by Gwen Rivers
“I don’t know your brother,” I raise my hands, trying to call on the powers from my court. A shield of water from the tribe of shellycoats that dwell in the nearby river should keep the mad creature at bay.
But nothing happens, the powers slip through my grasp like grains of sand.
“My brother was the fey creature your pet dog shredded.” The hob advances. His tail looms like a scorpion’s stinger over his shoulder.
Oh no. How much does he know? Again, I grasp for power, this time from the air sprites perched in the nearby trees. But those fail as well, the panic making my nimble mind fumble. I must get him out of here before—
“Your brother was an abusive rapist,” Aiden says from the doorway. “He beat her bloody. I suggest you leave before the same is done to you.”
The hob rounds on him, its red eyes narrowing to slits of fire. “And how exactly did my brother, who barely possessed enough magic to boil a kettle of water, manage to overpower the great and terrible Ice Bitch? She could have pinned him to the wall with air, burned him with fire, frozen him with ice. No, stupid dog, she asked him to beat her bloody. Promised him riches for his aid. He told other courtiers about it, about how he would reap the benefits in assisting the Queen of the Shadow Throne.”
Aiden’s gaze flicks to mine, his brows drawn together.
“What a wild story!” I exclaim. “Why would I want someone to beat me?”
The hob glares daggers at me. “Then deny it. Speak plainly so we know you aren’t twisting the truth. Deny that you promised my brother a stewardship over the coastal province in exchange for that beating.”
My lips part but not even a puff of air emerges, the curse of the fair folk preventing even a sound.
The hob lunges for me, stinger poised, but Aiden is faster. Coils of fire wrap around my attacker like chains at his ankles, his middle, his throat, pinning him in place. He yelps and the smell of burning flesh fills the room.
“Aiden,” I breathe, unsettled by the wild look in his eyes. They glow with the wolf’s inner light, that demonic fire that lurks in his soul. The son of a god whose terrible power is about to be unleashed.
Aiden ignores me, but the swirl of flames dies down. The hob smokes and smolders on the floor, blisters already bubbling up where the fire touched his green skin.
Uncaring of the damage, Aiden lifts the creature from the floor and marches him to the open door, where two Spriggin guards have appeared. “Lock him up for attacking the queen. She’ll deal with him later.”
The door slams shut with a crash so violent I can feel the stones rattle. Aiden faces away from me, his thick shoulders bunched with tension.
“Aiden,” I move closer, my hand outstretched to touch him.
He dodges my touch and rounds on me, green eyes ablaze. “You tricked me.”
I reach out again, this time to put my hand over his heart. “Aiden, we were trapped. It was the only way.”
“You played on my instincts to protect you to get what you wanted from me. Congratulations. The trickster’s son has been duped by the fairy queen.” Waves of hurt roll from him, so thick and agonizing that I stagger.
I feel the gorge rising in my throat even as he drives the point home. “You used me, Nicneven. I trusted you, cared for you and you deceived me.”
His use of the past tense has panic welling up inside me. “Aiden, please.”
“I can’t even look at you now.” He turns away, heading for the door.
“But our babe,” I implore him, my hand going to cover my midsection. “You can’t leave.”
He casts me a look over his shoulder and it isn’t anger I see, but weary wretchedness that is even more heartbreaking. “I wish you had killed me the first night we met. It would have been kinder than this end.”
He flings the door open and it is the wolf who surges down the corridors, out to the road and disappears into the forest beyond.
I fall to my knees, my hands covering my face, my whole body shaking. I am so caught up in my grief that I don’t hear the thunder of hooves. With my face hidden I don’t see the great army that swamps over the rolling hill like a plague of death.
My army, the army of the Unseelie Court, sacking my lands.
Don’t hear the footsteps coming up behind me until it is too late.
But I feel the blade, the cold iron that impales me from the back, feel the burn of it with the last beat of my heart. I open my eyes and through my tears, I witness the face of my murderer, smell her citrus scent….
