Unseelie Queen Read online

  Chapter Twenty-One

  TWO LONG WEEKS HAD passed since Asha had suggested a tournament should be held to find her a husband. The advisors had decided she needed female companions and had chosen three ladies-in-waiting for her. All three were vicious, mean and downright spiteful. In short, they were typical Unseelie fairies. Asha was forced to spend several hours a day with the harpies, ostensibly to learn about life in the Court. In reality, they gossiped incessantly and attempted to tell her how she should think, act and dress.

  “You really should rethink your wardrobe, my lady,” Camlim said for the tenth time in a falsely sweet tone that grated on Asha’s nerves. Her hair was hot pink and her eyes were mostly black with pink shards. They glittered with malice, as did her two friends.

  “You’ll never entice a man by covering yourself up like that,” Fronda agreed. She had yellow hair with blue streaks and her eyes were a combination of green and orange. Asha was pretty sure their hair and eye coloring were natural. If they’d been enhanced by magic, their spells probably would have worn off by now thanks to their magic fading so dramatically.

  “Maybe she doesn’t have anything to entice them with,” Wesnor suggested maliciously, dropping her eyes to the dryad’s chest. She had purple hair and brown eyes that were plain compared to most of her kind. All three fairies tittered behind their hands.

  Afternoons with the trio were the worst part of Asha’s day. She withstood their jabs stoically, refusing to react even when their barbs hurt. Like everyone else in the palace, they thought she would just be a figurehead when she became their queen. Little did they know that Asha planned to be far more than just a puppet. With the right man at her side, they could change things in the Unseelie realm, hopefully for the better.

  “Why do you wear such unflattering rags?” Camlim asked, affecting a curious tone. “Are you sporting a deformity that you wish to hide?”

  “No,” Asha replied curtly, wishing they’d just go away.

  “That’s not what we heard,” Fronda said slyly. “We heard you can grow sticks out of your body, like some sort of freak.”

  “We also heard you speared poor Corvine and dismembered him,” Wesnor added.

  “‘Poor Corvine’ thought it would be a good idea to try to knock me out by punching me in the face and raping me while I was unconscious,” Asha said coldly. “He was wrong.”

  “So, the rumors are true then?” Camlim prodded, black and pink eyes becoming shrewd. “You can turn into a hideous gray monster at will and slaughter men if they try to bed you?”

  “You’re mistaken,” Asha said in a nonchalant tone. Her unwanted attendants couldn’t hide their relief that the rumors were wrong. “It isn’t just men who touch me without my permission that I can hurt,” she continued. “Anyone who pushes me too far could become my target.” Their expressions turned sickly and she had to hide her smirk. “My temper is becoming more unstable by the day,” she said conversationally. “It doesn’t take much to set me off now. One wrong word and bam!” She clapped her hands together suddenly, making the courtiers flinch. Wesnor had to smother a frightened squeak with her hand. “My goblin side takes over and then there’s blood and guts everywhere,” Asha finished up.

  Faces turning pale, the trio exchanged terrified looks as the dryad picked up her cup. The brownies had taken to making her tea. The courtiers now wondered if it was to try to keep her calm.

  “Oh, look at the time,” Camlim said with forced cheer. “We’d best be going, my lady.” She stood and the other two hastened after her as she headed for the door with unseemly haste.

  “Bye,” Asha called after them as they let themselves out. She started giggling even before Olsa and Unwin appeared. The brownies had their hands over their mouths to stifle their laughter. “Was it too much?” she asked the pair when she’d regained control.

  “No, your highness,” Olsa replied, wiping away her tears on her sleeve. “It was just the right thing to say.”

  “I’ve never seen fairies jump that high without wings when you clapped your hands together,” Unwin added, then they broke into fresh giggles.

  Few fairies could make their wings manifest now. Their magic was fading with each passing day. Lod’s power was failing him as well. The few other goblins who could be seen every now and then were suffering from the same malady. With the tournament still two weeks away, they were becoming desperate.

