The Gatekeeper's Trials: The Complete Trilogy

by Emma L. Adams

  “I used this to kill her the second time.” I raised the staff. “She’d better not come back after that.”

  The Morrigan hissed. “Keep that abomination to yourself, mortal. I have no involvement in the Gatekeeper’s arguments, nor will I get involved in your struggles over the remnants of the gods’ magic.”

  “The Seelie Queen threatens more than just Summer,” I told her. “She won’t stop with our Court. In a few hours, a monarch will be crowned, someone who doesn’t deserve to be on Summer’s throne. There’ll be war and bloodshed that might consume the whole of Faerie.”

  “Why would I object?” she said. “The more souls I gain, the better.”

  Ugh. “She might try to kill you, too. Or replace you.”

  “Is there a point to this warning?” said the Morrigan. “Many have threatened my rule in the past, but none can displace me. I am eternal, after all.”

  “There are others who would say the same,” Darrow said.

  The Morrigan gave him an appraising look, and a wicked grin curled her lip. “You’re one of hers, aren’t you? Oh, this is interesting. How I wish I could see that unfold.”

  “What’s she talking about?” Holly hissed.

  Nobody answered her.

  “Just what I thought,” Darrow said. “You know of her. You’re old enough. What if the person threatening your position was her, and not the Seelie Queen?”

  “You think I fear the Lady of Light?” She cackled. “If you cross her, mortal, it will not be I who devours your soul.”

  Darrow took a step closer to her, the outline of his body glowing brighter than the fireflies on the ceiling. “Tell me. Why would the Seelie Queen amass an army of the dead? What is her goal?”

  “Her goal?” said the Morrigan. “The dead can get into places the living cannot, and as the Huntsman rides no more, perhaps she means to take his place. Whatever her goal, it holds no interest for me. She was always the weaker of the two sisters.”

  “What does she mean?” said Ilsa. “What is he doing?”

  “Glamouring her,” I whispered. “Etaina’s last order was for him to kill the Seelie Queen. I guess he wants to know whose side the Morrigan might take if this comes to war.”

  “What the hell is going on?” Holly said.

  “Your guess is as good as mine,” said Morgan.

  Darrow. Stop glamouring the goddess of Death. I gave him a look to convey the same, but his eyes were on the Morrigan.

  “The Seelie Queen is weak,” said the Morrigan. “The Lady of Light might believe herself eternal, but it is I who will endure beyond all others. Leave now, mortals.”

  16

  “Are you out of your mind?” I whispered to Darrow as we left the Morrigan’s territory behind. “What was that?”

  “A gamble,” he said.

  “She knows Etaina,” I said. “You guessed?”

  “With her being as ancient as she is, I suspected they would have met.”

  And he’d thought it was worth pulling his glamour on her. I was no longer sure I knew him. He was something else, something strange and… well, fey. It set my blood rushing in my veins.

  “The Huntsman,” I said, recalling her words. “Wasn’t he the guy who led the rebels who attacked Earth?”

  “You’ve got it,” said Ilsa. “Originally, he carried the souls of the dead into the afterlife. Don’t ask me why the Seelie Queen would want to take his role for herself, though. I can’t picture her riding a horse around collecting souls. Besides, the Path of the Dead is abandoned now.”

  The Path of the Dead. Chills sprang to my arms. The path had once been the route the Sidhe had travelled in order to become immortals, but it haunted me for a different reason. On that path, I’d claimed the title of Gatekeeper and my fate had been sealed.

  I turned to Holly. “I guess you know it all now, but… if the Seelie Queen wins the throne, I bet she comes for Winter’s next. Is there the slightest chance anyone from Winter might work with us to stop the coronation?”

  “Winter doesn’t interfere in Summer’s disputes,” she said. “No exceptions.”

  “It won’t just be Summer’s problem if this goes on,” I reminded her. “And that’s assuming Etaina lets the Seelie Queen take her throne without a fuss.”

  “Who’s Etaina?” she said.

  “Someone even worse than the Seelie Queen, if possible,” said Darrow.

  “She has an army of evil clones,” I added. “They have Summer eyes and all of them look exactly the same. They’re also masters of glamour.”

