Page 18 of Till Kingdom Come

Chapter Five

Killian

I slowly began to do as Bracca asked, watching him out of the corner of my eye as he fidgeted impatiently while I dressed. He wasn’t good at having to wait for anything. I decided to be brave and not be embarrassed to be naked in front of him. I dropped the fur and let him look if he wanted to. I found I liked the idea of him watching me.

I pulled one of the furs we’d slept under across my shoulders after I had my clothes back on. I looked up to see his gaze on me, but he had a neutral expression, even though his eyes were dark and stormy. Following him out of the little structure that his men were already in the process of tearing down, I watched them packing up the furs, and I thought they must be using magic, because they were so quick with it. Already a huge fire had been built out closer to the trail and two small cauldrons were bubbling over it.

If not for their magic, I thought they couldn’t have survived in this hostile environment. This was a place so far to the north that it seemed to me that eternal night reigned, and the stars converged on icy, frozen terrain. It was early morning, but still so dark, that if not for the fire, I wouldn’t have been able to see where to walk. In contrast, Solaria had been a sun-bathed place, sparkled in silver, dusted in gold and warmed by the fairest beams of sunlight. Was it any wonder the two tribes were so different, even if they were both of Tuatha De Danann ancestry? It took real strength and even courage to live in a place like this.

Either that or you had to be crazy. Take your pick, because either or both of those things seemed to apply. I knew that one reason the Dark Fairies were called dark was because they allowed tribes of the dark Fae to live among them. Creatures like vampires, goblins, trolls, brownies and even demons all were frequent visitors to places where the Dark Fairies lived. Those were the rumors anyway. Would I see these creatures and be around them? Should I be afraid?

As I came up behind the prince, someone filled a cup from a ladle with something hot and thrust it in my hand. Another of them gave me a bowl full of some kind of steaming mush.I asked Bracca what it was, and he gave me a grim look as he replied.

“It’s wild relish, sweetened with manna dew.”

“You’re joking, aren’t you? Isn’t that from the Bible?

“It was the stuff that fell from heaven and kept the Israelites alive during their journey out of Egypt. It was supposed to be sweet, as I recall. And I think mortal poets use the phrase from time to time.”

“I think you’re teasing me.”

He smiled down at me. “Perhaps. But isn’t that what your mortal legends tell you about Fairies? That we feed mortals strange, magical foods that will keep them in our realm so they can’t go home again?”

“Even worse than that It’s said that mortals should never eat anything a Fairy gives them because when they finally wake up, they see it was nothing but refuse and horse dung.”

“You’d get awfully hungry if you were reluctant to eat our food. And besides, you can’t leave anyway—I won’t let you. You may as well eat your fill. We won’t stop again for hours.”

“Of course, I’ll eat. I’ve had to eat during my time in Solaria, after all. By the way, I don’t suppose you have any goblin fruit, do you? That’s a particular favorite of mine.”

“Goblin fruit? When have you eaten that?”

“In Solaria. It’s delicious.”

“The Goblins are nasty little creatures, but their fruit is good. I’ve shopped in the Goblin Market before. Perhaps I’ll take you someday.” He turned away then as if he were tired of making conversation.

I still wanted to talk to him about why the Dark Fairies had wanted to bring me here, or wanted me at all for that matter. I wasn’t sure he was telling the truth about the tournament games, especially enough to offer my father gold to buy me. And why me anyway? I was only a lowly squire and not a knight. I understood that Lord Ellien had wanted to trade for me, but was it me in particular or would any mortal have worked? Had Prince Bracca actually asked for me by name? It seemed impossible. I’d never met the handsome prince before in my life. Why would I even be of value to a Fairy prince?

I was a lowly squire, the son of a knight of middling fame, with no claim to any of my own. Did Prince Bracca hold some grudge I hadn’t previously known about against my father? My family? And was I supposed to be the instrument of his revenge? In that case, he should have chosen another brother, like my eldest, the heir. I was obviously of very little value to my father. Or did he have something against me personally?

With that depressing thought, I drank from the cup they’d given me. It was some kind of warm mulled wine, bitter and really strong. Much too strong for my taste, but it did serve to warm me through and through. And it was only porridge in the bowls, after all, sweetened from a jar of honey one of them had retrieved from his packs, instead of the mysterious relish and manna dew Prince Bracca had teased me about. At least I thought so. I was starving and ate every bite. Anyway, I’d probably never see my home again no matter what I did or didn’t do. So I might as well try to make the best of things.

While we sat there, and to get my mind off those depressing thoughts, I asked the prince about the stag I would be riding.

“Dandelion? He’s older and calmer than most of the others. These younger ones have a wildness that make them difficult to manage.”

“That’s a silly name,” I offered, and he shrugged.

“Who gave you your name? It’s not English.”

“No, it’s not. My mother gave it to me, I suppose.”

He took another sip of wine. “Tell me about your mother. Your real mother.”

“Why?”

“Because I asked you to,” he said, sounding irritable. “Why do you question every word out of my mouth?”

“Sorry. But I-I don’t know anything much about my mother. My father never mentioned her and my nurse wouldn’t talk about her.”

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