by Chloe Hart
And still she couldn’t do it.
But she couldn’t let the Dark Fae know that. They respected strength, not weakness.
She turned her back on Edrik and walked towards Navril.
“My anger towards this princeling has been assuaged in combat. It is enough that I have denied him his victory, and the execution of the vampire. Therefore, I choose not to shed royal blood. Please accept my decision as a mark of my regard for the house of Andon.”
The arena was so quiet she could hear the cry of a hawk high up in the sky. Cheering had erupted when Edrik had handed her his knife, but now the excited buzz of conversation fell into silence.
Navril rose to her feet. But before she could say a word, her expression changed from cool regality to sudden shock.
Instinct made Jessica spin around and dodge to her left, but she was too late to evade Edrik completely. He tackled her to the ground and pinned her arms to her sides with his knees, getting his hands around her throat and squeezing.
Her head swam and her vision went black. In another second she’d be unconscious.
She heard a howl of rage through the roaring in her ears. And then, thank God, Edrik was off of her. She coughed and gasped for breath as her eyes opened, and she was in time to see Hawk drive a knife through Edrik’s heart.
He was in vamp face, his expression utterly feral as he withdrew the knife and watched Edrik collapse slowly to the ground.
Then he pulled her to her feet. “There’s only one portal stone left. Liz has it. We have to hang on until she can reach us.”
“A vampire is in our midst!” Navril cried out in a voice like thunder. “Treachery!”
Hawk handed her a knife. “Back to back,” he said, as if they’d been fighting together forever.
She turned to face whatever was coming, feeling a fierce joy in the knowledge that Hawk was behind her, ready to face it with her. Then she got another shock.
Liz was coming towards them through the crowd, cutting a swath through the Dark Fae as she fought to get to Hawk and Jessica. With her were half a dozen other Green Fae warriors, men Jessica had fought beside all her life.
She didn’t have time to wonder what they could be doing here. Because the first of the Dark Fae was upon her now, and she had her hands full.
She cut down the first man to face her, and then pressed the attack to her next opponent.
She heard Hawk snarl, and the warrior he was fighting gave a scream. The clash of metal blades and the grunts and shouts of battle were all around them.
And then she saw a Dark Fae warrior drive a sword into one of the Green Fae. Jessica cried out as she watched him stagger.
“We can’t keep this up for long. We’re too badly outnumbered. Liz has to go without us.”
“She’ll never do that. But you can try telling her.”
Jessica parried a blow from her opponent and then kicked upwards, into his groin. He doubled over and she shouted, “Liz! Get the hell out of here!”
And then another voice was calling out over the crowd. “Jessica!”
It was Kel. She turned her head and saw him standing at the top of the stairs, above the fray, with something in his hand. Mary was beside him. “Catch!” he cried out, and she reached up her hand in time to intercept the object he threw at her.
A portal stone.
“Liz!” she shouted as she delivered another kick to her opponent, this one to his head. “Liz, go! We have a portal!”
She couldn’t tell if Liz had heard her or not. But Liz could see her. If they teleported, Liz would know it was okay for them to go, too.
They couldn’t leave without Mary. But how could they get to her when it was all they could do just to hold their ground?
“Go!” Kel shouted down to her, and she noticed for the first time that he had another stone in his hand. In the next instant he and Mary disappeared.
There was nothing more to wait for. Jessica spun around and grabbed Hawk’s arm. Then she touched the portal stone, and they were gone.
Once again the journey left her dizzy and disoriented, but this time the feeling only lasted a few seconds. And during those seconds, Hawk wrapped his arms around her and hugged her tight.
She could have stayed like that forever.
Chapter Fourteen
When she felt the world coalesce around them again, she lifted her head from Hawk’s shoulder to see where they were.
They were in her mother’s bedroom, and it was full of people.
Celia was kneeling on the floor beside a spellcaster’s bier. She looked pale and exhausted. Evan was standing beside her, one hand on her shoulder. Herbs were smoking, and the scent of fennel and anise hung in the air.
