The Seelie Queen made an impatient noise. “Stop toying with them, Lord Daival. Destroy the spare and subdue the Gatekeeper.”
“If you call my sister a spare once again, I’ll see if your healing power can grow you a new head.” Shadows arced from my hands, forcing Lord Daival to back away, the thorns wilting in his hands. He conjured a fresh wave of vines, only for them to be swallowed up in the shadows. He gritted his teeth, sending vine after vine at Ilsa and me—so intent on his goal, he didn’t see the human figure slip up behind him.
Then, Lord Daival staggered, an iron blade protruding from his neck. Behind him, Mum withdrew the blade, and the shadows came to life in my hands. The former Gatekeeper nodded to me. She’d done what she came for.
The talisman’s magic surged over Lord Daival’s body, the flesh disintegrating, bones turning to ashes. When there was nothing left, the talisman’s shadows retracted, satisfied.
For an instant, the Seelie Queen and I looked at one another, and there was something like respect in her eyes when she regarded the talisman in my hands. I was right. She didn’t love Lord Daival. Poor bastard. “It’s not too late for you to join me. I would have you rule at my side, Hazel, an ally if not a queen.”
“No thanks.” I raised the staff, and she sidestepped with dizzying speed, vanishing into the woods of the Vale. “Get back here.”
Mum shouted my name, but I was already running after her. The Vale’s path changed, hiding the Seelie Queen from view. I focused hard, willing the Vale to take me to her. The Seelie Queen appeared, and an instant later, she vanished once more. It was a battle of wills, and she had infinitely more willpower than I did. Her healing power was relentless, while my energy levels had plunged below zero long ago. I was running on adrenaline and magic and little else.
“Damn you!” I called the shadows again, which unfurled around me, cloaking my body. “You will obey me, Vale, like you obeyed the gods who used to walk your paths.”
The Seelie Queen flickered into view. “Do you truly think you have the power to harness the gods, and I have none of my own? This is my domain, Hazel Lynn, not Summer, and I have an army waiting for me.”
Ghostly forms appeared behind her, and a wall of the dead rose to surround me on all sides. Wraiths… hundreds of them, bringing a chill to my skin and masking even the talisman’s shadows.
My hand froze to the staff. I couldn’t move an inch. I’d given too much of the shadows when I’d destroyed the Devourer, and I didn’t have enough power left to beat them.
Then Darrow appeared in my peripheral vision, his hand alight with magic.
“Stay back,” I whispered through numb lips. “You can’t fight the dead. Get out while you can.”
The cold sensation disappeared. The ghosts recoiled, while the Seelie Queen’s eyes widened. “You’re… you’re supposed to be dead.”
Unable to stop myself, I turned around. Darrow’s body floated in a halo of light against a starless backdrop—a dark void that drew me in, and the ghosts, too, drawn to him like a planet orbiting a star.
Nothing else existed. He spoke, but the words ran together, blurring to meaninglessness. I fought oblivion, and oblivion won.
“Hazel?” Darrow leaned over me. He was within range of the talisman’s shadowy magic, yet it didn’t harm him.
“Where…?” I waved a hand vaguely at the spot where the Seelie Queen had been.
“She’s gone,” he said. “She took her army and ran.”
“She was afraid of you.” She knew where your magic came from. She knew the Aes Sidhe when they lived in Summer, because their leader is her sister. “I mean, the glamour.”
“It happens.” The hitch in his breath tugged at something deep inside me. I became aware of my hands clenched around the staff, and him kneeling beside me. If he’d wanted to, he might have taken the talisman to his queen at any point while I’d been enthralled by his glamour… but he hadn’t.
As though he’d heard my thoughts, his gaze dropped to the staff, and my death grip on the hilt.
I swallowed hard. “Will the vow kill you if you fail to take the talisman?”
“No,” he said. “I was ordered to find it and bring it to her. Not claim it.”
“You did find it.” I pushed my body into a sitting position. “If you don’t bring it to her…”
“She didn’t specify a time frame.” Jaw clenched, he looked away. “I will not betray you, Hazel.”
