“If you end the revel now, the other Sidhe will protest,” said Lady Aiten. “I would advise you to let the event proceed so as not to raise any panic. We will conduct a thorough search of the palace and ensure nobody enters the gate.”
“In that case,” I said, “I’d like to come and look around the jail myself. Think of it as my first request as Gatekeeper.”
The guard shook his head. “This is not usual.”
“There is no harm in allowing her to go,” Lady Aiten said. “The guests will not notice her leave.”
“Because they’ve already forgotten what they’re celebrating.” Gotta love the Sidhe for their brutal honesty. “Just let me tell my family first.”
I made my way back across the room to the others, swatting away a drunken piskie who tried to pull my hair. It should come as no surprise that the Sidhe would carry on partying even with a war knocking on their doors, but if Lord Daival had broken out of jail days ago, he would already have paid me a visit if he wanted to threaten my family. The prison, on the other hand, was a far more likely target.
“What did Lady Aiten want?” asked Ilsa.
I lowered my voice. “Lord Daival broke out of jail. Can you and River keep an eye on things here? Lady Aiten doesn’t want to ruin the fun and shut the party down, but I really do need to go and deal with this.”
Her eyes flew wide. “Do the Sidhe think he might be at the party?”
“I’d assume he has more sense than to gate-crash, but I recommend someone goes to tell Mum so she can up the defences around our family’s gate.”
“I will,” said Morgan. “The party is shit and I’m bored with being the third wheel.”
“Okay. I’ll see you guys in a bit.” I crossed the palace floor to the oak doors and headed out into the night. Warm air wafted over me, bringing the fragrant smells of Summer’s night-blooming flowers, but my skin remained clammy and chilled. Lord Daival is loose in Faerie. And if he had his way, the former Seelie Queen would be the next to taste freedom.
“Hazel, wait!” Coral, my half-selkie friend, hurried to catch up with me. Her blond hair bounced in waves to her shoulders, while she wore a mottled cloak which became her skin when she shifted into a seal. Beneath, she wore the dark clothing of a bodyguard rather than party-appropriate clothing, though her stint as my self-appointed watcher should have ended when I became Gatekeeper.
“Sorry, Coral,” I said. “I have to go to the jail. There’s been—”
“A breakout,” she said. “I was visiting my brother at the jail when they found out. I’ll come with you.”
“Are you sure?” I wouldn’t say no to company, so I gave her a grateful smile and addressed the two guards. “Coral will be coming with me.”
Neither of them objected, so I let the Sidhe overtake us, moving closer to Coral. “How’s your mother?”
She grimaced. “Devastated, but better than before. As her clarity of thought has returned, she has resumed her position as queen. My brother was poisoning her, as I feared.”
My chest tightened. “I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay,” she said. “Now she’s recovering, I’m free to stay here in Summer. I’m not required to stay in the Sea Court, and I want to visit my brother before…”
Before the Sidhe executed him for treason. I wasn’t the only one who’d had to face some major life changes lately. When Coral had come to the Summer Court in search of employment, she’d never expected to end up becoming the next in line for the Sea Kingdom’s throne after her brother had been arrested for shooting the Erlking using their mother’s talisman. I was sure the Seelie Queen had been the one to lure him over to her side, as she’d done to her other followers, and she’d do much worse if she was allowed to see daylight again.
The path veered sharply to the left, leading us to a large sprawling building grown from the forest itself. Ancient oaks stood at each corner, while their branches and roots interlocked to form the walls of a forbidding structure. The guard tapped the side of the wall with the point of his spear, causing the branches to retract around a door-sized area to let us in. Dim light filtered in from the narrow gaps between interlocking branches, and the gloom put me in mind of tunnels too deep below the earth for natural light to penetrate. I heard Coral’s teeth chattering at my side as we walked.
“Was Lord Daival imprisoned near the former Seelie Queen?” I asked the guard.
