Queen of Light (The Forbidden Fae Book 3)

by Linsey Hall

  For me? My throat tightened. “But there are so many.”

  “You’ve spent years fighting their battles with them. It’s only natural that they’d come when you needed them.”

  “Yeah, but I wanted to fight.” There had been dozens of fights over the years, times when other supernaturals had had their own Big Bads to face. Of course I’d helped.

  I just hadn’t thought they’d ever have cause to return the favor.

  Or that I might never see them again once the battle was won.

  I blinked away the tears as Jude walked toward me, a pale, dark-haired woman at her side. They stopped in front of me, and I was struck anew by how beautiful Jude’s eyes were. They sparkled with the light of stars, as if there were constellations in her soul.

  “This is Emily,” Jude said. “I think you may have met at previous battles. She can create portals big enough to move our forces wherever they need to be, and she can enlarge a portal that already exists.”

  I smiled at Emily, glad to have something to focus on. “Thank you.” I looked at Connor and Cass, who stood near me. Each of them gave me a nod. I turned back to Emily. “We’re ready whenever you are, I think.”

  She nodded and reached for me. “Take my hand and visualize where we are going.”

  “We need to get to Dartmoor first, where we can cross over into the Fire Fae realm. There, we will try to find the portal that will lead to the realm of darkness.” I gripped her palm and closed my eyes, imagining the river flowing right in front of the Clapper Bridge. Beyond it, I saw the forest that would allow us access to the realm of the Fire Fae.

  “I’ve got it.” She withdrew her hand and stepped back, raising her arms so that her palms faced outward. Magic sparked at her fingertips, and a portal appeared in front of her. It gleamed golden, expanding as I watched. Within moments, it was twenty feet wide and just as tall.

  In front of me, a shimmery image of Dartmoor appeared. The sun shone there, though it seemed dimmer than usual.

  I drew in a deep breath, then gave the front of Potions & Pastilles one last look. My heart clutched at the sight. It was as lovely as ever, and if I didn’t see it again, well…

  There had been a lot of good times.

  Connor took my hand and squeezed. “We’ve been waiting a long time for this.”

  “It’ll be good to get it over with.” I shot him a smile that actually felt genuine, and he grinned back.

  Together, we stepped though the portal. The ether sucked me in and spun me around, spitting me out on the chilly expanse of Dartmoor.

  Iain was already there, standing in front of a troop of over two hundred Sea Fae warriors. Their battle gear was a deep navy blue, and all were equipped with swords and shields. Their magic rolled toward me on a gust of wind.

  They were strong, thank fates.

  Another surge of magic hit me from behind, and I turned to see the king and queen of the Fire Fae. They stood on the other side of the river, right in front of the grove of twisted old oaks. A smaller group of Fire Fae troops stood behind them, but only a dozen. They hadn’t wanted to come entirely without an escort, but there would be no reason to bring the entire group. We’d be going back through the portal to their realm soon.

  As reinforcements trailed in behind us, I caught the king and queen’s eye. They nodded.

  I gave Connor’s hand one last squeeze before letting go. I turned to him and hugged him, my throat tight. “Be safe, bro. I love you.”

  He looked at me like I was acting crazy. “The battle hasn’t even started yet.”

  “It’ll come at us fast.” And I didn’t know if I had the strength to say goodbye to him again.

  “That’s true.” He gave me a tight hug. “Can’t wait for this to be over.”

  “Yeah.” I stepped back and turned to find Iain, who was striding toward me.

  “Thanks for bringing so many fighters,” I said.

  “Of course.” He said it like it was a no-brainer.

  I pressed a quick kiss to his cheek, my heartbeat beginning to thunder.

  It’s starting.

  I shoved the thought away. “Let’s go see the king and queen.”

  He nodded, and together we walked across the stone bridge toward the grove. Cass, Connor, and Aidan stuck close behind us, and the rest of our forces fell into line.

