Crown of Visions

by R. A. Rock

  Tess honestly wasn’t sure how Runa was even walking at this point. After being in a sleeping spell for almost a week, she ought to be so weak she could hardly sit up. But then she had always been extremely tough and Tess supposed that was how she was managing to remain upright—by completely ignoring what her body and mind needed.

  They could see and hear from their position but, hopefully, they wouldn’t be detected. The room was a small but regal antechamber off the section of the castle with the ballrooms. Tess knew that the queen sometimes used it to hold court. It appeared she was still using it.

  The room was tastefully appointed with a white marble throne. There was a royal-blue carpet leading up to where the queen sat on a dais. Around the room on the walls were scattered paintings of the Unseelie land. There were sculptures on tables and in recessed nooks. There was even a life-sized statue of Ransetta herself, though Tess noted that it lacked the cruel glint that was usually found in the Dark Queen’s eyes.

  They didn’t have to wait long before Runa was called before the queen.

  Tess almost felt bad for her. Almost.

  “Runa Byrne.” Ransetta’s voice, sweet as a poisoned apple, slid out the door and curled into her ears. “Look who decided to wake up and come to work.”

  “Your highness,” Runa began. “I beg your forgiveness for not being by your side this past week.”

  “Runa, Runa, you mistake me. I don’t actually intend to talk to you. I don’t care that you came in. And I’ve already replaced you. You can go now.”

  “But your highness, I was incapacitated by a spell.”

  The queen pinned Runa with a disgusted look. “You allowed yourself to be taken out by Tessa and her thief. It was disgraceful. I’m not sure I even want you as part of the guard anymore.”

  “But your majesty, if you would only—” Runa tried one more time.

  “Runa, you should stop talking now,” the Dark Queen said with a smile that would shatter glass. It sounded as though it was just a suggestion but Tess knew it was a warning.

  “She’s going to get herself captured and then killed,” Tess whispered, moving into the room.

  “My queen, please.” Runa’s voice was filled with despair.

  The Dark Queen’s eyes flared with rage as Runa refused to stop speaking. The ancient Fae stood up and lifted her hands, balls of magic gathering in each. The enchantment looked like a big snarl of string and Tess knew that it was the kind that the Dark Queen used for capturing people. And if Runa was captured, the queen would eventually kill her. There was no doubt about that.

  “Shadows take me,” Tess whispered, heading for the statue of the Dark Queen. She pushed it hard. It wouldn’t tip. It was too heavy. Shadows and Chasm. The queen was going to get Runa. And the woman might be an idiot that didn’t know when to stop talking in the Dark Queen’s presence, but she didn’t deserve to die.

  Tess pushed again as hard as she could. But it wasn’t moving. She tried once more and the statue tipped with a crash. The Dark Queen’s head broke off and rolled away.

  Finn. He had helped her push it over.

  “Let’s get out of here, now,” his voice whispered as Ransetta seemed to lock on to where they stood, even though they were invisible and insubstantial at the moment.

  Runa woke from her misery long enough to realize she had been granted a reprieve. She tore out of the room while Ransetta was looking at the downed statue. Finn and Tess went after her, running down the corridor, but Tess stopped dead when she realized that Runa was hiding in an alcove down the hall where she could still hear the queen. The idiot hadn’t had enough of the queen’s wrath but wanted to test her luck further?

  Tess shook her head but ducked behind the curtain and waited with her. A moment later, she shivered as Finn accidentally moved through her. Or at least, she assumed that was who it was.

  “Who’s there?” Runa hissed. They didn’t answer, but she frowned around the alcove anyway. Then they all heard Ransetta giving orders to the new Captain of the Guard.

  “Druthers, come here.”

  “Shall I go after Runa?” the man said.

  “No, don’t bother with her. Send a squadron to do that. We have more important business.”

  Runa made a frustrated sound, her eyes filled with tears.

  Tess felt really bad about how everything had turned out. She couldn’t have done anything differently, but she wished that it hadn’t hurt Runa so much. Even if they were enemies, she hadn’t wanted to ruin her life.

