Enchanted: A Fae Fantasy Romance (Fae Magic Book 3)

by Jessica Aspen

  “It’s amazing.” She took it gingerly, stroking the smooth wood and running her finger along the string. “Where did you get it?”

  A shadow crossed his face. “It’s a lady’s bow and my sister’s. That’s why it’s the shorter length.” Deep within his newly blue eyes she could see a deep pain she recognized.

  “I’m sorry, I’ve lost family too.” She handed the bow back to him. “Thank you for loaning it to me.”

  “I’ll teach you how to string and un-string it when we stop tonight. For now, consider it part of your costume. There are arrows in there too.” He unstrung it, placing it back in the case and handing it to her by the strap. “And they’re magic. If you miss your target they’ll come back to the case, so no searching after lost arrows in the forest.”

  Something dark again passed over his face.

  She reached out and touched his hand. The first time she’d touched him since finding out about his betrayal. “You loved her very much,” she said. She might not trust him, but now that she had her memory back, she understood loss.

  “I still do,” he said. He blew out a breath. “Enough of that. We need to get you out and the war party is leaving.”

  The parade of fine lords and ladies riding out on a rainbow of glossy elvatian steeds had Cassie trying not to stare. As the princess she’d been locked in the castle and gardens. She hadn’t even known there were horses in the outbuildings. Bosco kept Cassie back with the foot soldiers and far away from the group of young lords he was familiar with as they headed toward the castle exit under the watchful eyes of the queen’s guard.

  He leaned over and whispered in her ear, “This is it. No matter what happens, keep moving. If something goes wrong, run for the Black Forest. I’ll be close behind. We need to get you out and get you to my contact. She’ll know how to reach the prince.”

  “And my sister. Bryanna is with Kian, so we’ll go wherever she is, right?”

  He didn’t answer right away, a blank expression running over his stranger’s face.

  Cassie didn’t like the ripple in her stomach. Nerves, she told herself as they got closer to the guards, just nerves.

  “I’m sure my contact will be able to find her,” he finally said. She had to be satisfied with that.

  They neared the gate.

  “Halt!”

  A guard headed straight at them, his face hard, the sharp point of his pike extended, cutting through the crowd like butter. The crowd surrounding them melted away. Bosco’s hand touched her shoulder, urging her forward and to the side. She could see the man’s eyes, neon green in his coffee-colored skin.

  “You there!”

  She froze. Bosco moved his body behind hers and shoved her forward. She stumbled. The guard glanced at her and moved past, heading for someone behind her. She kept walking woodenly forward pushed on by Bosco’s confident pressure, the blood thundering in her ears.

  They passed under the sharp-toothed portcullis. Behind them she heard a scuffle break out. She cast a quick glance over her shoulder. The guard was struggling with someone with white hair, someone who looked remarkably like Bosco.

  “What...”

  “Don’t stop,” Bosco said and kept walking. She moved forward, squeezing the strap of the longbow as if it were an anchor. Then they were out, walking in the pre-dawn light on the castle road that led down into the small valley of green fields surrounded by the grim trees of the forest.

  “We made it.”

  “Shh. We’re not safe yet.” They followed the crowd to the wide set of three standing stones. “We still have to get through the Gate and slip away.”

  “A Gate.” Her words came out so thin she didn’t think he’d even heard her. Her stomach twisted. What the hell had she gotten herself into? Humans didn’t do well in Gates. Everyone would suspect her as soon as she came out the other side and collapsed, heaving her guts out. She might do okay. She was a gypsy witch. Gypsies all had fae blood, but would it be enough to carry her through the Gate?

  One by one the fae walked through to the standing stones, and disappeared in a flash of light. First the lords and ladies on their fine horses, then the tiny winged fae, armed to the teeth with needle-sharp swords. Next, an enormous lion strode through. The crowd giving him a wide berth and after he entered the stones there was a pause.

  “Lions hate Gates,” Bosco whispered in her ear. His fingers wrapped around her upper arm and he walked her up to the shimmering dark mists of the portal. “We’ll go next. He’ll provide a distraction on the other side.”

