Hugh flew in a circle, gradually moving closer and closer to one of the hall columns. Tania grabbed his arm inches from impact, jerking him higher, out of harm’s way. Below them Lucien screamed and she heard his slave arguing with him. Tania could do nothing for the woman. If she were to save her, Mia would only be returned to Lucien when he wanted her back.
Tania felt heat approaching and pushed Hugh out of the line of Lucien’s fire. Flames shot past them. He kicked in the air and she imagined he was having a hard time controlling his new wings.
“Hugh, look at me.” Tania took both of his hands in hers, sending her power through him to help him transform to a miniature size. He did, poofing into smaller form. “Now, do not think, just fly.”
“I do not like this.” Thomas tethered Hugh’s horse to his. He looked around the forest where they’d found the mount. None of them could detect any sign that the earl had gone into the trees, only the fact that he wasn’t there.
Nicholas’ mount had been hiding in the forest and appeared after their calls. William and Thomas searched in the direction it came from, but found nothing.
“We cannot leave without Hugh.” Thomas looked at William.
“Merrick,” Ladon said.
“Do not start that again,” William answered, “though it is better than ‘blood’. What was that about anyway?”
“Ean and Merrick are my blood,” Ladon explained.
“Ah,” William said, nodding. “Methought you meant blood-blood, not family blood.”
“Morbid,” Ladon said.
“Aye,” William agreed.
“Was Merrick here?” Thomas interrupted. “Do you sense him?”
“Nay, but I must see him,” Ladon said.
“I am not going anywhere without my brother,” Thomas said.
“He is not here,” the elf assured him. “He is gone. We had best be gone too. There is nothing we can do here.”
“I am not leaving without him.” Thomas didn’t care if Ladon was a blessed prince. He wasn’t about to leave Hugh behind. “So if you want to see Merrick, you had better help us find Hugh.”
“What about your sister?” Ladon tried to appear calm, but Thomas saw his eyes darting to the side in apprehension. “Merrick can help you find both of them. We need to go.”
“He could be right,” William said. “We looked through the forest. There is no sign. Most likely they were pulled through a portal of some sort.”
“Fine,” Thomas grumbled. “But this is one game I am tired of playing.”
Tania led Hugh from the Fire Palace into the forest. She flew as fast as she could, careful not to dart too quickly around passing tree limbs. Hugh was still too new to his wings to control where he flew.
“I want to go by ground,” Hugh said, sounding weak.
She glanced back. His face was pale and his eyes were rolling in his head. He looked as if he was about to be sick. Tania slowed her pace, leading him to perch on a branch.
“What has happened to me?” He flapped on his wings hard, wincing slightly as he was pulled back by them. She darted forward to keep him from falling over the side. “I feel different, light. Everything is so large.”
Tania followed his gaze up. She was used to changing her size, but could see how the gigantic forest might be unsettling to him. A bird swooped to land on the branch behind him. The animal was the same size as they were. Hugh jerked around to face it, reaching for his waist as if he’d find a sword.
“Shoo.” Tania motioned to the bird. The creature again took to flight.
“What is happening?” he asked again.
“You have turned.” She was afraid he wouldn’t be happy with the change. “My love has turned you. I promise you will get used to them.”
“Is there a way to get rid of them? I cannot let my brothers see me like this.” Hugh reached behind him, turning on the branch. Then, as if noticing his wobbly position for the first time, he looked over the side and stiffened. He grabbed his stomach. “I would much rather be on the ground. Man is not meant to be so high in the air.”
“Hugh, I am sorry.” She reached for him. His eyes met hers. “But, I promise to find a way to get you back to Bellemare. I know you have to go and find your family. I know you have to get them safely back to Bellemare. And do not worry about the wings. I’ll help you cast a glamour over yourself. No one will see them.”
“Tania,” he tried to break in, his voice strained.
