Recalling the vivid memory of the Erlking’s death I’d seen through the talisman brought a shiver to my skin. “They do. You’re still better off without it.”
“I hope so,” she said. “I never expected or wanted to rule the Sea Court, and given the lies my mother told, it’s for the best that the talisman stays far away from anyone who might use it to rule.”
“Yeah, I think the only halfway decent person to wield a talisman might have been the Erlking, and he had major issues.” To say the least. “Oh, and Raine. My sister, too, but she prefers to keep a low profile.”
“There’s something to be said for that,” said Coral. “I like this place. I’m glad you told me about it. The other half-faeries appreciate having somewhere to stay where they aren’t forced to swear loyalty to a Sidhe lord.”
“Good,” I said. “If I were you, I’d stay here with the others while I tell Lady Aiten. I’m going to have one attempt to warn her, and then…”
And then? Either the Courts would stand, or they would fall.
“Good luck,” said Coral, moving over to the other half-bloods. With obvious practise, the raven-haired half-faerie—who must be Viola—called the half-bloods into line, giving out orders.
I found Darrow standing next to one of the tapestries, his gaze preoccupied.
“Do you like it here?” I asked.
He looked up. “I do, but I confess to not being optimistic about the Sidhe continuing to allow this place to exist.”
“Hey, you never know. They let me walk in here with this.” I raised the talisman. “Though when the monarch is crowned, I’m supposed to hand it over to Lady Aiten.”
Perhaps if I asked her to delay the coronation, she might assume I was just making excuses. It wouldn’t surprise me. Without proof, I’d have a hell of a job convincing her, and even stealing the crown wouldn’t be enough for her to cancel the coronation altogether. I needed to talk to her and hope that all our arguments wouldn’t stop her from doing the right thing.
“Reckon Cedar’s had time to steal the crown by now?” I asked.
“If he’s as good as usual, yes,” said Raine.
“What’re we supposed to do?” Morgan asked. “Join the army? Raise the dead? Come back to Summer and make trouble?”
“Stick with Ilsa and River,” I said. “I don’t want any of you to face the backlash if the Sidhe turn on me again. River is going to get his dad to find some Sidhe who are likely to support our cause, but even if I warn the rest of Summer, there’s no guarantee the Seelie Queen isn’t waiting to ambush us.”
“If that’s the case, we should speak to Lady Aiten at once,” said Darrow. “I’m more than a little suspicious that Etaina hasn’t made her move yet.”
“Don’t even,” I said. “I have my plate full enough with the Seelie Queen as it is. Ilsa, let me know if you have news.”
“I will do,” she said. “Hazel, please try not to get exiled again.”
“I think that’s the least of my problems.” I waved her off, leaving the palace with Darrow at my side. Guards stood at intervals all around the fences surrounding the half-bloods’ palace, and the tense atmosphere pursued us through the tangled woods back to the path leading to the Summer Court.
Morgan and Ilsa are safe, but is Mum at the palace? She’d have been invited to the ceremony, of course, but it was anyone’s guess as to whether she’d show up with all three of her children missing. As long as she hadn’t gone into the Vale again…
Darrow caught my arm as the ambassadors’ palace came into view. “They’re expecting us.”
Lady Aiten stood outside the gate, wearing a long dress of shimmering gold and a murderous expression on her face.
“Well?” she said.
“I know you’re not going to believe me,” I said, “but the coronation needs to be put on hold. The trials were sabotaged.”
“We have already found the saboteurs,” he said. “These people tried to kill our next monarch on his way down to his own coronation.” She gestured through the open gates at the palace.
I looked past her, and my heart plummeted. Inside the grounds lay the bodies of several Aes Sidhe with identical features.
And they all looked like Darrow.
17
“They’re not Darrow,” I said. “I mean, he’s not like them. They used glamour to disguise themselves.”
“I am aware of that,” said Lady Aiten. “As I am aware that he belongs to their Court, which has been thought extinct for countless years.”
