by Chloe Jacobs
“Leander.” Isaac rose slowly. He didn’t seem as surprised to see the gnome king out in public. Then again, he was notoriously good at hiding his emotions. She’d been on the receiving end of that deadpan look enough times to know.
“I hope you and your retinue enjoy goblin hospitality. I’ve saved a special place here at my table so you’ll have no difficulty hearing my announcement when the time comes.” Isaac pointed to his left with a nod and three goblins rushed toward the empty seats to fill goblets and bring bread.
The gnome king harrumphed and made a loud production of seating himself, yelling for the good wine and complaining about the speed of service.
Isaac slipped her a subtle grin that she understood perfectly. “Keep your friends close and your enemies closer” was apparently a universal concept.
Just when she thought the hall couldn’t hold as much as another dwarf, a group of big ogres entered.
The building should have been freezing considering how often those doors had been thrown open, but the body heat from so many people had kept the temperature warm enough for the fires to have been left to smolder, coats to have been tossed aside, and the ripe scent of underwashed bodies to permeate the air.
Another of Isaac’s guards bent close to whisper in his ear. His expression tightened and he nodded.
“What’s going on?” she whispered to Isaac.
He shook his head. “Don’t worry about it.”
She ground her teeth. “You know I hate when you say that. If something is wrong, I want to know. I can help,” she insisted. “I’m not just a pretty face, you know.”
“Are you saying that I can’t handle my kingdom without you?” He did that imperious eyebrow thing that made her want to scream.
“I wouldn’t say you can’t,” she teased. “But you know you wouldn’t want to.”
“Which brings us back to the reason for being here tonight.” He patted her hand. “You will trust me.”
She shrugged and lifted the only utensil on the table in front of her. “All right, but when the fighting breaks out and I save your life with this wooden spoon, you’re going to admit that you should have let me bring my sword.”
Their gazes held until someone else came to whisper in his ear. Greta faced forward and caught a small group edging through the crowd. There were four, each draped in long gray cloaks with hoods pulled up over their heads. At first glance they might have been mistaken for sprites, but Greta’s internal alarm system was going haywire.
Faerie.
It was virtually unheard of for faerie kind to mingle with other Myleans. Of course there’d been that one…and he’d been intent on murdering her. As much as she wanted to give everyone in Mylena a chance, the faeries didn’t leave her with much to hope for.
Where did they come from, if not the barricaded Glass Kingdom? When had they arrived? What did they want?
“Where’s Siona?” She just realized there was no sign of her.
“I do not know,” he admitted with a frown.
Cold, sharp fear sliced through her chest. “Isaac.”
“I see them.” Well, at least she knew he hadn’t invited the faeries without telling her.
His whole body had stiffened beside her, humming like a bowstring being snapped. When he curled his hand into a fist on top of the banquet table, she saw that the claws were out, and her heartbeat kicked up a notch.
He rose and called in a booming voice, “You there. Attend me.”
The faeries glanced up, showing no surprise at being summoned by the goblin king. They turned toward the head table, stopping opposite Isaac just as Leander had done. Speak of the devil, the gnome king took the opportunity to slip back into the crowd, a tankard still clutched in his hand.
Three goblin guards closed in. The scrape of steel being drawn from leather sheaths made her nervous. If worst came to worst, she’d have to use the small dagger strapped to her ankle.
Isaac got to his feet, so Greta quickly did the same. He lifted his hand, and after only a slight hesitation, the guards behind them resheathed their weapons. She opened her mouth to protest. Who knew what kind of magick these faeries had up their sleeves? The last one of their kind she’d tackled had caged her inside a spinning tornado of flesh-burning smoke.
But when two of them lowered the hoods of their thick woolen cloaks, revealing their faces and the decorative embroidery of their outfits, Greta gasped. They were so young, no older than herself.
“Your Highness,” said the girl, sinking into a formal curtsy.
She had the face of an angel. Her pale skin glowed and her bright blue eyes were disconcertingly sharp. She had long, super-pale blond hair that fell to her waist and seemed to blow back in a bit of a breeze, even though the main doors had shut once more.
The same went for her companion, who must be related. A brother, if Greta had to guess. He had the same coloring and the same eyes, and he looked about the same age. They might even be twins.
It would be easy to come to the conclusion that these two were harmless, but the moment she let herself believe that would probably be the moment they attacked.
Isaac crossed his arms and nodded at the two young faeries. “Your Highnesses. What calls the faerie prince and princess away from the Glass Kingdom after all these years?”
Highnesses? These two were faerie royalty? How did Isaac know?
Looking more closely, it was actually pretty obvious. The two faeries were so embarrassingly round eyed. They wore impractical clothing and were flanked by two warrior faeries almost as young as the prince and princess. They still looked formidable, but nothing like the ancient, fearsome Lazarus, whose icy power had preceded him before he even entered a room.
Isaac was being polite, but tension and suspicion surrounded him like a heavy cloak. She was pretty sure nobody but her could see it, though. He might still have doubts about how well he was going to fill his father’s shoes, but she didn’t doubt for a second that Isaac had been born to be a king. He hid his true feelings well and handled the games and intrigue of this world like a pro.
