Fae- Crowned Read online

  Fae: Crowned

  Lost Royal Book 3

  Eva Blackwing

  Fae: Crowned

  © 2020 Eva Blackwing

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored or transmitted by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, tanning or otherwise without written permission from the publisher. It is illegal to copy this book, post it to a website, or distribute it by any means without permission.

  This novel is entirely a work of fiction. the names, characters, and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.

  Eva Blackwing asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.

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  Designations used by companies to distinguish their products are often claimed as trade marks.

  All brand and product names used in this book and on its cover are trade names, service marks, trademarks, and registered trademarks of their respective owners. The publishers and the book are not associated with any product vendor mentioned in this book. None of the companies referenced within the book have endorsed the book.

  Cover Art by Mibl Art

  This book is intended for readers 18+

  Created with Vellum

  For the Readers

  Without you, this wouldn’t have been possible.

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Afterword

  Chapter 1

  Mor

  Atreyu was missing. That awful hag Selina had taken him. How the fuck had she let this happen? Arthur walked with her, not offering any comfort. He understood the place she was in now. She’d ask him later, but Mor was sure he had needed to go to this cold place she was in. There were too many feelings wanting to get in the way. She could deal with it later - after they got Atreyu back, after they destroyed that piece of shit Boris, after the war. Her other mates caught up with them and she could feel them reaching out to comfort her. But she didn’t want comfort. She wanted Atreyu back.

  When they reached the house, she glanced around at the others. “Council room. Now.” Without waiting, Mor went in the house and straight to the council room. She took her seat and sent out a quick thought to Trisha without thinking about it. A moment later, a surprised-looking Trisha came in the side door.

  “Did ye need somethin’, lass?”

  “Yes. Please bring refreshments for the full council. We have a long night ahead of us.” Just then, the others started filing in. Her mates sat near her while the Dragon Council, Atreyu’s parents, and Sebastian’s family filed in. There weren’t enough seats, but before she could get frustrated, Morgana waved a hand and there were more chairs. Handy. Once everyone was seated, Mor nodded to Morgana. “Please play back the message.”

  Struggling to keep her face impassive, Mor listened as the message from Selina replayed for the entire council. She felt shame creep up her neck. If she had only noticed sooner that Atreyu was missing. If she had been more in tune with her magic and her mates. She had thought she took it seriously, but if she was honest with herself Mor hadn’t really put in the effort she should have to make the magic hers. That would change now. No more mistakes.

  When Selina’s message finished, she waited. She didn’t have to wait long before all hell broke loose. Everyone wanted to be heard and was shouting over the others. Well, most of them were. Her mates were silent, staring at the pendant laying in the middle of the table. Mor let the shouting continue for some time, figuring it was better to have them let it out before trying to speak over them. Finally, she’d had enough and raised a hand. When that didn’t work, she sent a pulse of magic through the room.

  The silence was immediate and deafening. “This does not help Atreyu. This will not help our people. So cut your bullshit and stop yelling!” She glared at them all. “Does anyone have anything productive to say?”

  Sighing, Max looked up. “We’re going to need to know what their demands are.”

  “I’m pretty sure we can guess what those demands are,” Sebastian spoke up.

  “Zero chance we will allow that,” Ben said.

  “Well, that should be obvious,” Amelia snapped out. Mor was a little surprised about that, but maybe she read her wrong. “Mor is the strongest of us, I believe, of course, that psycho would want her. What you need to know is how to defeat him.” Her face tightened as she continued, “We must remember in every war there will be losses. Now, I know this will not be a popular opinion, but we cannot risk losing the war for one Fae - even if he is one of the queen’s mates.”

  Ice crept through Mor’s veins as she listened to Amelia speak. “I’m sorry, I must have heard you wrong. I’m sure I did not hear you say we should sacrifice Atreyu.”

  “Come now, dear, we all knew there was a good chance not everyone in this room would make it out of this war alive.” Her tone was condescending.

  The temperature in the room dropped. Mor stood slowly, leaning forward on to the table. “Let me make one thing perfectly clear before we continue this meeting. Giving up on my mate is not an option! I understand there will be losses, but while I am queen we do not give up on anyone. Whether they be a lowly foot soldier or my mate. Is that clear? If you cannot handle that, please leave now.” She pointed to the door.

  When no one moved, she made eye contact with each person in the room. Their breaths were visible in the room’s chill. Mor could see everyone shiver, but no one made an attempt to leave. When she was satisfied everyone understood, she sat down again. “Now. When will Adair return? We need the information he should have.”

  Isabella stood. “He should return within two days, your majesty.” Her voice was tight, probably from fear for Atreyu and the cold.

  When Ben’s hand gripped her arm, Mor turned toward him. “Yes, Ben?”

