The morning had Shade wide-awake with the sunrise. She lingered in the main entryway staircase of the palace which everyone had to eventually pass through to get to the dining hall. She was sitting on the bottom step of the grand staircase, impatiently tapping her foot over and over. She watched as guards, servants, and decorated warriors treaded past her, never giving her a second glance. None of them were Draden or his brother Andraste, and the twin’s failure to appear made Shade want to pull her hair out. How could they have been so close, and she’d failed to ask them the most important question she had. After about an hour, she felt like throwing in the towel and retreated to the dining hall to get breakfast.
Her stomach was much better this morning. The world no longer swayed, tilted, or made her stomach lurch. She was relieved to avoid a hangover, especially since she had decided to travel back home today. Spotting Sary, she slumped into the empty chair next to her. Stephen occupied the chair on the other side of Sary. He leaned forward, giving her a questioning eyebrow lift.
“What?” Shade’s dark mood had yet to go away.
Stephen grinned and shrugged. “Nothing, Shade. How are we this fine and beautiful day? Going somewhere?” He eyed her pack as she pulled it off and tucked it under the table.
“Yes, I’m going home after we eat. Has anyone seen Draden? I have to ask him something.” She loaded her plate up with fruits, pancakes, and syrup. She was famished after missing almost a whole day of nourishment due to her overwhelming, self-imposed depression.
“Home? But we aren’t scheduled to return until tomorrow,” Sary responded. “Today, Stephen and Than will finish organizing the troops to take with us to Guildrin that Prince Lotinar has so generously provided for Queen Zinara’s disposal. What’s going on?” Sary said as her eyes narrowed in on Shade, waiting for an answer. “Does this have anything to do with Dylan’s departure?”
Shade dropped her fork suddenly, its clang ringing against the floor as she pressed her lips together tightly. She glared back at Sary, not appreciating her friend’s inquisitiveness.
“No, I just need to go home. I can’t stand it here in Faerie anymore. I really don’t think this is the place for me. I’m not a Queen. I’m not anything like that. I just want to ask Draden if my father had any other family I can contact and be done with it.” She grabbed a fork from the empty setting beside hers and shoved a piece of pancake into her mouth.
Sary and Stephen glanced at each other before they resumed eating their breakfast. Shade had grown weary of anyone’s company and itched to get out of the palace as soon as possible. If she couldn’t find Draden, then she would just go home without speaking to him. She was feeling suffocated in Faerie.
Shade glanced around to find Ursad heading her way. He tapped her shoulder as he passed, motioning for her to follow. Shade scooped her pack up and scurried behind him, glad to have an excuse to leave the table. She followed quietly behind him until they had reached the other side of the great staircase. He waved her toward a room down another hall and clicked the door closed behind them after entering. Slowly, he turned and smiled at her, his eyes gleaming.
“I had to get you in private to give you this. Draden told me to give it to you and you alone.” Ursad pulled out a letter from his pocket. It was sealed with a wax imprint and rolled up like an ancient scroll. Shade plucked it from his hand and stared at it. She ran her finger under the edge of the paper, breaking the seal, and unrolled the thin, tissue-like paper.
Shade,
I feel our words were too brief yesterday, and I still have much more to tell you about your father. The battles are growing more intense as we speak, so I’ve had to leave to tend to such matters. I do however wish to let you know that your grandmother, your father’s mother and the old ruler of the Southern Realm, is indeed still alive. She was imprisoned and exiled by Aveta when the Queen found out just how difficult it would be to kill her. I have sent Andraste to find the exact location of exile for you. When he finds it, he has instructions to come get you at your human dwelling with Camulus and some of your friends, for protection, and to take you to there. Her name is Lana. I hope you have a good journey.
-Draden
Shade reread the note several times before looking up at Ursad, who patiently waited to see if she would let on what it said. She gulped and folded the note, stuffing it into her pocket. She was feeling elated. She was going to see her grandmother! Excitement burst in her chest and made her want to twirl and dance around the room. She smiled at Ursad and laughed out loud.
“Draden is helping me find my grandmother, Ursad! I can’t believe it! I’m actually going to meet a fey relative! I have so much to ask her, I don’t even know what to say to her. What should I say to her? What if she doesn’t like me? What if….”
Ursad held up his hands, interrupting her sudden outburst. “Shade, hold on. Don’t start having a panic attack. I’m sure she will be thrilled to meet you, too. I’m really happy for you.” He hugged her and smiled back.
Shade felt like she was going to jump out of her skin. She had to head back home now to wait for Andraste and Camulus to return with her grandmother’s location. She felt a sudden urge to leave immediately.
“I have to go, Ursad. I have to go home first and then wait for them. Can Camulus take me back right now? Where is he?”
