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WHEN THE GROUND BEGAN to shake, Asha realized the storms had intensified even more. “We need to get back to the palace,” she said uneasily.
“It’ll take us three days to get there,” Kurtus pointed out, looking up uneasily. The howling wind could now be heard even in the troll mound.
“We will take you back,” Olsa offered. Her sister was clutching her hand tightly and it didn’t look as if she was going to let go anytime soon.
“You would willingly return to the Unseelie palace?” someone asked. “Where the horrible fairies who imprisoned us reside?”
“Our magic is failing,” Dacrith said starkly. “Soon, all magic will cease to exist. While you have the choice of fleeing to the Seelie lands, we don’t. We are of no threat to you right now.”
“The fairy is right,” Unwin agreed. “They can’t even manifest their wings now.” At the pointed look Dacrith’s wings received, he amended his statement. “Except him. He managed to pull it off, but only because he’s Prince Sindarian’s son.”
That news didn’t go down well and Dacrith received a lot of angry glares. “Is he going to become the new Dark Prince now?” someone in the crowd of a thousand or so brownies asked.
“No,” Asha said and flicked him a look. Dacrith’s heart dropped for a moment before it soared again when she continued. “We’ll rule together as King and Queen.”
Murmurs sounded, but they didn’t have time to tell them the whole story. They’d been kept in an enchanted sleep for eons and had no idea what was going on.
“Take us to the palace,” Dacrith requested and the brownies complied.
They appeared off to one side in the throne room to see the entire Unseelie Court was gathered. Some of the brownies had come with them, but had vanished rather than allowing the courtiers to see them. The rest had gone to search the other troll mounds to find their missing kin.
Rain, thunder and lightning were lashing the building with unrelenting ferocity. “We must become bonded,” Dacrith said to Asha, taking her hands in his. “It’s the only way to stop the chaos.”
Afraid, but aware that the lives of every being in the fae realms rested on her shoulders, she forced herself to nod. Hexam pressed against her side, trembling with each crack of thunder. He looked up at her with soulful orange eyes. He’d been her faithful guardian, but now it was time for her to keep him safe. Him and all the other ungrateful, nasty, spiteful beings who didn’t even deserve it.
“Before we bond, I have a request,” Dacrith said. He swallowed down his fear of rejection when she looked up at him. “I want us to be husband and wife before we become joined.”
“Few bother to marry in our realm,” Kurtus pointed out, then flinched when lightning struck somewhere close by. Bright light seared their eyes through the windows.
“Asha and I will be bound for life. I wish to wed her before I bed her,” Dacrith said.
“Did you deliberately rhyme just then?” Olsa asked.
He frowned down at her, but became distracted when Asha squeezed his fingers. To his surprise, she was smiling now. “Yes,” she said quietly. “I’ll marry you, Dacrith, but we need to have the ceremony now.”
A corner of his mouth lifted when she called him by his name. He’d had another name long ago, but he’d embraced the nickname he’d been given by the other competitors in the goblin dungeon. He’d been named death, but he’d worn the title with pride. He couldn’t change who he’d been, but he could ensure he would be the man Asha deserved from now on. The very survival of their realm depended on it.
Hand in hand, they strode over to the dais and mounted it. Lord Nicolaia was clustered together with the other advisors behind the thrones. His head whipped around when he saw them. Kurtus and Hexam took up stations behind the pair to act as their guards while Olsa and Unwin remained seated on Asha’s shoulders. “It’s about time you returned,” Nicolaia said tightly. “If it hasn’t escaped your notice, our realm is now in a crisis.”
“We’re aware,” Dacrith replied serenely. “Asha and I wish to wed each other. You will officiate the ceremony.”
Asha wasn’t thrilled by his choice, but she didn’t object. Frankly, they didn’t have time to find someone more suitable to perform the role.
“Are you insane?” King Lod demanded as he stomped over to them. “We don’t have time for this! Bed the girl now before the realm is destroyed utterly!”
“Gee, thanks, Dad,” Asha said sarcastically. “That’s just what every girl wants to hear on her wedding night.” Olsa giggled, then clapped her hand over her mouth.
Bindel suddenly appeared with a dozen other brownies in tow. “Right,” she said briskly. “If it’s a wedding you want, a wedding you shall have. We’ll take care of it. You two just stand there and look pretty.”
At her order, the brownies beneath her charge transformed the throne room in the blink of an eye. Gone was the depressing black marble floor. Instead, it was gray with silver and gold streaks. The horrible blood red strip of carpet changed to black in tribute to the Unseelie realm they lived in. The thrones changed to clear crystal with the same silver and gold deposits as the floor. The red drapes changed to silver with intricate gold patterns. Brighter candles appeared in the chandeliers, filling the once oppressively dim room with light.
The female courtiers gasped in mingled shock and outrage when their revealing dresses became more modest. The men didn’t change at all and smiled smugly. King Lod let out a squawk when his shapeless black smock vanished and he was suddenly clad in a cream tunic and black pants. He plucked at the fabric sourly, but didn’t have enough magic left to change it back.
Dacrith looked down when his clothes changed to a silver tunic and pants with gold patterns embossed in the fabric. When he looked up, Asha was wearing a stunning white gown with pearls stitched on the bodice. She wore a tiara with diamonds on it and a train that flowed down her back to the floor.
Lord Nicolaia started when a book appeared in his hands. Bemused by the rapid transformation that had gone on around him, he shook his head, then began the ceremony. Dacrith took Asha’s hands in his, noting the gold ring she now wore. Then he met her eyes and became lost in their depths. He repeated the words that the courtier prompted him to say, then waited in an agony of suspense until Asha said her piece in return.
“As per fairy law, you are now bound in marriage,” Lord Nicolaia intoned. “May your union last for eternity and may your happiness be shared by all.”
The courtiers gasped when they felt magic ripple through the room. For a moment, their hearts swelled, then the sensation faded and they returned to being as evil as ever.
Camlim, Fronda and Wesnor glared spitefully at Asha when Dacrith bent to kiss her. They waited for her skin to turn gray and for her to tear the prince limb from limb. They were almost disappointed when nothing happened.
Glad he’d survived their first kiss intact, Dacrith turned to address the crowd. “My bride and I shall retire now. We will hold the ceremony to be inducted as your King and Queen in the morning.”
“That’s if you survive your wedding night,” someone muttered. Normally, nasty snickers and giggles would have ensued. Their fear was so intense that none of them could muster up any amusement.
“Come,” Dacrith said to his wife. He tugged on her hand and she willingly left the throne room with him. Hexam bounded after the pair, but Kurtus remained behind. He found himself surrounded by the advisors. He had the unenviable task of informing them about the bargain Asha and Dacrith had made with the trolls.
