A Dark Faerie Tale Series Omnibus Edition (46 page)

Chapter Two

TIME…IT FLEW
by with a fleeting swiftness that seemed to steal life itself before anyone had noticed it had passed. The days were blurring into weeks since Shade had spent what had felt like forever in Aveta’s kingdom. Weeks had turned into months. She’d not expected to see anyone she had known ever again. Missing Christmas and New Year’s Day had been a small price to pay to be alive. Just barely, but alive still.

Shade let the flurries of snow cling to her hair and melt on her face. The cold air felt as one with her cool skin. The pale color of her skin was stark against her dark eyes and hair. She was so incredibly thin, her clothes hung off her frame like they were dangling off wooden sticks. A belt held up her once-snug jeans, and her shirts were baggy, swaying in the breeze. Her friends shoved food at her at every turn, but her appetite had been slow to return. Even then, it was not wonderful. The sadness inside her seemed to leave her feeling empty, no matter what she ate. She wondered if she was depressed or if it was just part of the binds on her magic.

Shade suspected it was the latter. Like the cold winter air all around, her soul matched the weather: cold, frigid, lifeless. Had she really been reduced to so little?  Shivering, she rubbed her arms, feeling the gooseflesh ripple under her fingers.

“Shade, I have some news!” Dylan came running from down the beach, past the sea cave before he slowed to stand near her. His steel grey eyes glowed like sun shining on gun metal. His black hair tickled his shoulders and rippled in the breeze. Watching him approach, she admired his smooth muscles flexing under the soft, grey tunic and pants. He was slender, but by no means thin. Well-built and sturdy, he was a bit thicker than Soap, even though Soap was quite pleasant to look at, too. She attempted a pathetic smile to greet him, feeling a shudder of excitement upon hearing his words.

“What kind of news?” she asked. Curiosity had the best of her, and she eagerly waited for him to elaborate.

“Well….” He paused, gulping down a breath of air. His chest heaved with the effort, distracting her for a moment. She wondered how long he’d been running but dismissed the thought as he continued. “I have some news from Ilarial. She knows how to break the binding, but it will be extremely difficult.”

Shade motioned for him to sit down on one the smooth boulders lining the beach. Slipping down next to him, she pulled her woolen shawl around her bony shoulders. The wind was constant here; the sea breeze never ceased and tossed their hair about, along with the waves. The salt spray stuck to her skin and made the air taste sharp. She tried to look patient, but she wanted to shake the news out of Dylan. She bit her tongue to restrain herself as she waited.

“Difficult? Did she say why?”

“Yes.” He nodded as he sucked in a deep, slow breath. “Ilarial said that the reason no one can undo the binds on your magic is because whoever placed them on you was very powerful and unique. Only an Ancient of Faerie could’ve placed binds that powerful on a halfling like you.” Dylan studied her face for a reaction but received none past the diversion of her eyes to the sand on her feet. Shade circled her toe around, swirling the cool grains over and over, feigning a calm attitude.

“An Ancient of Faerie? What do you mean by that, and what would being a halfling have anything to do with it?” Shade glanced up at him, her patience wearing thin and her heart racing in annoyance.

“Usually, even the strongest of faerie magic has its limitations, especially on a halfling. You have the best of both worlds. Humans are susceptible to enchantment but faeries are not. Faeries can be bound by other faeries, but humans usually don’t have magic to bind, so binding spells don’t work on them. Only entrapment charms do. Anyhow….” He slid off the boulder, coming to stand before her. “It just means that binding your powers would’ve been very difficult. If we find an Ancient of Faerie, they can undo the spell.”

Shade’s eyes flitted up to him, skeptical of the solution presented. “How would we find an Ancient of Faerie? Do you even know of one?” Her lips pressed firmly together, and her hope faded as quickly as it had ignited.

“Well, here’s the thing: Ilarial thinks that someone in Aveta’s camp must be an Ancient in disguise. She also wanted me to ask you who you might think would’ve bound your powers.”

Shade shuddered, fidgeting on the hard stone as she thought back to her days in the Unseelie Kingdom. She didn’t like thinking about it. Anything, but that.

