Chapter 27
27
“Now, then!” Queen Lorelei said brightly. “This should be much more comfortable.”
Felix was on his knees once more, where he’d landed on a thick pink carpet when he’d fallen through the fae queen’s portal. Just before him rose a large four-poster bed with delicate, gauzy curtains held back by chains of scented roses. It all seemed surprisingly luxuriant for either a prison cell or a torture chamber—but as he looked up at the infamous Siren of Balravia sprawling casually on the bed above him, kicking up one small, bare foot behind her back as she grinned down at him, he had to swallow down thick, choking dread.
His head was still whirling from the combined effects of the trip and the breaking of his earring, but he was sickeningly aware that he was in more immediate danger now than ever before.
“You know, until tonight, I’ve never had an Archduke of my own to play with,” Lorelei said idly. “Princes, certainly. And counts, well… pfft!” She gave a delicate snort. “I can hardly sneeze without one of them falling over! They’re no challenge at all. But as for you, Your Highness…” Her eyes narrowed, catlike, as she peered at him more closely. “I expect no one lower than the Emperor himself has ever dared say ‘boo!’ to you before.”
At that, Felix almost choked out a bitter laugh… but the reminder was a gift. He stiffened his spine, breathing deeply.
He had endured physical punishment before. He could manage it again… and if he knew his own queen, she would be here soon to stop it.
Unless she really has given up on you forever…
No. He quashed that creeping fear.
Whether or not Saskia ever allowed him back into her bed or her heart, he knew one truth for certain. She would never let any member of her staff—no matter how traitorous—be kidnapped from her castle without her permission. Even if she planned to turn him into a worm herself, she would rescue him from Lorelei first. All he had to do was endure until then.
“Oh, interesting. ” Lorelei’s tone lowered to a purr. “You’re less afraid now than you were before I said that. Are you someone who actually enjoys a bit of punishment?”
Setting his teeth together, Felix didn’t answer. Still, she let out a delighted laugh. “Not from me, eh? Ooh, this is fun. I’ve been dying for a proper conversation with you for months now! If only Saskia weren’t so stubborn, we could have cleared this all up ages ago… but you and your little friends in the capital haven’t left us time to dance around it anymore.”
Propping her pointed chin on her hands, she gazed down at him with gleaming blue eyes. “You were cutting it awfully fine, weren’t you? If you’d only crept away a few hours earlier, you could have escaped and met up with your troops in time to inspire all of them.”
“ My troops?” With a sudden cold chill, Felix remembered the message from Morlokk that had taken Saskia from him. No doubt Lorelei had her own sources for urgent international news. “Is this to do with Kitvaria’s magical wall? Everyone knows Estarion’s troops can’t get through it. The high general gave up on that months ago.”
“Of course. Isn’t that why you weaseled your way in? To find another avenue of attack, in case dear Yaroslav’s heartfelt pleas didn’t work on your little emperor?” She batted her eyelashes coquettishly. “Do tell me, Archduke. Were you planning to seduce Saskia all along? Or was breaking her heart a mere bonus?”
Felix’s hands knotted by his sides. “I would never harm Queen Saskia. Ever. ”
“Hmm.” Her sparkling eyelashes lowered to hide her eyes. “Well, we’ll spend plenty of time talking about that later. Really, you should have listened better at Winter’s Turning. If you had, you would know that it’s never wise to play unpleasant games with my friends.”
Her words struck painfully close to home. “I told Queen Saskia the truth tonight,” Felix said quietly. “She knows everything.”
“Hmm. And yet there you were, wandering freely around her castle when I found you, still wearing your adorable little disguise. So, I wonder… are you lying to me now? Or did you somehow persuade her to forgive you?” Lorelei’s upper lip curled as her voice hardened. “Everyone thinks our Saskia is so fierce, but you know exactly how soft her heart is, don’t you? I imagine you acted terribly apologetic when you made your grand confession. Did you weep and give her big, soulful eyes? I’m afraid you won’t find me so easy to persuade. As anyone on the continent can tell you, I’m completely heartless.”
That had certainly been the message of all the songs and stories about Queen Lorelei from the moment she’d sentenced her first lover to death… but Felix didn’t allow his expression to alter at her threat.
Instead, he said, “What did you mean about my troops? Have they found a way through the wall?”
“Had you actually not had the glorious news yet? Did they make their move before ensuring you were safe?” Lorelei’s grin was a vicious slash. “Oh, dear. Poor little Felix. All your lovely allies left you in the lurch and at my mercy.”
“But what happened ?” Felix demanded.
“What else?” She gave a graceful shrug. “After all these months of circling round the problem, Emperor Otto finally cut his leash. The Imperial high priest, who’s preached peace and diplomacy for years, was arrested this morning for corruption and high treason. In other words, he wouldn’t allow Otto to bribe him into nodding along with any plans for expansion… and nowadays, in the Serafin Empire, that apparently counts as treason. Luckily, his successor shouldn’t share that difficulty.”
Lorelei smirked, playing with one of the long, golden curls that cascaded over her shoulders. “You see, Otto’s appointed his own sister, Princess Clothilde, to be the new Imperial high priestess, guaranteed to give divine approval to any plan he suggests. So, less than an hour after the former high priest’s arrest, Otto ordered the Golden Beacon ”—her nostrils flared with distaste—“to march his legions to Kitvaria in support of Estarion’s Archduke, with a full corps of Gilded Wizards to clear their way.”