The scent of absinthe.
She caught a glimpse of Kel and Mary, and Liz and Jack and the other Green Fae who’d been with them. Other people were there, too, but before she could identify them all Hawk was leading her away, towards her mother’s bathroom.
He sat her down on the velvet settee beside the tub. Then he tugged the soft tunic over her head, leaving her in her cotton bra. He cursed when the sleeve stuck to the blood on her shoulder.
“It’s not deep,” she told him as he went to the sink to hold a towel under the hot water.
He shot her a dark look. “I wish he was still alive, so I could kill him again.”
He knelt at her feet as he used the towel to sponge away the dried blood. Then he tossed the towel aside and pressed his mouth to the wound.
Sensation pulsed through her. With every sweep of his tongue, a dart of pleasure pierced her belly.
After a minute he pulled away, frowning as he studied her shoulder. Jessica looked down, too, and saw that the slice was clean and had begun to close, although the edges were still ragged.
“There’s nothing more I can do,” he muttered. “This needs stitches, or a healing spell.”
“Hawk. Kiss me.”
Now he turned his frown on her. “You’re injured. We have to—”
She slid off the settee so she was straddling his waist. Then she threw her good arm around his neck and pressed her lips to his.
He held out for half a second before he wrapped his arms around her and slid his tongue into her mouth. And for the next few minutes, the world fell away.
The sound of a throat clearing broke the spell, and Jessica looked up to see Yana standing in the doorway, a gray sweatshirt over one arm. “I thought you might need this,” she said drily.
Hawk rose to his feet. “She needs a healing spell, too.”
Yana nodded. She held up her hand and chanted, and after a minute Jessica felt her flesh begin to knit together.
When the spell was finished, Yana handed her the sweatshirt. Jessica pulled it on as she got to her feet.
“Thank you,” she said. “But, Yana—what are you doing here? And those Green Fae warriors—what are they doing here?” she turned to Hawk. “Why were they with you and Liz in the Dark Fae realm?”
It was Yana who answered the question. “Jack had a few words with them…and with me.”
Her head was spinning. “But…does that mean…you believed him? A vampire?”
Yana’s eyes glinted. “Do you think I care about the medium when the message is truth?”
“But you acted against the queen’s wishes. On the word of a vampire and a sixteenth-blood Fae.”
“Jack and Liz are as true as steel, and I would trust them with my life. As for Talia…” Yana shook her head. “I haven’t felt certain of her in some time. And when I saw her reaction when Celia first came to us, I knew something was very wrong. I just didn’t know what.”
“Where is my mother now?”
Yana nodded towards the door. “In there. Under guard. She’s being held on charges of treason.”
Jessica felt the blood drain from her face. She moved towards the door but Hawk was there first, putting his hand on the knob and his arm around her waist.
“Please don’t stop me. I have to see her
.”
“I’m not trying to stop you. I just want to go with you.”
She looked up at him, and then at Yana. “All right,” she said. Then she opened the door.
Her mother was on the opposite side of her bedroom, surrounded by Green Fae. Jessica crossed the space between them slowly, forcing herself not to look away when Talia saw her for the first time.
The first person to break the silence was Hawk.
“Liz found out some things when she was in the Dark Fae realm. The attack Navril planned for the winter solstice—she never really called it off. Her plans to invade Earth were going forward, secretly. Only a few in Navril’s inner circle knew that. Kel didn’t. Your engagement with him was arranged to fool the Earth Fae into thinking that everything was all right. Into thinking that the ‘truce’ your mother and Navril agreed to is real.”
Talia’s eyes flashed to him. “If you speak one more word to my daughter you will die in such agony as none of your kind has ever imagined.”
Jessica continued to stare at her mother as Hawk put his hand on her shoulder. She knew something bad was coming.
“Your mother knew.”
Jessica breathed in through the sudden pain in her chest. “What do you mean?”
