by Dyan Chick
"How do you think it's going to look to the other candidates when they find out that the front-runner spent the first several weeks of the trials in an enemy land?" Dane said.
"I suppose it will help her chances even more," Tristan said. "She isn't even Queen yet and she's already working to forge diplomatic ties between Faerie and the Winter Court. There's nothing unusual about sending representatives of the Reagent into another land."
"That's true," the Queen said. "Tiana has typically held the post. Seeing as how she's gone missing, I can't exactly send her as my liaison."
I tensed at the mention of Tiana and hoped it would be a long time before I ever saw her again. Maybe she fell into the Under and the creatures she had befriended turned on her. I had a feeling I wasn't that lucky, but I could hope.
"If it makes you all feel better, I promise to return her here after she passes the first part of the trial. I’ll consider the favor paid in full," Tristan said.
"How long is the first part?" I said the words quietly, almost afraid to hear the answer. The fact that no one was objecting immediately, made it feel like it had already been agreed to.
"Three weeks," Ethan said. "Usually. No more than five."
"Five weeks with Tristan? Alone?" I turned to look at Cormac, the usual voice of reason when it came to Tristan. He was the one I expected to stand up to them, telling them the entire thing was ridiculous. "What happens if I don't go?"
The Queen walked over to me and pressed her index finger onto the middle of my forehead.
She extended her other hand, and pressed her other index finger onto the middle of Tristan's forehead.
"What are you doing?" I asked.
"Checking the validity of this favor. Then, I can answer your question," she said.
The point of her touch was warm, sending little bursts of heat across my forehead. They were mild, and thankfully didn't hurt. The Queen held her finger on my forehead for a few more seconds, then slowly she moved her hands away from the two of us.
I glanced over at Tristan to catch him grinning. He looked as if this whole thing was going exactly as he had hoped. I really wanted to know what he was thinking. Why couldn't I read minds? It would make everything so much easier.
"You're favor bound," she said. "None of us would expect anything less from a Winter Fae, especially not this Winter Fae."
"What does that mean?" I asked.
"It means that you have to do this," she said.
"And if I don't?" I asked.
"You don't have a choice. The favor has been called in, you have a day to oblige or your magic becomes his."
"What?" I glared at Tristan. "What game are you playing?"
"No game, I'm simply cashing in what is owed to me."
Heat rose to my cheeks as anger swirled inside me. I couldn't believe that I'd started to think that he wasn't so bad. I'd even felt sorry for him when he shared the memory of his test. After everything, how could Tristan do this to me? And why would he do it now?
I turned to look at the others. They knew I had a favor with Tristan. They could have prepared me. "You all knew this, and no one said anything to me."
"We've been a little busy, love," Dane said.
"Maybe there are some of us who were hoping he wouldn't call upon the favor," Ethan said.
"So all of this conversation has been for nothing. I have no choice in this." I glanced at Tristan; he was still grinning. "Why now? Why do this to me now?"
"I told you I would help you, I fulfilled my end of the bargain. Don't you think it's fair that you fulfill yours?" Tristan asked.
I wanted to scream at him. I wanted to stomp my feet and tell them how unfair he was being. My face heated at the childish reaction that was flashing through my mind. I was a candidate for Queen's Trial. I was better than that. If nobody else was acting out of anger, I'd hold my tongue, too.
I was the only one in the room who wore any expression of emotion on my face. The others were standing by stoically, accepting my punishment with grace. I took a deep breath. I'd made this deal. This was my burden to carry and if I played his game, maybe he'd release me sooner. "Three weeks, alone, with you?" I asked Tristan, hoping it wouldn't be five.
"We won't be alone, Princess. The guards will be there, along with my advisors and the others who live in the palace. Perhaps some of my siblings will visit and keep you company," Tristan said.
I looked at Cormac one more time, he was my last hope of finding a way out of this. "And you're okay with this?"
Cormac glanced at Tristan, then turned back to me. "You're still under my protection. And you're linked with Ethan. If he does anything to upset you, we'll come for him. If he hurts you, I'll kill him."
Chapter Two
"If I have a day before I have to go, I'm not ready to leave just yet," I said.
"What did you have in mind?" the Queen asked.
"I came here for help with my magic. I don't want to continue to attract monsters. I need help."
She nodded. "You do. Nobody should have the powers you have. I don't even think the Queen should, now that I've experienced them." She frowned. "It's a large burden for anyone."
"Can you help me with that part? It's not help with the trials," I said.
"It really would be considered a safety issue," Dane said.
I smiled at him. "That's true."
"We probably have a few more hours before word of your arrival spreads," she said.
"Your staff is more loyal than mine, then," Tristan said. "Word would be out already if it were the Winter Court."
I scowled at him. "And that's where you want to take me? To a place where everyone will know I'm there so they can attack me again?"
He shrugged. "I told you, you'll be safe. Besides, the assassin was after me."
"Things are falling apart in your court, it seems," the Queen said.
"It's not my court, technically," Tristan said.
"That father of yours is still around?" the Queen asked, eyebrow raised in surprise.
