A Cursed Reign (Whims of Fae Book 5)

by Nissa Leder

  “I don’t what this,” the woman said. In a panic, she scanned the room. When she spotted something, she lifted her hand, her palm face out. A dagger flew to her through the air. “Stop. Don’t make me use this.”

  Ankou paused, opening his eyes to see the weapon in her hand. “At least you’d still be alive. Do what you must.” He closed his eyes.

  The woman began to glow as a sob escaped her lips. “No…”

  When Ankou opened his eyes again, he pulled his hand back. As he stared at her, he said, “You’ll forgive me with time.”

  Confusion filled her face as she stopped crying.

  Then she vanished.

  Pain pulsed through every inch of Scarlett. It wasn’t her own, but the pain Ankou had felt in that moment.

  “She died,” he said.

  In the vision, Ankou had the dagger, but it had disappeared when the woman did.

  “The Sea Goddess,” Scarlett whispered. “She didn’t die. She was cursed to the sea.”

  It all made sense. Something must have happened when Ankou tried to claim her soul in the Darkland. Magic had taken her somewhere else. She had wanted to die and, eventually, did so when Avel stabbed her.

  “She’s alive?” Hope was heavy in his voice.

  Satisfaction vibrated through Scarlett. He thought he’d lost his lover and now believed he might not have. “She didn’t want to live and found a way not to, despite your desperation to keep her.”

  The optimism washed from his face. He looked at the dagger. “You can’t hurt me with that. But you already know that, don’t you? Who will you curse to my life? A life of feeling the pain of death as others pass on? Everyone thought Dana was so perfect. The light queen could do no wrong. But she was selfish.” Ankou’s fists clenched. “She couldn’t handle what it took to rule the Darkland, so she tricked me into becoming its king.”

  “No, she was created to rule the outside Otherworld and you were created to rule the Darkland.” It’s what Vida had told her and she didn’t believe she’d lie.

  “Vida didn’t lie,” Ankou said, making Scarlett realize her mind shields were down. “But Dana did. She rid herself of darkness so she could be the perfect queen, but that’s not how it worked. She couldn’t fight her nature completely, so she found another way by trapping the darkness she’d been unable to pass to me in the Life Tree for many years.”

  What had she been so afraid of? To go to such lengths and for what?

  Scarlett tightened her grip on the dagger. Someone else had to stab him.

  I’ll do it, Kaelem’s voice played in her head.

  No, you can’t. What about the Unseelie Court? she replied.

  Aria will become queen and Lola can remain her advisor. Lola would be a better ruler than both of us, anyway.

  Scarlett’s fingers shook. Ankou had broken the curse and could travel outside of the Darkland, but still, it was where he had to live. And what if all of the darkness ruined Kaelem?

  There was no time to weigh the options. This was their chance.

  I’m sorry, Scarlett told him before he evanesced next to her and she handed him the dagger.

  Then she created a rope of darkness in each hand and threw one around Ankou’s wrists and the other around his neck.

  The vision of his lover had him slow and she’d caught him off guard or maybe he just underestimated her magic ability.

  Kaelem raised the dagger and, as he was about to drive it into Ankou’s chest, an arrow hit his shoulder, causing him to drop it.

  Using her distraction, Ankou pulled Scarlett toward him and kicked her in the stomach. As she released the shadows, he bent toward the dagger.

  Kaelem noticed and kicked it toward Scarlett.

  As she reached for it, someone appeared in front of her and kneed her in the face. Above, Morta stared down at her and, using magic, brought the dagger to her hand.

  Their chance to use the dagger was gone. They couldn’t kill him right then, but she could make him hurt.

  Scarlett created a shield of light and released it toward Ankou. As he destroyed it with shadows, she evanesced straight to Raith.

  A sword of light appeared in her head. She grabbed its hilt with both hands, pulled it free, and struck it through the middle of Decuma’s heart. Her eyes widened for the briefest of moments before they fell blank.

