Queen (Fae Games Book 3)

by Karen Lynch

  “I share your anger and pain, my friends.” She spoke in a consoling voice, the picture of empathy. “We will have justice for our fallen, and you will bear witness to it.”

  The door opened, and every head turned toward it. I couldn’t see it from my position, but I heard someone enter and walk toward us. My heart pounded as my mind conjured images of what was behind me. I pictured an executioner with a sword and wondered if I would see the blow coming before it ended my life.

  The footsteps drew closer until Aibel appeared carrying a box the size of a shoebox at arm’s length. He stopped a few feet from me to bow his head to the queen, and his teeth were gritted in an effort not to grimace in pain. I looked at the box that appeared to be made of some kind of thick leather. Drakkan hide probably. I didn’t need him to open it for me to know what it held because I could feel its power.

  “Show us,” Queen Anwyn said, indifferent to his discomfort.

  He lifted the hinged lid, and I was close enough to hear his hiss of pain. All eyes in the room except mine and Queen Anwyn’s locked on the ke’tain. I looked at the queen, who was watching the faces of the people she had brought here to witness this spectacle. She shifted her gaze to me. She was careful to keep her face solemn, but for one second, she let me see the triumph in her eyes.

  “I believe in my heart that Aedhna called Conard and Gans to the island so they could capture the thief and save the ke’tain,” Queen Anwyn said. Her voice rang with emotion when she added, “We are indeed goddess blessed.”

  I raised my eyebrows at her performance. If she pulled a goddess stone out of her pocket next, even I was going to applaud her.

  The queen looked at me. “For the crimes of theft, murder, and desecrating the temple there can only be one punishment. Death.”

  Cold suffused me as angry murmurs of agreement spread through the room. Rhys gave the queen a pleading look and whispered, “Mother, please.”

  She turned her head and shot him a warning look that made him go still. I didn’t think she would harm him, so she had to be threatening Bayard and his other guards. If Rhys was as close to them as Lukas was to Faolin and the others, he would do anything for them.

  Queen Anwyn swept her gaze around the room. “These crimes were committed with the purpose of stealing our most precious artifact. It is only fitting that the ke’tain carry out the sentence before we return it to the temple.”

  Aibel set the box on the floor in front of me. I winced and leaned away from the ke’tain. In the days since I’d taken it to the lake, it had grown much stronger, and the energy it gave off was like thousands of tiny needles piercing my skin.

  “Touch it,” the queen ordered me.

  “No.” I stared back at her defiantly. Did she honestly think I would submit to her will when her torture hadn’t worked?

  Her lips curved slightly. “You cannot escape justice. Prolonging it will only make it worse for you.”

  “This isn’t justice. The only one here guilty of murder and theft is you,” I shot back.

  She waved a hand at the room. “Look around you, Jesse James. There is no one from Unseelie to believe your lies, no Prince Vaerik to shield you this time. Surrender to the ke’tain, and let the power of Aedhna cleanse you of your sins before you leave this life.”

  Bauchan pressed the tip of his sword against my back and whispered, “Do it or I will kill you myself.”

  I looked down at the ke’tain. After everything I’d gone through to return it to Faerie and then to restore it to full power, it would not end like this. All I could do was hope the goddess stone was strong enough to protect me.

  The room went deathly quiet as if every single person in it was holding their breath. I leaned down and reached out my shackled hands. The ke’tain began to emit pulses of soft blue light, and the tiny needles in my skin became a swarm of angry bee stings. I gritted my teeth against the pain as tears ran down my cheeks.

  My fingertips touched the ke’tain, and it was like someone had pressed a live wire to the center of my chest. Stars exploded before my eyes, and every muscle in my body seized. I couldn’t breathe or move as my heart began to slow.

  An image of Rhys’s tormented eyes floated through my mind. Even though he was older than I was, I felt like the older sibling. He had been sheltered his whole life, and he was so naïve about the world. He blamed himself for not saving me, and I wished I could tell him none of this was his fault. I was grateful for the time I got to spend with him, not as a prince but as my brother.

