by Shona Husk
She had a look at the clothes she’d once worn, the dark, heavy fabrics of winter and the older, brighter colors of summer. The flowing skirts and lace and ribbons. It was too extravagant for a closed Court. Too much luxury after what she’d seen across the veil. She rubbed the soft fabric between her fingers. While she’d missed it, it wasn’t what she wanted anymore.
Instead of getting changed, Darah stayed in the mortal jeans and shirt. She threw on a cloak over the top for warmth. It had once been one of her favorites. Pale blue and edged in silver, now it reminded her of winter and snow and ice. Was it appropriate when summer was so near? She looked at her reflection in the silvered glass then shrugged. She’d worn it last summer and it wasn’t as though there were any fashions to keep up with at the moment. Wearing the dark colors of winter would be offensive.
With nothing else to do, and no sense in delaying, she went to the Hall of Judgment, hoping the King would be there. However her gaze kept staying upwards. Somewhere above her in the cells was Henry. She stopped walking. She wanted to be running up the stairs to see him and to make sure he was well, not going to see Felan.
It was a ridiculous notion.
Of course Henry would be fine. Wouldn’t he?
They couldn’t lock him up forever or throw him in the river. But she knew that if Felan really thought Henry was a threat he could and he would.
The doors to the Hall of Judgment were open. Every time she walked in here her life seemed to take a sharp turn in an unexpected direction. This time would be no different.
She drew in a breath, hoping she appeared calmer than she felt. As before the Hall was empty except the King. Even his wife was absent today. Felan glanced at her and beckoned her forward.
She bowed before him. “Working as always, Sire?”
“Only just started and I fear I won’t get much done. Jacqui is in labor.”
“Congratulations.” Summer was about to bloom. She couldn’t stop the burst of excitement that caused. The castle would come back to life and be full of fairies once more. Felan had promised that the Court would re-open. And she’d be on the Council. The thought didn’t thrill her the way it once had.
Somehow her dream, like all fairy magic in the mortal world, had turned from a glittering gem to a lump of coal. Annwyn might be home but she didn’t want to live here. However she had no idea how to put that into words that wouldn’t offend the King.
He nodded. “She is attended and I have been told these things take time. So I’m trying to distract myself.”
By judging souls and freeing shadow servants. Aside from keeping the fairies in line this was his job. Although he didn’t appear to be focusing too hard.
“Perhaps my news will distract you.”
“I know the darkling is here. For the moment he can wait.” Felan looked at her. His expression gave nothing away. She didn’t know if he was feeling lenient or ready to clamp down on the Greys. “You did well. And as promised you will have a place on my Council.”
Darah bowed again, in part to hide her expression. She knew she’d accept, but it wasn’t the joyful moment she’d imagined it to be. What was wrong with her?
“Tell me, you have spent time with the darkling do you trust him?”
Was that some kind of trick question? Did a fairy ever truly trust anyone? “I believe in the work he is doing and I believe he does it with good intention.”
“That doesn’t answer my question. The rules are changing, Darah. I will not have the shadowed words of my mother’s Court here. Do you trust him?”
Yet he was quite comfortable making a veiled reminder that she had once been one of his mother’s ladies. Her heart beat filled the silence. What was the right answer? If she admitted to trusting a darkling, a Grey with a soul and one who had murdered in front of her, what did that say about her? What did it say that she had helped a child kill this morning? Let another darkling live because that is what Henry would’ve wanted. Not that long ago she would have been able to say no, she’d never trust a Grey, without a second thought.
But she did trust him. And even though he’d known that she’d was a spy, he’d trusted her and shared his plans, knowing that she’d tell the King what she’d seen. Sometimes keeping secrets wasn’t the best move. She had to be honest.
“Yes.” She finally said. If she couldn’t say no without it being a lie, she had to say yes.
“Why?” Felan looked at her as if he was trying to understand, not hang her with her own words.
That was even harder to answer. Did being on the Council mean answering difficult questions so the King knew what choice to make? It would be so easy to tilt the odds and sway his opinion to gain what she wanted.
All she wanted at the moment was Henry free.
“You told me when you freed me from being a shadow that you wanted fairies to rediscover their heart and to help the mortals rebuild. That is what he is doing.” If Felan had meant what he’d said there should be no problem.
“And his band of Greys what do they want?”
Darah glanced down. She couldn’t speak for them all. She hadn’t spoken to them all. But after seeing how Henry worked and having spoken to a few, including getting to know Marlis, she could make an educated guess. “They want what all fairies want. A place to belong, structure and status. They want a Court and some,” like Marlis, “want a chance to earn a reprieve.” For Marlis it had come too late, but for others there was a chance.
“So you trust a darkling who is setting up a Court of banished fairies?”
Phrased like that it sounded quite concerning. “I trust Henry. He is keeping the Greys in line and giving them something to do besides making trouble.”
“Unless he orders it.” Felan tapped his fingers on the arm of the throne.
Darah inclined her head and conceded the point. Henry did order mayhem and murder, but not as a general part of his operations. She desperately wanted to ask what Felan was planning on doing with Henry, but she couldn’t…or could she since she was now part of his Council?