  While the contest had been Asha’s idea, she’d had no input into its organization. The advisors had assumed that duty themselves. They were sequestered in their meeting room for most of the day, emerging only for the nightly banquet. Asha was forced to sit on the throne and pretend they had her support while secretly plotting behind their backs.

  They’d taken control after the Dark Prince had been defeated. The realm needed someone in charge and their plan to step up had worked. Sindarian had only taken their advice when it had suited him, ignoring the rest of their suggestions. With him gone, they could decide on the fate of the Unseelie lands. Even after the new king and queen were instated, they would continue to rule from the sidelines, or so they believed.

  Asha let out a sigh and stood. She wandered over to the window and shifted the curtain aside so she could look outside. She should have had a view of the mountain that loomed behind the palace, but all she could see was rain. “When will it end?” she murmured, but she already knew the answer. The storms would continue until she’d fulfilled her fate to become the queen of the realm.

  “We’ve heard that warriors are heading here from all over the realm, your majesty,” Olsa said in an effort to cheer her up.

  Turning to face them, Asha let the curtain drop back into place. “Have you heard anything about Dalrin?” She now knew of the magical system the brownies had in place at the various inns throughout the land. They’d been keeping tabs on her companion.

  “He is still coming in this direction,” Unwin replied.

  Asha’s smile made them both happy for her, but they were afraid that she would only end up getting her innocent heart broken by the warrior. She had no idea who he truly was. Their kin had been keeping tabs on Dacrith. He clearly wasn’t the same man he’d been when he’d first been banished to the dungeon so long ago. He appeared to have more to him than just the usual selfish traits all Unseelie fae possessed. It was yet to be determined whether it was just an act he was putting on to dupe them all.

  “Dalrin seemed like he was good with a sword,” Asha said, trying not to get her hopes up too high. “Do you think he could actually win the tournament?”

  “Oh, there’s a very good chance that he will succeed, your highness,” Olsa said. The dryad missed the caution in her tone. She was too busy fighting down her blush at the thought of being married to the handsome fairy that she didn’t know was as royal as she was.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  ASHA WAS WANDERING through the halls a week later when she sensed someone familiar approaching. Turning abruptly into a small sitting room that was currently vacant, she halted in the doorway. “I’d like to be alone for a while,” she said to Kurtus. The warrior nodded and took up a spot next to the door when she shut it. He never questioned her, probably because he was afraid she would rip him to pieces. Just as she’d hoped, word about her fragile temper had spread from her gossiping ladies-in-waiting. While the trio still came to visit her daily, they kept their vicious comments aimed at everyone but her now.

  Feeling the unexpected visitor closing in on her, Asha hurried over to the window. She cracked it open just in time for a tiny glowing being to flutter inside. “Ugh!” the pixie exclaimed, completely soaked and looking miserable. “That was awful!” she complained. “Flying through that never-ending storm was the worst week of my entire life!”

  “What are you doing here, Irindal?” Asha asked in a whisper, putting her finger to her lips to shush her friend as she pulled the window shut.

  About three inches tall, the pixie had light green hair, lavender eyes, wore a lig
ht green dress and lavender shoes. She settled on the windowsill and Asha dragged a chair over so they could talk. “I came to give you a message,” Irindal whispered.

  “From who?”

  “It’s from your mother,” the pixie said solemnly.

  Stunned to silence, Asha couldn’t have been more surprised if her friend had told her the message was from Santa Claus. “She abandoned me when I was a baby,” she said at last. A hint of silver appeared in her eyes, but she didn’t allow herself to lose her anger. “Why would I want to listen to her message?”

  “You don’t know why she left you on Earth,” Irindal told her. “You need to hear what she has to say.”

  “Fine. What’s her message?” She crossed her arms mulishly, waiting for the answer.

  “She wants to see you in person,” the pixie said apologetically. “She’s in the borderlands to the west of here,” she added. “The trees will be able to guide you to her location.”