  I thought about my parents, Finch, and Aisla and the days I’d spent with them on the island. If I’d known it might be the last time I saw them, I would have made the most of every second of my time with them. But the most important thing was that they were together and safe.

  Lastly, I thought of Lukas. We’d had so little time together, and it was unbearably cruel to know I’d never see his smile again or feel his arms around me. It wasn’t enough to know he’d never believe the lies Queen Anwyn would spread about me. I wanted the life with him that I would never have.

  The pain ended abruptly and all I felt was peace. It was everywhere, in me, around me. I opened my eyes and looked at Aedhna who knelt in front of me.

  Her eyes shone with love as she laid a hand against my cheek. “You have been so brave, Jesse. I have one last job for you.”

  I wasn’t sure what I could do for her, being dead, but I asked anyway. “What?”

  “Bring my ke’tain home,” she said before she disappeared.

  I looked down at the stone that was no longer pulsing. It was a familiar solid blue glow that extended to my fingers. I reached both hands into the box and scooped up the ke’tain, expecting a jolt of power that never came. The glow covered my hands and spread rapidly up my arms to envelop me in an unpleasant sensation. It was like being wrapped in a scratchy wool blanket.

  I stood and heard clinks and the rattle of chains as my wrist and leg shackles fell to the floor. Around me, there were shouts and cries, but my eyes were on Queen Anwyn, who stood frozen in front of her throne. Her mouth was open, and her eyes were wide with disbelief and fear.

  Something hit my back, and I stumbled. Righting myself, I stared down at the tip of a sword protruding from my chest. It was a strange sight because I felt no pain. I watched in awe as the blade crumbled, and the hilt struck the floor behind me.

  A male screamed. I turned to see Bauchan engulfed in blue flames. He writhed in agony, his screams echoing in the room as the fire consumed him. Suddenly, the screams were cut off, and there was a blue flash. All that remained of the queen’s head of security were the ashes drifting down to the spot where he had stood.

  People screamed and ran for the doors while others cowered in their seats. I didn’t care about any of them. I turned to look for Queen Anwyn, who was no longer near her throne. I found her running for a closed door behind the dais with Aibel, Conard, and her two other personal guards.

  I went after them. Conard tried to open the door, but it would not budge. He rammed his body into it as Aibel and the other guards spun to face me. Aibel grabbed a wooden staff from one of them and struck out at me.

  I caught the end of the weapon and yanked him toward me. Ripping the staff from his hands with my free one, I struck him hard in the temple before he registered what had happened. He went down without a sound. I wasn’t a killer, so I couldn’t bring myself to end him, even after all he had done to my parents and me. He would be brought to justice, but not by me.

  The two other guards brandished swords at me. These were some of the most elite warriors in this world, and the sight of them used to strike fear into my heart. Now they were nothing more than obstacles between me and what I wanted.

  They had seen Bauchan die, so they knew they didn’t stand a chance against the power of the ke’tain. They were willing to sacrifice themselves to give the queen time to escape.

  The first one rushed at me. I whipped the staff across his knees with my borrowed strength and
speed and heard a bone break. He fell forward, and I stepped back to avoid touching him. I made short work of knocking him out as I had with Aibel.

  I faced the last guard. Instead of waiting for him to attack, I moved in. I swung the staff in a one-handed figure eight spin that Faolin had taught me. The staff moved so fast it was invisible, and when the guard tried to block it with his sword, the metal blade snapped in two. He dropped the useless sword and backed up, looking around for another weapon. I took him down with a well-aimed blow to the head.

  I turned to Queen Anwyn and Conard who were still trying desperately to open the door. I hadn’t done anything to seal the door, so it must have been the ke’tain’s doing.

  Queen Anwyn saw me coming and cowered behind her guard. Conard drew his sword and assumed a fighting stance, even though he knew he could not win. I heaved a sigh, tired of all the violence. It was all I’d known since I was brought to Seelie, and I just wanted it to end.