“I understand now,” she tried to say everything she wanted to, “but you cannot go with them. I am sorry. You will die if you go back there. I cannot heal you of the affliction Lucien’s demon cast upon you. I am so…”
Tania sobbed, unable to continue.
“Tania—” Hugh grabbed her by the arms and pulled her forward to his chest. She clung to him and the trees stirred.
“But Merrick might have a way.” She wondered why she hadn’t thought of it before. She felt better than she had since meeting Hugh and her head was clear. “Aye, Merrick. I am sure he will be able to do something. The forest whispers that he has a very powerful witch in his dungeons. She can bring the dead back to life. If anyone can do something—”
“Tania,” Hugh tried again.
“I know, you have to go find them,” she cut him off. “I will send you to the Black Palace, to Juliana. I am sorry for all of this, for hurting you, but I did it because I love you.”
“Tania,” he said louder. “I love you, too. I do not blame you and I am sorry for not understanding why you did what you did. I do now. I love you.”
“Oh.” She made a weak noise of pleasure.
Hugh opened his mouth as if to continue speaking, but instead drew her forward into a deep kiss. She melted into his arms, her knees weakening. Suddenly, Hugh jerked back with a gasp. She opened her eyes only to realize they’d fallen off the high limb and were wildly plummeting through the air. Tania quickly righted them, helping him to the ground.
The forest wind picked up and she listened to the trees. “The forest is telling me you must go. Now. Lucien may follow us and your family needs you.”
“I am sorry for leaving you,” he said. “I am sorry I did not take you gently your first time in my bed. I did not know you were—”
“You do not have to say it. You saved me and my people.” A tear slid over her cheek. She didn’t want to let him go, but he didn’t belong here. He loved Bellemare too much and there was nothing she could give him to compare to that. “Let me now do the same for you. Come, there is a faery ring over here. It will take you to the Black Palace.”
“There is so much we still need to say.”
“I do not feel like we have time.” Tania led him to a small ring of dark grass on the ground. “I need to get back to my palace. My faeries need me and your family needs you.”
“You are right. I have to save them.” His eyes didn’t leave her as he searched her face. “I have to make sure they are unharmed. William and Thomas were left in the forest and Merrick refused to let Thomas see Juliana. Then there are the horses—”
“Mmm, nay, worry not about the last foal. I will send my ladies to watch over it. They will assure it is safe, if it has not been born already.”
“I have been thinking. If we take some of the elfin stock with us, I am sure I can still save the line. It might take a few generations, but we will get it back.”
“You have to go, my love.” Tania tilted her head, gazing up at him, her eyes glowing with all the longing in her heart. “I understand you have to go back. Bellemare, the horses, your people, they need you.”
“Duty always beckons.” He touched her cheek. “And we as leaders must submit to its will.”
“It would seem there is never time for us, is there?” Tania gave a small, sad laugh.
“I am sorry, but—”
“You are right, you have been right. I understand that now, Hugh. I did not think about it before. I never realized how much my faeries depend upon me until I watched them fall a
part as I lay dying. They could not find any to take my place. I am all the faeries have. Without me the magic dies.” Tania had grown used to their neediness, so much so she didn’t realize how much they’d been draining her, how lonely she’d been. No wonder she’d been drawn to Hugh. He didn’t need her, never had. “Honor and duty demands we do what we must, but the sacrifice seems too great this time. Regardless the loss, we are both forced, are we not? But if you could decide, if Bellemare did not need you, would you choose to stay with me?”
“Aye,” he answered without hesitation. “I would. I will. I will come back for you, Tania, I promise. This time I will come back.”
She gave a short laugh. “I have been told that before.”
“I’ll be back,” Hugh swore, pulling her to his mouth. He kissed her deeply, as if he’d never let her go. She wanted to live in that moment, the moment when the purity of their love was so strong it raced in her blood and beat his name in her heart.
