Chapter 1

CHAPTER ONE

R osa woke to the smell of leaves, rot, and wood smoke. The sun was slowly peaking on the horizon, its milky rays stretching through the branches of the dead trees around them. It had been three days since they had crossed into the Aos Si, though time was an unreliable factor in Faerie, but to Rosa it felt like three days too many.

She opened her eyes and saw Eli Vane watching the mist choked forest with sharp eyes and an even sharper blade in his hand. Bleddyn Seren Du, the Midnight Star, Lost King of the Unseelie, had finally returned to the Aos Si, and he seemed to be guarding over them as if he feared the very air would steal them away while they slept. Maybe it would.

A loud snore to her right made Rosa's gaze flicker in tired annoyance to the man sleeping beside her. Raven hair was a riot of messy curls around his sharp, stubbly face. This one was harder to comprehend than the Faerie King. He had come into her life like a storm of lightning, magic, and smart-ass Welsh witticisms. Eldon Blaise was the name the Trickster wore no longer; Merlin Wylt he was once more.

Rosa thought Merlin suited him better anyway. He was her teacher, her Wylt cousin many times removed, and the only reason she had kept a modicum of sanity in the past few weeks. Since Aeronwen, the Autumn Queen of the Seelie, had stolen both their loves away.

A different snore on the other side of her marked another mystery. Red of hair and thick of brogue, a man as mythic as the sword he carried, Arthur, the Bear of Britain, slept with an arm thrown over his eyes. Arthur, who had woken just as they had need of him. Arthur, who could calm Merlin's storm when no one else could.

He's the one person I would want by my side if I had to go into Hell , Merlin had said and meant it. He had taken Arthur from British soil hours after his long sleep, unwilling to leave him behind at Gwaed Lyn.

Rosa had been too wound up to talk to Arthur much, but one thing she knew—Arthur Pendragon was as stoic as stone. Waking up and finding out he had been asleep over fifteen hundred years? Well, that was just Merlin's magic being its unpredictable self. Going into the Aos Si to battle with the most powerful witch queen who ever drew breath? Sure, he'd help out. If their places had been swapped, Rosa doubted she would have taken it all in stride the same way.

Merlin Shenanigans , Arthur had called it, as if a war with the queen of the Seelie didn't surprise him in the least.

There was a small snap of a branch, and a woman appeared through the trees, marking the approach of their fourth companion. The quietly vicious, silver-haired general, Eirianwen, terrified them all. Rosa had struggled to get three words out of her since they had returned to the Aos Si. Amongst other things, including presumed dead, Eirianwen had once been betrothed to Eli. Both seemed content to ignore each other. Both failed miserably.

Pretending she was asleep, Rosa heard Eli and Eirianwen whispering in the Unseelie language. She might not have been able to understand the words, but she understood the tone. Eirianwen was reporting back whatever she'd seen, and she was tense about it.

"You shouldn't be eavesdropping so early in the day, Rhosyn," Merlin whispered beside her, and one perfectly golden eye opened, sharp as a hawk's.

"How can you eavesdrop when you don't speak or understand the language?" Rosa whispered back.

Merlin grinned and opened his other eye. "Did you sleep at all?" he asked.

"Unlike some, I don't rest easy in a land where a psychotic queen is after me, and magical trees could eat me. Besides, your snoring makes sleeping impossible. You could wake giants."

"Remind me to take you on more adventures in the Otherworld when this is over. You have to learn to travel roughly if you want to be my apprentice."

"If we survive this, cousin, I'll go wherever you want to take me," Rosa said and stretched. "You think there would be magic to make the ground softer."

"You don't use magic for stupid things like that," Merlin grumbled as he sat up. "Father would never let anything happen to you while you were sleeping, not even in enemy territory. You'll get used to the ground." He picked up one of his mud-splattered Doc Martens and tossed it over her. Arthur woke with a shout as it hit his chest, Excalibur drawn and ready to fight off his enemies.

"You're a right bastard, Merlin," Arthur growled, skewering the leather boot through with his sword and flung it back to him.

