Awake (11 page)

Pulling myself from my concerns, I glance back at the queen and Holly, who now focus their attention on me. Holly looks at me angrily, of course; the queen looks at me with both love and concern.

“You've not eaten yet this morning. I know you aren't hungry, but you must eat. If you plan to be successful, you'll need all of your strength.” Before I can argue, she continues with determination, “Come and sit with me. I will ask the cook to prepare some food for all of you to take with you on your mission while we dine. The others should be finished with their task when we are done. Then you may set off on your mission.”

Because she is right, I sit down with her and Holly to eat. We all seem to push more food around on our plates than we actually eat, but I do force myself to consume some of it. There is not much talking, but it is not tense or uncomfortable. I am sure the queen is worrying, but I know Holly and I are probably thinking along the same lines. Right before a mission, we are trained to get into a certain state of mind. Our adrenaline will slowly start to build as we try to anticipate all of the possible scenarios and what plan of action to use.

Unless, of course, Holly is actually sitting there thinking of ways to kill me.

I glance up at her at the same time she looks up at me. She gives me a sly expression with a wicked grin. Yep, she is totally planning ways to kill me. Great. I blow out a breath before continuing to eat my food. I taste none of it, because an image of Rho right before I went on my last mission comes to mind. I almost laugh aloud when I remember her looking at me mockingly when I informed her I had almost killed her.

Then I envision Reed. I remember hating him the first time I saw him flirting with those human girls on the beach. He seemed so arrogant and cocky. Once I got to know him, though, I learned differently. Both of them are such loyal friends. I do not know what life would be like without them, and I have no intention of finding out.

My patience is spent, and I am eager to leave. I put my fork down, pushing my plate away as I rise from my chair to find Gideon, Willow, and Thorne. Just as I am about to tell the queen I am leaving, I hear a noise behind me. The trio is in the doorway and, by the look in their eyes, they too are ready to go. That is the thing about fae warriors. Once they are set on a mission, no matter how big or small, it becomes their priority. Warriors live for battle, and these warriors are prepared for one. My heart rate speeds up. I take a deep breath. My fists clench involuntarily at my sides, and my eyes narrow in determination. Holly has risen from her seat now and is making her way to the other fae. She is ready, as well. The gleam in her eyes is not for me this time; it is for any that get in her way. We are all in battle mode and set to go.

I smile at all of them; they return the smile. We may be a small group, but I can sense the determination radiating off each one of them. No one will stop us; we will complete our mission successfully. With pride, I take my place next to my warriors to face our queen.

The queen slowly rises from her place at the table. Nervously, she smooth's her dress as she stands. She is worried, not only for me but for all of us. I can see it in the way she moves hesitantly and in the way her eyes scan us all with appraisal, but she is trying not to show this, just as any queen would. She slowly makes her way over to where we all stand at attention. Legs slightly separated, backs straight, chins held high, and arms braced behind our backs, we await our queen.

Walking down the line as a commander would, she checks her warriors to make sure we are ready for battle, looking each one of us up and down as she makes her way down the line. She offers a reassuring smile along with whispered words of encouragement as she does. I cannot hear what she is saying, but it appears as if she knows exactly what to say to each one. They return her smile, relaxing only once she passes.

When she makes her way to Holly, I see the tension grow in the queen's face. Her mouth pulls tight and her eyes narrow slightly. She whispers something to Holly then quickly embraces her. Once again, I find myself puzzled at their relationship, but now is not the time to worry about it. When she pulls back from Holly, I see the glimmer of tears in both of their eyes. I look away so Holly does not see I noticed.

I wait patiently for the queen to approach me. When she does, the shimmer of tears increases until a few are rolling down her face. She does not try to stop them or hide them, though. Instead, she pulls me to her for a severe hug. I return her hug with just as much fervor. Although we have not known each other long, I am fond of her. And now that I am aware she is my mother that fondness has begun to form into love. It is an odd sensation, but I will miss her, and I cannot wait to return here so I may get to know her better.

When she pulls back, she offers me whispered words as she did the others, but I know mine are different from the rest. “My beautiful, strong, loyal daughter, I will miss you fiercely, but I recognize this is something you must do. If you didn't, you would not be the fae you are. Take care of Holly for me. I am aware you don't care for her, but she is very special to me. She became the daughter I lost and although I have found you, I do not wish to lose her now.” I start to question her but she hugs me tighter, and so I stop. “I know you have more questions, and you deserve answers. When you return, we will finish this conversation, and I will tell you everything.” She pulls back, kissing me on both cheeks before placing her soft palms tenderly on each one. “Be safe, my child. I love you.”

