Tarragon watched Celine leave.
She had a strong will, which he admired. She was determined and brave, too, as well as unforgiving and deceptive. Maybe there was still a small part inside of her that was Fata. But she looked like a human, moved like a human, and had the physical strength of a human. Growing up in the mortal world had made her soft. Tarragon hated himself for not saving her from the Prenumbra that had stolen her magic when she was a baby. He hated himself for not saving her parents. He had lived with this hate and rage inside him for seventeen years. It was a part of him, like his heart or hands, and no matter how he tried, he could not get rid of it.
He needed someone to blame.
He had told Celine the truth about her parents’ deaths, and she had believed him. She didn’t particularly care that they were dead since she couldn’t remember a thing about them. But Tarragon could remember, and he did care. Losing loved ones either broke a person or made them strong. Young Celine had not broken. There were many days that Tarragon thought he had broken and that he was losing his mind because he had murdered Prince Calico and Princess Harmonia. But he had to stay sane, even in this cold, dark cell. He had failed seventeen years ago to protect the baby princess. He would not fail again. Yes, he had tried to murder her when she revealed her identity and the magic of the Egress Key. That had been an impulsive, desperate move that had resulted from his fear that her magic made her too dangerous. She could lose control of it, or someone could take it away from her. Sitting in this cell had given Tarragon much time to think. What if there was a way to extract the Egress Key’s magic without hurting Celine?
He wouldn’t try to save her because he liked her. He would try to save her because that was what Prince Calico would have wanted. And Tarragon loved his prince dearly.
Tarragon considered the ferrymale and the tooth he had taken. Severin would pay him well for that tooth, and he would accept. Tarragon feared what Severin would do with her power, should he manage to get his hands on the tooth. Also, two of the Eternity Princes were obsessed with her and would do anything to save her.
Tarragon studied the iron knife she had dropped. It was not ideal, but it would have to do. He reached for it with his leg, but the chains made it difficult. He stretched until he finally touched it and dragged it closer. When he picked it up, the iron made his skin sizzle and burn. Tarragon had to fight the urge to drop the knife or throw it away. Despite smelling his own flesh burning, he refused to cry out. He had endured much pain in his life, and this was not that bad. He could handle it.
He aimed the tip of the dagger at the shackles’ lock before forcing it inside and twisting. The pain in his hands became too much, and he dropped the knife and examined his reddened hands. The skin was gone. For once he was glad that his cell was wet, and he could dip his hands in a puddle of water. Steam rose as his hands cooled.
Once his hands felt better, he studied them again. They were healing slowly, despite the ring that let him use his magic. He had grown weaker over these past three months.
This time, he did not hesitate and picked up the iron knife again, trying his best to ignore the pain as he stuck the knife into the lock. He twisted and twisted until the lock jumped free. He dropped the knife and pushed off the shackles.
He smiled widely because he would be the first Fata ever to escape from the Dark House. But there was no rush to leave as no one would come looking for him. He would leave the tower once the storm died down. The weather outside was crazy, and for a moment Tarragon wondered if Celine had drowned. No, she was too stubborn for that.
***
Celine pulled her hand away from the male’s shoe and forced herself to sit up. She was exhausted. She looked around the beach where plenty of Fata soldiers stood, fully armored, and they surrounded her as if she were a dangerous, illegal immigrant. Did they think she was stupid enough to try to outrun them?
The ferrymale was on his boat and regarded her blandly. She had been a fool for giving him her name. Once he knew who she was, he had betrayed her location.
Celine looked back to the man in front of her as he said, “Hello, Celine. I am Severin Silverskin. It is a pleasure to finally meet you.”
“I wish I could say the same,” she responded.
So, this was the male who ruled her kingdom. In his right hand he held her tooth, for her to see. Celine wanted nothing more than to drown the ferrymale for handing it over.
Celine closed her eyes and tried to open a portal. She did not care where she went, she just had to get out of there. But no matter how hard she tried, her magic would not react. She could feel it, deep inside her, but it was frozen.
Severin was using her tooth against her, and she hated him for it. She was outnumbered and defenseless. For a moment, she thought they were not going to hesitate to kill her. Severin had, after all, sent multiple assassins to the Evergreen Kingdom to claim her life.
“Take her.” Severin turned his amber eyes away from her.
Two of the Fata soldiers grabbed Celine’s arms and pulled her to her feet. They restrained her as they walked, and she wondered why they even bothered. She did not resist as they led her to the castle. The Fata didn’t struggle against the rain as much as she did. Her legs ached and wobbled, and she kept thinking they would give in at any moment. But Celine refused to give up in front of these Fata.
They entered the beautiful castle, and Celine couldn’t help but gaze about her in awe. It had so many fountains and arches decorated with stone flowers. The steppingstones in the gardens were also flower shaped. The castle was gorgeous. Her castle was gorgeous.
Fata stepped out of their houses to look at her. Did they know who she was? It must be unusual for their leader to go out in the middle of a storm to fetch a prisoner. No doubt everyone wanted to see what the commotion was about.
The soldiers marched her into the castle, the center of attention for a crowd of curious eyes. She held her head high and tried not to show she was intimidated in her own home. It did not feel like home, and she did not feel wanted.
No one cheered or clapped for her return. No one dared to try to aid her or speak up. Celine was completely alone.
Severin broke away from his soldiers and headed off with her tooth. She stared after him as the soldiers led her to a flight of descending stairs. They were taking her into the dungeon.
