The Castle of Water and Woe (Briarwood Reverse Harem Book 3)

by Steffanie Holmes

  “Corbin texted to say he and Rowan won’t be back for dinner, so I’ll order us some takeaways.” Flynn searched through his phone for the number. “What curry do you want? Butter Chicken? Lamb Rogan Josh? Chicken Tikka Masala?”

  “Yes.”

  “Gotcha, one of everything. One bastardised Indian feast, coming right up.” Flynn pressed the phone to his ear and left the library.

  “Be careful.” I kissed Blake’s forehead, my lips lingering as a delicious heat shimmered across them.

  Arthur shot us a disgusted look, and stormed out of the room. I wonder what’s wrong with him? I thought I’d made it clear that I hadn’t chosen any of the guys. I thought they all knew what’s going on. But maybe I haven’t been clear enough.

  I hated the idea of Arthur being upset with me. I wanted to go after him, but he would have to wait. I needed to stay with Blake. If I thought he was in trouble, I might be able to help him inside his dream.

  “Careful is my middle name, Princess,” Blake grinned. “Oh wait, I lied. It’s actually carnal.” He leaned forward and stole another breathtaking kiss. With a final flash of those sparkling eyes, he tipped his head back, and downed the glass in one gulp.

  NINETEEN: BLAKE

  The things I do for this woman.

  I laid my head back on the puffy chair they called a sofa. The draught burned my throat on the way down, and settled in my stomach like nectar wine, ready to dissolve the inside lining. That’s it, I resolved as my eyelids drooped and my brain went fuzzy. This is the last time I drink anything that makes me sick. From now on it’s just curry and cakes and roast lamb and bollocks to anyone who tells me otherwise—

  My eyelids slammed shut. A moment later I was back in the meadow of Tir Na Nog again.

  Soft grass swirled around my legs as I clambered to my feet and steadied myself on shaking legs. That draught had really done a number on my balance. Methinks Rowan should stick to cake-baking from now on.

  I stared down the valley, wondering what might greet me when I reached the bottom – if I managed to reach the bottom alive. The meadow ran along the single, solitary valley in Tir Na Nog, separating the two sides of the forest – one each for the Seelie and Unseelie courts. The sidhe at the base of the meadow had been built by the ancestors of the fae as a meeting place for the royals during their revels, where the two courts came together to dance and drink and copulate. But ever since Daigh killed Morgana, they were the sole domain of the Unseelie Court.

  I knew I’d find Daigh there, which meant I’d also find answers. All I had to do was get down there without being seen.

  Luckily, I knew all the good hiding places. First step, get to the forest. I lurched toward the trees on the Seelie side, dragging my shaking body into the shade of the towering oaks just as footsteps crunched over the grass.

  I ducked down behind a trunk, my body tense. I peeked over the edge to watch a column of soldiers – their uniforms mixed green and black – heading toward the gateway. They carried the carcass of a deer. Dried blood caked around an arrow wound in its neck. A sacrifice. A fae ritual was afoot.

  They’re trying to break through the gateway again. They won’t do it, but it won’t be long until they succeed. At best, we’ve got two days left before their combined power breaks through our warding spell and they come after me.

  Not going to happen. I’d only just discovered the joys of the human realm – eccles cakes, roast lamb, sofas, Maeve’s lips pressed against mine, the warmth of her cunt as it tightened around my finger, and tonight … curry. It’d be a cold day in Tir Na Nog before I let Daigh take all that away from me.

  I waited until the column passed out of sight over the crest of the hill, then I darted deeper into the forest, keeping low to avoid detection. Above my head, birds chirped a cheery tune, but I knew even they could betray me if Daigh offered a tempting reward. I skated around the lookout towers, trusting that Daigh hadn’t thought to change them after my departure. The sound of laughter and music filtering through the trees told me I approached the sidhe.

