Cursed Rebel, page 13
"Wow," I breathed.
"Yes, it's quite something, isn't it?" Fin said dryly.
His expression was one of distaste…and something else. Regret? Guilt? Fear? I couldn't read him. Maybe I was imagining it. Still, I had a sudden chill of premonition. I shook it off. We were finally there, standing in the warm sunshine in front of the Summer Palace. The sooner I saw the King, the sooner I could go home—I hoped.
Fin turned to me, his eyes grave. "Lucy, there's something I should tell you before…before we go—"
Over his shoulder, I saw a flash of movement, and the feeling of premonition slammed into my gut like a fist. I knew exactly what was about to happen. I dived at Fin, screaming, "Fin, look out!"
It was too late. The arrow hurtled through the air and sliced deep into Fin's shoulder, piercing his leather armour. He cried out in pain and stumbled against me. He swore in Gaelic, drawing his sword with his uninjured arm. But he wasn't fast enough. A second arrow lodged itself in his forearm. He grunted, but stubbornly kept hold of his sword.
"Show yourself, coward!" he roared, shakily raising his sword, his eyes blazing with anger.
My head swam as Ryan stepped out of the trees, flanked by archers in ice-blue armour. He'd tied his black hair back in a ponytail, so his pointed ears were clearly visible. The anger on his face was thinly veiled by amusement over Fin's pain.
"Ryder," Fin hissed. "I should have known."
Ryder ignored him, his cold eyes sliding to me. With a cruel smile, he bowed a courtly bow, sweeping his ermine cloak behind him. "Lucy, I'd like you to come with me now." He held out a hand expectantly.
I gaped at him for a second, stunned by his callousness and arrogance. I clenched my fists. "I'm not going anywhere with you."
He didn't look put out by my answer. He simply straightened and said, "Ah, but you are. Your knight in shining armour is in no condition to stop me from taking you. Those arrows are tipped with iron. He'll be lucky to live if he doesn't get them out soon."
My stomach went hollow with dread and horror. I looked at Fin, who was kneeled over on the ground, leaking blood and panting. The arrows stuck out of him hideously, and though he was still gripping his sword, he didn't seem able to lift it. He was pale with agony.
Tears burned my eyes, and I glared at Ryder. He wasn't the guy I'd thought was my friend all those years—he was a monster. "You bastard," I hissed.
He smirked. "Technically, your beloved Fin is the bastard. My father still lives."
I'd never wanted to punch someone so badly in my life as I did then. Instead, I turned and knelt beside Fin, stroking his sweat-dampened hair back from his face.
He lifted his pained green eyes to mine. "Lucy…run…" he whispered.
I shook my head. "I'm not leaving you here to their mercy."
He groaned. "Please, Lucy. Go. Find Pan. He'll help you."
I set my jaw, despite the tears rolling down my cheeks. "No. I'm not going anywhere, Fin. You're supposed to take me to the King, remember? Your orders compel you. You won't be free until you complete them."
Fin closed his eyes. "Snowdrop," he breathed, "This is your only chance to live. Take it. I'm begging you."
I frowned. "What do you mean, my only—"
"Agh!" Fin jerked in pain, and I saw the green marks of a warning burning through his bloodied shirt. He'd said too much. He roared as the light burned brighter, searing through his clothes, his back arching.
"Fin!" I screamed, clasping his face in my hands, helpless. Hands grabbed me roughly form behind, yanking me from the ground by Fin's side, and I shrieked and fought. "Let me go! I need to help him! Let me help him!"
Ryder's archers lifted me easily, despite my thrashing and dragged me away from Fin, who writhed in the grass. Ryder eyed him with little sympathy, and then turned to me.
"You can't help him, Lucy. There's nothing you can do for him now."
I sobbed. He reached out, put a finger against my forehead and everything went black.
Chapter Twenty
** Lucy **
The first thing I was aware of as I came to was that I was freezing. Not just cold, but the kind of cold where your lips go numb, and every breath feels like inhaling glass. It was a soul-sucking, life-draining kind of cold that had me instantly shivering so violently, my bones ached.
