Page 3 of Kings and Monsters

"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 fordays. 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 agytrashready 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."

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