Shit. Shit. We didn’t have time for this. Darrow himself had gone rigid, his gaze fixed on the nearest mirror of his own face. While he might be able to glamour Lady Aiten, if she’d already told everyone in the Court, they’d all know the Aes Sidhe existed. There was no hiding this.
“Darrow isn’t a villain, and he’s not working with those assassins,” I told her. “We need to stop the coronation—”
Lord Raivan marched over to us, his antlered hat askew. “The crown is missing.”
Lady Aiten gave him a cutting look. “Send a team to search the area thoroughly. In the meantime, bring the former Gatekeeper here at once.”
Dammit. I should have known she’d pin the blame on my family.
“She’s already here,” said Lord Raivan. “She’s been here since the ceremony started, and the crown was in your quarters the whole time.”
Silently sending thanks to Lord Raivan, I said, “Apparently, we’re not the only people who think this is a trick. The Seelie Queen rigged the results.”
“And these assassins came out of nowhere, did they?” She faced Darrow, who looked stonily back.
“They’re a distraction,” I said. “The Seelie Queen picked a fight with another Court, yes, but she’s still coming for Summer first.”
“The Court is already assembled for the coronation,” said Lady Aiten. “It will not wait.”
Sure enough, the sounds of merriment drifted through the doors Lord Raivan had left open. The assassins failed. Which meant the false monarch was inside that very room, waiting to be crowned.
“Fetch the past Gatekeeper,” she told Lord Raivan. “As for you, Darrow—”
Mid-sentence, she froze, her mouth parted. I glanced at Darrow, saw his eyes glowing, and looked away before his glamour could ensnare me, too.
“Damn,” I murmured. “How long will it last?”
“As long as I’m here, which can’t be for long,” said Darrow. “If anyone else saw the assassins, I can’t erase their memories of the attack. They know. No doubt as Etaina intended.”
“We can at least deal with the bodies.” I approached the dead assassins, feeling for the threads of their glamour. It took several seconds for me to peel away Darrow’s face to reveal the familiar clone’s appearance beneath. Darrow stepped in to help, and before long, the clones all wore their true faces.
“It won’t change a thing,” he said. “They were already spotted by multiple witnesses. This is too big to cover up.”
“Doesn’t mean you have to take the fall.” I looked up, spotting Lord Raivan exit the palace with Mum behind him. They descended the steps towards Lady Aiten, who stood frozen in place.
Lord Raivan frowned and started to speak, then stopped, his mouth half-open. The shadow of Darrow’s magic trailed ghostly fingers along my skin.
“What’s wrong with them?” Mum eyed Lady Aiten, then Lord Raivan.
“Darrow.” I nodded to him. “Glamour paralysis. Not permanent.”
Mum looked between us. “Hazel, what did you do this time? The Erlking’s sprite showed up in my room this morning and told me all three of my children had disappeared. Now I hear the crown has gone, too.”
“There was no time to warn you,” I said in apologetic tones. “Ilsa and Morgan are safe in Half-Blood Territory, don’t worry. I forgot the Sidhe were likely to blame you for the crown’s disappearance, even though Lady Aiten herself was the one who asked you to hide it last time.”
She raised an
eyebrow. “And you don’t have anything to do with it, do you, Hazel?”
I grimaced. “Believe me, there’s worse going on here than an attempted coup. Etaina sent assassins to kill the next king and frame Darrow.”
“And they won’t be alone,” Darrow put in. “There’ll be more of Etaina’s people waiting elsewhere in the Court, whether the ceremony takes place or not. I need to find them.”
“Like hell,” I said. “You aren’t wandering off alone. And the Seelie Queen will still be on her way to the coronation—”
“Never mind the coronation,” he said. “Etaina did this to send a message to me. She knows I’ve taken your side over hers.”
“Etaina isn’t here yet, but the Seelie Queen’s pawn is inside the palace, and we only have until the crown is found to get rid of him,” I said. “I’ll be honest, I’d rather go with your approach than introduce him to my talisman in front of the whole Court. Can you use glamour to make him step down as the new monarch?”