The next thing I was aware of was that I was being carried, and for a moment, I was sure it was Fin. I curled into him, hoping to absorb the warmth of his body, but the chest I curled against was as ice-cold as the air around me. Fin was never cold. As a Summer faery, he was warm to the touch at all times. I remembered his pain in the icy forest, and knew it wasn’t him. It couldn’t be. The cold would kill him.
I cracked my eyes open and hissed, “Put me down, Ryder.”
He didn’t look at me, but I saw his lips curve in a smirk. “Sorry, no can do. I’m afraid you’ll be too weak to walk for while until the effects of the spell I used on you fully wear off.”
I writhed and fought to break free of his arms, but he was right—I was too weak. The effort made me dizzy. I felt tears burn my eyes, helplessness and fear making my chest tight, but I forced the tears back. I would not show him my fear, even though I was terrified, both for myself and for Fin. I prayed he was all right, but somehow I knew he wasn’t.
We walked down several identical hallways where the walls, shimmering with frost, were made of black stone, and the floor seemed to be made entirely of ice. I supposed Winter fae didn’t slip often. Light emanated from everywhere and nowhere, as if the ice itself glowed, and Ryder’s steps echoed ahead of us.
Soon we came to huge set of carven double doors made from ebony wood laced with ribbons of frost. The doors were beautiful, but the scene the carvings depicted was not—it was a scene of slaughter, with one woman standing atop a pile of bodies, holding a spear in the air. I didn’t need to be told that the woman was the Winter Queen, and I was in her palace. I was inside the Winter Castle, and I was about to meet the spear-wielding woman in the carving.
I shuddered from fear as much as the breath-taking cold emanating from behind those huge doors.
Ryder clutched me tighter to his chest and set his jaw. “Lucy, I know you hate me. I know you think I betrayed you. But I never wanted it to come to this. I’m sorry.”
Before I could say a word, the wooden doors swung open.
** Fin **
Agony wracked his whole body, not just from the iron buried in his flesh, but from the certainty that if Lucy wasn’t dead yet, she would be soon. He was too weak and helpless to do anything about it. She had no idea of the power she could wield if she just let herself—he should have told her. He should have told Pan to take her home long ago, but truthfully he hadn’t wanted to lose her so soon. He’d hoped it would take them longer to reach the Summer Palace, hoped he’d have more time with her.
Now she was gone, and he’d likely never see her again. Even if he did, she wouldn’t be the same person—not after the Winter Queen got her claws into her.
He wanted to sob, but the tears wouldn’t come. It was his fault. He wasn’t strong enough to resist the King’s Orders. He was so tired of doing his job, of being the bad guy who stole innocent girls from their homes and handed them over to be playthings for a cruel fae ruler. Maybe he should just let the iron kill him. It would be better that way. He was done being a lapdog called to heel, and just as he’d found something—someone—worth fighting for, she’d been taken from him.
A drop of water, a tear, trickled down his face—not his. He frowned and tried to raise a hand to touch his cheek, but the motion prodded the arrow deeper into his side. He groaned and lowered his hand. But as the tear continued to slide down his cheek, it left a warm tingle in its wake...it felt like…magic.
Then he realised—Lucy had been crying before she’d been taken away. Her tears must’ve fallen on him. The tear of a witch had immense healing powers. Slowly, the tingling warmth spread across his cheeks and down his neck, across his chest and twined around his legs until he felt as light as air. The pain of the iron slowly faded, and he managed to pull out the arrows with the last of his strength.
Exhausted and bloody, but no longer in agony, he closed his eyes and breathed, “Thank you Snowdrop.”
Then he passed out.
Chapter Twenty One
** Lucy **
As I knelt on the frozen floor below the throne, I was aware of hundreds of cold fae eyes upon my back and Ryder standing firm at my side. He had placed icy shackles around my wrists before dragging me into the throne room. The ice burned my skin with cold, and shivers wracked my body violently. I kept my eyes on the pale, bare feet of the Queen beneath the hem of her luscious, pale blue gown.
I had gotten just a glimpse of her face as I’d entered the room, before Ryder shoved my head down and warned me not to meet her eyes. The Queen had long, flowing raven hair and a proud, beautiful face. I felt tiny and ugly next to her great beauty.
