by D. D. Chance
“See? Try putting a crown on your head with that going on,” the Fae said, but I heard his voice almost like a dream. I stumbled forward, not even trying to make a grab for the contract. Instead, I snagged the second shackle and slid it on my wrist. Something hard shifted within me, and I felt a wrench, as if my heart had burst. I wheeled around, eyes wide, and the Fae was there.
“I am not setting you free if you’ve betrayed me,” I wheezed.
“Just go,” he said, and he shoved me toward the portal.
38
Aiden
The bastards were everywhere. I leapt into a particularly foul scrum of Fomorians who were practically devouring their Fae enemies, making no pretense anymore to carry on the illusion of wraiths. They scattered, snarling, at my attack, but there were too many of them.
How had we not seen this? How had we been so complacent, so caught up in the battle right before us that we failed to see the war brimming over on our borders? Everywhere I looked, there was carnage. The lords and ladies of the realm, their children. Even the lesser Fae, who had been lured to our kingdom with the promise of an easier life, a better life, serving the high Fae, instead had been delivered only heartbreak and blood.
I spent too long glowering as I buried my sword deep into the guts of one of the larger bastards, when I felt the approach of new enemies. I finally reacted, but my sword had gone too deep and stayed mired in the corpse of the Fomorian. As I turned, with only a short blade in my left hand, I took a spear to my right shoulder. I felt the poison seep into me immediately, and I dropped the blade, grabbing the thick shaft of the spear.
Ignoring the burning hiss of the Fomorian slime on the shaft, I pulled hard, but dizziness overtook me. Suddenly, I was surrounded not by the slithering beasts, but by radiant figures blond and beautiful, the glamour the Fomorians had first presented to the human realm before their defeat at Fae hands. Was it any wonder they hadn’t been met with resistance?
My vision cleared, then went blurry again. Niall shouted my name. He would have to lead our team to escape. This group of Fomorians were too strong. We would be left with another empty husk of a castle, a grim testament to our failure to protect our own.
“No!” I growled, spinning away as a second blade cut into me. A light flashed in front of me, a portal door opening, and I shook my head fiercely. Only the family of the High King could open portals, and this wasn’t one of mine.
Then my vision went sideways again, because what I was seeing couldn’t be right. Belle stepped through the portal, only it wasn’t the Belle I knew. She was mighty and fierce, her storm-cloud eyes blazing, and her wrists so mirror bright, I couldn’t look at her directly.
She swept toward me, magic crackling off her, and every Fomorian in her path screamed and dissolved into a burst of flames.
“Belle?” I demanded, so confused, I couldn’t say anything else.
“I don’t know what I’m doing, but I’m totally doing it!” The hysteria in her voice, more than anything, convinced me of her sincerity. She reached me. “You can’t die, Aiden. If you die, then the realm of the Fae will fall. You’re the keeper of magic. You, not me. I have to heal you, or none of this makes sense.”
She appeared to try to take something from her forehead, but there was nothing there, then she wrenched at her naked wrists, ripping her tunic sleeves, and I shook myself to keep from passing out. Around us, the battle had started anew.
“You have to go, Belle,” I gasped. “We’ve lost this front. We’ve—”
“No!” she insisted, abandoning her attempts at her wrists and seeming to focus on me fully for the first time.
“No.” She reached out and laid hold of the Fomorian spear, seeming to pay no mind to the poison dripping from it. She yanked it out of me with a mighty curse, spells raging from her mouth as the spear caught on fire. She thrust the weapon away from her and turned around. Her eyes blazed.
“You want me to save you, your people, then you promise to let me go,” she cried, only it wasn’t her voice—once again, it was older. Fiercer. And far, far more haunted.
