A Dark Eternity Read online

  Kaelem sighed. “Very well.”

  “Thank you for your visit. Please don’t tell my sister you came here. I will come to the Unseelie Court soon to visit her.”

  Kaelem evanesced to Scarlett. He gently kissed her cheek. “I look forward to it.”

  After Kaelem was gone, Scarlett returned to the library.

  She might not be ready to lead others, but Kaelem was right, she was powerful. Her days of needing protection from others were over. She would learn everything she could about her new magic and when she found the Fates, she would destroy them.

  * * *

  Cade groaned as he walked down the stairs. He doubted any other fae royalty were summoned by their mothers as often as he was. If his mother was sick or injured, it might not annoy him so much, but his mother was in perfect health, fully capable of coming to him.

  She just liked to act like she was still the Summer Queen.

  Truthfully, she had been interim queen longer than she had known. Cade had lied—unintentionally at first—when he told everyone he’d defeated his brother. And even when he’d discovered Raith was alive, he tried to convince himself it didn’t matter that he hadn’t officially surrendered, despite the bond between him and Poppy still existing.

  But before Raith had given himself to the Fates to save his mother, he had spoken the words needed to end the Battle of Heirs, and now Cade was the true Summer King.

  The magic coursing through him now was more than anything he could have imagined. He could summon Summer energy as easily as breathing. He could feel a constant connection to his court and its people. He was the strongest fae in his court.

  But here he was, attending to his mother’s call like a five-year-old.

  The guard standing outside Kassandra’s bedroom moved aside when Cade arrived. She’d always had private guards, but having one stationed at her door at all times was new. Cade wasn’t sure what she was afraid of. She was in far more danger when she was queen.

  His mother sat in her usual chaise overlooking the castle grounds.

  A pianist gracefully moved her fingers on the piano keys as a peaceful tone sang throughout the room. Her curly black hair fell to the middle of her back. The cream-colored dress stood out against her dark skin. Her focus remained forward as she paid no attention to Cade’s entrance.

  “You wanted to see me?” Cade asked, biting back his bitter tone as much as he could. It wasn’t just the annoyance of being treated like a child that bothered him. But ever since learning that Raith’s mother was Kassandra’s sister and, worse, that Kassandra may have tried to murder her, Cade didn’t know if he could trust her anymore.

  Or if he should have ever trusted her to begin with.

  But he didn’t want her to know of his doubt. Not yet, at least.

  “This arrived for you.” Kassandra held up a midnight blue invitation decorated with his name in metallic silver writing.

  He took it. The silver seal on the back embossed with a cursive K was already broken. Cade pulled out the matching invitation inside.

  You are formally invited to the Unseelie Ball taking place this Saturday, Unseelie Time. A night of alcohol and dancing and anything else your fae heart could desire in the Court of Night. RSVP ASAP.

  Sincerely, Kaelem.

  “How did you get this?” Cade asked. It was addressed to Cade. How much more specific did it need to be to go directly to him?

  “I’ve asked all mail be delivered here, filtering it out so you aren’t bothered with mundane letters is the least I can do to help you out, son.” Kasandra adjusted the slender gold crown on her head. It was much smaller than the crown she wore as queen, but a statement nonetheless. “The Unseelie King throwing a ball? Such an odd thing for the Night Court.”

  Cade slipped the invitation back inside its envelope. “Well, you know Kaelem. He isn’t a typical Unseelie King.”

  “Is that admiration I hear in your voice?”

  Cade glanced to the young woman playing the piano again. Normally, his mother excused the pianists when she summoned him.

  “You needn’t worry about her. She’s mortal,” Kassandra said.

  Cade reached out and sensed her aura. The faintest bit of mortality emanated from her. It was so weak, it was no wonder he hadn’t noticed it before. Her emotion had been depleted.

  “How long has she been in the Summer Court?”

  Kassandra spread out her fingers and looked at her nails. “A month or so. She’s the favorite of my new pets.”

