My throat dried. “When the Dearg Due killed the soldiers and tried to kill you, I screamed. It cracked the carriage window. Do you think I have the Banshee Queen’s power?”
He stared at me, his eyes glittering with wonder. “I thought it would trigger your innate magic, but if you can scream like that, you might learn to become incorporeal, too.”
We reached the end of the wall. At the corner among the rough stones was a single slab of moonstone. It was as smooth as marble and reflected a myriad of colors like mother of pearl.
“Is this it?” I asked.
He stepped back with a nod. “See if the palace will let you take a piece of its power.”
I edged toward the white stone, my heart pumping out blood so hard that the tips of my fingers trembled. Stretching out my hands, I closed my eyes and commanded the palace to release some of the stone.
Nothing happened. No scraping or clinking of stone hitting the ground.
I cracked open an eye and fixed my gaze on the iridescent surface. “May I please have a piece of you?”
The palace didn’t respond, and I placed both hands on the stone. “Thank you for accepting me. My rule won’t be safe until I defeat Melusina and break the curses on each of the Courts.”
USE THE BLOOD
The words echoed in my skull, sending a jolt of alarm through my chest. I skittered back and gasped.
“Neara!” Drayce caught me in his arms.
“It’s alright.” My voice shook. “The stone just spoke.”
“What did it say?” he asked.
“I have to take it for myself.” I pulled out the sword, nicked the tip of my finger with its point and smeared a circle of blood onto the stone’s edge.
As the stone didn’t voice its protest, I carved around the blood with my blade. When I completed the circle, a white disc dropped onto the ground with a clink.
“You did it.” Drayce stepped forward and placed a hand on my back.
“Thank you.” I pressed my palm onto the stone and slipped the piece into the bodice of my armor, making a promise to myself to carry it with me at all times.
When I removed my hand, the stone had soaked up my blood.
Chapter 21
We traveled up an interior staircase of polished granite, our footsteps echoing across the walls. I glanced at Drayce, whose green eyes shone with pride as he squeezed my hand.
The smile I gave him was tight. While he seemed to think that obtaining a piece of the cornerstone would bolster my powers in the battle ahead, it just seemed to me that the stone and the palace accepting my blood deepened our connection.
The sound of footsteps and chatter drifted down from an arch. Servants and soldiers bustled through a hallway, making the palace look less desolate than during Melusina’s reign.
At the top of the stairs, passing faeries inclined their heads, bowed, and smiled with the kind of warmth I’d expect they would have offered Queen Pressyne herself.
I leaned into Drayce and whispered, “Have they always been here or did Osmos hire them?”
He offered me a sad smile. “Those servants who weren’t imprisoned kept to the shadows to avoid the notice of Melusina’s court. Most of the soldiers have been here for years, working under the generals.”
“I’m glad everyone in the palace is free.” I glanced through a wall of windows at tree-covered hills and the mountains beyond.
The sun shone down from its zenith, highlighting the lush green forests. My knowledge of fae geography was still shaky, but I think this was the land that separated us from the human territory.
Drayce wrapped an arm around my shoulders. “Are you worried about freeing the other Courts?”
The disc of cornerstone pulsed against my chest, its power infusing me with a confidence I hadn’t felt in years. Perhaps I was wrong about the stone, and it was going to help me outside the palace.
I placed my hand over the stone and met Drayce’s concerned frown. “It would feel less daunting if we actually knew something about what we’ll face in the Summer Court.”
We turned a corner and entered the hallway I recognized from earlier, when the castle showed me the line of faeries outside the throne room. It was now empty, save for a quartet of silver-uniformed guards standing outside the double door.
The pair on the outside swept into low bows, while the pair by the handles clicked their heels and opened the double doors, revealing its empty, marble interior and the steps that led to my golden throne. A trio of dust motes swirled in the shaft of light that streamed in through the room’s tall windows.
Drayce placed a warm hand on the small of my back and guided me inside. “Would you like me to gather a team?”
I shook my head. “Osmos mentioned that he had information to share.”
“Where is he?”
