To Wear a Fae Crown (The Fair Isle Trilogy Book 2) Page 17

  I take a step back to catch my bearings, but my heart leaps into my throat as my lungs constrict.

  “Breathe,” Lorelei whispers. “You can do this.”

  I close my eyes, the cave spinning around me.

  Lorelei’s whisper takes on a harsh quality. “Would you rather beg Henry Duveau for your life?”

  Her words ignite a ripple of fire, and with it comes a sense of clarity. I connect to the fire, let it burn away my fears. All I can do is try, I remind myself.

  With a deep breath, I step forward and meet the eyes of my audience—my people. They don’t truly feel like my people, not only because they are fae but because they are unseelie. However, that must change. If I am to become Queen of Fire, I will have to consider the term unseelie without fear or disgust. I will have to fight for them as strongly as I fight for the humans.

  “Your kind are suppressed by the radical seelie like King Ustrin,” I say. The hesitation in my tone is obvious, but I call forth more fire to burn it away. Thoughts of King Ustrin allow my anger to rise. I think about what he did to my mother, to the apothecary. Until I can fight for the unseelie without forcing it, I can at least fight against him.

  “King Ustrin maintains his power by turning his back on the Old Ways.” I’m not even sure what I’m saying, but my voice is stronger now. “He betrays his own kind to keep a throne he never earned. The council he supports grows more and more seelie every day. If allowed to fall too far into the hands of the radical seelie, the Old Ways will be eliminated entirely. The unseelie will be eliminated. You’ll be forced into clothes, forced to obey laws that strip you from the traditions you’ve held onto for countless centuries.”

  Even though my words only echo what I learned from Aspen, I find myself feeling the truth in them. My audience seems intrigued, their gazes intent upon me. I continue. “The Council of Eleven Courts has been broken and a war between the fae is coming. The radical seelie seek control while the rebels seek freedom.” I put my hand on my heart. “I am part of that rebellion. As Unseelie Queen of Fire, I will fight the forces that threaten your way of life. I will fight against King Ustrin and win us back the Fire Court. I will win back our home.”

  A kitsune lets out a bark that sounds like approval, while other encouraging sounds emit from several other fae.

  Nyxia looks almost impressed.

  Movement at the back of the crowd snags my attention and the masses return to quiet. The black dragon uncoils, extending its lithe neck toward me. “You are of human blood.” The voice is part hiss, part whisper. “You may promise to fight for us, but how do we know you won’t fight for them more? How can we trust you won’t be worse than King Ustrin?”

  My confidence falters. To say I won’t fight for the humans would be a lie. Am I ready to promise I’ll at least fight for them equally?

  Nyxia seems to sense my loss of momentum and takes a step forward. “Like I said, dear ones, this is but an introduction. We know it will take time for you to trust what Evelyn has to offer. In the meantime, I ask you to trust me. Trust me when I say that I believe Evelyn is the answer to tipping the balance in our favor. Spread word of what you learned tonight, but do it discreetly. Rally the unseelie fire fae and anyone who seeks an end to King Ustrin’s reign. We will gather again when Evelyn is ready to make her move against him.”

  “Will she show us her unseelie form then?” asks an orange sprite.

  Queen Nyxia plasters an exaggerated smile over her lips. “Yes. Until then, do as I’ve requested.”

  The cave erupts with commotion, and the three of us turn to leave. All I hear is the pounding of my heart in my ears as we exit the cave, my feet flying beneath me. Once we return beneath the forest trees, I halt and round on Queen Nyxia. “You lied.”

  “I cannot lie.”

  “You told them I would show them my unseelie form next time I meet with them.”

  “And you will.”

  My eyes bulge as I stare at her. “You don’t understand. I don’t have that kind of power. I can’t shift like the full-fae can.”

  “Sure you can.” She walks on ahead, leaving me gaping behind her.

  I turn to Lorelei, silently begging her to argue some sense into the queen.

  Instead, she says, “She’s right.”

  “How do you figure?”

  “You’ve already proven yourself capable of using fae magic,” Lorelei says. “That’s all you need to shift. It’s simply a matter of knowing how, which you have yet to learn.”

