Fae- Crowned Read online

  "Good." Mor sat down at the table next to Atreyu. "Now, Brandon, what were your concerns about rescuing the missing Fae?"

  "I think we are wasting too much time trying to find them. The castle is Boris' prize. If he can find a way in, then he'll have access to some very powerful magic."

  "How do you suggest we break his hold around the castle?" Mor folded her hands on the table.

  "Well, clearly, we'll need a frontal assault to drive through his palisade and the army surrounding the castle."

  Forcing herself not to roll her eyes, Mor said, "And what would happen once we broke through with your frontal assault."

  "Well, we'd be inside his defenses, and..."

  "Brandon, I have zero military experience and even I know that's a shit plan. We'd be totally surrounded by that point. On top of that, we'd be hurting Fae who were forced to be there because their family is being held hostage. We are not going to do that. So right now, our number one priority is going to be rescuing the hostages. You are welcome to join Arthur and Ben in planning the assault on the castle but please recall how much military experience they have. So you would be welcomed, but I would expect you to yield to their superior knowledge." Mor tried to hold in her exasperation.

  Arthur rolled his eyes and then grunted when Mor kicked him under the table.

  "Yes, my Queen. I would be happy to join the efforts." Brandon bowed.

  Lancelot gave him a formal smile. "If you would please follow me, my Lord? I was just on my way to review the troops with Tristan. Perhaps that would be a good place to start." He glanced at Arthur and Ben, who nodded at him. .

  "Of course." Ben nodded seriously. "We're happy to have the extra help." He kicked Arthur under the table to keep him from saying anything.

  After Brandon left with Lancelot, Arthur rubbed his leg and said, "OW! What were you two kicking me for?!"

  "To keep you from saying whatever it was that you wanted to say - I could feel it. It was insulting and we need to keep them on our side." Mor stared pointedly at Arthur.

  Grinning, Arthur said, "It was insulting. And deserved. But no matter, I will make sure to include him, and Ben can gently let him down when he voices his terrible ideas."

  "Whatever makes you both feel better and keeps him from turning Amelia against us." Mor leaned back in her chair. "Now, we need to figure out a way to find the missing Fae. And magic isn't doing it, so I'm thinking we need to send out scouts to start clearing sections of Fae."

  Her mates were silent as they thought about what she said.

  "That would take a long fucking time, Mor," Atreyu said.

  "Do you have any other ideas? Something faster? No?" Mor waited. When no one said anything, she continued, "I'm not proposing we just start some place randomly and check every part of Fae. I want to find the most likely places to hide a prison and look there first."

  "Now that could work." Ben pulled out the map and activated it. "It would need to be someplace either underground, in an old growth forest, something that could hide a lot of Fae."

  They all leaned over the map. "We should start close to here, just to clear it. I mean, we know he isn't stupid enough to hide them here, but we should clear it just to be thorough. There are some underground caves here." He pointed to a forest.

  "That won't help you find them." The new voice was soft.

  Mor looked over to the door to see Amara standing in it with Max behind her. She looked so different than the woman Mor had confronted this morning. This Amara looked unsure, and stood with her arms crossed as if she was nervous, and kept glancing back at Max. "Amara?" Mor waited, reaching out to Max. She got a flood of relief from him and started to smile as Amara tentatively walked over to her.

  "Your Majesty." She went to her knees in front of Mor and put her forehead on the floor. "Please forgive me for my actions and words against you."

  "Woah, Amara, please stand." Mor stood and pulled Amara up with her. "It's okay. I'm not going to blame you for what happened before. The spell..."

  "I know, but I - "

  Amara started shaking and Mor looked at Max in alarm. She pulled Amara in for a hug and just held her as she cried. "Hey, it's okay. We know." Mor kept talking and rubbing Amara's back until she was able to stop crying. "Come sit with us." She led her over to a chair and got her settled.

  Max sat on Amara's other side. "What did you want to tell them about the plan?"

  "Just that they aren't going to be able to find it that way. I mean, by searching on foot." She blushed and looked at her clenched hands.

