Army Of The Winter Court (Skeleton Key) (16 page)

“What do you think you are doing, Lilith?” Nolan demanded. “Are you taking sides now?”

“You’re not playing by the rules!” she shouted.

He panted as he stumbled back toward Evvie’s now-unconscious body.
 

“This isn’t a game. I will not surrender over stupid rules you made up on a whim!”

While they argued, Aurelian ran down the steps and into the main part of the room, reaching Evvie as she groaned, waking.

Waving his hands, Aurelian countered Nolan’s grasp on the power shield holding Evvie in place. Finally free of the pressure holding her down, Evvie managed to roll off the edge of the table. He knelt down, catching her in his arms before she hit the floor and lowering her slowly to the ground.

“You will pay for that,” Nolan hissed, raising his hands and shoving a blast of power at him. Throwing up his hands, Aurelian managed to block the wave of power before it hit.
 

“You were wrong, brother.” He lifted himself to standing, holding the attack back with less effort than he’d ever had to use against his brother.

Fear sparked, shining in Nolan’s eyes as shock and then fury twisted his older brother’s face.
 

Aurelian stepped forward.

“You were wrong, Nolan. The claim didn’t make me weak. It gave me strength.”

As he spoke the last word, he flicked his wrist, turning the field of energy into sharp daggers of ice and flinging them at Nolan.

The sharp points pierced him and he let out an ear piercing scream before falling to the ground.

Not a single fiber of Aurelian’s being held any sorrow or regret for the shard of ice that pierced his brother’s chest.
 

Aurelian dropped to his knees, dragging his gaze from Nolan’s body to Evvie. The look on her face, as she clutched her chest from the lingering pain, sent relief through him.

She reached out to him, urging him to go to her as he lifted his hand and froze in mid motion as pain radiated from his back, spreading throughout his body and zapping all of his strength. He collapsed, barely managing to hold himself up on all fours. Aurelian examined the shard sticking out of his chest as Evvie’s voice cried out, but the sound was already fading as he felt himself weaken. Slowly, he turned his head to look over his shoulder, watching as Lilith sauntered up to them.

“Lilith,” he cursed her name. “Why did you do this?”

“Isn’t it obvious? I wanted the crown, but I needed both of you out of my way. I knew I couldn’t defeat either of you together with just my power, so I set you against each other…”

“You aren’t strong enough to rule,” Aurelian spat.

“Oh but I am, I’ve been just as powerful as both of you for a long time now, but why risk it when I could use your precious halfling to get you two out of my way?”

“I won’t let you do this…”

“You have no choice now.” She grinned down at him with all the confidence he’d never seen in her before, blinded by what he thought he knew.

Black hovered at the edge of his vision as he fell to his side.
 

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Evvie

“Auri!” Evvie cried, the effort of her exclamation burning her raw throat as she crawled the remaining distance between them. Forcing her muscles to cooperate, she lifted Aurelian’s head, cradling him in her lap.

“Why didn't you just tell me everything?”

“You needed to choose me because you wanted to, not because I told you to. You had to be willing.”

Evvie sniffled and shook her head. She had no idea what she could do to save him. She wanted to ask him so many things and tell him even more. To just be… next to him. It had only been days, but her heart knew his better than it knew itself. The thought of losing him was unbearable and she could feel her heart breaking, shattering into countless pieces of glass as he gazed up at her. He was in so much pain, she could see it in the darkening blue of his eyes, but even through it all, his lips pulled up into a weak smile.

“What did you wish for?” he asked.

Tears burned her eyes.
 

“To not be lonely anymore.” She sniffled, fighting the tears she knew would come.

A pained look formed on his face.
 

“I wished for you to choose me.”

Aurelian’s words tore at her heart and she was unable to hold back any longer. Tears flowed freely from her eyes, falling onto his face.

“I’ll do better next time,” he promised.

Lilith’s shoes clicked on the floor as she walked up to them. Evvie lifted her head to glare at the delicate woman in front of her, crossing her arms as she smirked down at them.
 

“See you in another life, brother,” she said.

Heart racing, Evvie turned her attention back to him and watched him close his eyes as he let out a long, slow breath. His body went slack.

“No…” The denial slipped from her parted lips.

He’s dead…

“Do you have any idea how hard you are to kill?” Lilith asked.

Evvie’s heart pounded in her chest.

“I tried to get rid of you from the moment you stepped foot into this realm…
my
realm. But I needed it to look like an accident.”

“What?”

“I thought for sure when you fell for the will-o-the-wisp trick you would be an easy target, but somehow you always managed to make things go in your favor, allowing you to go free.”

“You… tried to kill me?” Evvie asked, dumbfounded. What had she done to deserve being murdered?

“Yes,” Lilith said matter-of-factly. “The swamp, the poison in the bath oils, the ice on the steps, the chandelier, the food in your room and so on and so forth.” Lilith waved her hand dismissively as if she were bored.

“But… why? What did I do to you? I never even wanted to come here.”

“It was nothing personal. I needed you out of the way. I couldn’t very well have my brothers building their ridiculous armies and ruling this realm. It’s all about maintaining an equilibrium. We may be Unseelie fae, but we still need balance as much as every other realm. Though, I think Auri would have just been happy to have you in the end… still, it wasn’t worth the risk.”

“Please don’t kill—” Evvie begged.

“Relax,” Lilith cut her off. “I don’t need to kill you now that they are both dead. I will send you home.”

“But I thought…”

“That the claim was keeping you here? It was, but you never allowed him to claim you fully, so with him dead, you are now free to go back.”

“You—you would do that?” Evvie’s head reeled.

Lilith dropped her arms to her side and sighed as if everything were painfully obvious.
 

