The Fae Queen's Warriors

by Tara West

  “I heard Alexi talking to me,” she whispered.

  He brushed a strand of hair off her forehead. “You were dreaming.”

  “No, my eyes were open.” She didn’t know if she was heartbroken because Quin didn’t believe her or because he was right. “He says he’s going to keep me safe.”

  “Listen, sprite, he’s gone.” Theron knelt beside her, a steaming mug in his hands. “It was just a dream.”

  Quin helped her sit up, and Theron handed her the mug. She blew on the liquid before taking a sip. It didn’t have much flavor, and she couldn’t tell if it was tea or coffee, but it was warm, and that’s what mattered. Her bones seemed perpetually frozen in Periculi, no matter how close she slept to the fire. She looked around for Titus, but he was gone, as usual. She wondered if he ever slept.

  “You’ve been under a lot of stress. Your mind is playing tricks on you,” Theron said, the look of pity in his eyes making her feel like she’d finally lost her mind.

  “It felt so real.” She bit down on her knuckles. She would not let her grief win. She missed Alexi, but she knew he wanted them to be happy.

  “I know, my love.” Wrapping her in his arms, Quin kissed the top of her head. “I know.”

  Damn those stupid tears. They fell anyway. “I just want to wake from this nightmare.” She clung to Quin while he rocked her. At some point, he handed her over to Theron, and she was suddenly reminded of the time she’d fallen from the tree and had tried to get them to take her virginity. They’d handed her off then, too. She laughed when she remembered Quin’s erection and how terrified they’d been.

  “What’s so funny?” Theron asked, nuzzling her cheek.

  “I was just remembering the time I asked you to take my virginity.”

  “I wish we had. Then you wouldn’t have married the king.”

  “Alexi would never have forgiven you.”

  “But you’d be safe,” he said.

  She planted a soft kiss on his nose. “We can’t lament the past. We can only focus on the here and now.” She felt as if someone else was talking for her, because she certainly didn’t always follow her advice. If only she could let go of the past.

  He dug around in his pocket, then placed a soft piece of cloth in her hands.

  She stared at it for a moment, trying to remember where she’d seen the sheer, lavender fabric before. “What is this?”

  Taking it from her, he wrapped it around his finger. “You bandaged my arm with it.”

  Her dress! “You kept it?”

  “Of course.” He smoothed the fabric across his unshaven cheek. Though faded, it appeared clean, so he’d washed the blood out of it.

  Her heart expanded. He’d kept a memento of her. What a thoughtful thing to do. She kissed him, tasting stale coffee and not caring. “Thank you for remembering me.”

  He rubbed her arms. “Always.”

  “Hey,” Quin said and sat beside them. “I have mine, too.” He pulled a matching piece of purple fabric from a pocket.

  “Oh, Quin, you, too?”

  Taking her hand in his, he kissed her palm. “Of course. Did you think our love for you was fleeting?”

  Emotion welled in her chest. “You love me?”

  “Always,” they simultaneously answered.

  The sound of the icy wind faded into the background as her gaze tunneled on them. She had no idea what to say to their declaration of love as a vortex of emotions swirled in her heart. On the one hand, she felt so blessed to be loved by such amazing men. On the other, she couldn’t ignore that black cloud that loomed in her soul, for she knew the king would call her back to Sawran soon. How could she leave her defenders?

  “Kyria?” Quin asked, a hopeful gleam in his eyes. “Do you love us, too?”

  She clutched her chest, feeling as if it had been split open by a mallet. “With all my heart.” She plastered their stubbled faces with kisses. “Make love to me.”

  “Gladly,” Theron said with a low rumble.

  They couldn’t rip off each other’s clothes fast enough. Before she knew it, she was on her back on a bundle of furs, Theron’s cock in her mouth and Quin’s face planted between her thighs. He alternated between suckling her swollen pearl and driving into her with a thick finger, probing, teasing, building her euphoria higher and higher. She lost herself in pleasure, and Theron took over, grasping the back of her head while thrusting into her mouth. Theron withdrew in time to spill his seed down her breasts.