“So,” the Queen said in a voice as slow and sweet as honey. “This is her.”
Ryder tensed beside me. “Yes, Your Majesty.”
“Stand her up. Let me see her properly.”
I twitched. I was still weak from the spell Ryder had put on me, and I was so cold, my legs were shaking. I doubted I could stand. But Ryder reached down and looped an arm across my back, hauling me to my feet and holding me there by sheer strength. Scared and tear-stained, I stared at my blurry reflection in the frosted floor.
“Look at me, girl,” the Queen demanded imperiously.
I bit my lip and kept my eyes on the floor. Ryder had warned me not to look directly at the Queen, no matter what. He may have betrayed me, kidnapped me and killed Fin, but I still trusted him enough to obey his warning.
The Queen abruptly stood up, her gown swishing around her ankles, and leapt lithely down the steps from her throne. Ice-cold fingers dug into my cheeks, nails like talons pinching my skin as she forced my head up. “Stubborn one, aren’t you?” she hissed, her mouth curling in a cold smirk.
I felt Ryder’s arm tighten around me, as a warning or for support, I wasn’t sure. Somehow, the protective action stirred my inner strength, and a little of my usual belligerence came to the surface. I met the Queen’s ice-blue eyes and said awkwardly around her fingers, “So I’ve been told.”
Ryder squeezed my arm, hard enough that I almost yelped, and I shot him a glower. The Queen released my jaw abruptly and straightened up, her face unreadable. My heart fluttered, and I wondered if I was about to die. I wanted to close my eyes and go to my happy place, but as the Queen had said, I was stubborn. So I held her unflinching gaze, sweating under my leather clothing, despite the chill.
The Queen laughed, a sound as piercing and sharp as smashing glass. She tossed her hair back as she did, looking wild and gorgeous. For a moment, I was so mesmerised, I almost forgot she was probably going to kill me.
“Feisty! I like it!” the Queen announced, her smile dazzling. “I might not kill you after all.”
I wasn’t sure how relieved I should be by that statement, so I kept my mouth shut. I had a feeling that one smart-ass remark was ‘feisty’, but two might be suicidal. I was toeing a line I couldn’t see. I wished desperately that Fin was with me.
It hit me again—Fin. Fin was dead. It was like a blow to the chest, and I had to catch my breath from the stinging pain inside. He’d started as my kidnapper, my captor. Yet somehow, over a period of days, weeks maybe—I had no idea how long I’d been there, I’d lost track—he’d become my friend, my protector, and something more than that too. Something I couldn’t name. Not anymore, knowing he was gone. Knowing it didn’t matter how I felt.
“Hmm…” the Queen murmured, bringing me back from the brink of my grief. I looked up to find her examining me closely. Without glancing away from me, she addressed Ryder: “You say you killed the King’s little courier? Fallow?”
“Yes, Your Majesty,” Ryder replied tersely.
The Queen cocked her head, her ebony hair swinging over her shoulder like a curtain of silk. “Were you aware that the little Mage here was in love with him?” she asked softly.
Bowing his head, Ryder whispered, “Yes.”
“What was that? I couldn’t hear you.”
“I said yes, Your Majesty. I was aware of her…feelings for Fallow.” Ryder sounded distinctly uncomfortable.
“So, your disposing of Fallow was more than mere…business, shall we say?” the Queen prodded.
Ryder raised his head, his face pale. “Your Majesty?” he asked, sounding confused.
I knew he was faking it. He knew exactly what she was talking about. I wanted to slap him.
“You were jealous of the Wild Lord, were you not? Killing him was personal for you.” The Queen was taunting him, looking for a reaction, for a soft spot.
Suddenly, I understood why she was so dangerous—the woman could manipulate people, bend them and break them at will.
Shakily, Ryder tried to deny it. “Why would I—”
“Don’t lie to me, knight!” the Queen roared.
Ryder blanched. “I—”
“Yes, he was jealous.” I was shocked to hear the words come out of my mouth. But once I started, I couldn’t stop. Maybe it was the fear making me ramble, or maybe it was the building rage at the realisation of what Ryder had done. “He knew I had feelings for Fi…Fallow. He didn’t like it. He wanted me for himself. And when I rejected him, he killed Fallow and brought me here.”