“Perhaps, but I can’t glamour everyone in the room for longer than a few seconds at a time,” he replied. “Besides, it’s the Seelie Queen who needs to be taken care of, and she’s not here. I can glamour the false king for long enough for him to give a public confession, but if I do so, the glamour will wear off Lady Aiten and Lord Raivan and they’ll order the guards to arrest me.”
I swore. “Mum—Ilsa and Morgan are with River. They went to find River’s dad and get some of the Sidhe on our side. You’ll be safer with them than at the Lynn house.”
Mum’s lips compressed. “Hazel.”
“This is going to get ugly no matter what,” I went on. “We have to force a public confession. Darrow and I will take care of it, but I don’t want you caught up in this.”
“I’ve been caught up in this my whole life, Hazel.” She eyed Lord Raivan and Lady Aiten. “I’ll distract those two and buy you time to get a confession from the false king.”
I didn’t argue. With the crown gone, we wouldn’t get a better shot at thwarting the Seelie Queen’s plan.
I walked up the palace steps towards the oak doors. “I’ll go in as me, but you might want to hide your face, Darrow.”
Darrow’s visage changed into Lord Raivan’s, complete with his lopsided hat. “Will that do?”
“Perfect.”
We entered the hall to find the interior of the palace had changed yet again. Gold drapes festooned balconies that hadn’t existed before, while twin spiral staircases curved around each side of the main entrance hall. The tapestries had turned into gilt-framed portraits of Seelie knights clad in armour. Past monarchs, maybe.
I scanned the crowd for Lord Talthain and spotted his spiked helmet. He stood arguing with a winged Sidhe with long golden hair. “This will not do. I must be crowned at high noon, and the time is almost upon us.”
“Excuse me.” Darrow stepped between us, affecting Lord Raivan’s deferential tone. “May I speak with the future king alone? Lady Aiten and I have a lead on the person who may have taken the crown, but it will require a small delay.”
His glamour was so subtle one might overlook it, but the two Sidhe stepped aside, allowing Lord Talthain to follow us. The Sidhe didn’t know anything was wrong, but one misstep and we’d all be royally screwed.
Where is the Seelie Queen? I kept expecting to see her stunning face among the other courtiers, but either she trusted her pawn to fulfil his role, or she had another plan brewing.
Darrow took Lord Talthain aside and spoke to him in a whisper. Even with his power focused on another person, the echo of it stirred my blood, compelled me to bow down and worship him. I gritted my teeth, keeping my eye on the Sidhe. In the corner, River and Ilsa stood with Lord Torin and a number of others. They moved fast. Ilsa caught my eye, and I gave an encouraging nod to tell her we had the situation in hand.
Lord Talthain ascended the stairs onto the raised platform of the front of the room. The murmur of voices ceased as the Sidhe realised their future monarch stood before them, without a guard or a crown. His translucent skin gleamed in the light of noon, while his spiked helmet sat at an angle atop his mossy green-brown hair.
“I have chosen to postpone my coronation,” he said. “Because I am not the true king of Summer. I lied and cheated during the trials and framed my fellow Sidhe for crimes they did not commit. I even murdered Lord Walvein and Lady Horell and opened doorways into the Vale on the orders of my Queen.”
Gasps echoed through the room.
“Then who is the true king?” said several voices. “You serve the Seelie Queen, do you not?”
“I do,” he said, “but she is not our true ruler.”
My heart missed a beat. Darrow stiffened at my side, horror flickering across his face.
Lord Talthain grinned as he faced the audience. “Our true leader was robbed of her throne by the treacherous Erlking, and she has come to make this right.”
A flash of light in the corner of my eye drew my attention to the balcony. Time slowed, each second dragging out as an arrow arced towards Lord Talthain, soaring through the air and hitting him in the heart.
After all, the bow couldn’t miss.
Etaina descended the spiral staircase, her dress streaming behind her, and her entire body glowing with iridescent light. Even among royalty, she stood out like a rose in a bed of weeds. Her piercing silver-white hair shone as bright as her Summer-green eyes and the silver trimmings on her armoured battle coat.
