Chapter 21

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

R osa had conflicting feelings about the black plate armor she had been presented with. It looked like a metal jigsaw puzzle until Eirianwen had arrived to show her how to slide and strap each piece on.

"I expected it to be heavier," Rosa said, swinging her arms to check that she still had a good range of movement.

"Bleddyn made it for you. He knows what you need," Eirianwen said, readjusting a final strap. "He wanted to make sure you are protected for what happens next."

"Are you nervous about fighting the queen?"

"I have fought many battles. This is but another," Eirianwen said. "I'm hoping it's for the last time."

"But isn't it different now that you and Bleddyn are…" Rosa bit her lip, wondering if she had overstepped.

"This is who we are. Having him return doesn't simply wipe out the history that I've had or who I am now. He isn't going to try to make me sit out a fight just because we have been having sex," Eirianwen said bluntly. "He wouldn't ask that of me. I'm not someone who needs protecting, and I'm not going to let him face the queen alone. This is who we are, Rosa. We protect each other. We face our deaths together."

That had been two days ago, and now they rode at the front of the army, Bleddyn in the middle of them. Eirianwen had been right. He hadn't shown the slightest unease about her going to battle beside him. Rosa thought he might have liked to try but knew better than to suggest that either of them stay at the Night Courts.

Behind them, rode tight ranks of the generals and their warriors. There wasn't just gentry fae either. Rosa had glimpsed huge wolves racing through the forest beside them, as well as creatures of all shapes and sizes. Some were as beautifully colored as butterflies; others like war bands of Nuckalevee and Redcaps were terrifying enough to scare the snot out of her.

All the Unseelie had rallied to fight the queen, to end the autumn curse once and for all.

"It was you and the Hunt that did it," Bleddyn said when Rosa had commented on it. "They saw Gwyn at the feast, or they heard of the battle with the eagles. Word spread quickly. If Gwyn ap Nudd was willing to fight for the Unseelie, then they would too. Some of these clans have been ancient enemies, and now they are marching side by side. You helped make that happen, little one." Bleddyn smiled at her, and she filled with pride.

Rosa still wasn't sure that the deal with Gwyn had been the right thing to do, but seeing more and more creatures join them as they marched had made it worth it.

The army halted when they reached the borders of the Seelie territory. Rosa doubted that many of them had ever stepped out of the Unseelie lands before. Gaeaf Storom was humming on her hip, knowing that they were close to the land of its belonging.

"Rosa and I will disable the wards," Bleddyn told Eirianwen and dismounted. "Send out your scouts to see what they can find of the queen's men. I would like our presence to be noticed enough to give Merlin and Arthur a chance to get past them."

"As you command," Eirianwen said, touching her fist to her chest. She let out a call, and ravens appeared in the trees behind them, an albino bird coming to land on her shoulder. She spoke to it in the language of birds, and as one, the ravens launched themselves back into the sky.

Rosa followed Bleddyn across the borderline, her ears popping hard enough for her to yelp in protest. "What is that all about? That never happened last time."

"It might be because we moved the marker stones back, and so the queen's power isn't stretched so thin," Bleddyn said. "How does the sword feel?"

Rosa drew Gaeaf Storom and held it out to him. "It's…loud," she tried to explain.

"It's feeding off the magic in the land," Bleddyn said and ran a hand over it. "That's good. You will have to claim the land by right of conquest?—"

"What? You never said anything about that!" Rosa looked up at him helplessly. "Won't that mean I'm saying that I'm really the queen."

"Not necessarily. We just need it to challenge Aeronwen's right to rule and stop her from being able to draw on the power in the land. She managed to cast the eternal autumn only because she had the sword. She's held the spell together because you haven't claimed the crown. There's no other way to break the warding to let Gwyn through. Your first trip to the Seelie Court laid a curse on the queen for taking you, and it began to weaken it. Now you need to break the autumn curse fully. This is how you do it." Bleddyn placed his hands on her shoulders. "After the queen is dead, I have a way to make sure the swords can't dictate the rule of the fae ever again. You only need to claim it until she is dead, and then we will be able to return it all back to the land itself. Trust me, Rosa."

"I do, but if this plan goes tits up, I'm blaming you," she said. The sword's power ran up her hands, whispering to her and telling her what to do. Bleddyn stepped back, and she drove the sword into the ground. "I am Rosa Wylt of the Seren Du, and I claim this land and people by the right of conquest."

