The Castle of Earth and Embers (Briarwood Reverse Harem Book 1)

by Steffanie Holmes

  15

  MAEVE

  There!” Flynn gestured triumphantly at a small mound in the middle of a field, just beyond a low stone wall that marked the easternmost boundary of Briarwood.

  “It’s a hill.” I frowned, leaning against the wall and struggling to catch my breath. I’d followed Flynn across the entire Briarwood estate, down behind the sculpted gardens teaming with tourists, through the thick hedge of wild roses that gave the castle its name, down through the back fields and across the edge of a tiny wood. He skipped over the uneven ground with ease, his long legs making light work of the distance, while I huffed and fumbled along behind him.

  I wish I’d thought to bring a drink. I’ll have to get a lot fitter if I want to pass the physical to join the space program.

  “That’s not a hill.” Flynn threw up his arms, as if he was totally exasperated by me. But he was grinning. “By the Mother Mary, it’s a sidhe – an ancient burial mound. These sidhe are scattered all over the United Kingdom and Ireland. Every one of them is an entry and exit point to the Fae kingdom, although most have been blocked off with magic so the fae can’t use them.”

  “Who’s buried inside?”

  “We don’t know. The grave was robbed many years ago. It’s probably some ancient king of the Aes Sídhe. That’s what the fairies call themselves. Their race ruled over England before the humans arrived with their weapons of iron and pushed them all into the realm of Tir Na Nog, which I only remember because it’s also the name of our fair pub.” He grinned at me as he plopped down in the long grass behind the wall, pulled a paper bag filled with candy from his pocket, and offered me a piece. “See? Practical research. This is better than a stuffy old book.”

  I accepted a hard ball covered with sugar, and popped it into my mouth. I can’t believe I’m looking at a wormhole into the multiverse. It looks just like a pile of dirt to me. “If this is where the fae cross over into our world, can we walk through it and go into their realm—omigod.”

  My taste buds screamed in protest. The candy was so sour it turned my mouth inside out. I spat it out in the grass in disgust, and Flynn burst out laughing.

  “You’ve got to be careful with boiled sweets. Some of them have a mighty bite. And as for the portal, we can’t get near it,” Flynn said. “Just as they can’t pass through the castle grounds, so we cannot pass through the door into their world. If you and I were to walk into the sidhe, all we’d see is an empty chamber.”

  Interesting. So the wormhole will only transport matter based on certain parameters. What differentiates a fae from a human, based on matter? Surely for them to function in our universe they must contain the same electrons?

  “So the fae come and go from this same point? They can move both ways through the wormhole—”

  “Get down.”

  Flynn’s voice changed. He threw his arm around my shoulders and shoved me into the grass, laying his body down beside me. I tried to lift my head to see what he’d seen, but Flynn pushed my head down. My ears pricked, the hairs on my arms standing on end. Flynn’s skin was warm and soft against mine. My breath hitched.

  What’s going on?

  Flynn inched closer, and flattened some of the grass in front of the wall. There was a gap in the stones wide enough for us to see through. He pointed at something in the field below.

  Two green-cloaked men wandered across the field, heading toward the hill… sorry, the sidhe. They carried a small lump in their hands wrapped in blankets.

  “Stay right here,” Flynn whispered. “Don’t make a sound.”

  Before I could ask him what the hell was going on, he’d leapt over the wall and raced toward the figures.

  16

  MAEVE

  My breath caught as I watched Flynn stroll across the field toward the fae. Something told me this was very, very dangerous. I remembered last night that it had taken all the guys working together to take down our attackers. At least these guys were Seelie – I remembered that the Summer Court wore green, and weren’t generally antagonistic.

  I can’t believe I’m sitting here, acting like this fae nonsense is real. But even so, I shuffled closer and pressed my entire face into the wall. Flynn slowed his pace, stepping in front of the two figures. He held out his hand.

  The fae looked up. The one holding the bundle stepped back, while the first leaned forward, hissing through his long, sharp teeth.

  “Stay away, human,” The fae hissed, loud enough so I could hear. “You are forbidden to prevent us from accessing the gate.”

