by Bekah Harris
“Well, are we ready to go?”
Smirking, Ardan offered her arm, and they made their way to the portal room that would lead them to the Summer Court Castle.
Chapter Fifteen
Jules hadn’t known what to expect from a Fae wedding, especially a Summer Court affair. It certainly didn’t disappoint.
“Frickedy Frack,” she whispered.
There wasn’t much more she could say as she stepped from the portal and into the courtyard of the glimmering Summer Court castle. It towered just ahead of them, its shimmering spires reaching to the cloudless sky like a cathedral. The vivid green of the plant life reminded her of pictures she had seen of the shores of Ireland, and there was a small waterfall just in front of the white stone castle that cascaded into a gentle creek with the clearest water she’d ever seen.
“It’s beautiful,” Jules whispered. “Like a real-life fairytale.”
Ivy wrapped an arm around Jules’ shoulders and squeezed, as she and Ardan also stopped to take in the view.
Lyric marched ahead of them without any oohing or aahing, as Lochlan lingered behind to wait on them. Always regal and poised, Lyric immediately raised her chin and led them toward the castle gates. Jules honestly didn’t see how even someone as calm as Lyric couldn’t be impressed with the place. To Jules, it looked like someone had taken the very best parts of summer and swirled them together in a single area. The closer they got, the more beautiful it was. The temperature was warm and pleasant, but not humid or hot enough to induce sweat, and an ever-present breeze whispered through the trees and flowers. Sweet-smelling roses of every color and variety wound like a labyrinth around the castle. Sunflowers, dahlias, zinnias, marigolds, petunias, and lavender lined the stone walkway as they passed through the towering gates. Butterflies flitted from blossom to blossom. Birds chirped in swaying trees of every variety. The warm sun kissed her bare shoulders.
“If there is a heaven, this has to be it,” Jules said, as they followed Lyric around the castle toward the low hum of voices.
Just ahead, there was a veil of white blossoms hanging from a stone archway. The vines parted as they approached to reveal the courtyard where the ceremony was being held. Long wooden benches swallowed by flowers spanned the area in four sections, all of them angled to view the circular wedding arch, which was covered in wisteria vines, their fragrant white blossoms dripping like candle wax toward the plush grass beneath. Jules wasn’t Violet’s biggest fan, but Lyric’s changeling daughter was a human who was marrying a Fae. And today, Violet would become immortal just like Damarion. Jules needed to see it for herself. Not only the transition but also the reactions. If anyone understood what Jules faced as the mortal consort of a Fae King, it was Violet. They might not have seen eye to eye on most occasions, but they had that in common, at least. Violet did have the advantage of being raised by a Queen in the Seelie Realm. She was basically one of them, anyway.
Jules? Not so much.
Her heart pounded as she stepped toward the archway.
A Brownie, dressed in the gauzy fabric of Summer for the occasion, announced Lyric, who waited for him to finish before stepping into the courtyard to be greeted by other honored guests.
Just as Jules was about to step forward, though, Ivy grabbed her shoulder, holding her in place.
“You didn’t think you were doing this alone, did you?” she whispered.
When Jules turned, Ardan offered his other arm.
“We go together,” Ivy said.
Relief washed over Jules like a cool breeze.
“Shall we?” Ardan asked.
Then, he looked at Jules. “As someone who is hated by the majority of the people inside, I find that raising my chin and feigning amusement works rather well.”
“Noted,” Jules said.
“You are the badass fiance of the Unseelie King, and Unseelies demand respect wherever they go,” he added.
Plastering what she hoped was her most “devil may care” expression, Jules straightened her posture and nodded.”
With a deep breath of his own, Ardan led them to the archway, where the impatient-looking Brownie greeted them.
“Ivy, Thorn Princess of Winter, Ardan Prince of Unseelie and Winter, and Juliet, honored guest and friend to Unseelie and Winter.”
Jules tried to keep the shock that rippled through her from her face. Everything was happening so quickly. They had dropped her last name, which was a human attribute, and called her an honored guest, rather than human consort. Was it a sign of acceptance? Or just a strict order from King Damarion and Violet?
