by Meg Xuemei X
“Protect my queen,” he said.
“Our queen,” Rosalinda said, her green eyes flashing. “I’ll defend our queen with my very essence.”
“I’ll shed the last drop of my blood for my queen,” Zembyr thundered.
The rest of the Fae warriors pressed their hands tightly on the hilt of their swords, their eyes flashing fiercely. They were loyal beyond all doubt.
Rai nodded to Adrian. “We have it all covered.”
Adrian’s gaze lingered on Rosalinda for a second longer. “You be careful, too.” He shifted back to his dragon form and flew back toward his rank, his black scales sparkling in the faint sunlight.
Our small group prowled on. Everyone was tense, their hands on their weapons. We could be meeting a large enemy army on the other side. I was both nervous and thrilled at the anticipation of battle and bloodshed, my fingers flexing, ready to throw my White Light at any second, and praying it would come at my summoning.
Zembyr raised a hand, and every one halted.
“Here it is,” Rosalinda said, turning to me as she took a deep breath.
Blaze frowned. “I don’t see any difference. We’re still at the top of the valley, and I don’t see the barrier you mentioned.”
I let my magic roll off me, and it hit the invisible ward.
A shimmer of endless wall appeared in front of us.
My mates blinked.
Zembyr and the other warriors gasped.
“The royal glamour is with our queen!” Rosalinda said. “With it, she’ll see through the imposter’s tricks.”
“Get hold of yourself, Rosa,” Zembyr said. “We do not broadcast what our queen can do.”
Rosalinda stared hard at Zembyr, and he held her gaze firmly. It seemed they both commanded our small Fae army, and neither outranked the other. I might have to decide who should lead in the end. Rosalinda was brilliant and impulsive, but Zembyr was a solid rock.
“This is a stealth mission,” Iokul agreed. My ice dragon was all for sneaking up on our foes and striking them by surprise.
“The imposter queen knows that we’re coming,” Rosalinda said, thinning her lips.
“Shall we pass through?” I asked, keeping my face neutral, though my heart pounded so hard. I would soon face off with my ancient enemy, who was said to be powerful beyond measure, who enslaved a demigod.
What if I couldn’t overcome her but instead brought demise to everyone on my side? And what if I was already too late to save Elvey?
“Scouts!” Zembyr called, and one third of the Fae warriors gathered around him.
“We’ve waited centuries for this,” Zembyr said. “Let’s clear the path for our rightful queen!”
His inspiration speech was the shortest I’d ever heard.
Zembyr raised his longsword, dove into the shimmer, and disappeared from view.
The scouts charged after him and also vanished beyond the shimmer.
Henry growled and shot forward, and he was gone, too. Sybil chirped and flew around me, her wings beating rapidly.
I heard no sound from the other side. It was as if they had all fallen into a deep pond like a tiny rock, not causing a ripple.
Henry! I called, my heart jerking in anxiety.
He didn’t respond, but Sybil chirped furiously.
“What will happen to those who aren’t allowed to enter the Fae realm?” I asked.
“They die instantly on the other side,” said Rosalinda.
My eyes flashed darkly. “My hellhound just crossed,” I said. “He didn’t answer my call.”
I shouldn’t have let Henry come.
“Beasts belong to nature,” Rosalinda said softly. “He’ll be fine.”
I turned to gaze at my mates. They were dragons. Even though they’d mated to me and bonded to me, there was a chance that they could die on the other side. I wouldn’t survive if that happened. I wouldn’t sacrifice them.
Blood rushed in my ears as an unquenchable fear seized me.
My mates held my gaze steadily. They read my thoughts and dread.
“Not a chance,” Blaze said. “We go where you go. Not even death can stop us.”
I bit my lip. “I can’t risk this—”
“We’re risking it together,” Iokul said. “Trust us.”
Rai leaned in and kissed me with warm assurance.
I trembled, then I grabbed Iokul’s left hand and Rai’s right one. Blaze put his hand on my shoulder. I’d be using my bond to them to shield them.
Sybil, I called, and she landed on my forearm, her claws sinking into my skin.
We pushed through the shimmer together.
I felt a light resistance, as if the ward wanted to spit out my mates. It wouldn’t stop me, because it recognized me—the true ruler to Sihde.
They’re with me. They’re my mates. I ordered, my confidence and Fae magic suddenly filling my entire being. Let them through and let no harm come to them.
And then we were on the other side, all in one piece.
Zembyr and two warriors were waiting for us at the edge of the forest. The rest of the scouts spread further and cut deeper into the realm.
At the sight of me and my mates, Zembyr’s face immediately softened, the knotted muscles on his arms smoothing.
Henry rushed to me, rubbing my leg to greet me before trotting ahead. Sybil chased him, scolding him, before she landed on his stout back and preened his shiny, black fur.
“Told you, honeybee,” Blaze said with a sexy grin. “There’s nothing to worry about.”
I glanced over my shoulder. Our main army and the valley behind us had all vanished from sight. We’d entered another dimension—the most-guarded fairy realm.
A second later, Rosalinda and our rear force popped up behind us.
However, it didn’t bring me the slightest relief.