  Flynn shrugged. “Maybe I’m a rebel. Maybe I don’t care about the rules. What have you got in the bundle?”

  “A little gift for the fae king,” the first fae replied.

  Flynn grabbed for the bundle. The first fae leapt in front of him, snapping and snarling. Flynn waved his hand in front of the fae’s mouth.

  “Cor, you need some breath mints! You smell fouler than a protestant’s shitter.” Flynn raised his hands behind his head. “I’m not going to break any rules, Seelie. I just want to see what you’ve got.”

  The fae snarled, but the second fae tapped his friend on the shoulder and whispered something in his ear. The first fae stepped aside, his lips turning up into a cruel smile.

  Don’t look, Flynn. It’s a trap or something. Why else would they change their mind and decide you can see what they’ve got?

  The fae held out the blanket. Flynn slowly reached forward with one hand, the rest of his body tense. He flipped a corner of the blanket over, revealing a tiny baby’s face, all screwed up with sleep.

  I gasped when I remembered what Corbin had said last night. They steal children and take them away to become slaves in their court.

  “This is a human baby,” Flynn said, his voice burning with anger. “You’ve stolen it.”

  “Don’t worry. His mother won’t even miss the little tyke. We enchanted a pumpkin to appear as him. They never notice the difference.”

  “You’re Seelie. Why would your rulers command you to do this? How will you get the baby back to your realm?”

  “So many questions,” the first fae said, flipping the blanket back over the child, who squirmed in his arms. “You’re an inquisitive one.”

  Even from here, I could sense the anger rolling off Flynn. “You can’t take this child. I won’t let you.”

  “Are you going to fight us, water witch? Are you going to try and bar us from our right of way?”

  “Maybe,” Flynn smirked. “You’re not the only one who can break the bloody rules.” He raised a hand to the sky and uttered a single, strange word.

  Nothing happened. The fae watched the sky, smirking. A single white cloud bobbed over the edge of the wood that stretched along the far side of the sloping field, like a fluffy sheep trotting along on the breeze. A few moments later, the cloud was twice the size, and the edges grayed as they grew heavy with water. The cloud spread over the sun, and the temperature dropped. Rapidly.

  I rubbed my arms as a frigid wind blew down the valley. The raincloud billowed overhead and the heavens opened up.

  A torrential downpour pounded down, the full force of the water focused over the mound. Thick droplets pummeled the earth around the mound, forming deep puddles across the field. Even from my position back behind the wall, water drizzled over me, sticking my clothes to my body. Down the slope of the hill, I could see water cascading down the stone steps leading into the sidhe, pooling there, lapping against the stones as the sidhe filled up. A few moments later, the water flooded over the top step and a puddle spread over the ground.

  “That is against our laws, water witch,” the first fae growled, wiping its matted hair from its eyes.

  “Not even close,” Flynn lowered his arm and flipped his head so the lock of red hair over his eye stuck up at an odd angle. “You guys are perfectly capable of swimming down to your doorway, but I don’t like your chances of getting that baby through without drowning it, and you know how much your king is going to love
a dead baby.”

  “You will be sorry!” The fae spluttered, holding the baby to his chest. It wailed and flailed its tiny arms, annoyed at being held under the cold shower.

  “It’s not so nice when your own tricks come back to bite you, isn’t it?” Flynn smiled back.

  The fae looked like he was going to attack, but then he leaned back on its heels and an evil smile played across its lips. I glanced behind Flynn, where the fae’s eyes rested, and saw something that turned my blood cold.

  A face emerged from the water flooding the sidhe, followed by a pair of broad shoulders clad in a black cloak that didn’t seem to register the fact it was submerged. The fae gasped in a couple of lungfuls of air.

  “Is this what passes for an English summer?” he called out in a deep, singsong voice, like a tenor warming up before a concert. He rose out of the water, shaking himself off like a wet dog.

