Chapter The Ever Queen: CHAPTER 9

“Whoa, shit, I mean . . . close one.”

My head snapped up. The back of my neck throbbed. I didn’t know how long I’d remained against the door, but my dark solitude was interrupted by a soft, young voice outside the window.

Somber dawn was breaking through the velvet night, but the window was still shaded in thick clouds from the sea. Clicks and scrapes came from the glass, but I saw nothing until the pane groaned in protest when it was cracked open.

I stood abruptly, gritting my teeth against the white-hot spark of pain shooting through my bones.

From the misty dawn, a hooded head poked into the room.

A small body rolled over the windowsill. Ungraceful, and with more than one uttered curse followed by prompt corrections, as though he thought I might take offense. In the next breath, the hood was tossed back, and Livia’s young brother glared at me from across the room.

What the hells?

“I got better.” He drew a small carving knife from his boot. “So don’t try nothin’.”

“Prince.” I held out a hand. “Does your mother know you’re here?”

The boy kept his scowl, slashing the knife with mock battle sounds, and shook his head. “What do you think? I’m dressed like I’m gonna ass-in-ate you, like Maj would even let me do that yet.”

“Is that so?” I tried to keep the smug laugh from my voice. If Livia’s brother wanted to attack, let him. He’d opened the window. I had my out. I’d leveled the boy once. My songbird would need to forgive me, but I would do it again.

The young prince huffed, then stuffed his knife into his belt, frowning. “Everyone thinks you’re the only one who can get us to Liv.”

“Oh? And what do you think?” I took a slow step toward the open window.

The boy shrugged and kicked at the floorboards. “Maj seems to think so. She was arguin’ with Daj about you. Thought I couldn’t hear them, but Uncle Sol said everyone’s restless waiting for the rest of the kings and queens to come. Says everyone is sort tempered.”

I assumed he meant short-tempered, but I didn’t correct him. I didn’t have time for this. Still, something in the boy’s voice, be it the subtle quiver or the determination to learn a new truth, brought me to a pause.

“Why are you here, Prince? Have you come to assassinate me, or is it something else?”

The boy paused. “I’m gonna get in a lot of trouble, but Alek, he says you gotta get gone. I think my maj and daj thinks so too, but there are rules and shit—I mean, —since every king and queen rules equally. They gotta make a plan before kings and queens leave, so bad folk here don’t try to take the thrones.”

“Sounds like a predicament but does not explain why you’re here.”

The boy rolled his eyes and seemed to forget for a moment he despised me. “Jonas said you looked ready to cry when they said you couldn’t go get Livie in the great hall. Was that true?”

“I did not cry.”

The boy snorted with a bit of derision. “Not what everyone else said. My maj says you’re soft for Livie, and every time she says it, Daj says he’s gonna kill you. Maj keeps reminding him they were enemies too.”

I made another slight move for the window while the prince was distracted with a loose iron nail in the floorboards. “I don’t know this story,” I said. “Your parents did not like each other once?”

I came to a halt when the prince smiled, slow to start, but there. He lowered his voice like he might share a grand secret. “My maj and daj come from houses that used to be like the enemies. They shoulda really hated each other. But Maj saved Daj’s ass—I mean, his life—and they took vows. That was way back in Night Folk and mortal wars, though.”

A grin tugged at my lips. There was little question where Livia got her fiery spirit.

The boy let his voice trail away when it cracked. He pressed his fists against his eyes, clearly uneasy about showing tears. His shoulders trembled, and his lips tightened. “I don’t want anyone else to go, but I don’t wanna never see my sister, and . . . why’d you take her, Bloodsinger? What’d she ever do to you?”

Each word was a knife to the chest. “I took her because I thought it was the way to please family. I was wrong.”

The young prince used his tunic sleeve to wipe his nose. His eyes were like wet onyx when he lifted his head. “I keep thinking if I’d . . . if I’d been stronger, I could’ve protected her and—”

“Nothing that happened was your fault,” I said with sincerity. Three paces from the window now, and I did not know how I’d slip out without harming the boy again. Naturally, I was reluctant to do so, but I did not see another way. “The only reason I got the drop on you that night was simply because I am taller.”

He snorted. “Not the reason.”

“I saw how you handled that axe. Your sister is fortunate to have a brother like you. Believe me when I say that, since I’m almost certain my brother is trying to kill me.”

