And that’s when I realize that the memory didn’t just end. It was cut off when Morgan froze the crystal.
Her eyes have gone white again. “Nyx. It was Nyx. I know that voice. It’s him.”
Nyx. She knows his voice, but I know that name. He’s the same dickhead fae who stole Jim and imprisoned him so that… so that he couldn’t reach the Winter Queen.
“But who is this Nyx guy?” asks Riley.
“Another cousin,” she says before she drops the bomb: “Melisandre’s brother.”
So it turns out that when Morgan told us that she’s the last of Queen Mab’s line, she didn’t count any males. The Unseelie Court is matrilineal—who knew?—so she didn’t mention Nyx.
That might’ve been a bit of a mistake.
As one of the males in the royal line, Nyx helped the nobles in the Winter Court rule over their people while Melisandre controlled all of Faerie from her seat in the Seelie Court. After Oberon took her head and her throne, Morgan figured they would still lead. She didn’t mind so long as she got to stay at her cottage.
Until Nyx decided he was going to get revenge on Oberon for killing his sister and ending her Reign of the Damned.
Because, surprise! Nyx is one of the leaders of the rebellion that had Oberon sending the four of us—plus Jim—into the Shadow Realm to find the Winter Queen.
It didn’t take too long to figure it out. As soon as Morgan identified him from Grimly’s memory, Nine and Riley traveled through the shadows to Scáth to investigate.
It was Nine’s original plan, and it was a good one. As an Unseelie, he fits right in, and so long as Riley cloaked herself, they could ask questions and get answers.
Which is how we found out that Nyx is after the Summer King’s throne. He knows that he can’t take Morgan’s. Even if his plan succeeded and he could control her, none of the Unseelie would follow him; the Unseelie Court only ever has a queen. But Faerie? Before Melisandre became the Fae Queen, there was a king.
Nyx wants to be the next one.
Morgan, furious that her cousin tried to involve her in his plot, refuses to let him.
With her permission, Nine plants rumors among the noble fae in Scáth. That the Winter Queen who’s been a legend for so long has been spotted in the Shadow Realm. He does his best to make sure it gets to Nyx, especially since he adds that she’s taken a human male into her home.
Which… is totally true.
As soon as Morgan gets over her initial shock, I tell her how Nyx is the reason why Jim showed up with all of those wounds, suffering from what she called “Shadow Sickness”. In the days following his trade with Grimly, he’s doing much better, and that’s all thanks to Morgan.
It’s… it’s weird. I’m not going to pretend it isn’t. Even before Grimly traded his memory for Jim’s, Jim was utterly enchanted by Morgan. Now? He’s addicted and, as far as I know, she hasn’t even touched him yet. He reminds me of the sixteen-year-old Jimmy that he once was, earnest and interested and a little bit eager when he finds a girl he likes.
I should know. That was me once.
She doesn’t seem to mind. While he follows behind her like a little, lost puppy dog, I work hard not to let it get to me. Hey. I was the one who didn’t want to have to choose. I didn’t want to hurt him.
He’s definitely not hurting anymore. And I mean that. Thanks to Morgan’s creams and care, Jim’s back to being himself—well, except for the whole “he doesn’t remember me” thing—without a single visible sign that he was tortured in Samradh.
So I’m glad. I’m also super ready to get this all over with.
At her insistence, Morgan finally drops the curtain surrounding her cottage. She says it’s because she wants Nyx to be able to find her easier, now that we’ve cast our lure, but I can tell it’s because she doesn’t want to keep me and Rys separated any longer. As much as I like to talk with her, I have a hard time watching her with Jim, especially knowing that Rys is still standing guard on his own outside of the barrier.
And I am grateful for her.
Still—
“Aren’t you worried about the rider?” At Morgan’s blank look, I elaborate. “The Hunter. You know. Big guy. Antlers. Rides this horse that looks like it can flatten me like a pancake.”
“Oh. You’re talking about Kallan.”
If that’s the rider. “Sure.”
“Why would I be worried about Kallan?”
“Um. Maybe because he rides around the woods looking for you and you just took down your barrier?”
