The carriage came to a halt and Rori snapped open her eyes, senses on full alert. Cian squeezed her hand and exited the carriage to hold the door for Midna. The queen’s smile was for Rori alone. Hidden in the curves of her lips was an unspoken invitation. For a second, Rori almost blurted out that she’d stay with the queen. That whatever she could teach, Rori would happily learn. But the moment passed and Rori sat in the carriage alone with her confusion.
She couldn’t remember when she’d fallen asleep, only that Cian and Midna’s conversation had bored her beyond belief. After discussing Cian’s findings, which Rori paid attention to, the discussion had devolved into an accounting of household business. Midna knew everything that happened at her court, down to who was bedding whom. She could recount every penny spent from her treasury and inquired after several babies born in the past month. The dullness of it all had lulled Rori into a sleep deep enough she’d no longer felt the rib-jarring ruts in the road or heard the squeaking of wheels.
“Are you coming, or did you plan to sleep in here all night?”
“Shut it, Cian.” Rori slithered from the carriage and stuck out her tongue at her brother. Her boots landed in soft grass and she looked around at her surroundings.
The Vale of Dorn sat at the very heart of Faerie, of equal distance to the two kingdoms. Rori knew the vale well, having traversed it many times both on foot and horseback. Rowan, the wizard who called the vale home, was a good man. Honest, humble, and smart. He’d given Rori shelter on more than one occasion and stitched her up a fair few times as well. She saw Rowan shuffling toward the queen and smiled.
Beside Rowan was her friend Tug, and to his left, Meg. Tug saw her and waved a hello as he lumbered past the pair to meet up with Rori.
“Meg’s fixed me, Ror. I ain’t got no more enchantress in me mind.” He folded her into a hug and she patted his expansive back.
“That’s good, Tug. Was it so terrible to be cured?”
“Naw, Meg’s a good lass. Gave me some potions, didn’t she? They weren’t too tasty, but after a while, they did the trick. I cannae feel someone else in here anymore.” He tapped his skull, a wide grin on his face. “Where’s Therron? Meg thought the two of ye would come together.”
“He’s with Eirlys. I went to the Unseelie palace alone.”
Tug nodded, as if the idea didn’t surprise him. “He’ll be along shortly, I imagine. Don’t ye worry none about him.”
It was an odd thing to say, but then, Rori had just had the oddest day of her life. The startling realization hit her that from the moment she woke up in the silent forest to when she fell asleep in the Unseelie queen’s palace had all been one long day. In truth, it felt like a month, at least. No wonder she was exhausted.
A shiver clawed its way down her spine and Rori turned in time to glimpse a flash of gold and crimson dart behind a tree. She squinted into the surrounding woods but couldn’t make out any movement beyond a few rabbits. Her instinct told her to wait, that Acelyne needed to be there. It took every ounce of self-control not to race after the enchantress.
“You’ll stay inside with us tonight, Rori.” Meg joined them and hovered close to Tug. Her glance darted to the forest, but she didn’t mention Acelyne. “Rowan insists.”
“I slept in the carriage on the way here. I can patrol tonight. Where’s Eirlys?”
“They were detained and won’t arrive until morning. You need your rest.” Meg entreated Tug, “Doesn’t she?”
“Ye do, Aurora. Ye’ve had a busy time of it and if Rowan says ye’ll sleep in the house, then ye will.”
Knowing arguing would get her nowhere, Rori agreed. “There’s still a few hours of sunlight. I’ll see if I can help put up tents or something. I can’t just stand around waiting.”
“You can help me with potions. Come, I’ll show you how to make that tincture you’re so fond of.” Meg held out her hand and Rori followed.
Tug meandered off in the opposite direction and soon after, she heard the thud-chunk of a hammer hitting wooden spikes. Other sounds came to her: of the queen giving orders, forest creatures, birds cawing in the sky—natural sounds that for all the world sounded like everything was as it should be. Yet Rori had the distinct feeling nothing would ever be the same. She savored the moment, her face upturned to the sun.
At Meg’s impatient huff, she took a deep breath and focused on what the healer had to teach. A small kitchen was set up outside, next to Rowan’s garden. Meg had cauldrons and spits, jars with all sorts of stuff, some of which Rori wished she’d never seen. Cat’s livers, chicken feet, bull scrotum—Meg had everything necessary to brew every potion ever invented.
“Here, take these.” Meg handed Rori several jars. “Put them in a pot with that elk urine.”
“Eww. What exactly am I making?”
“Life Everlasting.” At Rori’s grin, Meg added, “It doesn’t actually make you live forever, but if you’re injured, it will congeal your blood and heal your wounds.”
“I need a barrel full, please.”
Meg giggled and gave Rori the rest of the instructions to make the potion. She stirred one pot before adding ingredients to another. They made enough of the tincture to supply an army, several sleeping potions, two quick-acting poisons that would put a soldier out of misery in moments, and a mysterious ochre liquid that smelled fouler than an ogre after a night at the pub.
