Chapter Twenty-One

 

 

 

 

Soap

 

The castle went through a thorough shakedown, but I could tell from Benton’s darkened mood that he’d found no sign of Zena. He sat tending to his tracking spell and waiting, hoping the stupid spell would find something. It had given him nothing so far, and he eventually disappeared. When I found him again, he was pacing the foyer of the castle. He’d already packed up to leave, but I found out that Shade wasn’t letting him go yet.

“I don’t see the point in staying here,” Benton snapped.

“Just give your sister a moment, okay?” I interrupted. “She’s got her own tricks up her sleeve. Be patient.”

Benton lacked all understanding of that word and kept wearing down a path in the wooden floor.

“The trail is going to go cold if we don’t get moving.” He chewed on a thumbnail, growing more impatient by the second.

Dylan entered the hall with Shade, but she turned down another corridor as Dylan approached. When he spotted me, his eyes narrowed for a moment before settling on Benton. “Benton, Shade says you’ll need me to go with you to hunt for Zena. She fears the bounty hunter may be setting a trap for you both.”

“So she wants you to join on in the trap?” I scoffed. “How nice that she’d want the three most important men in her life together to be imprisoned by some Unseelie scum. “How are you supposed to help us, exactly?”

Dylan face darkened as he turned toward me, his lips pressed tight as he eyed me from head to toe with the most disdain I’d ever seen. His frigidness actually sent a vivid chill down my spine. We’d never been friends; if we were being honest, we couldn’t stand each other, especially around Shade, but we always fought on the same side. Enemy of my enemy, right? Something had changed between us, but our loathing remained mutual, and it wasn’t the time to ask about it.

“What’s the plan, Dylan?” Benton asked, pausing for a moment. He peered over at his brother-in-law curiously. Through the dark mood gracing his features, he wanted to know if there was any hope to be offered.

“We’re going hunting for this bounty hunter of yours, that is a promise.” A servant approached with Dylan’s gear. He strapped on his sword and a hefted traveling pack onto his shoulders. He no doubt had a shrinking spell on it, which was now standard for Shade’s army.

“Right, but is there a plan?”

“Well, I’ve already asked Evangeline and Jack to help us. They’re sending Unseelie reinforcements to help us. The best of their soldiers are already on their way here.”

My eyes widened. “Unseelie… here?”

“This is absurd!” Benton yelled.

“It is necessary.” Shade’s voice cut through our complaints, and all eyes turned toward her. “Nautilus leads Anna and Oran’s army, with Evangeline and Jack as his lieutenants. The bounty hunter is Unseelie and most definitely has returned to his realm with Zena. We need people who know the territory better than any of us do. The Unseelie are the best choice. Don’t worry, Evangeline, Jack, and Anna are on our side. They’ll keep them in line.”

I shook my head. The thought of being in league with the dark creatures made me want to scream in protest, but it would be pointless. I could already see the very deep seriousness of Shade’s command. There was no going against her. She always did have everyone’s welfare in mind, even if her plan sounded absolutely insane.

“And how do you propose that’s going to work?” Benton asked. “We didn’t exactly embrace the Unseelie. My whole job is to find the banished ones who escaped the realm of Faerie and either capture or incinerate them. You expect me to rub elbows with them now?” He let out a string of curses under his breath, but those nearest to him heard it all too well.

“Aunt Evangeline will be a liaison between our realms. She is our blood. We have to trust her.”

“She’s a traitor. What is it with our sympathy for traitors? They’re going to muck it all up.” I’d never heard Benton speak so ill of his aunt, but I didn’t blame him whatsoever. He didn’t really know her, and she’d done so much damage before Jack had convinced her to accept a position as temporary guardian of the Unseelie realm until Oran and Anna married and took power. The whole situation was one big, fat mess.

“It doesn’t matter anymore, Benton. I command you to work with her and Jack. There is no other way to help Zena. We could let the bounty hunter have her, if that’s what you want.”

