A Dark Faerie Tale Series Omnibus Edition (59 page)

“Alright there, Lily, time to get this wagon train moving.” With that they took off after the others, letting the wind rush past with an exhilarating roar.

*****

SUMMER WAS APPROACHING
for a scorching wind and a dry tickle in the throat met them soon enough. Like the ever-changing seasons in Faerie, here the summer was milder than it should’ve been. The wards around the Seelie court remained intact, but for how long? Rumors were running rampant across the land that Aveta was working with someone to bring them down. Who this partner of hers was remained a mystery.

The days ticked by. The sun scorched overhead during most of the journey, and dust stuck to everything, making it uncomfortable for them all. The group chatted every now and then, but for the most part, they were silent. Only the clicks of the horse’s hooves broke the monotony. The others in the group—Benton, Jade, James, Anna and, at last minute, to Dylan’s dismay, Nautilus—had joined them on the trek. James was ecstatic to be riding his own horse, a smaller pony runt named Wren. They’d hit it off right away, trotting up and down the line of warriors as if too proud to ride alongside just one person. James avoided Corb, though, who mainly took up the rear.

Shade laughed at her younger brother’s exuberance. It did make for a lighter mood, at least. She’d never traveled Faerie alongside her family, but she’d never felt safer. Jade, Benton and even Anna had spent several months training hard in the elemental witchcraft arts. Fire was their affinity, but they were witches nonetheless, just like Shade. Every day, they surprised Shade, pushing their powers to the limit and becoming an intricate part of the group.

The sun was setting in the west, making the sparse forest turn into an array of golden colors, vibrant oranges and a touch of violet. They settled at the bottom of a small mountain where the dirt was thick with pine needles and pine cones. It took some time to clear the forest floor of loose rocks, but it was well worth it. The horses were tied to one side of the encampment and the center was dominated by a roaring fire. The days may have been scorching, but the nights had a definite chill. It didn’t bother too many of them, but Shade still felt it. If she didn’t use her fire powers, she’d be shivering. James was too young to produce any such heat, so he remained close to the flames of the campfire, happy to roast marshmallows over it.

Leave it to Mom to bring s’mores,
thought Shade. It made her shake her head but smile as her mom handed her a large, fluffy marshmallow. It was sticky but good and the small treat elevated the mood of the group. Everyone except for Corb, of course.

“What’s his problem?” Benton plopped down on the ground next to her, sitting Indian style as he reloaded his roasting stick. “Ah, his loss, right?” Blowing out the burning glob, he slapped it in between two graham crackers with chocolate and squeezed it tightly to let the slurry of goo slip out. He licked it off and proceeded to bite off a huge chunk and chew with his mouth smacking as he opened his jaw with every chomp. Shade stared at him, appalled by his manners. At least he’d loosened up quite a bit since she’d last hung out with him.

The days of sitting on the back porch staring at the tree line which led to Faerie were over. Somehow, it made her sad to think about it. Nothing would ever be the same, would it? They’d all grown into different people—even her mother would never be the overworked soccer mom who’d always forget to pick Shade up from school. No one was left untouched by Faerie. It left its mark tattooed all across one’s skin no matter how much one tried to avoid it.

Shade glanced down at the faded black circle where the darkling had marked her in its death. Rubbing it with her fingers, she felt it heat up and respond by pulsating. Staring at it, she swore she saw it spread slightly, like a halo and tangle of veins spread out across her skin and up her arm every time it pulsed. Pulling her hoodie sleeve down over it, she hugged her arms to her chest, afraid someone might’ve seen the abomination living on her skin. She didn’t know what it meant. Even though the poison was dormant and wouldn’t kill her now, what had been left behind? What was a darkling anyway? She knew she had to discover everything she could about them, for if what Ilarial had told her was true, the darkling’s magic was now part of her, whether she liked it or not.