“Yes. I’m not entirely heartless. My attempts on your life weren’t personal; it was just business. Now that I have what I want, killing you would be a waste of effort.” Squatting down to meet Evvie at eye level, Lilith placed an icy hand on her forehead.
 

“Go home. Go home to your world and forget about him. Forget about this place.”

The world around her turned frigid as Evvie fell to the side, her head hitting the cold, stone floor.

Then everything went black.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

Evvie

Evvie groaned and rolled over, her pulse pounding violently against her skull. Slowly she cracked open one eye and near blinding red light filtered in through her lashes. Blinking rapidly, she opened the other and looked around. After her sight had adjusted, Evvie realized that the warm hue of the light was just the orange fire of the sun as it started to rise.

Her dresser stood in the corner and the door to her closet was cracked open… everything looked exactly the same as it always had. While nothing had physically changed, the space she’d known for almost four years now felt different, foreign. There were no signs left for her to indicate how much time had passed. Days, weeks, years…

Was everything just a crazy fever dream? s
he wondered, as she pushed the blankets away and stood. A wave of dizziness shuddered through her body, then vanished. Shuffling her feet against the carpet, Evvie made her way to the bathroom.

Maybe a shower will wake me up and I’ll be able to figure this all out.

Pulling the shower curtain back, she turned the cold water on high and undressed. The second the ice-cold water touched her skin she recoiled, nearly slipping as she moved to avoid the unpleasant temperature. Quickly she turned the handle, raising the temperature.

It had to have all been a dream. There was no way any of the stuff she’d gone through had been real.
 

Why did I think I needed a cold shower?
She thought, as she eased into the warming stream.

The pounding water beat against her, massaging her sore muscles. Turning to wash her face, she winced, looking down at her chest. A large bruise had formed on the area above her heart.

“No way…” she whispered, her fingers tracing the edges of the purple skin.

It had been real, all of it.

After dressing, Evvie left the sanctity of her room, ready to face the murmuring voices coming from the kitchen. Timidly, she stepped into the open, uncertain of how she would face the world now. Everything Evvie had always thought she’d known had been turned upside down. Life was forever changed and she’d never be able to look at anything the same way again.

“Morning sweetie,” her mom announced cheerfully. “How are you feeling? I heard you moving around, so I made you some tea.” Her mom stood and walked around the counter, reaching in the cupboard for a mug.

“Hey, stranger!” Silvia said as she buzzed around the kitchen.

“Hi Silv,” Evvie said warmly to her roommate, before turning to her mom. “Uh, thanks, I thought I’d go out for coffee. I could use some fresh air after being cooped up for so long.”

The effort of trying to hide her disapproval was evident, but she didn’t press the issue.
 

“Okay, just take a warm jacket. It’s chilly outside, and I don’t want you getting sick again.”

Evvie nodded and grabbed her warmest jacket as she headed out the door.

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Walking aimlessly, Evvie sipped her coffee as she let the sun soak in. She’d been surrounded by darkness for too long and the bright light of day felt healing.

The sun was almost overhead by the time her legs started to tire. Glancing around at her surroundings, Evvie realized she’d walked clear across the city, only to end up at the fountain at the base of the tower.

“Auri…” she whispered.

Closing the distance, she stood in front of the bubbling pool, watching as drops of water splashed, creating infinite ripples. Sitting on the edge of the stone, she let the soft music of the water surround her. Evvie reached into her pocket and pulled out a shining, copper penny. With a wistful smile she flipped the coin into the air and closed her eyes as she listened to the
plop
of it hitting the water.

The soft scent of roses in the glass garden drifted on the gentle breeze. For a moment, she could believe that Auri was standing next to her.

“Mind if I sit here?”

Great, now I’m hearing his voice…
she thought. Nodding her head, she didn’t bother to look up, the disappointment of seeing a stranger’s face would be too much to bear. So much had happened in the span of a few days. She was exhausted, emotionally, to a point she didn’t realize she was capable of feeling. Her heart ached.

“What did you wish for?” the man asked as he settled down next to her.

Evvie sucked in a breath and held it before turning to the man sitting next to her, ready for disappointment.

Blinking several times, she squinted up into his face. The sun positioned right behind his head created a halo of blinding light. Shielding her eyes with her hand, a chill ran through her as she stared, open-mouthed at the man before her.

Instead of the clean-cut look he had when they’d first met, he looked more like the Aurelian she’d come to know and, even though the tips of his ears stuck through his hair, they weren’t pointed. The jaw line, the perfect bridge of his nose… his hair styled just as it had been when she last saw him.

“Auri?” her voice caught.

He turned his face toward her. “Pardon?”

“Auri?” she asked again.

Smiling warmly, he said, “No, I think you have me confused with someone else. My name is Ian.” He held out his hand.

Reluctantly, Evvie placed her hand in his. The feel of his touch and the way his fingers wrapped around her felt familiar.

“Is something wrong?” His brow furrowed.

Evvie clamped her mouth shut, realizing she’d been gaping at him and cleared her throat.
 

“Uh no, sorry… You just look like someone I used to know. I'm Evvie, by the way.”

“It’s not a problem.”

He let go of her hand and faced forward again.

Minutes passed as she continued to watch him from the corner of her eye and his gaze followed small groups of people walking past.

How can this man look just like him and not be him? Did Auri possess his body?
 

The thought was a little creepy. She had no idea if fae could take over a person’s body like that and part of her just didn’t want to know.

“Uh, excuse me… Ian, was it?”

He faced her, an expectant look on his face.
 

“I know this might seem crazy but…” her face burned.
 

I can’t believe I’m doing this!
 

“Would you like to… uh, maybe go out for… coffee or something. Not right now, I mean, obviously, you’re busy… but sometime, maybe soonish?”