by E. A. Copen
“I have no interest in fostering good will with the High Court,” said the queen, stirring the tea with a pinky. She slipped a finger between her lips to test the taste before adding a spoonful of sugar. “Where was the High Court when Shadow invaded? When my life was threatened? They have refused to recognize our allies in the Court of Miracles and rebuked our alliance with Winter. So far, their only interests have been self-serving, and they will continue to be so as long as I reject the marriage they’d like to force me into. Titania’s bargains are not my own. Eventually, the High Court will see that.”
“Or they’ll get tired of being insulted and invade you,” Finn said.
All eyes went to him.
He shrugged. “It’s true. I might not know a lot about politics, but I know you can’t go around pissing everybody off and expect to stay queen long.”
“Mind your tongue or I’ll cut it out!” Sir Foxglove rose, making a fist.
“Stay your hand, Sir Foxglove,” said the queen. “We may have need of his tongue before this is all over. He can’t speak without it, and it seems to me Spellweaving may involve some speaking.”
Finn grinned. “Oh, you can have my tongue whenever you want it, baby.”
He expected Foxglove to hit him, but it was Sir Malcom instead. The strike to the gut forced all the air out of his lungs, and Finn found himself doubled over, gasping for breath.
Remy held up a hand and approached him. Foxglove and Malcom both took a step back.
“I see you still haven’t learned any respect.” Remy held a hand out to Finn and helped him back to his feet. “My father claimed he wanted to execute you. I handed you over to him with the understanding that you would be dead within the day, yet here you are. Tell me, Finn, why did King Lazarus not execute you?”
Finn squirmed. She obviously knew why if she knew he was a Spellweaver. That was the only thing that had kept him alive. She must’ve had a secondary motive for getting him to spill that information. “He needed a Spellweaver to help him remove a spell from his girlfriend.”
“And did you?”
He shrugged. “Yeah, of course. I gave him my word.”
One corner of her mouth curled up. “Some would say the word of a thief is worthless. But you are fae, aren’t you? You can’t lie.”
“No, but I could’ve twisted the deal in such a way as to get out of keeping up my end. It would’ve been pretty easy. I like Lazarus, but let’s be honest. He’s not the smartest pickle in the barrel, Your Queenship.”
“True, but he means well.” She returned to her seat, teacup in hand.
Finn took a step forward. “Look, you obviously brought me here for a reason. As much as I like looking at your rack, I gotta know what’s up. You’re not going to execute me or you’d have done that already. You want me for my Spellweaving ability. Question is, why?”
Remy placed her cup on the table beside her and folded her hands in her lap. “The truth is, I need someone from the Shadow Court. Someone who knows how to get in and out of places no one else can. I believe you’re that person, Finn O’Leary.”
“Me?” His eyebrows shot up. “Why me?”
“You’ve seen the blight destroying Shadow’s lands?”
Finn nodded.
Remy pressed her lips together for a long moment before continuing. “The blight has spread into Summer. If it isn’t stopped, it will eventually do to Summer what it did to Shadow. While I have worked out a way to slow it down, I cannot stop it, not from here. It may be possible to cut out the infection at its source. To do that, my men will need to fight their way into the Shadowlands and trace the blight back to wherever it began. They need a guide. You will be that guide.”
Into Shadow? Was she insane? The fae were fleeing Shadow for a reason. Only an idiot would go into a land everyone else was running away from.
Finn stood up straighter. “No.”
“No?” Remy blinked. “What do you mean no? Why not?”
“You mean aside from such an expedition being five pounds of stupid crammed into a two-pound bag?” He snorted. “I have no reason to help you. The minute I lead Summer troops into Shadow, I’ll be called a traitor by my own people. If the Shadow government ever gets reinstated, their first order of business will be to hunt down and decapitate the guy who walked our enemies through all our defenses. Now, even though I don’t give two shits about politics, I do like my head attached to my body. Running into the place everyone else is running away from seems like a great way to die. If, by some miracle, I do survive, I don’t want to lose my head for helping you.”
