Curse of the Cruel and Lovely : Allied Kingdoms Academy 3

by J. M. Kearl

  Shielding the sun with his hand Aric said, “We should find shade at least. You can conjure water if there is a source nearby.” He grew quiet for a moment. “But I’m going to need something a little different from water soon. I’m already thirsty.”

  “Maybe you can acquire a taste for the Fae,” I joked and shielded the sun’s glare too. A nearby palm tree could shade us for now but it wasn’t enough.

  Aric shrugged and half smiled seeming to like the idea.

  Taz gulped and took a slight step away from Aric. “Where do you get er,… blood back home?”

  Aric pulled a sort of creepy smile. “You don’t want to know.”

  Nodding, Taz nervous-laughed. “Right. So uh, should we start walking and find shelter? I don’t think going back into the city is an option. They’re probably looking for us.”

  “I’m sure they are.” From what I’d seen, Summer Court was a desert where shelter and water would be hard to come by. Maybe we could sneak into the city after dark. But I couldn’t stand here waiting around, obsessively worrying about Visteal. We had to move if only to get out of this unbearable sun, and keep my brain occupied. “Yes, let’s go.”

  We walked up the hill that would overlook the city and where a palm tree offered shade. The gold tip of the castle shined and the many lakes and ponds reflected the sunlight, looking like tiny diamonds sparkling in the distance. Thousands of houses and buildings surrounded the area. Perhaps it would be easier to hide there than stay out in the open.

  My ears picked up footsteps, and when I went to turn, the tip of sharp, cold metal pressed against the back of my neck. My stomach flipped and I froze. How could I let someone sneak up on me?! The soft red dirt here must have taken away the noise. I turned my head ever so slightly to catch sight of my attacker. I couldn’t get a good look at her but I caught a glimpse of her reddish-brown hair.

  “You’re human,” the woman said sounding surprised. “Male humans.” I didn’t know why the fact that we were male would make a difference. Then again the Fae were said to only capture human women.

  “Don’t move or you’ll die,” a deep voice said closer to my other side where Aric stood. His eyes flicked over to me. I barely shook my head. We could use magic to get away, turn and attack with ease but I wanted to see what they’d do. If they wanted to kill us they had the chance to strike already.

  “Your attire is… different,” the woman continued. Keeping the spear against my throat, she stepped before me. She looked human too and was older than us, maybe forty-five if she wasn’t magic-born, with a huge scar across her neck. She wore a brown sleeveless top that showed her naval and shorts that fit at her hips and reached her knee. Several bands hung decoratively at her wrists. Her partners, one man who looked half Fae, and three human women, lined up before us.

  “I know every human in this court so where do you come from?” the first woman who’d spoken, said. “You don’t look like you’re from Winter or Spring.”

  Her eyes traveled down my body and back up. I felt a little dirty under her scrutiny. Like she was undressing me with her eyes.

  “Night possibly,” she mused.

  The spear she’d held against me lowered to my chest, letting me speak without getting nicked. Should I lie? Night Court? If they asked me anything pertaining to this land I wouldn’t know and I was under the impression Night wasn’t friendly with Summer. So I opted for silence.

  “Speak or die,” the woman commanded.

  That was it for me. I vanished, appearing behind them. Their group whipped around, taking their eyes off Aric and Taz. With incredible speed, Aric darted at the half Fae man and sunk his teeth into his neck. He let out a horrid cry, swinging his weapon around wildly. The women circled up, back to back.

  One started crying uncontrollably. “They’re not human,” she sobbed.

  An orange-haired woman sent a blast of fire my way. I shielded it. Taz dropped to his knees, slammed his fist on the ground and prickly vines rapidly encircled them.

  The orange-haired girl, probably the only one with magic ability, glared at me no longer struggling. Those thorned vines would tear their skin apart if they tried to move much. I didn’t think she had any training or she’d be out of that trap Taz surrounded them with. She was magic-born and elemental magic came naturally to them. No spells required. But if she tried to conjure fire now she’d burn her friends.

