A Court of Faerie

by Sarina Dorie

As he left the ship, the shadows shifted on the deck, undulating and gathering unnaturally. Errol was too chilled from the breeze to feel the presence of shadow goblin spies, but he couldn’t see why the king would send spies. The more Errol investigated, the more he saw that something about this situation wasn’t right.

  Errol sat in the carriage with the prince, their entourage outside. He tapped his fingers against the window. Just like Alfheim, and their own capital, people’s reports were going unheard.

  Prince Elric-Atherius interrupted the silence. “Why do you suppose General Hereweald was so against you investigating this matter in the first place?”

  “Besides the fact that he enjoys making my life miserable?” Errol had always suspected General Hereweald looked at him with contempt because of the color of his hair, marking him as being noble in birth—even if Errol’s ancestry was a mystery. But when Errol truly thought about his interactions with the general, there were several specific incidents that stood out.

  “I suppose,” Errol said carefully. “General Hereweald resents some of the king’s orders, and because I’m the closest thing to royalty he can take out his vexation on, he uses me for that purpose.”

  “You think he intends you as his whipping boy, but what if it’s something more than that?” Prince Elric-Atherius asked. “What if his denial to permit you certain freedoms is because those orders come from my father himself?”

  “Like when King Viridios bade my commanding officers deny my requests to resign?” The king had given Errol the same response.

  Prince Elric-Atherius squirmed, his expression worried. “Mayhap my father has ordered General Hereweald to keep silent about the Raven Court’s crimes against our people and doesn’t want you to know. He might not want the public to know.”

  Errol shook his head in disbelief. “Why would he do that?”

  “War is costly.” Prince Elric-Atherius shrugged. “And it is such a bother. I imagine he would rather entertain artists than fight.”

  “King Viridios said he would not stand for the Raven Court insulting us by damaging his property or killing tax-paying citizens.” Errol crossed his arms. “If he were pragmatic about it, he would see his indifference is costing him income, not to mention his reputation. People will see him as an ineffective king. They will revolt and demand for someone else to take the reins of leadership. Surely, King Viridios is wise enough to see that.”

  “Let’s explore another possibility. What if he doesn’t know?” Prince Elric-Atherius asked. “He didn’t exactly try to stop you from investigating the matter. Beorhtsige was the one who opposed the idea.”

  Errol tried to puzzle that detail in with what he already knew. Beorhtsige had been involved in some way with the commander on one ship, gaining some kind of information from him. How did that relate to the general?

  General Hereweald had always censored Errol’s reports. He insisted Errol omit details about the actions of the king’s children if it incriminated them in any way. The excuse the general had given was that King Viridios would take out his anger on Errol for speaking the truth. Errol couldn’t imagine General Hereweald cared about Errol’s safety.

  General Hereweald would be more concerned about his own welfare, but it was difficult to see how he might be implicated since he wasn’t the one who had observed Quenylda’s treacherous ways that Errol had wished to report. The general had permitted their king to blame the Raven Court for multiple attacks on family—despite knowing otherwise from Errol’s reports. Quenylda had murdered Prince Elric-Atherius’ mistress and child—the only child that had been born of their family in decades. Quenylda had reason to kill Princess Steorra after Errol had given Steorra evidence of the truth.

  The day Princess Steorra had died, King Viridios was supposed to be in the carriage with Steorra. Beorhtsige had requested the king make a change of plans to listen to singing with him instead. Did that imply he had known? He might have been in on that plot, but Errol couldn’t see why he would help his father if he desired his throne—unless he thought the Raven Court’s warriors would be no match for King Viridios, and he wouldn’t be able to get rid of his siblings.

  “Do you think your brother knows about the attacks?” Errol asked.

  “Beorhtsige?” Prince Elric-Atherius rubbed at his chin. “He does have some kind of relationship established with one of the commanders.”