  Cassie dragged back. “I’m not ready for this.” She’d only been through a Gate once before, when she’d been snatched up by the Black Queen. Her stomach twisted. She remembered every detail now. The swirling grey mists where things with sharp teeth and haunted misshapen faces taunted you, reaching out from the horror of your own nightmares.

  Bosco’s fingers dug into her arm. He whispered in her ear, his words urgent. “Remember, you look like a Tuathan warrior. Act like one if you don’t want to be a prisoner of the queen.”

  They moved ahead, Cassie’s entire body resisting every step between the stones and her passage into the Gate.

  Chapter Twenty-five

  Bosco stepped out of the Gate and turned to catch Cassie. He’d realized as they walked toward the standing stones that her human body was not going to make it through easily, but she came out of the portal walking, a surprised look on her face.

  “I’m okay,” she said, shaking his hand loose and following him into the broad grassy field.

  “You’re sure?”

  “I’m sure. What’s wrong with him?”

  He glanced back where the Tuathan warriors surrounded the massive shaking lion. “None of the felines respond well to Gates. Something about their nine lives catching up to them.”

  The lion made a horrible sound, somewhere between a wail and a curse. His shoulders hunched and his whole body rippled with strain. Fae ran every which way, some down to the tents being raised in the valley below, some running into the distance toward the line of trees. Anything to get away from the sound of the angry king of beasts hacking up a karmic fur ball.

  “Let’s go.” Bosco led Cassie to the edge of the forest and dropped another glamour on them, this one a shimmering vision that would deflect the eye and make it seem like they were simply some of the scenery moving in the wind.

  “Where are we?”

  “Shh.” He checked to be sure no one had followed them. “Let’s wait to talk.”

  They were still on the edge of the wood, where the trees were fewer and farther between and the sunlight of a new morning crept in, but as they followed the trail deeper into the woods the ominous quiet of the true forest descended.

  When he was confident they were alone he spoke, keeping his voice hushed. You never knew what might be listening in the trees. “That open field was the Ring. It’s the largest known clear space in the forest, and only a few leagues from the Black Court.”

  “Where are we meeting your contact?” Cassie’s voice was suitably hushed, but until they were away, he wouldn’t feel safe from the queen.

  He held a finger to his lips. “Let’s get farther away from the camp where I can open the next portal, before we discuss our plans.”

  He heard her rush of breath at his words. With her purple and black hair in elvatian braids and the shiny silver glint of war jewelry in her hair, she could be any fae warrior. He wondered how deep her transformation went. She’d walked out of the mists with no problem, just like the Tuathan warrior she resembled and not a human witch.

  When he’d judged they’d gotten far enough away he opened a portal and held out his hand. She stared at it.

  “Second thoughts?” He quirked a brow at her. “Look, I’ve gotten you this far, trust me a little farther.”

  Not that she should trust him. She absolutely should not. He was saving her from the queen, but he was turning her over to someone else whose intentions were murky. He maintained
the smooth face that had kept him alive so far, but inside his conviction that he would do anything to save Siobhan began to waver.

  Cassie reached out and slid her palm into his, her smaller hand felt fragile in his larger calloused one. “I’ll give you a shot.”

  He viciously stuffed his guilt down and led her into the swirling mist of the portal.

  They exited into the moonlight of the meeting place. He scanned the clearing, checking for an ambush. It was empty, only the quiet sound of crickets and the night breaking the silence.

  “Is this it?” She paced the small grassy area while he set up a perimeter spell. “What happens next? You said we were meeting someone. Where is she?”

  “I don’t know, but I’ll find out. Stay over there, by that log and out of sight.” She moved to one edge of the clearing and he moved to the other. He glanced down at the ring on his finger. He wasn’t sure how much the moonstone would show. How much she’d see. It was too late now for second thoughts, but he wanted to shelter Cassie as much as he could. While he could.

  He held out the ring.

  The cloaked figure appeared. “I can’t talk. We’re on the move getting ready to attack the queen. Do you have her?”