  I stopped in front of the king and queen, who were both dressed in their battle gear—deep crimson leather, with a black chain mail vest.

  The king looked at Iain. “Thank you for bringing reinforcements.”

  Iain nodded shortly. His voice was sharp when he spoke. “I’d do anything for my mate.”

  Well, that was quite succinct.

  And heartwarming.

  The queen’s gaze flicked to those who stood behind us. “You believe the battle will be this big?”

  “I’ve been warned of it, yes.”

  The queen swallowed hard and nodded, finally moving her gaze from the army to me. “This is a lot of people, Caera.”

  I didn’t know what to say to that, but Connor had no trouble. “After you evicted her from her home, she fought a hell of a lot of battles and made even more friends.” His jaw tightened. “These people aren’t here for the Fire Fae. They are here for Caera.”

  My throat tightened. He rarely used my Fae name—he was far more bitter than I about their treatment of me—but it was the name the queen would respond to.

  “I understand.” The queen’s gaze moved to me. “We knew we were in your debt from the beginning, and now, even more so.”

  I cut her off, having a feeling that she was winding up to a longer speech that we didn’t have time for and I didn’t have interest in. “Save it until after the battle.”

  She nodded. “All right. We’ve adjusted the magic on the gate that leads to our realm. It can be made large enough to accommodate all the forces and will take us directly to the Tor of the Ancients.”

  “Excellent.” I watched as she walked to one of the gnarled, twisted tree trunks. She stopped, pressing her palm hard to the surface. The bark glowed gold, and the air in between the trees began to sparkle with light.

  An image of the Fae side of the moor appeared, and she gestured. “Come. It is time to cross over.”

  I joined her and walked between the trees. The ether pulled me in and sucked me through space, spitting me out on the other side. Instead of depositing us near the main Court as it usually did, we were at the Tor of the Ancients.

  The hill swept upward, topped by the huge granite pillars of the tor. The ancient wall that had once surrounded it was now broken in places, damaged by the evil that had seeped out of the ground. The magic was different, as well.

  I could no longer feel the protective power that had guarded this place. Lat time, it had been terrifying to try to reach the tor—the monsters and protective spells had been so dangerous that they had nearly killed us.

  “Do we not need to go through the Portal Dolmen?” I asked, remembering the tiny stone structure that had been the access point for this place.

  “No. The magic here is different since your last battle.” She sighed. “The Ancients who once protected this place have left. The Soul Stone is no longer here and so they were no longer needed.”

  I blinked.

  Of course.

  I raised a hand to my chest, rubbing absently. The Soul Stone was me.

  At least the Ancients weren’t following me around, trying to protect me. I had a feeling that would get annoying real quick.

  Though this place was less terrifying than it had been, there was still a heaviness to the air. Cold wind whipped my hair back and dark clouds hung low in the sky. Misty rain sprinkled my face as I turned to look at the troops who waited nearby.

  My gaze moved to the left, where the entirety of the Fire Fae army stood at attention. There had to be over three hundred of them, all in identical crimson uniforms that flickered with fire at the hems of their shirts.

  “Impressive, aren’
t they?” the queen said.

  I twitched slightly as she gripped my arm and led me toward them. The king joined us. As we walked, the queen leaned close to me and whispered, “You have not gotten rid of the darkness inside you. I can feel it.”

  I stiffened, then shook my head. “The darkness needs me to burn the moor for it, and controlling me is how it plans to make it happen.”

  It wants to subsume you. The Elemental Gods’ words echoed in my head.

  I wouldn’t be a tool for evil.

  “It’s impossible to remove the darkness from my soul,” I continued. “But I’ll find a way to destroy it.”

  She gasped slightly, her eyes flashing from me to the king, who stood on her other side.

  “Does that mean…” she trailed off.

  “That I will likely have to die with it?” I nodded. “Yeah.” I looked at her, my gaze searching hers. “And you may, too. I don’t know how else to banish it forever.”

