She couldn’t. She was being targeted and couldn’t even sift because there were so many Uglies…and Isabel lost the hope she had of being saved. She should’ve been celebrating a victory with Amele after finding the traitorous Sidhe, but she was being dragged through the crowd, completely engulfed in the circle of Unseelie monsters. She couldn’t move a muscle; it was like they had frozen her or something. It was a really horrifying version of crowd surfing, but at this point she wished they would all just drop her on her head. The putrid white eyes glared at her but none of them stuck their swords in her and the Demons just stood back and watched, not trying to harm her.
Why aren’t they killing me? This is just great. What’s a fate worse than death? Being dragged into the unknown by the Uglies.
In her frozen state she could hear Amele screaming commands, but they had planned this too perfectly. All of the guard were being heavily attacked to keep them from her and they were all outnumbered at least twenty to one.
“Sift, Amele! Get the hell out of here!” she screamed. At least her freaking voice worked, unlike the rest of her completely traitorous body.
She heard the roar of frustration of her friend as she tried to sift in to get to her, but was blocked by some kind of invisible shield. So the Unseelie had magic, too? Gross, what else could they do? Why wasn’t her amulet working? It should be protecting her from magic! She felt herself moving across the yard in their grotesque limbs, and she tried to move, but she was paralyzed. When she felt the freezing cold entrance of the portal as they slipped through with her, she began to get just a little bit afraid.
Looming like a nightmare in front of her was a black castle that had seen better days—or maybe not—and there was no sky to be seen here. It was all charred soot and fire, as if the flames constantly licked it. Which was odd actually, since it was so damn cold here. The freezing temperatures in a fiery world both made sense, and didn’t. Well, at least that explained the Unseelies’ nasty, colorless skin. The wretched things couldn’t work on their tan in these dreadful conditions.
Was this her panicking? Thinking of the Unseelie tanning options? Had she finally cracked and gone insane? She didn’t think she had, not yet, but she was sure close now that she wasn’t in a realm that smelled of flowers and sexual frustration. This realm smelled like she imagined hell would, and she was pretty damn sure that there was only one way out of it. The way she’d come in—carried by the Uglies.
Isabel stared up at her captures with an sunny grin, determined to deal with this like Amele would. With a great big ‘fuck you’ to her captors, of course. “You’re going to die a thousand deaths for this, and I’m going to get to watch. But really, just one will do fine, truly. So, you can go ahead and kill each other now, right after you put me back in my world.” Try as she might though, she couldn’t do the Senseti thing. Maybe they had to actually be looking at her?
They didn’t seem to hear her threats, or they just didn’t care, and continued heading straight for the foreboding black gates of Ugly hell.
Awesome.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Death by Treason
~ALBEQUEN~
Morkain wailed as if he was struck. Sharp jagged pain ripped from his heart outwards and he crumpled to the earth. “Rhonan!” he screamed, gasping for air. The contents of his stomach heaved onto the earth and murder turned his vision red. He told her not to follow the guard to the mortal realm! Damn her! While he was playing mate-to-be, his true mate was being killed. Who struck her down and why? Was it the Unseelie? The Shadow Demons? Did she attack Isabel? What the hell happened? Excruciating pain exploded from every part of his body and he trembled with the loss that he felt. He fell onto the grass and screamed her name, purging the sickness and cursing the Sidhe and the Elves both. Gods, why her? How was she not protected by her people?
When the pain was manageable he stood, wincing at the force it took to do so. His eyes blazed with pain and his fists clenched, wanting to tear the life from the beast who had done this.
He rushed to Orilius and demanded that he look for an answer.
“I’m sorry, My Lord, but there’s nothing more that I can gather right now. Once the curse has been broken I’ll be able to see again, but I’m blind to the other realms until it is, just as every other mage is bound to their realms.” Orilius looked at the ground, looking fearful of Morkain’s reaction right now.