  “Lay down your weapon,” I told him, already knowing he wouldn’t comply.

  “You will have to go through me to get to my queen.”

  I nodded. “I can do that, but when you’re unconscious like the others, she’ll be alone. Is that what you want? To leave her to face justice alone or would you rather stand by her side?”

  He lowered the sword. “I will stand with her.”

  I pointed to the floor, and he laid his sword at his feet. I used the staff to push it out of his reach in case he had a change of heart.

  “Walk ahead of me around the dais,” I ordered.

  “Do you honestly believe my people will let you leave Seelie alive if you kill me?” Queen Anwyn snarled. Her eyes were wild, and her crown was slightly askew, making her look unhinged.

  I answered by prodding her with the end of the staff. She swatted at it with her hand, and Conard took her arm to lead her past the still bodies of her guards. She didn’t so much as look at them or show any concern for their wellbeing. How could they give their loyalty so faithfully to someone who didn’t return it?

  We came to the open area in front of the throne and stopped at the sight of the group of people huddled in front of the main entrance. Whatever had locked the queen’s getaway door must have locked all the doors. The people Queen Anwyn had summoned to witness my death stared at me in fear. They probably thought they were all going to die like Bauchan.

  I looked at Rhys, who was still bound to his throne. “Are you okay?”

  “I think I am supposed to ask you that,” he answered in a shaky voice.

  I turned to our audience and motioned one of the male advisors forward. I recognized him from the first meeting I’d attended at Unseelie. He stayed a good six feet from me, and I remembered I was still sporting the ke’tain aura.

  “Would you please free the prince?” I asked him.

  He nodded jerkily and did as I asked. Rhys stood, rubbing his wrists, and joined us.

  I looked at Conard. “Put the queen on her throne and secure her there with the binds you used on the prince.”

  Queen Anwyn shouted at the crowd by the door. “I am your queen. Are you going to stand by while this criminal treats me this way?”

  No one spoke or moved. Someone pounded on the other side of the main doors. Her reinforcements were here.

  “You have been lied to and misled by your queen,” I told the scared onlookers. “It was she who stole the ke’tain the first time, and it was her guards who murdered the temple guards and stole the ke’tain today. She wanted to force Unseelie to seal the barrier between Faerie and the human world.”

  “Lies!” Queen Anwyn shrieked.

  I winced as her shrill voice started a dull ache in my head. “Secure her,” I ordered Conard. “And gag her while you’re at it.”

  “Jesse, are you okay?” Rhys asked, his voice laden with concern.

  “Yes.” I turned toward him, and the room tilted. “I don’t know.”

  “You don’t look well.” He pointed at the dais. “Perhaps, you should sit.”

  I waved him off. “I’m tired. I haven’t slept much.” I looked down at my hand that held the ke’tain and saw that the blue aura around me had faded to a bluish white. I lifted my arm, and it trembled from the effort. My limbs felt heavy, and my headache was getting worse.

  It wasn’t until my goddess stone began to pulse erratically that I realized what was wrong. My body was too weak from days of abuse and lack of nourishment to channel the ke’tain’s full power this long. Not even the goddess stone could protect me from that much power indefinitely.

  I took a step toward the dais and staggered, falling to my knees in the same spot I’d knelt before. I lost my grip on the staff, and it clattered to the floor. The ke’tain slipped from my other hand and rolled to rest against the side of the box Aibel had carried it in.

  Behind me, the doors crashed open, and court guards poured into the room. I lifted my head to look at Queen Anwyn, who stood in front of her throne.

  “Seize her,” she commanded victoriously.

  Two guards grabbed my arms and hauled me to my feet. I stood between them and watched her step down from the dais and stalk toward me. I expected her to strike me, but she leaned in to speak in my ear.

  “You should have killed me when you had the chance. Your humanity made you weak, Jesse James. You should know by now that you cannot win against –”

  The ceiling exploded. Queen Anwyn screamed, and the guards released me to cover her body as glass rained down on us. I dived for the ke’tain and snatched it up, bracing for the jolt of power that never came. Someone shouted as I got to my feet, but nothing was going to stop me.

