Her lips found his and pressed into the softness they offered. Tiny thrills travelled down her skin, bringing a fiery blushed coloring to the surface as she pulled back and took in his burning eyes.
“Ready for that bath?” She whispered, brushing back a loose lock of his black hair. His dreamy look made her giddy as he nodded slightly, looking enchanted with her so close to him. He made it obvious how he felt about her, and that was all she needed.
“Come on then.” She tugged him down the hall, his firm grip on her hand feeling more reassuring as moments went by.
Everything was quiet, and most had already retreated to their rooms. The sense of foreboding echoed through the halls of the Scren Palace, as if even the walls knew of the danger to come. But for now, there was only serenity and silence.
Chapter Eleven
The Withering Palace
THEY PEEKED OVER the stones and fallen logs that hid their position near the outskirts of the Unseelie fortress. The looming Withering Palace brought nothing but bad memories flooding back into Shade’s mind. She shook them off and tried to calm her fluttering heart. Benton was now walking straight up toward the gate, and it took all her strength to watch her little brother get closer and closer to the danger of the Unseelie hordes.
Was he guaranteed a spot on the prison guard? What if they sent him to the wrong post? What if they killed him on the spot? She hoped and prayed the enchantment powder he held in his fist would work on the leader of the Unseelie army. Vange was also a witch, so it would be hard to get a potion or spell past her. They were betting on her not being the overseer of the placement of guards, being it was such a minor position to coordinate the castle’s inner defenses. She was more of the actual army’s leader, not the castle guard’s warden. This was their only chance to get it right. She hoped Benton’s smooth persuasion and the powder he would sneeze into the guard’s faces would get him what he needed.
Even so, the rock hard knot forming in her stomach made her want to run out there and drag her little brother back to safety alongside her. She’d have to wait a full day to make sure he was posted where he needed to be to turn herself in.
Please work. Please….
Shade would kill anyone if they hurt him. She’d burn the palace to the ground and relish the fluttering ashes if anyone touched him. Even though she was sure that was Kilara’s plan anyway, she’d make sure it would happen if anything bad happened, especially to her own flesh and blood.
Benton walked with a surly confidence right up to the gate before they even noticed him. He wasn’t part faery, but like Shade, being a fire elemental was highly advantageous. His magic was also pretty potent—no one would even know he was so utterly human unless they actually took the time to look past the glamour spells woven tightly around him. Laced together, the sibling’s spells were impervious to any faery magic, an advantage of human magic. It was the closest anything on earth could get to mask someone as a faery.
Still, Shade caught herself holding her breath as she watched him freeze with his hands up, hiding the small vial of powder between his fingers as the Unseelie guards yelled at him to stop and be stripped of weapons. This was it. If their plan didn’t work to get him into the Unseelie palace, all was for nothing, and the fall of Faerie was imminent.
Let him pass… let him pass….
Shade’s body shook with nervousness. She was sure to chew her bottom lip into bloody shreds with her twitchy anticipation.
The guards nodded at him as they listened to his explanation for waltzing up to the palace. Once he’d been searched, she watched him slowly hold his hand out, right before he sneezed and blew the powder around him in a quick circle. It worked, coating the confused guards in an instant. They visibly relaxed and started smiling at him, even patting him on the back and joking as they headed back into the palace like old comrades. She prayed Vange wouldn’t recognize him with his shaggy hair. It’d been shorter when she’d last seen him, and he was a lot taller now. More muscular, too, but leaner than he used to be. Still, her nerves were fried, and the long wait would gnaw on her patience during the endless night ahead.
Shade wondered if she would know if anything happened to him. She didn’t have a link to him like she did with Dylan or Corb, but somehow, she felt confident she would know. It wasn’t something she wanted to feel. If anything happened to Benton, she was sure she would lose it. It was bad enough not having their mother anymore.
