by Nissa Leder
As if on cue, the hotel clerk returned to her spot behind the desk. Kaelem sent her a mental reminder to unlock the front door, and once she had, Maeron said goodbye and left.
Kaelem and Scarlett took the elevator to the top floor.
“Did you really have to get us the executive suite?” Scarlett asked as the elevator opened up to a long hallway.
“It was vacant.” Kaelem shrugged. “Why wouldn’t I have gotten it? It’s not like I kicked someone out.”
Scarlett shook her head, but didn’t reply
When they stepped inside, she didn’t complain again. The room was large, with a full kitchen, a dining area, and a couch and loveseat in front of a TV. The walls were covered in a metallic wallpaper and a few large pictures accented the space.
Kaelem found the door to the bedroom and went straight to the bed. When he fell back, he sank into the soft mattress. “Ahh…wonderful.”
Scarlett followed him and did the same. “Wow. This is heaven.”
He was about to make some joke about how he could show her heaven, but he resisted. Instead, he said. “Thank you. Seriously, you were badass, fighting those guys.”
“They messed with the wrong lady.” Scarlett rolled over and faced Kaelem. “I’m sorry about your friend. I know you trusted him.”
Kaelem turned toward her. “We’d been friends forever. But he was clear when he told me that a lot of fae don’t want to live under court rule anymore. The freedom of the mortal world is more appealing. And by claiming to no longer be an Unseelie fae, he no longer had to be loyal to me.”
Kaelem had been naïve. He hadn’t realized the significance of Nico choosing a solitary life over court life. Not that he couldn’t have betrayed him if he had still been an Unseelie fae, but court bonds were strong and if his allegiance still belonged to Kaelem, he might have sensed his betrayal sooner.
“What he did was a jerk move, but do you ever wonder if all the courts are best? I mean, the mortal world phased out of royal families leading countries, at least mostly. Some still have kings and queens, but they aren’t dictatorships anymore.” Scarlett placed her palm under her ear to prop her head up. “Since gaining the power, I’ve felt a deep connection to the Otherworld and its people. And even Maeron, who doesn’t know me, respects me as his queen despite living in the mortal realm for who knows how long. I want what’s best for my people, but do I even know what’s best? I mean, I was raised mortal, which is about as far away as you can get.”
“The fact that you were raised outside the world of magic might make you a better queen. You don’t want to rule for the status of it. You might make bad decisions, but I don’t think you’ll be selfish in them.”
“What about all the fae rulers? Are they always about what’s best for their people?” Scarlett’s wide-eyes held an innocence Kaelem admired.
“No.” Kaelem couldn’t say all rulers were bad. He’d tried to be a good king, and just as Scarlett had described, he felt an innate affection for his people. But even he’d enjoyed his life up in the palace without worrying that all of his people were happy. He hadn’t been ruler long, but he’d done what he could to keep the peace with other courts and keep his people from war. “You’re suggesting that the fae in the mortal realm have it right? Life is better there?”
“Well, I worry about the mortals in that scenario. But I can see why fae have distanced themselves from their courts. The humans will be the ones to pay for it, though, which isn’t fair.” She paused and looked at her clasped hands. “But there’s something about not being ruled that’s alluring.”
Kaelem had never been ruled so he couldn’t know for sure how it felt, but he didn’t think he’d much like it. “You always find a way to surprise me.”
Scarlett brought a hand to her chest. “Me?”
“No, the other person in this room,” he teased. “You went from mortal to fae to Sidhe Queen and none of it has gone to your head. And I would know, because you’re awful at keeping your mind shields up and you have a very tempting mind to peek into.” He grinned.
“You really should learn to respect people’s privacy.”
Kaelem continued. “You’re brave, kind, thoughtful, but also rash and you sometimes have an uneven temper. You’re never what I expect.”
Her cheeks reddened as her large blue eyes stared at him.