“Me? Elle, where did you get that idea?”
From her, actually.
While I was working for Grimly, trying to pay off my “debt” to him, I spent a full week with Morgan. I entertained her with stories about what it was like in the human world. She told me all about the Winter Court and what she knew about the rest of Faerie, including the rumors she heard about Oberon and the Seelie Court.
Of course, I know now that she left out a freaking ton, but I distinctly remember asking her about the rider. “You said he was on the hunt.” And… I’m just now getting it. “You meant the Wild Hunt.”
“Kallan is the Hunter that leads the Hunt in these woods, yes. It’s an Unseelie tradition, and if you go closer to Scáth, you’ll find other Hunters. But you’re right. He’s certainly on the hunt for someone.”
“You?”
Morgan gives her head a small shake.
I think about the Hunter’s reaction when he saw the feather that Rys offered him as a sign of his bargain. I’m no math whiz, but it’s not hard to put two and two together.
“Branwen? But you said that Melisandre called off the Wild Hunt.”
“She did.”
“But—”
Morgan offers me a tiny, cryptic smile. “I keep my sister’s secrets as she’s always kept mine.”
Well, okay then.
After that it’s a lot of waiting. I sit with Rys, feeling a lot better than I have been when he lays his arm over my shoulder, holding me close. I don’t bother with my shadow cloak since it would only hurt him, and with all of us keeping an eye on Morgan’s cottage, I don’t really have to hide. Why? With three fae, a halfling, and a stubborn human, even the most mischievous faerie folk won’t bother us.
At Morgan’s urging, Rys dusts Jim. Honestly, I don’t blame either one of them. In the time that we’ve been staying at her cottage, she’s become very fond of Jim. It’s pretty clear that he’s head over heels for her. But Jim… he’s still so new to Faerie. He was out of it when Rys took care of Dusk. If this ends like I think it will… being unconscious inside of Morgan’s cottage is a much better place for him.
Rys tried to convince me to wait inside with Jim but, yeah, no. I don’t care how long we have to wait for Nyx to show up. I’m tired of being a pawn. Even if Morgan wants to face her cousin on her own, I plan on being as much back-up as I can.
Morgan doesn’t mind me hiding out in the shadows. But when it comes to Rys and Nine...
“I don’t need guards at my back,” she tells Nine.
“I’m sure you don’t, but I’m not going to let you plunge Faerie into war while my mate and I are still here.”
“You can leave any time,” Morgan reminds him. “There are enough pockets in the Shadow Realm to bring you right to the Iron.”
“And let Oberon think we failed? He’s not as cruel as you imagine, but I know better than to test his patience. I gave him my word that I would do what I could to arrange a truce between the Courts. That’s what I’m going to do.”
“You bargained with the Summer King? Did the Shadow Academy teach you nothing?”
Next to her mate, Riley scowls. But she doesn’t say anything.
Nine sniffs. “It taught me that a monarch never goes anywhere without at least two swords at their side.”
“But I’m not a monarch.”
“So you say, Morrigan.”
Rys rolls his eyes. I get it. I’m beginning to think Nine just gets a
kick out of arguing. If it’s not Rys he’s sniping at, it’s Morgan. I’m over it. It was so peaceful while Nine and Riley were in Scáth, and I’m hoping that after Morgan deals with Nyx, he’ll give it a rest.
Doubt it since all Nine’s doing is trying to convince Morgan that she really is the Winter Queen, but here’s hoping.
Rys opens his mouth, as if he’s about to say something, and then he goes still. Instantly alert.
“Rys?”
“Someone’s coming.”
Finally.
As we already planned, the four of us crouch low, hiding in the trees so that it seems as if Morgan is all on her own. Right before the male Unseelie appears in the space in front of her, I watch as she pulls off her glove.
Yeah. This isn’t going to end well for Nyx, is it?
Like Riley, Morgan has a reason for wearing her gloves. The first time I saw her wear them, I thought it was because she was trying to be careful when it came to the touch. We were traveling in close contact. I didn’t want her to touch me, and she didn’t want to risk a burn. It made sense.