  “Pets? Who’s bringing the mortals here?”

  As far as Cade knew, Kassandra had rarely been to the human realm.

  “I send out my guards to find the best ones.” Kassandra folded her hands in her lap. “Enough about that. What would make the Unseelie King hold a ball? Did something I should know about happen when you were gone?”

  “Nothing you need concern yourself with. “

  Kassandra pursed her lips. Her eyebrows furrowed, but she didn’t respond.

  “You raised me to be our court’s king. You have to let me do my duty, mother.” Cade glanced to the pianist one more time. There was no sheet music in front of her, but her eyes were fixated as if there was. She was a pretty girl, but radiated not even an ounce of happiness. Even when he’d completely drained Scarlett, she’d still held an inner light. “Did she come here willingly?”

  “Of course.” Kassandra raised her chin. “It’s time for my nap. Thank you for visiting.”

  Cade clenched his jaw. He was king. He would leave when he pleased.

  Kassandra stood and headed to the bed.

  He sighed. It wasn’t worth the fight.

  After he left his mother, Cade headed to Poppy’s room. He hadn’t wanted to indulge his mother’s skepticism of the invitation, but it was out of the ordinary for the Unseelie Court to hold a gathering.

  It was the only court that didn’t hold an annual festival. Until Kaelem became king, its rulers rarely attended other events. It shouldn’t surprise Cade that Kaelem would be the first to break tradition. Even as a prince, he’d involved himself in other court festivities.

  But Cade knew that there was more to it than simply a gathering. The fae world’s equilibrium had been shaken when they’d entered the new realm and Scarlett had gained the tree’s power.

  It wasn’t a coincidence that Kaelem was hosting a ball.

  Cade hesitated in front of Poppy’s door.

  Before Raith had surrendered, Poppy would have felt Cade coming. The bond from the Battle of Heirs ritual had connected them. Now, the bond was gone. The magical tether might not exist anymore, but Cade couldn’t deny the closeness he felt with Poppy.

  He was Summer King. He shouldn’t be afraid of knocking on a woman’s door.

  Why did his stomach clench after he knocked?

  Poppy—dressed in her usual black leather outfit and ponytail—answered the door.

  “Hi,” she said.

  “Can I come in?” Cade asked.

  “Of course.” Poppy opened the door and stepped aside.

  Poppy’s room was small—nearly a quarter the size of Cade’s room—with only the necessities: a dresser, a bed, and a large storage chest. There was no clutter. Her dresser top was empty save for a candle. The only color in the room was the pink hue of the wallpaper, and even that seemed more gray than pink. Even the taupe comforter was perfectly smoothed out and tucked over the bed just right.

  After Cade entered, Poppy shut the door. “Everything okay?”

  “I just finished speaking with my mother.”

  “By choice or did she summon you again?” Poppy chuckled. She liked to make fun of Cade’s inability to deny his mother whenever she called. He’d complained to Poppy many times, but it never changed anything. No matter how frustrated Cade was, he always obliged his mother’s requests.

  He frowned. “You should already know the answer by now.”

  “You can say no, you know?”

  Could he? He didn’t want to answe
r her every call, but he always did. He didn’t like that she’d opened something addressed specifically to him, but he didn’t tell her not to do it again.

  “I assume you didn’t come here just to complain about your mother.”

  Cade handed Poppy the invitation.

  She pulled it from the shiny envelope and read it. “Hmmm. What do you think it’s about?”

  “I’m not sure. It could be a trap.”

  Poppy handed it back to him. “Maybe. Or it could be a chance for him to gain allies. He’s a cocky bastard, and he’s never given us a reason to trust him, but it sends a bad message if you don’t go. Are you prepared for the consequences of that?”

  She was right. Refusing the invitation after everything that had happened could earn him an enemy. Maybe a few. He had worried Scarlett wouldn’t let him and Poppy leave the Sidhe realm. He’d done little to earn her respect. But she’d allowed him to go with no promise that he was on her side.

