Humans would call the Sidhe ‘pretty’, in the ‘deadly rose with sharp thorns’ or ‘angry peacock’ sense. They wore similar finery—long coats embossed in gold, with flowers, feathers and thorns being a popular feature. They generally kept their hair long, and wore elaborate headgear or plants woven into their long tresses. All had the trademark bright green eyes of Summer royalty, and their talismans were equally prominent—swords, crossbows, even an axe or two.
I’d worried a little about River, but he was far from the only half-blood present, and the sheer amount of magic in the air made the half-faeries look almost identical to the Sidhe anyway. He blended in perfectly, in shades of green and gold. His hair glowed, and so did his eyes. God, he was gorgeous. And untouchable, even though I still smelled faintly of his magic from being so close to him during our ride here. Or maybe the hair-raising horse ride and Faerie’s ever-intrusive magic was more to blame. I’d never felt more like a mundane human.
We stepped onto a cobbled path, and I stopped to stare around. The manor was designed more along the lines of a garden than a house, with fountains and statues and tables heaving with faerie dishes. Blood red flowers glowed on the ceiling, gold and white on the walls, and a large tree sat behind it all, which appeared to have merged into the back wall. Doors on the east side led into a courtyard where yet more Sidhe gathered, and a band stood on a wooden stage, playing an eerie melody. My body swayed to it, and part of me wanted to dance, to grab River and press my body close to his again…
Nope. No transforming into wild creatures, no dancing, and definitely no breaking boundaries with River.
Brownies moved amongst the crowd, offering drinks. I glanced over my shoulder to make sure Hazel had Morgan under control. He wore a slightly glazed expression, but the illusion of green eyes cancelled it out. In fairness, I probably looked the same. It was impossible to know where to look to avoid being dazzled by the magic. Piskies flitted around, wearing flowery crowns, while a Sidhe took to the stage in the room’s centre.
“Guests,” the male Sidhe said. “Please welcome the esteemed Lord Niall, master of revels.”
I snorted. “That’s his official title?”
“He does know how to throw a party, I’ll give him that,” Hazel whispered, moving in behind me.
“No kidding,” said Morgan.
A handsome male Sidhe wearing a gold crown on his silver hair stepped to the front of the stage, smiling broadly. He held a glass in his hand, probably containing elf wine. “It’s an honour to host so many of the Summer Court’s finest.”
Sure it is. Which of these Sidhe might have callously sent Mum wandering into the Vale, alone? Did any of them know or care that their immortality no longer existed, and war with Winter might be just around the corner?
“Might there be faerie-necromancers here?” I whispered to the others. “It’s not like the Sidhe would know or care.”
“It’s possible,” River murmured. “However, most half-bloods in the Court are in service to the Sidhe and would never betray them in such a way. They know what fate awaits if they do.”
I tuned into Lord Niall’s speech when applause rose from the crowd.
“Let the festivities begin.” He spoke a few words in an odd tone, like a song or a prayer, and the hair lifted off my head as birds exploded into life from the ceiling, flitting over the crowd. Life magic, creating life.
Morgan shook his head, looking dazed. “What the bloody hell was that?”
“Magic,” I said, equally shaken.
“Yeah,” Hazel said. “What a waste. Invocations are the language of the gods. Most Sidhe don’t dare use them at all, and what does that guy do? Summon a bunch of birds.”
“I didn’t know he planned to do that,” River said. “It was rather foolish and showy.”
“Seems like that’s a running theme with that guy,” I said in a low voice. “Let’s not stay any longer than we need to. We have to find who sent Mum into the Vale.”
“Lady Aiten must be in the crowd somewhere,” River said. “She’s likely to know, even if Lord Niall himself doesn’t.”
He took the lead around the room’s perimeter. I followed, wishing I had an oxygen mask or something so I could inhale without filling my lungs with intoxicating magic. It made it hard to think clearly enough to form a plan, much less focus on the crowd and spot Lady Aiten. On my right, a glass door led out onto a wooden veranda. Eyes glittered from the bushes outside.