“No, but they were in the same high-security area of the jail.” He led the way through identical corridors lined with cells, each following the same layout. Most cells appeared to be empty, unsurprising given that until recently, the Sidhe had employed permanent exile as a punishment for traitors. That decision had come back to hit them when the outcasts had rallied together and attacked Earth, dragging the Courts into war, but with death now permanent, it was easier for the Sidhe to execute traitors rather than jail them.
“Why wasn’t he sentenced to death rather than being locked up?” The former Seelie Queen possessed a super-charged healing power which healed any injury in an instant, even the destructive magic of the Erlking’s talisman, but Lord Daival had no such advantage.
“It was the Erlking’s choice,” he said. “He neglected to give specific instructions for Lord Daival’s fate before his passing, only that he and the former queen should be given the tightest security.”
Well, it clearly wasn’t enough. I’d even managed to sneak off to talk to the Seelie Queen myself on the pretext of visiting my mother. I should have guessed Lord Daival would have been scheming, too, but I’d been fixated on protecting my family at the time.
When the guard used his talisman to unlock the door to the high-security area, a sudden pressure pushed against me from all angles, and the mark on my forehead throbbed, making my circlet feel uncomfortably tight. The glamour slid off my clothes, reverting them to the plain shirt and trousers I’d been wearing underneath my dress, but I doubted I’d be returning to the party after this. Beside me, Coral had gone quiet, her face pale.
The guard halted outside an open cell. The branches had retracted, revealing a dingy room the size of a cupboard. It was a dismal place to spend an immortal life, but Lord Daival had deserved it and so did his queen.
“What did he do, sneak out, steal a talisman, then sneak back in here and create an illusion?” I asked. “Seems kinda long-winded for an escape attempt.”
“But an effective one,” Coral said. “He must have stolen a security talisman, too, right?”
“He stole one from a guard on his way out,” said the Sidhe. “It wasn’t the only one of our talismans to end up misplaced during the attack on the Court, however.”
Oops. I’d borrowed a guard’s talisman myself to unlock the way to the Seelie Queen’s cell so I could question her about the Erlking’s death. At the time, the Sidhe had been on the brink of executing my mother for a crime she’d never committed, and besides, it hadn’t been my actions that had led to the Sidhe lord’s escape. “Did he use it to break into your weapons hold, then? Why do you keep other talismans within reach of the cells, anyway?”
“The talismans were among the possessions we confiscated from other prisoners,” said the guard. “Including Lord Daival himself. Three are known to be missing, including his own.”
“You kept them on the premises?” No wonder the guards seemed unusually subdued. They knew they’d really screwed up this one.
“His own magic was weak,” the guard said.
“Which proves nothing, if he’s claimed more than one talisman.” The bloody fools had handed him the keys to the Court. “I would like to speak with the Seelie Queen. If she’s using an illusion, too—”
“She isn’t,” said the guard. “There are no loopholes in the protections around her cell.”
“Forgive me if I don’t trust your word.” My talisman glowed as my voice rose, and the guard’s eyes rounded at the sight of the swirling light on my forehead. “The Seelie Queen and I have an understanding. For some reason, her
plans involve keeping me alive, and I can use it to get her to talk to me.”
Not strictly true, but the guard nodded. “Fine, but you will have ten minutes, and that’s all.”
Coral shot me a concerned look. “Are you sure?”
“I’ll be fine,” I said, though I felt my hands twisting together, gripping one another in the way they did when I was nervous. “You should stay here until I’m done. I don’t want her playing mind games with you, too.”
Mind games were all the Seelie Queen had left, locked in her cell for an indefinite sentence. I didn’t want to talk to her, but to say I no longer trusted the Sidhe to do their jobs was an understatement. I needed to be certain she remained securely behind bars.
I already knew the way to the Seelie Queen’s cell, which lay at the dead end of a corridor, occupying a single section of wall. While neither of us could see the other, I felt her eyes watching me from behind the interwoven roots and branches, bringing goose bumps to my skin. I firmly gripped my left wrist in my right hand to stop the nervous motion.
“Hazel Lynn,” she said. “Or should I call you Gatekeeper?”
