But he did none of those things. Time both slowed and sped up. His hands slid around my waist and he dragged me closer. A low rumble from his throat sent a shiver up my spine and made my legs tremble. I melted into him feeling like I’d finally found something I hadn’t known I was searching for.
One of his hands moved up my back and caught in my hair, holding me where he wanted me—where I hadn’t let myself admit I wanted to be. His mouth moved; fierce, demanding. I pressed closer, demanding the same, my fingers digging into his shoulders. This was right. This was where I belonged. With Fergus.
“Bria!” Mother’s voice sounded so very far away. “Bria!” Then closer the next time she spoke.
Fergus must have heard her at the same moment because we both pulled apart. I met his eyes and smiled. And was rewarded with a smile from him. His hand slid down my arm and he wove his fingers between mine.
I came back to myself slowly, dimly aware of gasping from the crowd, followed by their sedate clapping over my ragged breathing. My eyes fell on Mother. Then the king.
Mother.
And the King.
I’d just kissed Fergus in front of them all. What was wrong with me?
“Holy hell.” Willow’s voice broke the near silence as the clapping died down. “Ah, welcome to the family, Bria.”
SEVENTEEN
I smiled at Willow, my eyebrows drawing together. A purple veil partially shrouded her and everyone else, except Fergus. “W-what?”
Her smile faltered, and she looked from Fergus to her father. “You kissed your bonded mate and united your magic.”
I focused on the veil in front of me. She was right. The magenta of my magic had twisted around the blue of Fergus’, making the veil look purple. Heaviness settled in my gut. I glanced at Fergus. He kept his hand locked in mine, but he was watching his father, his jaw working. “I don’t understand,” I whispered.
“You didn’t know?” Willow’s voice rose with surprise. Her eyes moved from Fergus to me and her shoulders fell. “You didn’t know.”
Fergus turned to me. “It would seem we are indeed bonded mates. The bond was sealed with that kiss.”
I shook my head, dropping his hand and stepping away. “No. You said we weren’t. That first day. You told me…” This couldn’t be happening. I didn’t want this. I didn’t want to be linked by some fae magic that chose a partner for me. I wanted to make that choice. Though it made sense of the insane and sudden need to kiss him in front of so many people.
He pressed his fingers to his temples. “That day, I believed we weren’t.”
My eyebrows lifted. “But since then you’ve come to believe otherwise?”
He gave a single nod.
“And you didn’t think to mention it to me?”
“I didn’t see how it could be. A true bond takes a year and a day to mature. For the bond to seal, we would have had to have met before now.”
We had met before now. “I saw you. The night my father…” My voice fell away. I couldn’t explain without giving away his secrets.
Fergus shook his head, understanding. “Not then. We didn’t touch each other that night. I didn’t even see you.”
“Then when…?”
“I don’t know.” He closed his eyes, letting out a deep breath before looking at me again. “I could feel … something between us. I’m almost certain that’s why I was drawn to your cottage that first night, and it only grew stronger since then. I wasn’t worried because we should have had a year and a day before this kicked in. And I expected you’d be long gone by then. You said you didn’t want to stay in Faery.” Heartache chased regret across his face. “I’d have told you if I thought there was a chance it would end up like this.”
I didn’t want to stay in Faery. In my head, I didn’t, at least. With my body, I wanted to be next to him, his hand in mine. Stars, I wanted his lips on mine again. I settled for moving to stand beside him even as I told myself those feelings weren’t real. They were a spell, made by magic.
“The two of you have met before, Prince Fergus.” Mother stood wringing her hands on the other side of the fading purple haze. Her eyes—clearer now—moved between the two of us and the king, and her voice was weak. “Your mother took you to the mortal world when you were very young. She went there to meet me. And Bria.”
I glanced at Fergus, knowing Mother wasn’t lying. Fergus had mentioned how he’d spent time in Iadrun. He’d also said he recognized Mother but didn’t recall how.
The king pushed to his feet. “Fergus. Come here. Now. This is a Seelie trick. We obviously didn’t put enough suppressors on her.” He cast a disgusted gaze at Mother. “She’d do anything to steal our power.”
