“What do you have to say for yourself, son?” King Peter balled his fist.
Caleb’s eyes flashed with determination. “Father. When I went to the human realm, I was under the impression that I could free the Nocturnal Academy pupils and prisoners as long as I didn’t bring war to the Summer Court.” Caleb’s voice was calm and clear. How could he stay so cool under pressure? “We were in desperate need of the earthbound because of the plague. Your Majesty, himself, sanctioned my request to use my troops to free the earthbound fae.”
“That is not the point!” The veins in King Peter’s neck popped. “You dared to disgrace me by working with Winter fae and then bring those deserters here. They should’ve stayed in the human world where they belong.”
“The earthbound fae are an asset. As for Onyx and Thorsten, I assure you they came to me and promised that they didn’t want anything in return.”
A vine shot from King Peter’s hand and wrapped around Caleb’s torso, dragging him closer. His feet scraped against the cobblestone as everyone inhaled sharply. Peony trembled with helplessness. I almost reached for Nathan, but he froze into a statue, his gaze steely and without emotion. Was this how he coped with serving King Peter?
“How dare you try to justify your disgusting behavior?” King Peter sneered.
I had to do something, but I sensed no openings. King Peter’s magical armor was strong today, as if feeding off his anger.
“You are an embarrassment to the whole family,” Percival chimed in, and I seriously wanted to slap the kid prince.
Caleb didn’t resist the vines, but bowed low, from his waist. “I apologize, Your Majesty for misjudging the situation. Please believe me when I say that I was acting with good intentions.”
The vines retracted and then shoved Caleb away, before vanishing back into the king’s palm.
“You’re a disappointment. Just like your mother.” King Peter raised a glass with dark-red liquid to his mouth and drank deeply.
“It should’ve been you who died, not Preston,” Percival hissed.
I gasped, and Nathan took my hand, drawing soothing circles. Whether that was because he truly wanted to comfort me or because he was afraid that I’d do something stupid, I didn’t know. Either way, instead of calming me, his touch reminded me that I couldn’t give up. I had to diffuse the situation. I had been watching on like an idiot, not doing anything for Caleb, when I was the only one in the room who could put the king in a better mood.
“I should strip you of your title,” King Peter continued. “Find someone more worthy.” He drank deeply from his glass again, and I focused on his forehead, forcing my thoughts through his armor with all my might.
Show mercy. Caleb didn’t mean it. He’s young. You need him. You only have him and Percival. I wasn’t sure which approach would work on King Peter best—reason, fear, or an attempt to soothe him, so I threw everything at him until a dull ache began at my temples.
“We should send Caleb to the wastelands to retrieve Petra since he likes this Onyx so much.” Percival smiled cruelly.
Let Caleb get off lightly. He’s a good son. You need him. Percival is too young to be the only remaining heir.
I strained my power so much, my eyelid began to twitch.
King Peter narrowed his eyes as Caleb waited. “No, not the wastelands.”
I sent a silent prayer of thanks to whoever was listening, but then King Peter crossed his arms and smiled grimly. “To the dungeons. For you and that...fae.” King Peter pointed lazily at Peony. “A week or two there will set you straight.”
Peony gasped, and Caleb opened his mouth to protest, but then closed it, probably realizing that anything he said would only extend his prison sentence. The guards closed in on Caleb and Peony and pulled their hands behind their backs.
Peony had escaped one prison to land in another. I swallowed as our gazes met, her hazel eyes filled with tears. I stepped forward, but Nathan gripped my wrist tightly.
All I could do was watch on as the guards marched Peony and Caleb, now both bound in vines, out of the throne room.
Time slowed. Peony and Caleb were being punished just for working with Onyx. It wasn’t right. The pressure on my wrist increased, and I realized that Nathan was pulling me out of the throne room and into the gardens. I followed him numbly, not caring about the countless blooms and fireflies surrounding me, and ignoring Nathan’s attempts to give me a white drink.