I was partly right. And then I saw the way she can form snow crystals in the palm of her hand, just like Rys can conjure faerie fire. When she was sitting on the ground, anywhere her bare skin touched turned to ice. In her way, she was protecting me from more than just a fae’s touch.
Looking back on it, I probably should’ve realized there was something up with that. None of the other Unseelie I’ve met before or since could do that. But since she’s supposed to be the Winter Queen… yeah, I’m a moron.
The fae steps into the clearing, appearing from a patch of shadow that Morgan and Riley set up for just that purpose. Really, Nyx might be a bit of a moron ‘cause it stinks like a trap, even to me.
No. Not a moron.
Just a cocky, arrogant bastard.
“Ah, Morrigan. When I heard the rumors that you finally left your shadows, I almost couldn’t believe them.” His voice is as deep as in the memory, though in person it’s also oily. Ugh. “I had to come see for myself.”
“You forced my hand, Nyx. I was happy to be left alone.”
“So long as you’re the rightful ruler of the Winter Court, you don’t get that luxury, cousin. Oberon killed your kin. Don’t you want revenge?”
“Why? When, if I could, I would’ve taken Melisandre’s head myself?”
“She was my sister—” Nyx begins.
Morgan’s laugh is soft. Dangerous. “And? Don’t you remember what she did to my sister?”
“Perhaps Branwen should’ve pledged her loyalty to Melisandre instead of the missing queen.”
I revise my opinion. Nyx is a fucking idiot.
“Oh?”
The fae, at heart, are a capricious race. They have their whims, going from amused to irritated even quicker than a toddler. Add that to their belief that they’re better than anyone else and a crazy amount of power and… well… I guess you get someone like Morgan.
Who, if she’s your friend, is kind. Sweet. Accommodating.
But make her your enemy?
Her eyes flare that same freaky white color. Her skin turns pale blue. Wind whips around her, causing her beautiful black curls to bounce around a face that’s as stunning as it is terrifying.
From where I’m hiding with Rys, I can feel the cold pouring off of her in waves. But when she channels her power—channels her rage—and shoves the air in front of her at Nyx, all of that snow and ice and chill is targeted at her Unseelie cousin.
When the snow settles and the wind dies, I see what Morgan has done to him.
He’s… he’s frozen. One big Unseelie popsicle.
Morgan closes her bare fist.
Nyx explodes.
I scream. At least, I think it was me. Might’ve been Riley.
Hey. It’s better than puking.
As the ice shards hit the frozen ground with a soft, tinkling sound, I’m suddenly reminded of what the redcap said about Morgan. About how she caused the troll carrying her toward the Faerie Market to shatter.
I don’t know if he’s the sort of faerie folk that has to tell the truth, but he definitely wasn’t lying about that, huh?
Whoa.
15
You’d think that, now that the leader of the rebellion was dead, our job was done. Nope. That’s human logic.
Fae logic says that we promised Oberon a meeting with the Winter Queen and, until Morgan agrees to sit down with Oberon and figure out their next step as rulers of Faerie is—because, regardless of what Morgan said, now that she executed Nyx, she has to ascend to her throne sooner or later—we haven’t quite finished what we set out to do.
I feel awful for her. She’s spent more than two hundred years hiding, her cousin is dead, her sister is a raven, and all she wanted was to be left alone in her cottage before something even worse happened to her.
And then I showed up.
Not only did I have her on the run from Siúcra guards before leading her into a trap where we were caught by trolls, but after she made it back, I brought even more trouble to her doorstep.
But I also brought Jim. And from the way those two are buddy-buddy all of a sudden, I think she forgives me for everything else.
I’m not jealous. I’m not. I have Rys, and I’m really psyched for Jim that he can have a do-over when it comes to his own happily-ever-after. I guess… I don’t know. It just sucks that he had to forget everything that ever happened between us first.
Because that was Grimly’s trick. It wasn’t just one memory that he took from Jim. By taking the day that Jim first noticed me, he took the day that he fell in love with me. Jim always said it was love at first sight. Turns out, it really was.
