by Karen Lynch
“So Onagh abdicated to you?” I asked.
He nodded solemnly. “I ascended to the throne, and Onagh and his family went to live with our parents in one of the royal retreats. They prefer life away from court and have been happy there to this day.
“I vowed I would not make the same mistake my brother had. Though I loved another, I took the female my mother had chosen for Onagh, as my consort. Maurelle and I worked hard for years to bring back stability to Unseelie. Here at court, there were still rumblings from those who had wanted to challenge for the throne. It was not until Aedhna blessed us with a strong, healthy son that the people’s faith in their monarchy was fully restored.”
King Oseron stood. “Come with me.”
I followed him out to the balcony where he looked out at the valley for a long moment before he said, “It is beautiful, is it not?”
“Yes. It still takes my breath every time I see it.”
He turned to give me a warm smile that reached his eyes. “I love Unseelie almost as much as I love my children, and I would do anything in my power to protect them both. From Vaerik’s accounts of you, you would do no less for your family.”
“Yes.” I straightened my shoulders and tried to prepare myself for what was to come. He was going to order me to stay away from Lukas. Or maybe he planned to send me away to some distant town like he had with Dariyah.
He took one of my hands in his. “You have so many qualities I admire, Jesse, not the least of which are your courage and fortitude. I doubt there are many who could handle all you have been through with the same poise. I can see why my son loves you, and I can see that you love him.”
My chest squeezed painfully, and I whispered, “Yes.”
“As a father, I want more than anything for my children to be happy. As the king, I must also do what is best for Unseelie.” His eyes grew sad. “I have seen firsthand what happens when someone of weaker blood is chosen as consort. The future of Unseelie depends on a powerful line of succession. Vaerik’s magic is strong, but you are not Fae-born. There are those who will never accept you as consort and might challenge Vaerik because of it. If that does not happen, there is the high risk of you bearing weak heirs as Onagh and Asherah did.”
The pain in my chest spread through me and formed a hard, cold lump in my stomach. I had no argument to make because he was right. I could not change the circumstances of my birth, and I’d experienced enough disdain and condescension to know he spoke the truth about some people not accepting me. They were nice enough to me now that I was with Lukas, but what would they be like when I officially became his mate and the future consort?
“What are you going to do?” My voice nearly broke on the last word, but I held the emotion in.
“Nothing,” he answered softly. “Vaerik loves you, and he will choose you as his mate. I cannot prevent that any more than my mother could stop Onagh from choosing Asherah.”
“I don’t understand. Why did you come to see me if not to break us up?”
King Oseron looked at the valley and back to me. I saw the answer in his eyes before he said the words. “The only person who can stop Vaerik from making a choice that could destroy his future is you. I came here to tell you about Onagh in the hope that history will not repeat itself.”
I leaned against the rail, feeling as weak as the day Lukas had exposed me to iron. However, this time the chain was around my neck and pressing against my chest. The king wasn’t going to force me away from Lukas. He was asking me to walk away from the man I loved.
I felt a light squeeze on my hand, reminding me the king still held it. I looked up into his troubled eyes.
“You deserve to be happy after all you have endured, and I wish there was another way. The last thing I want is to hurt Vaerik or you.”
He released my hand and walked away. When the door closed, I sank to the floor, wrapped my arms around my knees, and let the tears come. I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t give up Lukas and watch him take someone else as his mate.
When Aedhna’s arms encircled me, I curled against her like a little girl. She stroked my hair and hummed a soft melody as I cried until I had no tears left.
“I can take the pain away,” she offered gently.
My throat was so raw it hurt to speak. “Can you make it so Lukas and I can stay together?”
She shook her head. “That is a decision you and he must make.”
“But the king said there’s no other choice.”
“Oseron made sacrifices for his people, and his fear of unrest drives him to expect the same from his son. He forgets there is more to being a ruler than the ability to produce strong progeny. Onagh did not have the right strength to lead, but Oseron did. Vaerik possesses it, too.”
Hope kindled in my chest, and I lifted my head to look at her. “Does that mean no one would challenge him for the throne if I was his consort?”
She wiped away the wetness on my cheeks. “It means he could rise to the challenge as you rose to the one I gave you. You did not believe you were up to the tasks, yet here we are on the eve of the final one.”
My stomach fluttered with a mix of excitement and fear. “It’s tomorrow?”
“Yes.” She stood. “Come. I must prepare you.”
I followed her inside where she gave me instructions as she had the first two times. Then she removed all evidence of my emotional meltdown and left a second before the door opened and Lukas came in.
“All ready for tomorrow?” I asked, surprised by how composed I sounded when I was anything but.
“Yes.” He came over to join me on the couch. “I’m sorry I’ve left you on your own the last few days. I won’t see much of you while Seelie is here.”
I moved over to snuggle against his side. “I understand. Hopefully, soon you won’t need to have any more of these meetings with Seelie.”
“I hope so, too.” He wrapped an arm around me. “How do you feel about a change of scenery after Seelie leaves? I have a private retreat in the Daerig Mountains where we could get away from all of this for a week.”
“That sounds amazing.” The thought of going away with him made me instantly feel lighter.
