by J. A. Curtis
“Palon, take Thaya to the dungeons, as calmly as you can.” Mina’s voice shook a little, but there was a steeliness behind her words.
“Yes, my lady.” Palon answered.
“Arius, give Palon the key.” Mina avoided my gaze as she spoke.
“Yes, m’lady.” I pulled the chain with the keys from around my neck. Most of them were useless now. The front doors of the manor were gone, and the doors to both the dungeons and the armory had been destroyed beyond recognition. But the actual dungeon cells under the manor were still intact. I stepped up to Palon and handed him the key.
“Thank you,” I mumbled, so only Palon and Thaya heard.
“You’ll always have my loyalty, sir,” Palon responded just as quietly.
Thaya snorted as Palon forced her to turn, and they walked toward the manor. When I turned back, Mina was on her feet, facing the faeries who had regathered. The rebelliousness that had simmered beneath the surface had cooled with Thaya’s violence, but an unyielding distrust still lingered.
“I appreciate what some of you did, standing up to Thaya,” she said to them.
“Are you going to bring us our queen?” Docina demanded.
Mina’s hand rubbed across her neck. “I don’t know if bringing the queen here is safe. We are low on numbers, and I’m not convinced we can defend her. Up till now, I thought leaving her alone would be the safest for her.”
“But, my lady,” Caelm said, hesitant. “Dramian was weakened from the last battle as well.”
She shook her head. “I’m not talking about Dramian. There are others out there, others who want the queen dead. And we have no clue how many or what their plan is. The Fomori.”
The Fomori? What did they have to do with any of this? No one spoke, our collective confusion almost palpable.
“The Fomori were defeated long ago,” Docina said. “And even if by some miracle they are still around, they have no power.”
“You guys know about the Fomori?” Mina looked thunderstruck. Her gaze sliced to me as if this were the greatest betrayal. “The point is, I don’t know who they are, how many there are, or what they are capable of, but I do know they want the queen dead. And while I hope we have no more traitors among us... I just don’t know.” She bounced up and down once, like she wanted nothing more than to run for the trees. “But, I will find her. If I feel like we can protect her or that she might be safer with us than where she is, then I will do my best to convince her to come with us. If not—it’s my duty to do what is best for the queen.”
Their anger and confusion didn’t erode, expressions of distrust etched on their faces. It wasn’t enough.
Mina came and stood next to me. “And I will take Arius with me.”
“HOW FAR AWAY DO YOU think she can sense emotions?” Mina asked. She, Palon, and I stood at the top of the steps leading into the dungeons. The heavy door that once stood there had blocked the lower level from the ravages of the fire.
I shrugged. “Whenever we have allowed her to practice on us, she was always standing within twenty feet or so. We never thought to test her range.”
“She’ll be testing it now,” Palon said.
“We should send someone down to talk to her. See if we can reason with her.” Mina’s voice was flat—probably the last thing she wanted to suggest.
We all nodded. We all stood in silence.
“Thaya hates me,” Mina eventually said.
“She outranks me,” Palon added, running a hand through his tight curls. “Well, she did outrank me as of a few moments ago. I don’t think she’ll talk to me.”
They turned to me. I shook my head. “Did you see what she did back there? What she almost forced me to do to you?”
“She caught you off guard. This time you’ll be ready for her,” Mina said.
“Thaya respects you,” Palon added.
The marks on Mina’s neck from where I’d grabbed her caught my attention. Why hadn’t she gotten that healed yet? I looked away. “Not anymore.”
“I backed her into a corner,” Mina said. “What happened was partially my fault. You’re our best shot.”
I heard the click of my teeth as they ground together. My rank meant nothing to Thaya. She had said so right before she forced me to attack Mina. What were the dangers of Thaya breaking through the barriers of duty? I didn’t want to find out.
“Fine. Give me a minute.” I turned and stalked toward the trees.
