I banish thee from hearth and home,
I banish thee from body, mind,
Heart and organs, shadow-kind,
Dark thy magic, dark thy throne,
I bid you leave my heart alone
Break the spell, truth to tell,
Faeries, heed my magic spell!
Faye grunted with the effort and returned to her hands and knees, panting hard.
‘Stupid girl! Do you think your folk charms can stop me?’ Levantiana crowed, and reached forward for Faye’s belly with her long blue-white fingers. But as the herb powder touched the sand, it raised a wall of shadow around Faye. Levantiana’s black fingernails grazed it, and she pulled her hand back as if in pain. ‘What is this sorcery?’ she raged, and threw herself at the shadow wall, but it threw her back like an electric fence.
‘Faye. Look at me.’ Moronoe’s hands were outstretched. Faye so wanted to fall into them, wanted the support that they promised. Of the two queens, Moronoe was at least her kin insome kind of distant way. What if Finn had been lying when he said that Moronoe wanted her child for her own reasons? Faye had believed her when she said she wasn’t involved in Lyr’s war against Murias and the other faerie realms, but that didn’t necessarily mean she could be trusted. ‘Faye. Undo this charm. We only want to help you. You are our kin, Faye. Dear child. There is no need for this,’ she cooed, her voice honey, but Faye resisted.
‘No.’ Faye panted, grateful for the protection of her own spell, though she was unsure how long it would last. She looked up, meeting Levantiana’s furious gaze. ‘Is it Finn’s baby? He says it is. Tell me the truth. For once.’ Faye grimaced as another contraction came, searing and intense.
Levantiana laughed cruelly as the thunder rumbled and cracked directly above them. ‘You do not deserve a child of the throne of Murias. Give it to me, and I will make sure it is raised in our royal house. And, you, fat bitch: get out of my way. You know as well as I do that when a mortal makes a bargain, you have no right to stand in my way to claim it.’ Levantiana shoved Moronoe out of her way and began circling the shadow boundary. ‘Your spell will only hold so long, Faye. And when it breaks, I will take the baby. You might as well give it to me gently as have me force you,’ she threatened, snarling.
Faye, on her hands and knees, felt the desire to push with the next contraction. She had no choice; the baby was coming, and wouldn’t wait. Her vision reduced itself to a kind of tunnel of pain in which there was nothing apart from the searing, tearing pain in her abdomen and the breath that heaved in her chest. Faye rested her forehead on the sand and tasted it in her mouth. Dimly, at the edge of her perception, she heard Gabriel’s voice. She looked up, racked with pain, and saw him running across the headland towards the beach.
No, keep away. Run away!Faye wanted to cry out, but she had no strength left.
‘Faye. Say the word, and I will take you to Falias. I will ensure you are cared for, and the child is safe,’ Moronoe called out. ‘Just say yes, and this ordeal will be over. You do not have to fulfil a bargain such as the one the Queen of Murias proposed.’ Her voice was gentle and motherly, but Faye ignored her. She felt the last, biggest contraction hit her, and she screamed with the pain. She felt the baby between her thighs and reached back with her hand for it. There was nothing to protect it from the elements.Help me, anyone, anything, please,she prayed, rolling onto her back.
She remembered the prayer to Morgana, the queen of the Crystal Castle. Remembered that the reverend had hinted that it was easiest to call to the fae queen when a human’s body was at its weakest, when it was close to death. Faye doubted in that moment that she would see midnight; she was racked with pain that was unlike anything she had ever felt. But she had taught herself the incantation, and she repeated it between gritted teeth.
Morgana Le Fae, Queen of all fae creatures, Mistress of the Moon
She who resides in the Crystal Castle
She who bestows the gift of seership
She who is the light of truth in the darkness
She who knows the deepest secrets of magic
She who heals the soul after death
She who is Mistress of Dreams
Morgana Le Fae, Queen of all fae creatures, Mistress of the Moon
You do not ask for bargains
You do not ask for gifts
You only ask for obedience and adoration
In the silence we listen for you
In the darkness we call to you
At the lowest ebb, we draw to you