  “Yes, your majesty.”

  “The crown.”

  “Yes, your majesty. The Crown of Visions, right?”

  “That’s right. Take this map and a small team. Your best soldiers.”

  “Yes, your highness.”

  “Find it. I want my crown back.”

  “Yes, your highness. We’ll find it. Should we leave now?”

  “No.” The Dark Queen sounded frustrated. “I forgot. The map will remain blank until tomorrow at six in the evening. Be ready to go down into the tunnels then. In the meantime, have Runa brought in. I want her in the dungeons.”

  “Yes, your majesty.”

  They all stayed very quiet as the man moved away down the hall, the large man’s boot heels tramping heavily on the stones.

  “The crown,” Runa whispered to herself.

  Suddenly, the curtain rustled and Tess could see a luminescence orb pushing against the material, trying to get in. A moment later, Lorcan stepped into the alcove.

  “Lorcan, what in the name of Severance are you doing here?” Runa whispered, glancing frantically around in fear. “The queen is right around the corner. You don’t want to be captured by her.”

  “Captured?” Lorcan said. “That’s against the—”

  “Shh. She doesn’t care.”

  Tess saw in Runa’s eyes the same fear she had once known. The fear that the Dark Queen would hurt someone she loved. Oh, Stars above. Runa cared about Lorcan as much as he cared about her.

  This was getting so messy.

  “What are you doing here?” Lorcan said.

  “I work…” Runa pressed her lips together. “I worked for the Dark Queen. Now, come on and let’s get you out of here. I don’t want her to see you. And I especially don’t want her to see us together. You leave first. I’ll meet you at your room. Go straight there.”

  “But Runa—”

  “Do it, Lorcan. Unless you want to die?”

  “No,” he said, taken aback.

  “Then you’ll do as I say. Go. Now.”

  Tess and Finn followed Runa, who was following Lorcan, and soon, all four of them were in his quarters. Or at least, Tess assumed that Finn was still with them. She had no way of knowing.

  The couple sat down on the couch.

  “Stars alive, Runa, but you’re so beautiful,” Lorcan said, gazing into her eyes.

  “With this scar?” She traced the scar that ran down her face, shaking her head in disbelief. Tess bit her lip. She had given Runa that scar. “What are you talking about?”

  “It’s a part of you, so it’s beautiful,” Lorcan said and Runa’s eyes misted.

  “I forgot how sweet you are, Lorcan. You really mean that, don’t you?”

  “Of course,” he said, leaning in and kissing her. Tess glanced around the room to keep her eyes off of the couple who were making out.

  She breathed in the smell of paint and the turpentine he used to clean his brushes. It reminded her of her childhood. For a second, she wished so hard that they could go back to that time when they didn’t have any responsibilities and Tess didn’t have to do the impossible. She wished she could get that lightness back. She felt bowed down by her burdens—even more so at this moment than she had when she worked for the King and Dark Queen. Because now she was the only one who could do this thing. Or no. She was the only one who would do this thing.

  She shook her head. It was a silly wish. And she supposed she wouldn’t really want to go back to that time. Sh
e had been more unhappy than her nostalgic memories were willing to admit.

  Tess smiled fondly as she looked around. It was very much the same as the way he had kept things when they were children. This room was set up as a workspace and he had a few canvases sitting on easels. The table was covered in paints and brushes, so that there was no space to eat. Everywhere, there were signs of an artist at work.

  It made Tess a little happy that Lorcan had gotten to do what he wanted. What he loved. He deserved it. He was such a good man.

  Tess wondered if things were going to progress past the kissing stage and if they would have to leave before finding out anything more. But finally, the lovers broke apart.

  “Runa, you have to tell me what’s going on,” Lorcan said, his tone plaintive. “Maybe I can help.”

  Runa gave him a sweet smile that surprised Tess. Then she put a hand on his cheek. “You can’t. But it’s nice of you to offer.”

  Tessa’s rival was whiter and paler than usual, seeing as she had only just woken up from a sleeping spell. Her skin was nearly translucent and her black hair hung unwashed around her face. But she was still beautiful, Tess had to admit.