The young prince folded his arms, one brow arched. “Why are you sneakin’ for the window like I can’t see you?”

My leg pinched when I stopped abruptly. There was no other choice. “Listen, Prince—”

“My name is Rorik. Gods, did Livie not tell you or something?”

“Rorik.” I took a step for the boy. “I do not wish to do this again, but I need to get to the sea, and I need to get to your sister. I hope you’ll forgive me, but—”

“Why the hells do you think I’m here?” The young prince took a step to the side, brow arched like I’d slipped into a sudden madness. “I’m part of the .”

Scheme? Rorik waved his hands toward the window like his thoughts should be obvious. As if on cue, a strange coo fluttered through the window, like one of the doves of the earth realms.

“Bleeding hells,” Rorik grumbled, smacking the heel of his hand to his forehead. “I knew I’d start talking—Alek told me not to, but I had to know why you took her and all that.”

“Prince—”

“Ror-ik.

, Bloodsinger.”

“Rorik, what are you talking about?”

The prince rolled his eyes and groaned.

“Alek and the others know you can’t wait for the kings and queens to arrive. I mean, it’ll take until tomorrow’s sunrise—at the earliest—for Ari and Saga to get here. Kase and Mal will be even longer. I mean, I guess Calista and Silas are to be here within the next toll, but they’re only one pair.” The boy waved his hands to the window. “So, get gone. I’m puttin’ my neck out here, and probably won’t get honey cakes for a whole turn because of you. You owe me for so many things.”

The boy flopped onto the bed, ticking off every slight against him—the bump on the back of his head, stealing his sister, making him cry in front of his young companions once his sister was gone, now apparently his sweets were at risk.

I was utterly puzzled. A ruse? A test? No, Elise nor the earth bender would ever risk their son with me.

With a slow, steady bend backward, I peered out the open window. Heavy mist covered the cobbled paths below. There were no guards, no warriors?

“Go.” Rorik waved his hands. “Mira can only hold the illusion for so long.”

A hiss rose from the darkness below. Little by little the mists faded enough to make out three figures, clad in all black with hoods much like Rorik’s.

“Erik.” Aleksi tossed back his hood. “Get down here, you damn idiot. We’ve got a small window of time.”

Bleeding gods. The prince was breaking me out of his own fort. Eyes wide, I glanced back at Livia’s brother.

“Don’t trick us, Bloodsinger,” he whispered.

What could I say? The boy had no reason to believe me and had clearly placed all his faith in his cousin’s word.

I gave the young prince a quick nod, then leveraged my legs over the windowsill. Aleksi was like a phantom in the night. His training as one of their warriors was obvious in the way he moved in soundless steps, the way he eased a wooden ladder against the roof’s ledge.

I leapt off the final pegs into a crouch, but stumbled when the other faces came into focus.

Prince Jonas’s eyes were painted in thick kohl, and it looked as though someone had dipped their fingers in black paint, dragging them down his face. “Still a bit bruised from our introductions, Bloodsinger?”

“What is this?” I asked Aleksi, voice rough.

“A terrible idea,” was all he said as he peered around the rounded wall of the tower.

Jonas leaned close, a sly kind of grin on his face. “We want Liv back. Alek’s been talking to us in your favor, be grateful. Know this, I’ll help you escape, risk treason and all that shit, but I’ll not apologize for bruising your ribs. You bleeding deserved it.”

“Can we go?” A woman’s voice, fatigued and weary, followed.

The same woman who’d stared at me like I would be better off gutted sat atop a large stone, her slender fingers massaging the sides of her head.

Her hair was dark brown with a few sun-lightened streaks of red laced throughout the tight braid draped over her shoulder. Her bright eyes narrowed at the sight of me. “I promised Livie if the man who danced with her at the masque hurt her, I’d cut off his cock. I hope you know, I keep my promises, Bloodsinger.”

“Careful with your words, Mira,” Jonas said, draping an arm around the woman’s shoulders. “Alek seems to think that might be Liv’s favorite part of Bloodsinger now.”

“These are the grand heirs of the kingdoms of earth fae, Ever King.” Alek rolled his eyes.

Footsteps crunched over the grit on the cobblestones. On instinct, I backed into the shadows when another hooded figure approached.

“Sander,” Jonas hissed. “Is it done?”

