by Meara Platt
Charlie frowned. “She’d never marry someone she didn’t love. She’s told me so herself.”
“But that can’t be true. She plans to marry King Cadeyrn and she doesn’t love him.”
“That’s different.”
He knelt beside Charlie and spoke gently. “How is it different, lad?”
“It just is! King Cadeyrn needs her.”
“But he doesn’t love her. He doesn’t know what the word means. Do you, Charlie?”
“Of course, I do!” He tossed Douglas another glower. “I love Julia.”
“Then why are you forcing her to marry a man she doesn’t love and who doesn’t love her back?”
Charlie strained for an answer. “It isn’t fair. You’re trying to confuse me.”
“No, Charlie. I speak the truth, something you’ve heard little of except from Julia. She deserves a better fate than what you and King Cadeyrn have contrived for her. She deserves to be happy, to find love with the man of her choice.”
“But she wants you, and you’re going to marry Lady Cynthia. Grandmama told me so and everyone’s talking about how you plan to propose to her tonight.”
“Everyone is wrong,” he said, taking the boy by the hand and approaching Cynthia. She was dressed as an Egyptian queen and stood beside the purple-garbed marquis. With a nod of his head, a row of servants carrying glasses filled with champagne began to disperse throughout the crowd.
“Friends,” Douglas called out, his gaze fixed on Julia hidden behind the bushes. “I’m delighted to announce that a marriage is soon to take place. A marriage between the lovely Lady Cynthia St. Giles and…”
A buzz of excitement spread through the crowd.
“About time someone trapped you!” a jovial male voice cried from the center of the gathering and everyone burst into good-natured laughter.
“Oh, no! Not I,” he said once the laughter had subsided. “Raise your glasses in good cheer for Lady Cynthia and the Marquis of Wythorne.”
A few gasps of surprise, then a cheer went up. As his guests thronged toward the engaged couple, Douglas drew Charlie aside.
“I’m not forcing Julia,” the boy insisted, tears now gleaming in his eyes.
“Come on.” He took hold of the boy’s hand, once again.
“Where are we going?” Charlie asked with a sniffle.
“To save the woman we love, of course.”
*
As Lord Eastbourne raised his glass to toast the young lady he intended to marry, Julia let out a sob and fled down the torch-lit, pebble path. In the distance, she heard someone shout about time someone trapped you!
Though unable to hear the earl’s response over the boisterous cheers of the crowd, she knew it mattered little. The announcement had been made. Lord Eastbourne now belonged to Lady Cynthia.
Julia let out another shattered sob and fell to her knees beside the garden lake. Her heart felt ready to burst and she couldn’t seem to catch her breath. Bluebells sprang up around her in a perfect circle. She shuddered. It was beginning.
Soon, she would feel nothing.
It was meant to be.
Perhaps feeling numb was better than the agonizing pain of lost love.
She gazed into the water and saw the moon’s shimmering reflection, a large silver ball floating on the surface.
Another cheer went up in the distance.
Each joyous shout felt like a stab through her heart.
It was as King Cadeyrn had predicted. Lord Eastbourne had betrayed her beneath the silver gleam of the full moon.
She wiped away the tears rolling down her cheeks. That Lord Eastbourne had declared for the woman he loved could hardly be termed a betrayal. After all, he’d never led Julia along with fancy words or promises. That night at The Stag and Princess, he’d held her in his arms and made exquisite love to her, but he’d never said he loved her.
“It’s time,” a voice said from behind her. At the same time, a cold hand came to rest on her shoulder.
She nodded, turned toward the familiar voice and saw the brutally cold and handsome faerie king standing in his regal attire. He wore a jewel-encrusted crown atop his black hair and his robe was a vibrant and warm satin blue. His eyes were still the color of blue ice. “Come, Julia. The moment has come to fulfill your promise.”
“King Cadeyrn, I’m–”
“Julia! Julia!” Charlie called out, the high-pitched desperation in his voice interrupting her mid-sentence. “Wait! Don’t go! Where are you? I can’t see you!”