I jerk upright in my darkened bedroom, my hand going to my chest, half expecting to find a sword sticking out from between my ribs. There is nothing there, of course. Nothing but the thrumming glow that is Sarah’s soul.
I pick it up, cradle it against my chest and whisper.
“I know what I have to do.”
Chapter 25
Kill or Be Killed
The ritual is the same as always. One hundred strokes with my hairbrush and then a tight braid which I turn into a golden coil and pin-up into an elaborate bun. Less likely to lose a hair, leave a piece of myself behind as evidence. Choosing the right bait ensemble, a flashy purple dress which is both tight and short, topped with a matching jacket of the same color. It has hidden pockets for money, keys, and cell phone. Though this time I won’t bring the phone since I have no backup, no one that will condone what I am about to do. Sarah’s stone takes its place in the liner of my jacket.
Sleek black boots that are both sexy, stretching up to mid-thigh, but also practical. No high heels, I need to be able to run, to move quickly as my prey is unlike any I have stalked to date. No jewelry, minimal makeup, just a slick of blood-red lip gloss to enhance my mouth to make myself irresistible. I look at myself in the full-length mirror.
I look like what I am, a sixteen-year-old dressed for a night out. And it conceals my true nature perfectly. No one would believe I am the reincarnated Unseelie Queen, commander of the Wild Hunt, that I have killed more than a dozen people over the last ten years. Vaguely, I recall reading that purple is the color of royalty, at least in the human world.
Image is everything.
I am at the door, truck keys in my hand, when I remember Jasmine, asleep and defenseless upstairs. I could wake her, but Jasmine is her mother’s daughter, she’d want to come with me and that I can’t allow. Nor can I abandon her here. If my plan goes awry, no telling what will show up at the farm, looking for answers.
“We’ll watch out for her,” Addy says from behind me.
I turn to face her and Chloe both. They look the same as always, beautiful, strong and as immovable as stone.
“I guess that whole security alarm thing was a big joke to you,” I say.
“Not a joke,” Chloe steps forward. Her scent is like freshly washed cotton hanging on a clothesline. “We were always concerned with your safety, afraid of who or what might come after you.”
“I guess since you’re here, you know what I’m planning.”
“We’ve always known this day would come.” Addy’s voice is rough like she’s been gargling with sand. “You have a destiny, one we tried to prepare you for without tipping our hand.”
I still don’t understand. “Why not tell me? Why send Aiden away all those years ago?”
“If you had known what you were, why you have the Goodnight Kiss, you might have made different choices,” Chloe explains. “Maybe even the same choices that hurt you and all those around you before. We kept Aiden away, kept the truth hidden to let you develop into your own person. You are stronger now than you’ve ever been.”
“Stronger?” My laugh is hollow. “I feel as though I’m coming apart at the seams.”
“Because you have empathy. You’re not a serial killer, Nic. You never were. You were just a scared little girl that grew up to be a vigilante, to prevent others from suffering the way you almost did.”
The way Sarah had. The way Aiden had.
“Some would call you a hero,” Chloe adds with a
smile. “Maybe not many, but they’re out there.”
I put my hand over the bulge in my jacket. “Will it work?”
Addy’s eyes start that eerie swirling thing again, but after a moment she blinks, and her eyes go back to a more standard chestnut brown. “I can’t see the outcome, there are too many variables. Your destiny is linked with others in an intricate web and the possibilities are too numerous to see.”
“If you need to cut my thread tonight,” I say to her, “Promise me you’ll put it in the book with your sister’s.”
“I hope it doesn’t come to that.” The lines around Addy’s eyes are taut with worry.
Chloe doesn’t say anything, just pulls me into a tight embrace. I inhale her clean linen scent, feel the tickle of her red-gold hair.
“We’re so proud of you,” she murmurs before releasing me.
I feel as if I owe them something, some sort of thanks. But what comes out is, “I’m sorry I was so much trouble.”
