Chapter 42
“Have care when choosing a mate. Life is too long to tie yourself to unhappiness.”
— A Seelie Guide to Matrimony
Boisterous conversation fills the hall, deep voices echoing off marble walls. Everett returned with a group of Unseelie men at dawn. Their hair is all black, gazes dark, skin ranging from gray-green like Everett’s to a darker, richer green like Maddox’s.
While I appreciate how quickly the king rallied his kinsmen, there is one very big problem.
There are only five.
The Chieftain clearly stated that I must return with six men willing to remain at the bottom of the canyon or else she would not release the hostages. Even if she made an even exchange, I already know for a fact the one man she will insist on keeping.
Mine.
“There aren’t enough,” I say, my voice barely above a whisper as panic grips my chest. They’re going to keep Maddox. He’s going to be stuck down in Riverglade forever.
Everett scowls at his kinsmen, his hands braced at his hips and crown nowhere to be seen. “I am afraid the other unmated males are on a hunt in the western forests. They will be gone for many weeks.”
“Are there any Seelie willing to venture into the canyon?”
Kerris shakes her head. “No one has come forward.”
Maybe the Chieftain will be reasonable, believe us when we promise to send more upon their return. These Unseelie came running to answer the call. Surely the others will as well.
The Chieftain. Reasonable. Ha.
What am I thinking? She took hostages expecting them to want to mate with her clan. There probably isn’t a reasonable bone in her body.
“What other choice do we have?” Kerris lifts her gaze toward her husband as he contemplates from his perch on the corner of the dais. “If we had more time . . .”
“No. We’re not leaving Maddox down there any longer.” There’s no telling what’s happening in Riverglade.
Everett’s fingers drum against his thighs. “They will not harm him.”
Harming him isn’t what I’m worried about.
Maddox is surrounded by beautiful women morning, noon, and bloody night.
I’m worried he’ll realize what all the other men I’ve been with seemed to conclude: That I’m not enough to hold his attention.
Then I’ll be forced to return to Rosehill alone and without my heart.
“When do we leave?” an Unseelie named Thorne asks, bouncing on his toes like he cannot keep still.
Everett’s frown deepens as he turns back to me. “How many hours did you say it took you to reach the top?”
“Three? Maybe four?” Even though the thought of venturing down and back up again makes me want to cry, for Maddox, I’d climb the canyon a hundred times.
“Then there can be no more delay.” Pushing to his feet, Everett sweeps Kerris into his arms, cradling her against him. Tears glitter in her green eyes as she chokes back a sob. “I will return as soon as I am able,” he whispers.
She caresses his cheek with such tenderness, my heart aches. “Be careful, my love.”
I twist away from their affectionate goodbye, my emotions a complete jumble inside of me as I follow the other Unseelie giants out of the castle and into the courtyard.
One of them slows to fall into step next to me. “Nia Quill,” he says in a voice as deep and rumbling as all the others. I think his name is Forest. “How many females are there in the canyon?”
Too many. “At least fifty.”
This causes an uproar, all the Unseelie speaking at once.
Everett appears on the stairs, taking them two at a time. “Enough!” he roars. “If you wish to speak to my mate’s cousin, you will do so one at a time.” With a wave of his hand, he motions for them to take their mounts.
The horse Kerris offered to let me borrow looks like a pony next to their unicorns.
“You may ride with me, if you would prefer,” Thorne says with a waggle of his brows.
The women at the bottom of the canyon are going to eat him up. “Thank you, but I’m fine on my own.”
Everett steers his unicorn over to me. “Perhaps you should stay behind with Kerris.”
“Absolutely not.” For all we know, the Chieftain might say I broke the bargain by not bringing the men down myself and insist on keeping them all. Not that I’d be able to do much if that happened. Still, I’ll not take the chance.
With a bob of his head, Everett kicks his mount forward, and the rest of the Unseelie take off after him, their leather packs bouncing on their backs as we make our way through Rosehill toward the secret path that reaches the bottom.
Seelie guards ride along behind us, their inky armor swallowing the sunlight shining down upon us.
We pass the new bridge that still remains unfinished. What has been done looks wide and strong. No loose boards threatening to crack beneath a fae’s weight.
The builders there are hard at work—not that I’d expect them to dally when there’s a fearsome looking Unseelie barking orders at them.
Why isn’t he coming with us? He must already be mated.
