My Fair Traitor Page 3

  Stargis? Wasn’t that the race Nuallan had been worried about?

  Miraculously, the scratchy hands holding me captive released me. I took a tentative step forward and then another, my eyes never leaving Jareth.

  “I cannot tell you who forced our hand and ordered her death, Prince of the Seelie Court, but I can promise you more of my kind will come. The balance of the Fae realm is not the only issue at play. There are dark forces at work seeking your destruction.”

  I turned to look at the creature, registering shock at the gray tinged tears streaming down its face.

  “My life is forfeit now, but I sense great power in her,” it said. “She will either be our greatest salvation or our surest destruction.”

  The faerie stepped back and expanded its ribs wide. Then it lifted its claws and sent them slicing into its chest. I gasped in alarm and rushed forward without thinking, catching him in my arms as he slunk toward the floor.

  He pulled something from his chest, opened up my palm and placed it there. The object was covered in gray sludge. I did my best not to cringe at the unwanted gift.

  “You must keep it safe now,” he said. “You must save the Stargis race from those who would destroy us all.”

  Jareth came up behind me and placed a hand on my shoulder.

  “You cannot give this to Crysta. It isn’t her calling nor is it her responsibility.”

  The creature coughed up a slimy residue before saying, “She may be the only one to whom I can entrust such a grave responsibility.”

  “Who is endangering the Stargis?” Jareth asked. His urgent tone demanded answers.

  “I am not able to speak the name.” He let out a shaky breath and then his eyes lost focus. His skeletal form relaxed in my arms as the Stargis exhaled its last breath.

  I don’t know why, but I began to cry. These monsters had just terrorized innocent people in an attempt to hunt me down and kill me, but based on what little I had been able to draw from his last few words, it seemed as if these actions went against their nature. As if they had been coerced to kill me due to some threat hanging over them.

  The pang I felt at such useless loss caused the tears to flow freely. With a shaky hand, I closed his eyes and allowed him to sink to the floor. Only then did I finally hear Jareth speaking to me.

  “Crysta, we must leave now.”

  He lifted me into a cradle hold, most likely realizing that I was suffering from shock. With a few whispered words and one of those funny hand movements that tended to go along with any spell he cast, the Stargis in front of me disappeared as if he had never been there.

  As if he had never existed.

  The thought made me cry even more.

  “The Stargis king gave Crysta its core magic?” Nuallan asked in disbelief. ”I can’t decide which is more disturbing. The fact that the ruler of the Stargis is dead or that he killed himself and entrusted his elemental magic to Crysta.”

  He sat on the couch beside me, resting a comforting hand on my shoulder while Jareth paced my tiny living room with an intensity that left me fearing for the threadbare carpet’s safety. He was going to burn a hole in the rug if he didn’t get his anger under control.

  I glanced down at the amber colored stone within my hand. It had taken some doing to get all the gunk off it, but once clean, the stone had nearly blinded me with its brilliance.

  “What am I supposed to do with this?”

  Nuallan shook his head as he stared in awe at the stone. He looked as if he was both frightened and mesmerized by its presence. He cleared his throat and answered my question since Jareth seemed to be in his own little world, pacing back and forth like a crazy person.

  “Faeries are born with core magic embedded within their hearts. While our physical hearts monitor our temporal functions, our magical hearts monitor the elements we control. It’s our source of power, and each faerie possesses a different level of power. Royals are born with the most powerful elemental magic, which is why the Stargis king’s actions are so unbelievable.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “He means, you’re not supposed to have this magic, Crysta. You’re not supposed to mix the Stargis magic with your own. It’s dangerous.”

  “How would I mix it?” I asked, feeling an unhealthy amount of curiosity at the thought. Jareth gave me a warning look, knowing how my mind worked by now.

  “When a faerie of royal blood dies, its core is removed and bequeathed to the next heir of that bloodline. That heir then melds its predecessors’ core magic into its own core, combining the two and increasing its power. It also gives that heir the knowledge of the previous heir’s reign and the authority to rule.”