Watching as the fire crackled and roared, she let its burning heat embrace her, making her numb in a comforting way. Though she was close to everyone around the camp—except for Corb and Nautilus, of course—she felt so out of touch, out of sync in so many ways. She watched her mother prep a tent for her, Anna and James. Jade had figured Shade would want her own tent and hadn’t even asked her to join them. It was just as well. She was right. Shade hadn’t felt close enough to anyone besides Dylan to share a tent with them. Even then, she didn’t think it was appropriate, even if they were considered engaged by Teleen standards.

We’re engaged.
Why did it still feel so shocking?

Dylan was busy getting the horses fed and watered. His muscles rippled under the loose sleeveless tunic he had tucked in at the waist. His leather belt held his sword, but he usually wore it across his back. Long black hair grazed his shoulders and reached to his shoulder blades. It was extremely easy to watch him; he was definitely savory eye candy. She couldn’t believe she’d told him that she’d chosen him back at the Teleen caverns.  It was a relief, yet it made her insides turn to gelatin.
Where do we go from here? What happens now?

Turning back toward the pops of burning wood, she knew that reaching the Scren Palace was the only thing on the agenda right now. Maybe after she took the throne back, things would fall into place. Maybe they could delay an actual marriage bond for a while before the Teleen became suspicious that they would never marry. It wasn’t that she never wanted to—it just wasn’t something she could yet fathom. How did anyone get married at eighteen? She still felt so far from that, but it was closer than she could’ve imagined.

“An audience with you, Princess.” Corb’s voice interrupted her thoughts and she threw him a quick nod as he proceeded to sit next to her. Benton huffed, springing up from his spot and heading toward where the tents were being set up. He had his own setup to attend to.

“What’s up?” Why did that feel so informal? Being around Corb and his flat stoic ways made her feel so young and unschooled.

“When we arrive at the Scren Palace, will you be releasing my bonds?”

“I can’t release you. Faerie binds you, not me.” Shade sighed, watching the flames and ashes rising into the night sky. “I would if I could.”

She could see Corb nod slightly in her periphery, his own moonlike eyes taking in the campfire. “Well, I propose that you don’t marry that common Teleen guard. I would marry you myself, if you’re willing. It’d be much more agreeable to the Seelie counsel.”

She stared open-mouthed at the Ice King. Was he nuts? “No way. Why the heck would I marry you? You’re Unseelie….”

“I’m actually Seelie. There is only one Unseelie Kingdom.” He pointed out, his blank face never changed as he watched hers morph from shock to disgust in mere seconds. “And I don’t rule there.”

“Still. Um, no thanks. I’d rather marry a ‘common guard’ than you. No offense, but you’re not my type.”

Corb sat in silence for what seemed like forever before bursting out laughing. Everyone turned to see what the ruckus was about but went along their merry way when they saw that it was Corb. To Shade, it was the rarest of sights. She’d never seen him laugh, only grimace and snarl at people.

“What’s so funny?”

“You’re so oblivious to your needs, Shade. I see why so many fall over themselves to be the ones to hold your heart. Only one holds it, and he is the biggest fool of all. You think that being who you are, so human and vulnerable, you’d realize how important power can be. Now you remember what it was like without it. Never refuse power. The more you possess, the more you can survive this world.” With that, he stood up and walked toward his tent.

She sighed, scratching her head and confused at what he’d said.
He’s insane. Certifiable,
she thought. Nothing he said ever made sense to her, not back when he’d trapped her in his castle, not now when he was virtually powerless and an unwanted companion.

“What a year,” Shade muttered before getting up to grab her pack off the forest floor. She yanked out her tent and headed to one of the cleared spots near the other tents. Choosing a spot between two scraggly trees, she went to work setting it up. The task quieted her mind, and her body let her know that it was time to rest once more. It ached and burned as she moved about, reminding her that she’d have to take a moment to heal before sleeping. She slipped in between the flaps and pulled her pillow and blanket out of her pack. Lying down, she nestled into the makeshift bed as her eyes quickly succumbed to sleep.