The world plunged into silence, the birds stopped their song, the trees stilled, the wind died away. The entire Aos Si inhaled before the earth shuddered, and the sky screamed as the bubble of the curse shattered.

Rosa could barely breathe. She could feel everything around her break and rebuild. The wards crumbled, and winter rushed through the land like a wave upon the shore. Animals scurried into the earth and trees, hurrying to hide from the storm. Rosa hung onto the hilt, letting the power rush out and through her, the sword a conduit. Gaeaf Storom , she had named it, and it had indeed brought the Winter Storm. Wind and ice were rising to slash the forest and sky.

Eirianwen appeared through the trees, her eyes taking in the scene before her. Her laughter was surprised and loud through the trees.

"Well done, wolf cub," she said to Rosa before leaning down in her saddle to kiss Bleddyn. "It's finally broken."

"It is." He held her face tenderly, silent words going back and forth between them, with an intimacy that made Rosa's heart ache. She pulled the sword from the ground, cleaning the earth from it before sliding it back into its scabbard.

"Enough of that, you two, or we will be here all day," Rosa said. "We have an ex-queen to kill."

"Gods, you are starting to sound like Merlin," Bleddyn complained as he let Eirianwen go.

"A troubling notion to be sure," she said, giving Rosa a wink.

Rosa felt the Autumn Court pulsing in her head with every step they took. It felt like a homing beacon, calling out and drawing her in. She tried to focus on it, and not get lost in the whispering of the trees or the pull of living things within the forest.

A new queen has come, a new queen , the earth and sky sang. Rosa wanted to tell them she wasn't a queen, only a temporary interloper, but she didn't know how to speak the language back to them.

"Gently, Rosa," Bleddyn said beside her. "We are almost there."

How could he stand to feel this way all the time? Rosa was being remade, parts of her leeching away.

Gold was gleaming through the trees in front of them, and Rosa knew exactly what it was—rows upon rows of the queen's golden knights standing on the field before the entrance to the Court. They hummed with magic as they stared at the approaching Unseelie army with their beautiful, impassive faces.

In the very center of her force, a podium had been erected, and sitting on a glorious golden throne was the queen herself. Her own expression was one of amusement when she saw Bleddyn and Rosa. A twist of disgust curled her lip when she saw Eirianwen.

"I don't think she's happy to see you," Rosa whispered, hiding her nervous laughter.

"She never was," Eirianwen replied before siding up next to Bleddyn. "I'll wait here with the army and let you speak with her. I'll make it worse by joining you."

"As my lady wishes," Bleddyn said. He took her hand and pressed it to his lips. "Whatever happens, know that I love you."

"I know. I love you too, my wolf," she replied. "Keep him safe for me, Rosa."

"I will." Rosa watched as their tender expressions melted into something hard and fierce, closing all their love away. How long would it be before she could do that?

Bleddyn nodded to her, and they rode forward, the sea of gold parting for them. Gwyn's bracelet on Rosa's wrist burned as if sensing the danger she was in. She touched the twisting bronze design. Come to me, Lord of the Hunt. Our prey is about to start bleeding. Something deep and dark pulsed back through it in reply. He wasn't going to let her face the queen alone.

"What is this rabble you bring to my door, Seren Du?" The queen demanded. Bleddyn and Rosa dismounted and approached the dais.

"It's enough, Aeronwen," Bleddyn said, joining her so they were on level ground. "You had your fun. Now return my son to me."

The Autumn Queen laughed, rising to her feet. "You want to talk to me about theft? That sword that sits on that whore's hip belongs to me!"

Rosa felt the earth, trees, and sky tremble, and her hand tightened on Gaeaf Storom . The queen gave no indication that she felt the change, but some of the Seelie warriors didn't look as cold as they had moments before.

"Rosa Seren Du won the sword by right of conquest, Aeronwen. She is no thief. You should've been more careful who you entrusted it to," Bleddyn said smoothly. "Surrender gracefully, and you might be granted an honorable death."

"Nothing in death is honorable," she spat. "I have a counteroffer. Give me the swords, send your rabble away, and I will let you and your children live in exile in the human lands."

"How do we know Balthasar is still alive? I'll consider no such terms until I see him before me."

The queen shrugged elegantly. "Have it your way." She snapped her fingers, and a snarling, bloody creature appeared only meters from Rosa. Her heart constricted painfully as she watched it toss its horned head, the golden knights lowering their spears towards it in fear.

