The Unseelie Bargain (The Fae Kingdom Series Book 1), page 4
“I’m willing to sacrifice that if it means my family is healthy and provided for. I deserve whatever would happen to me there. I took away their hope. I don’t care what I must do to give it back. No matter the cost to my life,” Aurora replied. Alice and Griffin exchanged glances with each other and then both stared at her. Alice’s eyes shone with concern, and Aurora had to look away from her. Griffin had anger settled across his flushed cheeks and drawn in eyebrows.
“Have you also considered all the stories we grow up with, telling us of what can happen to humans in the fae realm? We know the Seelie court is at least kinder to humans, but this is the Unseelie King you are talking about, Aurora. The stories say nothing good about him,” Griffin then pointed out.
“Again, a sacrifice I’m willing to make,” Aurora replied, her voice a bit more determined this time.
“Why don’t you stay the night? Sleep on it? I’m sure you’ll have changed your mind in the morning and come to your senses,” Alice suggested.
Aurora knew she would not change her mind. To her, this was the only way, the best way. She nodded anyway, not wanting to argue. Alice both seemed to relax at her nod.
“Come sleep with me,” Griffin whispered as he wound his arms around her waist. She closed her eyes and let him hold her for a moment, then didn’t argue as he led her to his bedroom. Once they were alone with the door closed, he pulled her to lie down with him and drew her into his chest.
“Marry me, Aurora,” he whispered against the top of her head. She sighed.
“My answer is the same as every time you ask, Griffin,” she responded.
“Please don’t do this,” he begged.
She didn’t respond. There was no use in arguing. Instead, she craned her neck up and gave him a small kiss before snuggling into him and trying to get some sleep.
Aurora took a deep breath as she sat down in front of Alice and Griffin’s piano the next morning. She hadn’t played in a few weeks. She avoided it sometimes because it reminded her of the musical bond she and her father shared. He had taught her how to play from a young age. Before she could speak, he had her plucking on the keys of the wooden upright piano in their cottage. It burned in the fire.
She kept up her practice throughout the years, desiring to be the best in memory of her father. Nevertheless, she always ended her practice sessions in tears. She hadn’t had much time for it with everything else she was doing. Still, she made the time for it, not daring to let the skill fade.
Now she sat, her hands hovering just above the ivory keys. Deciding to play a song she composed in her mind that spoke to the love she had towards her father and the guilt she had towards his death, she placed her hands down and began playing. The melody and accompanying harmonies flew out of her fingers. She closed her eyes and let the music take her over. This was her passion. It was her tether to her father. This is what would calm her nerves before the day ahead.
As her song ended, a few small tears fell from her cheek to plop onto the keys. It added one tiny notch of calm to her mind. Taking another breath, she played it again. And again. And again.
Aurora felt herself shaking as she dressed for what would happen in the next hour. She would compete in the trials for the Unseelie King.
After having played piano at Alice and Griffin’s all morning, she snuck out before they could further attempt to convince her not to go through with her plan. Now she put on her trousers and loose shirt she wore for hunting, wanting to make sure her movement wasn’t limited in any way.
“Aurora, what are you doing?” Rielle asked from the bedroom doorway.
“Can you stay with Alice and Griffin and watch Ma today? I need to go out,” Aurora said, ignoring her sister’s question.
“You’re not coming with us to the forest to hide away during the trials?” Rielle questioned, confusion crossing her features.
“I’ll join you after. I just need to do something first,” Aurora lied. Rielle didn’t look convinced. Her lips curled in, and she then opened her mouth to speak before shutting it again.
“Don’t worry. It will all be fine,” Aurora assured her sister. Rielle didn’t respond, and Aurora knew that Rielle somehow knew something was off. But then her younger sister trusted her and gave her a small nod.
“I’ll go get Ma ready. See you in a bit,” Rielle said.
CHAPTER 5
Aurora felt the Unseelie King’s eyes on her before she ever stepped out of the crowd with the other three contestants to signal that she would volunteer for the trials. There he sat on his golden throne, looking bored as ever until his eyes landed on her while she was still mixed in with the townspeople. She refused to look at him, but from the corner of her eye, she could see his boredom melting away as his interest in her sparked for a reason she did not know.
In her subtle observation, she could not help but notice how attractive he was. His hair was as black as night, short but with a slight length to it. The color of his eyes was the deep green of a forest. His facial features were sharp and chiseled. He had telltale pointed fae ears and perfectly pink full lips. She couldn’t help but wonder if he was as muscled as he looked underneath the black suit he wore. He looked every bit a fae king.
“Would anyone else like to step forward before I begin the trials with these four?” the King’s voice bellowed across the deadly silent crowd. No one moved.
“Aurora, no,” a voice then sobbed over the silence. Aurora turned her head to see her sister being held back by two fae soldiers as she sobbed and reached for her.