  I hadn’t thought too much about this part since I couldn’t bear the thought of what I might have to do. It was one thing to walk knowingly to my own death. It was another to know that if I wanted to banish the evil forever, I’d have to kill the king and queen. I’d never really liked them, but I was a million miles away from wanting to kill them.

  I was only supposed to kill bad guys, damn it.

  But life was so much messier than I’d anticipated.

  The queen’s jaw hardened, but I saw the resolve in her eyes. “If it must be done, then it must be done. Do you have a plan?”

  “Nothing that’s a sure thing. I need to get to the source of the evil, but it will be protected by an army of darkness.”

  “Where did you learn all this?”

  Should I tell her what I’d learned from the Gods of the Elements? Did it matter?

  So I settled on saying, “It’s my job to know these things, isn’t it? It’s what I was born for.”

  Her jaw tightened and she nodded. She didn’t have much choice but to agree. “You’ll have our troops to help you.”

  “Thank you.” My gaze moved toward them again. The Sea Fae had entered our realm and moved to stand at their left side. The rest of our army filtered through in huge groups.

  Iain joined me, along with Cass and Aidan. Ares and Roarke were close behind, and the entire lot of them had dark shadows under their eyes. A huge hound dog ambled up next to them, her eyes dark with worry.

  Pondflower—Del’s familiar.

  My heart tightened.

  Normally, a familiar would be able to appear next to their person, wherever they were. Without a doubt, Pondflower would be at Del’s side right now if it were possible. There must be something in the darkness here that prevented it.

  The buggy drove up, the massive machine standing out starkly in the Fae realm. Ana, the Celtic DragonGod, sat behind the wheel. Connor rode at the front with Jude, who stood with her electric whip coiled at her side and ready to use. He must have taken a potion to allow him to be so close to all that iron.

  The queen eyed the buggy with distaste, and I knew it had to be because of the iron. There’d never been so much of the stuff in our realm, but the buggy was a powerful weapon, and we needed everything we could get.

  The vehicle rolled to a stop in front of us, and Emily leaned over the railing that surrounded the front fighting platform. “Where to next?”

  I pointed to the granite rocks at the top of the Tor. “There should be a portal up there that we need to find. Once we do, can you make it bigger so we can all go through at once?”

  She nodded. “No problem.”

  “Thanks.” I turned to face the tor, calling upon my wings. I gave my friends one last look, then my magic flared, stronger and more controlled than it had ever been.

  I prayed it was enough.

  17

  I launched myself into the air, my wings shooting me toward the sky. Wind tore at my hair and my heart soared.

  I was still fast—insanely so—but now I had more control. It felt amazing. Iain joined me, but I flew ahead, wanting time to find the portal.

  Please let me find this damned thing.

  I was supposed to be the chosen one, but I sure didn’t feel like it.

  I just felt like me.

  It would have to be enough.

  I flew fast, racing toward the tor.

  The earth sped by below me, the ground rugged and scattered with dead grass and rocks. I glanced back to see the army following me, Iain in the lead. He looked like a warrior of old, intensely powerful with his huge wings flared behind him and the light of battle in his eyes. Our troops moved quickly, unencumbered by the challenges that I’d faced last time I’d been here. It was a small mercy.

  I turned back to the tor, my heart thundering. Without the Ancient Ones here to smack me out of the sky, it was easy to fly over the broken wall to get to the pillars of granite. Fortunately, there were huge gaps in the wall, big enough to allow our army through.

  As I neared the tor, the darkness began to pull at me. It was stronger near the portal, and I felt it rising up inside me.

  Burn it. Burn it all.

  Visions of myself flashed in my mind’s eye—me, strolling across the moor with flame rolling all around.

  My wings faltered as the darkness gripped me hard. I nearly plowed into the ground, the evil trying to take me down.

  “No.” I spat the words. “Not now. Not ever.”

