40. Callum
Callum
Music adds a joyful tune to the rowdy chatter at the tavern. Unlike the stringed instruments that are popular in the Ley Court, human music is more rambunctious. Beating drums and large brass tubes offer rich vibrations.
Villagers dance before the stage, encouraging the musicians to play even louder.
It makes listening in on conversations difficult, although not impossible, from where I sit on the farthest stool from the door. My hood is pulled up over my ears as I watch the night descend into chaos.
It’s been days since we’ve gotten anywhere close to Esen. Rumor has it that Overlord Farseth has her locked in a manor at the far end of town, but there’s been no sight of her. The other night, I scoped the perimeter from the edge of the forest, finding a steady guard on rotation.
A strange pulse emanates from the ivy-covered stone building. The void mixed with something else. It’s clear the overlord is tampering with more magic than just Esen’s, but to what extent, I don’t know.
After abandoning us at the parade, I continued to follow the carriage down the cobblestone street.
Not once did Esen meet the overlord’s gaze.
When he touched her, she flinched. She dislikes him, and yet, she made it clear she won’t help us.
Even if she wanted to, there’s the magical tie that binds her to him, preventing it.
Elorie seems convinced we’ll figure out a way to break through to her, and I hope she’s right.
Dragging a human through the Arch won’t work. Especially when she wields the void. Her resistance will do nothing but make us vulnerable when we face Malachi. We need her on our side.
The song changes, and one group of humans cheers while another tosses peanuts at the stage. The musicians don’t miss a beat, continuing to play regardless of the crowd’s reaction.
I pull my hood back a little farther, focusing through the rattle of instruments and the conversations happening between the beats. While Elorie and Perame plot how to convince Esen to help us, I scour the town for information.
At a far table, the mention of Fae pricks my ears, so I tunnel my attention to that conversation.
“He’s paranoid; there’s no other explanation. The Arch to the Fae realms closed over a century ago. They spread this rot and left, but they have nothing to do with what happens now.” A dark-haired man at the table leans back in his seat, taking a sip of his beer.
“Brave to call the overlord paranoid. His men have been known to slaughter for less, and I hear he has spies everywhere.” His friend chuckles.
“Am I wrong?” the man challenges. “Have you ever seen one of those foul creatures in your lifetime? There are no Fae remaining in the realm apart from the heads atop Overlord Farseth’s posts, and it’s for the better.”
“Albeit a little gruesome.” His friend’s nose scrunches. “They’re still decomposing.”
“More proof the Fae are unnatural.”
They cheer in agreement, and my fingers tense around my beer as I take a sip.
“If you ask me, the overlord knows he’s spreading lies; he just wants an excuse to keep that girl on a leash. Pretty little thing, even with that hideous mark on her face. I doubt he looks her in the eyes when he beds her.”
“Better him than me.” The other man shivers in mock disgust, and they both chuckle.
“Is this seat taken?” A pretty human girl, no older than Elorie, stops in front of me, pulling my focus away from the men in the back of the room.
I shake my head, shifting in my seat. But when the girl sits down, she angles my way, stripping out of her cloak, revealing her rich umber skin in a dress that leaves her shoulders bare and curves exposed.
Brown eyes meet mine. There’s no denying she’s beautiful with her delicate features, and gauging how close she sits, she might even be interested. But I keep my body angled toward the bar.
“Marigold.” She smiles sweetly, introducing herself.
“Callum.” I take a sip of my drink when she has yet to take her eyes off me.
She traces the line of my hood with her gaze, not asking why I’ve yet to take it off in this hot room. Thankfully, I’m not the only one. A few men sit scattered about with their faces hidden, also attempting to pass through town unnoticed.
“To the overlord.” The men in the back cheers loud enough that it draws Marigold’s attention.
She glances their way and frowns, tucking her black curls behind her ears.
“Terrible,” she murmurs, her gaze flicking to me when her comment catches my attention. “Sorry. I suppose I should hold my tongue. No matter what side you’re on, there are those who will slit your throat for simply having an opinion.”
My head angles, glancing from the men to her. “There are sides?”
“Oh.” Marigold’s eyes widen. “I didn’t realize whispers of the rebellion hadn’t spread to the other continent yet. You must be from there, yes?”
She eyes my clothes, and I suspect it’s better for her to think I’m from elsewhere since I have no idea what she’s talking about.
I nod.
Marigold forces a smile as a barkeep brings her a drink. She turns to me, beads of condensation dripping over her fingers and chin as she takes a sip. One droplet slides down her jaw—her neck. It slips between her breasts, leaving a wet trail in its wake.
“Not all agree with the queen’s orders to continue trying to summon the Fae,” Marigold says, and my gaze snaps from her chest to her eyes.
“After all, they plagued us, left us to rot after she broke her promise to them; what good will them coming back here do? Alas, the queen won’t give it up.
Rumor is that Overlord Farseth is gathering an army to deal with her and stop the plague. ”
“This plague killing the trees?”
She nods, taking another drink. “The Fae spread it right before they closed the path to their realm, dooming us. The queen seems to think she can reason with them and get them to reverse it. You must be far better in the southern continent if you’ve yet to see the effects of the plague there.”
“No, sorry, I was just confused because we call it something else,” I quickly lie. “A sickness in the realm. Though I haven’t heard the Fae are at fault there.”
“Not everyone here believes the Fae are at fault.” She shrugs. “I don’t know what to believe.”
“Me either,” I admit.