  Mor was shocked at the difference in personality. The other Amara had been bold, hard, and aggressive. This Amara was painfully shy and clearly struggling with being under this much attention. "Can you tell us how to find them? We need to help them, if we can."

  Amara kept her gaze locked on her lap. "The hostages - that's what he calls them - they aren't here."

  "Amara, we don't know what you mean." Max's voice was soft, tentative, like he didn't want to scare her.

  "I m-m-mean they aren't in F-fae."

  "Are they in the human realm?" Atreyu asked, his voice quiet.

  Mor waited for the answer as Amara struggled to speak. Her mates had all gone still and she could feel their fear that too sudden of a move would scare Amara past ability to function. Mor looked over at Ben, she nodded toward Amara, her face full of questions. When Ben nodded back, Mor knew this is what Amara had been like before. That gave her a huge feeling of relief, but then Mor really thought about it. For Amara to be this afraid, her life must have been pretty terrible. That was going to change. Mor promised herself then that she would make sure Amara felt safe.

  Max sent her a grateful smile over Amara's head and mouthed, "Thank you."

  Mor smiled at Max as Amara finally was able to take a breath and say, "They aren't in the human realm. They're in the Demon Realm.”

  Chapter 14

  Atreyu

  "Oh fuck." It slipped out of Atreyu before he could stop himself. "I'm sure I heard you wrong."

  Amara finally lifted her eyes to look at Atreyu. "I said they're in the Demon Realm."

  "Oh fuck. You did say that." They all stared at Amara, not saying anything.

  "When you say demon..." Mor's voice was strained. "Can you maybe explain that a little more? Because when I think of demons, I think of creatures of darkness with horns and wings and evil."

  "That's what Boris calls it, anyway. I've heard human stories of demons, but I don't think that's what they really are. Boris is evil, but I don't know if all of them are or if they are just...powerful."

  "We need Morgana here before we discuss anything further. We should probably bring in the full Council as well, my rose."

  "No, please, I-I c-c-can't..." Amara started shaking again and Max wrapped an arm around her, looking at Mor and Arthur helplessly.

  "Amara, we need Morgana here - she's been searching for information on Boris for a long time." Mor said.

  "But I think we can hold off on the council for now, right Mor?" Atreyu cut in. He leaned over to her and whispered, "I can set a spell to record everything she says."

  She reached under the table and squeezed his hand. "That's not a problem. We can fill them in later."

  "Why don't I get Trisha to send in some snacks while Arthur goes for Morgana and Sebastian?" Atreyu stood.

  "That's a good idea, Atreyu. Thank you. I definitely could use food." Mor smiled up at him.

  He couldn't help but bend down and kiss her. Before he could get wrapped up in her, Atreyu pulled away and hurried to the kitchen. Trisha was busy getting dinner ready. "Trisha!"

  "What now, Atreyu? I know ye aren't starvin'!"

  He laughed and swept Trisha up into a hug, spinning her around before setting her down. "Amara's back."

  "Praise the gods! How is she?"

  "More scared than usual, but that isn't too surprising considering what she's been through. Which is pure speculation since she hasn't told us that yet. Can you s
end snacks or dinner or whatever to the War Room? We're going to be there awhile. Just our anamchairde and Amara and Morgana."

  "Of course, boyo. I'll make sure the others know they dinnae have to wait for the queen for dinner."

  "Thanks, Trisha." Atreyu grinned at her and hurried back to the War Room, not wanting to miss anything.

  Morgana was just sitting down, still looking tired. She looked exhausted after breaking that spell down. Amara had been someone else and that must have been a detailed spell.

  He slid back into his seat and waited. Demon Realm. What the fuck was that?

  "Go ahead, Amara." Max's voice was gentle.

  "Um. B-B-Boris said he was a Demon."

  Morgana started to speak, then stopped, looking closely at Amara. When she finally did speak, it was far softer than Atreyu had ever heard her before. "I'm not sure what that means, Amara. The only reference I have to that is from the human realm. Which is basically evil incarnate."

  Amara shrugged and shook her head. "I don't know those stories. Boris is so strong, like physically strong, and I think he hides in the human skin. And his magic - I've never seen anything like it."