  After Theron wiped her up, he kissed her, whispering into her ear. “Thank you, my love.” She ran her fingers through his thick hair while he nuzzled her neck.

  She fell back against the furs with a groan when Quin wrapped her legs around his waist and slid his thick member inside her dripping channel. She came after only a few thrusts, calling his name as he made love to her through one orgasm and into another. They came together for her second climax. After he pulled out, she sent a silent prayer to the goddess that she carried the child of one of them, and that she’d bear many more after the king was killed.

  The morning sunlight was barely peeking through the curtains when she fell asleep in their arms beneath the warm furs, more content than she’d ever been. If only her life would be like this always.

  KYRIA, CAN YOU HEAR me?

  She was growing tired of that voice in her head. My brother is dead. You are an illusion. Stop playing with my heart.

  Sister, I swear I do not play.

  Kyria pushed the voice to the back of her mind. She would not let madness win. Opening her eyes, she stretched, relieved to hear the wind had died. After three days trapped in their hut, she was ready to go outside.

  Theron and Quin must have felt cabin fever, too, because they tidied up the hut and gathered fur cloaks. Titus was absent, presumably doing morning chores.

  While she eagerly dressed in layers, Quin packed a lunch of bread, dried meats, and cheese.

  “Where are we going?” she asked.

  “Someplace special.”

  “You’re not going to tell me?” she asked, excitement racing up her spine. She liked surprises.

  Theron wrapped a scarf tightly around her neck. “It’s a surprise,” he said, kissing her forehead. Leaning into him, she rested her head against the hard breastplate. Wherever they were going, he needed armor. Were they going to the cliffs? Alexi had told her how beautiful they were, and she wanted to see them. Dragon mating season wasn’t for another month, so risk was still low.

  The moment she set foot outside, she slipped on the ice. “I’m not usually this clumsy.”

  “It’s okay,” Theron said with a wink, holding tightly to her arm. “I’ve got you.”

  Wildfire raced through her cheeks. She always prided herself on her deft skills. What was wrong with her? She scowled at the packed snow beneath her feet. “I don’t understand.”

  “You’re not used to walking on ice,” Quin said, reaching for her other arm.

  “Was Alexi this way when he first came here?” she asked, feeling more balanced with both of them holding her.

  Quin chuckled. “Alexi was always sure-footed.”

  That didn’t make her feel any better. Children rushed past, laughing and pelting each other with snowballs. Why was it so easy for them?

  They passed a group of hard-faced soldiers squatting around a fire for warmth. They watched her closely as she went by. She raised her chin, refusing to be intimidated. Quin and Theron gave them heated looks. She didn’t blame them for mistrusting her. She’d married the devil after all.

  She slipped again and remembered her husband hissing in her ear “You’re clumsy for a Fae” after she’d tripped walking up the grassy hill to her carriage. She also recalled her aim being off when she kicked Brutus’s back.

  Great goddess, it wasn’t just the ice! Had Demendia cursed her the morning of their fight?

  She faltered, nearly stumbling over her own feet.

  Quin and Theron both stopped, staring at her.

 
; “What is it, Kyria?” Theron asked.

  “You look like you’ve seen a ghost,” Quin said.

  “That fucking bitch. The king’s mage cursed me. That’s why I’m stumbling and slipping all the time.” She wondered why the life water hadn’t healed her when she’d applied it to her neck. She thought about drinking a drop but not here in front of everyone. She looked up. “What do I do?”

  “First let’s get out of the cold.” Theron led her to a long building made of stone and wood. He slid open a heavy door, ushering them inside.

  Her Fae-touched eyesight easily adjusted to the darkness. She inhaled a fragrant mixture of hay and manure. They were in a barn, but there was another smell she recognized. She froze at the sound of a neigh at the far end.

  “Demon,” she whispered and went there as if drawn by invisible hands.