The newcomer tossed back the hood, revealing a face shaped a great deal like Jonas’s with the same kohl around the same moss green eyes. He tucked a leatherbound book into his belt. “They’ll be out until well after dawn. You know Ash will murder us for dousing him.”

“I’m not worried about Ash,” Jonas said. “But Tova? She holds grudges.”

I didn’t know these people. I didn’t care.

Prince Sander squared to me. “Junie said he told the truth, right?”

“She did.” Jonas folded his arms over his chest, mouth tight as though he wasn’t particularly pleased with it.

“Be grateful the lie taster was curious enough to hear you, Bloodsinger,” said Sander. “We just placed sleeping elixirs into the ale of folk who practically helped raise us. We’re now trusting you to get us to Liv. We know we can’t wait for a council, and I assure you, should our parents and Mira’s arrive, you’ll face their wrath too. It will only delay everything.”

“I would think you all would like such a thing.”

“Trust us, we would,” Jonas said. “But Sander found lore on this heartbond issue. Seems it must’ve been fierce, as in you really care for Liv, if it made you bleed like that. Then, with Alek’s assurance—”

“Which should’ve been believed straightaway,” Aleksi insisted.

“Look, I’ve been waiting for Valen to tear this bastard apart,” Jonas said. “You’ve now robbed me of the only joy I’ve had these last weeks, so cease your groaning.”

“I can hold the illusion to dissuade the Rave for moments more,” Mira complained. “Do you fools wish to remain here, chattering, or are we going?”

For the first time, I realized the thick mist was not truly there. No salt on the tongue. It was an illusion. The princess’s fingers trembled, sweat beaded over her brow.

“You know your marks?” Jonas asked.

The three royals nodded. Aleksi smacked the back of his hand against my chest. “Keep to the shadows, Erik.”

They tugged their hoods over their heads once more and slipped around the tower into a square tucked near the back of the fort. Stables with thatched rooftops, stands of straw, and dried oats were lined in neat rows. Armories stacked in axes, swords, and shields littered the square, and crates with earthy roots and sweet pears were covered in linens, ready for the morning crowds.

Shadows of wide shoulders with spears and blades swayed in the torchlight against the stone walls.

“Rave,” Alek said in a low hiss.

The lot of us took cover between a goat pen and stable with their strange creatures that reminded me of bulkier horthane with their hooves and long swishing tails.

I pressed a fist to the tangled muscle cramping below my hip, bit the inside of my cheek when it felt as though the pressure might snap the bone, and held my breath as two Rave officers strode past on their patrol.

“Hurry.” Jonas led us out, rushing toward a square building with a sod roof and narrow windows that only lined the top edge.

I kept close to Aleksi. I didn’t consider it could be a trap, didn’t try to dissect why these royals, all at once, would turn against their own folk—their kings and queens—to aid an enemy. I knew Aleksi loved Livia, and in turn, I suspected so did the others.

They were not here for me; they were doing this for her.

Jonas held up a fist at the corner of the building. “Who’s on watch, Mir?”

“Edda.”

Jonas stripped his cloak, handing it to his brother. He adjusted the neckline of his dark tunic. With both hands, the prince mussed his wavy, chestnut hair. “Perfect.”

There wasn’t time to ask what he had planned before Jonas stepped out of our cover, bumbling just enough to appear as though he’d had too much hard ale.

“Edda?” His voice carried, slurred and heady in a strange desire. “Gods, how is it you look even lovelier in your leathers than out of them?”

The woman’s response was soft, but her snicker was clear, and the plan grew obvious.

I shook my head. “Surely, this won’t work.”

Aleksi grinned. “You don’t know Jonas.”

For what seemed endless breaths, we waited. Gods, I could poison the guard and be on our way sooner than this.

A heavy hand clapped against a wall.

“He’s ready. Silent steps,” Sander whispered, then emerged from the shadows, rounding toward the door of the building.

I followed, low to the ground.

Around the corner, Jonas came into view. Bleeding gods, he had the guard’s chest pinned to the opposite wall. His body caged her, her back to his front, long golden hair tangled in his fingers. The woman’s head fell back against his shoulder, her gasps laced through the silence of the night, as the prince trailed his hands and mouth over her skin.

If I wasn’t desperate to leave these realms to find my songbird, I might laugh at how swiftly the prince took the guard’s attentions away.

