Chapter 29 – Alex
Chapter Twenty-Nine
ALEX
I’m jostled awake by a kick from a heavy boot, and I jump to my feet before sagging into the wall. “What the hells?” I croak.
“Good. You’re up,” the fae guard grunts. “Come with me.”
“Finally,” I mutter, relieved to see another person for the first time in gods know how long.
“No talking,” the guard says. “Move along.”
I suppose I should be grateful I’m not in shackles. They must think I’m not enough of a threat since there isn’t much I could do in my weakened state.
“Can you at least tell me how long I was down there?” I ask, rubbing at my facial hair. Based on the growth, it had to have been a few days if not more.
The guard ignores me, and I huff out a breath.
We make the slow trek up the stairs and down the halls.
Each step is a struggle, and I fight to stay on my feet, often pausing for rest until the guard snaps at me.
I have no way to orient myself, as everything looks the same, until we finally make it to the main level of the palace.
I catch a glimpse of myself in a mirror and frown.
Hells, I look like complete shit. I probably smell just as bad too.
I’m led into a moderately sized room. A dining table with enough chairs for six sits in front of a large window overlooking the gardens.
The room is lined with bookshelves, and there’s a small sitting area in front of a fireplace.
Surprise filters through me. I expected the throne room or maybe even an interrogation room, but this normal-looking room makes me a little more hopeful that I’m not about to lose any appendages or have my bones broken.
There is a large spread of food on the table, and my stomach immediately rumbles with hunger, but more than that, I am so incredibly thirsty.
“Help yourself,” the guard says. “Someone will be with you in a few minutes. Don’t even bother trying anything. The window glass is enchanted not to break, and I’ll be outside the door.”
Before he even leaves the room, I’m at the table, almost delirious with thirst from the days spent underground.
My head hurts from the brightness of the light streaming in through the window.
I grab a pitcher of what looks like water, and my hand shakes as I pour it into a glass.
It splashes and misses most of the cup, so I set it down and squeeze my hands into fists.
“Calm yourself, Alex. It’s not going to suddenly disappear,” I mutter under my breath.
I try again, and this time, I’m able to fill the glass.
Bringing it to my lips, the almost too sweet taste fills my mouth as I drink and drink and drink.
More . . . I need more. I take a breath and refill the glass, collapsing into one of the chairs, trying to drink slower before I make myself sick.
Once my thirst is mostly sated, I allow myself to look at the spread in front of me.
There are meats and cheeses and plenty of fruits and vegetables.
I pick up a roll and slather it with butter, groaning in delight when it hits my mouth.
My hunger rages, but my head is still swimming.
I manage a few bites before I have to stop.
Fighting back nausea, I try to take some deep breaths.
Extreme hunger mixed with nausea is the worst feeling. I probably drank too much water.
The click of a door has me on edge, and I turn in my seat to see who has joined me, fully expecting the impostor queen.
“Sera?” I croak. I’m overcome with relief at the sight of her. She looks a little fuzzy around the edges, and I blink. Damned headache. I’d kill for some of Margot’s herbs right about now.
“Alex, you’re okay,” she says, rushing over to me, her cool hands going to my face.
“Worried about me, Spitfire?” I try to muster a grin. “They just tried to starve me and bore me to tears for gods know how long.” She strokes my face, and I close my eyes. “That’s nice,” I murmur.
“Talk to me, Alex,” she says, moving to sit on my lap, putting her arms around my neck. “I’ve been so worried. They wouldn’t tell me anything.”
I look up at her and frown. “What about you? How are you here? Did they capture you?”
She laughs, but my intuition tugs at me. Something is off.
“We have it all wrong, Alex. The queen only wants to help. She’s helping me with the curse.”
“She is?” I frown. I want to believe her, but it’s too convenient. “Did they do something to you? Compel you again?”
“Don’t be ridiculous. The queen can’t compel me.”
But she did . . . The feeling of wrongness persists, but I’m so tired and my head is pounding.
“When is the goddess coming, Alex?” Sera asks me.
“Since when do you call Rae that?” I retort. “That’s not like you.”
Another laugh. Another feeling of wrongness. My tongue is loose inside my mouth, and I can’t stop the words from spilling out. “Why didn’t you tell me we were mates?”
She blinks and puts on a coy smile. “You’re human. You don’t understand our ways. Why should I have told you?”
What the hells? “Do you not want to be mated to me?” I ask, hating the weakness in my voice.
“That’s absurd, Alex. I’m here, aren’t I?” She runs her too cold palm over my cheek again and leans in, teasing my lips with her mouth.
This is wrong, this is all wrong. I shove her off me and onto the floor. “Who in the hells are you? You are not my Spitfire,” I growl.
The female laughs again, and I blink. It’s not Sera . . . It’s her: the impostor queen wearing her skin. Her blonde locks transform to midnight black, and her violet eyes turn back to their quicksilver shade.
“You’re stronger than I gave you credit for,” she muses, switching back to the common tongue as she rises from the floor, dusting herself off. “Don’t you know it’s not polite to throw a female across the room?”
“You tricked me,” I growl. “What is your game? Where is she?”
“Your mate?” The smirk on her face is vicious, and I can’t help but fear I’ve given her more than I meant to. “She’s in a cage, right where she belongs.”
“Let her go. Now,” I demand, trying to muster all my strength as I rise from my seat.
“No,” the queen says cooly.
“She’s no danger to you! She has no designs on your throne.”