As I entered the forest behind the manor, the metal feathers of the stymphalian birds flashed in the sun, before the clacking of their wings reached my ears. They settled high in the trees among the changing colors of the fall leaves. I closed my eyes and took a breath, trying to let the smell of the earth and trees, the calm quietness of the forest fill me.
Thaya was a nuisance. She’d always been that to a degree, but since Tily’s fall, she had shifted into top gear. Still her sense of duty had kept her in check, usually. All sense of reason evaporated when Mina was added to the mix. I had no doubt, if Palon and the other faeries hadn’t intervened, Thaya would have forced me to make Mina fall.
My body went numb at the thought. You’re supposed to be calming yourself. The cool, biting wind rustled through the pine and leaves. They waved to and fro, a hundred thousand little parts of nature moving in unison. I let thoughts of Thaya and Mina slide away.
I watched the movements of nature until I felt like they had become a part of me. Then I walked back.
Mina waited next to the manor, watching for my approach. The expectation in her face penetrated the serenity I’d worked so hard to build. “Are you ready?” she asked.
“I guess. After everything that’s happened, you trust me this much?”
“Thaya forced you to attack me. I don’t blame you.”
That wasn’t what I meant. Thaya was out of action. Mina had Palon to step in as her second in command. She didn’t have to pretend she needed me to be the buffer between her and Thaya anymore.
Palon walked up. If Mina planned to leave someone in charge while we found the queen, he’d be an excellent choice. Nobody possessed more control over their emotions than Palon.
“Stay together until I’m out.” I looked at Palon. I wanted Mina protected in case Thaya went after her again. “If I’m still myself when I return, I’ll make this sign.”
I placed both my hands behind my head, making deer antlers, remembering the time Mina had taught us the signs game in the bed of our supply truck as it rocked down the mountain. Flamboyant and silly. Thaya would never guess. Palon appeared perplexed, but Mina smiled.
“It’s amazing how often that game has come in handy,” she said.
“You must teach us another sometime, we could be unstoppable.”
She laughed, and a warmth spread through my chest. Her laugh was a glimpse into what a carefree Mina might have been, before I forced her to come live with us and take on such heavy responsibilities. That she could still laugh was a good sign, but I found myself feeling worse and worse that I’d stolen that from her.
But this wasn’t the time to dwell on such things. Guilt and pain could be just as easy a pathway to control me as rage. If I was going to face Thaya, I needed to turn off my emotions altogether.
I paused and sucked in a soothing breath, then descended a step.
Mina’s voice floated down to me. “Arius, leave the key.”
I pulled the chain Palon had returned to me after he’d imprisoned Thaya and tossed it to her. “Good idea.”
She wound the chain around her hand, her brows pulled together. “Be careful.”
The dank coolness of the dungeons penetrated my skin. I sensed the darkness, but my eyes adjusted instantly. The dry metal bars brushed against my right arm as I made my way to Thaya’s cell.
She sat, head on her arms. The only light shone from the door at the top of the long stairway. I cleared my throat.
Her head lifted. “This was a mistake.”
I kept my face expressionless. I
had endured Thaya’s needling tactics all my life. Riling me wasn’t possible.
“Why did you do it?” I demanded. “You knew challenging Mina would result in at least imprisonment.”
“Don’t you want to find our queen? She’s the one meant to lead us. I thought if I exposed Mina, you might actually support me. There was a time, if I had suggested she fall, you wouldn’t have fought me.”
I felt a twinge in my chest but kept my face calm. “Things have changed.”
“Things have changed. My! How that general has you wrapped around her every whim. Do you even have a mind of your own anymore?”
I fought to keep my face neutral. “Mina’s job is to protect the queen, by setting her up against the faeries and forcing her hand, you place the queen in danger.”
She shook her head. “You believe everything she tells you, don’t you? So blind, little Arius. I thought you might have learned your lesson.” Her face grew nasty. “No wonder Nuada found you so easy to manipulate.”
