I placed Scruffy on the floor as we followed the men to an adjoining room. A large fire roared in this one as well and I wondered why the rest of the castle was so cold. To keep visitors off centre? None of us had had a good night’s sleep since we’d gotten there. We were definitely not at our best.
A long table had been set ready for a meal. We sat down one side with the dignitaries on the other. I managed to get close enough to the fire that I could feel the warmth through my clothes.
We sat in silence as a line of serving women bustled into the room carrying baskets of flat bread, jugs of icy water and platters of meat and vegetables. The silence continued as we filled our plates and ate. So much for the talking pleasantries bit.
When all our plates were empty, the serving women cleared the table, reappearing with pots of steaming tea. We waited while they poured the tea into eggshell-thin porcelain cups. When they had finished, Wolfgang cleared his throat.
‘King Arwyn and Queen Eloise send their respects and ask after the health of King Arracon and Queen Titania.’
The man at the head of the table bowed his head. ‘I am Tyfon, I speak for the King. Unfortunately Queen Titania is not at her best. King Arracon is with her even as we speak.’
Aethan’s shoulders relaxed and he sunk back into his seat. ‘Please convey our wishes that she may recover soon.’
‘Oh the Queen is not sick.’ Tyfon took a sip of his tea. ‘She is with child. It has not been an easy pregnancy.’
Aethan nodded. ‘Well, please convey our best wishes and congratulations.’
‘You spoke of ill news,’ Tyfon said. ‘Is all well in Isilvitania?’
‘All is well,’ Wolfgang said, ‘for now.’
I watched the looks on the night faery men’s faces as Wolfgang told them of Santanas’s release.
‘This is ill news indeed,’ Tyfon said when Wolfgang had finished, ‘but why have the Prince and Princess’s lives been risked to bring us this news?’
Aethan hopped up and paced around the table to stand in front of him. He dropped to one knee and bowed his head. ‘I come on behalf of Prince Orion, Crown Prince of Isilvitania. He seeks a truce to help us combat the dark years to come. In good faith, he offers himself into marriage with a night faery maiden of marriageable age and Royal Blood.’
There were a few seconds of silence when Aethan had finished talking. Tyfon rubbed his chin while he considered Aethan’s words. ‘I see,’ he finally said. ‘I will convey your best wishes and your message to their Royal Highnesses. Please enjoy the comfort of our home while they contemplate your words.’
Nobody spoke until we were back in our rooms. ‘Contemplate our words?’ Aethan kicked one of the cushions across to the other side of the room.
‘I mean really, I don’t know why you expected anything different.’ Isla dropped delicately into a cross-legged position, looking very Zen in comparison to Aethan’s anger.
Wolfgang sat beside her. ‘It could have been worse.’
‘How?’ Aethan waved his arms around. ‘We’re stuck here while we are needed elsewhere.’
‘Perhaps you should have considered that before you set out.’ Isla’s icy composure only made Aethan madder.
‘If I had my choice, we would be hunting Galanta.’ He glanced at me in a way that would have made me cringe if I’d thought he knew about my failed hunting expedition in Trillania.
‘Well, go hunt her.’ Isla threw a hand in the direction of the door.
‘I can’t.’ Another pillow followed the first. ‘I promised Orion. And he’s right. This is too important.’ He slumped to the ground and lay staring at the ceiling.
I hated seeing him like this – so frustrated and… alone.
‘I’m going out.’ I picked up Scruffy and walked to the door. It was unbearable being near him and not being able to soothe him.
Even though I jogged down the ramp, it was still too long till I was back outside. The castle suited the people who lived in it. Cold as ice. I couldn’t wait to be gone from this place.
Taking our time, Scruffy and I wandered back down towards the fountain. I found my favourite spot on the far side of it and sunk into the long grass. The warmth beat down on me and I closed my eyes. I wouldn’t go to sleep. I would just lie there enjoying the warmth. I felt Scruffy turn around and around in the grass next to me before settling down against me.
The sound of the water cascading back into the pond increased the danger of my falling asleep. I opened my eyes and stared at the sky. It would be foolish to fall asleep here.