"I wasn't sure you were going to wake up. I was worried we were going to have to carry your lifeless corpse around for another thousand years," Merlin said innocently, catching the boot before repairing the hole in the leather with his magic and pulling it onto his foot. Clearly, magic couldn't be used for softening the ground, but it was perfectly okay to be used for stupid things like fixing boots.

"You put me in a cave, you prick, and you didn't carry me anywhere. I never have a problem waking up if your shoddy magic isn't involved," Arthur quipped and pulled on his shirt.

It was something else Rosa liked about Arthur. He absolutely refused to sleep in a shirt. The scars on his back and chest were the survival marks of a warrior and were a fine thing to see every morning.

Rosa re-braided her hair and walked through a line of trees to a deep pool. Another thing Rosa hated about adventures was that she was never alone. Considering the state of her thoughts, her not being left with them was probably a blessing. Torn between worry and fury, she didn't know whether to scream or cry.

Out of the sight of the camp, Rosa took a deep, shaky breath and let down the face she was carefully holding together in front of Eli and Merlin. Waking up every morning alone, knowing that Balthasar was still in the hands of that red-haired witch was like getting sucker punched to the chest. Rosa let the still closeness of the pond and the shedding trees around her calm the burning ache under her skin.

"I'm coming, Bal. I'll bring an army to her door and tear her court apart to find you. Don't doubt it," she whispered to the sky.

The water was black and still as Rosa crouched down on the rocky bank and washed her face of the tears that had managed to escape.

"You shouldn't wander off, princess," a cool voice said behind her. Eirianwen was watching her carefully, her hands resting on the hilts of the long daggers strapped to her belt. She was every inch the vision of a fantasy fae warrior from her complexly braided hair to her leather clad thighs and boots. A scar curved down her white neck to her collarbone that looked like she almost had her throat cut. Rosa did everything she could not to appear intimidated by her.

"I didn't wander off, and I'm no princess," Rosa answered, standing up warily.

"You are Bleddyn's daughter. You are a princess," Eirianwen said. The way she said daughter made it sound distasteful.

"Did he send you after me?" Rosa asked, ignoring the tone.

Eirianwen's lip curled. "Bleddyn can't command me to do anything. I followed you because the selkies have been unusually active in the past few months. They are sensing the coming winter and are hungry."

"If you're trying to scare me, it's not going to work."

"If I wanted to scare you, I wouldn't use selkies," Eirianwen promised.

Rosa wiped her wet hands on her pants in frustration. "Are you always like this? Or are you just pissed off because Eli didn't marry you and you are taking it out on me?"

" Eli isn't what you think he is. You need to stop using his human name while we are in the Aos Si. Despite his absence, the name Bleddyn Seren Du means something here." Eirianwen took a step towards her, and Rosa's hand instinctively reached for her sword, only to realize she had left it next to her bedroll. Some warrior you are.

"If you must know, I'm pissed off at him because he allowed himself to become a lesser being, not because of our history. If we are going to defeat the queen and get your lover back, he needs to start thinking like one of the Seren Du bloodline and not this father figure he's been masquerading as." The contempt in her voice seemed to spread from her lips to her eyes.

Oh, yeah, you are totally pissed he had his babies with someone else. You just can't admit it to yourself , Rosa thought.

"Eli isn't the king of the Unseelie anymore," she said and shrugged.

"In the Aos Si, you don't stop being what you are that easy, as much as I would like it to be so. He doesn't deserve to be our king."

"Aren't you their leader now anyway? You don't have to feel threatened. He doesn't want another throne."

"You think you are in his confidence enough to know that?" Eirianwen argued.

"He doesn't want to be the king of the kingdom he's already got, let alone one here. You can relax. He's not here to take your place or to stay," Rosa replied defensively.

But what if he wants to? an annoying voice of doubt asked. She shoved it away.

"You will see when we cross into Unseelie lands. It's not about me, nor what I want. It's about the people and the land, and about how it will react to having its rightful heir back. Be prepared, Rosa Wylt. The Aos Si has more monsters than the Autumn Queen." Eirianwen turned on her heels and walked away.

"Good talk," Rosa called after her irritably before muttering, "Freaking grumpy Unseelie."