"Don't worry, you'll receive an invitation to his funeral when the time comes," Tristan said.
"As much as I'd enjoy hearing about the turmoil of the Winter Court, Cassia is running out of time. Unless you're revoking the favor?" Cormac asked.
Tristan grinned. "You should get going, Cassia. Time moves quickly when you're on a deadline."
I glared at Tristan. I wanted him to know exactly how I felt about him calling in his favor now. He had to know exactly how he was upsetting my life. Was this his plan the whole time? Had he seen this in my future?
"General," the Queen called.
The door opened and the General popped his head in, then inclined his chin. "Your Majesty?"
"Please escort my guests to my receiving room. I'll be with them shortly," she said.
The princes filed out of the room, each giving me a wave or in the case of Tristan, a wink, on their way out.
My jaw was still tight from the anger I felt toward the Winter Prince. I couldn't prove it, but I had a feeling he planned this from our first meeting.
The door closed behind the others and I was alone with the Queen in her private, secret place. If she was correct, we'd have a few hours before one of her staff would leak that she was here with me. I already had enough of a reputation from traveling with four princes that I was seen as a threat. What was going to happen when word got out that I'd spent time alone with the Queen?
"Deep breath," she said. "In... out. Tristan is gone for now, it's just us."
Heeding her instructions, I breathed deeply and released the breath. I looked around the empty room and felt some of the tension I was feeling leave my shoulders and jaw. I didn't know the Queen, but she was my mother. And she'd cared about me enough to send me away so I had a chance to survive. Nothing in her plans had gone the way she wanted them to, but I was alive and that was incredible. Though, I knew I wasn't out of the woods yet. Tiana was after me and if my captors in the Winter Court were any indicat
ion of what was ahead for me in Queen's Trial, I had a lot of difficulty ahead.
"Thank you," I said. "I don't think I said that before. For saving me and hiding me."
She smiled, then settled into one of the chairs. "I wish I could have kept you, but it wasn't possible. And as much as I'd like to be a mother to you, I never can be."
I settled into the chair next to her. "What happens after Queen's Trial? What happens to you? Cormac told me the last Queen was one of Tristan's sisters."
"They didn't tell you?" she asked.
I shook my head.
"When a Queen's reign in finished, she returns to the temple and offers her magic to the gods."
"What does that mean?" I asked.
"It means, I'll surrender the magic I have once my reign is over and I'll return to where I was before becoming Queen unless the gods have something else in store for me."
"Like what?" I asked, a chill rippling down my spine.
"It varies from Queen to Queen. Most are granted a return to their old magic and some are stripped entirely." She rested her hands on her lap as if none of the words bothered her.
"So you could lose your magic?" From the reaction the others gave when I was put against the same threat by not following through with my favor bond, I figured it was a bad thing. So far, my magic had gotten me into a lot of trouble, but it had also saved my life on more than one occasion. "Is it worth it?"
"There isn't a choice in the matter, Cassia," she said. "A Queen reigns for one hundred years. Then, her time is up."
I leaned back in the chair and considered her words. I'd already signed up for this without having all the details. I didn't feel like I had a choice, that was for sure, but I didn't know it was a hundred year reign with a possibility of losing your magic once you stepped down.
"Now you know why it's such a problem for you to have all four courts worth of magic. Even past Queens don't have that," she said.
"What happens to the past Queens? Aren't the Fae immortal?" I asked, almost afraid of hearing the answer.
"Many of them go on living with their consorts and some of them even go on to have children after their reign. You can have a very happy life after serving as Queen." She lifted her brows. "And it is service. You work for the kingdom first. Your needs are second."
"And what happens to the Queens who don't go to live happy lives after their reign?" I asked.
She pulled her lips in tight and blinked a few times. "I don't want to discuss them. It's not up to us. The gods make the choice. It's impossible to know how your reign will end."
It was silent for a few moments and I played with the frayed end of the fabric on my sleeves. I wanted to be more afraid of what might happen to me if I were to become Queen, but the idea still seemed so absurd, that I wasn't sure how to feel fear. I wondered if I should worry. But a hundred years was a good, long life based on what I'd been raised to believe. It was beyond anything I'd expected growing up in the human realm and it was difficult to imagine that I'd need a longer life than that. I looked back up at the Queen. "Are you afraid?"
She shook her head. "Not for myself."
"For me?" I asked.
"Yes," she said, softly. "I'm very afraid for you. If you don't win, you won't survive beyond the new Queen's coronation."
My chest tightened in fear. While I couldn't find it in me to fear what might come after winning Queen's Trial, I was afraid of what might happen if I didn't win. "Do you think I stand a chance?"
"Maybe," she said. "If you can learn how to use the magic you have within."
"How will I do that while I'm stuck in the Winter Court?" I asked.
"Tell me about your test," she said. "What did Tiana find?"
I shuddered at the mention of the Queen's sister.
"Don't worry, she'll be punished when she reappears," the Queen said.