  “Sure,” Asha said with false brightness. “I’ll just drop everything and travel there right now even though the tournament is only seven days away. I’m sure no one will mind waiting until I get back.”

  “Don’t use that snarky tone with me, miss,” Irindal said crossly with her hands on her hips. Her wings fluttered in anger and pixie dust sifted from her. It sat on the windowsill for a few seconds before fading away.

  “Can you teleport me to her?” Asha asked.

  “I could barely use my magic at all in this realm even before it began to fade,” her tiny friend said regretfully. “Your mother needs to see you urgently, before you become bonded to anyone.”

  Running her hands through her hair in agitation, Asha was torn. “Why?” she asked. “Why does my mother need to see me now? Why didn’t she send you sooner?”

  “I didn’t discover that your mother wanted to speak to me until just over a week ago,” Irindal replied. “I flew here as soon as she gave me the message that she needed to see you. It isn’t just the Unseelie realm that’s been affected by the Dark Prince’s death. It’s spreading to the Seelie realm as well.”

  If it had taken the pixie a week to fly here, it would take Asha a lot longer to get to the borderlands on foot. “There’s no way I’ll be able to get there and back before the tournament begins,” she said. “I’m being watched constantly. If I try to leave the palace, they’ll lock me up. What could be so urgent that my mother needs to see me in person?”

  “Your mother wouldn’t tell me why she needed to see you. She just said that it was imperative that I get the message to you. I have the feeling the safety of both realms hangs in the balance.”

  “I’ll try to get away,” Asha said, but she doubted she would be able to. Irindal looked at the window with a grimace. “You aren’t leaving already, are you?” Asha asked.

  “I can’t stay here,” the pixie replied. “The Unseelie realm is too unstable. I’m afraid I’ll lose my magic completely if I remain here for too much longer.”

  Although she didn’t want her friend to leave, Asha knew she had to go. “Thanks for coming to see me,” she said sadly. “I hope you have a safe trip home.”

  The pixie studied her, then leaned over to pat her hand. “Try not to be so glum, Asha. The future might not be as bleak as you believe.” With that cryptic statement, she launched herself into the air again. She waited for Asha to open the window, then blew her a kiss and vanished into the rain.

  Asha heaved a watery sigh as she closed the window again. Her mysterious mother had chosen a bad time to drop this bombshell on her. How was she supposed to slip away without being noticed? If she left the palace, the advisors would send every warrior they had at their disposal to find her. She wouldn’t get far before she would be discovered and brought back, probably in chains. What little freedom she had would disappear and she would most likely be kept locked up in her suite.

  Kurtus gave her a disapproving frown when she opened the door a few minutes later. “I hope you’re not seriously contemplating following that pixie’s advice to visit the borderlands,” he said. Even with them whispering and the rain pouring down, he’d still heard their conversation.

  “Not really,” Asha replied. “I just don’t see how I could make it there and back in time. Unless you could teleport me there?” she added hopefully.

  “Hardly anyone can teleport now, my lady,” he said regretfully. “It takes dozens of fairies pooling their strength to do it and even then it doesn’t work most of the time.”

  “I guess you won’t help me sneak out?”

  “I have no desire to follow Corvine to the goblin dungeon,” he said wryly.

  “At least you’d still have your arms and legs,” she muttered and received a snort that almost sounded like a laugh from her guard.

  It occurred to her that brownies could teleport as well. She hurried back to her suite where she would have a semblance of privacy. Olsa and Unwin were waiting for her. As she’d guessed, they’d been lurking nearby and had overheard her conversation with Irindal.

  “Before you ask, we wish we could teleport you to the borderlands, but we’re afraid we can’t,” Olsa told her.

  “Why not?” Asha asked in dismay.