  “Indeed.” Errol nodded, finding the prince useful to use as a sounding board. “As you pointed out, it wasn’t your father who was quick to deny us going out. Prince Beorhtsige wanted to stop us from investigating.” Did he want to escalate matters to the point he started a war with the Raven Court? What did he hope to gain from it? He might intend for his father to die in a war so he could steal the crown, but there would be no way to ensure he succeeded as king. Or did Beorhtsige hope their own people might rise up and overpower King Viridios?

  A lump of ice settled in Errol’s belly at the idea of Prince Beorhtsige becoming king. Errol remembered how Helga had said she had lost all desire to serve in the Northern Court when Odin fell and his sons squabbled for the throne. Errol felt little respect for his king, but he was the lesser of evils, especially when those evils were his children.

  * * *

  Errol didn’t look forward to confronting the king with what he’d found. He made a list of incidents, trying to keep to the facts rather than conjecture. He analyzed the data, charting the exponential rise in attacks, showing the number before and after the battle twenty years back.

  Prince Elric-Atherius made an appointment with King Viridios when Errol was to present his findings. Errol thought he would be meeting with the king in his private study. Unfortunately, King Viridios summoned Errol to attend him in his throne room before a mob of courtiers and kin. The royal family were seated in the lesser thrones on the dais, the white marble carved with intricate designs. Queen Anwynn was attired in a glittering gown that was covered in dewdrops, her silver hair fashioned like a storm cloud with zigzagging gold decorations resembling lightning. Occasionally her hair flashed.

  Her children were attired just as decadently, in clothes made from spider silk, lizard scales, feathers, or butterfly wings. The glamour was so thickly caked on their faces their visages twisted and buckled like warped mirrors. King Viridios’ doublet glittered with black designs that shifted. When a bee lifted from him, it was more obvious what his attire was made from.

  Prince Elric-Atherius’ clothes used the least amount of glamour and enchantment, though the jarring patterns and mismatched colors drew the eye to his flamboyant style. As part of his ensemble, he wore a jacket that resembled what a captain in the air navy might wear. It was an odd choice, and Errol found his eyes lingering on Prince Elric-Atherius, wondering what his attire meant. He’d seemed sympathetic of Errol’s desire to find the truth, yet his clothes seemed a mockery of any officer’s earned military station.

  Prince Elric-Atherius sat where he belonged with his family. Errol stood below them, as was his station.

  Even so, he couldn’t help feeling a pang of regret that Prince Elric-Atherius, who had joined Errol in his research, was separated from him by a stage and a culture of hierarchy. It had been a silly assumption to think the prince would be beside Errol, as an ally. Even so, Errol wished he had a friend in this.

  Worse yet, Errol spotted General Hereweald in the small crowd of spectators. Errol wondered whether this was to be his execution rather than a presentation of his findings.

  “I have called you here to settle the matter of restitution that I owe you,” King Viridios said.

  Beorhtsige smirked. That didn’t bode well.

  “I gave you leave to learn about what happened to your sister so that you might seek justice and avenge her death. Did you find the culprits?” King Viridios’ face was an expressionless mask.

  Errol swallowed, careful in his selection of words when one misstep could land him in prison. He couldn’t say yes, and he couldn’t
say no—not if he wanted justice. “In a manner of speaking, Your Majesty. I beg your permission to explain.”

  King Viridios inclined his head in acquiescence.

  Prince Beorhtsige coughed. “It is a simple question. It doesn’t require a monologue.”

  King Viridios help up his hand. Beorhtsige looked as though he tried to say more, but his lips remained pressed together. He made a muffled mumbling, but no words came from his mouth. His face flushed a mottled red that his glamour couldn’t hide.

  “I interviewed those who might have known details about my sister’s death and gathered a description of the rogue Fae who had attacked her.” Errol was careful not to point blame. “Because this was not an isolated incident, and this group of mercenaries had been harassing citizens from our capital for months, I was able to obtain additional information on other victims. There were witnesses—”

  Princess Quenylda yawned. “Good. This tiresome incident can be put out of our minds, and we can move on to more diverting affairs.”

