by May Sage
The thirteenth was incontestably daunting. There was no way to dismiss it.
It said that the elves had sent more troops to their borders. If Vale knew one thing for certain about elves, it was that they never did a thing without cause.
Six
Sword and Snow
Devi swung her sword with all her physical, and some of her mental, strength, yelling a battle cry as she charged. Her opponent sighed and waved her hand. Devi’s body flew backward, hitting the wall with a resounding thud.
Fuck. She painfully got to her feet and cracked her neck.
Devi didn’t take it personally; it wasn’t a testament of her skills. This was just the sort of thing that happened when one faced the unseelie queen.
“What did you do wrong?” Shea asked.
“I said yes when you suggested sparring,” she shot back immediately, making the queen roll her eyes.
But Shea also wanted to smile, Devi knew it. She’d managed to extort a grin from the grave, somber queen before they were done tonight.
Their little tête-à-tête was always a lesson, but Shea liked to switch things around. Sometimes she told Devi about the history of long-forgotten ages that weren’t taught in any class or recorded in any books, and other times, the queen had tried, and mostly failed, to help Devi control her powers.
It was rare that Shea offered to fight these days. Devi couldn’t deny that the change of pace had sounded like a reprieve at first. An hour into it, there were bruises on all her limbs, and she hadn’t so much as entered Shea’s space.
Shea had trained her for over a decade, but now Devi realized that she’d always held herself back in the past. Tonight she wasn’t pulling punches.
“You didn’t scan me. Mages prepare their attack. Checking what your opponent’s aura says before launching is Fighting 101. If you’d checked….”
“But no one can check your mind.” Devi frowned, confused.
Shea was known to have the strongest mental shields. It was said that the overking himself, the all-powerful ruler of their entire Isle, couldn’t get past the queen’s walls, although he was the single most powerful psychic in the realm.
“Fortunately for you, my mind isn’t what you’re fighting right now. I’m using earth magic, so you’re fighting gravity and stones. Know your enemy, know their power, and learn to anticipate where it’s going to come from. You have a unique advantage, Devi. You know every elemental magic. How it feels. How it behaves. Identify it, and then use your knowledge.”
Still frowning, Devi nodded once, showing her willingness to try rather than a conviction that she’d manage to hold her own against the unseelie queen.
“All right, ready,” she said, bracing herself.
The queen finally managed a smile for the first time that night. “Aren’t you always. Now concentrate.”
Devi opened her mind and tentatively felt the energy around her. Finding too many conflicting voices, auras, and magic coming from all around them, in every room surrounding the queen’s apartments, she closed her eyes, trying to shut out everything and everyone except Shea.
The flare of power hit her mind a millisecond before it moved into motion, intending to push her again. It came from behind her this time. Devi felt it rise like a wave—a very specific wave with a set trajectory not even Shea Blackthorn could change on a whim.
Devi leaped out of the way, and Shea immediately sent another hit from a different direction. Devi ducked and rolled on the practice mat, getting to a crouch, ready to move in whatever direction she needed to next.
“This isn’t a dance, Dev. We said sparring, not jumping around like a monkey.”
Oh, yes. Recalling she had a sword at her belt and was meant to make use of it, Devi unsheathed it and redirected her attention to the queen. The moment she did, another wave hit, directly coming from the ceiling this time. She tried to move but was firmly thrust on her back.
“Dammit.”
Shea laughed softly and crossed the distance separating them, offering her a hand. Devi accepted the assistance to get back on her feet.
“You did well.”
It was now Devi’s turn to roll her eyes. Her bruises said otherwise.
Truth be told, Devi wasn’t at her best on one-on-one. Her strength was magic. She understood why Drake and Shea made her train like this, but at the back of her mind, she wondered if there was any point. If she couldn’t kill her enemies from a distance, she was probably screwed.
“I haven’t spent that much time on my ass since I learned snowboarding,” she replied.
Shea tilted her head, her interest piqued like it always was when Devi shared a little piece of information about her life before the court.
The queen never asked anything, but when Devi talked, she listened.
“That’s basically strapping a board on your feet, and—”
“I saw elves snowboard in the war,” Shea replied. “It made them deadly in the mountains. Deadlier than they generally were, which is saying a lot. They came down at high speed, too fast to target. And yet they could still shoot an arrow right between their enemy’s eyes.”
There was no bitterness in Shea’s words, although the elves may not have been on her side.
She was speaking of the last war. Every nation had fought for themselves at first. Then there had been alliances, betrayals, and more alliances. Finally, it had ended when Orin got every king and queen on their knee, forcing their submission and their allegiance. He was crowned overking of the realm, and all swore to obey him.
To most, this was history. Shea had lived through the entire thousand-year conflict, as the youngest daughter of a warlord first, and then as the leader the unseelie had rallied behind when there was no hope, no strength, and no one to believe in.
It blew Devi’s mind that the rather short, seemingly young female in front of her was also a legendary commander, famous for a war that had ended almost seven centuries ago.