  “How can you be so sure? I’m only one-quarter fae.”

  She shrugs, and we hurry to catch up with the queen. “The half-fae children of the Chosen have always been able to shift, and none of them seem any more adept with magic than you.”

  This takes me by surprise. “They can?”

  Nyxia turns to look over her shoulder at me. “Yes, and so will you. It is your only hope of winning over the unseelie fire fae completely.”

  I rub my temples. “Great. Let me just add that to my list of unrealistic things I’m supposed to do to save the isle.”

  “Evelyn, you’ve been to the Twelfth Court,” Lorelei says. “That’s all it takes. That, magic, and intent. All magic stems from intent. You’ll learn.”

  I open my mouth to argue, but Nyxia comes to a sudden halt, forcing me and Lorelei and to stop as well. An enormous owl swoops down from the sky and lands at the queen’s feet. “Urgent,” the owl says. “Unwelcome guests have traveled through the axis. They’re heading for Selene Palace.”

  24

  “Who do you think it is?” I ask Lorelei as we hurry back through the woods toward the palace. Nyxia already took off in her shadow form as soon as the owl delivered its message.

  “I don’t know,” Lorelei says, “but it can’t be good.”

  We continue on as swiftly as we can. The forest remains eerily silent, as if the message has every creature in the woods on high alert. I’m hyper aware of every snapping twig, every rustling leaf.

  “Evie.” The sound of my name has me nearly leaping out of my skin. I draw back as a figure materializes seemingly from nowhere. A scream builds in my throat and I nearly release it until the moonlight illuminates a pair of antlers.

  “Aspen! What are you doing here?”

  He takes me by the shoulders. “For the love of oak and ivy, where have you been? Are you safe?”

  All I can do is nod, startled by the concern written over his expression.

  His eyes leave me to scan my surroundings. “Why are you in the woods?”

  I blink a few times, confused by the question. Then I recognize that familiar purple aura around him and realize he isn’t really here. I take a deep breath to steady my nerves as I consider how to answer his question. I’m not ready to tell him the truth about what I’ve been doing. Besides, the longer he stands in my presence, the more I recall I’m still mad at him over our argument in the hall. I don’t owe him an explanation. Not yet. “I’m with Lorelei,” I say curtly.

  He purses his lips, hands sliding from my shoulders as if he’s suddenly uncomfortable with the physical contact. In the absence of his touch comes a sting of regret. “Stay there,” he says without warmth. “Do not come back to the palace.”

  “Why? What’s happening?”

  “King Ustrin is coming.”

  My throat goes dry. “What does he want?”

  “Just stay where you are.” With that, he’s gone.

  When my vision adjusts to Aspen’s sudden disappearance, I find Lorelei in his place. Her hands are on her hips, head cocked to the side as she watches me with a raised brow. “What the bloody oak and ivy just happened?”

  “You didn’t see him?”

  “See who?”

  I almost don’t want to explain, but her expression tells me she won’t let me off that easy. “Aspen was here.”

  She lifts a brow. “Aspen? He was here just now?” Her tone is flat, full of skepticism.

  I let out a sigh. “It’s something that
’s been happening since I left Bircharbor. At first, I thought they were dreams, but they’re...something else.”

  Her posture relaxes. “Wait, you’re serious?”

  I nod. “I don’t understand it, but there are times when we’re able to see each other. It...might be linked to the Bond.” Since finding out my dreams were true occurrences, I haven’t given the phenomenon much thought. But now, it’s beginning to make sense. “I think we’ve been using the Bond to visit each other somehow. When I use his name and think of him in a certain way, I can see where he is. And when he uses mine...likewise. That’s why he knew I was in trouble in Eisleigh. Lorelei, he was there in the underground laboratory.”

  “That’s a lot to take in,” she says. “But all right, I think I understand what you’re saying. Although, I don’t believe that’s a common feature of the Bond.”

  “Well, whatever the case, there’s something far more pressing. He told me King Ustrin is coming and urged me to remain hidden.”

  She gapes. “He’s coming? Where, to the palace? That’s who Nyxia went to confront?”

  “That’s what it sounded like.”

  Lorelei darts forward, then hesitates. “No, he’s right. You need to remain in hiding.”

