The Faerie Games

by Michelle Madow

  “That wasn’t your decision to make.” I glared at her, livid on my best friend’s behalf. “Selena has a right to know what she is.”

  “This is a discussion best suited for another time,” the Earth Angel said, bringing the focus back to her and Prince Jacen. “Because my daughter is out there right now, and faeries are after her to take her to the Otherworld. You know she’s prohibited from leaving the island.” Her golden eyes were as harsh as ever, and I shrank in my seat. “What were you thinking, giving her that transformation potion and letting her leave Avalon?”

  “I was thinking that she’s never been allowed off Avalon, and that she should be able to see a bit of the world beyond this small island,” I said, my tone rising with frustration. “How was I supposed to know the fae were after her?”

  Prince Jacen’s stern gaze fixated on mine. “It wasn’t your job to question our rules,” he said. “But you thought you knew better. You defied us.”

  “I thought she wasn’t allowed off Avalon because demons would be after her for being your daughter!” I said. “I thought that if she took the transformation potion and went as me, it wouldn’t matter. I leave Avalon every weekend. I didn’t think—”

  “You didn’t think the rules mattered,” he said. “You didn’t consider that prohibiting Selena from leaving Avalon was absolutely necessary. You thought you knew better than we did.”

  “I did.” I lowered my eyes, ashamed. “I’m sorry. I didn’t realize…” I trailed off, unable to think of anything to say that would be sufficient enough of an apology.

  Because Prince Jacen was right. I’d given Selena that transformation potion because I thought the rule that she couldn’t leave Avalon was stupid. I didn’t think anything bad would happen to her in LA, especially with her disguised as me.

  Now the fae might have taken her to the Otherworld.

  “This is all my fault.” Tears filled my eyes as I looked back up at Prince Jacen and the Earth Angel.

  “It’s not all your fault,” the Earth Angel said. “You didn’t force Selena to drink that transformation potion and go to LA. She did that on her own. She should have said no. Maybe, if we’d allowed Iris to tell her the truth of her heritage…”

  Prince Jacen placed his hand lovingly on hers, stopping her from continuing. “We can’t think like that,” he said. “We both know our daughter. She’s curious. If she knew the truth of her heritage, she would have eventually left to seek answers on her own.”

  “Maybe.” The Earth Angel sighed, worry shining in her eyes. “Maybe not. But at least if she’d done that, she would have been protected and prepared. Now she’s out there on her own.”

  A sitting duck for the fae to snatch up and abduct to the Otherworld.

  Hollowness twisted in my gut. Selena was out there alone because of me. The Earth Angel might be too nice to say it, but it was true.

  This was my fault.

  “Maybe the fae didn’t take her,” I said, my voice strained as I spoke. “Maybe she went to the ocean by herself or something. Maybe she’ll come back in an hour or so and she’ll be perfectly fine.”

  I wanted it to be true.

  But as I said it, I didn’t believe it.

  “Bella’s doing a tracking spell to locate her,” the Earth Angel reminded me. “She’ll report back immediately once she has the results.”

  We sat there for a few agonizingly silent minutes waiting for Aunt Bella to return. I wanted to say something to help, but there was nothing to say. Instead, I prayed to every god out there that Selena would be okay.

  Eventually, there was a knock on the door.

  The Earth Angel stood up and let Aunt Bella inside.

  From the grim expression on my aunt’s face, I knew she didn’t come bearing good news.

  “Well?” The Earth Angel looked at her hopefully.

  Always confident, Aunt Bella held her head high. “My tracking spell couldn’t find Selena,” she said. “I’m sorry.”

  The world swirled around me. Because this meant one of three things.

  Selena was on Earth, but wearing a cloaking ring to hide her location.

  Selena was dead.

  Or Selena had been taken by the fae to the Otherworld.

  Prince Jacen looked at the Earth Angel, determination flaring in his silver eyes. “I’ll go to the crossroads tonight,” he said. “I’ll make a deal with the fae to get her back.”

  “What if it’s too late?” The Earth Angel shivered, clearly not wanting to share the possibilities running through her mind.

  “The fae went to great lengths to find her,” Prince Jacen said, always confident under pressure. “They’re not going to harm her.” He sounded so convincing that I believed him. “And the fae are always open to deals. There will be something they want. And I’ll give them anything in return for our daughter’s safety.”

  The Earth Angel nodded, looking too shocked to speak any more.

  “What can I do to help?” I asked, twisting my fingers in my lap.

  “You’ve done enough as it is,” Prince Jacen said sharply. “Go to your mother and tell her you’re safe. Then return to school tomorrow. Tell no one what you learned about Selena’s true heritage, as they’ll hear it from us first, when the time is right. We’ll handle the rest.”

  From the way he was looking at me, I knew it wasn’t up for debate.

  “I really am sorry,” I said. “If you need anything—”

  “Just go,” the Earth Angel said. “Your mother is worried sick. She’ll be glad to hear you’re okay.”

  From the pain in her voice, I knew she was thinking about how much she wanted to know Selena was okay, too. My heart ached for her. And for Selena, too.

