by Bekah Harris
Jules smiled, but the nerves squirmed in her belly again. Padraic and Ivy wanted her to choose a life in Faerie. Her family expected her to continue the family legacy. But what did Jules want? What would be best for her?
She didn’t have much longer to decide.
Chapter Three
Bear stepped through the portal, the magic buzzing in his veins. Straightening his jacket, he took a deep breath and rounded the corner into the main hallway of the Seelie Court Castle.
He stopped short.
Just ahead, Slaine was waiting for him, her arms crossed over her swollen belly. He swallowed, his heart speeding with guilt. She knew where he had been, and she knew why he had been there. Squeezing his eyes shut for a second, he continued toward her. There was no point in lying, deflecting, or denying. She waited on him with an accusing expression. He stopped in front of her and waited for the onslaught.
“Where have you been?” she asked.
He met her eyes. “Slaine, you know exactly where I’ve been, so why ask?”
“Because I want to hear you say it,” she snapped.
He shrugged. “I went to the human realm. I went to Kingston Academy. I watched Ivy cross the stage and get her diploma. And then, I left. I came home. To you.”
“After leaving me to go to her,” Slaine said.
“Yes,” Bear said. “I went to see her graduate, but there is no need for your anger. I have chosen my path just as Ivy has chosen hers. Those paths lead in opposite directions. It doesn’t mean that I’ve stopped caring for her. But my caring about her doesn’t mean I plan to abandon my responsibilities to you, to our child, or to my kingdom. We are married, and I am my mother’s heir.”
It was a reality he was still fighting to accept. He couldn’t blame Ivy for moving on, though her marriage to Ardan had been spreading like a cancer through his system since he’d heard the news. But what did he expect? He had told her about Slaine’s pregnancy—and it had hurt her. He had seen the pain in her eyes, though she had kept her face free from expression. It was selfish to hope Ivy would forsake love and spend her days pining over him, but that possibility had been much more appealing than imagining Ardan sharing her bed. It had been two months since he heard the news, and it still affected him with blinding anger and crippling nausea.
“So you’ve seen her,” Slaine said. “And now you’re home. I can’t expect that your paths won’t cross again since you are both members of royal families, but that doesn’t mean I have to like it when you go out of your way just to catch a glimpse of her.”
“I understand,” Bear said. “Have you eaten anything today?”
He offered her his arm, and after a moment of hesitation, she took it.
“No, I haven’t.”
“Then, let’s have a meal together,” Bear said. “Have you thought anymore about names?”
She shrugged. “We won’t know for another week if it’s a boy or a girl. I thought we could wait until then and choose the name together.”
“Agreed,” he said.
It still felt strange being married to Slaine. Being the father of her child. It was like a dream he couldn’t wake from. They had only been together a few times during the first weeks of their marriage, and it had only happened then because Slaine’s vicious mother had threatened to harm Ivy if he didn’t produce an heir. Endellion had promised that once Alena was dead, she would find a way out of the marriage, but the baby had changed things. Bear no longer asked, and Endellion no longer offered to find a way out. There was no point. His mother had made an Incorruptible Vow with Alena before she died. If Bear or Endellion cast Slaine out of Seelie, his mother would die.
Now, they were all stuck. Bear. Endellion. This poor child that grew in Slaine’s womb.
And what of Slaine?
As Slaine took his arm, and they started down the hall toward the dining room, he couldn’t help but recall the accusations his mother made against her on the night he had brought Slaine to the Seelie Court. Endellion claimed that Slaine and Alena had plotted the entire crisis as a way to ensure Slaine would one day be seated on the Seelie Throne. Bear didn’t doubt Slaine was capable of such a manipulation, though she genuinely seemed to care for him. All things considered, he couldn’t afford to trust her, even for a second. He had no choice but to play his role in this forced marriage.
Besides, the only person Bear had ever loved was now married to Ardan. There was no point fighting his situation. He had nothing left to hope for with Ivy. No. He would leave her in the past and focus on raising a new Seelie heir.