I recognized the forest ahead—the Forbidden Forest that was tied to the nightmares I still had every now and then.
It had stolen me from the Dragon Realm, from my family and friends. It’d whisked me away to an alien planet where I’d been cursed to spend my days as three Fury beasts for nine centuries.
My breath shortened, and my blood iced over as panic suddenly washed over me.
I couldn’t go into it again. I wouldn’t. I knew I was being a coward, but I couldn’t overcome this fear. What if the same curse swept over me again and took me away from my mates?
I stumbled back.
“This is the forest that once stole you, isn’t it?” Iokul said softly, eyes burning with cold fury.
The Fae warriors eyed me with the same fear and rage.
Rosalinda had told me when the curse hit me, all the dark Fae had felt it. They’d felt a piece being torn from them, because I was supposed to be their next queen, but I’d been taken captive, and none of them could find me.
I couldn’t help but shudder.
I hadn’t thought this kind of fear could get to me again.
I had thought I was fearless after having been Furies for centuries. What worse could fate and my enemies do to me?
But here I was, trembling in fear.
I hadn’t had much to lose when I’d been the beasts, but now I had everything to lose.
Rai and Blaze wrapped me in their arms.
“We’re right here with you,” Rai whispered in my ear.
Blaze’s dragon fire poured into me, igniting mine and burning away the dark fear. Warmth, vigor, and courage surged into my being through my bond with my mates.
The icy coldness in my bones dissipated.
I was not alone. I would never be alone.
My consort kings were my anchors and steel. When I was at my weakest, they became my strength. They cherished my vulnerability and protected it.
I straightened my spine. I couldn’t afford to show weakness like this again. I would soon face the dark Fae queen and the hostile forces against me.
I moved out of my mates’ arms, stood tall, and became every bit the true Fae queen I w
as meant to be.
They said, fake it until you make it. But I didn’t need to fake it. Not anymore.
I nodded to my companions. “Let’s go.”
And we headed into the Forbidden Forest.
3
The forest was a fairy world of blue and silver, leaves and blossoms from the trees glowing like little stars in the deep night. But I knew how lethal this dreamy forest could be.
It’d stolen centuries from me.
We didn’t curse you and steal you away, multiple voices said, musical yet tired. We were cursed as well, and we’ve been waiting for your return.
My feet padded on the dead leaves, and I swept my gaze around, searching for the voices.
“Did you hear that?” I asked my companions.
The warriors tensed up, but none of them seemed to have heard the whispers.
My mates moved closer to me, fingers curving around the hilts of their swords, ready to eliminate any threat.
“The Forbidden Forest has never given me the creeps as it is now,” Rosalinda said, darting her eyes around wildly.
“It’s changed. Something happened to it,” Zembyr said grimly.
They’d just articulated what I’d felt. Something was wrong here. The forest was full of wrongness.
I opened my senses and probed.
A faint magic—dark and depraved—tapped me. It was both strange and familiar. My heart skipped a beat when I realized that Sihde was communicating with me.
However, when I cautiously opened myself to it telepathically, it withdrew.
It was holding back the truth about itself.
It was ashamed.
I sent out a wave of magic, stretching out and ripping off any glamour.
The dreamy blue silver and the blossoms all faded, revealing what the real Forbidden Forest was.
It was blackened, withered, and dying.
It was desolate.
Everyone saw the forest’s true form and gagged at its acid scent of decay.
“What the fuck is that?” Blaze called.
“Tianna poisoned and glamoured it,” Rosalinda hissed. “And our true queen has shown us what’s left of the forest.”
The multiple voices I’d heard before wailed. It didn’t take long for the wailing to turn bitter and menacing.
Before I could react to the forest’s sudden change of mood, mutant ivy vines burst from the ground. Within seconds, the vines were everywhere, shooting out in every direction and surging toward us in attacking waves. Their edges were razor sharp and toxic, similar to the cannibal plants from Pandemonium.
The warriors gave a yell and slashed their swords through the air, hacking at the plants in front of them, jumping up to avoid the vines’ ensnarement, and cutting the branches beneath their feet in frantic movements.
My mates shifted, fending off the poison ivy with fire, lightning, and ice.
The vines trapped a few warriors, wrapping around their legs, and dragging them away. As soon as the warriors cut off the assaulting vines, new vines gripped them.
“Protect the queen!” Zembyr snarled as he fought toward me, slicing the plants with all his might.
The vines clasped the warriors’ faces and tried to puncture their armor. The warriors cursed profusely as the ivy turned their faces into patches of rashes.
Rosalinda bent her head and yelped as a branch wrapped around her ponytail. Blaze opened his mouth, ready to spit fire to help her.
“No, no! No fire. My hair!” Rosalinda cried in panic.
And I’d thought a fierce warrior such as her was above being vain.
Henry bit into the vine connected to her hair and freed Rosalinda. My hellhound had a lot of experience with nasty plants.
“Good beast!” Rosalinda praised him, and when the next vines came for my hellhound in revenge, Rosalinda returned the favor.
Sybil swooped between the trees, chirping, calling a warning or two and constantly giving instructions. For some reasons the ivy left Sybil alone, and Henry gave Sybil an evil eye.
