The Faerie Queen (The Faerie Ring #4)

by Kiki Hamilton

“I think you’re right. We had spies in London who saw several of the mortals who live with her in Grosvenor Square leave by carriage just before the hounds arrived. She didn’t go with them.”

  “How fascinating. Who were they and where did they go?”

  Sullivan shrugged. “It was the male who is often seen with the queen and four children.”

  Donegal’s black eyes flared with interest. “Children?”

  “I believe they live with the queen in the mortal world.”

  “Did someone follow them?”

  “Yes—MacDonald and Brady.”

  “Where did they go?” There was a sudden urgency in his voice.

  “I haven’t heard back yet.”

  “I want to know the second you have word. This is our opportunity. The Queen has sent off those she loves thinking she’s protecting them.” A guttural laugh escaped his lips. “She will soon learn there is no protection from my vengeance.”

  The Winter King turned back to the window and nodded toward the Plain of Sunlight where a golden glow reflected in a thin band across the horizon. “Tara MacLochlan will be back in the Otherworld soon, if she hasn’t already returned.” His words were as raw as a blade drawn against a stone. “This time I won’t leave it to someone else to kill her. I will do it myself.”

  Chapter Thirteen

  “Finn would not have made this an impossible task.” Larkin dropped the ring against Tiki’s chest and began to pace. “The Cup offers inspiration, healing, sustenance… how can a piece of glass inspire us?” she muttered as she went from one side of the room to the other.

  Tiki sank back and closed her eyes, willing herself to concentrate. The Ring held the secret to finding the fourth treasure. The Cup would provide the inspiration to release the secrets from the Ring. They had used the Cup to help Johnny before… Tiki’s eyes snapped open. Could it be that simple? Did she just need to drink from the cup to gain the needed inspiration?

  She sat up and reached for the glass goblet.

  Dain watched her from where he stood near the end of the couch. “Tara, what are you doing?”

  Larkin paused in her pacing.

  Tiki didn’t answer as she lifted the glittering glass goblet to her lips and opened her mouth. The Cup had appeared empty when they’d held it to Johnny’s lips, but within seconds fluid had poured from the goblet into his mouth, providing healing when he was in need. It had saved his life. Would the Cup answer her need for knowledge in the same way?

  She waited. Ten seconds. Fifteen. Twenty.

  There was nothing.

  A full minute went by before Tiki lowered the glass from her lips. “I thought…” The words died in her throat.

  Dain strode over and sat on the couch next to her. “Well done, Tiki. You’ve answered an important question. Now we know one doesn’t gain inspiration by drinking from the Cup. There must be another way to gain the necessary knowledge.”

  “But what?” Tiki asked, despair thick in her voice. She stared at the swirling colors that lined the exterior of the vase. “What do I need to do? Where do I need to look to know how to find the Fourth Treasure?”

  The words had barely left her lips when a thin strand of smoke rose from the center of the goblet.

  “What’s that?” Dain pointed.

  “There’s something burning inside the Cup,” Larkin said, stepping closer.

  Tiki tipped the goblet and stared into the center. In the depths of the glass an image floated, as if on water, even though a few moments ago the vessel had been empty. She peered closer.

  “I see something…I think it’s the Ring of the truce—” The familiar shape undulated above a flickering flame and from the heart of the blood red stone a thin wisp of smoke curled into a mysterious shape as it rose above the rim of the glass and dissipated into the air. “There’s a fire below it.”

  “A fire below the ring? Are you sure?” Dain asked.

  “Yes,” Tiki said, “there’s a flame beneath the ring. Smoke is rising from the stone and it looks like—” she squinted— “something, but I can’t quite make it out.” She lifted her head. “What do you think this means? Do we need to light a fire beneath the ring?”

  “Let me see.” Larkin pressed her blond head close to Tiki’s dark one to peer into the goblet.

  Dain’s brows pulled down in a quizzical frown. “Are you sure you’re not seeing the fire that exists within the ring?”

  “Of course.” Larkin straightened with a jerk and stepped back, making way for Dain to peer into the Cup. “Fire is one of the four great elements. As some fey have a natural affinity for earth or wind or water, Finn was always drawn to fire. It’s why he hid the truce within a flame. What provided him with strength was also a natural defense against his enemies.” She shook her head. “Brilliant. I should have thought of this long ago. To have a flame release a secret as smoke makes perfect sense.”