My gaze darted across the throne room’s white walls and landed on a panel in the corner with a horizontal line eight feet up from the floor.
Without asking the palace for help, I knew that this was a discreet door that would lead me to Osmos. “Over there.”
We headed to the corner. Drayce grazed the panel with his fingertips. The door snicked open, leading to an office about the same size as mine and a similar color scheme, except the walls were ivory with rose-gold moldings. Sunlight shone through arched windows covered in gossamer curtains to soften the glare.
A scratching sound from the far end caught my attention. It was Osmos, frowning down at a parchment and writing something with a quill. He sat at an ivory desk with curved legs and a curved apron decorated in the same rose-gold brocade as the walls.
Long white hair tumbled down the shoulders of his silver jacket. Much like moonstone, it reflected a myriad of colors in the sunlight.
Rosalind stood at his left with her hand on her sword hilt, and Captain Maith positioned himself at Osmos’ right. On a cushioned seat opposite sat Cathbad, who pounded his fist on the desk’s surface.
Vines of ivy wrapped around Cathbad’s head like a crown and snaked down clumps of clean brown hair streaked with dark blond. He wore a leather doublet the color of freshly tilled soil and matching breeches with boots as hardy as tree bark. In his free hand, he held a staff carved from gnarled wood with a crook shaped like a wizened old man.
“Are you listening to me?” growled the druid.
“No,” Osmos replied without looking up from his parchment. “But you are free to continue your rant.”
Cathbad snarled a litany of complaints about his meals, his clothes, his accommodations. Annoyance tightened my skin. Less than a week ago, he was a mindless slave, toiling for wicked faeries. What did it take to satisfy this surly druid? He continued his complaints, punctuating them with demands for Osmos’ attention.
Rosalind and Captain Maith snarled back, but Osmos raised his hand. “Allow him to speak.”
I turned to Drayce and scowled, but he grinned. My eyes narrowed. If it was his continuation of an argument we once had about greedy humans making one-sided bargains with faeries, I wasn’t interested. While faeries didn’t tell direct lies, they knew how to phrase and omit truths to their advantage.
Breaking away from Drayce’s smug expression, I crossed the room, passing a pair of ivory sofas embroidered with gold thread. Aengus lay on the nearest one, snoring softly, the color returning to his cheeks. A large bottle of mead lay nestled between him and the sofa cushion. The sun brought out the highlights in his golden curls, making their strands look as bright as Crom Cruach’s molten form.
My chest lightened at the sight of him looking so well.
Next to his sofa was a low table decorated with a vase of white peonies mingled with soft, pink roses next to a delicate, rose-patterned tea set consisting of eight cups, a steaming teapot, a milk jug, and bowls of sugar. Gold rimmed the mouths of each item and covered each of their handles.
Osmos rose from his seat, his eyes wide. “Your Majesty, I was not expecting you back so soon.”
Rosalind turned her vio
let eyes away from Cathbad. “Shall I call for a vehicle to take us to the Summer Court?”
“We’re going through the door that leads to all the Courts,” I said.
She took her hand off the sword hilt and rubbed her chin. “Are you sure, Your Majesty? Only Queen Pressyne could use it.”
Drayce appeared at my side. “The Fear Dorcha sent Erin from the Summer Court to open that door,” he said. “She had a sigil that would activate it with Queen Neara’s blood.”
Rosalind paled and dropped her gaze to a frowning Osmos.
I continued toward the desk and stopped at Cathbad’s side, placing a hand on its wooden surface. “He’s expecting me to cower in the palace or attack from the perimeter of the Summer Court. I’m going to strike now, and take him by surprise.”
Captain Maith straightened. “Allow me to accompany you, Majesty.”
“I need you and Osmos to take care of the palace,” I said. “Did you question the three people I described?”
The male nodded, his shoulders sagging. “Yes, Your Majesty. They all came on the orders of the Fear Dorcha to capture or incapacitate you.”
I clenched my teeth. “Why doesn’t he come and get me himself?”
