He glanced around the interior of our cottage, taking in my dried herbs, salve-making equipment, and the array of iron trinkets I’d commissioned over the years. These were the only things of value we possessed. Then his gaze roved toward the leather tome on my bed, and my heart skittered.
Parting with the book would be like losing my sight. That book had guided me through the years, taught me everything I needed to know about surviving the fae. He skipped over my book, and my chest relaxed.
“Your possessions are of no value, but there is something I will take in exchange for your father’s life.” His eyes, green and slitted and iridescent roved my form.
He was too close, too still, and too observant. If I reached for my dagger, he would grab my wrist, disarm me, and kill us both. I had to wait until he was distracted. Yesterday’s spectacle taught me enough about males to know what caught their attention the most.
King Drayce was no gancanagh. They were creatures of beauty and seduction and could not survive without their unlit pipes. He appeared to be something far more dangerous, but perhaps a wanton proposition would give me the opening I needed to plunge my dagger through his heart.
Licking my dry lips, I steeled myself to say the unutterable. His eyes tracked the movement as though keeping guard over his prey. I cleared my throat. “M-my maidenhead.”
His lips quirked. “Your…”
“I’ll bargain with you.” The words spilled from my lips like honeyed poison. “Leave Father alive in exchange for my maidenhead.”
His nostrils flared, and his breath quickened. He repeated my words, tasting them as though they were a sample of the finest blackberry wine.
My throat spasmed into several gulps, but I held his gaze, hoping he would fall into my trap.
King Drayce’s mouth spread into the kind of grin I’d only seen on paintings of mythical beasts. It stretched across his face, too wide to be faerie, too devious to be otherwise. “I accept.”
My heart reverberated through my chest. That had been too easy.
“And you can’t take him back to your Queen,” I blurted.
He inclined his head. “Of course.”
“A-all right.” Anticipation flipped my belly. I pulled my shoulders back. The moment the lecherous creature made his move, I would strike.
“We must seal the bargain with a kiss,” he crooned.
“O-oh.” My shoulders deflated a fraction. I pushed down a torrent of unease in my gut. Reminders of never to bargain with the fae swooshed to the forefront of my mind. I shook them off. This wouldn’t be a bargain because I will slip the dagger between his ribs before that scaly mouth touched mine. “You go first.”
King Drayce placed his large hands on my shoulders and slid them down my arms. Blood roared in my veins, driven by my out-of-control pulse. I tightened my grip on the dagger, vibrating in readiness to attack.
His scaly lips curled into a smile. “You are shaking.”
“It’s my first kiss.”
“Then, I will endeavor to make it memorable.” With inhuman strength, he clamped my forearms to my side, holding them in an unbreakable grip.
I tried to pull free. To twist my hands and nick him with the iron dagger, but he was too immovable. “What are you—”
“Your maidenhead in exchange for your father’s life.” A warm, dry mouth descended on mine, feeling more like leather armor than lips.
White magic flared. A bolt of power shot from our joined flesh to my chest, forcing my heart to explode into action.
Squeezing my eyes shut against the bright light, I struggled in his grip. I hadn’t meant to make such a bargain. They were unbreakable, unnatural, unfair. Now, if I didn’t follow through and give him what he wanted, Father would die.
He stepped back, eyes gleaming with mirth. “Our bargain is struck.”
I clenched my teeth. The wretch had predicted my plan all along. He’d probably tricked thousands over the centuries and knew every tactic a human could use to outsmart a faerie. My insides roiled. All wasn’t lost. I still had another way to defeat him.
“W-we can use that space over there.” I gestured to the wall by the door. An edged poker lay beneath a pile of blankets, ready for me to use against him. Despite our bargain, I wouldn’t let King Drayce leave this cottage alive.
“No.”
The tightness around my throat receded. Perhaps he would visit at a later date, long after Father and I had departed from Bresail. A spring of hope filled my chest, spreading its optimistic warmth. Removing all traces of the smile about to curve my lips, I asked, “Another time, then?”