At the same time, she’d seen Shea’s glare. It made strong fae shiver and weaklings piss themselves. The legend made total sense to one who’d witnessed the queen’s anger.
“I get they’ve used their snowboards as a military strategy, but nowadays they do it for fun,” Devi said, feeling a little awkward. “I mean, as I said, you spend day one on your ass a lot, and that doesn’t change much for a month or so, but suddenly you know what you’re doing, and the speed, the freedom, the adrenaline rush….”
She closed her mouth because words failed her, as they always did when she spoke of her year in the elven realm of Wyhmur.
“Sounds like something I would have liked to try in another life,” Shea said before glancing toward the window. “It’s late. We should call it a night. Before we part ways, however, I want to talk about the seelie delegation.”
Devi swallowed her saliva with difficulty.
“It’s not the first year there’s been a delegation at the solstice,” Devi said, because that’s what she’d told herself again and again on repeat since she’d heard of the seelie’s arrival from the rumor mill.
Rook and Jiya had spoken of nothing else tonight.
“Indeed, there have been a few seelie here every year since your arrival,” Shea confirmed. “Just like I send diplomats to attend their celebration at the court of sunlight. But usually that delegation doesn’t include their king.”
Devi’s eyes widened, and her heart stopped.
Shit. She hadn’t wanted to believe it. Now that the queen had confirmed it, her mind raced, and finally she said the one thing that made sense.
“I can head home,” she offered. “Make myself scarce until it’s all over.”
Shea tsked. “Don’t be silly. He knows you’re here. If I hide you, he’ll believe we’re scared that he might wish you ill.”
Devi chuckled. “That may be because he’s put a price on my head. Just my head. It doesn’t really have to be attached to my shoulders.”
“In his kingdom,” Shea retorted. “You’r
e a welcome guest in my house, and a lady of my realm. He’ll have to respect that here.”
Yeah, right. She could see that happening.
Not. That just wasn’t how proud nobles functioned.
“Besides, I’m not talking of King Kraven. His Grace has passed the reins of the kingdom to his son, Devin. He was enthroned not a fortnight ago.”
Oh, that changed things. Possibly.
Her mother had been betrothed to Kraven, and Devi was the living reminder that she’d rejected him. Actually, that was a mild term. Her mother had run away, leaving the seelie realm, and had gone to Shea for asylum. Loxy Rivers was disowned by her family and banned from the seelie realm under penalty of death. At her birth, Devi was awarded the same sentence.
Hopefully Devin didn’t feel quite as strongly about the matter.
“Right. What’s our play?”
“You’ll stand by my side when we’re greeting him. I’ll present you. Our play depends on his reaction.”
She bit her lip but nodded, because there was only one response to anything Shea Blackthorn dictated.
“As you wish.”
The queen gestured her forward, and knowing what it meant, Devi came closer before bending down. She was over a head taller while standing up. Now that they were at the same level, Shea pressed her lips on Devi’s forehead, holding on to her head for an instant.
The queen wasn’t known to be warm, or expressive. Nice was one term that had never been used to describe her. Nonetheless, when she kissed her that way—each time they parted ways in private—it felt like home. It felt like love.
“Now go, child. Sleep well, for the days ahead may be strenuous to your young heart.”
Devi chuckled. “The way you and Vale go on about my poor little inexperienced self, you’d think I was a babe in diapers.”
She understood it, as the queen was over a thousand years old, and the prince close to it. But she was twenty-eight. It had been three years since she’d come of age. Some lesser fae had a lifespan of just half a century; she would have been considered an adult among them.
“Vale, is it?” Shea asked.
Her tone had changed. Shit. Am I in trouble? They’d always been rather informal together, but perhaps she was expected to call Shea’s son by the title due his rank.
When she looked to Shea’s face, she found no annoyance. There was a small degree of teasing however.
Devi groaned. “Why is absolutely everyone assuming that I fancy the guy? He’s not my type.”
“Child, you forget: I know you can lie.”
Shit.
“He’s annoying, haughty, extremely egocentric and—”
“Save it. I’d give consent to a union, if I were asked. Just bear that in mind.”
Devi had been quite exhausted a few instants ago, but left the training room irritated and too furious to hope for sleep.
Instead, after a short cold bath, she got dressed and headed to the library.
The royal residential wing of the castle was large and mostly empty. Rather, it had been empty most days before. Her apartments were on the second floor, the last guest suite at the very end of the corridor. The safest spot in the wing, according to Shea; if intruders were invading the palace, they had to enter through the main building before they reached it. “It gives you plenty of time to flee,” she had said.
Devi had always hated the thought of fleeing anything, but she gracefully took the apartment she was given.
She had to walk through the elegant halls and down to the ground floor before stopping at the round door leading to the library.
During the earlier hours of the night, it was generally occupied—scholars often requested to study some of the priceless volumes in the queen’s private collection—but it was close to dawn. At this hour, no stranger was welcome in the queen’s home.
Behind the door, the room was dark and silent, but she knew Valerius had taken refuge there. She felt him; his presence was too distinctive to mistake it.
