Chapter 13 #3
‘And you, Bryn,’ Morgan says. ‘Fiana will be caught. You’ll have your place in the light.’
The look I give him is incredulous.
‘I don’t care if she’s already in shackles! I’m not leaving without you, Jak, and Locke!’ I exclaim, stepping away from him quickly in case he tries to grab me and take me through himself.
But he only nods. ‘Come then. Let’s find them.’
JAK
I keep out of sight in one of the corridors off Fiana’s elaborate ballroom that the slaves use to stay out from underfoot when they’re serving, but every hundred paces or so is a thin doorway, so I’m able to keep an eye out for Morgan, who should be coming back upstairs anytime now.
If he’s found Bryn.
Gods, I hope he has.
I walk slowly down the narrow corridor that follows the ballroom in parallel. A human male darts in through one of the tiny doorways and stops short as he sees me.
He blanches. ‘Apologies, master,’ he whimpers, head bowed.
I shake my head. I don’t have time for this.
‘I’m not a master,’ I mutter, stepping around him.
If all has gone according to plan, Locke should be with Fiana now, keeping her distracted and busy so that we could get Bryn and, hopefully, the rest of the village back to the Light.
I’d hoped that the Underhill would finally come to their senses and help take Fiana while we could, but even I was surprised when their numbers started marching through the Ring in the courtyard with Lia and Dane at the forefront.
The battle is still being waged, but it looks like our side is winning.
I just need to find Locke…
‘Wait!’ I turn back and the human male freezes in place. He turns to face me slowly, terror in his eyes.
‘Do you know where the lady Fiana is?’
He swallows hard and then frowns a little.
‘Her private rooms are behind her throne, master.’
I don’t correct him again, just give him a nod.
‘My thanks,’ I tell him, glad I’m going in the right direction.
The male’s eyes widen at my words, probably never hearing a polite word in his direction in his life before.
He stares after me in shock, but I continue on my way.
It’s time to find Locke and let him know what’s happening, that the Underhill has finally decided to move against the fae queen. It’s time to end this.
'Jak,' a familiar voice calls to me, and I see Lia just inside the corridor ahead, looking out at the fighting.
‘Are you all right?’ I ask. ‘Do you need a healing potion? I still have a few.’
She shakes her head. ‘No, but have you seen Locke?’
I echo the motion. ‘I haven’t found him yet. Morgan?’
‘Yes. He got Bryn out of the dungeon. They helped the rest of the village escape through the Ring not long ago. They’re all back in Halsford now, bar the ones that were lost going through the hall.’
My heart sinks, imagining the worst. ‘Who? Do you know?’
‘Four of Tavish’s men, I think.’ She gives me a wink.
‘Four? Of Tavish’s men?’ I raise a brow. ‘Did Morgan have something to do with that?’
Lia grins. ‘I’m sure he’d never harm anyone from Halsford.’
I snort. ‘Never.’
‘Did Bryn go back to the village as well?’ I ask.
‘Morgan tried, but she wouldn’t go. Of course she wouldn’t. She cares for the three of you.’
I smile a little at her words.
‘A few enemy soldiers are coming this way,’ I mutter, noticing ten or so advancing on us slowly from the main hall with their eyes on us.
Lia sighs. ‘At least the Harbinger is having a good time,’ she mutters as all ten fall down dead in an instant, like puppets whose strings were just cut.
‘I’d have thought you’d kill all our enemies at once,’ I remark. ‘Wouldn’t that be quicker?’
‘Aye, it would, but most of Fiana’s court have a conjure on them that protects them from my power. It’s only the lowest soldiers who don’t.’
‘Like Varrik and his Elites did,’ I say quietly, and she nods.
‘Is that why you’re hiding here?’
Lia scoffs. ‘I’m not hiding.’
I raise a brow at her, and she lets out an annoyed sound. ‘Gods, Jak. Fine! I’m with child. It’s early. I haven’t told Dane, Kal, or Grey yet. If I had, they wouldn’t have allowed me here. I won’t even be able to travel the Breach after today until the babe is born.’
‘Congratulations, Lia,’ I murmur with a true smile, clasping her hand.
She gives me a small one in return. ‘It will be nice for Ath to have a little brother or sister.’
She points out at the hall. ‘There. I saw Bryn and Morgan. They’re making their way across toward the dais.
Go. Meet them there. Fiana hasn’t shown her face, so she must be with Locke.
I had her private rooms checked, but no one was there.
I’ll get Dane and the others if I can find them, and I’ll meet you there. We have to locate her. She’s slippery.’
‘Her private rooms,’ I repeat.