Shade wasn’t backing down, and the fire inside her reignited and splayed across her features as she stared down her little brother. Right there was the girl I’d first met over a year ago in the forest of Guildrin. She may have been vulnerable, new to her powers, and scared out of her wits, but her tenacity and determination never wavered, even when others were trying to kill her. I loved that girl, and I wanted to puff out my chest and beam at her fierceness.

Dylan threw me another sour look, and I counteracted with an overenthusiastic smile. Kill them with kindness. That’s all I could do.

No matter how hard Benton was, he buckled under her fierceness without any more protesting. “Fine,” he growled. He turned away from her and headed out the door, his somber mood lingering. I can’t say I blamed the guy for being so upset. We had both been head to head against the Unseelie for a good long while, and we both knew they could not be trusted. Could we follow the command of his aunt? Would she be reliable this time around, or would we be walking into one huge trap?

I swallowed. Either way, we had to follow Shade’s orders. She was queen, after all. I’d go wherever she told me to go, but I would always keep one eye watching for betrayal. I swore under my breath I’d make sure Evangeline didn’t slip up. At least we had Jack on our side. He’d make sure she stayed in line.

 

***

 

Dylan slid his sword into its scabbard. He’d been polishing it furiously for the past ten minutes. We were camped outside the Withering Palace, the Unseelie stronghold, for a day. It had taken us a good portion of the prior day to get there. His mood had not lightened, and Benton’s matched it. I tried to play the jokester, but even my crack-ups did nothing to lighten the mood over the camp.

We’d seen Evangeline once, when we’d arrived, as Dylan went through the formalities of requesting permission for our presence in Unseelie lands. Jack had seemed welcoming, but no one dared look Evangeline in the eye. It was hard to not see the family resemblance between Shade and her now that I knew they were related. They had the same dark hair, light brown eyes, and creamy skin. Whereas Shade was recognized to be both human and faery in equal measure, most considered Evangeline as more faery than human, even though her father had been a faery and her mother a human fire elemental witch. She was a powerful woman, and the fear among her legions proved how much power she held over them. She kept the place under control. Anyone who dared to step out of line would be dealt a harsh punishment by Evangeline herself.

I made a note not to piss the woman off.

“Have you spoken with your aunt yet?” I stuffed another bite of our meager dinner of beef jerky, dried fruit, and nuts into my mouth, chewing pensively as I directed my question toward Benton.

“No, not yet. I’m not close to Evangeline. None of us are. She was rather absent when we were growing up, and I doubt anything will be different now.” Benton resumed eating too, not really tasting his food, from what I could tell. He ate for fuel, not to enjoy any of it. I tried to savor my meal, but everyone’s somber moods weren’t much help.

“Maybe it’s time to get to know her.” I jumped to my feet, stuffing in the last of my dinner and motioning to Benton.

“Come on.”

“Where are you going?” He didn’t move, but merely stuffed another handful of food into his mouth. I wanted to shake the guy into action, but I figured I had some convincing to do.

“To meet your aunt. I believe I’ve only met her once.” I scratched my head. “Maybe twice… but both times, it wasn’t under the best of circumstances.”

Benton shook his head, and I caught the faintest of smiles lingering beneath his constant scowl.

“All right,” he said, jumping to his feet. “Let’s get it over with. Can’t say I’ve ever really spoken to the woman myself.”

“That’s the spirit!” I gave him a smack which sent his mouth full of partially chewed food flying out into the fire. I stared at the mash sizzling in the flames before giving it a shrug and nudging Benton toward the castle. Most of the Seelie army was not allowed inside, but since we were Shade’s lieutenants on this mission, we had access to everything, even the creepy Withering Palace.

“You know, Shade said that this place whispers to its rightful rulers,” he said. “Do you think Evangeline or Anna hear anything? It kind of freaks me out to think that this building is alive and breathing. Too weird.” He shook his head.

“Yeah. She told me it spoke to her after Aveta gave her command of the castle. I still can’t believe that Aveta helped Shade out the way she did. Who would’ve thought that evil woman could redeem herself, in any way? I guess there’s good even in the worst of seeds.”

