Awake (15 page)

Instead, he motions to the others with a stiff nod of his head, still scowling at them all, and asks, “What is
she
doing here, and who are the rest of these people?” There is a bite to his words when he gestures toward Holly then the others, but I cannot blame him. I am not sure what he has been through.

“It is too much to explain now. We are here to get you two out safely. Once we are in the forest and past the unseelie territory, then I will explain everything. Where are the guards and the keys to the cells?”

Reed hesitates for a moment. Rho is watching him, not speaking—waiting on him to decide whether he will trust us or not. Quick, sharp jealousy jabs my stomach. Reed and Rho have known each other for a few days, but they have been through a lot together, and I am sure they developed a strong relationship—much like I thought
Reed and I
had.

“You can trust them, and you can trust me,” I whisper to Reed as I stare into his eyes, willing him to do as I ask but worried he will not. As I wait, I try to push the earlier thoughts away, but it is difficult. These sensations of hurt and betrayal are foreign and unwelcome. I do not want to be jealous of my best friend, nor do I want to be hurt by Reed's possible interest in Rho.

I'm not sure what emotion crosses my face, but it must be something significant, because Reed's features change. His face softens, his eyes growing concerned. He straightens his body and steps to the cell bars next to Rho. My hands are still wrapped around the bars of the cell. Reed places one of his over mine.

His hand is dirty and moist, but also warm and soft. The sensation sends tingling waves all through my hand and up my arm, making my heart beat faster. He ducks his head a bit so he can peer into my eyes. “I'm sorry, Poppy. I didn't mean to doubt you. I trust you, and if you trust them, then so do I.”

I let out the breath I was holding as I feel a slight blush creep into my cheeks. I am grateful in that moment for how dark it is in here. “It is okay. I understand,” I say, a little more breathlessly than I would have liked, but I cannot help myself. The way he touches my hand and gazes into my eyes makes my stomach flutter and my head spin. It is unfamiliar and frustrating because I do not seem to have any control over it.

Someone clears their throat from behind us, which snaps my head around. Gideon speaks up with a rude tone that has me narrowing my eyes and clenching my fists. “As nice as all of this is, I think we should get going.” He must notice my anger, because he quickly fixes his tone before continuing, “My apologies, but we need to get out of here before someone discovers us. The queen wouldn't be happy with us if something happened to you.”

I wince, because I know Reed and Rho will be very curious about the comment and there is no time to explain. When I turn back to face them, they both have their heads cocked in nearly identical ways with their eyebrows raised. If that had not sent another stab of jealousy through me, I would have laughed. I reluctantly pull my hand free from Reed's, squaring my shoulders. “Later” is all I can manage at the moment. “Keys?”

Reed gives me another look but does not question me. He nods his head toward the opposite wall. “The guard comes down once a day to give us water and a little food. He keeps the keys over on the hook.”

Holly strides over to retrieve them, then tosses them to me. The dungeon is cast under a spell so the prisoners would not be able to use magic down here. I am sure the sight of those keys has driven Rho crazy knowing that if she could use her magic, she could have cast a quick spell and had them in her hands. Taunting prisoners this way is undoubtedly another cruel idea of the king's.

Keys in hand, I turn and unlock the cell. The door swings open with a loud squeak, and I glance over my shoulder as if someone will appear out of thin air at hearing the noise. Then Rho is in my arms. She hits me with such force I stagger back, held upright once again by Gideon, though this time he releases me as soon as I regain my footing. She hugs me so tightly I
am
unable to breathe for a moment, but I hug her just as firmly. “Poppy! I thought you were dead for sure. I've been so worried,” she chokes out as she begins to cry. Tears begin to form in my eyes as well, so I turn my face into her hair to hide them.

She smells of sweat and musk from being locked in the dungeon, but I can still smell a hint of the sweet flower from which she is named. The smell screams
home
. Coming
back to the court had not
raised any longing feelings or happy memories, but the familiar scent of my best friend does. That
is
when I realize this place has never been my home, but being with Rho gives me a sense of belonging. I squeeze her one last time before pulling back to look at her. “I am fine. How are you?”