  Fury permeated the air, booming from Ankou who threw a wave of shadow at Scarlett and Raith.

  She created another shield of shadow and when the wave crashed into it, a loud bang exploded into the air.

  She’d angered him. Good. Now he knew what it felt like to lose someone.

  But she’d made him mad and now they needed to get out of there. Now that Morta had the weapon, staying any longer would be foolish.

  As she tried to come up with a plan to retreat, her attention was pulled to the thick-trunked tree. A purple-flamed fire began at its base, spreading rapidly upward to its branches. When the entire tree was engulfed in flames, a searing pain roared in her stomach.

  She buckled over as nausea overwhelmed her.

  Darkness filled her mind as the forest around her disappeared.

  A feeling of glee followed, but it wasn’t her own. It was Ankou’s.

  Despite saving Rowen, the ritual must have continued.

  Decuma. Scarlett killed her. By doing so, she’d completed the sacrifice.

  She could feel the pain of his loss, too. The part of him that had been ripped away.

  Scarlett hadn’t been sure if he’d even mourn his daughter, but he cared for her. A lot. Which brought her so much elation. She could feel his soul connected to hers as the burning tree bonded them.

  When the darkness faded and the forest reappeared, the tree had vanished into a pile of purple ashes, a circle of light exploding outward, past everyone and on to who knew where.

  Next to Scarlett, Decuma’s body lifted from the ground and flew to Ankou. He held her in his arms. “Morta, let’s go.”

  Morta stood behind him, the dagger still in her grip. She looked at her dead sister then her father.

  Would Morta want revenge now and defy her father’s order?

  Scarlett raised her staff. She wouldn’t go down without a fight. When her gaze met Morta’s, she saw the madness behind her eyes. As Scarlett inhaled her own grief at the thought of her friends, she prepared for her attack.

  But instead of charging Scarlett, Morta jammed the dagger into Ankou’s back.

  As Decuma fell from his arms, hitting the ground with a thud, astonishment set in his eyes. He tried to pull the dagger out, but it was beyond his reach. Starting at his head, his body decomposed from top to bottom.

  Morta stood triumphant as her father crumpled to the ground in front of her. “His vision was weak. He wouldn’t have done what needed to be done to avenge all that has been taken from us. You will pay for what you’ve done.” She kneeled to the ground and closed her sister’s eyes with her hand and retrieved the dagger with the other.

  Then all three of them disappeared.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Sage watched as Scarlett dropped to her knees in front of her friends. She buried her hands in her face as she sobbed.

  Everyone else kept their weapons readied. Morta had left, but was it a trick? No, she’d just lost her sister and killed her father. Even if she felt no pain from such a horrific thing, she was alone and, even with all the creatures, too outnumbered to attack.

  After a few moments, Sage returned her daggers to her boots. Someone needed to comfort Scarlett, and since no one else dared approached her, she would.

  “Scarlett,” Sage said as she neared her, careful not to startle her. She gently placed her hand on her back.

  With a sniff, Scarlett lifted her head. “I need to bury them.”

  “Of course.” Sage walked around and untied the boy first, setting him carefully onto the ground.

  Scarlett did the same for the girl.

  Kaelem approached them. “We need to get somewhere
safe.”

  “Can we take them with us?” Sage asked him. “To give them a proper burial.”

  It was better that way. The daggers Ankou had thrown killed them both without the normal bleeding that came with any weapon a mortal would have. If anyone found them in this realm, it would raise unneeded questions.

  “I want to take them to the Otherworld.” Scarlett bent down and lifted the girl up.

  No one spoke as Sage did the same with the boy.

  They evanesced to the Unseelie Court then took the portal to the Otherworld.

  With the dead boy in her hands, Sage followed Scarlett through the castle and out to the gardens. After using so much energy and magic fighting, he was heavy in her hands, but she would carry him as far as she needed to.

  Scarlett said nothing as they walked, but from the thickness of her aura, Sage could see her anguish.

