Unseelie Queen Page 11

  Something clenched inside his chest and he felt like his heart was being squeezed. Their eyes locked and he found himself unable to look away. Then the clouds gathered together again and the rain returned with a vengeance. He pulled his hood down and trudged away with Hexam at his side. The Cerberus looked back with one of his heads and let out a whine. “I know,” Dacrith muttered. “She’s so close, yet she might as well be on the moon.”

  They trudged back to the town in glum silence, avoiding the forest this time. He skirted around a large boulder, then stopped in his tracks when he saw a body lying on the ground. Moving closer, he nudged the dead fairy’s leg and the armor fell apart to reveal it was empty. Only when it was in pieces did he recognize it. The armor belonged to him. It was the suit he’d left behind in the goblin dungeon. Even his sword was there. Hexam sniffed it, then grinned up at him.

  Dacrith began to smile when he realized the brownies must have been responsible for its delivery. Even with magic fading from the realm, they’d found a way to get it to him. Now he didn’t have to worry about being recognized. Most warriors wore their helmets with the visor down. He would be able to enter the tournament while remaining anonymous after all. “Whomever delivered my armor and sword to me, you have my deepest gratitude,” Dacrith said as he removed his cloak and began donning the suit.

  “Just know that we’ll be watching you, Prince Dacrith,” a brownie said as she appeared out of nowhere. She wasn’t alone. A full fifty brownies were crowded around her. Putting her fingers to her eyes, she pointed them at him in warning. Hexam bent a head to sniff her and she flapped her other hand at him to shoo him away. “Our Queen has already been through enough,” she added with a dour look at the Cerberus for ruining her somber moment. “If you do anything to cause her more pain, you’ll feel our wrath.” Murmurs of agreement sounded from the others.

  In the past, Dacrith would have sneered at her threat. With his magic receding so rapidly, he took her warning seriously. “I have no desire to harm Asha,” he said and found himself strangely sincere. “I wish only to assist her to heal the realm before it falls apart.”

  “We’ll see,” the belligerent brownie said with a sniff, then they vanished, taking his cloak with them. His armor would be effective enough at keeping most of the rain off him. It was enchanted so it wouldn’t become rusty.

  Shaking his head, Dacrith continued to don his armor. Once he was fully clad, he hefted his sword, then slid it into his scabbard. He left his stolen sword lying on the grass. He’d feared he would never be able to take the throne after being so rusty at casting magic. Now the playing field had been levelled. His opponents would only be able to use might and skill to defeat him. Given his prowess in battle, he couldn’t see how he could possibly lose.

  Hexam shrank down and he scooped the hound into his palm. He returned to the inn with a bounce in his step, suddenly feeling far more confident. Soon, all would be put right. He would be king, Asha would be his queen and the Unseelie realm would become stable once more.

  Merely catching a glimpse of the dryad had lightened his spirits, even if he wasn’t quite sure why. He received a few curious stares when he pushed his way through the throng and headed for the stairs, but no one tried to stop him to talk. They were focused on the battles they would be facing in the morning. With so many combatants showing up, it would take days before a winner would triumph over the others. The advisors to the throne would have a system worked out to ensure the contest would run as smoothly as possible.

  Removing his helmet when he was in the safety of his room, Dacrith placed Hexam on the floor, then began to pace up and down. A brownie cleaned them both, then the hound grew to his normal size. He leaped up onto the bed and made himself comfortable. The prince still hadn’t gotten used to sleeping on a bed. Maybe after so many eons of discomfort, he felt as if he wasn’t worthy of a soft place to sleep. An insidious voice at the back of his mind queried whether he was worthy of a woman like Asha. He pushed it aside, refusing to listen to his inner doubts.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  STANDING AT THE WINDOW of one of the numerous sitting rooms on the third level, Asha tried to ignore the trio of ladies-in-waiting as they gossiped about the tournament that would begin in the morning. They were discussing the warriors who would be competing and were arguing about who was the most handsome and which one would prevail.