‘Oh, and someone let the feral beasts Fiana keeps for her games out of their pens. There are at least three running around, though we’ve killed several already.’
‘I’ll keep a look out.’
‘Be careful of some of the humans, too. They’re in a thrall of some kind. They love Fiana. They’ll do anything to protect her.’
‘Fuck. That’s something Varrik used to do as well. Remember?'
'Aye, I remember,' Lia snarls.
She takes my arm. ‘Tavish let some of the slaves from here through to the village.’
My eyes widen and I wonder what happened to him in Fiana’s court for him to change his mind about Dark Realmers so drastically.
‘Dane is going to put up a ward for the Dark Realmers,’ she continues. ‘Keep everyone safe until we know where loyalties lie. Go. Be safe.’
‘And you.’
I make my way down the thin corridor until I can go no further, then, I dart into the hall itself, skirting around skirmishes that are still happening.
Many of Fiana's guards seem to have given up, though, likely not willing to risk their lives for their fae queen after seeing the Harbinger in action.
I move behind the dais and find an arching doorway to a room with a round desk, countless artifacts strewn about, and a large window. This must be Fiana's.
As soon as I cross the threshold, I can no longer hear any noise coming from the hall at all but can hear birds and the sounds of faraway laughter.
I peer out the window of the tall turret and my jaw drops. Humans. Everywhere. So many. Gods, what are we going to do with them if Tavish is allowing them to go to the Light? They won’t all fit in Halsford, that’s for certain. How can we leave so many in the Dark?
I hear a rustling behind me and turn around quickly, drawing my knife.
At the round desk, there’s a woman with long, dark hair who wasn’t there a moment ago.
Her body is bare, with golden chains adorning it and a collar around her neck.
She’s clearly a slave of Fiana’s court, and judging from the bruises and the welts, hasn’t been treated well recently.
She’s rifling through parchments and upending books to see if there’s anything caught in the pages.
'Who are you? What are you doing?' I ask.
She looks at me, gives me a once-over, and then goes back to her task, ignoring me completely.
She says nothing but takes up a pile of papers a moment later, rolls them, and stuffs them into a bag.
Only now, does she give me her full attention, her eyes narrowing at me and then at the main door to the hall.
I put my hands up.
'I'm not here to stop you,' I say. 'But if you want to be away from the Dark Realms, there could be a place for you in the Light. You’d be treated better there.'
‘That’s not what I’ve heard.’ She rolls her eyes and lets out a tiny laugh.
'And, anyway, I don't need a place in the Light Realm, you fae cunt,' she mutters derisively, crosses the room quickly, peers out at the hall for a moment, and then slips out without another word.
I stare after her, surprised and puzzled. She didn't speak like a slave of the Dark Realms, and her manner was all wrong.
Who was she? No real slave, that’s a safe bet.
I stand there in the middle of the room for longer than I’d care to admit, wondering about the woman who just stole from the fae queen.
But then I hear footsteps. I quickly hide behind the round desk as Locke and Fiana appear in the room not via the door. Where did they come from?
They're speaking in low tones. Locke is very close to her, which makes me seethe even though I know he’s just play-acting.
'What you've built here is impressive,' he's saying, 'but there's one thing I don't understand. How are you getting to the Light Realm in the first place? I was told it was impossible.'
Fiana leans back on her desk and gives him a devious look. 'Not all my secrets are yours for the taking, my dear Locke. Perhaps one day I'll show you.'
She smiles at him seductively, but then she frowns. She scans the room. 'Where are my guards?'
She straightens and walks swiftly toward her hall, and she gasps as she sees the commotion. She must work a conjure because I can suddenly hear the skirmishes that are still raging. She looks back at Locke, her eyes flashing in anger as she throws magick out into the hall, and I hear screams.
I see Locke’s lips moving and Fiana whirls around, eyes wide. ‘You dare? In my own palace?’
His eyes widen as he realizes that whatever he just tried to do didn't work.
'Ugh, I knew you were false,' she hisses. 'How disappointing. We could have done such great things together.'
A burst of power flies from her, and he's knocked against the wall before he can block it.
'You fool,' she mutters. 'You know I'm more powerful than you.'
‘It’s over,’ he gasps out. ‘Your empire has fallen.’
Her laugh is dark. ‘You think this is all there is? You think this place matters to me at all? I’ll rebuild everything in a matter of months!’
She advances on him. He claws at his throat, gagging and choking. I slowly draw a small dagger from my belt and come out from the desk behind her, raising it high, but she stops me in my tracks without even looking at me, and I can't move. It’s as if I’m stuck to the floor.
‘You can’t defeat me,’ she laughs at Locke. ‘Not you, and certainly not a little fae with a knife.’