  “It seems the imbalance is beginning to affect us as well,” Unwin admitted. “While our magic isn’t fading as rapidly as some, we’re losing our ability to perform some tasks.” They shared guilty looks when her shoulders slumped. They hated being untruthful to her, but their intuition told them not to teleport her to see her mother. At least not yet.

  “That’s it, then,” Asha said glumly. “The possible future of both realms hangs in the balance of whatever my mother has to say to me and I won’t even be able to get to her to hear it.”

  “There has to be a way,” Olsa said, wringing her hands in dismay at her subterfuge. “We just have to figure it out.” She was distraught at denying her mistress something she wanted, but it was for her own good, or so the brownie hoped.

  Asha forced herself to smile at them, but the sinking feeling in her stomach told her there was nothing she could do. She couldn’t help but feel bitter at fate for placing her in this position. Why dangle something like this in front of her, then take away her chance of finding out what was so important? It seemed cruel and unnecessary to her. But she was in the Unseelie realm now. Cruel and unnecessary was just a way of life here.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  AFTER LEARNING ABOUT the tournament, Dacrith and Hexam took their time to travel across the realm. They reached the town that was only an hours’ walk from the palace a couple of days before the tournament was due to start. Dacrith found lodging in an inn and spent most of his time listening to rumors in the tavern downstairs. The city was crowded with Unseelie fairies. Thousands had gathered with the intention of signing up to compete to become king.

  Hexam was forced to stay in his miniature state to avoid detection. He’d refused to remain in the nearby forest and insisted on staying with the prince. Consequently, he currently resided in Dacrith’s pocket.

  Sitting at a table at the back of the tavern, Dacrith kept his hood pulled down low to hide his face and listened to the gossip. Bets were being placed on the likely winner. Many notable warriors had stated their intentions to compete. Dacrith recognized their names from before he’d been exiled. While the warriors were skilled, he had little doubt that they would fall to his blade. The only problem was that he didn’t currently have a decent blade, or a suit of armor. Both would be necessary in order to win. Unarmed and unarmored opponents would be swiftly defeated and would become ineligible to win Asha’s hand.

  Hexam shifted in his pocket, signaling that he needed to take a walk. Finishing his wine, the prince heaved himself to his feet. He accidentally bumped into a fairy wearing the typical black armor of a guard. “Watch it, peasant!” the warrior barked in a contemptuous tone.

  Dacrith was tempted to slam his fist into the man’s mouth, but resisted the urge. The inn was full of soldiers who had come from
all over the realm. There weren’t enough rooms in the palace to hold them all. Most had sought lodgings in town along with the other hopeful contestants.

  Heading outside, Dacrith was grateful for his cloak as the rain pelted him. Hexam squirmed again and he hurried towards the gate leading out of town. Armored guards watched him with bored expressions as he passed beneath the stone archway. Leaving the black pathway, he headed for the forest. Only when they were deep into the trees did he draw the Cerberus from his pocket.

  Hexam gave the prince a reproachful look for taking so long, then trotted over to a tree to do his business. A vine lashed out in protest at being soiled when he was done. He had to duck all three heads to avoid being decapitated. The rest of the trees grew angry as well and chased the pair. Cursing foully, Dacrith wondered what had gotten into them as they raced away from the angrily waving branches and lashing roots and vines.

  Bursting out into the open, he saw the palace just ahead. Huge and made of dark gray stone, lights dimly shone from the windows of all five levels. Seeing the place where he’d been born and raised for the first time in eons, his feet drew him closer of their own volition. Dark and forbidding, it had never been a welcoming building and nothing had changed during his long absence.

  He was about to turn away, but tilted his head and looked upwards instead. For a few moments, the rain lessened to the point where he could see the palace clearly. Seeing a beautiful, but sad face in a window on the third level, he raised his hand before he could stop himself.

  Even at a distance, he recognized Asha. His heart swelled with an emotion he couldn’t define. She caught the movement and peered down at him. He pushed his hood back and a smile lit up her face. She pressed her hand against the glass as if she was reaching out for him.