Sea Fae Trilogy

by C. N. Crawford

  “They won’t be able to get in,” said Gwydion, as if reassuring himself. “Not without knowing where to find the secret entrance.”

  I wasn’t entirely sure why everyone had their swords drawn. The fuath were spirits that inhabited people. Who did they plan to stab? Each other?

  And with that thought, I stepped back into the shadows. No one was watching me as I pulled the dagger from the holster on my thigh. I might need it for protection if the fuath possessed those around me.

  A phantom wind rushed through the hall, snuffing out the torches, and darkness enveloped us. It felt like a heavy darkness, like wet soil on my chest. A human servant screamed, her terror echoing off the walls.

  “Leus.” Lyr’s deep voice spoke the single word that called a sphere of light into existence. The pale gold light gleamed off the drawn swords.

  But even through the shield of my protection spell, I could feel the air dampening. I licked the salt off my lips.

  “They got in,” I whispered. “Around us.”

  Seemed like someone had told them about the secret passage, because that had not taken long.

  Now, it felt like a wave was washing over the room—heavy, ice-cold. On the other side of the hall, a knight arched his back, his eyes going wide.

  I held my breath. It was happening. The fuath were starting to possess people.

  Right now seemed like a good time to get out of Dodge. I stepped further back into the shadows, slowly moving toward the corridor—

  But before I could make a break for it, a powerful arm grabbed me around the waist, one hand clamped over my mouth. I stabbed my attacker in the hip, but he didn’t seem to feel the pain. He kept my mouth sealed as he pulled me behind one of the heraldic flags.

  I heard the faint click of a door opening, then my captor shoved me hard into a dank tunnel. Within the next heartbeat, the door was shut behind me.

  In here, the golden sphere of light illuminated Lyr’s beautiful face. He leaned against the narrow tunnel walls, boxing me in, searching my face. And while he did that, I was scrutinizing his.

  It was nearly impossible to tell if someone had been possessed by the fuath. A fuath possession didn’t change a person’s appearance.

  “Did you avoid—” I spoke in a whisper, but he still lifted a finger to my lips, silencing me.

  I stared into his deep blue eyes long enough that I was reasonably certain it was still him. Same cocky arch of his eyebrow and strangely penetrating gaze.

  Blood streaked down his hip.

  I was still gripping his knife, my hand now slick with his blood.

  I mouthed, “Sorry.” It was a good thing demigods healed fast.

  I felt a moment of relief till I glanced at his neck. The fuath had stolen the key from his throat.

  The key that could open worlds.

  What did they have planned for that? Lyr had said it required his magical signature, so I wasn’t sure they could use it. Still….

  Lyr nodded at the tunnel. Built of golden sandstone, it looked like the rest of the fortress, but much smaller. Shadows enveloped most of it, so I had no idea where it led.

  As we walked, Lyr had to bow his head, and we were cramped side by side. His arm brushed against mine as we walked. We were moving fast, practically running. A few alcoves interrupted the stone walls, and some tunnels branched off from the main one.

  I glanced behind us. Even in the dim light, I could tell none of the possessed knights were coming for us.

  I whispered, “Were they after the key on your neck?”

  “It would seem that way. Not that it will do them much good. I’ll probably get it back before they figure out how to reverse the spell I’ve put on it.” He shot me a sharp look. “I was wondering what you’d end up doing with my knife. I’m regretting my decision to wait and see how it all played out.”

  “You knew I had your knife?”

  “Your dress doesn’t conceal much.”

  “It’s also not really ideal for the sudden combat and fugitive situation we’ve found ourselves in. I could have used the black armored stuff you’re all wearing.”

  “At least I gave you practical shoes.”

  “Back to the key. Is that the whole reason the fuath attacked?”

  “Perhaps, but they won’t be able to use it easily. They will need to know the right spell.”

  The sound of a door creaking behind us made my heart race. Lyr snuffed out the light. With one hand around my waist, he pulled me into a cramped alcove. I was pressed in close to his powerful body.

  “Dorcha.” I whispered the spell for concealment in shadows.