He wanted to pull her close and kiss her. To devour her like he had the morning they’d finally crossed the line after a game that had gone on for so long. Instead, to his own surprise, instead, he leaned in and kissed her forehead. “We have a busy day tomorrow. Better get some sleep.”
As he pulled away from her, she grabbed his hand and squeezed it. “Thank you for believing in me. Sometimes I doubt myself, and having someone else that thinks I’m not a complete imposter helps.”
“Anytime, darling.”
She released his hand and rolled over.
And they slept.
Chapter Twelve
One moment, Scarlett was dreaming of her mortal life, the next, she was yanked away and pulled into a vision.
Ankou weaved through the thick jungle around him, pushing his way past the vines. His footsteps were silent, and every print his shoes made disappeared behind him.
He stopped and grinned.
Slowly, he peeked through an opening in the trees. A dark lasso of magic shot from his hands. Someone yelped. As he was pulling the rope of darkness in, in one yank, it swung back at him, empty.
“Tricky, tricky,” he said. Then he lunged through the trees and into an opening.
Rowen stood in its center, daggers raised. “Leave me alone.”
“I’m afraid I can’t. I have big plans for you. No need to fear me.” He stepped closer.
Rowen glanced behind her.
“Thinking of running?” Ankou asked. “Please, do. Then I can show you how your son felt when I hit him in the back. How’s he doing, by the way? I’ve heard my magic can be quite nasty to heal from.”
“You stay away from him. If you ever touch him again…”
“You’ll what? Please, enlighten me to any hidden powers you have that stand a chance against me.” Ankou swung the rope in circles. “I don’t want to hurt you or him. All I need is for Scarlett to return to me. If she gives herself over and everyone pledges their allegiance to me, many lives will be saved.”
“As if anyone will trust you,” she spat.
“Well, I hope everyone at least trusts that I will do whatever it takes to get what I want. If anyone doubts that, well, we shall see where it gets them.” He threw the rope at her again. It twisted around her ankles and tightened. With a yank, he pulled her to the ground.
As he drew her closer, she tried to slice the rope, but it couldn’t be cut. Then she glanced at the tree next to him. The branches slithered toward him like snakes, wrapping themselves around his body. As they constricted, his grip loosened and Rowen pulled the rope from his hands.
With it loose, she unbound her ankles and ran.
Ankou fought off the branch-snakes and groaned.
The vision fizzled and when it came into focus, he stood in front of Rowen. “Going somewhere?”
She slashed at him.
He twisted his body to avoid all her blows, but one nicked his forearm. “Impressive.” He used her shock against her and grabbed her wrist and spun her toward him.
Then the vision fizzled again.
Scarlett sprang up in bed. The open window cast light in from the outside city. The room felt hot, burning hot. She threw the blankets off of her body.
Her heart raced in her chest. Rowen. He’d taken Rowen.
What had she been doing outside the castle grounds alone?
As Scarlett breathed heavily, Kaelem awoke.
“You okay?” His eyes squinted as he looked to her.
“Ankou took Rowen.” Her lungs felt heavy, as if a weight pressed into them, preventing her from taking full breaths. “We need to go save her. He wants to use her for something.”
“Slow down.” Kaelem sat up. “What do you mean Ankou took her? How would you know?”
“I’ve been having visions. Well, this is my second one. In the first one, he slit the throat of a Sidhe woman. I didn’t know her and wasn’t positive it was a vision of the present, not the past. But this was happening now, I’m sure of it. He found Rowen in the forest above the castle and took her somewhere.”
“Took her where?”
“I don’t know.” Scarlett huffed. Why was he asking her so many questions? Questions wouldn’t save Rowen.
“Well, firstly, I’m asking you because if we don’t know where she went, we can’t exactly save her now can we,” Kaelem said.
He’d been in her head again. Why wouldn’t her stupid mental shields stay up?
“The Darkland. I bet he took her there.” Scarlett stood from the bed and paced back and forth across the room.
“Scarlett, you need to calm down.” Kaelem walked toward her, gently placing a hand on her shoulder.