  Would she be there?

  “Will you attend the ball with me?” Cade stared at Poppy as he waited for her answer.

  He remembered the taste of her lips on his in the cave after Rowen had saved them. How far would things have gone if Sage hadn’t interrupted them? A part of him wished their moment hadn’t been disrupted, but another part of him was thankful. It had been a reckless decision with no thought of how it might affect their future and the future of the Summer Court. He confided in Poppy more than anyone. If things between them became awkward, who would he have to entrust with his secrets?

  Redness settled in Poppy’s cheeks. Was she remembering their moment together, too? “Of course. I’ll serve as your guard whenever and wherever you need.”

  “I don’t plan to bring any guards. It would be as my date.” Cade fought the urge to fidget. Asking her to be his date walked a fine line, but he didn’t think bringing an official guard would send the right message. And, truthfully, he liked the idea of Poppy as more than just his guard.

  “Sure.” Poppy’s large eyes stared into his.

  He wanted to close the distance between them, but he didn’t. “Perfect. I’ll let you know soon when we’ll leave.”

  Poppy was Cade’s greatest ally. He trusted her more than anyone else.

  Was changing their relationship worth the risk?

  * * *

  The breeze drifted through the trees, blowing the berry, rust, and honey-colored leaves from their branches. More would grow back in the same hues, not green like anywhere else.

  The familiar colors were comforting to Sage. The Autumn Forest had been where she’d spent most of the last five years.

  She now faced the only other place she’d ever called home: the Autumn Castle. Ivy covered most of the stone, making it look green from afar. Sage inhaled the magic from the life around her.

  She’d been able to cross the hedge protecting the castle grounds without a problem. It honored her royal blood, despite what her father might think of her. The magic that protected the castle belonged to the court, not its ruler, and Sage’s blood was as much the blood of a princess as it had been before she’d left.

  That should have been the hard part, but halfway to the castle, her feet had frozen in place, and she now stood motionless.

  Why did facing her family again petrify her so much? It was understandable the first time she returned home. She hadn’t spoken to them in years and, though she’d never regretted her choice to leave, she’d always wished she’d respected them enough to say goodbye. But Raith was counting on her then. He needed information and it was worth the sacrifice of revealing her secret in order to help him. She’d sucked it up and faced them again and was welcomed home more than she could have hoped to have been.

  He was counting on her now, too. Even if he didn’t know it.

  She remembered the look on his face when he made the bargain with the Fates, the blankness that washed over his features. He went to them without a glance at anyone. It was so unlike the Raith Sage had grown so fond of.

  That Raith was gone, for now. They’d get him back.

  But they needed all the help they could get, which brought Sage here to speak with her father.

  Sage gritted her teeth and continued toward the castle.

  The two guards didn’t move as she passed them. They too could sense her royal blood. Unlike the hedge, they were under her father’s orders, so he must not have forbidden her entrance.

  The door opened for her and she went inside, heading straight to the throne room.

  Her father sat upon the throne, a crown atop his head and his owl perched on his shoulder. Sage had expected as much. What she hadn’t expected was the woman in the icy blue dress and platinum hair standing in front of him.

  “Hello.” Her father’s deep tone wasn’t startled. It was a skill he’d always possessed. No matter how shocked or taken aback he was, his voice never cracked. “A surprise visit from my daughter.”

  “How lovely.” The Winter Queen smiled a grin as cold as her magic and Sage knew she wouldn’t even blink if she had the chance to shoot an ice dagger through her heart. “I should be going now. Thank you for accepting my visit.”

  “Of course.”

  Sage waited in the throne room as her father escorted Nevina out of the castle.

  Why had the Winter Queen visited her father again? When Sage had overheard them the last time she was here, she’d wanted him to help her gain back their power from the Seelie Queen. Was that still her goal? Her father had requested time to think about it then. Had he made up his mind?