My head spinning, the poison of the Fomorians still coursing through me, I stared at her. The woman in front of me wasn’t Belle, but an older, dark-haired woman with red streaks in her hair and eyes that glowed violet. She was shorter, fuller bodied, and she raged at the wind, waves of magic flowing from her. This was Reagan Hogan, I knew at once. Her magic mixing in with Belle’s so completely that I couldn’t tell where one ended and the other began. And Reagan had lost this same demand when she’d leveled it, I suspected. The High King of the Fae had let his own people die in that long-ago battle rather than risk the loss of his witch—and then she’d left him anyway.
I…I couldn’t do that.
No matter how much I wanted Belle…and needed her.
My knees nearly buckled with the realization, but there was nothing for it. Belle resurfaced, taking over the image of her great-grandmother, and I could see her fire and strength for what it truly was. She was magic. She was light.
And though I’d known her for barely an instant, she had already become everything to me.
“Belle,” I said, my heart breaking as she turned, her eyes slightly crazed. She was Belle and she was Reagan, and in either guise, I had no true hold on her.
I reached inside my tunic and yanked the ruby pendant free of my neck. Before I could change my mind, I pressed it into Belle’s hands, nearly choking with the wrongness of it as I did. “Save my people, my beautiful witch. Then you can go.”
Her eyes flew wide, the illusion of Reagan laughing with an almost manic delight, but beneath that image, Belle’s own eyes stared out at me, emotion shimmering within them so strong that it took my breath away. She gripped the ruby and pressed it against her chest, her hands shaking so much that I had to help her slip it over her neck. All the time, her gaze never wavered, and large, heavy tears spilled free from those haunted, storm-swept eyes to track down her face. Her mouth worked, but nothing came out.
I couldn’t help myself. I leaned forward, then forced myself to stop. If I kissed her, I didn’t think I would be able to honor my own word.
Belle’s eyes went even wider, impossibly soft, and I let myself be lost within them for a precious moment more.
“I will save your people,” she breathed, shaking with the power building within her—the power and something more, perhaps. Something true and real.
“Aiden—” she whispered, the sound of my name on her lips all the magic I would ever need.
Before she could say anything more, a roar sounded beside her, a brace of Fomorians breaking through my warriors’ last defense. Belle whirled away from me, and though I knew she didn’t have complete control over her magic, she sent out wave upon wave of mystic fire.
The Fomorians didn’t stand a chance. With screams and guttural roars, they exploded one by one, then en masse, the rest of them fled for the ocean, some of them making it, others bursting into flame. In less than ten heartbeats, the ground was cleared of everything but their stench and the oil-slicked weapons coated in their poison.
But Belle wasn’t done. A new wave of magic shot forward from her fingers, racing over the ground, pulsing into the keep. My warriors jolted and turned around, convulsing, and they weren’t alone. Fully half of the wounded on the battlefield stirred, their cries going up in shock and fear, and then in heartbreaking relief. Names were called out, male and female alike, as the damned-near dead of Merrigan Cove were pulled back into life by the healing power of a Hogan witch.
I stared from them back to Belle, jolting with fear, pulling myself up, recognizing that I too had been healed with this pulse of magic, but Belle stumbled back from me, not with anger, not with fear, not even with triumph. Instead, pure, shattering misery blanketed her face.
“I have to go,” she cried, her words little more than a racking sob. “I can’t…I’m so sorry, but I have to—”
The portal flashed behind her, and she fell through. It snapped out o
f existence just as quickly.
She was gone.
39
Belle
I lifted my head from the table, bleary-eyed. Familiar views swam into focus. My small kitchen, the bottle of red wine on the counter, the washed glasses. My gaze flew to the clock, and I saw the hour was just a few minutes past 5:00 a.m.
The witching hour had passed. But what day was this?
I’d left the White Crane, what, two days ago? No more than that, I didn’t think, but time passed differently in the Fae realm. Oh, goddess, the Fae. Aiden.
A flood of memories swept through me and I sat bolt upright, my head pounding. It felt like a vise had been clamped across my temples. I reached up, expecting to brush my fingers against the emerald-heavy crown—but there was nothing there.