  But they wanted me gone, so I teleported out. Of course I’d do as they’d asked and tell my mom I was okay.

  But I wasn’t going to sit back and do nothing after that.

  Because I’d gotten Selena into this mess.

  And I intended to help get her out of it.

  18

  Selena

  I barely slept that night.

  How was I supposed to sleep in the nature-filled child’s room Prince Devyn had prepared for me, knowing that he was nominating me for a competition that would likely send me to my death?

  His servants had delivered a platter of passion fruit late in the evening, claiming it would help me sleep. The exotic pink fruits were cut in half and served with a small spoon. But I didn’t trust that they weren’t drugged. And because the servants were half-bloods and not full fae, they were capable of lying. So the fruit remained on my vanity, untouched, when the sun rose the next morning.

  At least, I assumed that the sun rising over the ocean in my magical mirage window meant that the sun was rising in the real outside world, too.

  I was finally starting to drift asleep when someone knocked on my door, entering without waiting for me to tell them to come in. A woman with long, wavy black hair and stunning pale green eyes. She wore a gown that matched her eyes, with gold swirls stitched within it. Her sparkly wings were bright yellow and she had pointed ears that poked out of her hair. She was a full fae.

  “Who are you?” I clutched my comforter to my chest, instantly going on the defense at the sight of one of them in my room.

  “I’m Nessa,” she said. “Prince Devyn asked me to get you ready for the nomination ceremony today.”

  “Are you his girlfriend or something?” I didn’t see a ring on her finger, although I supposed faeries might not have that same custom.

  “No.” She laughed, and the sound was melodic, like a bubbling stream. “Prince Devyn and I are old friends. We go back centuries.”

  I looked her up and down. She didn’t look a day older than twenty-four. I was used to being around immortals, since everyone was immortal while living on Avalon. But it was rare to encounter ones that had been around for so many years.

  “And you’re okay that he’s nominating me—his own daughter—for these Faerie Games?
” The word daughter felt sour on my tongue, since I’d never consider Prince Devyn to be my father.

  Serenity flicked across her features. “Devyn does everything for a reason,” she said. “I’ve learned not to question him. He’s helped me more times than I care to admit. Which is why I’m doing him the favor of helping you get ready for the ceremony.”

  “I don’t need help.” I threw off my comforter and swung my legs off the bed. “I can get ready myself.”

  “Don’t be silly.” She laughed again. “You know nothing of our culture and of our ceremonies. You don’t want the general public to dislike you on sight for breaking protocol.”

  “Why not?” I didn’t care what the general faerie public thought of me. All I wanted was to go home.

  “Having their favor can be helpful in the Games,” she said. “Everything you do from the moment you appear at the nomination ceremony until the end of your time in the Games will be watched and judged by everyone living in the citadel. The more popular you are with the people, the more likely the Games will go in your favor. Understood?”

  From the conniving way she looked at me, I understood, all right.

  The Faerie Games were rigged.

  If the approval of the public meant they could be rigged in my favor, then yes—I wanted the approval of the public. Because above all else, I wanted to live.

  “Understood.” I kept my gaze locked on hers, hoping to get across the message that even though she was a full fae and I was a mere half-blood with no powers, I wouldn’t be intimidated by her. “Let’s get me ready for this ceremony.”

  Nessa dressed me in a simple purple maxi dress similar to the one I wore yesterday. Unlike hers, it didn’t have any stitching on it. She explained it was because only faeries were allowed decorative elements on their clothing. Half-bloods could only wear plain, solid colored clothes.

  Half-bloods also weren’t permitted to wear makeup, so that eliminated a lot of time from getting ready. And finally, half-blood females were all required to wear our hair up and out of our face. So Nessa styled my hair in a slick high ponytail, although she curled it at the ends and wrapped a piece of hair around the band to make it more elegant.

  One of the male servants came in while she was doing my hair to deliver me a breakfast platter of bread and cheese. I didn’t want to eat their food, but I was starving. And it wouldn’t do me any good to go into this nomination ceremony hungry.

  So I devoured the entire thing.

  “Now, for the real reason Prince Devyn sent me here,” Nessa said, wrapping a hand around the top of my arm. Her grip was firm, and it warmed up, bright yellow magic glowing around her hand. The magic sank into my skin, making my entire arm tingle.

  When she removed her hand, a red band was wrapped around my arm. I recognized the band—I’d seen identical ones on the two servants yesterday.

  “What’s that for?” I asked.

  “All half-bloods are given this tattoo at birth,” she said. “It has ink made of fae blood, which makes it so half-bloods can never use their magic against the fae, or hurt our kind in any way.”

  “You just gave me a tattoo?” I recoiled and looked down at the red band in horror. I had nothing against tattoos in general, but if something was going to be inked on me for life, I wanted to choose what it was. Not have it forced upon me.

  “No.” She laughed again, as if I were the most amusing person she’d come across in ages. “The process for the tattoo takes more time, and it’s rather agonizing. That’s why we give it to half-bloods when they’re infants—so they won’t remember being inked. But you have no magic, so you have no need for a real tattoo. This one is simply an illusion. I’m one of the best illusionists in the Otherworld.” She smiled and waved her hand in the air, yellow magic shooting out of her hand and toward my window. Within a second, the image outside transformed from the beach we’d been looking at all morning to a fairytale castle on a hill. “See?”