“Great now. How are you alive? Reed said the queen had you!”

“That is a very long story, but I am fine. I will tell you when we are safe. Let's get out of here.”

We release each other, and I turn back to the others, opening my mouth to make quick introductions, when I am lifted off of the floor in another bone-crushing hug. Reed buries his face in the crook of my neck and takes a deep breath. Momentarily stunned at his show of affection, I allow him to hold me for a moment. Then his familiar scent reaches my nose, causing me to melt a little inside. Before I can think better of my actions, I am wrapping my arms around his neck, holding tight. Flashes of memories zip in and out of focus as I finally admit to myself for the first time how much I care about him.

“I'm so happy to see you.” His warm breath tickles my neck as he whispers the words, causing a new wave of tears to begin to fill my eyes.

“Me too,” I whisper back, unable to say anything more.

Someone clears their throat—probably Gideon—and I glance up, directly into Rho's eyes. She is giving me an odd look, and I remember the way she watched Reed. I am new at all of this emotion stuff; I have never cared for many people and I have certainly never felt jealousy. I am not sure what has happened between her and Reed, but I care for the both of them, so I need to keep my feelings under control until I find out.

I begin to release my hold on Reed, but he squeezes me tight again. “We must be going,” I tell him. “I want to get you two out of here and safe.”

“Okay,” he whispers back, but he still does not put me back on my feet. I almost laugh; he is still the same Reed. He finally lets out a sigh of resignation, placing me carefully on my feet. He stares into my eyes. “As soon as we are safe, there is a lot we need to talk about.”

“Agreed. Once we are out of unseelie territory, and safe, I will bring you both up to speed on what has been happening. Then we will go home.” His eyebrows quirk up when I say 'home', but he does not question me now.

Reed keeps his arm around my shoulders as I turn to the others once again. Gideon is giving us a thoughtful look, Willow is all smiles, and Holly and Thorne both focus on the shadows, scanning for danger. I make quick introductions in hopes of easing some of the tension between the two groups of strangers. Seelie fae and unseelie fae are natural enemies, their only thing in common being that neither cares for halflings, so the tension is understandably high. Thankfully they all seem to relax marginally once I have introduced them as my friends.

I glance at each one of my friends and formulate a quick plan. “Single file through the dungeon. Gideon can go up the stairs to check things out and yell down at us when the way is clear. Then same route through the castle as we came. If you hear anything, duck into a room until the danger passes. If we move fast, we can make it back to the forest before anyone even wakes up.” They all nod in agreement then I continue, “Same formation as before, but we will add in Reed and Rho. I will take the lead, then Reed, Gideon, Willow, Thorne, Rho, and Holly bring up the rear. Keep your eyes and ears open. Move as quickly and as quietly as possible. Follow me.”

I begin making my way back to the hall and to the lead of the group when Rho speaks up. “Poppy, do you have any extra weapons? I would feel way better if I were armed.” I cringe, realizing
I am
not thinking as clearly as I should be. I should have done that first. Being unarmed in the unseelie court is as good as being dead. I reach back to grab the sword I brought, when I hear a shuffling noise.

I freeze, straining to place the sound. The others pick up on my tension, freezing as well. We all listen as we scan the area. I cannot hear anything else, but my senses are telling me that someone is here. Pivoting my body slowly around, trying to peer into the area beyond without making noise, I squint into the darkness. Suddenly a form appears, almost out of thin air.

I take a quick step back but bump into Reed, who is not moving. When I turn to tell him and the others to run, I realize the full extent of the situation: we are surrounded by unseelie fae, at least thirty of them. Thirty of the king's strongest and fiercest warriors managed to sneak up on us and surround us, giving us no hope of fighting back or escaping. They must have shimmered into the dungeon when we were all talking, making it easy for them to catch us off-guard this way.

