Faerie Queen [Fae-Hunters #2]

by Yolanda Sfetsos

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  Cobblestone Press

  www.cobblestone-press.com

  Copyright ©2007 by Yolanda Sfetsos

  First published in 2007

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  NOTICE: This work is copyrighted. It is licensed only for use by the original purchaser. Making copies of this work or distributing it to any unauthorized person by any means, including without limit email, floppy disk, file transfer, paper print out, or any other method constitutes a violation of International copyright law and subjects the violator to severe fines or imprisonment.

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  CONTENTS

  Dedication

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Author Bio

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  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  Faerie Queen

  Copyright© 2007 Yolanda Sfetsos

  ISBN: 978-1-60088-146-6

  Cover Artist: Leita Stevens

  Editor: Melissa Darnell

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced electronically or in print without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in reviews.

  Cobblestone Press, LLC

  www.cobblestone-press.com

  Dedication

  This is for my own little faerie, my daughter.

  Though you won't be able to read this for many years, you've been a spark of inspiration since the beginning.

  Thank you, Cassie.

  [Back to Table of Contents]

  Chapter One

  Shay Lee lowered her slender legs off the side of the throne. The position filled her mind with too many bad memories of the previous Faerie Warrior Queen, Rhiannon. Although for once, she could actually understand why her old friend had always seemed to be surrounded by an air of boredom.

  No wonder Rhiannon went out of her way to create mischief, she thought.

  Shay yawned. Her turquoise gaze stopped at the large oak tree, which was now a permanent feature in the middle of the castle. It towered upward, high enough that its top branches ended a few centimeters from the glass ceiling above. The leaves were green and lush, full of life. Its beauty and strength captivated Shay.

  If she closed her eyes, it would only take seconds to tap into the life that coursed through every leaf and branch ... even the one that embalmed the previous queen. Shay didn't feel any regret for what her connection to plants and flowers had done to Rhiannon.

  She got what she deserved.

  The air was cool inside this large room that looked more like a hall. The smoothness chilled her, rousing goose flesh along her exposed arms. Only the density of the watchful guards weighed heavy on her shoulders. She didn't want them here, but they came with the job. Her place within Breena now was to help lead it into the potential Shay knew it had, not the dictatorship Rhiannon so casually had gotten them used to.

  She still had a little trouble with the transition into her new place within faerie society. Since Mai announced to the fae that Shay would become the queen of the soon-to-rise King of Breena, Glen Row, she hadn't left the confinement of the castle walls.

  It wasn't from lack of trying, though.

  Shay had tried to leave several times, but with every assignment she attempted to take on herself, a group of guards followed behind. A faerie could easily slip into Sydney and back undetected, but with an entourage of beefy guys with wings close behind, it was near impossible. Sure, the wings wouldn't be visible in the human world, but the guards’ pesky presence would. How could Shay hide in the shadows as she stalked potential hunts with at least three guards after her?

  So instead she spent most of her days giving assignments to everyone else. Shay continued to send the fae-hunters off with their magical dust and weapons into Sydney, ready and eager to find more of their people lost amongst the humans.

  Shay sighed. Maybe if she had Glen by her side, she'd be able to deal with this non-active role. There were a few things she could think of that would keep them occupied with each other for hours, maybe days. But Glen wasn't available. He was off with Mai and the Circle of Elders. The old sprites had changed their minds at the last minute. Instead of allowing Shay to answer his questions and teach him about their ways, Mai and the others would explain it all. Teach Glen about his origins, and no doubt make him pass several trials before he could take his place at the throne. At least he'd missed out on the intensive stay at the institution, which the other changelings had to endure.

  Now Shay was all alone. Left to take the reigns of royalty until her king returned.

  "My Queen, are you sure you'd like this notice to be posted for everyone to see?"

  Shay looked up to find one of the guards on bended knee before her. She couldn't understand how Rhiannon could take this much attention all day. Then again, the former queen always had thrived on it and was probably in some sort of sexual entanglement with each and every one of these males.

  "Positive."

  "There could be some ... backlash against something so—"

  "I've already discussed this with the king, and he agreed it's time to free Breena from the ‘no love’ policy,” Shay said with a smile. She had spoken to Glen about the situation, though very vaguely. They were allowed to speak to each other via mirror scry once a day. It seemed like so many moons had passed since the first time they'd touched.

  Glen had been whisked off instantly. The threat of goblins so close to their borders was serious enough that Mai found his orientation urgent.

  The thought of how it felt when Glen's large hands caressed her back made Shay shiver. They'd only shared their bodies one time, but it had been enough to awaken the true nature inside him and confirm the emotion of love in her. Shay couldn't wait to be alone with him again.

  The guard lifted an eyebrow; his gaze swept down the front of her body.

  "Just put it up,” she whispered. Shay made no attempt to hide her pert nipples from him. Just the thought of Glen teased her body into a frenzied desire, and her orchid-petal outfit was too sheer to hide the effect.