Rosa halted in her tracks as the still pond rippled. She'd taken one step towards it before a beast of black slime and death burst from the water. Rosa turned and ran as a hoof of hard water knocked her to the ground. Sharp teeth grabbed her ankle, and she screamed as she was dragged through the mud towards the water. The creature tossed its head, flipping her over onto her back. Rosa reached for her magic to throw in its face, when a flash of white and silver streaked past her, and the selkie's head was cleaved from its thick neck. Blood, gore, and water exploded over Rosa, drenching her entirely.

Eirianwen's face hovered above her, giving her a stern look as she sheathed her long knife. "I told you to watch out for selkies," she said.

Rosa scrambled to her feet and tried to shake the blood and filth from her face. Eirianwen looked her over. Being satisfied Rosa was fine, she headed back in the direction of the camp.

"I fucking hate Faerie," Rosa groaned before she trudged after her.

Merlin took one look at her and burst out in hysterical laughter.

"My lady! What happened? Let me help you," Arthur said, grabbing the nearest clean cloth, which happened to be his shirt, and offering it to her to wipe the gore from her face.

"No need for that, Arthur. I'll fix it." Eli came to Rosa's rescue, his magic removing the freezing bloody water from her as if it had never been there to begin with.

"Thanks, guys. I met a selkie. Luckily, Eirianwen was there," she said, accepting a coffee from a still giggling Merlin. The lady in question was making her way back into the glade from where she had been scouting ahead. Eli strode towards her, making her freeze in her tracks.

"Thank you for saving my daughter. I owe you a debt," he said sincerely, folding into a graceful bow. Rosa had never seen Eli bow to anyone that deeply. A touch of frost melted in Eirianwen's eyes for a moment.

"You need to teach her better awareness of her surroundings, Seren Du," she said.

"I grew up in London. This is the closest to nature I've ever been, and I don't like it one bit," Rosa complained, holding her cold hands towards the fire. "What's the plan?"

"According to Eirianwen, we aren't too far away from the border to the Unseelie lands. The queen's always had soldiers patrolling them, but because of the recent problems with her magic she has hopefully recalled them to Court," Eli explained as he sat down next to her. "Once we cross over, we should be able to breathe a little easier."

Rosa doubted it but said nothing. She had argued against going to the Unseelie lands at all. She wanted to creep into the Seelie Court the way Balthasar had done. It had taken Merlin's unique way of yelling descriptive threats into her stubborn head to make her yield to their advice. The queen wouldn't be fooled the same way, and she would've taken precautions to stop any more spies. They needed help and only one place existed where they could go to ask for it.

"Balthasar will take care of himself, Rosa. This?—"

"Isn't the first time he has been captured by the enemy, I know, I know." When they did get Balthasar back, Rosa was going to have strong words with her beloved about any plans to get himself captured again.

Eli wrapped a comforting arm around her, and Rosa dropped her head to his shoulder. She didn't care if he was still meant to be some epic, lost king of the Unseelie. He was hers, just as Merlin and Balthasar were. Eirianwen could jam her disapproval up her pert behind.

"When we do cross over, should I start calling you Bleddyn?" Rosa asked.

"I won't have to shield myself with glamour there. You've never called me Eli when it's off." He looked thoughtful. "It's going to feel odd to be openly fae again."

Rosa elbowed him gently. "Don't get used to it. You'll have to put 'Eli' back on when we go home. If, you know, you want to go home. After."

"Why wouldn't I?"

Rosa jumped as Merlin dumped her pack beside her.

"Finish that coffee, Wylt. We need to get a move on." He had sorted and gathered her things in a subtle act of kindness. Rosa knew he was worried about her, and being a Wylt, he was unable to say it, so he was trying to look after her. She wanted to learn his trick of hiding emotions. He hadn't mentioned Nimue for days. It was as if he had simply tucked her away in a drawer in his mind, and he would take her out again when he had her back. Rosa could barely eat with the anxiety and reckless anger that constantly churned her stomach.

Unlike Merlin, Rosa knew firsthand what horrors Aeronwen, the Autumn Queen, was capable of.

As they walked, the air grew colder, and the trees went from autumn leaves to bare black trunks. The mist had returned, making the forest damp and cold, the bright sheen of moisture turning the black and white world slick. Rosa suddenly half-expected Rochester and Pilot to come galloping along the lane. Being Faerie, the best she could hope for was a gytrash ready to rip her throat out.