  Packed into the small space, my head rested on Lyr’s chest, which rose and fell slowly.

  “Oh, Grand Master!” a voice trilled, and it took me a moment to recognize it as Midir’s. Before, he’d spoken in a flat monotone. But now? He sounded almost like he was singing. “Grand Master! They’re all gone. You can come out now. Allll safe. It’s your knight brother friend!”

  The good news was that the fuath didn’t seem to know much about their hosts, and they weren’t good at impersonating them.

  I closed my eyes, tuning into what I could hear. Footsteps—faint, but multiple.

  It wasn’t just Midir in here. In fact, I thought at least five knights were coming for us—all of them possessed by the fuath. If the spirits were after the World Key, why were they still coming for us?

  We couldn’t stay here in the alcove. They’d be able to hear our breathing if they got close enough. A bunch of possessed knights with swords, all coming to kill us. If I had a comb on me now, maybe I could do some damage, but Lyr hadn’t let me bring it along.

  A burst of gold light in the hall sent my pulse racing faster, but when Lyr tugged my waist, I saw something new. We weren’t simply in an alcove, but a long, curving passage. We started running as quietly as we could.

  We rushed down the curving hall until the light disappeared. In the dark, Lyr grabbed my hand. My heart leapt as the floor disappeared, and I fell.

  Stairs. Okay.

  I’d fallen into Lyr’s strong back like an idiot, but I now understood that the floor hadn’t disappeared, and that we were in a stairwell.

  I traced one hand against the damp wall to steady myself as we walked down.

  In the stairwell, the ceiling was hardly five feet tall, and the top of my head rubbed against it.

  Had dwarves built this place? I couldn’t see him, but I imagined Lyr was bent in half to get down the stairs.

  After what seemed like ages, my foot plunged into cold water. It smelled of the ocean down here. When I took another step, it came up to about my knees. We were at sea level now, apparently. I didn’t hear any of the knights coming for us, so we might have escaped their notice.

  In the damp air, a chill rippled up my spine.

  Lyr turned abruptly, and I slammed into his brick wall of a chest in the darkness. “Ouch.”

  He leaned down, then whispered, “We’ve lost them for now. But when we come out of the tunnel, we’ll need to move swiftly and silently. The fuath in bodies can hunt by scent. Now, we no longer have the World Key to make a fast getaway.”

  He turned, moving fast through the water. I followed close behind.

  “Where does this open up?” I asked in a whisper.

  “Not far from the shore. If we can get to the water, they won’t be able to scent us out. We can swim a few miles, and then you can find the athame. As soon as you can get it, this is all over.”

  “And you believe this blade is nearby because a witch grunted something. Near, but it might have been fear.”

  “We are low on options for survival. Or rather, you are. I can return from the dead.”

  “Why would the fuath want me dead? I have nothing to do with this. Perhaps I could bargain with them. I could give you over to the fuath in exchange for my freedom. They could torture the answers out of you,” I suggested.

  “Mmmm.” His deep, rich voice thrummed over my skin.
“But you wouldn’t do that.”

  “Because you know I’m a good person?”

  “Because I don’t die, and you would not get far from me. And moreover, if you were seriously considering it, you wouldn’t have told me.”

  “Fine. But everything has become a lot more complicated since we last negotiated our contract. We now have a whole fortress full of possessed knights after us, wanting me dead. We need to renegotiate our terms.”

  “I don’t know why you think we have a contract. You’ll just do what I tell you to do. That’s our contract.”

  “Of course. I don’t know why I expected someone who brutally kidnapped me to be reasonable.”

  “I believe the brutal part was when you shot me.”

  Whatever. I’d just keep my mouth shut and the dagger ready. We were temporarily working together, but this man was my enemy just as much as the rest.

  Chapter 16

  His arm brushed mine again, and a ripple of his magic shivered over my skin.

  “Why are these tunnels so small?” I asked.

  “Because they were built by human crusaders a thousand years ago, when they invaded.”

  Rays of silver light glimmered at the end of the tunnel. They shone over worn stone stairs that led upwards.

