“What do I want…hmmm.” Corb continued to observe her, fascinated like he was studying a pinned butterfly. She dropped her sword, signifying defeat and waited. He only shifted his gaze, never letting her out of his sight, just curiously watching her like a brand new toy. “There are many things I want. To keep your Teleen warrior encased in ice would be one thing on that list.”
“Let him go!” She shot him a deadly glare, hoping he’d understand how serious she was.
“Why should I? What do you offer, in return?”
Shade’s face fell. Of course he’d say that. She panicked, turning toward Dylan’s unmoving body. How could she get out of this one? They’d been ill prepared to face the Ice King. It was all so hopeless now. “I don’t know. What do you want?” She avoided looking back at Corb, afraid she would start to cry.
“You can trade yourself for his freedom. He will not be able to return, whatsoever, once he is banished. Do you want to never see him again?”
She shook her head, tears prickled at her eyes as she continued to stare at Dylan and reached out to touch the block of ice once more. “No.”
“Well then, you can keep him. I can erase his memory and yours for that matter. He can be your personal servant, your faithful watchdog as you rule by my side.” She heard the Ice King stand and make his way toward her, his boots crunching the crystals of ice under their feet. “What do you say, Shade? He could be your lover too, if that’s what you truly want. Would you like that? I’d even give you your powers back if you stay here, with me.”
“But I don’t want to marry you. I−I don’t even like you.” Shade hissed, finally turning back toward the pale faery who was now suddenly at her side, his cool breath brushing against her skin.
“I don’t need you to marry me. My love belongs to only one woman. You would rule with your powers and more bestowed by me, by my side, the Ice Queen. You don’t have to be my wife. I don’t have to marry you to get what I want, though you might be disappointed to know that I’m not interested in pleasures of the flesh, like a mortal.” He traced an icy cold finger along her forehead and down her cheek, following her neckline across her collarbone. She dared not move, his touch made her shiver, and not in a good way. “Faeries do not just rule as husband and wife. You will remain here, though. Rule in in my absence, forever, and do as I say.”
His freezing finger tips reached for her chin as he pulled on it to make her face him once more. “You’d have all that you want, and more, Shade. You’d have your precious Dylan, and your faery powers restored. Wouldn’t you like that? Would it not be all that you seek, all you came here for?”
The tears spilled hot against her cheeks, freezing in the cold air as they slipped off her chin. He wiped them away, leaving crystals of ice wherever he touched her. She was shivering from the cold, from her fear, from her desperation.
“But you’ll erase our memories…,” she whispered, her voice faded with the cold air.
Corb smiled. It made him look almost kind, but Shade knew better. He’d been healing and kind to her at the Unseelie fortress, but there was no mistaking the madness that this ancient faery possessed deep within. She could still feel his power swirling around her like a tornado−an old, ancient power which came from the old worlds that she’d never seen, never would experience. Why did he want to enslave her so badly? What did he really seek from all this?
If she wanted to save Dylan, she had to do what he asked. Otherwise, he’d be frozen in this state, forever, or worse. The ice all around her felt unbearable. Its impenetrable cold slithered through her clothes and made her teeth chatter and her jaw stiffen. What would it be like to remain here forever? It would be a miserable, dark, solitary death; that’s what. But, she would’ve saved Dylan, wouldn’t she? Would that ever be enough for her to remain here, trapped forever?
“Fine. I’ll do it. As long as Dylan is safe with me, I will do what you ask. As the Land of Faerie binds me, I accept your terms, but…” She paused, knowing she was doomed to whatever he wanted now, now that she had spoken her oath. She waited to see if he stopped her from continuing. After all, she was at his mercy now. Surprisingly, he waited patiently for her to speak. “First, before you erase our memories, I want to know one thing.”
Corb smiled even wider, amused at her daring request. “Of course, my princess. Anything you want, besides escape, of course. I shall grant it, as the Land of Faerie binds me also to my words, Shade.”