“Well, I don’t believe that people or faeries are bad to the core. I think that it has a lot to do with upbringing and circumstances.”

“You think so?”

“Yeah.” He turned to look at me, and his mood seemed a bit lighter. “For instance, take Zena. If she’d been brought up by someone unafraid of Faerie and magical creatures, who knows what kind of stable life she could’ve led. Instead, she’s full of fear, but at least she’s kept her wits about her. Her mother on the other hand….”

“She’s a nutso.”

Benton’s shoulder’s tensed. “I’d rather not talk about Zena or her mother anymore.”

“All right,” I said, suppressing the urge to mention that he was the one who’d brought them up.

We were let into the castle and shown to the throne room, where a large conference table stood. It had been made from the cross section of tree so large that it nearly filled the chamber. Evangeline and Jack were standing over diagrams of the kingdom that were spread out over the polished wood. Oran was hovering on one side as they discussed strategies.

“Hello.” Benton announced our presence from the entrance to the throne room.

“Benton… Soap! Come in!” Jack waved us in, looking elated to see us. At least someone was glad to have us there.

We approached the table, and I didn’t fail to notice a nasty glare from Evangeline. You see, I’d been the one responsible for Evangeline and Jack’s separation years before. I’d been tricked by Dylan’s brother, Darren, into taking on Jack’s image to tell Evangeline that I—that Jack—no longer loved her. Even though I was fey and couldn’t lie, there were ways around that, especially when words are twisted and what is said is mostly true.

I didn’t love her. Jack did. I should’ve known Darren was nothing but an abusive manipulator who thought Evangeline threatened the bloodline of the Teleen if she married Jack. He’d just been too jealous to let them have their happiness and had used me since I was too young and naïve to know otherwise. I’d ignorantly gone along with Darren’s deception. The price Evangeline and Jack had paid for my idiocy was great, and I knew I had some atoning to do for the time they’d lost.

Now, at least, they looked happy together, helping to oversee the Unseelie kingdom until the rightful ruler took the throne once more. Oran believed he was the rightful ruler, but I thought it was Evangeline or Anna, since they were related to Shade. It all depended on the Withering Palace’s decision, from what I had heard, and the castle had been silent since Aveta’s death and Shade’s absence.

Aveta had given control of the castle to Shade when she’d been killed. Shade was the rightful ruler for the moment, so the palace spoke to no one in her absence. That was fine by me. I’d run like a scared mouse if the damned walls started speaking to me. I had no idea how Shade had handled it so well.

Evangeline scowled as we approached. “What do you want?” She wasn’t known for her warm affections. In fact, she was as cold as ice and had been a great compliment to Corb, the former first lieutenant and Ice King, when he’d led the Unseelie army for Aveta. Now with him gone, she had Jack at her side, but his joking and warm demeanor was more down to earth and had yet to rub off on the dark witch’s mood.

“Just wanted to see if there was anything we could do to help with—you know—finding Zena,” Benton said.

Evangeline shook her head, but Jack spoke up before she could offer another frigid answer. “Yes, definitely! Benton, can you tell us about this girl with the Sight?”

Benton threw a satisfied glare at his aunt. “Well, Zena is eighteen years old, like me. She has dark maroon hair that comes to her middle back, white skin, some freckles along her nose, and emerald eyes. She’s about yea tall, and she wears a jade-colored stone around her neck that helps suppress her Sight and keeps her from seeing through the glamours of faeries.

“She still can, however, sense magicals when they are near and has been running from a bounty hunter who’s been on her and her mother’s trail for as long as she can remember. Rachel, her mother, has asylum with the Raven queen and her faeries right now and sent us to fetch Zena. Unfortunately, I mind-wiped her when I was Vegas a couple of months ago, so I had to give her back her memory before we returned to the Scren. She is supposedly the key to helping us find a cure for Queen Aluse’s brother, who suffers from a withering ailment. This bounty hunter somehow snuck into the Scren and stole her from right under our noses.” He paused, inhaling deeply before finishing. He held out the feather Zena had snapped in half. “Zena said the stones that help those with the Sight suppress their powers come from these feathers near the Teleen Caverns. We were on our way there when we stopped at the Scren Palace, and Zena was taken.”

