by H. L. Burke
“Yeah, great.” Devin glowered. She might see it as an advantage, but it wasn’t her neck—or other unspecified body parts—on the line. Devin was the one facing a future where the most likely fate was death, and the slight “hope” of a better fate was still matrimony. He didn’t see that as much better.
Outside the bathhouse, one of the hounds gave a muffled, “Woof.”
Sevaine stiffened, her tufted ears twitching. “Someone’s coming.” She bolted from the bench. “Look, I can’t let them catch me here. Do you want my help or not?”
“Yes, of course.” He stood and clasped her hand.
She stared at his fingers, swallowed, then pulled away. “Tonight. I’ll come to you tonight. Just don’t tell anyone I was here. Please.”
With that she sprang over the water, caught the rope, and scrambled up it like a spider ascending to her web.
Devin clicked his tongue.
Sevaine had just disappeared through the skylight, pulling the rope along with her, when Olysa entered.
The fairy captain’s lips curled in disgust. “Well, it’s better. As good as we’re going to get from a human, I suppose. Come on. I’ve had the staff prepare you a meal.”
As Devin followed Olysa through the waiting hounds away from the bathhouse, he couldn’t help glancing over his shoulder at the roof. Sevaine was nowhere to be seen.
Chapter Three
Devin’s trousers might as well have been stuffed with sausages with how the winged hounds tagged after him for the rest of the day. Olysa led him to a dining hall where food—a satisfying meal of flat bread, some sort of nutty spread, and dried fruit—waited on a long table meant to host at least fifty diners. In spite of the seating arrangements, Devin ate alone, though an occasional serving girl came to stare at him as she refilled his plate. None of the girls were Sevaine, or even felys. Most seemed to be fairies in their own right, the same vibrant shades of blue, purple, and green hair as well as their alabaster skin. The only exception was one with darker skin and stark white hair who had to be some other race, though he knew not what. One thing he definitely noticed was the continued absence of males.
The hounds watched him as he ate. He tried to earn their favor by tossing a bit of flat bread at the leader, but the hound didn’t so much as glance in its direction. This didn’t bode well for his eventual escape.
From what he could tell it was approaching evening now. Considering he’d been taken during the middle of the night, Olysa and her fellow soldiers could’ve carried him unconscious for hours. How far was he from the road and the safety of human lands? Sevaine had suggested if he could simply get past the border of Agalea’s realm, the queen would be powerless to stop him. Between the hounds and his own uncertainty of where he was, however, a mad dash to the border was as much suicide as marching up to the queen and telling her what he really thought of her. Perhaps his only hope of survival was to listen to Sevaine and try to not only compete in the trials but win them.
Appetite ruined, he forced his way through a few more bites before shoving his platter aside. “What now?” He eyed Olysa who leaned up against one of the living pillars of the hall.
She straightened. “I’ll show you to where you’ll be staying.”
By this time, Devin felt accustomed to the parade of hounds that loped after him as he followed Olysa down another path to a small cottage in the center of the garden. Inside there was a shelf of books—leather-bound with strange letters he couldn’t read inscribed on the spines—a table, and two willow-woven chairs, and a comfortable looking bed covered in cushions and silken sheets. The walls appeared to be made of some sort of woven silver mesh that allowed in ambient light while maintaining privacy. Living vines poked through the barred windows and twined their way up to a vaulted ceiling where they gathered around a chandelier of glowing white orbs, the vines dripping elegant purple flowers. It was all rather beautiful, if a little ethereal for his tastes.
“So I just wait here then?”
As if in answer, a door slammed behind him, and he whirled to find himself shut into the cottage, Olysa gone.
Groaning, he plopped down on the bed with his head in his hands.
“Oof! Get up! You’re squishing me!” his mattress gasped.
Devin shot to his feet. The mattress convulsed before giving birth to a rumpled cat-elf who had somehow flattened herself between the rope-binding of the bed and the mattress itself.
“What were you doing in there?” Devin frowned.