Mother’s eyes narrowed and her fingers curled. The veins on her neck stood out and when she spoke, she sounded more like herself than she had moments before. “Aengus, you know this isn’t a trick. If Indira didn’t tell you what happened, then look at their magic. There’s only one thing that twists it together like that.” She stared at the king. When he didn’t respond, she slumped back into her seat like she’d used all her energy appealing to him.
The king’s jaw stiffened as he looked at Fergus. “It’s true. You mother thought it possible she exposed you to your bonded mate when you were young. But she wasn’t this Ashling girl.” He didn’t sound as sure of himself as he had moments ago. “It was Briony Ridgewing.” The crowd gasped, and the king nodded. “Yes, the Seelie princess. The Seelie say she died as an infant and I’ve spent fifteen years searching for her to no avail. I believe her to be dead. You cannot be bonded twice. Therefore, this must be a trick.” His voice grew stronger as he spoke, but his eyes flitted between Mother and me, and I didn’t think he believed his own words.
I glanced at Fergus. There was no trick. I was Briony Ridgewing. And apparently, I was the bonded mate of Fergus Blackwood. A fate I’d sealed myself because, instead of fighting the magic that made the bond—magic I hadn’t known to expect—I’d allowed it to pick me up and sweep me toward the person it had chosen for me.
A knot formed in my stomach. I didn’t want this. Not because Fergus was a horrible person, but because I hadn’t chosen it. But if the king really wasn’t aware I existed, it raised another question. “So, you didn’t send me an invitation to your masquerade ball?”
The king’s eyes narrowed, and he shook his head. “Of course not. Why would I?”
I glanced at Mother. “Then who sent it? Who else knows about me?”
Mother shook her head, her answer quiet. “I don’t know, Bria. I don’t know.”
The king made a sound beneath his breath that drew our attention. Disdain sharpened his features as he stared at his son. “I’ll not allow this. You are too weak-willed to be bound to the kingdom of Seelie. They’ll steal your magic and then steal our lands and kill our people.” He flicked one hand and from his palm, a ball of midnight blue magic shot toward us. Toward Fergus’ heart.
“Fergus!” I grabbed his arm and jerked him out of the way. The ball flew past us and sheared through one of the fae guests to lodge in the guest behind her. Both dropped to the floor like stones, dead.
Fergus was wound tight, his face hard with anger. If the king was going to shoot bolts of magic at us, we should probably get out of here. The exit I’d used the first time I came here was close enough if we sprinted like we never had before. I pulled on Fergus’ arm, but he jerked it from my grasp. A ball of light blue magic shot from his hand, aimed at his father. At almost the same moment, magic that was such a deep shade of blue it was almost black, surrounded the king. A shield. Fergus’ magic hit and slid off, no damage done.
The king laughed. “You’ll have to do better than that if you think you can beat me, boy.” Another ball of the king’s magic shot toward us.
Behind me, I was vaguely aware of people running and screaming, as in front of me, a light blue shield appeared. Yet in my mind, I was back in our cottage the night the Wild Hun
t came for Father. Back then, I hadn’t had magic and had never seen it in living color, or perhaps magic just didn’t show up in the same way in Iadrun. I’d watched Father glare at the man who came for him. I’d heard the man laugh. It seemed so similar to what I was seeing now. It shouldn’t be a surprise, but it was. Father was fae, too, and he’d been fighting that night, using his magic in the same way the king and Fergus were now, I just hadn’t known. I’d been angry at him for so long for not trying that night, when really, he’d done all he could to stay with Mother and me. And when that hadn’t been enough, he’d let them take him away from us rather than tell them we existed.
If he could fight even knowing he wouldn’t win, I could do the same.
I closed my eyes, imagining magic shooting from my palm the same way it had shot from Fergus’. My hand heated as the magic pooled there. I opened my eyes and stared at the king. And let the magic go.
