There doesn't seem to be any fear in her at such a prospect; if anything, I’d guess that no matter what praises she sings of this castle, her own distaste for Yris is akin to mine.
“It’s quite similar—the Golden Palace, at least. I haven't seen much of the other castles, only ruins, and I doubt the cities will be rebuilt in the exact same fashion, if they choose to rebuild them at all.”
A somber hush settles over females behind us. It’s a testament to the horrors of the Fates War that the mere mention of all that befell the fae folk in the Northern Lands is enough to subdue even the high fae most eager to claw their way into power.
“Will you take your entire household with you to the Northern Lands, or only a select few? Are they just as eager to serve under a new king, or are their hearts heavy at leaving Yris and their lives here?”
Sari lets out a long sigh, staring around at the luxurious furnishings proudly displaying the Celestial crest that declares sovereignty over the chambers to all who walk within. “I’ll take some of my household, but not all. My father needs as many able guards as possible to fight the witches, so I’ll be handed over to my new husband and taken into his care. I was worried for some time that I wouldn’t be able to take my entire wardrobe with me, or my jewelry, but there’s an entire fleet of Sol ships coming to take me to the Northern Lands. My handmaidens are already packing for me, but it’s proving to be a difficult task. Father has been clear that the Celestial royal jewels must stay here, but I’lltake my own private collection with me. It’s quite vast, but the High Commander told Father that he would send however many boats I needed him to. He’s very close to the Sol King, as I’m sure you know, and he promised that once we marry, my household will be his and I’ll be welcomed to the Seelie Court with much fervor.”
Amongst the details and pandering layered as distraction, she hides the answer; her sisters will travel with her to the Seelie Court. It’s the reassurance I need, though how I’m going to explain this to Soren and Gage as a boon for us all I’m not certain. If I can convince Gage of their safety there, his Fates-blessed mate will be kept safest by going along with the regent’s plans. All the regent’s daughters could be protected there while the War of the Witches wages, then returned to the Southern Lands and the Briarfrost territories once Soren has the throne and the regent’s reign of blood and madness is over.
Convincing Gage to accept this plan isn’t an easy prospect but I have time to figure it out.
I squeeze Sari’s hand gently. “I have no doubt you’ll be well taken care of, though I’m glad to hear you’ll have some of your household with you. Although, if none of your handmaidens speak the Seelie common tongue, it might take them a little time to adjust. I can help you with that, if you'd like?”
She smiles at me again, a genuine air to it. “I’ve been trying to teach them, but it’s quite difficult with lower fae and part bloods… those without your pedigree, I mean, Rooke.”
I smile back at her sedately, playing along with her condescending words, and she continues, “Father did warn me that you would perhaps be staying in my new household in the Seelie Court for some time, and that it’s best for us to get along. I was quick to reassure him that any friend of the High Commander is an honored friend of mine.”
Her father’s callous treatment of his own daughter sets my teeth on edge, but I nod to her with a reassuring smile before focusing on our path to the fae door. How any fae can navigate this castle without getting lost is beyond me—the entire place is a warren of hallways too long in design and fae doors hurtling you past miles of white marble. When we reach the marketplace, we find it bustling with high-fae patrons and the shell-like fae folk who serve them, just it was when Lady Loreth walked me through.
A shiver runs down my spine, but Sari ignores it all as she directs me into the alleyway, her feet never faltering on the path to the oak structure. She calls out a flippant farewell to her friends, dismissing them, and when one of them murmurs a protest, Sari cuts her off sharply.
“Every inch of this castle is covered by my father and his guards. I am perfectly safe no matter which trumped-up lower fae cur sends messengers to our doors.”
Her arrogant tone is wielded like a sword with the precision of her cousin, deadly and true. The female ducks her head into a bow and backs off, the others all whispering amongst themselves about the interaction, though none of them look happy about leaving our sides.
“I’ll see Rooke to her rooms to ensure she doesn’t get lost, and then I’ll return to my own chambers to rest for the afternoon. It’s been a taxing morning so far, no matter how wonderful the company. Yris is under my father’s rule, and every inch of it is guarded by his loyal soldiers. There’s nothing any lower fae could possibly do to harm me here. I’d never question his love for me or the lengths he’s gone to for my safety.”
The guards at the fae door bow to her, smug looks shared between them all as she feeds into their own deluded views, and she smiles brightly at them as she turns her back on the femaleswithout another word. Her hand grips mine tightly as we step through the oak structure, the magic enveloping us easily.
