Chapter 45
G alen and Sylvie shift the four of us to the heart of the Court of the Forest, the castle city of Virideria. The shift is quick, which means we were close already, but this method of transportation sure beats walking, even if it’s strange and disorienting.
“Whoa.” Matt’s grip on me tightens as he stumbles a step, his other hand flying to his head. “Is it always like that?”
“Sometimes worse,” I reply.
“Geez, what a—” But his words die away as he takes in the space where we’ve appeared. “Oh my God!”
The room, if I can call it that, is a large square, four trees taller than Sequoias and just as wide, comprising the corners of the space, their loft limbs providing a makeshift ceiling while still letting in a good bit of light.
A set of double doors carved with reliefs of trees and plant-life sits before us, a guard on either side.
Vine-covered halls stretch out in each of the other directions.
May giggles. “Oh, this is nothing.”
The guards open the doors at once. The room beyond is oblong, the far side completely open to the elements, spilling onto a stone balcony with a view of rolling forest-covered hills.
As stunning as that alone would be, it’s the least remarkable thing about the space.
The interior looks like a jungle—mossy carpets, shorter trees with a myriad of branches reaching toward what might actually be a glass ceiling far above.
Dappled light filters onto a large table in the center of the room, with natural edges, maybe a slab from a massive, fallen tree.
And standing beside it are three women, two in fine dresses in the greens and gold of the Forest and one sticking out like a sore thumb in a flowing dress of vibrant blue.
The brunette in the center straightens up in surprise. “Dad! May!”
She has to be Lia, future Queen of the Forest, as I understand it. A thin gold circlet dotted with emeralds is strung through her hair, which is pulled back from her face.
May goes running, barreling into her older sister, who has opened her arms wide to catch her.
“What are you doing here?” Lia asks.
“And who are they?” A stunning Black woman—no, fae—asks with a sharp, pointed look.
In many ways, she appears the most elegant of the bunch, a flowing dress of gold hanging from her tall, lithe form.
Green leaves made of shimmering stones pin up her sleeves at either shoulder.
A few smaller ones dot the halo of her dark hair.
“Minister Solona.” Sylvie bows. “These two have come from the human world and claim to have information that can help us.”
“Wow,” Matt whispers in raptured awe that has nothing to do with the beauty of the women, their stunning attire that makes our clothes look like rubbish, or even the incredible room and view.
He’s studied fae from afar for years. Longed to be here. These are the women he’s read stories about. They’re celebrities in his mind, maybe even more than that. And now they’re very real and here before us.
Maybe I should feel the same way, but all I see are women connected to the fae kings who would kill the man I love. Adversaries. Ones I unfortunately need to make into allies and quickly.
“They showed up at the cabin and begged me to bring them here,” John says flatly. A heavy thump sounds as the doors we entered are pulled closed.
Begged? I shoot him a sideways look. We didn’t beg. I would have. But thankfully, we didn’t have to press that hard.
Whatever. There’s no time for niceties.
“I’m Aimee, and this is my brother, Matt.” I gesture to him. “I’ve come from the Unseelie Court.”
That gets everyone’s attention.
Not a sound echoes through the room, really odd considering one wall is totally open to the elements.
There should be bird chips and bug noises at a minimum, but maybe magic is at work blocking them out.
It would make sense for such a room, clearly meant for important meetings.
And…my gaze drops to the tabletop where little figurines sit atop a large map. War planning?
“Your brother too?” Lia asks.
“No, just me.”
“I’m moral support.” Matt beams. Only Lia gives him a weak smile in return, tilting her head to the side like he’s a puzzle she’s trying to figure out.
“I thought I could feel something strange about you,” Solona remarks. Her eyes narrow in suspicion, as if trying to see under my skin from across the room.
“Are you hurt?” The woman in blue—who must be Wren, mate of the King of Air, though I can’t understand why she would be here when Matt said the courts don’t like each other—sets down the glass she’s been holding and edges around the corner of the table.
“No, I’m fine,” I say.
Her brows furrow. Sylvie and Galen both give me hard looks.
