The Gatekeeper's Trials: The Complete Trilogy

by Emma L. Adams

  “No,” said the serpent. “The Lord of Thorns was apprehended in the Summer Court. The fool blew his cover.”

  Shit. Lord Daival had been arrested in the Summer Court… months ago. Right after I’d become Gatekeeper. If this guy wasn’t lying, Lady Aiten had it wrong. Lord Daival wasn’t in the Vale at all.

  “Great.” I took a step backwards. “Guess I'd better be going, then.”

  The serpent fae uncoiled, baring his fangs at me. “I'm not finished with you yet, Gatekeeper. I haven’t tasted a human in a long time.”

  “My circlet would choke you.” I raised my iron blade. “And so would this.”

  The serpent lunged at me. I swung the blade, clashing with its sharp teeth. Bracing my feet on the path, I pushed hard, driving its teeth away from my exposed skin. Spitting out venom and blood, the snake reared back for another strike.

  I dodged to the side, dealing a vicious blow to its neck. The serpent hissed in agony, shaking its head and scattering droplets of blood onto the path. My blade cut into its scaled skin—once, twice, three times, each cut driving deeper until the blade came free, buried in its mouth.

  While the beast writhed on the spot, I drew a second blade and severed its head. Darrow watched the creature’s serpentine body hit the ground with a jarring thud.

  “You let me do all the work.” I stepped over to its prone head and yanked out my bloodstained blade.

  “You had it handled.”

  If I didn’t know better, I’d say he’d enjoyed the show, which was kind of flattering. He wasn’t my mentor anymore, so there was no reason for him to take an interest in my fighting prowess… unless he'd been told to watch for signs of the talisman’s magic.

  I found myself fervently glad that the talisman had left no traces behind after my sister had removed its influence. It'd hurt like hell to have the talisman’s magic ripped out of me, but Darrow, with his sharp eyes and his knack for asking the wrong questions, would have known right away. Had he been here every day for the last week, looking for the talisman? I should have known Etaina would be bloody persistent. I needed to get us both out of here before he realised the Vale hadn’t been screwing around when it’d led him to my side.

  I shook blood droplets off my blade. “Not going to chastise me for using iron?”

  “No,” he said. “It’s a sensible choice for the Vale.”

  His praise always threw me off-balance because he delivered it in the same manner in which he did his criticisms—matter-of-fact, without any hidden meanings—which made his compliments land with more weight than they normally would. That made it harder to distrust him, that was for damned sure.

  I stepped away from the serpentine monster’s corpse. “The Lord of Thorns? I should have guessed Lord Daival would adopt his own fancy title.”

  A thoughtful expression passed over Darrow’s face. “If he isn't here, he may be in Summer, hidden among the other Sidhe.”

  “Depends how good he is at using glamour.”

  Glamour was the Aes Sidhe’s speciality, but Lord Veren had walked among the Summer Court for days before anyone had realised he’d been using a powerful illusion to conceal the decaying effects of the Erlking’s talisman’s magic. Even Lady Aiten, who’d walked at his side, hadn’t noticed until Ilsa had spotted his damaged soul using her spirit sight.

  “Or he might be in Winter,” he added.

  “No chance. It’s the Erlking’s throne his queen wants.” Which meant the odds of him hiding in Summer were stronger than the chances of him picking the mortal realm instead. “He’s either in Summer or on Earth, but he’d need to stay close to the Ley Line to get into Faerie.”

  “Yes, he would.” Darrow scanned the path. “How did you plan to get back into Faerie yourself?”

  “Lady Aiten left me a door open.” I turned on the spot. “I’ll have to find it.”

  “I have a quicker way.” Darrow took my arm. Startled, I tilted my head up at him, warmth spreading from his fingers through my sleeve.

  Then the Vale disappeared, to be replaced by a wide chamber. Tunnels extended in all directions like the roots of a giant tree, under curved ceilings that made the space feel more enclosed, as though we stood miles below the earth.

  He’d brought me into the lands of the Aes Sidhe.

