He bristled at the derision in her voice but kept his irritation to himself. She was another weapon in his arsenal. That’s all. He wouldn’t have her with him long. He just had to figure out her link to the Black Queen, and then she could go off on her own.
They rode past the last of the trees and entered the valley. A dark twisting cloud brooded over the hedge, which seemed to have grown even larger and denser in their absence.
A shiver traced down Ardan’s spine. “This is a bad idea. We can still turn around.”
“We’re here now.” He thought he caught a trace of reluctance in her voice, but she was right. If someone was waiting for them it was likely too late.
“Come on. Let’s get it over with.” He offered her his hand. “If it all goes to hell, take Triton. He has his own magic and you’ll be safer with him than on the ground.”
Yesterday, until he’d tried to get through the hedge, the valley had felt tranquil. But now, it seemed to hold danger around every corner and he couldn’t stop the feeling that something or someone was waiting.
They dismounted Triton. “Stay close,” he told the horse. We may need to leave in a hurry.” Instead of grazing, the steed stood with his head raised and his ears on alert.
Thorn lifted her hands sending a wash of power over the valley.
“What the hell are you doing?” He pushed her arms down and the magic subsided.
She glared at him. “I’m trying to see if I can sense anything familiar.”
“Well, stop. If anything’s here, you’re going to alert it to our presence. And I already checked out the valley when I first got here. It’s been wiped clean of magical footprints.”
She shook her head. “I might find something you’ve missed, something you couldn’t sense. Something meant only for me. Besides, isn’t your Gift mostly for fighting and defense?” She held his gaze, her gaze direct and compelling.
“Fine.” He sighed. “But only for a minute. We’re wasting enough time here already.” Everything about this situation had his intuition on watch. The valley was too peaceful. The hedge too quiet. The black cloud hunkered down as if waiting. And Thorn—he still didn’t know what to make of her.
Hand hovering over Gleam’s hilt he scanned the area, looking for something—he wasn’t sure what.
“It’s no use.” She threw up her hands. “I can’t remember what happened and there’s nothing I can pick up with my Gift weakened like this.”
“What do you mean? Your Gift is amazing.”
She made a face. “Trust me, it just doesn’t feel right. It’s as if I go to reach for it and it’s not all there.”
There was a vulnerability in her face, just a glimpse, and for a second he saw her as a woman, not as a means to an end. He touched her hand. She gave a little jump, but didn’t move away.
“You truly think you’re not powerful, don’t you?”
“She knows she’s not.” From out of nowhere a blast of black lightning came at them. He grabbed Thorn, pulling her behind him, barely able to throw a shield up in front of them before it hit.
Thanking the Winter Queen for giving him a strong defensive Gift, he looked frantically around for their assailant and braced for the next blast.
Behind them, standing with her hands out, lightning sparking at her fingertips, stood a woman. Her long black hair rose to the sky, coiling with energy as if it had a life of its own. She jerked her arms and another shot came fast, crackling along the edges of his shields and straining his magic to the core.
“Looking for me, dearie? You should have stayed where I put you.” She laughed, a dark sound that sent fear and elation shooting along his nerves.
The woman didn’t look anything like the descriptions he’d been given of the queen, but it was her—the Black Queen. Stronger, quicker, and more disturbingly powerful than he had imagined. He pulled his sword from its scabbard, even though he knew there was no escape, and poured as much power as he could into the shield.
“Come here, child. I’ll find you a new bed to sleep in and you can go back to dreaming.”
“No. I’m not going back.” Thorn’s skin was luminescent with power pulsing under the surface and her own brilliant red hair had risen into the air, a tangle of glorious curls sparking with power and challenging the queen’s.
“Oh, yes you are. I can’t have you running around causing trouble. Come here, girl. Come here now!” The woman’s voice cracked.
Thorn shot out a bolt of white lightning, but it hit the woman’s shields and fizzled away.
“Stupid fool. You’re nothing compared to me now.”