“Aurora,” Griffin’s voice then called out too as he and Alice came up behind Rielle. The soldiers held the three of them back as they tried to get to her.
“You don’t have to do this,” Griffin yelled.
I do. Aurora mouthed to them with an apologetic look before turning back to face the Unseelie King.
“Aurora, is it?” the King then questioned, his green eyes settling on her with amusement. He stepped close to her, and the intoxicating woodsy scent of him overwhelmed her senses. She held her chin up high as he lowered his voice so only she could hear. “Care to change your mind and appease your friends over there? You know you will not win this competition by pretty looks alone.” His eyes scanned suggestively over her as he spoke.
Aurora set her jaw. She was smaller for her age and never looked like a strong huntress, thanks to her mother’s genetics. Her face was a bit too soft, but her muscles were hard underneath her loose clothes, so even though it wasn’t surprising that the King underestimated her, she would make sure he knew what she was capable of.
“I will compete,” she told him.
A look flashed across his eyes that made him seem almost pleased to hear it.
“Very well then,” he nodded. He was about to turn away when he seemed to think better of it and stepped even closer to her. H was so close his breath tickled the hair that curled at her temple. He then spoke even lower. She had to strain to hear him. “Feel free to prove me wrong by removing anything and everything that prevents my eyes from seeing the strength you hold underneath.”
His tone was suggestive, and she scoffed at him then quickly covered her mouth to try and stifle it.
The corner of the King’s mouth kicked up into a smirk that Aurora wanted to swipe off his face. All of this was just fun and games to him when these people were only competing in his trials as their last hope of helping themselves or their families.
“Don’t worry, Your Majesty, I don’t believe I will have to remove anything to prove you wrong,” Aurora replied, venom filling her whispered tone.
“Pity,” he commented before scanning her figure one more time and then stepping back to address the entire crowd.
A wicked smile spread across The Unseelie King’s face as he held his hands up and called out, “Let the trials begin!”
The first competition round of the trials had to do with weaponry. Aurora stood in a large ring set up in the center of the town’s square. Before her was a table of weapons that she could choose from to show whatever skill she possessed. Around the ring, different wooden targets were set up in different shapes and sizes. Without hesitation, she chose the bow and arrows set and a set of daggers that were of similar size to her own.
She showed her skill with the bow and arrows set first, aiming and shooting each arrow perfectly into several of the different targets, including the moving ones. Any time she glanced at the King; he wore the same neutral expression. It seemed his playful attitude had disappeared since the trials started. He held a serious look as he observed her skill. She couldn’t tell if she had impressed him or not yet.
Once she had loosed all the arrows in the bag, she picked up the daggers and showed the accuracy of throwing those as well. Again, no hint from the King about whether he was impressed despite her once more hitting every target.
Getting annoyed, Aurora turned to face the King who had been observing from a platform where his golden throne sat up above the ring and everyone else.
“Care to see anything specific, your majesty?” she questioned, unable to keep a bit of bite from her tone.
At her questioning, his eyebrows rose.
He thought for a second before responding. “You have an excellent aim, under calm conditions. What if there was more stress on where you needed to aim, though?” Aurora allowed a wary look to cross her face, already regretting that she had asked. “Bring me a villager,” the King then requested of one of his soldiers.
A collective gasp escaped from the crowd watching and Aurora felt the color drain from her face as she feared what he would have her do.
Tamaren was brought up to the throne by the fae soldiers. She kicked and screamed as they dragged her there. The King whispered in one of the soldier's ears before the soldier then dragged Tamaren by the arm over to one target. They then tied together her hands with a rope and placed them above her head to be pinned against the target board. She was now sobbing with fear instead of screaming.
“Free her,” the King commanded, a challenging tone filling his voice accompanied by a knowing smile.
This upped the stakes. The King was right. She could shoot arrows and throw daggers at targets and animals for food all day long. But with a human being involved, her nerves creeped up. If she missed, she could hurt Tamaren or even kill her.
Aurora shifted her eyes from Tamaren, who looked terrified as she sobbed, to the King. He gave her an expectant look, a small, cruel smirk sliding up the corner of his lips.
Angry with him for being so amused at toying with a person’s life, Aurora picked up another dagger to get it over with. An idea fluttered across her mind and then she picked up a second dagger to have it ready before she could even second guess herself.
She closed her eyes, took a deep breath to steady her nerves, gave Tamaren an encouraging look, and then took her aim.
The first dagger she threw for the ropes around Tamaren’s wrists. She barely gave herself time to see it hit in the middle of the rope, releasing Tamaren without hurting her, before she whirled and threw the second dagger at the Unseelie King. None of the soldiers even had time to move before her dagger whizzed through the air and took the King’s crown clear off his head, trapping it against the top of the backrest of the throne.
There was utter silence as every single individual present stared at the King. Aurora was sure her fellow townspeople were just waiting for him to strike her down right there. Somehow, Aurora knew he wouldn’t.