She decided to push her luck a little further. “What are your intentions?”
“For the moment, to let him sit.”
That could be dangerous, not for Annwyn but for all in Detroit. “And his Court?”
Felan smiled. “You can watch it. Isn’t that why the Hunter asked that you remain there?
That was a warning that she was not following orders, but then what fairy did if they could find a way around them?
“I can’t control it like he can.” No one could, not in the long run. Not Penn. Not even Kaid. “I’ll need to cross the veil to see Henry while he is here.” That was true. He knew how everything worked in the mortal world and he knew how to get results.
Henry said he had no magic, and maybe that was true, but he inspired loyalty and gave the people around him a need to be more that what they were. Even the gang kids had looked up to him and helped their parents in the garden instead of spreading violence.
“He is more valuable to you alive and in play.” Her words sounded cold, like any fairy making an assessment about an enemy. They were the words that were expected from her. What she couldn’t say was that she wanted to see Henry because she cared about what happened to him. She cared about him. That was a weakness she could never reveal. He was a darkling and she was a Court fairy.
“I’ll take that into consideration.”
That was the best she could hope for at the moment. “I hope all goes well with the Queen.”
Felan nodded, and for a heartbeat concern flickered on his face. “So do I.”
Darah bowed again and turned to leave.
“What do you plan to do now, Darah?”
Her mouth dried. Was this the trick question to see where her loyalty lay? Or was she supposed to acknowledge that she shouldn’t have come?
“I had planned to see Henry before returning to his Court as you asked me to. The Greys must be kept in check until a decision is made.” Had she pushed
too far? She almost couldn’t breathe. Did Felan realize how precarious things were across the veil?
Felan studied her as if he couldn’t be sure he believed anything that she said. She hoped that nothing showed on her face. It had to look as though she had the interests of the Court at heart. Which she did. Henry’s Court was good for everyone.
The King nodded. “You may see the prisoner.”
Chapter 18
Henry heard footsteps before he saw who was coming. The way the cell faced prevented him from getting a good view. He didn’t like that. He didn’t particularly like being locked up; even if this was the most comfortable cell he’d ever been in.
He tensed even though he tried to appear relaxed. Then Darah appeared on the other side of the silver web. She touched the bars that looked more delicate than they appeared—he’d checked. He also regretted not carrying anything to pick locks with. He’d never make that mistake again. Once he would’ve never left the house, or hovel, without lock picks. He’d become complacent.
Darah looked more vibrant here. Her golden skin almost glowed and her black hair flowed loose over her shoulders. The blue of her cloak made her eyes seem brighter. Like all fairies she was impossibly beautiful when seen in Annwyn, across the veil he’d seen and tasted just a sample of her beauty. But looks were deceiving. Fairies, while pretty on the outside, were not always pretty on the inside. They were the perfect, poisoned apple and he’d been far too eager for a taste.
“What do you want?” He wouldn’t make the same mistake again. While he’d expected the betrayal, it hurt worse than he’d thought it would.
“I came to see you.”
“I am safely behind bars, which is what you planned.” He walked over and gave the silver bars a flick with his fingernail. They gave a hollow ring like a bell. If he hadn’t been on the wrong side it might have been pretty.
“That’s not fair.” She managed to look put out by his accusation, as though she was offended. This wasn’t her fault. He knew she had to obey her King…his King he supposed. In her shoes he’d have done the same.
“Nothing is. It’s the one thing I’ve learned over the years.” He leaned against the bars. “So now you’ve seen me. What next? Have you succeeded? Tell me that someone won this gamble.”
She didn’t look particularly happy. He hated games where no one won and everyone lost. A draw he could’ve lived with. But if she was unhappy, and he was in jail that was a loss all round.
What he really wanted to know was what was going on down there, below the branches. Had she seen the Hunter and the King? How long did he have to sit up here? Or were they going to wait until everything he’d been working on fell apart? He was feeling more like a political prisoner than an actual felon—but then he supposed actual criminals got thrown in the river or banished.
“Felan offered me a place on his Council.” She forced a smile.
He was used to seeing that smile. The mask so no one saw what she was really thinking. At first glance she looked happy. He knew differently.
“Congratulations,” he said anyway.
She nodded. “I pled your case.”
“You shouldn’t have. You’ve done more than enough.” If not for her, he wouldn’t be here. If he hadn’t let her slide into his bed…but the temptation to kiss without killing had been too great. Truly Felan couldn’t have picked a better spy.
She stepped closer and wrapped her hands around the bars. “I reported as I was ordered. I never framed you in a bad light. I always spoke well of what you were trying to achieve. I grew to believe in what you were creating, you stubborn lump of coal.”
He was guessing that was an insult that referred to his Grey parentage as everyone knew that fairy gems turned to coal after a time across the veil. However he wasn’t sure if he should be offended or amused. Darah was kind of cute when she got angry. Her eyes lit up and almost sparked like electricity. A laugh escaped his lips.