  Aric threw the body of the man to the ground and he hit with a thud. I hadn’t ever seen him feed on anyone and it sent a chill down my back. He wiped his mouth with his sleeve, and crimson eyed, he joined me at my side. Well at least Taz and I didn’t have to worry about him possibly turning on us out of hunger.

  I debated on if we should leave them and venture off or ask questions. They were a bunch of humans in a land full of Fae. I wondered where they came from.

  “Is Tarock… is he dead?” their leader asked, the same one with the scar across her neck. Her voice shook with each word. He meant something to her.

  “Almost,” Aric answered coolly. “You might be able to save him if we let you go. But give us a reason to do so.”

  It astonished me how much Aric had changed since becoming a vampire. He’d been one of my closest friends, always good-hearted with an inviting smile. Strong and capable but never malicious or cold. I hoped I never lost him to his dark side.

  “We won’t attack. Just let us go so I can save my friend.” Her eyes watered but her voice held strong this time.

  “So you can report us to the Fae?” Taz shook his head. “No way.” He turned to me. “We should leave them bound and get out of here.”

  “We should kill them. Dead women tell no tales,” Aric said and turned his back to them then gave me a wink.

  “NO!” The one who’d been crying yelled out. She couldn’t be more than fifteen by the looks of her. “Please, I’ll do anything just don’t kill us.”

  “We need them to tell us where to find other humans,” Aric whispered. “A place to lay low until we have a plan.”

  He had the right idea. If there were humans here roaming around then not all of them could be stolen brides from our realm. These women weren’t magic-born aside from the one, and none were really what I’d call beautiful. Two things the Fae looked for in their mates.

  I nodded to Aric. “Where do you come from? I assume by the way humans are treated in that city,” I pointed to it in the distance, “that it isn’t there.”

  The magic girl and the leader looked at each other. “We work in the city,” the leader said. “But we don’t live there. No humans do except those who are lucky to be married to a Fae lord.”

  “Where do you live?” I asked. “Is there a village or a town nearby?”

  “It’s just over—” Crying Girl started then the leader shushed her.

  “Shut your mouth,” the leader hissed.

  Taz glanced over at the half Fae bleeding out on the ground. “By the time you get out of those binds your friend will be dead. It’s a shame because he,” Taz gestured to me, “can heal him easily. Shall we go boys?”

  “I guess we can let them live with the death of their friend,” Aric said.

  “Let’s go,” I agreed and all three of us turned to leave. Crying Girl started wailing again.

  We got three steps before the leader said, “Wait.”

  I smiled to myself and stilled. Taz grinned, as did Aric, before all three of us turned.

  “There’s a human village to the east,” the magic-born said. “It’s about a mile from here.”

  I started toward their dying friend with the intention of healing him.

  When the magic-born girl said, “You’re from Delhoon.” I looked back and the girl stared at Taz. “That there,” she stared at something on Taz. “That is the symbol.”

  Taz had on a short-sleeved top with the phoenix symbol on his chest. Neither Aric nor I wore anything to signify where we’d come from but if the girl knew the Delhoon symbol, she was from our realm. Maybe they all
were.

  The leader looked at all three of u. Herr eyes lingered on me the longest. “How did you get here? You have no Fae slaver with you and we heard there was no ritual for the blood moon. They only go during the full moon to collect humans,” her eyes darted to Aric, “or whatever you are. No one should have come from Norcandlia last night.”

  Fae slaver? “Norcandlia?” I questioned.

  The leader lifted her chin. “It’s what the Fae call the human realm. If you’re from Delhoon then you’re from Norcandlia. I’m from a different kingdom you’ve likely never heard of. It’s oceans away.”

  “You mean they come to our realm monthly? Not just during a blood moon?” Taz asked.