Black lightning shook his shields and he felt the first cracks. Ardan glanced down at Thorn. Her face was pale and she looked shaken by her failure. He dropped his voice to a whisper. “I can’t hold her for long. Get on Triton and when I say now, throw this”—he handed her the small twist of paper that held his escape spell—“at the ground. Head for Prince Kian, he’ll know what to do.”
Before she could respond, the queen sent another blast, tingling the soles of his feet and sending a wave of power directly into his defenses. Gleam’s runes lit up like the northern lights. He signaled Triton and braced for the next hit.
Triton galloped up. A blast of lightning lashed out at him, hitting his white coat and sizzling into steam.
“Go!” There wasn’t much shield left but he’d do what he could. At least Thorn might make it to safety.
“I’m not leaving you.”
He glanced at the woman beside him. Her pale face was fierce with determination. “The escape spell is only meant for one. You and Triton will strain it as it is.”
She pulled back her lips in a feral smile, all teeth and aggression, and climbed on the horse. “You and I have a common goal now. We’ll be stronger together.” Light gathered around her, forming a ball of energy, filling his shield and bolstering it so the next hit seemed to bounce off like hail from a tin roof. “Climb on.”
“No. She’s mine!” The queen’s black eyes flashed and the glow of her magic grew bright.
Ardan squinted in the glare. He sheathed Gleam and grabbed the pommel, swinging on behind Thorn, nearly falling off in an effort to keep a careful space between his body and the power coursing through her.
She gathered another ball of power, pushing it into his escape spell and the little paper twist took on a bright light. “Now!” she shouted, and raising her arm up, she threw it hard onto the ground.
There was a bright explosion. Ardan’s ears buzzed and he coughed in the cloud of smoke. He couldn’t see a thing, but the magic rose around him, a mix of blue and lavender swirling around, picking them up and throwing them down. The impact knocked him off Triton’s back, and as he fell into blackness he reached for Thorn, but found nothing.
Chapter Ten
Alarm bells shrieked, jerking Aoife out of a sound sleep. She sprang out of her bed and stumbled, caught in the tail of the sheet. Disoriented by the noise, she calmed enough to remember the spell-globe she’d set on her bureau.
“Silence, damn you.” She slammed her hand down on the globe and it shattered to pieces, cutting her palm. The bells finally shut off and she was able to think clearly. “He’s found her. Finally.” She’d been waiting hundreds of years for this and now it was finally here. Ardan had found the Black Queen. She did a little jig in her silk nightie, catching sight of her manic grin and disheveled hair in the mirror, blood welling on her hand. She looked like a maniac. But a happy one.
If she hurried, she should be able to go catch him chopping off the bitch’s head.
Half-way down the hall she realized she was still dressed in her nightgown. “Damn.” She walked back to the closet, a spring in her step, and pulled down a full-length blue dress with white fur trim. “Lena!” Where was that girl? “Lena!”
“Yes, my lady.” Looking distinctly disheveled herself Lena breathlessly burst in to the room. “What is it?”
“Why didn’t you come when I called?”
<
br /> “Sorry, my lady, I was—”
“No matter.” Aoife cut her off with a wave of her hand. “I need my hair done immediately. Five minutes, that’s all you’ve got.” She wanted to look her best when she finally saw Aeval again. And she definitely wanted the bitch to know that she, Lady Aoife, former queen of the Golden Court, was the reason for her death.
Being pure human, with no fae blood like the Seven Tribes, Lena had no magic herself. But she was a wizard with the bespelled comb and brush set. Aoife watched as the girl swept her hair into a stunning updo in minutes.
“Good enough.” Clothed, shod, and clutching her wand, just in case, Aoife brushed past the girl and down the stairs. She ran out into the front courtyard, kicking a horde of lazy sunning fairies off the front steps. “Get out of my way.”
Even though she was in a huge hurry she stopped to center herself before daring to open the portal. It was bad enough she was opening this in her front yard, but in addition, she didn’t actually know where she was going. She didn’t want to end up stuck on some dead-end world, or worse, lost in the mists with all the demented lonely souls of some other dimension.
