Crown of Visions

by R. A. Rock

  “Are you talking about the ghost wyrm?” Finn whispered.

  The rustling got louder and the white light closer.

  “Come on, come on,” Tessa said, wishing she could hurry it as the rock slowly slid back into place. A couple seconds later, the rustling sound moved by on the other side of the rock wall. She blew out her breath.

  “That was close.”

  Finn’s eyes were large in the dim light of a luminescence orb he held in his hand. There were thousands of these orbs at Summerswind. They both gave light and also had a finding spell embedded in them. This allowed anyone to find anyone else in the castle and you could also search for places.

  But the orbs worked as a part of the Truce spell and couldn't be used with malicious intent of any sort. So, a person couldn't use the orb to find someone if they meant to do them harm, steal from them, cheat or trick them. That sort of thing. If you had any dark intention in your heart, the orb would sense it and it wouldn't go anywhere.

  “The tales of the ghost wyrm are true?”

  “Are you serious?” Tessa said, eyeing him where he stood leaning against the wall of the passageway.

  “I didn’t…” He stopped and frowned. “Wait. If you knew, how come you were just waltzing around those tunnels completely unconcerned? And how come the Truce spell doesn’t neutralize it?”

  Tessa shrugged. “The ghost wyrm isn’t a monster. It’s just a creature that died down in its tunnels beneath Summerswind Keep and became a ghost. There must be a story. But I don’t know it.”

  “So the ghost wyrm is real.”

  “Yes,” she said.

  “And the Truce spell can’t stop it?”

  “Right.”

  “And if the wyrm had passed through us, we’d be dead.”

  “Yes,” Tessa admitted.

  “It would suck up all our Starlight and leave us dead, Tess. For real. As in, we would never heal from that. Once a Fae’s Starlight is gone, it’s gone.”

  “I know,” Tess said. “Everyone knows that. It’s one of the few ways we can die. But it didn’t suck our Starlight. So calm down.”

  “We barely escaped, Tess. And only because I kissed you.”

  “Well, then I guess we better make out down here more often,” Tess said, grinning at Finn.

  “You know, this whole shadows-may-care attitude you’ve had since we got here is really strange,” Finn said, peering at her. “Have you been drinking Elixir?”

  “Not yet,” Tessa said. Then she took Finn’s hands in hers when he scowled at her.

  “Tess, what’s going on?”

  “It’s just…” She trailed off, struggling to express how she felt. “For the first time in hundreds of years, I’m free. And we’re at the Hundred Years Ball. Is it so bad that I’m loosening up a little bit?”

  “No, of course not,” Finn said, still frowning. “I just don’t—”

  “Stop being such a Shadow bringer. Yes, we’ve got some serious stuff to do. But it’s also a ball. And we’re here. Together, Finn.” She pulled him toward her, bringing their faces closer together. She went up on her toes a bit and pressed a kiss to his cheek.

  “I guess you’re right,” he said reluctantly.

  “Good. Let’s follow this secret passage back into the castle. Maybe we could even sleep in here, if necessary.”

  “That’s what I was going to say before I almost got taken out by a giant ghost wyrm.”

  Tess pulled her sword and blew him a kiss.

  “Yes, yes, you’re very smart,” Tessa said, going ahead down the passage and keeping her sword at the ready.

  They had been exploring the passageways for over an hour and all Finn wanted was somewhere he could relax and not have to worry about being captured. He was tired of running. He couldn’t figure out Tessa’s oddly relaxed behavior and it worried him.

  And like he had said before, he didn’t do worry. It really wasn’t his thing. And he didn’t like being forced into a position where he had to be the responsible one. It was uncomfortable.

  “Hey, look,” Tessa said, peering out through one of the many peepholes that were located throughout the castle. It kind of made Finn nervous thinking about how many people had probably been spying on him over the years from those peepholes.

  He had never actually been in the secret passages, other than playing in some of the well-known ones as a child. As he grew older, there had been other attractions at the Hundred Years Ball that had been more interesting. Like all the Light Fae women who were interested in finding out what it was like to be with a Dark Fae. Finn had always been more than happy to let them experiment on him.

