Lord of the Hunt (30 page)

“The Lady of the Hunt will be Taryn merch Arlea merch Cerela.”

If Felan hadn’t told her beforehand, she’d have died on the spot. As it was, she had to force the smile and hope no one could hear the rapid patter of her heart. She was deep in the race for the throne now, enmeshed in Annwyn politics. How had that happened to her, a fairy raised in the mortal world?

Sulia glared at her, no doubt thinking she slept her way to the top—which couldn’t be further from the truth—and in the process proven herself to be aligned with the King and Felan, not the Queen as Sulia had thought.

A silver sword was produced and Gwyn laid it in her hands. “Do you swear to uphold the security of Annwyn at all times?”

She swallowed; this was Verden’s sword. She needed to see him. Did he have any idea what was going down in Annwyn?

“I do.” Her words came out clear and sure, which wasn’t what she was feeling. She didn’t know what to do with a sword. Sulia looked like she wanted to drive it straight through Taryn’s heart. Another enemy. Would she live long enough to see Verden again?

“Do you swear loyalty to me?”

She wanted to look at Felan but she didn’t. She kept her gaze on Gwyn. “I do.”

He released the sword, and people clapped, some more enthusiastically than others. Some looked like they were about to choke.

The King lifted one hand and silence fell again. “The Queen will no longer be attending Court. She is confined to her rooms for committing treason.”

If Taryn being named Hunter had caused a shiver of whispers, this brought the house down. Noise erupted like battle was about to break out. The whole time Gwyn stood there calm and emotionless. He glanced once at his son, and Felan bowed his head as if he knew what was coming. Taryn saw the look in the Prince’s eye and all she could feel was sorrow for him. Forced to take the throne before he was ready, unsure of who would sit by his side, and aching for a lost love.

The King waited for the noise died down. “I name Felan ap Gwyn ap Nudd as my heir, to take the throne in two mortal weeks.”

Felan held his head high, looking every part the willing Prince, but she knew he must be dying inside. Two weeks to find a woman to sit beside him for an eternity. Then she realized she would only be Hunter for two weeks.

“I will hand the crown over without bloodshed. There will be no war.” He paused and looked at all of the Lords and Ladies. “No war. No winter. Not again.”

Every single person lowered their heads. Out of respect or to hide their betrayal?

Felan stepped forward. “Today brings no joy to me.” He bowed to his father. “Thank you for agreeing to step down. In the next two weeks, I will be looking to appoint a Guardian of the Veil and a Hunter. My Queen is waiting safely in the mortal world.” He smiled like he truly had her—even Taryn almost believed the lie. “Any act against her will be considered an act of treason and I shall take all measures to quash it and the leaders. This will be a bloodless change.” He echoed his father’s words.

But bloodless didn’t mean painless. There were some who didn’t look thrilled by the idea. Yet none spoke out, not here—they wouldn’t dare. Tonight there would be new deals made and plots constructed. Sulia would be busy.

The King walked off the dais and Felan and Taryn followed. Her heart was beating loud in her chest, but no one stopped her. No one said anything even though they all watched.

“Follow.” Gwyn walked toward his private rooms, ones he would have once shared with Eyra. He sent the shadow servants away and then shut the door. “Sit, both of you.”

Taryn sat on the nearest seat. She didn’t want to piss the King off anymore. He wasn’t just tightly wound today; he had started to crack.

When he turned, his expression was unreadable. “I trust you are better, Taryn?”

She nodded, her tongue like sandpaper.

“How big was the lie, son? Have you even chosen a woman to be your Queen?”

“I will be ready.”

“You’d better be. We don’t have the luxury of love.” The King looked at Taryn. “You should have told me you loved Verden.”

“Would it have made a difference?”

The King nodded. “I am not as cruel as my wife.”

“Yet you left him in the mortal world.”

“I had no choice. I have to keep control. Any sign of weakness and there will be uprising. As a Grey, he is safe from the power shift.” Gwyn paced with his hands behind his back. “And there is still the matter of our deal. I will keep my word. If your father agrees to swallow his pride and be a shadow servant, I will grant full pardon instead.”

