Chapter 23
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Deirdre
With a sudden whoosh, Kane vaulted into the air, taking me to some kind of undesirable destination or event.
The wind whipped my hair in front of my face, making it impossible to see.
I gripped Kane’s neck tighter as we tore through the sky and up into the clouds, his shadow wings gliding us through the air.
He held me to his chest, and I didn’t dare let go, even though being this close to him was as dangerous as being back in that village.
Throughout our time together, I garnered slight glimpses of the monster I had heard of, the dragon of this castle, and it would only take one moment for Kane to get furious and bite my head off. Just because he hadn’t didn’t mean he wouldn’t.
“Where are you taking me?” I held on to him, praying he wouldn’t drop me.
“Somewhere where you can stay out of trouble.”
This wasn't my fault. I just wanted to help. What was he going to do with me? Was he going to put the collar back on? Was he going to put me back in the spire and not let me leave?
Or something worse.
Even after we wed, nothing had changed much. We were still strangers… enemies, weren’t we?
His reactions were unexpected and confusing. Didn’t he find me bothersome?
Why do I care what he thinks or feels? It doesn’t matter. It shouldn’t.
The ground grew smaller, and the rush of wind slowed as he hovered over a large spiral tower on the western end of the castle, an area I hadn't been to yet. Glass encased the massive dome-shaped tower and reminded me of the atrium in the castle.
“What is this?”
He slowly descended, landing on the battlement connecting the tower to the castle. “This is where my mother kept her raptors.”
“And I'm here because?”
“Easy, little thorn,” he said, setting me on the cool stone.
My boots scraped against the uneven floor as I wobbled, dizzy from the sudden stillness after soaring through the clouds. His hands landed on my waist, steadying me then he quickly stepped back.
“My mother's workshop has many salves, and we need something for that cut on your head.”
“Oh.”
Pieces of tomato still stuck to my dress and there were tears along the hem where one of the villagers had ripped it. The once beautiful fabric was now a tattered mess, just like the rest of me, and thanks to the glass panes surrounding the dome structure, I got a perfect view.
Dirt caked the left side of my face. The right side above my birthmark had a gash. Blood had trickled down and dried over my birthmark, making my entire face look ghastly.
I pulled a piece of bread from my hair. “I'm a mess.”
Kane stood behind me, peering at me in the reflection. “You don't look that different.”
“Are you saying I look this disheveled all the time?”
His mouth curved into a grin. An unexpected expression for his normally grumpy character, but it suited him much better.
“Keep your hands away from the cages.” He took out his key ring and inserted the key with a bird's head into the old iron lock, completely ignoring my question.
The glass dome housed a massive aviary. The structure was bigger than it appeared from the outside.
These weren't little cages that you'd house a parakeet or some other bird you wanted as a pet.
Massive bars ran along the stone walkway on each side.
The narrow path was just big enough for two people to walk side by side.
Pink and white flowering dogwood trees filled the place with a delicate scent. Giant silk moths fluttered around smaller butterfly bushes, their brown and red coloring a beautiful sight amid all the pink and white. The domed glass made the air in here balmy, filled with the scents of spring.
Nestled on the edge of a large, wooden, branch-like structure sat a massive raptor with gorgeous white feathers and a blue tuft on its back and its chest. Its reddish-orange eyes were so similar to the predator standing next to me.
It tilted its head in my direction, watching me with a keen interest.
“Moon raptors,” Kane said.
“Why are they in the cages?”
“They stay here during the day.” Kane pointed to a glass door at the end of the room. “We open those at night. They go out to hunt and then return here to sleep.”
“They're nocturnal.”
“Yes, and they can be devilish little creatures.” Kane walked over to a barrel, opened the lid, stuck his hand inside, and pulled out a fish.
He made a clicking noise with his mouth, and the raptor turned its attention to him.
He tossed the fish through the bars and the raptor hopped up to catch it.
Another raptor glided over from one of the trees and ripped the other half of the fish from the raptor’s mouth. Strangely, the two didn’t fight over the food and I wondered if they were mates.
“This way,” Kane said, and we continued walking down the mosaic path that ended at another door.
Grass grew between the stones, which I found odd in a tower, but I was learning magic and life on these fae mountains acted differently. For all I knew, this whole spire was a large dirt mound with stone built around it.
The glass walls made it easy to see inside.
It was definitely a workshop packed with jars, pots, and too many dead flowers.
Ivy crawled along the inside walls and a big orb weaver spider had made its home too close to the entrance.
Tiny brown handprints covered some panes near the bottom as if some tiny creature spent its days peering out of the workshop.
“Who works in here?” I asked.
Kane opened the door for me, motioning for me to go inside. “Me and the pixies. The raptors aren't fond of anyone else. We tried having one of the servants feed them and let them out, but that did not end well for the servant. Sit.” Kane pointed to a stool near the wooden worktable.
I sat, observing the fae in front of me, who frowned as he rifled through a rack of jars. He glanced over at me, gazing at the cut on my head, a low rumble coming from his throat.
Was he angry?
Was it because his people had attacked the queen, or did he actually care about me? Of course, it could be an annoyance that once again he had to tend to me, but he didn’t need to. I was not some child that needed coddling.
Going back to the rack, he decided on a short, wide jar and twisted open the top. “We should probably wash that first before I put this on.”
This was twice now he tended to my wounds, and it filled me with so many questions. Why did he constantly go from being mean to nice? Why did he have to act nice at all? How was I supposed to hate someone who kept tending to my wounds all the time?
