Queen of Light (The Forbidden Fae Book 3)

by Linsey Hall

  “Yes,” said Earth. “It is of vital importance to both you and the darkness—it is the place where you died, and were eventually reborn.”

  “I was born there?”

  Earth nodded. “And there you will return, to fight the battle again. But it will be bigger than it was the last time. You drove the darkness back into the earth, but now you must seek it in its home to finish the task.”

  “I had no idea there was a portal there. No one did, I thought.”

  “None of the current Fire Fae realize. But you must find it—you are the only one who can.”

  “Because the darkness calls to me?”

  He nodded. “Find it and go there, finish what you were born for.”

  Oh, that sounded really final. Fear shivered icily down my spine.

  “My friends were kidnapped. Could the darkness be responsible?”

  Air nodded. “It may have taken them to draw you to it. It is an opportunistic evil, and if they were in the wrong place at the wrong time, perhaps it has decided to take them and use them.”

  “How?” Panic fluttered in my chest.

  “I do not know. Perhaps as bait, or maybe more.”

  “Hang on. If I’m the one who can defeat it, why would it call me to it? Why is it insisting that I burn the moor? Couldn’t it do that itself?”

  Air shook her head. “It doesn’t have that power. Only you are capable of such powerful flame. It needs you to complete its vision.”

  “Which is why it’s so determined to control my mind.”

  “It wants to subsume you,” Time said. “It wants to control you and your magic so that its vision will be realized.”

  “But you must defeat it.” Air’s voice was so final that I knew it was all she would—or could—say on the matter.

  At the cost of my life. “None of this was what I’d been hoping to find.”

  No one said anything, and the silence hung heavily on the air.

  I drew in an unsteady breath and nodded at the gods. I didn’t thank them—I wasn’t sure there was much to thank them for. Long ago, they’d chosen me to become the Queen of Light. To become one of them, but not.

  On one hand, it had been an honor to be given so much power and responsibility.

  On the other hand, I’d ended up dead the first time. And it looked like I might end up dead again, as well, since I wasn’t immortal like they were.

  So we were about even as far as I was concerned. Hell, maybe they should be thanking me.

  I didn’t say it, though. Instead, I turned toward the exit that would lead toward the blacksmith. Maybe he could help me more.

  The palace of light shimmered around me as I walked, and I could feel their eyes on my back. Probably wondering if I was worthy.

  Hell, I wondered it, too.

  The palace gave way to a forest of trees that gleamed with a golden glow. They welcomed me as I walked down the path, and I couldn’t help but feel like things were still familiar here.

  Is this where I had spent my afterlife?

  I shivered. It’d be lonely, if that were the case.

  Would I come back here when I died?

  I shivered at the thought.

  Puka appeared at my side, trotting along down the path. Well, that was not expected.

  I looked down, spotting her white fur. “Spying again?”

  You know it.

  “I don’t think I liked what I learned.”

  I don’t blame you, but maybe the blacksmith can help.

  “That’s my hope.” I sighed. “This is a quest, right? A quest to gain more magic and strength so that I can be victorious and live happily ever after.”

  Yes. I think so.

  “Well, I’ve had plenty of friends go on quests like this and come out on the other side, happier and stronger. But…”

  It’s not looking that way for you.

  “No.” My mind raced. If I didn’t find help here, I’d have to find another way. Because there was no way I was going down with the darkness. I was going to defeat it and move on with my life, happily ever after, damn it. “The blacksmith will help me. We’re not done here yet.”

  Puka made a noncommittal sound.

  “I’d appreciate a resounding ‘yes’.”

  Yes. Woo!

  “Not convincing.”

  Sorry.

  A second later, the trees thinned and the ground gave way to an enormous crevasse. It was at least two hundred feet across and so deep that I couldn’t see the bottom.

  I hissed, jumping backward, and Puka mimicked my actions, making a fearful, chattering noise.

  That came out of nowhere.

