“Of course, my Queen.”
No.
My family didn’t know she’d escaped and would be unprepared for her to enter the Lynn house and take the talisman. Worse, with her healing magic, even if the talisman didn’t accept her, it would cause her no harm, and she’d be able to use its magic to destroy the Courts and rebuild her own from the ruins.
An image entered my mind, of the Seelie Queen sitting atop her throne with the staff in her hand. The last true immortal, able to destroy her enemies at a touch with the talisman I’d claimed.
Raw anger seared my veins. I shook the vines free from my wrists, yanked a knife from the sheath on my thigh and hurled it at the Seelie Queen.
I didn’t expect to hit her, but for all her glamour, she didn’t wear armour. The blade sank into her neck to the hilt, and her mouth parted in surprise, a thin trail of blood trickling down her ivory-white skin.
Lord Daival released a hoarse cry, as though he was the one who’d been stabbed, and I ran for my life, hurtling through the undergrowth and out of the forest. Wild panic drove me onward, and I skidded to a halt in front of the gates, which didn’t yield when I pushed on them. Dammit, Lord Daival must have locked them.
A wave of thorns flew at me from behind. I ducked and rolled behind an exposed tree root, grabbing another iron knife.
“How dare you strike my queen?” Lord Daival’s face was white with rage, thorns gleaming on his hands. “Your blood will feed the forest and our territory will grow strong from your flesh.”
“Lord Daival,” said the Seelie Queen. Her voice was no longer melodic, but low and raspy. Yet despite the crimson blood soaking her neck, the wound had sealed closed, and she held a pointed blade in her hand. “Please do not kill the Gatekeeper. I plan to deal with her later… after I take care of her family, that is. Restrain her.”
Thorns pierced my arms, the bonds reforming, and the gates sprang open to allow the Seelie Queen through. I threw myself after her with a snarl of fury, but Lord Daival kicked me viciously in the back of the leg, pointing his blade at my throat.
“Go on.” My leg throbbed, blood dampening my wrists. “I dare you to kill the Gatekeeper and see what the aftermath of my family’s curse does to you. This curse outlasted the Erlking’s death, Lord Daival, and there’s a good reason the Seelie Queen hasn’t ordered you to kill me. She knows it would destroy you both. Would you risk the life of your queen to see me dead at your hands?”
Fury glinted in his eyes, but a hint of doubt crept in. Nobody knew the contents of the Gatekeeper’s vow—the vow I’d loathed all my life, yet the only thing that might save me.
“The Queen wishes you to live,” he growled. “You might be an effective weapon if this curse of yours can be utilised effectively against our enemies.”
No thanks. “Nah, I think I’ll pass.”
As far as I knew, nobody in the Court knew the truth of how the curse had ensnared my family—but Etaina did. It’d be nice to imagine Darrow’s Court would show up to help me out, but they’d forsaken the Summer Court long ago, and Etaina would shed no tears when it was gone.
“You have no choice, Hazel Lynn,” said Lord Daival. “We will build a new Court from the ashes of this one, a single one uniting Summer and Winter. The mortal realms will bow before us, and the lesser Courts will crumble at our feet.”
“Yeah, that’s not gonna go the way you think, mate.” But who was left in Summer to challenge him? As for the lesser Courts like the Sea Kingdom, they hadn’t the armies to stand up to Summer. Winter might be able to fight back, but did they have an equivalent to the Erlking’s talisman? Even if they did, the Sidhe weren’t known to care about collateral damage. Earth would suffer no matter the outcome.
Dammit, I need to get the fuck out of here and back to my family. My gaze skimmed over Lord Daival. He must have the key to the gates somewhere on him, and he hadn’t noticed how I’d broken the vines the first time he’d used them on me.
“I guess she hasn’t fixed up the torture rooms or prison cells yet,” I said to him. “So we’ll have to stand here until she gets back. Do you have anywhere I can sit down? My leg hurts.”
“Stop talking.”
