Page 31 of Atop the Faerie Throne
When I first arrived in Elfhame, this road was clean-swept and wound through farms and tiny houses. Little children ran alongside my horse.
Now I draw my bound arms closer as I’m dragged through the blackened husks of their homes, before a gathered army of blue Fomorians. A headache springs up behind my eyes thanks to the iron they’re all wielding, and I trip over my own feet.
Damn it. We planned for this, but I’d foolishly hoped that my mating bonds might’ve reduced my sensitivity.
No such luck.
At least I’m not wholly reliant on my acting skills as I glance back over my shoulder and watch the gates slam shut with a resoundingthunk. The ghosts of the fae soldiers who once guarded it are still lingering, watching with forlorn eyes as I’m forced along the broken path.
Their sad faces haunt me as we trek through the outer city until we come to the southern face of the inner wall, or what’s left of it.
The homes that were once built right up to it hang drunkenly, half buried by the wreckage from the explosion.
I never saw how bad the damage was, but the stone has been blasted away, creating a huge gap, surrounded on all sides by half-cleared scorched rubble. Greedy, gleaming grey eyes follow us as I’m forced to scramble over the debris.
“It can be rebuilt, dear heart.” Titania floats closer to me, extending her arm around my shoulders. “Our people are strong-willed, and their magic is powerful. By autumn, it will be fixed, and the crops will be flourishing again.”
For that to happen, I just have to pull this off. Shuddering, I force myself to focus on Caed, on the closeness of my males, and not the fear. The Call is probably putting them all on edge, and that means it’s my job to remain calm.
The plan will work. Caed will ‘deliver’ me to his father. Bree will steal away any orders Elatha tries to give him. Prae and Gryffin will free my brother and any hostages, and my Guard will take care of anyone else, clear the room of iron, and allow me to summon the dead knights of Elfhame to finish off the invaders.
I’ll be perfectly safe the entire time. That’s the only way I could convince them to go along with it. Jaro will protect me, and the others will take care of the threats.
They actually tried to draw straws for who got to kill Elatha; but, of course, Lore kept cheating, making that approach pointless. Eventually they declared him free game.
The hairs on the back of my neck rise as we walk under the boughs of dying trees in the inner city. The iron the Fomorians brought with them is making the land sick, just like it has in every single one of their camps, filling the air with the sweet scent of rot.
That’s a problem for once we’ve retaken the city.
The trek is getting worse. My head pounds, and my guides flicker in and out of view.
The steady incline up to the palace wall is the hardest. It steals my breath, and eventually, I actually collapse to my knees in the dust.
Theblackdust.
It’s not ash. Or soot. It’s too coarse, with a texture close to that of sand. I reach for it, but Caed stops me before I can touch.
My brows draw together and he grimaces. “Iron dust. Prae…” He trails off, scooping me into his arms with a glare at the Fomorians following us. “It was part of the design for a blasting powder weapon she never quite finished. I swear, neither of us ever thought Elatha would figure out how to use it.”
Iron dust?
How does any weapon…?
Suddenly, I notice it everywhere, coating buildings, dead branches of shrubs, even the columns that lead up to the moat.
Like snow.
Like it fell from the sky.
If it did, and if fae inhaled it, it’s no wonder we lost.
Caed strides towards the palace gate, and my fear ratchets up a notch.
“What do we do?” I whisper. “If the entire palace is blanketed in this stuff?—”
“It can’t be.” He sounds more like he’s praying that he’s wrong than reassuring me, and I swallow. “Even if it is, it’s been long enough that it’s settled. As long as we don’t disturb it, the others will be fine.”
But I won’t.
