Gade
passes in the realm of Faery, each moment since Holly left a torment to endure. Ruling a kingdom in peril keeps my mind and body occupied, but not my heart, and I begin to deeply regret the words I didn’t allow myself to say to her, stubbornly believing a mortal queen of the Land of Five would be an unacceptable breach of fae law.
Each day, when I’m not planning an attack on the Merit Kingdom with the war council, I consult with Ether and faery lore advisers. Then at night, I pore over voluminous texts, seeking guidance, looking for any rules that forbid me from taking a mortal as my Queen of Five.
I find nothing and no one to divert me from my course—until Ether insists I extract a promise from her sister Aer, the curse-maker, to meddle no more in my life and to do no harm nor scheme against my future queen.
Ether and my family agree Holly is my fated one, the girl who will keep the curse dormant in my blood until my death, when it will unfortunately pass to my heir—our son.
It pains me to know he must endure the curse’s madness while he seeks his fated queen, as I have done. But I hope he won’t be as foolish as me, not recognize her, try to cast her aside—and pay the cost with his life.
Regardless, Ether insists I must hear the air mage confirm in her own words that she chose Holly O’Bannon to subdue the curse, so my mate will never doubt it. But from the moment our bodies became one, my heart and eyes were opened, and even in my mind, I could never, ever deny the truth of it.
As I am hers, Holly is mine, and nothing in the seven realms will change that.
Today, I have ridden to the top of the Dún Mountains, where I’ll lure Aer from the cave she has dwelt in since her schemes with my uncle came to naught, with a gift of a spectacular wind chime the glassblowers created at my bidding.
Wrought in gold and silver, near colorless gemstone wands and intricately carved glass feathers jangle from the side of Wren’s saddle, their magical song of air calling to the mage’s deepest desires and urges.
Within moments of my arrival, she appears at the mouth of the cave, golden hair tumbling to her bare feet and swathes of shimmering veils flying around her body. Every inch of her is fair to look upon, except for her cold, merciless eyes.
“Prince of Five, how you honor me with your presence,” she shouts. “My ears and heart tell me you come bearing a gift.”
“I have,” I say, dismounting, and then holding the ornament aloft so the wind and the light catch it to great advantage.
Avarice blazes in Aer’s gaze, her hands already grasping toward the chimes. “What do you want in exchange for it?”
I reattach the chimes to Wren’s saddle. “Only to hear you confirm that the human, Holly O’Bannon, is my fated one who will cure me of the poison.”
“Yes, she is that. But you are a fool if you believe she’ll deliver you happiness beyond relief of the poison, for you will never deserve it.”
“So you have told me many times over, Mage. Do you swear that she’s the chosen one?”
Ungraceful laughter snorts from her fine nostrils. “Tell me, Gadriel, in her presence, did the pain of the poison subside?”
“Yes. My power increased as well.”
“No doubt you have inspected her skin from head to toes. Were there any special markings upon it?”
Frowning, I scan my memories of our night together, remembering the silk of her body, the warm, perfect taste of it, then the birthmark on her inner right thigh.
“Yes—a mark in the shape of an eagle with its wings spread wide.”
“Then you have all the proof you need. Each heir’s mate will bear a marking of their prince’s elemental affinity or bonded creature, proof that she is the one. The only question that remains is this… do you want her for your queen?”
“I do.” More than anything, I think, refusing to tell Aer how badly I want and need the mortal by my side.
“But a human, Gadriel? For a prince of Faery, your standards are miserably low.”
“You say this, yet it was you who chose her. Does this explain my obsession? Does your curse compel me to love her?”
A sudden wind roars around the mountaintop, tearing at our clothes and hair.
“Love.” She spits the word out like a mouthful of sour wine. “My power doesn’t manipulate your feelings. My curse ensures only that she’ll hold the poison at bay until you die when it will pass to your heir. If you don’t have a son, it will transfer to the next first-born son in your line—which in your case, will be your cousin.”
Relief flows through my veins. My love for Holly is real. ’Tis no faery fabrication or mage’s twisted trick.