“Hiding, obviously.” She stood and straightened her garments. “I sneaked in while the other servants were prepping things for you. I knew the captain would have me evicted if she saw me, so I got comfortable and took a little nap.” She rubbed her lower back. “I didn’t expect you to sit right on me before I had a chance to reveal myself.”
“Sorry. I guess I got out of the habit of checking under my bed for stray women.” He crossed his arms. “So, you think you can get me out of this?”
Her nose wrinkled. “Like I said in the bathhouse, I can get you through the first two challenges. I can’t lie—literally—so I won’t make any claims for the third. I don’t know that anyone besides Agalea herself even knows what the third challenge is.”
“Yeah, I guess you did say that.” He rubbed his suddenly aching forehead. “Look, I don’t want to marry that fairy harpy, but I want to die even less. Still, I can’t help thinking there has to be a third option. I’m grateful for your help in beating the challenges, but if at all possible, I’d rather avoid that entirely. Is there any way you can help me escape?”
She crossed to one of the barred windows. “Winged hounds are still dogging your every move. As long as they’re following you, I wouldn’t bet on escaping. Even if you can somehow lose them for a while, the magic wards will trip when you get close to the border alerting her to send the hounds after you. Even the fastest horse isn’t faster than the hounds. You’d need a good head start.”
His jaw clenched as he remembered how attentive the hounds were. Giving them the slip wouldn’t be easy.
“Honestly, your best chance is probably going through the trials … or maybe flat out telling her you don’t want to participate. She might kill you, but there’s about a fifty percent chance she’ll transform you instead, which isn’t ideal, but you’d at least be alive.”
“Alive as a frog or a worm.” He snorted.
“Alive is alive.” She shrugged. “Also, every enchantment has a way to be broken. It’s fairy rules, and for all their flaws, fairies never break the rules where magic is concerned. It’s too dangerous. So you might end up a frog for life, or it might just be until the right princess happens upon you and gives you a kiss.”
“And then I’d have to marry her instead?” He chuckled.
Her brow furrowed. “Do you have something against marriage?”
He scratched at his chin. “Not one for being tied down, but I guess between marriage and death—or froghood—I’d be an idiot not to choose marriage. Though Agalea’s not my ideal prospect.”
“If she were, you’d either be an idiot or a mad man. So, are you going to go through the trials, then? Or take your chances as a frog?”
“Neither is particularly appealing. Do you have a coin I can toss?”
Her face softened. “If it matters at all to you, if you beat the trials, it will put an end to years of needless bloodshed. You’ll be saving lives.”
“Yeah, I’m not really the hero type.” Devin closed his eyes and drew a deep breath. “Well, it’s not like I have anywhere I need to be.” He opened his eyes again and gazed at her. “I’ll do it. So how do we start?”
“The first test is actually simple.” She sat cross legged on his bed and fiddled with her long ponytail. “She devised it so that the man she marries will be able to discern true value, which in her mind means herself and treasure, in this case diamonds.”
Devin pulled up an osier chair. He flipped it around and sat, straddling it, to face her, leaning
over the top. “Unfortunately, I don’t have a lot of experience with diamonds. Seen them from a distance in jewelry, of course, but never handled any myself. Well, there was that time with the dragon hoard, but I was more concerned with getting out alive than evaluating the gems.”
“That shouldn’t be a problem. On the night of the quest, you’ll be taken to a room with a single high window. The room will contain only a silver basin. This basin will be filled with a mix of priceless gems and worthless salt crystals. She’ll expect you to separate one from the other before the time runs out, with no mistakes.”
Devin grinned. “That doesn’t sound that hard.” He could already think of three or four different ways to tell salt from diamonds. If it wasn’t immediately apparent which was which by sight, there was taste, if he could crunch it between his fingers …
“By the light of the moon alone? In the time it takes for the moon to cross over the skylight?” Sevaine arched her eyebrows. “A thousand diamonds and nearly three times as many salt crystals?”
His confidence shriveled. “Oh. That does increase the difficulty.”
“A bit.” She tilted her head to one side.
