Page 139 of Court of the Fae Princes

Everyone’s suffering rests on my shoulders, my brotherly princes, my people, and my Cassia. I’m to blame. I made a deal with Cassia. I had the potion made. I had her come to the ball. I didn’t tell the others the truth. My actions got her kidnapped, and led us to this deal. It’s all my fault.

Me and that damn potion.

This is my burden to bear until the bitter end. An end that seems to be creeping nearer and nearer.

“You should hear the way the other princes scream in pain. The way they shout into the darkness.” Each word is spoken with complete and utter glee.

Cruel bitch. “There have to be people you care about enough not to want to unleash the iron demons on,” I say, taking a chance, and hoping it pays off.

“No. I’ve never been fond of the living. Well…” She pauses, a far-away look momentarily appearing in her dark eyes. “Maybe once upon a time, but not anymore.”

Damn it. Desperation builds inside of me. No doubt she’ll be leaving me alone in this darkened room again soon. I have to take this opportunity to get her to see reason.

“Keeper of Death, I beg you not to do this. I, your Summer Prince, beg you to reconsider. There is so much more I can do for you now that I know your house wants more. You don’t have to destroy the kingdom to gain all that you want.”

For a second, I think I might have appealed to her. If not her soul, then her greed. But the brief look fades like a trick of the lights. “I shall enjoy your people serving me in my halls until far past the point when they’re nothing but bones.”

I lunge toward her, ready to rip her to shreds. But before I even take a step, she throws her hands in the air, and a protective force appears around her like a dark, glowing cloud. I crash into it at full speed, only to be repelled and sent flying backwards. Before I can even process what’s happened, I hit the ground, and the air is knocked out of my lungs.

She cackles at me, her eyes swirling with darkness, and slowly raises her hands. As they move higher, the ground rumbles and dirt falls from the walls. Around us, tombs open and dead bodies rise. Some are nothing but bones. Others have flesh and tatters of clothes hang off of them.

And the smell… it’s horrifying.

“I think this fae prince needs a lesson on how powerful the dead can be,” she says in a sickly sweet voice.

My eyes widen and my heart stops as the dead turn their empty eye sockets toward me. Within seconds, they begin to move, crawling toward me.

I try to back away, but the force of her magic keeps me in place. I fight against it with all my might, but still, I’m held in place. I need to preserve my magic to protect the barrier, but if these creatures hurt me, I might be useless anyway. I decide to allow some of my power to surface, and it crackles along my skin, humming with warning. I pull slowly away from the woman, but the dead are faster.

And even if I could get away, where would I go?

She laughs again as she and the bodies draw closer, and her fingers begin to glow with an ominous light. I’m surrounded by the dead. Some are just bones while others have skin and bits of hair hanging off of them. Faces with half jawbones and mangled teeth focus on me. One with decayed eyes cocks its head to the side and stares at me.

I try to crawl backwards, but the dead move closer. They form a circle around me, and I feel my heart beating so hard it rattles my whole chest. From here, I can see the hunger in the hollows of their eyes. My instincts tell me to run, but I know there’s no way out. I can’t even use my magic to fight them off. Not that my magic can stand up against the living dead.

At least, not if I’m going to keep the barrier around the kingdom in place.

There’s no way out. I’m just going to have to endure this too. It’s hard to breathe. Hard to accept what’s about to happen.

My eyes sting. Cassia’s life was worth this, all of this, even if she won’t or can’t love me. Those people hurt her, and they would have kept hurting her if she’d stayed. Maybe even worse.

I look at the crowd approaching me, and my thoughts don’t waver. I may lose absolutely everything, but I don’t regret saving her. Even if I can’t bring myself to think about what will happen to my kingdom when I fall.

Bones dig into my ankles, and I close my eyes, thinking of Cassia. Please don’t scream. Don’t scream.

SEVEN

Cassia

I open my eyes, and I see darkness: the complete absence of light. I hold my hands in front of my face and still see nothing. I feel around the space I’m standing in, and my hands hit a cold, hard surface.

What? Where the hell am I?

It’s bizarre and unsettling. I can’t orient myself with my surroundings. Walking with my hands in front of me, I either feel nothing or hit a cold, hard surface again. And then there’s the smell. The stench of something rotting fills the cold air. It’s a smell unlike anything I’ve smelled before, but it instantly reminds me of death.

Which is oh so comforting.

It’s eerily quiet too. It’s like being sealed in a tomb. The second the thought enters my mind, I shiver. Wherever I am, thoughts like that won’t help.

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