“I don’t know. It’s not like any of them ever said they were the ones who did it.”

Sighing, Dylan furrowed his brow, leaning back against the boulder and folding his arms. His thoughts were all over his face as his lips and eyes twisted with each idea. Shade found it amusing and watched him until his face lit up again.

“Okay. Who did you have direct contact with? Name them for me—guards, warden, the queen, her assistants? Who had access to you, Shade?”

Shade’s lips quivered and her face darkened as her eyes moved to hover over the ocean. She hadn’t told him that Darren had done so much to her; well, the torture stuff at least. She hadn’t wanted to see him lose his mind in anger over it. Now, if she ever wanted to get her powers back, she had a choice to make.

“Uh, well.  Aveta was there, of course. Corb, her lieutenant. I never saw Vange there, and, well, the only other one was, um, Darren.” She bit her lip and didn’t dare to observe Dylan’s reaction to the last name she mentioned. Darren, the name of a brother he’d disowned the very week Shade had met them. She didn’t even dare breathe, squeezing her eyelids shut against the world.

“What?” Dylan’s voice came out softly, disbelief strung through it. She chanced a look at his face and found it drained of color and full of shock. “I see,” he sighed, looking dismal. “I knew he’d joined her army. That’s why Queen Gretel called me home, to put me on his trail.” He rubbed his face, suddenly appearing rather tired. “But I didn’t know that he’d had any direct contact with you while you were there.”

Dylan’s eyes found her face once more, filled with worry and concern. “Did he hurt you?”

“I don’t want to talk about it, Dylan.” Shade slid off the rock, pulling the shawl even tighter around her tiny frame. Her long skirt flapped in the wind while the sunset filled her eyes with an amber-colored sheen, covering the horror lurking inside them.

“Okay.” Letting out a breath, Dylan ran his fingers through the thick locks of hair which fell unruly all over his face and ears. “I understand. I know that you know if I ever see him again, I’ll put an end to his forsaken life. I’ve already sworn it to my Queen. I swear it to you, too, Shade.” He reached out and let his hand stroke her back, wanting to comfort her while pushing the rancid thoughts of what his brother might’ve done to her out of his mind. “Know this, though, he’s definitely not an Ancient and could never have been strong enough to bind your magic.”

She turned toward him, her eyes filling with a sudden realization. She had already known who the faery they were looking for was. How could she have been so blind to it? “It’s Corb; it has to be. Aveta’s powerful, but her power isn’t enough to do it, either. I always could feel an unusual amount of power when I was near Corb. His aura radiated ‘Ancient.’ He’s older than any faery I’ve ever met. It must be him.”

Dylan’s face darkened again, even more than before, if that was possible.

“Well, he must be one of the four Ancients then, one of only four. Two are female and two are male. No one has seen them in over a thousand years, though. I don’t know how we would even find out how to find any of them. Except….” He jerked his head back up to the sky, watching the snow fall. “Of course!” He laughed, leaving Shade confused by his sudden outburst.

“Of course what?”

“Have you noticed how cold it’s getting?”

Shade stared at him, a look of confusion flashing across her face. “What of it? Of course it’s cold. It’s winter. What in the world are you getting at, Dylan?”

He stopped laughing, giving a little cough as he scratched his thick, black locks. “Okay, okay, sorry, just realized something very important.” He looked amused and patted the boulder beside him for Shade to sit again. “Look, the story goes: there are four Ancient Faeries who ruled the four realms of Faerie. One was the Spring Queen, Rowan, who ruled the Western Realm. The other female was the Summer Queen, Kilara. She ruled the Southern Realm. The Winter King, whose name was never known until now—Corb—ruled the Northern Realm. The Unseelie Ruler of the Eastern Realm was the other male. His name has also been lost with time. Each realm gets all four seasons at one point or the other. The titles are just formalities.

“It’s legend that the Seelie Ancients were tired of ruling and decided to sleep while only one of them ruled a reign of two hundred years at a time. The Unseelie Ancient, known as ‘The Cursed,’ didn’t want to agree to this rotating slumber, so he was chained and bound, placed in a sarcophagus to sleep forever. He was also quite evil and cruel, so it didn’t bother the Seelie Faeries to deceive and lock him up at all.