“Hazel!” shouted Ilsa. “Get through here—quickly. They’re coming.”
“Who—?” I used the staff to push myself to my feet, and a flash of light sent a wave of dread rushing through me. Sidhe. They’re here. I leaned on the staff for balance and looked directly at Darrow. “Get out while you can. They might spare my life, but they’ll kill you if they catch you with me. I’m not rejecting you, I’m saving your life.”
This time, thank the gods, he listened to me. Darrow took off with swift faerie steps, past Mum and Ilsa, and out of sight around the Vale’s path.
Even if I hadn’t been incapacitated, I’d never have outrun the Sidhe. The instant Darrow disappeared, Lady Aiten and her fellow Sidhe entered my line of sight, their eyes fixed on the talisman in my hands.
I’m so screwed.
“Watch out,” I bluffed. “Don’t come any closer. I can’t control it. the Seelie Queen is loose in the Vale, and she’s the one you want to find.”
Short of handing over the staff and letting them tear the magic out of me, there was nothing I could do. I’d betrayed them from the instant the talisman chose me.
It was over.
“Go and find the former Queen,” Lady Aiten ordered her companions. “Hazel Lynn, come with me.”
Light folded around us, and an instant later, we stood in the hall of the ambassadors’ palace, which was much more crowded than earlier. Most of the Sidhe recoiled the moment they saw the talisman, backing to the edges of the room.
“You traitor,” whispered Lady Aiten. “You claimed the Erlking’s talisman, yet you told us it was lost in the Vale. You lied to the entire Court. Do you seek to rule over us?”
“No, of course not,” I said. “I want the Seelie Queen gone and the Erlking’s heir on the throne. That’s all. I’m not going to challenge the new monarch, and I’m not looking to rule anyone.”
Lady Aiten’s flinty gaze pierced me. “Many would say the talisman proves your worth to take the throne yourself. Others would kill you for it.
“It’s not Summer’s talisman,” I corrected. “The Erlking took it because he knew it would destroy the Courts if he didn’t, not because he was the king. He kept himself isolated from the Court because it tried to destroy everything it touched. The talisman has a mind of its own. It’s not your ally, but it’s not mine, either.”
“It is merely a tool,” she said. “Not an ally, but a tool you have chosen to use.”
“It’s conscious.” But I knew it was no use speaking to her. The lies I’d told had erased every truth I might speak. “It chose me, not the other way around.”
“You will give it to us, then.” She extended a hand. “Let us take the talisman back and return it to where it belongs.”
Dammit. “I can’t do that. Not yet. I sort of… promised to keep it a bit, in exchange for it helping me defeat Lord Daival and the Seelie Queen.”
Her cold gaze stripped the flesh from my bones. “Then there is nothing more to say to you. There will be no peace for you here, or anywhere else, Hazel Lynn.”
The finality of her words sent chills through my blood. I turned my back and left the palace, my heart thudding in tandem with my footsteps.
My family stood outside, waiting for me, and I went to join them, heading for home—and exile.
24
Shadows coiled in my palm. Sweat gathered on my forehead as I sought to keep it under control, and the shadows withdrew into the talisman without touching the grass.
“Better,” said Ilsa.
I wiped sweat from
my face on my sleeve. “You’re a ruthless teacher, you know.”
“Blame the person who taught both of us.” She jerked her head in the direction of the house.
In the week I’d been recuperating, the garden at the Lynn house had returned to normal, despite all the times my shadows had accidentally killed all the plants and cut out the house’s electrical supply. Even the waters of the grove had returned to their usual blue sheen. If not for the thin trail of shadows wrapping around the talisman’s hilt, it looked much like an ordinary wooden staff most of the time.
“Not sure I’m ready to try my luck in Faerie, though,” I added. “Even the borderlands.”
“Is that where Darrow went?” asked Ilsa.
“No, he went home first.”
I’d seen no signs of Darrow since he’d gone to report to Etaina, which worried me a little. Okay, a lot. I’d expected the Aes Sidhe to show up on my doorstep any day now and insist I hand over the talisman. There was no reason for Etaina to fear me if she had an ample supply of those stones which countered the talisman’s magic.
