Chapter 19

CHAPTER NINETEEN

R osa could smell the damp earth and rot in the blackness. The dark menace in her dreams had finally caught her, swallowing her whole and pulling her down to bury her alive. Time passed, and then there was a roar in her ears, and she was being pulled upward, the earth opening and spitting her out.

The company was in an old, twisted forest. Tall stone monoliths stood all around them, glowing softly in the night and charged with power. The Seelie hurtled wildly through the forest until they came to a mound. The stone rolled away, and they were plunging into earth tunnels, the Seelie singing with one another. The holly vines kept Rosa on the horse as she was swallowed once again by darkness.

Rosa woke to the sound of dripping water. The vines were gone, her arms bruised with long stinging stripes. She was in a cell, surrounded by wet rock walls. Her hands and feet were covered with mud and blood, her dress reduced to a shredded mess of fabric. She sat up slowly, her whole body burning, and pulled her knees protectively to her chest. Tears spilled down her cheeks as helplessness overwhelmed her.

You are a prisoner in Faerie, Rosa Wylt, all because of your name. You don't know what they want from you yet, so it's best if you don't panic unless you have something to panic about .

Her hands were tingling and burning the way they did when Eli removed Celyn's hex. She put them on the ground to cool them, and she felt something move out of her skin and into the rock.

Another spell of Eli ' s? Rosa dismissed it, cradling her hands back to her chest.

"I see that you are finally awake, little rose," Celyn said through the bars. "Tell me how you like your fine chambers and lavish furnishings."

"Are you glamored or am I? I'm in a cell when I've done nothing wrong. So much for the hospitality of the fae." Rosa got to her feet, her anger drowning out her fear. "All I did was help you when you asked, Celyn. I was an innocent bystander. What gives you the right to take me? I'm not part of your stupid war with the Gwaed Gam. I am their goddamn servant!"

Celyn shrugged. "You are a Wylt. You say you're only a servant, but I know how upset Bleddyn and his bastard became when I asked about you. There's a connection between you. Worse, there is love. You are a prize, spoils of battle with the Unseelie Prince. It will be like an arrow tip lodged in his ribs forever to know that we have you."

"So I'm just stuck in this prison until I die?"

"If that is what the queen wishes," Celyn replied, inspecting his dirty hands. "She might decide to send your pieces back to Bleddyn. I'm hoping she gives you to me as a pet. What fun we could have together."

"I doubt it."

"I would be a better master than many she could throw you to."

"I don't know why she would wish to throw me anywhere."

"You are a slave. You have no voice or rights. I don't know what magic of Bleddyn is helping you see through the glamor, but we will?—"

"The queen wants to see the prisoner," a guard stated, appearing at the edge of her cell. He was very tall and wore elaborately designed plate armor. He carried a shield and a lance and looked ready to use both.

"I can escort her," Celyn said as he straightened.

"But the queen asked me to do so. She is concerned that you have become too attached to what is not yet yours." The guard ignored Celyn's loud complaining as he opened the cell and waved his lance at her. "Come, human girl."

Rosa got up to follow him, ignoring Celyn's hungry gaze. Maybe she could convince the Queen of her plight, and she would send her back to Gwaed Lyn? She remembered the fairy tale and doubted it. Eli had embarrassed the queen, and over a thousand years later, she was still angry.

The guard led her through the cells, and she tried her best to block out the sights and smells around her. She could feel Celyn's eyes burning into her with a hunger that made her want to gag. He no longer smelled like her favorite things. He smelled of blood and death. She pushed Celyn from her mind and thought about Balthasar.

Would he be worried about her? Would he even know that she had been taken? She thought about the way his face had changed, the way he had fought with such skill and ease. She knew what his reputation was, but now she had seen first-hand why he had earned the name Leiddiad.

Where did the Balthasar she knew go in the heat of the fight? The lover, the writer, the painter had vanished. In its place was a vicious creature wearing one of his perfect suits. He had torn Seelie apart with his bare hands, but they had still managed to capture her.

Was he still alive? Rosa shut the thought down at once. Balthasar would be alive. He would know what to do.

Rosa remembered the night she was attacked by the wolves and of Balthasar telling her about the portals. Her ribs tightened painfully. Even if he did know she had been abducted, there was no way he could come after her. Celyn was right. She was a slave, and there was no escaping the Aos Si without the help of one of the fae.

