Chapter 18

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

B althasar fought his way out of the ballroom, narrowly avoiding a fae arrow to the throat. He cut off the archer's arms before taking its head. On the staircase, the Gwaed Gam attacked the fleeing fae with a fierce wrath. Balthasar leaped over the balcony, landing on a fae and crushing its head into the marble flagstones.

Outside, the horses were gone, and there was no sign of Celyn or Rosa. He ran to the stables, mounted Caesar, and galloped out into the forest. As he reached the lake, he saw the horses out on the water.

He spurred Caesar. The only hope he had was that they would wait for the rest of their kindred before opening the portal.

I am coming, Rosa. I am coming, so hold on! Caesar crossed through the trees, the portal glowing like a beacon fire. Balthasar watched the faerie horses leap through the stones and vanish into the earth.

"Come on, Caesar!" he urged, but it didn't make any difference as he reached the stones, the final horse was falling. Balthasar dove after it in a desperate hope it would pull him through. The shimmering golden light of the portal swam about him before it tossed him out of the circle of stones. Balthasar hit the ground hard, his sword spinning off into the grass.

"No, no, no," he whispered as he pulled himself up. He found his sword again, but it was hopeless. There was not one left to fight, and Rosa was gone. Where she had gone, he could not follow.

Eli is fae. He could go after her , Balthasar thought as he remounted Caesar and headed back to the mansion. On the ride back, he passed Rosa's cottage, and his eyes caught a holly bush that had never been there before. It was a massive tangle of green and red in the hedges with a totem hanging from the branches.

He was planning on taking her tonight whether she was at the ball or not . Balthasar felt a fresh anger burn through him. He left the totem where it was. He would need Eli to check it for hoaxes before he could risk touching it.

Back at the mansion, what remained of the Seelie were dead. Hungry Gam fed on the corpses, their eyes glazed over with the headiness of their victim's long lives and the magic in their blood.

Some developed new abilities and power when they drank fae blood, and Ryn had provided them with a buffet. And for what? To get back at Eli? There was no way the fae could have matched the Gwaed Gam in a full-frontal attack. That was why they had always plagued them with guerrilla warfare.

Ryn didn't care about that. He just wanted to try to get Eli to go back with them.

Balthasar found Eli in the ballroom, giving directions to the Gwaed Gam and staff to clean up the mess. The bodies of the Seelie were to be burned, and what was left of the Gwaed Gam was for their clans to deal with. Eli had lost his fae form, but he still carried his obsidian sword.

"Balthasar! There you are." Eli hugged him tightly in concern and relief. "I thought the traitorous bastards got you."

"Not me," Balthasar replied, trying not to let fear override his reason. "Celyn got Rosa."

"She is dead?" Eli paled under the grime that covered him.

"No. They took her! I saw her on Celyn's horse before it disappeared. I tried to go after her, but I couldn't get through. Eli, you are fae. We can go and get her back?—"

"Bal, calm yourself and listen to what you are saying." Eli held up a hand to halt him. "You know I can't return to the Aos Si. Tonight has made that clear enough."

"You are fae! You can return. It's dangerous, I know, bu?—"

"No, you don't know! You cannot possibly understand what it is you're asking me," Eli shouted, his glamor slipping. "I grieve for her. You have no idea what that family means to me, what she means to me, but she is gone, Balthasar. There is no reclaiming what the fae have stolen once it crosses over."

"Then send me. I will go and bring her back. There must be a way through. Your magic is strong. You matched Ryn blow for blow tonight."

"I can't simply turn you into one of the fae! Your blood is Unseelie. It cannot be changed. They would know you were there as soon as your foot touched the soil. They would tear you limb from limb for being mine." Eli grabbed him by the shoulders. "I'm sorry, Bal, but there is no hope for Rosa now."

Balthasar tossed his sword to the ground. "If you don't help me, I will find my own way to get her back—" But Balthasar didn't finish before Eli touched two fingers to his forehead and all went dark.

Balthasar woke with a gnawing hunger. His first thought was of Rosa, and his eyes opened, alert and angry.