Water dripped from Celine as she went down slowly because she did not want to slip and fall. One of the soldiers tugged her forward.
“Faster!” one said and shoved her.
Celine lost her balance and tumbled down the steps. She came to a stop at the bottom and gasped for breath. Her elbow felt electric from where she had banged it on the floor, and her leg felt oddly numb. The soldiers were laughing, and they hauled her onto her feet. She tried her best not to fall over and ignored their laughter.
The dungeon was dry, with torches on the walls, and plenty of the cells were full of Fata. Celine couldn’t understand what they were doing here, as there was not much crime in the Eternity Kingdoms.
When Celine had been in the Everwhite Kingdom dungeon, Eric and Fleur had been the only prisoners. In the Evergreen Kingdom, the assassin had been the only prisoner. Why were so many Fata locked up here?
Fata rose from their cell floors and pushed their faces against the bars so that they could study her. A murmur traveled through them, like a rumor. One of the Fata reached through the bars, to touch her, but a soldier smacked away his hand. The soldiers opened a cell door and roughly shoved her inside. Her legs could not take it anymore and gave way. She fell onto her face and lay there for a moment. The key twisted in the lock after the soldiers closed the door then their footsteps faded as they left.
Slowly, Celine rolled over onto her back and stared at the cracked roof, becoming aware of how many eyes were on her. It made her uncomfortable. She forced herself to sit up and look around, at the prisoners, who were staring at her as if she was a zoo animal.
“What?” she spat.
“You’re Princess Celine LeVane,” a small Fata said.
He was in the cell next to Celine. He was shorter than she was, young, and one of his pointy ears was missing a tip which suggested he had suffered much in his lifetime. He had big, light-green eyes and shoulder-length brown hair. He was covered in dirt, and his clothes were rags, as if a dog had tried to shred him to pieces. How long had he been down here?
“That’s me,” she said unenthusiastically.
“I’m Peter,” he responded. What an oddly human name for a faerie. Before Celine had more time to think about it, he added, “It’s such an honor to meet you!”
He sounded truly excited, and Celine was confused. Most faeries were not excited to meet a human – even if that human was rightfully the lost Princess of the Everblossom Kingdom.
“It is?” Celine asked.
“Of course! All of us”—he pointed to the faeries around them— “support you as our Princess. That’s why we are down here in the dungeon – Severin locked us up.”
Celine almost gaped at him. Was he playing a trick on her? She guessed about twenty Fata were in the dungeon. All of them supported her. They looked at her with big, curious eyes, which made her feel awkward. She was not a leader, and the only person who ever looked up to her was Violet. She did not know what to say or do.
“I’m sorry he locked you up down here,” she said.
“Don’t be,” Peter said. “Now that you have returned, we will get our revenge on Severin Silverskin for stealing the throne from you!”
Celine bit her tongue. She had not planned to come here and gain followers so that they could rebel and riot. Now that she had followers, she had no idea how to rescue them. She could not even help herself, as she had no escape plan, her magic was blocked, and she was exhausted.
“Revenge…” she mumbled.
“We heard that you got Tarragon dethroned all by yourself,” Peter told her. “I always hated him – he was a brutal and violent ruler who didn’t care about us.”
“We heard you were brave enough to kill the Queen because she had a Prenumbra inside,” a Fata with pink eyes said.
“We heard that you will stop at nothing to get your throne back,” a male said from across the room.
“Is it true that you killed the Beast in the Lake of Lost to get the No-Name sword?” another asked.
Their voices blurred together and overwhelmed her. She could not help these Fata. All she could do was disappoint. They were waiting for a strong, brave leader to save them. She was none of those things. She felt small and weak.
Celine curled herself into a tiny ball and closed her eyes, trying to ignore the voices and bite back her tears. Would someone come for her? How long before Dagan even noticed she was missing?
Celine fell asleep – the faeries’ voices were a lullaby to her ears. She woke when her cell door swung open. A guard placed a tray on the floor in front of her as she rubbed the sleep from her eyes.
“Eat,” he ordered and left.
On the tray was a bottle filled with fresh clean water, bread and fruits, and warm chicken wings. It was a good meal and Celine doubted any prisoners down here ever got fed. Peter was eyeing her food, and several of the faeries sniffed the air.
“Here.” She handed Peter a piece of bread.
He was too hungry to politely reject it and wolfed down the bread. Her heart went out to him. Instead of eating her own food, she broke everything into smaller pieces and passed it around so that everyone could have a bite.
There was not nearly enough food to satisfy twenty hungry Fata and a human. Once her tray was empty, she sat with her back against the wall. Why had Severin even bothered to feed her?
She had enough time to think about everything that had happened. She also had enough time to try to use her magic again, but that did not work. She pushed herself, but her magic would not budge. How foolish had she been to give up her tooth! But of course, she hadn’t known what she got herself into.
Peter glanced at the spot where her right canine used to be but did not say anything. She wore a mark of shame for everyone to see, yet she did not feel ashamed.
She was always judged in the Eternity Kingdoms because she was a human. She figured that she could use this to her advantage. Severin considered her weak. He underestimated her.
A small part of her found herself missing Dagan. He’d had her back, and she could trust him to keep her safe and alive. How disappointed would he be when he saw her tooth? Her heart sank. Since when did she not want to disappoint him? Was it because he was always pushing her to be better, stronger, and smarter? Was it because he was the only faerie who, for some reason, admired her?
Celine shook her head. She wouldn’t think about Dagan anymore. Celine closed her eyes and began to concoct an escape plan.