What did she want me to do, profess my gratitude to her for kidnapping my mother and forcing her to relinquish her Gatekeeper powers to me?
“I was having a great time at my welcome party before I found out your assistant escaped jail,” I told her. “I have to admit, I’m a little surprised he didn’t come back to free you, too. Guess he wasn’t so loyal after all, huh.”
A chill breeze swept through the corridor, making me shiver. Here in the darkness, none of Summer’s magic lingered, giving it a stifling, lifeless atmosphere that put me in mind of winding paths and trees frozen in time.
“I confess I’ve heard some interesting stories of how you thwarted Lord Veren,” said the Seelie Queen. “I’m told there wasn’t a trace of him or any of his companions found in the Vale. Nothing but ashes.”
Fear clamped over my chest. She might not know I’d claimed the talisman, but if she realised I’d gone within range of the talisman’s magic and survived, she’d know I was hiding information. Telling her about the stone Etaina had loaned me to protect me against the talisman’s magic would give her another angle to use against me, so I simply said, “That’s because you made them carry the talisman around until they disintegrated. Did anyone bother to warn them first?”
“They knew the risks.”
I doubted it. “Well, Lord Fuckface is dead, and the Erlking’s killer faces execution. You lost an awful lot of allies, Seelie Queen. I hope it was worth it to you.”
“What does the heir to the Sea Court think about her brother’s impending death?” she said.
I found myself doubly grateful that I hadn’t brought Coral to speak to her. My friend was tough, but she didn’t need to deal with the Seelie Queen’s barbed comments on top of her brother’s upcoming execution.
“It’s not my business,” I said. “Nor is it yours. I’d have thought you’d want to know all about the hopefuls who want to take the Erlking’s place. Is that Lord Daival’s goal? You rule the Vale, he gets Summer?”
She gave a delicate laugh. “Good guess, but I’m afraid you’re going to be disappointed if you expect me to reveal my goals.”
“Damn.” I put on a mock-disappointed tone. “I really thought you’d tell me. Or at least hand me the blueprints to your evil plans.”
“I can give you a clue, if you like.”
“Depends what the catch is.” I leaned closer to the cell wall, ignoring the cold tremor in my limbs. “I’m not promising you anything, and I’m certainly not involving anyone else in your schemes. What do you want?”
“Information,” she said. “My servants are useful, but they cannot paint the full picture of life in the outside world the way you can. I will answer one question of yours if you do the same for me.”
Hmm. “Ask yours first and I’ll decide whether to accept your bargain.”
A chuckle escaped. “You’re as distrusting as ever, Hazel Lynn. My question is this… what is your goal as Gatekeeper?”
She hadn’t said I couldn’t lie. An obvious oversight, especially as she couldn’t see my face and read my body language. I cast around for whichever plausible answer would give her the least ammunition to use against me. If I tried a flippant answer like to throw better parties than Lord Niall, she’d know I was lying and clam up. I’d need to come up with something better.
To make sure the Sidhe don’t kill each other.
To put a new monarch on the throne.
To undo the curse.
“To not lose the Summer Gate,” I said. “Mostly because my mother would kill me.”
“That is a satisfying answer,” she said. “Now, you may ask your own question.”
I opened my mouth then closed it again. Where to start? If I asked where Lord Daival was, I might not get an accurate answer even if she told the truth, because she couldn’t have access to a constant update on his whereabouts.
“Choose wisely,” she said. “It’s up to you to decide what matters the most… your own personal curiosity, or the Sidhe’s safety? Lord Daival, or me? Your own past, or the Court’s future?”
I scowled at the cell wall. “I could ask you what in hell you meant by all that, but you’ll only talk in riddles again.”
My personal curiosity needed to stay firmly out of this one. As for the Sidhe, they faced threats on multiple levels and a single question wouldn’t solve all of them. Lord Daival might be a pain in the arse, but he was harmless compared to his queen. She held all the cards here. Or she thought she did. Confident she might be, but there was a still a wall between us.