“But the Unseelie…” The word sounds strange in Wren’s thick southern accent. “You escaped?”
Tension is suddenly thick in the air. They know. They know the coven sent me and what I was supposed to do. I jolt in surprise as Matt grabs my hand. He gives me a quick look and squeezes my hand before staring at the gathered fae and humans, lips thin and eyes determined.
That gives me the strength I need to reply, “The Unseelie King sent me back.”
The heaviness in the air only grows.
“Your scouts?” Solona asks pointedly at Wren. If she was suspicious before, she’s downright hostile now.
Wren rears back, lifting her hands. “We haven’t heard this.”
“I didn’t come through the door that you’re watching,” I say, snaring all their attention once more. “Nor does the coven know I’ve returned, and I’d like to keep it that way.” Hand in hand with Matt, I step forward.
Galen and Sylvie immediately move as if to block my path.
I nearly laugh at the absurdity of it. They really think I’m a threat? Matt and me? How ridiculous. May has returned to her father, who draws her aside. Great, now even they think we’re villains, and we haven’t even told them anything yet.
“Why do you feel like an Unseelie?” Galen asks, one hand on the pommel of a dagger sheathed at his thigh. “I knew you felt strange, but I didn’t recognize the sensation at first. But now, there’s no mistaking it.”
I share a look with Matt. He gives a little shrug that says, Might as well get it over with . In that, we’re agreed.
I slip my hand from his and pull up the hem of my shirt. “Because I’m marked by the Unseelie King.”
The open gapes and wide-eyed stares are almost comical.
I drop my shirt. “And if you want this war to stop before those you love are harmed, you’ll listen to what my brother and I have learned and what we have to say.”
Lia recovers first, swallowing visibly before she says, “We’re listening.”
From the corner of my eye, I see Matt give me a pointed look, a silent request. I nod to him.
“Not just you all,” he says, voice brimming with confidence and courage. “The kings as well. Any involved in the fight. They need to hear this too.”
The request still rings in the air when the doors groan open at our backs.
I startle, whirling toward the sound. Half of me expects the Kings of Forest and Air to stride through the door, but there’s no way that’s possible, given we literally just asked. However, the individuals who walk through are even more surprising.
Matt’s grip on my hand tightens almost painfully. He’s gone pale, staring at the doors like he’s trapped in a nightmare.
“I’ve brought them as—” A man with sharp features bearing the blue and silver armor of the Court of Air halts within the threshold, gaze darting around the room. “Who are they?” His voice is sharp as a whip.
And this is why we wanted to explain to everyone at once if we could.
“Matt!” comes a strangled exclamation. And now I understand why my brother is freaking out.
Selena, with her dark hair, bright red lipstick, and all black grunge clothing, stares at my brother like he might be a ghost.
The woman at her side is dressed for battle, in the fiery red and gold armor of the Court of Fire, carrying a tall staff that hums with a similar unearthly tone as Elias’s sword has.
The fae male behind her is dressed similarly, as tall as the male from the Court of Air and with a glare just as piercing.
At first, I think the woman from the Court of Fire is fae, but then it clicks who she is.
Mira, Queen of Fire. Selena’s cousin.
“What are you doing here?” Selena runs to my brother, almost tripping over her own feet. “ How are you here?”
“Selena,” he bites out when she stops just feet in front of us. Never in my life have I heard my brother take that tone with anyone. His hand shakes in mine, and I hold it tighter.
“Matt?” A brittle edge clings to his name. “Aimee?” Her focus drops to our linked hands then bounces to my face.
Suddenly, her eyes widen in understanding.
“You did it,” she whispers. “You found the cure. It worked.” Tears fill her eyes, and damn if they don’t look real.
But this woman betrayed me. The whole coven did.
“No thanks to you,” I snap.
“What?” She steps back like I’d slapped her.
“What’s going on here?” The new man from the Court of the Air snaps, but I ignore him.
“The coven tricked me. Planting a tracking spell on my pack?” I raise my brows, but she doesn’t even flinch at that, confirming all my fears. “Sending birds from the Court of Air to spy on me?” I fling an accusing finger at Wren, who has the decency to look taken aback. “It nearly got me killed!”