“Elva preserve us!” Felix jerked to his feet, looking wildly around the small, perfumed bedroom. “What are you doing here? You must help Saskia. Now!”
“Oh, she knows all about that part of the situation, I’m sure.” Lorelei’s voice was sickly sweet as Felix strode to the bedroom door and rattled the handle with all his might, to no avail. “Darling Saskia was busy meeting with her First Minister when I arrived. She’ll be calling for me and Ailana to join her soon enough—but you and I both know that Saskia is too soft to defend herself the only way she should, with the Archduke of Estarion in her grasp and the Serafin Empire hammering on her doorstep. So…”
Her smile deepened as he turned back to face her. “It’s simply up to her friends to do it for her. Think of it as a helpful intervention.”
Felix let out a heavy sigh, his right hand still resting on the immovable door handle. “You don’t understand the truth of this. I’m not on the Emperor’s side, I swear to you. I’m not even the man you think I am.”
“And I’m sure you made that case to Saskia… but unlike her, darling, I couldn’t care less.” Lorelei’s voice turned brisk as she rolled upwards into a sitting position. “As far as I’m concerned, you’re no more than a pawn that I can use to protect my friend—so, if you have even half the wits you’ve displayed in the last few months of your pretense, you’ll avoid irritating me now with any more pleas for pity. Otherwise, I might decide that the best way to prove you’re in our keeping is to start cutting off body parts to send to your Chief Minister as evidence.”
Felix bit back a groan. “You’ll be playing directly into his hands if you do.”
The Count would be utterly delighted by the news of Felix’s murder at another party’s hands— especially if it gave him the excuse to send even more troops into Kitvaria and make himself, in the eyes of every loyal citizen, the official avenger of Estarion’s tragically lost Archduke.
Ignoring Felix’s words, Lorelei murmured, “I just need to check one final, tiny detail before I go… aha!” A teasing gust of cool air, like a wild spring breeze, suddenly blew through the room and lifted the long hair away from Felix’s left ear. Lorelei clapped in delight. “And we’re done! Do enjoy your stay.”
Rainbow shimmers erupted around her on the bed, and she disappeared through a portal that snapped shut behind her before Felix could even lunge forward.
Taunting rainbow sparkles shimmered across the bedcovers as he raised one hand to his exposed left ear… and felt the golden earring still hanging there, the break in its hoop hidden from view.
Of course. That earring was how Lorelei had worked out the truth—and it was all his fault. Felix had thought himself so clever, the first time they’d met, when he’d revealed that unregal ornamentation to her… but just as Saskia had earlier tonight, Lorelei must have realized on first sight of the magical suppressant that he couldn’t possibly be a working dark wizard after all.
“I’m such a fool.” He slumped against the door. Tipping his head back against the unyielding wood, he let his eyes fall shut. As he breathed in the smothering, overwhelming scent of roses, despair rose within him…
And then his eyes snapped open. Wait.
In the whirl of sickness, confusion, and fear that had overwhelmed his last half hour, he hadn’t yet had any chance to attempt the next part of the experiment he had begun when he’d gone looking for a tool to cut through that golden hoop.
Lorelei still didn’t know it was broken. That was why she’d felt safe leaving him trapped here.
But if the earring had been implanted for a purpose, no matter how impossible that might still seem…
Remembering his body’s reaction to the break, Felix braced himself against the door. Then he pulled out the earring with one decisive tug.
This time, his vision didn’t go black. Instead, it seemed to explode. The intensity of the colors all around him made him stagger as a rush of tingling awareness roared through his body.
Every shade of color in the room was suddenly five times more vibrant. Every scent was stronger. And, tingling and roiling beneath his skin…
Was that actual magic ? It tingled in the same way Saskia’s magic had whenever that had brushed against him in the past—but this time, it felt almost like another, sixth sense or an added source of energy. Something he could actually make use of, if only he knew how…
And fortunately, he did.
Incredibly, locked within the fae queen’s prison, Felix felt his lips stretch into a wide, disbelieving grin.
He wasn’t just a pawn after all. Not for Lorelei, the Count, or anyone else. Not anymore, and never again.
After a lifetime of brutally enforced helplessness, he held actual power— magical power of his own—and better yet, he had spent the last few months studying the fundamentals of magic in the Witch Queen of Kitvaria’s own personal library, with the helpful guidance of her mother’s textbook. That primer had taught him everything he needed to know in order to harness his inborn power, using spells that built on the classical structures he had studied throughout his childhood.
Oh, the Count must have thought he was crushing Felix’s chances at future rule by having him learn nothing but classical poetry and languages, but now…
Felix shook his head, a half-laugh of wonderment falling from his lips.
He couldn’t have had a better basis for learning how to analyze and create new spells of his own.
Felix had given up, years ago, on making any difference to his nation or his empire. But now, in the depths of his captivity, he saw the truth at last.
He had never been truly weak at all. He had only been tricked and tortured into thinking so.
Now, it was time to save himself and become the Archduke he should have been from the beginning.