Chapter 41

Darrius' voice boomed through the hallways. Avery. She had to be the reason, but he said she was safe in his room with his brownie. The floor felt like it dropped out from underneath me. I raced down the corridor to the weapons chamber. Thoughts tangling in my mind about what may have happened. I was not prepared for the scene before me.

Darrius knelt beside her body and the metallic scent of blood filled the air.

"What happened?" I managed to choke out. I stood in the doorway, unable to move closer. Part of me thinking that to do so would make the horrible scene before me seem more real.

"Watch yerself," Helga said, pushing past me. Her blonde hair was damp with sweat and her bun had loosened, half hanging on one side of her head. Her magical and medicinal supplies were tied in small bags hung from the waist of her skirt. "What happened?"

"I don't know." Darrius’ voice shuddered and I snapped my attention to him. "I found her like this. What shadow kin could've done something like this?"

The back of my throat itched. "How do you know it was Unseelie?"

“It is.” He shot me a glare that would've turned me to ash if he had magic. "Dark Fae did this, they had to have."

"But they wouldn't leave her here like this." I swallowed, clenching my fists. No, the nightmare Fae would've ripped her to pieces and possibly eaten her or her heart and liver.

Yet, I couldn’t deny that Avery had been attacked twice now within the safety of our walls. Unseelie would unleash their beasts on us, but a poisoned tip arrow meant cunning. Was there one hidden here—maybe from when Avery had invited Unseelie court members to the banquet less than a week ago.

My stomach knotted. We should’ve warded the castle and sent out sniffers to hunt down any lingering dark Fae.

"Could've been that they were interrupted by someone." Darrius moved aside for Helga to examine Avery.

She looked so peaceful. No furrowed brow to mar her features or pouts. Yet, I felt myself holding my breath as Helga examined her. The rise and fall of her chest told me Avery was still alive, except why wasn't she waking?

"The blood is from her hitting her head on the stone floor," Helga muttered like she was talking to herself more than us. "She'll need stitches and a bit of healing to close up the wound faster. But I dare not use full power on her while she still sleeps."

"Why the fuck not?" Darrius grumbled.

Helga huffed. "Because magic can't fix everything. It can't heal a heart or a brain injury. Her body needs to do that itself. Now move back so I can work."

With a shaky breath, I sat down while Darrius only moved away from Avery a fraction. Helga placed her hands on Avery's head. Bluish light pulsed from her palms. After a few moments, she nodded and pulled her hands away.

"I've stopped the bleeding and cleaned her wound so I can sew her up."

Helga opened one of her bags, pulling out a needle and thread. A white light illuminated the thread. She'd infused it with healing magic ahead of time.

Helga threaded the needle. Gently as though moving a delicate vase, Darrius eased Avery onto her side. And Helga began stitching Avery's wound closed.

My stomach retched at the sight of the blood and Avery's gaping wound. I could fight Fae and humans on the battlefield, but there was something about seeing my queen, my love like this that made me feel ill. Whoever had done this was going to pay. I'd knock Darrius out of the way to get the first shot at the bastard.

I turned away from the sight and spotted Malcolm shuffling toward us and clutching his side.

"What the fuck happened?" I asked, standing up.

"Long story." He grunted, sweat coated his brow. "Is Helga around?"

"She's working on Avery."

Malcolm pushed past me into the room and stopped short. He glanced back at me, and all the color drained from his face. “What the hell happened?” His voice was a harsh whisper. “Will she be okay?”

“We hope so.” I swallowed against the bitter taste rising in the back of my throat.

Once Helga finished the last stitch, she leaned back and wiped her brow. "Take her to bed and let her rest. We'll see how she is come morning. And give her plenty of water when she wakes and a bit of broth if she can tolerate it."

"I'll take her." Malcolm knelt next to her, wincing as though in pain.

"Nay, she comes with me. You two can follow along behind if ye want, but she's sleeping in my bed tonight."

"She probably needs to stay in your bed several nights until she recovers fully," I said. Not that I cherished the idea of being away from her or her being with Darrius so much. But I'd do anything to keep her safe even if it meant giving up my precious time with her.

Darrius picked up Avery and left the weapons chamber while Malcolm and I followed him to his chambers. Then he laid her in his bed and covered her with blankets.

"Someone wants to fill me in on what the hell has happened the last two days?"

"Avery was attacked early this morning by a shadow kin." Darrius folded his arms across his chest and sent me a glare. "One I've never seen before or heard of. Black tentacles and an inky body."

