My Fair Traitor Read online

“Her parents thought so too, and look how well that turned out.”

  I held up a hand to get their attention.

  “I agree with Jareth. We’ll spend the rest of our lives hiding in this realm while faeries with differing motives and masters hunt us down and kill us. The Stargis king said he was forced to come for me. Someone wants Jareth dead, and his father wants me out of the way. These are all problems we have to fix, but we can’t do that until we find the person who betrayed my parents and break this binding spell. No matter how unprepared I am, we have to get to the Fae realm and fix this, and we have to do it soon.”

  Ms. Vivian nodded.

  “There’s no guarantee you’ll survive this.”

  Yeah. Ain’t that the truth.

  “Crysta will not die,” Jareth said with grim determination. “Not while I live and breathe.”

  I felt sick, thinking that it might actually come to that. My princely boyfriend noticed my distress. He wrapped an arm around me and snuggled me to his side.

  “We’ll find a way to break the spell, Crysta. And as soon as we do, you’ll be stuck with me for the rest of your life.”

  “I hope that’s a promise.”

  “It sounded more like a threat,” Nuallan joked half-heartedly, but none of us were able to crack a smile. Not when the future felt so dark and hopeless.

  All in all, this wedding had been a bit of a downer.

  “If we get out of this alive, you owe me a diamond ring and a wedding dress,” I groused. “I want flowers, music, dancing, and a never ending river of chocolate at my disposal.”

  “As you wish,” he said, planting a kiss on my forehead.

  Le sigh.

  Honestly, I doubted he could be more perfect even if he tried.

  A crash of glass from somewhere in the apartment had Jareth thrusting me behind him and pulling out his dagger. Nuallan took up my flank and Ms. Vivian stood in front of us all, legs spread wide in a crouch as she drew something long and sharp from her hair.

  I was so jealous.

  I wanted deadly hair accessories too.

  “Jareth,” she said in a low tone, “get Crysta out of here.”

  He sheathed his weapon and quickly spun, gathering me in a cradle hold just as two beautiful beings cautiously walked into the room from beyond the hallway.

  Jareth’s eyes widened in shock. A deep hurt reflected from his eyes.

  “Stand down,” Jareth hissed. “I don’t know who has made threats against you or what exactly has taken hold of everyone since I left the Fae realm, but we have always been at peace with one another, Crayos. We’ve fought alongside each other.”

  The male on the right—I think it was male—visibly flinched as he shifted back and forth. His jet black hair was long and flowing, and cream colored ears came to a point where black tipped the ends. He and his partner had jade colored skin that contrasted sharply against the black, oval-shaped pupils of their eyes. Really, they looked quite a bit like Jareth except for their coloring, but it was pretty clear they were a different race.

  “Prince Jareth, we have no choice in the matter.” The tenor of his voice was unusual. It sounded as wild as the rushing of the wind and just as indistinct. Crayos and his partner stepped forward, withdrawing short, thin swords from scabbards on each hip.

  Jareth eased back a step, assessing the situation. He seemed more alarmed in their presence than he had with the Stargis king. I couldn’t tell if this had more to do with the kinship he felt toward them or if this particular race of Fae was more kick-arse than the Stargis.

  Probably both.

  “She is my mate,” he practically snarled. His hold on me tightened as a thin sheen of gold shimmered around us. I stared at it in wonder and tentatively reached my hand out to skim my fingers along its surface. It felt cool and firm beneath my touch. Had Jareth constructed another one of his shields?

  “This cannot be,” Crayos said. It shocked me to see compassion and ruthlessness warring for supremacy within the bottomless depths of his gaze. “We have come to end this madness, Prince Jareth. The fate of our realm and the safety of our races must be ensured.”

  “Who sent you?” Nuallan asked. “Surely the king would never sanction this.”

