The Autumn Fairy (The Autumn Fairy Trilogy Book 1)

by Brittany Fichter

  “Why exactly was he on his own to begin with?” the king asked.

  “It’s my fault.” Peter picked up a quill from the pile on the table and began to fiddle with it. “I cut him loose after he continued to disobey me. I told him to return here, but apparently he had revenge on his mind.”

  The king rolled his eyes. “Has everyone lost their minds?”

  Peter wandered over to his seat and finally sat down with a thump that made him wince. “What I would like to know is what we’re to do with this olc. Antony.” He said the knight’s name like a curse. “Perhaps you could shed some light on the situation, as you and Katy decided to become fast companions while I was being tortured.”

  Antony nodded humbly. “Katrin says the olc plans to use her manifestation to kill the majority of the humans on the isle. Apparently she’s even stronger than most other olcs, so he believes the devastation will be nearly complete.” He let out a deep breath. “Her manifestation will also set the dead trees on fire, which by now cover the majority of the isle.”

  “My guess,” Domnhall said slowly, “is that he will try to move her to the center of the isle in order to inflict the most damage.” He looked up warily. “And since ours is the only large city not on a coast, that would bring him here.”

  Antony grimaced. “And if Benjamin is helping him, he knows every one of our secret entrances and exits to the city.”

  “So we’ll place guards at all the entrances and exits,” Tomas said. “We’ll make the city impenetrable.”

  “With the amount of power she holds, it won’t matter if she’s in the city or not.” Peter shook his head. He had read enough about olcs to know that.

  The table was quiet for a long time, and Peter felt his heart sink. Not only had he failed to save her, but now that monster was planning to use her in the very way she had always dreaded.

  “So what do we tell the people?” Tomas asked, his eyes rimmed red. Peter could only guess he was thinking about his wife and daughters. “We can’t keep them in the dark.”

  “We actually can—” Antony began, but Peter cut him off.

  “We tell them to flee.”

  “As in...to leave the isle?” Domnhall asked.

  “Do they have time?” Tomas turned to look at the king and then Peter. “Where would they go?”

  “They don’t have enough time,” Peter said, slumping in his seat and rubbing his eyes. “No one will get far enough before it happens. But we can at least give them something to hope for.” He thought for a moment. “We can’t get the people here out. They’d be caught in the battle should one happen on the moore. But if we send out runners, those closer to the coasts can try. We have to let them try.”

  “So,” Domnhall asked slowly, “you weren’t able to find a way to save her?”

  “She thinks so.” Peter snorted. “But I hardly count it saving.”

  “How?” His uncle leaned forward.

  Peter pressed his hands together until they hurt.

  “She’s right, you know,” Antony said quietly.

  Peter just glared at him. “As if you care.”

  “I was wrong now. I can see that she truly does care for you, but that doesn’t change the situation.”

  The king looked back and forth between Peter and Antony several times before scowling. “Well, is either of you going to tell the rest of us, or do I have to begin guessing?”

  Antony held Peter’s gaze for a moment longer before slowly turning to face the king. “She believes his promise will be fulfilled if he gives her his blessing.”

  “His blessing to what?” the king asked.

  Antony spoke slowly and quietly. “To put an end to it all.”

  The king and the other nights were silent for a long time. Peter could feel their eyes upon him, but he refused to meet their gazes. He didn’t want their sympathy. He wanted her.

  “So,” the king looked at each of the men at his table, “what say you all to her proposal? Do you think it will fulfill the requirements of the law?”

  A few of the men began to nod, but Peter slammed his hand down on the table so hard that his palm hurt. “It’s not about meeting the law’s requirements! It’s the heart of the law that matters! I promised to save her, and what she’s proposing doesn’t allow me to do that.”

  “You would be the one giving her the blessing,” Tomas said.

  “By simply giving her my blessing to leave, I do nothing at all.” Peter rubbed his eyes with the palms of his hands. “It’s not going to work.”