Lukas leaned in to press a light kiss to my mouth. “I’ll tell Faolin to prepare for a trip in three days.”
I smiled at him and rested my head in the crook of his shoulder. Aedhna had given me a sliver of hope about my future with him, and time away from court was exactly what I needed to figure things out. I understood the king’s concerns, but I wasn’t giving up my prince. Not without a fight.
* * *
I hurried along the tunnel that wound in a wide circle down into the rock beneath the temple. It led to a room where portals were created by people coming to the island, and I hoped there were no visitors until I got out of the tunnel. There wasn’t room here for someone to pass without bumping into me.
I reached the portal room, which was nothing more than a cave with sconces high on the walls. It looked like a dead end until I walked to the left side and found the slab of rock that Aedhna had told me about. It blended with the wall unless you were standing beside it, and behind it was a space so narrow I wasn’t sure I would fit inside.
Squeezing behind the slab, I had to contort my body to get through the cramped space. Six feet in, it opened up into a tiny cave with water dribbling down the sides. I sniffed the air and picked up the smell of seaweed and brine. I was under the ocean.
I went to the dry section of wall and touched the ke’tain to it. The wall rippled, and the outline of a doorway appeared in it with steps leading down into the darkness. I shook my head in wonder. No matter how many times I witnessed magic like this, I would never get used to it.
Here I go. I took out my laevik crystal and descended the long flight of stairs. At the bottom, wind whistled, and there was enough light to see without my crystal. I was in what appeared to be a tall rock crevice inside a mountain. The air was warm, so I ruled out the Duergar Mountains, but I was definitel
y no longer on the island.
I walked toward a sliver of daylight up ahead. A few minutes later, I emerged in a place so beautiful I wasn’t sure I could find the words to do it justice.
I was in a small green valley beneath a sky so blue, it hurt my eyes to look at it after the gloom of the tunnel. The valley was ringed with snow-capped mountains, but here it was warm and smelled of flowers, fruit, and sunshine.
Shielding my eyes, I looked toward a lake sparkling in the sun, and I did a double take at the sight of a small herd of kelpies grazing beside it. Closer to me, a pair of fluffy, white hamas romped in the grass, and a nixie began to sing from her perch in a tree.
I turned in a half circle to take in my surroundings and stopped when my gaze landed on a pristine, white stone building with thick columns that reminded me of an ancient Greek temple. I walked toward the building, and as I drew closer, I could make out some of the interior through the wide arched entrance. The building appeared to have only one room with tall windows and a raised dais at the far end on which stood a throne.
A ninny drew my gaze back to the lake where a white kelpie stood slightly apart from the rest, looking at me. As I walked toward it, I remembered the night in the East River when I’d nearly been drowned by a kelpie before I’d grabbed the goddess stone from her mane. That night felt like a decade ago.
The kelpie walked out to meet me when I neared the lake. It was smaller than the rest of the herd, which told me it was still a foal. For a second, I wondered if it might be the same foal that had lain beside me and kept me warm through the night on North Brother Island. There was no way to know, but wouldn’t that be something?
I stripped down to my underthings and walked to the water with the ke’tain in my hand and the foal beside me. At the water’s edge, I grabbed a handful of the kelpie’s mane, and we entered the water. I held on while the kelpie swam to the center of the lake.
The lake wasn’t wide, but it was deep, and the water was so clear I could see all the way to the bottom. We stopped at the deepest part of the lake, and far below was a dim yellow glow.
I looked at the kelpie. “I’m ready if you are.”
He sank below the surface, and I sucked in a deep breath before he took me down with him. It was a reflex action because Aedhna had said the goddess stone would help me breathe in this lake. Even so, I held the air in my lungs as long as I could before I had to let it out.
Down, down we went into the eerie underwater world where schools of colorful fishes darted away from us. Once, I thought I saw the flash of a large silver tail, but whatever it was disappeared before I got a better look.
The ke’tain began to pulse, and it grew stronger the deeper we went. By the time we reached the bottom, it was emitting a soft blue glow, and it thrummed with so much energy my fingers started to feel numb.
The yellow glow came from below the surface of the soft mud. I let go of the kelpie, and it swam away as if it knew what was about to happen. I wished I could go with it because I had a feeling this last pairing was going to hurt a lot.
Bracing myself, I lowered my hand until it hovered a few inches above the glow. Then I laid the ke’tain on top of the one in the mud.
A bright green flash lit up the lake bed a second before a shockwave slammed into me. Excruciating pain enveloped me, and it felt like every bone in my body had been crushed. I welcomed the blessed oblivion that followed.
When I came to, I was floating on my back on the surface of the lake with the kelpie beside me. My body no longer hurt, and I moved my arms and legs to make sure everything worked. I stared at the sky, still dazed. That blast should have killed me.
It took me a minute to notice the strange glow surrounding me. I looked down and sucked in a mouthful of water. The entire lake glowed bright green, and I could no longer see the bottom or the ke’tain. I hoped that meant it was doing what it was supposed to, and I hadn’t accidently turned the lake radioactive.
