Feyland: The Dark Realm

Chapter Twenty-Six

Jennet hurried forward, barely noticing the rock walls on either side. Why hadn’t she been more honest with Tam?

Ok, she knew why. Secrecy was a hard habit to break. And she hadn’t wanted to frighten him off by revealing the price she’d paid. Besides, Thomas had told Tam that her energy was being taken by the Queen. She hadn’t explained any further, and right after that they had run for their lives from the Wild Hunt, so maybe that bit of info had gotten lost. Plus, the right opportunity had never seemed to present itself.

There was another reason, too. She hated admitting it, even to herself, but she had made a few stupid moves. If Tam knew how badly she had lost to the queen, he could lose all respect for her. His good opinion mattered. Had mattered for a while, more than she wanted to admit. She could imagine the contempt in his eyes when she told him - so she hadn’t.

And now it could cost her everything.

“This way,” Puck said, tugging on her inside-out robe to get her attention. “The Black Knight awaits us.”

She looked up, realizing that she had marched right past another, smaller, tunnel with a purplish glow emanating from it. The thought of meeting the Dark Queen again made her whole body go cold. Her chest ached, and she recalled with sudden clarity the queen’s delicate fingertips holding a crystal sphere. Those star-filled eyes had held hers, the queen had declared victory, and searing pain had ripped through her.

Jennet took a quick breath. “I really don’t think the queen and I—”

“Come on.” Tam had caught up. “Much as I wish we’d talked strategy, didn’t Thomas say we needed to do this as quickly as possible?”

There wasn’t anything she could say to that. She pressed her lips together as Tam brushed past, one hand on his sword hilt. Did he have to be so drastically courageous about everything?

Well, that was why she had chosen him. It was just - they weren’t ready, either of them, to face the queen. It was too late now, though. Swallowing back her dread, Jennet vanished her cheery lantern and summoned her staff. The blue light pulsed oddly against the purple glow in the tunnel. Tam and Puck had gotten a few yards ahead, but she couldn’t make her feet go any faster.

In fact, it seemed as if the glow was pressing against her. After several steps, she felt like she was moving through syrup. She couldn’t hear anything, but ahead she saw that Tam and Puck had stopped in front of a glowing purple portal. The magical doorway was held open by the menacing figure of the Black Knight. He stood straddling the portal, one black-armored foot planted on the tunnel floor, the other set on a starlit hill. And behind him...

The Dark Queen.

Jennet couldn’t breathe - until she realized that she wasn’t the focus of that beautifully dangerous gaze. Tam was.

The queen smiled. High up in the air, faint frosty music played, borne by an invisible breeze. Her midnight hair stirred about her face, and she slowly reached her hand out. As if in a daze, Tam lifted his own.

“No!” Jennet pushed her staff through the thick air and sent a bolt hurtling toward the doorway.

It hit the purple light and sent up a shower of sparks. Puck leaped into the air and gave her an accusing look, then bounded across the threshold and disappeared. The Black Knight slowly lifted his foot from the rock floor.

Tam turned, a frown creasing the corners of his mouth. “Jennet, what the—”

“Don’t go with her.”

“I wasn’t—”

Too late. It was a brush of sorrowful melody, breathed through the half-open doorway. Underneath it, Jennet could hear ice. She shivered.