“Who are those?” I pointed to them.
“Borderland fae,” River said. “They don’t have invitations. Lady Hornbeam’s soldiers, I’d guess.”
“Who?”
“One of the ruling Sidhe of the borderlands,” River said. “Apparently she has an army. It’s not uncommon. Lord Niall doesn’t, however. I think we can question him if Lady Aiten won’t talk, provided that your siblings remember that those same words he just used can also strip the magic from a person, or drive them to madness.”
“Don’t worry. Hazel might be impulsive but she’s no fool, and she’ll keep Morgan in check.”
A Sidhe I recognised walked past, wearing a scowl at odds with the jubilant atmosphere in the room.
“Oh hey, Lord Raivan,” said Hazel. “Might I ask—?”
“I’m not here to assist humans,” he said icily, and stalked away.
“Wow,” said Hazel. “Someone needs a dose of elf wine.”
“You’re not drinking, are you?” I asked warily, remembering the last faerie event we’d both been to.
“Water.” She held up the glass in her hand. “I don’t think Lord Niall is going to leave the crowd any time soon. Better hope Lady Aiten has something useful to say.”
“She might have been the last person to speak to the Gatekeeper, but she might not necessarily have known about her quest,” River said. “The Sidhe keep as many secrets from each other as they do from everyone else.”
“Maybe, but… damn. I don’t understand why she didn’t give us a clue when she spoke to us before.” Hazel stood on tip-toe, annoyance evident on her features. We Lynns weren’t exactly short, but there wasn’t a Sidhe under six feet tall, and picking out one of them was all but impossible. “Right. I think we should split up—”
“Nope,” said River and I at the same time.
Hazel gave him an irritated look. “Cover one half of the room each. You take care of Ilsa, I’ll watch Morgan.”
“Not after what happened last time,” I said. “You damn near died.”
“What?” said Morgan, appearing to tune into the conversation for the first time.
“That’s irrelevant,” Hazel said. “I’m not drinking, and besides, these people won’t attack the Gatekeeper. Meet you here in ten minutes.”
She grabbed Morgan’s arm and pulled him after her into the crowd.
I groaned. “I should have seen this coming.”
“If she doesn’t drink anything, she’ll be fine,” River said.
“Yeah, got it. How much wine does it actually take to get a Sidhe drunk, anyway?” From what I could see, they were drinking it by the bucket-load. Then again, Sidhe’s metabolisms were faster than humans’. I’d never seen a Sidhe in that condition, which was probably for the best. They didn’t bother to control their magic at the best of times.
“I’ve never thought to ask.” He began to circle the room in the opposite direction to Hazel, and I walked alongside him. Sidhe gathered in groups around the fountain, paying little attention to anything other than their own conversations. A bright green glow drew my attention to the sprawling tree at the back of the room, which gave the illusion that the whole house was alive.
As we passed one of the tables, a group of Sidhe walked past. One of them was the female half-faerie who’d come through Summer’s gate to talk to us before. Tall and slim with olive skin and thick dark hair, she wore an imperious expression. Green shone from her eyes and from the crossbow strapped to her back. There she is.
I’d found the Sidhe who�
�d last seen our mother.
6
I gave River a sideways look. Hazel and Morgan were on the opposite side of the hall, and while I didn’t want to lose sight of our quarry, I didn’t particularly want to draw the attention of her companions either.
On the other hand, Lady Aiten knew about the book, and what I’d used it for.
I took in a deep breath, walking after her. River caught my arm, and I shook my head slightly.
“You’re glamoured,” he murmured. “She won’t know who you are.”
“Most people here are glamoured,” I whispered back. “She’ll catch on that we’re following her eventually.” I didn’t slow, continuing to walk after her and her two Sidhe companions. Maybe the two who’d been with her before, in the mortal realm, maybe not.
“Excuse me?” I said. “Lady Aiten, I’d like to speak to you.”
“I thought I smelled a human.” Her contemptuous tone made me want to peel off my disguise and punch her in the nose, but as Hazel had cast the spell, the most I could do was glare.