“How could you just stand by and not do anything? Why didn’t you speak up?” I hissed after glancing around and making sure we were alone.
Nathan sighed. “It wasn’t my place, Virgie. Rules are rules, and I trust my king.”
“But Caleb didn’t do anything wrong. If anything, he should be rewarded. Countless earthbound fae were released. The king doesn’t have to do the breeding program anymore. This should be the most important thing.”
Nathan shook his head. “Caleb knew King Peter would be immensely displeased if he worked with our enemy and yet he still chose to. Now, Caleb has to face the consequences.”
I pushed my fists into my hips. How had I ever liked and trusted this guy? How had I ever found him charming and considered kissing him? “So the king’s pride stands above all else, and you’re just going to agree with him no matter what decisions he makes? Do you even care if the earthbound fae die fighting the Winter Court or if they’re used in the breeding program?”
Nathan flinched backward, but I wasn’t done yet.
“Is everything okay as long as your king approves of it?” I pointed to my temple. “Use your own head!” With that, I stormed off toward the exterior courtyard, needing to return to Varsara Center where I was far away from the press, Nathan, and his excuses.
The days went by in a blur as I focused on my studies. That was all I had. The sharper my mind, the higher the chances that I would get to create a world where peace ruled instead of another nightmare. I also practiced with my dagger, jabbing it over and over into hay dolls and making sure I could retrieve and hide it within a split second anywhere on my body.
I desperately wished I could visit Peony in the dungeons and cheer her up, but without an escort, the gates to the Vasara Center wouldn’t open for me. Hopefully, she and Caleb would be released soon.
My path never crossed with Nathan, so it was easy to keep my distance from him. However, on the fifth day, after classes, I ran into Nerissa.
“Are you enjoying your stay at the Summer Court?” Nerissa eased into the conversation.
“For the most part.” I shifted from foot to foot. I knew this wasn’t what she wanted to hear, but I was tired of fake politeness.
She nodded. “Nathan has been asking about you.”
“Was the Summer Court always like this?” Her eyebrow furrowed, letting me know I had succeeded in steering the conversation to a different topic. “It seems that the king isn’t taking counsel from anyone.”
Nerissa sighed. “You’re young, Virgie, and you’ve only been here a short time.”
“Yet, I know that a breeding program is not what will fix the fact that many fae here are infertile from the plague.”
Nerissa shook her head. “Both Nathan and I opposed it. Rumor has it that our strongest magicians are working on a way to restore fertility to those who lost it, thanks to a fertility plant Caleb has secured for us. The breeding program was Preston’s pet project, and it has been put on hold. Nobody is forcing anyone to…” she trailed off, unable to say the horrible words.
“We need to ally with the Winter Court. Maybe then the plague can be undone. Onyx wants peace.”
Sadness filled Nerissa’s eyes as she placed one hand on the wall of the bare classroom. “That might all be true, but it’s not for me to decide what the Summer Court does.”
No, and that wasn’t what she wanted to talk about. She probably wanted to tell me that I was long overdue to have a public date with Nathan so that the press could focus on a great love story. “I must go. I have to study a lot today.
” I pivoted around, but froze at the tall figure occupying the archway and blocking my way to the balcony.
“Virgie.” Nathan’s voice was brisk and businesslike. “We must leave for the Winter Court. As the ambassador of the king, you must deliver a message to Onyx.”
My eyes narrowed. “What message?”
Given the tension rolling off Nathan in clouds, I knew I wouldn’t like his next words even before he uttered them. “I don’t know. The king hasn’t shared the contents of his letter, but I believe it is a warning.” He paused. I sensed there was more and I would like what he said next even less. “The Winter Court has interfered with our affairs. We must teach them a lesson. We are to retrieve one of their high-profile prisoners, Headmistress Cardinal, and use her as a bargaining chip.” He stepped onto the moving staircase, and my curiosity propelled me to do the same.
“But the academy exploded. Cardinal is alive?” Headmistress Cardinal was the cruel vampire leader of Nocturnal Academy. Peony hadn’t mentioned anything about her since her escape.