I glanced down at my wrists. I wasn’t wearing bracelets, cuffs, or anything like that, but as I lifted my arms, rotating my hands, my wrists felt strange, heavy. Not enough to impede my movement, but still impossibly wrong. I rubbed my fingers over my wrists and forearms, at first lightly, then enough to redden the skin, but the weight never shifted.
What kind of magic was this? Had I somehow fused the adornments of the Fae to my body? And what would that mean here in the human realm?
I turned quickly in my seat, then froze as another unexpected weight shifted at my neck. Slowly, carefully, I reached up and pulled at the chain around my neck. A moment later, I stared at the large ruby pendant dangling from my shaking fingers.
The Hogan witches’ treasure, ours once more.
“Oh, Aiden,” I whispered, closing my hand tight around the jewel as tears surged up behind my eyes, choking in my throat. I’d left him. I’d had to—I knew I had to, but—
A door slammed in the outer bar.
My eyes shot open, a new crackle of fear electrifying me.
While the White Crane technically remained open twenty-four hours a day, that didn’t mean I usually had guests around the clock. The gnomes would be here soon—they came to drink mulled wine at daybreak and would often nurse one cup the entire day. But even they didn’t show up this early, and I’d left a note that I would be gone. Was this still the same night? Was that possible?
Another sound of a door opening and closing reached me, along with hushed voices, one a woman I recognized. I narrowed my eyes as sudden irritation surged. Deanna Mackleway? Was she still on her quest to get me to help the High King of the Fae? If so, she could take a number.
I stood and swayed a little, the pressure in my skull intensifying. What had I done to myself by putting on that crown? It had seemed to help Aiden, and then he’d let me go. I stopped, lifting my heavy hand to my mouth, grimacing slightly as I had to adjust for the extra phantom weight at my wrist. He let me go. I knew he hadn’t wanted to, but he was a good king and he wanted to keep his people safe. He hadn’t killed me, as Lena had warned he might—but he’d let me go to save his people.
No. No, that wasn’t it. I struggled to focus despite my thudding headache. Aiden had let me go because I’d wanted it. He’d put aside his prize and possession to ease my pain. He hadn’t wanted to kill me. He hadn’t known he should. He’d simply let me go. He’d done that—for me.
For me.
The door opened and closed a third time, then Deanna Mackleway’s self-satisfied voice broke across the pain pounding against my temples.
“It’s done,” she announced.
“That was fast,” another woman said, sounding both crotchety and imperious at once.
“I would have done it an age ago if I’d known you had so much gold to spend, or that you’d lost your pigeon. But the Hogan bitch has donned the crown and shackles, the king has gotten his witch back, and you’ve plugged this hole in the escape line. You should be more careful. We cannot allow the primacy of the witches to be challenged, not now. Not when we’re so close to taking power once again.”
“What will you do with this place?” a third woman asked.
“Burn it to the ground, the fire so bright it will be seen from all four corners of the city and the villages and lands beyond,” Deanna said. “No monsters will show their heads after that, and no one will challenge your coven. No one will go rogue again either, not for a while. And a short while is all we’ll need.”
As the speech continued, my confusion cleared. In its place, rage stirred, and I shook myself into motion, heading toward the door. How dare they? I’d grown infinitely stronger these past few days, claiming the artifacts of my great-grandmother and learning her magic. These witches thought they could burn down my home? I had wards in place that would incinerate them if they tried. And how had she even found this place again? What had she said—something about the crown…the shackles? How did Deanna know about those?
My head pounded more fiercely, whisking everything away except anger—and growing panic.
“When will she fully spring the trap?” another of the women asked, stopping me short.
“That may take some time,” Deanna allowed. “We’ve shut the watcher in place, with his family held hostage. He knows not to betray us. He’ll get the job done and then report, and then we can expect the little bitch, full of herself with her magic and jewels, stumbling back home the first chance she gets. Only there’ll be nothing here to greet her but the charred remains of her stupid hovel.”