  “Hold up,” said Holly. “They’re not the Seelie Queen’s? How many evil queens are we dealing with, then?”

  “Just the two, unless the Morrigan and the Unseelie Queen want to make it a quartet,” I said. “At least we know the Seelie Queen didn’t come to speak with the Morrigan.”

  Or Etaina either. But that didn’t mean she wouldn’t take their side if necessary. The old crow was out for herself alone.

  Holly came to a halt at the edge of the path leading from Winter territory back to the Summer Court. “I doubt the Unseelie Queen will want to send any of her people to help, but Lord Lyle has battled the Vale monsters alongside Summer before. I might be able to persuade him to cooperate.”

  “Thanks,” I said. “If you can get anyone from Winter to help, you might just save all of Faerie.”

  “No pressure, huh.” Holly gave a brief half-smile, then she walked away.

  “Are we going home?” Morgan turned on the spot. “Wait, I know this place. I remember coming this way when River and the other half-faerie got into a fight.”

  “The borderlands,” I said. “They’re not far off. I suppose Raine and Cedar might help… but we’ll have to move fast if we want to make it to the coronation.”

  “Are you sure?” said Ilsa. “Hazel, you said the borderlands were dangerous.”

  “Times change,” I said. “Their territory now belongs to the half-faeries. It’s not quite their own Court, but they’re the only people likely to ally with us against Summer.”

  Darrow and I led the way, not speaking. The stench of the Morrigan’s cave seemed to cling to my skin, while the eerie quietness of the borderlands made my body tense. It was a relief when we came to the half-bloods’ palace. A fence surrounded the perimeter, and thankfully there wasn’t a troll in sight.

  “I like this place more than the Morrigan’s already,” said Morgan. “No rivers of blood or dead things in sight.”

  Two armoured half-faeries stood outside the gates, one of whom I recognised from last time.

  “Hey,” said the dark-haired female guard I’d seen the last time I’d been here. “You’re here to see Raine and Cedar, right?”

  She beckoned a sprite to her side, who looked us up and down before flitting over to the palace doors and entering.

  “How d’you know we aren’t invaders?” Morgan wanted to know.

  “Because no other humans would be foolish enough to wander around the borderlands at a time like this,” answered the guard. “Raine, they’re here to see you.”

  The door opened, and the sprite flew out, followed by Raine, a female half-Sidhe with long, white-blond hair and the shimmering blue eyes of an Unseelie. She wore a silver crown atop her head, her armoured clothing decorated with silver and blue. “Oh, hey, Hazel. Who are these humans?”

  “My siblings, Ilsa and Morgan. And Darrow, you’ve met.” The faerie dog barked, chasing his own tail in a circle. “That’s Pepper. We can bring pets in, right?”

  “If not, I’d have to kick out Volt here.” The guard held out her hand to catch her sprite.

  Raine nodded. “Come on in. There’s someone here who’s going to be glad to see you’re alive.”

  We walked the short distance to the palace doors and followed Raine inside. A number of half-Sidhe filled the main room, including…

  Ilsa stepped forward. “River, what are you doing here?”

  “Looking for you,” he said. “I checked the a
mbassadors’ palace, but I didn’t see you there, so I thought you might have come here. Is that blood on your shoes?”

  “Sorry,” she said. “We had a situation. Which is now escalating. I think you need to talk to your father.” She walked over to him, talking urgently. From River’s aghast expression, she’d just told him about the Morrigan.

  “Oops,” I said. “I guess she didn’t have time to text him before we went through Winter’s gate. Mum’s going to kill us.”

  “Bet she thinks it was all my idea,” said Morgan, restraining Pepper from chewing on the edge of a tapestry. “Wait, Mum’s supposed to be at the coronation, right?”

  “Shit,” I said. “What time is it?” In Faerie, time was fluid, but the tangled trees of the forest made it hard to pinpoint the position of the sun even when it was imitating the one in the mortal realm.

  “Two hours until noon,” said Raine.

  Two hours to prevent Faerie from falling. “Can I talk to you alone?”