  Adrenaline raced through my veins, making my legs turn to jelly. I inspected the crevasse, my heart thundering. A narrow bridge swung across the enormous gap, a light breeze buffeting it. Sturdy ropes connected slats of wood, but it looked so delicate and flimsy that my stomach turned. The bridge led directly to a tiny cave that sat partway up the side of a stone mountain.

  Unlike the realm of light behind me, the mountain was made of solid stone. Veins of shining metal streaked through the surface, silver and gold and copper.

  Puka gave it an appraising look. Whew. Nice place.

  I shot Puka a look with a raised brow. “Really? You don’t prefer my light realm?”

  It’s nice and all, but foxes like to sleep underground, remember?

  “Oh, right.” I ruffled her fur. “Well, as soon as this is all over, you can have a nice nap.”

  Assuming we’re alive.

  I shivered. “Positivity, Puka. Positivity.”

  As I stepped onto the bridge and gripped the ropes, the thing swung gently, making my stomach pitch. Slowly, I started across, my skin chilling as the wind blew my hair.

  Puka trotted behind me. Shouldn’t you fly? You have wings.

  “Have you seen me fly with these new things? I’m terrible.” I eyed the tiny cave entrance ahead of me. “Me flying toward that cave would be like trying to thread a needle with a shoelace.”

  That’s a terribly analogy. You’re bad at flying, not as big as a house.

  I scowled back at the fox, who had turned russet orange as we approached the mountain. “You’re nitpicking.”

  Just saying.

  “Hmmmm,” I grumbled at her, then turned back.

  It could be a test, that’s all.

  As soon as Puka’s words reached my ears, the bridge beneath my feet trembled violently. My skin chilled. The ropes snapped, and the wooden slats fell out from underneath my feet.

  My stomach lurched into my throat and I lunged for Puka, grabbing the fox around the middle as we plummeted into the crevasse.

  I called upon my wings, feeling magic prickle across my skin as they flared from my back.

  Go, go, go!

  Despite the fact that we’d been unable to see the ground earlier, it was rising up fast to meet us. I forced all of my strength and magic to my wings, hurtling us upward. We moved so fast that I shot by the cave entrance in less than a second, and had to slow my ascent.

  The air was even colder and thinner up here, and my lungs heaved as I flew us back toward the cave entrance.

  Careful! Puka’s concerned shout was nearly lost on the wind as I flew erratically toward my goal. If I did this wrong, we’d slam right into the side of the mountain.

  “This is what I was talking about,” I muttered.

  Yeah, yeah.

  I lined up with the hole in the mountain wall, hurtling toward it with as much accuracy as I could muster. We made it into the cave, my wings scraping the side walls. I landed at a run, gripping Puka tightly about the middle.

  The hallway we entered was ornately decorated with metal sculptures covering every surface of the narrow space. I set Puka on the ground, my gaze racing over the interior of the long, dark hallway.

  It’s like a metal forest, Puka said.

  I nodded absently, awed by the inside of the mountain. There were trees sculpted of every metal—gold, silv
er, bronze, copper—with golden lights sparkling amongst the branches, providing light to walk by. There was only one direction to go, so I turned that way, heading deeper into the mountain.

  Puka followed. The sound of metal hitting metal beckoned us deep into the cave, and the hallway eventually opened up to reveal an enormous space that looked like a cathedral made of gold.

  In the center, a man with beautiful bronze skin leaned over a gleaming forge. His skin gleamed in the light, dancing with reflections of the flame. He was literally made of metal.

  And he was naked.

  As I watched, his skin shifted to gold and then silver, and I realized that he used no tools to forge his art. Instead, he put his hands directly in the flame.

  I had no idea what to say to him. “Hey,” seemed a bit casual for a god made of silica gold.

  Fortunately, he turned first, his features so smooth and perfect that he looked like a statue from Ancient Rome. I kept my eyes on his face, since his front was just as naked as his back and this was not a fig-leaf situation. The fact that he was metal helped barely at all.

