by Meg Xuemei X
This was the first time I went behind my former consorts’ back and treated them as my enemies. I’d never expected for us to be divided like this, and I hated it more than anything that it had come to this, but reality had reared its ugly head, and all I could do was to prevent another nightmare and protect Elvey and my people’s interests.
In the end, if I lost, I wouldn’t even need to do the final deed and cleave my former mates out of my heart. My Fury beasts wouldn’t remember them. Nor would they remember Elvey.
Zembyr nodded gravely and exited the room.
I shoved down the desolation swirling inside me and kissed Elvey.
15
My court and my small Fae army entered the Forbidden Forest—the forest that had once whisked me away because of my curse, the forest that had been poisoned by Tianna, the forest that remembered me and had waited for my return.
It had accepted me as the true queen of Sihde and begged me to heal it.
It would be my eyes and ears, and the spirits wouldn’t allow Tianna’s spies to enter.
The Fae who had pledged their allegiance to me in Tianna’s throne room gagged at what they’d seen in front of them. I had ripped off the evil queen’s glamour, so the forest now bore no illusion of endless blue, silver, and glowing blossoms. I wanted them to see what the Forbidden Forest had become.
It was blackened, dried, and bleak, but it was no longer dying after I returned. It’d drawn some life force from me—its queen—at my permission. The smell of death and decay was also fading.
My court raged at seeing the reality of their beloved land.
Faint magic tugged at me, like last time, but it was no longer starving.
“You’re getting better, forest,” I said.
Thanks to you, our queen, a forest spirit said. We’re recovering faster since you removed the poisonous glamour.
You must win the Challenge, so we can heal properly and continue to exist, another voice said.
They’d foreseen Tianna’s game before we left here last time. They’d warned me, “Be aware of the betrayals, yet not all are what they appear to be.”
The dragon princes had demanded to have the traitor’s names and vowed to gut him. The irony was that they had turned out to be the turncoats.
The rest of the forest spirits’ words chimed in my head. “Be aware of the double faces and two foulest entities in one. Only when your mates and you find her darkest secret will you free us all.”
If my former consorts were the traitors, the forest spirits wouldn’t have used the plural when they predicted. “Only when your mates and you find her darkest secret…”
I hadn’t turned into Furies. I was still here, though I was running out of time.
Could my three other mates be double agents?
But could the hardened, heartless looks they’d cast my way and the cruelty they’d shown me all be a ruse?
I no longer knew anything anymore.
It’s an honor you bestow on us to have your bonding ceremony in our forest, our queen, the spirits sighed with satisfaction. We’re guarding the entrances. No enemies can enter.
I nodded. Elvey and I would be formally wed here.
The Forbidden Forest wasn’t as glorious as before. The blossoms had faded, the trees blackened, and the soil dried. It wasn’t exactly a romantic setting for a wedding ceremony, but it was practical.
Under my current dire condition, safety was most important, and I needed to get this done quickly. The forest would keep watch while we carried on our affairs, and its ivy vines with razor sharp edges would keep the enemies out.
“Thank you,” I said to the forest.
Hello, Elvey Fionn, finally, the spirits greeted, turning their interest on Elvey.
He flashed a feral grin at the spirits only he could see. Somehow, I had a hunch their history wasn’t completely pleasant.
While Elvey and the spirits engaged in their now coded, silent-to-others conversation, I found the priestess standing beside Rosalinda amid my court.
She wore a white gown, and I was clad in armor, ready for battle. Her violet eyes never left me. A soon as I was done talking to the spirits, she glided toward me. From her expression, I could tell that she’d heard every word of the conversation between the spirits and me. Evidently, she was deeply rooted in the spiritual world. She was a priestess, after all.
And if the Forbidden Forest had allowed her in, it meant she wasn’t in Tianna’s pocket.
The dried leaves and twigs weren’t obstacles to her graceful gait. The priestess paused in front of me.
“Your Majesty,” she said, bowing her head an inch.
