by Sofia Daniel
Before I could elaborate, the courtiers broke out into applause, and Pokeweed placed the crown of light on my head. With a flash of light, my borrowed outfit of a shirt and breeches transformed into a flowing gown as white as vanilla petals. I turned in a circle and gasped.
“Congratulations, King Pokeweed,” said a male with green hair that I recognized to be the Duke of Easterly, Lady Salix’s father. His gaze wandered to Prince Caulden, who had been his daughter’s supposed fated mate. “I would like to host a celebratory—”
“Wait,” I said.
Pokeweed tilted his head to the side. “My queen?”
A ripple of delight shot through my insides at the title, but I tamped it down and glanced at the four princes. “I’m also mated to the princes, and my feelings for them run deep.”
His face softened. “I wouldn’t have it any other way, and my brothers will rule the Seasonal Courts as planned.”
Happiness filled my chest, and I wrapped my arms around Pokeweed’s neck.
Prince August bowed his head. “Your Majesty, thank—”
“There is no need for titles among family.” Pokeweed tucked me under his arm and held out his hand.
Ignoring the outstretched hand, Prince Bradwell rushed forward and hugged Pokeweed. “All these years, I knew you were special, but I would never have guessed that you were the true heir to the throne.”
Pokeweed hugged back, and I wrapped my free arm around Prince Bradwell’s back. Having Pokeweed and the princes as my mate was beyond my most fevered dreams. Prince Caulden approached next to hug his long-lost brother, then Prince August.
Finally, Prince Rory, stepped forward with his head bowed. “I’m sorry for pulling out a weapon when I thought you were the gardener.”
Pokeweed’s happy grin melted my heart. “It is impossible to fault anyone who protects Unity with such ferocity.”
I pulled Prince Rory into a triple hug. If it hadn’t been for his insistence that I stay in the trials, I would never have gained five gorgeous and powerful mates.
“Your Majesty.” Queen Titania pushed her way through the crowd, looking more like a horse than before. The fine covering of horsehair had burned off, leaving translucent skin that stretched over her bones. Instead of breasts, two protrusions hung low in her belly.
Disgust rippled through my insides. At least now, Queen Titania’s horrible personality showed on her exterior.
She lunged at Pokeweed, but Prince Rory and Bradwell held her back.
With a frustrated cry, the former queen said, “Let go of your mother!”
I shook my head. Earlier, she hadn’t considered them her sons when attacking them with her lightning bolts.
“Release her,” said Pokeweed. “I will hear her speak.”
Queen Titania fell to the marble floor onto her hands and knees. “S-sire,” she said through desperate, gasping breaths. “Please allow me to remain in the palace.”
“Stand,” he said. “We will escort you to your new rooms.”
“Thank you, my beloved step-son.” The former queen staggered to her feet, brushing crumbling pieces of centaur semen from her burned dress.
My nose wrinkled at the transparent ass-kissing as well as her revolting appearance. Did she turn into a horse because Emporium was addictive? Thinking about it now, it had been stupid of me to have wanted to keep that perverted dress after seeing its effects. I hadn’t even questioned its source of magic.
As we piled out of the throne room, I asked Pokeweed, “Have you been to the palace before?”
He shook his head. “When I absorbed King Oberon’s destiny, it also included a link to the palace’s magic. Did you know that it holds the magic of all monarchs since Danu?”
“It reminds me of something,” I said, thinking about Mistress Catha and her creepy wax candle.
Prince August grabbed my hand. “My younger brothers and I grew up here and can show you around.”
“That sounds like fun.” I glanced over my shoulder and smirked at Princes Rory, Caulden, and Bradwell, who followed close by.
“Queen Unity,” said Queen Titania. “I can share my wardrobe of gowns. They will all suit your beautiful figure.”
“Thanks,” I said in the tone of voice that told her to piss off.
Since a bunch of courtiers followed behind us, I didn’t want to embarrass Pokeweed by asking what the hell he thought he was doing. Queen Titania hated us both and had planned our painful deaths. She deserved to wrangle with the kelpies, not languish rooms in a palace.