The shockwave hadn’t killed me, but I felt weaker, and I soon grew tired treading water. The kelpie must have sensed it because he nudged me until I wrapped an arm around his neck. Eventually, I nodded off.
His ninny woke me, and the first thing I noticed was that the green glow was gone except for one spot far below. I watched it until it faded away to a soft blue.
The kelpie turned his head toward me in a silent question. I let go of his neck and took hold of his mane. “Let’s go.”
This time, I didn’t take in a gulp of air first. We dived down, and my eyes were too focused on the blue glow to enjoy the view. My feet hit the bottom, and I wasted no time reaching for the ke’tain without stopping to wonder if it might be too powerful for me to touch now.
A painful tingle rushed from my fingertips to my shoulder, and I almost dropped the ke’tain. I held the stone tightly in my fist until the pain lessened to a dull ache. It was then that I felt a faint vibration at the back of my head. I reached up with my other hand to touch the quivering goddess stone. It had to be somehow absorbing the power from the ke’tain to protect me.
I turned to where I’d left the kelpie, and let out a small scream. Floating a dozen feet away from me were two sirens. Their long hair swirled around them to below their waist where their tails began, and their large eyes resembled those of a Disney princess. Their features were beautiful but so sharp they looked cruel. One had silver hair, and the other’s hair was a darker shade of red than mine.
The red-haired siren motioned at my braid with her webbed hand. Realizing what she wanted, I unraveled my braid so my hair flowed free like theirs. I didn’t move when she swam over and ran her fingers through my hair. She spoke to her friend, and it sounded like dolphin speech. Her friend responded, and I shivered when I saw pointed teeth like those of a shark.
The kelpie was suddenly beside me even though neither of the sirens had shown aggression. I didn’t know if he was being protective or possessive, but his bared teeth were enough to send the sirens racing away through the water.
We rose to the surface, and on the way back to the shore, I couldn’t stop thinking about the sirens’ behavior. It wasn’t until my feet touched the rocky bottom that it occurred to me the sirens had never seen a red-haired faerie. They must have wondered what the heck this creature was with red hair and the legs of a land walker. I smiled to myself. I couldn’t wait to tell Mom and Dad about this.
The other kelpies watched us curiously when we walked out of the lake. For the first time since coming to Faerie, I wished I had a camera. No one back home would ever believe me when I told them I’d seen a whole herd of the creatures.
I picked up my coat to tuck the ke’tain away in the pocket, and I was overcome with euphoria. I did it. The ke’tain had been restored, and now Faerie could heal itself.
Throwing up my arms, I let out a whoop and laughed when some of the kelpies snorted and neighed in response. They were probably snickering at the crazy female dancing in her underwear, but I didn’t care.
I waited a few minutes for the sun to dry my skin before I got dressed. My hair was still damp when I braided it again. It would dry by the time I got back to the temple.
The kelpie foal walked up to me when I was fully dressed. I stroked his nose, and he sniffed my face.
“I guess this is goodbye. Thank you for helping me.” I gave him one last pat and turned to walk back to the crevice in the rock. I stopped when I saw the white building, torn between my desire to see inside and my pressing need to return the ke’tain to the temple. Need won, and I entered the crevice, leaving the valley behind.
Ten minutes later, I silently descended the stairs into the main room of the temple. My eyes and ears were alert for any movement from the guards as I crossed the room and passed through the wards around the altar. Standing behind it, I took a few slow breaths to calm my nerves. This didn’t get any less nerve-racking no matter how often I did it. Thank God this was the last time.
Casting another glance at the guards, I pushed out the illusion
surrounding me to blanket the altar. This was my least favorite part, and I never forgot how close I’d come to getting caught the first time I’d done it.
I took the ke’tain from my pocket. It shocked me again, but I was ready for it. I reached out and deftly switched it with the fake one on the altar.
Noises came from the antechamber above. I froze as two blond males appeared in the entrance and started down the stairs. One I’d never seen before. The other male I didn’t know by name, but I’d recognize him anywhere. He was one of Queen Anwyn’s personal guards.
My heart began to pound. What was he doing here? He should be with the queen in Unseelie.
I withdrew my shaking hand and pressed it to my chest as the two males approached the altar and stopped outside the wards. My eyes were fixed on the queen’s guard, so I didn’t miss the way his gaze moved over the altar and the space around it. To the guards behind him, his stance was relaxed, but they didn’t see the calculating gleam in his eyes when he studied the ke’tain. He was up to something.
Surely, Queen Anwyn wouldn’t attempt to steal the ke’tain again. If the barrier failed, Seelie would be destroyed along with the rest of Faerie.
I glanced toward the two Seelie guards on duty. One look at their faces told me they were as surprised as I was to see the queen’s guard here.
My gaze slid to the other newcomer, who was looking reverently at the fake ke’tain without a hint of suspicious behavior. Maybe he and the queen’s guard weren’t together, and they had merely arrived at the same time.
Maybe I was so on edge I was making something out of nothing. Tennin had told me once that it would take four or five strong court faeries to get past the ward that protected the ke’tain. And that was before more powerful wards had been added after the ke’tain was returned. I was able to pass through them only because of my goddess stone.