  When her father returned, he closed the door behind himself. “No lover this time?”

  “You know he wasn’t my lover.” There was no point in lying this time. “And no, he’s not with me.”

  Sage didn’t waste any time. She told her father everything that had happened since her last visit, from finding out about Kassandra’s betrayal, to finding the other realm, to the Fates taking Raith. She’d never been so open with him about anything. Although it felt foreign to her, it also felt good.

  “They aren’t like the Fates who have spent centuries spitting out prophecies. They’re cunning. Getting us to the other realm was calculated. They knew Scarlett was the one needed to unlock the power.”

  Her father extended his arm, and the owl hopped from his shoulder to his wrist, gently wrapping its talons around him. “And how do you know the Fates are evil?”

  “I…” Sage paused. They wanted the power the tree had, but they weren’t the only ones. Sage didn’t know a lot about them but she believed Vida’s story. They’d threatened Rowen to lure Raith away. People with good intentions wouldn’t have done that. “I just know.”

  “I understand your frustration. Your friend was taken. But if what you say is true, our court has to be cautious. Choosing a side isn’t a decision to be made lightly.” Her father brought the owl close to his face. The bird nuzzled its beak against his cheek. “Which is why I’ll be attending the Unseelie Ball that Kaelem is hosting. I imagine, if everything you’ve said is true, he will be trying to convince the rest of us rulers that his side is the one to join.”

  Sage hadn’t heard about any ball, but at least her father was willing to attend. “Thank you for your time.” Sage bowed. Her father always appreciated a show of fealty.

  “Will you be staying longer?”

  Did she sense hope in his voice?

  Sage hadn’t planned on it. But where else would she go now? Her house in the forest seemed lonely. And she needed to be there to protect her family if danger struck. She’d been away for so long, and, although she couldn’t make up for lost time, she could at least try to rekindle the connection with her family.

  “Yes, if you’ll allow it.”

  “I’ll have the brownies prepare your old room.” The owl flew to the back of the throne before her father got up and left without another word.

  They weren’t best friends, but it was the first time her father had listened to her with respect.
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br />   Maybe, with time, she could make him realize how important it was that he believed her.

  * * *

  Scarlett entered the library and shut the doors behind herself. Sunrays shined through the windows—much brighter than when she’d left earlier to attend her daily update with the council. Tall bookshelves lined all the walls from floor to ceiling. Shorter, double-sided ones stood in front, reminding Scarlett of a mortal public library only much, much fancier than any she’d ever been to.

  With the day’s meeting over, she had time to herself.

  They’d made no progress toward finding a way into the realm what wasn’t heavily guarded. They’d continue to look, but, odds were, there was only one way in and the only way through would be with a fight.

  Vida had offered to send in a group to save Raith, but Scarlett declined. She didn’t want to needlessly sacrifice any life. They needed more information before any attack could be risked.

  Param had put protections around the castle to keep anyone outside its walls from evanescing in. Guards had been placed at every entrance and Scarlett noticed Rowen checking on her at least once an hour. Despite the power she now possessed, everyone’s concern was still for Scarlett.

  Vida had wanted a set of private guards to follow Scarlett anywhere she went just in case the Fates were able to get through the protections, but Scarlett refused. She would go crazy with no space to herself, and she didn’t want anyone hovering over her in the library.

  Rowen had gone out with Vida to train with her tribe, leaving Scarlett with the castle to herself. To some, it could feel lonely to be the only one in such a large place. Not for Scarlett. It gave her time to read more of the book without the fear of anyone noticing.

  After pulling it from its hiding place, Scarlett set it on the ground and plopped down next to it. A large turquoise rug had been placed under the desk she normally sat at and was large enough to offer her padding to sit on. The long dress she wore was as far away from yoga pants as she could get when it came to being comfortable, but she didn’t mind. Back in high school, she’d always liked to spread out and stretch when she’d work on homework.