She sniffed, rubbing at her face where it felt frozen and burnt from the frost. Taking in a deep breath, she exhaled the words which would finalize her world or end it. Either way, it was all over. “Why do you need me? What are you searching for that you’d keep me here imprisoned forever?”
It was Corb’s turn for his face to fade from that taunting grin to a tight frown. He seemed pretty upset at her request. He had to answer her now, the oath left him no other choice but to comply to her request. He was bound to his promise. A moment passed as he contemplated what to say.
“Very well, princess. If you must know, I need you by my side to help me find the Summer Ancient. She was my queen, my love for hundreds of years, before you or your ancestors roamed the land of Faerie. Before most of the world was even created. Her name is Kilara, and she’s as old as the earth, as am I. We’re two of the four Ancients, and you will help me find her again.”
“Why can’t you find her by yourself?” Shade threw in before he could work any magic on her.
Corb turned, letting out a grunt as he returned to his throne chair. His long, straight, white hair rippled with his movements, exposing his ears. He had pointed ears, unlike a lot of the faeries she’d met. Only some races remained which still had traditional faery ears. He represented the oldest living faery in all the land. To see him angry was not a good thing at all.
Exasperated, he huffed out his answer. “She disappeared. She was supposed to rule with me when she woke me from my two hundred year slumber. But she wasn’t there. She hid herself from me. I−I…” he paused, his voice sounding somewhat unsure. “I’m sure she had her reasons.” Leaving it at that, he stood once more and moved so fast, in a flash, he stood next to Shade once more.
“Now, enough with this endless banter. I grant you your powers back as Faerie and my blood unbind you from restraint of all your powers.” He breathed out the words quickly, sending a jolt through her as he pulled out his sharp, elven dagger, stabbed her hand and then his own, clasping the wounds firmly so his own crimson blood mingled with hers.
She pulled to no avail, feeling his icy magic swirl into her veins, filling her with a rigid pain. Gasping, it was over in a moment. Her hand slowly mending before he even let go as her healing ability returned. She felt the magic pouring out, breaking through the binds he’d laid on her. She felt exhilarated, whole and suddenly happy, but realized it was all so temporary when she caught sight Dylan’s face behind the ice prison. She turned to throw fire on Corb, but he held his hand out, freezing her fires before they even left her fingertips.
“I bind you, as Faerie has bound you to your spoken agreement, Shade:
‘Forget your past life,
Forget of things you seek,
Remember not a memory,
Nothing adrift to keep.”
His words hit her in a blast and her head felt like a thousand needles had been plunged into her brain. Falling to her knees, she heard herself scream. It echoed across the hall, a deafening death screech which rumbled the shifting ice all around them, making it roar as it cracked and popped in the vibration of her voice. She slumped to the frozen ground, still grasping her head. The white illumination of the ice palace grew more and more intense until it swallowed up her vision and everything else with it.
Chapter Eleven
BLOSSOMS LEFTOVER FROM a summoned spring filled the meadow in all directions. The withering heat of summer had yet to arrive to scorch the delicate petals, which felt like soft peach skins on her fingertips. As Shade continued to walk, unknowing of
where she was now, a woman appeared with long, light golden-brown hair braided into an intricate design and pinned to her head and tumbled down her back. She stood in the center of this meadow, watching the sway of grass as the breeze pushed along it with its fingers.
“Hello?” Shade called out. She continued toward the woman and hoped she would have some answers for her. Where was she? Where had Dylan gone? How did she end up in such a place?
The woman turned, her golden skin glowed with a smooth tan and rich amber brown eyes watched her move closer. She was slender and wore a cloak clasped at her neck over a bright yellow dress tied right beneath her breasts. It flowed down to her feet, making her look like she was floating. The woman smiled at her and held her arms out as if waiting for an embrace.
“Shade, I’ve waited so long to meet you.” She gave her a hug, squeezing tightly and sighing as she pulled her away to look at her. Her eyes glistened with tears, elated to see her. Shade studied her face, throwing her an unsure smile and tried her best to pinpoint where she’d seen her face before. So familiar yet, why did it still feel like it was a stranger standing before her.