Everett comes to a stop a short distance later and dismounts. The others join him, and when we’re all waiting along the cliff edge, the Seelie guards collect our mounts and lead them to a grassy patch to feed while they wait.
“We will continue on foot so we do not miss the entrance,” Everett announces. “Nia Quill, you will lead the way.”
No pressure, right? My legs tremble as I walk as close to the cliff’s edge as I dare, searching for something that might look familiar. A stone. A footprint. Anything.
It turns out, the entire ledge looks exactly the same.
Why didn’t I think to mark the path’s entrance somehow?
“Is it nearby?” Everett asks.
“I don’t know. It was dark when we arrived.” What if there are multiple paths and only one leads to the village? What if I choose wrong and we don’t reach them in time?
What if I can’t find it at all?
Everett pats my head the way Maddox used to pat Biscuits. “Fear not. We will find a way down.” He tells the Unseelie to fan out. They lie flat on their stomachs to peer over the ledge, then move one by one down the line, almost like a game of leapfrog.
After thirty minutes of searching, we come upon a place I recognize.
I think.
Heavens, I don’t even know. Maybe it’s just wishful thinking, but I point to a narrow gap at the ledge anyway. “It might be down there.”
One of the Unseelie lies down and peers over the canyon wall. “There is a ladder here.”
Everett flashes me a sharp-toothed smile. “Well done, Nia Quill.”
Now to make it down without falling.
Thorne offers to descend first and then steady the ladder for the rest of us. I watch each of them disappear over the ledge until it’s my turn. I didn’t realize how difficult it would be to willingly go over the edge. Infinitely worse than climbing up.
With my stomach flat on the dirt, I carefully lower my legs until my feet land on one of the rungs. No one says anything about how long it takes me to reach the path at the bottom, for which I’m grateful.
I keep my back pressed to the wall, but the others saunter as if the trail is as wide as the roads in Rosehill instead of barely big enough to accommodate their shoulders.
Bits of stone and dirt tumble into the gray nothingness.
The Unseelie brought torches in their rucksacks, so venturing into the caverns isn’t quite as terrifying as it was the first time. Although, I could’ve done without seeing how many gigantic spiders and bats cling to the pitted ceiling.
As darkness begins to fall, I emerge from the cavern and descend the final ladder into Riverglade. All the villagers appear to be waiting at the bottom, their expressions grim.
Then Everett climbs down, and their jaws drop. Excitement buzzes through the women with each Unseelie that joins us. The men who’ve accompanied me appear shocked as well, scanning the many faces that have gathered at the cavern’s entrance, their smiles sharp and gazes sharper.
I search for Maddox, but for some reason, he isn’t here.
Are they keeping him locked away, or did he decide not to come?
Everett speaks in short bursts with the Chieftain, neither offering a smile, while the other men and women exchange plenty.
The Chieftain shouts something that sounds like a curse. Everett drags the collar of his shirt aside, revealing a very distinct scar that looks an awful lot like teeth marks.
Hold on.
Did Kerris actually bite him? How did that even work? Seelie teeth aren’t very sharp. My dearest cousin and I will be discussing this little revelation later.
The Chieftain throws up her hands, her face red as the silks tied in her hair.
As soon as this is over, I’m learning how to speak their language; I’ll not be in this situation ever again.
With a swipe of his hand down his jaw, Everett stalks over to where I stand.
Shifting my weight from one boot to the other, I can’t help but wring my hands, wondering if the scowl on his face is a happy scowl or an angry one. “Well? What is happening?”
“She is not pleased that you did not bring the agreed number of males. She says we may have the Seelie guards, but that Maddox will remain.”
Exactly as I had predicted. How I wish I’d been wrong. “He can’t stay here.”
“This is what I have said.”
If the Chieftain isn’t going to listen to the King of Willowhaven, what chance do I have of making any difference to this situation? How are we going to save Maddox? “Where is he?”
“The Chieftain’s daughter is bringing the hostages now. Keep to the shadows near the ladder in case negotiations go south. If fighting breaks out, I want you to climb as quickly as you can. Kerris would never forgive me if anything happened to you.”
The last thing I want to do is hide, but maybe Everett is right. I certainly don’t want to get in the way if a battle breaks out between the two factions of Unseelie fae.
I make the promise and then duck into the shadows to wait and watch what happens next.