Drayce appeared from behind and patted my shoulder. “The only way to defeat the Queen of the Faeries in her own palace is through trickery or the brute strength of the Fomorians. It’s good for us that the Fear Dorcha is capable of neither.”
Cathbad rose and stared down at me with his blond brows furrowed into a scowl. His amber eyes met mine without a hint of fear.
I tilted my head to the side and met his hawkish gaze, wondering if Father had looked like that during his time as a practicing druid. The father I knew was kind, good natured, and appreciative of what little we had. Unlike Cathbad, Father had spent his thousand years of servitude awake and suffering the attentions of Melusina.
Cathbad’s head tilted, mirroring my posture.
Hardening my gaze, I asked, “Do you have something to say?”
He raised his chin. “Osmos tells me you seek strong warriors.”
“I do.” Eyes narrowing, I waited for him to name his price.
“I will join you on condition that you allow me to serve as your royal druid.”
Resisting the urge to glance at Drayce or Osmos for approval, I inclined my head. “We’ll see how you perform on this mission.”
Drayce clapped his hands together. “That makes five.”
Osmos cleared his throat, and I broke my gaze from the druid’s to meet the bright, blue eyes of my secretary.
“I took the liberty of moving Pyrenaica to less hostile accommodations.” Osmos lowered himself to his seat and clenched his hands so tightly that his knuckles turned white.
His elbows pressed into his sides as though he wanted to make himself smaller. He swallowed several times with his gaze fixed on the parchment, seeming to weather himself against the wrath of a predator. After a moment of not elaborating, he peered up at me through his white lashes.
My brows drew together. He had been perfectly calm during Cathbad’s grumbling, yet he seemed afraid of me. I glanced at Drayce, who shook his head. Now it was my turn to swallow. Why in the name of all that was holy would I mind if someone got a better room in the palace?
“Who are you talking about?” I asked.
“The oak sprite,” Osmos whispered.
“The sprite who stabbed me through the heart with a needle?” asked Drayce.
Osmos dipped his chin into a soft nod.
My lips tightened with annoyance. Not at Osmos, but at myself. If it wasn’t for his intervention, that little creature would have remained in an iron cage for days without food or water or a place to sleep.
Cathbad growled. “Osmos is trying his best.”
I returned his scowl and bared my teeth, making the druid step back.
My stomach dropped, and my gaze darted from Osmos to Rosalind to Captain Maith, who each looked like they were holding their breath. “Do you think I take after Melusina?”
“No, Your Majesty,” Rosalind blurted. “But Queen Pressyne punished us severely for our transgressions.”
“We heard from a number of sources that you slayed two sluagh lords while you were still human,” Captain Maith added. “It’s difficult to know what to expect, especially now that you’re radiating so much power.”
I resisted the urge to place a hand over the piece of cornerstone.
Drayce wrapped an arm around my shoulder. “Ricinus and Abrus were trying to capture Queen Neara’s father. She defended herself admirably.”
They exchanged nervous glances.
My shoulders sagged. It probably didn’t help that I walked around wearing leather armor and a belt full of iron weapons. Humans would have understood why I reduced Crom Cruach to liquid in the throne room, but perhaps faeries thought I should have just declined his offer.
Now that I had joined with the palace’s magic, it felt more like a home, but I couldn’t let myself relax until I defeated Queen Melusina and her supporters.
“It’s been less than a week since I became fae, and I’m not going to get everything right,” I murmured. “And I’m still learning about what it means to be the Queen of the Faeries.”
Behind us, the sofa creaked. I glanced over my shoulder to find Aengus staring at me through sleepy eyes and not looking the slightest bit nervous.
I turned back to my secretary and smiled. “Thank you for showing mercy. In all the excitement of freeing the souls from Crom Cruach and pursuing a harp to awaken my mate, I forgot about the sprite. Where is she?”
The tension in Osmos’ shoulders relaxed. He rose from his seat and walked to the nearest window, his hooves clopping on the marble floor. A birdcage stood in the sun, covered by a thin cloth.
“Cathbad was kind enough to weave a cage of oak stems. This fabric lets in the light but blocks out sound.” He pulled off the cloth, revealing a loosely-woven, upside-down basket, complete with acorns and oak leaves.
