The Mad King (The Dark Kings)

by Jovee Winters

  That assignment, however, was only marginally better. Even in the land of the living, rumors stirred of his terrible temper and foul mood. The Hades before the boom and the Hades after were two completely different men. Before, he’d been standoffish but amiable; now he wanted no company other than his dead and his bleak, cold winters.

  The other queen—Tymanon—I would task with speaking to the three Fates. Much harder a journey than it might sound. The Fates weren’t known to be the most kindly of the pantheon. But they had answers to questions I desperately needed.

  Rumpelstiltskin had left four days ago, frenzied, furious, and determined to get Gerard and Betty back together again come hell or high water. I rather worried there might be blood on his hands before it was all said and done. He was as determined a fellow as any I’d ever encountered, and having had my own run-ins with Rumpel in times past, I knew that once set on a task, he’d be unswerving in his dedication to make it so.

  It’d taken him over a millennia to find the cure for his son in the alternate time; I did not doubt he’d give much more than that to regain his beloved Carrots. And if he had to kill a few humans along the way to see it happen... Rumpel was no villain, but he was certainly no hero either. He existed in a shady gray realm somewhere between the two. His conscience for the past few centuries had been Shayera. Without her, I feared what he might get up to. Unfortunately, I could do nothing to stop that particular train wreck.

  I had far more pressing matters to attend to.

  Baba Yaga and her mate had returned, albeit quite reluctantly and with the words that they’d remain only so long as absolutely necessary. As the most powerful witch in all of Kingdom, Baba had enchanted the Hearts Castle so that it no longer would be affected by chaos magic of any sort. She and her family had left only this morning, promising to do the same for the rest of Kingdom.

  Baba had also shared one important fact she’d learned with me.

  Kingdom and Earth were on different timelines now. But not entirely either. One of the first things I’d done upon discovering a changed Kingdom was to try to track down as many of the happily-ever-afters either Danika or I were responsible for.

  My list had been piteously short—only two couples—and had occurred more toward the beginning of my tenure as godmother thousands of years ago. I’d discovered that both parties had died of natural causes long, long ago. Nothing I could do for either of them now. But once I’d turned my eye toward Danika’s couples, I began to notice the trend.

  Some were still together. But most weren’t.

  Jinni and Paz’s bloodline was, surprisingly enough, well and whole. In fact, they had great-great-great-several-dozen-times-removed-grandchildren some living in Kingdom, but a great many had also returned to Earth to find their own happily-ever-afters. However, as I’d first suspected after that vision of Hook brandishing his sword at me back in the mirror realm, I could find no trace of Hook and Trishelle’s timeline on Earth or in Kingdom.

  Though there was a rumor that Trishelle did in fact exist in Earth. There’d been a very fleeting sighting that gave us hope. Rumpel had been searching the realm for Betty and believed he’d spotted the blonde bombshell, though he’d cautioned that he could not be certain either since she’d appeared much changed.

  It would have been lovely if the dark king had gone after both women, but the devil was consumed only with returning his Shayera to him, and to rot with anyone else. He’d gone after Betty, to kidnap her and bring her back to Kingdom whether she wanted to go or not.

  Perish the thought and goddess save her, but I’d never seen that devil so determined to reset his happily-ever-after.

  Knowing that Betty existed, and possibly so did Trishelle, gave me hope that maybe, just maybe, I’d find the right Alice too. And after Alice, then I’d sort out the messy Hook and Trishelle affair. I’d cast a quick net for the pirate king earlier in the week and had yet to find him. But the Jolly Roger could travel between planes of reality, and I hoped with all my might that’s where he was now. The very last thing I needed was to have yet another couple missing like I did with Wolf and his Red. Which worried me exceedingly because if they were gone, or had simply never been, then the Piper’s mate would be vanished and the poor girl trapped inside that strange maze all alone.

  I glanced at Danika Moon from the corner of my eye. She was a Moon no longer— she and Jericho had never reconciled in this new world, though she was no longer cursed in form either. I knew theirs was a story I’d need to get around to eventually; I simply had no time at present.

