Crown of Betrayal (Wicked Kingdoms Book 2)

by Graceley Knox

  I break apart from Dare and wipe at my lips. Dare wraps and arm around my waist and anchors me to his side. He then turns us and smacks the back of Dax’s head. “What do you have for us?”

  I listen as Dax fills us in on the relationships between the Goblin Kingdom and the Unseelie Court and touch my kiss-bruised lips while he talks.

  Dare leans down and whispers in my ear. “Stop touching your lips. You’re distracting me.” He grips my hip tighter and pulls me closer to his side and I drop my hand from my mouth like I burned it.

  “So we tread lightly with the Unseelie, but we show them that they will make an enemy if they don’t hand Cashel over to us.” Dare nods. “That’s easy enough to accomplish. If we show up with our small group, we will have enough force to be a promise of what could come after if they don’t do what we want.”

  “Wait a minute. I don’t mind you guys coming with us, but this isn’t a pissing contest between the Goblin Kingdom and the Unseelie Court. This is between me and my crew and them. I won’t be responsible for any lives lost in a stupid skirmish that can be avoided if everyone’s dicks stay in their pants.” I wave a hand. “I’m still waiting to hear back from my uncle before we act. I don’t like the waiting game any more than you guys do, but I want to do this smart, not half assed.”

  Dagan scoffs as he walks up with Doyle and Axel. “Goblins don’t do anything half assed. We always come out on top.”

  “Aaannnd dicks are out. Case in point.” I roll my eyes. “What do you got, Axel?”

  “Caddox got back to me almost immediately. He must have known something was going on over here. He’s willing to subtly back you against the Unseelie Court if it comes down to it. The Light Elven Kingdom doesn’t have any treaties with them, but they aren’t at war with them either.”

  “Same as the Goblin Kingdom.” Dare states.

  “So let’s sit down and get a plan together. Heads together, people. Time’s a wasting.” I head for the giant table in the middle of the hall without looking behind me to see if they all follow. They always do.

  Blueprints are spread out and ideas are exchanged and we talk for an hour before a plan forms that we can all agree on.

  “What now?” Dagan asks once we’ve all agreed on a plan of attack.

  “Now we go and get Arela back.” I stand and everyone shuffles to their feet. Together as a united group we all head toward the mound that will lead us to the entrance of the Unseelie Courts. I look over my shoulder as we walk out of the courtyard of the Goblin Castle and let out a sigh. I’d love to call this place home, but until I can confirm that all of my people are safe and sound within its walls, I can’t let myself hope.

  “We’ll be back, Ev.” Kirin nudges my shoulder with his and smiles down at me.

  I smile back. “I know, Kirin. I just hope that when we come back, we’re whole again.”

  We arrive at the fairy mound that will hopefully lead us to Arela and I double check all of my weapons. We’re going for the fully ready for action, but hopeful that we don’t have to act, vibe. I think we’ll portray it well.

  Each of us in my crew pairs off with a full-blooded Fae so we can cross through the mound and not get lost within Faerie.

  “Ready, little álainn?” Dare tangles our fingers together in a firm grip.

  I close my eyes and squeeze his hand in mine. “Ready.”

  *

  We all crash land in tangled limbs and a good amount of cursing on the hard ground. I look around. We aren’t in the Goblin Kingdom anymore. We’re at another fairy mound, but the landscape around us is harsh and unforgiving. The trees are all bare and the grass is scraggly and dead.

  “Everyone okay?” I ask as I take stock of our surroundings.

  Murmured confirmations and grunts meet my ears and I focus on looking for anything out of place. I climb up the small hill that is the fairy mound and look for any surprises behind it. A thick fog approaches and shapes swirl within its mass. That was quick.

  “We’ve got company.” I alert the others and take a few deep breaths to steady myself as I prepare to question the Queen of the Unseelie Court, Nicnivin, or at least whoever has come to greet us. We’d decided that having only one person ask the questions would come off less threatening. However, to ensure I didn’t look weak, I’d have a large force of warriors at my back.