  “Sure.” She walked through the hall to a door at the back, leading the way into a room decorated with tapestries. Cedar stood on the other side, speaking to another half-Sidhe. Like Raine, he wore an armoured coat and a simple crown atop his silky dark hair, which flowed past his shoulders. He didn’t look surprised to see Ilsa or River, but his brows arched at the sight of Morgan pulling the faerie dog away from the tapestries before the door closed behind Darrow and me.

  “Your missing human showed up, then?” He dismissed the other half-blood with a nod of thanks. “Lord Torin’s son tried to recruit half my people to rescue your sister.”

  “Why’d you let him come in here?” I asked. “I thought you and River hated one another.”

  “We were at cross-purposes once. Now we are not.”

  That was faeries for you. Even for half-bloods, loyalties shifted like their mercurial tempers, and friends one day might be foes the next. Okay, perhaps humans weren’t that different, but still.

  “Did he come here to tell you about the downfall of the Summer Court, or do I have to give you the bad news?” I addressed both Cedar and Raine.

  “Bad news?” echoed Raine.

  “Really bad,” I said. “To put it mildly, things have gone to shit. The Seelie Queen is about to put one of her puppets on Summer’s throne. There’s also another rogue queen out there who might declare war on her before or after, and who also happens to be after my talisman. The Morrigan won’t help us, nor will the Unseelie Queen, and most of the Summer Sidhe think they’re electing a genuine leader. So, if any of you are willing to volunteer to help us fight, I’d appreciate it.”

  Raine’s mouth parted in surprise, and a gleam at her waist pointed to the sceptre she wielded as her talisman. “The Summer Court was fooled so easily?”

  “Of course it was.” Cedar’s tone was calm, but his hazel eyes shimmered with magic. “If their former monarch was involved, it’s no wonder.”

  “The Erlking picked out the potential heirs before he died,” I explained. “No doubt you heard. The trials were supposed to be a fair way to assess their abilities, but the Seelie Queen had spies among the contenders who rigged the results.”

  “There are spies among the half-Sidhe, too,” Darrow added. “One of them attacked us in the Vale, and several others set upon me in the forest.”

  Raine’s expression clouded. “We had a few people choose to leave us this week. We always allow them to come and go as they please, but in cases like this, where they’re defecting to join the Seelie Queen, it’s hard to explain that she’s not going to give them what they want.”

  “I think they have to make that choice for themselves,” I said quietly. “But now the Seelie Queen is a couple of hours away from taking the throne of Summer. She already killed the monarch of the Sea Court, and it wouldn’t surprise me if she targeted the borderlands next.”

  “I’d like to see her try.” Raine’s voice was laced with steel. “This puppet of hers is one of the Sidhe. Can they be persuaded to step down?”

  “By persuaded, you mean threatened?” I said. “I doubt it. She has her people eating out of her hand. I wanted to prove she killed the competition, but the Morrigan helpfully ate their souls before my sister could bring them back. She also refused to offer us aid.”

  “I’ve met the Morrigan twice,” Raine said, “and it doesn’t surprise me that she wouldn’t help. She’s one of the last true immortals, but she’s also a miserable hag who does whatever she feels is best for her. Doesn’t give a toss about anyone else.”

  “I got that impression,” I said. “I wondered if she might be working with the Seelie Queen, but apparently not. Why’s the Morrigan chained up like that, anyway?”

  “She fought on the wrong side in the last war,” said Raine. “She’s a conniving bitch and not someone you want to cross, but I doubt she’ll make the mistake of aiding the enemy again.”

  “By war, you mean the one with the mortal realm?” I said. “She sided against the humans?”

  “She was bound into service by the enemy,” said Raine “Or so I hear.”

  “Even without her, the Seelie Queen has an army of the dead on her side,” I said. “She even brought back the memory-eater from death to gain intel on her enemies. Granted, I used my talisman to kill her, but the Seelie Queen is immune.”

  “Your talisman,” said Raine, her gaze dropping to the staff in my hand. “You didn’t have that last time.”

  “It used to belong to the Erlking.” There was no point in hiding the truth, not now. “Then I accidentally claimed it. It can destroy any magic and any living thing if I want it to… except for the Seelie Queen.”

