Blight (Chaos #5)
By Claire Farrell
Editing by Red Adept Editing Services
As the blight spreads, destroying the land, Cara’s new subjects turn on her, and Brendan and Drake are no longer there to help her. The Darksiders thought she’d be pliable, or maybe even a miracle-worker, and it’s not as easy to scrub away Sadler’s influence as she thought.
But Scarlet isn’t her only priority any more, and once the ceremony to swear her in as regent is done, it’ll be time for Cara to join forces with the kings, find a way to stop the blight, and prove to the fae that she can be the leader they need.
It took a Darksider to steal the throne; it’ll take a faery queen to keep it.
Copyright © Claire Farrell
[email protected] Cover by Yocla Designs
Licence Notes:
All rights reserved. This eBook may not be re-sold.
Chapter One
I sat on a cold stone throne and clung to my sleeping daughter, wondering what the hell I had just done. I hadn’t been thinking. I had to go back and tell everyone I had changed my mind—I wasn’t cut out to be queen of a stolen court. And yet my feet didn’t move, and no sound came out of my mouth. I stayed there—a human perched on a faery throne earned through blood and betrayal—and watched Darksiders, my subjects, milling about, rushing to clear the evidence that there had ever been a faery king in that broken-down castle. My castle.
I looked down at Scarlet and whispered, “Our castle.”
Bekind, my immortal ancestor, lay at my feet in her cursed form as a black cat. She had kept secrets from me in the past, maybe even deceived me, but I trusted her more than anyone else there. She stretched out her claws, looking more relaxed than I felt.
I gazed upon the Darksiders, seeking familiar faces. The heavily bearded Jackie and his four sons were getting drunk at the far end of the hall with Bas, the sharp-toothed chief of a tribe that had been on the run when we'd come across them on our way to face Sadler. The tribesmen celebrated as though danger didn’t still hang in the air.
Rumble, one of the many illegitimate offspring of my daughter’s twisted grandfather, stood by my side, his maimed face covered by a heavy helmet that revealed nothing. His presence helped me cling to the notion of safety. He had betrayed his mad king for me, but that was because he was loyal to the Dark Court—which meant he was loyal to me for as long as it benefited the Darksiders.
Sadler’s terrifying tapestries were being torn from the walls by overeager Darksiders. The last time I'd been in the castle had been the night I'd fled for my life while in labour with Scarlet—the night Rumble had stood aside and let me leave, even at the risk of his own life. And when I'd murdered his king and stolen the court from Drake, who claimed a blood right to the throne, Rumble had protected me from harm because my baby had a blood right, too.
I had already been seen as Queen of the Chaos Court after I'd been forced into a marriage with Sadler. The Darksiders seemed to view my murder of Sadler and betrayal of Drake as some sort of initiation. I was truly one of them now, the bonus being my child, who was seen by many as an heir to all three courts and the only child on the Darkside to escape the taint on the realm.
Rumble’s friend and relative, Vix, paced in front of us, her expression brooding. Strong and ruthless, she kept her true feelings under lock and key whenever possible. But as she rubbed her hand against the shorn half of her head, she caught my eye and frowned. Did she already regret siding with me? I had no idea what the repercussions of my actions would be.
To protect Brendan, I had betrayed Drake, but Brendan felt betrayed by both of us. Drake might have been Scarlet’s biological father, but he had turned into something I didn’t recognise. The last thing the Dark Court needed was a king who despised them as Drake did. But in one fell swoop, I had lost my allies. To safeguard my daughter, I needed to hold on to the throne of the Chaos Court, and that meant keeping people like Vix on my side.
I tried to get comfortable, but the stone throne only reminded me of Sadler’s cruelty and madness. His wedding rings were still on my finger, but the current problems in the realm had started with Sadler long before I had ever been born. The days I had spent as his prisoner in the castle tower had been eventful, and the year I had spent back in the human realm had been dull in comparison. Perhaps I had underestimated the value of dull. Sadler hadn’t been the only addict around—a great number of my choices could be blamed on my unending desire to be around the fae.