The faerie guards stepped back a few steps as the boy bent into a stiff bow before Isaac. One of the warriors glanced up. He had crystal-blue eyes and blond hair. Not perfectly blond like the prince and princess, but like he’d tossed around in a bit of soot before getting dressed that morning. She decided that this one was a little tougher than the others. In fact, he was pale and wiry like Lazarus had been, with similar features. Just younger.
And hopefully less psychotic.
Greta followed his gaze.
Siona.
Greta released a relieved sigh. Where the heck were you? she mouthed with a frown.
Distracted, Siona shook her head. Her gaze was drawn to the faerie guests. She managed to convey her signature brand of calm, cool disdain as she looked over the newcomers…except for a deep flush of color staining her cheeks.
Greta started to relax. It certainly didn’t seem as if an icy showdown was about to erupt here in the goblin court.
Everyone had pretty much ignored her so far until the young princess said, “We have heard tales about you, Danem Greta. Word of your strength and skill as a bounty hunter has found its way to our borders.”
The young girl ducked her head and dipped into another perfect curtsy, but she didn’t stand back up. After a long moment Greta realized she was going to stay like that until Greta returned the sentiment, so she gave it a shot. Her curtsy was wobbly and pathetic.
The girl straightened, folding her hands in front of her and turning back to Isaac. “We come as emissaries of Queen Minetta. My name is Leila, and this is my brother, Byron.”
“Your Majesties,” she said tightly, managing another pathetic curtsy for the prince’s benefit. “I’ve made the acquaintance of your kind before, although I can’t say that the circumstances were ideal.”
Leila’s brow raised. “You met one of us?”
“A bounty hunter named Lazarus.” Her tone made it
clear that he hadn’t made a stellar impression.
“Ah. Please don’t consider him to be representative of the entire faerie race. You understand, of course, that one does not speak for all.”
Considering that’s exactly what she’d always hoped the rest of Mylena would come to accept about humans, Greta knew she had to give the prince and princess the benefit of the doubt. Convincing Isaac, who was already bristling with suspicion, might be more difficult, but he’d accepted her, hadn’t he? Was it possible that even the elusive faeries could become allies? What if Mylena could get to the point where it was no longer divided by race at all?
“Unfortunately,” Leila said, “Lazarus was banished from our kingdom long ago. However, I recently heard that he…” She trailed off. It was obvious she knew exactly what had happened to Lazarus.
Isaac cleared his throat. “You are welcome to stay to hear my announcement and partake of refreshment before returning home,” he said tightly, making it clear that hospitality did not equal trust.
Both the prince and princess graciously bent their heads. Leila’s smile was warm as she looked up at Greta again. “Perhaps we’ll have an opportunity to speak again later.”
“That would be nice,” she said, and it was true, even though Isaac tensed beside her. It could only benefit them to have some insight into the mysterious faerie race while there were representatives of the faerie queen herself right here.
The faeries melted back into the crowd. Even though Greta was watching them, one second they were weaving around goblin folk, and the next she couldn’t find them at all. She envied that neat trick. She’d once had the ability to blend in almost as well…before the secret of her true nature had been revealed to all of Mylena, and before she’d become the goblin king’s…um, what, exactly?
If Greta was really going to stay in Mylena with Isaac, then maybe formalizing their relationship wasn’t such a horrible idea. It would give her some credibility, right? Maybe she could even help Isaac bring Mylena out of the dark ages. This might be the start of some real positive change for this world, and when the history books were written they could say she was the one who put an end to prejudice and hatred across all the species.
She glanced over at Isaac. Keep dreaming. His eyes had gone black and the hair on his arms stood on end. He was obviously reacting to the mounting tensions that the arrival of the faeries had brought to the crowded room. Was he having second thoughts?
Nervous, she curled her fingers around his and squeezed. “Maybe we could get out of here for a few minutes,” she suggested lightly. “You know, catch our breath.” His gaze cleared as he focused on her, and she grinned. “Come on, you know you want to get some alone time with me.”
“I know how fond you are of ravishing me in closets,” he whispered with a grin.
She shook her head. “One time…and you’re never going to let me forget it, are you?”
“But when I do get you alone again, I don’t want to be rushed.”
The Great Mother save her, that sounded hot. Maybe hotter than she was technically ready for, but heck, never let it be said that Greta wasn’t all for bringing their relationship to the next level.
Her imagination was deep into overdrive when Isaac raised an eyebrow and shook his head. “It is time,” he said.
She swallowed hard, forcing her head back into the game—so to speak.
Isaac stood again, his chair skittering back across the floor with a loud screech that made her wince. When that only succeeded in getting half of the massive room’s undivided attention immediately, he grabbed his tankard and thumped it on the table in three booming knocks. Thankfully, it was empty.
Three goblins each raised a horn to their lips, but these were nothing like the musical instruments Greta had known in the human world. They emitted a single sharp blast of sound that captured the attention of the entire room and made Greta’s ears ring in the process.
The noise level went from raucous to hushed before the echo of the horns had dispersed into the rafters of the ceiling. All eyes were on Isaac…and her, as if everyone already knew that this was somehow going to be about her.