“I will, and I love you too,” I whisper back softly, tears beginning to roll down my cheeks as well. Saying the words opens up something deep within my heart, and the emotions are overwhelming. The smile on her face, along with the glimmer in her eyes, shows me she feels the same way I do. I hug her once more but pull away quickly, fearing if I do not leave now, I may not be able to leave at all. I wipe my face, compose myself, and turn to my warriors.

“It is time. Let's go.”

Without another thought, I walk out of the breakfast room, heading down the hall toward the main entrance of the queen's castle. For the first time since I arrived at the court, I do not take my time to wander the halls. I do not take the time to respond to the fae we pass, or the ones stopping to watch as we walk by them, either. Some of them bow completely, their knees on the hard ground, their eyes downcast. Others lower their heads slightly to stare at the floor in a sign of respect. This is the first time any of them have done so. Word spread quickly about my newfound knowledge, and now the queen would expect them to treat me as the princess. Although I do not care for the treatment, I have a fleeting thought of how proud Rho would be that information passes so quickly around the court.

If I did not have such pressing matters, I would stop to tell them this was not necessary. I would tell them I acknowledge my standing and plan to take my place as their princess, but I do not wish to be bowed to or waited upon as such. Looking upon me with awe and treating me as if I were fragile is not something I desire in the least. I want to be treated as a friend and only to be regarded with respect.

These thoughts quickly run through my mind as I continue down the hall with my friends close on my heels. Their footsteps, clicking on the marble floor behind me, are loud and intimidating in the quiet of the halls. Focusing on this sound, I try to push all thoughts from my mind and clear my head so I may think only of what needs to be done. It is important I remove all emotions from the situation so I can view this as a mission and a mission only.

This mindset does not work. Immediately, I see an image of Rho pop up. I think of her pink hair flowing along with her determined face as I taught her a new defensive move in one of our secret training sessions. Clear as day I see the way she grins when she realizes she has perfected the skill and the way she mocks me when she's actually able to pin me to the mat. Then I see her sneaking into my room to tell me the latest gossip while we eat fruit and giggle like the young, carefree girls we were. She tried so hard to be my friend, only to have me fight it equally as hard. She stood by me, though, pushing until I finally let her in. When I was with Reed in the woods, trying to find our way home, I realized Rho's friendship was one I had not fully appreciated, and I owed her a lot. Now I plan to get her back so I can make everything up to her. Somehow I know she is in the dungeon because of me. I will fix this and show her how important she is to me.

Reed too.

Thinking of Reed is more than I can handle, making my emotions go crazy. I am scared for Rho, but she understands the unseelie court. She has had training in both magic and fighting, and I am confident she can hold her own until I arrive. Reed has not had the same training. All I can think of is someone harming him and him being defenseless against their attacks. He was pulled from his world, from his family, and from all he identified with and then informed not only that mythical creatures existed, but that he was actually one of them, all in a matter of minutes. Then, without being able to say goodbye to his mother or friends, without being able to truly understand what he really was and what he was being asked to do, he was forced to run from an unknown threat. He was forced into his new identity, forced to use his unknown powers to save my life, and then taken away from me, being pulled into the faery realm with someone he did not know, someone I know now we cannot trust.

I promised him I would help him, train him, and make the transition into the faery realm as easy as possible. However, I also promised him if he was not happy, I would somehow return him to his home, his mother, and his world. When I made the vow, I was aware the promise would be hard to keep, but I did not realize the choices would be taken away from both of us.

Now he is trapped in the faery realm. He is in a dungeon in the unseelie court, held by a cruel king and a traitor—a traitor I trusted with my life, one I would have trusted with Reed's and Rho's as well. But I do not understand why Reed and Rho are being held. They know nothing of my parentage. Even I was not aware until only moments ago. What threat can the king think they pose to him and his court? What justification could he have for imprisoning them?

My anger over this grows, fueling my determination. I understand now that I will not be able to keep my emotions out of this mission. It is too personal, and the fae involved are much too important to me.

The massive marble doors marking the entrance to the queen's court finally come into view. They are thick and solid, so much so that no human would be able to move them by pushing them alone—not many fae would be able to either. They are enchanted like everything else in the faery realm, opening only with a whisper of magical words. Before leaving the dining hall, the queen informed me of the spell I will use to allow me to leave as well as return later to my new home.

As we approach the doors, I whisper the words to open them, allowing us to begin our journey to the unseelie court.

Enter these doors with no threat. Exit these doors with no regret. Be safe on your journey, and return home in a hurry.

