by K. J. Sutton
“It’s because you don’t want that chair you should be the one to sit in it,” Lyari insisted.
I could see the hope in her eyes. The bright, naked hope. It was the same look Collith had in his eyes when he talked about the future of his Court. Lyari could be cold and she was often hard, but it was built on a deep love for her people. Why else would she dedicate her immortal life to being a Guardian?
Unable to face the moment I extinguished that light, I lifted my skirts and ran.
Lyari didn’t follow me.
Fortunately, I was familiar enough with the tunnel system to find the throne room on my own. Turn after turn, I kept my emotions in their cages and focused completely on the part I’d play tonight. I was so focused that I didn’t hear the courtier until it was too late.
As we bounced off each other in a painful burst, I recognized her—we’d spoken at Olorel. The shock of the crash faded, and I remembered that she was the faerie who’d blown on the back of my neck and worn feathers on her eyelashes. I wonder why he considered you significant enough to mate, but not to crown? she’d said to me. Now she was dressed exactly as I’d been at the revel, her golden dress gleaming in the torchlight.
“I’m sorry…” I started, but then I saw a flash of Collith in her mind. Our skin must’ve made contact in the collision.
The faerie tried to back away. I seized her wrist, digging my nails into her skin, and searched for the image of Collith again. “I just did what I was told!” I heard the female cry.
I gave a bewildered shake of my head. “What the hell are you talking about?”
Her fear led me to it a moment later. A memory, steeped in anxiety, because she’d been worried for so long that I would find it. She was in a passageway identical to the one we stood in now, torches crackling all around. The red-orange glow fell upon the face of the Unseelie King, who stared down at her with a remote expression. I recognized that look—it was the same one he’d given me as Death Bringer removed the flesh off my back with his whip.
“These are the exact words you will use,” he said.
No, I thought. The dirt walls were getting closer, somehow, closing in on me even though I hadn’t seen them move. Don’t do it. Don’t betray me again.
But he did. I watched as Collith fed her the line that had ultimately led to my claiming of the Unseelie throne. I wonder why he considered you significant enough to mate, but not to crown? the female asked, just as she’d been told to do.
He’d planned it. Every step of it. Knowing that my own curiosity would be my downfall, he’d orchestrated it so this random courtier would make me wonder about the queenship. And then Collith would oh-so-reluctantly tell me how to gain the throne so that I could also gain Damon’s freedom. The only thing unclear was why. Power, probably—it always came down to power.
I wanted to scream. I wanted the earth to collapse and completely bury this place. Lies. Everything he told me, everything between us, it was all lies. I’d changed myself for him. I’d given pieces of myself.
Any misgivings I might’ve had about tonight were gone. I extracted myself from the faerie’s mind and my vision cleared. She cowered before me, her arm dramatically thrown up over her head. I looked down at her, feeling cold again. Empty. “I just did what I was told,” the female repeated, weeping now.
I stepped around her and walked away.
There were two figures standing farther down the tunnel. When I drew close enough to make out their faces, along with the rest of them, I felt my eyebrows rise.
They looked like a king and queen.
Nuvian’s dreadlocks looked freshly attended to—they hung in thick, shining ropes over his broad shoulders. He wore a tunic of royal blue, and a silver chain hung from one shoulder to the other. He wore the tights pants and tall boots fae males so seemed to love.
As for Viessa, she was more beautiful, more ethereal than any faerie I’d seen walking the dirt halls of this Court. She wore a dress that celebrated the ice within her veins. The filmy, blue material draped over the pale, fragile-looking lines of her body. Whoever designed it had been strategic in where it clung to Viessa’s frame, highlighting the curves she’d managed to regain after her long imprisonment.
I’d never seen Viessa without a layer of grime covering her face and hair. Tonight, she had washed away every year she’d spent down in the dark. Her hair, the color of autumn leaves at their most vibrant, spilled down her back in a waterfall of curls and shining locks.