That was all she’d ever wanted. “Yes, thank you.”

“Don’t thank me yet. I know how large your father’s pride is. I think that’s why he was your friend.” Gwyn glanced at Felan.

Felan nodded. “However, I can’t let them return.”

“What?” Taryn stood then quickly sat back down when the King glared at her.

“I told you, your father serves me. If he returns to Annwyn, you must to take his place there when I am King. I need my son protected in the mortal world.”

She’d get to live in the mortal world again, this time as a Brownie for the changeling she already knew. It seemed too good to be true. “What’s the catch?”

Felan turned his palms up. “No catch.”

“And Verden?” If she had to take her parents’ place in the changeling’s house, how could she be with Verden?

Felan gave her a look that made her feel like she was ten paces behind the conversation. “I will make my deals with him in private.”

Chapter 22

It was dusk by the time Verden had walked down to the lake. He’d been led there by the wild fae. Not that he could say he’d seen them, but he’d felt them around him, seen the light of a will-o-wisp flitting in the trees, and with nothing better to do, he’d followed.

The two bows and the quiver of remaining arrows were slung over his shoulder. Even if he had inspected the weapons, he’d have never realized they were poisoned. There was nothing to see, nothing to smell—no taint at all if they’d been dipped in nothing more harmful than water. Which is exactly what the Queen must have arranged. Since she couldn’t fabricate a charge to have Taryn thrown in the river, she’d brought the river to Taryn.

Clever.

Not that it helped him now. By now the Court would know he was banished. Had Felan kept his word and made sure Taryn was well? Or had the river’s poison claimed her? The thought hurt as if he were the one being slowly poisoned. He wasn’t being poisoned, but he was cut off from the magic that sustained all fairies. Him. Banished. Not something he’d ever considered. But then he’d never expected to fall in love either.

Moonlight shimmered off the lake. Small ripples formed in the breeze, and yet even here, death waited. The wild fae that had guided him here drew away from the water lapping at the shore. Even in the dark he saw why. The edge of the lake was littered with dead fish and deer. How long until every body of water was tainted?

He turned away, not sure where he was going.

“I can’t do anything.” His voice echoed in the night. Did Gwyn know what he was doing anymore? Did he care about the damage?

Wild fae hovered at the edges, as if pleading with him to do something, anything. They wouldn’t take human form and talk to him unless they had to. He wished they would, so he’d have someone to talk to. While he craved the peace, spending forever here waiting for Taryn to step through the doorway would send him mad.

There really was nothing he could do.

He was no longer part of the Court.

Isn’t this what he’d wanted? The freedom to do what he pleased. Yet he wasn’t truly free. He’d been given a finite amount of time before he withered and died, and all he wanted to do with his remaining time was be with Taryn and that was impossible. That didn’t stop him from climbing back up the hill, following the deer tracks to where the standing stones inscribed with symbols he couldn’t read waited.

If he walked into the nearest town, he wouldn’t be able to read the signs. Every time he used magic to deceive someone it would shorten his life. He walked between the stones and felt nothing. There was no shimmer of magic announcing a doorway. He couldn’t even feel Annwyn. If he couldn’t feel it, he couldn’t break into it and go to Taryn.

He’d have to wait for her to come to him.

He placed the poisoned arrows and the bows down; he needed to find a way of making them safe or a way to destroy them. Then he sat with his back against a tree and closed his eyes. He felt the old magic around him—he always had when he came to old places—but he couldn’t touch it. It was different—life where Annwyn was death.

But he didn’t need magic to survive. He’d grown up on a farm. He knew how to find food. He could survive here for as long as it took. And if she never came back? Verden closed his eyes. He didn’t want to live. What was the point of living without love?

***

Taryn stood in the middle of Verden’s chamber. Whereas Felan’s room had been draped in silks and color, this room was simple. The bed was still large and sumptuous, but the colors were softer, as if he hadn’t wanted to drape the branches in colors that didn’t belong on trees. She drew aside the curtain and found his clothes all neatly hung; below were shoes, mostly boots. She smiled as she touched his cloak, then she lifted the fabric to her face and inhaled.