Much to his surprise, Slaine wasn’t as bad now as she had been when her mother was alive. Finally free of her maniacal influence, Slaine’s company was almost…enjoyable. What he hadn’t expected was her transformation from super villain to insecure pregnant wife. Then again, Bear didn’t know whether that transformation was genuine or a carefully scripted act.
“Where are the two of you sneaking off to?”
His mother’s voice stopped them in their tracks. Bear turned, facing Endellion.
“We’re just getting a bite to eat,” he said. “Will you join us?”
Slaine tensed with the invitation, but she didn’t interfere.
“Of course,” Endellion said. “I have been searching the castle for you. Where have you been?”
“Ivy’s high school graduation,” Slaine snapped.
Endellion gave her an icy glare before returning her attention back to Bear.
“And how is the soon-to-be Queen of Winter?” she asked.
“Graduated,” Bear answered.
“I’m sure her mother is beside herself with pride,” Endellion said. “It’s a miracle the two of them have survived long enough to be reunited. The Seelie Courts have had it out for Queen Lyric for ages, no thanks to her late sister.”
Slaine tensed beside Bear.
“Mother, let’s not get into Alena’s shortcomings.”
“Yes, let’s not,” Slaine snapped.
Bear didn’t miss the satisfied smile that lit up Endellion’s features. “Do forgive me, Slaine,” Endellion said sweetly. “Sometimes I forget.”
“And yet you somehow remind me whose daughter I am at least once a day.” Slaine’s mouth twisted with resentment.
Bear squeezed her hand, urging her to stop.
“Not this time, Bear.” Slaine jerked her hand from his and wheeled toward Endellion. “I am the daughter of the disgraced and fallen queen of Winter. I know. Trust me when I tell you that I am well aware of who my mother was and the countless irredeemable qualities she possessed. Make no mistake that I squirmed beneath her shadow for long enough to understand why no one in this castle will ever trust me.”
Bear shot his mother an irritated glare. His current reality would be easier to handle if his mother didn’t bait Slaine at every opportunity. It was her fault he was in this mess in the first place. The least she could do is control her impulses to punish Slaine.
“Ah, yes,” Endellion said. “I keep forgetting that you are a victim in all of this, too. Conspiring with Mummy Dearest to produce an heir, tricking me into an Incorruptible Vow, and then hoarding in on my son’s birthright. Well, just remember, Slaine. You may sit on a Seelie throne one day, but it will be over my charred and weary bones.”
Slaine took a deep breath. Closing her eyes, she lifted her head to the ceiling as if she wanted to scream. But she didn’t. Instead, she looked at Bear and gestured toward the stairs. “On second thought, I’m not feeling particularly hungry at the moment. You go ahead and have dinner with your mother.”
Without another word, Slaine rushed away from them and disappeared in the stairwell.
Bear turned to his mother. “Was that really necessary?”
“Absolutely,” Endellion said. “The second either of us softens toward her is the very moment she will prey upon our weaknesses. Trust no one.”
If there was one thing Bear had learned since meeting Ivy, it was exactly that. No matter how much mo
re tolerable Slaine had been these past couple of months, he would always remember she had been the one to hold him captive at Nan’s cottage, damaging him in ways that could never be undone, no matter how long he lived.
“I had better get her some food.”
“Nonsense.” Endellion took his arm. “We shall dine together. I’ll have the Brownies serve her in her room.”
Trapped from every side, Bear escorted Endellion to the dining room, wondering for the thousandth time how he had managed to make such a mess of his life.
Chapter Four
Teagan pulled the hood of her cloak forward to hide her face. The fewer who recognized her roaming freely in the Unseelie Castle, the better.
She was alone in the darkness of the secret passageway that led her from Odhran’s exiled quarters down to the belly of the castle. Far beneath the dungeons, in corridors so black she could barely see her own hand in front of her face, she crept through the maze of damp hallways using only the light of a single candle. The mouth of the Unseelie Caverns yawned a few feet ahead. For the first time in her life, she had ventured beyond the familiar castle and into the rocky depths of the mountain upon which it was built.