  He glanced at Cassie. This was it. His chance to be the hero and not turn her over. But Siobhan waited, like she’d waited for a hundred years. If only he had a hundred more he could save Cassie and save Siobhan. But he didn’t have that option. “Yes. I have her.”

  “Good. You’ll have to keep her safe for me another night. Something dark has arisen and I can’t meet you until tomorrow night.”

  “What do you want me to do with her?”

  “Protect her. She’s the last hope of the prophecy and I need her.”

  “The damn prophecy.”

  The prophecy had failed. Kian had had his heart snared by the MacElvy witch, and they were now wed. And nothing had happened. The queen hadn’t toppled from power. She hadn’t died. Nothing his employer had looked forward to had occurred. “When will you realize it’s failed?”

  She laughed, a hollow dark sound. “When will you realize that your role is bigger than you think? The prophecy hasn’t failed, its simply taking it’s time. But the end is near.” She checked over her shoulder, then looked back into her own ring. “Keep her safe, or all is lost. I’m counting on you.” Her image wavered.

  “Wait!”

  “Yes?”

  “Are you in contact with the prince? Can you get him a message? He needs to know, the queen has been told he’s attacking the Black Court and has sent her army to ambush him when he arrives. She’s at the Summer Castle with only a skeleton guard. If he wants to take her down, now is the perfect opportunity.”

  She inclined her head in acknowledgment. “I thank you. And the prince will thank you. Keep the witch safe.” And she was gone.

  Cassie stared at him from across the small clearing. “Prophecy?” Her brows drew together in a deep frown. “What the hell is going on, Bosco?”

  “If we’re going to stay here I need to strengthen the wards. The forest has a mind of it’s own and I don’t want to wake up bound in the roots of a tree. Or imprisoned in a rock.”

  She nodded. “Okay. I’ll build a fire.” She shivered and rubbed her hands up and down her bare arms. “It’s getting cold.”

  He enlarged and strengthened the magical protection around the campsite and they settled around the fire. He handed her some journey cake.

  She took a cautious sniff and then bit in, her small, even teeth digging into the cake. “It’s delicious, like a soft fae granola bar with oats and honey.” She licked her lips and it went straight to his groin.

  She devoured the cake, bite by bite, and he wished things were different between them, wished she would take him on—bite by bite.

  He gave her another cake and pulled out his drinking skin from his pouch. “Water?”

  “Thanks.” She took a swig. “So, is there a full dinner in there?” She wiped her mouth and pointed to the small knapsack.

  He laughed. “No, too bad though. It would taste good right about now. A full dinner won’t keep. This’ll be enough and if needs be, I’ll hunt.”

  They ate in silence and he tried not to be obvious about taking all of her in. She’d be gone soon and he’d be off to face his destiny and rescue Siobhan. Finally after a hundred years. He’d spent every minute of it planning for the time when he could return and repay her for her sacrifice. And now? Now he wished he could delay and take the time to save Cassie. But the summer solstice approached, and if he delayed too long, he might miss it. And the consequences of that were too dire for him to deviate from his set course now. Even for Cassie of the soft hair, and sweet scent.

  She reached for the water. “We went through that portal, are we still in the Black Forest?”

  He nodded.

  “How far away are we from the camp?”

  “Far enough.”

  “What if they find us?”

  “They won’t. The forest is vast. It stretches through this portion of Underhill and into the next. You’ll find it here, there, everywhere. Even on your own Earth.”

  “Can we go there? To Earth?” She asked, her eyes lit with excitement. “How does that work?”

  “Follow the right trail and you might get there a hundred years from when you started, but you’d think only a day had passed. Follow a different trail and you’d end a hundred years before.” He looked at her meaningfully. “Regardless of knowing the paths, it’s dangerous. Don’t wander off.”

  “Or I’ll get eaten. Right?”

  “There are giants, trolls, packs of feral goblins. If you’re lucky, they’ll kill you quickly. If not—”

  She shivered. “So why are we here?”