So, while it’s great that he’s so drawn to Morgan, I’m only freaking human. Rys is still being careful to give me space. It stings to watch Jim flirt with Morgan while Nine and Riley are almost sickening in how close they are. And then there’s me.
Is it a surprise that I find any excuse to slip away?
Rys watches me go. The first time I left, he let me, only calling a gentle warning not to get too lost. And I get it. Now that we found the Winter Queen and Morgan is at least entertaining the idea of discussing peace with Oberon, it’s now up to Rys and Nine to… I don’t know… negotiate with her.
I always knew contracts and bargains were big in Faerie. This? It takes it to a whole other level.
Riley offers to come with me. Jim… doesn’t. Morgan has pulled up a chair for him next to her and he rarely strays from it. And it’s not like I expected him to. It’s just… I have to get used to this and, whoa, it’s way harder than I thought.
I turn Riley down. I need my space. I need to think. Honestly, I never thought we’d track down the Winter Queen as quickly as we did, mainly because I never, ever dreamed that it would be Morgan. The longer the negotiations last, the closer to an agreement they get. We’ll be heading back to the Seelie Court soon and then what?
I don’t know. And I’m too much of a wimp to ask.
I can’t go home—not to the human world, at least—so what’s next for me? Do I go with Rys? I’d like to, but ever since Jim’s trade, nothing’s changed between us. Not really.
Ugh.
It’s been three days since Morgan blew Nyx apart with her magic. Three looooong days and I’ve spent most of them walking around this part of the Cursed woods. It reminds me of my days back in the city, when I would lose myself to the nearest park, just blowing off steam while I thought. I don’t go too far—I don’t really want to get lost lost—and maybe I got too complacent, knowing Morgan’s house is still nearby because I do the one thing I could never do while I was taking a walk in my city park.
I stop paying attention to my surroundings.
Big mistake, Hel. Huge.
The first thing I notice is the bloom of strange orange smoke around the height of my belly button. I hear someone drawing a deep breath, the bright reddish light in his pipe flares vividly, before I the rasp
of a voice calls out, “Hello there, girly.”
Oh, come on. You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.
I focus on the shadows. And there he is.
“Grimly. I thought you were gone.”
“Aye. I was. But now I’m back.”
“Let me guess,” I say sarcastically. “You still want Morgan’s hair.”
“The Winter Queen? Ha. She froze my buyer, so what’s the use in getting on her bad side now? No. That debt’s dead and gone.”
“So what do you want with me?”
Grimly grins. He grins and I know in an instant that I’m in deep shit.
“I told you, girly. I’m a collector. I collect things. And I’ve come all the way back to collect you.” He bites down on his pipe, keeping it hanging out of his mouth as he reaches beneath his ragged, dirty cloak to pull out a length of gold chain. He stretches it between both hands but, as I watch in horror, it glows a terrifying yellow color before it starts to grow. “That Seelie noble of yours wants you back something awful. I aim to collect that bounty, too.”
Oh, fuck no.
I don’t even know how that gold chain will work. Is it a leash? A different kind of cuff? No clue, but I remember the line of faerie folks connected by a chain just like that being marked for execution.
And Seelie noble?
Veron?
No way in hell.
I refuse to let Grimly get anywhere near me with that chain. I take one look at him, feel my heart lodge in my throat, and I book it.
I don’t care if I get lost, so long as I lose him. His angry shout chases after me and I have no doubt in my mind that so is the creepy gnome. I’ve got the height advantage, my longer legs helping me pour on the speed, but Grimly has his nose. If he’s determined enough, he’ll find me.
Which means I’m going to have to outsmart him.
But how?
As I go, my racing thoughts turn to the last time I was running for my freedom in the Shadow Realm. I was with Morgan, and I’d just spotted Vale and Coal, two Siúcra guards, in the distance. Knowing they were caught, Vale called out for us to stop. We didn’t. We took off and Morgan eventually saved us by weaving shadows for us to hide in. Of course, we jumped out of that frying pan only to land in a whole other fire. Literally. The next day, without meaning to, we totally fell into one of the redcap’s pit traps.
Freed: A Supernatural Prison Romance (Imprisoned by the Fae Book 3) Page 15