  “Now wait a second,” I said. “I thought there were only two ruling bloodlines within the courts. My bloodline and yours.”

  Nuallan shook his head. “The politics within the Fae realm are not so easily broken down. Each species of faerie has a royal bloodline, and each faerie is either a Winter, Summer, Autumn, or Spring faerie. You may share or combine your magic with a faerie who shares your seasonal element, but a royal never hands down its core magic to a faerie of a different race. This is why a union of a Winter and Summer faerie is so damned crazy. Not only do you possess different core magics, you’re not even the same species.”

  “What?” I asked in disbelief.

  Jareth gave Nuallan a frustrated look and then turned to me.

  “There is a tiny variant between my race and yours. Either way, we’re both faeries.”

  “But we look the same,” I countered.

  “And we both look like humans, but neither one of us is actually human.” Jareth gave me a tender smile as I let that mind-bending factoid sink in.

  “So how are we different?”

  “A minor variation in our genes. Nothing more, but enough to scientifically make us a different type of Fae, and enough to give my father cause to truly worry.”

  I rubbed my temples in frustration as I tried to come to terms with this new bit of information. It bothered me that I wasn’t just like Jareth when I had been led to believe otherwise. The consequences of our union were far more dangerous than he had led me to believe.

  I turned to Nuallan, hoping he would give me an honest answer.

  “Why did the Stargis king give me his core magic if it’s that dangerous to mix elemental magic with different species?”

  Nuallan studied me for a moment before he said, “Desperation? Fear? It is obvious he knew he was going to die and thought his magic would be safer in your hands, probably because no one in a million years would ever believe he would hand his core magic over to a Winter faerie of a different race. He didn’t want it falling into the hands of whoever was threatening him…or you for that matter. It’s incredibly interesting that he gave the key to ruling his race to you instead of his heir.”

  “The key to ruling his race? Are you saying I’m now the Stargis queen?”

  “No,” Jareth said, voice firm. “You’re simply the caretaker of this magic until you can hand it over to the next Stargis heir, though I’m uncertain when that will be since they were coerced into attacking you.”

  “Speaking of…how about we discuss the reason behind the Stargis attack.”

  The very mention of that topic brought out another bout of pacing from Jareth.

  “Someone wants me dead, Nuallan.” Jareth paused in his movements and turned to face us. “We already know my father wishes Crysta had never been born, but I cannot entertain, for one moment, the notion that he is so far gone in his deluded beliefs that he would kill Crysta when he knows my life would end as well.”

  Nuallan appeared deeply distraught.

  “I should have known about the attack, my Prince. I have failed both you and your fated mate.”

  “You don’t have the resources to know everything that goes on in the Fae realm, especially with the Seelie and Unseelie Courts so disconnected,” I said.

  Nuallan shook off my words.

  “Rega
rdless, I should have seen it coming. One thing I do know for certain, your father is not behind this. He would never harm a hair on your head, Prince Jareth.”

  “One of the Stargis said the same thing,” I replied. “It told me your father would never risk your life. Apparently, they were working for someone else. Which begs the question, who are our likely candidates?”

  “Other than creatures that exist outside the Fae realm…no one,” Jareth said. “I can understand a disgruntled coven of vampires or a pack of werewolves. Not many of those species are fans of the Fae, but other faeries within our realm would never risk an attack against two of the most powerful bloodlines among us. I don’t think they would, anyway. We may have had our differences within the two Courts, but haven’t been at war with one another for centuries.”

  I raised a caustic eyebrow.

  “Not openly,” he conceded. “No one in the Fae realm ever believed faeries were involved in the murder of your parents.”

  “Yet it’s a strong call to arms,” Nuallan stated. “If Crysta’s uncle discovers the identity of his brother’s murderer, there will be a civil war the likes of which you cannot begin to comprehend.” Nuallan’s gaze was wide and terrified. “Elements fighting against elements, the balance of the realm in complete disarray. It will begin to effect other realms as well.”

