by Jasmine Walt
On the return journey to the village, I noticed the pack had warmed up to me even more, addressing me with affection and respect. Many came up to compliment me on my hunting prowess and how I’d used my magic to take on the boar. I was inundated by more names and faces than I could remember, but it didn’t matter—the conversation was lively, and I laughed and joked with the others as they regaled tales of their own hunting exploits.
At the outskirts of the village, we were greeted heartily by the elderly, the children, and the pregnant females who had elected to stay behind. Husbands and wives, fathers and daughters, mothers and children, all embraced and congratulated each other, and I couldn’t help but feel envious at the camaraderie and affection between them.
Maddock had always given me the firm impression that the Unseelie were evil, and the Morrigan had certainly not done anything to lessen that impression. But as I stood here with the wolf clan, talking, joking, and having people compliment me on my own hunting, I couldn’t help but think they weren’t evil at all. They were just trying to carve out a life for themselves amongst the harsh wilderness. Sure, they were less attractive than their Seelie counterparts, and rougher around the edges, but in turn, they also seemed more…human.
Plus, you’re half-Unseelie yourself, I reminded myself silently. Surely that didn’t make me automatically evil by default?
Then again, I would never have been able to tell, judging by the way Maddock treated me. He’d always kept me at arm’s length, made it very clear that our relationship was nothing but a partnership of convenience. Was that really because of our past, or because my Unseelie heritage repulsed him so much? Once again, I couldn’t blame him for hating the Unseelie after seeing firsthand what the Morrigan had done, and witnessing the phoukas attacks against him, but surely there had to be more than what was on the surface.
I’ll reserve judgment, I thought. At least until I’ve talked to these people and found out more about the real conflict between the two courts.
Chapter 9
Over the next two days, I developed a routine with the clan. Mildgred would wake me every morning, help me dress, and bring me my breakfast. I felt a little bad about having a personal maid when it was clear that none of the other woman—except perhaps the chieftain’s mother—had one, but I reminded myself I was a princess. And one who had saved the chieftain’s life, too.
Even so, I was determined not to hole myself up in my ivory tower. I’d made quite a few friends during the feast after the hunt, especially among the women, and I was determined to keep them. After breakfast, I would go and knit with the women, and during the afternoon, I would visit with the chieftain. His mother had considerably warmed to me after learning I’d saved her son’s life, and had even invited me to move into the guest quarters of their home, which was supposed to be warmer. I’d politely refused—the glint in her eye told me that her matchmaker instincts were kicking in, and I wasn’t about to encourage that.
“Are those sleigh bells I hear?” Naera asked on the fourth morning, looking up from her knitting. We were sitting in the living room of her small cabin with two other women. I was working on a scarf—it was about all I could manage with my skills. The others were knitting sweaters and gloves.
I canted my head, hearing the silvery sound of bells, muffled by the walls of the cabin. “Yeah, you’re right,” I said, lowering my knitting into my lap. “Has someone come to visit?”
Before Naera could answer, there was a bang on the door. “Princess,” Darun shouted, flinging it open. His eyes were bright. “Your escort has arrived!”
Excitement jolted in my veins, and I jumped to my feet, my knitting needles crashing to the ground. Suddenly, the scarf didn’t matter. I flung my pelt around my shoulders as I rushed to the door. The chieftain had allowed me to continuing wearing it, though I hadn’t used it to change again.
“Where is he?” I asked.
“At the chieftain’s cabin. He’s waiting for you.”
Eager and nervous, I hurried after Darun, with Naera following. The three of us sprinting through the snow drew many curious eyes. There was a crowd of people milling about, drawn by the sight of the blue-and-white sleigh and the enormous stag attached to it.
I stopped to stare at the majestic animal. It had a gorgeous crown of antlers, a thick silver coat with a snowy-white breast, and silver-tipped hooves. When it turned to regard me with ancient eyes, my breath caught. The same level of intelligence as the enraged boar lurked within those dark orbs, and it made me wonder how different the animals in Faerie might be from those on Earth. Were they fae in and of themselves?