“Talia and Navril have been planning this for more than a year. In exchange for turning traitor to her own people, and betraying the humans she’s sworn to protect, Navril promised Talia that she could rule over the new ‘province’ of Earth.”
You can’t have both love and power. You must choose between them.
Jessica bit her lip until she tasted blood. Talia was breathing hard, and for the first time in Jessica’s life she looked hunted.
“You sold your soul for power,” Jessica said. “You sold me for power.”
“That’s a lie,” Talia hissed. “This creature didn’t tell you what Navril promised for you. You and Kel will be heirs to both our thrones. Do you understand? You will rule over a kingdom that spans two dimensions, with an army of demons to do your bidding. Navril has been training them for decades.”
“Torturing them for decades, you mean.”
Talia’s head whipped around to look at Kel, who had come up beside them.
“You’ll never go against your mother. You’re not such a fool.”
“I didn’t want to go against her,” Kel said. His voice was low, and Jessica heard self-loathing in it. “For years I’ve been fooling myself, thinking I could change her mind and her heart. And so I appeased her. I colluded with her in the torture and starvation that passes for ‘training’ among the demon races in my realm. I went along with all her plans, including my engagement to your daughter, even though I was in love with another woman.”
Talia focused on Mary for the first time. “You,” she said, her voice full of hate.
Mary trembled, and for a moment Jessica thought she was afraid.
But as soon as Mary spoke, Jessica knew the emotion she was feeling wasn’t fear.
It was anger.
“When you had Deirdre in custody, you found out what she was doing. That was the first time you made contact with Navril, wasn’t it?”
Talia said nothing. After a moment, Mary continued. “You could have stopped it. Instead, you told Navril you would turn a blind eye to the kidnapping and sale of vampires. And that was the beginning of your alliance with her—an alliance you kept secret from your own people.”
Talia looked at Jessica. “What did it matter if a few vampires were sold to the Dark Fae? They’re animals, and you know it. Worse than animals. You’ve killed vampires yourself.” She turned to Kel. “Your Highness, think of what you’re doing. This demon has bewitched you. Are you going to live in exile with her for the rest of your life?”
“I would have,” he said quietly. “But Mary and I are going back to my world.”
Jessica gasped. “Kel, you can’t do that. You’ll both be killed.”
“Even if you’re not, my sister will be,” Hawk said. “You can’t take her back there.”
Mary looked at her brother. “I want to go. We want to do what we should have done ten years ago. We’re going to join the rebel forces, and fight to overthrow Navril. We came here only to say goodbye, because we may never see you again.”
“But…if you really mean to go…why can’t we see you again? We can travel through the portal,” Jessica said. “Or you can travel here.”
“No,” Hawk said. “We can’t.”
“Why not?”
Liz had been kneeling down next to Celia, talking with her in a low voice. Now she stood up. “Because we’re closing the portals. All of them. There will be no more travel between our dimensions.”
Talia let out a scream. “Are you mad? You can’t do that! You’ll destroy our power forever. We’ll become no better than humans.”
“Apparently we’re not any better,” Liz said, looking at Talia with loathing in her eyes. “I think you’ve established that pretty effectively. But Celia’s uncovered a lot of information in the last two days, with some help from Hawk’s contact and some ancient texts we thought were lost. If the portals are closed, our powers won’t diminish—as long as we maintain the absinthe herbs.”
“And what about your beloved vampires? What will happen to them?”
Celia spoke for the first time. “Nothing. You were wrong about that, Talia—or else you were lying. You’re good at that. But I found out something about vampires in one of those old texts. Apparently, the Dark Fae realm is not the only source of demonic energy in the universe. There are others.”
Jessica could see by Talia’s expression that this news came as a surprise.
“Other sources? What are they?” she asked sharply.
Celia shook her head. “I don’t know. There’s a lot we don’t know about demons in this world, and about supernatural energy. But we do know one thing. Once this ritual is complete, the Dark Fae will never threaten us again.” She turned her back on Talia and looked at Kel and Mary. “It’s time,” she said.
