A court so dark healer o.., p.1
A Court So Dark (Healer of Kingdoms Book 3), page 1
A Court So Dark
Ingrid Seymour
PenDreams
Copyright © 2023 by Ingrid Seymour
All rights reserved.
No portion of this book may be reproduced in any form without written permission from the publisher or author, except as permitted by U.S. copyright law.
Contents
1. CHAPTER 1
2. CHAPTER 2
3. CHAPTER 3
4. CHAPTER 4
5. CHAPTER 5
6. CHAPTER 6
7. CHAPTER 7
8. CHAPTER 8
9. CHAPTER 9
10. CHAPTER 10
11. CHAPTER 11
12. CHAPTER 12
13. CHAPTER 13
14. CHAPTER 14
15. CHAPTER 15
16. CHAPTER 16
17. CHAPTER 17
18. CHAPTER 18
19. CHAPTER 19
20. CHAPTER 20
21. CHAPTER 21
22. CHAPTER 22
23. CHAPTER 23
24. CHAPTER 24
25. CHAPTER 25
26. CHAPTER 26
27. CHAPTER 27
28. CHAPTER 28
29. CHAPTER 29
30. CHAPTER 30
31. CHAPTER 31
32. CHAPTER 32
33. CHAPTER 33
34. CHAPTER 34
35. CHAPTER 35
36. CHAPTER 36
37. CHAPTER 37
38. CHAPTER 38
39. CHAPTER 39
40. CHAPTER 40
41. CHAPTER 41
42. CHAPTER 42
43. THE SPRITE
Afterword
Also By Ingrid Seymour
About Author Ingrid Seymour
CHAPTER 1
WÖLFE
The beast tried to claw its way out of me as I squeezed the weak male’s neck, but it wouldn’t do to terrify my prey out of his wits. Not just yet.
“Where is he?” I demanded, my patience teetering at the sword’s edge of a precipice.
A hand fell on my shoulder. “Wölfe. Please.”
My head jerked back. I growled, teeth bared. “Unwise to touch me, Summer Prince.”
Jeondar pulled his hand back, curling his fingers into a fist, probably worried I might bite them off. Not so unwise, after all.
I returned my attention to the coiffed male, whom I held against the wall. This was his villa. My Seelie spies had marked him as one of Cardian’s allies, someone who could potentially be harboring my weasel brother.
As I squeezed his neck a little harder, Kryn came barreling through the door, followed by Silver.
“Cardian isn’t here,” my half-brother said. “We searched everywhere.”
I narrowed my eyes at my quarry, my claws unsheathing. He whimpered as they pierced his pasty skin. A cloying sweet smell clung to him, some sort of flowery perfume. His hair was a mass of well-arranged curls on top of his head. They glittered with enough pixie dust to make a full-grown horse soar from the ground. Sweat slid down his forehead, and his tongue kept darting out like a snake’s.
My fingers squeezed harder still. “I will ask one last time or I’ll kill you. Where is Cardian?”
“I don’t know, my king.” His voice trembled.
I applied more pressure to my thumb. My claw dug in and warm blood flowed to stain his pristine white collar. I stared in fascination as it blossomed, spreading through the threads like fire through a cotton field.
“Please, my k-king,” the male managed just barely. “All I know is that… he acquired a transfer token, stole it from your father.”
For a second, I didn’t move, my urge to kill him dampened by the news, then my fury redoubled and I leaned more heavily into him, the tendons around his throat feeling like flimsy twigs that I yearned to break. He made a croaking sound.
“He’s told you what he knows, Wölfe.” Jeondar stepped into my field of vision. “Let him go. He’s not worth it.”
My eyes flicked toward the Summer Prince, and for a moment, I considered his words, Kalyll trying to push his own morality on me. But the moment of insanity passed, and with a little more pressure—an effortless thing, really—I snapped the traitor’s neck.