The guard opened a large door, and cool fresh air washed over them. Rosa's eyes burned from the sudden light of thousands of candles and lamps. The hundreds of fae crowded in the magnificent hall cleared a path so that Rosa and her escort could make their way through.

A large party was being held, and everyone was drinking, eating, and having a good time. Too good of a time , Rosa thought as she spotted two fae having sex on one of the many couches.

There were magical creatures of all shapes and sizes amongst the normal fae. Rosa spotted a Minotaur in the crowd and heard animals talking to one another in growling whispers. Above her, a griffon sat on a gilded perch, watching her as if she was a rat to be hunted and consumed.

The crowd parted, and Rosa found herself standing in front of a raised podium. Ryn sat on a low chair beside a throne of gold. Sitting on the throne was the most heartbreakingly beautiful woman Rosa had ever seen. The queen had porcelain skin without a single mark or blemish. Her vibrant flame hair hung around her milky shoulders in perfectly coiffed waves.

Cerulean eyes sized Rosa up. Her delicate rosebud mouth looked plump and moist, begging to be kissed. She wore a red dress that showed off the ample curves of her body before falling around her like the folded petals of a scarlet rose. On her head, she wore a crown of gold, magenta, and purple flowers. Just to be in her presence made Rosa feel like she was a filthy maggot, a poor, dirty serving girl, a fat ugly failure.

"Kneel before the Autumn Queen," the guard demanded.

Rosa's knees buckled, and she obeyed, almost too afraid to look up. Ryn was watching her with amused interest. He is not a king after all , Rosa observed with a touch of stolen satisfaction, merely a consort, still desperate for a crown .

"This is the girl you stole?" the queen asked in a voice that was as rich as hot butterscotch.

"This girl is my spoils. I marked her with my totem—" Celyn began, but the queen held up a long white hand, silencing him.

"She does not bear your mark despite what you claim. I can detect no trace of your magic on her."

"Bleddyn must have removed it from her! He's given her the True Sight as well," Celyn claimed.

"Is this true? Why would Bleddyn Black Star bestow such a gift?" the queen looked her over in a way that made Rosa blush hotly. "She has no spells on her, but she definitely has protection. A trinket perhaps? Give it to me, little rose."

"I don't know what you are talking about," Rosa answered, her mouth dry and sticky.

"Why are you fighting us?" the queen frowned, as if she was the one being insulted. "You know that no one is coming for you. They cannot reach you here. You are mine now, Rosa. Bleddyn will not return for you. I would've made him a king, but he would not return for me either." Ryn touched her hand as if to comfort her, but she brushed it aside.

"Why keep me here at all? With so many fine companions, what use could I be to you?"

"You are one of her lineage, aren't you?" the queen asked. " Deryn . The common woman that Bleddyn fell in love with and made his queen?"

"Yes, but I'm still nothing more than a servant to Bleddyn, my queen. What was left of Deryn's blood was watered down to nothing over the last hundreds of years. Please, my mother is not well. I beg you, gracious queen, send me home. She has no one else."

Rosa bowed her head again. There was a silence in the hall before it was shattered by a high tinkling laughter.

"Sweet girl who loves her mother, there is no returning for you. Out of simple spite against Bleddyn, I would keep you. You are fascinating. I have not had a human pet for a long time." The queen rose elegantly to her feet and approached her. "I have a mind to keep you for myself."

She walked around Rosa, her hand brushing against her as if she was appraising a new horse. The necklace snapped and flew into the hand of the queen. She hissed at it and dropped it to the ground.

"Seraphim," she hissed. "You dare bring such a thing into my realm?"

"I had no idea I was going to be visiting the Aos Si tonight. Maybe Celyn wanted me to bring it here," Rosa added, hoping to get him into trouble. The Autumn Queen's gaze sharpened as Celyn started to apologize.

"Do shut up," the queen flicked her fingers, and Celyn's screams muffled as she took his voice from him. She turned her attention back to Rosa.

"Celyn thought it gave me True Sight. I can tell you that even with it, you are the loveliest queen I have ever seen," Rosa said with a polite bow.

"Do not seek to deter me with your charming flattery. If you did not have True Sight, you would not be able to look at me at all. You would be begging me to be my slave," the Autumn Queen leaned closer to her. "You would want me to taste you and touch you, not this Balthasar that your mind keeps turning to."