I tried not to worry about the fact that Tiana was out there, possibly waiting for me to be alone long enough to take me down. Maybe there was something good about being in the Winter Court. Tristan had no love for the Queen's sister. If she came into his home, he'd likely use the excuse to eliminate her. I had a feeling her punishment wouldn't be nearly as permanent if she were to return to the palace at the Autumn Court.
I took a deep breath and thought about the test, trying to recall each step. "She started with Summer. I turned the green strands into fire. Then, she tried Winter and I sort of went into her memories." I looked up at the Queen for reassurance.
She lifted an eyebrow. "You did? Well, I'm sure that surprised her."
"She wasn't happy about it," I said. "She accused me of being sent by someone. She thought I was out to get her."
"That sounds like her. What happened with the last two?" she asked.
"When she did Spring, I created pink flowers and with Autumn, I was nearly invisible. At least that's what she said."
"Stealth," the Queen said, then she laughed. "I've never heard of a Fae who could blend in with their environment to the point of invisibility, but it makes me think I might know who your father is."
"Oh?" I asked, straightening. I hadn't expected her to offer any information about my father after how quickly she dismissed it before.
"Your Winter magic is more skilled than I expected. Memory magic is tricky, and rare. Then, there's your Autumn magic. It's clearly your strongest point." She rested her finger on her chin. "It so happens that one of my consorts is half Autumn and half Winter. Logically, he'd be the most likely to be your father."
"I heard you have three consorts," I said.
She nodded. "Most Queens take multiple king consorts. We have a difficult job and it is nice to have extra support. Plus, with as much as we travel to all the realms, it's hard not to feel a mating bond with more than one Fae."
Flutters rose in the pit of my stomach as I thought of my princes. Was it possible I'd feel a mating bond with all of them? Would they stay with me if I were to win the trial?
The Queen stood. "We aren't here to discuss males, though, are we?"
I leapt from my seat. "No, we're not."
"We have a limited amount of time for you to learn how to control that magic you have so we better use our time wisely."
Chapter Three
"I can't teach you how to use all of your magic," the Queen said. "We don't have time for that. We'd need years. So we have to be smart about this. Tell me what you can do so far."
"Not much, honestly," I said. "I've been able to create a white light that blinds anyone around me and I was able to do some healing."
"And what did Cormac say about all of this?" she asked.
"He didn't really know what the white light meant other than it was how I was showing my untrained magic. He seemed more worried than anything else. He tried to teach me how to cycle."
"How did that go?" she asked.
"I got as far as learning how to find the magic internally, but I'm still not sure of what I should be doing with all of this information," I admitted.
"It's a lot," she said. "If you'd been raised here, you would have likely shown small signs and been trained a little bit at a time while you were a child to help you maintain control. Then, when you were of age, you'd have gone to the academy." She paused. "Though, I have no idea how magic of all four courts would have manifested in someone so young."
"What happens to other young Fae who have more than one court worth of magic?" I asked, trying not to let on that I knew someone who fit that description.
"That's a very rare thing," she said. "But it is worth exploring. That might be a good thing to ask one of your consorts to research for you. It could help you when it comes to the physical trials."
"Physical trials?" I asked, spikes of anxiety rising inside me. The more I heard about the trials, the more I was regretting agreeing to them.
"That's not our concern now. You won't even have to deal with them if you don't make it through the first three trials. So that is our focus. Keeping you alive through those."
"I like the idea of staying alive," I said.
The Queen smiled. "Let's focus on that, then. Cormac had the right idea about teaching you to cycle, but it's different with so much magic. With cycling, you want to keep it bubbling under the surface at all times so it's ready, but not in use. That's not possible for us. We can't turn it down low enough to not draw attention to ourselves from the creatures of the Under - or anyone else who is trying to detect magic for that matter."
"So what do I need to do?" I asked.
"You have to use your magic. You'll recharge much faster than other Fae, but if you don't use it, you'll carry around an active magical signature all the time."
"How often do I have to use it and how would I even begin that?" I was already feeling overwhelmed and we hadn't even started anything. All I could do was make a useless white light. It wasn't anything special or interesting. Sure, it had saved me a few times, but I figured that was more from luck than skill.
"Your Autumn magic is your most powerful so it will recharge the fastest. It's also going to be the magic that makes you easiest to trace so we'll start there," she said. "Tell me what you know about Autumn magic."
I thought back to my conversations with Cormac and how I'd bonded with him over our love of animals. Then, I thought about Angela and her suggestion to kill me. In the end, she'd asked Cormac to teach me how to track, which he'd started before we ended up in the Winter Court. I wondered if the Queen would want to know about Angela. I opened my mouth to tell her, then decided against it. She hadn't even seemed bothered by Tiana trying to kill me. Instead, I kept to the facts. "Hunting, tracking, animals." I paused as Tristan's comments about Cormac as a warrior struck me. "Fighting, perhaps, in wars."
She seemed pleased by my answers, nodded in agreement. "That is true, to a point. Yes, hunting and tracking and an affinity for all creatures. Which makes them excellent soldiers and fighters."
"How am I supposed to use that kind of magic?" I asked. "I don't have anything to hunt or track."