  5

  The dome-like chamber was empty aside from the two of us, and I didn’t have the faintest clue which tunnel led to the way out. The walls were formed of smooth, packed earth, dotted with glowing patches of fungi that provided the only real light source, the floor flattened by countless generations of footsteps.

  I turned on Darrow. “You bastard. If I die here, my mother will personally hunt you down and feed your balls to one of the Vale’s serpents.”

  “Then it’s a good job I have no intention of harming you.” His crisp, even tone betrayed his annoyance at me for insinuating Etaina planned to have me killed. I didn’t believe she did—I intrigued her too much—but if she realised I’d taken the talisman for myself, there was no telling what she might do.

  “You know Etaina didn’t have any intention of letting me go last time,” I said. “I gave you the stone back. Why is she so interested in talking to me?”

  “I think you know the answer to that question, Hazel.”

  The way he said my name sent a thrill down my spine, laced with a suggestiveness that implied he was interested in me for very different reasons. But we’d gone down that route already, and now he’d tricked me into coming here, I’d rather flirt with a goblin than try to seduce him again.

  Before I could say another word, the sound of voices drifted in from an alcove off the main cave. Darrow lifted his head. “She’s addressing her Court. I would advise you not to interrupt her, Hazel.”

  He walked to the alcove, which turned out to contain a wooden door. Darrow pushed it open without a sound, revealing a large chamber the size of a wide hall. Towering tree trunks connected the earthen floor and ceiling like pillars, their branches forming arches overhead, while rows of Aes Sidhe stood facing an elevated platform, conversing in low murmurs. Surprise rooted me to the spot. I’d never seen more than one Aes Sidhe in the same room, unless you counted the moment Darrow and I had first arrived, but he’d been bleeding out at the time and I’d been too overcome with shock to take in the details.

  Here, there were dozens of them, lined up like soldiers and dressed in brown and green attire. While their silky hair and striking features mirrored the Summer Sidhe’s, their uniform appeared drab in comparison to Summer’s bright finery and Winter’s stark beauty. More like human clothing, an odd choice for a Court with a proclivity for glamour. I scanned the crowd, wondering if any of them might be Darrow’s friends or family. His gaze, however, was fixed on the raised platform at the front of the hall. Clouds of fireflies drifted over the ceiling, coalescing above the platform and leaving the rest of the hall in relative darkness.

  Etaina, leader of the Aes Sidhe, climbed onto the platform, sending silence cascading across the chamber like a waterfall. Stunning as ever, she had ivory-white hair which had made me wonder if she might be related to Darrow when I’d first seen her. Her green eyes were the same as any Summer Sidhe’s, and her fine-boned features spoke of noble heritage. Silver trimmings edged her green cloak, the sole marks of elegance among the plainly-dressed soldiers.

  “You have served me well.” Her melodic voice echoed with each word she spoke. “You’ve upheld your vows and dealt with those who sought to do us harm.”

  Dealt with. I wondered if they had a prison here like in the Summer Court, or if they just put dissenters to death. The Sidhe here must have lost their immortality at the same time as the Courts, but given their separation, they must be even more behind on Court news than the half-faeries living in the mortal realm. Or perhaps not, if they had other spies like Darrow hiding in Summer or Winter.

  The remaining fireflies gathered above the platform until the only sources of light in the room were Etaina’s mesmerisin
g green eyes. Her words meant nothing to me, but a peculiar sense of unreality gripped me, as though I’d slipped out of my body and onto another plane, casting all mundane senses aside. Was this how Ilsa felt when she used her necromancy skills to leave her body and wander around in the spirit realm? Even when I avoided looking directly at her, my body angled in her direction like the point of an arrow.

  Darrow’s hand squeezed mine, bringing me back to reality with a jolt. The crowd stood mesmerised, still held under Etaina’s spell, as her words rang out like heavenly bells.

  She was pulling a glamour on her whole Court. Even Darrow’s gaze was transfixed on the stage as though he’d quite forgotten I was standing there. I was tempted to tread on his foot to snap him out of it, but the spell broke when a rumble of voices rose from the crowd.

  “We serve you, Lady of Light. We are sworn to you.”

  The instant Etaina stepped down off the stage, Darrow’s fingers closed around my arm, urging me back towards the door.