I twitched my hands. “Your Queen told you to keep me alive, so if I bleed out, she’ll be pissed at you, you know. Even if you ignore the whole backfiring curse issue. I heard one person who tried to flee the curse was ripped in two, one half on each side of the Ley Line.”
He gave me a flinty look. “You don’t look like you’re on the verge of death.”
“Aww. That was almost sweet of you.” I moved my wrists up and down to bring the vines closer to the iron band. “I never asked—did you ever tell your followers the truth in the end? I mean, that you had no intention of putting the Erlking back on the throne?”
“I never lied to them,” he said. “They heard what they wanted to believe, no more.”
I bet they did. After all, the Seelie Queen had done the same to him. Over the years he’d worked for her, she’d poisoned his mind and turned him against the Court. Lord Daival’s confidence in her abilities was absolute, but as for his confidence in himself? To place his faith in her suggested he craved a strong leader to tell him what to do. Just like the Erlking’s worshippers had absolute faith in their leader to do the impossible and return from death.
“Lord of Thorns?” One arm broke free of the vines. “Was it you who started that one, or did someone else give you the nickname?”
He said nothing, but his hands twitched at his sides as though he longed to strangle me. My gaze lingered on the sword at his waist which he hadn’t unsheathed yet. That one had to be the security talisman.
“Did you two used to hang out here all the time?” I went on. “Back when you were lovers? Was that how you entertained yourselves over the long years? It must have been excruciating to go back into the Court and pretend to worship the Erlking instead.”
“Be quiet.”
“I bet she uses the talisman on you as soon as it’s in her hand,” I added. “You know what the Erlking did after she betrayed him? He started from scratch. Fired all his advisors and hired new ones. The two of them are more alike than she’d ever admit, and she doesn’t trust anyone. The difference is that she won’t just fire her advisors. She’ll kill you to ensure you tell nobody her secrets.”
“She trusts me above all others,” he said. “I’m the one who set her free.”
“Wait and see,” I continued. “As soon as she has her throne, she’ll start seeing enemies everywhere, especially among those who saw her at her weakest. Look at how she let the jail collapse on top of you and left you to drag yourself out of the ruins. Trust me, she wouldn’t care if you died.”
A muscle ticked in his jaw. “I am her trusted assistant.”
“That’s a fancy word for ‘expendable’.”
“She healed me.” His voice rose louder, yet the slightest tremor remained underneath. “She used her magic to heal the wound you dealt me.”
“Like a master healing their servant, that’s all,” I said. “She’ll have her army waiting in the Vale, and she’ll replace you soon enough. She doesn’t care for anyone but herself, Lord Daival. You’re nothing more than a puppet, easily discarded and cast aside as soon as she finds someone better.”
He snarled, advancing on me, and I hurled my knife at him. The blade sank deep into his chest, and he toppled backwards, his mouth gaping open.
“You should have realised how I broke the thorns the first time.” I waved the wristband engraved with the name Lynn as I reached down and plucked the security talisman from his belt. “Amateur move there, Lord Daival.”
I hadn’t quite hit his heart—that armour was a bloody nuisance—but I didn’t care about Lord Daival anymore. Stopping the Seelie Queen from reaching my family was more important.
Then I’d take that talisman from her or die trying.
21
Please, please don’t let me be too late.
I
broke into a sprint, ignoring the sting of the thorns’ scratches on my hands and arms and the throbbing pain in my leg where Lord Daival had kicked me. Reaching the end of the path, I veered past the jail’s ruins, where more Sidhe gathered to fetch their wounded and dead, and continued on towards the ambassadors’ palace.
As I reached the doors, Darrow stepped into my path. Shit. Not now.
“Hazel.” He hurried to intercept me. “You escaped?”
“I know.” I kept walking, heading for the Summer gates. “The Seelie Queen has gone after my family.”
“She hasn’t.” He caught my arm. “Lady Aiten and some of the other Sidhe who survived the blast chased her down and set up an ambush for her. She didn’t reach your family, Hazel.”
My shoulders sagged with relief. “The jail is gone, though. What will they do with her?”
“Leave it to the Sidhe,” he insisted. “Get your family away from the Courts. I’ll come with you.”