I breathed deeply, wondering how the hell I was going to take care of so many people in a land that refused to grow food, a place that tainted the children born within it until they became deformed monsters. All but Scarlet. The teardrop pupil in her left eye was the only sign of the taint. I, on the other hand, held the taint in the veins of my inner elbow.
But that was the least of my concerns. The frantic racing of the fae around me had given me a headache, and the gnawing feelings of regret kept growing.
I stood, balancing Scarlet on my hip. “Stop!”
Everyone froze and looked my way. There were so many fae. But so many more had already left. Those who remained looked to me for direction, for guidance—no, for orders. Fiadh—a tall, elegant noble from an old family who had encouraged my actions—was watching me closely, a smile curving her thin lips. Bart, a hunchback who may have come from an unreachable land, stood across the room and waited, his face alight with curiosity. Everyone expected me to have a clue about what I was doing, but I had made a mistake. I was just a human. I needed to go home.
But that wasn't what came out of my mouth. “Enough,” I said. “We’ll purge another day. Tonight, we eat. All of us. And tomorrow, we can deal with what needs to be done.” I held up my chin. “I want to see the ones Sadler was using to stay alive.”
“You don’t want to see them,” Vix murmured from behind my chair.
“I have to,” I whispered back.
Rumble stepped forward. “You heard your queen. Prepare a meal.” He nodded at Rat, my nervous maid from the time of my imprisonment. Her cheeks were no longer chubby and round, a sure sign that Sadler hadn’t been feeding his people. “And ensure a room is ready for her, too.”
“My old room will do for now,” I said.
Some of the fae spoke excitedly under their breaths, shooting me awed smiles, but others watched me with eyes like those of Reynard, a dark-minded faery I had killed to protect my daughter. If there were more like him, I had willingly walked into the snake pit with my own daughter. I hadn’t been able to trust anyone to protect her. I needed the power to do it myself, and maybe I finally had it. But could I keep it?
Rumble and Vix led the way to the staircase. Fiadh followed, leaving her tainted son with Conn, her bodyguard. The stairs were filthy, and the castle stank of neglect. What had Sadler been doing since I ran?
I stopped to look out a large window at the top of the stairs. In the distance, I could still see flags of green and silver spread across the landscape. Donncha, a hardworking soldier who had replaced Reynard, was still outside with his team, watching to make sure the other courts left for home. Home: a word that held so much meaning yet had meant nothing to me.
But as we walked up the stairs—as we grew closer to the forbidden tower Sadler’s troubled son, Deorad, had been held in—a strangely content feeling crept over me. I was where I was supposed to be. I'd done it. I'd stopped Sadler from hurting anyone else, and his doctor—a man who had tortured me—was gone, too. A huge weight was lifted from my shoulders.
Rumble hesitated by the door at the top of the tower. I nodded at him. He opened the door, and I stepped inside, holding back a gasp. I had been warned, but I hadn’t been prepared.
A life of excess and a long period of time s
pent in the human realm, drugged on human emotion, had left Sadler old and frail—until he'd discovered a way to harness his own son’s vitality with black magic. Sadler had been renewed until the night I escaped. My last act before leaving was to put Deorad out of his misery, stopping the same black magic that was tainting the realm.
But without his son, Sadler had found another way. Half the court was related to him through his son, and he had replaced Deorad with a dozen others. Twelve comatose figures lay on makeshift pallets on the floor. Unsurprisingly, they all had jet-black hair. They appeared lifeless, but a familiar-looking woman with straw-coloured hair tended to them.
The midwife looked up and gave me a wry smile. “You’re back.”
“And you’re still here.”
“Nobody was allowed to leave when you left.” She rinsed out a blackened cloth in a dank bucket. “So I stayed here to take care of these. The ones who survived, anyway.”
I peered at the unconscious fae. “I don’t understand. He’s dead. Why aren’t they waking up?”