Tearing my gaze away, I trotted up the porch steps with Darun. He opened the door, and warm, cinnamon-scented air wafted out. “Good morning,” he called as he stepped aside to allow me passage. “I bring the Princess Riona Maoilriain, here to meet her escort.”
The chieftain and his mother stood in their sitting room in deep conversation with a grey-haired man clad in a fur-lined white cloak and silver armor. They turned to me as one, and my mouth dropped open at the sight of the man. His face was unlined, his grey eyes a stunning silver, and his silver-grey hair was arranged in artful spikes rather than bedhead, but there was no mistaking him…
“Hey, kid,” Oscar said in that same gravelly voice. “It’s good to see you.”
“Kid?” Cano’s mother echoed as I flew into Oscar’s arms. She sounded absolutely scandalized. “She’s a princess!”
“Old habit,” Oscar said as he wrapped his wiry arms around me. His woodsy tobacco scent engulfed me, and I was instantly comforted—at least that much hadn’t changed about him. Questions bubbled behind my lips, but I knew better than to ask in front of the chieftain—I’d wait until later. “I’ve raised her since she was a tiny tot, you know.” Pulling back, he held me at arm’s length and inspected me critically from head to toe before turning back to the chieftain. “Looks like you’ve taken good care of her. I appreciate that, and I will relay it to the Winter King.”
“It was a pleasure,” Cano said, smiling. “And it is not just we who have taken care of the princess—she has taken care of us as well. She saved two lives during our hunt a few days’ past, including mine.”
“Is that so?” Oscar asked, arching an eyebrow at me.
Cano spent the next ten minutes detailing that fateful day in the woods, telling Oscar all about how I’d donned the wolf pelt and run with the pack, and how after we’d finished gutting and slicing up the boar, I’d killed another one with my ice magic to save the chieftain. He and Darun went on and on about how gracious I was, about how I spent time with the women even though knitting and chores were tasks beneath my status. By the time they were finished, my ears were burning.
“Well, we really must be going,” Oscar finally said. “It is a good three days’ journey back to the Hoarfrost Hills, and we should get as much traveling done as we can by daylight.” He turned to me. “Do you need to pack?”
I shook my head. “Everything I own is already on my back.” I shrugged off the wolf pelt, then carefully folded it and presented it to the chieftain. “This belongs to you, I believe.”
He accepted it, then drew a leather thong from a pouch on his belt. From it dangled a yellow wolf’s tooth twice the size of my thumb. “If you have need of me, look to the north and blow into this. It may take a bit of time, but someone from this clan will come to your aid.”
I took the fang from him, barely stopping myself from thanking him. I’d already learned my lesson from the Morrigan about voicing my gratitude to a fae—that was how she’d imprisoned me in the first place. Inspecting it, I realized the tooth had been hollowed out and fashioned into a whistle.
“I will treasure this always,” I said, slipping the leather thong over my head. The pendant settled across my breast and over my diaphragm.
Although Oscar wanted to get going, I spent ten minutes after we left the cabin telling everyone goodbye. The clan plied me with so many gifts of food, clothing,
and handmade trinkets that I was forced to refuse some of them—Oscar’s sled wasn’t big enough to fit everything.
“Safe travels,” Milgred said fiercely as she wrapped me into a hug. She’d brought a small package of dried boar for me to take, and a black cloak spun of some soft, wool-like material for me to wear in place of the returned pelt. “You’ll come back and visit?”
“You must,” Naera said, folding her arms across her chest. She pinned me with her bright yellow gaze. “And bring your father next time, too.”
“I’ll try,” I promised, though I had no idea if I’d be able to deliver. I wasn’t sure where my path would take me next, only that I had to keep moving forward. Wrapping up my farewells, I climbed into the sleigh with Oscar.
“You’ve made yourself quite the fan club,” he said under his breath as he tucked the silky fur blanket in around us both.
“What can I say?” I stuck my tongue out at him. “I’ve always been a popular girl.”