Like a forest at night. Her skin remembered his touch.

Behind her a hound whimpered. She could feel its distress at the sudden change in Hunter.

“Hey, boy.” She pulled the cloak down and draped it around herself. It was too long, the edge brushing the ground as she walked, but she didn’t care. Then she bent and gave the dog a scratch behind its red ears. Its tail thumped hopefully on the ground and he licked her palm. “We’ll get him back. I promise.”

A lump formed in her throat.

She stood and clicked her fingers. The hound followed, happy to have someone to be with. Beyond the door, the King was waiting, talking to another fairy on his Council. She gave him a firm nod. Together they walked to the doorway to go back to Charleston. People bowed and watched as they walked in much the same way they had when Verden and the King had passed by. While she was sure they whispered behind her back, they were no longer doing it as she walked past.

Gwyn paused by the trees that marked the doorway. “If your father won’t take the offer, there is nothing else I can do.”

“You could pardon him.”

“No. But I could banish him so he survives the power shift and then becomes Felan’s problem.”

She nodded. “Do you still plan to make me your mistress?”

“I never intended to take you to my bed. I wanted to see how far you were willing to go to save your father, that is all. You intrigued me because you acted out of love, not a quest for power. I enjoyed your company; you brought life to the Court.” He smiled. “I wasn’t the only one who noticed.”

“I never meant to cause you embarrassment.”

“You are young and unschooled. Verden is reckless. He was always a risk taker. It’s why he climbed so fast. I was envious of the chances he could take.” He looked at the doorway. “Let’s see if your father has learned his lesson.”

The air shimmered as she stepped through, and then she was in the cemetery opposite the big old plantation house. She almost dropped to her knees and kissed the footpath.

Tears welled but she blinked them back. She was home.

She glanced at the King, but he was leaning against a tombstone, arms crossed, waiting. The hound that had followed was sniffing around, then it looked up and over at the house, and she knew what the dog was thinking.

“Verden has been here.”

“He has.” Gwyn nodded. Several small blue birds landed around him, heralding the arrival of King of Annwyn in the mortal world. But the King didn’t make a move toward the house. “Chalmer will know I’m here.”

After a few more moments, the front door opened and her mom and dad slipped out and crossed the road. Taryn took a step forward but neither of them were looking at her; they had their eyes down and were moving toward the King as if she didn’t exist.

After everything she’d done for them—then she realized that they had to acknowledge the King first and not their daughter. They knew their lives were on the line.

“Thank you for attending me.” Gwyn lifted his hand and her parents looked up. They glanced at her. “Have your reunion.”

She threw her arms around her mother and then her father, both of them hugging her.

“Thank you.” Her dad kissed her cheek.

“I’m so proud.” Arlea smoothed Taryn’s hair.

Taryn pulled back. “No, don’t thank me yet.” She’d had time to think about what to tell them and had decided that keeping it simple was best. There was no need to tell them about Verden or that she had agreed to take their place once Felan was King. If they knew, they might hesitate. “The King has agreed to let you return to Annwyn.” Not Court, that would be Felan’s decision. “If Dad will take his original sentence and be a shadow servant for a mortal year and a day.”

Arlea gasped and turned to the King. “How could you?”

“I might ask the same of you.” The King Taryn had first met was there, all ice and power, willing to crush those who wouldn’t obey.

“Settle, Love. I will do it.” Chalmer placed a hand on his wife’s arm.

“No, you shouldn’t have to. You’ve served your sentence many times over here.”

Gwyn shook his head. “No he hasn’t. He ran and took you with him.”

“And that’s what this is about, isn’t it?” Arlea raised an eyebrow and Taryn got a glimpse of the courtier her mother must have been when she’d been on the King’s Council, always willing to step up and question him.

“Sire, I accept the offer. Let this business be done.” Chalmer bowed.

Taryn released the breath she’d been holding. He’d taken the offer. She wanted to blurt out that it had all been part of a deal and that everything would be okay. But her mother got in first.

“No.” Arlea wrapped her arms around Chalmer.

Her father placed his hands over Arlea’s. “It’s a mortal year and a day, hardly any time in Annwyn.”