"Now, now, my pet, don't attack our knights," Aeronwen crooned at it, and the creature turned towards her, attentive. There was a flash of silver on its chest, and Rosa tried to fathom the cruel magic that would create such a thing. It lumbered up the stairs and rubbed against the queen like an affectionate cat. Rosa's vision began to blacken with anger, grief, and longing. Balthasar .

Aeronwen turned to a stony-faced Bleddyn. "He is alive as promised."

"I'm going to fucking kill you," Rosa hissed at the queen, losing her composure completely. "You will die screaming, and your soul will never find rest."

Behind her, Bleddyn gave Rosa a small nod, emerald eyes flashing, knowing what she would do next.

"And how will you accomplish such a thing, little wolf?" Horns sounded in the distance, and her smile slipped. The sky tore open, and the Wild Hunt rushed through like a wave of darkness and death. "You vicious bitch. Gwyn? Really?"

"Did you not feel it?" Rosa asked, walking slowly toward her. "Can you not hear the words whispered on the air? Through root, tree, and rock? Listen to what the land is telling you."

However, the queen's attention wasn't on her anymore. She was staring, pale-faced, at the horned figure on horseback, moving through the knights who couldn't get out of his way quick enough.

"Aeronwen, your time has come," Gwyn said, his foreboding voice sending a ripple through the armies.

"You're not fit to pass judgment on me!" she shouted.

"No, but I am," Rosa said, drawing her sword. There was a pull in the air as Aeronwen tried to gather magic to her and found it gone.

"What have you done?"

"The land has recognized me as the rightful queen," Rosa replied, her voice distant as the magic she had been holding inside of her spilled out.

"You will pay for this," Aeronwen snarled, turning towards Balthasar. She raised her hand to strike him dead.

Rosa was quicker, cutting her hand off at the wrist. Aeronwen opened her mouth to scream just as Bleddyn drove his hand through her back, tearing out her heart and crushing it to dust. She stumbled, eyes wide with shock and mouth slack as Rosa cleaved her head from her body.

For a long moment, there was utter silence as Rosa picked the head up by its red gold braid and offered it to Gwyn. "As promised, my Lord Gwyn."

"Long live the queen," he declared, tying the grisly trophy to the pommel of his saddle

The silence shattered, and the earth trembled under them. Seelie fae swarmed from the gates of the Court, smoke billowing out behind them. The armies exploded into chaos, and the Seelie knights charged.

Bleddyn didn't seem to notice. He watched Aeronwen's body disintegrate to ash before he summoned a wind to scatter her. There was a roar from the beast that was Balthasar.

"The magic should've broken with Aeronwen's death! I don't understand—" Rosa said to Bleddyn.

"We will find the answer once this is done," he answered, drawing Widow's Fury. "If we stay here, we will get crushed." There was a whistle from the Court, and Rosa spotted Merlin emerging with Arthur, Nimue, and Daesyn.

"Bleddyn, we need to stop this!" Rosa shouted. "If we don't, everyone will die." Her cries were smothered by the roar of the battle as centuries of hatred and frustration boiled over, and the armies clashed again and again.

Inside, Rosa was being torn apart. As queen of the Seelie she could feel the collective pain and anguish as they were cut down. As a Seren Du she felt all of her allegiance to the Unseelie.

"Stop, please…" she whimpered, magic pouring through her.

There had to be a way to stop it. Her power surrounded her in a quiet bubble, the roar of the blood-splattered world murmuring to a silent hush. She dropped to her knees and buried her hands in the earth.

Enough ! She commanded with magic and will. The ground ripped open, a wall of earth, rock and dirt rose up between the armies, separating Seelie and Unseelie lines. Gwyn's horn called out to the Hunt who stopped their attack at once. Rosa was vaguely aware of Merlin's blood-streaked face hovering in front of her.

"You need to let it go, Rhosyn! Don't get lost in it. Come back, little one," he said, taking her face with his hands. The world called out to her, but Merlin's eyes pulled her from the rush of power drowning her. "Breathe, Rhosyn. Breathe." Smoke-tinged air sucked down into her lungs, and she coughed.

"Burn everything, did you?" she asked.

"I may have gotten carried away," Merlin admitted, and they both gave an exhausted laugh. Rosa sheathed Gaeaf Storom, and the buzzing in her head cleared until only one thought occupied her.

"Where is Balthasar?"