The twinge turned into a blaze of anger. I tried to retreat, but it was too late. Thaya took control. She forced me to step forward. My body pressed into the bars, the cold, rough steel grated against my arms. I couldn’t move. I couldn’t even breathe.
Thaya stepped close with a cool, calculating smile. She reached up and drew a finger down my cheek. “You should know by now, despite that stony face, I know all your buttons.”
My chest tightened.
Her cold smile slipped. “Guess you should be more careful about taking advantage of those loyal to you.”
She tapped her chin in mock thoughtfulness. “What should I force you to do? We could try to make dear Mina fall again.”
The laugh she forced from me came out harsh and made the pain in my chest increase to an unbearable burn. Spots danced before my eyes, and darkness clouded the edges of my vision. My body trembled against the bars.
Her hands pressed against my neck and throat. She pulled back, her eyes narrow. “She didn’t trust you enough to send you with the key, did she?”
Thaya turned away. “Breathe, Arius.”
I sucked in a large, ragged breath. My muscles gave, and I slid down the bars to my knees, coughing and gasping for air.
“Leave here. Before I change my mind,” she said.
I gripped the bars, the pain in my chest clearing, relieved the ability to make this simple movement proved I was in control.
The stairs slid under my feet as I stumbled up the steps of the dungeons in my haste to get away before my emotions got the best of me. I threw my hands up to my head to make the sign, still breathing hard.
Mina’s worried eyes met mine as I exited the dungeons. “How did it go?”
I didn’t stop as I marched back to the forest, determined to put distance between me and the controlling girl of the dungeons. “I think we may have made a serious enemy.”
7
Regret and Sacrifice
Mina
“In order to protect those we love, sometimes sacrifices must be made.”—Nana
I THREW A ROCK IN THE air and then scrambled to pick up the little stones lying in the dirt. Satisfaction swept through me as I gathered most of the stones off the ground before catching the last falling one in my hand. Perfect. Although at this point, I was trying not to be humiliated. I was the one who had taught the faeries the Korean rock game that I’d learned from the foreign exchange student who lived with us one summer. Luchta, Veran, and Earlana had all gotten to this point. They sat around on the hard ground observing my turn.
Dairlin sat behind me on the ground, not playing but watching. She twisted her charm necklace around her fist.
“Not everybody hates you,” Dairlin said.
I turned to look at her, startled at the sudden change in conversation. “Thanks, Dairlin.”
She nodded as if she’d paid me a great compliment.
I returned my focus to the game.
“The faeries don’t hate you.” Luchta leaned back on one elbow, watching me. If I lost, she’d be the winner. “We just don’t understand why you hid the queen from us.”
My fist squeezed the rocks in my hand. “It’s not you I’m trying to hide her from. If I expose her location and our enemies find out and we can’t protect her, then I could put all of the Haven at risk.”
“I hadn’t thought of that,” Luchta said, although grudgingly. “We were wondering when you were going to take a stand against Thaya. She’s been trying to undermine you for weeks. Your unwillingness to do anything was raising questions.”
The others nodded in agreement.
The incident with Thaya had been a disaster. Stupid Thaya. Her points were valid. They might have convinced me, too, if her actions weren’t forcing me to potentially put the queen in danger—and if her methods hadn’t sought to undermine me in front of the faeries. I hated the hoops I had to jump through—the faerie rules. But after Arius, Thaya was next in line of authority. And after her actions, I couldn’t let her take charge of the faeries while I was gone. I couldn’t risk bringing the queen back to a mutinous or divided camp. That would only place the queen in further danger.
If we brought the queen back at all.
Tossing another stone in the air, I dove for the remaining rocks. I just managed to gather the last stones and catch the airborne one before it hit the ground.
“I thought for sure Arius was going to stand up for you,” Veran said.
A stab of pain shot through my chest. Arius. Somehow, after everything, I still couldn’t count on him to back me when I needed it.