"Stay out of my head," Rosa snapped before she could check herself.

The Autumn Queen looked taken aback, and the guard raised his lance. The queen shook her head at him, and he lowered it once more.

She looked back at Rosa with a frown.

"That is not all that's protecting you. There is a spell at work here." The queen took Rosa's hand and licked the back of it. "Oh, yes, this is strong, strange magic. It has a taste of Unseelie about it, but like none I've ever known. It matters not. It's not strong enough to challenge me."

A slender woman came to stand by the queen and whispered something in her ear before pointing at a large gilt-framed mirror on the wall. Purple light was coming from it, and the queen's face lit up in delight.

"My, my, Bleddyn is trying to say hello," she purred and studied the glowing glyphs that had appeared. "Well, he must certainly like you more than you claim. He's offering a trade—you for Widow's Fury . He's getting complimentary towards the end here, but flattery will get him nowhere."

You liar, it got him everywhere last time , Rosa thought as she watched the queen smile at the glass. She tried to see the hideous old woman that the story said lay under the glamor, but it was impossible. She was gorgeous in the way that could bring the world to its knees.

"Is Bleddyn still as beautiful as he once was?" the queen asked Rosa softly.

"More so," Rosa answered, remembering the feeling of being punched in the chest when his human disguise had fallen away.

"You admire him, but you are not in love with him though, are you?"

"No."

"She is the lover of his son, Balthasar. The one she keeps thinking of," Ryn said in a bored tone. "Leiddiad."

"Leiddiad! I didn't think such a brutal man could be capable of love. What is it about you that makes you so special? Let's have a look, shall we?" The Autumn Queen snapped her fingers, and the remains of Rosa's dress melted away.

There was a chittering through the hall, and Rosa muffled a scream. She discreetly covered herself with her arms. The queen was after a reaction and be damned if she was going to give it to her. "You are not particularly beautiful," the queen said critically.

"I have a winning personality," Rosa said, gritting her teeth, "and I'm loyal and fierce, and I have a magic of my own. Would you like to know what it is?"

"Enlighten me," the queen folded her hands in front of her.

"I have the power to see your true self. I see you, Queen of Ash and Dust. I know what you look like under the glamor. You are old and wrinkled, a decaying shell and your power is weakening..."

"Silence!" the queen shouted, and Rosa's teeth pulled shut. "My power is not weakening."

Rosa grinned, wild and feral, enjoying the queen's paranoia. She had never felt particularly violent before, but she silently swore that if she ever got the chance, she would cheerfully kill her.

"You have a fire in your spirit. That is why Bleddyn and his bastard like you so much. I will have to break you of it, sweet Rosa. I'll have you as my own even if it kills you," the queen stated, and she looked at Ryn. "I think our guest must be thirsty."

"No, thank you. I'm fine," Rosa said before the guard grabbed her, pinning her arms behind her back.

Ryn appeared at her side, a silver goblet in his hand.

"Open up, little rose. It's time to drink now."

"Leave me alone!" Rosa threw her head around to keep the goblet from her lips.

"Do not fight me, Rosa," the queen ran her fingers down her cheek. "What I do to you now will be a blessing. You will forget your worries, your fears. You will no longer yearn for the life you left behind."

"No, I don't want to forget my life and who I am. You can't make me!" Rosa gasped as Ryn clutched her face and forced her mouth open. The queen held the goblet, and she tipped the red liquid into Rosa's mouth.

She tasted tart fruit, hot fire, and fizzy citrus. Then the numbing swept up her legs, and she felt the fight leave her. The queen clapped, and a dress made of long black feathers flowed over Rosa's naked body. The blood and dirt vanished from her skin, and her hair combed and twisted itself up in a neat style. The Autumn Queen took Rosa's angry face in her hands and kissed her mouth, her tongue tasting the last of the drink left in Rosa's mouth.

"No wonder Bleddyn left you," Rosa said viciously, pulling away from her and spitting on the floor. "You are a terrible kisser."

They dropped her in a heap as dark red mist swirled around her. She tried to think of Balthasar, to focus on his face and his touch but as she lay there, her life, her memories of Gwaed Lyn, the way Balthasar looked when he slept... It all melted away, spilling like blood on the ballroom floor.