So, she curtsied to signal the end of her first round. As she stood up out of her curtsy and looked back up at the King of the Unseelie court, she could have sworn she saw the tiniest bit of approval flash across his eyes. She didn’t give it a second thought though, instead she made her way out of the competition ring to stand next to the other contestants and watch the next one compete.
The second trial was about to begin and, already, one person out of the four was eliminated after the first round. This round had to do with movement. The ring was now set up like a mini forest. There was a clearing in the middle that held a gleaming chalice. The chalice sat on a rock in the center of the clearing. The goal of each participant was to get through the forest and get the cup, alerting none of the fae soldiers wandering around the forest to their presence. Whoever covered the least distance before getting caught was out of the trials. Whoever made it all the way to the chalice was safe for the final round.
The first contestant had already gone and had made it about halfway through before getting caught. It was now Aurora’s turn. She stepped into the ring at the edge of the forest and let out a stream of nervous air. The King was yet again watching from his throne. As her eyes met his, he gave her a look that said, how are you going to impress me now?
Aurora already knew what she was going to do. She knew she could do this. Her years of hunting in the woods made her steps silent as she walked through the trees. Any time she heard a noise from one direction, she would silently turn in the other direction to continue her journey.
After getting about the same distance as the first contestant, her trained hunter’s ears told her there were soldiers coming from many directions towards her at the same time. In response, Aurora climbed the closest tree without making a single noise. She watched below her as the soldiers converged, looked around, then continued in their different directions, never once thinking to look up.
Smiling to herself, Aurora made her way from tree to tree across the branches now. Her foot from her injured leg slipped, and she had to bite down a cry of surprise as she caught herself and pushed back up onto the branch. That injured leg was throbbing now from the overuse. She had been careful with it over the past week as she hunted, not climbing many trees unless needed.
After she could see the clearing just ahead, she scrambled down from the tree she had been in and made her way to the edge. She didn’t step into the clearing right away, first listening and looking for any movement around her.
Once she was sure there was no one coming, she walked up to the rock and took the chalice into her hand. She didn’t stop to celebrate there. Aurora had another plan.
Instead, she made her way back through the trees. She stayed on the ground this time, limping but still keeping her movement silent. She moved as quickly as she could, avoiding and hiding from the soldiers that continued to patrol the trees. Aurora kept going until she saw the edge of the forest and the base of a certain stage where a certain throne would be sitting. She walked right out of those trees and right up to the stage, where she threw the chalice at the Unseelie King’s feet.
Not only had she made it into the center to retrieve the chalice, but she had taken on the challenge of trying to get out without getting caught as well, which was not required.
The King watched the chalice roll to a stop at his feet, then flicked his eyes up to Aurora. The look he gave her seemed to convey that he was amused by her, that he enjoyed this little game she was playing with him to prove herself. He didn’t take his eyes off her as he called out to the last contestant, “Next!”
The final round. Aurora didn’t know at all what to expect. It was just her and one other competitor now. The individual who had gone after her in the second trial hadn’t made it five steps into the forest before a soldier had caught them.
Aurora stood outside of the ring in the square, but this time she couldn’t see what was happening because of a tall wall erected around the ring. She was also told almost nothing about what this trial would entail except that it would test her ability to respond to unexpected situations, which is about all she already knew. The sun was setting, painting the sky in hues of pink and orange. It would soon be dark out.
After what felt like forever, a door in the wall opened up and they brought the other contestant out on a stretcher. Aurora watched, horrified, as they carried him away. He wasn’t dead, though. She could still make out the rise and fall of his chest.
“He’ll live,” the Unseelie King’s voice said from the other side of her, startling her. He had come up next to her without a sound.
She turned to face him, scowling at the way he seemed so indifferent to the injuries of another.
As if he knew what she was thinking, he commented, “My healer will tend to him, and it will be as if nothing ever happened.”
“You say that as if it justifies you putting him in that situation to begin with,” Aurora responded. The King only shrugged.
“He put himself in the situation by volunteering, just as you did,” he argued.
Aurora could have said more and continued to argue with him, but clamped her mouth shut instead.
“Are you ready?” he then questioned.
“Not in the slightest,” she admitted. Then she took a breath before adding, “You know, I am your only option now. We could just skip this part and you could name me your victor.”
He once again invaded her space, stepping closer to her and said, “I know you so desperately want to come back to my castle with me and see exactly how well I treat my mortal employees, princess, but unfortunately you have to do the task to win.”
Aurora could not keep her eyes from rolling in response and bristled at the name he had given her but said nothing. The King then pushed the door in the wall back open and gestured with his arm for her to step inside.
“See you on the other side…hopefully,” he said with a wink as she stepped past him, his smile rueful. She just forced a too-sweet smile at him and stepped through, trying not to jump at the sound of the door shutting behind her.