Then it’s Addy’s turn. She’s never been overly affectionate, but puts her hands on my shoulders and holds my gaze. “You’ve always been worth the trouble.”
“Really?”
Chloe nods in agreement. “Totally worth it. Forgive us?”
“Forgiveness is for quitters,” I remind her, and she laughs.
“That’s our girl.”
I step back to take them both in, glad that they are back where they belong. “One more thing. I promised Freda that the Hunt could stay here.”
“Then they shall stay.” Addy nods. “You’re house, your rules now.”
I raise an eyebrow. “That’s a lot of responsibility for a normal sixteen-year-old.”
“Good thing you’re not a normal anything.” Chloe winks.
Good thing indeed. I take a deep breath and head out to the truck, ready to do what I do best.
Ready to hunt.
He appears not half a mile from the house, the same way I saw him the first time, just a massive shape in the dark with glittering green orbs reflected by the headlights.
I reach across the seat and pop open the door. “I want to talk to you.”
He moves to the open door and transforms as I watch, his body morphing into his human shape, complete with ratty sweats.
“Why do you keep wearing those things?” I ask.
His stare is unblinking as he surveys my dress. “They’re the only thing you ever gave me, other than my life.”
Ouch.
“You planning to just stand there all night?” I ask him.
He tilts his head to the side. “Where are we going?”
“You’ll see.” I don’t say it playfully. I’m in no mood for games.
Aiden surveys me another moment and then climbs onto the bench seat beside me.
I wait until he’s shut the door to ask, “How’s your grandmother?”
He blinks, as though I’ve surprised him. “Irritable, but on the mend. Fern wanted me to thank you for interfering on her behalf. And she wanted me to give you this along with a message.”
He extends a vile of sparkling blue liquid it looks like window cleaner with champagne bubbles.
I take it from him with a frown. “What’s the message?”
“That the conditions are still the same, no matter how grateful she is.” He tilts his head to the side. “What is it?”
I put it in my pocket, the one opposite Sarah’s Soul. “Something that will break your oath to me.”
He goes still. “Nic, no.”
“What are you so afraid of?” I ask him as I put the truck into gear. “How is ordering you about any better than willfully deceiving you?”
His whole body tenses. “You remember that?”
My gaze flits to the dashboard, 11:46. “Just tonight. And for whatever it’s worth, I’m sorry. That was a terrible thing to do, to manipulate you like that.”
“Isn’t that what you do with your victims?” His gesture encompasses my ensemble. “Set them up to do what you know they want to do anyway?”
“That’s different. Those people are looking for prey. You trusted me, and I betrayed that trust.”
“You didn’t. She did.”
“I’m still the same person, Aiden. I finally realized what Nicneven and I have in common. Innate selfishness. The drive to get whatever I want no matter the fallout. Given the same pressures and set of circumstances, I’d make the exact same choices. You can’t let me off the hook while condemning her. You know that. Isn’t that why you never told me you knew what it would take to resurrect Sarah?”
He inhales sharply. “Hel told you about that?”
“That you used your little brother’s heart to resurrect me? Yes. What I want to know is why I didn’t hear that from you. Just like you didn’t tell me about sleeping with Brigit.”
“I didn’t sleep with Brigit!” The words burst out of him like water from a geyser, a mammoth fountain of emotion that had been seething beneath the surface for far too long. “Gods damn it Nic, I have always been loyal to you! From the first moment, I laid eyes on you. Did I keep things hidden? Yes. Did I keep my distance? Yes. Can you fucking blame me? I thought I knew you before, but I never imagined you would play me for a fool. And yet you did.”
He hadn’t been Brigit’s consort? “But the oath—?”
“I worded that oath very carefully. I vowed to protect and obey the one true Queen of the Unseelie Court and leader of the Wild Hunt. The original oath didn’t hold me past your death, I felt it dissipate the instant you died. It knocked me to my knees when I realized what I’d done, how my rash reaction had cost you your life. So, I went back, took your body and brought you to Laufey. Begged her to bring you back. But she couldn’t put you back as you were.