  Even through the driving rain, I could see he was hot. All the fae I’d seen so far were beautiful – with that perfect skin and those crystalline eyes – but even by their standards this guy was out-of-this-world. Wavy hair framed his face and streamed down his back, thick and black and shimmering with streaks of silver. His cheekbones stood in high relief – two razors slicing across his face, drawing the gaze down his aquiline nose to those pouty, sexy lips and strong jaw. A drop of water collected on the tip of his chin. His coat pulled in all the right places, and a gleaming white sword on his belt declared him a warrior. Emerald eyes blazed, their depths unfathomable. An aura of raw power radiated from his body, slivers of that power plunging into my chest and pounding between my legs.

  Stop thinking like that. That’s an Unseelie, and he’s dangerous. In fact, Flynn’s probably in trouble. I should go and find the others.

  But without Flynn, I’d barely remember the way back to the castle. If the fae decided to attack, by the time I got back, it would be too late. I hadn’t brought my phone down with me, and I didn’t have any of the guys’ numbers anyway. The best thing to do is to wait here and hope the element of surprise will give us an advantage.

  The Seelie fae bowed to the new arrival. “Welcome, your Highness.”

  My teeth chattered. I crawled closer on my elbows, heart pounding. This wasn’t good. This was three fae against Flynn. But wait, why is that Unseelie here with the Seelie? I didn’t think they got along or worked together at all.

  Flynn whirled around, his eyes bugging out of his head as he registered the black-clad figure. The grey clouds parted and slid away, revealing the clear blue sky and pounding heat of the sun beyond. “I’ve never seen you before, Prince.”

  “It’s true, we’ve never had the pleasure.” The dark fae extended his hand to Flynn. “I am Blake, Commander of the Aes Sidhe. What seems to be the problem here?” he asked in a bored voice.

  “This witch… he has blocked the entrance.”

  The fae named Blake grinned. “It’s only water.” He kicked a spray at Flynn. “And it is a mighty hot day. I think you’ll find a solution to this problem presents itself.”

  The two fae glanced at each other, then they both dropped to their knees and started to slurp at the puddle, gulping down the water. Flynn summoned another raincloud, but the fae who came out of the water raised his own hand to the sky, and suddenly Flynn was on the ground, clutching his head and howling with pain.

  “Flynn!” I cried, leaping to my feet and vaulting the wall in one go.

  I took off down the hill toward them, aware that I had no weapon and the twig Rowan gave me was still sitting conveniently under my pillow.

  The two fae didn’t even look up from their thirsty work, but Blake met my eyes with his – two emerald lakes, clear and bright as crystal. I fell into them, my steps grinding to a halt, stunned into inaction, as though I was trying to claw my way through an invisible wall.

  What the hell is this?

  “Well, well,” the dark fae said, smoothing down the seam of his coat. “What have we here?”

  “Get away from him!” I yelled, balling my hands into fists. My words came out shrill, panicked. I tried to push my way toward them, but that invisible wall kept me back.

  Blake grabbed Flynn by the neck and jerked his body like a puppet. Flynn’s eyes rolled back and his mouth hung open. “I hear your request,” Blake said, his voice like syrup. “But I don’t see how you will follow it up should I decide not to obey.”

  “I’ve got powers the likes of which you never encountered before, pal.” I shot back. “If you don’t want to feel the wrath of the Arizona state under-21 competitive chess champion, you’d better back the fuck off.”

  “Such language, and in one so young and beautiful,” Blake tsked, flopping Flynn’s head from side to side. I pounded against that invisible wall, but it didn’t do anything except send shooting pain up my arms. “And that accent… they really don’t teach you to speak properly in America.”

  I stepped back, panic rising in my chest. My sneaker caught the edge of something hard. I kicked it with my toe. Metal. Some kind of tool. Maybe heavy enough to do some damage.

  Blake stepped toward me, dragging Flynn behind him. He pressed his hands against Flynn’s temples. Flynn’s eyes clouded over, and his face kind of crumpled, like the skin was about to slide off the bones. Something crackled under the fae’s fingers, giving off a sugary sweet scent as Flynn’s face contorted in agony.

  “And your vocabulary… tsk tsk. You’re on English soil, so you need to learn correct English. A shag is a bird and descriptive of being overtired and a delightful naked activity. A rubber erases pencil marks and doesn’t prevent childbirth.” Blake took another step toward me, dragging Flynn’s limp body alongside him. If I was right, he’d just stepped over the invisible barrier, but I had no way of knowing for sure. “To you, trousers are pants, instead of the sexy scrap of fabric underneath. Tell me again, what do you call—”

  CLONK.

