Kingsbane

Chapter 26

     Avalbane sat straight in her saddle, her coal black braid swinging in time with her horse's tail. Rafferty followed behind her, admiring the way her skin looked covered in moon shine. She hadn't been pleased that Siofra had asked him to accompany her, and even less pleased that she wasn't returning to the Unseelie refugee camp. It was hard for her to go home when so many still were hurting.
    "Siofra wants me to retire." He stated after an hour of slow, silent riding. "She wants me to settle down and get married."
    "You should. You'd have your choice of women."
    "Avalbane-"
    "Don't bother. My answer hasn't changed."
    "No. I suppose it never will." He muttered. "But I think that's what keeps me asking."
    Avalbane sighed. "You're too old to be wasting your time, General. I suggest you choose a new target."
    "You'd miss me if I was gone." He teased as they stopped their horses, her small cabin coming into view.
    "I can assure you. I won't." Her tone was hard, and her eyes were equally so. Had he not known the secrets of her heart, he may have taken them personally. However, he knew the scars across her soul as well as he knew his own, so the sting of her statement was a dull one.
    He didn't bother to offer to help her dismount or to put her saddle in the shed for her, knowing she'd only give him a dirty look if he tried. After the riding equipment was stashed away they released their horses into the forest and turned toward the house.
    "What do I need to do, Avalbane?" He inquired softly as she placed a hand on the door handle.
    "Go grab some wood from the pile." She replied, opening the door. He grabbed her arm and spun her around. As used to defeat as he'd become with her, it didn't stop him from fighting.
    "What do I need to do?" He reiterated.
    "Give up."
    "I can't do that."
    "That's your choice."
    "I know that you love me."
    "You should. I have never denied it."
    "Then let me make an honest woman of you."
    She laughed and shook his hand away. "I do not need a man to make me honest. And I don't need a man like you, especially."
    "Even Siofra-"
    "Siofra is the Queen of my country, not the Queen of my heart. Her suggestions on the topic of love will forever go unheard by me."
    He took her by the shoulders and fought the urge to shake her. He loved the way she fought him, the way she insulted and denied him, but he hated it also. She made him tread the edge of madness, always a hairs breath from falling over. It was her vengeance, he knew, but how long would it go on?
    "How long must I wait for you to forgive me, Butterfly?"
    "You can sleep out here tonight." She spat, jerking from his grasp. "At least then I will not be able to hear you whisper her name in your dreams."
    The door slammed in his face, not for the first time.
    His irritation simmered back down into an acceptant ache in his chest and he took out the last of his Marlboro's. Of all the women in Faery, he had get stuck on this one. Still, even if their relationship was dysfunctional, it was a vast relief to be able to love again, to be slowly forgetting that human's face. He was finally able to have hope for the future.
    He was about to slump against the side of the house and enjoy his first drag when something came crashing through the forest to his left. Drawing his sword, he placed the cigarette behind his ear for safe-keeping. His heart beat and a smile spread across his face in anticipation. A good brawl was just what he needed, be it bear or goblin, he was ready. Or so he thought.
    What stumbled out from the thicket, caught him completely of guard. "Avalbane!" He shouted, an alarm in his voice that had the healer by his side in an instant.
    Grayson fell to his knees, pale and dirty. His clothes were torn, and stained a ruddy red. His nose was bleeding profusely and his breath was coming in great, uneven gasps. Sverre fell from his shoulders in an unresponsive heap, looking just as battered.
    "He's poisoned." Gray gasped, clutching the grass in his fists as if the ground was shifting beneath him.  "Tang gave him- something."
    "Did Tang follow you?" Rafferty inquired, helping the boy back to his feet as Avalbane rushed to her fallen brother.
    "No." He murmured, "I killed him."
    "You?"
    Avalbane was oblivious to all else as she held brother in her lap. She could already tell he was too far gone. How he was holding on, she didn't know. "Sverre?" She whispered, brushing hair from his frosty face. "You big idiot."
    "Av, can you save him?" Raff inquired, approaching with the human on his arm.
    "We need to send word to Siofra." She whispered, answering his question with her lack of an answer. "Riding back there would cause a scene, and sending a bird is unreliable."
    "I know what to do." Raff assured her softly. "Let's get them inside."