  I glanced at Lyr. A few rays of light just highlighted the perfect planes of his face. The word sublime rang in my head. Beauty and death linked in one man. He was like the underworld itself—unknowable, concealed. He kept secrets about himself. Like death, Lyr was a mystery.

  I could hear him whispering a spell under his breath, and his magic washed over me.

  When we reached the stairs, he turned to me and whispered, “I’ve chanted a spell that will protect us from the spirits, but it won’t last forever. A few minutes, maybe? In the next moments, when we exit the tunnel, we run across the street. We leap over the wall’s edge and into the ocean.”

  His body looked completely tense as he stepped up the stairs. I reached for the dagger holstered at my thigh.

  I whispered another protection spell, and I heard Lyr call on shadows to conceal us again. With the shadows around us, I could hardly see him. He was a silhouette now, like the light wasn’t quite touching him. When I looked down at my own body, I saw that shadows cloaked me, too.

  We reached the top of the stairs, and he paused in the entrance. The coast looked clear. Across the street, a stone wall overlooked the ocean. All we had to do was cross the street. Then, the ocean was our protection.

  I whispered another spell—quietly—for speed.

  From here, I could hear the waves crashing against the rock. We were so close to the sea.

  Please tell me it’s not shallow enough to break my legs when I hit the rocks.

  Lyr turned to me, his blue eyes piercing the shadows.

  He nodded once—the signal to go. Then, he moved like the wind across the cobblestones.

  I hiked my dress up to my knees and broke into a run behind him, darting across the street, propelled by my spell for speed. The sea wind whipped over me.

  Lyr reached the wall first, then turned to look for me. When his blue eyes went wide, my heart lurched.

  That was when I felt someone gripping my hair from behind, pulling me back.

  In the next moment, they were all surrounding me—all the possessed fae knights, swords drawn.

  Midir stood before me, a sinister grin on his features. He pointed his sword at me. “You’ll be staying with us, Daughter of Malgven.”

  How did the fuath know who I was?

  By the stone wall, Gwydion pointed his sword at Lyr’s neck.

  God of the deep, I hadn’t been fast enough.

  “What do you want, exactly?” I asked.

  Midir—or the fuath possessing him—stared down at me, his red hair bright against the night sky.

  “We’re after your kingdom,” he said in a singsong voice.

  My heart thundered against my ribs. That was what they wanted? It didn’t exist anymore. What the hells was wrong with them?

  The Nameless One—our unseen attacker—had destroyed it. The dark fae who’d slaughtered my mother, stolen my true power, and sunk the whole thing.

  “It’s underwater,” I snarled. “Off the coast of Cornwall. Feel free to take what’s left. It’s all yours.”

  “Is that what you think? You don’t—” A blur of movement cut him short. Lyr had knocked Gwydion to the ground and snatched his sword, so fast it had looked like one swift movement. He pointed it at Gwydion’s neck.

  “Aenor,” Lyr said in a calm voice, “get into the ocean.”

  The fuath began to surround Lyr. None of them really cared if he slit Gwydion’s throat. After all, the knight was just a host.

  I stepped back to the wall, but I wasn’t going to leave without Lyr. How would he make it out of here? I needed him to make sure Gina was okay. Plus, I needed to know why the fuath were talking about my kingdom.

  Melisande lunged for Lyr, piercing his shoulder with her sword.

  I threw my dagger at her, catching her in the neck. Blood spurted from her throat, and she dropped to the ground.

  Sadly, that meant I was fresh out of weapons.

  Lyr stumbled, blood pouring from his shoulder just below his collarbone.

  He’d shifted again—crown glowing gold, tattoos sliding over his skin like living creatures. He snarled like a wild beast, then picked Gwydion up by his throat. Blood poured from the wound in Lyr’s chest.

  I lunged for Melisande’s body, pulling the weapon from her throat. Her blood slid off the blade onto the pavement.

  We were wildly outnumbered—completely surrounded, now.

  Midir pointed his sword at Lyr’s neck. “We will torture the truth out of you. Even if you can’t die. Walk back to the fortress the way you came.”