  I wrested control and launched myself back toward the sky. Beneath me, Puka appeared on the ground. She raced to keep up, her fur brilliant white beneath the hazy light of the cloud-covered sun. I drew strength from her presence, turning my attention to the piles of rock that surrounded me.

  One section tugged hardest, and I turned on the air, flying toward it.

  The strongest sense of déjà vu hit me as I hovered over the tor.

  This was where I died.

  I could see it in my mind’s eye—my body, crumbled at the base of the rock as my heart became the Soul Stone. The patch of grass where I’d fallen was darkened, gleaming with a black light that made the evil roar inside me.

  I’d found it.

  The portal was built right over the spot where I’d died, not far from where the Fire Fae had put the Kistvaen to store my heart. They’d had no idea what it really was—where it was really from.

  My skin chilled as I flew down and landed. Puka met me, and pressed her side against my leg. I drew on her warmth as I turned to face the oncoming army.

  They’d moved fast, and the buggy was nearly to me. The rest of the troops were only a few dozen yards behind the vehicle, spilling through the broken walls that had once surrounded the tor.

  The buggy rolled to a stop in front of us. Jude’s starry eyes were too knowing as they looked at me. I’d never known the reason that she had galaxies in her eyes, or what power they possessed, but I’d bet my last dollar that she knew what was about to happen to me.

  I nodded to her, keeping my jaw firm, then looked at Emily. “The portal is here. Can you enlarge it?”

  She leapt off the fighting platform and walked to the blackened grass in front of the rock.

  “Terrible things happened here,” she said, her voice low.

  “You’re telling me.”

  She shot me a glance, clearly confused by the joking tone of my voice.

  “Long story,” I said. “How long will it take?”

  “No time at all. We’ll be able to cross over in groups of about a hundred.”

  “Thank you.” I turned back to the crowd.

  So many people, all here to fight a battle because I told them that it needed to be fought.

  Whew.

  That was a lot of responsibility.

  This was probably the time to give a speech. Except they were too far away to hear me, and I didn’t know what to say anyway. I’d said as much as I could back at P&P, and I had no idea what we would face or how we would win. But if we didn’t try, Nix and Del would die. The entire moor would
burn. And then the world beyond that. Because the darkness wouldn’t stop here. It was ravenous. It would keep going.

  Maybe our fighters knew that, maybe they didn’t. But they were here anyway, ready to fight on the side of good.

  “I’m going to start,” Emily said.

  I nodded, giving Iain, Connor, and Cass one last look. My gaze snagged with Cass’s, and I could see the fear in her eyes.

  In all the years I’d known her, I’d almost never seen her scared. This—the risk of losing Nix and Del—was pretty much the only thing that could frighten her.

  “I promise I’ll get them back,” I said.

  “We’ll get them back,” Cass said. “I know you feel responsible for this, but it’s all of us now. We’ve got your back, Claire.”

  I squeezed her hand briefly, then turned, drawn by the surge of Emily’s magic. The portal was growing by the second. Magic filled the air as it stretched, growing to encompass the rocks piled on the hillside.

  On the other side, all I could see was darkness. The evil billowed out, reaching into my soul and pulling. I resisted, forcing it down deep, and called on my wings.

  Iain’s hand gripped my shoulder just once, briefly, and I gave him one last quick kiss.

  Then I threw myself into the portal.

  The ether sucked me in and spun me around, twisting me through space as it hurtled me toward the realm of darkness.

  When I arrived, all was silent and black for one long second. Then lightning struck, flashing brilliant white and revealing a mirror image of the realm we’d just left behind. I had a split second to take in as much as I could.

  In the distance, at least five hundred yards away, a tor rose tall against the sky. At the top, I spotted a cage made of black lightning. Two figures lay on the ground within—Del and Nix.

  The lightning faded and darkness fell again, so deep and pure that I could see nothing at all. Panic flared.

  Our troops couldn’t fight in the dark.

  When the lightning struck once more, I spotted the army scattered on the hillside around the tor.

  Thousands of them.