  I try and recall any and all protocol that we learned while in school at MECA and come up blank. We didn’t deal much with the Unseelie as the Sluagh are a part of their court and you can’t get much more boogyman than the Sluagh. Nicnivin has them under her control for the most part and uses them as her enforcers. Every Fae is taught to fear the Sluagh as they grow up. Even the leath cine in MECA. If MECA is considered the police force that corrals those that step out of line, the Sluagh are considered the thing that goes bump in the night.

  The fog becomes more solid and Dare and our merry band of warriors stand beside and around me as figures form from the wisps of air. Four figures emerge and seemingly float toward us on the clouds of mist. They stop only a few feet from us and I take them in. There are two women and two men. Both men are guards and have long swords strapped to their thighs. They wear masks over the top halves of their faces, hiding their features from us. Each woman is dressed in black and dark blues, but only one wears a crown atop her head. She stands just a step ahead of the rest of them and is small in stature. She’s petite, but she’s got steel in her spine and she catches every detail with her sharp gaze. She scrutinizes me as I do the same in turn. We stand in silence until she steps forward and speaks.

  “Hello and welcome to the Unseelie Court. I’m Queen Nicnivin, but I’d wager you already guessed that.” She inclines her head to me. “And you must be Ever. It is a pleasure to meet you at last. The court has just been buzzing with news of a half-goblin, half-elf girl who’s going to change the future of Faerie.”

  I step forward and manage a half graceful bow in her direction. I ignore her words for now so they don’t distract me. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Queen Nicnivin. You’d win your bet if you’d have placed one. I’m Ever, and I hope you don’t mind my bluntness, but I think you know why I’m here.”

  The girl standing behind her steps forward with a gasp, but the queen only raises a hand and she quiets. “I must say, your brevity is a breath of fresh air. I heard you didn’t mince words though.” Nicnivin giggles and the harsh sound grates my eardrums. “Yes, Ever. I know why you are here. You think I’m harboring Cashel Finarben within the walls of the Unseelie Court.” She pauses and I raise a brow. “I can assure you that Cashel is not within my court. However, I do have the name of the one who helped hide him. He has since been removed of his protection and has been dealt with.”

  “Has he now? And who would that be?” I keep my thoughts about how the Fae in question had been dealt with to myself. Hopefully someone punched him in the nuts for helping Cashel to abduct a child.

  “He is Penwyn.” She snaps her fingers and a gnarled looking beast with twig like arms and a mass of tangled hair full of leaves and other debris appears. Nicnivin shrugs. “He’s a Pooka. They are the most skilled among us at bemusing the senses and weaving illusions and delusions that bewitch the mind.”

  I look him up and down. He looks like he could blend in with the barren trees that shape the landscape. “Well he certainly… uh… blends in with a crowd?” My statement comes out as more of a question. “Did he tell you where Cashel is?”

  “He did not because he does not know.” She holds up a hand as I start to cut her off in disbelief. “He was only given four points on a map and he has been shielding the entire area. My advisors tell me it is considered a large chunk of territory within the human realm.” Nicnivin steps forward and extends her hand with a piece of paper between two fingers.

  Rage flows through me that I’m not being given Cashel’s exact location, but I bank it for the time being and step forward to accept the paper from her. My legs shake but I steady my hands as I reach
for it. We’re so close to finding Arela. Only a little bit longer and we’ll have her safely home with us. Just a little bit longer. My fingers brush with Nicnivin’s and I gasp as a vision overtakes me.

  I’m standing in a throne room and I’m surrounded by elves. Caddox stands in front of a throne and he’s speaking but I can’t make out what he’s saying. A smile splits his face and he turns to me and waves me forward. I don’t move. I can’t move. My feet are rooted to the spot. As I watch, his expression morphs to something of hatred and anger and he starts shouting. I still can’t make out the words and I try to yell to him, I try to make him hear me, but he can’t. A group of tall and lean elves rush forward and grip my arms. Together they pull and at me but I can’t make out their words either. Each of them wears a crest on their capes that isn’t the royal seal. It’s something else entirely. It’s a crescent moon with the tips pointed upwards and branches tangled beneath it. I’ve never seen it before but as soon as I see it, goosebumps spread over my body and foreboding chills me to the bone.