  “We’re safe enough for now. The Fir-Bolg keep safe areas and paths for themselves. They hate the Tuathan. The queen’s folk won’t come too deep into the forest. They’ll stick close to the boundaries of the Black Court demesne and we’re well away from that. Besides, they’re busy creating battle plans for the prince. Thanks to you, they plan to ambush him on his way to the Black Court.” He threw another log on the fire and watched it catch fire.

  “Who are the Fir-Bolg?”

  He shook his head. “I forget looking at you that you know nothing of being Tuathan. The queen did an excellent job. Until you ask questions like that, no one would think twice about you being fae. The Fir-Bolg are another clan of elvatian. They and the Tuathan have been at war for centuries. Because the prince is fighting the queen, they have joined his cause.”

  “And you? Which side are you on?”

  He gave her a grim smile. “I’m on my own side.” He could have been on Kian’s side. Once, a long time ago, Prince Kian had offered him friendship. But Bosco couldn’t afford friends.

  She pulled her cloak tight around her shoulders, wrapping her arms in the folds and hugging herself.

  “Are you cold?”

  “A little. But mostly I need information. I need to know, what is the prophecy and why does your friend think it would concern itself with me?”

  “First of all, she’s not a friend. Far from it. She employs me. And second of all, the prophecy is about the MacElvy’s and you are one of the last, are you not?”

  Her eyes widened. “Tell me,” she said, her voice suddenly hoarse.

  He cleared his throat before reciting,

  “One like ivy shall entwine

  An elven prince wilt then be bind

  This downfall then the queen’s shall be

  Enacted by the MacElvy”

  His words died off into the silence. He’d only just learned of the prophecy, the queen had suppressed it for years. But as a spy, information was his bread and butter.

  “Why would your employer think it has to do with me? Wouldn’t it make more sense if it was about Prince Kian and my sister? They’ve been married for a while now. Why isn’t the queen dead?”

  “Maybe it’s not real. Maybe it needs somethi
ng more. Maybe it’s just slow. Who knows? It’s a prophecy.” He poked the fire with a stick, making tiny bright sparks rise up into the night. “And don’t count on it killing the queen. ‘Downfall’ isn’t very specific. Like a lot of what we fae say, it could mean many things.”

  “But your contact, she seems to think it’s real.”

  “Yes, she does.” He picked up a long stick and poked a log. “She’s obsessed.”

  Cassie shivered and moved closer to the fire, staring into its depths. She’d trusted him and he’d led her here. To her death? To another imprisonment, another enslavement? Or worse. He had no idea of his employer’s real plans. All he knew was that over the years she’d proven to him she’d do anything to take down the queen. Anything. Sacrifice a pawn. Or even a stronger chess piece, a knight or a rook.

  To take down the Black Queen that woman would sacrifice her queen. Or maybe, a princess in disguise.

  “Tell me, Bosco, why are you spying on the queen and risking your life if you don’t believe in this prophecy?”

  He stared at her across the flames. She’d find out in the morning that he’d rescued her from a madwoman only to turn her over to another. She deserved to know why.

  Chapter Twenty-six

  Haddon wished he could huddle in the corner with the ladies-in-waiting but pacifying the queen wasn’t just his job—it was part of his master plan. And he’d do it, for the hundredth—no, possibly the thousandth—time, because his time was coming soon. He had to believe that. Otherwise the days like today, when everything was falling apart, would drive him to take a sword and stab the bitch.

  He didn’t know what the hell had happened. She’d been so compliant. And then, after that session with Cassie, she’d taken him down like a giant swatting a fly.

  He’d been so sure she’d taken the last batch of drugs. She’d certainly acted like it. And he’d left her plenty stashed in places she’d find them all over her room. In the bedside table, in the bathroom, on her dresser. Previously, this tactic had worked like a charm and she’d always taken them. There’d been occasions he’d even hoped she’d take too much and he’d be able to simply step into his eagerly awaited role of king without any fuss or bother. But here she was, her red hair full of electricity and her purple eyes whirling slow and lucid.