  I crept as close as I could to the clearing, parting the blackberry bushes in front of me so I could see the dancing Unseelie feas. Seelie slaves in green loincloths carried trays of meat drowning in berry sauce and struggled under the weight of huge amphorae of nectar wine.

  If only I was close enough to hear what they were saying. But between where I hid and the revels was a field of meadow grass. I’d never be able to overhear anything useful unless some fae decided to go make out in the forest.

  Wait a second. I’m in a dream. I can do whatever I bloody well want.

  I closed my eyes and thought myself into a nearby tree. A moment later, something hard and wooden slid between my legs. And I wasn’t talking about that Irish boy’s meat.

  I opened my eyes, and found I was straddling a thick oak branch, high above the clearing at the centre of the sidhe.

  Shit. I’m in the High Oak. The sacred tree right in the centre of the court sidhe. Not the ideal place to be if I wanted to stay concealed. Fae danced right beneath my dangling feet. If a single one of them looked up, they’d see me.

  Let’s try that again.

  I closed my eyes again and thought myself back into the trees, this time a little further down the valley from where I’d been before. I opened my eyes and found myself back on the ground in a different spot. The blackberry bush I’d landed in looked right on to the entrance of the Royal Sidhe. I could see glowing lights inside and shadows moving. Daigh would be holding court inside, directing the fae in the next stage of whatever-it-was he was planning.

  If I could just get closer, I could hear what they—

  A blade pressed against my throat, and a soft voice whispered in my ear. “Move, and I split you open.”

  I inclined my head half an inch, indicating my agreement. The cool bone dragged over my skin. A tiny hand on my shoulder yanked me back onto the ground. Blackberry thorns clung to my shirt, tearing at the skin on my back and arms.

  A familiar face loomed over me. The tips of two white-blonde plaits tickled my cheeks. Despite the seemingly distressing situation I found myself in, I broke into a grin.

  Liah. Just to fae I wanted to see.

  “Blake Beckett, what are you doing here?” Liah’s mouth twisted into a smirk. She didn’t lower the knife. “Daigh said you’d betrayed the fae and joined forces with the witches.”

  My heart pounded, but I managed to hold my smile. Liah could have cried out already and alerted the nearby guards to my presence. But she hadn’t. That meant something, although maybe only that she wanted to toy with me before handing me over to Daigh.

  The joke’s on her if that happens. As long as I’m alive I can jump ship from this dream any time I want. But as long as I hold on, there’s a chance I might find something we can use.

  “I’m just back for a visit.” Then I noticed that Liah wore her Seelie green tunic and trousers – instead of the loincloths and smocks of Daigh’s new Seelie slaves – and her bow with a full quiver of arrows was strapped across her tiny shoulders. She crouched over me, the shimmer of an invisibility glamour still clinging to her skin. I must’ve appeared right beside her. But why was she crouching in the bushes with her bow at the ready, instead of serving at court with all the other Seelie?

  “Why are you hiding here?” I mouthed the words, rather than speak them. Liah still pressed the blade to my throat, and I knew my childhood friend well enough to know that she kept her blades sharp. If I moved too much I’d slit my own throat.

  “Because…” Liah’s eyes darted forward again, peering through the bushes at the sidhe. She barely spoke above a whisper. “I’m trying to find a way to kill Daigh.”

  My grin widened. Of course she is. I cursed myself for not thinking of contacting Liah earlier. She and I had spent most of our childhood playing together. She taught me some of the simpler fae magic, and I taught her how to fire a bow and wield a sword – skills usually reserved for male fae. As I grew older
, Daigh took issue with me spending time with a Seelie. He thought it made me look weak – and plus he always had plans for Maeve and I – so no more Liah for me. Yet another good thing he deprived me of. We’d seen each other at court a few times since, but it was always strained.

  Liah removed the knife, and held out her hand to pull me up. She didn’t embrace me. That wasn’t her way. Instead, she handed me the knife and removed her bow and an arrow.