“In the same place, Spring and Winter laid to rest first. The Summer Ancient ruled the land for two hundred years. She was good and just, adored by all of the people of the land. When her reign ended, she was to awaken the Winter Ancient, but she feared him, for he’d been her lover, and she knew that he wouldn’t like to rule without her by his side. So instead, she set to wake him with an extended delay, gaining time to hide herself during her slumber, for the rest of time. That is, until—as foretold by faery legends—a descendant of hers would find and awaken her.

“When the Winter Ancient awoke and found her gone, he became angry and searched the world for her resting place, never finding her. He ruled his two hundred years but never did wake the Spring Ancient at the end of his reign, leaving her to slumber alongside the Unseelie Ancient. He never told anyone the location of the two and continued ruling the land of Faerie instead for many years. He disappeared centuries ago, never to be seen again.

“It’s said he still searches for the descendant of the Summer Ancient, so as to find and awaken her to rule with him for all of time. No one has seen him for hundreds of years though, as though he’s dropped off the face of the earth.”

Shade listened in awe. She was intrigued by the lore of the Land of Faerie and was surprised she had not heard of the supreme rulers of Faerie before. This made her suspicious, and a thousand questions floated in her head.

“But wait, how do you know that there is a Winter Ancient? Or Summer, Spring and Unseelie? Has anyone ever seen them? Sounds like a fairytale, like the ones I read as a little kid. What if it’s all made up?” Shade frowned, sighing in her doubt.

“Well, that’s the thing. It’s a legend. No one has ever seen an Ancient, much less the Winter Ancient. It was rumored that he left his kingdom in the North to live amongst the regular Faeries, blending in just enough to not have to return to his post. The ice palace, called The Great Divide, is the dwelling place of the Ice King.

“How would I know if Corb is this ‘Ice King’?” Shade asked quietly.

Dylan squinted at her, shaking his head at her disbelief. “Don’t you get it? It makes perfect sense! Corb is the Winter Ancient! What does he look like, Shade? Does he have white, platinum hair, eyes like mother of pearl and a touch so cold, it freezes you?” One of his eyebrows lifted, awaiting confirmation from her. “What magic did he show you?”

Shade shifted, feeling uncomfortable at his questions. “Um, well, his touch was icy-cold, but he used this magic to heal me.” Shade pulled out her arm. An old, thin scar ran along her forearm where Darren had let his blade slide across her skin. She shuddered at the memory, replacing it with the memory of Corb running his fingers down the same deep wound. He had sealed it with a fiery touch that turned icy cold, healing it immediately, leaving only a thin line of ice-cold skin. She had touched the scars many times, feeling the frigid lack of heat from the lines all over her body. He had marked her as well, and unbeknownst to her, possibly bound her powers to him.

How could she have not realized that until now?

“It
is
him, Dylan,” Shade whispered, afraid to admit the dread of realization that crept into her. “He is the epitome of winter. His touch was as cold as ice, and he was like the frigid season of Death. I can feel his cold skin on mine even now, traced over each cut. They still tingle, like ice cubes trailing over them. But….” Shade shifted, feeling uneasy with each revelation. “Do you think Aveta knows? I don’t think she actually knows the truth about Corb.”

Dylan nodded his head, agreeing with her observations. “I believe you’re right. I don’t think Aveta has a
clue
that she has the Ancient Winter King at her side. He’s possibly manipulating her to achieve his own ambitions.”

Shade’s eyes widened.
Someone more powerful than Aveta at her side?
What did it mean? What was going to happen to Faerie if Aveta found out? Most of all, why had he purposely bound up Shade’s powers? What purpose did it serve now that she wasn’t at the Unseelie palace? The Withering Palace… that was what Aveta had called her treacherous home. Shade shivered at the thought of the cold, slimy stone walls and frigid, stale air of the prison she had lived in for weeks. And furthermore, did Corb want her to seek him out? Where was he now, and what did he want from Shade? She shivered, hugging her thin frame as her thoughts ran wild into the dark ravine of the past.