Not even the bravest Unseelie guards dared to cross its threshold. Here, the darkest creatures of the Faerie Realm kept their dens, feasting upon mice and rats, the occasional bat, and, if they were lucky, a juicy raccoon or bear. Her own mother had spoken of this place on occasion, but even she, the most daring Fae Teagan had ever known, had never been brave enough to make such a journey. But Teagan was desperate. She needed allies. And in times of crisis, pure evil seemed the perfect choice.
Even in death, Alena still had enough sway with the Hellhounds and Red Caps to secure their loyalty to Teagan. But as Ivy Hawthorne had proved time and again, Hellhounds and Red Caps simply weren’t enough to defeat the Thorn Princess, let alone the entire Seelie Realm. She needed numbers, and she needed brutal, bloodthirsty creatures, dark and twisted enough to strike fear into the most valiant warrior.
Mother used to tell Teagan and Slaine stories about the shadowy creatures that dwelt in the depths of the Unseelie Caverns. Supposedly the offspring of a Fae temptress and the devil himself, the Brags possessed the power to manipulate even the strongest minds. To make them see in vivid, gory detail the object of their darkest fears. If any creature in either realm could be used to her benefit, it was a few dozen Brags. And, if she was lucky, Teagan would also find the nests of the Laltogs, bat-like Fae creatures who swooped down from the black Unseelie sky and drained their victims of blood. Her mother’s sole goal in life had been to destroy the Seelie Court from the inside, but Teagan had always known in her own heart that her mother’s plan was flawed. The downfall of the Seelie Realm would occur for the same reasons the Unseelie Realm existed: the archaic traditions and lack of tolerance for anything that didn’t look, eat, sleep, breathe, or fight the way the Seelies did. The court royals of Seelie had their squabbles, but when it came right down to it, they didn’t actually betray their own. They merely threatened to.
Queen Endellion liked it that way. As long as her Courts were fighting among themselves, they needed her to resolve their little issues. She was failingly neutral, playing each side to her advantage. That’s why nothing in Seelie ever changed.
Teagan was about to bring the biggest change they’d ever seen. And she would do it from without, rather than from within.
Since she was a child, she had always imagined Padraic by her side, the dark Unseelie heir helping her to destroy the Realm his own Fae so despised. But the second he had laid eyes on Juliet McKinnon, a filthy human, of all things—he had forgotten Teagan. And he would pay for the slight. His human consort would pay in blood. Slowly. She smiled at the thought, as she continued through the corridors.
Her smile didn’t last long. The fine hairs of Teagan’s arms raised as she crept deeper into the darkness.
“I will avenge you, Mother. I will not lose my nerve.”
Steeling herself, Teagan raised her chin and walked into the wide mouth of the caverns. In the distance, she could hear the plinking of water droplets falling against rock. Her heart pounding, she took a deep breath, the flame of her candle wavering as she exhaled.
A scuffling to her left sent her wheeling toward the noise. She gripped the knife sheathed at her thigh.
“What desperate creature stumbles to our lair?”
The raspy voice seemed to come from all directions, echoing off the walls of the cave.
“My name is Teagan, daughter of the—”
“The dark queen,” It whispered. “The fallen queen.”
“Yes,” Teagan whispered. “I’ve come to ask for your help. I seek an alliance with the Unseelie Darklings.”
“What kind of alliance?” the voice asked.
“I am raising forces to march against Seelie. My hope is to unite the creatures spurned and discarded by the courts to make way for the rise of darkness in the Faerie Realm. I already have the word of the Hellhounds and Red Caps. With the mind control of the Brags and the brutality of the Laltogs, along with the talents of the rest of the Darklings, we would be unstoppable. The Seelie Court royals would be defeated before they could reach a consensus on how to respond.”