The midwife’s smile died on her lips. “Before, they only lasted a certain amount of time before he had to replace them. Now that Sadler’s dead, they’re dying, too. They’ve been under for far too long.”
My stomach flipped over. I thought I was saving them by taking Sadler’s life. I had just doomed them. “Are they suffering?”
The midwife hesitated. “I can’t say.”
I handed Scarlet to Fiadh and knelt by the closest person. She was small and young, her skin a pretty shade of lavender. She looked more like a pixie than anything else. I took her hand and squeezed her fingers, feeling a deep sorrow as I remembered how I had left my own pixie friend behind.
“There’s nothing you can do for them,” the midwife said gently. “They were lost as soon as Sadler let the doctor near them.”
“Get them out of this room.” I looked up at Vix. “Tell the servants to clear out Sadler’s rooms. Set up beds for all of these people, and organise experienced faeries to take care of them. If there’s any change, come to me at once.”
“They’re dying,” the midwife insisted.
“Then they’ll die in more comfort than this.” I frowned. “But help might come in time.”
“Help?”
Ignoring her, I took Scarlet and left the room.
Vix followed on my heels. “Don’t change too much, too soon.”
“Change can’t come too soon to this place,” I said bitterly. “While you’re at it, find Rat. Tell her to come to me.”
“Rat? Why?”
“She’s getting a promotion.” I sighed. “Just do it, Vix. Please.”
“Forget the manners,” she said nastily, pushing Rumble out of the way to get ahead of us.
The headache was beginning to feel like a migraine.
“Where do you want to go?” Rumble asked.
I hesitated. I wanted to see Brendan, I realised suddenly. I wanted the chance to explain. But some things were more important than what I wanted. “I’m going to my old room. Help Fiadh find some quarters, and make sure Rat comes to me as soon as possible.” I looked down at Scarlet. “And I need somebody to send a message to the Miacha.” I thought of the retreating army. “Tomorrow. They can go tomorrow. On Dubh.”
“I’ll leave you to rest before dinner,” Fiadh said. “I don’t need help. I’ll take back my old rooms. My husband isn’t here.”
“Be careful anyway,” I said. “I’ll see you this evening.”
She left Scarlet and me alone with Rumble.
“Am I crazy?” I asked him. “Is this just the maddest thing that anyone has ever done?”
He escorted me toward my old room. “Not unless you’re planning on raising the dead.”
And a spark brightened in my chest. I had done the right thing. Sadler had made a deal with a mad god, one that would send an army of dead to destroy the faery realm. His death had ended the deal, and the war ships had disappeared—as far as we knew.
“Think the ships are really gone?” I asked as we walked along a corridor toward the stairs leading to my tower room.
“Gods aren’t easily appeased. It may be that this particular god feels we owe him a debt.”
“A shiny gift in a faery circle on a midsummer’s day or a gift-of-blood kind of debt?” I didn’t require an answer. I already knew that Sadler’s god was cruel and bloodthirsty.
We reached my room. It looked exactly the same as when I'd left. Rumble began to light the fire while I shut the door and sat on the bed. Strangely enough, I felt more comfortable in my cell.
“There are larger rooms,” Rumble said. “More luxurious ones. Are you sure this is where you should sleep?”
I looked around the circular room. “A bigger room will only make me nervous—too many places to hide. For now, we’re better off here.” I searched in the wardrobe and found maternity clothes. For some reason, that made me smile and think of my bump rather than the terrible things that had happened to me during that time. “What do I do now?”
“The people will want to reaffirm their fealty.” Rumble turned to look at me. “Expect them to come to you tonight. They think that’s what the dinner is for.”
“It’s just so they can eat. What do I do with the fealty pledges? I mean, how am I supposed to act?”
“Accept their loyalty with the grace they deserve.” He turned back to his task. “The words don’t matter. You’re the one in charge. You set the rules. Do not hesitate, and all will be well.”
“Where’s the bad news, Rumble?”
He hesitated. “Always prepare yourself for betrayal.”
“From the people who live in court?”