The crack of bones was loud in the quiet room. It reverberated like the crashing of a tree.
I let him go. He dropped to the floor in a heap of uselessness. I leaned forward, pulled an embroidered handkerchief from his breast pocket, and used it to wipe his blood from my hand. Working on one finger at a time, I turned and faced the others.
Jeondar, Kryn, and Silver’s expressions were identical: wide eyes, lips pressed into tight lines, brows furrowed. They didn’t approve. What a surprise.
I huffed and walked out of the room, a garish parlor with fuchsia curtains and cream cushions. My steps pounded against the veined marble floors as I made my way down a long hall. The others followed at a distance.
Two servants stood at the main door. Earlier, they had let me pass as soon as they recognized me and sensed my fury. Smart. I would’ve torn out their throats had they gotten in the way.
Cylea and Arabis waited outside in the courtyard under the star-covered black sky. They stayed to keep watch in case any rats scurried out of the large villa as we searched it.
“No luck, huh?” Cylea handed me Stormheart’s reins, who was drinking water from a gurgling fountain.
I grunted in response.
Silver and Kryn prepared to mount, but a glare from Jeondar stopped them.
“No one’s going to say anything about what just happened?” he demanded.
I looked at him over my shoulder. “You always say enough for everyone.”
He met my glower, unflinching.
“What… happened?” Arabis asked.
Jeondar jerked a hand, pointing at the ornate house behind us. “He killed him. That’s what happened.”
“By Erilena.” Arabis covered her mouth.
I huffed. “What would you have me do? Cuddle the traitor?”
“The king is not supposed to go around murdering denizens. Guilty or not? There should be a trial.” Jeondar droned on.
“We don’t have time for that. We have to find Cardian.”
“Your personal vendetta should not take precedence over more pressing matters. Mythorne prepares for war as we speak.”
I let go of Stormheart’s reins, took a step forward, and snatched a handful of Jeondar’s jacket. “Dani lies cold on a bed while my brother runs free plotting against me, against your precious realm. He possesses valuable information that can help the enemy. So I would say my personal vendetta aligns itself very well with your lofty goals for Elf-hame. But if you don’t agree with my methods, you’re welcome to scuttle back to Imbermore.”
Jeondar pushed me, trying to shake himself free of my hold. I doubled down, but Kryn wedged himself between us, while Arabis came forth and placed a hand on my arm.
“Settled down, Wölfe!” she said, her Susurro powers traveling like wind over my body.
I felt the force of her command as it burrowed itself under my skin, trying to force me into compliance.
Kalyll reared its ugly head. He pushed, trying to come to the forefront and replace me, but right now his weak tactics were not needed. Right now—
CHAPTER 2
KALYLL
It took all of my will to prevail over the darkness boiling inside me. When I came to, my head was lowered, my teeth and my fists clenched. Inhaling a deep breath, I met my friends’ bewildered expressions.
“Did that work?” Arabis asked.
I nodded.
Fire burned at the tips of Jeondar’s fingers. He was looking at me with a wave of anger and wariness he’d always reserved for others, not me.
Before what happened to Daniella, I had felt in control of my shadowdrifter abilities, able to unleash them when I wanted, but without her soothing presence, and with my desperation building and building, every day that had passed without her, things had become more difficult.
Finally, my restraints had snapped and Wölfe had broken free… allowing him to commit murder.
Jeondar fanned his hands and the fire went out.
“I apologize for my behavior,” I said even as Wölfe bristled, sending bile up my throat. He was the worst of my pride, the worst of my everything.
Jeondar didn’t acknowledge my apology, which stoked my already-incensed anger.
“As touched as I am,” Cylea intervened as if to soften the blow of Jeondar’s dismissal. “I don’t think this is the best place for further conversation. We should go.” She got on her horse in one bound and started forward, without waiting.
But I was in no mood to go anywhere with them. I kept trying to erase the image of the male’s glimmering curls as I snapped his neck.