  “You just appeared in front of me,” she whispered. “Even your magical abilities won’t allow you to cast an invisibility glamour.”

  “I’m not really here. I’m dream-travelling. It’s sort of a new thing for me. Someone explained to me that it has to do with theoretical physics, but I fell asleep from boredom before I could find out what that gibberish means.”

  Liah’s lips curled back into a smile. “So if I slit your throat, you won’t really die, because you’re actually in a dream?”

  “You don’t have to look so excited about it.” I huffed. “And no, I think I really do die, but I don’t want to test it, thank you very much. Can you tell me what’s happened since I left?”

  “It’s horrible. Daigh has nearly all the Seelie in his court now, supporting his plan to return the fae to earth. I’m leading a small group of Seelie rebels who refused to join his new court. Daigh burned our barrows, salted our magic places so nothing would grow, and now his soldiers hunt us out in the forest, one by one.” Liah nocked an arrow and raised her bow, aiming for the entrance to Daigh’s barrow. “Well, not anymore.”

  “You’ll never get a decent shot through the guards,” I reminded her. “Daigh’s not just going to walk out unprotected. He’s probably even got magical shielding.” Especially after Maeve drove that iron sword through his hand.

  “I have to try. I want to leave Tir Na Nog as much as anyone else, but this isn’t the way.”

  I curled my hand around Liah’s wrist, pulling down her bow. “Even if you do kill him, it won’t matter. This is bigger than Daigh. He’s playing on the fae desire to return to our ancestral home, to our true sacred places. That’s why so many Seelie joined him willingly. Because they’re sick of living in this prison. If Daigh dies, some other fae will just step into his place.”

  “Then what brilliant suggestion do you propose? After all, it’s your world on the line. Oberon forbid I might be allowed to do you a favour and shoot your enemy through the heart.”

  She sounded just like the Liah I used to know. I grinned. “We’ve got to kill the idea, obviously. Or make this place somehow livable again. I don’t know. I’m no good at this. I’m much better at the arrow through the heart stuff. It’s just that in this case I think it’s a waste of an arrow.”

  “You’d better figure it out quick,” Liah muttered. “You’re running out of time.”

  “You know what he’s trying to do?” I demanded. It couldn’t be this easy, could it? I’d just ask her and she’d tell me? “He’s been trying to steal babies from the human realm, but I don’t know why.”

  “Obviously he plans to raise the Slaugh.” Her eyes narrowed. “The babies are some kind of offering that has to be made to the unhallowed spirits. As soon as they unblock the gateway they’re going through to take more. They already have the targets picked out. And the spirits will come to collect as soon as the babies return, so no chance of you stealing them back this time. That’s as good a reason as I need to take him out.”

  Oh, this was bad. This was very, very bad.

  “But the fae haven’t had the power to raise the Slaugh since we were banished to Tir Na Nog. That’s why you were sent here. The realm restricts fae powers.”

  “Daigh has the power,” Liah muttered. “He’s taking it from all the fae, from the Seelie and Unseelie together. He’ll make every one of us impotent, but it will be enough to raise the Slaugh and—”

  Liah’s words stopped short as an arrow whizzed between us, the felch streaking across my cheek, leaving a thin, stinging cut against my skin.

  Liah’s eyes widened with fear. “Run!”

  TWENTY: BLAKE

  By the time I scrambled to my feet, Liah had already disappeared into the trees. Of course she wouldn’t wait for me – she was a friend, but she was also a fae. They didn’t suffer the weak, and as a human, I was the weakest of all. I crashed into the trees after her, following her swinging blonde plaits as she leapt off logs and darted between the towering oaks.

  Arrows whizzed on both sides of us, thudding as they buried their heads into tree trunks. Angry voices rose as they came after us. Shite.

  I was no dream-walking expert, but judging by the sting in my cheek I felt pretty sure that if one of those arrows pierced my chest, I’d carry the wound back into the human realm with me.

