Faery Queen (14 page)

 

 

 

Tania examined the faeries in her hall and they in turn stared back at her, their expressions solemn and pouting. Brooding, she sat on her throne, barely eating the meal set out before her on the long table. There was no music, no dancing, no laughter. She liked it that way. It fit her mood.

Her court had no problem making their displeasure of her change known. They were unhappy, because she was unhappy. She was the root of their magic and because she'd lost her innocence—no longer sacrificed the pleasure of her flesh—that magic was in limbo. Her purity was gone, the goodness inside her troubled and they all felt the effects. This should have been a happy day, the day their queen mated. But she didn't mate, merely lost a part of herself.

Why hadn't they bonded? She'd been willing. Hugh had made love to her. Under her breath, she said, “We made love. Why didn't he change? Why didn't I? Or was it just sin, not love?”

“Are you sure?” Lady Lily asked from the queen's side, revealing that she'd heard Tania's words. Her white wings didn't move as she sat on a chair. “Perchance you did not do it right.”

Tania glanced up, surprised at the intrusion into her thoughts.

“And such is not a sin.” Lady Roslyn leaned forward to look at her sister.

“It is if you're a queen,” Lily said, “and he is not a faery king.”

“It would make sense why he doesn't.” Roslyn nodded thoughtfully.

“Why he is not.” Lily pulled back her long blonde hair.

“Wait.” Roslyn frowned. “Is he?”

Both sisters turned to look at her, expectant. Tania shook her head in denial. “Nay, he had not. He is the same stubborn earl.”

“Are you sure you did it?” Lily eyed the dark markings on Tania's arms. She tried to be subtle about the inspection but the queen caught her.

Tania knew they were frightened by the change in her appearance.

“Are you going to go try it again?” Lily asked when Tania didn't speak. “Would you like us to go with you to make sure it is done right?”

Resentment rose within Tania. It was hard to control the new depth of emotions she felt. Just thinking of Hugh made her hurt, and anger was easier to feel than pain. How did other beings cope with such feelings? She thought of Lucien, tempted to summon him to take away the hurt. He could. The Damned King had that power and his offer was tempting. Besides, Lucien wasn't without his physical charms, his potent sexuality. He had offered to teach her sin, to take away her suffering. She'd lose her soul, but with it would go her conscience and surely then she wouldn't care.

“The earl is very handsome,” Roslyn admitted. The hopeful look she gave her sister was not lost on the queen. “Would you like us to test him to make sure all his parts work correctly? He is human after all. Perchance he—”

“Nay. You will not touch him.” Tania was well aware of how harsh she sounded. The idea of either one of them in Hugh's bed only furthered her temper.

“I think you should do it again,” Lily advised. “And do not worry. We will be there to instruct you. No one will know. Then, ah,” she looked at the queen's darkened hair, “this will all just…”

“Leave,” Roslyn finished.

“Aye, and you will be your normal pretty self again,” Lily said. “All this…”

“Darkness.” Roslyn tried to be diplomatic.

“Aye, the darkness will just fade away,” Lily finished. “And you will be beautiful once more, my queen.”

Tania shot the faery a doleful glance before turning to silently stare at her depressed court once more.

 

 

 

Hugh wasn't sure how many days had passed since he'd been taken from Bellemare, but he knew he'd been at the faery palace for nearly four of them. Servants came, all male, to bring him clothes—a brown tunic and dark green pants. He fancied that he looked like a tree turned on its head. The material was light, hanging loose around his frame. Though comfortable, the fit was odd compared to the tighter breeches and layers of tunics he was used to. Along his back was a slit. It was clearly meant as an opening for wings.

The faery men brought food and instructed him to bathe in the bedchambers pool, going so far as to offer their help. Hugh had never in his life had a man bathe him and he wasn't about to start now—servant or not.