  “Well,” the king sighed, “do you have an alternative solution?” When Peter had no answer, his uncle nodded. “That’s what I was afraid of.” He looked around at his men. “Seeing as we have no other options, I’m afraid the best we can do is to take Katrin at her word. We’ll send out runners with the message to get as many people out to sea as possible and,” he shook his head, “to reach the other isles, if possible.” Then he paused, and when he spoke again, his voice was soft. “As for those in this city and those who can’t travel, we will ready them as well as we can here at the castle. If any of you discover a better solution along the way, I will be more than happy to listen. But until then, we must ready ourselves for the olc. And you,” he looked at Peter, “will do your best to find her. When you do, you’ll need to give her your blessing and send her off. I’m afraid we have no other choice.”

  With that, the king stood and left the room, the other knights trailing behind him. Domnhall paused to place a hand on Peter’s shoulder, and Tomas looked as though he wanted badly to speak, but eventually everyone was gone until it was just Antony and Peter, still seated across from one another.

  “I wanted her to be innocent,” Antony finally spoke into the silence.

  “You’re lying.”

  But Antony shook his head. “I don’t mean Katy.” He finally looked up. “Until last night, I thought my wife really loved me.” His voice shook a bit. “If I could blame her nature, her love would still be true. All the horrific things she did just prior to her manifestation could be the fault of what she was. Not the state of her heart.”

  “So it wasn’t about Katy at all.” Peter stood and walked to the corner of the dark room.

  “My wife became bitter and angry, and she attempted to murder her king before turning on me. So for all these years, I convinced myself that her behavior was due to the beastly nature inside her.” He shrugged helplessly. “How was I supposed to know differently? But last night, when Katy pleaded with you to let her sacrifice herself to save the isle, I knew beyond the shadow of a doubt that the darkness inside Maria was from her own heart, not the dark sensibilities of a creature long banned from our shores.”

  Peter studied him warily. Part of him, the wiser part, knew that Antony meant every word he said. But it didn’t make any difference now, since Katy was as good as dead.

  Still, despite his anger, something felt wrong. Antony had promised to abide by Peter’s wishes as long as it would keep the king and Peter safe. It would have taken much convincing on Antony’s part to disobey a direct order from his king. As angry as he was, Peter knew him too well for that. And yet, Peter was afraid to ask. He wasn’t sure he could handle another betrayal.

  “I need to know what happened. You owe me that much.”

  The haunted look in Antony’s eyes was answer enough. “Yes,” he said in a soft voice. “I do.”

  Peter walked to the door, where he folded his arms over his chest and leaned back against the only way out. “Well?

  Antony stayed silent.

  “We can do this the easy way or the hard way. You know I’ll eventually get what I want.” When Antony still didn’t answer, Peter frowned. “You may not talk, but servants do, and when I find—”

  “We—I was afraid when you left that she was being given too much freedom…that she might hurt someone by accident. So I took her to the dungeons for safekeeping.”

  “You what?” He could only imagine what torture that must have be
en for Katy. No wonder she had run. Then Antony’s slip caught his attention. “Wait, you and who else?”

  Antony looked at the ground. “I’m not sure what you’re—”

  “Who helped you? You said we.”

  Antony swallowed and was so slow to answer that Peter was ready to shake him by the time he spoke. “Lady Saraid.”

  Peter should have been shocked. And he was by Antony’s actions. He might always be. But to his horror, he realized that Saraid’s role was all too fitting. It was exactly what Saraid would have done without Peter there to intervene.

  It was exactly what Muirin had been warning him about since the first time he’d asked Saraid to dance at a ball. The girl was ambitious, a trait Peter had once admired. But now, when her cold calculations had touched the one object Peter valued more than life itself, her plans were suddenly much less amusing than they had ever been before.

  “You, who knew better than anyone what I have at stake...” Peter’s voice shook as he dropped it low. “You would do this to me to satisfy your own need for revenge.”