Instead of hurtling toward the king, it shot out the back of my hand, spearing through six fae who hadn’t bothered to find a safe place to hide and narrowly missing Willow. I should have spent my time figuring out how to use my magic rather than dancing on the clouds with Fergus.
The king laughed and fired back at us. I imagined my magic encasing us to form a shield like the one Fergus had surrounded us with. The king’s magic had cracked Fergus’ shield—maybe mine could help keep it strong.
My shield formed.
Around Mother.
I cursed as the king’s blast hit Fergus’ shield and knocked us both back three steps. Another crack formed in his shield. I didn’t know how long Fergus could hold him off, and I was no help.
A blue haze shimmered around Fergus as he conjured another blast of magic, giving me an idea. “Fergus.”
He took his eyes from his father for a moment to focus on me.
“Our magic together is strong, right?” That’s what I’d always heard, and it could be the only benefit of our unwanted bond. Magic as strong as that of the Unseelie King.
He nodded.
“Good.” I focused on my magic, imagining that same blast I’d failed at before. My hand grew warm. “When I say go, throw your magic around mine and aim for your father.”
He glanced at the king, then back to me, his forehead creased in confusion.
I lifted a shoulder. “A blast from both our magic might get through his shield.” Or it might fly out behind us, shear through the band and shatter the wall of glass at the other end of the ballroom. Either way, it was worth a try.
I didn’t give him time to think about it. “Now.”
As my ball of magic formed, looking like it was again heading out the back of my hand, Fergus threw his magic over mine. It twisted together, blue winding around magenta, and a purple ball shot out of the front of my hand to slam into the king’s shield. He smirked at us as the shield held.
Until it shattered.
A thousand shards of deep blue magic fell around the king, our magic sailing straight through the shield to hit him square in the chest. He took a staggering step back, shock registering on his face at the same moment. Some speed fell from our magic when it hit the shield, probably the reason the king wasn’t lying on the ground dead. His tunic was burned through to his skin and blood spilled from his chest. He staggered again, dropping to his knees.
We could have hit him again in that moment and he would have been dead.
Neither of us reached for our magic again.
Fergus stepped toward his father, groaning on the floor.
“Mother!” I pushed past him and up onto the dais, grabbing her hand. She stood openmouthed and staring at the king lying at her feet. “Mother. Let’s go.” She looked at me with vacant eyes, all the lucidity from earlier gone. I pulled on her wrist. “Come on.” We didn’t have much time.
She took a step, her eyes still on the king.
“It’s the suppressors. They make her want to stay.” Fergus ripped the jeweled necklaces from her neck, the earrings from her ears and the clips from her hair, throwing them on the floor. Then he nodded toward the exit. “Go.”
“You’re not coming?” It was as if the ball of magic that had ripped through the king’s chest was ripping through mine, and I wasn’t sure if it was because of the magical bond between us or the friendship we’d grown these past few weeks. I wasn’t ready to say goodbye to him yet. Not now, over his dying father’s body.
He looked at his father. “I’ll be right behind you.” He threw me a tight smile. “Promise.”
I took Mother’s hand, and we ran, but turned as I heard Fergus growl. A line of the king’s soldiers advanced on us. He sent a blast of his magic at them. Every one of them fell to the floor.
Behind them, some guests, seeing their king and his guards on the ground, were advancing. No magic shimmered around their bodies, but each of them carried a weapon in their hand; sword, knife, trident. Their steps were careful, like we scared them, but I imagined they’d fight to their death for their king, and I didn’t want to be responsible for any more deaths tonight.
I took Mother’s wrist. This time, when I pulled, she moved with me.
When I glanced over my shoulder, Fergus was bent over his father, healing the wound he’d made. Saving his life.
A burst of burnt orange magic skimmed past me, narrowly missing. Where had that come from? I didn’t think there was anyone else here ready to use their magic.
“Shield!” yelled Fergus.
I didn’t even try. I’d already proven my magic didn’t work in the same way as his. Several times. Instead, I gripped Mother’s wrist tighter and ran faster than I’d ever run.
A yell from behind made me turn.