Ursad’s grin wavered. He was happy for her, but his face fell and betrayed the sadness he felt at her words.
“Leave already? But you just got here, Shade. I really wanted to spend some more time with you before you had to go. Can’t you stay a bit longer? I doubt Andraste has found her yet.” He studied her face as it changed from excited to slightly annoyed.
“Ursad, I have to go. I can’t stay here and wait. I’m sorry if you wanted to hang out a bit longer, but I just can’t. I feel like the land of Faerie is pressing down on me, and I can’t breathe. You do understand that, right?” She watched him slowly nod, his face remaining glum. She sighed and grabbed the doorknob, waiting for the answer to her question.
“Of course, I do, Shade.”
“Do you know where Camulus might be?” Ursad nodded and waved her out the door. They exited and walked silently down the hall. She followed him through the palace until they reached a large conference room with the doors standing wide open. Inside, several guards and warriors stood around a large wooden table occupied by dozens of maps. Camulus, who was staring down at one map, looked up at them as they entered the room. Ursad motioned to him quickly and Camulus nodded, straightened, and walked toward them.
“Your Majesty. Hello, Shade.” He bowed before the Prince and nodded to Shade. “Ready to go home?” He looked at her pensively, narrowing his fiery orange eyes, trying to read her thoughts.
“More than ready. Thanks for the ride, Camulus.” She smiled, feeling optimistic for the first time in so long.
He nodded, smiling as he held out his hand toward her. Shade reached out, but before she could envelope her hand in his, a loud boom rang through the castle, followed by another and another.
“What was that?” Shade asked, swinging around and watching the others gather around the grand windows to peer outside.
“Your Majesty! A group of Aveta’s soldiers are attacking the East Gate! They have already shattered the wall and infiltrated the grounds!”
Ursad nodded at the guard, giving him quick directions for countering. Shade stood bewildered and wondered what she should do. She gulped as she glanced out the windows, which happen to face the East Gate, watching the smoke and dirt puff up into a cloud around it.
“Shade, stay here. Sary and Stephen said they were going to make the rounds with the guards on that side of the castle grounds. I will go and make sure they are all right.” Camulus nodded toward her, but before he could leave, Shade grabbed his arm.
“I’m coming with you. No ifs, ands or buts about it. They’re my friends, and they might need me.”
Camulus shook his head, frowning at her persistence. “Very well,
Shade, but do try to stay out of the way. They aren’t here to play.” He grasped her hand from his arm as the air around them swirled and shivered. A moment later, they stood staring at the chaos in the yard behind the East Gate.
Guards had just managed to filter in and were clanging their swords and shields against Aveta’s Unseelie soldiers. They whipped around as if dancing with Ursad’s defenders. Shields flashed as they struggled, slamming into each other’s ranks with such force to send some flying onto their backs.
Shade’s eyes widened in terror, but she quickly composed herself, scanning the crowd for her friends. She spotted Sary’s fiery, red mane of hair and dashed toward her, yanking her sword from her pack as she readied herself.
“Sary!” Shade jumped at a soldier who was barreling toward her friend with a huge axe, swinging his arm back in a wide arc. Shade gripped her sword, propelling it forward in a sideswiping arc, slicing the soldier’s abdomen before he could rebound. He dropped the axe in a howl of pain and turned toward her. He grinned under the oxidized metal helmet which framed his face, his teeth flashing at her as she stepped forward again to deliver another blow.
Dodging her aim, he laughed, spitting on the floor before her and pulling out a long dagger from his belt. “That wasn’t very ladylike, girl,” he hissed at her, his eyes wild and crazed behind the nose guard of the helmet. How he can possibly see well with that hunk of junk on his head is beyond me, thought Shade. She sucked in a breath before plunging forward, faking a left swing in favor of a forward jab. Her blade met its mark, sinking into his upper abdomen, making him spew red blood from his mouth.
Gurgling, he dropped his dagger, obviously having underestimated her from the surprised look in his eyes. She stepped in front of him as he sank to his knees, giving him a push with her foot. He fell to the ground as his breath escaped him.
Shade turned toward Sary, hoping the distraction had not taken too long to help her.
“Stephen!” Sary’s voice echoed in the mass of grunts and screams, making Shade rush toward her wailing. Other soldiers blocked her path, and she took them down with less difficulty than the first, finally reaching Sary as more of Ursad’s soldiers filled the area, beating back the last few Unseelie soldiers. She heard Sary’s whimper as she came upon her, finding her bent over Stephen’s splayed body.
“Sary! Oh no, what happened?” Shade knelt down to see blood gurgling from a stab wound in the left side of Stephen’s chest. It spewed like a fountain. Crimson blood was staining his clothes along with Sary’s hands and arms as she pressed down on the wound. His mouth dripped with trails of red as he choked on the fluid.