"This is as far as the queen's magic is stretching from her court," Eirianwen said, her hand resting briefly on a trunk. "It's shrinking, despite the magic she's taking from Unseelie victims."

"A good sign for us. The borders to the Night Lands are starting to move back to where they used to be," Eli replied. He knelt down and placed his hand on the earth. "We have almost crossed over. I can feel it close."

"The Night Lands? Does that mean it's always…nighttime?" Rosa hazarded a guess, earning a small, amused smile from Eirianwen.

"No, Rosa Wylt. It isn't always night. Night Lands was the name it was given to the Unseelie territories by the Seren Du bloodline. Seren Du means Midnight Star." Eirianwen raised a silver eyebrow at Eli. "How could you not have told her that? She's going to be terrified when she sees you at your full strength."

"We haven't exactly had the time to talk family history since she was turned," he answered stiffly. "And Rosa doesn't scare easily."

"Family history wasn't a pressing matter compared to new magic and the Autumn Queen stirring trouble," Rosa added. She didn't say how cool the names sounded, and despite wishing Balthasar were there, she was excited to be seeing the Unseelie Kingdom. She looked at Eli and wondered what Eirianwen was so afraid of.

Arthur finally got Eirianwen to relax into a conversation. Since their encounter that morning, Rosa was steering clear of the Unseelie warrior, preferring to remain by Eli's side at the back of the group. Saving her from a selkie hadn't wiped their conversation from her mind.

What would happen to Eli when they crossed over into Unseelie lands? Eirianwen had made it sound like he would turn into a stranger.

Rosa's thoughts were broken by Arthur's raucous laughter in front of her. He was walking with Eirianwen, and was pointing at things, asking questions, and it seemed to be wearing down her perpetual frown.

"Unbelievable. She has a facial expression that isn't a glower," Rosa murmured.

"There's nothing unbelievable about it," Merlin said, falling into step beside her. "Arthur's always been like that. Why do you think he made such a good king? He could get anyone to talk to him, the likable bastard."

"He isn't a Seren Du, and we all are. It's enough to make her wary of us. He's an outsider, so she's able to trust him," Eli pointed out.

"You leave a lasting impression on all the women you encounter, it would seem. The queen's been at war with you forever because you wouldn't shag her, and Eirianwen hates your guts because you never knew she lived. Faerie women are freaking crazy." Rosa shook her head. She had meant it as a joke, but Eli's frown deepened. He had planned to kill the Autumn Queen at their last encounter, and if he hadn't hesitated, they wouldn't be in the situation they were in now.

"It's because we are so charming and good-looking, the ladies can never get enough of all of this," Merlin said, preening dramatically.

"I can tell by the way they all want to kill you."

Merlin grinned. "Poor losers, Rhosyn. We'll have this conversation in a thousand years, and we'll see how many people want to kill you because you spurned their advances."

Rosa was saved from having to reply as Arthur's red curls bounced back down the trail to them. Even dressed in modern clothing, there was something in his movements and the way he held himself that spoke of a warrior. The huge, ridiculously famous sword at his hip didn't even look out of place.

"You dawdlers had better put some motivation into those legs of yours. The Lady Eirianwen says we aren't too far from a crossing and that we need to stay together in case of slavers," he relayed. His easy tone didn't match the way his slate blue eyes were looking at the gloom and trees around them.

"Slavers," Eli murmured, his tone cold enough to make the hair on Rosa's arms stand up.

"Apparently, the queen's men like to grab Unseelie from these areas for her dungeons," Arthur continued. "Eirianwen is worried that they've found the Night Court in her absence. We had best be looking for Seelie traps from now on, Bleddyn. She's already cleared a few ahead of us."

"What? Why is she doing it alone? She should've said something," Eli growled.

"I think you'll find that she is doing her duty and trying to protect her king and his family," Arthur replied slowly, knowing his words weren't going to be well received. Eli cursed and pushed past them, hurrying to catch up with Eirianwen.

"He's a lot slower than I remember, the ass." Arthur shook his head.

"Deryn's not around to knock sense into him. He can't see as straight because of the guilt where Eirianwen is concerned," Merlin said. "What's the matter, Rhosyn?"