The thought sobered her up a bit, her fatigue stabbing at her bones as she stared through the dark trees surrounding them. She’d watched them escort Benton through the gates and out of her sight, deep into the belly of the Unseelie palace. Slipping away with Dylan, back to their encampment, which was a lengthy hike away, she swallowed the hard rock in her throat and hurried, jumping over rocks and running through the forest to burn the fear growing inside of her. It always crept back in, but she would squash before it would ever control her again.
Benton was probably slamming down ale with the other guards right now, laughing at crude jokes and stealing money from them as he cheated his way through card games. He was a smooth talker and had a way with persuasive spells. He had studied intensively in Shade’s absence, with several witches and warlocks in the palace. Shade hoped it would be enough to keep him alive.
DYLAN DUG A stick into the shifting dirt around the campfire. They could only burn it in daylight, for at night, they’d risk being spotted by Unseelie scouts. The woods were crawling with Unseelie. Even the cloak of glamour around them could not keep them hidden if they were to be approached too closely.
He was as nervous as Shade, and his eyes followed her pacing back and forth on the other side of the fire.
“Come sit down and eat something. Starving and worrying yourself to death won’t help any. Tomorrow it’s your turn. You need to keep your energy up.”
Shade halted in her steps and watched him across the fire. The flames danced across his features in the dimming afternoon sun. The gloom of clouds shaded them from the relentless heat, but it did nothing to comfort her. Figuring he was right, she plopped onto the fallen log next to him but continued to bite her lip.
“Here.” Dylan handed her a plateful of rabbit meat and some vegetables they had brought along. She chewed on it silently, barely tasting the roasted food. It all tasted bland, and her agitation was to blame.
“Benton will do great. I have a lot of confidence in him.”
“Things could go wrong really fast.”
“They could go really right, too. Better to just let things play out than to worry yourself into a frenzy. You won’t be of any use when you have to do the same thing tomorrow. Let him do it, Shade. Trust others for once.”
Shade stopped eating and glared at Dylan. “He’s my brother. I’m responsible for him. My mother would be turning in her grave if she knew he was in there with all those Unseelie scum surrounding him.” She placed her plate on the ground next to her feet and bounced her knee up and down as her eyes looked through the flickering flames of the fire. She wanted to be mad, heck, even kick her plate across the ground, but Dylan had to smile at her in that moment, knowing just how to disarm her. Darn those pearly whites.
“Benton is almost eighteen. Look what you were doing at his age. Not yet queen, but not quite following the rules, either.”
“I know, I’m just… you know. Big sister and all.”
“I know.” He reached over to gather her long brown hair over her shoulders so he could get closer and snuggle her neck. It sent shivers down her skin and her worry melted away.
“You’re so bad.” She let out a giggle as his lips tickled her skin.
“Am I?”
She smiled as his lips found her earlobe. “Yes! You’re distracting me from worrying so much.”
“That’s the point, my dear.”
She sighed, letting his kisses relax her even more. Her fingers subconsciously made their way to the ring on her right hand, feeling the ridges and its snug fit around h
er finger. The ring vibrated at his touch, softly glowing as though it were alive. It had been a bit disconcerting at first, but over time she’d gotten used to its life pulse. It amplified their link, and she could almost feel Dylan’s racing heart through it. She turned to meet his lips, relishing the warmth they radiated. His smoky pine scent felt like home, something that hadn’t been anywhere for her but where he was lately. She tugged at his clothes to yank him closer, as if she could never let him go ever again. He’d be joining her soon in the Unseelie palace, and the time to hold him close was running out. Once at the castle, Benton would let him in and they would come get her and Rowan out, by any means possible.
If only the very real danger of the mission wouldn’t gnaw at the back of her brain so much. Who knew if they would even get back out of it alive? If they couldn’t escape the clutches of the Unseelie, at least this moment, with Dylan’s comforting love in her world, it would all be worthwhile.
He was her home defined, in the flesh.
Chapter Twelve
Rowan
“READY?”
