by Lee, K. N.
* * *
After our arrival, we’d been shown to our rooms, and had been treated with the best service possible. Still, Maxim and I were a bit worried that my mother and the Aether hadn’t returned.
My worst fears were realized when in walked, Queen Sorcha and Prince Ewan, without Princess Celeste Delacord.
Chapter 19
“You’ve done some foolish things in the past, Stellan,” My mother, Queen Sorcha said as she poured us a cup of tea. “But nothing like this. You could have gotten the both of you killed.”
Maxim and I exchanged looks at each other, but kept silent.
She handed us two small, warm cup. “To think, you were infected by a corsus,” she said, shaking her head. She stroked Maxim’s cheek and smoothed his hair. “I can only imagine what you’ve been through.”
“All is well,” he said. “I’m fine now. I swear it.”
I cleared my throat. “It had to be done, Mother. We couldn’t leave without making sure Ever Frost was safe.”
She spun on me, rage in her green eyes that matched mine.
“That’s what the elders are for,” she growled through clenched teeth. Then, she calmed herself, rubbing her temples. “You could have brought a corsus to Allandria. Don’t you see what that means? That would have been a direct link between Emperor Jasper and our Aether. You could have destroyed all that the magic-born have worked for.”
“We know,” Maxim said. “We knew the risk.”
“That’s what worries me,” she said, in a soft voice as she looked out the door of her balcony. “It’s time for you to both to grow up.” She rubbed her hands and she went silent for a moment.
Tension filled the room as we waited for our punishment. Maxim couldn’t even look at me. Every time his eyes went in my direction, he quickly averted them. He was embarrassed and ashamed to have been the one left sick in bed for days.
The candles in the sitting room flickered as a soft breeze entered from one of the open balcony doors.
“The Aether is gone. While the dowager queen does everything she can to bring her back, we are all lost. As a mother, I should find a way to punish you. But, you two are Elementals, and my job as a mother was taken from me the day you became men. If the Aether finds her way back here by some divine intervention, I have to be confident that the two of you have learned your lesson, and will act accordingly. She needs you. We all do.”
She glanced back and I caught a glimpse of tears in her eyes.
“Mother?”
Crossing the room, Queen Sorcha wiped her eyes. She paused before the door, composing herself. This was the first time I’d seen her look so upset. I missed her beautiful smile, the smile that gave me hope.
Maxim and I both watched as she opened the door, and Prince Ewan stepped inside the room. He was the most regal of us all, and a natural born warrior.
I had to admit, he was a bit intimidating, but we were supposed to be allies in all of this.
There was a war brewing, and we were the only soldiers who could fight in it.
“If you haven’t noticed, one of us is missing,” he said.
“Besides the Aether you lost?” Maxim asked, his voice stern.
He strode into the room, sword at his hip, metallic hand.
“It may be so,” he said, nodding to us. “But, I’m here to talk about Prince Lancel, and what we will have to do if he doesn’t show up.”
Chapter 20
The Aether
Exhausted, I went in and out of sleep. I’d been carried for what the entire day. Sun came and left, and I’d glanced up at it from over the shoulder of the goblin, in awe of the round ball of yellow light that I hadn’t seen in years.
My captors cackled in the distance while I writhed against the ropes that bound my arms and legs together. Night fell, and while they sat by a fire, roasting rats, I was left alone with my hunger and fatigue.
Escape filled my mind, but, until I could free myself from their ropes, there wasn’t much I could do.
“Come on, magic,” I whispered, pleading. “Show yourself for once. Get me out of this mess.”
My fingers tingled, and for a moment hope came to me. Then, I realized that it was just me losing the feeling in my hands from having my wrists tied tightly for the entire day.
Cold, hungry, I gave into the dark void that smothered me like a warm blanket.
Memories flooded back to me like a baby in its bassinet, and for the first time in years I had a dream that didn’t incite fear or worry.
My fifth birthday was one of my favorites. It was just two years before my family and I were ripped from our home and forced into exile. It was before I even knew any danger was brewing.
At that age, life was a hectic collection of parties, new toys, lessons, and singing in front of my parent’s guests. Singing had always been one of my true delights—one that even prison couldn’t take away from me.
A grand party was being thrown for me at my grandmother’s castle in the rural countryside of Mordigan. The white castle stood out against the clear, blue sky and bright sun.
Rolling green hills and meadows of pink flowers were outstretched on all sides for miles. A lake awaited at the bottom of the hill, full of fish and swans swimming amongst the lily pads.
I was dressed in a lovely blue gown with pearls and a cream sash tied at my waist. Rarely did I feel beautiful. In a land with pink-skinned faeries and girls with wings, I always felt like a brown, spotted duck amongst swans. But, on this day, I knew I was the prettiest faerie in all the land. I even managed to keep my hair blonde during the entire party.
Such happiness was a treasure, and I wished I’d have known what was coming. I would have cherished it.
My cousins were either too old or too young to play with me, but one boy was there who was just my age. Apparently, it was his birthday too. His mother had traveled with him from a kingdom far away to meet me and give me a gift.