Chapter Twenty-One

A RUMBLE OF
the earth shook her awake. Shade hated mornings more than anything, but the sudden jolt was enough to make her scramble to her feet, pull out her sword and shoot out of her tent. She scanned the encampment and saw that she wasn’t the only one who had been awoken in such a brazen manner.

Surrounding them was a group of warriors on horseback. They each had long hair pulled into thick braids hung over slick metal armor with a crest stamped into the front of the breastplates. Shade expected women, but the warriors were all men, all with long, thick black hair and tanned skin. To her they looked almost Native American in appearance but without the intricate feathers and leather moccasins.

Shade held her sword up, locating the leader as he made his way toward the front of the group. A ring had formed around the encampment, making it impossible to escape in any direction.

“Name yourselves and your destination.” The leader was marked by a bold tattoo covering one side of his face, making him look fierce. Underneath his set stare, his eyes were a brilliant amber-green hazel which stood out against his tanned skin like fire.

“We travel to the Scren Palace, seeking to return the rightful heir, Shade, to the throne,” Dylan offered while still not lowering his blade. “We’re her escorts.”

Shade glanced toward him, knowing that he, of all of them, would know when to back down.

“The Scren Palace is far from where you come, northerners. Not usual to have company heading that way.” He eyed Corb intently, suspicion growing in his eyes. “Who is the pale man? He is not from any northern tribes I’ve encountered.”

“Corb. I am the Ancient Ice King of The Great Divide.”

With that, the group burst out laughing, shaking their heads as they murmured their jokes amongst themselves.

“I highly doubt that. The Ancients have never been seen amongst us.”

Corb narrowed his gaze and the air dropped several degrees. Shade felt her insides tickle as she felt him draw off their joined power. She could stop him—the bind let her do so if she so wished—but she didn’t.
Let them cower in fear,
she thought.
Looks like they need a wakeup call on who is really boss here.
So she let him use his power, eager to see what he was up to.

The dirt and piles of rock all around them crackled into frost as a thin layer of ice expanded from Corb outward, until all the land in sight was frozen solid and the horses whinnied in protest at the magic vibrating in the air. The trees, saplings, fallen leaves and wood were all crackling slightly as the thin layer of ice spread over everything. It even made Shade shiver slightly, but she gripped her sword more tightly to hide the movement.

The raven-haired leader’s smile faded. He stared at Corb, studying the mother of pearl orbs and his frighteningly white skin and hair. The black chunk of hair snaking from under the thick locks caught his attention, making his hazel eyes burn with hatred.

“Arrest him! He’s the Unseelie lieutenant,” The warrior hissed.

“Wait!” Shade shouted over the starting commotion. Stepping forward, she held her arms out and reined in the ice. It reversed its movement as she pulled it back in toward the middle of the camp. After mere seconds, the layer of ice was all but gone. “He’s already restrained. We are bound by blood. He’s harmless.”

“You must be Shade. I’ve heard all about you.” The leader of the horsemen cocked his head toward her, eyeing her up and down. When she didn’t relent, he cracked a smile. “A wild thing chained up can always bite the hand that feeds it.” The gang behind him chuckled, and the horses shifted under them.

“Who are you? Will you let us pass?” Shade stepped forward but was met by one of his warriors who had jumped off his horse and now held his sword pointed, ready to strike her down. With each step she took, he took one closer.

“We’re the Scren foot soldiers, otherwise known as the NicScren Army. We serve the Seelie Court and its queen.” He waited for her reaction before continuing, taking satisfaction in her confusion. “I’m Nyol, leader of the NicScren Guard. This is Paki, my second in command.” He gestured toward the guard watching Shade on the ground. She lifted her eyebrows at him, hoping he’d back off with the introduction. He didn’t.
Loyal guard dog is more like it.