She couldn’t tell, as she walked down the aisle toward Lyric. As much as she hated to admit it, she felt a bit wobbly. She had attended Fae revels before but nothing as official or traditional as a wedding. While most of the guests acknowledged her with polite nods, some of them, she noticed, were not so guarded with their true feelings.
Anger, mingled with embarrassment, heated her cheeks.
Withdrawing his arm, Ardan stepped aside, allowing Ivy and Jules room to slide toward their bench and sit beside Lyric. Jules left enough room between herself and Ivy so that Padraic could squeeze between them.
“See there,” Ardan said. “That wasn’t so bad, was it?”
“I think the Prince of the Autumn Court hates me,” Jules whispered. “Like, he was basically sneering at me.”
Ardan unleashed a loud laugh, which drew the attention of the dozens of whispering Fae. Ivy leaned across them, taking Jules’ hand.
“I’m pretty sure that sneer was directed at Ardan and not at you,” she said, giving Ardan a look of admonishment.
“Wait, what?” Jules asked. “What did you do?”
Ardan shrugged. “I may or may not have…ah…insulted his family honor a few years ago.”
“That’s his way of saying he slept with Prince Eamonn’s now-wife,” Ivy whispered.
“What?!” Jules could feel her eyebrows disappear beneath her hair.
“Well, she wasn’t his wife, then,” Ardan said, as if it were no big deal. “They were merely promised, at the time.”
Jules looked over her shoulder to see the Autumn Prince, still glaring in Ardan’s direction. Beside him was a tall, willowy woman with pearl-like skin and the most gorgeous auburn hair she had ever seen. She was looking at Ardan with a wry smirk. Noticing the direction of his wife’s stare, he glared back at Ardan, who stared straight ahead, pretending not to notice. According to Ivy, once they were married, Ardan had confessed all of his darkest transgressions, so that there were no secrets between them. Ivy had been grateful for his honesty but had later admitted to Jules that his list of women and other debaucheries was intimidating. Jules was about to ask more questions, but all three of them were silenced by a scathing look from Lyric.
All the other Fae had quieted, as well, so Jules suspected the ceremony was about to begin. But just as the stringed instruments began to play, the Brownie’s voice rose loud and clear above the music.
“Padraic, King of the Unseelie Court and Protector of the Unseelie Realm.”
Jules’ heart raced forward, as she turned to see Padraic, dressed from head to toe in his typical black doublet, step through the archway. When he saw her, he stopped for a moment, taking her in. Smiling in a determined way, he made his way toward her. Without consciously making the decision, Jules was on her feet, walking toward him. Though she expected him to lead her to a seat, he kneeled in front of her, took her hand, and pressed his lips to her skin. The entire courtyard rippled with a mixture of excited and admonishing whispers, but Padriac didn’t seem to care. He stood, and in the middle of the aisle, cupped her face in his hands and brought his lips to hers. The kiss was neither quick nor chaste, much to Jules’ delight. When he finally broke away, Jules opened her eyes to the shocked expressions of the Seelie Fae, whose court customs were much less scandalous than the Unseelies who had broken away from them for that very reason.
When she returned to her spot beside Ardan, Iv
y was biting back a smile but winked at her.
Then, leaning close to her, Ardan whispered, “They cannot call you a consort now. And if they do, they insult the King of Unseelie.”
Jules wasn’t entirely certain what that meant, but as Padraic sat beside her, wrapping his arm around her shoulders, she didn’t really care.
Chapter Sixteen
Despite Lyric’s disapproval at the public display of affection, Ivy couldn’t stop smiling.
She was practically vibrating with happiness as Violet and Damarion walked toward each other from each side to meet in front of the circular arch where they would bind their lives in blood and magic. Beside her, Ardan took her hand, trying not to laugh, as he took in Ivy’s giddy excitement. In front of every Fae royal in the Seelie Realm, including Queen Endellion, Padraic had just declared his intention to make Jules his queen. A consort followed behind like a pet. But a king knelt only before his queen. Ivy couldn’t wait to tell Jules what had just happened. Her best friend was clearly dazed from that kiss—and even Lyric had probably felt the heat in it—but she likely didn’t fully comprehend its significance.