  The queen saw me coming, and she screamed at the guards to move, but they were too intent on protecting her from the glass to notice the real threat until it was too late.

  “You want this?” I shouted at her over the screams and sounds of shattering glass. “Take it.”

  “Noooo!” Her eyes went wild in terror, and she bucked her guards off her as she tried in vain to get away from me.

  I shoved the ke’tain at her, and her hands came up instinctively to protect her face. The ke’tain touched her palm, and for several seconds, we were fused together until a blast of energy sent me sprawling on my back.

  In front of me, Queen Anwyn stood with the ke’tain in her hand and her mouth open in a silent scream as she experienced the power of the goddess. Blue fire poured from the ke’tain and engulfed her body as it had with Bauchan. There was a blinding flash, and the Seelie queen was no more. In her place was the ke’tain lying next to a blackened crown in a pile of ash on the floor.

  “Mother!” Rhys cried out.

  “Get her,” Conard shouted.

  A roar shook the room. I stared up at where the roof used to be and met the eyes of one very pissed off drakkan. He growled, and flames shot from his nose and mouth.

  “Gus!” I scrambled to my feet.

  He folded his wings and dropped down to the floor, making the guards scatter. I ran to him and threw my arms around one of his forelegs. “I have never been so happy to see you.”

  I looked for Rhys and found him and a few others taking cover behind the throne. He stood, staring in shock at what was left of the queen, and the anguish on his face was unbearable. Queen Anwyn had been a horrible, ruthless person, but she had also been the only mother he’d ever known.

  “Your Majesty!” Aibel ran around the dais and stopped short at the sight before him.

  If he was awake, the others would be soon. It was time to go. I ran to the ke’tain and picked it up. Placing it in the box, I went back to Gus.

  “Jesse?” Rhys asked, confused.

  “I have to go, but I’ll see you soon,” I said as Gus wrapped his claws around me and rose straight up into the air. There was barely enough room to accommodate his wingspan, but he managed it.

  I looked down at the stunned faces below and waved to Rhys as we cleared the roof. I wished I could stay for him, but it wasn’t safe for me her
e. He gave a tentative wave as Gus flapped his wings, and the room disappeared from sight. I tucked the box in beside me and settled in for the long flight. I was exhausted, but I kept my eyes open long enough to see Gus put Seelie far behind us.

  It was dark when we landed on the island. I patted Gus’s leg and headed to the temple. I was in a hurry to return the ke’tain so I could go home to Lukas. I wanted to wrap my arms around him and never let him go.

  I didn’t bother to create a glamour before I entered the building. The first thing I saw when I descended the steps to the outer room was the four Unseelie guards posted at the entrance to the altar room. They all watched me approach with similar hostile expressions.

  One of the Unseelie guards opened his mouth to speak. The words never came as his eyes glazed over, and he stood as if he had been petrified. I looked at the other three guards, and they were in the same state.

  “Hello, Jesse.”

  I spun to face Aedhna, who smiled at me like my mom had when I’d gotten acceptance letters to Cornell, Stanford, and Harvard. The pride in her eyes made me feel like there wasn’t anything I couldn’t do.

  She held out her hand to me. I took it, and we entered the main room together. I gasped at the sight of Korrigan and at least a dozen others from Unseelie who were frozen like the guards upstairs. Korrigan was hunched in front of the altar, examining the spot where the ke’tain used to sit.

  I turned to look at the back wall where the guards on duty always stood. I put a hand over my mouth at the sight of the four cloth-covered bodies on the floor. I had been so happy to leave Seelie that I’d forgotten about the temple guards who had lost their lives here.

  We walked to the altar, and she released my hand. I took the ke’tain from the box and placed it on the altar.

  “Faerie and your world are healing now.” Aedhna touched my hair like my mother used to, and it made my heart ache. “You have done well, Jesse.”

  “What if someone tries to steal it again?” I asked. “Wouldn’t it be better to hide the ke’tain like you did with the others?”