  Jareth sat down on the coffee table in front of us and put his head in his hands.

  “My father believed killing an entire bloodline would somehow prevent that very imbalance from happening, but he’s more than ushered it in.”

  “Maybe someone does know. Perhaps an attempt on your life was sanctioned by an individual in the Unseelie Court. Vengeance for the eradication of the Tuadhe d’Anu bloodline,” Nuallan said.

  “So they kill Crysta, their last heir to the Unseelie throne, to mete out justice?” Jareth said unconvinced. “It’s counterintuitive. I don’t think anyone has discovered who murdered Crysta’s family.”

  “Let’s keep it that way,” I said. “It won’t do the Fae realm any good. It makes more sense to simply prove your father wrong. If we’re fated to be together then there must be a reason for it and not one meant for the destruction of your world.”

  “Our world,” Jareth corrected in a gentle tone. “Our world, Crysta.”

  I gave him a brief smile, but remained silent. I was still having some trouble thinking of any place other than Earth as home.

  “The fact that Jareth was able to link his soul to yours without any mishap is promising,” Nuallan said in a kind show of support. “Any number of things could have gone wrong by linking two opposite elements together.”

  I turned in my position on the couch to face him. “Like what?”

  Nuallan gave Jareth a furtive look and cringed. “Sorry, my Prince. I wasn’t thinking.”

  “No you were not,” Jareth rumbled.

  I grabbed Nuallan’s hand and held it fast. I gave him a stern look that said I meant business.

  “You will tell me exactly what you meant by that statement or I will freeze your nether regions with my freaky powers.”

  Jareth chuckled under his breath.

  “Go ahead, old friend. I speak from experience when I say you’ll want to avoid that scenario at all cost.”

  Nuallan swallowed uneasily and took in a deep breath.

  “Jareth took a great risk when he linked your souls together. The seasonal elements of Winter and Summer are separate for a reason. One cannot withstand the other. Can you imagine Summer and Winter vying for supremacy at all times? It would cause natural disasters like hurricanes, tsunamis, and tornadoes, but on a much grander scale.”

  I tucked my legs underneath me and looked at Jareth in astonishment.

  “I don’t understand. How does that work?”

  Jareth knelt before me and pulled my hand from Nuallan’s. “It’s all about the way cold air and hot air react to one another. Storms are caused by these very interactions, though they vary depending upon the level of interaction. As a Winter faerie, you not only have access to the seasonal element of Winter, but how that seasonal element impacts earth, wind, water, and fire.”

  “You’re saying that you and I can control these things, but our seasonal element determines how we have access to them.”

  “Right,” Nuallan interjected. “You can only freeze water, not allow it to flow and give life to others. Your seasonal element causes your lands to be in a constant state of hibernation. The Fae realm regulates the seasons for all realms in existence. For them to merge in any way would create chaos where there should be separate and distinct order.”

  I shook my head, trying to wrap my brain around the science lesson.

  “Okay, and you said there are Autumn and Spring faeries?”

  “Of course,” Nuallan said as if I were a simpleton. “You ran into an Autumn faerie just this morning.”

  My shoulders slumped. “You’re telling me those Stargis were Autumn faeries? They were hideous.”

  Nuallan’s brow furrowed in puzzlement.

  “What does that have to do with anything?”

  “I guess I just thought Autumn faeries would be pretty. Summer and Winter faeries are.”

  Nuallan and Jareth laughed, once again pushing the notion that I really was a simpleton to the forefront of my insecurities.

  “Crysta there are thousands of races of faerie within the Fae realm. Some are beautiful and some are not. This has nothing to do with their seasonal element.”

  I grimaced in irritation as they continued to chuckle in delight.

  “Hey, in my defense I’ve never been to your realm. I know nothing about the inner workings of its people.”