“Lady Odelia, thank you for coming,” I said. I hadn’t had time to learn much about her other than her name.
Her piercing eyes softened with glistening tears. “I once crowned Princess Zuzana when she was named heir to the throne. I’m glad you returned.”
The mention of my mother made my throat constrict, but I didn’t show the sentiment in front of everyone else.
“Shall we get this ceremony going?” I asked.
She smiled, her tears gone. “That’s why I came.”
I looked around at my court and a small army gathered behind me, Adrian and Jarrod among them.
Murderous rage burned in Adrian’s eyes. Zembyr must have briefed him about the dragon princes’ treachery. And even so, I wouldn’t let anyone lay a hand on them or exact revenge on them. They were still mine. Even when they became the thorny issue, they were mine to deal with. I would soon remind the Fae before anyone tried to do something foolish like assassinate Blaze, Rai, and Iokul.
Under an ancient gray tree, Elvey and I took a simple vow before Priestess Odelia.
“I loved you before I met you, Daisy Danaenyth,” Elvey said, “and I’ll love you even after the world ends, after all the stars turn to dust. I’ll guard you and cherish you until my very last breath, and even then, my spirit will protect you from all harm.”
“I loved you at first sight, though I didn’t know it back then,” I said. “My heart, soul, and body all belong to you, every piece of me, utterly and completely and deeply. I vow to the God of the universe, I’ll allow no one and nothing to take you away from me again.”
Tears glinted in Elvey’s eyes. He pulled me to him and kissed me before the priestess even asked him to kiss his bride. The kiss burned me and imprinted on my soul, and heat roared in my blood.
Odelia sent Elvey an annoyed yet amused look.
“As all have witnessed,” Odelia said on a sigh, “I now announce you husband and wife. But King Elvey, you might want to break up the kiss. We need to finish the ritual with the final blood bond.”
Elvey kissed me deeply for a few more seconds, then reluctantly left my lips. I could feel my lips were already swollen and heard a few chuckles in the crowd. But I couldn’t blame Elvey. He’d hungered for me for an eon.
Odelia handed Elvey a sacred dagger with glowing runes on the blade. He sliced along the center of his palm and handed me the dagger. I followed suit and swiftly sliced the length of my palm, then we grasped each other’s hands and our blood merged.
We tightened our grip on each other, and tiny droplets of our mixed blood dripped to the forest floor.
A matching bonding rune appeared on our arms at the same time, radiating before etching permanently on our skin.
We were bonded for eternity.
“It is done!” Odelia announced proudly.
“Long live Queen Daisy and King Elvey!” those gathered around us chanted and cheered.
I heard a satisfied, collective sigh from the forest spirits. Above us, blue and silver blossoms bloomed and glowed like little stars.
Sihde had taken in our magical blood and made a small miracle with its own magic to bless our union.
Elvey grabbed me for another kiss.
I kissed him back vehemently, giving him all I had, but my heart still ached. My three dragon princes were no longer with me. The four of us were su
pposed to be a completed picture. While I’d finally gotten back the last piece in my soul, I’d lost the other three pieces.
Elvey’s kiss turned to sunlight, its warmth and brightness dulling the pain radiating from my heart.
The court approached us. Rosalinda, Adrian, and Zembyr all came to clasp Elvey’s shoulders to congratulate him before we broke our kiss.
Adrian was less cheerful than the others. Zembyr must have told him about the Challenge. And he knew why I’d rushed the wedding. I wanted them all to witness this, so they’d accept Elvey’s rule and assist him.
Tianna’s spies were at the boundary of the forest, the spirits said. We’ve kept them out long enough, but their evil queen is coming, and she’ll use her foul magic to force entry and hurt us.
I called for the court to dismiss at the spirits’ warning, and the forest showed them the quickest exit to avoid Tianna’s spies.
“I should wait out here for Tianna,” I said to the forest spirits, “and battle her if she dares to harm you.”