  Leaning in, he whispered, “Could you possibly pull your magic in?”

  “Why?”

  “It’s fucking cold in here.” Ben grimaced. “I think everyone could think a little more clearly if they aren’t worried about frostbite.”

  When Mor didn’t answer right away, Max leaned in and gripped her other arm. “Please, sweetie? I’d rather not lose a fingertip.”

  “Or the tip of anything else,” Sebastian grunted with a wink.

  Snorting, Mor nodded. “Very well. I apologize for almost freezing your…tips.” She smirked and then closed her eyes for a moment. She focused inward, trying to pull the magic. Fuck. Out was easy, in was hard. “Damn.” Squeezing her eyes shut, Mor forced the magic back in. When she finally opened her eyes, Mor was breathing hard. “Better?”

  “Yes, thank you, rose.” Arthur lifted her hand and kissed it.

  “Now, can we all focus sufficiently?” When everyone nodded, Mor continued, “So. Adair will be here within two days. In the meantime, make sure we are ready at
a moment’s notice. Arthur, Ben, how long will it take to integrate the dragons with the Fae?”

  Ben looked at Arthur for a moment. “I’d think a week or two?”

  “Two weeks sounds about right, brother.” Arthur nodded, “Assuming most of our peoples don’t have a stick up their ass, we shouldn’t have too much trouble.”

  “Get it done in one. I want an extraction team formed so that when we have the needed information, we can get Atreyu out.” She looked around the table again. “Spread the word to be on the lookout for any strange deliveries. No one is to touch pendants, boxes, and so on. Send for Morgana if one is found. We don’t know how the next message will be delivered.”

  A sudden wave of fatigue hit Mor, and she swayed slightly in her seat. Arthur looked over at her, concern on his face. He stood. “We will adjourn for the evening. We will gather here directly after breakfast to discuss the best way to integrate our forces. If you are not necessary for that meeting, don’t bother coming.” He held a hand out to Mor, “My Queen?”

  She took his hand, standing stiffly, trying to focus on not swaying. Fatigue had hit her so hard she wasn’t totally sure how she was able to stand. “Get some rest. We have a lot to do.” Hooking her arm with Arthur’s, she let him lead her out.

  “Let’s get you to bed,” Max said as the door shut behind them.

  “I’m so tired.” She rubbed her eyes and followed them up the stairs.

  “Besides stress, I think you put out a lot of magic tonight.” Ben rubbed the small of her back as they entered their suite. “I haven’t seen you use magic freely like that. You must build up your endurance.”

  “Just like running,” Mor grimaced. “I feel like I should be doing something to find Atreyu, but I don’t know what I should do.” She growled in frustration. “I can’t go chasing after him since Selina is a dragon, and it’s guaranteed she already has him locked up.” She started pacing around their room. “I can’t feel him and I don’t know if it’s because we’re too far apart, he’s knocked out, or I’m incompetent.”

  “Woah, darling. Incompetent is not on the list. Untrained, perhaps. Or at least not fully trained.”

  “I should have tried harder. Done more. Something.”

  “Mor, you listen carefully to me.” Ben held her face in his hands. “We all let our guard down. We thought since we were home, and had been successful, that we were in the clear. None of us thought we could be touched.”

  Picking up her hand, Arthur added, “It wasn’t just you. We all fucked up. You can’t take all the blame for this one.”

  She nodded slowly. “There must be something we can do.”

  “As soon as Adair is back, we will have a better idea of what we can do. Until then, we focus on integrating our forces and training. That’s all we can do, darling.”

  “What’s the plan to integrate? Have any of you ever done that?”

  They all shook their heads but Ben added, “I haven’t ever tried to bring two armies together, but I’ve had to integrate two units before. Mixing them up and then putting them through their paces.”

  “Arthur? How do you think your people will deal with that?”

  He leaned back, looking thoughtful. “There will probably be some resentment at first. Most of my army has had a significant amount of experience. What’s the Fae army like?”

  “We have a good mix of experienced and young. But I think our people are more used to following the directions of those younger than themselves.”

  “Probably true. The Dragons tend to have hereditary positions, and since it’s very hard to kill us, change doesn’t happen too often.”

  “So who gets put in charge?”

  “Well, clearly - ” Ben started.

  “Obviously - ” Arthur said at the same time.

  They glared at each other and started arguing over each other. They started mostly polite, then heated up. They were shouting pretty quickly. Sebastian and Max sat back and watched, grimaces on their faces. When they started cussing, Mor cut in.

  “Apparently it’s not obvious.” Mor shook her head. “Since you two aren’t even trying to work together, this does not look good for the armies. Suck up your pride, gentlemen. If you two can’t get it together, how can we expect the armies to? How can we save Atreyu? There will be zero chance of winning this war, that’s for damn sure.”