“Have we met?” Shade asked.
The woman laughed, pulling her in for another embrace. “No, we’ve never met, but I’ve watched you your entire life.” She stepped back again, taking in Shade’s confused look. “You’re my legacy, Shade. You are blood of my blood. The last and only one in existence. Inside, you carry my powers. In you, I live on, even in deep slumber.”
Shade’s mouth opened, surprised at the woman’s words. Could she be the one from Dylan’s story? The Ancient Summer Queen? It had all felt like a fairytale of sorts, but could that mean that one of the ancient queens was standing before her? There was an Ancient Ice King so why wouldn’t there be a summer queen?
“What do you mean?”
“I’m Kilara, I rule the summer court, all the Seelie clans and am one of the ancient faeries of the land. You’re my descendant−my heir. You’re the only one I have now. I need you to find my resting place before Corb does. Do you understand?”
Shade felt around at her memory, a mention of Corb and a flash of Dylan floated across her mind, like a forgotten errand she was supposed to do. “Corb? Why does he want to know where you are? How’d I get here, by the way?”
“Because, he seeks to enslave me for all of time as his queen. I loved him once but he has, for the lack of a better word, changed.” Kilara sighed, her own memories flashed behind her eyes as she continued. “He cannot find me Shade. He’s enchanted your memory away, but you’ll remember this, he cannot make you forget everything. There is always a way to remember, Shade. Don’t forget that.” She softly tapped on the memory vials dangling around Shade’s neck before she pushed a strand of hair out of her face and her brows furrowed.
“Where are you, so I can find you?” Shade stopped, remembering her destiny to stay with Corb. “Wait, if I know where you are, won’t he find out? He has me trapped.”
The summer queen shook her head and looked behind her. She waved someone forward, presenting Shade’s spirit guides Duende, Elaby and Astrid. Shade gasped with joy and ran to them as they took turns giving her hugs, smiling brightly.
“They will help you remember. Corb is powerful but he cannot acquire what you don’t want him to never know or understand. Don’t forget what I’ve told you Shade. Always remember, your memories are at your side already, you just have to find a way to remember them.” She reached out and once again tapped the memory vials hanging from her throat. Shade clasped at the necklace containing her grandmother’s essence and the other vial, which held her own memories which Jade, her mother, had made for her before leaving her at the beach. She nodded, smiling up toward the queen and her spirit guides.
“But Corb will know. He’ll take my necklace.”
The queen shook her head, a kind smile played on her lips. “He can’t do that. Memory charms are sacred and can’t be removed by anyone in Faerie except the wearer. He’ll think you’ve forgotten what they’re for. Even an Ancient is powerless to remove such sacred magic.”
Shade was relieved at her words, hoping she wouldn’t forget what they were for when the time came. “I’ll remember. I won’t forget, I promise.”
“It will be hard, Corb is quite powerful. But, we’ll be there for you.” Her spirit guides said in unity. Their identical faces comforted Shade and she had missed them incredulously. The joy she felt to know that they had remained with her, even in silence, was overwhelming. They couldn’t speak to her but in dreams, and even those were now quite rare as Shade’s magic had grown intense and had kept them at bay with self-imposed barriers.
The summer queen pulled her close and leaned in to whisper in her ear. She told her the location and where to find her and exactly what to do to wake her. Shade etched it into her mind and hoped it would stick. She knew time was short before she woke, she could feel it pulling her back into the world every second. As the spirit guides and the queen waved goodbye to her, she waved back and prayed she wouldn’t ever forget.
Chapter Twelve
“SOMETHING’S WRONG.”
Soap paced the room as Brisa curled up on one of the settees. Prince Lotinar’s knuckles were white as bones as they gripped the arms of his chair. His face was stoic, but his eyes glowed in silent fury as the Changeling-Teleen warrior continued to pace the length of the room.
“We don’t know that.” Ursad gritted his teeth as he spoke.