And resting on top of her head was a crown. A crown the likes of which I’d never seen before. Similar to the sword that always hung at Nuvian’s side, it appeared to be made of glass. The base nestled in Viessa’s curls, and a dozen spires rose up like an eerie castle that stood in a land of snow and ice.
“My father had it made for me,” the new queen said, noticing the direction of my gaze. “He never doubted that I’d take back our throne someday.”
My voice was hollow. “It’s stunning.”
“Yes, it is.” Viessa glanced at her brother and elbowed him in the stomach. She must’ve put some strength behind it, because he couldn’t hold back a grimace. Viessa rolled her eyes. “Oh, get over it, Nuv. So she kicked your ass. You should be used to it, growing up with me. Now then, shall we claim our destinies, Fortuna Sworn?”
“We shall,” I said. Viessa left Nuvian’s side and offered me her arm. I frowned down at it for a moment—I wasn’t sure why the gesture surprised me. Then I put my hand through, linking us together. Viessa’s skin was as frozen as it looked, but the ice didn’t spread to mine as I’d once feared.
We started toward the throne room. I looked up at the mural for the last time, wondering if my likeness would be added to its walls. I’d like that, I decided. At least I had been part of someone’s history, and my memory would never fade into the anonymity so many feared.
Maybe Viessa was a little nervous herself, because when we reached that enormous doorway, she didn’t wait to be noticed. I’d expected a grand entrance—she had surprised me again. We weaved through the crowd, catching brief snatches of conversation.
My sister said it was a killing field.
Has there been any word on the king?
I heard a rumor that he was spotted here at Court.
The Wild Hunt has gone.
Then word of us began to spread, and within seconds, there was a clear path to the thrones. Viessa had apparently planned a celebration—along the side of the room, there were once again tables laden with food. Most of it, I noted, was dessert. There was even a chocolate fountain.
“Revenge is best served with little cakes and lots of icing,” Viessa informed me, her tone playful, as if we were two girls exchanging some gossip.
We reached the bottom of the dais. Once again, she didn’t hesitate or slow—the frost-covered faerie went up the steps and turned to face the enormous crowd. She looked completely unafraid. I moved to join her, but my veins buzzed with anxiety. At the same moment I raised my gaze, the room came alive with voices. But it wasn’t entirely due to Viessa’s presence at my side or the sight of a crown on her head.
Collith had arrived.
At least he’s punctual, I thought as he came down the pathway Viessa and I had created. The Unseelie King wore the most fae clothing I’d ever seen him in, as if he’d known this would be a battle for what he held most dear. A duster coat flared behind him. He wore steel boots and matching gauntlets, and beneath this were tight dark pants and a plate of armor that looked molded to his abdomen. A crown gleamed on his head, and it was almost as bright as the sword at his hip.
Collith slowed when he saw me on the dais, standing beside the person who’d tried to kill him. The entire room was staring at the two of us—we weren’t using fists or filling the room with screams, but our pain was obvious just the same.
You broke my heart, I thought in a whisper. Now I’ll shatter yours.
In a deliberate movement, I took the sapphire off. I turned my hand over and let it fall t
o the floor. Collith’s mouth tightened as the jewel slid across the stone and came to a slow stop. I hoped he couldn’t see the wince I suppressed—that necklace had been Naevys’s, and without it, my neck felt cold and bare.
I could tell the meaning of the gesture wasn’t lost on our audience. A marriage wasn’t so easily dissolved, but no one dared question me. Many of them had probably heard rumors that our mating bond was gone.
As promised, Tarragon moved to stand on my other side. I watched the faces in the front row, noting their reactions when they saw that a courtier they respected supported me. I didn’t know if he stood to gain anything from our display, but I didn’t care. Not anymore.
“What is this?” Collith asked, directing the question at me.