  With a gasp I’m pulled out of the vision and I stare wide eyed at Nicnivin. “What in the… what was that?” I whisper the words. Shouts sound behind me and I raise a hand much the same way Nicnivin did. “I’m okay guys. Stand down.”

  “That, my dear child, was a vision I had the other night. I only see possibilities and broken bits, not certainties, but I’d caution you while you’re amongst those of Light Elven Kingdom. Not everything is at is seems within that court.” She drops her hand from mine and looks into my eyes.

  “I mean no offense, but how can you know what is going on within other Kingdoms and Courts?” I continue our conversation in low tones so that only she and I can hear what is being said between us.

  “Do not forget, Ever, the night belongs to me, and those who would whisper in the dark shout the loudest in my ears.”

  I take a step back and think on her words. Fuck the Sluagh. Nicnivin is terrifying all on her own. “May I ask why you shared that with me? You could have kept that to yourself.” I don’t thank her for the information because to thank the Queen of the Unseelie Court is to be in her debt. My head spins as the vision replays over and over through my mind.

  “I’m hedging my bets, dear Ever.”

  She winks and steps back to her own group of people with a wave and a wish of safe travels. I wave back, dumbstruck as they disappear back into the mists.

  “Ever?”

  “Yeah?” I ask absentmindedly as I continue thinking on Nicnivin’s words. Hedging her bets? What does that even mean?

  “What did she say?” Dare asks.

  “Huh? Oh. Uh, I’m not sure. I’ll get back to you on that. We’ve got a location.” I hand him the piece of paper Nicnivin had given me and he looks it over. “She’s in the human realm. We’ve got to get back to the Druids and Puck to see if they can help us narrow it down now that Cashel’s no longer hidden.”

  We all pair up and circle around the fairy mound again. “Let’s bring Arela home.” Dare squeezes my hand in his once again and a sense of déjà vu comes over me.

  We step forward to the fairy mound, once again I’m spinning through realms with my eyes squeezed shut, and my guts tangled in knots with what ifs and should haves.

  CHAPTER

  TWENTY-TWO

  We don’t waste any time once we’re back on Goblin Kingdom soil. Our boots hit the ground and we find the Druids in the library, hidden behind stacks of books.

  I skid to a stop a few feet from them and catch my breath. “Amren, Puck, we need you to do the finding thing again.” I huff a breath. “Cashel was being protected by a Pooka and he’s not anymore so now we need to find him.” I thrust the piece of paper with the four coordinates at Amren and he takes it from me. “We have these coordinates,” I reach back behind me for the map Kirin had snagged out of the human realm, and someone slaps it into my waiting hand, “and this map. We need to hurry. Can you do it?”

  Amren looks over the paper and the map and then looks to me. “Let’s take a breath, lass –”

  “We don’t have time for breaths. We need to go get Arela now. Right now. I don’t want to chance Cashel finding out that he’s no longer hidden from you. I want to strike now!”

  Puck stands and I look to him with pleading eyes. “Ever, you need to calm down. You will be needed to help with the spell. We can’t do it if you aren’t calm.”

  I sit down hard in a chair and try to force myself to calm down. My heart bucks like a wild horse trying to be contained and I bend to put my head between my knees but keep talking. “I’ll calm down. But we need to go get her. Why do you need me for this? You didn’t last time.” I see booted feet step next to my chair and a strong hand starts rubbing circles on my back. Dare. I suck in a deep breath.

  “Last time we were looking for Arela. Now we are looking for Cashel. You are of blood relation to him. Blood calls to blood. So, to try and pinpoint his location we will need to use your blood.” Amren’s tone is calm and steady and his words soothe me.

  “Okay I can do that. How much do you need? Just take it and it’s yours.”

  “Brodie, go and fetch what we need. Quickly now.” Amren almost shoves Brodie out of his chair but Brodie does what’s asked and hurries off with his guards trailing after him. Amren looks to me. “Now we focus on calming you just a bit more. Close your eyes, lass.”