Chuckling, he took the reins, then snapped them and commanded the stag to go. As the animal sprang into a trot, I realized Oscar had spoken the command in fae, but that he’d been speaking to me in the cabin in English. Perhaps he wasn’t aware I could speak both now. And there was clearly a lot I didn’t know about him, either.
“Why do you look so…fae-ish?” I asked as we raced across the snow-covered field. The steel-grey clouds that had hung in the air for the past few days had parted, revealing a brilliant blue sky and a pink sun that shone so brightly I was forced to avert my eyes from the snow, which reflected it.
“This is my natural form,” Oscar said, his eyes on the road. “I’m a shadow, Brooke, like you, but I was raised in Faerie, so I tend to look more like the fae unless I wear a glamour.” He gave me a crooked grin. “I didn’t use to talk with a rough Chicago accent, either, but doing it for so many years has made it second nature. Plus, it’s grown on me.”
My mouth dropped open as the world tilted out from underneath me. “Wait…what? You…you’re a shadow?”
“Yep. Born over fifteen hundred years ago to my mother, after she was rescued from the clutches of a witch clan. Several of those bastards raped her repeatedly, and I was the result.” His voice darkened. “I don’t know who my father was, and I’ve never wanted to. My mother raised me with all the love and care she could before she passed. The years of drain on her magic were just too much.”
“I’m so sorry, Oscar,” I said, sadness filling me. How horrible, to have been born out of such circumstances. “Has she reincarnated yet?”
He shook his head. “No. I was taken in by the Winter King as his ward and trained by him. Learning to use my shadow powers took a long time, since I never had a shadow to learn from, but they also made me the perfect person to train and protect you. Both the first and second times around.”
I scowled. “Wait a minute. If you taught me how to use my powers when I was born, why hide them from me after I was reincarnated?”
“I was going to wait until you were older,” Oscar said. “It was too dangerous to teach you then—with you being hunted and all—so I decided to keep you shaded and wait for things to pass.” Of course, that ended the moment you arrived in Salem,” he added darkly. “My powers only extend so far. It’s a good thing Tremaine was able to teach you to shade yourself.”
“Yes, but you should have been the one doing that,” I said, my voice vibrating with anger. The knowledge I’d been putting up with Maddock this entire time when Oscar could have been teaching me pissed me off. “Why the hell didn’t you?”
“I was planning to, once I got you back to Chicago,” Oscar growled. “But being the stubborn pig-head you are, you refused to go. You were too busy chasing Tom. You wouldn’t have come with me even if I’d told you the truth.”
I clenched my jaw at that. That was very likely true, but… “Did you know what Tom really was?”
Oscar shook his head, his shoulders slumping a little. “No. He fooled me good, that bastard. In that respect, I completely failed you. I should have been able to see through his guise.”
The anguish in his voice was so profound I found it difficult to hold onto my anger. “It’s all right, Oscar,” I said, patting his hand. “We were all fooled. I’m just glad we’re both safe.”
“Me too, kid.” He wrapped an arm around my shoulder and hugged me, brief but hard. “You’ve really grown up,” he said, admiration in his voice now. “Chieftain Cano made you sound very impressive. I think being in Faerie is giving your powers a boost.”
“Does this mean I’ll be able to learn how to use them faster?” I asked, excited by the prospect. I was so tired of always being the weakest link, especially since I was supposed to be a powerful Faerie princess.
“Your father and I will test you once we’re back in his lands and start your re-training program.”
A loud, shrieking caw pierced the air before I could ask more questions. Fear stabbed my chest. When I whipped my head around, my heart leapt into my throat at the sight of an enormous raven high in the air, winging its way toward us.
Oscar yanked the reins sideways and barked a command, and the stag immediately veered left, heading for an opening in the trees. But the Morrigan was fast, and she swooped in, her wickedly sharp talons extended straight for us.
“Duck,” Oscar cried as he flung a hand out. He shouted a spell, and a blue shield flickered into life. The Morrigan’s talons glanced right off it in a spray of sparks as she veered toward the front of the sleigh. Before we could blink, she’d snatched the stag up in her talons.