Queen Sorcha, and Stellan, enjoyed the festivities along with everyone else in attendance. After the sun began to set and many of the guests began to leave, Queen Sorcha retreated back into the castle with my parents and grandparents to have a private discussion that I wasn’t invited to join in.
I didn’t mind. Stellan was there and all he wanted to do was play with me in the mazes.
“I’ll show you the way,” I had said with a grin, and after kicking off my slippers, I showed him to the back door of the maze.
The cobblestone walkway lead directly to the biggest maze on my grandparent’s estate.
“Follow me,” I said. “In the very center is the best garden you’ve ever seen.”
“Not better than the one at my palace,” Stellan said.
I ran along the path, holding my skirts. “I bet you it is!”
Stellan was faster. He flew ahead of me and I frowned, trying to run faster.
“No fair. Flying isn’t allowed.”
Stellan flew backward, his red hair rustling in the wind, and folded his arms across his gray suit jacket.
“I didn’t know there were rules.”
My breaths came out quicker, my legs started to burn, and the smell of fresh-cut flowers filled my nostrils. I was nearly there. I nodded and met him inside the maze. “Yes. There are always rules.”
Stellan smirked. “Well, I have a rule for you.”
I put my hands on my hips, and tried to catch my breath. “What rule?”
Stellan lowered to the ground and stood before me. At seven we were exactly the same height. I tried to stand a little straighter so that I would be taller than him. He lifted his feet off the ground until he was high enough to look down and give me a smug grin.
“Whoever gets to the garden in the center of the maze first, gets a prize.”
I twisted my mouth in thought. “What prize?”
He giggled and took off into the maze without a reply.
I stomped my foot. “I told you that flying is not allowed,” I shouted, and ran the opposite direction
. Inside there was the smell of freshly trimmed bushes and trees. The tall hedges were like walls, causing anyone within to feel as though they were enclosed in a sweet smelling garden.
I forgot to mention that I didn’t know my way to the center. I’d only been there with my grandmother.
I held tight to skirt, trying not to step on their trimmings as I searched through the maze of the garden, or at least Stellan so that I wouldn’t feel so alone.
Green walls, composed of bushes, stood tall above my head, confusing me with their identical nature. My head, full of the blonde ringlets, quickly turned as I heard something behind me.
I smirked. “Are you lost?”
I stalked toward the sound, suppressing my laugh. A shock of cold water splashed into my face and I stood frozen with fear. I coughed and turned to run, gasping as I crashed directly into Stellan.
“Found a fountain in the center,” he said, wrapped his arms around me, and lifted me into the air.
So much for keeping my hair blonde. It turned white as we went higher and higher. This was no longer fun. I was terrified as I wrapped my arms around his neck and pressed my face to his chest. I glanced down and saw that the ground was too far away.
“Don’t drop me, Stellan!”
His laugh was loud and without restraint. Refreshing. “I am strong. I won’t drop you. We are almost there.”
I held on tightly as Stellan flew with me. The rush of air as we flew made my hair tickle my face.
“Look, Celeste!”
I opened my eyes and looked at Stellan’s face. His smile almost calmed me. Still, I didn’t feel secure in his arms. I swallowed and followed his gaze downward.
Below, I could see all of the maze. It was massive, with several hidden sections with gardens and small ponds, and a grand fountain in the center.
“Amazing,” I said with wonder.
“Yes,” Stellan said. He pointed to the gardens in the center. “They are pretty, but mine are still prettier.”
“Take me there!”
“Promise me something first,” Stellan whispered to me.
“What?”
“You and I will be king and queen together when we are older.”
I laughed at him, thinking about how much I loved this game. I had no idea what he meant, but my mother and father were king and queen and they were the happiest people I knew. They loved each other and I wanted to be like them.
Stellan was as good as any boy.
“Yes. I promise. Now, take me down to the garden fountain. I’ll show you how to swim like a mermaid.”
Stellan smiled, held me tighter, and together we flew to the gardens.
It was one of the best days of my life.
“How ridiculously boring,” an unfamiliar voice whispered, and the beautiful memory was sucked away in an instant as a hand clamped over my mouth.
Chapter 21
It was cold, and wet, like someone who had just gotten out of the bath or from a swim. The water dripped from whoever’s face was before mine, and terror chilled me from within. My heart thumped in my chest as whoever was straddling my body sniffed my neck.
Why couldn’t I see them?
The darkness was thick and all-consuming.
“Hmm,” a male voice whispered. “You look like her. You smell like her. Are you her?”
I shook my head. Who?
“No,” he said. “This will not do. I want to see you. Examine you.”
Within seconds, a jolt tore me from the my spot on the forest floor and I found myself lying facedown in mud.
Shivering, and completely disoriented, I pushed myself to my knees. Everything was…different.
The goblins were nowhere to be found.
I sat on my hands and knees in the middle of a jungle. The tall trees were dark and still, and the sky was a dull red. I remembered skies that color. In the human realm, the sky would sometimes turn red in the summer.
Where was I?
The smell of rotting flesh and fresh rain mixed in a sickening scent that had me covering my nose.