  Shaking my head to clear the fuzziness caused by Etaina’s glamour, I ducked into the chamber we’d arrived in. A raven-haired Sidhe female with dark skin and green Summer eyes exited the hall behind us.

  “Darrow,” she said, in sour tones. “What is the Gatekeeper doing here?”

  “She’s come to see Etaina,” Darrow said.

  “No, she hasn’t,” I said. “Darrow whisked me away here, but I need to get back to Summer before they come looking for me.”

  Not that anyone in Summer knew this place existed. If it wasn’t in the Courts, I could only assume we were in a liminal space somewhere, but with no doors or windows, it was beyond me to figure out where. Perhaps even below the Summer Court itself, buried deep in the hillside in a place where the other Sidhe would never find us.

  The woman’s gaze lingered on Darrow with more than a hint of dislike. “Nobody leaves here without permission from our leader.”

  “Fine.” I put on a smile. “I’m interested in learning more about your Court, so that works for me. Nice show, by the way. Does she normally use her power to turn you all into obedient servants or is this just a special occasion?”

  Darrow gave me a warning look, which I ignored. If he didn’t want me to comment, he shouldn’t have hauled me into his Court against my will in the first place.

  The other Sidhe stepped aside as Etaina strode into view, her elegant brows lifting at the sight of me.

  “Gatekeeper,” she said. “I told Darrow to bring me the Erlking’s talisman, and instead he brought me the reason for its absence.”

  “You wished to speak with the Gatekeeper,” said Darrow. “I searched the Vale extensively, but I found no signs of the talisman. However, Hazel was there on a mission of her own, so I thought it wise to bring her in to fulfil her end of your bargain.”

  Because there was no way I’d agree to come here if asked. Not only had Etaina made no secret of her desire to own the Erlking’s talisman, but she also had no love for the Gatekeepers and seemed convinced that my ancestor had stolen the Sidhe’s magic. I was in no position to argue, since Thomas Lynn had vanished not long after his daughters had become the first Gatekeepers, and whichever Sidhe had initiated the original Gatekeeper’s pact remained a mystery even to our family. Etaina, however, had been alive in the days when the Erlking had taken his throne, which meant she far outclassed me in terms of knowledge.

  “Very well,” she said. “The Gatekeeper and I will speak alone.”

  She swept down the corridor, leaving me with little choice but to follow her to her office. The high-ceilinged room was furnished in oak wood, with towering bookshelves covering the three walls and a desk and chair in the centre. The absence of any windows meant the only light in the room came from groups of fireflies flitting around the ceiling and the magic shimmering in Etaina’s vibrant green eyes. Lady of Light, her people had called her, probably because she was the only source of light and colour in this underground realm.

  “How deep underground are we?” I asked.

  “I believe we came here for me to question you, Hazel Lynn,” she said. “If you stay here long enough, you may find out.”

  No thanks. “At which point does this turn from a friendly chat into a hostage situation? Because I didn't bring any spare clothes, and I have several angry Summer Sidhe and a mother with a collection of iron knives waiting for me back home.”

  “It depends if we can come to an agreement, Hazel,” she said. “I'll start by asking what you did with the Erlking’s talisman.”

  Can’t say I didn’t see that one coming.

  “The talisman was lost in the Vale,” I told her. “Its magic destroyed Lord Veren and the other traitors, and only the stone you loaned me stopped it from killing me, too. Darrow was injured and my mother had no way out of the Vale, so my sister and I left the talisman behind in order to help them escape.”

  “Am I to understand that your sister carries a talisman of her own?” said Etaina. “She’s human, is she not?”

  I’d known Darrow would tell her, and Ilsa didn't mind being used as a cover story. Her talisman did give her the ability to cross realms, though it exacted a heavy toll on her when she used it, but it wasn’t implausible that she’d have used her talisman to get us out of the Vale once our adversaries were dead.

  “She is,” I said. “She's also a necromancer. If you want to ask about her talisman, you're welcome to speak to her instead of me.”

  “Perhaps I will,” she said.