  Rage boiled in my chest as I stared down at the tattoo. “So the half-bloods are slaves,” I said darkly.

  “Not slaves.” She raised a hand to her chest in horror. “They’re servants. They’re paid a fair wage for their work.”

  It was the same thing Prince Devyn had said.

  “They might be paid wages,” I said. “But these tattoos keep them in chains. That makes them slaves.”

  “The tattoos keep the fae protected.” She stuck her nose in the air, clearly not in the mood for a debate about this. “But your opinion about the tattoos is irrelevant. You have something more important to worry about right now. The Faerie Games.”

  As if I needed the reminder. The Games had been weighing on me all night.

  But as much as I hated the thought of the half-bloods being kept in magical chains, there was nothing I could do about the tattoos. So Nessa was right. I needed to remain focused on the Games.

  “Why bother with the illusion of a tattoo for me at all?” I asked. “I don’t have any magic. I’m not a threat.”

  “You’re definitely not a threat.” The way she said it made me feel lower than dirt. “But like I said at first, you want the approval of the public. Magic or not, they wouldn’t be trustful of a half-blood nominee without a tattoo. Thus, the illusion.” She looked back down at the fake tattoo she’d given me and beamed. “No one will know the difference between this and the real thing.”

  She stepped back and looked me over, taking her time as she checked for imperfections.

  I felt like a bug under a microscope.

  “You’ve inherited your father’s good looks,” she said. “That’ll be advantageous for you in the Games.”

  I doubted my looks mattered in a faerie gladiator battle to the death. But she was still just standing there, staring at me. Like she was waiting for me to say something.

  She probably wanted me to thank her, which would force me into owing her a favor. No way was I falling for that.

  “Any advantage I might have is a welcome one.” I gave her a tight smile that I hoped got across the message that I wouldn’t fall for her tricks.

  She nodded in approval and looked at me with what might have been respect. “Well, it seems my work here is done,” she said. “Let’s send you off to the nomination ceremony.”

  19

  Selena

  Nessa led me down spiral steps in the back of the house that ended in a place that looked like a mix of a barn and a garage.

  There was a round chariot in the center that reminded me of the one Cinderella had taken to the royal ball. Made of frosted glass, it had massive ornate wheels and white flowers piled on top that wound down along the windows. A half-blood servant sat in the driver’s seat, ready to go.

  But the carriage wasn’t the most magnificent thing in the garage. Because connected to the front of the carriage was a majestic white horse with shimmery feather wings.

  I was taking in the beauty of the winged horse when someone opened the chariot door from within and poked his blond head out.

  Prince Devyn.

  “Get in,” he commanded. “We don’t have all day.”

  The half-blood guards stood in front of the door leading back to the house. And I had known that Prince Devyn wouldn’t hesitate to use his magic on me again. So I did as he asked and stepped into the carriage.

  The vehicle, while pretty, was also confining. It felt like sitting inside a Christmas ornament.

  The gates opened, and the horse trotted out of the garage and onto the cobblestone street. The moment we were outside, the horse opened its wings and lifted the carriage into the air. My stomach swooped, and I pressed a hand against the frosted glass, looking down at the sprawling city below.

  Full of elegant marble buildings, the city looked like the drawings in my history books of Ancient Rome. But unlike those drawings, vines and flowers decorated the sides of these buildings, making it uniquely fae. Among the buildings, I recognized the Coliseum in the center. It looked just like the one in Rome, although this o
ne wasn’t in ruins, and it was decorated with greenery.

  “Our capital city, Augustus,” Devyn said. “Beautiful, isn’t it?”

  “It is,” I agreed, and then stared at him straight on. “If I wasn’t being held as a captive, perhaps I’d enjoy my time here.”

  “I wish you wouldn’t look at it that way,” he said. “You should feel at peace here. The Otherworld is your home.”

  I sat back and sighed, not wanting to have this conversation again.

  We spent the remainder of the forty-five-minute flight in silence.

  It was a relief to us both when the horse descended toward the ground.

  Like it had been since getting outside the city boundary, the scenery around us was full of bright green hills. But as we came across the final crest, I saw a field where other carriages and winged horses were lined up in neat rows.

  A faerie parking lot.

  The carriages were all round, although the colors, wheels, and flowers decorating them varied greatly. Not one of them looked the same.

  A half-blood directed us into a space. Once stopped, our driver got up and opened the door for us, ushering us out of the carriage. A handful of other fae with their half-blood nominees were also exiting their carriages, although judging by the full field, most everyone had arrived by now.

  “The Stone of Destiny isn’t far from here,” Prince Devyn said, leading the way toward the nearest hill.

  I kept up behind him. “What’s the Stone of Destiny?” I asked.

  “It’s the location of the nomination ceremony,” he said. “Where you’ll be presented to the gods, and they’ll decide your fate.”

  20

  Selena