She heard footsteps padding along the thick grass toward the lake and realized the boy had brought along company. She grabbed King Cadeyrn’s arm and tugged him in the opposite direction, across the small meadow beside the lake. “We must go now! Please! I won’t have the strength to leave Charlie if I see him.”
He gazed at her in confusion. “Why? Are your legs as weak as the boy’s were?”
“Yes, but not for the same reasons. You see,” she said with an anguished moan, welcoming the numbing chill now spreading through her body, “it is no easy thing to leave those you love, to know that you’ll never be able to hold them in your arms or kiss them again ever.”
“Are you speaking only of the boy? You’ll see him as often as you like. He’s coming with us.”
“What? No! That isn’t our bargain.” She clenched her fists, wanting to pound on his heartless chest, but he knocked her to the ground with a mere wave of his hand, his power so strong he had no need to touch her. “You devil! You promised to leave him with his uncle!”
“I promised not to steal him away. Those were your exact words when you demanded my promise. But Charlie wants to come with me willingly. So how can that be stealing? That’s been our arrangement all along, mine and the boy’s. He refused to leave you to suffer alone in the mortal world. Now, you’ve agreed to come with me and I’ll have you both.”
“No! It can’t be! Do you think I’d ever knowingly condemn Charlie to a cold, dying world?”
“Is your world any better? The boy is sickly. He won’t survive long without my strength to sustain him. How do you think he’s survived all these years? On your… what did you call it? Love?” He pinned her with his crystal-cold gaze. “Deny me and the boy will be dead before the next full moon.”
“I don’t believe you! This is another of your tricks!”
“Come, Julia. Take a deep breath,” he said gently. “Do you smell the honeysuckle? Just breathe it in, close your eyes. It will ease your passage into my realm.”
“No! Julia, stop!” This time, it was Lord Eastbourne calling out to her. He wrenched her away from the faerie king and drew her protectively behind him, as though believing the mere gesture could keep her out of harm’s way. “Stay there, sweetheart!”
She obeyed, for no reason other than understanding the futility of his actions. They were now surrounded by King Cadeyrn’s faerie courtiers. These creatures were tall and slender, their skin as delicate as alabaster and hair as fine as spun gold silk. A few had long, straight hair as dark as ebony, as did their king, and Julia briefly wondered if they were his brothers. It mattered little, for they all lacked warmth or compassion.
She’d seen these creatures depicted in Charlie’s drawings, dressed as they were now in their silken finery and jewels gleaming in their headpieces and on their fingers. She heard Lord Eastbourne’s sharp intake of breath as they appeared, which meant he could see them now, as well. She hadn’t expected that.
“Merciful heavens,” he muttered. “Charlie, have they been here all this time?”
“Yes.”
Julia nodded as well.
The faerie courtiers looked on in idle curiosity as King Cadeyrn, showing not a trace of compassion, raised his hand and tossed a lightning bolt at Lord Eastbourne’s chest. The impact was so painful he inhaled sharply and fell to his knees on the grass.
“No! Stop! You can’t hurt him.” Julia fell to her knees beside him. “Douglas, let me see.”
He waved
her away. “Run,” he insisted.
“Not without you.”
“Don’t worry about me.” He tried to get up, clutched his ribs and caught his breath. In the next moment, he staggered to his feet and once again pushed her behind him.
“Listen to him, Julia. Please!” Charlie cried. Her heart tightened at the sight of the wide-eyed little boy dressed as a faerie prince down to the gold braiding on his epaulets. “I didn’t know! I didn’t understand, but now I do. I’m so sorry. I never meant to hurt you or Uncle Douglas.”
“Charlie, don’t come any closer. It isn’t safe.” She was afraid of what the faerie king and his subjects might do to the boy. “My little love, go back to the house. Stay with Homer.”
“No! This is my battle, too. I won’t let anyone hurt you, not ever.” Charlie began to cry.
Julia struggled to hold back her own tears. “Sweetling, it’s done. All you have to do is promise me that you’ll never go willingly to King Cadeyrn. Do as I say, stay safely with your Uncle Douglas. He loves you and will protect you.”