I sat back up and perched on the edge of the fountain. The water felt so silky and smooth as I dragged my fingers through it. I pulled my hair up on top of my head and tied it in a loose knot. The water felt delicious on my face and neck. I unzipped my vest just a little and wet my upper chest through my tank top. For one wild minute I contemplated the thought of stripping off to my underwear and swimming in the fountain, but the thought of having to explain what I was doing to the row of tight-lipped men we’d lunched with stopped me.
I spun around so that the water was behind me. Scruffy was sound asleep with his legs in the air. I cocked my head and concentrated. Off to the left, it sounded like somebody was… what were they doing?
I crept to the manicured shrubs and threaded my way through them till I came to a grassy lawn. Aethan stood with his back to me. He held a sword extended to his side as he peered down the shaft. He was stripped bare to his waist and his back muscles bunched in anticipation of his next move.
I licked my lips and moved closer.
He leapt into the air, spinning so fast he was a blur. Landing on one knee, he thrust the sword upwards to the front. Then he tucked and rolled in the other direction, coming up onto his feet and kicking his left leg to the side. His sword swept through a flurry of motion as he moved forwards against his imaginary opponent.
He was magnificent as he flowed from one fighting stance to the next. His long, hard body made the movements seem easy. Then he flicked backwards through two one-armed backflips, spinning on the last one so that he was facing my direction. He landed with the tip of his sword pressed against my throat.
Breathing hard, he stared into my startled eyes. Then he lowered his blade and stepped back, running his free hand through his hair. ‘Want to train?’ he asked.
I took a deep breath to steady my wildly-beating heart. ‘Is it helping with your bad mood?’
His mouth quirked up at one corner. ‘Something like that.’
‘I didn’t bring my sword.’
He slid the sword back into its sheath and unbuckled the waist band. ‘Free hand?’
‘Sure.’ I pushed my way out of the shrubbery and unzipped my vest, dropping it on the ground near his sword. Scruffy emerged from the shrubs a few seconds later and climbed on top of it, massaging it with his paws till it was deemed comfortable enough to lie on.
‘Do you want me to tie one hand behind my back?’ The look on his face said he was serious.
I snorted. ‘Oh please.’ And then I dived through the air, sweeping an arm out behind me as I rolled past. I timed it perfectly, connecting with the back of his knees with enough force to collapse his legs.
He went down to a crouch and I leapt on his back, forcing him onto his face. I grabbed one arm and twisted it up behind his back till he grunted in pain.
‘If I want one of your arms tied,’ I whispered in his ear, ‘I’ll do it myself.’ Then I jumped backwards, putting enough distance between us that I would have some warning of his attack. He was going to make me pay for that move and I was going to enjoy every second of it.
He sprang to his feet like a cat and spun to face me. ‘Point taken,’ he said, spitting a piece of grass out of his mouth.
He advanced on me slowly and I resisted the urge to squeal and run off into the trees like I had sometimes done in the past. But that had always been so he could catch me and kiss me, and there wasn’t going to be any of that going on today. Which was a pity
, because I had always found that an enjoyable way to cure a bad mood.
He jabbed twice with his left fist and I patted it away, knowing what he would do next. Sure enough, he followed it up with a right uppercut and a left hook, but I knew they were all camouflage for the kick that was about to come.
I bobbed and weaved around his strikes and then ducked under his trademark roundhouse kick, darting in close enough to palm strike him in the face. His head whipped back and I leapt up, ball-kicking him in the chest as I turned a backward somersault.
He staggered back as he shook his head, blood dribbling out of his nose. His eyes narrowed as he stared at me and then he charged.
I leapt to the side, but he swept an arm out wide, collecting me around my waist. He tossed me onto the ground but before he could pin me, I rolled, spinning over onto my knees and then leaping back to my feet.
The huge smile I could feel stretched across my face mirrored the one he wore. It was just like old times, the only difference being that I had the advantage. I knew his fighting style; knew his favourite moves and his dirty tricks. I knew his weaknesses and his strengths. And he had no idea about mine.
