by Karen Lynch
I lifted a green book and discovered that every other page was a detailed drawing of a Faerie plant. When I showed it to Lukas, he said the text on the opposite page described the plant and its medicinal or culinary uses. My parents would love the book, even if they couldn’t read it. Knowing Mom, she’d have someone translate it as soon as I gave it to her.
I looked at the bookseller, and then it occurred to me that I had no money to buy the book. I’d seen people exchanging the wafer-thin pieces of metal that was used for currency here, but I didn’t have any of my own.
I moved to place the book back where I’d found it when a hand stopped me. Lukas took the book from me and handed it to the seller, who nodded and bowed.
“You don’t need money here,” Lukas told me. “All the merchants know the court will pay for your purchases. He will bring your book to the carriage.”
“That kind of takes the fun out of it,” I quipped. “But thank you.”
A few minutes later, I discovered a stall selling dried berries that had a crunchy texture and a flavor similar to blackberries. When Lukas told me they were a popular children’s treat, I bought a bag for Finch and Aisla.
At another stall I found a tiny purple crystal pendant inside a delicate eyranth cage that Violet would lose her mind over. Eryanth was expensive, so I smiled regretfully at the vendor and moved on.
“Do you want it?” Lukas asked.
I looked behind me to see him standing beside the pendant display. “I thought Violet would like it, but I’ll get her something less extravagant.”
Lukas turned to the vendor and said something in Fae. She beamed and removed the pendant from the display.
“You don’t have to do that,” I said when he rejoined me.
“I want to.” We continued our walk, and he said, “You’ve bought things for everyone but yourself. Is there anything you want?”
I sniffed the air as more delicious aromas reached me. “I want to taste whatever it is that smells so heavenly.”
He laughed, and we continued doing our circuit of the market. I ate and drank until I was too full to try another morsel.
When I spotted the carriage up ahead, I sighed quietly. It had been a wonderful afternoon, but now it was time to go back to court.
Lukas assisted me into the carriage, where I found my book waiting for me along with a long object wrapped in cloth. I gave Lukas a questioning look.
He smiled. “You can’t play for me without an instrument.”
I wanted to hug him, but I remembered where we were. “You bought me a…?”
“It’s called a bugu.”
I laid my hand over his resting on his thigh. “Thank you.”
He turned his hand over and entwined his fingers with mine, sending a warm tingle up my arm.
Conlan and the others mounted their tarrans, and the crowd parted as the carriage started forward.
“Did you enjoy your first trip to town?” Lukas asked as we drove back the way we’d come.
“It was perfect.”
“My schedule is hectic right now, but I promise it won’t always be like that,” he said. “We’ll have many more days like this.”
“I’m going to hold you to that,” I said lightly.
He gave me a slow smile. “I hope so.”
I didn’t know if he was talking about friendship or something else, but the way he looked at me and held my hand promised more. Heat pooled in my belly, and I wanted nothing else in this moment but to feel his lips on mine. I didn’t think he could kiss me when we were on full display like this, but maybe when we were behind closed doors…
The heat in my belly rose to my cheeks, and I looked away before he could see me blush and guess where my thoughts had gone. My gaze swung to my left and right into the amused eyes of Conlan who rode beside the carriage. His eyebrows rose knowingly, and he smirked at my poor attempt at nonchalance.
“What did you like most about the market?” Lukas asked as we passed over the stone bridge outside town.
I turned back to him. “It’s easier to ask what I didn’t like.”
“And what was that?”
“Leaving it.” I sighed quietly. “I wish this day didn’t have to end.”
His fingers squeezed mine. “It’s not over yet. How would you like to have dinner with my brother and sister?”
My stomach did a little flip. “You want me to meet your family?”
“Only Roswen and Kellan.” His eyes lit with amusement. “Unless you feel up to facing my whole family at once.”
I swallowed nervously at the thought of meeting the Unseelie king. “Maybe only your brother and sister tonight.”