“But Uncle Douglas doesn’t want you to go, either.”
She let out a soft, bitter laugh. “No, it isn’t quite the same thing. You’ll understand in time. He loves Lady Cynthia. He’ll soon marry her. Tell him, my lord. End this now.”
“No, Julia,” he said with a slow shake of his head. “There’ll be no more secrets between us or words left unsaid. I–”
King Cadeyrn hurled another lightning bolt at his chest, the force of the blow dropping him once more to his knees. The blow might have conquered a lesser man, but he seemed propelled by a savage determination to fight until there was no breath left in his body. His eyes blazed with anger as he rose to defend the next devastating blow. “No more words left unsaid,” Douglas continued, his breaths still labored for he was in obvious pain. “You ought to have stayed for the rest of my speech, the announcement of Cynthia’s marriage to Wythorne.”
“What?”
“I should have told you sooner, but it was a delicate matter. I spoke to Cynthia the day she arrived, told her that it would never work out between us. She begged me to keep it quiet, to allow her to maintain her dignity. She feared Wythorne wouldn’t have her if he found out that I’d spurned her.”
“I thought you loved her.”
He cast her the tenderest smile. “Julia, sweetheart. How can I possibly marry anyone but you? It’s you I love.”
She held her breath.
Was this real? Or more of King Cadeyrn’s mischief?
“I love you,” he said as she came to his side.
He brushed his lips against her cheek while they stood in the dark meadow under a roof of gleaming stars. A soft breeze whispered through the grass and rustled the tree branches. “Oh, Douglas! I’ve always loved you.”
“Douglas?” he repeated, his laughter rumbling in the air. He kissed her softly on the lips. “At last, progress. Does this mean you’ll have me?”
She wanted to say “yes”, but a force stronger than anything she’d known suddenly tore her from his arms. She let out a sharp, pained yelp. “I can’t!”
He reached for her, but was slammed to the ground by another bolt of King Cadeyrn’s rage. He tried his best to shake it off as he struggled to his feet.
“Stay still, you idiot,” Julia sobbed when he was struck by yet another bolt. This time, she distinctly heard the crack of a rib. “Stop! He’ll kill you. Don’t you dare die because of me!”
He ignored her pleas and lunged for King Cadeyrn. The move surprised all, including the royal court of spectators, when he managed to wrestle the faerie king to the ground and hold him fast.
Charlie rushed forward. “Don’t hurt him, Uncle Douglas! Please!”
Douglas kept his gaze pinned on the faerie king. “Release Charlie and Julia from whatever devil’s bargain you’ve made. Let them go! They’re my family. You can’t have them!”
“Ow, you’re hurting my arm! Uncle Douglas, he can’t feel the pain, but I do!”
“Charlie!” He released his grip at once.
Though King Cadeyrn was suddenly free, he seemed weak and confused. “Take the boy, Lord Eastbourne. It’s The Julia I want. I have no use for your nephew. Take him and I’ll take her.”
“No use for him?” Douglas shook his head in amazement. “Is that all he ever was to you? A means to grab Julia?”
Charlie’s face turned ashen. “I thought you liked me,” he said with an aching voice. “Have you been lying to me all these years? You were my only friend. I trusted you. I loved you as though you were my own father.”
Julia wanted to take the boy into her arms and soothe his hurt, but King Cadeyrn held her fast in his magical grip and she couldn’t leave his side.
“Your kingdom will never survive if it is built on lies,” Lord Eastbourne said, sensing the faerie king falter as he addressed him and his faerie court. “You can’t force an unwilling girl to be your queen and expect her to save your people. She loves me, though I expect I’m most undeserving. However,” he said with a small, pained laugh, “if she’ll have me, I’m willing to spend the rest of my days earning her love.”
He reached out for Julia and was once again struck by one of King Cadeyrn’s lightning blows that left his lip cut and bleeding.
“Stupid mortal. Will you never learn?”
“No,” Lord Eastbourne said with another pained laugh. Then he shook his head as a low hum began to spread across the cool night air.
