Two of the guards pushed past me to gather him up. Grieve, Check, and the other guards bundled me up and we were off, as fast as they could run, to the Marburry Barrow.
We reached there before the Vampiric Fae could gather themselves for another attack, and we were through the portal without further incident. The guards of Summer took one look at us and called out a group of warriors to go hunt down the Shadow Hunters, while we were escorted into the Barrow.
There they wanted to bustle me off to the coronation room, but I refused.
“Not until I know what shape Fearless is in.”
“Your Highness, are you sure? We will let you know later.” Check held my gaze, his expression unreadable, but his voice was soft.
“Yes, I’m sure. He was fighting to save us out there.” I held my ground, and he took me to the infirmary, where the healers were already at work on the guard. Fearless looked a frightful mess. He was bleeding so profusely it was hard to tell where all of the blood was coming from. I watched, silent, as they pulled away his clothing. Because he was unconscious, he couldn’t dispel it.
As the wounds on his leg and arm came into sight, I felt faint. Huge gashes and punctures from the jaws of the Shadow Hunter were pouring blood. The flesh had been mangled, looking like so much chewed raw meat. I shuddered, nausea rising, as Grieve joined me.
He stood behind me, holding my shoulders. “Lainule’s guards are out there now, hunting them down. There will be blood in the forest tonight. How is he doing?”
“I don’t know,” I said quietly. “I didn’t want to interrupt them while they’re looking him over.”
One of the healers looked up then, and she dropped into a curtsey. “Your Highness, I’m sorry, we didn’t notice you before. We’re trying—”
I held up my hand. “Don’t apologize. You’re trying to save him, I know. I’d rather have you do that than curtsey any day. How is he, do you think?”
She bit her lip and glanced back at Fearless’s prone figure. “He’s sustained severe damage to his leg and arm. I think we can save him, but I don’t know…I don’t know what will happen to his leg. The arm, we can probably salvage. We can make no guarantees. There is an element to the venom of the Shadow Hunters that encourages bleeding and discourages healing. He won’t be able to go back to your Barrow for some time, however. We don’t dare move him until he’s stabilized.”
I stared at Fearless. “Do what you can. Keep me updated.” And then, feeling all too abrupt, I turned and exited the chamber.
“You need to change your dress, my love.” Grieve pointed to a large bloodstain that marked one side. Fearless’s life force. I must have gotten splashed with Fearless’s blood when I’d tried to help him out in the woods.
“I guess I do.” I turned to Druise, who had appeared at the door.
“I heard what happened. Are you quite all right, Your Highness?”
I nodded. “I’m fine, but I need you to find me a dress, quickly. I’ll be in…my old bedroom.” To Grieve, I said, “Love, go ahead and tell them I’ll be there as soon as I change. I think we still have a little time.”
“But hasten. Don’t tarry.” He bowed and then hurried out of the room.
I rushed back to the common room, where I found Peyton lingering over a cup of tea. She looked tired, and surprised when she saw me.
“Peyton, what are you still doing here?”
“I needed a break and some tea, and I checked on Kaylin. He’s still worse for wear, but he’ll be all right.”
“Our enemies are out in full force. I’ll tell you more later, but right now, I need a dress. This one…oh, no time to explain. Just help me find something to wear.” All of my things had been moved to the Eldburry Barrow, it appeared, but Druise came bustling in, carrying a pale silver dress. It was an ankle-length sheath, very Grecian, with ties at the shoulders to keep the straps together, and a draped bodice.
I scrubbed the blood off my leg where it had soaked through the other dress. The silver gown fit, although a little loose, but I didn’t care. My hair was still in fairly good shape, and my makeup was slightly smudged, but we didn’t have time to worry. In the dim lights, it wouldn’t show much. I adjusted my circlet so that it was setting evenly, and the three of us headed for the central hall.
We managed to get there shortly before the ceremony was to begin and, as unobtrusively as possible, we made our way to the front, where I slipped into my seat next to Grieve, and Druise sat behind me. Peyton took her place by Luna.
