12. Elim
Melisandre—Mel—carried my scent now, marking her as mine to any Fae that dared look twice at her, at least until it faded. I was well-bedded and pleased at my unexpected alliance with the Bright Court’s missing heir, and even happier to hear he was in love with a human, but Mel still made me territorial. Even if my Seelie counterpart harbored any ill-conceived fantasies of my Queen, there would be no mistaking who she’d chosen now.
I did not need her blood the way a vampire did, but I wanted all of her I could take, and she seemed to enjoy the idea of my fangs. Seeing the punctures on her shoulder also gave me a fierce satisfaction, as did the already-healing mark she’d made on my shoulder in return. I ghosted my fingertips across it, delighting in the sting. My Queen was as fierce as she was beautiful, but I needed to be more cautious about encouraging her to ask for things.
In the heat of our coupling, I wanted to hear her beg, but I was lucky that didn’t count as one of her boons, else our trysts would have already pushed the bargain to its end. I wanted her to choose me, to choose to be my Queen, but if I didn’t tread more softly she’d need to no matter what she actually desired.
Matcha was examining the seal of the freezer door and making a few small runic adjustments when a small bell sounded across the shop. Bailey looked up first, turning and screaming as the front door closed behind my murderous cousins, Jerid’s height loomed in backlit sunlight before Vanor stepped around him, ever the instigator. “Ahh. There you are, cousin. You’ve led us on quite a chase, particularly because that little halfling whelp of yours was so loyal. Lucky for her the mangy fox’s magic reeks of your own, led us straight back here before we could weave any particularly painful spells.”
Vanor produced a small dagger, smiling unkindly as he tested the edge with a finger, addressing me. “Another moonrise and we’d have tested her loyalty with something more…permanent.”
I ground my fangs together at the thought of Glade in distress, glaring at both of them. The little spore was the sweetest among us, her mother’s heart shone through her. Movement at my side found Victor, arms crossed, staring at my cousins with an equal amount of fury. He’d never met Glade, nor even known about her, but she was his blood as much as mine. “You’ll pay for what you’ve done to her, you pathetic cowards. You and your father both.”
Jerid raised a brow, squinting at Victor and wrinkling his nose in distaste. “Eh? Who’s this round-eared pet of yours, Elim? Is he the one in the spell? Because it reeks of human.”
Vanor barked a laugh, elbowing his brother. “I recognize that trash, now, Jerid. He’s the Brightcourt we dropped here years ago to clear the throne for father. A lack of magic hasn’t been kind to him, the ugly thing.”
Jerid sneered in recognition. “So it is. We should have killed him, honestly, despite father’s wishes. We didn’t end up needing the leverage after all.”
Victor raged at the casual cruelty, hissing at them both. “Why? Why tear asunder two Fae families just to place your own on the throne?”
Jerid growled in anger. “Because the Courts are made to be pure! Seelie and Unseelie do not intertwine, ever, and your siblings have threatened thousands of years of that purity. Everything would have been fine if your whore sister Alette hadn’t spread her legs for Perikar. When our oracle told us that a half-blood Fae existed, father tasked us with hunting it down and eliminating it before word spread that it was even possible. Perikar was killed for fathering the abomination, and the only reason your sister did not follow him to the soil was because we needed the power of the throne before we could raise up a conquering force to your Court.
Vanor stalked closer, gesturing dangerously with his iron-edged blade. “We couldn’t kill Glade outright while Elim held the throne, our people’s forces would have risen against us for murdering a child, halfling or no. But Elim’s disappearance left a chaotic situation that needed to be remedied. A doting uncle stepping in to secure his great-neice’s safety through a political marriage is only natural, even if a midnight stroll gone wrong is about to cut her reign short. It’s a shame you won’t be able to attend her wedding—and funeral—you waste of Fae fles-”
Vanor was cut short as a chair slammed into the back of his head, sending his knife skittering across the floor, dangerously close to Victor and I. Vanor groggily rose to his knees, clutching the back of his head as my warrior-Queen stood over him, gaze darting back and forth between my cousins. She held the broken remains of the chair leg aloft like a weapon, baring her teeth at a startled Jerid when he moved towards her. “Watch your mouth when you’re talking to my fiance, fuck face. We might just be humans here, but you should see what we do to people that marry off children.”
I darted forward to head off Jerid’s attack and found myself brusquely shoved out of the way by Bailey, who tossed a steaming mug of liquid directly Jerid’s face with a battle cry of her own. “That’s for what you did to Mat, asshole! Fuck off!”
Jerid howled, clawing at his face, the back of his flailing hand catching Mel’s tunic and yanking hard. She stumbled over Vanor, who managed to struggle to his feet and grab her around the waist, stumbling backwards towards the magical doorway that Matcha had just repaired. With a strangled curse in Unseelie, he awkwardly shoved Mel against the solid door, which melted into a liquid wherever she touched it.
Before I could reach her outstretched hand, Jerid, Vanor, and my intended all fell through the gateway in a heap of limbs at the same time, the metal snapping back to a solid wall the second Mel vanished from sight. I slammed my palms into the door, calling her name frantically, talons scraping at the metal as if I could reopen the portal through force alone.
I spun, wild-eyed, to find Matcha, Bailey, and Victor looking as devastated as I felt. Matcha spoke up, correctly determining that I was moments from violence. “Elim. The portal magic recognized her contribution, it opened for her—I had no idea that was- that it could happen. The bonding magic is adding a layer to the spell that I don’t recognize.” He held up a hand at my enraged expression. “..and it’s going to take me some time to redistribute the energy, but I can do it. Please, your grace, stay calm and let me find you a path to her. To them.”
It took every ounce of faith I had in the seven soils, but I managed to nod, my talons threatening to piece my palms out of helplessness for my little spore, and the human woman that was, against all odds, claiming my heart right alongside her.