Devi stood still before the door. She had truly wished to spend time in the library, perhaps her favorite room outside of her apartment, but the last thing she needed was more of Valerius Blackthorn.
She looked down self-consciously. She was wearing a long white chemise and a comfortable bathrobe. Flushing, she turned her heels and rushed through the empty halls until she was safe behind her door again.
Come to think of it, fleeing wasn’t such a bad idea at times.
On the other side of the red circular door, holding a book of spells, hexes, and countermeasures he’d ceased reading thirty-seven seconds ago, Vale found himself smiling. Devi was rushing upstairs, running away from him. It took all his strength to remain in his seat rather than chase his prey.
Seven
Lady of the Court
Valerius didn’t often make use of his abilities. Knowing exactly what people thought made life incredibly dull. Besides, he’d come to see it as an invasion, a weapon one only used against enemies.
As dozens of seelie poured into the court of night, he didn’t hesitate, willfully breaching the minds of every single one of them and seeing what lay underneath.
He had good reasons to be suspicious. For one, only a third of the party he’d seen pass through his lands had made it to the court, mostly nobles and private guards. They’d left their soldiers somewhere along the way. Valerius could conjecture a million motives, and none of them were remotely friendly.
He was completely unapologetic about figuring out where they’d conveniently stowed their missing soldiers, as well as the intentions behind the king’s presence. It made no sense whatsoever, especially with no warning.
The problem was the seelie had been ready for him. Among the thirty-four high fae who entered the throne hall with every flourish characteristic of their kind, wearing tons of gold, complicated hairdos, and too much perfume, thirty had their minds completely bared. None of them had done anything even remotely interesting in their entire existence, long as it may have been.
The last four were another story. The king, his two guards, and his advisor were completely blocked; he couldn’t even get a peep out of their minds. No shields were that strong, not even his mother’s. This wasn’t their power. They were using some sort of artifacts to keep him out.
Vale swore under his breath. He couldn’t do a thing. Or rather, he wouldn’t do a thing, because pushing against the barriers was akin to raping his way through their minds. It wouldn’t go unnoticed. They’d scream in excruciating pain. And doing that to the king of the realm of sunlight would have been a clear act of war.
Valerius swore under his breath. He was stuck, unable to act. He was standing next to his mother, and they were flanked by her head of staff and first advisor. Then there was Devi, to whom he wasn’t paying attention. Openly, in any case. With the eyes of the entire court on him, it wouldn’t do to leave right now, but something had to be done.
An alternative came to mind, and his eyes searched through the crowd until he found Kallan in the second row of fae standing before them. He held Kallan’s eyes for a beat until his second understood what he needed. It was almost physically painful for him, Vale could tell, but Kallan dropped his mental shield, allowing Vale to get in.
“They’re up to something. Only the king and his three closest subordinates know what,” Vale informed him.
“What do you need?”
“Get one of the guards they posted outside the city.”
Kallan made his way out of the hall entirely unnoticed, as the eyes of the court were on the uninvited guests.
Finally the seelie reached the queen and her party.
The king was a handsome high fae who hadn’t yet seen his first century, Vale could tell. Devin’s aura held no weight. One look and he categorized the boy as a puppet in someone else’s game. Probably his father’s. His subjects knelt before Shea in deference. Devin inclined his head, as was the way of sovereigns.
Shea was doing her thing—giving h
im her trademark stare that made grown men squirm and avert their eyes.
At long last, she returned the greeting.
“Devin of the house of Farel.” Her voice was cold. “An unexpected honor.”
In short, she meant “Why didn’t you fucking ask me permission before stepping in my fucking kingdom, fucking prick?” The little king seemed to get that. Vale saw him swallow and glance toward his advisor. After a beat, the male regrouped.
“Your Majesty,” he replied pleasantly, with all outward signs of respect, “I was enthroned not a fortnight ago, and my first thought went to your court. For centuries now, our great nations have been on friendly terms because of the pleasant rapport between yourself and my father. When we received your invitation to attend the winter solstice, my advisors and I saw it as an opportunity to rekindle this relationship now that my reign has started."
So, the boy isn’t entirely brainless. Good for him.
Truth was, said invitation was nothing more than a formality; some seelie went to the Unseelie Court for the winter solstice, and some unseelie went to the Seelie Court for the summer solstice. Devin knew he'd messed up, but he was turning it into the innocent gesture of friendship of an inexperienced new ruler. Well played. Vale would even have believed it, if Devin hadn’t gone to great lengths in order to keep his mind so carefully closed off. There was more to this.
“We're glad to have you,” Shea assured him before introducing her escorts. “You may not recall my son, Valerius. The last time you met, you were—”
“Ten years of age and very impressed to be standing in front of the legend known as the dark prince,” Devin said with a chuckle.
Strangely, the laughter reached his eyes. He advanced to shake Vale's hand, all the while saying, “You did not disappoint. I asked you if you could truly torture people just with your mind, and you made my music teacher scream in agony for a brief instant.”