Why did his brother and Nicholas get pretty, willing females to tend them last they were here and all he got were males? Hugh frowned. It was hardly fair. Human women were often hard enough to understand, but faery women were impossible. Who knew what Tania was thinking? Her vanity and unstable temperament were evident in everything she did. Then why did she haunt him, filling his thoughts like she did?

Tania was never far from his mind. How could she be when he was trapped in her bedchambers? He tried to leave, only to hit an invisible barrier that he couldn't walk through. The other faeries could, but he was kept prisoner.

The queen did not visit him and he told himself he was glad for it, but his body liked to protest the fact. No matter how much his mind hated her, his body still desired her. The lust was primal, raw and on the verge of becoming painful.

“The servants tell me you requested to see me.”

Hugh frowned, turning toward the entrance. Tania stood, her arms crossed, her face beautifully defiant. The dark coloring still affected her, but her eyes had cleared to their normal blue-gray color. For a moment, he couldn't speak as he looked at her clothing. In all his travels in the mortal realm, he'd never seen a gown like it. The black material covering her waist from breast to hips was cinched tight, held together with long strands of silk crossed up the front of the bodice. Beneath it, crimson red peeked through, lifting up to cover her breasts, though not so high he couldn't see the rounded tops. The skirt was ragged, as if cut by a knife, sliced over and over to fall in black strips. It only reached her knees. As she shifted her weight the black moved to show red underneath. Her feet and ankles were bare, but a cross lacing of red wound up her calves, disappearing up the skirt.

“Are you in a better temper, my lord?” she asked, when he didn't speak.

“Let us see,” he said, crossing his arms to match her stance. It took all his willpower not to be affected by her strange beauty. Though, there was a part of him that missed the lighter version he'd met a year ago. The queen had a purity about her then, which seemed to be gone now. “I have been held prisoner in this room. My brother is still missing. If I know Thomas he is wandering about in this realm alone, which means my lands are left unprotected at a very dire time. The future of Bellemare is under attack, its fate direr as each new foal dies. Oh, and you still have not told me what you want with me so I can only assume what I said last time we met was correct. You—”

“I did not take William.” Tania looked hurt.

“That answers one of my questions,” Hugh said. “That is, if I believed you. I have no reason to trust you.”

She looked away. Was that guilt on her face?

“I know you were in bed with Lucien.”

“I was not!” She gasped. “I have never taken that man to my bed. To do so would be a blemish on my soul. I will admit, I considered it, especially when you act so callous, but I never did.”

“Let me rephrase.” Hugh didn't like her admitting she'd thought of taking Lucien to her bed. Jealousy boiled at the very idea, and that jealousy only led to greater outrage. She was openly admitting she was in league with the demon. Even with her confession, part of him wanted to deny the truth of it. “I know you plotted with him to bring me here and I know his little helper was with William the last we saw him.”

“Then Lucien has your brother, not I,” Tania reasoned. “I only asked Lucien for you, to bring you here.”

“You sent Lucien for us.” Hugh took an aggressive step toward her, only stopping as he realized she stood by the door he couldn't pass through. If she ran away, it could be days before she came back. He didn't have the time to waste. “I do not wish to fight with you. I only wish to go. Tell me what it is you want from me, so that I may leave immediately.”

She edged closer, her wings fluttered delicately behind her back. A sparkling of light shimmered from them. “Why must you go? This palace holds so many beauties, as does faery magic. Why face the cold, ugly world when you may have pleasure and happiness here?”

Hugh's eyes dipped over her body and it took all his control to concentrate on what he needed to do. He was well aware of the beauty and pleasures the faeries offered, and his body was more than willing to partake of them again. “I have responsibilities. They may not matter to you, but they are important to me. You brought me here. I would know why and I would know what I have to do to get my freedom so that I may leave.”

“You said you would come back.” Tania pouted her lower lip.

Hugh suppressed a groan. There was something about her that just stirred him. Magic, no doubt. Like those little bits of light that appeared from her wings. They were some kind of spell. He was sure of it.