  Antony stared miserably back, his shoulders slumped forward and the fire gone from his eyes. “I only wish sorry was en—”

  “Whose idea was it?”

  Antony’s didn’t raise his head. “We built it together.”

  “Which means it was her idea, wasn’t it?”

  Antony bowed his head, and Peter took in a deep breath through his nose to calm himself. As angry as he was, he could never hit a woman. Antony, on the other hand...

  “Please,” Antony’s words were so quiet Peter nearly missed them. “Let me make up for what I’ve done.” He paused, as if searching. “With Benjamin missing and Briant gone, you only have Carey, Dom, and Tomas. Let me help, if for nothing else than to be a body standing between you and the olc.”

  Peter wanted to deny him. He wanted to tell Antony exactly where he could go, and it wasn’t with them. Antony was right, though. Only the Kingsguard knew anything about the olc with which to direct the lower knights and the soldiers and guards.

  “You may come,” he said slowly. “But if you do anything to harm her, I will kill you myself.”

  Finally, Antony nodded and closed his eyes. “Yes, my lord.”

  Peter knew he should go. He should be out rallying the men or setting his spies or something productive. And yet he couldn’t get his body to move. It was as though someone had filled his entire body with rocks. An exhaustion such as he’d never known before arrested his senses and bolted him to the door.

  Just as when he had failed his father all those years before, he had neither the ability nor the courage to get up and move.

  “Do you still believe in Atharo?” Antony broke the silence.

  “What is it to you? I thought you’d given up old wives’ tales.”

  “I know I’ve done my fair share of teasing you and Muirin and Domnhall.” Antony stood and leaned heavily against the table. “But I certainly hope I was wrong.”

  Peter dared a grudging peek at the other knight. “Why is that?”

  “Because between your girl’s manifestation, the schemes of the olc, and Saraid’s wrath when she finds out she is not your beloved,” Antony gave him an empty smile, “we are going to need a god more than ever.”

  54

  Just Let Go

  Katy awoke with a violent cough. Her mouth felt as though she’d been chewing dirt, and her eyes didn’t feel much better. Still, she was relieved as she looked around to try and assess her situation.

  For the first time in what she believed to be days, she had been able to do more than turn her head before slipping back into whatever strange sleep she’d been trapped in. Every now and then, while under the chains of the oppressive sleep, she’d been able to catch a glimpse of more than her chamber ceiling. Sometimes she’d awakened to find Tearlach spooning broth into her mouth. Other times, she’d managed to discern whether it was day or night by rolling her head just enough to see the window. But most of the time, she had been imprisoned in half-dreams, the frightening place between consciousness and slumber.

  But now, for the first time in days, her head was clear. And she was not in her chambers.

  Instead, she was lying in the back of a cart. As she was facing up, she could see the sky through the trees. Judging by the trees she could see, she suspected they were at the edge of the gate on the northwest side of the fort, but since the dozens of shackles still binding her arms and legs held her down, she couldn’t be sure.

  A flame of something raw and feral leapt up inside her. It was the most visceral form of panic she had ever felt, and immediately, Katy knew exactly what day it was.

  A moment later, boots crunched on the gravel as Tearlach came to stand beside the cart. He lifted a small bag and, to her surprise, dumped it on her legs. Gravel and small pieces of a larger rock came tumbling out, and Katy couldn’t help the little cry that escaped her as the rock pressed her down harder against the wood.

  “What are you doing?”

  “Well,” he finished emptying the bag and tossed it behind him, “as tomorrow is your birthday, and your powers will grow exponentially harder to control as midnight approaches, I thought I would provide some assistance in keeping those powers where they are supposed to be until the proper time. And before you get the mind to blast me off the face of this isle, you should know that I have more than enough powder here,” he held up a little bottle, “to put you to sleep until exactly midnight. So if you wish to remain awake, I suggest you do as I say.”

  Katy flexed her fingers beneath the rocks. Now was her chance to do what she had to. But did she have enough courage?