The music started minutes after we sat down, and as the ceremony progressed, I realized that it was a mirror of my own. Only this time, I could see just how extensive and taxing it had been. Rhiannon looked spectacular, shimmering like summer in her dress, with the train billowing out from behind her. As Lainule put her through the same question-and-answer ritual she had me, I could almost see a transfer of energy going on between them.
Lainule placed the crown on Rhiannon’s head, and I found myself tearing up. My cousin had been through so much in the past weeks, and this—while incredible and wonderful—had to be stress beyond the limit. But she withstood it well, and Chatter’s gaze followed her with absolute love and devotion. He would never hurt her; he would never abandon her.
The ceremony ended, and as we all watched, Lainule stepped up to the throne one last time and looked over her people.
“You have served me well, my friends. You have stood by me; you have survived the scourge of Myst. But thanks to that dread Queen, I must return to the Golden Isle. I leave you in capable hands. Winter and Summer will balance again now, and with Queens who are also cousins, they will be friends rather than enemies. Bear with our new Queens—they have a steep curve ahead of them, and we must all make this transition easier for them. They will lead you into new territory; they will change some of the old traditions.”
At the murmur from the crowd, she added, “Do not argue this. Our tradition of isolating allowed Myst to come through and nearly destroy us. Our refusal to allow Summer and Winter to meet led to Tabera’s death and…nearly to my own death. So do what you can to help. Do not fight the changes coming. They are necessary to our survival. Again, thank you, and for the last time, as your Queen, I bid you good night.”
And with that, Lainule removed her crown from her head, and Wrath removed his, and they turned and walked away.
My lower lip began to tremble and tears ran down my cheeks. I turned to Grieve, stricken, and saw that he, too, was crying. And then Rhiannon stepped up to her throne, looking dazed, and—with the guidance of her advisor—did as I had and dismissed the Court.
The trial was over. We were the new Fae Queens. A new journey had begun…and yet…old enemies were just outside the gate.
We met in the common room again, after the hall had cleared. Luna and Peyton were quiet. Kaylin was stretched out on the chaise. Grieve, Chatter, Rhiannon, and I gathered around the table. As we sat there, quietly eating a simple dinner of cheese and bread and meat, the door opened and Lainule and Wrath entered. They looked tired, and my heart went out to them. I silently stood and ran over to my father, throwing my arms around his waist. He embraced me silently, kissing the top of my forehead.
“I don’t want to lose you, now that I’ve just found you.”
“I know, my daughter. I know.” He rocked me back and forth. “But the tide waits for us with eager hands. If my Lady does not return to the Golden Isle now, she will fade and die within days. And I would go with her wherever she journeys, so great is my love for her.”
Biting my lip to keep from crying, I nodded, squeezing my eyes shut. I knew there was no option, but this was so much harder than I’d thought it would be. In the short time that I’d known him, I’d come to love him, like the father he was.
“The Golden Wood is in your hands, my dear niece. And in Cicely’s. It is the home of both Courts, though the rule shifts through the seasons.” Lainule gratefully accepted the chair Grieve drew out for her. “Our prophets knew this day might come; hence the preparations and birthing of you two girls. We didn’t know exactly when, but we knew…it was possible.”
“Is there anything we should know? Who are the prophets? Can we talk to them? Is there anything we should be on the lookout for?” If there were any more prophecies that involved us, it seemed that we should find out more about them.
Wrath laid his hand on my shoulder. “Strict will help you with all of that. And his sister, Edge, for Rhiannon. The two of them will meet with the two of you jointly to go over the million details we didn’t have time to address. They are to be trusted, girls. They are bound to both thrones, bound to their courts. They will die before they betray you. Of all the advisors you will meet, they alone you can trust with your lives and the lives of your people.”
Rhiannon leaned over and took Lainule’s hand. “You are my aunt. I will miss you—I didn’t get a chance to meet my father.”