"What the hell..." he muttered. He was not in his chambers but lying on a clean pallet in the tower. It was a place where they put Gam prisoners while they were awaiting trial. His wrists and feet were manacled, the chains forged from the core of a fallen star, the only metal on earth strong enough to hold fae and Gwaed Gam alike.

"Eli! Eli! You can't leave me in here!" Balthasar pulled at the chains helplessly. He knew there was no way to escape since he had designed the cells himself. There was a rattle of the lock being turned, and Saul appeared.

"Easy, Bal. Here, drink this," he said, handing him a flask. "You must be starving."

Balthasar took it, downing the blood in guzzling mouthfuls. "Why am I locked up? I haven't done anything to deserve it. How did I even get in here?"

"You were ranting, and Eli was worried you were going to hurt yourself, so he knocked you out. He's had you placed in here to ensure you don't try anything...reckless."

"Reckless! They bloody took Rosa. All I want to do is get her back, Saul. If you let me out, I can leave now, and I might have a chance to find her."

"Bal, it's been two days. Why do you think you are so hungry right now?"

"Two days," Balthasar croaked. "Why would Eli do this to me? What is happening out there?"

"It's chaos. Albion is in a complete uproar. Many are disgruntled against Eli. They think he has led them all to slaughter. At least a hundred Gam are dead, including the heads of two houses. There is talk of summoning King Vincenzo from Italy."

"Vincenzo will never leave Italy, especially not to come to the aid of his older brother. Eli will have to bring the lords under control himself. Damn Ryn and all the fae! You have to get me out of here, Saul."

"No can do, brother. I'm under orders, the same as everyone else."

"Eli can't expect to get this mess sorted out on his own. He needs the both of us helping him."

"He does need both of us," Saul snapped, "but that's just the problem. You would throw caution and your honor to the wind to find a way into Faerie for what? Some human girl! Even if she is a Wylt, she still?—"

"I love her, Saul," Balthasar said helplessly as he sat down on his cot and put his head in his hands.

"What did you just say?"

"You heard me. I love her. Even if she is a Wylt and a human and all the rest. I know the arguments. I know the problems, but still, I love her."

"Wow, so Tin Man really does have a heart. I knew you liked her—hell I like her. She's great company, but love? You haven't even looked sideways at a woman since Jane. Not seriously." Saul sat down beside him. "I know this has to be hard for you. I know it's hard for you to love anyone, but I can't let you go, Bal. I can't risk losing you, and neither can father. He loves you."

Balthasar held up his arms, the manacles chinking together mournfully. "This is him loving me, is it?"

"Think, Balthasar. I know being random and spontaneous is new and different for you, but try to see this with some perspective. If it were me, if I was trying to race after some beautiful girl that had been trapped in Faerie, what would your reaction be?" Saul stared at him pointedly. "Well?"

"I would tell you that you are a damn fool, and no girl is worth a suicide mission like that," Balthasar admitted. "I would've probably advised Eli to lock you up myself."

"Exactly, so don't be bitter that we have done it to you."

"I can get her back. I know I can. You know better than most what the fae are like! You know the things that they would do to her because she is a Wylt. Ryn knows who she is, and that's why he allowed Celyn to take her. It wasn't a spontaneous abduction. They took her because they wanted to get back at Eli."

"Then why not just kill her for Eli to see? Why bother taking her at all? Ryn killed Deryn after all, so why should Rosa stay his hand where she could not? Perhaps you should take comfort in the fact they are going to want to use her as a bargaining chip in the future. They will take care of her for that reason alone."

"Take care of her... Listen to what you are saying, Saul! The fae are likely to lock her up in a dungeon somewhere and forget that she is even there. She will be suffering. They will make her a part of their entertainments and do God knows what to her. I saw Ryn cut a woman's face off once just because she said her husband was better looking than he was. You know how smart mouthed Rosa can be."

Balthasar got up and paced as far as his chains would allow. His mind wouldn't stop going over the possible scenarios in his head. The worst one was the memory of him telling her that he would always protect her. He had failed her completely.

"Bal, even if I were to let you go, there is no way you would be able to get into Faerie. You are an Unseelie hybrid! Humans have a better chance than us."

"Eli could help me."

"But Eli won't because he can't bear the thought of losing you. He is torn up about Rosa and all the other deaths. It happened under his roof, where he told them they would be safe. Can you step away from your own grief for a moment to think about what he is going through right now?"