Ardan leaned in, kissing her cheek, before wrapping an arm around her shoulders. She took a deep breath, trying to focus on Violet, but she couldn’t stop thinking of Padraic’s public declaration. This meant that Ivy would never have to lose Jules. She’d never have to say goodbye to her. When the rest of her human life passed away, Jules would remain. It was horribly selfish, but she couldn’t help herself. Like Violet, Jules would become immortal.
Finally, when Queen Endellion walked up the aisle, Ivy tried to refocus. Instead, she found herself scanning the crowd for any sign of Bear. She had assumed she would see him here with Slaine, and she had been dreading it for days. But there was no sign of either of them.
With a deep breath, she forced her attention to Violet and Damarion. She had never seen the transition from human to Fae, and she couldn’t help but notice Jules’ singular concentration on Violet. Her gown was beautiful. Made entirely of summer chiffon and appliqued flowers, it gave the illusion that Violet was adorned in summer blossoms that covered her—just barely—in vine-like swirls of light pink flowers. Her white blond hair was piled on top of her head in beautiful waves adorned with a floral crown to showcase her backless dress. Damarion looked like a medieval prince in his white doublet and tall riding boots, his white gold dagger hanging from the black leather belt at his waist. Queen Endellion was dressed in official white robes and she stood between them and joined their hands together.
Smiling, she pulled the white satin ribbon from around her own wrist and bound theirs together.
“It is a rare honor indeed when I have the opportunity to unite royals of the Seelie Realm. It is even more rare that I invite a mortal into our immortal ranks.” The Seelie Queen pulled a dagger from her robe and turned their hands palm up. With the tip, she pierced their skin, the blood mingling as the white ribbon turned red. Then, two magi floated faceless and weightless from either side of the courtyard to stand beside Endellion and speak the words that would change Violet forever.
Mortal daughter from human realm, hear our words and feel our spell,
Human blood and human bones shall not moulder ‘neath mortal stones.
As blood and magic bind your soul, mortal you shall be no more.
It had been centuries since the Magi turned a human, and the courtyard was silent as every Fae in attendance waited for the change. Ivy gripped Ardan’s hand as she leaned forward, trying to notice any difference in Violet’s appearance. Finally, the soft breeze picked up speed and circled Violet from every direction, tugging her hair from it’s intricate arrangement. With a surprised gasp, she bowed backward, just before a soft yellow glow illuminated her entire body. Energy rippled in the air around them and swirled, tornado-like around her changeling sister. Damarion held on to her hand, still bound by the white ribbon that united them. Finally, after several endless moments, the wind died down, and the glow faded.
She was still Violet, but now, she bore the distinct markings of a Fae.
Violet examined herself, looking down at her free hand, her gaze traveling up her arm at the prismatic colors that sparkled on her skin, left behind by the magic. Then, she felt the new, sharper lines of her face, the pointed edges of her ears. Looking over her shoulder, she spotted the lace-like markings of Summer, which snaked across her back like a glimmering tattoo. Damarion watched her with concern until she looked up at him and smiled.
Without waiting for Queen Endellion’s instructions, he wrapped her in his arms and kissed her.
Endellion shrugged with a laugh. “Fae of the Seelie and Unseelie Realms, I give you Damarion and Violet, King and Queen of Summer.”
The crowd erupted into applause, and the two appointed Brownies approached the couple to release the traditional white butterflies everyone expected at a Summer wedding. But Ivy’s smile quickly vanished, as a swarm of black butterflies burst from the enclosure and flapped like bats into the Summer sky—hundreds of death omens scattering in all directions.
The crowd erupted into shocked gasps. Damarion quickly pulled Violet behind him and drew his dagger. The two Magi stood protectively in front of Endellion. Before Ivy could see anything else, Ardan and Padraic had risen to their feet to stand in front of Jules and Ivy. From the corner of her eye, Ivy spotted Lochlan sprinting toward Lyric with his blade already drawn. The courtyard fell silent as every Fae in attendance waited for any sign of threat.
Ivy’s heart pounded in her ears, and she gathered magic in her center as she waited to protect her family.
Seconds turned to minutes.
