Chapter 8: Desperate Hope

Note: Thanks to B0b and WRC 264 for beta reading this!

Aingeal

The pegasus soared through the starry skies of Faerie. Seven of the twenty-three moons shone in the sky right now. Shy Violet, sad Azure, and bold Vermilion were all full, their light panting beautiful highlights on the white mane of my mount.

I tried to appreciate it, to drink in all the beauty I could because ... Because Queen Sidhe would order my execution. I had afflicted her with the touch of iron. It wasn’t supposed to happen to Queen Sidhe. I had planned on playing my prank on a rival of my father, but Duke Gallchobhar had interfered. He ensured the Queen of Faerie walked through that trellis and triggered my trap, that she was coated in iron dust.

How the queen had screamed.

There was no hiding from such an assault. I could have feigned ignorance of the pain caused to Lady Oona (my actual target), but not to Queen Sidhe ... I had no choice but to grovel before the throne and beg for her forgiveness. Banishment for me while my father was stripped of his title. He died not long after, his heart broken by my crime.

In my lust for vengeance on Duke Gallchobhar, I didn’t even considered that we would get caught. I didn’t think there would be a warning. Not after twenty years. But Queen Sidhe maintained her vigil. Duke Gallchobhar was dead, but that didn’t bring my father back to life. It didn’t restore our lands to us. It didn’t end my banishment.

It just lead to my death. I was alive. I was even happy for those brief hours with Sven. Maybe we did some good, but I didn’t care about freeing those humans. I didn’t care about even helping Sven and Kora. I just wanted to see that bastard dead.

Now he was, and soon I would die.

It hardly felt like revenge was worth it. I didn’t want to be killed by iron. To feel its foul touch burning my flesh from the inside, a fire raging through my veins slowly killing me. I would scream and scream and scream.

I would never see Sven in this life again.

I glanced at my husband flying at the lead with Princess Siona. He had impressed the princess with his prowess in the bed. But Queen Sidhe had millennia of life on her daughter. The queen was the first faerie ever birthed by Cernere from her union with Las. Others followed, but she lived, ageless, guiding our people. She created Faerie to escape the mortal world and their traps of iron with which they sought to own us and use our abilities. Her will had dominated our people since our creation.

And Sven wasn’t one to submit. He liked to seize women, mold them to his will, get them to please him by showing them rapture. It wouldn’t work on Queen Sidhe. If he tried to dominate her, she would laugh in his face. It would offend her. Her every whim was granted by any faerie. None of us would disobey her.

I had to let Sven know. He would have to swallow his dominating pride. He would have to submit to her lusts, to do what she reacquired, no matter what she desired, if he wanted to save me. My heart thudded in my chest.

Could he do it? Could he swallow his instincts?

I squirmed, wanting to flutter my wings. I missed them so much. I felt so ... so incomplete without them. I pushed that down. It hardly mattered now. If Sven didn’t convince Queen Sidhe to be merciful, it wouldn’t matter that Duke Gallchobhar’s attack burned away my wings.

But how could I tell Sven? I squirmed, the diamond manacles about my wrists held a powerful enchantment. The spirits that danced through Faerie ignored me. I was no different from a human to them. They wouldn’t obey my will and send a message to Sven. I glanced around the skies, debating my options.