As the last whispered word passes my lips, the doors open slowly with a grace and ease that only a spell would allow. The thin veil of protection begins to dissipate, creating an opening that will allow us to pass through. As the doors open further, the veil disappears, allowing the light of day to pour in. My body begins to hum not only with adrenaline, but with the anticipation of being outdoors. I can already feel the heat of the sun soaking into my skin as I inhale the fresh air, breathing it deeply into my lungs.

When we arrive at the entryway, we all stop for a moment, allowing ourselves
time to
full
y
take in our surroundings. The air is crisp and fresh. I can smell the rain that never quite drops from the clouds but lingers in the air just enough to leave a touch of moisture on your skin. Although it never truly rains in the faery realm, there is always just enough moisture to kiss your skin or leave sparkling morning dew on all the leaves and flowers.

The smell of hundreds of thousands of different flowers perfume the air, a mixture of pure ones from the human world and hybrids created by flower fae here in the faery realm. Looking closely out at the land beyond, my eyes are met with all of the beautiful colors created by those flowers. The glimmer of the sun bouncing off the morning dew sparkles like diamonds, enhancing all the vivid colors. This, for a human, might be too bright to tolerate, but for a fae, it is a wondrous sight.

Everyone around me takes a deep breath, allowing the surrounding nature to soak into them as well. We thrive on the wild; we live and breathe nature. The closer we are to it, the more alive we feel. Although the faery realm is completely made up of all that is natural, being inside the walls of the court is not the same as being free in the openness of the faery realm.

Taking a step into the bright sun, I turn to gaze at the others. “Do you all have everything you need? Extra weapons?” I hear a chorus of
yes
es, and I nod in approval. I myself had planned to grab another one from the training room for backup, but since there was no need to return to the room, I had not wanted to cause any further delays.

As if reading my thoughts, Gideon makes his way to my side to hand me a sword. I am surprised by this but then quickly realize I should not be. Always prepared and extremely perceptive, of course he would have grabbed an extra weapon for me. However, when I glance down at the one he gave me, a new wave of surprise hits me. It is the Night Sword. I was immediately drawn to this sword upon first seeing its beauty and am surprised by how well he read me. This is the only weapon I would have taken. Although I recognized the weapon was not meant for me, I could not resist the pull. It was not the same as that of my own daggers, but there is no mistaking the way I am drawn to the tingling sense of belonging that overcomes me when I am near this weapon.

Somehow sensing my thoughts once again, Gideon speaks up. “This sword is drawn to you, as you are to it. Although the sword will not suit you as well as your daggers, it will prove a great weapon for you if you find yourself in need of another.”

Giving a quick nod of thanks, I grip the sword tighter in my hand, pulling the metal slightly out of its sheath so I can look at the gleaming blade. Reed's face swims before my eyes, though, causing me to quickly push the sword back into place. I swing it over my head onto my back and tighten the strap on my chest before I fit it snugly against my back and position the handle over my right shoulder. The placement makes for comfortable storage as well as easy access. Once set, I glance over at Gideon, who is wearing a look of approval.

Another thought occurs to me. I did not question Willow's choice of weapon or how her brief training went, but I trust Gideon and Thorne. They would have made sure Willow's weapon suited her as well as possible. A quick glance in her direction reveals she is nervous but also appears ready. This is the best I can hope for.

We are all ready, but I cannot hold back one last comment. “Holly. You might want to bind your hair back or put it on top of your head. If you will recall, all the loose hair can prove to be quite a disadvantage when in a fight.” I give her a sly look knowing she will remember our fight and how I was able to slam her head so forcefully into the ground by using her hair. She growls low in her throat, narrowing her eyes at me, but she quickly pulls her hair back into a high ponytail at the crown of her head. Her hair is so long the ends still reach to the middle of her back. Without her hair around her face now, she looks much fiercer, but still very pretty.

I shake my head at the idea of giving her a compliment before turning my attention back to the entire group. “We must travel quickly in order to get through the forest
by
the first signs of nightfall. This will provide the cover we need to enter the unseelie court with as little risk as possible of being seen. Then we can get my friends and come home, all before dinner.” Everyone nods their agreement, and so I continue, “I will shimmer just outside of the unseelie court, close enough to get there quickly but far enough away to keep from being detected. Each of you should track my movements and follow directly behind. From that point, we will have to make the rest of our journey on foot. Be careful, and stay close. Once we reach the forest, it is imperative we stay together and vigilant.” I await a final agreement from each of them before I turn back to the openness in front of me. Then I shimmer into the forest.