  On the outskirts of the gardens, Scarlett gently set the girl down and, using magic, dug two deep, rectangular holes. She lowered the girl into one first, placing her hands at her sides. Then she took the boy from Sage and did the same in the other grave. After she finished, she put the dirt back into the hole.

  Sage used her magic to guide a flower on top of each grave then turned the flowers into their own bouquets.

  Scarlett stood at the head of the graves and spoke. “Neither of you deserved this. You were both my closest friends.” She bent down and placed her hand on top of the dirt over the girl. “Natalie, you were unequivocally yourself all the time. Any time I was afraid I might embarrass myself by trying something new, you encouraged me to go for it. You laughed more than anyone I knew. You held me so many times when I cried.” She moved to the boy’s grave. “Teddy. My first love. I always knew I didn’t deserve you. I thought I’d just break your heart. And now, I’ve done so much worse.”

  Tears dripped down Scarlett’s cheeks and soaked into the earth. She closed her eyes and whispered goodbye then stood.

  “Why didn’t I see it coming?” she asked Sage. “I should have known they’d find a way to hurt everyone I cared about. I thought staying away from them would keep them safe.”

  “This isn’t your fault. They are evil. They will do anything to get what they want, no matter who gets hurt in the process. Morta even killed her own father.” She took Scarlett’s hand into her own and squeezed it. “We will make them pay.”

  “Killing Decuma felt better than anything I’ve ever experienced,” Scarlett said. “I wanted to make Ankou hurt a million more times. Morta killing him was both poetic and too easy. He deserved a painful death.”

  Sage hadn’t seen Morta’s betrayal coming, but somehow it didn’t surprise her. Whoever killed a Sidhe ruler took the power for themselves. Her brother had killed her father simply to take his position. Morta gained a lot more with her father’s death: the entire Darkland to control and the power to rule it.

  With swollen eyes, Scarlett glanced back at the graves. “But what’s done is done. He never worked alone. Truthfully, his daughters are the only reason things have happened. They orchestrated it all and, for that, I will make the two left suffer.”

  Sage had never been afraid of Scarlett. Despite the power she’d gained, she’d always seemed hesitant with her magic. Not anymore.

  “They will,” Sage assured her. “We will win this war and justice will be served.”

  Scarlet swallowed, the fury in her gaze melting to sadness. “I just need a few minutes alone. Thank you for helping me.”

  After a gentle squeeze, Sage released her hand and evanesced away.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Raith knocked on his mother’s room in the Otherworld Castle.

  Dressed in fresh clothes, she answered and invited him inside. He too had come home and rinsed off and changed. Fighting Decuma had taken nearly everything he had, and his body ached.

  The wound from Ankou’s magic throbbed, but it had been worth it. His mother was safe.

  Ankou was dead, but with Morta taking his power, the war raged on, possibly worse than with him in charge. During his time in the Darkland, he’d seen her vicious nature.

  “How are you feeling?” he asked her as they sat in chairs in the corner of the room.

  Her face was paler than normal, and he noticed the slowness in her movements.

  “Tired. His creatures forced me to eat herbs that blocked my magic. When I refused, they beat me until I complied.” Rowen leaned her head back. “But I’ll be better soon enough. How are you?”

  “Thankful you’re safe,” he said. He would heal as well, with time, and he refused to let his injuries keep him bedridden any longer.

  Rowen’s eyes closed as she breathed deeply. “For now, I just need rest.”

  “I’ll let you get some.” Raith stood and kissed her forehead before heading back to his room.

  Cade waited outside his door. “Can we talk?”

  “Of course.” Raith went inside, his brother following behind.

  Cade stood with his hands pinned to his side. “I want to apologize.”

  “For what?” Raith sat on the edge of his bed, too tired to stand any longer.

  “I should have been a better brother. I should have noticed my mother pushing you out of our family and considered why. She never thought you would be a good leader, and now I know it was because she knew she couldn’t control you.”