“Summer and Shadow have no reason to be enemies now,” said the queen. “I have taken in hundreds of refugees from Shadow and embraced them as my own subjects.”
“Where? Here in the palace?” Finn made a show of glancing around. “No, you let them settle the outlying areas, areas you’ve since burned. Now they’re not only homeless refugees again, but starving homeless refugees.”
Foxglove shook his head. “You don’t honestly expect us to believe you won’t help all of Faerie out of some misguided sense of loyalty to Shadow and her subjects, do you?”
“No,” said Finn, spinning to look the knight in the eyes. “Flip the tables for a minute and think this through. After Shadow’s crushing defeat, my people sent missives to every court asking for aid in restructuring the government. We asked for help when the blight first took root. We begged for it when our people started disappearing. No one bothered, Summer least of all. I lost people because you couldn’t be bothered to lift a hand. My whole family is dead now. Serves you right to suffer the same fate.” He turned his back to all of them, blood boiling.
“There’s more,” said the queen after a moment of silence. “We know you’ve been collecting the Speaking Stones.”
“Yeah, I was this close to getting the second one before you guys showed up.”
Remy pressed her lips into a thin line, doubtful. “Rumor has it one lies beyond the borders of Shadow. Guide my people, and it’s yours.”
“Maybe you didn’t hear me the first time. Let me clear that up for you.” Finn took another step forward. “Hell no. What part of I lost my entire family back there do you not understand?”
“But you didn’t lose everyone, did you?” Remy folded her arms.
A lance of cold struck at Finn’s heart. Auryn! They couldn’t... They wouldn’t! He turned back around, examining their faces.
Remy rose from her throne with a victorious smirk. “Sir Foxglove, Sir Malcom, escort Finn to the railing of the balcony. There’s something below I’d like for him to see.”
Foxglove and Malcom put their hands on him, each one taking a shoulder and forcing him to the balcony wall overlooking the garden. There, sitting on a stone bench with pink petals scattered all around, was Auryn.
Finn turned on his captors, teeth grinding. “Let her go. She has nothing to do with any of this.”
The queen stepped up next to him. “The girl is quite resilient. She barely seems to have noticed she’s even a captive in a foreign land. When we took her from that trailer in Alabama, she barely even resisted. She’s very loyal, your sister. All we had to do was promise we were taking her to you.”
Finn surged forward. It was only the strength of both knights that held him back from striking the queen. “You harm one hair on her head—”
“Careful,” Foxglove cut in. “We take threats against the queen very seriously.”
“She won’t be harmed,” Remy said turning away from the garden, “so long as you cooperate. Refuse and I will have no choice but to revoke the protection she’s currently enjoying. She’ll be turned out with the rest of the refugees. Neither of us wants that, Finn. Help me.”
Though she tried to disguise her plea as a bargain, there was no mistaking the desperation in her voice. Finn harbored no doubts as to what Queen Remy would do if he refused. She would keep her word. Auryn couldn’t survive on her own in Faerie. She barely knew how to take care of herself on
Earth in his absence. Whatever the cost, he had to make sure she was safe.
Finn scowled and pulled himself free of her knights before adjusting his coat. “If you want me to go into Shadow, I’ll need some men. Not just good fighters, the best. And they have to be willing to protect me from any danger. I might be able to sling a spell, but I’m no good when it comes to blades. The monsters we ran from in Shadow were more than just a little blight. They were alive...and hungry.”
The queen nodded. “I shall send my best fighters with you,” she promised before turning to Foxglove. “Have the staff prepare him a room. You’ll be leaving at dawn with him.”
Finn expected Foxglove to protest. After all, he wasn’t her knight to order around. Instead, he put a fist to his chest and made a bow. “As you command.”
When he didn’t immediately rush from the room, she frowned. “Was there anything else?”
“I had hoped we would speak more privately before I left again.” Foxglove glanced over at Malcom as the other knight cut the chains that held Finn’s hands together.