  “Not always. The blood moon is for brides and to enhance their power and life force. Their other trips are to collect workers, people desperate for a new life.”

  I couldn’t tell them about Visteal or our reason for being here whether they were from our world or not. Our mutual humanity didn’t mean we could trust them. The Winter King couldn’t know that she’d been found and was here to assassinate him. “We got here. That’s all you need to know. Now be quiet so I can save your friend.”

  I knelt, chanting the healing incantation and my palms warmed as magic pulled from the stone hanging around my neck. The bite wounds quickly closed and color started to warm his pale face. His shallow breaths drew deeper and then his eyes flicked open.

  A hand darted for my throat but I blocked it and pressed him into the dirt. “I just saved your life. A thank you would be more appropriate.”

  I gave him one hard shove and then stood back. He quickly scrambled to his feet. Worry lined his eyes as he looked to his friends trapped in the vines. “Let them go.”

  “You’re not in a position to make demands,” Aric barked.

  The Fae man took a step back when his eyes set on Aric. “He’s been cursed by Night Court. Filthy Night spies.” He spit at the ground and squinted his eyes.

  I really didn’t know what to do at this point. If we let them loose they could come after us or tell everyone in the village we were Night spies. Even though we weren’t, who would believe us? All it took was one look at Visteal’s Winter tattoo for the King to have a meltdown and send us away.

  So I did the only things I could to make sure we weren’t followed. I knocked the half Fae in the head and he collapsed. The women started crying again. I quickly bound him with more vines and stood. “He’ll be fine. Quit your sniveling. We’re not Night Court spies either.” I nodded toward the east and said, “Let’s move.”

  We took off at a jog toward the direction of the village. I hoped it was large enough that when the women got free we wouldn’t be easily found. We had to find Taz another shirt as quickly as possible too. They gave us away. The Fae had taken our trunks at the palace so we had nothing but what was on our person.

  It didn’t take long for us to find the village. It was sad in comparison to the Fae city. Most of their buildings were made of sticks and mud with palm leaves for roofs. There was a single structure made from a more sustainable stone material. It struck me how privileged I’d been my entire life. Even the poorest in Hesstia had more didn’t they? But as a prince I truly didn’t know the plight of peasants. Did they have it better here? Had these women been homeless before?

  There were at least a hundred huts but we’d still be noticed. By the sign hanging from the stone building, I assumed that was the village gathering place, probably a tavern of some sort.

  “Should we bother going in there?” Aric asked. “They’ll know we’re outsiders.”

  “We could live out here for a while. Find some shelter.” Taz pointed to the left. “Looks like there might be some caves in those rocks.”

  “We’re going to get hungry,” I stated. “This isn’t home. We don’t even know what there is to hunt. They might not even have deer or wild boar here.” And the last thing I wanted to do was sit around with no purpose just surviving here while Visteal did all the work. We had to find a way to help. Eventually she’d be in Winter Court and we’d need a way to get there.

  Aric looked behind him. “That group we left tied up will no doubt be here soon.”

  “Let’s just go in and check things out,” I said. “Get some information on this place and we’ll get out of there if we have to.”

  Without another word Aric trudged ahead. Taz quickly followed and I took a deep breath. I needed to get a message to Visteal. I needed to know if she was safe.

  6

  Visteal

  After the meeting with the King, I was sent to my room and Gwindola threw a book down on my desk. “This is the brief history of our Courts for the last three thousand years. Take notes, memorize it. I’ll be back to quiz you.”

  Brief? The thing had to be a thousand pages. “Is there a particular part I should start with?”

  “Well obviously you’ll start at the beginning.” She tossed her hair over her shoulder. “Pay close attention to the information on Winter Court.”

  When the door closed behind her, I cracked open the book. Dust billowed out making me sneeze. This thing hadn’t been opened in a while. The first page spoke of the agreement between the courts. The one that gave King Valefrost his immunity from being killed by faeries.