Nothing happened.
Relief washed over her. She took a deep breath and blew out in a heavy sigh of relief.
When a high-pitched scream pierced the silence, the blood ran cold in Ivy’s veins.
Ardan stepped closer to her, he and his brother forming a protective wall in front of her and Jules. But Ivy was certainly not defenseless. Magic, raw and powerful, hummed in her veins. Climbing up on the wooden bench, she crouched in front of Jules to get a better view of the crowd, which was quickly erupting into chaos.
Bursts of Seelie magic sailed through the air in every direction, but Ivy couldn’t make out what it was targeting. Lyric crouched beside her, scanning the area for signs of the danger, as Lochlan closed in on them.
“Something small,” Lyric concluded. “Whatever it is, it doesn’t seem to be hurting anyone.”
“Brags,” Lochlan concluded. “They’re showing them their fears.”
“What’s happening?” Jules yelled over the screams.
“Brags,” Ivy shouted. “Whatever you do, don’t look into their eyes.”
Still, Ivy couldn’t see the dark creatures she had spent the day before studying. She had never seen one, but from every direction, Fae royals shrieked in terror. Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted a small, shadowy creature, like semi-solid smoke. In the center of its face were two bright red eyes that burned like the red hot embers of a fire. Careful to avoid its gaze, Ivy gathered her power, feeling it hum in her chest, and blasted the Brag with ice, freezing it where it stood. Just as she was about to finish it off, she heard a strange whirring in the open air above them. Slowly, she turned her head.
In the sky above them, dark creatures, the size of humans but shaped like bats, flapped overhead.
There were hundreds of them.
Ardan grabbed her shoulders and turned her toward him.
“Ivy, look at me,” he shouted. There was something in his voice that made Ivy’s stomach bottom out as if she were on a roller coaster.
Her insides squirming with fear, she met his eyes, which were as cold and dark as she had ever seen them. He was afraid. Ardan, who wasn’t afraid of anything.
“I need you to take Juliet and run back to the portal. Don’t look into the Brags’ eyes, and if the Laltogs trail you, hold nothing back. Attack them with everything you have.
<
br /> “But what about you?”
“Go,” he said. “Take Jules and go. We’ll fight them off here.”
Ivy turned to see Padraic brush a panicked kiss across Jules’ mouth, just as the dark, blood-sucking creatures began swooping toward the crowd of panicked Fae. With a final push from Ardan, Ivy grabbed Jules’ hand, tugging her away from Padraic. They climbed over the bench and ran with Lyric on their heels.
Chapter Seventeen
Realization rushed over Padraic like dark water.
Laltogs couldn’t survive in the daylight. Not unless they had feasted on royal blood.
He had been late to the Summer wedding because his royal guards had reported that his father was missing. Now, there was no doubt in Padraic’s mind that his father was dead. That Odhran’s blood had fueled this attack. Pushing aside all his other emotions, he focused on the one he needed. The dark power of his rage whirred inside him like an evil spirit. With a scream, he unleashed it into the sky. Dark magic erupted from him in dark, razor-lined ribbons that wrapped around the Laltogs closest to him and Ardan. With a harsh jerk, the ribbon that coiled around the dark creature sliced through him effortlessly, cutting him apart in midair. Blood rained down from the sky, spattering the wedding white blossoms and ribbons that decorated the courtyard. The Laltog’s body fell in pieces to the ground with a series of heavy thuds. Ardan, whose dark, Unseelie magic was even stronger with the added power of Winter, was freezing them in midair before shattering them with the dark, razor-sharp ribbon of Unseelie rage.
Padraic whirled on his heel to find Juliet.
While the other panicked Fae were swarming the stone archway, pushing and shoving each other in an effort to escape, Ivy was wielding her magic to create an icy staircase along the far wall. Sometimes, he wondered if Ivy was the only Seelie Fae with enough brains and survival instinct to preserve the realm. The Summer Guards had descended from all directions, blasting the Laltogs and shadowy Brags with fire and glowing white blasts of Summer magic. Rune, the head of their guards, was leading Endellion, Violet, and Damarion down some sort of escape hatch behind the wedding arch.