    Siofra sat in the window, picking the little white flowers from her hair and watching them flutter helplessly down to the dark courtyard below. She'd tried to contact Faery twice already that evening, but to no avail. It would not heed her call.
    Drawing her legs into her chest, she rested her head on her knees. What was she doing? She should be saving her people, instead she was sulking, clinging to a desperate hope. All her talk of honor and of duty had been meaningless. Siva had been right. Those things had no use if love had no authority.
    "Please," She whispered into the cool night air, fiddling with Sverre's ring. "Intervene. Save us from our messes."
    Siva whimpered in his sleep and she left her place at the window. Gently, she undid his bounds and healed the marks they'd left on his wrists. "Grayson." He murmured, his lashes wet and his eyes moving beneath his lids. "Breathe. Grayson."
    "Ssh." Brushing his damp hair from his face, she sent him so far into sleep that no nightmare could touch him. Unable to look at him without seeing his brother, she pulled the quilt up around him and returned again to the window in order to close the shutters. That was, until something caught her eye.
    A tendril of blue smoke slithered up into the night sky. It was not coming from Unseelie, but from the forest directly in front of the palace. She felt her heart beating against her sternum, but her limbs were all numb. Sverre. More than anything, she wanted to rush to him, but here was dread in her soul, weighing her down. If she went, she'd only be going to watch him die.
    But wouldn't it be worth it? To hold him in her arms once more, even just for a minute? To feel his body against hers, even as his tears wet her shoulder? To be with him as he drew his final breath? Yes. She wanted that precious moment more than she'd ever wanted any other.
    "Blair!" She called, knowing the woman would hear her. "I need you."
    "Yes, My Lady?" Blair inquired, entering cautiously.
    Siofra wasted no time. Running to the other woman she clasped her hands and met her eyes. "You would do anything to see me smile again? Yes?"
    "Of course. What's the matter?"
    "I need you to let me change places with you. Just for tonight. I put Siva to sleep. He shouldn't cause you any trouble. I swear it."
    "This is a very unusually request, Sio."
    "Please, I beg you. I'll be back before dawn. There's something I have to do." She pleaded, every second spent in the castle seeming an eternity. "Blair, please."
    "It's Sverre, right?" The woman cocked a mischievous half-smile. "Go then. I don't care who the father is, we just need an heir."
    "That's- that's not it." Sio murmured, "He's dying. I just want to be there with him, one last time."
    "Well, no time to waste then. Go."
    "Thank you."
    "Oh, no need to thank me." Blair laughed, throwing up her Glamour, perfectly mirroring her young mistress. "You know I'm a fool when it comes to romance."
    "We have that in common." Sio sighed, flawlessly becoming her friend and slipping out of the room, passing the guards along the corridors without hindrance.
    "Blair, where are you off to in such a hurry?" One of the guards in the courtyard called as she bustled out into the dark. "Is everything alright?"
    "Yes, yes, fine." She smiled, "Just running an errand."
    The guard gave her a beguiling smile. "The palace is quiet, why don't we sneak away for a few minutes."
    What?! Oh, if only this guard knew who he was actually speaking to. "No, not right now. I really have to go."
    "Come on, B." The man huffed, grabbing her arm and pulling her close. "It's not like you to play so hard to get. Are you angry with me?"
    "No, I-"
    "Are you going off to meet someone else?" He furrowed his brows, with wild accusation in his hazel eyes. "Is that it?"
    "How dare you insinuate such a thing!" She snapped, smacking his hands away from her. "I am not such a woman!"
    "Yeah right, we all know that's not true. Who is it this time? Bartholomew? Tanis? Rafferty again?"
    "Rafferty? I can assure you-"
    The guard drew her in again. "Trust me. I know all about it. What do I have to do to tie you down? You said I was-"
    She slapped him across the face and ran like hell, hoping her Glamour had not wavered in the excitement.