We continued along hallways with spectacular views of moon-drenched mountains and works of art more exquisite than those in the academy.
Prince August paused at a huge painting that depicted each of the monarchs who had ever ruled the Isle of Fae. At the far left stood the female who powered the academy wards, except her hair and wings shone like the afternoon sun. At her side stood the one-eyed ogre with the bat wings from the academy’s stone garden.
“Danu and Balor,” I said.
“That’s right.” Prince Caulden wrapped an arm around my waist. “The legend says that they created all the magical beings on the island.”
“Balor mated with horses, goats, and anything that moved,” said Prince Rory.
“He made centaurs?” I asked.
“That’s what the legends say.”
It made an odd kind of sense.
Pokeweed walked down the long painting and stood at its other end. I guess he was looking at King Oberon. We passed all the previous monarchs and stopped at the end, next to Pokeweed. The portrait had depicted him and King Oberon together, holding hands in friendship.
“I’m sorry you didn’t get a chance to know him,” I murmured.
“He accepted me in the end,” said Pokeweed, his voice tight.
The four princes glowered at their mother, whose equine features twisted with shame.
She skittered to Pokeweed’s side. “I regret my actions.”
“Come along, Queen Titania.” Pokeweed offered her a hand.
The queen placed a small, hairy hand in Pokeweed’s larger one. “You are most gracious.”
They took the lead, and I stepped back to walk between Prince August and Prince Rory. Neither of them spoke, but their tight expressions told me they also thought Pokeweed’s compassion was a terrible idea.
As soon as the horse-queen got the chance, she would stick another iron dagger between Pokeweed’s wings. Then she would come after me.
We walked down a marble staircase with swirling, gold rails that stretched down to an even grander hallway of marble tiles with the same swirling patterns. As we reached the bottom of the staircase, the double doors at the end of the hall swung open, revealing a grand courtyard with ivory carriages.
“Your Highness?” Queen Titania stared up at Pokeweed. “Will you accommodate me in the guesthouse?”
“Not quite,” said Pokeweed.
Prince Rory leaned into my side. “I think I know where this is going.”
“Tell me,” I whispered back. “Because I don’t have a clue.”
“It’s a fitting punishment and one that she will find excruciating,” he replied.
Behind us, Prince Bradwell and Prince Caulden broke into hurried whispers. I couldn’t tell if they wanted to stop Pokeweed or help him. Since Queen Titania killed King Oberon, events had moved so quickly, the princes hadn’t had time to mourn the death of their father. I didn’t think they had been particularly close to the king, but seeing him bleed out on the floor must have hurt.
Hopefully, Pokeweed planned on drowning the murderous faerie in the moat, but he wasn’t the cruel type.
Queen Titania reached the doors and stopped walking. Pokeweed continued out of the door, forcing her to stumble behind him or get dragged. She pulled back her arm, trying to wrench her hand out of Pokeweed’s grip, but he held on tight.
“Your Majesty,” she cried. “Please release my hand. You’re hurting me!”
“My apologies,�
�� said Pokeweed, not sounding even remotely sorry.
The carriage outside wasn’t just white. Its exterior sparkled brighter than diamonds and more radiant than the star-lit sky. A pair of winged horses stood in front of the vehicle, each wearing crystal crowns over their gorgeous, silver manes.
When Pokeweed released Queen Titania’s hand, she strode to the vehicle’s door and tapped her foot.
“What’s that?” I whispered.
Prince August’s fingers squeezed my waist. “The queen’s carriage.”
Prince Rory turned to me and smiled. “Yours.”
A palpitation raced through my heart, and my throat went dry. “It looks like Pokeweed is going to use it to transport her somewhere.”
Prince Rory snorted.
“What?” I stepped out into the starry night and into a vast courtyard of tall, white buildings.
“Wait and see,” he said.
Pokeweed turned to the driver, a bowing male with dragonfly wings dressed in white livery. “May I have your whip?”
“Of course, sire.”
My eyes bulged. “He’s going to flog her?”