  The spade connected with the side of Blake’s head. His emerald eyes remained fixed on mine, but the rest of him wobbled. His hands slid from Flynn’s cheeks, and he toppled forward, hitting the ground hard. He didn’t get up.

  “In Arizona, we call that a spade, motherfucker.” I grinned.

  “Maeve—”

  I dropped the spade and rushed to Flynn’s side. He’d fallen with Blake, his body bent over backward. His skin felt cold and clammy. He slid his hands around my neck and allowed me to pull him to his feet. A lattice of dark spiderwebs spread across his temples and forehead, radiating out from where Blake touched him.

  “What did he do to you?” I cried, draping his arm around my neck. Flynn’s weight dragged me over, but I managed to pull him a little way up toward the hill.

  “Don’t worry… get… the baby…” he whispered, each word a ragged breath.

  I whirled around, just in time to see Blake crawling toward the sidhe, the baby tucked into the crook of his arm. The other two fae had already disappeared down the staircase, which was now only ankle deep with water. Blake turned back at the entrance to the mound, his crystal eyes meeting mine. He shot me a lopsided grin that might’ve been vaguely attractive if he hadn’t just tried to kill my friend. The baby cooed in his arms.

  “I’ll be seeing you around, Miss Arizona, Water Witch,” he called. “If I were you, I’d keep practicing your chess moves. Because next time, I’ll show you just how important a pawn can be.”

  I hurled myself toward Blake, but he disappeared down the steps, his coat fading into the darkness below.

  “We’re too late,” Flynn croaked. He leaned hard against me, barely able to support his own weight.

  “What did he do to you?” I stroked the lattice of red lines across Flynn’s freckled cheek.

  Flynn’s eyes darkened. “I have no idea, but I feel like I’ve been run over by a train and then another train. But… I guess we just met Blake, prince of the Unseelie Court.”

  17

  FLYNN

  My legs shook so badly I could barely hold m
yself up. Maeve had to drag me back to the castle. Whatever that Blake character did to me, it was fucking wretched. I didn’t even have the energy to make a joke about shags.

  The whole encounter weighed on me as Maeve wrenched and jerked my pain-filled body toward the castle. Nothing made sense. Seelie and Unseelie were there together, and they were both working to steal that baby. Blake seemed incredibly powerful, but who – or what – was he? We knew all of the Unseelie princes by name, so why had we never heard of him before?

  And where the bloody hell were the others? Corbin could usually sense when one of the coven was in danger. Why hadn’t he come?

  Maeve dragged me past the walled kitchen garden and in through the buttery door. Rowan glanced up in shock, dropping a tray of bread on the floor. “Wipe your feet!” he yelled.

  “Rowan, get the others.” Maeve dragged me into the kitchen. “Flynn’s been attacked!”

  As soon as Rowan’s eyes met mine, he registered that something was wrong. He darted up the hidden staircase, calling out for Arthur and Corbin, but there was no answer. He dashed outside, calling at the top of his lungs.

  Maeve pulled out a seat at the butcher’s block and poured me into it. I grabbed the edge of the bench to steady myself, gasping at the exertion. I hadn’t been this buggered since that time Corbin decided we should all run a half-marathon to get fit for battling fae and I’d stopped at the pub halfway through to re-fuel.

  “Hey, no fair,” I murmured as I started to slide off the edge of the stool. “You stuck me on a chair made of jelly.”

  “Jell-O,” Maeve whispered as she wrapped her arms around me and hefted me up again. “It’s pronounced ‘Jell-O.’”

  I let out a laugh that made my ribs ache. “Fecking hell, don’t make me laugh, woman. I think I’ve just pushed a rib through my spleen.”

  “Shite, Flynn.” That was Rowan. He skidded back into the kitchen. I could feel his hand on my face. “I found the others. They were down in the meadow, fending off a fae attack of their own. What happened? Who did this to you?”