  Of course, that had occasionally backfired.

  Most notably with Sanndrah at the last Ball. He sure hoped that he wouldn’t run into her.

  “What is it?” he said, putting the thought of his mistake out of his mind.

  “This door comes out in a servant hallway. In what looks like an alcove or something. It should be the perfect place for us to get out of the secret passageways without being seen.”

  “That’s good,” Finn said, interested. “We’ll need that. If only we had a place to sleep.”

  Tessa sighed. “I feel dusty everywhere.”

  Finn waggled his eyebrows at her and she laughed, her bright blue eyes startling and sort of incongruous with her brown hair.

  “I just really wish we could have a regular room with a magic bath that never gets cold and a big—”

  “Bed,” Finn said, wrapping his arm around her waist and pulling her against him. Her curls brushed against his face and he breathed in her raspberry scent. “Where I can ravish you properly.”

  “Well, I was going to say Table of Plenty, but I like your fantasy as much as mine.”

  “Tess, this Hundred Years Ball is not going to be fun if we have to hide most of the time and sleep in dusty, spider-filled passageways.”

  Tessa wrinkled her nose at the thought.

  “I’m sure we’ll figure something out,” she said, putting her arms around his neck and hugging him.

  He held her tightly and found it comforting, though nothing had changed. It was nice to have someone to share his troubles with again, even if she couldn’t solve any of them.

  He wished they could lie together. Soon. But they had more important things to worry about right now and he stepped away.

  “Do you hear that?” Tessa said suddenly, a faraway expression on her face.

  “Hear what?” Finn said automatically. Then he stayed still and listened.

  Nothing.

  Sure, there were the quiet noises of the castle shifting and creaking and the odd shout that came from somewhere in one of the castle rooms—all sounds muffled and faint. But otherwise, there was no sound that he could discern.

  “I don’t hear anything,” he said, concerned by the odd glint in Tessa’s eyes.

  “It’s a lovely melody,” she said, listening. Then she turned abruptly and took off walking quickly down the passageway, the heels of her boots clicking.

  “Wait, Tess. What are you doing?”

  He jogged after her, wondering what in the name of Severance Tessa was doing. Finn caught up with her and tried to catch her arm but she shook it off.

  “It’s calling me, Finn. I have to go.”

  “What’s calling you?” Finn said, more worried than he had been before, and that was saying something.

  “There’s a song. A beautiful song.”

  “Tessa, there’s no song,” he said, starting to be afraid that maybe it was Dark magic. But no. With the Truce spell in effect, no Dark magic could operate here. There was an indent in the wall here and she was fiddling with something when they heard a male voice rumbling down the passageway.

  “Hey. Who’s down here? These are our passages.”

  Great. Tessa was going crazy. Or had been enchanted, which was worse. And now they had trouble in the form of what sounded like a very large man. Finn tucked the map into his satchel.

&nbs
p; This was a great start to the week.

  “Hey, Finn,” the big man said, a smile appearing in his thick brown beard where the frown had been a moment before. “It’s you. So good to see you again. Have the Stars been good to you since the last Ball?”

  Finn wracked his brain for the giant’s name as he and the big man pressed their forearms together in the Fae greeting. He did remember him. Sweet guy. Finn had beat him in cards, like four times. And he hadn’t punched Finn. Still remembered his name. He was a really nice guy. Obviously a nicer guy than Finn, since he couldn’t remember the big man’s name.

  “Hey,” Finn said, giving him a thump on the arm. “I’m doing great. How are you?”

  He examined the large man, whose barrel chest and bulging biceps indicated his profession, which Finn vaguely remembered was blacksmith. His cheeks were red, as if perhaps he had drunk too much for too long. But he exuded satisfaction and confidence. Finn wished he had even just a little of that.

  “I’ve got a lady now and a little one. So no more drinking Elixir and gambling all night for me.”

  Finn laughed uncomfortably. “Yeah, well, me neither.”

  “Oh, is this your wife?”