  So used to the incessant gloom of the storm, Asha was surprised when the clouds broke apart. She caught a flash of movement below and saw someone waving at her. He pushed his hood back and her heart lurched when she recognized Dalrin’s distinctive silver hair with gold tips. Smiling in relief that he’d arrived, she pressed her hand against the window.

  He smiled in return and their eyes locked for a few moments. Then the clouds regathered and the rain returned even harder. Asha felt as if a weight had been lifted off her with his arrival. Her fears that she didn’t get to see her mother faded. She knew the hunter would win against the other competitors. He would become her king and they would heal the realm together.

  “Are you listening to a word we’re saying, my lady?” Camlim asked in exasperation. Her bright pink hair looked a little lopsided today. The other two fairies also seemed slightly disheveled. It was another sign that magic was fading. The brownies usually made sure the fairies they were forced to serve were immaculate in presentation. Not even they could continue with their normal routines for much longer.

  “No,” Asha replied honestly. She wore a simple cream dress with layers of amber, green and brown to match her eyes. Her clothes and hair were without flaw. The brownies were conserving their magic for more important things like running the palace and feeding everyone, yet Olsa and Unwin always made sure she looked presentable. “I don’t know any of the warriors you’re talking about, so why would I listen to you gossip about them?” She turned to see the threesome glaring at her.

  “Whomever wins the tournament will become your husband,” Fronda reminded her. Her yellow hair with blue streaks was looped in a huge, untidy bun.

  “Don’t you want to know more about the men who will be fighting over you?” Wesnor asked in a sickly-sweet tone. Whichever brownie had styled the fairy’s purple hair hadn’t put much effort into it. Half of it was pinned in two buns on either side of her head and the rest cascaded down to her waist. While beautiful and revealing as ever, their dresses were wrinkled and were in desperate need of being pressed.

  “Not really,” Asha replied, uncaring about any of the men who would be competing. She already knew who was going to win. The others were mere obstacles that Dalrin would have to get through.

  “What sort of Queen are you going to be if you don’t even care who sits on the throne beside you?” Camlim asked in exasperation.

  “We all know the advisors will have all the power,” Fronda pointed out. “Now that Sindarian is gone, they’ve taken over all aspects of running the Unseelie realm.”

  “It’s all falling apart now,” Wesnor added, forehead almost wrinkling in worry. “Our magic is fading and it will soon be gone. Even the brownies are losing their power.” She gestured at her wrinkled dress for emphasis.

  “The balance will be restored once I become Queen,” Asha said to soothe them, wondering why she even cared that they were afraid.

  “Forgive my bluntness, my lady, but why?” Camlim demanded, eyeing the dryad skeptically. “Do your loins possess some sort of power no fairy can duplicate that once you’ve been bedded the storms will magically cease?” She’d gone too far this time and her friends gasped at her audacity.

  Asha glared at the glorified maid and pointed at the door. “I’ve had enough of your snide remarks. Get out and don’t come back.” Camlim hastily stood while the other two smirked at her. “That includes you two as well,” Asha added. “Leave. I don’t need the company of horrible people like you.”

  “We’re no different from any other fairies,” Fronda protested in affront while she and Wesnor left their seats.


  “Exactly,” Asha said in agreement. “I’d rather be alone than have to listen to you three gossiping and putting everyone down.”

  “Well then,” Camlim said with a sniff of disdain. “We’ll leave you to your much valued solitude, your majesty.” She curtseyed mockingly, then all three women flounced off.

  Kurtus stuck his head through the door when they were gone and rolled his eyes. “I was wondering how long you’d put up with them. I thought you’d kick them out on the first day.”

  “They were a good source of information,” Asha told him.

  Stepping inside, he seemed intrigued. “You were using them?” he queried.

  “One way to learn about the people you’re forced to live with is to listen to the gossip. Those three seemed to know everything about everyone.”

  “Perhaps you shouldn’t have sent them away,” he suggested.