Finn would’ve preferred they removed the cuffs altogether, but they’d likely leave them on until they were well on their way into Shadow. The Summer fae probably thought he’d grab his sister and bolt the first chance he got, and they weren’t entirely wrong.
Remy’s frown faded, her face shifting into an unreadable mask. “Of course, but it will have to wait until later this evening, I’m afraid. I do have other matters to attend to.”
Ouch, Finn thought as Foxglove nodded. So that’s what it is with them. Old Foxglove’s got the hots for the queen, but she doesn’t feel the same way about him.
The information wasn’t useful at the moment, but it would be eventually. In Finn’s experience, knowledge of an enemy’s weakness was never not useful, and he planned to make every one of them pay for forcing him into this. Foxglove, Malcom, even the queen. He’d best them all before this was over and make them look back to curse the day they strong-armed Finn O’Leary into working for them.
Chapter Four
Remy collapsed, exhausted into the chair in front of her vanity. Her heart ached, not just because she’d had to send Foxglove away again, but because she had feared Finn would refuse her a second time. Her grandmother, Titania, may have taught her how to be ruthless and scheming at court, but that still didn’t mean it came easy. If she’d had to hurt the child—and sending her out of the palace to be with the rest of the refugees would have hurt her—she didn’t know how she was supposed to live with herself.
A figure appeared in the mirror, the reflection of her handmaiden and trusted friend, Jessica. The high neckline of the emerald dress Jess wore only made her bright red hair stand out more. Jess folded her hands in front of her and waited in silence.
Remy groaned and pushed herself up to sit properly. “I don’t know how I’m supposed to survive another year of this, Jess, let alone centuries. No wonder grandmother went mad.”
“I don’t think it was the pressures of ruling that destroyed her,” Jess said. “She was very paranoid at the end, and selfish. They say losing your mother destroyed her mind.”
Remy stared at her reflection in the mirror and tried to call up the image of her mother in her mind. She’d seen photographs that had been taken on Earth—her father had made it a point to show them to her—but no matter how many pictures she looked at she couldn’t see the woman that was Odette. There was always something missing, some angle no photograph could capture.
To hear her father tell the story, Grandmother Titania didn’t care at all about her daughter except to control her as much as possible, but Remy didn’t think that was true. Yes, Titania had been a controlling bitch, hellbent on ruling everything and everyone in her domain, but such a desire must’ve come from love. Paranoia and fear had twisted that love into something ugly and hateful until it was unrecognizable.
If I ever have a daughter, will I be the same? The thought made her lower her gaze. “Has there ever been a sane Faerie queen?”
Jess smiled and stepped forward to pick up the brush from the vanity. She carefully removed Remy’s crown and placed it in front of her before picking up a long strand of hair to brush out. “Even if there hasn’t ever been one, you don’t have to be like the rest. You have a human side, Remy. You understand compassion, love, the importance of trust. It’s hard for the rest of them to fully grasp those things because they all require them to be vulnerable. It’s a foreign concept to most fae.”
She was right, of course. Humans were a contradiction, always wanting to avoid pain yet constantly bearing their emotions for all to see and take advantage of. It was shockingly easy to read them. Though they looked like fae, they’d developed a language all their own spoken with their eyes, shoulders, hips... While their mouths could lie easily, their bodies almost always betrayed them.
Remy frowned. “How is that an advantage over madness?”
Jess shrugged. “I honestly don’t know. I’m just trying to make you feel better. Maybe you’re already mad. Do mad people even know they’re mad?”
“Not helping.” Remy gave her friend a gentle shove.
The handmaiden laughed and went back to work.
For a long moment, the two of them shared a companionable silence before Remy said, “I’m sending Declan.”
Jess nodded and said nothing. She was engaged to the young knight, though it wasn’t widely known yet. Remy had agreed to keep it a secret until Jess had a chance to tell her parents. Like Remy, Jess was human and had parents on Earth. Unlike Remy, Jess had a lot of trouble speaking to them. She didn’t have any common ground with her parents the way Remy did with her father, making all their visits painful and awkward.