She wanted to duck and hide, but forced herself to square her shoulders and look straight ahead. Isaac deserved someone strong and confident at his side, and even if she wasn’t that person…she’d gotten good at pretending to be lots of things.
Although she tried to keep her gaze steady and calm, as soon as Isaac spoke, she looked. At him. She saw only him. There were so many different sides to this boy, but he always mesmerized her, especially when he played this role. The goblin king.
Power and conviction rolled off his shoulders and bled from his pores. He was absolutely invulnerable but still approachable, the people’s king. Because underneath it all, the fact that he cared about Mylena was unmistakable.
She was in awe, and if she didn’t know he’d lord it over her forever, she might even tell him that one of these days.
His voice sailed over the crowd like a crack of thunder. “It is no secret that for many hundreds of years, our lands have been under a curse. The Great Mother deemed Mylena unworthy of her gifts and abandoned us to the endless winter.”
Greta winced. Did he really have to go there?
“And for many hundreds of years we have blamed humans for this curse, but we were wrong to do so.” He paused for effect. “I was wrong to do so. Humans are not the scourge we have been warned against for so long. In fact, it was a human. This human”—he took her hand—“who finally released Mylena from Agramon’s evil and reawakened the Great Mother from her cold slumber.” He seemed to spear each and every person in the crowd with his hard gaze, daring to be contradicted.
The grumbling and gasps built on top of each other until the entire hall was buzzing again.
King Leander stepped forward, pointing at Isaac. “How do you come to the conclusion that the Great Mother has returned to Mylena when the lands remain encrusted in ice as always, and the endless snow continues to fall, even at this very moment? This human has bewitched you!” He swung around in a flamboyant circle, twisting the ends of his ugly beard with a twinkle in his eyes that promised trouble. “She released a demon that had been safely confined for hundreds of years, and now she has bewitched the goblin king in order to spread her evil to all of us!” he yelled.
Isaac lifted his hand for silence. The rumblings lessened, but did not quiet completely.
“The Great Mother is returned to us.”
A door opened at the back of the hall. Suddenly, goblin maids started filing into the room one after another with their arms full of…something. Greta blinked as she tried to figure out what they were carrying.
Flowers!
They started handing flowers to everyone, and in a perfectly choreographed move, one of the maids passed off a large bouquet to Isaac. He held it up to her with a vulnerability in his gaze that shook her to the core.
No. She had no regrets about staying.
She took the flowers gently, surprise washing over her. “Thank you,” she whispered. She dared not squeeze the stalk of the bouquet. The stems felt so thin and delicate in her hands, the most delicate thing she’d touched in years.
He leaned in and pressed a kiss to her lips right there in front of everyone—not that many people noticed with all the excitement.
The blooms were small and underdeveloped, but they were real. She brought them up to her nose. They smelled real, too. You don’t realize how much you’ve missed something until it’s thrust in your face. The heavy aroma tickling the inside of her nose as she breathed in the perfume of flowers brought on an ache that threatened to bowl her over with homesickness.
Greta had never seen a flower in Mylena. Not one. Nothing so fragile and beautiful could survive the harsh, cursed climate. “Where did these come from?” she whispered, wondering if there was a secret royal greenhouse hidden away somewhere.
“Here, the snow may still be falling, but farther south the change is a
lready noticeable. The ice is melting, the air is growing warmer.” Had he actually seen the fresh green shoots poking out of the ground? “I wouldn’t have believed it, either, but it seems that spring is on its way.”
Spring. Could it really be true? She grinned. “Do you know what this means?”
He nodded. “The curse is broken. It means that Mylena can change, and its people can change. They have no reason not to accept you any longer.”
She hated to point out the obvious and put a damper on his expectations, but even if the suns blazed down upon Mylena until it was hot enough to splash around in the newly thawed lakes wearing nothing but a string bikini, there would be those who would say that the heat was just another curse to be blamed on the humans. There would always be something, some reason for people to hate.
But what if he was right? What if the two of them could beat the hate, be a force for change, and have a real life, a normal life, together?
Isaac’s voice boomed as he straightened and claimed everyone’s attention once again. “In the time of our ancestors, the kings and queens of Mylena would have gone before the Great Mother and sought her approval of their choice of life mate. But the breaking of our curse is a sign that the Great Mother has already approved of my queen, and so I will ask no one’s permission to take her as mine.”
He turned to her, looking deep into her eyes. “I ask for none but yours.”
Her breath caught. Her vision blurred. Queen? That wasn’t the commitment speech she’d been expecting. Suddenly there was a heck of a lot more pressure and responsibility bearing down on her, and she couldn’t breathe.
The entire hall stilled and waited for her response. Isaac’s expression tightened as he waited, too. He saw her uncertainty, but she couldn’t make this one easier for him, not if she wanted to stay true to herself.
“Isaac, this is…” She didn’t even know…
She tugged on the hem of his jacket until he bent down. She hissed under her breath. “Just how soon is this wedding, or coronation, or whatever you’ve got planned supposed to happen?”