"Is Lily okay?" Balthasar asked, ashamed he hadn't asked after her earlier.

"Lily is fine. She has a few wounds, but they are shallow and healing. She had a fine collection of faerie heads by the time that the fighting was over. Many of the Gwaed Gam are preening with all that fae blood inside of them."

"The fae blood..." Balthasar's mind began to tick over. "How long do you think Eli intends to keep me locked up?"

Saul got to his feet and picked up the empty flask. "As long as it takes for you to calm down. Considering how long it took you to get over Jane, he may keep you in here for the next hundred years."

"I can get her back. I know it."

"If anyone could, brother, it would be you, but don't look to Eli to help. He has enough to deal with, and there is no convincing him to risk your life after so many have died." Saul opened the door with a sad expression. "I really am sorry about Rosa."

"She's not dead, Saul. Don't talk to me like she is."

"You don't know if she is or not. If you managed to get into the Aos Si only to find her dead, what then? We would've lost our brother and Rosa."

"So you won't help me."

"I can't lose you, Bal. I'm sorry." Saul shut the door behind him, the bolt sliding shut in a final scrape of metal.

Eli paced his chambers, trying to block out the sound of Balthasar screaming for him in the tower. He hated hearing it, knowing his son was in pain, and the fact that he was making it worse filled him with guilt and self-hatred.

The Lords were in an uproar after the Seelie attack and the loss of their people. There had been attacks on the London Gwaed Gam by rebellious loup garou wanting to weaken their hold in the city even further. Eli was holding them together by sheer force of will. He couldn't have his own son running about, defying him and getting himself killed, trying to push his way into the Aos Si.

Even if it were possible, the Seelie would find him, and all their anger and frustrations toward Eli would be taken out on Balthasar. If that wasn't bad enough, Balthasar had his own reputation as the Seelie killer, Leiddiad. They would torture him in ways only the Seelie knew how to do. If a thousand years passed for Balthasar to forgive him, Eli would suffer it. He would never let his son walk into their hands.

But you would let Rosa Wylt suffer for both your crimes? A long dead voice accused him. Eli thought he had forgotten the sound of that beloved voice forever, but there it was, cutting through his mind like a hot sword.

Eli couldn't go back to Faerie, not even for Rosa. He could only hope that the queen would want to trade her back one day. If she called a meeting to gloat over her victory, then she would take Rosa with her to show her off. Eli could rescue her from them on Albion soil.

But how much left of Rosa will there be to rescue?

"Leave me be, you blasted ghost," Eli whispered helplessly as masculine laughter echoed in his head.

His family's difficulties continued with the problem of Pearl. Eli had detested the cruel girl since Lily had first fallen in love with her. His poor, darling Lily. He would never forget the way she had cried and cried the first couple of weeks they had been together. He'd often wondered if he'd left her a few more years as a human, she would have had more of a chance to heal her mind. The horror that she had endured had broken something deep in her soul, and no matter how hard he tried, he could never reach it and heal it for her. He had changed her with the hope that it would give her a sense of control and confidence to overcome her past.

Pearl seemed to give her peace, in the beginning, a woman from a similar abusive situation. Lily had saved Pearl from her abusers, and that had given Lily back what Eli never could—power over the abusers that filled her mind. But Pearl wasted the gift of Lily's love by constantly causing problems for her and going behind her back.

In the past few days of interrogating Blackfox and Riverclear clan members, he had learned that Pearl had been trying to cause a revolt behind his back. She wanted to be queen with Lily. Her ambitions far outweighed her capabilities, and Eli knew that as long as she remained alive, she would cause problems.

For the moment, they were bound to Gwaed Lyn while Eli tried to figure out what to do next. He knew Lily would hate him for it and then he would have two of his children gone from his side.

You always knew how to isolate your children though, didn't you?

Eli ignored the voice and placed a large mirror on his worktable. He took a handful of dark earth and sprinkled it over the surface. Whispering in the Unseelie tongue, he drew sigils in the soil. They glowed with a dark purple light a moment before they faded into the mirror.

He had done what he had sworn never to do and made the Autumn Queen an offer.