“I can’t calm down. He took yet another person. He wants me to surrender. He said if I do, then people won’t have to die needlessly.”
She could save them by giving herself to him. If that’s all it took, how could she not? What was her life in comparison to everyone else’s?
Scarlett stepped away from him and began walking back and forth again.
“He wants to be king of it all. Then what?” Kaelem cut off Scarlett and blocked her from pacing any further.
She wasn’t sure what he wanted if he got that. What kind of king would he be to everyone? Somehow, she doubted it would be the merciful kind. “I don’t know.”
“Exactly. It isn’t just your life for theirs, Scarlett. It would be sacrificing you ruling your people in a kind way to whatever it is he wants. You might be willing to give your own life for everyone else, but would you give them over to him to be ruled as he sees fit?”
He was right. The book had shown her the vision where he’d forced his own daughter’s lover into the fire. She’d seen the lack of feeling on his face as she cried over him. If he showed no empathy for his own daughter, could Scarlett entrust her people to him?
No.
She couldn’t.
Which meant she couldn’t leave to save Rowen. She needed to find the weapon before anyone loyal to Ankou did. If he was using Rowen as bait, all Scarlett could do was hope that he wouldn’t hurt her too badly and once she found the weapon, she could save her.
Tears pooled in Scarlett’s eyes and dripped down her cheeks.
Kaelem stepped toward her and pulled her into his chest. “We will get the weapon and then figure out a way to not only save her, but to kill Ankou.” He placed his hand on the side of Scarlett’s head and held her close.
She could hear his heart thumping in his chest. Being in his arms felt right. A feeling she’d never felt before swept over her. Was it safety? No, because these days she felt anything but safe. But it was something similar.
Security. Somehow, with him, she felt secure in a way she never had before. He made her feel brave and, despite the growing odds against them, optimistic.
If she could find this weapon, she could save everyone.
Sage stood in the middle of the crowd of the Woodland Tribe with Vienna next to her.
Although Vienna had denied her request to ally with those against Ankou, she’d asked Sage to share the threat with everyone so they could be prepared.
“Thank you for gathering,” Vienna said. “Sage has returned to us with a warning I’ve asked her to share.” She took a step back.
Nerves clumped in Sage’s throat. Speaking in front of others had never bothered her before, but with everyone staring at her, she was anxious.
“There is a new evil roaming Faerie,” Sage spoke as loudly as she could. “The Fates are not who they’ve pretended to be for centuries. No longer just psychics, they possess strong power and are working for a man stronger than any fae. They come from another realm called the Otherworld where their father, Ankou, is king of the darkest part of the realm. He is a Sidhe. It is the race that we fae were created from. Their previous queen had sacrificed herself to save her people for as long as she could and by doing so, Faerie and we fae were created. There is a new queen trying desperately to keep not only the Sidhe people safe, but to keep Faerie and the mortal realm courts safe as well.”
“What’s your point?” Tamara asked. She stood in the front row with a sour expression on her face.
“They won’t hesitate to hurt anyone who does not bow to them. I’ve come to warn you so you can be prepared.”
Tamara snickered. “You sneak away in the middle of the night like some coward, and when you randomly show up one day, we’re supposed to believe what you say?”
Vienna started to step forward but Sage held out a hand to stop her. She appreciated her instinct to help her, but to begin to regain the respect of the other tribe members, she needed to handle this herself.
“Despite what you might all think of me, I care for this tribe. I made a choice I felt I needed to make and you have every right to judge me for it, but please don’t let any hatred for me keep you from listening.” She swallowed. She had never wanted to do what she was about to do, but how could she expect anyone to trust her if she didn’t trust them to accept her for who she was. “I was never fully truthful with you before. When the tribe found me alone in the woods, I was running from a different life. And when I left my previous home, I promised to forget it and never speak about who I truly was. But I’ve accepted that part of myself, and I hope you all will too. I was the daughter of the former Autumn King. But my brother murdered him to join with the Fates. I’ve never dreamed of being queen, but I do care for all of the Autumn Court people and for everyone in this tribe. My only goal is for everyone to be safe.”