  Had she meant that to sound like a threat? At a guess… yes, she had. I gave her a smile. “Sure. Ilsa’s more than happy to give a demonstration. Her talisman can raise and banish the dead.”

  Her brows crept up at my words, but she betrayed no other reaction, to my disappointment. The Sidhe feared death beyond all else, and most of them pretended Ilsa’s talisman didn’t exist for that reason alone. If Etaina thought Ilsa might summon a plague of zombies, I’d hoped that would put a lid on any ideas she entertained of dragging my family members here to interrogate them about the Erlking’s talisman.

  “You brought Darrow back to the Court with you, too,” added Etaina. “If I’m to believe his story, you prioritised saving his life over making sure the talisman stayed out of enemy hands.”

  “The enemy was dead, I told you.” What was she getting at now? “It wasn’t like I could take the talisman back into the Court. I had to leave it behind.”

  She gave me an assessing look. “I find it hard to believe you had no plan for disposing of the talisman once the enemy was dead.”

  “If you ask Darrow, you’d know I’m not a planner, not by any stretch of the imagination,” I said. “I like living on the edge.”

  Or rather, the Sidhe always screwed up my plans, forcing me to think outside the box.

  “Yes, he did mention you had an unpredictable streak,” she mused. “I also find it difficult to believe that Darrow was unable to track down the talisman when it has no wielder. What were you doing in the Vale?”

  “I was on a mission for my Court,” I said. “If it’d involved the talisman, I’d have asked for a loan of another one of those stones of yours. I take it you gave one to Darrow? You wouldn’t have sent him out into the Vale alone without protection from the talisman’s magic.”

  Perhaps I should have kept the stone rather than handing it back to her, but I hadn’t wanted to owe her another debt, and I’d hoped keeping my word would be enough to get her to leave me alone. I didn’t even want to tell her about Lord Daival, much less how he’d kidnapped the Erlking’s sprite. Given that she was old enough to remember the Erlking being crowned, though, she might know who his heir was. And she’ll just tell you for free, will she?

  Cold magic slid over my skin like silk, probing beneath the surface. A gasp caught in my throat when it tingled up my arms, tracing the symbol on my forehead. Images of yawning chasms and starless skies appeared in my mind, and I shuffled my feet to remind myself they were firmly planted in reality. My hands knotte
d together, the nails digging into the skin of my palms.

  Then, to my relief, the sensation lifted. Had she been testing to see if I carried the talisman’s magic? She had nothing on me, but the intrusion left me reeling. Not least because I’d had a mere taste of the true extent of her power, and it left a sour, metallic taste in my mouth.

  “You are in no position to judge what I wouldn’t do, Hazel Lynn,” she said softly. “I want the Erlking’s talisman, and if you give it to me, I will tell you anything you desire to know.”

  “I’m not making a bargain with you.” I kept my words measured, my voice steady. “There's nothing you can tell me that is worth betraying my Court.”

  “I think you know the talisman has the potential to affect far more than just the Summer Court, Hazel.”

  “Yes, but it belonged to the Erlking.” Not only would I be betraying Summer if I gave it to her, but I'd also be betraying my family, and everyone else who might be affected if she turned the talisman on her fellow Sidhe. Humanity had paid a heavy enough price for the Sidhe’s inability to think of anyone outside of their narrow boundaries. I didn’t trust her to have humanity’s best interests in mind any more than I did the Sidhe in the Summer and Winter Courts.

  “The gods are waking,” Etaina said. “The talisman yearns to be wielded, and if nobody makes that choice, it will do so itself.”

  “You're talking like talismans have feelings.” Chills brushed the nape of my neck, mimicking the sensation of shadows wrapping around my fingertips, pushing me to unleash their wrath.

  “Feelings?” she said. “Not in the same sense as we do, but they have desires, impulses, and no weaknesses and attachments. They want to be wielded, but they won't hesitate to manipulate their owner or turn on them if they find someone they deem more worthy.”

  “Guess the staff did find the Erlking worthy, then.”

  Etaina didn’t like that, not a bit. Her eyes went even colder than before. “Talismans might be sentient, but that does not mean they cannot be manipulated.”