She shivered.
No. Better to take the time and do it right. She took a deep breath, and let it out, letting her urgency flow out with it. Taking time, laying plans, and making the right decisions were the reasons she was where she was, and not scrambling for scraps in some lord’s house. She’d kept every ounce of her power from when she was the Golden Queen, and she’d added to it over the years, all by careful planning.
She raised tight personal shields and caught the strand of magic that tied her to Ardan. Then she opened the portal. Grey hungry mists spilled towards the edges, trying to escape. But she wasn’t about to let that happen. She stepped in, keeping tight hold to the bright strand, using it to guide her through the shifting of time and space, and finally stepping out into a bright crisp afternoon.
Between steep rocky slopes the valley was filled with the colors of fall—dried grass and a few leaves clinging to bare branches. And nothing else but a patch of scorched earth next to a vicious hedge of thorns towering to the sky.
No Ardan. No Black Queen. No vengeance. Where the hell were they?
She scanned the area. Damn portals. Time had slipped on her and she’d missed them. What a disaster. There was nothing to do but rewind the day and see if she could spot where they’d gone.
She pulled extra power from the sky—no point wasting her own power. Then she pushed the day back. The noonday sun retreated towards the horizon, clouds scudded across. A woman appeared, dressed in black and mad as hell.
Aoife slowed the day down.
She couldn’t affect what had gone on, but she could see every action they’d taken. And she could use a little bit of her Gift and see if this was truly the woman she sought. She tested the air. Thick black magic sparkling with deep purple lights. Ah, yes. She knew this one. Despite her new look, this was the Black Queen.
The aspect she wore wasn’t one Aoife had ever seen before. This one was a vibrant woman with thick black hair curling to the sky. Her eyes were dark and filled with anger as she screamed at an empty spot on the ground. “You think you’ve gotten away? Think again. I’m the only one who really cares about you. I’m the only one who can save you.”
Who was she talking to? There was no one there. Aoife checked the vision carefully, walking all around the frozen valley before backing the image up further. Ardan appeared with her own steed, Triton, and another woman. There! She froze the scene and investigated again.
Ah, this one looked like Aeval had when she was young. Red hair and smooth skin. If she didn’t know better, she’d think this was the Black Queen.
But the girl’s aura was all wrong, a pure innocent lavender with no traces of the evil the queen had wrought over the years. And while she had power, it was nothing compared to the bright surge Aoife detected pouring from the Black Queen.
But if this red-headed chit wasn’t the queen, then who was she? And why did the real queen want her so badly?
Aoife rewound the entire scene and watched. Then she watched it again, backward and forward until she was sure. The girl wasn’t nearly powerful enough to be a queen. And the handsome woman with the black hair definitely was. But the worst thing had Aoife curling her fingers into fists and clenching her jaw tight.
Again, Ardan had failed.
Anger rolled through her. If she’d gotten here just a little bit earlier she could have sent him extra power. She could have sent the girl power. Something would have changed the events and she would now be standing over the body of her enemy.
Instead, they were all gone and the magic strand she’d attached to Ardan had snapped. She was back at square one.
Except for the girl. The one clear thing was that the queen wanted that girl. And the queen wanted her badly.
And if the queen wanted her, than Aoife was going to let her have her. Nothing like using a lamb to entice a wolf. And when the bitch arrived, it would be off with her head.
She’d waited too long, been through too much, to fail again.
Chapter Eleven
Thorn hit the ground hard. “Damn it!”
It was pitch black and she’d landed on something very cold and dense. Her shoulder and side ached, but she was afraid to move until she knew more about her surroundings, so she explored the ground under her with her hands. Uneven, cold as ice, and very dense. In other words—rock.
A light flickered, then grew, illuminating Ardan, a small globe floating beside him. “Thorn?” His face was strained and shadowed in the pale light. “Thorn!”
“Here.” She sat up. “But where is here?” A low whinny came from behind her. The rocky ceiling was barely high enough for Triton’s head and his ears skimmed the rocks as he climbed to his feet with a disgruntled snort.