  Crayos stared at Nuallan for a moment, appearing to weigh the pros and cons of his next utterance. “No one sent us. We came of our own volition to end this madness. Your union with this Winter faerie will end our world. Let us break the soul link. You need not die in the process, Jareth. If you do not, she will continue to be hunted.” He fixed his unflinching gaze on Jareth. “As will you.”

  I felt a shift in Jareth’s mood as he came to a decision. With lightning speed he ran backward and broke through the living room window, using his body as a battering ram, but the shield did most of the work. We floated in the air for a moment, and then the golden orb we were encased in rapidly descended to the ground.

  “Hold tightly to me, Crysta,” he shouted. “I fear our entry into the Fae realm may be met with some resistance.”

  We were entering his world? Now? Through the paved road in front of Ms. Vivian’s apartment? A stabbing sensation ripped at my insides just before we hit the ground. Then a bright light blinded me to everything before I blacked out.

  I’ve had a few migraines in my lifetime. Nothing too horrific, but they usually came on the tail end of using my powers—what little I had access to, apparently—against amorous men and their obsession with me.

  Not solely their faults. I hadn’t known that as a full-blooded faerie, I would have that effect on human men.

  This migraine made all the others I’d experienced seem laughable in comparison. My pulse caused the hammering within my cranium to pick up speed. The cells within my body burned hot one moment and then cool the next. Any attempt to force my eyes open increased the agony and pressure building around the inside of my skull.

  I hate to be melodramatic, but death seemed like a super duper alternative. I laid perfectly still since each movement created its own form of torture, but bit by bit the level of pain receded into the background and breathing became easier.

  The first thing I noticed once the pain stopped overshadowing my senses was the smell of clean, crisp air, moist earth, and a sharp hint of pine. I cracked my eyes open and took in the gray shades of an overcast sky. Something wet seeped into the fabric of my shirt and pants. I placed both hands on either side of me to brace myself as I sat up, but the powdery snow beneath my palms and fingertips made me hesitate. I lifted my hands in front of me and stared at the white flakes covering them.

  “What the hell?”

  Rolling to my side, I took inventory of my surroundings. I was definitely in a forest, surrounded by what I believed to be some type of pine tree, but I’d never seen anything like them in all my life. The pine needles looked more like icy shards suspended from ash white branches. The bark of the tree appeared to be frozen, but when I reached out toward the base of one, it felt roughly textured instead of smooth like ice. I gingerly stood to my feet and spun in a circle as I tried to get my bearings, but I was surrounded by nothing but a dense forest of icy trees and snow. The only thing that broke the blinding white of my surroundings were the occasional gray patches I noticed on a few of the trees’ trunks. They seemed a bit out of place, their locations varied with very little rhyme or reason to them.

  I decided further investigation was probably a stupid idea since I was clearly in the Fae realm now and had no idea if those gray spots were lethal. Touching anything wasn’t smart without Jareth here to guide me.

  Jareth!

  I spun in a circle again, searching for the warmth of his beautifully sculpted form. I didn’t see him anywhere.

  “Jareth?” I said in a low voice.

  The idea of screaming his name at the top of my lungs like a crazy person held real appeal, but I had no idea if there were other Fae in the area with orders to kill me on sight. If that Crayos dude knew about my relationship with Jareth and was against it then
that meant other faeries probably knew about us and shared Crayos’ sentiments.

  My sneakers made soft crunching sounds as I took several tentative steps in front of me.

  I stopped when I realized I had absolutely no idea which way I was supposed to go. I assumed the plan was to get to the palace, but it’s not like I had a road map leading me to its front door.

  No GPS. No cell service in this place.

  It occurred to me that I was an easy target. Completely helpless. The thought irritated the hell out of me, causing me to start walking forward even though I had no idea if I was going in the right direction.

  I had to do something, though. Some action was better than standing there waiting for some murderous creature to find me and end my life.

  If I died, so did Jareth.