  "Can you describe it for me?" Morgana leaned forward. "I've seen some of his work, and it's very complicated."

  "He - never did much in front of us. I saw him change someone's mind with a look. It was Ben's parents. They didn't want to join him at first, but then Boris looked at them...and..."

  "Fuck." Ben was barely audible.

  "Can you tell us anything else?"

  "He made me - the way I was - so fast. I could hear and see what I was doing, but I had no control over it. It was like I was possessed by the worst version of myself. Um, he did take family from basically the entire army. It happened about a month ago, but I knew about it because my family joined him immediately. When the Fae in Water refused to join, Boris started taking the females and children away. He told the males they'd only get them back if they fought in his war. I saw him kill someone with a whisper. And then there were the shadows."

  "That was what we saw the first time he really attacked us." Atreyu leaned forward. "Do you know what they are? My parents said it took aligning their magic perfectly to beat back and even then..."

  "I hated when he did that. I couldn't see. But I could hear voices...and sometimes I could feel hands..." Amara shuddered and looked down at her lap again.

  "You're safe here." Mor took one of Amara's hands.

  "At least until Boris wins."

  "Amara!" Max's voice was stern, "That is not the kind of attitude you need. Mor has said she would keep you safe. And she will. We all will. You will not be asked to go and fight. You will stay here. Do you understand?"

  "Yes, Max. Thank you, Mor. It's just been so long since I've felt any kind of hope. Boris showed up not long after you were exiled, Max."

  Max closed his eyes and hugged her close. "I'm here now. I'm so sorry I wasn't there for you."

  "Not your fault, big brother. Our family sucks."

  "We have a new family now. And they really don't suck." He kissed the top of her head. "Now, can you tell us how Boris goes to the Demon Realm?"

  Amara was already shaking her head. "He never let any of us see. Selina bragged about it, but we all knew she really hadn't seen anything."

  At the mention of Selina's name, Arthur spoke up, "Selina? I thought she just got there?"

  "Oh no. She's been with Boris for almost as long as my family has been."

  "That little traitor. When I get my hands on her..."

  "Be careful. He made her poisonous. So if you bite her, it'll give you magic sickness. I'm not sure it has a cure. He talked about doing that to all of his army."

  "Damn. We'll need to make sure everyone knows about that." Atreyu shook his head. "He's got some bad magic."

  "C-can I go now?" Amara looked around.

  Max glanced at Mor and waited for her nod before saying, "Yes, I'll have Trisha send your dinner to your room. If you need anything, she'll take care of it, okay?"

  "Okay. Thank you, your Majesty, for - "

  "Accepting that you were under a terrible spell and had no control over your actions?" Mor grinned at her. "Don't worry about that. And please, in private call me Mor."

  Amara's eyes went wide before she hurried out of the room. "She's definitely back to normal." Max sounded so relieved.

  "Focus, boys. We have shit to do." Morgana closed her eyes.

  "So basically, we have to find the entrance to a realm we've never heard of with no idea of what it really is. For all we know, Boris could have been kicked out of this realm for being a chocolate faucet." Atreyu leaned back in his chair, balancing on the two back legs.

  "A chocolate...faucet?" Arthur stared at him in confusion.

  "Yeah, you know. A wrinkly penny, a pucker button? No?" They were all staring at him. "Seriously, do none of you ever play on Urban Dictionary? He's an asshole!"

  Mor snorted. "You look up words for asshole on Urban Dictionary?"

  "I look up a lot of things. Need to be prepared with the right insult at the right time!" Atreyu winked at Mor as everyone laughed. Except Morgana who glared at him.

  "Yes, Atreyu. We need to find a way to see a re - " She stopped mid-sentence, eyes wide. "We need to see. Mor! Go get the Seeing Stone!"

  "Fuck, I can't believe we didn't think of that before." Mor gaped at Morgana.

  "Well, it hasn't worked for anyone in centuries. But now we have the Seeing Stone, so go get it!"

  Mor ran out of the room.

