Dark Fae

Chapter 12

The door slammed open, startling me out of my reverie. I hadn’t been able to concentrate on escaping; questions about Azure weighed too heavily on my mind. I searched my memories and found no answers. It was all so vague and uncertain.

“It would have been polite to knock,” I sighed. “But I suppose I can excuse poor etiquette when I’m locked up like a damsel in distress.”

I sat up slowly, taking time to retie my hair and peer at the Faerie between the strands. I recognised him as the Faery from the prison.

“Not that I intend on acting like a damsel, or showing distress.”

To prove my point, I beamed and swung a punch at his face. He dodged it, just in time, and glared at me.

“Responding to a pitiful human is beneath my dignity.”

He raised a hand and a troop of heavily armed soldiers stormed in. I gasped as my legs were kicked out from under me and my knees jarred against the cold floor. I tried to strike out, but it gave them an excuse to seriously start hurting me. I wrapped my arms around my head for protection as they kicked and beat me, using staffs to deliver crushing blows. The firm material of my uniform absorbed the worst, but I couldn’t move because of the pain once they finally stopped. The bruises seemed to burn and scream, as if my body had been pulled through a cement mixer. The warmth of blood trickled down my neck from my unprotected left hand, still clasped around my head. I bit my lip, unwilling to give that coward the satisfaction of hearing me cry or scream.

“That should teach you some respect,” he said, disdain dripping from his voice.

“You will come with me, now,” he continued. “Her Majesty, Queen Safeeda, wishes to see you.”

Two guards dragged me to my feet and marched me along. I filled my mouth with saliva and dredged up traces of phlegm, balling it up the way I learnt from the boys in primary school and spat out the disgusting glob. It landed on his shoulder with a satisfying smack.  Enraged, he whipped around and struck me across the face. The outline of his fingers stung my skin as the guards restrained me and began a more severe beating. It was a small victory, seeing him stomp off through the slow swelling of my eye as the world went black.

“I hope you don’t get on Queen Safeeda’s bad side as well,” said a familiar voice. “Princess Azure and Prince Lykos already have grudges against you. I won’t have enough magic to heal you if you anger Her Majesty.”

Scorpius shuddered, “then again, not even a High Necromancer is powerful enough to help someone out of Queen Safeeda’s favour.”

He helped me sit up and brushed some loose hair away from my face. By his worried smile, I guessed that he forgave me for insulting him earlier. He really was different from the other Dark Fae, and I was wrong to mistrust him. He glanced around.

“I should take you to see Her Majesty. She grows impatient.”

He pulled me up and led me down the corridors. We left the dungeon area and I saw the full grandeur of the palace. Crystal ceilings showed the intense colour of the sky and revealed a glass bridge spanning the waterfall. The walls, marked with windows at strategic intervals, were covered in an elegant, silver and white engraved design that melted into the marble floors. I glimpsed a ballroom; servants scurried like mice, setting up for a party of some sort. The corridors branched off. We took one that opened into the side of the throne room. I kept my eyes on the ground as I approached the figures seated on the four thrones, carved from ancient wood. Scorpius nudged me to an awkward curtsey and kept his hand on my shoulder until he thought I’d shown enough respect. I looked up at the Queen of the Unseelie Court for the first time in my life.