“She’s going to wish he did,” said Prince August.
I exhaled a long breath, wondering if Pokeweed’s kindness would get him killed. Even with his immense magic, he was still a faerie and vulnerable to iron.
After glancing at the horses, Pokeweed channeled silver magic into the whip, which lengthened and twisted into a smaller version of their harnesses, complete with a bridle and a metal bit.
Queen Titania stepped back, her eyes bulging. “Your Maj—”
The bit appeared between her teeth, straps wrapped around her face and neck and chest. I clapped a hand over my mouth and gasped.
Pokeweed pulled on the reins attached to Queen Titania’s bridle and walked her to the driver. “Please let this mare ride in the front.”
The groom stared from the reins to the queen, who was now unrecognizable after having ingested so much Emporium. With a curt bow, he led her by the reins to the front of the carriage, where she took pride of place with the horses. He even placed a crystal crown on her head to match the others.
At my side, Prince Rory beamed, and Prince August grunted with satisfaction. I turned to Princes Bradwell and Caulden, who shot the queen hateful glares.
“My queen?” Pokeweed extended his hand to me. “We must return to the academy at once.”
A footman scurried forward and opened the carriage door with a bow.
Ivory, silk walls covered its interior with gold-edged curtains in the same fabric draped around the windows. A small drinks bar containing glasses of sparkling wine took up the windowsills, easily accessible from the cushioned seats.
I stepped inside and sat on what felt like clouds encased in flower petals. “Why aren’t we exploring the palace together?”
Pokeweed sat beside me and wrapped an arm around my shoulders. “Is what you said about Gala true?”
As he beckoned his younger brothers inside, I thought back about everything I had told him about Lady Gala. “If it’s about the centaur, McVittie and I saw her in the woods.”
Pokeweed’s lips tightened. “We must stop her before she achieves a heat and causes the male students to fight over her.”
With a grimace, I glanced at my other mates. Being mated to a queen didn’t make a male immune to a female’s heat. Otherwise, King Oberon wouldn’t have cheated his way into the Duchess of Nevermore’s bed. And it hadn’t been difficult for me to seduce the princes when they were enchanted to be loyal to Lady Gala.
The carriage raced down the courtyard, and the driver cracked the whip, presumably to get his new horse to keep up. It was hard to feel any pity toward Queen Titania when she had planned to drag me through all seven levels of the mound.
I bit down on my lip, a knot of worry forming in my stomach. “If Lady Gala is coming into heat soon, would it be wise for you all to be near to her?”
Prince Caulden rose from his seat and sat on my other side. “I’m wholly devoted to you, and so are my brothers.”
Prince August nodded. “You aren’t just our mate but the female who saved us and the country from the clutches of the Duke of Nevermore.”
“Not to mention his unpleasant daughter,” muttered Prince Rory.
Prince Bradwell knelt at my feet. “The more I know about you, the deeper I’m falling in love. You really are the most remarkable creature.”
Pokeweed placed a hand on my thigh, which tingled at his touch. “No truer words have ever been said.” He turned to the princes. “Why don’t we give Queen Unity a demonstration of our devotion?”
I wished the journey had been twice as long, so my mates could change positions and pleasure me all over again, but we had a mission to prevent a riot at the academy.
The driver jumped down from his seat and opened the door, letting in the dawn chorus and scent of jasmine.
Pokeweed stepped into the courtyard first and helped me out of the carriage with the kind of deference I had only ever seen in Disney cartoons about princesses. The moon hung amidst crimson clouds in an indigo sky streaked with the light rising behind the horizon.
Harsh sounds interrupted the birdsong. At first, I thought some of the frogs had escaped from their lily pads, but the thud of a body hitting the ground could only be Queen Titania.
“Help,” she rasped. “I’m not a beast of burden.”
I turned to Prince Rory. “Where’s Gala’s room?”
“Someone’s coming.” Prince Bradwell pointed at a dark figure floating down from a high tower.
“The headmistress.” Pokeweed strode across the courtyard. “I must tender my resignation.”