  Now might be the time to unleash the attack spells I’d been keeping under wraps.

  Low and under my breath, I chanted a fae spell. “Lotherus neachan angou.”

  Green sea magic crackled down my arm, then shot out of the end of the dagger. I whirled, using the blade to conduct the magic with precision. I hit the knights in a wide arc of sparkling magic.

  It wouldn’t kill them, but it would certainly knock them on their butts for a while. When I’d flattened them all, I met Lyr’s gaze.

  We both turned fast for the wall. As I scrambled over the ledge, I gripped tightly to the blood-slicked blade. But just as I started to leap, a sword caught me from behind, ripping though the dress and my skin.

  I tumbled forward, the wind rushing over me as I fell toward the sea. I plummeted toward the water, sinking under its surface.

  I dove deeper into the cold, dark sea, clinging to the dagger with every fiber of my being. The saltwater stung my back where someone had cut me. I blocked that out, focusing on the sea. Through low vibrations in the water, I could sense the direction of Lyr’s swimming. I followed him.

  I was at home in here, in the cold and the gloom. A few rays of moonlight pierced the water.

  Every magical creature had its own distinct sound if you tuned in enough, and Lyr had a deep and forlorn dirge. As I moved closer to him, I saw a faint glow of gold in the dark water. We were moving fast. I doubted the other knights could keep up.

  But the longer we swam, the more I started to feel Lyr losing strength. It was like his song was growing dimmer, the golden glow around him fading. Blood poured from his wound, swirling in crimson eddies around his body.

  We’d stuck fairly close to the shore. Through the water, I could hear the waves crashing against the beach. As Lyr’s strength began to fade, I decided to bring him onto the sand.

  I swam up to Lyr until I was close enough to meet his gaze through the murky seawater. Blood coiled around him. He didn’t seem to be healing very well.

  Once his blue eyes were on me, I pointed at the shore. He nodded, turning to swim for the beach.

  As soon as we got the chance, I wanted him to tell me exactly what he knew
. Why were they talking about my kingdom? Because it had kind of seemed like he’d shut the spirits up so that I couldn’t find out the truth. He’d used a sword to cut them off.

  When my feet touched the rough sand, I turned to look at Lyr. He seemed to be standing okay on his own, but his eyes were unfocused as he trudged out of the water in the moonlight.

  His Ankou state had faded, tattoos no longer moving around him. When I glanced at the wound on his shoulder, I saw that the blade had cut clean through muscle and bone.

  Injured, he was less threatening to me. But we also had to get away from the fuath. It didn’t look like he’d be getting far in this state.

  “I can help you.” I pointed at a palm tree. “Sit down. But I want you to tell me what’s going on.”

  He arched an eyebrow at me, then slumped down next to the palm tree.

  I knelt next to him and pulled the dagger from the thigh sheath. Fast as lightning, I pressed the blade against his jugular. “You’re weak, now. It seems like a good time to get answers.”

  Glistening in the moonlight, droplets of water dappled his golden skin. “Aren’t you enterprising? Please be aware that I’m only temporarily injured.”

  “Tell me truthfully. Is Gina safe, as far as you know? Is she in the hotel like you said?”

  He held my gaze, his head pressed against the trunk of the palm. “Yes. She’s safe. We made the arrangements like I promised, and only the other knights know where she is.”

  His steady gaze and even tone told me this was the truth.

  “And why were your knights talking about my kingdom?”

  “You have a tendency to become imperious, do you know that? It’s almost enchanting.” Even bleeding as he was, his voice had taken on a sensual edge.

  I clenched my jaw and pressed the blade a little harder against his skin. He didn’t move—not a twitch of a muscle.

  “I’m imperious because I am Aenor, House of Meriadoc, Flayer of Skins, and heir to the kingdom of Ys. And more importantly, I have a knife to your throat.”

  Chapter 17

  He took a deep breath. “I don’t know why the spirits were talking about your kingdom. We all know Ys drowned, though, apparently, we have different opinions about how it drowned. The spirits must be confused.” The way he hesitated gave him away.