  “Like hell,” I say. “I need to know what’s going on.”

  “A lot of good that will do if he kills you.”

  I feel the blood leave my face, but I refuse to back down. “Even so, what if he already knows I’m here? What if he’s coming to threaten Lunar for harboring me? I can’t let anyone get hurt for me.”

  “What are you going to do? Sacrifice yourself?”

  “If I must.”

  She rolls her eyes. “What is with you and the constant need to put others before you? Is your life not worth more?”

  The question catches me off guard. I’ve always wanted to help others and save lives. That’s why I wanted to become a surgeon. But her words bring to mind an unsettling question; what is my own life worth? I shake my head. “If there’s anything I can do to keep others from getting hurt, I have a right to do it.”

  “Fine. But I’m making you invisible.”

  “Invisible? How?”

  She lifts her hands. “I’m putting a glamour over you.”

  I step away, blinking furiously as a flash of betrayal ignites within. “You’re going to glamour me?”

  She clenches her jaw. “No, Evelyn. You can stop blinking now.”

  I take a deep breath and force my eyelids to stop fluttering.

  Her hands remain raised. “I’m putting a physical glamour over you. It’s different from a mental one. A physical glamour doesn’t interfere with a person’s mind.”

  “All right,” I say slowly. “You think you can really make me invisible?”

  “I’ll try,” she says. She remains still for a few moments before lowering her hands with a shrug. “Well, let’s hope it works.”

  “What do you mean, let’s hope? You can’t tell if it worked?”

  “It’s my glamour. Since I know it’s there, I can see through it. You look as clear as day to me.”

  I sigh and start back down our path. “Good enough.”

  Lorelei shakes her head. “King Aspen better not have my neck for this.”

  My feet ache by the time we reach the edge of the forest outside the palace lawn. Despite my glamour, we remain hidden behind the trunk of a tree while Lorelei scans the landscape. She tenses, and I follow her line of vision. Outside the southern end of the palace, where Lorelei and I had met Nyxia mere hours ago, stand dozens of armed fae, mostly wraiths and ghouls with weapons as ethereal as their forms. Their bodies are angled away from us as they face the distant tree line.

  We creep forward, crossing the lawn toward the palace. Once we reach a row of towering hedges near the building, we make our way forward until the retinue comes further into view. We slip beneath shadows until we reach the nearest column. There we peek around it for a better vantage.

  Before the soldiers stand Nyxia, Franco, and Aspen, as well as the rulers of Wind, Winter, and Earthen. Their postures are tense as they stare ahead at what appears to be nothing. Endless moments of chilling silence pass until movement flickers in the distant shadows. Three figures approach, and as they near, I recognize the middle as King Ustrin. He wears a red suit, its color dim against the radiance of his orange scales glinting in the moonlight. The fae on each side of him look like guards. They have scaled bodies like the king, but their coloring is pale yellow. The one to Ustrin’s right seems to be trembling, his steps slower than his companion’s.

  The three figures stop several yards away from the gathering before them.

  I hardly breathe as I strain to hear over my pounding heart.

  “Queen Nyxia,” Ustrin says, his voice quiet but loud enough to carry to us. “How good of you to greet me with such a charming welcoming party. Although, when I requested my right to a peaceful exchange of words, I didn’t expect so many soldiers to take part. Did your owl not make my intentions clear? I did not come for a fight.”

  Nyxia gives him a toothy smile, her canines conveying the hidden threat in the gesture. “Why are you here? You were not invited.”

  “That’s no way to speak to a fellow council fae.”

  “You and I both know I am no longer considered a council fae. The same goes for the rulers who stand beside me.”

  “Ah, well I did want to hear it from your lips before I assumed too much,” King Ustrin says, a false smile on his lipless mouth. “Then my next order of business can commence. By order of the Council of Eleven Courts, I hereby deem you, Nyxia of Lunar, stripped of your right to rule. The same goes for you, Aspen of Autumn, Aelfon of Earthen, Minuette of Wind, and Flauvis of Winter.” He nods at each of the rulers in turn. The tension in the air is palpable, and even I bristle at this blatant omission of their royal titles.