Hugh. Hugh. Hugh…
Tania shivered, looking up as he broke the kiss. She wanted to believe him, but she knew this time she could forgive him if he didn’t make it back to her. She pulled a stray hair off his tunic and wrapped it around her finger to keep it so that she may watch him from the sacred pool. “The trees urge you to hurry. It grows colder. Lucien leaves his palace.” She glanced at her skirt, grabbed the hem and tore a small piece of material off. Then, grabbing her wing, she shook magic off it into the cloth. Tania made a satchel and handed it to Hugh. “Shake this and think of growing to your normal height. It will help you.” Then, saying a few ancient words, she motioned her hand over him. His wings disappeared. “That will keep your wings from view and use until someone takes the glamour off.”
Hugh reached behind him. “I cannot feel them.”
“They are there,” she assured him. “Just hidden.”
Tania leaned toward the small faery ring, pressed her hand in the middle of the magical circle and hummed softly as she thought of Merrick’s palace. A soft white mist came out of the ring like fog. The queen stood and faced Hugh, lightly kissing him. She wanted to hold him forever, but there was more to the world than just the two of them.
“Find your family,” she told him, firmly pushing him into the middle of the ring. The fog swallowed him, taking him to the Black Palace. “See them safe.”
Chapter Eleven
Hugh didn’t want to leave Tania, but he had no choice. He promised himself that when his family was safe, he’d go to her and figure out what was between them. Love for her flowed through him, ending the torment he’d felt in his soul, squelching the anger he’d carried since meeting her, easing the frustration. But with the love came another fear—a fear he’d been carrying but was now magnified until it gripped his heart.
Whatever had happened in Lucien’s hall had connected him, made him understand her, as clearly as his own thoughts. She never meant to hurt him.
As he came out of the fog, he clutched the satchel Tania gave him to his chest. Though the blue of moonlight, he looked around, unable to see past giant stone walls that ran along both of his sides, trapping him in a narrow valley. Beneath him, two lighter gray lines faded into the darker stone. They arched away from him, as if forming a circle whose sides were hidden beneath the stone walls.
Hugh tucked the satchel into his tunic shirt. Slowly, he climbed up one jagged cliff, using the narrow outcropping of rocks for footing. The hard rock scraped his hands as he pulled himself up. His flesh stung, but he didn’t care. He’d get a better view from the top. It took some time, but he finally made it, pulling himself over the edge onto solid ground.
Out of the corner of his eye, he detected a moving column. Only after looking intently at it, did he realize it was a blade of grass swaying back and forth in the gentle breeze, silhouetted by the light of the moon. He was still small in stature, a fact that continued to make him uneasy. Hugh was not a small man by nature, but now he felt like a field mouse lying in wait for the falcon to swoop down.
Without wings—wings he didn’t really know how to use anyway—he couldn’t easily move over the clumps of earth that formed a wide path of churned dirt. Trees towered over him like impossibly high castles.
Taking the satchel, he did what Tania instructed. As soon as the dust of her magic sprinkled his flesh, the sound of her laughter washed over him. He caught the smell of her on the breeze and closed his eyes, aching to hold her, really hold her. He could feel the gentle brush of her body in the wind.
Hugh didn’t want the sensation to end, but as it lightened, he was forced to open his eyes. The world was as it should be, of normal proportions. He was right where Tania said he would be. The ominous lines of the Unblessed King’s palace stood like a blight against the darkened sky. Along the top, spires twisted and curled like a knotted limb reaching for the heavens. He was finally there.
Lucien’s soul burned with rage. Hugh and Tania? How? He’d been so careful, waiting for the perfect moment to act, watching as all his plans unfolded.
He had taken Sir Nicholas’ soul so the earl could see, so he would know the true power of the Damned King. Next, he watched as Hugh went to Queen Tania. When he saw how the mortal did care for the faery queen, he made sure to reveal the true cause of Tania’s darkening nature, knowing the earl would feel guilt. Lucien never imagined the earl’s love would be strong enough to bring her back, but had bet on guilt making Hugh trade him for her life and soul. If that didn’t work, he’d let her die and he would have the faeries’ powers on his side to help him cross over whenever he wanted and to bring the mortals to him so that his demon army could be born. Eventually, Hugh would have crumbled and made a pact to go back home—once the demons invaded Bellemare and threatened all he loved.