  “Caera of the Fire Fae.” His voice rumbled low, like the roar of fire. “You have come at last.”

  “Am I late?”

  His shoulder lifted up in a laconic shrug. “There is no late, but it has been a very long time since I have seen you.”

  He said it with a heaviness that caught my attention. “Does that mean something?”

  “That you banished the darkness for much longer than I expected.”

  I didn’t know what to make of that. “But the darkness came back. An antiquarian dug up the brooch—I mean, the fibula—that I’d used to banish it.”

  “After nearly five thousand years.” His shoulder went up in another lazy shrug. “That is far longer than I anticipated the darkness would stay buried. But I suppose the others didn’t mention that.”

  “No, they didn’t.” I frowned. “What if the darkness had come back sooner? Would I have been born again sooner?”

  “Yes.”

  “And you expect me to die in the fight.”

  “Yes.”

  Shit.

  “So I’m meant to be reborn over and over to fight this darkness and die?”

  “Yes.”

  “Say something more than ‘yes’!”

  His metal lips turned downward. “It’s more than you are getting from the others.”

  “That’s not saying much.” Understanding dawned. “They didn’t want to tell me that much because they don’t want me to know the reality of my fate.”

  “Do you want to know?”

  The question silenced me. Did I want to? “Does it matter? You’ve told me.” I shivered. “That I’m fated to be born over and over again only to die early while fighting the evil inherent in the world.”

  Damn, this was so not what I’d wanted to hear when I’d come up here.

  “Yes, I’ve told you. But only because you’ve surprised me.”

  “Well, I’m going to surprise you again. Because this time, I’m not dying.”

  “But you and the darkness are connected. Once again, it has polluted you.”

  “And for one to die, the other must?”

  He nodded. “That is generally how it goes, yes.”

  “Yeah, I’m going to ignore that bit and figure a way around it.” Somehow.

  He ignored the statement. “Did you bring the fibula?”

  I dug into my pocket and handed it to him, feeling a spark of energy as the metal passed from my hand to his.

  He gripped it tightly and looked down at the twisted form. “Have a bit more care with gifts from the gods.”

  “It got rid of the darkness for five thousand years, didn’t it?”

  He sighed. “I suppose you are right. It has been a very long time.” He turned to the forge, his head slightly bowed. “A very long time.”

  “Have you been working this forge for that long?”

  He sighed, almost weary. “Sometimes, I envied you your death.”

  “Oh man, that’s a bummer.” That was probably not how one was meant to talk to a god, but the words just slipped out. “You could come visit earth, you know. Get out a little more.”

  He looked back at me, surprised.

  “What? You’ve never considered it?”

  “We Elemental Gods do not desire the worship that other gods covet.”

  “Not for that, weirdo. Come down for a beer.”

  “A… beer?”

  I nodded.

  He sighed and turned back to the forge. “I will consider it.”

  The flames roared to life, and he began to work. The time for conversation had passed, but that was good, since I’d already called him a weirdo.

  Heat rolled over me as he worked, and though I somewhat expected his metal form to melt, it didn’t.

  At some point, Puka disappeared, but I was so entranced by his work that I missed it. When he turned to me and held out the fibula, the metal gleamed with light from within.

  I took it, shock running up my arm.

  “There’s magic in here.”

  He nodded. “There always was, but it was so broken you couldn’t feel it. That brooch will allow you to channel the magic that we’ve given you. No longer will it be too much for you to control.”

  So I was going to stop being a fire hose. Hopefully.

  “What do I do with it?” The metal tingled more fiercely against my palm with every second that passed, and the golden tattoos on my arm gleamed even brighter.

  “Pin it to your clothes,” he said. “Cloaks are no longer worn with the frequency that they once were, but you could pin it to your jacket.”