Iokul growled as several vines worked together from the ground and air and tied around his midriff.
No matter how angry the forest was, the plants didn’t dare attack me.
I stomped on the forest floor and hissed. “Enough!”
The power from my Fae side that I’d once used to bond the beasts on Pandemonium to me rolled off me with a punishing force, a violent wind with teeth and claws slammed into the badly behaved ivy.
My bonding magic could also chastise and bind all subjects to my will. Though I wouldn’t use it unless it was necessary—I didn’t believe in slavery.
“When you go to the fairy land, your Fae powers will awake and enhance,” Elvey had told me.
Sihde was sick and twisted now, but it was still my land and my realm.
“Stop!” I commanded, and the ivy vines retreated as one, mortified at my harsh reproach.
We weren’t like this, the multiple voices whimpered in protest.
“Who are you?” I asked, my voice filled with authority.
We’re the guardians of the Forbidden Forest. Some call us the forest spirits. The forest was beautiful once, though also lethal.
I’d stripped the glamour the evil queen had cast upon it.
Had Tianna glamoured the Forbidden Forest, so her court wouldn’t know she’d made the realm ill? Why had she poisoned Sihde as the current sovereign?
“I didn’t expect it to be so bad,” Rosalinda said, wiping at the tears falling from her eyes. “That bitch destroyed our home.”
My mates shifted back to their human forms and gathered around me.
Everyone had rashes on their skin, except me.
The dark queen ordered us to attack, one of the spirits’ voices rose again, but since you’re here now, she’s no longer our queen.
We’ve come to warn you, another spirit said.
Then the third voice murmured, We waited and waited for you to come home to heal us, but you never came.
Somehow, I could differentiate between the voices.
It’s been so long, our queen, the first spirit’s voice started again.
“I’ve come,” I said. “I’ll make Sihde right again. I’ll purge the evil from the realm and make you wholesome again. My words are binding.”
I heard a satisfied, collective sigh. You’ll have our alliance, true queen. Be aware of the double faces and two foulest entities in one. Only when you and your mates find her darkest secret will you overcome the dark power and free us all. Be aware of the betrayals; not all are who they appear to be.
Was this another riddle? Puzzles made my head spin.
“Who will betray us?” Rosalinda asked.
This time, everyone had heard the spirits’ words.
The warriors stared at hard at each other, as if wanting to nail the traitor right now to the tree. The forest spirits’ message was clear—there were moles among us.
“Who will betray my mate?” Iokul pursued the question in a soft, lethal voice. “Who?”
The ones closest to the queen, the spirits said.
My brow furrowed. My mates were the closest to me. The other warriors sent a glance their way before quickly darting away their gaze at my glare.
My mates would never betray me. They’d rather eat their own hearts before they hurt me.
“Clarify!” Rai demanded. “We need names!”
But the spirits had withdrawn into the depth of the forest, completely silent.
A shadow fell on everyone’s face.
“We shall not let dissent grow among us,” I said, scanning the warriors. “We need to be a united front. Innocent until proven guilty, no matter what the spirits say.”
“We’ll not be divided,” Zembyr said, approval and respect shining in his eyes before steel returned to them. “But if anyone betrays our queen, I’ll play with their intestines. Their death won’t be quick.”
That was a bit graphic.
“Anyone betrays my mate, includi
ng me and my brothers,” Blaze said. “I’ll skin him and roast him.”
The forest turned deathly quiet.
It revealed the path to its other side and led us to the dark Fae high court, where the evil queen dwelled and ruled.
4
Blood-red trees lined several arches we walked through. We kept our eyes peeled for any enemies.
The surrounding was eerily quiet, except for our footsteps on the grass.
My warriors were tense, their knuckles white on the hilts of their swords. Zembyr and fifty or so Fae marched at the front, my mates and Rosalinda guarding me in the middle, and over a hundred rebel Fae warriors brought up the rear.
Our main army remained just outside the Fae realm. Only once Sihde and I had a pact could I break down the veil and summon my army inside. I needed to form a bond with this realm, but I didn’t know how.
It was a great risk to bring little than a hundred Fae warriors into the enemy’s territory, but it was the only option. I wasn’t planning on killing any other Fae, except Tianna and her true supporters. Bringing a small army deep into the enemy’s heart would also send a message to the other Fae under her thumb—that I did not fear Tianna and I came to claim what was mine without causing carnage.
We prowled on, ready for an attack. Though we were a small number, every warrior I brought was lethal.
“The enemy army must be camped near,” Zembyr said in a low and menacing voice.
The assault we expected never arrived. Nor were there any enemy guards in sight.
What kind of game was Tianna playing?
I quit my speculating, because it might be her plan to unnerve me. But I knew she was waiting for me, like the queen spider waiting for a fly.
“I don’t like this,” Rai said from beside me.
A red palace of ivory, wood, and glass loomed ahead in the midst of an ocean that looked like dark, glinting glass. At a second glance, I’d seen through the ocean as a glamour. There was never an ocean, but a vast citadel melding into a forest.
My mates narrowed their eyes.
The assembly kept their soldiers’ faces. They couldn’t see through the illusion.