Chapter 7

CHAPTER SEVEN

B althasar woke to the tickle of ribbons draped on his face. He opened his eyes to see Rosa leaning over him and smiling, the laces of her corset brushing against his bare skin.

"You are up early," he commented, his hands going around her waist to bring her close. She battered his hands away playfully.

"Don't you dare dishevel me, Medici, or you'll have hell to pay," she chastised. "You had best get yourself up, husband, or Cosimo will disown the both of us."

Husband . He still couldn't believe that she had agreed to marry a rogue like him. He sat up and grabbed the back of her dress. He pulled her back to him for a long kiss, his hands itching to bury into her careful coiffed hair, to pull off the many layers of her fine dress.

The kiss lasted long enough that the church bells of Florence rang in warning, and she wriggled out of his arms.

"Later," she said, answering a question he didn't have to ask. Balthasar climbed out of bed and washed his face in the basin left out by the servants. He picked up his shaving knife and hesitated.

He had been dreaming of a strange kingdom under the ground and a queen. He looked up at the portrait of his family—his father, Cosimo, and elder two brothers, Lorenzo and Juliano. Where were his other brothers? The one with the golden hair and an easy smile, the dark one with hawk eyes…

"What is it?" Rosa asked him, brushing her fingers down his back. He turned around in her embrace and drew the blade of the shaving knife against her pale throat. Her hands lifted up in shock, blood pouring over her beautiful dress.

"Try harder, you bitch," Balthasar muttered, and the illusion disappeared.

He was back in the Autumn Queen' chambers with a dead, female Seelie guard stumbling backward from where she had been teasing him in the illusion.

Bloody and mangled from days under the queen's knife, Balthasar launched himself at the guard, tearing out her throat with his teeth. Hot, heady fae blood shot through his veins, filling him with light. The magic healed over his wounds, his fingers growing back with painful speed. He was going to kill them all.

"Well, that was just rude," the queen said, watching placidly from her bed. She rose up in one languid movement.

Balthasar strained against his chains to reach her, but she held up a hand, and her magic locked him down.

"If you insist on acting like a beast, Balthasar Vane, I think it's time you became one," she said. She pulled a silver ring from her finger and held it over his heart. "I'll have your obedience, prince of death, one way or the other."

Balthasar screamed as the ring sprang to life and wicked veins of silver buried deep into his heart and chest. His bones began to crack and reshape themselves, he clawed at his head as antlers sprung out of it. Black fur burst out of his body, and he was forced to his knees, his hands becoming wolf paws. His vision narrowed as his body stretched and changed.

When the pain finally stopped, the Autumn Queen unlocked his manacles. The part of him that was still Balthasar made to lunge for her, but his new body refused to obey.

The red lips of the Autumn Queen came down to kiss his furry head. "Come, my pet."

In the darkness of the oubliette, Nimue clutched at her heart, a scream ripping out of her. The connection to Balthasar and the other Seren Du shuddered deep inside of her. Tears ran down her face.

"Balthasar, what has she done to you…" she whispered, her arms wrapping tightly around herself.

Nimue knew the queen was mad, but she didn't think she would be stupid enough to kill a Seren Du. She scrambled across the floor to the loose tile and put her hand inside of it. Her magic trickled weakly inside of her as she tried to reach out for Rosa.

Rosa … Rosa … she called and was met with a solid wall. She pulled her hand out of the hole, curling up on the floor. She knew what it felt like to lose a great love, and if the queen had really killed Balthasar, Rosa's grief and anger would rip the Aos Si apart. Nimue could only hope Merlin wielded enough influence over her to stop her from walking into one of the queen's many traps.

Nimue went to sleep, whispering Merlin's name on her lips, and dreamed of him walking into the Underworld with Arthur and Rosa at his side. Even in the dream, she hoped he wasn't going to be that stupid.