When the stars blanketed the night sky, Meg called a halt to their makeshift apothecary. “I think we’ve got enough, don’t you?”
“Are you expecting a battle?”
Meg’s serene smile didn’t reach her eyes. “I like to be prepared. Best to get you inside, dear.”
Sumptuous aromas wafted toward Rori and she didn’t argue. It was past time for another meal. Meg carefully lined the jars on a shelf with the labels facing out. Quick as a heartbeat, she tucked the ochre bottle into her pocket. Rori pretended not to see Meg shift her skirts to hide the potion.
Inside Rowan’s cottage were at least two dozen courtiers, Cian, and the queen. Chairs were shoved into the corners in an effort to fit everyone into the cramped space. Tug waved Rori over and she wove through the tightly packed room to her friend.
He held out a plate of food and a flood of emotions washed over her. Overriding them all was gratitude that he’d thought of her. Beneath that lingered worry for what would happen the following day. Deeper still, anger that it had come to this because of an enchantress with a penchant for kidnapping fae. She blinked back unwelcome tears and bent her head low over her plate. What was wrong with her? She never blubbered like a fool and yet here she was, hiding her tears. The food passed over her tongue and down her throat with barely any chewing. She doubted anyone cared about her manners in the crowded house. If they did, they could suck the nipples off a bridge troll. She was hungry.
“Did you even taste Rowan’s cooking?”
“Shut it, Cian.”
“You keep saying that.” He wedged himself between Rori and Tug. “Hey, big guy. Anything new?”
“Just ta stuff with Aurora is all.”
“So, same as usual?”
The men shared a laugh at Rori’s expense. She ignored them and finished her meal. When there was nothing left but a few crumbs, Tug took the plate from her and shuffled to the kitchen. A few minutes later, he returned with three plates piled high with sweets.
“Who had time to make these?” Rori took a plate from him, her full belly protesting at the abundance of confections.
“I did.” Midna glided into view, her gown now pale pink with hair to match, wings nowhere to be seen. “It relieves stress,” she added with a shrug. “Enjoy.”
Cian put a finger under Rori’s chin to close her gaping mouth.
“She’s full of surprises.” Her brother gave her an “I told you so” look and she snarled. “Finish up, then it’s to bed for you.”
“What am I, five? I can take care of myself, you know.”
He wrapped an arm around her and tilted his head to rest on hers. “Humor your big brother. You’ve been at the Academy and off on missions for so long, I hardly recognize you anymore.” He fluffed a strand of her hair. “I like the color. It suits you.”
“Purple was my favorite,” Tug said between bites of his Victoria Sponge. “Queen bakes good.”
“That she does,” Cian said with a little more inflection than Rori liked.
“Are you in love with her?”
“Isn’t everyone?” He indicated those in the room. “Just look at the way they watch her, as if one glance, one word from their queen would make their day.”
“But she’s—” Rori stopped herself from saying “bad.” She tried to remember why everyone told her the Unseelie queen was untrustworthy and to watch herself, to never go there. Everyone knew the Seelie Court was about light and gaiety and the Unseelie Court was full of tricksters. These were the same “everyones” who said Midna’s palace was full of sex slaves, too.
The truth was probably somewhere in the middle. Rori studied the queen. Eirlys was equally as dichotomous as the Unseelie queen. “She’s not all that bad,” Rori said at last. “I guess.”
Cian nudged her shoulder and grinned at her like he’d done when they were kids. “Bad, good—it’s all relative. Some say we’re bad for what we do. Others say we’re the heroes. Without context, we’re both. Come on.” He unfolded himself from the long bench and walked away from the others. She followed him without argument. Not because she wanted to, but out of respect. They trudged up the stairs to a long hallway with at least a dozen doors on either side. Rori blinked at the sight. Then blinked again.
“Rowan is a wizard, you know.”
“Right. I guess I’ve spent so much time in the human world I forget about magic.”
“It’s probably just as well.” He opened a door for her. “Here you are.” He pointed to a change of clothes on the bed and then to a connecting door next to a wardrobe. “I’m just there. Don’t bother locking your door. I’ve been able to undo the best of locks since I was five.”
Rori gave him a sugary smile and a half curtsey. “Of course, m’lord.”
His chuckle followed him into his room and through the closed door. He’d always been an insufferable brat. Bless him.
Unable to sleep, she paced the small room until she was sure she’d worn a path in the floorboards. It couldn’t have been more than half past nine and she was wired from all the sugar. She tiptoed to the door separating her room from her brother’s and put an ear to the wood. A few times, she heard Cian clear his throat and after a minute or so, she heard a page turn. She glanced around her room for a book and didn’t see anything. Knowing him, he brought one with him.
She leaned against the door and debated her choices. There was nothing for it—she needed to get out of this room if for no other reason than to think. Being cooped up made her brain sloshy and she hated it when things weren’t clear.