“Then what do we know? All I know is that it’s been three days. Three days! Shade’s time is up and she has yet to return! And…” He stepped up toward the prince and narrowed his eyes. “Your teleporting servant is missing. How do you explain that? He chose a strange day to teleport out of here. The third day that we’re still waiting and he vanishes, without a word? I don’t think you realize what is going on here, unless that’s a common habit of your servants.”
“Stop already!” Brisa groaned and threw a pillow across the room. She was missing her best friend and worried sick. “Something is going on but we don’t know what it is yet or what we’re going to do about finding out.” She turned toward the prince, her frown growing deeper as she studied the royal. “What are you planning to do now? Have we assembled a search party? Or anything for that matter? Maybe Ilarial can help… We need to help them, go there and…”
“No.” It was Ursad’s turn to stand up, folding his arms to pace the room. “We can’t go there. The Great Divide is extremely protected and isolated. If the Ice King doesn’t want us there, we can’t enter. Only his kin can enter without permission.”
“Wait,” Brisa interrupted as he paused to glance her way. “How do you know that? How would you know if only his kin can enter unless…You’ve been there, haven’t you?” She glared at him as she waited for him to answer, staring accusatorily. “And who might be related to this ‘Ice King’?”
Soap stood perfectly still observing Ursad’s sudden shift in attitude. He seemed flustered and caught off guard. If anything, Soap could see a liar in their midst.
“Yes, how would you know such things, Your Majesty?”
The silence filled the room as the two pairs of eyes focused on the prince. Sweat gleamed on his forehead as he flicked his eyes between them and backed away like a frightened animal. “I don’t know, maybe it’s something someone once told me…”
“I don’t believe you.” Brisa was on her feet and stepped toward the prince. Soap grabbed her back before the guards popped out of camouflage and aimed spears directly at them both. Brisa froze and let Soap tug at her arm, pulling her against his chest. They couldn’t approach the Prince within five feet. The sharpened metal ends were inches from their faces as they waited for Ursad to decide what he was going to do now.
“It’s alright. I’m pretty sure we’re all just very concerned about Shade.” He waved his troops to ease back into their positions. They immediately faded all around the room but the feeling of solace was gone. Brisa slipped back d
own onto the settee looking like she was going to burst into tears and Soap took to the chair across from her. Tension filled the room, swallowing any kind of hope they might’ve had. They both faced the prince, unsure of what to do next.
Ursad also resumed his position on his chair once more. He rubbed at his forehead; his alabaster skin looking even paler, if that was possible. Finally, his glowing green eyes flashed open and looked sadly upon them.
“I’m sorry. I tried to keep her safe. I think that Corb has kept her prisoner, though I’m pretty sure he has restored her powers. The last thing he’d want is for her to die from a darkling mark. He needs her, desperately. He seeks to find the Summer Ancient and Shade, well, she’s her only living descendant.”
“What?” Brisa’s face screwed up with confusion. She glanced toward Soap, hoping he might know what was going on.
“You’re saying she’s related to the Summer Queen? The Ancient Seelie ruler has not been seen in hundreds of years. How would Shade know her location?” He was as perplexed as Brisa was and wanted answers, now.
“She wouldn’t, unless the queen tells her.”
Soap laughed, shaking his head but looking disgusted. “So, you think she’s going to tell Shade somehow? And Corb will find out somehow? Is that it? So what happens when he does discover the Ancient’s location? What of Shade then?”
“I don’t know.”
“Liar.”
“Soap.” Brisa shushed him, afraid the guards posted along the wall would emerge again. “Look. Tell us everything you know, Ursad. She was your friend too. She saved you from your cursed fate and you treat her like this? How could you hand her over to Corb like that? It was you wasn’t it? You told Camulus to take her there.” A knot of dread twisted in her stomach, knowing her friend was so far away and in so much danger. It wasn’t like she could do anything about it−she was powerless, utterly human. At least, she’d make damn sure these faeries had their heads on straight to help her as much as they could.