Chapter Twenty-Nine

 

 

Benton

Shade emerged with the Unseelie Ancient, which wasn’t unexpected, but no one spoke as he joined us. The bracelet on his arm marked him as under Shade’s command, which basically made him harmless, but the way everyone eyed him, no one was going to extend any kind of gesture of friendship to the guy any time soon. Who could blame us? He had nearly single-handedly brought the Land of Faerie to its knees. He couldn’t be trusted, even while leashed like a dog.

“Benton.” Arthas approached me unexpectedly. “I didn’t get to meet you the last time I was out. I hope you’re ready for another adventure.”

His proximity took me by surprise, and I took a step back to keep him at a safe distance. What was up with these Ancients who had no concept of personal space?

“Dude, you were tearing everything up and threatened to kill my sister. I never wanted to meet you.”

He snickered, but when he saw I wasn’t going to take it, his smirk deepened and he dropped the hand he’d held out for me to take.

“I know we got off on the wrong foot, but I tend to meet the brother of the woman who has me… what’s the term? Oh yes, wrapped around her finger.”

“You know the moment we no longer need you, you’ll be Sleeping Beauty once more. You’re only free for a tiny bit.”

Arthas’s face reddened, his aggravation painted on his features. He turned as the rest of the group began to move, falling into step behind Shade and Soap. I was sure I had insulted the guy, but I didn’t care, and I doubted anyone else cared by the way they all kept walking without a second glance toward Arthas. The guy held himself in high prestige above everyone else. What a self-righteous prick. I hoped Shade put him back in his coffin sooner rather than later. He would sell anyone for whatever ransom, even a tiny thing. He was capable of anything, and I hated to know he’d be so close to my friends, lurking and conspiring.

“Benton, here.” Isolde fell into step next to me and held out a strip of beef jerky to snack on. “Don’t let that fool get under your skin. The Ancients aren’t used to human interaction. Or any at all, really. They consider everyone else beneath them. I’m sure it’s going to take quite an adjustment for any of them to lower themselves to our level.” She winked, her joke not lost on me.

“I know.” I chewed pensively. “I just can’t help it. He nearly got all of Faerie destroyed. We can’t trust someone like that. He has nothing to lose. He’s dangerous.”

“And you’re not? You have everything to lose and more, which makes you even more dangerous than Arthas ever could be. Don’t forget that.”

“You think so?”

She nodded and leaned in as we continued walking out of the tunnels, pressing a peck of a kiss onto my cheek. I threw her a side smile, feeling my face heat up under her loving eyes. It felt nice—no, wonderful—to have her on my side. She was right. Maybe I was more dangerous than Arthas, for I had her love, my family, and my friends to fight for, and I would go through hell for them. I would even face down an Unseelie Ancient.

“You’re right. I would give everything to keep you all safe. It must be horrible to be him, all lonely and unlovable. There are worse things out there than fighting each other.”

“True. You got me. That’s way more than what some have, right?” She winked at me, and I draped my arm around her shoulders, pulling her tightly to my side. No one could ever dim our love. Nothing would burn us out this time around. I’d make sure of it.

The next stop was The Glass Castle to see Ursad, except when we got there, he wasn’t at home. Shade asked Camulus if he knew where his master had gone, but he shrugged, unusually unconcerned for Ursad. Ever since Ursad’s father, Corb, had asked him to betray Shade, they hadn’t exactly seen eye to eye.

Shade stared wide-mouthed at Camulus. Even though he chose to work for us as a teleporter, what did we really know about him? What had happened to his relationship with Ursad? It had obviously soured, for the two had not spoken in a long time. His lack of concern for his old friend unnerved me.

“That’s great,” I said. “How are we going to get the blood of an ice faery if we don’t know any others with ice powers besides Corb?”

Shade stared at the desolate castle. It was intact. Ursad’s servants were still there, but none could offer us the location of their ruler. He’d been in a drunken stupor for a while, from what I’d heard, devastated that he’d betrayed Shade. We hadn’t heard much from him.