  “Wife?” Finn said, feeling faint at the thought of getting married. “No, this is Tessa. We’re…”

  He glanced at her and noted with relief that this guy’s arrival had snapped her out of whatever weird magic had come over her.

  “Partners,” she finished for him, holding her forearm up.

  “I’m Rufus,” the big man said, crossing forearms with her to make the faerie handshake. The Fae wouldn’t shake hands because of the chance of making an inadvertent magical vow, so the custom was to cross forearms instead. “Since Finn doesn’t seem to have any manners.”

  “Tessa. And he really doesn’t.” Tessa nodded as if she were commiserating with him.

  What the Chasm?

  “Well, it’s a pleasure to meet you, Tessa,” Rufus said. The floor of the secret passage made a soft squeaking sound as he shifted his weight back and forth. “It would be really nice if you could come meet my wife.”

  “I’d like that,” Tessa said, seeming really happy that he’d asked.

  Finn wondered if he were Light Fae or Dark. It was taboo to ask anyone whether they were Seelie or Unseelie during the Ball but he couldn’t help being curious anyway. And there were ways of telling. But generally, it was considered bad form to make any sort of mention of which side of the Chasm you lived on.

  “You’ll be coming to the reception, right?” he said, still talking mostly to Tessa.

  “Yes,” she said at the same time as Finn said, “No.”

  Rufus glanced back and forth between them.

  Finn modified his answer. “Maybe. We’ve had a very long journey.”

  “Did you travel?” Rufus said, his eyes widening, eyebrows lifting. “I always just wait for the spell to teleport me here. It’s very efficient.”

  “I heard it has side effects, though,” Finn said.

  “Yeah, it does make you pretty queasy for about twenty-four hours afterwards,” he put a hand to his large belly. Finn squinted at him in the dim light. He did look a little pale and sweaty. “But it’s better than being on a horse for ten hours a day for four days.”

  Finn quickly calculated. He must be from the north, near the Cyclopean Forest, to have that long of a journey and that would make him Dark Fae. Mystery solved.

  “I guess so,” Finn said dubiously, thinking of being nauseated for an entire day. “Still, I think I’ll stick to my horse.”

  Rufus grinned and grabbed him in a one-armed chokehold, cutting off his air supply.

  “Still a joker, Finn,” he said, squeezing a little more tightly than he probably intended and nearly crushing Finn’s windpipe. Rufus let him go and Finn sucked in air, grateful he still could.

  “We’ll look for you at the reception, then,” Rufus said. “My wife would be glad to meet you.”

  “Sounds good,” Tessa said, and the big man exited by one of the nearby doors, heading into the normal part of the castle. He heard the sound of the murmuring of a large group of people.

  “Why would you say that?” Finn said, rounding on Tessa. “We can’t just be attending everything. Do you remember there are several bounties on our heads?”

  “There’s the Truce spell,” Tessa said, batting her eyes at him. “And now that I’m not a spy anymore, I want to have a normal life.”

  “A normal life,” Finn said, wondering if she was kidding. “You’re the Keeper of the Scroll. You want to end the Severance. And both the King and the Dark Queen want you dead or locked up for eternity.”

  “I know, Finn,” she said, looking younger than he had ever seen her. “So can’t we just have a little fun? Just act a little normal? We’ll hide. I swear. We won’t put ourselves in danger. Just a little fun?”

  She held her thumb and forefinger close together to show Finn how much fun she wanted to have.

  Who was this woman and what had she done with the tough Captain of the Guard that Finn had first met?

  He pulled in a deep breath to keep calm and was surprised that it smelled like apples and cinnamon. Just another part of the spell of the Hundred Years Ball. The rest of the century, the castle was just a ruin. But as soon as the spell activated, this amazing place appeared for the week of the Hundred Years Ball. Some of the many perks were that it self-cleaned and apparently smelled like his Grandma’s apple pie.

  Finn sighed, gazing down at Tess. Somehow, this beautiful, tough, sexy ex-Captain of the Guard had gotten into his heart and he found he couldn’t resist her. Especially when she was vulnerable.

  “Okay, Tess,” he conceded. “We can go to the reception. But we take precautions.”