Nathan nodded as the tree staircase delivered us to the ground floor. “Caleb finally admitted it when questioned by the guards. Onyx and her vampire boyfriend took Lady Cardinal before Nocturnal Academy exploded. They have held her captive in the Winter dungeons ever since.”
I winced, only imagining what threats the king had come up with to make Caleb speak. But why did Onyx keep Cardinal? The answer hit me like a brick. Cardinal had information about other vampires and thus other fae who were trapped on Earth as slaves. She managed all the contracts, after all. She knew who had been sold where. But King Peter wasn’t interested in freeing more earthbound fae. “Why does King Peter want Cardinal? Out of pettiness?”
Nathan shot me a deadly glare. “You cannot speak like this about His Majesty. It is not our business to question him.”
“Right. So we’re just going to break into wherever Cardinal is being held at the Winter Court and slip out with her?” This was the most ridiculous mission ever.
Nathan shook his head again. “You’re going to distract the guards and leave the message at the Winter palace while I get Cardinal.”
Another test. The king wanted to see how much my studies were paying off, how quickly my powers were growing. Last time I had been able to compel four guards. “How many guards this time?”
“Anywhere from six to perhaps twenty.”
“I see.” And after I did that, would King Peter ask me to control the whole Summer Court, make everyone fall in line? Blythe made me keep the entire class’s attention on her during her lessons. She made me compel them to agree with everything she said about the Summer Court. Lately, the atmosphere in the Vasara Center was changing, with the fae students smiling more and studying nonstop in their free time. I hated it. I hated myself for doing as Blythe said, but if I didn’t, she would take the students’ yawns and lack of enthusiasm as a sign that I was slacking. Then she’d report me, making the king distrust me or worse.
I shuddered and pushed the fear aside. Acting like I was already defeated would not serve me well. I had to remember that the stronger I got, the higher the chances were that I could influence King Peter. I needed to spend more time with him, and then, maybe, I could make him see right from wrong. Or maybe it would be the other way around, and he’d bend me to his will.
Chapter 20
Nathan and I stepped outside of the Vasara Center and entered the field. With Caleb imprisoned, I had no clue who’d be opening the portal for us, a difficult act that required skills only a few possessed.
I was not happy to find Percival waiting for us, in place of Caleb, standing with a dozen royal guards on the other side of the field.
Nathan worked his jaw. “We need Caleb. I use telepathy with him when we need to leave quickly.”
My mouth almost hit the ground. This was the closest Nathan had ever come to defying the king.
Percival stepped forward, cheeks reddening. He glared at me for a second, and I wondered if he remembered me standing up to him back at the party. “I will open the portal for you, and you will complete this task by order of my father.”
Tension thickened the air. None of the guards reacted. No one wanted to go against this brat.
“Do you have telepathy? When we bring back our prisoner, we will need the portal opened,” I said.
“Of course, I do,” Percival said. “I will open the portal once per hour and check to see if you are there.”
Well, if he needed to open the portal to check for us, his telepathy was either non-existent or poorly developed. I eyed Nathan, silently begging him to protest, but he only gave a terse nod. “We need to get as close as we can to the Winter palace. Rumor has it that prisoners are kept inside it, in a mountain cave.”
“I can get you to the border.” Percival strained his features as if he was pooping. Clearly, that was his thinking face, because a beat later, he added, “You will have to find other transportation from that point.”
I swallowed and nervously brushed my fingers over the white suit and cape I’d changed into after finding out about this new mission. My fingers tightened around the rolled-up scroll Nathan had given me. It was a message from King Peter to Onyx that I was not to look at it. Another test. Would those ever end?
“Got it?” Percival glared, and I tucked the scroll into my suit pocket.
“Understood,” Nathan said as I wondered whether King Peter didn’t care too much where we landed or if Percival had begged for the job. It was probably a combination of both. After all, if Onyx and her warriors could open a portal directly into King Peter’s palace, King Peter must be able get us into the Winter palace. He probably thought himself too good to help us or wanted to pose an additional challenge.
