muted version of a landscape painting. As we climbed to the next floor, the decor changed. Tapestries adorned every wall, depicting bright sunny groves flanked with ancient trees. Faeries ranging from imps to piskies surrounded the beautiful armoured Sidhe. Even faerie hands couldn’t capture their majesty in paint, however they tried. Then we came to the war tapestries, where Winter’s faeries were depicted as gruesome hideous monsters fleeing from Summer’s armies.
Cedar stopped abruptly and turned to the right. “That way leads to Lord Hornbeam’s old quarters. He tore Lady Hornbeam’s down.”
On the left was another tapestry showing Lady Hornbeam herself sat on a golden throne. The tapestry was shredded as though hacked at by a blunt sword.
“Lord Hornbeam really hated her, didn’t he?” I said.
“I think it was Aspen who destroyed it, actually,” Cedar said. “The royals have the whole west wing of the palace.” He led me down the corridor to a staircase, spiralling up into what I assumed must be one of the towers. “I wasn’t considered royalty, but they didn’t want me living near the soldiers.”
“Speaking of Aspen,” I said. “What if he comes back?”
“He’s been gone too long. Lord Hornbeam will have fixed the palace’s defences to act against him.” Cedar halted at the top of the stairs. “I wasn’t able to say much before my vow broke. If there’s anything else you’d like to know about the Hornbeams, I can probably tell you.”
He produced a key from his pocket and opened a carved oak door.
“So this is your room.” I peered over his shoulder at a compact room with bare wooden walls and floor and plain furniture. The austereness of the décor betrayed no hints of personality, but he probably kept it that way deliberately. An unmarked mahogany cupboard sat in the room’s corner, which he unlocked with another key. Inside were fake talismans. Dozens of them. Swords and daggers, sceptres and bows, staffs and a scimitar. Carved wi
th precision. If I hadn’t seen the real deal, I might have been fooled.
“How’d you make them?” The shimmering glow around the cabinet drew my eyes, the thief inside me longing to lay her hands on them.
“Using a combination of glamour and ordinary objects. It isn’t hard, provided the original object isn’t made of iron or any similar metal.”
I reached and picked up a knife. Its blade was hard enough to open the skin on my finger when I touched the tip. They were real weapons, enchanted to look like talismans. In fact, they even had the trademark green or blue glow of their Court’s magic.
“Are they all modelled after real talismans?” I turned the weapon over in my hand. Had it been the real thing, I’d have been able to sense its power.
“Yes.” He took the dagger carefully from me, turning it over to reveal a faded insignia on the back. “They were all talismans Lady Hornbeam desired, but she didn’t steal all of them. I don’t have a copy of the one we gave to the Unseelie Court.”
“The one you faked,” I said. “You must have seen the real thing first. How’d you even do that?”
“I saw Lady Whitefall’s talisman when she was threatening prisoners in her castle,” Cedar explained. “So I memorised the design and glamoured another weapon to look like it. She already knows it’s fake.”
“You glamoured it. On the spot. In the Grey Vale?” I’d been too relieved at my narrow escape from death to question at the time, but now I thought about it… the fake must have been pretty damn good. “I’ve never heard of glamour fooling a Sidhe before.”
“She wasn’t paying attention,” he said. “That’s how I got away with it. She realised it was fake pretty quickly. You can’t mimic magic.”
“I should hope not,” I said. “How many talismans did Lady Hornbeam steal?”
“At least five. She had others from before my time. But as I said, Lord Hornbeam handed all of them over to the Seelie Court.”
“I keep forgetting she was over a thousand years old.” I paused. “I know it’s a long shot, but is it possible to prove any of her talismans were stolen from other Summer Sidhe? Some of them must have been.” It was my last desperate hope—that if the Summer Court worked out she’d planned to overthrow them, then maybe they’d spare my life.
Exiled Queen (The Thief's Talisman Book 3) Page 4