  “Runa,” he said, leaning forward until their foreheads were touching. “Please.”

  “Fine. Ransetta gave me the job of Captain of the Guard after Callahan screwed up and decided to take the Scroll for herself instead of bringing it back to the queen.”

  “She took the Scroll?” Lorcan said, aghast.

  “Why do you think she and Finn Noble are wanted by both the King and the Dark Queen?”

  “I had no idea,” Lorcan said with a shake of his head. “I don’t get out much. I spend most of my days painting.”

  “And that’s as it should be, Lorcan,” Runa said, her eyes a little wistful. “You’re so talented.”

  “Anyways,” he prompted, but his cheeks were red from her praise.

  “My first assignment as Captain of the Guard was to kill Tess and Finn.” She dropped her gaze. “As you can see, I failed.”

  “That’s not a bad thing, Runa.”

  “It is,” she said, raising her voice and making Lorcan pull back. “I have wanted to be Captain of the Guard for hundreds of years. I have done everything to prove myself worthy. You have no idea. I was just waiting till Tessa slipped up. I knew the queen would appoint me. I did everything she asked. The worst jobs… I did them. To prove my value to her. My worth.”

  Lorcan seemed troubled by this story but he took Runa’s hand and held it.

  “And then I got it. For a few Shadow-kissed hours.” Her eyes were happy for a moment. Then her expression hardened. “Then Tessa got me with the sleeping potion.”

  “She might have killed you,” Lorcan pointed out. “She spared your life.”

  Tess smiled as Lorcan defended her.

  “I wish she had killed me,” Runa said, her eyes hopeless. “There’s nothing left for me now. The queen won’t hear any excuses. And since I was defeated in such a disgraceful way, she won’t have me as Captain of the Guard anymore. Or even one of the regular foot soldiers.”

  “Nothing left for you?” Lorcan repeated, his face hurt.

  Tessa wished they weren’t there. This conversation was way too personal. But their mission hadn’t changed. They needed to find out what sort of threat Runa was and neutralize her. Runa didn’t seem to notice the heartbroken expression on Lorcan’s face as she stared into space, thinking of all she had lost.

  Suddenly, she snapped her fingers and her gaze locked on to Lorcan’s again. “That’s it.”

  “What’s it?”

  “The Crown of Visions.”

  “The Dark Queen’s lost crown? What about it? It’s just a myth isn’t it?”

  “I doubt it,” Runa said, getting up and pacing back and forth. Tess stepped back so that Runa wouldn’t pass through her. “The Dark Queen believes the King hid it here under the castle after the Severance. She searches for it every single Ball. That doesn’t sound like a myth to me.”

  “What about it?” Lorcan asked.

  “She said that Perdira had given her a map. And she was sending a team down to get it.”

  “So?”

  “So if I get to it before they do, then I can give it to Ransetta and maybe, just maybe I can gain her favor again. I need to remind her of how useful I can be. And getting her the magical item she wants the most would be very useful.”

  “Runa,” Lorcan said, pulling her into his lap. “That sounds like a really bad idea. Can’t we just stay here?”

  He covered her lips with his own and she kissed him back fervently. But she pulled away firmly.

  “We’ll have time for that,” Runa said, standing up. “Once I get the crown.”

  Tess didn’t know much about the Crown of Visions. She only knew that neither the Dark Queen nor Runa should get their hands on it.

  She and Finn had to get that crown.

  Before Runa or the queen.

  But first they needed a map.

  And Tess knew just the Fae to give them one.

  Chapter 12

  As they walked into the masquerade arm in arm that evening, Tess felt a sense of awe fill her chest. She almost couldn’t breathe. The spell had created the most beautiful decorations that she had ever seen. The room was like an ice castle.

  All the walls were ice with intricate carvings all over them. Everywhere, there were ice sculptures of monsters and beautiful Fae. From the ceiling hung thousands of delicate icicles that caught the light and reflected rainbows everywhere. It wasn’t cold, though. That was part of the spell.