“You know me. I’m Gatekeeper.”
“Leave,” she told the others, and the two Sidhe stepped lithely away. “Did you risk your life in the mortal realm for nothing? This is no place for a human.”
“The person who sent my mother into the Vale seemed to think it is. Did you?” I pressed. “I’m told you were the last person to speak to the Gatekeeper before she left.”
“The Gatekeeper did indeed come to inform me that she would be away from her duties for a few weeks. She didn’t say where she was going.”
“But you know—” Dammit, telling the Sidhe here about the book was out of the question. “You know what I did. What she gave me. Mum’s the one who did it, and she’s in danger. We need to find out who sent her on this quest so they can bring her back.”
“That’s not how it works,” she said. “It’s your mother’s duty to serve the Court, as it will be your sister’s duty when her time comes.”
“But—can you at least give me a clue about who’d send her there?”
She gave me an appraising look. “Your mother works for the Court as a whole. All of us have the authority to ask her to help.”
Not all of you. Most of them wouldn’t entrust a human with any task at all, which gave me no clues whatsoever. But what might they need doing that they couldn’t do themselves? That’s the part that confused me. The Sidhe had it all, and what they didn’t have, they could get, with magic. All the Gatekeeper did was keep the peace. So either her mission involved something that would further that goal, or something the Sidhe didn’t already have.
Lady Aiten gave me a last cold look and walked away.
I sighed, turning to River. “Great. Another Sidhe off the list. Where’s our esteemed host?” I looked around and spotted Morgan staggering towards us.
“Do not,” he said. “Do not go behind the curtain over that way unless you want to see what trolls look like naked.”
“Oh god, you’re wasted.”
“I am not.” He fell sideways into the table. “I’ve seen things I cannot unsee.”
Hazel strode up, thankfully looking sober. “Lord Raivan needs to take a swift dive into the fountain. So much for the Sidhe’s exquisite manners.”
“No luck?” I asked.
“We couldn’t find anyone to speak to, so I figured he might give us some direction. He told me to get lost. He’s the wrong person to put in charge of human affairs.”
“Is that his job?” I asked.
“I know why they sent him to meet us,” she said. “It sounds like Lord Raivan was the person who told the Summer Court to vote on whether to let half-bloods enter the territory in order to claim their parentage. They voted to let the half-faeries in, but so many people kicked up a fuss that he ended up being put in charge of dealing with humans for the foreseeable future. He used to be a high-ranking ambassador. Poor thing.”
“But did you learn anything?”
“About Mum? Nope. You?”
“No, but I guessed something,” I said. “The Sidhe… look at them. They have everything they could ever want. So what she’s doing must involve either getting something they don’t have, or something to do with peacekeeping.”
“From what Mum said, not many people even know who we are,” she said. “Except maybe Lord Niall…” She trailed off as the curtain of ivy parted, and a male Sidhe walked past, stark naked.
“Fucking hell,” said Morgan.
“That was Lord Niall,” said Hazel. A thoughtful expression crossed her face.
“You have got to be kidding me,” I said.
Hazel laughed. “The moron actually left his talisman behind.”
“Please don’t,” I said. “Seriously…”
“Well, why not enjoy the party,” said Hazel.
“Because the guests can transform into murderous psychopaths in the blink of an eye?”
I turned to Morgan, only to see him disappearing behind the curtain of ivy.
“Oh, for god’s sake,” I said. “Can one of you conjure up some common sense?”
“I’m going after him. Wait here.” Hazel walked through the ivy curtain. A wave of magic followed in her wake, showing images of Sidhe naked and draped over one another amongst the trees.
“Damn, that’s strong.” I took a step backwards into River, who steadied me. His own eyes were hazy with magic, and pulling away from him felt like yanking the gates of Death closed. “We should probably walk away before we end up naked in the woods. No way will Lord Niall talk to her now.”
