Daughter of the Dark Moon: Book 3 of the Twin Moons Saga

by Holly Bargo

  At night, he took care of his mate as his fae nature compelled him and did not resent her insistence on helping care for the horses and set their campsites. He watched as she relearned to control her augmented powers, enhanced in a world that did not surround her with iron. He allowed her to ignite their campfires and sweep away a rainstorm. He watched without criticism as she manipulated the earth to swallow the sharp, uncomfortable stones that would have disturbed their rest.

  Every night he cradled her within the shelter of his body. They sat before the small campfire, her back resting against his chest, while he recited the old tales that likely no one but he, Gus, and Enders remembered. He held her in his arms while they slept after setting wards around their small campsite.

  “Do not cross the circle until I release it,” he warned her the first night they spent in the open.

  She raised an eyebrow and waited for him to explain. He appreciated the quiet inquiry and rewarded her unvoiced curiosity by tossing a pebble over the circle he’d drawn. The pebble flashed, smoked, and disintegrated.

  “Got it,” she said with a nod and said nothing about being confined or trapped, because she knew he set the wards to protect her. She felt that purity of purpose; Uberon had no intention of doing anything beyond preserving her safety and well-being.

  Every night she felt the evidence of his desire press against her, though he restrained himself.

  “I am no unthinking animal,” he whispered in her ear. “I will not ravage you in the wild like some beast.”

  Corinne did not know whether to be grateful or regretful for his restrain, for she found herself missing the heady passion of his possession. She decided to be grateful, because she wasn’t sure she wanted to get naked with him when she felt grubby from travel, even though Uberon made sure her body and clothing remained fresh and clean. It just wasn’t the same as a hot bath and a good scrubbing.

  On the ninth day when they crossed the border into the territory encompassed by the Seelie Court, she felt her skin prickle and tingle.

  “The Veil,” Uberson informed her. “Think of it as the ward guarding the whole of the Seelie Court, rather like the wards I set around our campsites.”

  “It must take an awful lot of energy to sustain this.”

  “Every citizen of the Seelie Court contributes a tiny percentage of his energy to its maintenance.” He looked around, shrugged, and said nothing about the ward he set to protect his kingdom from the Quol. “Enders set it at the request of the Seelie king after I split from the Seelie Court. He wanted it to repel my re-entry into his lands.”

  “It didn’t work, obviously.”

  “Not against me. I know Enders and his weaves too well, as he knows me and mine. However, the Veil works well for deterring the invasion of others. Humans cannot cross the Veil without protection.”

  “What about the vodnicci, trolls, pixies, dwarves, and djinni?”

  “Don’t forget angels,” he quipped. “Anything with fae blood may pass, but their passage is noted. None enters the Seelie Court without the king’s awareness.”

  “Not even you?”

  “Especially not I.”

  Corinne lapsed into silence, content with her thoughts. Eventually, she asked, “When will we have the luxury of a bed, a hot bath, and a meal not cooked over a campfire?”

  “Tonight,” Uberon replied in his quiet way. His eyes glinted and he raised his chin, directing his piercing gaze into the distance. “Riders come.”

  Surprised, Corinne peered into the distance and saw … nothing. “How do you know that?”

  “Well developed senses. Keep your mount’s shoulder at my horse’s hip.”

  “I’m not helpless, Uberon.”

  “Then you may have the privilege of saving me should the need arise.”

  “Hah. I can’t imagine you cowering before anyone.” Or anything.

  They continued riding at the same steady pace for a little while longer before Corinne’s senses prickled with awareness. She probed as delicately as she could to determine whether the oncoming riders meant good or ill, but she discerned nothing.

  A chill swept over her as a shadow passed. She wondered for a second whether a cloud or large bird passed overhead until she looked skyward.

  “That’s … that’s …” she stammered, eyes wide and heart racing with fear as the horse she rode danced and jigged with the urge to flee as fast as its hooves could go.

  “A dragon,” Uberon said in a flat tone. “This may not go well.”

  The shadow passed over them again. The dragon roared, further frightening the horses. Corinne struggled to keep her mount from bolting.