They sat in silence. Devin considered how long it would take to separate each crystal individually with absolute certainty. Finally he cleared his throat. “You said you got another man through this task, though.”
“I did.” A slight smile quirked her lips. “It’s actually quite a simple solution, once you know it.”
He leaned forward, intentionally widening his eyes. “You gonna make me beg?”
“Would it take your ego down a peg or two if I did?”
“Probably not. I have it on the authority of my mother, several instructors at the knights’ academy, and two former sweethearts that I’m a lost cause that way.”
She laughed. “Well, at least you’re honest.” She twisted her ponytail about her hand then released it. It bounced like a spring before settling on her shoulder, a waterfall of gold. Something within him warmed, but he averted his eyes, trying to focus on the problem at hand. This wasn’t the time to get distracted by a pretty face.
“So, what’s this simple solution?”
“When you reach the room with the basin, before the queen has a chance to leave, ask her for a boon. That’s a royal request. Fairies take them quite seriously, if the petition is done with the proper respect and formality … and a good dose of flattery.”
“And can my boon be that I get to go home and forget all this nonsense?”
Sevaine sniffed. “Not unless you want her to immediately revoke your humanity rights and send you down to the frogpond to face a slew of snapping turtles.”
Devin grimaced. “I didn’t think it would be that easy, but I had to ask. So what boon do I ask?”
“Simply for a bucket of water to wash in.”
Confusion spun through Devin’s head. “Why would I want to … oh …” Something clicked, and he laughed. “Water dissolves salt, but not diamonds. That’s brilliant … but you’re right, simple.” He fingered the chain around his neck. “You said nearly two hundred men have faced this challenge, and only one has figured it out?”
“Only one—now two—was forewarned.” Her mouth hardened. “If you were faced with the challenge for the first time, having no prior knowledge of what it was, would you have the clarity of mind to request water before the door was shut, and you were left alone in the room with only the basin of diamonds and salt, and no chance to ask for water even if you happen to realize the trick before the time runs out?”
He swallowed. “Probably not. The trial can’t be that great of secret, though, can it?”
“Has Queen Agalea given you any indication of what the challenge will be?” Her fingers tightened into her own knees as if trying to stop her hands from shaking.
“Not in the slightest, but surely if people know, someone would warn the poor bastards—”
“People don’t know. Just the queen, and maybe Captain Olysa, but if Olysa does, she’s been sworn to secrecy, and fairies can’t break their vows. I know, but only because I managed to sneak my way into the challenge room before my … before the challenger I helped had his turn. The queen herself sets up the basin and oversees the trials.” She dropped her eyes. “I tried to spread the word, but if she’d caught me telling everyone, she probably would’ve killed me and then changed the trial so that my information was useless. Instead, I attempted to reach the competitors individually, but as I said, most wouldn’t listen to me because I’m a felys and a slave and couldn’t have anything useful to offer.”
“Yeah, because they were idiots. You told me that.”
She dropped her eyes, cheeks flushing a gentle pink. Devin couldn’t help himself. His mouth watered a little. Yeah, she was definitely very pretty. To him far more so than the rarified, pristine fairy women. Agalea and her ladies were the sort one put on pedestals. Sevaine was the type Devin liked to coax onto his lap. He shook himself out of it. After all, this was about surviving, not flirting over a pint of ale in a smoky tavern.
“So that’s the first challenge. What’s the second?” he prodded.
“That’s a little harder to prepare you for. I’d like to show you, if at all possible.” She returned to fiddling with her hair. “She has a tower built in the center of the palace grounds—well, I call it a tower, but it’s more a pillar, really, of pure glass, so clear that you might walk into it not even knowing it was there if she didn’t have it fenced off. On the day of the second trial, she’ll fly to the top of it, and you’ll have to reach her before the sun sets, or your life is forfeit.”
“A lot easier if I could also fly.” Climbing a pillar of glass. At least it was straightforward, if still difficult. He gave the chain around his neck a thoughtful tug.
Sevaine leaned forward. “What’s that?”