  Titus was brushing a massive black stallion’s coat. He neighed louder when he saw her, stomping his front foot and tossing his head. As she scratched his nose and looked into the dark eyes of her brother’s horse, all her worries were momentarily forgotten. She kissed him, then laughed when he dragged his tongue up the side of her face. How she’d missed him.

  “He’s missed you,” Titus said.

  She clung to him, running her fingers through his shiny mane. “I’ve missed him, too. My parents weren’t happy when you didn’t bring him back.”

  “He’s my horse now.”

  “Alexi told Titus he could have him should he perish,” Quin said, as if Titus needed defending.

  Titus had been Alexi’s closest friend. Demon belonged with him. Besides, should they go to war, she trusted Demon above all other horses to keep him safe.

  She kissed Demon once more. “All those visits to the widows?”

  “I stopped off to take care of him,” he said as he ran his hand down Demon’s side, pride flashing in his eyes. “I always do. He’s tired of being cooped up, too. He’s anxious to run.”

  She was as giddy as a schoolgirl, ready to jump out of her boots at the thought of riding him. It had been years since her brother let her ride his horse. “May I?”

  “Of course.” Titus had bridled him, and he led him out of the stall by the reins. “With me.” He unstrapped a helmet from the saddle.

  Disappointed, she said, “I know how to ride a horse, Titus.”

  “We only have three horses between us.” After strapping the helmet’s leather cord under his chin, he held a hand out to her, offering to help her up.

  Brushing him aside, she saw the stirrups were too high. Before Demendia cursed her, it wouldn’t have been a problem, but she might miss and hurt herself or Demon.

  She reluctantly let him help her into the saddle. The last thing she needed was to fall off Demon. Damn Demendia and her stupid curse.

  Theron led a brown horse out of his stall. “You still don’t know where we’re going.”

  Quin strapped a canvas bag to his horse’s saddle and removed his helmet. “We’re going to someone who might help you.”

  Titus swung onto Demon with ease. “With what?”

  “The king’s mage cursed her feet,” Quin said and got on his horse.

  She shuddered. What if she couldn’t be helped? What if her clumsiness worsened? “Who are we going to see?”

  “A wise man.” Theron slipped on his helmet.

  Wrapping his arms tightly around her, Titus murmured, “What curse is this, sprite?”

  Kyria frowned down at her feet dangling in the air as her throat suddenly constricted. “I think she cursed my feet.”

  “That would explain a lot,” he rumbled. “It’s not like you to be so clumsy.”

  She stared straight ahead, focusing on Demon’s twitching ears, and hoped this wise man knew how to break the curse.

  Chapter Nineteen

  THE DEFENDERS TOOK her to the cliffs. Shaking off the stinging cold mixed with salt spray from the ocean below, she admired its beauty with awe and appreciation. The majesty of the mountain behind her and the endless ocean before her made her breath catch. Despite the dangers of Periculi, she understood its draw. She tried to say as much to her companions, but the crash of the waves was deafening. The only thing that marred the beauty of the majestic landscape was the wall of dragon skulls, hundreds of them stacked on one another, a barrier that partially obstructed her view. She could still see the ocean waves through a few cracked skulls and empty eye sockets, and through the breaks in the skulls where ballistas and cannons were aimed at the sea below.

  She looked for signs of dragons, but there were none. Her brother had told her they didn’t come until after the snow began to thaw, and the snow still crunched under their horses’ hooves.

  She loudly called to Titus over the din of the waves, as he pressed into her backside, wrapping strong arms around her. “Why do the dragons mate here and not at the warmer shores of a place like Eretria?” She named the quaint little fishing town where Alexi and she had vacationed in their youth, spending many summers swimming in the surf and collecting shells. Never once did their parents worry about dragons coming ashore.

  “They’re peculiar creatures,” Titus said. “They prefer Periculi’s weather.”

  “How many dragons come ashore?”

  “Only a few dozen.”

  That surprised her. “I thought there were hundreds.”

  “There are, but most mate in the caverns below the cliffs.”

  She tried to peer over the cliff but was unable to see where the water splashed against the rocks. “There are caverns there?”