“From the kings.”
I shivered. “I don’t think they’ll hurt us. They might try to use us, but we can handle that.”
“And if they force you to take sides when they declare war on one another?”
That made me smile. “Then I’ll have to bang their heads together to knock some sense into them. What about the fae who don’t swear fealty? Do they stay or leave?”
“That’s your choice. Think on your policy because you’ll need to be prepared.”
Rat scurried into the room. Her face fell when she saw that the fire was already lit. She took one look at my daughter and got on her knees.
“Rat,” I said impatiently as she crawled across the floor. “What on earth are you doing?”
She cowered. “I just wanted to look at her. Only for a second. That’s all.”
“Get up.” I deliberately softened my tone. “Don’t do that. You can look at her.”
She hesitantly rose to her feet, not looking directly at Scarlet. “She’s…” Rat swallowed hard. “I can’t help it. They say she’s our reward for our suffering, that the goddess herself sent her to us. They say—”
“Why don’t you get us some water? We’ve had a long journey.”
“Of course,” she said. “Of course. I should do that.”
“And Rat,” I said as she prepared to leave. “I’m going to need your help with Scarlet, so you’re going to be spending a lot of time with us, okay?”
Her pink eyes clouded, and she nodded.
I lay back on the bed and squeezed my eyes shut as Scarlet clambered onto the floor to explore the room. I had to be roughly twice as crazy as Sadler if I thought this was ever going to work.
***
The meal was a meagre soup, but everyone had a taste, and that was what mattered to me. I had to send the message that they were all as worthy to me as each other. The so-called elite received the same food as the maids and gardeners and everyone else.
I spoke to Deorad’s offspring as much as possible, pointedly asking their names to let the court know they were no longer considered unimportant or nameless. The atmosphere remained solemn. I sat on the edge of my seat, waiting for something awful to happen.
“It’s time,” Rumble whispered to me at the end of the eerily silent meal. “You’ll need to take yo
ur place above them now.”
He had talked me through it earlier. Some members of the Chaos Court were ready to swear their fealty to me, but others were not. Until an official ceremony declared me regent, they could easily overthrow me without any recourse. I was walking a delicate line.
Swallowing hard, I picked up Scarlet and walked toward the stone thrones. I sat on my own and avoided looking at Sadler’s. A slender male faery walked toward me first. At first glance, his beady eyes looked cruel, but his lips naturally curved upward in a way that made him appear pleasant.
“That’s Rafe,” Vix said under her breath from my left. “He’ll officiate the crowning ceremony. He’s clever, but Sadler never had any time for him. You need him on your side. For now.”
The faery bowed low at my feet. His long, curled hair was a copper shade, meaning he was probably not related to Sadler, and he had surprisingly small black wings veined with copper. The wings meant he was unlikely to be a noble.
His voice rang out as he spoke. “I am your servant. My life is in your hands. I belong to the heir and her regent.”
But could I trust him with our lives? It was time for me to make things clear. I stood and handed Scarlet to Rat, who looked mortified. Rafe stepped back, a look of bewilderment across his face.
A murmur ran around the room, and I realised everyone was staring at Rat, the one who got to hold the heir. She blushed and hid her smile.
“Be careful,” Vix hissed.
I ignored her. “Thank you for being the first, Rafe. And you are free to take back those words if you don’t like what I say next.”
His eyes flashed to Rat then back to me. “Oh… of course.”
I faced the court. “I know fealty is something some of you need to pledge,” I called out. “But first, we need to understand each other. I’m not Sadler. There will be no nameless, no unworthy in my eyes. No slaves to the court either. You’re all free fae now. If you wish to go, you can go. I won’t force your loyalty, and whether you give it or not, you’re still free to stay or go. But we need to deal with the blight on this land, and if you stay, be aware that there is a lot of work to do to repair this place. Not just our land, but our relationships with the other courts need to be fixed. I’m here because if I go, somebody somewhere will force you into fealty. It’s up to you if you want to stay with me or not.”