  “Try this.” Dain plucked a candle from a nearby table and blew on the wick. A small orange flame sprang to life. “Why don’t you take the ring from around your neck and hold it over this—see what happens.”

  Tiki pulled the delicate chain from around her neck and gazed at the fire that flickered in the stone’s depths.

  “Time to reveal your secrets,” she said softly. “Where do we find the Fourth Treasure?” She held the ring out so it dangled an inch above the small tongue of fire. After a few long moments, the ring began to move. Slowly, at first, then more steadily, until the gold-encased stone swung in a small arc above the flame of the candle.

  “Are you doing that?” Dain whispered.

  “No.” Tiki shook her head. “My hand has remained still.”

  The ring began to spin faster and faster, the arc widening as it gained speed. Ever so slowly, a wisp of smoke began to rise from the stone.

  “I don’t believe it,” Tiki whispered. The smoke wreathed and curled, gathering as though to form a picture, yet remained indistinguishable. “Does that mean anything to anyone?”

  “Not me,” Dain muttered.

  “No,” Larkin said, “we must be missing something. I’m sure the Cup gave us the correct inspiration.” She waved her long fingers in the small space between the whirling stone and the flame, then through the smoke that had gathered above the spinning ring. “We must need to do something else—but what?” She gritted her teeth in frustration.

  “Wait a minute—I know.” Dain jumped up and darted from the room.

  “Where’s he going?” Tiki asked with a frown.

  “I have no idea,” Larkin muttered, clearly annoyed. “Always had a bit of mischief in him.”

  Tiki turned back to the small arc of smoke rising from the ring. “There’s something there...don’t you agree?”

  “Yes—but it’s just out of reach. Just a bit too blurry to see what it is…”

  Dain sprinted back into the room.

  “We need to use this,” he cried, holding up the Faerie Queen’s mirror. Bits of gold glimmered through the heavy patina that covered the frame of the mirror winking in the firelight.

  “What’s that?” Tiki said, standing up to see what Dain held. As she moved away from the flame, the movement of the ring stilled.

  “This is the Faerie Queen’s mirror.” Dain quickly related the story that Prince Leo had shared.

  “How curious.” Larkin took the mirror from him and held it with both hands. “I’ve never heard of this artifact before. Do you suppose Victoria has remembered the history correctly?”

  “Leo seemed most definite about what his mother had told him,” Dain said. “Apparently Queen Victoria said the mirror was a failsafe should the ring ever be stolen. The thief would need both ring and mirror—and know how to use both—to glean the secrets from the ring. Leo was most insistent that I deliver it to Tara and William.”

  Dain moved to stand behind Larkin and looked over her shoulder. Rather than the faerie’s reflection, the center of the glass churned with storm-tossed waves crashing to a rocky shore.<
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  “Strange how it doesn’t show a reflection, isn’t it?” he said.

  Tiki held her hands out for the mirror. “May I?”

  “It shows a reflection,” Larkin said cryptically, “just not of a person’s face.”

  Dain glanced at her curiously. “How’s that?”

  “So like Finn,” Larkin mused, dropping the mirror to her lap, “unable to trust, even in death. He confided in only a handful of people in his lifetime: his best friend, Fraoch, Eridanus, Adasara. Perhaps some of the Macanna. It’s hard to know anymore.” She shrugged. “He was a complicated man and we live in a complicated world. There were many who wanted him dead.”

  “What about you?” Dain asked, his expression unexpectedly somber. “Did Finn trust you?”

  Larkin turned away, and Tiki eyed the faerie’s back curiously.

  From over her shoulder Larkin spoke. “Let’s just say Finn entrusted me with the important things.”

  Dain raised his eyebrows. “Such as?”

  “It hardly matters now. What we need to focus on is deciphering the message held within the ring and hope this mirror holds the answers.” She motioned toward Tiki. “Put the ring above the flame again and let’s see what happens.”

  Dain moved to stand behind her as Tiki dangled the ring above the flame of the candle.