"Where is it?" Malcolm looked from Darrius to me and back again. "We can get an idea of what it is by examining it."

"There's nothing left," Darrius said. "The damn thing disappeared into the shadows. I was lucky to get Avery out of it in time."

"So, it's somewhere still in the castle?" Malcolm tensed. "Is that how she was injured?"

This time, Darrius looked uncomfortable and dropped his arms. "I went to fetch us breakfast, but I left Varaux to watch her. The eff in brownie disobeyed my orders and she left the safety of my chambers to—"

"You don't know that," Malcolm interrupted. "If there's dark Fae hiding in the castle, it could've tried to attack her here and she ran to get a weapon."

"That sounds like Avery." I glanced at her pale form in Darrius' bed, hoping that she'd be okay. She was the queen we'd been waiting for. She'd even forgiven me for looking exactly like my father, who murdered her Unseelie foster mother.

"So, it must have caught up with her and attacked her."

Darrius shook his head. "Can't be. Avery and I were covered in its black stickiness when we battled the creature. If Avery clashed with that thing again, there'd have been traces of it on her somewhere.

"Okay." Malcolm ran a hand through his dark hair, hissing when he did so.

"What's wrong with you?" I asked.

"I had a run-in with whatever has been taking the women from our bars."

I sat down on the edge of Darrius' bed. For weeks, we'd tried to figure out who was behind the abductions ever since Avery told us that was why she was in Malcolm's bar that one night to kill him as she thought he was guilty. But it had been a Fae who knew we were giving the elixir to women to try and find the missing Fae princess. "Why is he still attacking these women? Does he not know we found our queen?"

"Don't think it cares." Malcolm shook his head. "Like it's gotten a taste of blood and doesn't want to stop."

"Did you get a look at it?" Darrius rubbed the red stubble on his chin.

"No." Malcolm let out a sigh and sat on the bed near Avery's head and brushed her chestnut hair off her face. "It was dark, cloaked in magic, and I couldn't see a thing. But I felt it." He lifted his shirt revealing claw marks along his side that were still bleeding and puffy around the edges.

"Cripes, Malcolm." Darrius stomped to the door. "Why didn't you ask Helga to heal you earlier?"

"She was busy with Avery and I didn't want to distract her."

“Varaux,” Darrius said in an irritating voice.

"Aye, master?" The brownie looked nearly green and I'd never seen him cower like this before.

Had Darrius beaten him? White-hot anger snapped through my veins.

"Make yer self useful and fetch Helga for us."

Varaux immediately left without complaint.

"Back to Avery," Malcolm began. "Is it possible she was attacked by the same creature? Or do we have an invasion we aren't aware of?"

"I'll have the castle swept for dark magic." Darrius rolled his shoulders back. "And I found a poison-tipped arrow that no one knew about before all this started. Which I told both Avery and Simeon that trouble was here."

Fleeting images and snippets of conversation floated in my mind, just out of reach.

"Okay. Let's start at the beginning." Malcolm pinched the bridge of his nose. "Who saw her last before the first time she was attacked?"

"Ask him." Darrius nodded his chin in my direction. "Avery was with him last night and I found her in the kitchens in the wee hours of the morning and I'm sure as hell she wouldn't have wandered off if he was in bed with her."

"You make it sound like she was looking for me." I curled my hands into fists.

"Well, where were ye?" Darrius prodded.

My nails dug into my palms because the truth was, I had no idea. Last night I'd gone to sleep with Avery in my arms. Next thing I knew, I was fully dressed, outside the castle walls as dawn broke over the horizon. Magic tingled up and down my spine and my left arm hurt like I'd swung a sword all day. And this wasn't the first time I'd had blackouts like this. They'd started long before when I'd been taken by the Gwyllion, who had fought Avery for the crown.

Darrius and Malcolm wouldn't understand that I had to put myself back together again. And they wouldn't trust me with Avery, to protect her, if they discovered I had holes in my timelines. Things I didn't remember and spells of dizziness. Maybe I should ask Helga to check over me too.

Instead, I found myself saying, "Couldn't sleep and went out to stretch my legs. I'd no idea dark Fae were in the castle."

"What about the arrow?" Darrius glared at me.

"I told you," my voice smooth like I'd rehearsed this conversation before, even though I had no idea what I was saying. "It could've been left by anyone. Even one of our kin."

Inside a sickening feeling plummeted into my gut. I opened my mouth to tell them and no sound came out. I choked, trying to force the words out, but the room spun, and everything went dark.