Damn. He just had to offer to do the impossible. “You should go back to Etaina and warn her in case the Seelie Queen goes after her next.”
“She won’t,” he said, continuing to walk alongside me. “I meant what I said—my mission isn’t the important thing anymore, Hazel. I wish I’d seen it earlier.”
My heart stuttered. “Please—don’t.”
Don’t care too much. Don’t make me do this.
We both knew the Seelie Queen’s healing magic would make it all but impossible for the Sidhe to ensnare her, with or without the jail intact. Only the talisman would suffice, and the emotion shining in his eyes was proof enough that I’d have to shatter both our hearts if I wanted him to live.
Darrow’s hand reached for mine. “I’m not asking you to come with you out of manipulation, or because Etaina asked me to. I’m asking you because the thought of losing you is more than I could bear.”
My throat closed up. “Can’t you just trust that I have a plan? I have to do this alone.”
I pulled my hand out of his and covered the short distance to the Summer gates. Shadows flowed from the edges into the surrounding forest, eating away at the moss on the gates and turning the vibrant Summer leaves to ashes.
Darrow swore. “The Erlking’s talisman—”
“My talisman.” The shadows nudged the gate open, tingling against my skin. The grass beyond lay shrivelled and dead, and darkness blanketed the hedges. “It’s mine, Darrow, and I’m going to use it to defeat the Seelie Queen.”
I didn’t close the gates behind me, but I heard no footsteps on my heels as I hurried into my family’s garden. Silence lay thickly over the lawn, while shadowy magic extended long limbs over the hedges from the Inner Garden, seeking life to feed on.
Seeking their master.
“Mum?” I shouted. “Ilsa?”
No reply came. A dark patch near the door to the house drew my eye, and dread pooled inside me. I skidded to a halt at the back door, my heart plummeting into the earth.
A doorway into the Vale lay in mid-air, gaping like the open mouth of some great beast. The Seelie Queen hadn’t gone after the talisman at all. She’d taken my family and left the talisman as bait so I’d have no choice but to claim it if I wanted to get them back.
My heart pounded in my ears, the cuts on my arms trickling with blood. Shadows lapped at the blood, drawing closer, hugging my limbs. A whisper rang through my head… mine. This is mine.
I ran to the Inner Garden, or what was left of it. The pool was more of a puddle now, its surface grey and shadowy, while the staff lay propped against the bank. My hands sank into the water and the cuts from the thorns closed up, the pain in my leg vanishing at the touch of the healing magic.
“I’ve come to take you back,” I whispered to the talisman.
My hand closed around the hilt, and pain rippled through my arm, breaking my grip. Shadows pulsed out from the talisman, knocking me clean off my feet. My back slammed into the cracked earth, leaving me winded. “What the—?”
Climbing upright, I reached for the talisman again. Shadows lashed at me, sending me flying back into the hedge. Sharp leafless branches speared my arms.
“Stop that!” I snapped. “Stop it. I’m here to claim you. I’m not going to abandon you this time—"
The shadows wrapped around my extended arms, but rather than a pleasant tingling sensation, they brought an uncomfortable itch that felt like sharp nails were scratching at my skin. Like those thorns were back, tightening their grip. Is it feeding on my life force?
I fought hard, unable to move, even with my instincts screaming at me to flee. “If you kill me, the Seelie Queen will claim you. She’ll use you to destroy everything… she’ll destroy us all.”
I knew the talisman could understand me on some level, but if I’d truly left it too late, it’d devour my fragile human flesh from my bones as it had done to the others who’d tried to hold it without claiming its power.
“Hazel!” shouted a voice from behind me.
Goddammit. Darrow had followed me after all.
“Stay back!” I shouted, without turning around. “If you come any closer, it’ll kill you, too.”
I didn’t need to look at him to know the stubborn fool hadn’t moved an inch. A fresh wave of emotion gripped me. Not just fear—but anger, too. Don’t you dare attack him, talisman. Don’t you dare.