“Crap! They got his lung, probably his heart, too! Sary, can you heal him?” Shade looked back up at the Warrior Princess, whose own face had paled from the power she‘d already shunted into Stephen. “Sary?” Shade asked as she fumbled through her pack, yanking out a towel for his wound and a healing potion Braelynn had given her for any injuries.
Sary’s silence, along with Stephen’s sudden stillness, stopped Shade. She looked up from her pack and dropped it, peering over at Stephen. His eyes stared blankly up at the sky above, glazing over into a distant stare. His gurgling had stopped, and his body was still. There was not even any movement to show his breath. Shade grabbed him, shaking his shoulders and yelling his name. Sary fell over his body, wailing in a deafening cry, which made Shade want to run far away, into the forest, and never look back.
Shade grabbed the potion, dumping some into his mouth and directing him to swallow. His still face made her want to scream at him. Her despair raged through her into anger as the flood of tears spilled down her cheeks, splashing onto his face.
“No, Stephen, no! Swallow the potion. Please, you can’t die! No!” Shade’s sobs echoed Sary’s as they both shook with grief. The battle was over, and the last Unseelie soldiers were shackled and shuffled away in iron chains. Shade tried to breathe in an effort to calm herself as she took in the scene. Bodies lay strewn across the grounds, blood staining the emerald grasses into dark, rusty-red smears. The gate was now being mended, and no more soldiers came through.
Why would she send such a small group instead of a battalion to a castle? What is Aveta doing? Shade thought. It doesn’t make sense at all.
Sary’s screams had turned into quieter sobs as she gripped Stephen’s body. His facial tattoos stood out dark and stark against his now sallow skin. Shade breathed in hard as she stood up, giving Sary some privacy. Her whole body shook as she stood, feeling lost and confused.
“Shade, let’s go inside. Ursad’s people will help Sary.” Soap had made it out for the last part of the battle. Blood streaked his shirt and hands, but none seemed to be from him. At least, not from any wound Shade could see.
“I have to help Sary,” her voice quivered out quietly as she shook her head, still in shock.
“It’s okay, Shade. They got her. They will help her with Stephen. Don’t worry. You’re in shock too, and you need to rest now. Come on.” Soap’s voice gently coaxed her along, until he just gave up and picked her up. He carried her into the safety of the castle, her sobs quieting down to a whimper.
Inside the castle, he returned her to her room, instructing her to drink some water and clean up. He waited as she entered the bathroom, stripping off her blood-soaked clothes. They came off sticky and cold, making her want to throw them away. She stepped into the warm shower and let the water rinse Stephen’s dark blood away. She must have stood there for a long time until Soap’s banging on the door pulled her back from her catatonic stare.
Finishing in the bathroom, she slipped on a fresh pair of jeans and a dark blue T-shirt. She opened the door of the bathroom to find Soap waiting patiently on one of the chairs. He was still in his blood-streaked garments but looked relieved to see her emerge. He held her pack, retrieved from the battle. He stood up and came to her, pushing her loose, wet strands of hair from her face.
“How is Sary?” Shade felt a pain shoot through her chest at the mention of her friend. Sary had lost her one and only mate. Shade could bet Sary was still with Stephen’s body, probably quite reluctant to let go.
“She’s quite in shock. Hysterical at times, but she won’t leave Stephen. Quite understandable. I think it might take days before she emerges from it.” He sighed as he rubbed his head. Soap glanced back at her and gave her a weak smile and hugged her as the tears threatened to pour out again.
“It’s okay, Shade. It was a surprise attack. There’s nothing we could’ve done. It’s alright.” He stroked her hair as she cried into his shirt, leaving wet spots scattered across the front. She pulled away after a while and nodded at him. She wanted to go home now more than ever.
“I need to get out of here, Soap. I need to go home.”
He nodded back to her, shushing her quietly. “I’ll get Camulus. Get all your stuff together. You’ll feel better at home.” He tried to mask reluctance in his voice at seeing her go, but Shade barely registered it. She nodded back to him, turning to get her pack together.
Camulus entered her room soon after Soap returned. The Elven-Pixie’s face remained as blank as it could be. He gave her a nod, holding his hand out toward her again. She cracked a weak grin at him, relieved he had come so fast.
“Soap?” Shade paused, turning back toward the Changeling Teleen warrior.
“Yes, Shade?” Soap looked up at her expectantly.
“Please tell Sary I’m sorry.” She sighed as she walked closer to Camulus.
“I will. I’m sure she knows it.” Soap smiled at her, sadness remaining in his stormy, green eyes. Shade turned back toward Camulus, taking his soft, green hands in hers, and let the jaunt take her away. She only wished it would take away the pain Sary felt right now.
Chapter Eleven