Fergus was no longer beside his father. Instead, he was facing the approaching fae. A sword appeared in each of Fergus’ hands. Jax ran toward him, and Fergus threw him a sword. They walked backward with slow steps, their heads moving to watch the advancing fae.
With a roar, one of the fae charged, and the rest followed. Fergus used his sword like he was born to do it, his feet light and strokes lethal. Within seconds, the first attacker was bleeding on the ground, and Fergus was fighting with another.
Mother pulled on me. “Let’s go.”
As I turned, I realized why. Four of the fae had broken off the group approaching Fergus and had come round behind us. Two carried daggers, one a carving knife, and the fourth held a metal rod.
I pushed Mother behind me.
“Get out your weapon,” she hissed.
“I don’t have one,” I hissed back, planting my feet as the fae advanced.
“Silly girl. You should always bring a weapon into a Faery ballroom.” Seemed like solid advice. Pity it came an hour too late.
“I’ll remember that for next time.” I eyed the smallest of them. A male who was shorter than me. He carried the metal rod. I imagined he would be fast. Not the fae I should attack first. The biggest of them, who would rival Jax for muscles, carried a dagger. He was who I would attack first.
I glanced over my shoulder at Mother, about to tell her to stay behind me. She pulled something from the center of her hairdo. I caught a flash as she threw it. It was one of those stars that had done so much damage in the forest near our cottage.
The star landed in the neck of the smallest man. He cried out and clutched at his injury.
While his friends stared at the blood flowing from his wound, I launched a roundhouse kick—something I’d learned to keep the school bullies away—at the big fae. I hit him in the stomach and his mouth flew open as he gasped for air. I didn’t waste any further time watching him, lining up the woman with a carving knife. My punch connected with her chin and she dropped like a stone. I turned and kicked the final fae between the legs. I’d long ago learned when bullies outnumbered me, there was no point fighting fair.
Mother’s mouth formed a circle. “Who taught you to do that?”
“Taught myself. When I was being bullied about my
ears at school.” If only I’d fought back against the adults who bullied me in the same way. I grabbed Mother’s hand and started toward the tunnel.
Fergus and Jax caught up to us. Another blast of magic shot past and hit the wall in front of us, stone and mortar spraying out in chunks big and small. “Can’t you annihilate them, too?” I panted.
Fergus shook his head. “Low on magic. Plus, most of them aren’t using their magic. It wouldn’t be fair.” Because if he hurt them with his magic, only he, Willow or his father could heal them. If he hurt them with a mortal weapon, a fae healer could help them.
We skidded through the door and into the exit tunnel, Jax stopping at the threshold. Light green magic formed around him, and he sent a blast barreling toward the last of the fae coming after us. Though not as potent as Fergus’ it had enough kick to knock them off their feet, buying us time. He followed us through the door, and it slammed behind him. Fergus pushed me ahead, but I wasn’t going yet.
Unlike the ballroom, the tunnel was the same as it had been the first night I came to Faery. Stoney moss-covered walls, uneven dirt floor and light sconces high on the wall. “Can you seal that door so the guards—or your father—can’t follow us through here?” They couldn’t be far behind and if they caught up to us in this small space, it would be a blood bath. I just wasn’t sure whose blood we’d be bathing in.
He shook his head again. “Father is not a problem. He’ll need to sleep a few hours to heal from a near-fatal wound like that. But my magic is almost gone.”
I could see that by the color that surrounded him—it was so pale, it was almost white. I turned to Jax. “What about you?”
“Sorry. My magic isn’t half as impressive as Ferg’s. I’m more of a one-shot wonder.” And he’d used that shot when he bought us time.
I glanced over my shoulder. Mother and Willow were already making their way through the tunnel ahead of us. “Could Willow do it? Or Mother?”
“Potentially, they both could, but there isn’t enough time to get them back here. We need to take our chances by running.” Fergus moved along the tunnel after them, then waited for Jax and me to follow.
Kingdom of Yesterday's Lies (Royals of Faery Book 1) Page 25