I turned on Ryder as my fury continued to spill out. “You! You killed him! You murdered him because of your own pathetic jealousy! You lied to me all these years, and you betrayed me and hurt me! You’re a monster like Fallow never was! My Grandmother—”
“Your grandmother is the reason you’re here!” Ryder bellowed. “If it wasn’t for her, none of this would have happened! I bet she never told you that part, did she? While she was spinning her stories about the fae being evil, she left out the part where she cast a Curse upon the King! Your beloved Fin was taking you to the King, so he could kill you!”
“I…she…what?” I couldn’t from a coherent sentence, my rage suddenly as scattered as my thoughts.
Ryder’s fury drained away as quickly as it had come on, and he looked sorry he’d opened his mouth.
“Well…isn’t this an interesting development?” the Queen tittered, clearly enjoying my pain and Ryder’s discomfort.
My nerves were worn so thin, I snapped. I whirled around, breaking Ryder’s grasp on my arm, and glared at the Queen. “This is funny to you? The man I love is dead by my best friend’s hand, my grandmother kept secrets from me, I’ve just recently found out I’m not human, and you think it’s funny? You’re a cold-hearted, soulless bitch, who only finds pleasure in making other people miserable. It’s pathetic!”
As soon as the words were out, I knew I was in deep trouble. The Queen stared at me stonily. Then she flicked a hand toward me, and I fell to the floor hard, banging my knees painfully. It felt as if there was an icicle growing from inside my stomach, spearing me internally. I coughed and saw red splatters on the ice in front of me. My vision blurred from the agony. Then the pain stopped abruptly.
“Take her to the cells. And make sure she doesn’t die. If she dies now, the King’s Curse is broken, and my plans are ruined.”
Hands grasped my arms, dragged me across the icy floor and out of the throne room. The last I saw of Ryder before the doors closed was his bowed head and clenched fists.
Chapter Twenty Two
** Fin **
He woke up to the sound of animal snuffling next to him. Blinking his eyes open slowly, the first thing he saw was a pair of curled horns hovering above him. “Pan,” he croaked.
Pan grinned down at him. “Good. You’re awake. Thought I’d have to get a banshee to scream in your ear to get you conscious.”
Fin sat up carefully, putting a hand to his chest where the arrow had gone in. There was no hole, just a small lump of scar that felt hot to the touch. He felt dizzy, probably from blood loss, but he tried to stand anyway. He had no time to waste—Lucy was in trouble, if not already dead.
“Whoa,” Pan said, putting a chubby hand on Fin’s arm. “Slow down. I had to get a Brownie to heal you. I don’t know what he did, but he warned me you’d be a little out of it when you woke up. You need to eat, get your strength back. The iron almost killed you. It should have killed you. It’s a miracle you’re alive.”
He shook the satyr’s hand off, despite the wave of dizziness that made him sway. “Lucy. It was Lucy. She saved me…she’s in danger, Pan. I need to…” He closed his eyes as another wave of dizziness almost brought him to his knees. He swore in Gaelic, frustrated by his own weakness and scared for Lucy.
Pan steadied him. “You need to sit down and eat. And what do you mean, Lucy saved you? Start from the beginning. Tell me what happened.”
Reluctantly, Fin sat down. Pan handed him a pouch full of blaeberries. “Ryder happened. He came out of nowhere with his guards. They shot me with an iron arrow and took Lucy. She’s probably in the Winter Castle right now, being tortured. I need to help her, Pan.” His chest burned, and his eyes stung. He bowed his head and stuffed a handful of blaeberries in his mouth to hide his desperation.
Pan’s round, cherubic face creased with worry. “Are you sure he took her to the Castle? He’s in love with her, right? He might have taken her somewhere to be alone with her.”
“No. If he’d wanted to be alone with her, he wouldn’t have taken his guards.”
“Good point. So, how do we get into the Castle?”
Fin stopped chewing the berries. “We? This is too dangerous, Pan. I can’t ask you—”