“Look at you, smiling like a besotted fool. You’re meant to despise this mortal and take the better option—me as your Queen of Five! Do this, and I can dissolve the poison the moment you gift me with this promise and seal it with a single kiss, saving your descendants from suffering as you have done, Gadriel.”
“But I want this girl and no other. You’ve always known it cannot be you, Aer. I’ve never pretended otherwise.”
A violent gust of wind blows me stumbling backward, and I raise a shield of air to counter the tempest.
Aer folds her arms, her eyes hard but fixed on the glorious wind chime. “I suppose you’d like me to vow to never orchestrate or scheme against the girl, nor cause her harm myself?”
“Precisely. If I were to make her my queen, what will you require to ensure her safety?”
She huffs a self-satisfied sigh. “The price would be steep.”
“What do you want?”
“Everything.”
I laugh, the sound harsh as the wind takes it up and spins it through the mouth of the cave, and it echoes back at me. “Impossible.”
“Hear me out before you refuse.” Aer snarls. “In return for her safety in our land, you must give up something dear to you, something that would cause you great pain to live without.”
My boots rooted to the gray rock beneath me, I stare at the mage, waiting for her to state her terms more clearly.
“And, in addition, I will not reveal the exact item you must forsake before the bargain is struck. I can only assure you it will be a material item, not a person or an animal, favored or not.”
“That is absurd. I will never—”
“Ah, but in exchange for a mere mortal, I believe you will. Don’t look so worried. Do you care so much for sticks and stones and jewels and thrones?”
“You know I do not.” My jaw clenching, I think fast, determined to wreak the least potential damage with the bargain I make. For there is no other choice but to strike it. I will give anything to have Holly by my side. “If you promise not to harm or orchestrate to do the same to a single person or being under this bargain, then I will accept.”
A sly smile widens her mouth. “There is one final detail I believe it is only fair to mention. When the time comes, if you refuse to pay the price, I will take your fated one away from you, and she will suffer greatly for all eternity. Mark my words, Gadriel.”
“So be it. Speak the terms, and I will accept the bargain.”
Both fury and triumph glint in the air mage’s golden gaze. “Prince of Five, I vow to never cause harm to your human mate Holly O’Bannon of Donore, neither by my hand, my power, my schemes, or influence as long as you give up the prized material item at the time I request. I do swear upon Mab’s bones and the Seven Winds that roam the Seven Realms that what I ask you to give up will not be a being, fae or human, or even the tiniest creature of Faery.”
“I accept your terms then, Sorceress of the Seven winds, Aer, curse maker mine.”
The mountain shudders as she strides forward and grips my face with sharp-nailed fingers. “Seal it with a kiss, Princeling dear.”
Cold lips press against mine, and as I draw back, her tongue swipes my mouth, sending images tumbling in my mind of an enormous oak tree set against a black night sky. Twelve chanting men dressed in druids’ robes, swearing oaths to a curse.
I grip the mage’s shoulders and shake her. “What is this? What did you show me?”
A cackle issues from her lips, whispering around the hillside thrice. “Merely the past and the future combined.” Her fingers beckon toward the wind chime tinkling at the side of Wren’s saddle. “Now give me my prize.”
I unstrap the treasure, throw it in the air, twirl my fingers, and send it spinning noisily toward the mage. Her power seizes it, and she turns and walks toward her cave, the chimes floating above her head and the song of sprites accompanying them.
As the mouth of the cave swallows her form, her voice trills on the breeze. “Your mate may be safe from me, Gadriel, but there will be many other future brides I can meddle with. You should have thought to protect them.”
Blast the Elements, but she is right. I should have. I could have. In my eagerness to be reunited with Holly, I was careless and thought only of her. I grind my teeth with fury, cursing my foolishness.
In penance, I will dedicate my life to solving the curse, finding the cure, and saving my descendants from the horrors I have faced.
But first, I need my mortal.
Holly promised to return to me when she could, but I already tire of waiting. The need to keep her safe gnaws like a living creature at my innards, tearing me apart, slice by slice.
No doubt, I am a man in love, who before the curse, likely possessed more than a few admirable traits, but patience was never one of them, which means…
I must journey to the human realm and retrieve my fated mate.