“Actually, he seems somewhat distracted.” He stood close to me. Too close. I smoothly stepped back, despite the pull of magic urging me to make terrible decisions. River had deceived me. Even if he was probably the least deceptive person within sight, I couldn’t afford to forget it. “Your sister’s glamour is wearing off. You’re turning human.”
“Shit,” I said, ducking my head, relieved my hair was long and thick enough to hide my non-pointed ears.
“I highly doubt any of the Sidhe in the grove will notice,” he murmured. “But if we stand here any longer, someone might spot you.”
I moved behind him. “There. Nobody can see me.”
“Except me.” And now he was too close again. Where did all the air go?
“You don’t sound like you mind that I look human.”
“I prefer you like this.” His lips were too close to my ear. “You have no idea how much.”
Stop seducing me. I’m angry with you. Was angry. Whichever. Never mind that he’d been driving me insane through sexual frustration for weeks, which didn’t go away after unwelcome revelations.
“I prefer not being lied to,” I said, the words sounding like they came from the human beneath the faerie disguise.
His hand dropped. “I’ve told you the full story. There are no more secrets between us. It’s up to you to decide whether to forgive me or not. The wording of the vow was such that I couldn’t get around it.”
“I know,” I said, my eyes on my feet. “It’s—I want to be angrier with you than I am, because it’d be more productive than being raging mad at the people responsible for this.” I gestured at the room in general. “But that’s why I can’t be angry with you.” It’d help if the faerie magic made it easier to articulate my feelings, rather than intensifying them.
I raised my head to look at his expression. His faerie-bright eyes were a combination of surprise and something else I couldn’t place. “I deceived you. That’s a fairly essential part of being Sidhe.”
I shrugged one shoulder. “So is not having any sense of ethics. I’d rather save all my grudges for the dicks who messed with my family.”
“Speaking of… maybe we should check on Hazel or Morgan.”
“I was trying not to think about whether either of my siblings is screwing the guy we’re meant to be interrogating. But you’re right.” What if Hazel had pushed too far and pissed off the host, or Morgan’s disguise had worn off
like mine had and he’d been caught by the Sidhe? “Ready to hold your breath?”
I pushed through the ivy, and magic hit me like a hammer to the skull. Hazy greenness filtered across my vision, stirring my senses, caressing my skin like a soft breeze. Right away, I spotted Morgan lip-locked with a silver-haired male who was either half-blood or Sidhe. “Wow. That magic is strong. Morgan doesn’t even like faeries.”
I more or less swayed onto the nearest path, River close behind me.
“Hazel?” I called. More trees passed by. More Sidhe in various stages of undress. Heat pulsed in the air and my glamoured clothes felt uncomfortably warm.
“There she is.” River pointed. Hazel had her arms entwined around another Sidhe. I couldn’t tell whether or not it was Lord Niall.
“Great.” I looked away. “Which way is back?” The forest all looked the same. Left… we’d come from the right hand side. I walked that way, swaying, and River caught my hand.
I didn’t know when I stopped walking and started kissing him, only that I couldn’t stop. His hands were all over me, touching every inch of skin they could get at, and I wished I’d gone for a more revealing outfit after all. I gasped as his thumbs stroked my hips through layers of cloth, strong hands pulling me tight against him. A jolt of sheer wanting went straight to my core, and I shivered with pleasure as he nipped at the skin of my neck, then my ear. Every inch of my skin flushed from his touch as I drew his mouth to mine. I wound a hand into the curls of his hair, and the smell of his earthy magic made my nerves ignite.
“You’re exquisite,” he whispered, running his hands over my breasts underneath the thin fabric of my shirt.
My nipples tightened under his touch. “I want you.”
His breath hitched as my hand brushed against his erection. “Not here.”
“I don’t see why not.” This type of magic only amplified the feelings already there, and every inch of me wanted him.
I sucked in another breath, and choked on the sudden smell of decay. Beneath the magic, something rotted, and a chill breeze broke through the intoxicating warmth.
It smelled of the dead.
The Gatekeeper's Curse- The Complete Trilogy Page 49