Your own past, or the Court’s future?
What that meant, I could only guess. The past was past. As for the future…
She didn’t know who the heir was, did she?
Lady Aiten’s words replayed in my mind. Not only had the Sidhe yet to find the heir, the Erlking seemed to have left no record behind. Every day that passed without a new monarch on the throne made the Court vulnerable, not just to outside threats but to threats within their own borders. Look at those two brawling Sidhe at the party.
I drew in a breath. “My question is this: who has the information on the identity of the heir to the Summer Court?”
A low chuckle vibrated from behind the bars. “Clever mortal. You didn’t ask if I knew, because your question wouldn’t have come with a satisfying answer.”
“Yes, yes, I’m very intelligent.” Hardly. My sister was the smart one. I was just more accustomed to playing faerie games. “Answer my question.”
“My answer is this,” she said. “The Erlking gave the information on his heir to his personal sprite messenger, and nobody else.”
My nails dug into the skin of my wrist. “What?”
“That is my answer.”
Well, shit. The last time I’d seen the Erlking’s sprite, he’d been living in the tunnels beneath his deceased master’s territory. The only other time I’d set eyes on him had been when he’d delivered me the message telling me to investigate the Erlking’s murder, and on neither of those occasions had he said a word to me.
“Does that satisfy you?” she asked.
“We’re done with questions,” I said. “Unless you’d like to tell me why he gave the information to someone who can’t even talk.”
“Oh, he can talk. My assistant is counting on it.”
Please tell me she wasn’t implying what I thought she was. “Lord Daival took the Erlking’s sprite captive?”
She gave a soft laugh. “I imagine it wouldn’t take long for that little creature to break and start spilling the Erlking’s secrets. But I cannot see every event that occurs outside these walls, and I have not heard a word from my assistant since his escape. Perhaps the sprite managed to evade him.”
Bile coated the back of my throat. She planned to have Lord Daival torture the information on the heir out of the Erlking’s sprite. And then? He’d eit
her capture or kill the next leader of the Summer Court.
3
I hurried back to the guard waiting outside Lord Daival’s abandoned cell.
“Your friend went to see her brother,” he said. “What is it, human?”
“I need to talk to Lady Aiten,” I said. “Urgently.”
His brow furrowed, but he led the way back through the doors and into the main section of the jail. The oppressive sensation of the magic-proofed spell lifted, but I hardly noticed. Panic whirled in the back of my mind. The Seelie Queen hadn’t been bluffing, and Lord Daival had had ample opportunity to pay a visit to the Erlking’s territory since his escape. I’d bet few people in the Court knew he even had a sprite.
Outside the jail, the guard gestured to the path leading back to the ambassadors’ palace. “You’ll find Lady Aiten at the palace. Your friend is with her brother.”
“Tell Coral I’ll explain later.” I didn’t want to worry anyone unnecessarily—mostly because when the Sidhe panicked, they blew shit up—but the situation looked grimmer than a troll’s wardrobe. The Erlking’s territory, abandoned and overgrown, didn’t even register to the Sidhe as a place worth guarding. Lord Daival would have encountered no resistance.
Please say I’m not too late.
I tracked down Lady Aiten outside the ambassadors’ palace, where she stood conversing with Lord Raivan. The blond Sidhe’s flowery hat was lopsided, while his eyes held the glassy appearance of intoxication. “Lady Aiten, I need to talk to you.”
“What is it, Gatekeeper?” She stepped smoothly away from her companion, her gaze flickering over my newly unglamoured, plain clothing. “Did you find what you were looking for in the jail?”
“Not exactly.” I gave a brief scan of the area and checked nobody was eavesdropping in the bushes outside the palace doors. “Has anyone seen the Erlking’s sprite lately?”
“His sprite?” she echoed. “Few know he exists at all. Why?”
“I need to visit the Erkling’s territory. Now.”
My frantic tone must have tipped her off, because she nodded without asking questions. “Come with me.”
The Gatekeeper's Trials: The Complete Trilogy Page 24