A cry of pain exploded from the creature as the Morrigan’s sharp claws dug into its flesh, spattering fresh blood on the snow as she lifted him into the air. With one massive beat of her black-as-coal wings, she hoisted him even higher. For a moment, I wondered what her plan was…
And then she dropped him.
“Dammit!” Oscar swore loudly as the stag plummeted through the air like a bloody comet before slamming into the ground with a sickening thud. As its broken body shuddered into death, a wave of anger surged through me. It was such a pointless, senseless death. Furious, I leapt from the sleigh just as the Morrigan spun in midair and dove toward us, claws raised once more. She knew we were trapped here without the stag, but that didn’t mean we were helpless.
As Oscar landed on the ground beside me, I took a chance on my unpredictable abilities and attempted to throw up my own barrier.
Just before the Morrigan completed her deadly dive, energy surged from my fingers, forming a translucent barrier that looked larger and stronger than the previous one.
I stared in awed fascination as the Morrigan smacked straight into my shield like a bird flying into a glass window. Her eyes went glassy as her wings beat futilely at the air to right herself. Before she could, Oscar flung an icy gust of wind at her, forcing her back. She shook her head, screeching loudly when he did it again. This time, the winds snapped her head back, causing her to spin through the air and crash to the snow a few feet away.
I took a step forward, wondering if Oscar had managed to do real damage, when a whirlwind of black feathers surged up around her. Hideous laughter filled the air as an old woman in a feathered black cloak and dress stepped from the swirling debris.
“How dare you interfere,” the Morrigan hissed at Oscar, her black eyes glowing with rage as she stalked up to the barrier I’d cast. She bared her teeth in a fierce snarl. “Brooke Chandler is mine for the next hundred years. You had no right to take her from me!”
“I have every right,” Oscar said with deadly calm.
I appreciated Oscar taking the lead, as the part of me still conditioned into being the Morrigan’s slave was curled up in a corner of my mind, quaking in her boots. She wanted to press her forehead in the snow, kiss the hem of the Morrigan’s cloak, and beg her not to beat her.
But I wasn’t that person anymore. I wasn’t a slave. I was a fae princess, and I was finally going home to my kingdom. And this bitter old
hag wasn’t going to stop me.
“According to fae law, stealing your enemy’s memories severs any and all obligations or debts they may owe you,” Oscar continued, his eyes diamond hard. “The Princess Riona is no longer indebted to you.”
“Her memories weren’t stolen! It was for her own safety that they were put away,” the Morrigan argued. “She would have gotten them back once her servitude was over.”
“And when would that have been?” I challenged as a fresh wave of anger hit me. Clenching my fists, I stepped forward until my nose was nearly touching the barrier I’d created. “You put me on an island where time doesn’t exist. You never meant to let me go, did you? You wanted to keep me there forever, and never give my memories back! Admit it, you bitter old hag!”
“How dare you?” The Morrigan reared back, her face white with fury. The feathers on her cloak stirred as power swirled around her. “Do not think that just because you are a princess that you outrank me, child,” she hissed. “Even if you weren’t a pitiful half-fae, I am of equal rank to your father.”
“Maybe,” I said, lifting my chin. “But I am a free half-fae, and you no longer hold any claim over me.”
She bristled at that, her eyes narrowing into angry slits. “You owe me for taking that horn,” she insisted. “I had to kill one of my cows to fashion a new horn just so I could escape that island and come after you. That is an unconscionable loss! You must pay for it.”
“It’s not my fault you can’t keep better track of your things,” I said, glaring at her and shrugging. “After all, a lowly half-fae shouldn’t have been able to take the horn from someone as powerful as you, right?” I smiled sweetly. “Besides, the horn was never taken off the castle grounds, so I owe you nothing.”
“You impertinent whelp,” she snarled, lunging at me again before seeming to remember the barrier. She stood right up against it, tapping her fingernails lightly over the shield as if testing it for weakness. Finding it held, she gave me a wicked smile. “I would not rest easy if I were you, Brooke Chandler. You can’t hide behind shields forever. I’ll be watching and waiting for the moment your guard is down, and once it is…you’re mine.”