Lukas smiled. “Roswen has been asking when she can meet you, and I can’t put her off much longer.”
“What?” I made a face of mock surprise. “Someone who can’t be ordered around by you?”
He pretended to scowl. “Maybe I shouldn’t introduce you two.”
I opened my mouth to retort, but I was interrupted by a commotion in a field off to our right. A flock of what looked like pink geese was making an awful racket as the birds ran and flew across the field pursued by a dark shape. A dwarf chased after them shouting and waving his arms, trying to save his flock from the predator that looked very familiar.
Lukas called to the driver, and the carriage slowed. Standing, he called, “Kaia.”
If the lamal heard him, she was having too much fun to heed his call. She pounced at one of the birds, and I put my hand over my mouth, expecting the worst. The bird took flight at the last second, escaping with all but a few feathers. Kaia leaped up and took off after another one.
“You’re going to have to go get her,” Conlan said, his voice full of laughter.
“I know.” Lukas hopped down from the carriage and set off across the field, followed by the guffaws of his men. Iian and Kerr gave him a small head start before they slid off their mounts and trailed him.
I stood for a better view – and what a view it was. Lukas’s muscled body moved with the same powerful grace of his lamal as he strode toward the chaos. He looked every bit the predator himself, one I would not mind stalking me.
A shadow passed over the carriage, and I tore my gaze from Lukas to look up at the sky. My jaw dropped at the sight of the winged shape soaring over us. From a distance, drakkans were big. This close, they were massive. The one above us had to be bigger than a single engine plane.
“He won’t hurt you,” Faris called, mistaking my awe for fear. “Drakkans never attack people in the valley.”
The drakkan flew a quarter of a mile away and turned to come back for another pass. It was lower this time, and its scales flashed like flames in the sun. Reddish-gold flames.
It can’t be. My heart jumped. There had to be lots of drakkans with scales that color, and there was no way he could have grown this big in the two months since I’d last seen him.
My eyes were glued to the drakkan as he dipped lower, giving me a good look at the all-too familiar red and gold pattern on his back.
“Gus,” I breathed.
His horned head whipped toward me as if he’d heard me, and his red eyes fixed on me like laser beams.
I stared into his eyes, mesmerized. Someone shouted, but I could barely hear it over the flap of leathery wings. I snapped out of it in time to realize he was coming straight at me. This time, I did feel fear as I ducked for cover.
My head snapped back when the huge clawed foot wrapped around me from behind and snatched me from the carriage. I think I screamed as the ground fell away from us. It happened so fast it was a blur. The only thing I remembered clearly was Lukas racing across the field and shouting my name.
Chapter 11
The drakkan’s powerful wings beat the air, carrying us away at incredible speed. Within seconds, Lukas and the others were out of sight, and I closed my eyes against the dizzying blur of the ground flying past a hundred feet below. I clung to the foot wrapped around me, terrified that any second it
would open and send me falling to my death.
After a few minutes, I couldn’t take not knowing what was happening, and I opened my eyes. Beneath me, farms and green fields passed by, and a few people pointed up at us. It probably wasn’t a common sight for a drakkan to be carrying a person.
I didn’t want to think about what he intended to do with me when we got wherever we were going. He looked like Gus, but that didn’t mean he was Gus. And even if he was the drakkan I’d rescued, he had changed so much there was no telling what he’d do.
We passed over a field of grain that looked like wheat, and I stared at the huge shadow cast by the drakkan. I was struck by the overpowering feeling that I’d seen this before. Tiny flashes of a memory taunted me. No, not a memory. It felt more like a dream, but how could I have dreamed of a place I’d never seen.
Up ahead, the wide river cut through the valley, and somehow, I knew before we reached it that he was going to turn left. When we flew over a few boats, I wondered dismally if I’d ever get to take a boat along the river or if this was the last time I’d see it.