He rubbed his eyes, and I noticed how stark they looked, with dark circles beneath them, and a sickly pallor to his skin. He’d been skipping sleep, that much I could tell. I decided I might slip him a sleeping potion from a recipe I had snatched from Braelynn in case I had bouts of insomnia. The stuff was awesome, and Braelynn had mentioned it was safe for human consumption, so it would work on Benton.

“I see.” Evangeline sighed, leaning forward on the table and pressing her mouth into a tight line. The rush of information had made her more businesslike. “This girl sounds like she’s important for more than just her gift of Sight. Is there any other reason you think this bounty hunter would want her?”

We both shook our heads, but then a thought jumped into my mind, something I’d almost forgotten.

“There is nothing out of the ordinary about Zena. She’s utterly magicless, and when Benton wiped her mind, the bounty hunter had one hell of time trying to find her. In fact, he didn’t find her the entire time she was unaware of her gift. It was only when we restored her memories that he came after her. I think it’s her Sight that causes the problems. It’d be silly to believe that it’s purely coincidence that she knows where the stones are. I think the bounty hunter wants the location buried with her.”

Evangeline nodded and straightened. “That’s plausible. I wouldn’t doubt that there’s something about these Sight stones we don’t know, and we should proceed with caution. Did she mention this location to you?”

“Yes. She said it was near the Haunted Forest, in the mountains high above a home of faeries. We assumed she meant the Teleen Caverns.”

“Good. We’ll go to the Teleen Caverns first, to ask for help from the Teleen. The bounty hunter will be expecting us, and we need people with knowledge of the terrain.”

We all murmured in agreement and waited for further instructions from Evangeline. She had the advantage now that Shade had put her in charge of this mission. I could tell it made Benton loathe the woman even more.

“There is one condition I must mention,” she said.

Benton lifted an eyebrow at his aunt. “What’s that?”

“You must stay here while Jack and I go to the Teleen Caverns with our army.”

“What? Why?” His hatred rose back to his face.

“You’re too emotionally invested in this girl. The hunter will use that against us.”

“That makes me an asset to this mission. Use me as bait, I don’t care, but I will not remain here in this treacherous palace while you carry out my mission. I’m just as powerful as any of you, and I will not be left behind. I know Zena. You don’t. She won’t trust you.”

Evangeline inhaled sharply, ready to reject his suggestion from the look she was giving us. “I’m sorry, Benton, but you must stay here.” She turned toward me, and her eyes sharpened like an eagle staring at its prey. It was less than comforting, and I struggled to stop myself from fidgeting.

“Soap and Dylan will join us. Oran and Anna will remain here in command of the castle.”

Benton curled his fists, turning purple with rage as we listened to Evangeline. I was afraid he’d spontaneously combust if he withheld his anger any longer. “I won’t stay here. You can’t make me.”

“You will, and I will make you if you do not comply.” Evangeline slammed a fist on the large wooden table, her complexion turning bright red beneath her otherwise calm demeanor. “If you disobey, you force me to throw you into my dungeons. Is that clear, nephew?”

Benton flinched at the last word. He’d never heard her call him that, and it was definitely not in a friendly context. He backed away a couple of steps before he turned and left without another word.

It was obvious that fighting Evangeline would do no good, but I was going to have to make sure he didn’t do anything rash, or we’d end up prisoners in the Unseelie castle. Not exactly what I’d call a vacation.

Evangeline refocused her eyes on me as though she’d read my thoughts. “Keep an eye on him, Rylan. Don’t let him out of your sight.”

I nodded, giving her and Jack a slight bow. “Yes, Your Grace.”