Morkain roared again into the night, but didn’t pounce on the mage, even though everything in his soul wanted to kill right now. His sweet Rhonan would come no more. Her light tresses falling over his chest as she made love to him. Gods help the one who had taken her life, for they would soon follow.
His sword butchered tree trunks and flowers. A small wooden shed on the outskirts of the forest that was a break room for the field workers ended up in mere splinters at his feet. His heart pounded. There would be a blood debt paid.
She had pleaded with him to not take part in the prophesy, asked him to run away with her. Why didn’t he do that? Was the crown worth her life? He thought about the suffering she must have undergone as she heard tales of Isabel’s dreams. How would he be able to handle stories of her in another’s arms? He would kill the male, that’s how.
What was all of this for again? He’d tried to make Isabel a monster, but it hadn’t worked, and he couldn’t hate her. As much as he wanted to be cold when it came to her, she was innocent, a child still in his eyes that was ignorant of their worlds.
It had been a murderous day to learn of this twisted fate. Cursed to play suitor to the female whose father he’d killed? The plan to get rid of her as he had her father wouldn’t have worked. If this damned curse hadn’t been placed and she’d never been born, everything would be exactly how it should be! He screamed again, feeling the loss of his mate within his soul.
Why hadn’t he stopped the charade and brought his Rhonan home? He dropped to the grass and put his face in his hands, anger boiling over. Rhonan may have been Sidhe, but she wasn’t like the rest of them. She was a warrior first and foremost and she’d loved Albequen more than Loveryn. She dreamed of coming to live there with him and he wanted that more than anything. His contempt for the Sidhe stopped with her because she took none of the arrogant pride in her race that he despised. He thought of her as more Elven than Sidhe and she should’ve been with him here, not fighting a battle that wasn’t hers to fight! Gods, what had he done? He might as well have killed her with his own hands!
The crown on the head of the Queen should have been on Rhonan, ruling at his side for all the days to come. He was so close! Once Isabel was gone, he was the successor. And he could have brought his mate to the throne with him. The queen was nothing without him. Nothing!
He growled and walked out to the empty fields, the farmers long since home to their families. There must be a way to undo this. He paced the fields outside of the city like an animal, hours passing in torture before it came to him.
That’s it! He would bring her back. He would make one of the sifters bring her back to him. Screw the rules of what dies must remain dead. He would capture Isabel and force the sifters to go back for her before the fatal blow. He would resurrect her and they could run away together, never to be seen again. He didn’t need the crown. Or, oh yes, he could have them both. Albequen and Loveryn. With Rhonan by his side and the army at his command, he would have it all.
When Isabel returned to him one final time he would take her and make her a ransom for the life of his love. Oh yes, this may yet work out. He could wait two more days for Isabel to come back and secure Rhonan’s safe return. Though he didn’t hate Isabel, he did hate her father and he definitely hated all the Sidhe, especially Bodhe. He would spoil Isabel for the faery out of spite, because his mate had suffered. He could make her scream his name yet, as he had promised her she would.
A shout from the Queen’s herald spun him around. Fire burned from his eyes still, and the young herald looked at him a bit frightened. “Her majesty w
ishes an audience, My Lord,” he stammered out.
“Now? Can’t it wait?” he growled.
“No, My Lord, I’m afraid she said it was quite urgent and that she needs you immediately.” He squared his shoulders and looked at Morkain.
“Oh, alright!” He stormed off toward the castle trying to get his emotions in control. As he neared, he noticed the Queen standing on her balcony, watching him. She had a calm mask on her face, as usual, but her energy was anything but. She couldn’t possibly know about any of this. He’d been so careful.
He took the stairs two at a time and as the doors to her rooms opened he found that she was completely alone, which was unusual for her. There were always guards in here with her. He bowed on one knee and rose. “Your Majesty, you called for me?” he asked, trying to sound as normal as possible.
“Have a seat, Morkain,” she gestured fluidly to the soft lounge that was nearest to her. He did as instructed and sat, though she remained standing.