While Darrow might remain absent, most of the other half-faeries had relocated to the borderlands, including Coral. She’d made sure to stop by the house once or twice a week, since her own Queen had yet to call her back to the Sea Kingdom, and she’d been the only person aside from Darrow and my family who wasn’t totally freaked out by the talisman.
How the Sea Queen would react when she found out I wielded the talisman was anyone’s guess. Raine and Cedar, too. Raine’s own talisman was similar enough that I was sure she’d guessed there was something up with me when we’d met, but she hadn’t set eyes on the talisman, and I wasn’t legally allowed to enter Faerie anymore.
“Try again,” said Ilsa. “The flowerbeds this time.”
I twirled the staff in my hands, directing the shadows to move and stopping short before they made contact with the flowering plants.
“Nice,” said Ilsa. “See, you’ll be fine in Faerie. If they ever let you back in. I kinda expected the Sidhe to kick us out of the house, to be honest.”
“That would require them to come near the talisman again,” I reminded her. “Pity it doesn’t work on the one person we need it to.”
No sign of the Seelie Queen had been seen since the battle, but the lack of news meant little except that she’d continued to evade the Sidhe’s attempts to recapture her. The Court wasn’t supposed to be any of my business any longer, but damn if I didn’t regret leaving it in such a state. It was bitterly ironic that my position as Gatekeeper had saved me from the talisman’s wrath, yet the Sidhe had still kicked me out.
“No kidding.” Ilsa picked up her own talisman. “Let’s go and check up on Mum. She’s spending way too much time indoors lately.”
We found Mum in the living room of the house, sitting in her usual spot with stacks of papers all around her.
I prodded the top of the nearest pile with my staff. “Why are you still making that family tree? I thought Lady Aiten retracted all responsibilities from us.”
Mum looked up from the topmost document. “To see who we might be dealing with when the Sidhe select their next leader. For all we know, they might be open-minded enough to accept a Gatekeeper who wields the staff.”
“Open-minded?” I snorted. “The Sidhe wouldn’t know the meaning of the word. Including whoever they pick as their next ruler.”
“That’s not it,” Ilsa said. “There’s another reason you’re set on solving the puzzle.”
Mum paused for a long moment before answering. “No new monarch has been named in the history of the Gatekeepers. We don’t know how the curse will react.”
“What—you mean if a new heir is named, they might gain power over our family?” I frowned. “The Erlking didn’t have any power over me, though. No more than any other Sidhe, at any rate.”
If even the talisman’s magic couldn’t fight against the circlet’s power… who had been the person to curse us? Who’d managed to circumvent the magic of the gods? Now I’d outright burned all bridges with Etaina, I might never know the truth, but that voice in the vision I’d seen from the memory-eater revisited my dreams more often than I’d care to admit.
The doorbell rang, and we all jumped.
“Ilsa, what you said about the Sidhe kicking us out of the house…” I lifted the staff, just in case.
“They wouldn’t.” She looked at Mum. “Would they?”
“That, or Etaina has come to duel me for the talisman.” I walked to the door, bracing myself, and peered through the spyhole. Not Etaina, but close. Darrow stood on the doorstep. Here we go.
I opened the door. His gaze went to the staff in my hands, then back to my face.
“So you chose to keep it,” he said.
“It was that or let the Sidhe kill me,” I said. “And then leave the talisman in the Courts, where it would have left a trail of destruction behind it.”
“I suppose that was your reasoning when you took it in the first place,” he said. “When you led me to believe it was lost, along with everyone else.”
Ouch. “I really am sorry, Darrow,” I said. “I didn’t mean to claim it, but once I did, I couldn’t let anyone else know. You know why.”
Despite the shadows swirling around the hilt, he didn’t back away. “Where did you hide it?”
“The magic inside my family’s grove has healing properties,” I said. “The Seelie Queen told me it’s the only thing close to her own healing magic, and it was the only way to avoid the talisman’s magic damaging the Court. It feeds on any living thing it touches, and anything magical, too. I’ve got it under control for now, but that’s always a risk.”