“As I’ll ever be.” Dylan pulled Shade to his chest, running his fingers through her long dark locks. It made her scalp tingle, and she sighed at his comforting touch. He pulled back to look her in the eyes. The fear was apparent in them, even though she was outwardly calm.
“You can do this.”
Shade nodded, reaching up to touch his cheek. His hand quickly joined hers, the warmth of their touch filling them both as their magic intertwined. It made her smile. Knowing he’d be waiting to rescue her would make the task easier.
“I’ll be waiting for you to rescue me.”
Dylan grinned, his eyes reflecting the sun like a mirror. “I’ll be there, right on time. I’ll always come for you.”
She threw him a reassuring nod and let go. She turned toward the palace and began walking. Nothing broke her heart more than heading away from her betrothed. Only returning to him would make the twist in her heart relax. The blood bind between them had remained, even through all the trials and tribulations they’d endured. She’d begun to think it would never release them. Even so, if it did happen to break one day, their bond as mates would always be there, his heart softly igniting hers in the darkest of times.
They were not far from the Unseelie palace, just far enough to be out of view of the guards. As she traipsed into their line of vision alone, she was surrounded even more quickly than Benton had been. The guards had definitely stepped up their duties as the armies gathered on both sides, expecting the other to move first. The Guildrin Clan had just arrived while she’d been preparing to leave. Jack had greeted her with open arms. She hadn’t seen him in months, and the sight of his friendly face had reassured her that things would be okay. Hearing that Ilarial had the utmost confidence in her had made her week. There was no turning back now.
“Stop right there. Drop all your weapons, and put your hands up to be searched.”
“I’m weaponless.” Shade stated, but the leader still shoved her roughly to her knees. Twigs and rocks dug into them through her jeans.
“Shut up. What’s your business here, girl.”
“I’m the one Aveta is looking for. The halfling human queen. I’m Shade.”
The guard’s eyes narrowed on her, studying her features as if burning them into his memory. He was skeptical but waved for his comrades to continue searching her. They patted her sides and checked her waistband, arms and legs for weapons. They yelled out that she was clear and yanked her back to her feet.
“Whoa, guys. Not a way to treat a lady.”
“Silence.” The leader snapped. “We go straight to Aveta. You better not have any tricks up your sleeve. Trey, run ahead and inform the queen and that scum Arthas that we have Shade.”
Trey’s eyes widened. “You mean, tell them personally?”
“No, use a telephone. Of course I meant personally. Get to it!”
“Yes, sir!” Trey almost tripped over his feet as he stumbled to rush through the corridors ahead of them. They bound Shade’s wrists and shoved her forward. She gritted her teeth, frowning at their barbaric treatment of her. Wondering what Aveta and Arthas would say or do when they saw her, she tried to calm her racing heart as they treaded through the dark halls of the Withering Palace.
She’d never wanted to return here. The place held nothing but unhappy and painful memories for her. It spiked her anxiety as they moved on, but she sent a silent prayer to Lana for strength.
Lana, tell me I’m doing the right thing.
Stand strong. You will prevail. Do not let them see any weakness. Show them your wrath, as though you know it will be their doom. Rowan awaits you. Lana’s voice echoed in her mind like a calming draught.
Shade almost nodded, but instead straightened as they made it to the main hall, right outside the wretched throne room where she’d first met Aveta.
Here was where the queen awaited her again. Here is where the Ancient Arthas would be, too. Whatever they did, wherever this went, nothing would break her again. The long, hard months had strengthened her, and she was no longer the same girl who had been enslaved here before. She was a woman of fire, water, darkness and light. No one was her equal, not even the Ancients of Faerie, for they did not possess the strength of a human heart. It was forever the great crevasse between them that could not be crossed. Human and Faerie, not one, not the other… not fully either one… but both at the same time.
This time she was ready to face anything as the gigantic petrified wooden doors creaked open. She was jabbed in the back by one of the soldiers to hurry her up. She proceeded down the walk of shame, into the room and before the two ruling Unseelie royals for her final judgment.