  The wolf fae—King Flauvis, that is—lets out a deep growl. King Aelfon, the stout fae with curling horns and deep, brown skin, pounds his hooves into the grass beneath him. The ethereal Queen Minuette lets out a windy hiss with her blue lips.

  “You don’t have that kind of power,” Nyxia says, unperturbed by the threat. “We have deemed the council disbanded. Nothing you say has any weight over our actions, decisions, or rights to rule.”

  King Ustrin narrows his beady eyes. “We’ll see what tune you’re singing once you’re outnumbered on a battlefield. You see, the council is electing seelie rulers in each court.” His eyes flash toward King Aelfon. “A new seelie ruler, in some cases.”

  A snarl rips from the Earthen King’s lips. I’m surprised he can manage not to launch for the Fire King’s throat. With only two guards, King Ustrin could easily be overpowered.

  “Go ahead and play at being in power while you still can,” Nyxia says. “You won’t be much longer.”

  I feel a chill at her words, sensing the double meaning. Not only does she mean the council, but him personally. King Ustrin seems to sense it too, the smile slipping from his face. “Now onto my next order of business. I’d like to offer one of your subjects an alliance with the council. Prince Franco, the council offers you the position of Seelie King of Lunar.”

  Nyxia visibly tenses, shadows curling from her fingertips. “Excuse me?”

  Franco’s eyes bulge, but he says nothing.

  “Now, now,” Ustrin says, “there’s no need to get your shadows involved, Nyxia. This is a peaceful exchange of words, remember? If Prince Franco would like to accept the offer, he should be free to do so. Or is all that talk about freedom of choice simply...talk?”

  Nyxia snarls, but it’s cut off as Prince Franco takes a step forward, then another. She watches in horror as her brother closes the distance between himself and King Ustrin.

  The Fire King greets the prince with a triumphant grin.

  “That slimy, son-of-a-harpy,” I say under my breath. Rage burns inside me, turning every fond memory of the Lunar Prince to ash.

  Ustrin extends
a hand, which Franco accepts. In a blink of an eye, the prince pulls Ustrin toward him, and his free hand collides with the Fire King’s flat nose. “That’s what I think of your offer,” he says, arms wide as he sweeps into a mocking bow.

  All right. I take it all back. Prince Franco is—

  One of the guards, the one who was trembling earlier, unsheathes his sword and buries it in Franco’s stomach. I let out a shout echoed by Nyxia as the prince falls to his knees. Nyxia’s shadows unfurl and her soldiers begin to surge forward. The guard convulses before releasing the hilt and falling to the ground motionless. The second guard takes his place, gritting his teeth as his fingers stop inches from the hilt.

  “It’s iron.” King Ustrin’s voice halts the oncoming melee. “One more step and I’ll have the prince beheaded with it.”

  Nyxia’s shadows disappear, and she motions for her soldiers to take a step back.

  “Think about the rules, Nyxia,” Ustrin says. “In a peaceful exchange of words, violence is forbidden. It can only be met blow for blow. As of now, equal blows have been exchanged and it can stop here. But if you attack me, it will be my right to end his life.”

  “Let him go,” Nyxia says through her teeth.

  Franco moans in pain, head lolling to the side.

  “I’ll let the prince go if you let me speak with Evelyn Fairfield.”

  A hush falls over the crowd, punctuated only by Franco’s whimpers.

  “Oh, let’s not play dumb,” Ustrin says. “I know she’s here. As my final order of business, I ask only that I speak with her. The rules made by the peaceful exchange of words will be extended to her, and she will not be harmed tonight. I give my promise.”

  Aspen burns Nyxia with a glare, but Nyxia keeps her lips pursed tight.

  I look from King Ustrin to Prince Franco. “Release the glamour,” I whisper to Lorelei.

  “No,” she argues. “He may have promised not to harm you today, but once he knows you’re here, there’s no stopping him from returning tomorrow.”

  “I’ll give you a count of five,” King Ustrin shouts. “If you don’t reveal Miss Fairfield in that time, I’ll be the next to deliver a blow, and it will cost your prince his life.” His guard’s fingers flinch toward the sword. “Five.”