At that, Selena does flinch. The Queen of Fire and the other from the court advance, but I ignore them. Now that my anger has boiled over, there’s no holding it back.
“And then I find out the coven was never going to let me back with the cure for Matt unless I brought the Unseelie King with me.”
Her brows pinch, and she shakes her head. “That wasn’t—”
But I’m not done. “I was bait. Disposable. Just like the one that was sent before me, that of course no one thought to tell me about. And do you know what happened to her?”
To her credit, Selena looks like she might be sick.
“But of course you do. How many human women were you going to throw away in your attempts to entrap the Unseelie King?”
“Kid present,” John says sharply. He has his hands clamped over May’s ears, but I doubt that’s blocked out much. Shit.
Mira steps between her cousin and me, staff outstretched like a barrier between us. “Enough.”
But it’s not enough. How can it be enough?
I whirl around, looking for support anywhere I can find it, but not a soul in the room jumps to our defense. Half of them stare at me like I’m a monster.
I nearly scream in frustration. This is not how things were supposed to go. But when has anything ever gone as I’ve planned?
It’s Solona’s voice that finally cuts through the tense silence. “You say you can stop the war. How, when you so decry the idea of being bait? What can you offer us, mate of the Unseelie King?”
“Mate?” Mira and Selena both squeak in surprise. An echoing murmur comes from the newly arrived males as well.
“I bring truth and perspective.” And damn if that doesn’t sound fucking stupid when I throw it out there like that. “You’re not all so different as you think. You don’t have to fight.”
“Tell that to your mate who killed my king,” the male from the Court of Fire snaps.
“Tharin,” Mira hisses.
Tharin frowns and crosses his arms.
“A king who was far from innocent,” Matt grumbles.
Tharin bristles, letting out a low growl. I glare at Matt. Not helping.
“The Unseelie King does not want this war, and he cannot lie about that,” I say, reminding them.
“Then why lead his forces to the border?” Solona asks.
Because you know where his hidden city is. Because he’s finally strong enough to do something. Because his magic will only wane now that he doesn’t have me.
But none of those things will convince them. Not even close.
I take a deep breath. There’s something else, something Elias would never want me to admit.
I hate that it has to come from me, that I’m exposing something so vulnerable to his enemies, but they might be two seconds away from throwing me in a dungeon and there’s no time to hold any cards back.
“Because he’s afraid,” I blurt. It’s out there.
No going back now. “And fear makes people do truly terrible things.”
The answer softens the tension in the room like a blanket thrown over a fire.
“He didn’t choose to be king,” I say. “But he is. The magic chose him. And the lives of all of the Unseelie rest on his shoulders. It’s his duty to try to give them life in a world that is dying.
” I spread my arms wide in exasperation.
“They are different from you all, but that does not make them evil. In so many ways, they are exactly the same. The Court of the Forest should know what it’s like when your magic starts to fade.
” I stare at Solona then Lia. “The panic and fear that can elicit, the lengths it might make a king go to help his people.”
Lia’s shoulders droop, and I know she’s thinking of her sister, the danger that she was placed in because the king that she’s come to love was afraid and did something terribly reckless and foolish—something desperate—to try to help his court.
Solona, too, looks suddenly solemn. They are not so different from the Unseelie in that.
“What wouldn’t you do to save someone you love? How about all of the people you love?” I ask the rest of the room.
“You don’t have to trust us,” Matt says into the quiet.
What? I demand in a hard glare.
But he doesn’t look at me, just keeps speaking. “You don’t even trust each other, do you? Isn’t that why you’re all gathered here? Keep the queens together so the kings aren’t inclined to betray one another?”
A number of uncomfortable glances pass between others in the room.
My panic at his comment fades in an instant. Way to read the room, Matt. I would never have picked up on that so quickly, but now that he’s said it, it makes absolute sense.
“Just listen to my sister. Hear what she has to say about the Unseelie Court and see if destroying them is still worth the blood of your people.”