  King Viridios gave her a withering glare. “Do not interrupt my guests.”

  Errol found it curious the king actually wanted to hear what he had to say, though he couldn’t imagine why—unless the king truly was in the dark about the incidents going on in his own kingdom. Yet he had been the one not to listen to Lady Astrid and instead seduce her.

  Errol spoke clearly and calmly, fighting the urge to wipe his clammy palms on his trousers. “The accounts by all witnesses of the incidents in Caern described the same group of Fae, fitting the description of those of the Raven Court. They were ravens able to transform to women with weapons. They preyed on the weak and robbed from them. Yet the more I investigated, the more I learned about the other incidents.”

  King Viridios leaned forward. “Other robberies?”

  “Child snatching.”

  Someone in the audience gasped.

  “I went to Alfheim and paid a visit to Lady Astrid, the mayor.” Errol watched the king for guilt, but he saw none in his visage. Perhaps a king was considered beyond guilt when he magically seduced the mayor of a village.

  Beorhtsige sat rigid in his seat, unblinking. His reaction was curious, like that of a soldier who didn’t want to draw attention to himself.

  “Lady Astrid explained that the Raven Court has been abducting children from her village, starting twenty years ago. That number is on the rise. Last year five children were stolen from her village.” Errol glanced at the spectators.

  General Hereweald’s expression was stony. Those around him were silent, but there was uncertainty in their eyes. It was just as Errol had feared. They would see their king as weak and unfit for his throne if he didn’t protect his people.

  King Viridios squeezed the armrest of his throne, his knuckles as white as the polished marble his fingers gripped. “Pray, why did Lady Astrid not inform me of this matter?”

  Errol inclined his head to soften the blow. “She said she did. Every year. She never heard back.”

  King Viridios’ nostrils flared. The air around him darkened as though a storm were gathering.

  Errol went on. “Perhaps fearing her letters had gotten lost along the way, Lady Astrid visited the palace a few months ago to speak with you about that matter. Her own grandchild was abducted, a girl of eight years old.”

  “A Witchkin child no doubt,” Queen Anwynn rolled her eyes.

  King Viridios didn’t look at his wife. He gazed out at the crowd. “Considering how few children are born at all in our kingdom since humans started bringing in their cold iron to poison us, I should think we would have greater pride in any children born at all, Witchkin or Fae.”

  He turned his gaze on Errol. “Did Lady Astrid say why she did not inform me of this matter in person when she came to visit?”

  “I beg your pardon, Your Majesty. She said she did talk to you.” Or at least she’d tried to, Errol thought with bitterness.

  Beorhtsige’s eyes shifted to Quenylda, but he didn’t speak. Errol suspected they had conspired about something, though Errol didn’t know what their plot had been.

  “That doesn’t make sense. The woman must be a liar,” Queen Anwynn said. “My husband just asked you why she didn’t meet with him, and you claim she did.”

  Errol bowed his head. “I am simply reporting what I was told.”

  “Indeed,” King Viridios went on. “I suspect there is more to this than I first thought. Go on, Captain.”

  Errol removed his list from his pocket. As he began to read the long list of attacks from the Raven Court that had been covered up, the disappearing records, and the presence of shadow goblins, Errol noticed how General Hereweald shifted uneasily in the crowd.

  “Interesting.” King Viridios gritted his teeth. “You have uncovered a conspiracy to keep me from knowing about the atrocities being committed in my kingdom.”

  The king looked calm, but Errol knew otherwise from the bees rising from him and swarming above the crowd. The bees were always the first sign right before an outburst. He would be lucky if he made it out without bee stings—or scratches from the shadow goblins that would scrabble over everyone when the king truly lost control.

  “I suppose you’re going to honor him with another medallion.” Queen Anwynn rolled her eyes.

  “A splendid idea. A medallion of honor to Captain Errol,” Prince Elric-Atherius said. “Perhaps we should adjourn and think upon this matter with the care it deserves.”