Prince Rory snorted, and Prince Caulden wrapped an arm around my waist. “The seeing hag was right about your destiny.”
Prince Bradwell laced his fingers through mine and brought his knuckle to my lips. “Are you happy?”
I glanced at Pokeweed’s broad back. Not only had I freed him from a disfiguring curse, but I had also repaid his kindness and devotion by saving his life. I had won the hearts of four princes who had originally despised me and now had five mates. We had also triumphed over powerful enemies that either wanted us all dead or enslaved. Happiness was too mild a description.
“This has been a fairy tale.” As we followed after Pokeweed, I leaned into his side and placed a kiss on his cheek. “We’ve all got our happy endings.”
Prince Caulden stepped over the prone body of Queen Titania. “Not everyone.” He paused to pull his ankle out from her grasping hand and added. “Some of us got our just deserts.”
“But where’s Helen?” I asked. “She can’t have escaped the Dark Fae Prison on her own.”
“Perhaps someone else rescued her,” said Prince Bradwell.
“Or she didn’t survive,” said Prince Rory.
I shook my head. “Helen once told me that she could read destinies but never mentioned suffering a grisly death. I think she’s out there somewhere, needing our help.”
Prince Caulden’s hand rubbed comforting circles over my back. “Let’s not speculate until we consult with a seeing hag.”
We reached Pokeweed and Mistress Ellyllon, who dipped into a deep curtsey. The indigo-skinned faerie wore a cloak that looked like it had been woven from the midnight sky.
She rose, her eyes dancing with joy. “Queen Unity, I am pleased that you fulfilled the destiny gifted to you by Prince Lugh.”
I blinked. “Do you have the sight? You knew all about me when I first visited your tower.”
Her laugh sounded like tinkling bells. “The wards tell me everything that occurs in the academy.”
I would have asked why she didn’t do anything about the four brothers falling under the Duke of Nevermore’s spell, but Prince August asked, “Where is Gala?”
Her face split into a grin that rivaled the Jack of Smiles. “She’s conceiving a king in the shade of the largest sycamore tree.”
“What on ea
rth does that mean?” I glanced over my shoulder to check that her mating scent hadn’t ensnared Prince Rory, but he was still there, as were my other mates.
“Let’s find her.” Pokeweed launched himself into the sky and disappeared around the nearest tower with Mistress Ellyllon flying after him.
I gave my wings an experimental flap and rose six feet off the ground. Prince August flew at my side and laughed. “You’ve improved.”
I laughed back. “That’s the benefit of all that mating. It unlocked my full powers.”
The other princes flew at my sides, their wings glowing in the light of the rising sun. I flew across the courtyard, around the tower, and over the academy’s manicured gardens, keeping the two figures ahead of me in sight. Pokeweed and Mistress Ellyllon continued to the patch of forest close to the location of the life-water and swooped down.
As I landed, a small, furry figure darted out in front of me and jumped into my arms. Trembling, McVittie gazed up at me through wide, yellow eyes. “Unity!”
“Isn’t that the seeing hag’s cat?” asked Prince Caulden.
McVittie was so agitated, he didn’t bother to correct the prince that he was a person and not a possession. “Something terrible has happened.”
I stared down at the cat and frowned. “What’s wrong?”
He pointed his paw toward a huge sycamore tree with a trunk twice as thick as the palace’s double doors. “Don’t go.”
“Why?” asked Prince August. “What’s out there?”
“You don’t want to know!” McVittie yowled.
“Should I warn Pokeweed?”
“It’s too late,” said McVittie. “He’s already gone.”
The cat was right. Pokeweed and Mistress Ellyllon had already disappeared around the tree. Prince August broke into a run, followed by Prince Rory, who withdrew his sword.
“Stay here.” Prince Caulden placed his arm around my waist, and Prince Bradwell also unsheathed his sword. “I’ll erect a barrier of ice.”
A shocked huff escaped my lungs. “But I want to—”
“What kind of mate doesn’t protect his queen?” said Prince Bradwell.