  “All right.” I raised the pin to my shoulder, but it sparked even more brightly with magic, making me stop. The fibula glowed, turning a brilliant gold like my arm. “What’s happening?”

  “I don’t know.” Confusion echoed in the blacksmith’s voice. “It is crafted from ore found at the center of the Earth, not gold.”

  The glowing metal began to shimmer and disappear. It was sinking into my hand. My arm glowed more brightly, vibrating with magic that made my teeth chatter. “What’s happening?”

  Shock gleamed in the blacksmith’s metal eyes. “It’s becoming one with you. The magic is now yours.”

  “Not just on loan?” That was definitely how I’d interpreted it from what the other gods had said.

  “Not just on loan. Forever.”

  Magic thrummed through me, power vibrating through my body. There was so much of it in me that it was hard to process, but it didn’t feel uncontrollable.

  “You are not what we expected, Caera of the Fire Fae.”

  “None of this is what I expected.” My shoulder burned, and I tugged aside my shirt to look at it. The brooch had created a new tattoo on my skin, right where I’d worn it before, in my past life. The ornate golden circle glowed with light, a final tattoo completing the design that ran up my arm.

  “Go now,” the blacksmith said. “You have done what you came here to do, and you must go finish what the darkness has started.”

  I chilled, but nodded. “Remember my invitation.”

  He looked at me, his brow furrowed, then nodded.

  I turned to go, walking quickly from the fabulous cave. When I reached the edge of the tunnel, the sky soaring wide in front of me, his voice sounded from behind.

  “Wait, Caera.”

  I turned back to see him partway down the tunnel, surrounded by his fabulous trees.

  “You took the bridge when you came.”

  I nodded. “I did, but it broke.”

  “You were meant to learn from that.”

  “Learn what? Not to trust rickety bridges?”

  He gave me a long look. “Be bold, Caera of the Fire Fae. Have faith in yourself, and just maybe, you’ll get your wish.” His gaze flicked to my shoulder where the fibula had become a tattoo. “Because you are more than I thought you could be.”

  15

/>   One moment, I was standing at the edge of the blacksmith’s mountain, and the next, I was back in Iain’s chambers.

  I blinked, my head spinning.

  This is it.

  That was all I was going to get.

  My breath shuddered out of my body as my mind raced.

  I felt stronger, that was for sure. The magic inside me pulsed with strength, seeming to vibrate at my shoulder, where my new tattoo glowed. But the darkness was there, too, deep inside of me.

  I feel it.

  My acknowledgment seemed to excite it, because it tried to rise. I shoved it back down, the action easier than ever. The knowledge that I could more easily control it settled my soul a little bit, but the terror still threatened to rise to the surface.

  There was no other way to drive the darkness from myself.

  For it to die…

  I had to as well.

  And I had no answer to that. No idea how to beat it.

  “Caera!” The relief in Iain’s voice was palpable. I turned, spotting him striding toward me, a relieved smile on his face. “You’re back already.”

  “How long has it been?” I asked, my head spinning. What was I going to tell him?

  “Only a couple hours.” He stopped in front of me, gripping my shoulders with gentle hands.

  “Good.” I swallowed hard, meeting his gaze.

  This could be the last time I saw him. At least, the last time that wasn’t in the middle of a battle.

  “Were you successful?” he asked. “Were you able to drive the darkness from yourself?”

  I opened my mouth, about to let the truth spill free. At the last moment, I bit back the information.

  I couldn’t tell him.

  He’d understand immediately what it meant—if I went to the battle, I wasn’t coming back. Not if I also wanted to destroy the evil and save my people.

  He’d never let me go.

  It wasn’t his place to decide, but he’d try to stop me. To save me.

  I shuddered at the idea of what was to come, almost wanting to let him decide. To let him keep me safe.

  But no.

  I was born for this. Chosen for this. I was the only one who could do it.

  “I’m fine,” I said. “I’m good now.” My gaze raced over his face, memorizing his features.