“You said you would come back for me and you did not. You left to join the battle. I waited afterward for you, but you chose Bellemare.” Her nose wrinkled. “You went there and did not come back. I do not think you were ever coming back.”

Hugh stiffened, not moving. He'd run every conversation they'd had through his head several times over the last year. “Nay, I did not merely say that. I threatened to come back for you. I wanted to wring your neck for kidnapping me.”

“I detained you, not kidnapped,” she said. “Your sister's story wasn't finished. She loved Merrick. I know, because I know love when I see it. She did. I will not let you confuse me again with your hateful words. Juliana was meant to be with him and I did the right thing in helping them be together.”

Hugh wished he could believe that, but he'd seen Merrick's actions with his own eyes. The Unblessed King had told Juliana to go, had told her he didn't love her. Those were the facts.

“Fine, detained,” he allowed. “But that does not change the fact that you hired the Damned King to take me because I did not come back to punish you for what you did to me.”

“You did not say you were to punish me. You kissed me and you said you were coming back for me.”

“So this is about sex.” Hugh threw up his hands in frustration. “You had King Lucien kidnap me because I did not come back and copulate with you?”

This was too much. His house was attacked, his brother was gone, his life was turned upside down and all because this wench wanted him between her thighs. He knew he'd attracted his fair share of women, but this was almost too unbelievable.

She didn't meet his probing gaze. “Lucien was the only one with enough power to bring you here without drawing the notice of King Merrick or King Ean, but he was not supposed to hurt you. That was not part of the pact. I even made him promise not to hurt your family. He only agreed to a fortnight, but he did agree. So if he has William, your brother is unharmed for at least four more days. That is when the fortnight ends.”

“If you wanted my sword inside you that badly…” He lowered his voice unintentionally as desire heated his blood. There was definitely something very alluring about a woman willing to go to such lengths just to sleep with him. “All you had to do was ask for it. You could have saved us both a lot of trouble.”

“You mean to run me through?” She drifted closer, through the barrier of the door. “But you have no weapon.”

Hugh laughed. How was it possible a faery, with all her supposed experience, was so naïve? He glanced down to where his erection pressed against his breeches. “I have weapon enough.”

The moment his meaning finally dawned on her, he almost laughed. Her cheeks stained pink and her pretty little mouth fell open. More of the lights fell from her ashen wings.

Somehow not feeling as angry as he should, he crossed to her. Tania's big, blue eyes watched him as he lifted the crown off her head and put it aside, looping it over a potted flower on a nearby table. Turning back to her, he smoothed back her hair, running his fingers through it only to lift both sides up. He looked at the light and the dark together.

“There is much that I do not understand about this world,” he said. “I do not understand magic. I do not understand the races who dwell here. But, most of all, I do not understand you, Queen Tania.”

“I could teach you,” she offered.

Hugh didn't have that kind of time. “I am sorry I did not come back for you. I did not know you took my threat as a promise. Had I known you waited for me, I just might have.”

“Only might have?”

“Would you rather I lie to you?” He gave a small laugh when she shook her head in denial. “I was very angry with you for what you did. I still am. But, had I known you waited for me, aye, I just might have come back for you.”

He stroked her soft, silken hair again. This time, as his hand ran over the darker half, her hair came from beneath his palm as the lighter blonde. Curious, he touched it again, running his fingers over the dark only to find that they had turned. He liked the natural color better and continued to touch her hair until it was all back to normal. Reaching for her cheek, he thought to wipe away the black line that was there. His finger traced it, but it didn't disappear.

“Then you accept being here?” she asked.

“I accept that I am here.” Hugh didn't know what she was after. Was it just to take him as a lover? The attraction was there, he'd gone mad with it several times, but with no means to find her and ease the ache she caused. Had it been the same for her, until she was driven to find him? Was that all this game was—the need to fulfill their lust? “But, I need to find Thomas and William. Do you understand? I must see them.”

“Aye.”