“The others are part of my army. We’ve been amassing thousands to guard against Aveta and her unholy minions. They’re destroying the boundaries of Faerie and are probably starting a civil war with the mortal world, if you haven’t noticed.” Again he studied the group, evidently absorbing every detail of each person.

“Shade is the rightful queen,” Dylan said. “You must answer to her. Let us get on our way to the palace and you will see we’re right.” Dylan’s patience was waning, and Shade hoped he wouldn’t lose it in front of so many. They would not be able to hold their ground against this army. They looked well trained and thirsty for blood.

“Very well, we shall see about that. We’ll escort you to the palace so you can ‘prove’ yourself. It’s not far down the shortened path.”

Dylan and the others looked at each other, confusion swimming across their faces. “A shortcut?” Dylan asked. How had they not known about a short cut?

“Yes. Only the royals and the army use it. Follow us, and we’ll get to the bottom of your claim,” Nyol snickered, turning his horse.

Shade had the strongest suspicion that things at the Scren Palace were not what they were expecting them to be. She hoped she was wrong, but now the deep, guttural feeling which often made her want to hurl had returned with a vengeance. That feeling was rarely wrong.

Dylan tilted his head, motioning for them to continue. “Very well, lead the way.”

Nyol nodded, eyeing him carefully, as if dissecting the Teleen guard in hopes of finding a breach in his hardened exterior. Dylan matched his glare, unrelenting. Nyol turned and motioned the rest of them toward the east, which wasn’t the direction of the Scren Palace.

“That’s not the way,” Shade interrupted. Paki was behind her in a moment’s notice, giving her a shove. “Ow! What is your problem?” Paki’s stare seared into her. He seemed more aggressive than the others, and Shade got a brief projection in her mind from him. It was a woman, looking much like Paki, dressed in a long, flowing peach-colored gown. Her skin was golden brown, tanned like it had seen a healthy dose of sunlight. Her long black hair flowed over her shoulders, making her frame seem smaller and more fragile.

Who was she?

A frigid, ice-cold hand grabbed Paki and slammed him to the side. “Don’t ever touch her,” Corb snarled at him.

“It’s alright, I’m fine.” She waved Corb back, throwing a searing glare at Paki and continued forward with the group. Why did she have the feeling that the woman in the brief vision was important not only to Paki, but to Shade, too? All she could hope for was that they would find out just how critical things were very soon. Maybe she could even discover the reason for Paki’s hatred toward her.

“Sometimes the way is not what it seems.” Nyol’s hardened voice echoed back to them, and she looked up toward the brazen leader. He seemed very sure of himself, as if nothing could happen which he hadn’t already predicted. It made her wonder what he thought of them. She hoped there wouldn’t be too much resistance at the palace to her taking the throne back from whatever lesser queen had control over it at the moment. From the looks of it, it wasn’t going to be an easy feat. It might even prove difficult—or darn near impossible—if their feelings toward her were as icy as Paki’s.

They approached a clearing in the middle of the dried-out and sparse forest, and the horsemen gathered at the center of it, patiently waiting for everyone to crowd in closely. Dylan was studying everyone’s movements carefully, making Shade feel increasingly nervous. Claustrophobia crept in as she watched the group press in on her. She shivered as she backed into Corb, who grasped her shoulders, making her spin and almost tumble to the floor. His grip kept her standing, but she could feel his frozen fingers digging into her skin as she found herself staring eye to eye with the Ancient Winter King.

His mother of pearl eyes were not as white and shiny as before. As a matter a fact, they were the lightest color of blue she’d ever seen. He looked, dare she say it, more human with his irises that way. She gasped at the change, unable to take her eyes from his.

“What’s the matter, Princess?” He cocked his head to the side as he took in her reaction.