  "Very well.” The guard nodded and turned away. He headed toward the door at the end of the room, his boots echoing against the marble once he left the newly grown grass.

  "Thanks,” Shay called out after him. There was no need to be rude. She'd watched Rhiannon treat these guards as if they were slaves, but she wanted to show them some respect. Well, as much respect as she could give a bunch of faerie guards who acted more like pesky flies.

  They always stayed close to her. Even when she retired at night to sleep in the queen's chamber alone, at least two guards were posted outside the bedroom door. If she'd allow it, at least another two would stand at the end of the bed and watch her sleep. But Shay had put a stop to that before they had a chance to cross the threshold into her new room.

  She didn't like the new bedroom. There were too many ghosts from the past within those walls. The mere thought of lying down on the same bed Rhiannon had occupied for so long kept Shay awake almost every night. She desperately wanted to go back to her apartment. There was no need for her to stay inside the castle without the rightful faerie to the throne being present.

  Shay had inherited the title of queen only because Glen had asked her to stand beside him. Otherwise, none of these guards would bother to give her a second glance. Or maybe they'd still eye her with the suspicion
they all had adopted during Rhiannon's too-long reign.

  She pressed her elbows against her knees and sighed as she stared into the room. Her thoughts turned to what would happen the next day. By then everyone in Breena would have had the chance to read the bulletin she'd ordered posted in the town square and every community notice board. Although she hadn't really discussed the situation with Glen in the depth it probably required, she knew he'd agree. After all, they were in love with each other, weren't they?

  Rhiannon had kept in place the harsh law that made love illegal in Breena. Anyone who had fallen in love was captured and the loss of dust and wings resulted. To a faerie, that pretty much meant the loss of life.

  Of course, the idea hadn't been Rhiannon's. The policy was put in place centuries before, but Shay knew things in Breena weren't always like that. One day, some faerie with enough power had decided that allowing love in their hearts and souls rendered their kind weak and made them a target to the goblins so eager to get their claws into their world.

  Focus and strength were the traits taught to the fae. Love provided not only a distraction, but made them weak-minded fools. Faeries were warriors who fought in order to save their world. They used their skills to release the bondage placed on so many of their kind lost in the human world.

  Shay understood, on some level, why it was easy to think of love in such a negative way. Even now as she sat filled with the boredom she was forced to endure, Shay missed Glen more than she'd missed anyone else in her entire life. Well, except for her mother, Tien. That thought made her gut clench as she remembered Rhiannon's confession of how she'd manipulated her own mother to kill Shay's. It drove a wedge into her heart and reminded her of Flee. Her friend and companion had been alone since she'd been trapped in here.

  She sighed. She was convinced it was time to trust the fae people with the freedom to use their own hearts. She believed they could keep their jobs and responsibilities intact even if they did allow their hearts to get involved with another. Shay knew no one married in Breena. They simply kept breeding partners to expand the population, but none made real commitments.

  Shay wanted that to change, and it had started with herself.

  A new chapter was about to dawn in Breena, and she would be responsible for the start of it. Not because she wanted the credit or to rule with an iron fist, but because faeries deserved the freedom of love.

  [Back to Table of Contents]

  Chapter Two

  "I don't think so; you're staying out here,” Shay said as she pushed the guard closest to her with one hand, and held the door open with the other.

  "But, my Queen, we need to stay with you at all times!"

  "No, you need to stay out here!” She kept her right hand up, ready to push him again if she had to. There was no way she would allow any of them to invade her privacy this severely.

  "We're the queen's guards.” His light blue eyes pleaded for her to understand his predicament. Beyond the need to protect her, these poor, muscled faeries didn't seem to have any other purpose in life.

  She was prepared to change that too, especially if it meant she would get a moment's grace. “And please, stop calling me Queen; my name's Shay."

  "We can't—"

  Shay slammed the apartment door in his face. She pressed her back against it, closing her eyes for a few seconds. To be able to count to ten without someone's constant watch felt good. Except ... there was someone else in here.

  Her heart sped up.

  She opened one eye then the other. “Oh, Flee, I'm so sorry."

  The smile on her friend's pixie-like face extended wider. Flee originally was supposed to have evolved from caterpillar into butterfly, but something had happened to her along the way, and Shay had found her cocoon smashed on a path. A little faerie magic had helped her become what she was now—a hybrid with shimmery wings.

  "Should I bow down to you, Queen?” The smirk cut her wide smile, thinned her lips.

  "Oh please, not you, too."

  "I'm only teasing."

  "That, my friend, is a wonderful change of pace."

  "Aren't they treating you nicely at the castle?” Flee hovered in midair, golden wings fluttering softly behind her.

  "It's not that; I feel more like a prisoner than a leader."

  "I thought this would make you happy."