Viessa’s voice rang through the room, clear and high. “Your bond with this Court is broken, leaving us vulnerable and exposed. You do not have your Nightmare queen to wield over us. You do not have a Right Hand to rule in your stead. You do not have the Guardians to fight for you. You do not have the support of the bloodlines I’ve so generously negotiated with over those many years of solitude. The Tongue has agreed to perform the coronation ceremony and finally grant my bloodline the throne it was due. Relinquish the crown to me and I will let you leave this room with your life, Collith of bloodline Sylvyre.”
“This is not how it’s done,” Collith said, and there was no glimpse of the warm male I’d shared a bed with. This was the faerie who’d used his unique ability to gain power from the unaware. This was the creature who’d ended his father’s life with the red-hot need for revenge. “I challenge you.”
“I reject your challenge. It’s time for new laws.” Just like that, Viessa dismissed him, raking her gaze over the crowd. “I am also eliminating the council. Everything begins and ends with me.”
“Or what?” someone called.
Viessa crooked a brow at me, and I looked out at them again, playing my part perfectly. I no longer had a bond with the Court, but as it turned out, I didn’t need it. Using the same blind rage I’d channeled in the black market, I sent a ripple of fear over the entire crowd. As their cries and murmurs rose into the air, one face in particular caught my notice. The goblin from the black market. What was he doing here?
“Or you will die, either by terror or by sword,” the new queen answered, bringing my attention back to her. Her message was loud and clear—Collith might not have a Nightmare to use anymore, but she did. My jaw clenched before I could stop it.
No one was looking at me, anyway. Collith was moving now, and he stopped once he faced Viessa from the bottom of the stairs. She still stood at the top, and he tipped his head back to look at her. “You don’t want to make an enemy of me. We both know I’m more powerful than you.”
“Take him,” Viessa commanded, finally sitting in the throne that had once been Collith’s.
In all the time I’d known him, I had never seen Collith at his most powerful. During the battles we’d shared he had only shown me the heavenly fire, because he couldn’t explain other abilities without exposing his secret. But I knew, as Collith planted his feet and every muscle in his body went tense, that I was finally about to.
The usual reserve I’d become so accustomed to had fallen away like a curtain, and his beautiful countenance twisted with ferocity.
Dozens of faeries in the crowd suddenly cried out. They blinked rapidly, as though they’d gone blind, and some held out their arms. It was an illusion, I realized as I watched them. Collith was using the power he’d stolen from Laurie to make the weak-minded believe the lights had gone out. It hadn’t worked on everyone, and I instinctively took note of those who were strong enough to withstand such power. Viessa. Tarragon. Nuvian. Chandrelle.
Then Collith slammed his hands together. Viessa dove out of the way, and a bolt of electricity slammed into the throne, its blue light almost blinding. The wooden chair went up in flames. The courtiers that weren’t stumbling around the room were fleeing for the doors now. Swords clashed behind me, and I glanced back to see that some Guardians had chosen to fight against Viessa. Nuvian was trying to get to her, help her in the battle with Collith, but Omar—shy, kind, timid Omar—wouldn’t let him pass.
The heavenly fire flashed again. I held up a hand, squinting, and tried to keep my eyes on Collith. He looked like a dark, vengeful Zeus. Viessa was fighting back now, an incredibly large stream of ice pouring out of her hands. Their power hissed, screamed, and crackled between them.
But Viessa didn’t last long against the heat.
She gave a shout of pain, and the ice vanished. Viessa fell to the stone floor, just barely missing the explosion of fire that shot through the place she’d been standing. Before she could recover, Collith lowered his hands. The fire faded while he unsheathed his sword, stormed forward, and brought his arm back.
There was no time to think—before he could ram the sword through Viessa’s chest, I was there, standing between them. His eyes bored into mine, more amber than hazel, as though there was a fire burning inside him. The fighting went on around us. I saw a question within those depths, and it was the same one I asked myself at that moment, as the tip of the sword pierced the material of my dress. Why are you protecting her?
For you, I thought.