“Your eyes. They’re… changing. What happened to them?” She swallowed her fear away and waited as Corb dropped his hands from her shoulders and reached up to touch his eyelids. The silver bracelet gripped into the angry flesh of his wrist and looked even more deeply embedded than before. She had a strong suspicion the cuff was laced with iron to weaken him further. Even if it wasn’t, she couldn’t imagine the searing pain it must cause him and wondered if it would ever come off. If it did, she imagined he’d be scarred forever. Or maybe he didn’t scar. Maybe it would heal quickly the moment it was removed.

The sight of the cuff made her shift, uncomfortable with the thought that it had everything to do with her.

He blinked his human, light blue eyes at her, mystified by her discovery. “I’m not sure, Shade. I can’t say this has ever happened to me before. It must be my connection to you. Maybe in time….” He paused, his eyebrows furrowing as the thought passed his lips. “Maybe I’ll become fully human.”

They both glanced back toward Nyol as his voice echoed across the clearing. “This is the portal. It will take us straight to the entrance of the Scren Palace. Stay close together.” With that, he brought out a staff he’d carried with him and slammed it into the ground. The ground shook with a violent wave, making Shade and everyone else shift to keep their balance. She hoped it wouldn’t be like Camulus’s violent jaunts that made her want to hurl every time he’d taken them on a trip.

Not a moment later, the earth was still and the group began descending out of the clearing onto a cobblestone road which led directly up to the gates of a sprawling palace. Nyol approached the gate with a fluidity that made everyone move out of his way without even a word. He produced a small flute and played a short, melodic tune. The gates creaked open, wide enough for them to filter through, and shut immediately after the last warrior stepped through. Shade found it fascinating. It was similar to the Glass Castle’s gate, but different. There was not just one gate; the next one was an unseen barrier which, if Dylan and Shade hadn’t been behind Nyol’s people, they would have run right into.

Nyol drew a pattern in the air with his finger. He paused at times and jerked his hand in opposite direction, too. Once he was finished, Shade felt the breeze shift, as if a vacuum had been opened, and the troops began to march through. The place was protected by magical locks. How anyone ever planned to get through the gates without a royal guard was beyond her. It could easily be a very confining trap, too. Escape would surely be nearly impossible.

“Nyol, who’s the current ruler of the Scren Palace?” Dylan inquired. Shade couldn’t believe she hadn’t asked this before. Even so, something told her she already knew. Someone must’ve mentioned it to her before, but she couldn’t remember who had, no matter how much she tried. The memory spell Corb had used on her must’ve affected some of her long term memory. At least, it was a possibility.

“Queen Ariana. She’s not as powerful as King Verenis was, but she has her own tricks up her sleeve.” Nyol threw a cautionary glance toward Shade, making her feel that this queen had a lot more than just “tricks.” “I hope you are who you say you are. She will submit to Verenis’s daughter, but she might make you prove it first.”

They’d arrived at the inner castle entrance and entered into a large entry hall. Shade studied the intricate stone decorations throughout, falling in love with its ornate designs immediately. It felt oddly familiar, like it recognized her, making its magic sing and caress along her skin with a warm breath. It made the hairs stand on end and had her smiling, even though they were being stripped of their belongings and weapons by the NicScren soldiers.

Whispers fluttered in her ears, like the voices of ghosts.

“It’s her.”

“She’s returned.”

“Rightful ruler.”

Shade spun around, attempting to find the source of the whispers, but found none. “Did you hear that?” she asked Dylan.

Dylan looked up, just having handed his swords to Nyol. “Hear what, Shade?”

Noticing that no one else heard them, Shade shook her head, sighed and shrugged her shoulders. “Nothing. I just thought I heard someone whispering.”

“These halls hold the memories of centuries of rulers and their magic. It’s not uncommon to hear the voices of the past. At least, it’s not for the rulers of the castle.” He squinted his eyes at her, observing her a little more closely. “So… daughter of Verenis. I would’ve loved to have met him. He’s legend in the Southern Realm.  He was great ruler.”

She hoped he’d been great enough to allow her to easily regain the throne from Ariana. From the dread growing in her stomach, something told her that it wasn’t going to be easy at all.