“And what of the Unseelie Court royals? Long ago, when Queen Endellion cast us to the shadows, the Unseelies gave us sanctuary in these dark mines. We come and go as we please. We do as we wish as long as we do not interfere with their lives.”
“They tolerate you,” Teagan urged, trying not to waver. “And they have united with the Winter Court. They, who are supposed to oppose Seelie, are siding with one of the Courts. They’ve even united their courts through marriage.”
“The Brags are not unaware of the young prince’s marriage to the Winter Changeling. Perhaps we do not wish to anger the realm that offers us sanctuary.”
“It’s a betrayal,” Teagan began, but the creature cut her off with a laugh.
“We owe no one our loyalty, and we were promised no loyalty in return. The Unseelie Princes may marry whom they choose.”
“So, you will not help me? You do not wish to make the Seelie Realm pay for what they did to you? For what they did to my mother?”
“Your mother was a jealous, power-hungry sibling that should have been put to death at the hour of her birth.”
Dark fury rose from deep in Teagan’s core, but before she could respond, the Brag spoke again.
“But it is as you say,” the creature said. “The Seelies are our enemies, deserving of whatever wrath we could bring upon them.”
“You’ll help me then?” Teagan asked.
“We might be persuaded…for the right price. Did you come with an offering? I’m afraid we require full tithe.”
Teagan shuddered. She had been expecting such a price and risked her life by showing up empty handed. She only hoped her offer would be enticing enough to tempt them both.
“I am afraid I do not have a tithe at present, but I will have an exquisite prize for you in only a few days time.”
Her heart galloped inside her chest, rattling against her ribs. With no tithe, she would be lucky if they allowed her to leave with her own life.
“What prize could you offer? What dark exchange are you willing to make?”
“The torture of the Seelie Realm royals,” Teagan whispered. “If I delivered them to you, alive, you could spend your days tormenting them with visions of their fears, feeding your own dark needs for as long as they remained tethered to this realm.”
“And what of the Laltogs? Fhaescratch takes only blood as payment.”
“For King Fhaescratch, I have the most exquisite prize of all. The blood of Eve’s daughter.”
“You offer human blood?” the creature asked.
“Not just any human,” Teagan said. A slow, satisfied smile twisted her face. “The human consort of the Unseelie King.”
Above Teagan, a series of throaty hisses bounced off the walls. She lifted the cand
le, searching the dark crevices of the cave. Something heavy dropped to the ground on her right. Spinning, she shone the candle in the direction of the sound.
A face stared back at her. With a gasp, Teagan stumbled backward, landing so hard, her teeth rattled. She struggled to grip the candle as pain rocked through her joints. She hadn’t truly believed Mother’s stories until now.
“King Fhaescratch,” she whispered, and bowed her head.
A sickening smile spread across the cheeks of his leathery face. His eyes were round and dark, endlessly black, but glowed yellow in the center, and his nose was pressed flat like that of a bat. But his face had the slanted bones of a Fae, and it’s mouth was perfectly shaped, revealing two lethal fangs that were visible in the flickering light.
Beside him, the Brag she had first spoken to drifted like smoke, two eyes burning like bright red embers in the center of its shadowy head. She kept her eyes trained on the ground, fearing what it would make her see if she met its gaze even for a second.
“The human consort of a king is quite a prize,” Fhaescratch whispered. “But if you want the loyalty of my clan and my loyal tribes, I’m afraid I must first collect a…down payment.”
Great leathery wings unfurled behind him as he extended a hooked claw toward her. It scraped her hand as he turned her palm to expose the delicate flesh of her wrist. Teagan bit her tongue to hold back her scream. Before she could voice her protest, Fhaescratch lunged, sinking his razor fangs into her vein, and drank.
Chapter Five
Ivy told her mother not to throw another party.
“Honestly, Ivy, stop pouting. I didn’t throw the revel for you.” Queen Lyric, or soon to be Lady Lyric, flashed Ivy a sly smile and raised her glass.
Ivy folded her arms. “Then, who, exactly, is this revel for?”
“For Jules, of course.”