  Liah’s head sank below my view as the forest fell down a steep ridge. I scrambled down as quickly as I could, just in time to see Liah parting a curtain of vines to reveal a small burrow beneath the roots of an ancient oak.

  I raced toward her. Skittering feet pounded all around me, the sound of wet flesh slithering over rough bark. Bwbacks. I looked up, cursing under my breath as their slimy forms dropped from the trees above and raced toward us.

  They’d been there all along, watching Liah’s hideout, waiting for their opportunity to strike.

  “Liah!” I cried, leaping over the roots and racing toward the burrow, just as her head disappeared inside. The tiny Bwbacks snapped at my ankles. Another arrow flew directly in front of my face. Never was I happier that Daigh’s princes weren’t the greatest shots.

  I reached into the barrow and grabbed Liah’s arm, yanking her out of the hole. She glowered at me. “Let go. I’ve placed a glamour here. They can’t see or sense me.”

  “Look!” I pointed, and she finally saw them. Liah gasped as Bwbacks hurtled their tiny slithering bodies toward her, teeth bared, ready to chew away her flesh. An arrow embedded itself in the tree behind us. And I knew what I had to do.

  I’d done this once before for Maeve, but never for myself. But both our lives were at stake. I had to try. I reached into my head and pulled out all my cruelest memories, all the things that haunted me in the darkest night. Daigh looming over me, forcing me to tear the wings from tiny sprites that shrieked and trembled in terror, explaining to me that their screams were the trigger to harnessing Unseelie magic. Daigh’s face twisted with rage and pain as he scrawled image after image of Maeve’s mother’s face into the walls of his sidhe. Bone blades slicing my skin as the other princes tormented me, their pet human. The gnawing emptiness of my stomach, deprived of food for days at a time until I was forced to eat the poison fae cakes or beg Daigh to bring something edible back from the human realm – an apple core, perhaps, or some half-chewed sweets children had spat out on the pavement.

  Twenty-one years of torture, pain, and cruelty. Enough fodder to fill all the nightmares of all the children of the world. But I only needed one.

  I fell into the memories, becoming one with them, feeling the knives enter my skin as the other Princes surrounded me, chanting their insults as they enchanted my wounds to heal so they could stab me again. Each strike with their blades felt like a punch, hard and fast, my body tossed about by the force of their blows.

  The pain and humiliation burned hot in my veins, until I could sense my grip on the fae realm receding. From inside my memories, I thrust out a hand to Liah. “Hold on to me!” I yelled.

  “What’s the point?” she yelled back. The Bwbacks fell upon her, their tiny bodies slithering up her legs, pinning her to the earth. An Unseelie soldier wrestled her arms behind her head. She yelled as he snapped her right arm like a twig.

  “Just do it!”

  Liah tore her other arm free of the fae and reached out to me. Her fingers brushed mine.

  Inky darkness crept from the corners of my eyes, enveloping me. I grabbed for Liah, reaching through my nightmare to grip her fingers in mine. I pulled, dragging her into the darkness—

  I woke up with a star
t. Sweat drenched my face. My body ached from the slices of the fae blades. It took a few moments for the inky darkness to dissolve and reveal the shelves of books in the Briarwood library and Maeve’s face looming large and frightened in front of me.

  “Blake, what’s wrong?” Maeve stood over me, her pretty eyes wide with fear. “You were thrashing about and crying. And there’s blood—”

  “Liah?” I bolted upright, my eyes darting around. I’d grabbed her just before I’d been pulled back. Where was she? Why wasn’t she here?

  I glanced down at my hand, still feeling my fingers gripping hers. I screamed as I saw what I clutched in my fingers.

  A pretty hand, cut off just above the wrist in a bloody stump.

  TWENTY-ONE: BLAKE

  “Fuck!” I threw Liah’s hand across the room. It slammed against a bookshelf and slid down to the floor, leaving a trail of green fae blood along the gilded spines of Corbin’s beloved magic books.