We’ll be more useful to you if she doesn’t perceive our alliance to you, our queen, said the spirits. And there’s something important we’ve wanted to show you. Now it’s time. Only you, your mate, and your most trusted companions shall go there and see the truth.
“What is it?” I asked.
The power that makes our enemy invincible, the spirits said. The power that allowed her to defeat and kill your mother, the sweetest Fae princess Aine, and their loyal sentinels.
Go now!
16
Elvey teleported Rosalinda, Adrian, Zembyr, and me to the mapped location the forest spirits had shown him. Jarrod had returned to the Dragon Realm to coordinate our army’s move.
As my dizziness from the teleportation faded, I noticed that we had landed in the ruins of half wilderness and half grassy land.
“This is the closest my teleportation can take us,” Elvey whispered beside me, his arm sneaking around my waist protectively. “Dark magic wards the place, and we’re right outside its barrier.”
The wind didn’t stir here, and the stillness of the air was eerie. The air smelled putrid, and I sensed great evil moving beneath the soil and rocks.
My companions all tensed as tight as the strings on a bow. They had also felt the malevolence. Each of them drew their swords.
Elvey glanced at them and nodded. “Ready for battle.”
Zembyr darted his stern eyes wildly.
“You won’t need to look further.” Elvey said with a smirk, as if we were going to a festival. “They’ll show, and soon.”
“What is this place?” I asked quietly.
“The Breath of the Wild,” Elvey said. “I have been trying to find it for a while, but it’s been concealed. Without the help of the forest guardians, we would never have found it.”
I raised my gaze toward a gray, stone temple in the distance. That should be our destination since it was the only structure in the wilderness. It was where the spirits wanted us to dig out Tianna’s secrets.
“Let’s move,” I said.
Zembyr charged ahead, and something slammed into him, sending him flying several yards backward. The giant warrior sprawled on the rocky ground on his back. He groaned in outrage and cursed as he sat up.
“As I said, it is warded,” Elvey said.
Without a word, I threw my hands up and flung my White Light at the unseen ward.
A black net materialized and flashed dots at the assault of my Light. And that was that.
“Interesting,” Elvey pondered. “The ward shouldn’t have withstood my wife’s attack since she’s the queen of the realm. And yet—”
My heart fluttered in wings. I loved hearing the word “wife” come from his lips. And officially, I’d only been his wife for a few minutes.
He narrowed his eyes. “It’s made of a mix of Fae and demonic magic.”
A light hit home. That was where the tainted foul odor was coming from. That was why the Forbidden Forest was sick. Tianna had infested the land with her black magic that had demonic elements in it. She associated with the demons. She’d sent a demon army after me twice.
No, it was more than associating. Her smoke magic came from demon’s heritage. My grandfather had warned me that Tianna practiced all sorts of forbidden dark magic. And the forest spirits’ warning rang in my ear. “Be aware of the double faces and two foulest entities in one.”
Which meant Tianna was an agent of both Fae and demon. Could she be possessed by a powerful demon?
“Little wife,” Elvey said, “we need to combine our forces. We aren’t just mate bonded. We’ve been blood bonded in a sacred rite. What’s mine is yours, as what’s yours is mine.”
He spun me around, my back against his chest, our fingers linked.
“Try now,” he said.
His primal power—it could level a city but wouldn’t hurt his mate—poured into me, and my body buzzed with heat as if it was drunk on the delicious high voltage.
At the peak of the high, I let my White Light out. It crashed into the dark net, which resisted for a heartbeat before it fizzled out.
It was down.
When we lowered our joined hands, Elvey nodded at Rosalinda, and she walked through the opening, Adrian at her side. Elvey and I walked in the middle, and Zembyr brought up the rear.
We treaded carefully for a mile or so. The foulness and omnificence only grew worse as we approached the stone temple. There were hundreds of ancient stone stairs leading up to it. Before we climbed the staircase, a dozen or so horned demons appeared at the top of the stairs.