As an old friend of Shade’s from the first time she stepped foot into Faerie, he was absent when needed. Strange, especially if he desired to make it up to Shade. He’d been in love with her, but there were very few men she let in. She attracted guys like fly paper, most falling in love without thought to whether or not she loved them back. I think it had something to do with her magnetizing magic. Good thing she hadn’t had those powers in high school. It would’ve made it hellish for her.

The unfortunate thing was that somehow, I guess staying away from her turned them all mad. It was no wonder that everyone she touched came around to visit her for another hit of her essence, sooner or later.

Shade shook her head, confused, while peering about the castle. She had fond memories of it and had spent some time there with Ursad. It felt empty, lacking so many things without the vibrant faery to indulge us.

“We have to go find Corb,” she said. The group groaned in unison.

“Why? With Arthas, Rowan, and your blood, you’ll have the blood of three Ancients. I’m sure we can find another ice faery without dragging the last Ancient into all this. You should have dealt with him when you had the chance. He’s no good, Shade. None of them are.”

Everybody stared at me with eyes wide open. Maybe I was being too harsh, but I didn’t care. All I knew was that Corb was bad news, and I didn’t want to get involved with him again.

“Come on, Shade,” I pressed. “Corb almost killed you once; Arthas also threw you to the wolves and almost brought down all of Faerie. I don’t need to even start with Kilara. Maybe we need to get rid of some Ancients around here.”

Shade frowned as Isolde cleared her throat, trying hard not to laugh. Arthas had a nice smirk on his face and was openly laughing at my comments. I wanted to slam his face into the ground, but I kept my violent tendencies tucked away.

“Benton, it doesn’t work that way. We have to get this magic, and we need them to do it. It’s the only way we can get in without being killed. And besides, I still don’t have Kilara’s blood. As much as she wants the cure from The Heart, there’s no guarantee she’d give it to me. Just be patient, okay? I know this isn’t fun, and I know we’re not moving very fast. Yes, we’re accumulating a little bit of baggage”—she glanced toward Arthas and Rowan—“but this needs to get done so Kilara can finally leave us alone.”

I scoffed. “She’s never going to leave you alone, Shade. Haven’t you figured that out yet? I think you need to put her in an eternal slumber too. It’s the only way. If she’s asleep, she leaves everybody alone.”

Shade was in my face in a moment, frustration more than anger steaming in her features. “Look, Benton, I know you’re frustrated, and I know that we have enemies amongst us, but I have to do this. I have no choice. You are not bound by any kind of blood to her. You’re free to do as you wish, but I must do what I have to do or its complete agony. She torments me. You wouldn’t understand.”

“I—I’m sorry, sis. Really. You’re right. I don’t understand. It’s all so crazy.”

Shade exhaled, rubbing her forehead as she pressed her eyes tightly shut. “I’m sorry too. I just… I have to do this. There is no choice for me. Even if I were willing to suffer the consequences, she’s placed that curse on Soap.”

“I understand,” I whispered, putting a hand on her shoulder. She needed to eat or rest; she was getting so thin. “Come on, we’ll get this over with, but first, let’s take a break and eat. We could all use some grub.”

She nodded, blinking back tired tears as she looked up and smiled at me.

“There’s my big sis. Hey, you’ve been taxing yourself too much. Let’s just breathe for a moment, okay?”

“All right.”

“Come on, you guys,” Isolde called out to us. “The servants set up all sorts of treats for us in the royal sitting rooms. Even though Ursad isn’t here, they are happy to have company to serve.” She waved us over with a contagious elation I had to admit made me want to join her.

I turned toward Shade. “It’ll be all right. Let’s just take a moment and enjoy ourselves for once. It’s not every day I get to help guard my sister on her many adventures.” I winked.

She grinned, looking a lot more alive than she had a moment before, and joined me and Isolde as we made our way down the hall where we could already hear laughter spilling out from Ursad’s sitting room. At least now we could breathe, even for just a moment.