  “Whatever you say, Finn.”

  She bounced into his arms, vibrating with excitement.

  Finn only hoped that he hadn’t gotten them into a world of trouble.

  Chapter 3

  Tessa stared down at her tunic and pants sadly. She supposed she wouldn’t stand out that much. Oh, who was she kidding? They couldn’t go to the reception like this.

  “Tess, come on. I’m hungry. We haven’t had supper and there’s going to be such good food out there.” Finn eyed her as he stood at the door leading out of the secret passage they were in. “Look, originally I didn’t think going to the reception was a good idea, but I’m really hungry. You know the spread they put out for supper time is the most delicious of all.”

  Tess stood there, staring down at the floor. She wasn’t sure supper was the best meal but she was awfully hungry.

  “And honestly, it won’t hurt to mingle a little and get a feel for what’s going on out there. Tess? What’s wrong?”

  “We can’t go like this,” she said, sounding pitiful even to herself. “We look as though we’ve been dragged behind a monster for several hours. And then the monster threw up on us. And then rolled us through a swamp.”

  Finn wrinkled his nose. He looked down at his own clothes, which had seen better days.

  “Sleeping on the ground for a week is not conducive to dressing for the most important social function of the century,” Tessa said. “So that means we can’t go.”

  “Shadows take me,” he cursed. “You’re right. We look awful. Where are we going to get proper clothes at this late hour?”

  “I know,” Tessa said, snapping her fingers. “A glamour.”

  “What? No. It’s—”

  “I know, frowned upon. But it’s not technically illegal. It’ll fool ninety percent of the population. And the other ten, we’ll just stay away from.”

  “Okay, then,” Finn said, clearly reluctant.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “It’s just that the last time I used a glamour, it turned out spectacularly badly.”

  Tessa’s eyebrows drew together.

  “Except for meeting you,” he said, tilting his head back and forth. “I guess that made up for being dragged into
the Dark Court.”

  Tessa smiled. “It’ll be okay. And we won’t have to look or smell like we just slogged through Perdira’s Mire.”

  “I have to admit that the idea is appealing. I would rather not smell like anything having to do with that Fae.” He glowered at the thought of how Perdira had tricked him.

  “Well, let’s do it then,” Tessa said. She closed her eyes and focused on the Starlight within her. Then she imagined a lovely, pale, rose-colored gown with a see-through layer of gossamer fabric overtop. The pink bodice rose up from her hips, emphasizing her slender waist and giving her a hint of cleavage. Her shoulders were bare except for the thinnest spaghetti straps. And gloves the same shade as the dress covered her hands right up to her elbows.

  Tessa’s dark brown curls were pinned up in the back and studded with tiny gold stars. On her feet were rose slippers. And when she looked down at herself, she was quite satisfied. She looked like the almost-princess of the Light Fae that she truly was. Not that she wanted that life anymore. She didn’t know what she wanted. But it had been a long time since she’d dressed like a noblewoman and she was sort of enjoying it.

  Her face looked different, but if she had a mirror, she would be able to see her own face through the glamour. She could also see the real clothes she was wearing if she paid attention but she allowed herself to be swayed by the glamour.

  That was how a glamour spell worked. It was one of the few spells that ordinary Fae could perform easily. Mostly, they used spelled objects to perform magic. To create a glamour, you made an image from your Starlight—the magic within that gave each Fae life—and you showed people what they wanted to see.

  Only Fae with strong magic could see through them. As she had said, most Fae would not notice that she and Finn had a glamour over themselves. And somehow, they would have to avoid the others or risk being laughed at—or worse, questioned as to why they were using a glamour at a Fae gathering. It wasn’t against the law to use glamours on other Fae but it was frowned upon because of it being kind of sneaky.

  When Tessa finished and glanced over at Finn, her heart stopped. He was resplendent in a navy coat with gold buttons and breeches fitted to his muscular thighs. He had shiny leather boots with hard soles that clicked when he walked. And his hair, which had gotten long over the time they had been traveling together, was pulled back and tied with a navy ribbon that matched his clothes.