Air inside the new structure was musty with mildew and damp soil, and from the shadows came a dry voice. “Erik?”

My blood chilled. “Tait.”

Bound in chains, tethered like a creature to a post in what was a clear storage shack, Tait lifted his head. Already, Prince Sander was on his knees in front of my cousin.

“What’s going on?” Tait bared his teeth.

“We’re going to the sea, Heartwalker,” Aleksi said.

Prince Sander had tricky fingers. Not what I would expect from the man. Where his brother was dominant and vicious, Sander seemed quiet, lost to his own thoughts. Then again, the ones with a great deal of time to think were often the most cunning.

He slid a whalebone pick into the lock on Tait’s shackles. No more than three breaths, and a click followed. In haste, Tait shed his chains and rose, stumbling over a loose lip in the floor straight into Princess Mira.

She shoved him back. “Watch your hands, sea fae.”

Tait let out a slight hiss before coming to my side. “Are you harmed?”

“No.”

“The bond?”

My jaw tightened. “Lost. It feels empty.”

A flash of rage filled Tait’s crimson eyes. “He’ll pay.”

“Aye. He will.”

“Hurry,” Aleksi said. “Mira, cover again.”

The princess drew in a long breath before we abandoned the shelter. Thick mist hovered around us, nothing more than an approaching storm filling the crevices and corridors of the earth fae fort. I was curious about the fae magic but buried all my questions for Livia.

Soon, she would explain it all while wrapped in my arms. Preferably naked. In our bed.

Outside, Jonas had the guard panting, crying his name, his hands down her leather trousers. We crouched behind the walls, waiting until his low voice rumbled in some brief farewell, and the woman’s pitchy laugh followed.

He joined us, hair mussed, and the kohl on his face smeared.

“Well?” He took the cloak from his brother, glancing at Tait. “Ah, looks like it was a success.”

Mira studied Tait’s face until he shifted away. “What is it, woman?”

“Stop moving,” she snapped. “I’m creating your features. Edda will check on you within a few moments, and you’d better be there, at least for long enough that we have a head start.”

“Mira is highly skilled in re-creating folk,” Aleksi explained. “But it’s simpler and more believable if she commits your face to memory.”

More delays. I closed my eyes, biting back my own anxiety to move, to be free of these gates.

Soon enough, the princess gave Aleksi a nod. “Should hold until we’re gone.”

“Wonderful,” Jonas said. “Is no one going to praise me for my skill?”

“No,” said Sander. “There was nothing spectacular about your everyday antics.”

“My own brother.” Jonas clicked his tongue. “Next time you will be the seducer, Sander. You can put them to sleep by explaining your latest read.”

We hurried toward the outer gates. I ignored my aching bones and crouched when the royals said crouch, ran when they said run, until we reached the same cliffside I’d tumbled off with Livia. Gods, it felt so long ago.

“I warned Queen Elise the Chasm would likely kill her.” I pointed between the twin princes. “As mortals, you both should stay back.”

Jonas’s eyes darkened, like night swallowed the green and left nothing behind. “Forgive me, but did Bloodsinger just call me mortal? Has he not noticed our eyes?” He faced Sander. “Is it not working?”

“You are not fae.” Their ears were the blunt, rounded shape, the same as the Night Folk queen.

“Because our ears are a suitable size, you think we are mortal?” Jonas waved his hands over his pitch eyes. “Does it look like I don’t have magic in my blood, Ever King?”

“They’re called Alvers,” Aleksi said. “A cousin of fae folk, and they’re quite sensitive about their odd-looking ears, if you couldn’t tell.”

I waved them away. “Fine. You follow me, and your lives are in your hands. I’ve no time to keep your royal necks safe in the Ever.”

“We know what we face, you damn sod.” Mira crossed her arms over her chest, frowning. “Alek told us a great deal, but we all remember the power of the sea fae when they attacked, when attacked.”

I flashed my teeth and peered over the ledge. Horns blared from the fort.

“Time is spent,” Aleksi said. “We’ve been found out. Go now, or we all end up in the dungeons.”

“Follow after me.” I did not waste another breath before falling backward off the ledge. Eyes closed, arms wide, I called to the sea. Cool tides broke the fall, and in the shadows of the dark currents, crimson sails rose from the seafloor to take us home.