I lifted my head and saw we were headed straight for the black cliffs I’d seen from my balcony. We veered away from the river, and the drakkan picked up speed as we neared what had to be his home.
As we approached the base of the cliffs, he started to climb at a dizzying speed that made my stomach roil. I had to close my eyes before everything I’d eaten at the market came back up.
The air suddenly shifted, and it felt like we were floating. I forced my eyes open to see we had crested the top of the cliff and entered a world beyond my imagination.
The craggy cliffs stretched for miles, and as far as I could see, there were drakkans, hundreds of them in every color and size. Some played together or ate, some nested in aeries, and others looked like they were standing on guard watching for threats. Two fought over what looked like a catfish the size of a tuna, and two appeared to be busy making more drakkans.
We flew along the cliffs out of reach of the other drakkans but close enough to see their snarling faces and hear their growls as they watched us. One snapped and jumped at us, making my heart threaten to break through my ribcage. If my captor let me go here, I wouldn’t have to worry about the fall killing me. The teeth and claws below would rip me to shreds.
He didn’t drop me, and he didn’t land on the cliffs like I expected him to. We reached the end that jutted out over the ocean, and he kept going, straight out to sea where there was nothing but the vast horizon ahead of us.
A mile from shore, he lifted his legs so I was tucked against his warm underbelly and sheltered from the wind. I didn’t know if he did that for me or because it allowed him to go faster, but I felt less like I was about to fall into the ocean. He was flying at a speed I hadn’t known was possible for a living creature.
After several hours, I spotted a dark shape miles ahead. The closer we got to it, the more I could make out the details of an island. It was small, no more than a quarter of a mile wide, with a rocky shoreline, some trees, and a hill at the center. On top of the hill was a stone building that looked like it had grown out of the rock. Except for a few sea birds, the island appeared to be uninhabited.
The drakkan circled the island once before going in for a landing on top of the hill. He touched down lightly on three legs with me still tucked against his belly. I held my breath as he lowered me to the ground and released me.
I stumbled when he set me on my legs, which felt a bit rubbery from the flight. Righting myself, I turned to face him. He towered over me with his wings folded against his body, and his slit eyes watched me with the same wariness I had for him. He resembled Gus, but I’d seen other drakkans with similar coloring on the cliffs. How would I know if this was the one I’d rescued?
I licked my parched lips, wishing I had some water. Clearing my throat, I said, “Gus?”
He cocked his head to one side. Gus had done that too, but all drakkans probably did the same.
I gave him a sad smile. “I wish Finch was here. He’d know if you were our Gus.”
The drakkan suddenly dropped down to his belly, his enormous spiked tail swishing back and forth and little puffs of smoke issuing from his nostrils. He rested his head on the ground and stared at me with an expectant expression. I knew that look. It was the same one he’d worn when Finch used to play with him.
“Gus, it is you!” Tears pricked my eyes. “I can’t wait to tell Finch how big you are.”
His tail moved faster at the mention of Finch. Gus might recognize me as the person who’d fed him, but he’d spent more time with Finch than anyone else. What would the drakkan do when he realized Finch wasn’t here?
Better questions are where the heck am I, and how am I getting home? I turned toward the stone building, which appeared to be the only structure on the island. It wasn’t much bigger than a hut with an uneven roof and a hole for a doorway that was barely tall enough for a Court faerie.
I walked in the direction of the building and began to feel a strange pull toward it. The closer I got, the stronger it was. The logical part of my brain said anything that compelled you to do something could not be good. My gut told me it wasn’t a coincidence that Gus had flown all the way to this island in the middle of the ocean. I needed to be here, and I had to find out why.
I stood in the doorway to let my eyes adjust to the dim interior. There were stairs leading down and the glow of light below. I released my breath. This place couldn’t be abandoned if there was light.