“And then the Hogan witch’s contract will be to the coven she so despised, not the Fae,” the older woman declared. “I love it.”
My breath froze in my throat, panic surging to the fore again. What was this? What was happening? I’d spent so long alone, disdaining any contact with the high coven, that I didn’t know their plans. I didn’t even know enough to protect myself. My hands went to my wrists, nails clawing at the invisible shackles. How could the coven of the White Mountains have set this trap so cunningly that I’d never even seen it? And what was their trap, specifically?
“You really think the High King will let her go?” yet another woman asked.
“Not at first,” Deanna said. “He’s much too proud for that. But any witch who’s managed to elude us for this long will figure out how to work him. Then, once the contract is broken, all the magic she has wrought will unravel and turn against him. We’ll kill two birds with one stone. But first, let’s cook this little bird’s nest, so she has nothing to fly back to.”
Frantically, I looked around the room. Despite my new skills, I was no portal maker. There was a portal over the bar, a mirror into the monster realm, but that wasn’t the realm of the high Fae. Had I somehow screwed everything up by claiming my freedom and escaping the Fae? Why hadn’t anybody warned me?
“No, no, no,” I whispered.
I heard the sound of a match strike.
40
Aiden
As much as I wanted to immediately follow Belle, I couldn’t. And I had let her go. That had been my choice. She’d wanted it, needed it, and I’d given it to her in exchange for her helping my people survive.
But even I knew that that wasn’t exactly right. I’d given it to her because she’d asked for it. What kind of fool was I?
“Aiden,” Niall called to me, and I turned, then moved to his side as I went to help him gather the wounded and perform the healing rites. Belle had been true to her word. Those who had been nearest to death were now only slightly injured, and those who had been damaged but not severely were thriving, sitting up, talking, sharing their tales of the long fight. As with Raspir’s people, none of them could believe it had lasted an entire fortnight.
“Where do we go from here?” The nearest Fae asked. I could tell from his bearing he ruled this place, though I didn’t know his name. “The magic has returned to the High King, so are we safe? Or is there more to come?”
“You’re safe,” I said, and Niall squared himself beside me, lifting his chin.
“You have the protection of the High King,” he said. “Just maybe ask for it a little sooner next time.”
The Fae lord smiled grimly.
“I’ll certainly do that.”
He squinted up at the fire that still burned red, and I gestured to it. Fire was the one thing that I had the most confidence in, beyond the power of my own fists and blades. He followed my gesture, nodding.
“Yes,” he said. “We’ll need to change the hue from red to blue. We’re in your debt, King Aiden.”
I nodded firmly to him, then dropped my hand. But inside, cold horror gripped my heart. With the slight wave of my hand, I’d meant to change the fire from red to blue. My gesture had been one to impress and maybe even awe a little bit. But no magic had flown from my fingers. It was gone as quickly as Belle had gone.
She…she had betrayed me.
I turned back and sketched a portal to life, relieved to an almost embarrassing degree to see that magic still worked. At least for now.
“We must return,” I said abruptly, startling the Fae lord. He might well have been on the cusp of asking us to board with him this night, in celebration and for the added protection to his holding, but I was having none of that.
“Would you like a brace of warriors to remain?” I asked, relieved that he shook his head.
“We have much to do, but it’s our work, and we’re blessed to have it. It is enough that you came and kept my people safe. I will spend my lifetime making it up to you.”
Despite my urgency to leave, I lifted my hand to his shoulder, gripping it—and his name suddenly surfaced in my mind. “You’ll keep your own people safe, Lord Anglesey, and we’re honored to serve you whenever we can. You have my word on that.”
In a few short moments, we were back through the portal, once more standing in the center of the academy. I braced for it not to exist, for us to land in the middle of an open field, but to my surprise, we returned to the same war room that we’d left, all the portals still flaring with life but one.