These acts of kindness were triggers of torment to my soul. I hated the conflicting emotions that rose in me. “Why are you doing this?” I didn't mean to ask out loud, but it bumbled out anyway.
“Well, it's faster if I take care of it myself. I didn't notice your handmaiden with you.”
“Oh,” I said, not sure how to process that piece of information.
Liora hadn’t followed me through the portal, but surely Kane had other servants capable of tending to me. Wasn’t it normal to have all types of scullery maids around, ready to do the queen’s bidding?
“What are all those?” I asked, pointing to a table full of broken clocks. Everything from a brass pocket watch to the top of an old cuckoo clock. Some of them had been completely dismantled while others looked to be caught somewhere between fixed and still very broken.
“Those?” Kane’s cheeks flushed. It was the first time I saw him embarrassed. He quickly shifted his body to block the table. “It’s nothing.”
“Are you a clockmaker?”
“Of course not,” he huffed, folding his arms and frowning. He twisted the bracelet on his left wrist. One black band on each arm. He was never without them. “Why would a king fiddle with such nonsense?”
“Kings are allowed to have hobbies.”
Right when I was going to pry more, one of the pots on the adjacent table moved. “Uhh… Kane?”
The top of the flowery plant wiggled.
Kane turned around just as tiny rootlike fingers gripped the edge of the clay pot. “Did we wake you?”
The creature poked its head out of the dirt.
It was smaller than the pixies but had similar wide eyes and a tiny nose.
Its skin resembled the dirt it rested in and when Kane picked it up, the creature climbed around his hand and up his arm.
Its limbs were as thin as the roots in the pot he slept in.
“This is Toki. He’s shy but harmless.” Kane turned toward me.
Toki hid behind Kane’s hair, which rested along his shoulders. The leafy portion of the creature’s head reminded me of the feathered top hats some ladies would wear to tea.
“Hi, there. What is he?”
“A mandrake brownie. I found him when he was young, alone, and barely alive. He likes the workshop.”
“What about the raptors?”
With a smile, Kane scratched under Toki’s chin. “Not enough meat on him for them.”
“He’s incredible.” I waved at the creature who peered at me with olive eyes and no pointy teeth. “Where did you find him?”
The little creature nuzzled Kane’s finger.
“There was a fae village near the borderlands. A beautiful woodland that was decimated by darkthings. I’d gone to search for survivors and destroy any remaining monsters.
I found this little one hiding out in a tree stump.
I wouldn’t have noticed him if I hadn’t stopped to rest.”
Using my magic, I reached out to the pot it had been sleeping in and searched the dirt for any seeds. One lone daisy lay dormant. Slowly, I called the flower awake.
Toki gazed over at the pot, climbing across Kane to his other shoulder.
A green bud rose from the dirt and Toki skittered back to his pot, staring at it, the top too high for him to reach.
The bud blossomed and with surprising agility, Toki jumped onto the top, scrambling back to his home. He touched the stem of the flower, stroking it with care.
Satisfied, I sat back.
Kane stared at me, a hint of a smile on his lips. “I’ve seen you use your ability many times, and it still awes me.”
I flinched as he pressed the cool rag to my forehead. His side bumped against my knees as he cleaned my face, that smoky scent of his too close.
“Don’t fae wield plant magic?” I asked, needing to break the odd tension of Kane standing so nearby.
Dropping the wet cloth, he picked up the jar and dipped his finger into it, scooping out a dollop of green salve. “Yes, but it’s different with you. It’s hard to describe why, but it’s as if nature is an extension of you.”
He rubbed the medicine on my forehead. The woody, resinous salve tingled against my skin. His fingers moved in smooth circles, gentle and purposeful.
“It should feel a little better in a minute,” he said, ignoring my discomfort. “Why were you in the village? It wasn't safe for you to go.”
“I can't sit around all day. What is the point of me being queen if I don’t actually do anything?”
Stepping back, he grabbed another cloth and wiped his hands. “Does this mean you're going to accept the fact you're Queen of the Fae?”
“What else am I to do? You've given me no choice.”
Even as he tended to my wound, it wasn’t out of genuine concern, but duty. How long before I became one of those beautiful caged raptors, waiting for permission to fly?
He screwed the top back on the jar, glaring at me. “This is what you were born to do. Wasn't it?”
I groaned and hopped off the stool. “I'd hope I was born for more than just to marry you and sit around all day.” Toki disappeared into the dirt and suddenly this workplace was very stuffy. “I'd like to return to my chambers.”
Without waiting for a response, I turned and left the workshop, stomping past the raptors and out into the fresh air, away from Kane’s smoky scent and confusing behavior.
The battlement headed straight to another part of the castle, but I wasn’t sure where. Considering I didn’t want to spend the rest of the day lost in a palace full of pointy-toothed creatures, I decided to wait for His Majesty to follow.
Kane chirped at one of the raptors, feeding it another fish from the barrel.
With a sigh, I leaned against the parapet which reached just below my chest.
Dark storm clouds rolled in, the sky resembling the tumult of emotions running through me.
The longer I stay here, the less of a villain he becomes.
I need to leave.
Before I betray everything I stand for.
Resting against the wall, I stared into those storm clouds, searching for answers, for the All Father to speak words of wisdom to my soul and tell me what to do.
The stone rumbled beneath me.
A crack split within the stone, the sound rumbling through the parapet.
Flinching, I searched for the source until the stone crumbled beneath me.
My arms flailed, and the world tilted on its side.
I had just enough time to scream before hurtling right over the edge, spinning headfirst into the surrounding clouds.