I turn back to the fae in front of me, Damien, and he gives me a deadly smirk. “It's so nice to see you, Poppy. I was so worried about you.”

I snort, but otherwise remain silent. Damien is aware of my true identity and where I have been, and I am sure he
has
also deduced I
have
been informed of my true identity. Let's not forget the small fact that he tried to kill me. He has not been worried about me in the least.

A new thought occurs to me, and I curse myself for not thinking of the possibility sooner: this was all a trap to lure me back to the unseelie court. If Rho and Reed were not here, I would never return here, ever. I would have taken my place in my new life. Damien and the king knew that. I am not sure why the king had me here in the first place, but I am sure there was a reason behind it. The king would not be happy with his plans being ruined or me being back at the seelie court with my mother. Seeing Damien here with all these guards, I suspect he and the king have no intention of allowing me to return to my new life.

We are all now prisoners of the unseelie court.

Damien does not even bother to acknowledge my obvious skepticism. With a gesture of his hand, his men begin to strip us of our weapons. I almost cry when the sword and my daggers are ripped away from me. The guards are not gentle with us; I hear grunts and cursing coming from behind. I do not bother turning around—knowing it would not be allowed—until I hear Willow shout out, followed by Gideon saying in a low, deadly voice, “Do not touch her.” This is when I whirl around to Gideon standing over one of the guards he must have just taken down. Willow has her hands over her mouth, staring at them in disbelief. I am not sure what happened, but I can imagine the numerous ways the fae may have tried to hurt or violated her.

Instinctively taking a step towards her, I come to a stop when Damien grabs my upper arm and jerks me back toward him.

“Don't move,” he warns me, and then to his other guards says, “Stop those two now. The king wants to see the prisoners at once. We have no time for these games. Leave the females alone for now. There will be plenty of time for whatever you please once the king has given them to you.”

Bile rises in my throat when I catch the snickers along with the lusty smiles on the male fae faces. I am very familiar with the way the king uses the female prisoners of his court. Once he is finished using them as he deems fit he then turns them over to the guards. This has never sat well with me but I have never known another way. Now that I do, I am even more sickened by this behavior. The mere thought of my friends enduring even one moment at the king's
hands
has my stomach churning. I'm not sure how, but I will get them out of here.

For now, the only thing I can do is cooperate to find out what the king intends. I may be able to negotiate with him. He is cruel, but he
is
also selfish; if I can find something I can use for leverage, he may be willing to listen. This will be their only hope.

Damien jerks me beside him, snapping me from my thoughts and maintaining the bruising grip on my upper arm as he leads us through the dungeon at a quick pace. The others follow behind us, and I have no doubt they
are
all watching and waiting for an opportunity to fight back or escape—an opportunity that will not come. We're outnumbered three times over, and we no longer have the element of surprise.

As we make our way through the dark corridors of the dungeon toward the stairs, I try to formulate some sort of plan. What can I offer the king that no other can? I am the daughter of the seelie queen, the princess of the seelie court. If I can figure out some way to use this to save my friends, I will. I wish I knew what he wanted me for…Then an idea strikes me. Maybe I can get Damien to tell me.

“I know what you have done,” I say in a soft voice meant for his ears only.

He jerks a bit, caught off-guard by the fact I have spoken, before he glances at me with an expression of utter arrogance and a smirk on his face. “Exactly what is it you think I have done,
Princess
?” I blink at the term he uses and, for a moment, am swept away by a long-forgotten memory.

I was about seven years old, playing in my room with my dolls. I did not have many toys or much time to play with them since, for as long as I can remember, I have been training. Training for what I thought would be the chance to avenge my parents' death.

On this day, I stayed in the corner, playing quietly and happily by myself. The servant who tended to me when Damien was not around came in the room and began to clean up around me. She did not speak to me or interrupt my game, as usual. We only spoke to one another out of necessity, and I do not know when I first realized this, but I knew the servant hated me. She cast me mean glances and sneered at me when Damien was not around. You would think that as a small child this would bother me, but it did not. Like everything else in my life, this was just the way things were. This day appeared no different. She went about her business, bringing in fresh linens and making the bed, picking up an item or two off the floor, and making sure my washroom had all the necessary items.