  In the days we’d been plotting how to save Kingdom, Danika had spoken very little, barely even budging from her seat at the opposite end of the massive table. She didn’t eat. Hardly blinked. And only breathed when required.

  Sadness seemed like it’d been permanently etched on her pretty face. Within days she’d appeared to age many lifetimes. Her skin was pale, her luscious nut-brown hair now dull and hanging limply over her shoulder. Even her normally dazzling and sparkling spider-silk gown looked as though it’d seen better days.

  The only true movement out of her was the constant shifting of her eyes. When she’d first arrived, she’d sobbed, murmuring constantly about the warring timelines in her head.

  I suspected many of my answers could be found trapped inside her; the only problem was getting Danika to snap out of her stupor. I could easily use my dark magick to pull the answers out of her mind, but those kinds of spells could be deadly to a mind as fractured as hers currently seemed to be. If I mucked around in there too much, I could completely shatter her tenuous grip on reality.

  I frowned, feeling hopeless and lost. I had, of course, reached out to the Creator, hoping against hope that maybe It would deign to answer me now that my faculties had been restored. But so far there’d been nothing but heavy silence. Though I still felt Its eyes upon me, I also knew It would not answer me.

  Not yet anyway. Impatience beat at my chest. The one question I needed answered more than any other was, why? Why did some couples get to keep their happily-ever-afters while others didn’t?

  But that was a riddle I had no answer for. Why had Calypso and Hades been torn apart but none of the other dark queens? Why had Jinni and Paz remained while all the rest had been thrown into chaos? What was the common thread here?

  The harder I pondered, the more confused I became, and the more confused I became, the harder and harder it became not to sink into my own depression. Wasn’t I supposed to be Pink the Benevolent? Wasn’t that my fate, my destiny?

  I glowered, staring at a polished whorl of wood with unseeing eyes. None of this was fair. Or benevolent. And Syrith might hate me for it, but I’d give my sanity back in a second if only I could snap my fingers and fix it all.

  Syrith clenched my fingers tight, and though I knew he’d not heard my thoughts, he knew me well enough to know the winding trail I followed.

  “Fairy,” he said gruffly, yanking me back from my dark thoughts. “Whatever it is you’re thinking, stop now.”

  His jewel-green eyes hooked mine. I sighed heavily, shaking my head.

  “I know this burden is great, but please, do not lose heart. No matter what’s happened, I know we can fix this.” His words rang with surety and blind faith.

  My lips thinned and my stomach flopped to my knees. I wanted nothing more than to live up to his expectations of me, but this felt far beyond my capabilities.

  The hall was very nearly empty, save for the centauress and the satyr still awaiting my orders on where they should head next. I could finally give in to my need to unburden myself just a little.

  I knew Syrith would never judge me as weak or helpless, not him. It was okay to not have to pretend to have it all together. Closing my eyes briefly, I shuddered into his powerful chest, trembling as he wrapped his strong arms about me.

  I clutched his back, fisting his shirt through my fingers. “Syrith, I must go soon. And where I go, you cannot come. I fear for you, my love. I do not k
now what comes next. If another blast of magic were to ripple through our world, there’s no saying you’d survive the next—”

  Quieting my words with the press of his finger to my lips, he said, “Hush now. Nothing will happen to me. You’ve had Baba ward the walls of this castle. Wild magic cannot harm me in here. I vow to you I will not set foot outside the gates, though it galls me to let you go without me. I’ll stay back and bring as many denizens here as I can. We’ll feed and house them. We’ll protect them, Galeta. Only promise to return to me.”

  Looking up at him with tears clinging to my lashes, I was sure I could never love anyone else the way I loved him. Syrith would forever own my soul; he was the strength that beat in me. He was the reason I’d fought so bloody hard to release my demons. Because I’d wanted to be a better woman. For him. Wanted him to be proud of me the way I was of him.

  Syrith was my bulwark, and I would perish without him.

  “I love you,” I whispered. “In case I’ve never told you that enough, never doubt my devotion to you, my mate.” Then, leaning up, I tipped his jaw toward me and our lips met in a passionate, yet all too brief, kiss.