  “That’s enough. Land and be civil,” Uberon snapped, his voice at a conversational volume, but his tone brooking no defiance.

  Corinne maneuvered her horse into position as ordered by her mate and watched the dragon circle overhead. She heard the beat of leathery wings and the hissing breath of the great beast as it landed nearby. Trying to remain unobtrusive, she gathered her power and prepared to release it at an instant’s notice.

  Uberon drew his mount to a halt and nodded at the dragon and its rider. The Dragon Rider nodded in acknowledgement. The dragon displayed its teeth in obvious threat.

  “Can he control that thing?” Corinne whispered, her voice squeaking in barely contained terror.

  “Dragons are intelligent creatures. It bonds with its Rider.”

  Corinne heard the capitalization of the word and realized that “Rider” served as much a title as a description. She continued to examine the legendary lizard standing close enough to roast them if it sneezed. Distracted, she missed the quiet arrival of the riders of whose approach Uberon had warned her.

  “Greetings, Captain,” Uberon spoke first, his tone cool and calm.

  Corinne’s head whipped around to take in the tall, beautiful male who sat with easy grace upon a black steed. Thin, pale braids adorned with colored feathers framed his chiseled face. Two more fae sat on their horses to either side of him.

  “My lord,” the one addressed as Captain acknowledged. “What brings you to the Seelie Court?”

  “Just passing through, Captain Thelan. How fares your mate?”

  The captain’s expression darkened with icy rage. “She is no concern of yours, my lord.”

  “It’s called being polite,” Uberon replied with bland insult. “You should try it some time.”

  With an effort, the captain of the Seelie Palace Guard controlled himself. “You’re lucky I didn’t claim the Erlking’s justice.”

  “You would have perished had you done so, because I did nothing to harm the moon-born.” Uberon needed a moment to master his own emotion. He continued in a calm tone, “And you took your revenge upon my son and my people.”

  “As was my right.”

  “My people offered no offense.”

  “They are Unseelie.”

  “Since when is the status of being not-Seelie deemed an offense worthy of execution?”

  “Uberon, you’re picking a fight,” Corinne warned in an undertone. “Quit it.”

  Captain Thelan’s eyes widened and he suddenly laughed. “Has the mighty Unseelie king been brought to heel by a female?”

  “Don’t even go there, you jerk,” Corinne growled under her breath.

  Captain Thelan raised an eyebrow of palest gold at her comment. He blinked, then laughed again.

  “You mated a human.”

  “As did the Erlking and you. Captain Falco of the Daimónio Refstófae High Guard mated a witchbreed. What of it?”

  The Seelie captain shook his head, bemused and not willing to answer. Instead he returned to his original line of questioning. “What brings you here, my lord?”

  “Just passing through.”

  “No, my lord, I do not believe you. You do nothing without very good reason and passing through is no good reason to trespass upon enemy territory.”

  “I am not your enemy, Captain. I never was. I am taking my mate t
o Donshae where we shall catch a ship and depart from Mogren’s territory.”

  “Where do you go from Donshae?”

  “Really, Captain, what business is it of yours where I go once I depart? It’s enough to know that I intend no harm and have no desire to linger.”

  “No, it is not enough to know. I insist you tell me your plans.”

  “Or?”

  Thelan jutted his square chin at the seething dragon. “Goji’Rahn really wants to roast you.”

  Uberon’s expression relaxed into a small, supercilious smile. “Do you really think one dragon can overcome me?”

  “I’d be interested in finding out.”

  “Will you two quit it?” Corinne blurted, having lost patience with the veiled and not-so-veiled threats and posturing. “Look, Captain, we’re not staying here. We’re going home. If traveling through your country is such a crime, then arrest us.”

  “You’ve a spitfire there, my lord,” Thelan commented with a chuckle.

  “I’ve had just about enough of your condescending attitude,” Corinne hissed and raised a hand. Blue fire glowed around her closed fist.

  “Very pretty,” Thelan said and dismissed her show of power.

  Corinne blinked in surprise. The fire flickered out and she lowered her hand, wondering how her display had not impressed him. Had she shown that to anyone back in her old world, that someone would have fled screaming in terror.

