Ulean laughed. Your friend. You have won the hearts of the Wilding Fae, and that is a double-edged blessing.
The Wilding Fae were dangerous, a breed unto themselves. Ancient even by the standards of the Cambyra Fae, they were feral, belonging to themselves, aligned with no one. But they had chosen to live in the realm of Snow and Ice when I took the throne. Bargaining with them could prove dangerous, but once they’d accepted my rule, they knew better than to try to trip me up with their deals. A good thing, too, considering my lack of bargaining skills.
I paused by the juniper bush. As I stood there, waiting, a figure stepped out from behind the laden branches. She was dressed in a ragtag patchwork of a dress that swept the ground. Her hair was matted into clumps, draping to cover her shoulders. A withered roadwork of lines crossed and crisscrossed her face. Gaunt, her limbs were long and lean, her fingers jointed and gnarled with what one might think of as age. But to be honest, I had no clue of her age. The Snow Hag might be old as the world for all I knew.
She flashed me a cunning snaggletooth smile—one of her teeth curving up from her upper jaw to rest against her bottom lip. She did not kneel, but neither did I expect her to. The Wilding Fae, while they might now live in my realm, were still to be feared and respected.
“A queen might be listening for danger but looking in the wrong direction.” She cocked her head.
I stared at her. Apparently we were dispensing with the niceties today. Usually there was a set format—a pattern with the Wilding Fae, that held sway even when discussing nearby dangers.
“It would be helpful if a certain Snow Hag could guide a Queen—who is, in fact, seeking the source of danger on the wind.”
I didn’t have the full rhythm down, but Chatter—my cousin’s husband and the new King of Summer—had been drilling us. He was adept at bargaining with the Wilding Fae, and right now, I wished he could be here to help me. But I had to learn at some point.
“There is a learning curve and a queen might be making good progress, however, she might also be tripping over her words. If a certain Wilding Fae were less scrupulous, there might be trouble brewing, but luck will out. Though, sometimes, luck has nothing to do with it and desire, everything. And there is desire to see the new rule continue.”
She gave me a wide smile and laughed, and once again, I could feel her power, down to my very bones. They were a crafty, cunning lot, the Wilding Fae, and were dangerous enemies to have.
I thought over what she had said and tried to pinpoint my mistake, but right now the thought of danger lurking in my land preoccupied me and I was having a hard time concentrating.
After a moment’s silence, the Snow Hag broke a small branch off the tree. “Looking into the distance often leaves a queen ignoring what is directly below her nose. Danger can be alluring and beautiful, and seemingly, the best of friends. Danger might also throw a cunning glance, speak a misplaced word, and usually, such hints will be visible if one chances to look for them.”
That didn’t sound good. “A spy? You’re saying that I have a spy in my midst?” When she remained silent, I rephrased it as best as I could. “One might think, by your comment, that a queen might have a spy in her court, as eyes and ears of Myst.”
And with that, the Snow Hag cackled. “One might think the Queen of Snow and Ice is growing into her throne and learning to listen and understand the Wilding Fae. One might think the Queen of Snow and Ice is on the right trail.” And with that, she vanished back into the bushes.
Hell. The last thing I needed was one of Myst’s people hiding in my court. And the Snow Hag had said the danger was right under my nose. I glanced back. Check and Fearless were standing back, as they knew to do, and I didn’t think they’d heard me. This information meant I couldn’t trust anyone, and while Check had been nothing but attentive, and Fearless now seemed more than willing to protect me, when I thought about it, I really didn’t know them. I’d have to talk privately with Grieve, my husband, when I returned home.
As I made my way back to the guards, a sudden shift in the wind alerted me as Ulean slipped in.
Cicely, move. Fly. Get out of reach!
Without hesitation—Ulean, I could trust with my life—I closed my eyes and, arms shrinking as they spread into wings, body shifting, I was aloft and on the wing in my barred owl shape. Until recently, I’d had to remove my clothing in order to transform but again, one of the perks of becoming a Fae Queen.
As I spiraled up into the chill evening air, I looked down to see something racing out of a nearby bush—and then, a shimmer and another figure appeared out of thin air. Shadow Hunters! And they had gotten in via some way other than the entrance to the realm. As I watched, Check and Fearless engaged them.
I wanted to be down there, fighting, but I was the queen and I wasn’t allowed to fight my own battles. At least, not unless there was no other option. It felt more and more that my life had been shoved into a box, even as it had broadened out in so many other ways. I chaffed at the restrictions even though I understood the reasoning for them.
As I watched, the two Shadow Hunters—Vampiric Fae who were members of the Indigo Court—launched themselves at my guards. They were twisting, morphing into the great cerulean-colored beasts they became when they aimed to destroy, to rip muscle and sinew away from the bone, to devour the flesh and—in some cases—the life force.
Check was engaging with a jeweled sword as Fearless toppled back. He’d just recovered from a similar attack, and my blood began to rise as I watched my men struggling to keep the Shadow Hunters’ slobbering jaws and great bared teeth from latching onto them.
There was no way I could survive should I set down on the ground—not even my queen’s dagger could deflect the attack of one of these monsters, but then, I knew exactly what I could do. It was a dangerous choice, but I couldn’t fly off and let the Shadow Hunters ravage my guards.
I spiraled up to the nearest tree and landed on the first bare branch I could find big enough to support myself when I changed back into my normal shape.
I balanced on the limb, making certain it would be wide enough to support my weight without breaking. I grabbed hold of the trunk as my cloak almost threw me off balance when I transformed back into myself. But I caught myself and managed to stand at the crotch of the limb where it met the trunk, putting my weight back against the tree.
I closed my eyes and summoned the winds. A shiver of delight raced through me. It had become more and more dangerous for me to call in the gale force winds, to stir up a tornado, but it was also a gift that could save both Check and Fearless and I wouldn’t hesitate to use it. As I glanced at the ground below, the blood channeled across the snow in a delicate wash of rose that spread over the the blanket of white. Whether the blood belonged to Check, Fearless, or the Shadow Hunters, I didn’t know.
The breeze started small, but quickly sped up, rushing through me. They went beyond the winds of the cold Winter realm. They were from the heart of the primal Wind Element. A boreal wind sweeping directly out from the plane of air. The gusting currents buoyed me up, filled me with a delicious sense of power, as I rose to my tiptoes, balancing precariously on the branch.
I raised my arms, no longer needing the support of the tree trunk, as the winds lifted me into the air and spun me aloft, carrying me on a bank of mist and whirling snow. A whispered Gale Force, and the winds turned into a storm of hurricane proportions, only instead of driving rain along in front, the fury picked up the snow and used it as a weapon.
Sleet and snow pelted against the Shadow Hunters, blinding the Vampiric Fae as they struggled against the biting wind. Check and Fearless fell back, Check shouting something to me that I couldn’t hear through the raging storm, but I understood his gestures. He wanted me to drop the storm, to fly back to the barrow.