When we step out into a tiny room, unlit and empty, I scowl for a moment, but before I can get my bearings, Sari tugs my hand sharply, turning me to face her. Her vacuous mask is gone. “This is the one place in the Yris that father’s spies haven’t discovered yet, and we can speak plainly, but we have only a minute before they’ll notice we’re taking too long to arrive at the king’s guest chambers. I know all about the Favored Children, I knew exactly who you were when I first laid eyes on you, Rooke, and I was horrified at what my cousin was doing to you. I still want to kick him in the teeth for it. Give the ring to Soren—by Unseelie tradition, he can't marry you and complete your fate without it. Let him know it was Aunt Eldris’s, and the best I could do without rousing suspicion. I have my sisters to think of—two are still only faelings. I couldn’t risk leaving them to face my father alone!”
Her words are clear but rapid, urgency stripping the sweetened tones away to the bare bones of her tenor, and I find it a far more pleasant sound. There’s no time to reassure her, or thank her, and when she grips my hands tightly, despair bleeds into her words.
“I can get you to the fae door that transports you out of the castle, but Father has called all the armies back to Yris. His guards areeverywhere, Rooke, more than ever before, and you’ll need a plan to deal with them. I can show you the path to the dungeons to get you to Soren, but that comes with even more risks. Tell me what I can do for you and it’s yours, but I don’t— it’s hopeless here! It’s been a nightmare for centuries. I don’t know what else to do.”
With a reassuring smile, I reach out to her with a careful hand and clasp her forearm to steady her. When she takes a shaking breath, a smothered gulping sound rattling in her chestat how hard she fights to keep her composure, I gently push my magic through my grip and into her skin. She startles for a moment at the heat, but I take the searing pain of the branding into myself, pushing it easily out of my mind rather than hurting this poor female any more than she’s already suffered. She stares in wonder at the white flash of power in my eyes, and I nod to her slowly, my approval and warmth washing over her frazzled nerves like a balm as she slows her breathing down to a steady pace once more.
I murmur to her in a low, soothing tone, “Don't worry about me, Princess. My escape is already underway, and my concerns lie solely with your plight. Go back to your rooms quickly, straight there without stopping, and press you palm against each of your sisters to pass this mark onto them as well. There’s enough magic for the four of you. Make sure you place it somewhere easily hidden, and know that any fae within the Seelie Court will know you each bear it. Do whatever you have to do to take your sisters with you. You’ll all be safe there, Sari. On the Fates, I swear it. No one would dare touchanyof you in the Northern Lands while you carry the mark of a Favored Child.”
Her composure slips, a haunted devastation that makes my gut churn further, but in the blink of an eye it’s gone as she covers it with the type of perfection required to survive here. She takes my arm again and directs me back through the fae door, a fine tremble in her grip that I know well. It’s my protection for her sisters that rattled her; someone finally seeing them as worthy of basic dignity and offering them protection that she alone has struggled to provide them. I squeeze her arm back, the only reassurance I can offer her now, and I let the magic envelop us both.
When the fae door pushes us out this time, my heart clenches in my chest as my feet slide into a braced position on instinct. We’ve come out into the right room but, instead of the dozenguards posted down the stupidly long halls, Ayron and a band of his smug soldiers wait for us there, only their usual attitude is nowhere to be found. For a gut-wrenching second, I think they’ve heard our conversation, that Sari was wrong and her sisters will bear the price of her defection from her father’s command, but then Ayron jerks his head at her to move apart from me.
When she slides easily away, he snarls at the guards, “Fyrn, see Princess Sari back to her rooms and guard her there. The rest of you, grab the witch but don’t harm her. We can’t give that goblin-bred cunt an excuse to lay siege to the castle.”
CHAPTER TWENTY SEVEN
Soren
Without sleep, my magic returns to me at a crawl, but that only helps me to further my command of it. Little by little, my familiarity with the power that slumbered within my bloodline for generations strengthens until I’m sure I won’t lose control. It’ll take a miracle of the ashes before I’m able to wield it with any skill, but my household should survive the early days of my Fates-blessed marriage while my Unseelie instincts demand bloodshed for any who look upon what’s mine.
The Fates writhing in my chest breaks me out of my focus, the powerful rushing a warning and a call to arms at once. Even with Gage’s claim that our time here is rapidly coming to an end, when a murmur of discontent ripples through the guards surrounding us, I can't help but reach out to Rooke. The wall between our minds holds firm, but she’s there, unharmed and prepared.
The shift is slow at first; an awareness in the air around us before they all begin to shuffle on their feet, a futile attempt to ease whatever change has taken place in them. No command tobe heard, nor any signals visible from my vantage point, yet soon they’re straightening themselves in preparation.
With every heartbeat, the tension in the room heightens until my blood hums along with the Fates in anticipation. The high fae in the other cells take far longer to sense the changes, but Valo sees it first, his gaze moving along the guards as he nudges another male in his cell. By the time the oak doors swing open, silence has fallen.