I’ve never heard that the Fae might have spread a plague before the Arch to the Mortal Realm closed.
Although, if reading through the history of Alyssium is any indication, there’s much I don’t know.
Still, I doubt the forests are dying simply because of something the Fae brought.
I would guess there is more to it, just as there is more to the decay back home.
“The overlord doesn’t agree that the Fae will help the queen. He swears they will only bring more death to our realm. Hence his little rebellion.” Marigold rolls her eyes. “I suppose we’ll see how many follow him.”
“Is that why he’s traveling through town?”
Marigold nods. “He claims he has a cure for the dying forests that doesn’t involve the Fae.
Yet he does that while dragging that cursed girl beside him, so who knows.
Did you see her at the parade? That mark on her face?
I wouldn’t be surprised if the plague is within her too.
Spreading where she goes. Maybe they were right about her. ”
“Right?” I take a sip of my beer.
Marigold leans closer, lowering her voice.
“Some think she’s part Fae. The very thing the overlord swears he wants to banish.
There are whispers that he only wants to oust the queen so he can be the one to see her plans to fruition, and that he’ll use the girl to do it.
Although, I don’t understand why he would think that girl can help when even the gods rejected her. ”
I hum in response, not saying anything as I set my beer on the bar top, trying to keep my expression passive. Careful not to seem too curious.
“If anything is cursed, it isn’t this realm. It’s her.” Marigold’s gaze falls.
“You think the girl spreads the plague through the realm?”
“Yes. No.” She shakes her head. “The realm started dying long before her. But something changed when they laid her before the gods. Something that made the gods turn their backs on us for good.”
My eyebrows pinch.
“You don’t know the story?” Her eyes widen in realization, and she scoots closer, pressing her leg to mine. So close I can feel her heat. Smell the tangerine tonic on her skin.
Something wraps my throat until I can hardly breathe, so I shift away. Thankfully, Marigold doesn’t seem to notice.
“When the forests started dying, the townspeople left gifts to the gods to bless us with fruit and food so we wouldn’t starve.
They’d lay a child of the night—the first child born on the first full moon of winter—before the trees in offering.
By morning, the child would be gone, and a patch of greenery would be in their place.
That greenery would spread and hold back the plague. Until her.”
“The girl with the overlord?”
Marigold swallows hard, her eyes darting around the room.
“She was one of those children. Only, when her family returned with the townspeople the next morning, there was no life in her place. No apples hanging from the branches. No greenery, no food. Around the child was a patch of darkness that rotted even the moss on the ground. And where the gods rejected her was a mark on her face. A promise of death. Our realm has failed to bloom since. The gods left us because of whatever they saw in that girl’s soul. ”
I don’t know what to make of Marigold’s story. It’s doubtful the gods had anything to do with it, especially when I’ve never heard of human sacrifices appeasing them. But clearly, something happened.
“If the gods didn’t want her, I don’t know why the overlord does.
” Marigold shivers. “But he claims she’s a message from fate, sent to deliver a warning that so long as the queen continues trying to summon the cursed creatures, the gods will not help us.
He believes that girl’s mark is not a curse, but a cure to magic.
He says that she holds the power to stop the Fae if the queen is successful in summoning them. ”
If that’s the case, the overlord must know about the void because he’s right; Esen’s magic can stop us.
“Does the queen know of the overlord’s plans to overthrow her? That was quite a parade yesterday. He’s not being discreet in gathering his army.”
“The overlord is not subtle. But even if he was, the queen knows all and sees all.” Marigold smirks, pulling back to take a sip of her drink.
“Overlord Farseth is not worried about it so long as he keeps the girl. It’s said the queen uses ancient Fae magic to hold her throne, but if the girl can do as he says, she cannot wield it against him.
He does not fear what the queen uses to maintain power. ”
“What do you believe?” I ask, curious.
Marigold chuckles, no amusement in it. “What I believe is irrelevant. I am but company to those passing through. Like many others, I will feel the effects regardless of who wins, no matter my opinion. But I’m alive now. As are you. I let that be enough.”
She lifts her glass, and I can’t help thinking of Elorie, caught between two realms. Friends and enemies on either side.
Marigold doesn’t take her eyes off me as she lifts her drink, and I take a sip with her, considering everything she said. Her realm sits on the precipice of war based on rumors and misinformation. It’s not that different from home.
She wipes her mouth with the back of her hand. “I heard the southern continent was isolated, but I’m surprised how little you’ve heard of the royal troubles from there.”
“I’m from a small village. What stories pass through are told through a different lens.” That much isn’t a lie.
Marigold smiles, taking another sip and watching me. “It’s a good night for a walk, don’t you think?” She leans close, lust in her eyes. “My house is not far, and my husband has gone north for the season.”
Her hand slips onto my thigh, and my fingers tighten around my beer. There’s no sense of loyalty anymore. It’s one thing the Fae and humans have always had in common. And even if it doesn’t really matter when it’s not my commitments that would be broken, something visceral holds me back.
Her fingers graze my inner thigh, and I’d love to be lost between her legs. To feel anything but this aching emptiness that widens with every passing day. But Marigold smiles wider, and I feel nothing but resistance surging inside me.
At least she was good company for a drink, and her information set a plan in place.
“Are you ready to leave?” she asks sweetly.
My smile is tight when I nod.
Marigold turns to the barkeep to hand him her empty glass, but I’m gone out the back door before she spins in her seat. Gone before she can remember I was ever really there at all. Sometimes, I wonder if I even am anymore.