  “They are usually underwater. We can see them during low summer tides, when the babies swim out.”

  “What do defenders do when you see them?” she asked.

  Titus let out a low, dark rumble. “We call it harpoon season.”

  She angled her head up at him. His features were obscured by the shadow of his helmet. “But you don’t get them all.”

  “No.” He chuckled. “There are thousands of them, but we make a nice dent in the population.”

  She wanted to feel bad for the baby dragons, but how could she when she knew they’d grow up to become lethal monsters, like the one who’d killed her brother?

  Their horses climbed a narrow trail to the mountaintop, and her heart lodged in her throat. The higher they climbed, the thinner the air, and the din of the roaring waves dulled so that she could finally hear her heart’s rapid beating. Still, she did not say a word for fear she’d spook the horses.

  The path ended at the mouth of a cave with a narrow opening only wide enough for their horses to squeeze through. Her defenders jumped off their horses, removed their helmets, and strapped them to their saddles. After helping her dismount, Titus handed Demon’s reins to Quin and led her into the cave. Looking over her shoulder, she saw Quin and Theron coax the horses inside and then tie them to hooks on the wall.

  She didn’t know why she expected the cave to look like a dragon’s den, but after walking along a short tunnel that opened into a large space, she was pleased to find modest furnishings, colorful rugs, and tapestries. She also smelled a mixture of potions and dried herbs. Had she been taken to an apothecary? Her nose wrinkled when she inhaled the herbal aroma pouring from a tunnel on the left like steam shooting from a dragon’s nostril.

  “Ah, come in, come in.” A thin old man with straggly, white hair poking out from a hood waved them forward. Sitting cross-legged on a woven rug, he had a hook nose that curved so much he appeared to have a disk stuck in his skull. More alarming was his gray pallor, as if he hadn’t seen the sun in decades. His long white beard dragged the ground, and his bony knees poked through a thin tunic. A fire roared behind him, the smoke disappearing up what looked like a chimney made of rocks.

  “Euclid, we’ve brought someone to see you. This is Kyria, Alexi’s twin.” He whispered to her, “This is the kind mage, Euclid.”

  She hadn’t known many mages in her lifetime, but the few she’d met she hadn’t cared for, especially one in partic
ular. Not wanting this one to think she was like her husband, she didn’t mind that she’d been introduced as Kyria and not as the queen.

  When the mage pulled back his hood, she saw that his eyes were covered with a white film and wondered if the life water would restore the old man’s eyesight.

  “A mage cursed her. Can you help?” Quin asked.

  His lips pulled back in a toothless grin. “Was that the only reason you brought her to me?”

  Titus cleared his throat. “We’ll talk about the other later.”

  She shot him a look. “What other reason?” she whispered, annoyed when he ignored her.

  Euclid patted a spot on the rug in front of him. “Let me see you.”

  Kneeling in front of him, she took his outstretched hand. “You can see me?”

  “Not in the physical sense, but we all wander in the darkness. Sometimes having eyesight only shines a light on what we wish we couldn’t see.” He traced her jaw with a crooked finger. “You resemble your brother, so brave and strong but also afraid and tender.” Spittle flew out of his mouth, coating her hair and robes.

  She fought the urge to pull away, especially when his hands moved to her knees.

  “So much light in your aura. So much darkness, too. You battle many demons.” He frowned at her boots. “Ah, here is the curse.”

  She was relieved he’d found the curse. On the other hand, she was filled with terror and fury. That fucking bitch!

  Theron knelt and took her trembling hand in his. “Can you break it?”

  “I’m not sure. So much evil in this curse.” Without asking, he unlaced her boots.

  She leaned back while Theron and Titus helped to remove them and her socks.

  The mage clutched her toes, his long fingers wrapping around them like talons. “The witch has great power, but she’s unsure how to harness it. I can see the roots of this hex taking hold of your feet.” His fingers walked up her foot like a spider. “Twisting around your tendons and up your ankles. It’s a sloppy curse, to be sure, but it has dug in deep nonetheless.” He grabbed hold of her ankles and squeezed.