Out of all the things that had come from Galanta’s spell, this was the only one that didn’t suck.
‘Right,’ he said. ‘I was going to go easy on you. Don’t say you didn’t ask for this.’
‘Bring it on big boy.’ I danced from foot-to-foot.
He attacked with lightning speed, jabbing and hooking, forcing me backwards across the lawn as I dodged and blocked. I flicked his fists and darted left, jumping into the air to superman punch him. His head rocked to the side, but he spun, swinging his leg around in a low arc. It connected with mine, sweeping them out from beneath me.
My breath exploded from me as my back hit the ground, but before he could take advantage of my vulnerable position, I rocked back onto my shoulders and flicked my legs up into the air. I wrapped them around his waist, hooking my ankles behind his back, and then I twisted, dragging him to the ground.
I unlocked my legs and leapt on top of him, punching my fist down towards his cheek. He moved his head at the last second and my fist drove into a rock that was hidden in the grass.
I was good, but I wasn’t made of steel, and my fist came off second best against that rock. The unmistakeable sound of bones breaking preceded the pain by mere milliseconds. I screeched and nursed my fist to my chest, wiggling backwards out of range. I was going to have to fight one-handed.
Pain radiated up my arm and tears threatened at the corners of my eyes as I readied myself for his next attack.
‘Hey,’ he said, sitting up. ‘You’re hurt.’ He pulled me down onto his lap and gently took hold of my hand. It was already starting to swell. ‘Well you certainly taught that rock a lesson.’ He reached up and wiped away the unshed tears lingering in the corners of my eyes, and for one glorious second, things were as they had been. Uncomplicated and honest. Just a man loving a woman.
‘You’d better not have hurt her too much you brute,’ Isla said as she stepped from the trees. Aethan let out a low oath, tipping me from his lap as he sprung to his feet. And just like that the moment was over.
‘Sorry, sorry,’ he said, grabbing my good arm to help me up. ‘We’d better go find Wolfgang.’
‘The healing is going to have to wait.’ She pulled an apologetic face. ‘That’s what I came to tell you. King Arracon has requested an audience with you and Wolfgang. Wolfgang has gone on ahead to avoid insult by making him wait.’
‘What about you?’ I asked. ‘Why aren’t you invited?’ She was an heir to the throne as well.
‘It’s complicated.’ She spun away from me but not before I saw a line of tension between her eyes.
Aethan set off at a run towards the castle. Isla and I followed at a much more sedate pace. I felt a layer of depression settle over me as we entered the castle. The sloping hall that wound around the inside of the external wall meant that none of the rooms had windows. And even though light emanated from the walls, the black ice threw a shadow over everything. How did they stand living here?
Shivering, I wrapped my good arm around my chest.
‘I know how you feel.’ Isla’s eyes took on a haunted look.
I stared at her for a moment, wondering if she would tell me what she was thinking. But she never had before, so I wasn’t surprised when she didn’t this time.
Wilfred, Brent and Luke were playing cards when we got back to our chamber. ‘You found him?’ Wilfred asked.
Isla nodded her head and plonked down on a cushion next to him. The pain from my hand had dulled to a throb. I kicked a few cushions together and lay down, resting my broken knuckles against the icy floor. It turned out there was one thing a castle made of ice was good for.
‘What happened?’ Luke lowered his cards and nodded in my direction.
‘Izzy tried to beat a rock into submission.’
‘Huh,’ Brent said. ‘How’d that work out for you?’
‘Hunky dory.’ It was going to be a while before they let me forget about this one.
‘Were you caught between a rock and a hard place?’
I poked my tongue out at Wilfred. ‘That wasn’t even funny.’
‘I know. It’s this place. It’s drained the funny out of me.’
‘Well hopefully we’ll have an answer today,’ Isla said.
I closed my eyes and tried to ignore my hand. I wasn’t looking forward to the healing, but the pain was getting old fast. It felt like forever before the door banged open and Wolfgang and Aethan returned.
‘What did he say?’