“It’s a cave.”
“I can see that.” For the second time in days she’d woken up in a strange place with no idea of where she was. At least this time she could remember how they’d gotten here. “I’m so tired of this.”
“Tired of what?” He came closer, the globe tagging along behind him.
“But where are we and why is it freezing?”
He gave a low laugh. “This is my last bolt-hole. We’re freezing because we are very far north, in the foothills of the Cairngloss Mountains, just beyond the Pine Forest.”
“As if I even know where that is.” A surge of frustration filled her and she punched out, hitting the ground hard. “Damn it!”
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.” She cradled her bruised hand to her side and glared at him.
“I don’t understand. We’re safe here. We can rest and figure out what’s next.” He lightly touched her shoulder. “Tell me what’s wrong.”
Her first inclination was to pull away, but he’d taken off his gauntlets and his touch was warm. “It’s just—.” The sudden rise of confusion clogged her throat, making it difficult to speak. “I don’t know where the Pine Forest is.”
“I forget you don’t know these things.” He knelt down next to her. “We’re just south of the demesne that used to be the White Queen’s and is now under control of Prince Kian.”
“The White Queen, Prince Kian, Cairngloss—I don’t know any of these people!” Her voice rose into a wail. The tears that had pushed up threatened to pour down and she fought them back. She was not going to cry. She didn’t cry.
Did she?
“Gods! I don’t know anything.” She stared at this man who was the only person she could really remember and who she’d only known about a day. “I don’t even know if I cry.” It was too much. The tears broke past her walls.
Ardan wrapped his arms around her and she stiffened. His armor was cold and unyielding, but he was solid, something to hold on to. She stayed there for a moment in the circle of his embrace and tried to gather her composure.
When she’d managed to choke back her sobs, she pull
ed away, missing the comfort as much as she needed the space.
“Sorry.” She looked for a handkerchief, and realized she had none. A brief humorless laugh spurted out.
“Take some time.” He got up and moved away, his body language stiff. “But I think we need to talk before this goes any further.” He pointed to a corner of the cave where there was an upturned box with a bucket and some towels and a small tin bath. “It’s not much, but you can clean up over there while I get Triton settled in.”
She took advantage of the rough washing station, using a washcloth and soap as best as she could, stacking a few of the boxes into a makeshift screen, grateful for the water that warmed when she touched it and the towels that seemed rougher than she imagined they should be.
When she emerged, Ardan had lit a series of globe-lights and let them float to the low ceiling. They gave the cave almost a festive atmosphere and she felt her spirits lift, a tiny bit. Triton was unsaddled and munching hay in a corner and he whickered at her when she passed, making her smile. She might not remember anyone, but now, he remembered her.
The cave was bigger than she’d thought, with a pile of boxes and bottles on one side and Triton’s hay and water on the other. She made her way to the fire Ardan had lit.
Ardan flashed what she thought was a smile at her, gone almost as fast as it had appeared. “If you don’t mind, I’m going to take off my armor and get cleaned up. I left the tea and mugs out and the kettle’s on the boil. Do you think you can do the rest?” He gave her a doubtful look, his brows pinching together in the middle.
She nodded and picked up the small tin of tea, grateful for the distraction from her thoughts. “How much goes in?”
“Just tip it in once the water’s boiled. There’s only enough in there for one pot. There’s more when we want it.” He gestured to the boxes then headed to the back of the cave.
She stood by the fire, trying to get some of its heat and watching him out of the corner of her eye. First the surcoat and then the silvery chain mail hauberk went over his head, leaving him in another long sleeve shirt like the one she was wearing. The shirt came off and she tried not to stare. Strong muscles ran down his back, traced with the pale lines of long scars that ran all the way into the top of his tight leather pants. He bent over and stripped off his boots, his arms flexing, and heat rushed over her. She swallowed. He reached for the button on the waistband of his pants, and glanced at her.
Bespelled: A Fae Fantasy Romance (Fae Magic Book 5) Page 7
