I wet my dry lips. “I’m freeing them.” Wells’ fingers tightened in my hair, and I winced. “If you love my brother so much, why’d you let the Queen try to force him into a bond?”
Wells stiffened. “The Queen believed that your brother would be a perfect bond, just as you’d be for the Countess Pond.”
Where was the Countess? I thanked Belenus that at least she wasn’t standing next to Wells like I’d expected.
“Brilliant decision.” My eyes narrowed. “Absolute genius. If you hadn’t tried to force love on him…and me…then the Forest Fae wouldn’t have rebelled. You know that we don’t believe in a single partner for life, right? We love many fae in different ways. But what does it matter what savage fae like us think? You forced my tribe into rebelling. It’s your fault that my brothers died, and we’re locked up.” My pulse was too loud in my ears; and my eyes blurred with tears. “And my fault too,” I added in a whisper.
I remembered the night that Quinn and my other brothers had broken into the Court to free me.
Radley, Felix, and I had already been huddled in the corner of our room, as sounds of battle had raged outside.
“W-what’s h-happening? Who’d dare attack the Q-queen and Court?” Felix’s hand had stolen into mine.
I’d clasped it to my chest, pulling him onto my lap. “They’re stupid, Lix, whoever they are. She’ll rip off their wings.”
We’d all flinched.
“I’ll rip off their wings first, if they try and hurt you.” Radley had prowled to his feet, standing guard over me.
When the door had banged open, blasted off its hinges by magic, we’d jumped. Then an imperious Forest Fae had swept into our room; his scimitar had glowed in the gloom.
Radley had growled, and his fists had clenched.
Yet to my shock, the Forest Fae had grinned, dashing towards us and holding out his wing in familiar greeting. “I’ve found you!” Why was he thrumming with joy? Why did his eyes gleam with tears? “Come on, we have to go now.”
And just for a moment, I’d hesitated. As Radley had refused to budge, I’d recoiled.
The Forest Fae’s eyes had widened with a hurt that he couldn’t mask, before they’d filled with a compassion that was even harder to take because I’d recognized him then like slowly rising from sleep.
How hadn’t I recognized my own brother, Quinn?
I’d never even known our parents, but Quinn had raised me like he’d been my dad, until I’d been abandoned at Court. And I’d hesitated to take his wing…
“More apologies have wept through me than trees in our forest that I couldn’t save you before. But are we not now brothers?” Quinn’s sadness had shaken my own tears down my cheeks.
When he’d held out his wing to me again, this time I’d reached for it.
Only, now the soldiers of the Court Fae had been rushing into the room, overpowering Quinn and beating him to the floor. He hadn’t taken his gaze from mine, however, like he’d never wanted to forget what I looked like and knew how precious those last moments between us would be.
I’d fought to reach my older brother again, but Wells had pinned me against the wall. Later, Wells had forced me onto my knees to watch as my three older brothers were executed and Quinn was exiled to a land of gods and monsters, so far away that I’d never see him again.
Today, I was on my knees in front of Wells once more, awaiting my own execution.
I slipped my scimitar onto the floor in front of me, caressing my hand across it. It was the only thing that I owned, which had belonged to my dad. In a fit of sentimentality, Wells had allowed Quinn to pass on dad’s sword to me. I’d always seen it as a consolation prize for being sent away.
A fae was never parted from their weapon, except by death.
I bowed my head, and next to me, so did my best mates. I should’ve known that they would’ve kept their promise to never let go of my wings.
Dizzy, my heartbeat raced. Cold flooded me, as I sensed the green-skinned ogres circling closer with their swords raised. The largest guard caught me looking and winked.
Sadistic bastard.
The ogres’ stench of mud and rotting flesh hit me, and I gagged.
Wells pulled out a graduation scroll from his pocket. “You’re my flock of hundred wicked boys. I’ve spent a decade proving to the Court that there are more effective methods to control and curb rebellious impulses of youth than brutality. On the name of the Queen, reform now and graduate. Return as perfect bonded partners and proud members of the Court. Your Forest Fae heritage has been washed clean. You need no longer even remember—”
Radley touched the scroll, and his magic burned it to ash. It disintegrated in Wells’ hand.
The crowd snickered.
“Well said,” Felix muttered.
“I forgot once who I was,” my voice was steadier than I expected, when all I could see was the memory of Quinn’s hurt expression at the moment that I hadn’t taken his wing, “and I won’t again. I’m a Forest Fae, and I’ll die as one.”
“Then you’ll die,” Wells said, icily.
The ogre booted me in the back, holding me down, as he pressed his sword against my neck. I hissed, as its cold iron pressed against my skin.
Iron burned fae. Didn’t they think that decapitation was enough of a punishment? Tears prickled my eyes at the smarting agony. But then, this was what they’d done to my brothers.
Wells truly was sick to choose this as his method of killing me.
Clack — clack — clack.
Wells’ polished boots stepped around me. I hated that his boots would be the last thing that I saw.
“It tires me that you could even ruin my attempt to scare you into behaving. I’m not going to kill you.” Wait…what in Belenus’ name did he mean? When the sword eased at my neck, why did that scare me more than anything so far? “This was just the mock run of your graduation.”
I sat up too fast in my outrage, and Radley caught me, before I toppled over.
“Like a mock exam…?” I growled. “Wonderful. Really, I didn’t need the practice.”
Wells clasped his hands smartly behind his back, and his smile was so malicious that it made me shiver. “Oh, but I did. Now I know that you Lords will sacrifice yourself as long as you’re free, and your tribe have choice. This is your last week in the Wicked Reform School. It’s my final chance to break you, and luckily for me, I have some interesting new methods.” I groaned: brilliant. “Saturday is the first of May, the start of summer, and your true Day of the Wicked. You may have given up your Claim of Lordship, but if you’re not reformed, then your entire tribe will be judged wicked. Just like you did with your brothers, you’ll watch as they’re executed. Only after they all lie slaughtered, will you get the chance to die as well.”
“Wait, you can’t.” I staggered to stand, but Wells shoved me back onto my knees with a crack.
“I’m Head of your House: I can. How do you like being pranked for once?” Did he truly just claim that staging our deaths was karmic prank revenge…? Wells’ lips twitched as he glanced at Felix. “Are you certain that you’re not in fact jinxed?”