  Atreyu looked at Morgana and Arthur who were now staring at each other, eyes wide. "Care to let us in on this?"

  "Right, sorry. The Seeing Stone. It was passed from queen to queen in our family. It can give the wearer visions. But it hasn't responded to anyone since our great-grandmother, I think. Anyway, it's been at least five thousand years since it worked."

  "What's that got to do with Mor?" Sebastian asked. He'd been silent until now. He looked exhausted.

  "When Mor put it on for the binding ceremony with my brother it gave her a vision of the magical realms surrounded by darkness."

  "So that's what you were whispering about! I can't believe we forgot to ask." Sebastian looked disgruntled.

  "I mean, we were pretty fucking busy. I'm going to give us a pass on that one." Atreyu sighed. "But now, I think you should tell us what it means."

  "She may be able to control the visions it brings to help us find the Demon Realm."

  "Do you think that's the darkness she saw?" Arthur sounded worried. "An entire realm of creatures as strong as Boris."

  "We don't know yet what that meant. And we should have remembered it. It was too important to forget. Damn."

  "Nothing we can do about it now." Atreyu shrugged. "How are you going to get her to control the visions?"

  "I'm hoping we can do it through meditation. We've been practicing focus and control of her magic, so logically this should be an extension of that."

  "You have no idea, huh?" Atreyu said.

  "Not really. There isn't anything written down about controlling it and the last Dragon who was able to, died before I was born."

  "I think we're going to need coffee." Sebastian groaned. "I'll go tell Trisha." He pushed himself up from the table and drug himself out of the room.

  Mor came back in, a circlet held tightly in her hand. "Got it!" She came and sat at the table. "Now what?"

  "First, calm down. You won't be able to control anything without being centered." Morgana waited until Mor settled in. She started to talk, but then Mor's stomach growled. "Probably should eat something first, too." She sighed. "Right, dinner, coffee, Seeing Stone."

  Just then, Sebastian came in cradling a cup of coffee. Trisha was right behind him, leading the other house Brownies carrying trays of food. They all sat down and started stuffing their faces. No one talked beyond asking for someone to pass something. They worked their way to the food.

  Sooner than Atreyu expected,
they had finished and cleared the plates to a side table. Everyone had a cup of coffee in front of them as they all turned expectantly toward Morgana.

  "Now, hopefully there will be no further interruptions." She looked pointedly around the room. "Good. Now, Mor. I don't actually know how you are supposed to direct the Stone. I have some ideas, and we'll just have to try them until we figure it out. When you put on the circlet, I want you to focus on finding an entrance to the Demon Realm."

  "What do you think is going to happen?" Mor asked.

  "Best guess? You'll have to ride out some visions before you get the information we need."

  "That won't be fun." Mor sighed, "Well, balls to the walls."

  Chapter 15

  Mor

  Mor gasped when the circlet settled around her forehead. Darkness surrounded her. She couldn't see, hear, or move. Forcing panic down, Mor tried to breathe slowly. After a while, the darkness started to lift and Mor saw herself in the Human Realm. Except it was a wasteland. There were low hanging storm clouds and lightning flickered continuously across the sky.

  She saw some humans moving concrete chunks. One of them stumbled and sat down. A moment later, a - thing - rose out of the shadows. It was humanoid in shape, but it towered over the humans. Its skin was gray and cracked, with red glowing in the cracks. It backhanded the human who had sat down.

  Mor screamed and ran toward them, determined to do something.

  Then she was plunged back into darkness. Mor tried to scream, but she couldn't.

  After what felt like a long time, the dark lifted again. This time it was showing the Fae Realm. Mor couldn't tell which part it was because it was so destroyed. She heard strange calls echoing across the land and then suddenly a Fae broke from cover and started sprinting across the land. It was - Amara? What the fuck was happening? The howls got closer and Mor saw a pack of - something - crawling across the ground. Mor took off toward Amara and then -

  Darkness. Mor gritted her teeth in frustration. This time when it lifted, she was in a room with Tom, Selina, and Boris. They were talking, but Mor couldn't hear them. Tom looked drawn and sick where he hovered in the background.