“At least without me, he can never go back to his precious home.” Lucien had underestimated Lord Bellemare once again. He was strong and honorable. It made the Damned King want him more.
Lucien snarled, slowly letting his gaze travel up the large fire in the center pit of his hall to where Mia levitated, ready to be dropped into the flames. The stone columns had stretched out to hold her, wrapping her legs and trapping her arms to her chest. Another band went over her mouth, keeping her from talking as it pressed tight against her. All it would take was one small direction of his power and she’d be dead.
He couldn’t do it.
Summonsing a small blue demon, he threw fire at the creature as soon as it appeared, killing it. He didn’t feel better. Mia’s feet kicked, but she couldn’t get loose. Anger burned inside him at her deceit. How dare she help Lord Bellemare! How dare she keep betraying him!
Lucien willed the stone to bring her to him as he stood from the throne. It moved silently through the air, growing as it drew her forward. He was dressed, one of the rare times he allowed himself to be clothed. The long, red jacket covered his naked chest, held together with cross-lacing down the front, only to swing open around his legs. The red breeches were low on the hip and tight.
When Mia was held before him, her face level with his, her body parallel to the floor, he grabbed her jaw and pried her head back so she was forced to look at him. He stared into her wide, violet eyes, soaking in her betrayal.
“You conflict me, Mia.” He didn’t let the stone band off her mouth. He didn’t want to hear her voice, not now. “I give you everything and you continually betray me. I know it was you that freed William and Ladon, and now you help Lord Bellemare and Queen Tania escape.”
Her eyes widened at the admission.
“I told you, Mia, I know everything you do. I knew as you gave yourself to me, scraping my flesh and drinking of my blood.” The demon was burning in his eyes and he didn’t even try to stop it from taking over him. Lucien hoped the demonic rage would kill her, for he could not. The more she betrayed him, the more he wanted her. It was her defiance that made his blood quicken.
“And it is her treachery that will be your undoing,” a small voice said behind him. “You must tak
e better control of her. She will destroy you if you let her continue without restriction.”
Lucien didn’t need to look to know Anja was there. He must have unwittingly summonsed her to him.
“Is the chance to create an army lost?” He stared at Mia.
“The loss of the faery magic is unfortunate. Your greed for Lord Bellemare has set back our plan,” Anja said.
“Do not lecture me, soothsayer,” Lucien ordered. The fortune teller giggled innocently, a sound that sent chills over him.
“As you wish, my king.” Anja skipped around the floor, going beneath Lucien’s prone captive, only to climb up a curve in the stone that held Mia in place. She walked along, her arms out to the side to keep balance as she made her way toward the ceiling. As she neared the column feeding the stone path, she turned, sat and then slid back down to the floor.
“Anja, quit playing games,” Lucien ordered.
“Huh.” She pouted, sticking out her lip as she jumped down off the stone. “Then let me go back down to the prisons and make me an arc like this one. You never give me gifts anymore.”
“I give you plenty, soothsayer.”
“What about her?” Anja pointed at Mia. “Can I have her? I promise not to kill her. She cannot die, not yet.”
Lucien considered it. Anja’s eyes looked greedily at Mia.
“Aye,” he said. “Mayhap some time in your care will teach her to behave.”
Mia tried to scream, but the sound was weak. She thrashed about. Lucien kissed her forehead, whispering, “You brought this on yourself, sweet nymph.”
The stone pulled her, yanking her back into the column. It sucked her into its depth, swallowing her into the bowels of his palace. Anja disappeared with a giggle. Lucien lifted his chin and strode from the hall. Tonight he would sleep alone.
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