  He nodded. “Always, my fairy.” With one final kiss to my forehead, he squeezed my fingers tightly, gazed at me with all the longing in his soul, then turned on his heel and left the great hall.

  Having him leave felt a little like a small death.

  I did not know my fate. Did not know if, at the end of all of this, I’d ever return to my mate again. But he trusted me, believed in me... No one ever had before. His faith in me meant everything. I could not bear to let him down.

  With one final shudder, I squared my shoulders, huffed my tears dry, and turned, lifting my chin high as I gazed at the centauress who’d been kind enough to give me my time with him.

  Finally she bowed her head in greeting.

  Tymanon was a lovely centaur. Strong. Capable. And also very likely the most intelligent creature in all of Kingdom. She had an innate sixth sense that would make her invaluable to the task assigned her.

  I would someday pen her tale, and though I’d hoped to be able to do it much sooner, I knew the centauress would understand. Petra stood strong and fearless beside her. He didn’t talk much, but I could sense the honor that beat at the very core of him.

  “How may we help, Pink?” Tymanon asked with that naturally sultry, feminine tone of hers.

  Glancing between the two of them, I clenched my fingers around the base of my wand. I knew what I was about to ask them, the journey it would take them on, but I also knew that they were the only two capable of such a trek.

  “You are truly the wisest among us, Tymanon, a centauress without equal. Therefore, I’ve assigned you the task of speaking to the three Fates.”

  She frowned, far too perceptive not to understand the precarious undertaking at hand. “The Fates? They never give anything without something in return.”

  Nodding, I turned my palm over, and after a sudden flash of brilliant neon pink, opened it to reveal a three small but brilliant seed pearls. “Of course you are correct. That is why you will give them these.”

  She reached out her hand, and I gently tipped the seeds into it. The seedlings were warm to the touch and would give the holder an instant feeling of euphoria. A blush spread through her pretty cheeks. Blinking, she looked up at me.

  I knew what she wanted to know before she asked. “Yes, they are three of the six seeds of wisdom,” I said, patting my pocket to indicate I still held on to the other half of the set. “Anyone who possesses even just one seed would be able to see into the cornucopia of worlds crafted by the Creator Itself. Trust me when I say the Fates will be no problem for you.”

  Gingerly, she placed the seedlings inside the leather pouch belted around her waist before quickly tying it shut. “And what would you have me ask of them?”

  “You will know the questions when you get there. Think deeply, centaur. I know my orders seem vague. But I am following a beating, an instinct inside me that tells me you must be the one to ask the question, for only you would ask the right one. The Fates are punctilious about only answering the barest minimum, so no matter what you do, be as specific as possible. You must force the proper answers out of them, or you’ll know just as much when you leave as when you arrived.”

  She nodded, and I did not doubt that the centauress would prevail. Against the Fates at least. There was nothing the centaurs loved more than a good riddle. But I had to warn her of the very real dangers posed to her and Petra as well. For she was correct, the Fates would very likely want more.

  “You should know, however, that if you do choose to agree to this journey, they might require more than just the seedlings. A task. No doubt a terrible and deadly one would be asked of you. And if I were you, I know I would not want to go into anything without knowing exactly what it is I’d be walking into.”

  She snorted, the sound a lot like that of a neighing mare. “Fear is a weakness of the flesh and nothing more. But forewarned is forearmed. Knowing what I do of the Fates, I have no doubt the task would be a difficult one, but I am not without my own strengths.”

  I knew the way a centaur fought. They might be wise, beautiful, and fascinating creatures, but they were also exceedingly deadly if pushed to it.

  “Would you happen to know where they’d send us?” she asked.

  I shook my head, causing my wavy hair to sway around my jawline. “I do not know. The Fates know you come, but their minds haven’t settled on a course of action yet.”

  Her full lips curved into a half grin. “I see the rumors of you are true.”