  “Nevermind him, beloved. He always was an arrogant little prick,” Uberon murmured as he reached over to pat her leg.

  “Before you two goad each other into a fight that I’ll have to stop,” one of the two riders interjected with dry annoyance, “King Mogren extends his invitation to meet with him.”

  Uberon bowed, not a deep bow, but more than a curt nod, and replied, “Of course, Enders. Run along and tell him my mate and I are happy to accept his most gracious invitation. We’ll stay for supper.”

  The archivist’s upper lip curled, but he bit back a sneering retort. Instead he said, “You’re determined to give offense, aren’t you, Uberon?”

  “I get so few opportunities these days to entertain myself,” came the deposed Unseelie king’s bland reply.

  Enders slanted a calculating glance at Corinne and replied, “I’d say you’re getting more than ever before.”

  Corinne’s cheeks flamed. Uberon’s already pale complexion turned white his expression from supercilious to icy. “You were never my better, Enders. Offend my mate again and I’ll skewer you.”

  “Will you quit goading them?” Corinne whispered, reaching over to pinch Uberon’s leg. “You’re going to get us killed.”

  “Anything for you, beloved,” he murmured in reply, catching her hand and drawing it to his lips. He kissed the back of her knuckles, all the while keeping his keen gaze on the archivist and the captain, whom he deemed a threat greater than the dragon and its Rider. Releasing her hand, he looked at the captain and said, “Lead the way, my lord. It’s been a long while since I spoke with Mogren. How’s the boy doing?”

  “All grown up now,” Thelan replied in a bland tone as he turned his horse around.

  The other two riders fell in alongside him. Corinne heard the snap of the dragon’s wings and felt the whoosh of air as it launched into the air.

  “You really enjoy needling people, don’t you?” she hissed at her mate.

  “Thelan’s so stuffy I can’t resist.”

  “They could have killed us.”

  “The only one who has a chance of killing us is Enders and he’s too concerned with saving everyone to engage in the wholesale destruction a war between us would cause.”

  “Well, of course he wouldn’t risk needless casualties. Who would?”

  Uberon speared her with a cool glance, sweeping aside the naive idealism of her youth. “He’s not ruthless. I am.”

  Corinne blinked in confusion. Uberon had only shown her the softer side of his personality, but this icy stranger who spoke of decimating entire populations frightened her. “Uberon?”

  “You are my mate and keeper of my soul, such as it is, and I will always protect you. You hold my heart, too, withered and useless as it may be. But never forget, beloved, what I am.” He leaned toward her. “I am darkness manifest, Unseelie.”

  “Darkness does not mean evil,” she insisted with quiet determination.

  “Not always,” he agreed, but the mild tone did not deceive her. “Do not mistake me for sweetness and light. You are that for me, my salvation if you will.”

  “Can there be salvation for an immortal?” she flung back at him, stung by his words and apparent rejection.

  “We shall see, won’t we?”

  They followed the archivist, the Captain of the Palace Guard, and another guard to a vast, sprawling palace that put Corinne in mind of a city unto itself. Gazing around her, she saw the dark smudge of a forest stretching along the eastern horizon and wondered if that forest were part of the Great Forest that touched upon the Erlking’s lands.

  Yes, it is. It is our forest and it protects the heart of this world, the Deepwood.

  She blinked, wondering where that comment came from, because she did not recognize the flavor of the speaker’s mental voice inside her brain.

  “Welcome to the Seelie Court, my lady,” Captain Thelan announced, his voice thrumming with pride.

  She could see why. The enormous, sprawling edifice was magnificent, walls of golden stone towering above them, dragons soaring overhead, and the lively sounds of a thriving population spilling over the protective walls surrounding the fae community.

  “Their Majesties King Mogren and Queen Cenise await you in the Great Hall.”

  “We’re to be greeted with all due pomp and circumstance, hm?” Corinne muttered, impressed in spite of herself. She looked to Thelan and asked, “Do you think they would allow us the opportunity to refresh ourselves first?”

  “No,” he replied. “They bid you present yourselves immediately.”