  No pressure or anything, and I seriously hated to complain since he’d linked us in an attempt to save me from his father, but I was very aware of my own incompetence when it came to protecting myself against magical creatures and trained assassins.

  Who was I, really?

  A clueless princess with hardly any access to her powers who had been raised human and had no idea how to function in a lethal world like this one.

  Put me on the streets of San Diego, and I could handle anything that came my way. In this environment, though, I was completely out of my element.

  I did not like it. Not one bit.

  I kept walking, crunching through the snow in a determined show of initiative. Maybe my body would somehow know which way the palace was located. I had to trust my instincts and hope I walked toward something helpful…like my boyfriend. I was seriously worried about him even though I knew he could take care of himself. I just wasn’t sure where he’d ended up once we crossed into the Fae realm. I didn’t even know how we’d managed that. I couldn’t sense him through our link, and that meant, at the very least, he was several miles from me.

  I’m not sure how far I walked, but it felt like a good hour or so before the dense forest began to thin out. All of a sudden, I reached the edge of the forest and gasped in surprise as flatlands and an enormous lake rose up before me. I stepped out beyond the frozen tree-line and walked the crystal sands that stretched for several yards until meeting the lapping waters of the lake.

  Breathing in the cool, crisp air, I gazed across the expansive waters. I couldn’t make out the land on the other side and it seemed that the lake went on forever. The water was the clearest blue I had ever seen, reminding me of Jareth’s eyes, causing a sharp stab of longing to course through me.

  There were patches of that weird gray color I’d seen in the forest when I’d first arrived. The gray circles floated at random places just on top of the water, making it look like the lake was covered in discolored polka dots.

  It was really bizarre.

  I noticed a slight disturbance in the water a few yards ahead and backed up a little closer to the tree-line. I wasn’t a total idiot. Who knew what kinds of creatures lived in these waters. The disturbance became more turbulent and just as I was about ready to run back the way I’d come, a lithe form shot out of the water, twirled in the air, and gracefully nose-dived right back in, barely making a splash.

  No freaking way!

  My girlie obsession with The Little Mermaid had me rushing toward the shoreline without considering the fact that this particular mermaid might be lethal.

  Ah, who cared? Death by mermaid sounded like one awesome way to go.

  I shook my head and stepped back, realizing I’d just exposed myself to any creature within a hundred yards of me. The mermaid’s head popped up several feet away. She gave me a wave and slowly approached me as I decided whether or not I should stay and investigate or use what remaining common sense I had left and get the hell out of there.

  Common sense failed.

  Big time.

  Fortunately for me, I didn’t have to worry. She held both arms up in a peaceful gesture and then pulled herself onto the sandy shore, curling her tail behind her. And boy was that tail a thing of beauty. It was the darkest of blues speckled with shimmering scales that made me feel as if I was staring at the night sky, catching familiar constellations with each swing of her tail. Her eyes were blackened within slanted lids, but they didn’t appear menacing in the least, especially when they lightened to a violet color. Her skin was a cream color that contrasted nicely with her jet black hair, flowing behind her in wet waves. Her full, pouting lips made me grateful she wasn’t the same species as Jareth.

  It almost seemed like she read my thoughts because her lips pulled back in an enchanting smile that was made only slightly menacing by the very sharp points of each of her teeth.

  Her shimmering, dark blue scales covered her chest, lending her a level of modesty, but I had no idea if that was part of her physiology or if she could make those scales come and go like I had read in other mermaid books.

  “She has finally returned,” the beautiful mermaid said. Her voice was light and airy, but filled with a power I couldn’t identify. “The last heir of the Tuadhe d’Anu bloodline has come to restore order to our realm.”

  I sputtered in surprise.

  “Say what?”

  The enchanting female let out a soft chuckle that sounded melodious, pulling me forward just a little.

  “Crysta,” she said softly. “I’m so happy you’ve returned. I was a very dear friend of your mother’s. She brought you to meet me a few days after you were born. I had the great privilege of kissing that noble brow of yours before you disappeared a week later.”