As she finished and began to leave the room, I looked up and noticed the time was later than usual for her to still be with me. Damien should have been back by now. “When will Damien be home?” I asked politely but with a strong, direct voice. I knew at a young age how to make sure I was not ignored.

She turned and glared at me, as if completely put out by having to answer a child. “He will be home when he is home.”

She turned to leave, but I stopped her with another question. “What are we having for dinner, then? I am hungry.”

Again, she gave me a disgusted stare while answering me with an equal amount of abhorrence in her voice, “You will need to wait, Princess.”

As the words left her mouth, Damien walked in the open door behind her. I remember watching his face cloud over in fury. “You will not
ever
call her that again!” he snapped.

The servant whirled around so quickly she almost lost her footing. Her face paled, and her hands began to shake as she tried to explain. “I…I am…so sorry…I didn't mean…” she began to stammer, but Damien quickly cut her off.

“Do you understand me?” he demanded in a deadly voice.

She nodded her head, unable to speak.

Her response was not enough for Damien, “I said, Do. You. Understand?” Each word was punctuated by a step closer to the servant until he stood almost nose to nose with her.

“Yes, s…sir. I…I under…stand. It will…n…never ha…happen again,” she whispered, the terror in her voice reflected on her face.

“Now leave.”

She scurried around him so fast she almost lost her footing again.

When Damien turned his gaze on me, his jaw was tight and his eyes narrowed in anger, but I remember not being frightened at all. I was used to seeing him like this in training, and his mood did not faze me. However, his behavior made me curious. I wondered why the servant had gotten in trouble for calling me that. My young mind could not understand the problem. I was also curious at Damien's anger over such a simple term.

As I began to open my mouth to voice my questions, he stopped me with a quick shake of his head. “It's not important. If anyone ever calls you that, you make sure to tell me. Do you understand, Poppy?”

Still interested, but knowing Damien wouldn't explain it to me, I simply said yes.

“Come now. It's time for dinner.”

With those words, I put my dolls away and got up to go to dinner.

No one ever called me
princess
again, and I had forgotten the incident until this very moment. As I blink out of the memory, I realize we reached the stairs leading out of the dungeon and back into the main castle. My time is running out.

Narrowing my eyes at him, my anger grows. If my memory is correct, it seems as if everyone knew where I came from but me. “I know who I am,” I say softly.

His step falters, just barely. Damien's expression remains arrogant when he addresses me again. “You do now, do you? Well, I guess I'm not surprised. That witch of a queen would do anything to get you on
her
side instead of his. Remember, though, the king is not as sentimental as she is. He isn't going to show you the same nurturing emotions as she did.”

I listen to what he says, but nothing makes sense. The words play in my head over and over again. I try to decipher the meaning. The word
sentimental
in any regard to the king makes no sense at all, but then to use the words
parental emotion
has me completely confused.

Damien must comprehend the confusion on my face, because he pulls up short, looking closely at me. My stomach begins to churn as my heart beats faster. I get a horrible feeling in the pit of my stomach. The expression on Damien's face now only intensifies this sensation. Suddenly Damien lets out a soft chuckle, and I see an evil glint in his eye.

“Oh, Poppy. Tsk, tsk, tsk.” He shakes his head as if I were a small child again. Then he begins walking, dragging me beside him up the stairs. “Here I thought you knew everything. Good try, I must say. I almost gave the surprise away, didn't I? It would've spoiled
everything
.” His voice drips with sarcasm and pure malice.

A strong sense of dread is starting to surround me, suffocate me. I take a deep breath, feeling the air thicken as the first real shiver of fear works its way up my spine. The fear for my friends had been there since we were first discovered, but this fear is different. Damien knows something I did not, something huge.