Encouraged but still cautious, I descended the roughly-hewn steps to a round room less than fifteen feet across. At the center of the room was a narrow stone pedestal on which sat a glass bowl of laevik crystals that cast enough light to allow me to see where I was going. To my right was a narrow tunnel lit by sconces. Across from me was an archway to another room that looked larger and more well-lit.
I crossed the room and peered into the one beyond. My breath caught because I suddenly knew exactly where I was.
The round, sunken room was easily three times the size of the first one, and it had a high ceiling hung with crystal lights. The walls were bare stone, and across from the entrance was a low, white stone altar. At the very center of the altar sat the ke’tain.
I walked down the steps to the room and jumped when I caught movement out of the corner of my eye. On my left were two male faeries in the blue and silver livery of the Unseelie court. I looked to my right and found two more faeries in white and gold tunics that must be the colors of Seelie. All four guards watched me with suspicion, but none of them spoke or approached me.
I turned back to the alter and stared at the stone that had changed my life in ways I was still coming to terms with. Seeing it stirred up a lot of conflicting emotions, and I was torn between wanting to leave this place and needing to move closer to the altar.
The pull of the ke’tain won, and I walked toward it. Four feet from it, I came up against an invisible wall that kept me from getting closer. It had to be the new ward they’d added to the temple to protect the ke’tain.
The ward might keep me from getting near the ke’tain, but it didn’t stop me from feeling the power emanating from the stone. As a human, I hadn’t been able to sense the ke’tain’s magic. As a faerie, the ke’tain’s energy was almost overpowering. How had Conlan been able to get within a foot of the thing that day in the bookstore office?
“Can you feel it?”
I started at the female voice and turned my head to see a tall woman with silvery blonde hair standing beside me. She wore a long, white dress adorned with a belt of eyranth, and warmth radiated from her. I didn’t know how or where, but every cell in my body told me I’d met her before.
She smiled fondly. “Can you feel the power, Jesse?”
“Yes,” I replied softly, unable to look away from her ageless gray eyes.
She nodded, pleased. “Good.”
“Why is that good?” I asked when she didn’t say more. “Can’
t everyone feel it?”
“Not the way you can.” She reached up and touched the stone hidden in my hair, sending a small jolt of energy through me. It didn’t hurt, but it left me breathless and filled with the certainty that my companion was no ordinary faerie.
“Who are you speaking to?” demanded a male voice.
I turned to see one of the Seelie guards a few feet away. He regarded me with leery eyes and one hand on his sword hilt. Looking past him, I found three more sets of eyes on me. Why were they looking at me like that?
And then it hit me. I was the only one in the room who could see the woman.
“I asked who you were talking to,” the faerie said.
“Myself,” I blurted, shaken. “I do that sometimes.”
His hard, assessing gaze swept over me and lingered on my hair. Unless he’d been stuck on this island for two months, he had to know who I was. The downward turn of his mouth told me what he thought of the newest Unseelie faerie.
“Excuse me.” I moved around him and headed for the stairs without checking to see if the woman was still there. I practically ran up the stairs, passed through the outer room, and kept going until I emerged into the fading daylight.
Gus was where I’d left him and appeared to be sleeping. His eyes opened, and he watched me lazily as I hurried toward him. He didn’t appear to be in a rush to go anywhere, leaving me to wonder how the hell I would get home. Even if he did pick me up and carry me away from the island, he could take me anywhere, and I had no way to tell him where I needed to go.
I took a deep breath. Those guards had to have gotten here somehow. I’d go ask them how to get back to Unseelie. The two from Seelie might not help, but I was not above using Lukas’s name to get assistance from the Unseelie guards.
I spun and nearly ran into the strange woman from the temple. I backed up several steps, once again filled with the certainty I’d met her before. But that was crazy, especially if my suspicion about her identity was right.
“Are…you Aedhna?” I asked.
“I am. It is wonderful to see you, Jesse.” She smiled, and it banished the trepidation I’d felt only seconds ago.