  Ben sighed, “I’m sorry, Mor. You’re right.”

  “We will find a way to work it out,” Arthur grumbled.

  “Mix up the units, put a Dragon and a Fae in charge of each. Make it clear that they will work together or I will deal with them personally. And while there won’t be death or maiming, I’m sure weeks of toilet cleaning duty will adjust some attitudes.”

  “Cold, darling, cold,” Sebastian grinned. “I know that would straighten me out.”

  “I don’t know - “

  Cutting Arthur off, Mor said, “That’s what’s happening.” She tried to keep going but stopped when she yawned. It had been a long fucking day, and she was exhausted.

  “I think it’s time for bed, sweetie. All of this will be waiting for us in the morning.” Max pulled her toward the bathroom and pushed her in. “Go get ready for bed.”

  Mor thought about arguing, but shrugged and went in the bathroom. She started getting ready and could hear her guys arguing in the room. She ignored them, figuring they would stop by the time she came out. It took her longer than usual, probably because she kept having to stop and stuff her feelings back down. She missed Atreyu. She guessed it felt like losing an arm. She was still mostly in shock and denial.

  When she came out of the bathroom ready for bed, her mates had settled whatever they had been arguing about. Max smiled softly at her and patted the bed between him and Arthur. Sighing, Mor crawled on to the bed and settled in between them. It was a long time before she could close her eyes without flinching, and even longer before she could sleep.

  Chapter 2

  Ben

  Ben was frustrated. He and Arthur had gotten up before all the others and headed down to the armies, each going to speak to their troops. The two armies had socialized the night before, but Ben was pretty sure that hadn’t done them any favors. The Fae were being stubborn, convinced that the Dragons wouldn’t know how to fight. And that the Dragons would be stuck in their ways. The Fae were also mad that the Dragons kept talking down to them. In all fairness, most of the Dragon army was significantly older than the Fae. Ben assumed it was because it was harder to kill a Dragon than a Fae. They were a much older race, after all.

  But it didn’t help that Arthur was almost as patronizing. He wasn’t trying to undermine anything, but he just couldn’t seem to help himself. Maybe it was age. Maybe it was being a king for over a thousand years. Either way, it made Ben want to punch him in the nose. And then maybe put him in a chokehold. He sat down at the table, a grin on his face as he thought about the satisfying crunching sound Arthur’s nose would make.

  “What are you smiling about? I heard things didn’t go so well today,” Mor said as she sat down.

  Jumping a little, Ben looked over at her guiltily. “Um, nothing?”

  “Uh-huh. I sure didn’t feel any vindictive satisfaction coming off of you in waves.”

  “Nope,” he smiled serenely. “And you’re right. Today did not go well.”

  “What was the problem?”

  “Oh you know, just general stubbornness,” Arthur said airily as he sat down across from Mor.

  Grinding his teeth, Ben said, “It wasn’t just general stubbornness. Your people are treating mine like children.”

  “Come now, Ben. It wasn’t that bad.”

  “Yes, it was.”

  “No, you’re just being dramatic. They can’t help that they’re so much older and more experienced.”

  Slamming his fork down, Ben glared at Arthur. “That is exactly the attitude that caused the problems today! Just because you are all old doesn’t mean you know better!”

  “I wi
ll have you know that we have centuries of experience compared to your people! That deserves respect!”

  “Or maybe the reason you have so many old people in your army is because you haven’t really fought a battle in, what eight hundred years?”

  “We haven’t needed to fight one because the magic realms recognize our superiority!”

  “Not superiority, just size. And you don’t have much that anyone would want.”

  Spluttering, Arthur stood. “What the fuck do you mean by that? We haven’t been in a fight because we’re better!”

  He leaned back and smirked at Arthur. “Bigger isn’t always better. You have to know what you’re doing.”

  Mor snickered.

  Ben gaped at her.

  She…snickered…again.

  “Something funny?”

  “That’s what she said!” She burst out laughing.

  Ben stared at her. He blinked. He snorted. Finally, he broke into a laugh. “That’s pretty funny.”

  “What? I don’t get it,” Arthur frowned.

  Ben and Mor laughed harder.

  Arthur’s frown deepened as he watched them.

  Max and Sebastian came in and stared at them all. “Something amusing, I assume?” Sebastian raised an eyebrow.

  Forcing himself to take deep breaths, Ben said, “Arthur and I were arguing and I said that bigger isn’t always better and you have to know how to use it.” He snorted, almost losing it again. “And Mor…Mor said ‘that’s what she said’.” He couldn’t hold it back, laughing again.

  “I do not understand what is so funny!” Arthur sounded almost mad, making Ben laugh harder.