Remy sighed. “And Foxglove of course.”
“And Sir Malcom?”
“No. Sir Malcom’s been out there enough. Besides, he’s the closest thing I have to a knight at the moment, and a knight must always be seen at his queen’s side.” Remy smiled. “Though I have no intention of remaining here while my men risk their lives. I’m going too.”
Jess nearly dropped her brush. “Foxglove won’t have it. Not to mention everyone else. You’ll never get away with it.”
“Yes, I will.” Remy picked up a small, white ramekin. She removed the lid to reveal a thick, sparkling blue liquid. “With this, no one will know.”
“Is that glamour?”
“It is.” She replaced the lid and slid it to the back of the vanity. “The best I could get. There’s enough to last two people a month. Any longer and things will get complicated, but I don’t expect the expedition to last that long.”
“Two people?” Jess put the brush down and began twisting Remy’s hair into a more ornate style.
“Of course. While I’m gone, you’ll become me. Have to keep up appearances.”
“I can’t be queen!” She dropped the strand of Remy’s hair she was working with. “Not now, not with the people about to revolt. There are refugees at the doorstep, not to mention the difficult relations with the High Court since you won’t marry their prince.”
“Don’t remind me.” Remy rolled her eyes. “And you’ll do fine. You’ve done it before.”
“Only once or twice, and never for a whole month.”
She was right again. The longest Remy had ever let Jess take her place was three days, but that was only because Sir Foxglove found out and insisted they switch back. They hadn’t had as good a glamour back then. Not even Foxglove would be able to see through the one she’d bought; she’d made sure of it.
“It shouldn’t take that long,” Remy assured her. “A week at most. I promised Finn my best swords, and I’m the best sword in all of Summer. I’ll pass as some other knight. All I need is a name.” She tapped her fingers on the edge of the vanity. “Sir Gwen Nemain. What do you think?”
Jess shook her head. “I think you need your head examined. What if they find out? Or what if something happens?”
“Then you’ll handle it
.” Remy took Jess’ hand in hers and brought her around to stand beside her before turning so that they were facing each other. “I have all the faith in the world in you, Jessica. You’ll make a fine queen. Whatever happens, just defer to Sir Malcom and Cian’s advice. They know how to run the kingdom. The rest of the time I’m just standing around trying to look vaguely like I know what I’m doing. Surely you can do that?”
Jess smiled a small smile. “I suppose so. Just... promise me you’ll come back. You and Declan both. I don’t know what I’d do without either of you.”
Remy smiled and drew an X over her chest. “Cross my heart. I’ll bring us both back to you.”
The promise seemed to settle Jess, even if it didn’t put her entirely at ease. She finished brushing and arranging Remy’s hair for dinner. Then the two of them went about selecting a gown. Remy was eager to get into anything that wasn’t quite as revealing as the dress she’d had to wear to make her deal with Finn and Foxglove. It wasn’t by chance that she’d chosen something thin, wispy, and revealing. The make and color of the blue dress she’d worn had made her look small and weak while also managing to make her seem desirable.
The show wasn’t for Foxglove. He would’ve given his right arm to be with her. It was quite sad. He would’ve been a good husband if only the rigid rungs of fae society didn’t keep them apart. That and she didn’t love him, at least not in the same way he loved her. Foxglove had practically raised her, making it impossible for her to think of him as anything other than an elder brother figure. She loved him the same way she would love a dear friend, but not in a romantic way. That just made everything harder.
But Finn O’Leary was a simple fae. He wasn’t the first of his type she’d met. Fae like Finn only wanted whatever they couldn’t have. It was why he’d become a thief, even if he’d justified his actions in some other way, and even if he didn’t know it. By making him desire her, she’d hoped he’d be more open to accepting her offer. As far as she was concerned, it had worked. She hadn’t even had to resort to further threats. In fact, he’d almost caved too easily. Maybe he was even simpler than she thought.