  Knowing I’d just revealed one of my many abilities—that of second sight—I gave a hard nod. For so long I’d kept my powers hidden from the world, feeling as though I could never fully reveal myself or my gifts to others. It was foreign to me to be so exposed to another, but I was a new fairy now, and I had a world to fix. Pride and fear must take a backseat to my old hubris.

  “If you know so much, how is it that you do not know what’s caused this madness? You have second sight. Surely you must have some idea. I do.” She lifted a shapely brow in challenge.

  Curious, I wondered what it was she thought had caused this. But I knew that was a rabbit trail I had no time to indulge. One thing I was sure of, all this had happened because of me.

  I just didn’t know why other than the obvious. At first I’d believed it’d only been the couples I’d meddled with, but as far as I knew, I’d never meddled in Hades and Calypso’s affair, much less Hook and Trishelle’s. So if it wasn’t my meddling, what was it?

  “I wish second sight would answer all my questions. Sadly, that’s not how my particular talent works. Because of the Creator’s fingers in all this, there are many blank spots for me. I know some,” I admitted softly. “But not enough to speak definitively, and so I’d rather say nothing at all. The only way to unravel this mystery is to do it slowly and methodically. Which is precisely why I’ve chosen you to speak with the Fates. Learn all you can. And when you are ready to return to me, merely speak my name and I will come for you.”

  She nodded as her fingers toyed with the leather strap around her chest. “And you? Where do you hie off to now?”

  Again, I glanced back at Danika. She’d still not moved from her spot. “I have so very many to see to. But for now, my primary concern is the Hatter. Wonderland is suffering at the loss of him and his true Alice.”

  She nodded. “Be well, Galeta the Pink.”

  “And you, Tymanon. And you. May the gods have mercy on us all.”

  When the hall was entirely cleared save for Dani and me, I turned toward her. Once, she’d been the godmother to the Bad Boys, in an alternate timeline. Somewhere in her head, surely she must remember the love she’d once held for them.

  Pulling out the seat beside her, I lightly ran my clawed hand across her pale one.

  Startled, she yelped, shifting in her seat so fast that she very nearly toppled backward. I had t
o grab hold of her chair to keep her steady.

  “Dani, it’s just me. Just me,” I murmured softly, looking into her panicked gaze.

  Her pulse fluttered like manic butterfly wings in her throat, so violently that even I saw its beat. It was difficult not to tear up at the sight of what Danika had become.

  A shell of her former self. Once such a fierce and tiny warrior, now she was losing herself to the madness of seeing the memories of two worlds, one of which no longer existed but that had left a lasting impact on our new reality.

  “Galeta?” she whispered brokenly, giving her head a tiny shake and blinking several times.

  I nodded. “That’s right, love. It’s me.”

  Her brows gathered into a deep frown. “I do not like you.” She said the words in a distant fog, then shook her head again. “And yet I do. Once so cruel. Now no more. What has happened to me?” She moaned and clutched her temple.

  I swallowed the lump in my throat; I’d done this poor fairy such harm in my former life. I wished I could fix her, wave my wand and make her whole again. But I’d tried, and nothing seemed to help her. The magic had affected all of us differently.

  It seemed cruel that I was exempt, considering I was the catalyst for this mess.

  “We’re going to fix you, sweetheart.” I patted her hand. “I promise. But in order to do that, we first need to fix your happily-ever-afters.”

  There was nothing more sacred in this life to a fairy godmother than the knowledge that her couples were happily loving and living and eating bonbons in some fabulously wealthy setting all their livelong days. Danika would never truly heal until her “children” were seen to.

  My fingers shook when I grabbed her hand, squeezing down gently, adding just enough pressure to keep her eyes trained and focused on my own.

  “Now listen to me carefully, moon flower”—I would never cease in trying to remind Danika of just who she once was, and the fae trembled—“I have no link to Hatter, Hook, Jinni, Wolf, or even Gerard. Because they belonged to you.”

  The only reason Rumpel was able to trace Betty was because of his own link to their daughter. Shayera no longer existed, she’d never been born, and yet the magic that’d bound their souls still burned as bright as a flame within him.