  “And I know what you’re thinking.” Tearlach’s voice never rose above the gentle tone he might use in conversation with a small child. “Yes, I suppose you could kill me now.” He fixed her with a knowing look.

  Katy ground her teeth and flexed her hands even harder. If she could only get her hand to wave. That’s all it would take...

  “But you won’t.” He went back to concentrating on attaching the horse to the cart. “Because I’ve watched you long enough to know you don’t have the gall to kill someone. And even if you try to kill me now, you’ll also set the forest ablaze. Other people would die, and I would still have my way.” He shrugged matter-of-factly. “We both know that killing people is not in your nature. But I, on the other hand,” he leaned over the edge of the cart, “have no qualms about killing. So if you wish for your friends’ deaths to be quick and painless instead of long and agonizing, you will leave me be.”

  Fine. She would leave him be. Katy let the familiar heat run up and down her arms and into her hands.

  “You will leave my animals alone as well,” he said, not looking at her. “For every animal missing by the time we get to the castle, I will make sure that one of your friends suffers a more painful fate than the others.” He raised an eyebrow as if he were a father scolding a wayward child. Katy wanted to swipe the smug look off his face, but chose instead to obey. At least until she could think of a way to escape, or even better, a way to stop him.

  He began to load bags all around her in the back of the cart. His voice was still gentle. “I know it doesn’t seem like it now, but everything will work out. Once you see what it’s like to live among our own, you’ll understand. And when you see how much we can do...When you see all the Fae that come to us, escaping to a new and better life, a new start!” Tearlach paused in his work and his eyes became distant. “We will lead the isles…all of them, into a new dawn. We will show them how the world should be.” He looked at her once again, his eyes filled with hope. “You cannot know because you haven’t seen, but what you are sacrificing today will be worth it in the end.” He brushed her face with his hand. “I promise.”

  Katy jerked away. “It doesn’t matter what you promise. The cost is far too high.”

  “So you’re willing to sacrifice a future with people who care about you for a bunch of humans who have hunted you s
ince you were an infant?”

  “You are not Atharo. You have no right to bring that kind of judgment.”

  “You’re right. I’m not Atharo. Because Atharo is dead. Or gone. Or just doesn’t care anymore. And nearly a thousand years of His silence means little more to me than—”

  “And the prophecy?”

  “Means either He didn’t want to help us then or He wasn’t able to.” Tearlach checked the horse’s reins once more, his movements sharp. “But unlike Him, I plan to do something with my time on these isles, something beyond ordering the inhabitants to sing my praises. And you would be wise to consider the same.”

  “I’m still not helping you.”

  “In less than a day, you’ll manifest whether you want to or not. And the entire isle will see that their ancestors did indeed have a reason to fear us.”

  “Because that’s what I want more of…fear.”

  He sighed. “When my parents followed your family to this isle all those years ago, they knew you could change the isles for good. And now you’re doing just that.” His voice dropped to a whisper. “You should be proud. Very few of the Fae have that much potential.”

  With that, he hopped up into the driver’s seat and clucked at the horse. As the cart began to move, a great roaring sound surged around them. Trees bent and even small pinecones and stones hopped along the ground as the wind began to blow. It was so loud that Katy’s first reaction would have been to throw her arms over her head, had they been free to do so. But as it continued, and with it, the sounds of animals, she realized that the wind was not going to blow them away. Rather, it was pushing them forward, herding the monsters toward the castle as one.

  * * *

  No sooner had the cart begun to move than Katy felt her powers come to life. She was chained to the floor of the cart, but her whole body grew warm and began to tremble.

  She needed to focus. Perhaps, just perhaps, Atharo would give her enough concentration and willpower to enable her magic to throw Tearlach off course, at the very least. She closed her eyes and pictured the sundial’s shadow winding its tendrils and curls through the cart’s wheel spokes. Then, when she was quite sure the magic was secure, she yanked, snapping the spokes in half.