Doing her best to not make any noise, with each step, she placed her boots gently upon the floorboard with a silent prayer they wouldn’t squeak. It would be just like her brother to request a room with a built-in escape detector. At the window, she stared out into the darkness, orienting herself from inside the cottage to the vale. In the distance, a soft glow came from the forest. It could’ve been a random campfire, but the insistent buzzing in Rori’s gut told her it was Acelyne’s. The enchantress was out there, waiting.
Rori put a hand to the sash as if to push it open and paused. The fire snuffed out. Too quickly. The buzzing intensified and nausea teased the back of her throat. Something she ate, nothing more. Sweat slicked her palms and her fingertips tapped along the window frame. She’d never been afraid of the dark, not even as a small child, but this night she hesitated to open a bloody window.
As she debated risk versus reward, a pair of shining lights came forward from the trees. Their size and intensity grew the closer they came until Rori saw they weren’t lights at all, but flaming daggers and they were headed right at her. She ducked a second before they crashed into the window. The glass held strong, but the daggers shattered as if made from ice.
The door to Cian’s room burst open and he stood over her, his bare hands glowing. She’d never seen him use this much magic before and for an instant, she was mesmerized by the sight. Blue-green flames danced upon his hands, with small tendrils licking up his forearms.
“What happened?”
“I don’t know. There were lights in the forest, then they flew at me.”
Cian doused the lamps in her room with a single word and nudged her aside. She made room for him at the window, staying close but allowing him the bulk of the frame. He scanned the darkened landscape, his lips forming curses she barely heard.
A thundering of footsteps came from the stairs and Rori groaned with the forthcoming onslaught of questions and attention. She turned toward his room.
“Where are you going?”
“Tell them you’re sleeping here and those were meant for you.” She jerked her chin toward the window. “Those were a test and she failed. Acelyne’s out there. She’s not going anywhere anytime soon and I’ve had enough excitement for a while.”
Without waiting for his reply, she went into his room and crawled beneath the covers of his bed. She shoved a pillow over her head to drown out the voices coming from her room. If not for the guards, and queen, and her brother, and all the others downstairs who stood in her way, she would’ve been out of the cottage and into the forest to search for that she-demon. If she tried to leave, they’d try to stop her and she’d had enough of arguing for the time being. She knew their answers before she even spoke a word.
There was simply no way Cian would’ve let her leave the room knowing Acelyne had tried to attack her. And she was too tired to fight them all. Before she fell asleep, words drifted to her. Bait and trap, safety and protection, amulets and spells: all of them tangled around one name—Rori.
When she woke, Cian was sprawled across a chair, an open book in his lap. She watched him for several minutes until he blinked and looked right at her. Rori held his gaze and he smiled in a lazy, sardonic kind of way.
“Did you sleep well?”
“Why do you keep asking me that?”
“As you said, you’ve had an exciting few days.” He tilted his chin toward the window. “Queen Eirlys will be here soon. You might want to freshen up.”
Rori yawned and stretched, feeling the knots that formed in her back from a tense night of fitful rest. Beyond the curtains, a slip of cloudless blue sky could be seen. “What time is it?”
“Past breakfast.” At her fallen face, he added, “Tug saved some for you.”
“Guess there’s no time for a shower?”
“There might be if Rowan had showers. I’m afraid it’s tub only here, and water needs to be brought up from the kitchen.”
“How old-fashioned.”
“Quite.”
She pulled the duvet off and swung her feet to the side of the bed. The dark circles under Cian’s eyes had faded, and it looked as though he’d found time to shave.
“Did you sleep well?”
“I did, thank you.” He swatted his book at her. “Get some food in you. Today’s going to be tedious. Midna’s decided since both she and Eirlys are here, they should discuss more than Acelyne and the missing fae.”
Rori didn’t like what he said, or his tone. Tedious was an understatement. Now Rori understood Meg’s insistence they make as many potions as they did. If either queen so desired, Faerie could find itself in the midst of a civil war. Only if one of the queens behaved uncivilly, of course.
She tugged on her boots and shook out the last dregs of her braid. “Let me get cleaned up and I’ll head down for breakfast.” She stepped over Cian’s crossed legs and stopped in the doorway that separated their rooms. “What are you doing here?”
Midna reclined in the small bed Rori should’ve slept in. Her cobalt hair closely matched Rori’s and she wore a black tunic. Alarm bells set off in Rori’s mind.
Cian stood close behind her, a menacing presence. “She’s protecting you, Rori.”
“Protecting me? From what?” But her eyes slid to the window where hours earlier, two daggers tried to break through the glass. “From Acelyne? Why? I don’t have the amulets anymore. Midna and Eirlys do.”
“Acelyne might not know that and besides, it could be she doesn’t want just them, darling.” Midna slid gracefully from the bed, her tunic barely covering her legs. “You are what she seeks. Not only did you manage to break free of her spell, you stole something from her and we’re certain she wants revenge. We brought you here to lure her out.”
“You used me as bait?” Rori spun around to confront her brother. “And you allowed this?”
“Darling,” Midna purred, “it was his idea.”