  Finn was so handsome that Tess thought she would fall to pieces if she had to look at him any longer. He wore a green velvet coat and breeches, with a matching mask. The elegance and nobility coming off of him were making her tingle just from holding his hand. She had no idea that he was this person, too. She was used to rough-and-tumble Finn, jump-off-a-cliff Finn, stay-in-a-dodgy-inn Finn. She was having a hard time reconciling this image she had of him with the fitting-in-easily-with-the-high-class Finn.

  “Where did you learn this?”

  “Learn what?” Finn said, bemused.

  “How to fit in with the upper class.”

  “Oh, that,” Finn said. “Well, my family is actually nobility. You know, gentleman farmers and all that?”

  “Seriously?”

  “Yes, my grandfather is titled and he made sure I learned all the fancy talk and fancy… everything, really. When I was a hundred and seventeen, he took me to visit his cousin, the Duke of Killhaven, who held a week of festivities every summer. My grandfather wanted me to practice, so to speak. And well, here we are.”

  “I’m so impressed,” Tess said and he smiled a little self-consciously.

  “Are you?”

  Tess tried to keep from smiling and Finn laughed out loud.

  “Well, let’s see how you like this then,” he said, waggling his eyebrows. Then he swept into a deep bow, more elegant than she had ever seen a courtier make. He came out of it perfectly and held out his hand. “Tessa Callahan, would you honor me with this dance?”

  With the mask on his face, Tess couldn’t judge his expression. Was he teasing her? She did want to dance with him. But only if he truly wanted to dance with her.

  “Do you really want to dance with me?” Her heart was pounding and she felt as though she had stars in her eyes. She had never been so dazzled. Of course, no one she had really cared about had ever treated her so much like a queen.

  “There is nothing I would rather do with you,” he said. Then his lips quirked. “Or I should say, there’s only one other thing I would rather do with you.”

  “Finn,” she said, her tone a warning.

  “Please, Tessa? Will you dance with me?”

  Unable to deny him when he asked her like that, she took his hand and he led her out on to the dance floor. There was a faerie band playing, the dazed look in their eyes meant that they were high on Elixir. It was a dangerous t
hing, drinking enough Elixir to get drunk. But the music they then produced was absolutely sublime.

  Tess couldn’t stop her feet from moving.

  Finn put his hand around her waist and held her other hand. They were swept into the crush. Finn was a master dancer, Tess realized as he spun her around the floor. He was as good at dancing as he was at playing courtier. Their feet easily followed the steps of the swift dance that was playing. Tess knew that all Fae were natural singers and dancers but Finn was amazing.

  That song finished and the players went straight into the next without any break in the music. This song was a slow haunting melody that somehow made her heart ache. Finn pulled her closer and they swayed to the music. Tess wished they could stay there dancing under the twinkling lights forever.

  “Tessa,” Finn said, gazing into her eyes.

  “Yes,” she said, holding her breath at the expression on his face. She didn’t dare name the feeling she thought she saw there. But she recognized it because it was what she was feeling too.

  “I…” She waited. “You…” Tess held her breath.

  “You look beautiful.”

  That wasn’t what she had been hoping he would say. She knew this because of the disappointment in her guts. But she didn’t really know what she wanted him to say. She only knew that it wasn’t that.

  “We need to go,” she said, leaning in to whisper in his ear and feeling the heat of him now that she was so close. “We have to be back in the room before midnight. You know how it gets after that.”

  “I do,” he said, his voice low and a little rough.

  Tessa felt her body respond to his voice.

  “Wherever you go...” he added, leaving the sentence unfinished.

  “Finn.” She sighed. She felt a little heartsore and she wasn’t sure why.

  “Tessa,” he said, acknowledging that there were so many things unsaid between them. “Let’s just go get that map.”

  Finn took her hand and they left the ballroom. When they were in a deserted hallway, Tess sent an orb to find Perdira. She pulled off her mask and handed it to Finn, who took off his own and stuffed them both into his ever-present satchel. There was a muffled quiet in the hallway compared to the loud music and talking in the masquerade.