Even now, with a slight scowl on her face her beauty was inspiring. Poets and bards wrote ballads that reached the edges of the realms about it. She wore a flowing yellow dress bejeweled with emeralds at the trim, and ten layers of silk that cascaded like billowing clouds from her thin frame. Her eyes were as golden as her hair at the moment, and except for the golden mane and taller height, she looked a great deal like Isabel. Her pointed ears adorned thin strands of rose colored metal going up to the tips on each side that wrapped delicately around her cartilage. Without such adornments, she would still be one of the most regal beings in all the realms.
She walked toward the balcony and looked out over the sunset in Albequen with a very heavy stare. Delicate, yet deadly fingers were laced gracefully behind her back and she stood straight and tall as her words were calculated. She turned to him a moment later and gazed at him with her eyes flashing gold, but her face and tone as calm as a lake on a windless day.
“What is the reason that I have not seen my granddaughter, Morkain? And please choose your words wisely. I have seen a vision in the Cave of Illumination that I am certain was not meant for me. Since, after all, I am not a Sidhe Foresayer,” she turned just in time to watch his eyes open wide with shock.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
I Don't Do Helpless
BASTARDS! AMELE WATCHED as the rest of the Unseelie fled, running into the portal or being struck down by the Sidhe. This was not at all part of the deal, and she had a sick feeling in her gut. The Unseelie were not specifically included in the curse, which meant they could do anything they wanted to Isabel. Shit, she had to get in there! But as she sifted toward the shimmering space in the woods once she was able to do so again, it closed tight, and the only thing she got through was air.
“Son of a bitch!” she screamed, as she spat dark matter from her mouth. Unseelie and Demon blood was all over her and she felt like she could take on the entire Unseelie kingdom right now without even getting out of breath. But they were all gone!
“Guards! Who knew Rhonan? That little bitch betrayed us all!”
There were silent murmurs in the crowd and then Loth came forward slowly, ringing his hands together and staring only at the floor.
“I knew her, or thought I did, Your Majesty. She was my niece.”
“Care to elaborate on what the fuck just happened, Loth?” her eyes were blazing amber. Someone was dying with that traitor.
“I-I have no idea,” he trembled. “It’s true she’s family, but we’re not as close as we should be…not in a long time.”
“And why not? Family is everything to us. How the fuck is it possible that you couldn’t know your own niece who was also assigned to guard this realm, and Isabel, during the Unseelie occupation?” It took every ounce of control she had to keep from screaming.
His stance crumbled and his eyes glittered with defeat and shame. “Forgive me, please, I had no idea! I thought she had come around, you must understand. She said she’d stopped going there but how could we be so foolish? From the moment she lay her young eyes on him in that Gods forsaken battle, she was lost! I swear on my life I had no idea about any of this, she hid her intentions well. She even asked for this position as a way to show her loyalties. May the Gods and the realms have mercy on our family.”
“Loth, so help me if you do not answer my question I will mark you as a traitor too, and remove your head from your shoulders as our law requires me to. I like you, but I will kill you. Where was she going, and with whom?” Her eyes narrowed and anger rolled off of her in visible waves.
His head hung low and his shoulders haunched down. He said very quietly, “To Albequen. To meet with Morkain as often as she could. She thought that he was her partner.”
Everyone in the room gasped and Loth fell to his knees putting his sword before Amele’s feet. Amele felt the world shift dangerously around her as her anger rose within. The storm that the Unseelie had caused outside had nothing on the storm she was creating right now because she was pissed. Lightning lit the faces of the shocked guards all around her and she had to take a calming breath so she didn’t incinerate the one on his knees before her. Broken windows all through the downstairs caused rain and hail to pelt down on all of them, Amele completely oblivious to it all. She kept seeing Isabel’s frozen form as she was carried away, hearing her begging her not to let them take her.
“Godsdammit!” she screamed, gripping her raka in her hand murderously tight.