  “I knew my sceptre sensed something different about you,” said Raine. The sceptre gleamed with blue-white light as she pulled it out, glimmering with runes similar to mine. “Your sister, too. She has a talisman.”

  “Don’t get too excited,” I said. “Ilsa can banish wraiths with hers, but even between the two of us, we can’t deal with the Seelie Queen. She might not wield a talisman herself, but she has unlimited healing powers. That’s a more irritating ability than coming back from the dead, if possible.”

  Raine’s mouth pressed together. “I might be able to help. My own talisman allows me to displace the magic of another and replace it with my own.”

  “Shit, really?” I stared at her. “Want to come to the coronation?”

  She nodded. “All right. I’ll ask Viola—my captain—to assemble an army. And I’ll keep an eye out for defectors. They can expect no mercy from me.”

  “Nor I.” Darrow looked at her. “I will go with Hazel and attempt to warn the Sidhe, but if we’re forced to go to war, I will stand with your armies.”

  “All right,” said Raine, striding to the door. “I’ll speak to the other half-Sidhe.”

  She and Cedar exited the room, while Darrow leaned closer to me. “I hope it’s okay, my fighting with the others.

  “No, it’s great.” I gave his hand a squeeze. “I’m all about encouraging you to make friends. Half-fae ones, not weird humans with faerie magic.”

  He smiled, brushing his mouth over mine. “Let’s go and check on your family.”

  As soon as we re-entered the main room, Ilsa walked up to me. “River is going to tell his father to amass a group of Sidhe to stand up in the coronation and prevent it from going ahead, but most of them will flat-out disbelieve him. He’s become unpopular among his fellow Sidhe for helping humans so often.”

  “Figures.” I swore. “That’s not enough. People from Summer will fight on the Seelie Queen’s side thinking they’re in the right. They’ll die for her.”

  One way or another, she would win.

  “Then we’d better delay that coronation,” Cedar said.

  An instant later, Coral walked in, following Willow and several other half-faeries. “There you are, Hazel. The Erlking’s sprite was looking for you.”

  “Did he tell you?” I asked.

  “That the next monarch is a tra
itor?” said Coral. “At this point, I have to admit I was expecting it.”

  “What was that about delaying the coronation?” Darrow looked at Cedar.

  “They need the crown to perform the coronation,” said Cedar. “That’s why it was delayed before.”

  Raine made a tutting noise. “Cedar.”

  “I once tried to steal from the Erlking.” A smile touched the corner of his mouth. “I will see what I can do.”

  He’s going to steal the crown?

  “Lady Aiten has the crown somewhere in the palace, but I’m not sure where,” I said to him. “The Erlking’s sprite won’t betray you, but he might not be able to help you either. If you see him, tell him I sent you and you’re on my side. He’ll be bound to serve the next monarch as soon as they take the throne, but until then, he’s an ally.”

  “Wait.” Willow stepped forward. “I know where my mother will have hidden the crown. I can help.”

  The two moved in to talk to one another, while Coral looked on anxiously.

  Darrow leaned closer to me. “Can he pull it off?”

  “For all our sakes, I bloody hope so,” I said. “I can’t believe I’m backing up someone stealing the crown for a second time.”

  Cedar left the hall through the front doors. Willow exchanged one last hug with Coral, then followed him. I walked over to Coral, whose hands were shaking. “If Lady Aiten catches either of them—”

  “She won’t,” I said, with more confidence than I really felt. “Cedar will make sure of it. He once tried to steal from the Erlking himself and damn near came close to succeeding.”

  “Yeah.” She exhaled in a shaky breath. “I wish I hadn’t left my mother’s talisman there in Summer. It shouldn’t be theirs, but every time I look at the cursed thing, I think of what my brother—what he did with it.” Tears trembled on her eyelashes.

  I hugged her. “You don’t have to claim it. You could drop it in the ocean, in fact. Let it rot there among the fishes.”

  She gave a brittle laugh. “I would, if I wasn’t sure it’d wash up on shore a few months later and end up in some poor fisherman’s hand. Those talismans have a mind of their own.”