  “Where do we find the Fourth Treasure?” she murmured. As before, the movement of the ring began with a gentle swaying that soon evolved into a spinning arc above the flame. It didn’t take long before the ethereal strands of smoke had gathered in a tangled mass above the ring.

  Larkin held the mirror at an angle so the smoke was reflected. “Can you see anything?”

  Tiki gazed into the looking glass. To her surprise, the twists and turns of smoke formed a word that was legible in the reflection of the mirror. She and Dain spoke at the same time.

  “Dunvegan.”

  “What?” Larkin sounded stunned. “Hold this—” she thrust the mirror toward Dain— “I want to see.” They quickly changed places. For once, Larkin had a truly surprised look on her face. “I don’t believe it.”

  “What does Dunvegan mean?” Tiki asked.

  “I’ve heard that word before,” Dain said. “It’s a place, isn’t it?”

  “Yes.” Larkin nodded. “Dunvegan is on the Isle of Skye in Scotland. An ancient castle built on a rock near the sea. I should have thought of it before.” She began to pace, her gown swishing behind her as the skirt swept the floor. “Of course—it makes perfect sense.”

  Tiki caught the ring in her hand as the smoke dissolved and pulled the chain back over her head. She tucked the stone inside her blouse, where it lay warm against her skin. “Who lives there? What does it have to do with the Fourth Treasure?”

  “The MacLeod Clan has occupied the castle for centuries.”

  “You know them?” Dain asked.

  “Know of them. They are part of a story—a mortal tale that most fey grow up hearing. A mirror of the faerie tales mortal children grow up learning, I suppose.”

  A thrill of excitement shot through Tiki. “Are the MacLeod clan mortal, then?”

  “Yes.” Larkin shook her head. “So like Finn—he so desperately wanted to blend the worlds, that he and Eridanus hid the greatest treasures of Faerie with mortal keepers. Even in death, he has pulled the two worlds together.” Larkin tapped a long finger against her chin, lost in thought. “No one would ever dream a clan of farmers could hold something of such great value.”

  Dain moved closer to Larkin, his blue eyes bright with excitement. “You know what the Fourth Treasure is, don’t you?”

  Larkin’s lips twitched as if she was trying to hold back her smile, but the corners of her mouth curved up and she sounded breathless when she answered. “I do, though it never occurred to me that it might have such significance—that it could possibly be one of the most legendary treasures of our world.”

  “What is it?” Tiki asked, her heart skipping in anticipation.

  Larkin inhaled. “It’s a flag. The Fourth Treasure of Faerie is a flag.”

  Tiki’s shoulders sagged in disappointment. A flag didn’t sound very powerful. She looked at Dain to see if this news held any significance for him, but his face was blank.

  “Go on,” Dain urged.

  “I don’t know why I didn’t think of it before. The Faerie Flag of Dunvegan Castle is ancient—and one of the MacLeod’s most prized possessions. We will have to be extremely clever to get them to allow us to take it.”

  “Faerie flag?”

  “Yes. The flag was given as a gift by a faerie who had fallen in love with one of the MacLeod ancestors. She promised him that on three separate occasions, he could unfurl the flag and many armed men would come to the flag-bearer’s aid. So far, the flag has only been unfurled twice.”

  Dain let out a low whistle.

  Tiki sucked in her breath in a gasp. “An army.”

  “An army to defeat Donegal,” Dain echoed.

  Larkin’s blue-green eyes glowed as she jerked her head in sharp assent. “Precisely. The Four Treasures of Faerie will appear or be found when Faerie is in greatest need.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  IT WAS AGREED they would leave for Scotland immediately.

  “Best to stay together at this point,” Larkin said in an imperious tone. “It will be up to us to stop Donegal. We’re going to need each other. I can transport us as far as the Faerie Bridge on the Isle of Skye—we’ll have to walk or garner a ride to Dunvegan from there.”

  “What should we do with these?” Dain pointed at the glamoured Cup of Plenty and the Faerie Queen’s mirror.

  “We have to hide them somewhere,” Tiki said. “Should I take them back to Grosvenor Square?”