He raised his arms, and the two dead faeries shuffled to their feet. They stared sightlessly through milky eyes set in slack faces the pallor of salted cod. My blood chilled, and I stumbled back, tripping over a fallen chair.
One of the corpses lumbered to Father and dragged him off the straw mattress.
Terror, jagged as lightning and twice as bright, jolted my limbs. Before I could reach Father, King Drayce grabbed my arms from behind, pressing my back into his hard, leather-bound chest.
“What is this?” I screamed.
“Your first time should not be in a hovel. I am taking you home.”
“Why is that thing dragging Father?”
“He is coming with us.” He said this with infinite patience, as though we had never come to any kind of agreement to keep Father safe.
“But we bargained—”
“Yes, we bargained. You did not make any such agreements with my deceased friends.”
“But they’re dead!”
“You killed them.” His tone implied that the corpses were moving on their own volition, as though my actions had led them to take vengeance on Father. As if he hadn’t raised his arms and commanded them to act.
Cold fury swirled through my insides. The wretched thing had planned to take us both all along. “You tricked me!”
“Did anyone ever tell you?” Laughter turned his voice into a low rasp, and leather bindings wrapped around my wrists. “Never bargain with the fae.”
Chapter 5
Moments after King Drayce secured me in leather bindings, he carried me out into the cold mist. It had grown so thick that I couldn’t see the cobblestones.
He hoisted me atop a capall that was more hellhound than horse. Coal-red eyes glared from the side of its white head, framed by a gray mane that curled like wisps of smoke. I glanced from my bound hands to Father’s bound form. He slumped across another monstrous equine, secured in place by the bloodless hands of the faerie whose skull I’d stabbed.
The scaled creature mounted behind me, trapping me in his arms. My capall rose to the skies, its great wings slicing the wind. Stomach lurching, I fell back into a broad, leather-bound chest.
“I have you.”
His words grated on my nerves, which were already stretched raw from the failed bargain. To add rancor to my trepidation, an arm, stronger than an iron manacle and no less unmovable, wrapped around my middle.
“That’s hardly reassuring,” I said through clenched teeth.
Of all the nightmares I’d had of being dragged away by the faeries, none ever involved a scaled monster using corpses as marionettes.
Carefully avoiding the slack faces of the dead faeries flying beside us, I checked on Father. He was still sleeping, still breathing, still oblivious. A relieved breath slid from my lungs. At least one of us didn’t have to endure the harrowing flight.
We flew above the rooftops of Calafort and into the skies. I cast a wistful glance in the direction of the harbor, where dozens of ships moored in preparation for next week when the Sea of Atlas would clear of mist. I didn’t know how long it would take to escape King Drayce’s dungeon, but it likely wouldn’t be in the next few days. Father wouldn’t survive for another seven years, but I would make sure to avenge his lost freedom on the wretched faerie.
“What did you mean when you said you’d been looking for me?” I whispered.
“W
e searched everywhere for you on that Samhain. Where did you go?”
There was no way I would reply to such a leading question. That would mean admitting to being the cut and bleeding girl that the faeries had chased until dawn. I bowed my head. By attacking the trio and bargaining with King Drayce, I had admitted to having the sight. He hadn’t reprimanded me for it, but I imagined some of the more wicked faeries I’d encountered over the years would want to pluck out my eyes.
King Drayce didn’t press for answers, and the capall soared above the outskirts of the village, over meadowland, and over the forest. The midday sun shone through the clouds, casting their soft light on the treetops. Cool breeze blew through my hair. Would this be the last time I would see the mortal world? Even though it had been cruel and terrifying at times, the realm of the faeries would be worse.
My heart sank like an iron weight and settled into my stomach. “What’s to become of us?”
“That is for Her Majesty to decide.”
I turned around within his grip, glaring into his slitted, green eyes. It was the only part of him that didn’t make me want to faint. “But you said Father was under a death warrant.”