‘What happened?’
‘Can we get out of here now?’
Our questions jumbled over each other.
Aethan ran his hands through his hair and said, ‘Yes and no.’
Wilfred picked up a cushion and threw it at him.
He laughed and grabbed the cushion out of the air and tossed it onto the ground. Taking a seat he said, ‘Arracon agrees that a union between our nations is desirable. And since the initial union didn’t work out,’ he threw a guilty glance in Isla’s direction, ‘that a marriage between a Royal maiden and Orion would be suitable.’
Isla snorted. ‘Suitable? Just suitable? We’re offering him our crown prince.’
‘Down girl,’ Wilfred murmured, placing a hand on her arm.
For a second I thought she might punch him, but instead she shook her arm till his hand fell off and turned her back on him.
‘There will be a banquet tonight, at which the chosen lady will be presented to us.’
‘And then we can go home?’ Brent’s face broke out into a broad smile.
Aethan shook his head. ‘No,’ he said, ‘and then I get to court her on Orion’s behalf.’
That made me sit up. Court her, like he’d courted me?
I gritted my teeth as pressure grew inside me.
I would have to sit and listen to their pretty conversation, while he charmed her on Orion’s behalf?
It felt like every single hair on my body was standing on end.
I would have to witness her fluttering her eyelashes and giggling at his jokes? I would have to watch her leaning into him till they were close enough to kiss?
The power pulsed through me and my vision turned red. If she lay one pretty little nail on him, I was going to do things to her that had never been done to a living person before. If she even thought of gracing his lips with her own I would…
‘Isadora.’ I snapped open my eyes to find Aethan staring into my face. ‘Is it the pain?’
‘Yes,’ I growled. Oh, it was pain all right, just not the kind he was thinking.
‘Wolfgang,’ Aethan said. ‘I think Isadora broke her hand.’
The look on everybody else’s faces told me they knew exactly what was going through my mind; sympathy from the men and malicious glee from Isla, as if she were hoping that I would tear the chosen night faery limb-from-limb.
Aethan, how
ever, was totally clueless. ‘I’m hoping you’ll spend some time with her as well,’ he said to me. ‘So that she has at least one friend when we get home.’
I’d be her friend once she was married to Orion, but while she was treating Aethan as her future husband, I would be her mortal enemy.
‘Sure,’ I spat out, struggling to contain the fury that wanted to punch holes through the castle walls. ‘Maybe we can paint each other’s nails.’
Wilfred let out a chuckle. ‘Perhaps you should let her heal,’ he said.
Wolfgang was watching my face with a concerned expression. ‘Come along Isadora,’ he said.
I followed him to my bedroom and sat on the edge of my bed.
‘You need to control yourself before I can heal you,’ he said. ‘If I were to join my power with you like this, it is possible you would take control of it as well. I don’t fancy having to explain to the night faeries why their castle blew up.’
I took a deep breath, and then another until I could feel the tension melting out of me.
‘That’s better,’ Wolfgang said when I finally opened my eyes. ‘Now give me your hand.’
I placed my damaged limb into his. Now that the rage was gone, the throbbing had returned. He closed his eyes and I felt a tingle run down my arm and through my hand.
‘It’s broken all right.’ He stood and walked back to the doorway. ‘I’ll need some assistance please.’
The others filed into the room while I lay back on the bed. Brent and Luke took my legs and Wilfred pinned down my uninjured arm. Isla laid a cool hand either side of my head, and Aethan held down the shoulder of the arm that was to be healed.
I closed my eyes as Wolfgang’s power surged into me. White, hot lances spiked into my fist again and again. Flesh bubbled and boiled inside me, steam tearing apart my cells. I arched my back and struggled to pull away from him as a scream ripped from my throat.
Then the heat was gone and a wall of ice rammed into my head. Inch-by-inch it crept over my body. I could hear crackling as my flesh solidified.
Scruffy let out a howl and started scrabbling at the side of my body.
‘What’s happening?’ Isla’s hands jerked away from my face as my skin froze beneath her touch.
Faery Forged Page 14