Darrow said nothing. That was worse than a reprimand, if possible.
“Stop looking at me like that,” I said, my voice brittle. “Wouldn’t you have done the same? I trusted my family a damn sight more than any of the power-hungry dickheads in Faerie. Yes, including Etaina. If I’d given the talisman up, the Seelie Queen might have destroyed the Court. The Erlking was barely able to keep her in check, and she got through his defences in the end.”
He remained quiet throughout my outburst. “It’s not too late for you to give it up. Many Sidhe have given up their talismans without any ill effects.”
I shook my head. “I know how to get rid of talisman’s magic, but I don’t trust anyone else to wield it. It’s insidious and will corrupt anyone with even the noblest intentions. Only my Gatekeeper’s magic stopped it from destroying me or turning me into a weapon. Not so sure anyone else has an equivalent.”
“Perhaps Etaina knows.”
“Nice try.” I gave a sad smile. “Sorry, Darrow. You know, I do like you. I just have a complete shit show of a life. You should go back to your queen and tell her I threatened to kill you. She’ll forgive you.”
“She won’t forgive me,” he said. “This is the second time I’ve let down my Court, and she gave me one last chance, that’s all.”
“One last chance?” I echoed.
Was I about to learn the truth he’d killed the memory-eater to hide?
Darrow’s mouth pinched. “The Aes Sidhe have lived underground for centuries. For that reason, the Sidhe rarely take in outsiders, but I was abandoned by my human family and left on their doorstep by my father, who was half-Aes Sidhe. As one of the few half-Sidhe with both Summer and Winter magic, I was lucky enough to fall under Etaina’s attention.”
He gave a measured pause, his gaze fixed at a point somewhere in the distance, while I waited for him to continue.
“Reyna was my friend from childhood,” he went on. “She was also the daughter of a prominent Aes Sidhe, their first child in generations, and half-Sidhe, like me. We were close, and both of us wanted the respect of the other Aes Sidhe. As a result, we made a pact, and talked ourselves into signing up for a dangerous mission to hunt down a group of redcaps. If I succeeded, I’d gain a spot at Etaina’s side.”
Another pause. My heartbeat sped up, an
d I waited once again for him to speak.
Darrow closed his eyes. “Reyna wasn’t ready for a mission on that scale, but I convinced them to let her come with me. I believed I could protect her if necessary, but I was wrong.”
“I’m sorry,” I whispered.
“She died,” he said, the words soft, final. “And the redcaps made it into our Court. We chased them out, but the Court turned on me when they learned I’d compromised our safety. Her family knew Reyna had declared herself to me and saw to it that I found no friendship among my fellow Aes Sidhe. If not for Etaina’s protection, they would have killed me.”
A lump grew in my throat. “Of course it wasn’t your fault.”
“You should know that one mistake can change the course of your life, Hazel,” he said quietly. “Etaina kept the other Sidhe from casting me out. She employed me as her personal guard, and when it became unbearable to stay in the land of the Aes Sidhe, I travelled all over the mortal realm and into the Courts.
Seven years have passed since that day, but the Aes Sidhe do not easily forgive. Despite that, I had Etaina’s support and respect. She saved my life a dozen times over the years. I know you don’t trust her, Hazel, but she is the reason I’m still alive. Perhaps that doesn’t give me the place to judge whether she is worthy to hold the Erlking’s talisman, but you are the second person I would trust to keep it from harming others.”
She’d supported him when the rest of the Aes Sidhe had turned their backs on him. No wonder he wouldn’t hear a word against her.
“So you’re doing what?” I asked. “Staying in Summer? If they find out you’re supporting me, they’ll probably send their people to hunt you down as well. The only reason they haven’t sentenced me to death is because of the talisman.”
“They won’t,” he said. “Not while I’m here.”
“You mean, not if you use your glamour,” I said. “Can you talk them into letting me back in?”
The Gatekeeper's Trials: The Complete Trilogy Page 43