“Arabis, can you please take Stormheart with you?” I offered her the reins.
I cared nothing for the disappointment that registered in her expression as she pulled my steed away.
“How long will this go on, brother?” Kryn asked.
“You dare ask me this?” My eyes cut in Arabis’s direction. He had been pining over her for ninety years. If he thought my yearning for Daniella was ridiculous, what did he call his own dogged persistence?
“Dani is—” He started, but I glared, and he held back what he’d been about to say. That she was as good as dead? That it wasn’t acceptable to pine over a frozen body? A near
I refused to accept what everyone thought.
“She’s my mate,” I spat, “but of course, you have no concept of that.”
I turned my back on him and walked out of the courtyard and down the street. Stuffing my hand in my trousers’ pocket, I fingered the transfer token. We were fifty miles from the Vine Tower, nearing the west boundary of Elyndell, but the distance was no matter. I had returned to see her every day since we left a week ago. Today would not be the exception.
Holding the token tightly in my hand, I let it take me to Daniella’s realm. Once there, I lingered only long enough to allow the veil magic to gather and carry me straight into her chamber. Strange the way of veil magic. I could only travel quickly within my own realm if I transferred to the human realm first.
Warm light trembled within the sconces on the wall. Her narrow bed sat by the open window, well within the reach of a beam of moonlight that skidded over her frozen skin, making it glitter. I walked closer, my steps barely audible, and stopped by her side.
Her beautiful face was peaceful at rest. There was no sign of the pain she must have experienced when Varamede’s attack overpowered her. In her presence, quiet as it was, the anger that roiled in my chest morphed into a sorrow deeper than any ocean.
“Can you hear me, melynthi?” I asked as I did every night and despite never receiving an answer, I didn’t stop expecting it. “I feel lost without you. The rage consumes me. The others fear me… hate me. At least some of the time, I am sure. I need you.”
I leaned forward and pressed a kiss to her cold lips. The grief that the Envoy had promised punched right through me.
My gaze got locked on something inconsequential and slowly, as I came to, I realized it was a dry petal on the floor. I glanced toward the pedestals, and for the first time, noticed the curving steams and wilted flowers. Roses. They were different from the ones I’d seen last night. Red as opposed to white. They reminded me of that day in Imbermore’s gardens. I’d given Daniella a red rose that day, maybe to assuage my guilt as I tried to explain my shadowdrifter heritage without causing panic.
Reminded of something, I walked to the library, found what I was looking for inside a desk drawer, and went back.
“This one won’t wither,” I said as I pinned a silver brooch to her tunic.
It was the artful representation of a rose, the petals perfect and polished, the leaves carved in careful detail. The brooch had belonged to my grandmother. Roses were her favorite flowers.
“Find your way to me, melynthi.” I pressed a kiss to her forehead.
The flutter of wings behind me forced me to take a step back. Larina hovered by the door, hands joined in front of her as she waited, head bowed slightly.
“I’m here to change the flowers, my king,” the pixie said.
“Please, don’t let me stop you,” I said, finding it unacceptable that Daniella should suffer any dead blooms.
I sat on one of the armchairs by the fireplace, while Larina flew about using her magic to dismiss the dead arrangements and replace them with new ones.
“What news, Larina?”
“Two healers came this morning. They tried their best, but…”
She didn’t need to elaborate. Many had tried to bring her back, but everyone had failed.
“I’ll continue to search,” she added, attempting to appear hopeful.
“What other news?” I asked, more out of obligation than any real desire to know what went on in my court.
“Your mother continues to take care of your affairs, my king,” Larina said. “Today she summoned me and asked me to tell you that…” She stopped seemingly unable to continue, her cheeks turning violet with embarrassment.
“You can tell me whatever it is she said.”
She inclined her head. “She wishes for you to return immediately. She says you are needed here, and that… your blind pursuit of your brother and vengeance are misguided. That it is not the… worthless human who matters, but your throne and the peace of your realm.”