“Please, My Queen, forgive me. I knew nothing of this treachery! I love my people. Don’t cast me out of Loveryn, I beg you. I would have stopped her myself by whatever means I had to if I had known this was what she was planning. I didn’t know—none of us did. My sister will be horrified that her daughter was capable of this treason against the Sidhe,” he sobbed, his guilt clear in his shaking frame.
She looked at him and listened deeply to his thoughts. No, he didn’t know of this. Though the anger steamed from her pores it was not Loth with whom she was angry; it was at herself for not paying more attention to the guard. How had this female slipped back and forth without alerting someone? How had she not heard her schemes? They were under the same roof for days! And for how long had this little arrangement been going on? If she hadn’t been killed by the Unseelie, she would torture and kill her again!
“Off your knees, warrior, I don’t hold you accountable for her treachery but I hold everyone in this room accountable for not protecting our charge, including myself! Do you all understand?” Silent nods and small grunts answered her.
“How long ago was that battle and when did she last see him that you’re certain of?”
He looked up, fighting back tears of shame. “It was the Battle of the Rages, and I cannot be entirely certain but she disappeared just before the princess’ recent birthday. She said she was training for two days in the Darklands. Gods help me, I believed her.”
“This has been going on for a century? That bastard!!” she roared, and stomped through the room. That was a nasty battle and she had been unable to attend because of her detainment with the Dragons. The Rages had attacked the realms with fire, trying to burn all to the ground in their wake. It took four of the magic realms to stop them, and to restore the damage that had been caused to their beloved forests. Sidhe and Elves fought side by side, their forces combined with the Dragons and the Teleth, the Dark Elves.
Rages were born of the Fire Elemental Reisha, and were very difficult to kill because they were fire themselves. It took all the great mages and warriors months to exterminate them. How they ever got out of their own realm was anyone’s guess since the fire realm is all contained. Reisha’s little hoodlums are not allowed out of their cage, so to speak. But did Reisha come help round them up when they escaped? Of course not. She probably set them free herself just for fun.
Shaking the thoughts from her head she re-focused on the group before her. “Please tell me we have a mage among us?”
“We do not, Your Majesty. They’re not required to travel wi
th the guard and by the time we realized this was not a normal Unseelie visit, we were all trapped here.”
“Are there any Foresayers?”
Again, another no. Damn it! She could time sift and go forward, but only in this realm, so that was freaking useless now. She contemplated sifting backwards but the consequences would be her life—do not pass go, do not collect two hundred dollars, just poof from existence if she changed anything, and she was definitely going back to change this outcome. Fuck!
“I need to think, I want men posted in the woods in case that portal opens again. Someone reach me immediately if it opens! The ring was the only way I could get to her.” Amele stalked off through the woods to figure out a plan. If only she could get a message to Loveryn.
Helpless. I don’t fucking do helpless! She walked toward the lake nearby, a million worthless ideas going through her head.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
Unseelie Hell
~UNSEELIE REALM
Her knees scraped along the jagged stone floors as they drug her down the dark corridor. Gangly arms gripped her as if she were a sack of potatoes instead of a person, and if there really was a hell, she’d just been brought to it. Just as she thought all the flesh was gone from her kneecaps, a door opened in front of them and she was thrown into a small room. No surprise it was as dark as the hell outside, with no windows or furniture. The wood and metal of the door screamed as it slammed shut. Pitch black surrounded her then, with not even a candle to see with.
She could move again, though, and got into a crouched position…ready to pounce on whatever came at her. The Uglies stole her dagger and her sword while she was paralyzed. Was she strong enough to fight without them? She felt around her ripped legs and was amazed once more as they healed beneath her hands, the torn flesh of her knees repairing at rapid speeds. This new healing thing rocked, even if she didn’t know the full extent of what injuries she could live through. On the bright side, if they were going to cut her head off they likely would’ve by now. Isabel let out a huff and refused to think about the grey ooze and red blood she must be covered in. She felt sticky, and so damn disgusting.
Immortal Dreams (Immortal Realms Book 1) Page 23