  It was a pact for peace if they agreed to do the blood moon rituals that would give them all power and brides. The Summer Court could act like they were high and mighty and above this because it wasn’t their idea but they too had joined and had taken brides. King Venos had many children, hundreds even. Firo Hazelvale was one of them.

  I didn’t know how old Helios was but according to this book, he had several human wives himself. Taken from the last blood moon. It sickened me to know that they didn’t just take one. They took several each.

  I couldn’t fathom how King Venos said he’d been tricked. It was there plain as day. Had they been so greedy to get their own brides that they let this slide? It stated King Valefrost would be protected against the threat of any faerie for his generosity in providing the way to the human realm. It didn’t give any specifics that he couldn’t be harmed by a faerie without inflicting injury on him or herself but it was obvious to me. They were fools for taking this agreement. The agreement also stated that no wars would be started if each participated in the blood moon rituals… as long as the King got what he wanted.

  His disgusting behavior made it ironic that a human woman was prophesied to be his undoing.

  I took notes on things I thought would be important but after a couple hours my hand grew as weary as my eyes.

  I got up and stretched. Trying to memorize so much information took my worry about the boys away but it came roaring back. I needed to go walk to give my anxious muscles something to do. Were they alright? Did they have somewhere to stay? What if they’d been captured? No, I couldn’t think of it.

  I needed to find out about this competition business. I could ask the servants directly. Or find a library. Libraries were full of information.

  Gideon mirrored my stretching. “Is it time to go for a gander?”

  I peeked out the door. “It is.” The night brought plenty of cover for me to sneak around. No windows and no torchlight in the hall meant inky darkness. I imagined a white orb in my hand and my magic brought it to life.

  Without a destination in mind I started down the hall. I didn’t know where the servants’ chambers were or the library. I figured I’d wander until I found either. With the size of this palace it could take me hours but I just thought the servants would find me before I found them.

  Turns out Gwindola’s training helping me walk quietly worked in my favor. I didn’t make a sound as I tiptoed through the halls. Gideon was naturally stealthy in need of no lessons.

  “If we keep going down this hall and take a left then down three sets of stairs, we will find the servants. I have done a little exploring.”

  “Oh, have you?” Of course he had. I should’ve thought of asking him in the first p
lace.

  “But I doubt the servants are the ones to ask. They are loyal to the Fae. They would in all likelihood rat you out for wandering about without permission.”

  That would be a problem. I thought maybe I could gain the trust of the humans. However they might fear backlash for helping me. And by the way I’d been treated, someone that was there to help the Fae, I suspected the humans would be right to fear. “Do you know where the library is?”

  “Certainly.”

  “You think there’s going to be information on this contest there?”

  Gideon made a turn down a hallway and we descended a flight of stairs. “I am sure there is bound to be plenty of information on contests. But which one will you be involved with is the question.”

  “Something to do with Winter I’d wager.”

  “With certainty.”

  I hid a couple times when guards appeared patrolling the halls, turned myself invisible a few more, and finally we came upon golden double doors. As quietly as I could I turned the handle and pushed the door in. It made the slightest squeak and then I gently closed it behind me. There was a single torch on the wall but it was quiet. I didn’t think anyone was inside. I ventured forward looking at the high shelves lined with books and scrolls and stacks of parchment. The low light limited what I saw but the shelves were white and crested with gold leaves and vines. Large pillars down the center of the room were sculptures of Fae. Some were women in flowing gowns, others warrior men. As with the rest of the palace it was beautiful and massive and I had no idea where to begin.

  I wandered to the shelves, running my fingers along the spines of the books. I found it interesting that the Fae spoke the same language as me: Delian. It was written that way too. I highly doubted they called it Delian. But it was the same. Somehow we were connected in the past. I was sure it had to do with magic.

  When I came across a section dedicated to Winter Court I knew I was onto something. I scanned the titles of the books and nothing jumped out at me until I saw something about brides.