Two Wicked Courts

Chapter 9

I slept. Instead of the anxiety-ridden nightmares I had grown used to, it was my comforting, recurring dream.

For the first time, I was able to notice more details. I always thought it was a night sky and tree branches, but there were no stars or leaves, and the branches were still. The space itself felt enclosed and cramped. I was wrong. They had always been tree roots. We were underground.

I remember coming out of the dream multiple times with brief snatches of conversation, alternating day and night, and the smell of the forest. I was usually only conscious for moments before he would put me under again. When I started waking up more coherently, I realized I was riding a horse, a thick cloak had been tied around me, and that a lean body was pressed against my back to keep me from falling off.

The Unseelie king was talking low near my ear. "They'll retaliate. I wanted to avoid that."

"I already told you Cia gave no notice. You were already outside the city, and she left that morning."

"Adapt to change and plan, as I taught you," the same woman's voice spoke. "The girl is waking up again."

He groaned. "This is growing tedious. Why won't she stay asleep?"

"I always wondered why Leander let her roam about without glamour or compulsion. It seems like it doesn't stick. Very curious."

The king leaned forward, rough whiskers tickling my cheek, and whispered, "sleep."

The next time I woke, it wasn't on the road, though my body was incredibly sore from it. My eyes fluttered up to a dark stone ceiling and my hands rested on soft blankets that had been pulled over my body. A fire crackled in a small fireplace adjacent to the bed I was in. A small window framed dark gray clouds as they moved past.

I stood and gasped as soon as my toes touched the stone floor. The chill went up my legs. I scrambled over to the fire and saw woolen socks had been laid out for me. I tugged them on and sighed. I wrapped my arms around myself as I basked in the heat provided by the small fire. The flimsy dress I last wore had been changed out for a plain shift that was double layered for warmth, but I could feel the familiar weight of my necklace on my chest.

When my fingers were no longer stiff from the cold, I ventured over to the window. Frost was chewing at the edges of the glass, blurring and obscuring some of the view. Massive snow-covered mountains loomed in every direction as far as my eyes could see and a deep valley was nestled a distance below. I could barely make out the buildings, only the green of the trees. Wherever I was, it was very high up the mountainside.

I overheard conversation outside my room.

"...just questioning what your motivations are with this." There was a pause and the female voice continued in a playful tone. "Have you decided to keep a pet? Your parents did when they were younger. I hear it's Unseelie tradition."

"No!" The king protested sharply and the sound of his voice brought back the memories of darkness and frost. I shivered.

"The human had been with the princes for some time. Even you must have heard the rumors about the sisters. We can use her to our advantage."

And it has absolutely nothing to do with the fact that she's a hot-blooded woman, and not an ugly one at that? Or perhaps you just wanted to steal one of their favorite toys to spite them, since they eluded you."

"That's ridiculous," he scoffed. "Why are you protesting this?"

"I'm not. I am trying to understand your decision to put our mission in jeopardy for... her."

"Do you want her, then?"

There was a heavy pause. "I'm not hungry."

"I didn't mean to eat her!" I could hear his heavy sigh even behind a closed door. "We'll find out what she knows. If she knows nothing..."