Despite the lies he’d told, despite the terrible things he’d done, my first thought had been of Collith when he flew at Viessa with that deadly blade. Going to Hell had almost destroyed him. Taking the life of someone he’d once loved… I knew he wouldn’t survive it. I almost hadn’t, and I had far fewer morals than Collith.
But none of this passed my lips. Instead I glared up at him and spat, “If you want to kill her, you’ll have to go through me. Which didn’t end well for you last time.”
The last word had barely left my mouth when Collith sifted. By the time I spun around, he was already on the other side of us, his fingers wrapped around Viessa’s throat. Her hands flew up to stop the downward strike of his sword. I heard them both snarling, and they must have sifted at the same time, because the two of them reappeared farther away. Viessa’s back slammed into the wall so hard that trickles of dirt came down. She was losing. I knew all I had to do was reach out and take hold of Collith’s mind, but the thought made a memory go off like a bomb. Facing Collith in a field of grass. The line of blood sliding from his nose. My own hoarse screams rising into the air.
I couldn’t do it.
Then Collith flattened his palm on her chest, and his body tensed in a way that had become familiar—he was about to send a lightning bolt through Viessa’s body. Not even supernatural healing would be able to save her. I could tell from the expression on his face that the darkness inside had claimed him, just as it had claimed me.
“No!” Nuvian bellowed.
“Collith, stop!” I cried.
A pale face appeared over Collith’s shoulder. It felt like every creature in the room held their breath as Laurie whispered in his ear. I watched how his mouth moved, and faint fragments drifted to me. “Is this it, then? This is who you want to be?” he was saying.
They were the same words Naevys said to her son the last time he was on the brink between light and dark. Of course Laurie had been eavesdropping when Collith told me that in confidence.
At first, Collith didn’t react. His chest heaved and his focus remained on Viessa. His face was so twisted by fury it seemed impossible this was the same faerie I’d known these past few months, and suddenly the tight leash of control he always kept on himself made sense.
Then, slowly, he came back to us. A muscle ticked in his jaw and a light of resignation began to shine in his eyes. He didn’t nod or respond, but after a few seconds, he looked more like the old Collith. The in-control Collith. The Collith who had formed a plan to seduce me in order to gain the power of a Nightmare.
At last, Laurie stepped back. Holding the other faerie’s arm with a white-knuckled grip, Collith searched the room. His eyes stopped on mine. Though he said nothing, I felt some
thing pass between us. A promise. I stared back, stone-faced and silent.
To her credit, Viessa’s voice didn’t tremble as she repeated, “Take him.”
I waited for Collith to sift, but he just threw his sword to the flagstones. In the same instant he did that, Laurie vanished.
The king’s submission seemed to have a chain reaction, and the Guardians loyal to Viessa began to arrest the ones who’d fought for Collith. None of them tried to resist—they were outnumbered, especially now that some of them had been wounded. My eyes followed as they disappeared through the narrow side door, undoubtedly to the delightful dungeons I’d almost died in, and I made a mental note to negotiate with Viessa for their freedom. She’d probably be in a good mood after the ceremony.
As if she could read my mind, Viessa called for the Tongue. The remaining faeries in the room slowly began to come forward again, and some trickled out of the doorways.
Something glittered on the flagstones, drawing my gaze. While everyone watched Collith being bound and led to the dungeons, I bent and retrieved his mother’s necklace. I straightened, my gaze snagging Viessa’s. Her expression was knowing in a way that only another female could. Fine, I wanted to say. Yes, I loved him. What good does acknowledging it do?
My stomach started rolling. Without a word, I turned from Viessa and headed for the exit. It wasn’t part of the plan—I was supposed to stay for the entire ceremony—but I couldn’t be in that room one more second. No one tried to stop me; I frightened them too much. I was dimly surprised to see that Lyari stood by the doorway. As I passed, she looked at me with undeniable disappointment in her eyes.
“I made a choice,” I told her dully. Before she could respond, I plunged into the tunnel, desperate for open air and moonlight.