  I do as I’m told but the vision from Queen Nicnivin swims to the surface and I blink my eyes open just as fast. “That’s not going to work. When I close my eyes I imagine everything that could go wrong. What els–”

  I have no warning before Dare palms the back of my head and tilts it up. And without preamble, his smooth lips are on mine and any and all rational thought flies out the window. His other hand cups my face and his thumb caresses my cheek. I breathe in his scent of crisp fall leaves and tempting male and I kiss him back. I lose myself and my worries in his touch and the feel of his strong presence surrounding me. He breaks the kiss and drops a kiss on the tip of my nose and then another on my forehead. I sigh.

  Dare turns to someone behind him and I watch his lips move as he talks. “I think she may be a wee bit calmer now.”

  I nod my head and sigh again. His kiss was the jolt I needed to refocus and not fly off the handle. Thoughts of Cashel and needing to find Arela push to the forefront, but they no longer incite a blind panic. I’m still terrified of what has happened to her while with Cashel, but I know that I’ll find her and we’ll heal her if she needs it. All of us will.

  Brodie rushes back into the room with an arm full of items, his guards following behind him laden with assorted objects as well. “I’ve got everything we should need. Is she calm?” He looks to me and raises a brow.

  “I’m calm. Let’s do this.”

  For the next twenty minutes, time crawls as they crush things in a mortar and pestle and whisper words over the items they brought. They require my blood twice and then continue working like busy little pixies. Finally, they all stop at once and look to me again.

  Freaky.

  “Can someone lay the map out on the table please?” Amren asks as he carries another sage stick and a greenish mixture toward me.

  Dare lays it out and then stands back as Amren smears the paste on the stick before lighting it.

  “Inhale the smoke lass. Keep the finger we pricked free, but keep the coordinates in your other hand. Take a deep breath and then stand over the map.”

  I take as many deep breaths of the smoke as I can and stand. “What do I do now?”

  “Hold your hand over the map and repeat after me.”

  I hold my hand with my pricked finger over the map and wait for the words.

  “Ostend mihi.”

  He waits as I repeat the words.

  “Quod furatus est.”

  I repeat again.

  “A meo corde.”

  I whisper the final words; afraid something will catch fire or blow up in my face.

  “Good, now s
ay them again.” Amren instructs.

  My latin is a little rusty but I repeat his words again, translating them in my head. Reveal to me… that which was stolen… from my heart. I feel a tug at my hand and even though I’m not sure what I’m doing I try to loosen my body enough that it will do as the spell tells it to. My hand splays over the section of map covering the four coordinates. My pointer finger moves a fraction of an inch to the right of where it was placed and leaves a blot of blood.

  “There. That is where Cashel is hiding.” Amren mutters a few words and I’m able to lift my hand from the map.

  “That was wicked freaky. But good, we’ve got a location.” I turn around so I’m no longer facing the table and come face to face with our extended group. “Everyone arm up. Amren, Puck, and Brodie, you’re with us too. We might need you to stop him from sifting out.” I pause as everyone splits off.

  “I’ll grab a few things too, Ev.” Doyle says over his shoulder as he leaves.

  “Thanks, D.” I refocus on the Druids. “You guys can stop him from doing that, right, Amren?”

  “Father, I’m not sure it’s wise you go near him.” Brodie cautions.

  Amren chuckles. “Dear boy, everyone needs a little bit of adventure now and again. That includes old Druids. Fetch us what we’ll need.” Amren looks to me and his smile dims. “We won’t fight if he’s got people with him. We do not fight other people’s battles. We will do what we can to keep him from sifting out, but I can’t promise you that he doesn’t have more tricks up his sleeves.”

  I rest a hand on Amren’s shoulder. “I understand. You will be protected.”

  Everything moves quickly as we all gear up and pair off again, this time with my crew and I leading the way toward the point in the human realm. I look to Dare. “You ready?”

  “Let’s go.”

  *

  We don’t crash land in the middle of a field this time, but we do land in a copse of trees thicker than the forests in Faerie.

  I take stock of everyone and we all fan out. My crew and I wear our tactical gear and our mics, the goblin’s having refused them again. We all move as one through the forest as we search for Cashel’s hide out. My heart beats regularly and my hands are steady on my gun. My finger rests on the barrel, ready at a moment’s notice. Ahead of us, Axel waves an arm in the air and we all crouch low as we approach him.