  “She is your mother. Of course, you wanted to think the best of her.” Raith couldn’t judge Cade for that. He’d wanted information on his mother so badly, it had consumed him. “Is everything okay at the Summer Court?”

  “Before I told the Fates I’d join their side, Kaelem spoke to me, asking me to spy on them. I would have never joined them otherwise. I’d considered it, sure, but I’ve always known their own agenda was all that mattered to them,” he said. “But after seeing the things they’re willing to do, I couldn’t do it any longer. I returned to the Summer Court to prepare it for war against them, and when I arrived, my mother had reclaimed the crown on Morta’s orders.”

  “She has no authority to make such a decision.” Raith placed his hands behind him to hold his body up. His head felt heavy and he wasn’t sure how much longer he could stay awake.

  “Unless I was prepared to strike my mother down, I had to accept it. I know it might come to that, and I will do what I must for my people, but I wasn’t ready.”

  “You are the best king for the Summer Court.” Raith had never wanted to be king, and despite the anger he felt when Cade had left him for dead, he’d seen his little brother step up as a confident ruler. “I will help you regain your crown.”

  Cade stepped to him with an outstretched hand.

  Raith took it and shook his hand.

  “Thank you,” Cade said. “I will let you rest now.”

  Raith nodded, and as soon as his brother was out of the room, he curled under the covers and slept.

  Scarlett, covered in a fine layer of dirt, walked back to the castle.

  The elation of returning with the dagger was a distant memory now, trampled by the events of the last few hours.

  Natalie and Teddy were gone. Their bright faces were forever dulled, the last moments of their life full of fear and confusion. Even thinking about it brought nausea swimming through her. She couldn’t dwell on the pain or she’d find herself curled in a ball, unable to move. She needed to tell Ashleigh, but she couldn’t. Not yet.

  Ankou was dead, which should bring her some relief, but with Morta now possessing his power, they were no closer to ending the war.

  Magic vibrated through her, ready to burst at any moment. She’d completed the sacrifice he started by killing Decuma and now she possessed even more magic than before. But so did Morta, who had had so much longer to learn to wield magic than she had.

  With no dagger, how could she defeat them?

  Like a snake beneath her skin, darkness crawled in her veins, her anger its perfect food. She needed to distract herself before she lost it and became a danger t
o those around her.

  Scarlett headed to the first place, the first person, she thought of.

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Kaelem poured himself a glass of liquor, chugged it, then threw the glass across the parlor. With a loud crack, it shattered against the wall.

  “Careful where you throw that thing,” Scarlett said from the doorway.

  She was the last person he expected to see, but his body relaxed at the sight of her.

  “You’re here,” he said.

  Everything had gone wrong. Scarlett had gotten the weapon they needed and Kaelem was willing to use it, but they were too slow. Her friends had died and for nothing.

  He’d wanted to comfort her, but the intensity of her turmoil made him hesitate. Who was he to hold her in that moment? Had he not caused her pain himself by taking her sister? He’d done what he could to be better, but some things could never be undone.

  “Have any more glasses? Or have you taken your anger out on all of them?” She smirked, but it didn’t fool him. The sorrow in her eyes told him too much.

  Kaelem went around to the backside of the bar and pulled out two more glasses and filled them. He took one to Scarlett.

  She downed it and threw it against the same wall he had. Rage radiated from her aura now. “I should have protected them.”

  “You didn’t know he would find people from your old life.” Kaelem finished his drink, but kept the empty glass in his hand this time.

  “I should have,” she said then burst into tears.

  Kaelem pulled her into his body and held her head as she cried into his shoulder. He wanted to tell her it would all be okay, but who was he to know that? He wouldn’t promise something he couldn’t guarantee.

  “The magic inside me is too much,” Scarlett said. “I’m going to combust.”

  “You won’t.” He rubbed her back with his other hand. “We will get through this. You’ll learn to control your anger and magic and then, we will do everything we can to defeat Morta.”