  Jareth looked at me pointedly. “Hence my reasons for encouraging you to study our history as much as possible and get a better handle on your powers before we leave this realm. If you intend to take over the responsibilities of the Unseelie Court, there is quite a bit of learning to be had.”

  Jareth had posed a few stipulations before our sojourn into his world. He insisted I learn how to defend myself better. He didn’t trust his father in the slightest, and he also insisted that I study up on the various species of Fae within the realm so I understood which ones were dangerous and which were not. There seemed to be plenty more dangerous ones within the Unseelie Court.

  What a legacy.

  “Is that what you two were doing at the library?” Nuallan asked in disbelief. “Surely the history of our people can’t be found in a human establishment.”

  “On the contrary,” Jareth said as he stood and walked over to a bag hanging from the front door handle. “You wouldn’t believe the amount of interaction humans have had with our kind over the centuries.” He pulled a large book from the bag and handed it to Nuallan. The book was bound in brown leather. Straps came together at the front where a worn gold buckle kept the book locked tight.

  “You found this at the San Diego Public Library?” I said with raised brows.

  Jareth nodded.

  “When?”

  “Right before my much needed and well deserved coffee break, though next time I’ll be taking you with me. One of the librarians did a search for me while you used the restroom. The information and drawings of our people are fairly accurate. There are only a few inconsistencies to address within its pages.”

  I was seriously curious, but I decided we were getting off course here. As much as I wanted to flip open that book and pore over its contents, the topic of our union and its possible consequences had to be hashed out, especially if Jareth had been keeping things from me.

  “Back to our seasonal elements, you’re telling me we could have died from the soul link?” I asked.

  “Just Jareth,” Nuallan stated.

  “Why?” I asked him, though I never took my eyes from my boyfriend, who refused to meet my gaze.

  “Because he was the one responsible for forming the link.”

  I narrowed my eyes at him.

  “You are an idiot,”
I muttered.

  Jareth bent over and placed a soft kiss on my forehead.

  “If we were fated for one another there could be no danger. I wasn’t worried in the slightest, and I was right.”

  I harrumphed, still angry that he would so foolishly risk himself like that. “No one seems to be a fan of this union, Jareth. Your father is convinced that my death is the only thing preventing a full blown apocalypse, and now your enemies are taking advantage of our link to get rid of you. I’m going to be the cause of your death.”

  “Don’t be ridiculous. I’m one of the most powerful beings in the Fae realm and very likely one of the most powerful beings in all the realms. I cannot be killed.”

  Nuallan and I shared a long-suffering grimace.

  “I keep telling him to check his ego at the front door. Can you guess how many times he’s actually listened?”

  Nuallan shook his head. “I have no idea what you just said, but from your tone of voice it seems I should be offering my condolences that fate matched you with such a disagreeable royal.”

  “Your condolences are much appreciated.”

  Jareth let out a derisive snort.

  Ignoring him, I stood and headed toward my pathetic excuse for a kitchen. The invincible Fae Prince grabbed my elbow.

  “Crysta, where are you going?”

  “I’m going to drown my sorrows in carob-covered strawberries you frustratingly, idiotic faerie! I’m all about eating my emotions.”

  I wrenched my arm out of his grasp and walked into the kitchen. Nuallan’s voice followed me around the corner.

  “Jareth, please tell me you’ve been studying that slang dictionary of yours enough to explain her meaning,” Nuallan said.

  “She’s stress-eating,” Jareth replied in a flat tone.

  “I’m afraid you make about as much sense as she does.”

  I tuned them out and opened the fridge, gratified to see it filled with delicious foods I was actually capable of eating. Being vegan in a world filled with meat-eating foster parents had been tough.

  Warm fingers caressed the back of my hand as it rested on the refrigerator door. Jareth wrapped his other arm around my waist and pulled me flush against his chest. I relaxed into his embrace and took several deep breaths as he kissed the top of my head.