Page 9 of Unseen Lord

Double bastard.

Okay yes, I'm feeling very salty right now. Do you blame me?

When the world stops spinning and my vision focuses, I find myself staring into the silver eyes of a blue-haired Fae. She's frowning at me, and there's a strength and intelligence in her face that tells me she's not one to trifle with.

"Where am I?" I ask, bringing a shackled hand to my throat. Checking to make sure it's still there (my throat, not the shackles. Though both are still there… ) My fingers worry at two bite holes that are already healing. "And what the hell happened?"

The hands supporting me move as the Rider shifts to stand in my field of vision. "The queen attacked you," he says. "It was my fault. I should not have placed you two so close together under the circumstances. But I didn't expect her to behave like that."

That makes two of us. "What's wrong with her? What have you done to her?"

"He has done nothing," the woman says. "The curse the queen has fallen under is not his doing, but that of another."

"And who are you?" I ask, turning my head to face the woman who clearly had a hand in healing me.

She glances at Arias, who nods, then back to me. "I am his mother."

"His mother is being tortured and held in a cave," I say, still bitter at Arianna's treatment, despite recent events. And we'll get back to that curse statement in a hot sec. There's a lot to unpack here.

Her head dips in acknowledgment, but her eyes stay firm. "I am the one who raised him."

I wrack my brain for more info on her, but what the Rider told me was sparse at best. "What's your name?"

Again, furtive glances between the woman and Arias before she speaks. "Kayla. My name is Kayla Windhelm."

Total jaw drop. Not gonna lie. She has left me speechless with this proclamation. I've thought a lot about what spawned the nightmare that is the Rider, but this… this is… I don't even know. Because I've read my histories. I know the name Kayla Windhelm. And this…. Holy shit. This is intense. "But… you're… you're his father's half-sister. And you were the queen's best friend. How… ?"

"All of this is true," she says. "And yet there is more to the story."

My head is spinning from this. "Wait… you said your father was killed," I say, looking at the Rider, who takes a seat next to his mother on a simple wooden chair.

There's a fire crackling behind them, and I realize we are in a quaint cottage that looks like it could be the home of the proverbial witch in the woods. Dried herbs hang from the ceiling, a large black pot bubbles over the flames, and it smells like all manner of medicinal brews. I'm laying on a simple cot.

Kayla hands me a shallow wooden bowl filled with a sludge brown broth. "Drink this. You won't like it, but it will help that headache you have."

I take it and sniff delicately, recoiling at the stench.

She smiles. "It smells better than it tastes, I'm afraid."

That's not great news. Still, this headache is a thing of legends, so I plug my nose and down the concoction like a shot, gagging as I do. I will my body to keep it in, and the Rider hands me a clay mug with water to drown the taste. It doesn't work, but I drink it up anyways and hope the coating on my tongue doesn't outlast my existence, though I fear it might.

It will certainly never leave my memory.

Imagine taking the rotting flesh of a swamp monster and mixing it with putrid shit of a sick unicorn (and as an FYI, contrary to popular memes, unicorn shit is the absolute worst. Like seriously, worse than any other shit I've ever had the misfortune of smelling). So take all that and mix it with… I don't even know… the intestinal fluid of a demon. You might have an idea of what this was like to drink.

"I'm guessing you don't have a lot of people beating down your door for a taste of this?"

She laughs. "You'd be surprised. It's shockingly effective."

I pause, and then realize I literally feel no pain. Zero. "Wow. You weren't kidding. That shit is potent."

She nods and takes the cup and bowl from my hands as I ponder how I might compel her to give me the recipe. Not that I want to ever smell or taste that demon shit again, but damn it could come in handy in my line of work, ya know?

"So, back to the part where you betray your family and kingdom?" I say, looking to Kayla for answers.

Kayla Windhelm. Legendary blacksmith. And loyal—at least I thought—advisor and friend to the High King and Queen of Inferna. Clearly I'm not up on current events on this world, because holy hell! This is serious.

"She didn't betray anyone," the Rider says, his face hard and defensive. "The royal family is compromised and putting all the Nine Worlds at risk. We need your help."

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