  She thought that inconsiderate, but held her tongue. Well, if they didn’t appreciate travel-stained, hungry, and tired visitors, then they should have allowed them a respite before commanding their presence.

  She missed living in a democratic republic.

  You will not appear to disadvantage, beloved.

  Corinne gave Uberon a grateful smile, although she wasn’t quite sure what he was going to do. Perhaps he merely meant to give her courage, meaning that he found her always presentable—which acted as a balm to her doubts.

  In due time, their mounts’ hooves clattered on paved ground. Tall, elegant residents paused in their activities to watch in haughty silence as the small party rode past. The dragon and its Rider swooped around to land in another area. More uniformed guards dashed forward to take the reins of their horses.

  “Your belongings will be taken to the quarters the chatelaine assigns you,” Thelan said as a raven-haired female trotted toward them and called out his name.

  “The moon-born,” Uberon murmured as the petite female launched herself into Thelan’s arms and he caught her, his expression brightening with a smile that turned his icy beauty into something warm, dazzling, and altogether too gorgeous for words. Corinne blinked and turned to look at her own mate, whose more roughly hewn features did not blind with sheer masculine perfection. Perhaps his ancient age gave him that gravitas or softened the sharp edges of handsome masculinity, but she found his features less painful to contemplate.

  She wondered if it were odd that she found Uberon’s dark beauty comfortable, while the brilliant, sharp beauty of the captain of the Seelie Court’s Palace Guard practically repelled her.

  It’s an effect of the soul bond, Uberon explained, mind to mind. Now take my hand, for I shall not be separated from you until I am assured of your safety and continued good health.

  She wondered if his worry were excessive, but obeyed his simple request. The warmth of his strong hand enveloping hers transferred some good measure of comfort and r
eassurance. Surely, nothing ill could happen while Uberon held her.

  “Follow me, my lord,” the other guard beckoned as Thelan allowed his mate to lead him away.

  Corinne glanced at the raven-haired beauty, who looked back at her and winked. Eyes wide, she gaped.

  “The moon-born is no meek and proper fae female,” Uberon said in an undertone as he responded with a grave nod. Catriona might not hold him in any affection, but neither did she blame him for the detestable actions of his son. He found some measure of relief and ease in that, though he would never have admitted it.

  “Her eyes … they’re purple,” Corinne breathed in amazement.

  “Astonishing and lovely, aren’t they?” Uberon agreed. “Though I prefer the softness of your jade eyes.”

  “Swamp muck green,” she corrected in a dry tone.

  “Jade,” he insisted, “without the hard sharpness of emerald and the muddy overtones of swamp muck. They are beautiful, soothing, and magnificent.”

  His compliments made the breath catch in her throat.

  “You are lovely beyond compare,” he murmured. “And my opinion is the only one that matters.”

  Her cheeks flushed a lovely rosy color as she directed her gaze at the scuffed toes of her boots. However, she remembered her father reassuring her mother in much the same way to her mother’s eternal gratitude and delight. Perhaps that is what all devoted husbands did.

  I am more than a mere husband and you are more than a mere wife.

  She nodded, because no mere spouse would pick up her thoughts like that. For the first time, she truly acknowledged the depth and the strength of the soul bond between mates and recognized it as stronger and more enduring than any sacramental vow or legal contract.

  “Look up and meet the challenge of their eyes, beloved. You are mated to the Quoliálfur king,” he murmured. “You are the Quoliálfur queen now and you shall bow before none.”

  Since she didn’t think that news of a new fae kingdom somewhere far away in this mysterious Quol had spread beyond a mere handful of people, Uberon’s admonition failed to reassure her. Corinne gave him a quick smile and tried not to gawk at the uniformity of the people she passed as they walked across the courtyard through a set of massive stone portals intricately carved from stone and so cleverly hung that a child could push them open without straining. She and Uberon followed their guide down a long, wide corridor with guards standing at attention at regular intervals. Caught in looking at their surroundings, she did not hear her mate whisper a greeting in the Old Tongue and did not notice the curl of warm air that slid over them in silent welcome.