We had fewer numbers, but we were all lethal.
A slice of regret washed over me. How I missed having my dragon princes at my side. But they’d chosen to be at my enemy’s side.
We moved up and crashed into the demons in a wave of steel.
They tossed dark smoke at us, and my White Light lashed out to meet it.
Zembyr roared and tossed his axe out. It buried into the chest of a demon closest to him. A longsword showed up next in his calloused hand and thrust into the next demon. A third demon darted to his side, ramming its horn into his shoulder while Zembyr swung his blade to meet his main opponent’s.
Rosalinda moved like a flash beside Zembyr and cut the demon down before his horn could injure Zembyr. They fought side by side. The female Fae warrior’s sword found a new target, but a giant, green-horned demon cleaved a gash into her thigh. Rosalinda didn’t flinch. She simply slashed back at him.
Seven demons surrounded Elvey and me. I was the sole target. Elvey and I pressed our backs together. He hacked and swung his sword like it was an extension of his arm. The demigod’s speed was blinding and his strength formidable. Where he went and touched, flesh dropped to a heap and death arrived promptly. I was thankful that my husband fought at my side.
Husband. I rolled the word over my tongue. I could get used to it.
I wielded my twin daggers and lunged at my opponents. Ignoring my frown of displeasure, Elvey constantly shifted our positions, so he would always face the heavy traffic.
Adrian shifted to his black dragon, streams of fire pouring from his mouth at the demons, his sharp talons tearing into their stinky flesh.
The battle ended fast, with the demons’ corpses littering the stairs. My companions bore minor injuries.
We didn’t spare the corpses a second glance, instead rushing forward to the vast temple.
The slant-roofed structure seemed to have been built in a time when blood sacrifice had been common. Something unmistakably sinister leaked from its every brick and stone, as if souls were trapped inside and crying out in all forms of nightmares.
I could feel my fearless companions shuddering around me. They’d felt the same vibe from the tomb-like construction.
Elvey rubbed my arms where my tiny hairs all stood up. He kissed the top of my head. “I’m with you, my love.”
A trail of blue light dashed out from his palm and into the temple, pulsi
ng in the dark and illuminating it for us.
Rosalinda stalked in, but Elvey warned her. “I’ll enter first. My wife will be positioned in the middle.” He gave the black dragon a look. “You’ll stay at the entrance and stand guard.”
The dragon lifted to the air and perched atop the roof. In his beast form, Adrian would be able to see far around us.
As Elvey moved to the front, I strode beside him. “Where you go, I go,” I said.
He hesitated for a heartbeat, then nodded. We might need to combine our magic again to fight the evil force ahead. Elvey was as protective as the dragon princes, but he also never held me back. He was as confident in me as he was in himself.
Together, we stepped cautiously into the lair, my magic probing ahead. I believed that Elvey was doing the same.
Rosalinda and Zembyr flanked us, their eyes darting around wildly, actively seeking hidden threats.
A demon lunged at us from a dark corner, but Zembyr was fast enough to grab the demon’s horn and jab his sword into its chest.
We prowled on again, following Elvey’s blue light.
Further in, the stench of foul magic, rotten flesh, rusty blood, and something else made me gag. I covered my nose and breathed in and out through my mouth. Rosalinda bent over and heaved out a vomit.
The walls were smeared with blood, both dried and fresh, dripping down the walls.
My magic detected terrifying evil pulsing underground, and that was where we needed to go, though all my instincts roared at me to run, to get away from this place, and never to return.
Elvey’s hand squeezed mine. “I’m with you, my queen.”
We continued on the stone path, which was also tainted with blood, our footsteps echoing eerily in the dark chamber, our shadows dancing around as Elvey’s blue light leapt erratically.
At the second turn, another demon jumped from the ceiling, missing me by inches. Elvey pierced his sword into the demon without casting a backward glance while Rosalinda decapitated the fallen creature.
My companions grew even tenser, expecting to be waylaid at every turn.