All gazes turned to her as though they couldn’t help it. The false king’s body crumpled off the stage, while she took his place, holding the Sea Queen’s bow in both hands. The entire room held their breaths, caught in the irresistible spell of her glamour.
“So easy,” she murmured, soft yet loudly enough for me to hear, as though the words were meant only for me. “So easy to manipulate. My sister was a coward and a fool not to show her face in person. One would almost think she doesn’t want Summer’s crown at all.”
She can’t make herself queen. Not as long as the crown was missing, at any rate, and I hadn’t the faintest clue where Cedar had taken it. On the other side of the room, River and Ilsa stood frozen among the courtiers, unable to catch my eye.
Etaina turned to me, and I forgot to breathe. Her green eyes swam with mesmerising light, and my breath whooshed out as her gaze shifted to Darrow.
“I do wish you hadn’t let the Gatekeeper poison you against me,” said Etaina. “You were my most promising prospect, Darrow, yet you were unable to finish the simplest of missions.”
Darrow’s face was expressionless. “You must know the former Queen can heal from any injury, Etaina. I did the best I could, but I have not yet been able to devise a way to take her life.”
“Yet you left no mark on her.” She shook her head. “I’ve let you fool around with this human for long enough. I command you to seize that girl using the full extent of your powers.”
Darrow had looked into death without batting an eyelid, fought monsters which terrified the Sidhe, lost everything more than once and even faced down a death goddess… but this was the first time I’d ever seen him look scared.
Then his eyes brightened, his skin glowing, his whole being turning radiant. At once, the world ceased to exist.
Everything except for him.
18
“Hazel,” said a voice. A familiar one, but not one I could immediately place.
I blinked, my vision hazy. I lay on a hard, wooden bench inside a room the size of a cell. It should have hurt my back, but my senses felt muted, slow to recover from the impact of Darrow’s magic.
I didn’t recall a single moment of anything that had happened since, but somehow, my clothes had reverted to the plain trousers and shirt I wore beneath my glamour. Nobody else was in the room except for the person who stood next to my ‘bed’, a stocky man with longish shaggy dark hair, pale skin and dark brown eyes. Definitely not a Sidhe, so he had to be human. The curving earthen walls told me I was in the realm of the Aes
Sidhe, but why the bloody hell would Etaina have a human living in here?
I ran my hands over my forehead. The circlet was still there, thank the gods, but she’d taken all my other weapons… including the Erlking’s talisman.
“What the hell?” I blinked a couple of times. “Is this what she decided to do with me? Lock me in a cell? What’s she doing now, declaring world domination?”
“I believe the Lady is addressing her subjects,” said the man. “You haven’t been here for long. An hour at most. She told me to watch you, that’s all.”
“Who…” I’d heard his voice before—I was sure of it. “I know you.”
I’d heard his voice in the vision I’d had of my past. The vision where I’d been picked out as Gatekeeper. I hadn’t made the connection at the time, but I was almost certain the other voice had been Etaina’s.
“The Lady told me the glamour should have lasted longer,” he said, “but you have more resilience than most.”
I pushed into a sitting position, scanning the room for anything I might use as a weapon. However curious I might be as to why Etaina had a human living here—a human who’d featured in a vision of my past, no less—I needed to get that talisman out of her hands and save Darrow from her clutches before she used it to bring the Courts crashing down.
Aside from the tree stump the stranger sat on and the clusters of luminescent mushrooms on the walls and ceiling, the room was bare save for a wooden door. The man noticed the direction of my stare and raised a hand, displaying a glittering knife. “You are to wait here until the Lady calls for you.”
That implies she’s staying here. I still had time to stop her from attacking the Courts.
“I take it Darrow is with her?” I said.
“Yes, she has all her subjects ready to take orders,” he said. “I know nothing of what they discuss.”
“I don’t doubt that.” I ran my fingertip over the Gatekeeper’s mark. The man’s gaze lingered on the swirling symbol below my circlet, something glinting in his eyes. Something… familiar.
The Gatekeeper's Trials: The Complete Trilogy Page 60