  “After the first week, there wasn’t much more for me to learn,” she said glumly. The Unseelie fairies were vain, frivolous and cared only about themselves. She could never become friends with anyone in this palace. Kurtus was the closest thing she had to one and he was only guarding her because it was his duty. “Are you competing in the tournament tomorrow?” she asked.

  He grimaced before he could stop himself, then looked at her warily. “I don’t want to be King,” he said.

  “You mean you don’t want to be married to a woman who can turn into a monster and tear you apart,” she said for clarification.

  “Well, that, too,” he admitted.

  Asha snickered and he found himself smirking. She was a strange one. He assumed being raised on Earth among humans had given her an odd sense of humor. Watching her as she paced the floor, she seemed different somehow. It was almost as if she was anticipating the competition that she’d previously dreaded. He couldn’t imagine what could have happened to change her disposition. It couldn’t have been anything her ladies-in-waiting had said. He’d unwillingly listened to their rundown of the competitors they knew and none of it had been particularly inspiring.

  Shrugging off his curiosity, Kurtus returned to guarding the door so no one could enter without Asha’s permission. His stomach rumbled when he took up his position. A plate with some pastries appeared on the sideboard nearby. “You have my thanks,” the warrior murmured, then shook his head. He’d never thanked the brownies for simply doing the job that was expected of them before. The dryad and her incessant use of good manners were rubbing off on him.

  Hearing Kurtus murmur his thanks to the brownies, then begin eating whatever they’d given him to snack on, Asha smiled a little as she continued to pace the floor. While she’d grown up in various foster homes and had never had real parents, she’d learned the value of using manners. It was amusing that her habits had spread to both Dalrin and Kurtus. She just wished more fairies in this realm appreciated the hard work the brownies did for them.

  Perhaps now that their magic was fading, they would finally understand just how much they relied on their servants. Soon, they wouldn’t be able to rely on the brownies to prepare their food and to perform other menial tasks for them. The true chaos would begin when they no longer had anything to eat and the palace was in a disarray. It was tempting to allow the chaos to spread, but she was afraid if it went on for too long, it would become impossible to reverse.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  RETURNING TO HER SUITE so she could prepare for the nightly banquet, Asha couldn’t stand still for long and began to pace again. Nerves and excitement warred together. “I saw Dalrin earlier,” she said to Olsa and Unwin when they appeared on her shoulders. “The rain stopped and the clouds parted just long enough for us to see each other.”

  The brownies leaned forward to exchange cautious looks of hope. “It sounds like a sign, your majesty,” Olsa said with wary optimism. They’d heard from the brownies at the inn Dacrith was staying at. It had taken the combined magic of fifty of their kind to retrieve his sword and armor from the goblin dungeon and place the items where he would see them. While they couldn’t teleport living beings in or out of the labyrinth, they could at least get inanimate objects in and out. It hadn’t been easy to transport it all the way from the goblins’ territory, though.

  “He seems like a capable warrior,” Unwin said. “Let’s hope he is what he seems and that he isn’t yet another scheming dark fairy intent on fulfilling his own agenda.”

  “Do you think he’s competing just so he can be King?” Asha asked in trepidation. The thought had crossed her mind more than once since learning he was on his way here.

  “It’s possible,” Olsa replied reluctantly. “I guess we won’t know for certain until after you’ve become bonded to him.”

  “You think he’ll win the tournament?” Asha asked. The brownie had sounded pretty sure of his victory.

  “He’ll win,” Unwin said almost grimly. “We have little doubt of that.”

  It occurred to Asha that they must have heard of Dalrin before he’d been exiled long ago. He’d probably been famous once when he’d been a member of the Unseelie Court. Now he was just another competitor who would be vying for her hand in marriage.

  Her nerves increased and she suddenly wished she’d been able to visit her mother after all. The dryad had something important to tell her, something Asha needed to know before she became bonded to anyone. It was far too late now. The tournament would begin in the morning and her fate would soon be sealed.