The sprite sat on a little cushion in front of a half-eaten bowl of green berries. She wore a short dress of autumn leaves, held together with green tendrils. As soon as her dark eyes met mine, she rose from her seat, her mouth opening and closing.
“Please, Your Majesty.” Tears glistened in her eyes as she backed away and raised her little palms. “I’m sorry for cursing your mate.”
Still irritated from last night’s attempt to abduct me in my own palace, I clenched my teeth. “The last time we spoke, you weren’t so generous with information. Do you have anything else you’d like to share?”
She nodded, her long antennae rocking back and forth with the movement. “The Fear Dorcha is in the Summer Court palace.”
I paused. He was probably staying there because Melusina still believed herself to be the queen and what else could satisfy her but a palace?
I folded my arms across my chest. “What else?”
“Isn’t that enough?” She pressed her hand against her chest, now standing with her back against the cage’s wall. “I thought this information would buy my freedom.”
“I’ll be lenient if you tell me something that will help defeat the Fear Dorcha,” I said.
The sprite dipped her head. “He has a group of females working for him, who capture anyone in the Summer Court who isn’t asleep. And he keeps hounds outside the palace. One of his dogs sniffed at a doe he kept at his side, and he swallowed it up with a black sludge. A minute later, the dog was dead. I think that’s how he fights. Please don’t tell him I told you.”
Inhaling a deep, satisfied breath, I placed a hand on her cage. That was consistent with everything I learned about the Fear Dorcha.
“Thank you.” I glanced at Drayce, waiting to see if he had anything to add.
His expression clouded, and he glowered into the cage. “Pyrenaica, is it?”
The sprite flinched. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry! I’ll do anything to make amends.”
Os
mos wrung his hands. “Oak sprites can repair most wooden items, including those that wield immense magical power.”
“Fine.” Drayce leaned his head toward the bars. “Will you repair a magical staff in exchange for a pardon?”
“Yes.” The sprite nodded for emphasis.
Drayce drew back and walked to the middle of the room. He lowered himself on the other sofa and folded his arms. I exhaled a long breath. This would be the last time someone attacked me or my mate in the palace.
If the sprite could fix the Dagda’s staff, then I could avoid becoming the living sword of a reclusive demigod. Now, I just needed to defeat the Fear Dorcha and whoever else was helping Melusina.
I indicated for Osmos to place the cover back on the sprite’s cage and turned to his desk, where Rosalind, Captain Maith, and Cathbad took their positions. “Everybody, gather around the sofas. I want to know what else we’ve found out about the Fear Dorcha.”
The others hesitated for a moment before joining Drayce and me on the sofa. Drayce sat at the furthest end away from everyone, with me at his side. Rosalind sat at my other side, and Aengus scooted up to the end of his sofa to sit closest to her. Captain Maith lowered himself into the seat next to Aengus, and Cathbad took the final seat and the furthest end.
Osmos poured out cups of tea and sat in the armchair. Cathbad twisted in his seat and glowered at Osmos, who stiffened.
I turned to Drayce with a frown, but he gave his head a quick shake. Taking that to mean that we had more urgent business than the druid’s feud with my secretary, I took a cup and turned my attention to Aengus. “You probably know the most about Fomorians in this room. What can we expect?”
He rubbed his chin. “I never met the Fear Dorcha or his brothers, but he seems to wield the power of a mór.”
“Of course,” I said with a gasp.
Mórs were a type of incorporeal faerie that slipped into a sleeper’s dreams and dredged up their victim’s deepest fears. While the sleeper was trapped in the nightmare, the mór fed on their victim’s terror, leaving them even more petrified for the mór’s next visit.
I sipped a mouthful of hot tea, not noticing how it burned my tongue. Left undetected, the mór would eventually reduce its victim to a living husk, too frightened to live or eat or sleep. If the victim committed suicide, the mór would devour their tortured and twisted soul.
Mate of the Fae King (Dark Faerie Court Book 2) Page 19