“There is no help for that, child. He gave his life defending the Barrow against Myst.” She patted Rhia’s hand. “Your fiancé will help you master the craft of your Fire. Your advisor will help you understand how to shift into your alter-form. And Cicely, Ulean tells me she was helping you with the wind. She will teach you how to control the power, now that I have no time left.”
Her words sounded so very final.
“When do you have to leave?”
“At the latest, before the cock crows, but we will go after we leave this room. Now that I am no longer Queen, I will age at a great rate and that, I do not wish to do. We have packed our things and they have been sent on ahead. Tomorrow night, Rhiannon, you will sleep in the Queen’s chamber.” She stood, wearily. “Do you know, when Tabera and I took the thrones, we never again saw one another? Only on the changeover days—midwinter and midsummer—and then we barely spoke. We had no great love for one another, but we were isolated, each to our realm.”
“So you never saw her again?” Luna asked.
Lainule shook her head. “Only on the Solstices. She kept to her realm, isolated from the world. As for me, I only began venturing out when the prophets said there might be a need to know the outer world in the coming decades. I sent her word, asked her to join me, but she would not. Since Tabera would not answer my messages, Wrath and I took it upon ourselves to carry through the directions the seers gave us—which led to your births. Now the world of the Fae is expanding and will never again be the same. But that is a good thing.”
She stood, after a silence. “It is time, my husband. It’s time to go home.”
Wrath gave me another hug, so tight I could barely breathe. “I will not see you again, not for centuries. If ever. Be strong, Cicely. Remember what little I had time to teach you. Be strong and compassionate in your rule, but do not flinch when duty calls. And forever remember, I’m proud of you. You know that, don’t you? I’m so very proud of you.”
I began to cry in earnest. We were all crying. My father. Lainule. Rhia, Grieve, Chatter. Luna and Peyton were nose deep in tissues, and even Kaylin was tearing up.
“Safe passage home.” I clung to Wrath, burying my head in his chest. Then, slowly, I let go and turned to Lainule. “Thank you, for everything. I have no words…”
She reached out and kissed my cheek. “I am the one who should be thanking you. You saved my life, Cicely. In a saner world, I would be proud to rule over Summer with you as my opposite. But the world has gone mad. Never forget that Myst is still on the prowl. She will seek you down, try to destroy you. Never let down your guard until she is dead.”
I nodded. “I promise.”
And then, after a long hug for Rhiannon, Lainule turned to Wrath. “Come, my husband. One last journey, and then we can rest on the shores of the lake, under the silver moonlight. Our homeland awaits. It has been so terribly long since I came to these woods.”
We followed them out, down the hall to a locked chamber. Strict was there, and Edge, and they opened the door and we all went in. In the center of the chamber, a cloaked figure knelt, a woman, and in front of her was a glowing orb, hovering about four feet above the floor. She murmured something I couldn’t catch, and the orb grew brighter, lengthening and widening until it formed a glimmering rip in the fabric of space. Colors shifted and spun, and emanating out from that rip were the scents of honey and sweet wine and snow and rain and summer grass and the soft whispers of twilight.
I longed to go through, to follow the call, but Ulean kept me steady.
Eventually, Cicely, you will journey through this portal, but not for a long, long time. It is not in your destiny…not now.
Feeling for Grieve’s hand, I held tight, and he squeezed my fingers. We all kept silent, not wanting to disturb the spell. Lainule and Wrath looked at each other, then at us. Together, they walked down the line, giving each of us a kiss, even Peyton. When she came to Luna, before she pressed her lips softly against the bard’s head, Lainule whispered, “Pass this to Kaylin, if you would.”
And then I was hugging and kissing my father yet one last time. I drank in the feeling, bound it tight. He slowly let go, then without another word turned to Lainule and took her hand. He kissed her softly.
“My Queen. I will follow you anywhere. To the Golden Isle, and when it is time, into the embrace of death.”
Her lips crinkled. “Let us hope the latter is still a ways off, my love.”
They walked to the portal, and—without a backward glance—plunged through. The light brightened, so white and hot that I had to shield my eyes, and then it faded. The orb was gone. Lainule and Wrath had returned to their homeland, forever.