  All I could do was stare numbly at her.

  “My name is Chantara,” she said, extending a miraculously dry hand.

  I finally snapped out of my fugue state to reach over and take her hand in mine. Her skin was soft and her touch welcoming.

  “It’s nice to meet you, Chantara. I’m sorry for staring. I’ve just never seen a…”

  “Mermaid?” She gave me an understanding nod, her violet eyes flashing kind sympathy as she rose from the shore on the end of her tail and then quickly made the transition from tail to legs. Her scales morphed into a silky blue dress that gave meaning to the word sinful. She reached me in one easy stride and wrapped her arms around me.

  For some reason, I equated the feeling of her embrace to what it might feel like being held in my mother’s arms. I let her essence envelop me, sensing her core magic lightly kiss my brow as it sent soothing waves of love and homecoming to wash over me.

  I pulled back a little and studied her features which looked strangely Asian to me. I didn’t think the races in my realm could have crossed over here in the Fae realm, but what did I know about this place or its origins?

  Nothing.

  “What do you mean, restore order?” I said. I really wanted to ask her questions about my mother, but I was afraid I’d break down into a bawling mess of tears, and that wasn’t the first impression I wanted to make.

  Chantara’s violet eyes went black for a few moments as her expression grew shadowed with worry.

  “The magic is changing,” she said. “Unresponsive, wild, and rebellious. I sense a great disruption in the elements and the power it usually holds. Fae are sickening…wasting away…and some have already died.”

  Her eyes held loss within their depths. I was afraid to ask if she’d already lost someone close to her.

  “Has this ever happened before?”

  She shook her head, staring at me with those dark orbs as if I held the solution to this major problem. Her eyes lightened to violet again and she gave me a soft smile.

  I wondered if this had anything to do with the disappearance of the Stargis race and had to assume it did.

  “How long has this been going on?”

  “These occurrences are recent. One full phase of the moon.”

  One month. I didn’t like the timing.

  “There is a great evil in this land, Crysta. Only you can fight it. Only you can fix it.”

  “How?”
br />   Chantara’s smile held sadness and sympathy, her violet eyes softened as she took me in.

  “It will require great sacrifice on your part. It may require everything you love, and all that you hold dear.”

  “Okay, that was both annoyingly vague and incredibly depressing. I can’t just fix this magical problem with a wave of my hand without having to make sacrifices I know I’m going to hate?”

  Chantara’s laughter rang with a soft melody that felt very familiar.

  “Does a heroine’s journey ever come that easy?”

  “I’m no heroine, Chantara. I’m just a faerie who thought she was human.”

  She gave me a loving smile, placed a kiss on my forehead, and slowly walked back into the lake. A soft glow shimmered from beneath the surface, and the end of her tail slowly lifted and then sank below the icy blue depths of the water. She turned to face me with a solemn expression on her face.

  “You will need time to adjust. You are not yet ready for what we must discuss. Your palace is a long journey through the forest to your left, but I do believe your uncle has already sensed your presence and is coming to collect you.”

  She dove beneath the surface and swam a ways out before turning to look at me one last time.

  “Come back to me when you are ready. There is much to discuss.”

  I nodded without understanding much of what she’d said, feeling a bit lost as she dove under the water and disappeared from sight.

  She felt like family.

  It hurt to see her go, and I found it almost impossible to turn toward the direction she’d indicated and place one foot in front of the other, but once I’d made it back into the forest, Jareth’s face filled my thoughts.

  I had to find my fated mate.

  After about fifteen minutes of walking, I froze for a moment and turned my head to the right, closing my eyes and focusing on the sounds around me. The eerie stillness was freaking me out. It seemed like I was alone, but I couldn’t help thinking I was being hunted and had been ever since I left the lake. A snapping of branches came from my left, signaling the arrival of something that was most likely going to kill me where I stood. I searched my surroundings for options.