  Errol inclined his head in appreciation without saying the words. “I did not perform these tasks for a reward. I interviewed citizens and documented these attacks in order to bring justice to those who deserve it. So many have been mistreated. My own king has been wronged. You have made oaths to your subjects to protect them from enemies, but you cannot keep your word if others prevent the truth from reaching your ears.” Errol used the king’s words from when he had gone to him the first time seeking retribution. “It is an insult to you and your kingdom.”

  “Indeed, it is, and I am rightfully outraged.” King Viridios drummed his fingers on the armrest of the chair. Though he didn’t look outraged yet, shadows danced behind him. “How can I repay you for these deeds you have performed if you do not wish for a medal?”

  At any moment Errol expected shadow goblins to burst out. He chose words he hoped would satiate the king’s outrage as well as his own.

  “Allow me to serve justice on your behalf, Your Majesty. And if I may be so bold, grant me this boon so that I may serve justice for my own reasons as well. We both have been wronged. I wish to remedy this.” He raised his chin, his voice gaining strength with conviction. “All I have wanted since hearing of my sister’s death is to avenge her. Give me leave to kill these murderers.”

  “By yourself?” Quenylda laughed, the sound shrill and false. “You intend to take on all these mercenaries and warriors from the Raven Court so that you can have your vengeance? I say we should let you get yourself killed with such a folly task.”

  Queen Anwynn raised her hand, and her daughter’s laughter abruptly cut out. Quenylda’s mouth continued to move, but there was no sound.

  “This is no laughing matter,” the queen said so quietly that Errol had to lean in to hear. “Someone has attempted to keep valuable information from us. Someone in our court has purposefully disrupted the king’s ability to keep his oath, thus weakening his magic and power.” Her eyes shifted from silver to red as she scanned the courtiers.

  Errol was aware that there were consequences for those who didn’t keep their oaths, especially ones that were magically binding such as contracts. He had never made a contract, other than his military service, and he had never broken an oath, so he didn’t have firsthand experience of what it felt like for one’s magic to be drained into that debt. Errol could now see how this conspiracy had weakened the king without him even knowing it.

  “This is insufferable,” Queen Anwynn said. “Whoever is responsible has put our k
ing and kingdom in jeopardy. They will pay.”

  Hearing the queen’s direction of focus, Errol feared she might derail the point of what he had come to say—the reason Errol had performed this investigation in the first place. “If I might be so bold as to suggest that I be given command over a company of soldiers to take care of this matter, I will hunt these scoundrels from the Raven Court and ensure they don’t harm anyone in our kingdom again.”

  King Viridios didn’t even look at him. He stood, and when he did, he looked two feet taller than usual. His voice was a whisper, but one so loud that it seemed to be made of thunder. “Why have I not heard of any of these deeds? Who in my court has committed such treason?”

  “Someone here has been keeping you in ignorance, Your Majesty.” Errol scanned the faces of the king’s children. “Individuals in your court have conspired against you, though for what reason, I cannot say.”

  Beorhtsige’s face flushed from red to violet. Errol glanced back at General Hereweald, but he didn’t see him in the crowd any longer.

  As the king stood there, a breeze gusted around him. “Who in my court would dare keep the truth about my own subjects from me?”

  Rain sprinkled against Errol’s face, cold drops that started slowly but grew fierce with the rise of the king’s temper. Wind whipped against the courtiers, pushing them back.

  “I am king. I rule these lands. No one else. Do you understand me?” The king’s whisper turned to a booming gale.

  Dark clouds swept in, pelting Errol with rain. The wind gusted so hard he would have slid back like the courtiers if he hadn’t learned to harness the elements to increase his own strength when he had served in the navy and then the air navy. People cowered on the ground. Errol noticed with bitterness those who were most likely to have defied and dishonored the king sat on their thrones, not even wet from the storm.

  The king sat down once again. He cleared his throat and smoothed his hand over his beard.

  Errol wondered whether the king’s tantrum was over and he could be reasoned with or Errol would need to wade through another bout of the elements.