Mary nodded, and then threw her arms around Hawk.
“Goodbye, big brother.”
“I can’t believe I’m going to lose you again,” he murmured, hugging her back. “I’ve only just found you.”
“You’re not losing me,” she said, pulling away and giving him a tremulous smile. “I’ll always be in your heart, as you will be in mine.”
She turned to Jessica, who held out her hand.
“No, no,” Mary said, shaking her head. “No hand shaking between sisters.” She hugged Jessica hard. “You saved my life, and you brought Kel and me together. I owe you more than I could ever repay. My brother is so lucky to have you.”
“I’m the lucky one.”
Then it was Kel’s turn. He shook Hawk’s hand, and Hawk spoke in a low voice. “Take care of my sister.”
Kel nodded. “I will.” Then he looked at Jessica. “I honor you beyond words,” he said. “If I hadn’t already given my heart when I met you, I…” There was a very faint growl from Hawk, and Kel glanced at him out of the corner of his eye. “…would have suffered pangs of jealousy watching you with your true love. Goodbye, Jessica.”
“Goodbye, Kel. And good luck. I wish we could help you.”
“There are difficult times ahead for us, but we have each other. At last.”
He took Mary’s hand again, and the two of them went to stand before the mirror. Then they walked forward…and were gone.
“All right,” Celia said. “We’re ready to close it.” She looked at Yana, who stepped forward to speak to Talia.
“It’s time for you to choose. Will you accept exile to the Dark Fae realm, or will you stay on Earth and stand trial for your crimes?”
Talia’s face was livid. “There will be no trial. I am still your queen. I—”
Yana shook her head. “No, Talia. You’re not.” Her eyes went to the Green Fae guards who surrounded her. “No Fae will follow you now. Your reign is over.”
Then s
he turned to Jessica. “Your Highness,” she said, and dropped to one knee.
Instantly the other Green Fae did the same. “Your Highness,” they all said.
A cold hand squeezed Jessica’s heart. “Wait a minute. Wait. I can’t be queen. I hate politics. I hate court. I—”
“You’ll be the best queen our people have ever known,” Yana said. She rose to her feet and turned to Talia again. “It’s time. Decide.”
Talia looked at Jessica, and her eyes were pleading. “Don’t let this happen. Don’t do this to me. You’re my daughter, you know I would never do anything to hurt you.”
“And what about the human beings of Earth? The people we’re sworn to protect?”
Talia’s face twisted. “Yes, and they’re ever so worthy of our protection, aren’t they? These humans have perpetrated more violence and cruelty than any demons ever could. I was born more than a hundred years ago—I remember Hiroshima and Nagasaki. I remember Dachau and Bergen-Belsen. And you’re old enough to remember Darfur and Rwanda and the Twin Towers. Don’t you see? Don’t any of you see? They don’t deserve to be free—free to destroy. We should rule over this world, Jessica! You and I. With Navril’s help, we can wipe the slate clean on this miserable planet and start again. We can create a world worth protecting.”
“A world like the Dark Fae realm?” Hawk asked. “Where demons and dissenters are penned like cattle and forced to fight for the entertainment of the ruling class?”
“Don’t speak to me again, filth.”
“Don’t speak to him again. You’re not fit to wipe his boots.” Jessica turned to the guards. “Since my mother refuses to choose, we must choose for her. She will stand trial here, on Earth. Take her now to—”
Suddenly Celia gasped. “The Dark Fae have figured out what we’re doing. They’re trying to come through, to stop the ritual. I’ve got to complete it now!”
She knelt down by the bier again, chanting words in a language Jessica didn’t know. Evan crouched in front of her with a knife, watching the mirror.
And now they could all see. The mirror no longer reflected the room, but showed instead a chamber in Navril’s fortress. And coming towards them were Dark Fae warriors, every one holding a sword in one hand and a chain in the other—and on the end of the chains, a demon. Demons of every shape and variety but all feral.