A pile of charred logs appeared before me. From that, a stake appeared and my cheeks paled. Within the blink of an eye, two people screamed as flames licked and consumed them.
No.
The screams ended in an odd purr as the flames were sucked away, leaving the two people standing there, together, holding hands as they were tied to the stake.
Silence surrounded me as I mustered the courage to crawl closer and take a look. The crunching below my hands and knees only amplified the eerie quiet. Before I even got a look at the bodies, I already knew who they were. My heart thumped in my chest.
A cry strangled within my throat. “Father,” I gasped, realizing that I was witnessing their deaths, in reverse. “Mother.”
“No. No. No,” the voice said, softly.
A cold sensation flooded my midsection when I reached out for her and was ripped back.
I crashed into the jungle floor with a thud and a grunt.
“That’ll be enough. I just had to be sure.”
My head pounded with pain and I tasted blood from biting my tongue.
“Blonde hair. Blue eyes. Her tiny nose. Yes. Yes. It is her.”
His voice came closer, and I was awestruck by who I saw before me.
I had imagined a weyr, with wiry arms and legs too long for its body. Maybe rubbery wings with holes in it. Not the vision who stood before me, leaned back against a tree.
He was tall, with short hair the color of violets. The color was so intense and radiant that he had to be fae. No—not just any fae—Unseelie.
Wait. Realization filled my bones and seeped into my blood.
Jasper. The emperor of the dead. The ruler of The Veil.
Pensive amber eyes looked me up and down as the man thought to himself.
I looked away. His chest was bare, and his tight abs almost distracted me. With an olive skin tone, it made his hair and the thick black line of paint across his eyes stand out more.
“Who told you it was okay to come back to the magic-realm? I have a mind to snap the tiny threads of your brain and leave you simple-minded.” He chuckled, pushing himself off the tree and crossing his arms over his chest. “No one would want to marry you then.”
The idea that he could destroy my intellect and sanity had me clawing at my eyes to waken myself.
He snorted. “What are you doing? I was only joking. Pull yourself together, girl.”
“Who are you? Where am I?”
He appeared before me, crouched like an animal. Feral. Wild.
“I asked first. Who are you?”
Swallowing, I shook my head. I didn’t know what to say.
He grabbed me by the chin, and slowing came to his feet. He lifted me from the ground, brows knitted together over the most hypnotizing eyes I’d ever seen.
He snickered. “Why are so afraid? You’re supposed to be this magical creature with the power to smite me with just a look. Have the Guardians gone soft and chosen a squishy little girl who I can pull apart with my teeth? Did they not tell you who I am…what I am?”
I shook my head, eyes wide as I peered down my nose at him. He held me up with his arm outstretched as if I weighed nothing more than a fallen twig with a curious flower he needed a closer look at.
“You’ve come to destroy my world, haven’t you?”
“Lies.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Tell me your name,” he said. “Before I snap your neck.”
“Princess Celeste Delacord,” I sputtered, the fear of death loosening my tongue.
“Brilliant,” he said, dropping me to the ground. “That’s all I wanted to know. A pleasure to meet you, my queen.”
He mocked a deep bow that flung his bangs into his eyes. They lifted to me and a wicked smirk came to his full lips.
“And, I am…” he tapped his fingertips to his lips. “Your humble servant.”
My eyes darted around me,
desperate for an escape. I didn’t respond. Instead, I broke into a run.
His laughter filled the jungle as a rope flung around my body and he snatched me back. I fell into his hard chest and he turned me toward him. Our bodies shot across the clearing until my back was slammed into a tree. He pinned me, so close that out noses touched and his slick abs were pressed against my belly.
His canines lengthened and he licked them. “How about I change into what I really am and pick my teeth with your bones?”
I tensed, but fire filled my eyes as I looked back at him straight in the face. “You go ahead and try. I can destroy you with a blink of an eye. Don’t make me do it.”
For a moment, he was surprised, then amusement filled his expression. He let out a howl of a laugh. “You will do no such thing. Your power has yet to be awakened.”
My blood ran cold. He knew. But, how?
“By the grace of the Guardians,” he breathed into my neck. “You certainly smell delicious. Like fire, and innocence. How about you give me a taste? I’ll awaken that burning flame within your soul. I’ll show you what real power feels like.”
I squeezed my eyes closed as his lips brushed mine. My breath was ripped away from my chest and I was awakened by someone shouting my name.
Chapter 22
“Celeste,” Kala called, breaking me from the feverish sleep that gripped at me and held me down.
In a panic, my eyes opened, yet I was too weak to sit up. A heavy weight held me down.
Sunlight blinded me.
That was odd.
Kala’s face blotted out the sun as she knelt and looked down upon me from her faerie form. There was nothing as comforting and beautiful as my grandmother’s face, and she brought tears to my eyes.
“Am I dreaming?” I asked her, too afraid to hope.
My vision cleared as I tried to focus on her flawless face, tinged with a hint of cream mixed with magenta.
She stroked my cheek, tears in her eyes.
“You are safe now, Celeste. We have been blessed. Praise the Guardians for their generosity.”