How she loathed them. She funneled her hatred out through her eyes to focus on Aveta. The queen was no different than before. Time did nothing to her, as if it didn’t exist in her presence. Her porcelain skin and jet black hair, this time streamed with violet locks throughout, were flawless. She trained her eyes on Shade, a spark of recognition igniting within. Even so, her face hardened into mask almost as quickly as Shade spotted her slip-up. Nothing could hide the very distinct tendril of fear leaking from her eyes.
What’s this?
“Shade. The prodigal daughter returns at last.” Arthas stepped down from the dais, a wicked smile contorting his lips. His short, curly, dark locks looked sleek under the midday sunlight streaming in through skylights, making them shine as though slicked with oil. His tanned skin was also flawless, and his slender but muscular physique was all but hidden under loose-fitting linen pants and a shirt. He was barefoot, and seemed to be oblivious to the cold marble floor.
“Have you come to your senses, girl, to wield your water powers for me?” Aveta’s cool voice echoed down the room, hollowing out as it reached Shade’s ears. She wanted to tremble, wanted to turn and run from these two vile creatures disguised as beautiful, ethereal beings. How could so much disturbing evil lie within such delicate-looking shells?
“I will do no such thing. I’m just turning myself in, to keep my family safe.”
Arthas’s face lit up, his mouth flashing a set of perfect white teeth as his haughty laugh filled the room. Some of the guards flinched, including Trey, who was cowering behind the leader of the guard like a shaking, wet terrier.
“You take us for fools, halfling? You are nothing, and your powers are trite compared to what we are capable of. You think we need you? You think your family is safe with you here?” His face slowly fell into a snarl, sending an icy cold trail down Shade’s spine. “You’re wrong. We’ll hunt them down like rabbits at dawn. We will relish burning their pathetic mortal bodies. I would not mourn them whatsoever, and you should know that our army is en route to the Scren. This time, we will burn them out, use their fire power against them. You won’t be there to stop us this time, my dear. You’ll be right here, where you belong.”
“No.” Shade gulped. He was wrong. He had to be. This was just a ploy to break
her confidence. Her bravery ebbed away, and her voice cracked ever so slightly. “Your words do nothing to frighten me. Do what you must. I doubt you’ll get too far.”
Her solidarity infuriated him, sending him marching down straight to her, where he met her face to face, bumping noses and shoving his chest into her space. “You dare tell me that my magic is of no use? You don’t know me, precious halfling. I am the Unseelie Ancient, master of this land you stand on, sovereign of all the dark forces on earth. You have no power here. You… are… nothing.”
Shade kept silent, even though her breath almost wheezed from her chest. His demonic eyes had flared red, and their bloody fire made her wince from the heat searing her face. Her eyes burned under the intensity of his gaze.
Breathe, Shade. Use your magic. Call Corb’s ice power to cool the fire. You can repel anything he throws at you. You’re the only heir of an Ancient Seelie queen. It makes you just as powerful as him.
Lana’s voice echoed in her head dizzyingly as Shade squeezed her eyes shut, calling the ice of the Great Divide to cool her face. A roaring rush of wind and the sound of crystal ice cracking made her fling them open once more, feeling cooled and almost chilled down to her bones.
Ice crystals covered both her and Arthas’s faces. It was a shocking contrast to the rest of the room, untouched by the frost. Aveta had stood up from her throne chair, looking even more apprehensive, but not voluntarily helping Arthas either.
He reached up and touched the mask of crystals, letting it melt under his fiery touch where it gathered into small droplets of water. He reached out to touch her face, and his searing touch felt normal against the frozen crust sticking to her skin.
“What magic have you stolen?” Red burned from his irises, leaking into the distance between them like tainted smoke. It smelled horrid, stinking up the air so quickly she stifled the coughing fit making its way across her throat.