She drew in a breath and released the bar. He grabbed her hand. “I’m sorry I shouldn’t have laughed. I’m not familiar with the insult—it was right?” Or was he missing some other nuance of fairy life? He could handle the banished and even the occasional exiled fairy, but Court fairies were different and he was on their home turf…tree.
Her face softened just a fraction. Her lips twitching in an almost smile, and she didn’t pull her hand away. “Yes it was.”
He looked at her for a moment as he realized what else she’d said. “You really believed in what I was doing? You weren’t helping just to keep an eye on what I was doing?”
She tilted her head and lifted her eyebrows. Okay, so it had been a bit of both. He could live with that. “I made sure Peri was all right before I crossed the veil.”
He sucked in a breath. He hadn’t forgotten about her, but he’d figured she was as good as dead and had already mourned her passing in his mind. He had no idea how long he’d been here in mortal days even though it was still the same day in Annwyn.
“Did her mother bring her?” He needed to know what had happened.
“She did, I took her out. Afterwards there was cake. I did my best.”
“I…” He didn’t know quite what to say. Darah had saved a darkling child because it was something that he’d wanted. “Thank you.”
She glanced away. “I couldn’t let her die.”
Yes she could’ve and plenty would’ve. Beneath the cool façade Darah had a heart that was as delicate as anyone else’s. It wasn’t that fairies couldn’t feel. It was that they chose not to. They chose to avoid pain. But without pain how could there be pleasure? Or love? “How does it feel to get a scar on your heart?”
When she looked at him the mask she favored was gone. “It hurts. I’ve lived for over seven hundred years and no one has ever got under my skin like you.”
He didn’t want to be under her skin. He wanted to be in her heart. “I never meant to hurt you.” He never meant to fall for her either and yet it was happening.
“I didn’t plan for this.”
“I know.”
She was the spy, nothing more. That she’d fought for him was more than he’d hoped for…her actions spoke louder than any words she could speak. She cared even if she didn’t want to admit it. That warmed him more than any brightly colored blanket in his cell.
She sighed. “Peri’s old enough to ask questions about what happened. I tried, but I said that you’d be back to answer them. Don’t make a liar out of me.”
“It’s not up to me.”
Darah shook her head. “Henry, this is Court. What happens is up to you. You get a fair roll of the dice the same as any fairy.”
He didn’t believe that for a moment. If that were true why send a spy, why not just talk? “Which is why they locked me up.”
Even as he spoke he knew that he’d done the same. He used the Greys to spy before making a decision. Humans did it too. Espionage whether industrial or international was big business.
“The Queen is in labor. Priorities.” Her voice was almost as soft as the rustling of the new leaves. Were there more of them since he’d arrived? Since they’d started talking?
And he would be stuck here for the duration. He needed to get back. With the Mayor gone, things would be changing. He needed to be there to guide them in his favor and smooth the path. He pressed his lips together and looked at Darah.
She shook her head as if knowing the direction of his thoughts. “I can’t do anything more for you here. We must wait.”
“We?” That was an odd choice of words as it implied that she was firmly on his side.
“I am supposed to return to your Court. I wasn’t supposed to come here.”
“My Court?” He frowned not bothering to be careful and guard his expression.
“It’s what it’s being called. It’s what you have created, Henry, even if you didn’t realize.” There was a glimmer in her eyes. Was she proud of him?
Had he made a Court? Did that make him a king? That was awkw
ard if Felan saw him as king of the banished. It wasn’t a title he wanted. “Maybe it’s time the King started caring about what his subjects do in the mortal world.”
“He does. The Hunter enforces the rules on both sides of the veil.”
Henry shook his head. “That’s not what I meant. Greys feel abandoned as they are literally cut off from Annwyn. They have already been punished and they have nothing left to lose and nothing left to hope for.” Some came to terms with it, and some remained angry.
“Felan wants to make changes, but fairies resist change. We have long lives and long memories.” Her fingers traced the silver bars.
“I get that he’s in no rush because he has a baby on the way.” Which meant years could go past while he waited in his pretty prison. What would happen when his birthday came and went? A shiver raced down his back. “But while I’m here, who knows what is happening there?”
“I will know because that’s where I’ll be.” And she didn’t look overly thrilled about that. “I think that I’d rather be here.”
He wasn’t thrilled either. If Darah wasn’t around, who would come up and keep him informed? On the other hand knowing that she and Kaid were keeping things going at home would be reassuring. She understood what he was doing. She might even understand him. He’d spent so long making sure that no one really knew him that the idea was more than a little unnerving.
“Honestly, with no tricky words, what are the odds he’ll throw me in the river just to get rid of me?” His fingers may have gripped the bars a little tighter.
Darah frowned. It was those unguarded expressions that made his heart tighten. For a moment he actually saw past the mask she kept in place. She was concerned even if she was trying not to show it. That wasn’t a good sign. She really thought that this could go badly.
“I don’t think he will, and I don’t think he can without looking too much like his mother. However he’s in a difficult place so when you talk to him you must respect who he is and appear strong without being threatening. Show him the passion you showed me.”