  “No. It’s not safe there anymore.” Larkin searched the room. “We need to hide them in plain sight. Glamour the mirror to match that one—” she pointed to a plain round mirror that hung on the wall— “and—” she swept the cup up in her grasp— “we’ll leave the cup as a green vase on this shelf right here.” She deposited the Cup on a nearby bookshelf as if it were no more than a decorative goblet.

  Tiki did as she asked and hung the glamoured mirror on a wall adjacent to the other mirror. At a glance, it was impossible to tell the difference. No one would ever suspect one was an ancient treasure.

  “There,” Larkin said with satisfaction. “Safe for now.”

  AS THEY WERE leaving the underground compound a red-coated solider approached. He was armed with a curved backsword and a razor thin rapier.

  “Majesty.” He bent to one knee in front of Tiki. “Blessings on your health.”

  “Toran, how nice to see you,” Tiki said. The tall guard had been assigned as one of her bodyguards when she’d first been named Seelie Queen. He had been a second to Callan, an earnest guard who had made every attempt to stay constantly with Tiki to protect her. When Callan had been murdered by Donegal, Toran had taken his place as her primary bodyguard. It was only because Tiki had tricked him when she returned to London that he had been forced to stay in the Otherworld. She motioned at him. “Please rise.”

  The guard stood, his expression grim. He was younger than many of the guards and took his job with great seriousness. “I am here to protect you, Majesty. We’ve just received word that the hobgoblins have been routed from the northern part of the Wychwood. At Donegal’s request, the Redcaps set fire to their fields and homes. Those who survived are said to be headed this way.”

  “I hope Gestle and his men are all right,” Tiki said. The hobgoblin leader had helped her and Rieker locate Dain when he’d been held prisoner in the White Tower.

  “There’s a storm over Wydryn Tor that extends down into the southern part of the Forest. It’s so black you can no longer see the top of the Tor.”

  Larkin brushed passed Toran and continued down the hall. “It’s Donegal and he won’t rest. It will be up to us to stop him.”

  “Toran,” Tiki said in a kind voice.
“I’m going to need Aeveen. Could you gather her for me, please?” She felt bad about tricking the faerie again by asking him to get Dain’s horse, but he couldn’t possibly come with them to Scotland and she didn’t want to be delayed trying to convince him.

  “Majesty—” Toran’s expression was fraught with worry. “It’s very dangerous right now. You shouldn’t leave our stronghold here. Donegal has gone mad. They say he will kill anyone and everyone to get what he wants. I’ve heard he has even imprisoned the Court Jester and plans to feed him to Bearach’s hounds. You should stay here where it’s safe and we can protect…”

  “What?!” In the space of a heartbeat Larkin was next to the man, gripping his elbow. “What did you say?”

  Toran’s eyes widened in panic. “That the queen is safer—”

  “No. About the Jester.”

  The guard shot a quick glance at Tiki before returning his gaze to Larkin. “We have word that the Winter King has imprisoned the Jester and plans to feed him to the hounds at the full moon.”

  Tiki let out a cry of dismay and covered her mouth with her hands. The Jester was a fixture at Court in the Palace of Mirrors—a colorful character who entertained whichever sovereign held the throne. Though an enigma who spoke in riddles and puns, he had been instrumental in helping Tiki and Rieker in the past and she’d grown quite fond of his humor and idiosyncrasies. He was one of the few in Faerie who seemed to hold no malice toward Rieker and their relationship.

  Larkin swore under her breath. “I will kill Donegal with my bare hands if that’s what it takes,” she said. It was rare for her to show any emotion other than disdain, yet it was obvious she found this news about a man she referred to as ‘the Fool’ terribly distressing. “Where are they holding him?”

  “That I don’t know,” Toran replied. “Olcán is undercover in the palace. Perhaps he knows.”

  “Find out,” Larkin snapped. “I want to know by sunset tomorrow. We’ve only seven days to the full moon.” She jerked around. “Everyone but Toran come with me.”

  Tiki nodded at the young soldier. “Do as she asks. We need to know. I’ll be fine.” She followed Larkin down the hall, her stomach roiling with a sudden uneasiness. Dain fell into step next to her. As they walked, Tiki silently mused why the Jester, of all people, would elicit such a reaction from Larkin.