Percival stepped back and took a lot of time opening the portal. He muttered low words, dragging some of them out for theatrics. Caleb had gotten the job done in less than half the time it took Percival to work his magic. At last, the air wavered and glowed with a deep, mesmerizing green. A chilly wind hit me as the portal revealed the afternoon borderlands on the other side.
Nathan slipped his hand into mine. I was glad for the physical contact, glad that he was in charge of the operation and not someone like Percival. Hand in hand, Nathan and I stepped through the portal. Coldness washed over me, invading every cell of my body. Damp pine needles and half-melted snow crunched underneath my boots, and hilly terrain surrounded me. I whirled around as the portal closed. On the other side, Percival grinned, not an ounce of kindness on his face.
“He remembers how you treated him,” Nathan said, his voice resigned.
I swallowed hard. “What if he doesn’t open the portal every hour to check as he promised?”
“Percival may have a big head, but he cannot lie or go back on his promises,” Nathan reassured me, rubbing his hand on my upper back. In the process, he caressed my hidden wings, bringing a pleasant tingle with the motion. “He will open that portal as promised. King Peter wants a high-profile prisoner, and Percival would never dare to stand in his father’s path.”
I nodded, taking comfort in the fact that at least I wouldn’t freeze to death. The part of the borderlands we found ourselves in this time was different than the one we had visited before. The chilly, damp air reminded me of the earliest parts of spring rather than the arctic. A few purple flowers rose from mud between melting patches of snow. Shrubs just beginning to bud grew at the bottoms of hills, sheltered under protective, lush pines. This place was a true borderland. I spotted a few crumbling brick and clay houses in the distance. Maybe it was an abandoned settlement left to rot after the plague had broken out. In History, we’d learned that some stray fae had tried to settle in the borderlands, which normally weren’t inhabited, and King Olwen had created the plague to drive them back.
He must’ve achieved his goal, because besides us, no one else was here.
I turned to Nathan. “What will happen after we capture Lady Cardinal? Onyx won’t start a war over
that hag. If King Peter wants to goad Onyx into making the first move, it won’t work.”
Nathan grimaced. “King Peter has not revealed his full plan to me. I can only imagine he wants this prisoner for bargaining purposes.”
“He has already given Onyx a bad deal.” King Peter was unstable. “Losing two of his children within months has made him unstable and unreasonable.”
Nathan’s eyes glazed over, and I wished I hadn’t brought up death and sad memories. Before I could apologize, Nathan composed himself. “Our king is very wise. He has been around for much longer than the rest of us and has invaluable life experience.”
“Just because he’s old doesn’t mean he’s wise.”
Nathan balled his fists, and I thought he would lash out, but all he said was, “King Peter is trying to solve the problem of his missing daughter. He promised me he would do all he could to ensure no other Summer family would be separated.”
“Is that how he got you to swear your loyalty to him?” I asked in a whisper.
Nathan nodded, and I held my breath until my ears rang. How could a teenage Nathan say no to such an offer? If someone had offered me a chance to free all the fae from the vampires and ensure we were never molested again, I would’ve taken it. Even if it meant that I had to snap on another set of chains forever.
“I know King Peter appears angry and ruthless, but he has to be this way to protect us.” Nathan took my hands. “Caleb should’ve been rewarded, yes, but King Peter had to show everyone that working with the Winter fae can be dangerous. Rules are there for a reason. I visited Caleb and Peony. They were fine.” Nathan bit his lip, making me want to trace it. “I would’ve told you earlier, but you didn’t talk to me.”
I exhaled slowly. Had I overreacted? Yes, Nathan was not the enemy. I couldn’t expect him to see King Peter clearly, not when he had practically been the only father figure in Nathan’s life for the last ten years. I had to move slowly and use my powers on King Peter. When I brought him Cardinal, I’d ensure he eased his hold on Nathan.
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