“Huh? Oh this.” He drew the crucifix from under his shirt. “It’s just a trinket, from my mother, actually. She gave it to me when I left on errant leave, said it would protect me. Because it’s a holy symbol, I guess.” He scoffed. “It’s done a fine job so far, huh?”
“What’s the chain made of?” she asked, still focused on it.
“Iron, I think. Why?”
“I thought it might be. Hold onto it, but don’t let Agalea and her ladies see it.” She stood and walked to the barred door. “Iron hampers fairy magic. If they are bound with iron, they can’t use their powers. It might come in handy.”
Devin tucked the chain back under his shirt, thankful they hadn’t stolen it from him along with his sword. “So, I have to sort the diamonds, then climb a glass tower, and then … even you don’t know?”
Turned away from him, Sevaine’s shoulders hunched. “No one has gotten that far.”
His throat tightened. “And if I get through it all, my ‘reward’ is marriage to Agalea.” He sank onto the bed and let out a long breath. “I half don’t even want to try. Maybe you’re right. Life as a frog might not be so awful.”
“If you do win, though, if you get to the end, the trials will stop. She made a vow to only wed the first man to pass the trials, so she’s tied to that. Fairies can’t break their vows.” Sevaine glanced over her shoulder, her dark eyes determined. “You’ll save yourself, but you’ll also save God only knows how many men who would’ve come after you. Also, you’ll be the second most powerful person in the kingdom. A union to Agalea may not offer love, but it definitely promises luxury.”
“I guess.” He ran his fingers through his hair then eyed the door. “Can you even get out of here?”
She gave the door a good shake. “Doesn’t look like it.” She shifted from foot to foot. “I’ll hide under the bed again if anyone comes, but I’ll probably have to sleep here. I don’t take up much room, though I’d be grateful if you could loan me one or two pillows from the bed.”
Something in his upbringing itched at the back of his mind, reminding him that he should be the gentleman and take the floor so she could have
the bed. Still, he hadn’t asked to get locked up with her for the night, and with everything that had gone on over the last few days, he felt dog-tired.
He tossed her a large pillow. “I hope you don’t snore.”
Chapter Four
After Sevaine dragged her pillow to the corner and settled upon it, cross legged, the room fell quiet. Exhausted by the day’s events, Devin pulled off his boots, then lay down. Glancing at Sevaine, he found her already curled into a tight ball, apparently asleep. Within a few minutes of his head hitting the pillow, he likewise was unconscious.
When the yipping from the winged hounds awakened him, the sun already shone brightly into the room—at least midmorning, from the intensity. He glanced around. Sevaine’s pillows still sat in the corner, but the girl was nowhere to be seen. Half wondering if she’d been some sort of dream, he sat up as the door opened and two serving girls brought in a tray of bread and jam. The servants stared at him but ignored his attempts to make pleasant conversation. They left him alone with his food, locking the door behind them.
Almost immediately, Sevaine slid out from under the bed.
Devin recoiled. “You were under there while I was sleeping?”
“Not for long.” She shrugged and dusted off her dress. “I crept under a little after dawn. Figured they’d send some food around eventually and didn’t want them to catch me in here.”
“Huh.” He took a bite of bread. “Well, since you’re here, you might as well eat.”
The morning crept on. Sevaine darted under the bed any time the hounds warned of approaching feet, but it seemed Agalea didn’t have any immediate plans for Devin beyond captivity. Servants brought another meal sometime after midday. This one consisted of meat pastries with flaky crusts and well-seasoned filling. Even having to share with Sevaine, the food was enough to keep him satisfied. He might be a prisoner, and likely to be killed in Agalea’s trials, but at least he was well-fed.
After the afternoon meal, Devin paced around the room for a while. He pulled the books from the shelf, but as he’d suspected based on the inscriptions on the covers, they were all written in a strange, spidery script that not only defied translation, but seemed to continuously shift upon the page. The effect left him a little dizzy and no less bored than when he’d started, so he slammed them all in place again and eyed Sevaine.