“The soul needed a new host. So, I found a pregnant human woman, one who planned to give up her child anyway. It took me months of hunting for just the right one and when we found her, Laufey put her in a trance and I retrieved Nari’s heart. We merged your soul with the life she had already conceived.”
“You know who my birth mother is?” I whisper.
He nods. “You really aren’t the same person, part of you is a new soul. I wanted to stay with you, begged the Fates but they said the only way they would raise you is if all ties from your former life had been cut. And that included me. They sent me away before you were even born. Their protection in exchange for my absence.
“It drove me mad, knowing you were out there, more vulnerable than you had ever been because you wouldn’t know about the Veil and what lurks beyond it. No way to know if any of your powers had manifested, or if you were as helpless as a mortal. I went back to the Unseelie Court because I knew that was the hub of information and where the Wild Hunt would report. If your powers manifested, they would know first, and I could get to you before anyone else. And yes, I swore a new oath. To you. I obeyed Brigit for years, doing everything she asked. She demanded I transform into the wolf, locked me in a cage beside the Fire Throne. Treated me as her pet. I could have left at any time, but I stayed and endured it all, so she wouldn’t suspect that you were alive. Or that one day you would return.
“And then the reports started coming in, the new arrivals of the dead to the Wild Hunt. Scattered for a few years then more concentrated, like a ring around a bull’s eye. No one could explain it, but I knew. I knew it was you, doing what you had been created to do, not once but twice. So, I ran, and Brigit, in her fury, set the Wild Hunt on me. I don’t know if she suspects that I deceived her, suspects that you are alive. I don’t much care. She never mattered to me at all. Since the day we met everything I have ever done, every breath I’ve taken, has been for you.”
I can’t seem to catch my own breath, my blood roaring in my ears like the ocean in the middle of a storm. Slowly, I depress the brake pedal, pulling the truck over to the side of the road.
“I craved death and you gave me a reason to live. The Fates do so love their irony.”
After unfastening my seat belt, I t
urn to face him. Shadows stalk across the angles of his face, though his green eyes drink in the moonlight and reflect it out like beams in the night. “What do you mean?”
The back of his knuckles brushes down my cheek. “Now that I so badly want to live, to be with you, I suspect it’s time I must die for you.”
My lips part.
His eyes are sad, so resigned to heartache. Millennia of disappointment weighs him down, yet here he sits, tall, proud, willing to accept whatever fate I deal him. “You can’t have us both. It’s me or Sarah. I knew that all along. I have lived much longer than I ever wanted, and she barely had the chance. I know how important she was to you and you should have her back. My heart is already yours.” He spreads his arms wide. “Do with it what you will.”
I am on him in a second, my knees on either side of his, my hands in his hair, my lips devouring his. He jolts, and a sound rumbles in his chest, agony, and despair, love and loss and anguish. But he kisses me back. His arms band around me, pressing my body flush against him. Holding me close one last time.
My skirt rides up my thighs. His hands slide up and down my back, beneath the short jacket, as though he’s trying to imprint the feel of me on his hands. His heart pounds against my breastbone, and his mouth tastes of desperation. The scents of cedar and sage and his own unique traces of wildness fill my senses, making me forget everything.
The kiss to end all kisses.
And like all good things, it too must end. I pull back, gasping for breath. His eyes widen, and he touches his lips as if waking from a dream.
“I’m still alive.”
“Always with the surprise,” I say in a long-suffering tone.
A startled laugh erupts from him. It’s a delightful sound, one I hope to hear again in the future. But then his countenance darkens. “But you need me, for Sarah.”
I withdraw the stone from my pocket, holding it up so he can see the pulsing light. “You made one mistake. In bringing me back, you gave up the heart of the person who loved you best. Nari’s heart. Do you really think that heart would ever willingly hurt you?”
