Chapter 17
I woke up feeling like I was inside of a sauna. I was so hot I couldn’t stand it. I blinked my eyes slowly, trying to take in my surroundings. I was sandwiched between Gerwyn and Bowen. The fire was still roaring in the fireplace as well. I guess that explains why I was so hot. I sat up slowly and looked for the others. Allwyn was missing, but Emrick and Maddox were also asleep nearby.
I realized I was in desperate need of a bathroom, so I slowly stood up and stepped over Bowen. I scanned the room for Allwyn and listened intently, but I couldn’t hear him.
I was hesitant to leave, not wanting to get lost inside of this huge castle. Allwyn may have been familiar with it, but I definitely wasn’t. Just when I was debating which of the four I would wake up I heard a creak on the floor above me.
I remembered passing a staircase when we first entered, so I hurried over and up the stairs. I stopped at the top of the stairs, trying to determine which way to turn when I heard a thump from the end of the hallway. I hurried in that direction, peering into each room I passed in case I found a restroom of some kind. I was almost at the room when I spotted a room that seemed to have a giant tub in the middle. The moonlight streaming in lit up the room enough that I could make out a tub, a stone basin that must have been a sink, and a fancy looking toilet. It was made of what appeared to be marble or a similar stone. It didn’t have a back for a tank, instead it had a panel on the wall with symbols etched into it. I peered into the basin, but couldn’t’ see anything and I no longer cared. I could be about to pee into a royal Fae washing machine for all I cared at this point.
After I was finished I stood and pressed my hand onto the panel. Nothing happened at first, so I pushed my magic into it and the symbols glowed under my hand, as they dimmed I looked down and the basin was clean again. Shrugging I made my way over to the sink, repeating the same process to get the water to flow. I washed my hands quickly before I set off to find Allwyn once more.
I couldn’t hear any noise, but I walked up to the doorway that I thought the noises were coming from before I took a detour. I peered inside and I saw Allwyn staring into a mirror. I was about to step in and see what was wrong when I noticed the mirror was swirling. A woman’s face appeared in the glass and she smiled at Allwyn.
“There you are, love.” She murmured in a low, seductive voice. I froze, and I felt my heart drop. He was already with someone? Why would he flirt with me and lead me on? I know I wasn’t misreading it.
“Sorry, I had to wait for the idiots downstairs to fall asleep. I said I would take first watch while I waited for that stupid human lover to wake up.” His voice was back to somber, and I could hear the sneer in his voice. Tears prickled my eyes, was he using us?
“She won’t make it to queen. She has no chance of restoring the land. She believed you were a guard in the Spring Court?” She asked, I studied her face, feeling like I recognized it from somewhere. I couldn’t place it though.
“She did, I told her that I knew her parents.” He gave a low chuckle, that conveyed just how stupid he thought I was. I took a quiet step back, not wanting him to turn this way and spot me. I debated on running back, but I wanted to know if he had something planned. “When will you be dropping that ridiculous glamour, I miss you. It’s been way to long. I hate having to pretend to not care about you.” He teased.
“Don’t worry, I’m almost there. Keep her in the dark. Once she unlocks the land, you will be close enough to end her and take over in her place. Get her to choose you as her King and no questions will be asked. An outsider has no right to rule us. She was always a fool. She can’t rule a land she knew nothing about until mere days ago.” The shared a laugh and I decided I heard enough. I hurried as quietly as possible back to the stairs, I flew down them and back into the room. They were all still asleep.
“Guys! Wake up!” I hissed urgently, shaking each of them. Maddox’s eyes flew open in confusion, but Emrick was surprisingly graceful for his stature and was up and in front of me within seconds.
“Allwyn is corrupt, he isn’t who I thought he was. I heard him speaking to a woman in the mirror upstairs, they were planning on him becoming king and killing me when I fixed the lands.” I could feel the tears running down my face. I would be lying to myself if I said I wasn’t deeply hurt.
Emrick growled low and took a step in front of me. The others each took a position on the other three sides, closing me into the middle.
“It will be ok.” Bowen said, his voice uncharacteristically angry.
“Please tell me you guys aren’t secretly trying to kill me. I don’t think my heart could take that.” I whispered, glancing at each of their expressions. Gerwyn looked horrified at the thought, Bowen gave me a reassuring wink, Maddox looked at me like I was nuts and Emrick gave a possessive growl.
“We would never betray you, or this realm.” Maddox stated vehemently. I believed him. I had a feeling they were the four men the spirit talked about. I nodded and we turned to see Allwyn saunter into the room. He took in our expressions and protective stance and looked around the room. He pulled out his daggers and gave us a quizzical look.
“What is it?” He asked, eyeing us.
“Leave, traitor.” Emrick bellowed. Allwyn looked confused, and I recognized a quick look of shock cross his face, before he suppressed it.
“I heard everything you and your evil lover were planning. Sorry to spoil your plans.” I said, peering around Emrick. Allwyn’s face quickly morphed from faux confusion to anger.
“You stupid human lover! You are ruining our plans! To think I had even the slightest bit of feelings for you on Earth.” He bellowed, rushing forward with a look of pure disgust and self-loathing. The brothers moved forward in one fluid motion, knocking the daggers from Allwyn’s hands and pinning them behind his back.
“Anyone have rope?” Emrick grunted. I had an idea and rushed forward. I used my magic to create an unbreakable magical chain that only my guards or I could remove.
“You will regret this! You have no idea what you are up against! No outsider will rule this realm, you don’t deserve it! You grew up as one of those filthy humans, it was disgusting trying to make you think I liked you!” Spit was flying as he screamed in his rage. My magic hasn’t failed me yet, so I pushed a magical barrier around the floor around him and formed it into a bubble of silence. We couldn’t hear him anymore and it was glorious.