The queen cackles. “No danger? Do you forget what she did to my gardens? How many of my guards she lit on fire? She’s out of control. The swan within is taking over, and she won’t be reasoned with.”
“Help her!” I beg, though I have nothing to bargain with.
The queen looks down at her nails, her utter lack of care infuriating. She appears to consider my request for a painfully long moment before she flashes her silver eyes back up at me. “Even if I could help her, why should I?”
“Name your price,” I grit out. I have nothing to lose.
The impostor queen approaches, and despite my height advantage, she makes me feel small.
She hooks a razor-sharp nail under my chin, and I try not to flinch at the slice of pain.
I force myself not to look away, not to show fear.
After a few seconds, she pulls her finger away, and there’s blood—my blood—filling her nail.
“What in the—”
The queen sucks my blood into her mouth, and a fresh wave of nausea swells at the violation.
“Mmm,” she moans. “It’s funny the things you can learn with just a taste, Lord Grey. My price? I’d have you.”
“Me?” I ask, incredulous. “Why in the realms would you want me? I’m no one here.”
“Ah, but you are. As mate to the true ruler of the Woodland Court, whoever controls you controls her.”
“You might be convinced that’s true, but I assure you, it means nothing to her. We’re not together,” I reply, trying to rein in my hurt.
A hideous laugh sends a chill down my spine. “I know the truth. I can taste it. Give yourself to me, and I will consider setting her free.”
I’m not sure what her plan or motivation is here. I’m already her captive. What more does she want?
“That’s not good enough,” I growl. “Free her from the curse. Swear it.”
Her eyes glint with something I can’t quite interpret. “I swear I will do anything I can to free her from the curse,” she says. “In return, your body and your soul belong to me. You will never return to your realm.”
My fingers grip the back of my chair as I try to think through the bargain.
Is there a way for her to betray me? I attempt to replay her words, but I can barely concentrate.
My head is swimming, and whatever she did to compel me to see her as someone else is still messing with me.
Why didn’t my gift see through the lie right away?
How did she know the Rakveren language? I blink, and she almost looks like Sera again.
“You can never have my body,” I reply, “but my soul will be yours if you break her curse. I swear it.”
The enchantress cocks her head, looking me up and down. “I have enough play things. Your soul is enough.” She traces a foreign symbol in the air that ignites like fire before flaring into nothing. “It is done.”
An icy fist clamps around my chest, and I gasp, staggering to the side. Only the table keeps me upright. “What?” I gasp.
“Everything is fine, Alexander,” a cruel voice whispers in my mind. “As I said, you’re mine now.”
“But you didn’t break her curse yet!”
“I said I would. Intention matters in fae bargains. I do intend to free her; therefore, you are mine now.”
What have I done?
I stumble back in horror, and the pain in my head increases as she riffles through my thoughts and memories, seeing all the things I don’t want her to. I try to throw up walls, I try to protect something, anything, but she only laughs.
“You can’t hide from me,” her voice hisses in my head. “Ah, what’s this?” She takes a memory, holds it, examining all, laying me completely bare. “Perfect.”
With a snap of her fingers, a string pulls taut between us, and I’m forced to follow. I no longer have control over my body . . . but I never gave her that. How could I have been so damned foolish?
“Shhh, it’s okay, Alexander. I’ll take good care of you.”
I really don’t like the sound of that.
The queen leads me through the palace and up some stairs. We travel higher and higher until we reach a room that must be near the top. It’s light and airy, so different from the queen’s wing. There’s a bed, a seating area, and a door that I assume leads to a bathing chamber. It’s simple but grand.
“Rest,” she says aloud. It’s a relief not to sense her in my head anymore, but I don’t know how long that will last. “I’ll be back soon.”
The compulsion is strong, and I collapse onto the bed. At least it’s better than the cot. I suppose she could have returned me to the dungeons, but if I’m to be locked up in a tower for the remainder of my life, this luxurious room will only be a prison. Perhaps it’s a small mercy.
Sera . . . Where is she? Will the enchantress free her from the curse now?
She has to, or won’t her hold over me end?
Will I ever see Sera again? Perhaps I’ve entered a fool’s bargain due to my own stupidity or the queen knew what she was doing.
Keeping me alone and trying to starve the sanity out of me made me weak.
I would have done anything for Sera though.
She deserves to live a life free from her curse.
I awaken to a sweet haze filling my chambers, a familiar scent that all at once repulses and enthralls me.
“What the hells?” I gasp, my entire room thick with it. With every inhale, the vapors enter my body and—no. No . . . I can’t do this. I hold my breath, stumbling out of bed and heading toward the window, but it’s welded shut. Fucking hells.
I move to the bathing chamber, but it’s also filled with the haze of vespira root. Where did it come from? How in the realms . . .?
Continuing to hold my breath, I stagger toward the main door and pound on it. All I hear is a cackle and retreating footsteps as I sag against it, finally giving in and taking a quick breath. I need to locate the vespira, I need to put it out, but where is it coming from?
Stumbling around the room, I look, but I can’t find it.
I can’t find anything. With each tiny breath, the vespira works its way into my being.
My body relaxes, gives in to the craving, to the addiction I’ve been fighting for months.
I’m drowning but also flying. It’s a sweet relief after all the longing, but also the deepest regret and anger at being forced to give in.
Perhaps it’s what I deserve. Perhaps it’s the only pleasure I’ll ever know again.