With a roar of fury, I broke free of the shadows and lunged at the pool, grabbing the talisman with both hands. “You won’t break me, talisman. You’re mine.”
The itching sensation ceased. Instead, an odd vibration travelled beneath my skin, almost like the murmur of a voice I couldn’t quite hear. The implication was clear: do not abandon me again, or you will die at my touch.
A rush of dizzying magic spread from the shadows under my skin, into my bones and blood. Shadows threaded through my fingertips, no longer feeding on me but sustaining me. Like a breath taken after submersion underwater, like the first glimpse of sunlight after days of darkness, the talisman awakened a part of me that had been sleeping ever since I’d given it up.
This is mine.
Darrow’s sharp intake of breath made me wheel around. He stared at me, as though I’d punched him so hard in the chest that I’d knocked all the fight out of him. “Hazel.”
“Don’t come any closer.” I backed up a step, gripping the staff with both hands. “I can’t control it. It wants to feed on anything living, and it won’t stop now I’ve claimed it. I need to use it to destroy the Seelie Queen. It’s the only way.”
He took a step across the lawn, indicating the house. “There’s an opening to the Vale over there, Hazel.”
“I know.” I stepped out of the grove, mentally calculating the distance between us. “You need to go further away from me. If you don’t, the shadows will reach you, and I won’t be able to stop them from hurting you.”
He didn’t move. Neither did the shadows. “You gave the talisman up, didn’t you? That’s why you managed to hide it.”
“I did,” I said, “but I need it now. I’m going to the Vale to save my family, and then I’m coming for the Seelie Queen. You should leave. I don’t think it’s going to let me go so easily next time.”
“You can’t go back into the Court with that,” he said. “The Sidhe will destroy you.”
A grim smile stirred on my face. “Do you really think it’ll let them?”
I let the words hang between us like Lord Daival’s thorns given voice. Loathing ate at me from the inside, even as part of me revelled in the flow of shadowy magic roaring in my veins. The grass shrivelled under my feet, and in the house, the lights flickered and died as I ran for the entrance into the Vale.
Tears stung my eyes, tears I refused to let fall. Darrow would be fine. He’d live. That’s all that mattered. Etaina wouldn’t punish him for leaving the talisman in the hands of its new wielder in order to preserve his own life. There was nothing more to do for him.
My family needed me. They needed my talisman’s power.
/>
On the other side of the doorway, silver-lit paths greeted me, and this time, I felt an odd kinship with them. The Vale was the talisman’s natural habitat, and a long time ago, the gods had once walked along these winding paths, driven out of their home by the wrathful Sidhe.
“Give me my family back,” I told the path. “Take me to them.”
The staff in my hands vibrated, shadows flickering around the edges. I needed to do this fast. Then I’d go after the Seelie Queen, using the talisman to subdue her long enough for the Sidhe to find a way to cage her again. And then…
They won’t let you back into the Court, Hazel.
My shoulders stiffened. The voice in my head sounded like me, but not quite. The shadows moved as it spoke, their cold caress brushing against my skin.
You will be exiled. They will strip my magic from you and leave you to die.
They will kill you.
You’ll be a human again, weak, insignificant.
“Stop it,” I muttered, quickening my pace. “I need to save my family. You can gripe at me later.”
There will be no later. Let the Court handle their wayward Queen. If you go back to them, you will die.
The voice quietened as a dark shape moved across my path. Its body was like an unnaturally tall, emaciated humanoid with saucer-like eyes. A sluagh. I let go of the staff to grab my weapon, but the shadows lashed out of their own accord, disintegrating the beast into wisps of smoke.
“You’re efficient, I’ll give you that,” I told the talisman. “Thanks.”
I do not do this as a favour. I am yours, and you are mine.
“That makes it sound like we’re married,” I said. “I guess the Gatekeeper’s rule says, ‘no dating faeries’, not ‘no eternal bindings to dodgy ancient artefacts which contain the magic of a dead god’, so you’re probably safe from the backlash there. Can you sense my sister’s talisman?”
The Gatekeeper's Trials: The Complete Trilogy Page 41