Rosa gripped the hilt of her sword, her magic twisting around the fingers of her other hand in the rose-colored light.

"There's something wrong… I don't know." She looked around, scanning the trees. "Can't you feel it? It's like energy in the air, a darkness, and a…"

"Waiting." Merlin moved behind her while Arthur moved in front.

"I don't need protecting," she hissed while drawing her sword.

"It's not about needing protection, Lady Rosa. It's about being in the best defensive position if we are attacked by something," Arthur assured.

The tension broke as Merlin snorted with amusement. "Lady Rosa, that's never going to get old."

"Shut up." Rosa flipped him off over her right shoulder.

"Ignore him," Arthur advised. "Just because he's lost his manners in the past fifteen hundred years doesn't mean I have."

A snap and lick of power made Rosa's ears pop and left the taste of red berries and autumn leaves in her mouth.

"They must've found a big one," Merlin gagged. "The Autumn Queen isn't going to be happy about that."

"Good," Rosa spat the magic residue from her mouth. "If she's left this many traps, hopefully, it means her soldiers have been pulled from the border patrols to protect her court." She hurried up the trail where Eli and Eirianwen were crouched next to an oak tree.

"What was that?" Rosa asked.

"A warning system, should Unseelie be passing this way. It was subtle, set to alert, but not to disable," Eli replied.

"I've seen this more often in the past few months. Aeronwen has slavers working for her, trying to round up any Unseelie she can to steal their magic. This trap hadn't been set off yet, which means there is either no Unseelie still living in these parts, or she has them all," Eirianwen added as she stood up.

"Could it be possible that the Unseelie have gone to ground? Maybe gathered somewhere safe to combine their strength?" Arthur asked, the general in him running strategic scenarios.

Eirianwen made a sound like a choking laugh. "Unlikely, young king. The tribes of the Unseelie don't…get on. It took me five centuries to get a rebel group of outcasts together. There hasn't been anyone that could keep them together since the last Seren Du king. The Children of Midnight and Winter don't sit easily under rulers like the Seelie do. They are not docile sheep who will follow any shepherd. There is me and three other generals that our people now follow, and I've managed to convince them to use the old Night Court as a base."

"Then they have brought much of their misfortune upon themselves." Eli shook his head, his glamour slipping enough that a wild, feral light came into his eyes. "They should've worked together against their enemy. Even without the full strength of their magic, they would've been able to stop the queen from being bold enough to their young ones."

"You speak of what you don't know or understand. You abandoned one kingdom and went to make another when it became inconvenient. You've no right to judge what has happened to this place in your absence," Eirianwen said through her teeth.

Eli's power spilled out with his anger, and Rosa stepped between them, placing her hands on his tight forearms.

"Let's fight about this later, okay? We need to get moving. If the queen felt the spell break, she's going to have eyes trying to search us out."

"She's right, Father. The trees are already starting to whisper. Put a lid on that power while you're at it, or she'll have us by nightfall," Merlin added.

A wall came down on Eli's magic and frustration, leaving his face cold and blank, his eyes withdrawn. Eirianwen was already moving again, putting space between her and Eli.

Fucking Vanes , Rosa groaned inwardly. Eli had always been the calm in the storm, but the closer they came to Unseelie territory, the shorter his fuse was becoming. Considering the lack of her own control, they would all end up killing each other before they could get to Balthasar.

Merlin laughed bitterly. "When that fight comes to a head, I pray that none of us are within a hundred miles."

"When that fight comes to a head, I'm putting my gold on her," Arthur said quietly. "That woman is going to eat him alive."

"They can fight as much as they like for all I care. I don't give a shit about lost heirs and the thousands of years of the queen's rule as long as they figure out a way to get Balthasar and Nimue back." Arguments about kingship and Eirianwen's grudge Rosa could tolerate, if it yielded some results.

"Well said, Rhosyn." Merlin gave her braid a playful tug. "We had better follow them."

Rosa nodded and adjusted her pack. "Was that thing you said about the trees true?"

His golden eyes flashed with amusement. "No. I just wanted them to shut up."

Rosa smiled before she could stop herself. "You are such a plonker, Merlin Wylt."