  "Becoming the Queen of Breena is not what I've aspired for,” Shay said with a shake of her head. She pushed herself off the door and headed farther into her apartment. This was what home felt like, not the empty chamber she'd been trying to sleep in for so many nights now. There wasn't an ounce of her in that castle. Well, except for the live oak tree and all the plant growth it allowed inside the hall. Even now, she could feel her breath move in sequence to the rhythm of the ancient tree.

  Flee turned her face to stare at one of the shelves embedded into the wall, and Shay followed her gaze. Several daisies had bloomed since she'd stepped into the apartment.

  Shay sighed. She hadn't felt useful since she stopped Rhiannon's reign.

  Flee turned back to Shay. “But you've always thought someone stronger, and with the right intentions, should lead the fae-hunters."

  "That's true.” Shay reached toward the shelf and held her left hand out to the newly bloomed daisies. The warmth emanated off their yellow glow and caressed her fingertips. It was therapeutic. The way plants reacted to her was an incredible sensation Shay also felt. They empowered her as much as she them.

  "So, the one who leads the hunters is always queen."

  "Yeah, but I never claimed I wanted the job,” Shay answered. And although what Flee said was true, and had been for several centuries, it didn't stop the status from being a burden. Shay's great-great-great-grandmother had helped form the organization of hunters, and she hadn't been of royal blood. The system had just gotten all messed up along the way.

  "Well, I think you're perfect for the role."

  "Thanks for the vote of confidence, but being locked up in a castle doesn't allow me to do much more than hand out assignments to others.” Shay touched the petals lovingly one last time before she turned back to Flee. She crossed her arms in front of her stomach, enjoying the comfort and familiarity of her own place. “I think I'll sleep here tonight."

  "Will the guards allow that?” Flee asked with a raised eyebrow.

  "I don't care. They can stay outside the door all night if that's what they want to do."

  "You know they will."

  "Good."

  "Will you be in better spirits once your king returns to you?” Flee offered her a small smile.

  It was Shay's turn to lift an eyebrow. “How much do you know about that?"

  "I've heard things through the grapevine."

  "Oh really, and what grapevine would that be? Are you still surfing the mirror waves?” Shay couldn't help but tease her friend. Flee was free to come and go as she pleased; Shay never treated her like a lesser individual. She was her pet, but more importantly than that, a friend and equal. Due to the lack of arms to her small frame, Flee tended to stay inside the apartment most of the time.

  "I've been to the garden out back several times."

  "Really?” Shay hadn't meant to sound so surprised, but her eyes widened and a slight shrill edged her voice.

  Flee nodded. A pinkish hue colored her cheeks.

  "That's great, Flee! I've been trying to get you out there for ages. What changed?"

  "It got a little lonely around here,” she answered with a sensitive look deep in her eyes. Her antennas twitched a little. “But don't feel guilty, okay? I'm used to being alone. You are a hunter, after all, but lately it's been too quiet. And I didn't know what was going on with you. You've been so secretive lately. Our last conversation was about Tien, and even then you didn't want to share much."

  "I'm so sorry, Flee. I was falling in ... It was all too complicated with my heart and soul. I was afraid to admit it. Oh, I don't know. There's really no excuse for keeping such a big se
cret from your best friend, is there? You know that's what you are, right?"

  Flee's eyes shimmered with tears. “If it makes you feel any better, I guessed that love had touched you somehow. You'd been stuck on the same hunt for over a month. You usually polish them off within days!"

  Shay shrugged. “I didn't realize it had become so apparent to everyone else but me."

  "So, what's he like?"

  "Glen's great."

  "I knew if anyone could find themselves a king or a prince, it would be you."

  "Yeah, what are the odds?” Shay had asked herself the same question quite a lot lately. After she had spent over a century of her life as a hunter who stalked men in the human world to release them into their true existence, Shay wondered why she'd ended up with a destined king. Not that she regretted Glen Row. He filled a piece of her heart Shay hadn't known was vacant until he had crawled inside.

  "With you, I'd say pretty high,” Flee said with a smile. “What are you going to do about the guards out there?"

  "I've already told you. They can stay out there if they want, because tonight, I'm going to enjoy a night of gossip, chatter and food with my best friend,” Shay said with her own smile. This move probably wouldn't bode well with anyone back at the castle, and she'd no doubt get a visit from the head of security in the morning. But by then, the announcement of love being acceptable within Breena would be out.

  "I can call for takeout."

  "Sure, you do that,” Shay agreed.

  Tonight, she would pretend that everything was the same way it always had been. And with a little luck, she could also assign herself a case the next day.

  [Back to Table of Contents]

  Chapter Three

  Shay was awakened by the feathery touch of warm fingertips along the length of her exposed calf. She turned onto her back, extended her legs along the comfortable sheets and rubbed her sleepy eyes with the back of her hands.

  "Do you always sleep naked?” the familiar voice whispered.