I could feel my anger building and with it, Wölfe trying to take over once more. I stood, cracked my neck, and inhaled deeply, willing the tightly packed emotions that concentrated in my chest to spread, to diffuse. The burning under my breastbone dissipated somewhat. The anger was still there, but when it wasn’t the main focus, I could keep my irrational side at bay and be a true blend of darkness and light.
Not fully Kalyll. Not fully Wölfe. But something in between.
“I’m sorry to subject you to my mother’s… acrimony,” I told the pixie. “I know she is difficult. I wish I could let you go back to Imbermore so you could be closer to your family, but I don’t trust anyone else to…” I glanced toward Daniella, “take care of her.”
“I remain here gladly. I want to be by her side. Forgive me for saying this, but Dani is my friend.”
“Forgive you? I can only be grateful to you, and I hope that you also consider me your friend one day.”
“Your Majesty!” she exclaimed as if I’d said something ridiculous.
I took several steps forward and approached my mate. I raised my fingers to her cold hand and stared into that beautiful face. “I have learned much from her. When she wakes up, I will marry her. She will be my queen, and together, we will change things.”
Starting with the statute that said a Seelie monarch was not allowed to wed someone who wasn’t of pure Fae blood. Such nonsense.
Reluctantly, I pulled away from Daniella. “I must go now. The Sub Rosa awaits. I leave her in your hands.”
“Go with ease, my king. I will take good care of her.”
I retrieved the transfer token and willed it to take me to the spot where I’d agreed to meet my friends.
“You’re back!” Arabis shot to her feet as I materialized, a dagger in her hand with a skewered piece of roasted meat at its tip.
I found them sitting by the light of a campfire, enjoying a fresh kill, from the smell of it. Cylea had been at work with her bow and arrows, no doubt. She could always find something to satisfy our appetite.
“I thought you’d be gone much longer,” she added, sitting back down.
In previous visits, I had stayed with Daniella for hours, unable to leave her side, but right now, I needed to talk to them, to find out what they thought of the bit of news we had acquired.
I found an empty rock next to Kryn and sat down. Silver offered me a plate with pieces of meat on it. I waved it away.
He shrugged. “More for me.”
“We’ve been wasting our time searching for Cardian,” I said without a preamble. “He has a transfer token.” I smack a fist into my hand. “I should’ve guessed.”
Transfer tokens were not common. They weren’t necessarily rare, but due to their high price, they were given sparingly. As a Seelie Prince, my brother would’ve naturally been allowed one. However, Father had denied him the privilege right after his first visit to the human realm, where he made a fool of himself, causing an embarrassing incident in a nightclub and landing himself in jail. Still, it had been stupid of me to assume he would be traveling by regular means.
“He could be anywhere now,” I added, fighting my rising anger once more. I cracked my fingers as a way to focus my attention on something else.
“Do you think he escaped to the human realm?” Cylea asked.
I shook my head. “I seriously doubt it.”
Cylea worked on tightening her bow. “You don’t think he went to Mythorne, do you?”
“A Seelie Prince in the Unseelie Court?” Kryn said. “I don’t think that would be very smart.”
Arabis nodded. “I agree. Besides, Cardian is paranoid, not to mention a coward. He may have an alliance with Mythorne, but I doubt he trusts him.”
Cylea nodded. “True.”
They all looked at me. “I’m not sure. He’s been known to do very stupid things. Honestly, I have no idea where he could’ve gone.”
Since we left Elyndell proper a week ago, we’d been following a path that led to some of Cardian’s closest allies—a list given to us by Naesala Roka. Since we had paid a visit to five lords to whom my brother had pledged prominent positions in court. Clearly, we’d been following a cold trail from the beginning.
Cylea plucked her bow string. It twanged satisfactorily. “You don’t think Naesala sent us on a purposeless chase?”
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