“Oh thank goodness, I was afraid I would have to knock him out.” Gerwyn said with a happy sigh. I raised my eyebrows at him and he gave an unapologetic shrug. I couldn’t help the laugh that escaped, even if the situation wasn’t funny at all.
“Can he hear us?” Bowen asked, approaching the bubble.
“Why did you do it?” Maddox barked at Allwyn. Allwyn didn’t respond, he just kept raging inside of his bubble.
“I guess not.” Maddox supplied. “What happened, Arabella?” He asked, looking concerned. At the reminder of the conversation I overheard, a tear slid down my cheek. Maddox walked forward and pulled me into an embrace. He held me for a moment while I regained my composure.
“It’s still dark outside, shall we find a more suitable room? He can’t move, can he?” Bowen asked, I shook my head no. There was no way he had enough magic to cancel out mine.
I concentrated and created a second barrier around him that would create an illusion of darkness around him, making sure he couldn’t pass through. I saw the panic hit him as the darkness settled in. He struggled to his feet and rammed his shoulder into the bubble. When nothing happened I was satisfied. I couldn’t help but stare at the man I thought I could finally love. I couldn’t comprehend how he had been so sweet and attentive, yet it was all a lie.
“It will be okay, my queen. I’m sorry he fractured your heart, but I’m happy you heard it now and we could protect you from him.” Gerwyn said softly, wiping the tears from my face.
“I bet we can find our queen a royal suite.” Bowen sang out, and I couldn’t help but laugh at his antics. He grabbed my hand and pulled me forward. Test out this fancy magic of yours, eh? Try and find us a comfortable bed.” He suggested, waving his fingers like he was performing a spell. I rolled my eyes, but tried it. I felt a tug leading me upstairs. I followed it to the right hallway and found a set of ornate doors. Opening them and peering inside I gave a happy squeal. Bowen stepped in behind me and saw my success. He grinned and picked me up by the waist and twirled me around.
“Put the queen down, you idiot!” Maddox barked. Bowen rolled his eyes, but lowered me. He gave me a wink to let me know he was just trying to lift my spirits.
“Good job, a bed is better than the floor.” Bowen said with a wink and an appreciative smile.
“Maddox chill out, I’m not some snotty queen. I hate the bowing, I hate the titles, and I hate the special treatment.” I complained, hoping it would get him to ease up.
“You are our queen and deserve our respect.” He mumbled. I walked up to him and gave him a kiss on the cheek.
“Thank you for caring.” I whispered.
“Where’s my kiss?” Bowen pouted. I rolled my eyes and blew him a kiss. He chuckled and ran to the bed, flopping onto it.
I took a moment to really look around the room. Everything was ridiculously fancy. It had ornate golden furniture, a bathroom and a kitchenette. The bed was big enough that we could all sleep on it comfortably for the night.
“Look at this, Arabella!” Gerwyn called from a door I hadn’t noticed. I walked over and peered inside. It was filled with dresses and clothes.
“Nice find, Wyn! I can change after a bath tomorrow!” I cheered and his cheeks turned red. The moonlight wasn’t enough to really inspect them, so that would have to wait until morning.
“Ok, explain the Allwyn situation.” Emrick rumbled from his spot on the bed.
I walked over and stepped onto the bed, walking up to sit against the baseboard in the middle. Maddox and Gerwyn followed suit and found an empty spot to sit. I stretched my feet out after throwing my boots off the side of the bed.
“I woke up needing to find a restroom, and I noticed Allwyn was gone. I figured he was on guard duty. I heard some sounds from upstairs so I followed them, but I found a big restroom first. After I was done I walked up to the doorway I heard the noise from. I looked inside and Allwyn was creepily staring into a mirror. The mirror swirled a bit and then I saw a woman’s face. She was familiar but I couldn’t place her. They started bashing me, calling me an outsider and a fool, saying I was too weak to rule. Then they talked about him tricking me into making him my mate, so they could kill me and take over.” I couldn’t suppress the sob that choked out.
“It’s alright. You proved you were no fool. Faerie chose you, who is he to think he knows more than the realm itself.” Bowen whispered, reaching out and rubbing my leg. I gave him a watery smile.
“Maybe I am a fool. I trusted him. He helped me bring everyone here. He flirted with me and even kissed me. We made plans and had ideas for the future. I just don’t get it.” I was moving past my heartbreak and into anger now.
“You aren’t a fool, he was just good at his job. I am honestly shocked anyone would want to take over Faerie other than you. You were born for this. The fact they needed you to do all of the hard work first, shows how weak they are.” Maddox reassured me. He had a valid point.
“Do you think others are like him?” I asked, glancing at them. Emrick shrugged.
“It’s always possible, but most Fae don’t care about the humans. The way he kept saying human lover made me think they just wanted revenge on the humans.” Gerwyn looked thoughtful as he explained his theory.
“Good point, Wyn. He said that he watched the humans kill a friend. Maybe that corrupted him?” I gave a shrug, nobody would really know.
“We will protect you, Arabella.” Maddox vowed. The others all nodded in agreement.
“Thank you for protecting me. Will you guys stick by me and be my guard for a bit longer?” I asked shyly. I trusted them and I was afraid to trust my people now. I needed time to work past this betrayal.
“Always, my queen.” Emrick stated. Holding his fist over his chest and bowing his head. The other three followed suit and I was overwhelmed with gratitude.
“Thank you, guys.” I whispered, wiping away the rest of my tears.
“Get some sleep, my queen.” Emrick responded.
“Call me Bella, that’s an order from your queen.” I replied, but I snuggled down into the bed and the others found a place to stretch out.
“Goodnight, Bella.” Gerwyn said sweetly, causing a chorus of goodnights from the others.
“Goodnight, my knights.” I mumbled as I drifted back to sleep.