“Mina doesn’t need anyone to stand up for her,” Dairlin snapped. The little girl loved Arius, but even she knew that relying on a subordinate to maintain power was seen as weak among the faeries.
Honestly, I didn’t care. I accepted that Arius held more sway. I only wished he’d be there for me.
With a shake of my head, I forced thoughts of Arius from my mind. I flipped the stones in my palm into the air, but only got a few to land on the back of my hand. Then, I threw them into the air again and caught them in my palm. I only caught two.
“Yes! I win!” Luchta said, with a smug smile. “I’ll be dividing my watch times for the next week between you three. Don’t worry, I’ll let you know when it’s your turn.”
“Except Mina is leaving,” Veran pointed out.
“I’ll serve my time when I get back, promise.” I said.
“When you go, will you get me a new charm?” Dairlin asked, raising her necklace, the charms dangling from it.
I frowned. “We don’t have any money, Dairlin.”
The girl’s head ducked, and I almost felt her little heart breaking.
“But I’ll see what I can do.”
A huge grin broke out on her face, and she threw her arms around my neck.
“Okay.” I eased her away. “You guys should head back. Veran needs to work on dinner. I’ll be there soon.”
A hesitant hand touched my shoulder. I support you, my lady, Earlana’s voice sounded in my head. The quiet girl preferred to use her ability to project thoughts into people’s minds. I gave her a grateful smile.
The kids headed into the trees, back toward the Haven, and I settled on a boulder to watch the sunset. A ravine stretched out before me, sinking deeper and deeper into the distance. When darkness came, Arius and I planned to leave in search of the queen.
When I first arrived at the Haven, I’d had no clue whether I was the queen or the general. Arius and the others kept telling me I was supposed to lead, but I hadn’t excelled at anything they deemed important. And I wanted to get home to my brother and Nana. Then I saw how Nuada was tricking them, taking advantage of them, and when I did something about it, I’d ended up as their new leader.
My shoulders drooped. But I wasn’t prepared for the expectations. Taking care of the faeries, providing shelter, protecting the queen. Of course, I thought Arius would help me, but he had relinquished all leadership responsibilities to me—wh
ether figuratively or literally, apparently it didn’t matter.
“Another rough day, I see. Tell me, what has my brother done this time?”
I jumped up from the rock and spun. Dramian stood at the tree line, his piercing green eyes lost to the shadows the towering branches cast over his face. His folded arms and clenched fists caused the blood-red dragon tattoo to stand out on his bicep.
My heart hammered in my chest, and my hands became clammy. “What are you doing here?”
“Just came to make sure you made it home safe,” he said, his voice harsh and clipped.
I blinked in surprise, dread roiling in my stomach. How did he know I’d left? “You’re not still working for Margus, are you?”
“What does it matter?”
“Dramian, you can’t trust Margus. He was willing to let you die to get the information he wanted.”
The memory of Arius and Dramian bound and unconscious on the ground at Nuada and Margus’s mercy drove all heat from me. I shivered.
“And that leads me right into something I’ve wanted to ask you concerning that night. Something that, no matter how hard I try to figure it out, just doesn’t add up.”
He stepped from the shadows. His shoulder-length hair, up in his normal half warrior bun, rustled with the breeze. But his eyes. They burned with something barely contained—a rage and pain behind a thin veneer of control. It seeped out of him, coming out in his movements. In his face.
Like a deer caught in the headlights, I stood, frozen. That night... that night when everything went wrong. That night when I returned when I should have stayed away.
The night Iris died.
“What do you want to know?” I whispered.
He stopped right in front of me, and my eyes fell to his dragon tattoo, the power of it pulsing in my brain.
“Why me?” he hissed, his voice shaking.
I stepped back from his intensity, but I couldn’t go far—not with the ravine at my back. He could attack me easily. With the brief space between us and the drop behind, I didn’t even have room to draw my sword.