  Allowing her friends to choose her outfit, Asha’s gown this time was silver on the top with a gold underlayer. Amber, green and brown gems adorned the bodice as usual. It was as beautiful as the rest of her wardrobe. It was lucky that they’d created the garments before their magic had begun to fade or she could have ended up wearing castoffs from the courtiers.

  Kurtus escorted her to the banquet hall, which was more crowded than usual. The most famous warriors who had come from all over the Unseelie lands had been invited. All were handsome, of course. They wore the black armor all soldiers wore, but they’d left their helmets off. Their eyes glittered with avarice and ambition as they watched her take her seat on the left throne.

  Lord Nicolaia stood and the conversation died down. “As everyone is already aware, the tournament that will decide the King of the Unseelie realm will begin tomorrow,” he said. Cheers and claps sounded and he waited for the hubbub to die down before he continued. “Whomever becomes the champion will have the weight of our entire realm resting on his worthy shoulders.” He swept his cobalt gaze across the fairies who were wearing armor. “You will not only become bonded to King Lod’s daughter.” He gestured at Asha with his wine glass. “You will be instrumental in restoring the balance that is tearing our lands apart,” he added.

  Instead of cheers, disturbed murmurs swept through the room. As much as they wanted to deny it, they were afraid. With Prince Sindarian’s death, everything had changed. Losing one fae life had been bad enough, but Jake Everett had unleashed the chaos when he’d killed Syanil, the former leader of the Unseelie warriors. Something drastic would need to happen to fix this.

  It was a daunting prospect, but the warriors who had gathered here were confident they would be up to the task. One of the soldiers stood and looked Asha directly in the eye. He was taller than average, had distinctive light blue hair and dazzling bronze and blue eyes. “Once I’ve won the tournament, I vow to mend our realm,” he announced pompously. “With my Queen at my side, we will restore the balance and our magic will return.” He flashed Asha a cocky smile that fell just short of a leer.

  “Who are you?” she asked in a bored tone. He was exactly the sort of man she didn’t want for a husband.

  Taken aback that she hadn’t recognized him and fallen for his charm, he forced a grin. “I am Tartor, my lady,” he said with a bow and without taking his eyes from hers.

  “You’re getting ahead of yourself, Tartar,” Asha told him, deliberately getting his name wrong. Tartar suited him more. Over time, he would
become an annoying deposit that was hard to clean off even with intense scrubbing.

  “My name is Tartor, my lady,” he said tightly, smile dropping away. “I am the premier warrior in this realm and I will be the winner of the contest. I suggest you treat me with the respect I deserve.”

  He glowered at her and Asha rolled her eyes. “I did treat you with the respect you deserve, Tartar.” His handsome face twisted into ugliness as he snarled. Two other warriors grabbed hold of him before he could attempt to stalk over to her and teach her a lesson for disrespecting him. “That’s why you won’t win,” she taunted him, knowing he was itching to slap her into compliance. “You can’t even control your temper. How could a man like you help restore the balance?”

  Her jibe had hit the mark and their uneasiness grew. Tartor shrugged off the hands that were holding him and sat down. They’d assumed their greatest fighter would win, but what if more than brawn was needed? They were too selfish and frivolous to truly know how to repair their realm.

  Lord Nicolaia raised his glass and resumed control. “To the warriors and other fairies who will be participating in the tournament, I wish you luck. Fight your hardest and may the best man prevail.”

  Everyone stood and lifted their glasses. Asha forced herself to stand, but her lips twisted derisively. None of the men who were eyeing her so greedily would ever share her bed and bond with her. The man who she was destined to be with was staying at a nearby inn. It and the others in town were crowded with hopeful contestants.

  Under any other circumstances, it would have been flattering to have so many men vying for her hand in marriage. It could almost have been like a fairytale. In reality, they only wanted power and to control her. Whomever bonded her would rule the realm. When she thought about it like that, it wasn’t all that flattering.

  They sat down and waited expectantly for the feast to begin. Instead of the usual decadent fare, a measly portion of meat and vegetables appeared on their plates.