“Execution.”
“What?”
“I said Queen Melusina had signed a warrant for his execution. She tore it up moments afterward.”
Irritation prickled my skin. If he wasn’t riding the capall and controlling the corpse securing Father, I would have slammed my dagger into his thick, leather-bound thigh.
The wind blew hair into my face, and I flicked it behind my ear. “If you bring Father to the queen, she’ll order his death.”
He inclined his head toward the red-haired faerie. “It was Ricinus who accused Ailill of stealing something from the Apex Palace. I doubt there will be a trial if he’s unable to testify.”
A strong, saltwater breeze swept in from the sea. I squeezed my eyes shut and lowered my head. Questions, more than I could even articulate, swirled in my mind. Father couldn’t be a faerie. They were eternally young and strong and beautiful. Perhaps he had been abducted by them in his youth and had escaped with his life. Or he had been cursed with the sight then tricked into retrieving something for a faerie but had decided to keep it for himself.
“How is Father involved with the faeries?” I asked.
“I cannot say,” he replied.
“Why not?”
He raised his head, gazing into the distance. “Ah… we are passing over the Fomori Mountains. Try not to attract the attention of the beings trapped within the mist.”
“What are you talking about?” I gazed ahead. Steel-gray patches tinged the clouds spilling down from the sky like wisps of smoke. “What is that?”
“The barrier that separates our realms.”
Before I could ask what he meant, a gust of wind scooped us through the sky toward the thickening mist. My stomach churned, and I cringed closer to the king. Each second brought us closer to what now looked like a cascade of smoke, pouring like a waterfall from the skies into the forest. Then the wind drove us down.
My breath caught. “But I thought—”
“Now is the time for silence,” he said in a tone that implied the consequences of disobedience would be dire.
I turned to the other capall. Father still lay unmoving under the grip of the dead faerie. The movement of his chest was so slight, it was hard to tell if he was still breathing. I gulped hard.
Whispers carried in the mist, uttering words in a language I couldn’t understand. King Drayce hadn’t been exaggerating about trapped beings. Were they the souls of the faeries’ human victims? It wouldn’t surprise me that the monsters kept them locked within the mist instead of giving them their eternal rest.
“Release me…” whispered a voice so quiet, it blended into the breeze.
“Release me!” The voice grew louder, making my hair stand on end.
It seeped into my ears like molten silver. “RELEASE ME!”
Tendrils of mist curled around my wrists, my arms, my neck, its chill pulling my soul toward its core. Terror rattled my bones, chattered my teeth, and a whimper trapped in my throat. King Drayce’s arm wrapped tighter around my waist, and I sent out a silent plea for him to keep me in his embrace.
I would rather face a dozen high fae royals than whatever was in that mist.
Thick with menace, the mist clouded my vision, filled my lungs until I could see nothing and hear nothing but the voice demanding its freedom. An ancient power more gruesome than the fae surrounded me, awakening deep within my gut a primordial panic.
We continued flying through the expanse of white, still as corpses, quiet as death. I squeezed my eyes shut and clenched my fists, teeth, stomach, praying for the voice to stop. When I thought I could take no more, the pressure on my throat released, and I opened my eyes.
The mist thinned, exposing an indigo sky, heavy with clouds the color of blood. The setting sun bled crimson light onto the treetops of a forest that stretched into the horizon.
Father still slumped face-down on the capall, and my chest eased a fraction. At least the corpse hadn’t dropped him. But I didn’t know whether to be relieved that he had missed that monstrous voice or worried that he still wasn’t moving.
Reverberations of my clattering heart thrummed in my fingertips. “What was that?”
He growled. “There is trouble ahead. Say nothing until we reach the queen.”
“But—”
“Drayce Salamander!” A voice rang out from beyond the clouds. I exhaled. At least it didn’t sound like whatever had been in that mist. “Prepare yourself for Her Majesty’s wrath.”
I twisted in the saddle. King Drayce’s features tightened. In the dim light, the scales could have been pale skin. I whispered, “Who is that?”