Charlie also shook his head and put his fingers in his ears. Julia tried to do the same, but her hands were bound at her sides by the Fae king’s spell. She couldn’t move to quell the now painful droning in her ears that appeared to come from the faerie courtiers surrounding them.
She groaned inwardly, wondering what new mischief would spring from this strange chant.
“I suppose that makes us imperfect,” Lord Eastbourne continued even as the hum grew louder. “It’s what we mortals are, stronger than you because of our imperfections. You can’t have Julia. I love her, but she isn’t mine to take either. Release her and let her answer my question honestly. Julia, will you marry me?”
She tried to nod, but even the slightest movement drew the faerie noose tighter about her neck.
“Let her answer, you bastard. What are you afraid of? You and I know what she wishes to say and nothing you do has the power to change it.” He glanced around, turning in a slow circle to pin his gaze on the entire faerie court, openly defiant of any attempt to destroy their bond of love.
Julia felt her head was about to explode from the force of the faerie incantation that grew louder and more intense as Lord Eastbourne pressed on.
“It doesn’t matter, sweetheart. I know you love me,” he continued, turning to face her and bending on one knee even though he had a cracked rib that stabbed with obviously excruciating force. “I pledge my heart and my life to you. I’ll follow wherever he takes you. I won’t ever give up until we can be together.”
As King Cadeyrn raised his fist to cast another lightning bolt at him, the oddest thing suddenly happened. This time, King Cadeyrn was thrown backward, the force of his jolt releasing Julia from his grip. She ran to Lord Eastbourne and melted into his arms, then quickly let go of him when he winced and let out a cry of pain. “You mad fool! I love you,” she said, her voice still rasping from the force of the faerie noose. “How many ribs has he broken? Go, before he kills you! No matter what happens, I’ll always love you. You’ll be in my heart for the rest of my days.”
He laughed, then winced again for each little movement brought him obvious pain. “Julia, look at his courtiers,” he said, taking her trembling hand in his own warm fingers. “Don’t you see what’s happening?”
The tight faerie circle was beginning to unravel, the courtiers’ gaze no longer intently fixed on their human prey, but on their own king. “You’ve failed us,” one of the ebony-haired courtiers accused.
“No!” King Cadeyrn argued as the incantat
ion grew louder but was now trained on him. “They’ve tricked us, don’t you see? We thought they were weak and easily conquered, but they have a magic greater than our own, a magic called love.”
The circle tightened on their king.
“Listen to me!” he insisted. “I didn’t understand before, but love is the only force that will save us from the Dragon Lords!”
The courtiers looked on impassively.
“I command you to obey me! We haven’t much time. Bloodaxe will march upon us with his army at the rise of the next full moon. Our only hope is to capture The Julia before he attacks.”
“Then we must go in search of the true Julia,” another of the faeries said after briefly conferring with several others. She was a slender, regal looking, older faerie who appeared to lead this sort of Fae ruling counsel. “We have little time for this one to teach you about this mortal weapon called love.”
King Cadeyrn nodded. “Release me to return to Friar’s Crag.”
The counsel apparently agreed, for without so much as an acknowledgment or apology to Julia, Charlie, or Lord Eastbourne, the king turned into a raven and flew off. In the next moment, his faerie courtiers disappeared into the soft wind that filled the night air.
Julia suddenly felt as though a great weight had been removed from her wrists and ankles. She glanced around, saw Lord Eastbourne smile at her and she smiled back. Then she glanced at Charlie and a cry caught in her throat, for he was lying motionless on the ground.
She rushed to his side. “Charlie! Oh, please be alive! Speak to me. Can you move?”
The boy opened his eyes and nodded. “I feel so strange, Julia.”
Lord Eastbourne, though struggling with his own injury, helped Charlie to sit up. “Describe it, Charlie.”
“I feel as though parts of me are coming to life.” He wiggled his fingers and toes, then rolled to his feet. As Julia and Lord Eastbourne watched with bated breath, Charlie took his first steps. Julia gasped when he took a little jump, but he landed safely and jumped again. “My legs don’t hurt anymore!”