“You were one of them?” Tamara laughed. “No wonder you never fit in here. After hiding that from us, why would we ever believe you now?”
The other tribe members exchanged glances. Jade stepped forward. “I believe you.”
“Me too,” another said. Then another and another.
Sage smiled as happiness spread through her. Tamara might not like her, but her others sisters still trusted her enough to listen to her warning.
Vienna stepped forward and raised a hand to quiet everyone. “Thank you all for hearing her out. We will do our best to avoid this war. It is not our custom to involve ourselves in the court’s battles. But if what Sage said is true, the war may come to us either way, so we need to be prepared.”
Jade was the first to bow to the queen. The rest of the tribe followed her lead, Sage included. Tamara was the last to bend in reverence, the annoyance in her gaze hard to miss.
After the meeting was over, Vienna asked Sage to return to her tent.
“Thank you for sharing the truth with us all,” Vienna said.
Sage faced her, only a step in between them. “I’m tired of pretending I’m someone I’m not. I have royal Autumn blood, but it isn’t all that I am. I can be more. I was more when I was part of this tribe.”
“You can stay here. Train with us. Help us prepare. If the war doesn’t come to us, you’ll be safe.” Vienna lifted her hand and grazed Sage’s cheek. “And if it does, you are the strongest warrior we have.”
Have. The present tense of the word didn’t go unnoticed. Warmth filled Sage’s cheeks. Not only had Vienna claimed her as the best warrior, but her words showed she’d welcome her back to the tribe without a second thought.
Sage leaned into her touch. She wanted to accept the offer. Her time with the Woodland Tribe—with Vienna—had been the happiest years in her life. “I can’t.”
As much as she wished she could go back to how things were, this wasn’t a fight she could run from, hoping it wouldn’t catch her. It already had. Her brother had murdered her father and now her mother and sister needed her. She’d run from that part of her life once and she refused to do so again. The Woodland Tribe had
become her family by choice, but her mother and sister were her family by blood. Neither was more important than the other, but right now, her blood family needed her most.
And it wasn’t just them she cared about. Raith had become one of her closest friends and, though she’d not likely admit it aloud, she’d even grown fond of Scarlett.
As thoughts swirled in Sage’s mind, Vienna leaned in and firmly pressed her lips against hers.
Sage let the kiss consume her, momentarily pushing out all of her worries. Tranquility swam through her veins. She’d missed the tenderness in Vienna’s touch, the peace it had always brought her.
When she opened her eyes, another emotion took over. Fear.
Staring at them from the tent door, a smirk across her mouth, stood Tamara.
Sage jolted back.
Vienna looked confused, but when she turned, she tensed. “Come in,” she told Tamara.
Tamara looked outside the tent and Sage feared she wasn’t going to obey, but then she stepped inside. “My queen.”
Vienna kept her posture tall as she spoke. “Do not speak of this to anyone. I forbid it.”
Tamara clenched her jaw. “You don’t want to share your affection with our sisters? Surely, they deserve to partake in your happiness.”
“No. This was a private moment. One I don’t appreciate being interrupted.”
“My apologies.” Satisfaction sat in Tamara’s eyes.
Sage wanted to claw them out. Not only did she not want their moment hijacked by Tamara, of all tribe members, but she didn’t believe for one moment that Tamara would keep her mouth shut. She’d use this knowledge to her advantage in any way she could.
“I wonder, if I may ask, how long this had been going on?” Tamara blinked innocently.
“None of your business,” Sage said through gritted teeth.
Vienna held out a hand to prevent Sage from getting any ideas.
“Do not speak of it to anyone,” Vienna repeated. “That is an order.”
Tamara nodded. “Fine.”
“Now, what is it that you’ve come to ask?” Vienna asked, most of the anger gone from her voice.