“Shadow Court Guard,” he muttered. “Try to tone down your murderous instincts. These faeries won’t find them quite so amusing.”
“I thought you were a king,” I grumbled. Somehow, I pictured Father and me being his captives, locked away from other faeries. Now that riders were approaching from the clouds, it looked like we would all get dragged to the queen.
“I am a king,” he replied but didn’t elaborate.
Within moments, armed fae warriors surrounded us, all clad in silver armor, and all riding the same, red-eyed capall mounts. Smoke curled from the beasts’ nostrils merging into their wispy, gray hair.
Their leader, a white-haired male whose eyes gleamed like quicksilver, pointed a lance at my chest. “What is the meaning of this?”
“Gifts for Her Majesty.” There was a note of mockery in the way he said the title, and I wondered if he was having an argument with his wife. “Get out of my way.”
The group of guards parted, and King Drayce flew his capall through the path of warriors. A pit of trepidation opened in my stomach. The king had wanted to kill Father to save him from a painful and humiliating death. What torments awaited us now?
We rode in silence over the dark forest, flanked by the warriors, toward a mountain that seemed made of flint. Jagged ridges formed deep shadows, while its waxy planes reflected in the moonlight. At its top stood a castle with high, twisted spires that seemed to have been carved out of the rock.
I supposed this was the Apex Palace.
* * *
The ride to the palace was quicker than I’d hoped. King Drayce led us through its dark interior of polished stone walls and impossibly smooth floors. One dead faerie carried Father over his shoulder, and the other shuffled next to us with graceless, dragging movements. It was as if he wasn’t putting much effort into the second corpse.
My pulse echoed through my skull, the sound drowning out the footsteps of the soldiers who followed several paces behind us. The queen would punish me for having killed those faeries, punish me for having the sight, and punish me for her amusement. Father and I would die.
Dull-eyed human servants, clad in worn clothing, cringed away from the animated corpses. Or perhaps from
King Drayce and the other faeries. It was hard to tell in the face of my impending doom.
“Do not offend the queen,” he whispered. “I wish for you to fulfill your end of the bargain intact.”
I scowled up at him. “Don’t expect me to bow to a faerie, and our bargain didn’t include sending Father to the queen.”
The moment those words left my mouth, I cringed. Perhaps the incident with the voices in the mist had put meeting the Fae Queen into perspective. No matter how powerful or spiteful she was, no horror could compare to that hideous, unseen creature.
I lowered my head and glanced down at the blood-tinted sunlight blood reflecting on the polished, stone floor. The king’s advice had been useful, but perhaps a bit of boldness on my part would distract the queen from her grievance with Father.
We rounded a corner. At the end of this new hallway stood tall guards, clad in the same silver uniform as the warriors who had escorted us. Full helmets covered their faces, but they wore their visors up. The eyes that stared out at us glowed orange like those of a wolf. Behind them were a pair of golden doors so high, their handles hung level with the soldiers’ shoulders.
“I’ve been summoned by Her Majesty,” said the king. He hooked his thumb over his shoulder. “And these gentlemen seem to think I can’t find my way to the throne room.”
My brows drew together. From the way he spoke about this queen, she seemed to be his superior instead of a consort.
The guards bowed and opened the double doors, revealing a rectangular throne room longer than the thoroughfare of our village of Calafort. Arched windows ran all the way down its left side, casting soft sunlight on the faeries that filled the space.
Someone announced our arrival in a booming voice, and everybody turned. Wasp-eyed sylphs stood among winged sprites, their heads tilted as though we were the latest entertainment. A group of green-skinned gnomes gathered around a giant. Further into the room, were pointed-eared high faeries clad in silk and gossamer and lace, looking finer than anything I’d seen in a portrait.
“Do not cringe,” whispered King Drayce. He placed a large, warm hand on the small of my back and led me down a carpeted walkway.
Curse of the Fae King Page 4