As we reach the top of the stairs, my thoughts are scattered. Once again, I am on high alert, searching for more danger and looking for the possibility of help or escape. The likelihood of an unseelie fae helping us is next to none, and the chance of escape is only slightly higher. However, I cannot give up. Quitting is not in my blood. I was trained to fight until the end.

All the while, I am replaying Damien's words over and over again, word for word in my head.
What is he talking about? Why would he talk to me about the king? What is going on here?
None of what he is saying make sense, but really? Why am I surprised? Not one thing has made sense to me over the last few days. So why should this be anything new? My life used to be so simple. I existed as an unseelie fae, a member of the king's warrior fae. My job consisted of going on missions for the king, and I was good at it. When home, I trained or hung out with Rho. Simple and perfect.

Was my life really simple or perfect, though? No. The things that went on in my court disturbed me. Like the way the king reveled in the evil around him. My missions made me uncomfortable, and the only person I cared for or who truly cared for me was Rho, which made me lonely, unhappy, and afraid most of the time. My time at the seelie court made me realize this.

Actually, no, if I
am
completely honest with myself, it started before then. I began to realize when I met Reed that things were not what I had always been taught. Understanding and appreciating friendship, depending on someone else, and trusting another not only with my feelings but with my life all started when I met Reed. Then at the seelie court, I began to understand more. I began to understand what a home would feel like, how a court could be run without evil and torture, what a fair ruler looked like and how his or her decisions affected the court. I also found friendship and love. Two things I did not understand at all—and truthfully still do not—but now I desperately want the time and opportunity to understand them.

My contemplations are disrupted once again when we come to a stop. I glance up and draw in a deep breath. We are standing outside of the unseelie king's throne room. The massive doors are even more intimidating than the last time I stood before them. My body is trembling, my palms are sweating, and my head is filled with a faint buzzing noise.

Damien looks at me again, this time with a triumphant expression upon his angular face. It is the face of a warrior who has faced a battlefield of enemies and defeated them all. All I can do is stare back at him in utter disbelief. I never tricked myself as a child into believing he loved me, but I thought he cared for me. I turned to him for guidance, and I trusted him. I know I came here aware of the truth, but to actually see he is not who I thought leaves me dumbfounded.

I cannot stop the words as they tumble from my lips: “Growing up, I thought you cared about me.”

He snorts and rolls his eyes, both actions I have never seen from Damien before “I've never cared for you. I did as the king ordered. My mission was to raise you and train you to be as strong as possible. Luckily, you were such a trusting child and a quick study. You did everything I told you and believed every word from my mouth. The first few weeks you were a pest, but I quickly fixed that.”

“How?”

“You don't remember?” He chuckles to himself, not a pleasant sound. “You must have been just a couple of years old. You cried for your mother constantly. You were so annoying. I finally told you she died and if you didn't stop crying you were going to join her. Shut you right up. After that, you were much better. Your caretakers and servants were hard to come by, though. They all knew who your mother was and hated you so much they wanted to kill you. Keeping you alive proved difficult until the king finally announced his protection over you to the entire court. His decision caused a stir, but no one defies the king, so you were safe.”

“Why, though? Why would he want me, and why would he protect me? I do not understand what all of this was for. He did not need me, and I have done nothing extraordinary for him. This does not make sense.” I'm aware of the others behind us, listening but still watchful for a possible escape. I wanted to tell Reed and Rho myself, but I cannot help the questions as they come from my lips.

“Why, that's the surprise, Poppy. I thought I'd let him tell you, but I can't resist.” He leans closer as if to tell me a secret. His voice lowers as he whispers mockingly so only I can hear. “Once upon a time, there was a queen and a king. The king wanted the ultimate power over the queen, so he came up with a plan. He sent in a warrior to gain the queen's trust. When the time was right, the warrior let the king into the queen's court, no one the wiser. One would think the king would kill the queen and be done with it, but no. This was a scheming and evil king, so instead, he drugged the queen and got her pregnant.”