Page 55 of Beltane

Just as I was about to disentangle myself from my lovers’ embrace, Siobhan shoved inside the entry with Ashley, Donnelly, and Finn on her heels.

“Holy shit,” she murmured, putting her hand over her mouth.

Ashley’s jaw dropped, and Finn’s eyebrows went halfway up his forehead.

“What happened to you four?” Siobhan glanced between us while I pulled the covers up to my chest, trying to protect what little dignity I had left. Carter groaned to sit up. Lex mumbled something about them fucking off, but he didn’t bother to appease them with his attention.

“We don’t have time to figure it out,” Ashley said, her dark brown eyes taking us in. “The king’s here. It’s time.”

A blinding slice of panic shot down the center of my body like a hot poker, and I shoved Carter harder. “C’mon. Get up.”

“Fuck.” He grumbled and rolled out of bed, grabbing his pants to slide them up his legs. I yanked my dress up my body and zipped it closed before slipping on my shoes. Once we dressed, we followed the fairies outside, where the rest of Faerie had erupted into chaos. Bodies bustled around me, wide, horrified eyes meeting mine before refocusing on the center platform. They congregated by the queen’s tent, preparing themselves for whatever they needed to do to survive.

“Little Thistle,”hissed a sinister voice deep inside my head. I winced and assessed my mental barrier, watching as the stones of my tower crumbled more quickly than I could repair them.“Do you feel me? Do you see how futile it is to resist? Come to me.”

Ivy and Lex followed the crowd toward the queen, but I stopped to look behind me, searching for his dark tendrils. He sounded different, weaker perhaps, or more agitated—almost like he couldn’t believe it had escalated this far. He had expected me to fold at Kensington, and now that we’d held out this long, we’d rattled his confidence.

Images of Ivy’s siblings came across the mental link between us—Kit with a wide, scared gaze, her mouth magically sealed shut, and Jon with the same startled expression, his arm curled protectively around Lizzie, who didn’t look any better. Edward’s cheeks were gaunt and big bags hung under his eyes, his hand gripping Kit’s so hard, their knuckles had turned white, their nails digging into each other’s skin.

Had they been transfixed this whole time? What was he doing to them? Where were they mentally? A thick scalding fury settled in my gut, the drive to protect my family nearly sending me on a warpath straight to him. I sensed his presence lingering over the horizon, and if I lowered the bridge surrounding my mental tower, perhaps I could end this now.

“Miri.” Carter grabbed my hand, bringing my attention back to Faerie and the pandemonium about to erupt. The moment he touched me, my skin glowed brighter, hotter, more radiant than it had when we first woke up. “Do you see that?”

I nodded, the king’s voice fading to the dark recesses of nothingness. “Let’s go to the others.”

He tugged me along behind him, weaving through the crowd to make our way to the platform. My heart raced as I dodged bodies in every direction. A fairy ran by carrying a child who cried in loud, fearful hollers while another bigger, brutish fairy barreled in front of us, nearly cutting us off. I gasped and circled him, dread lining my nerves as the king’s energy crested on the hill behind us.

He was here…truly here…in Faerie.

Diana came out of the tent, likewise looking revitalized and glimmering with energy. Her long pale hair had been cleaned and braided behind her head, and her dress had returned to its pre-amnesia decadence. Pale transparent mist poured off her, equally terrifying and powerful as the king’s. Poppy and a few others appeared out of the tent next, the changeling now even taller than when I’d last seen her a few hours ago. She looked like a teenager, her face fuller and longer, her body resembling more of a woman’s than a girl’s. I had a million questions but didn’t ask them, only returned my attention to the queen.

“Well,” she said, glancing around at us and straightening her broad shoulders. “What are we waiting for?” Then she walked down the steps to the ground, gesturing for us to follow her.

The crowd parted for us as we approached, Poppy immediately behind the queen, the four of us behind her, and Siobhan trailing with her lovers. Diana led us through the forest, over the winding path that led out of Faerie. I recognized it from the last time we were here, but the familiarity did nothing to ease the dread in my stomach.

Eventually, we made our way to the ruins, the same decaying building where my spouses and I made an oath to each other four years ago. Heavens, how much we had changed since then. Seeing the ivy-covered stone structure lit a warmth in my chest, reminding me of the emerald mist from last night.

Just as we rounded the corner, the entrance to Faerie came into view, that shimmering veil between the human realm and the fairy. The battle maidens stood facing the king on one side in long, sprawling lines, theFiannaon the other. Both were dressed for battle, their armor shimmering in the dawn sunlight, their weapons poised to strike, their shields at the ready.

He was alone, his arms crossed, an indignant smirk on his lips. His long obsidian hair now reached the middle of his chest, brushed back behind his ears. His beard had grown out too, but remained as black as the rest of him. Dark tendrils swirled out of his hands, scooping up and over us, blocking out the hazy blush of Faerie at dawn. He vibrated with chaotic energy, almost as powerful as he’d been the last time he’d come sweeping down that hill, but nowhere near as controlled. He seemed to be cracking at the seams.

“Friends, fairies, countrymen, lend me your ears.” Hands held up on either side of him, he stalked down the rolling green grass toward the armies, now more lush and vibrant than when we’d arrived. How long had we been in that tent? How long had it taken for the king to break his way into Faerie? How long had he been standing here waiting for us?

“We once were brethren,” Alberich continued. “We once were on the same side.”

Metal clinked as the soldiers prepared themselves for battle, shifting into formation. The sight startled me, and I didn’t see how one man…one king of fairies could stand against them. I grabbed Ivy’s hand and straightened, reminding myself we were safe inside my mental tower. The king couldn’t corrupt me here. He couldn’t reach me. We were stronger together.

“There is no need for violence today.” Alberich almost stumbled over his words when his gaze landed on Finn, Donnelly, and Siobhan, who had moved to the right of the queen. Instead, he refocused on the fairies filing in behind us and the battalions on either side, the entire population of Faerie now united against him.

My cousin and the rest of his abductees stood mindlessly next to him. Like the guards at Kensington when he’d attacked, their eyes were completely dark, the whites and irises gone to swirling pitch and smoke.

Siobhan moved to the other side of Diana, perhaps to make a show of a more balanced force, but it caused me to separate hands with Ivy. I lamented the loss but still held Carter’s on my other side, his fingers squeezing mine to let me know he was still with me.

“Ah, Diana.” Alberich stared at his wife with a devilish smirk on his full pink lips. “I see you’ve come to your…right mind.”He chuckled softly, but I seethed with rage.

It was the first time I’d seen him since I’d remembered he’d done something vile to me, and I trembled as I struggled to stay in my spot. I wanted to gather the strength from the woods surrounding us and choke him to death for violating me. I wanted vengeance for the hell he’d put me through, for taking Edward and the others, for messing with Diana’s mind in the first place.

He didn’t deserve forgiveness. He may not want violence today, but I thirsted for his demise in a way I’d never known before.

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