Drip. Drip. Drip.

I stared into the darkness of the dungeon cell. Past the puddle, where drops of water landed, echoing between the cold stone walls. My eyes caught the shape of wings.

A woman fae sat on the wet floor and stared back at me. “Watch out. Magic doesn’t work right in this room,” she had just said. Before that, I thought I was alone.

And I’d recognized her voice!

“Mother?”

She moved and rose. Chains shuffled, links clinking. She neared me. My heart beat fast.

“Freya?!” she muttered.

Tears clouded my eyes. “Yes, it’s me,” I managed, almost gulping.

“Oh, my Goddesses!” Her voice broke.

Two thin but strong arms landed on me. And then, we were both crying as we hugged each other.

“Why are you in prison?” she asked.

I could ask her the same question. I’d been looking for her. For a long time.

“Freya, how come?” she urged.

Well, let me see…I married the crown prince of the Unseelie Kingdom, even though I was the secret heir to his enemy kingdom, Seelie. And then… I took a slow breath. “The queen found out who I am.”

“What?!”

“Yes. Queen Isobel knows!”

Silence passed between us. For a moment, we just stood there, facing each other in the dark.

“I…” She hesitated. “How?”

“I don’t know.” I moved back and stared into the darkness. What had at first seemed like a pitch-black bottom of a deep pit now looked like shades of shadows, in the dim light. And in it, I could vaguely make out my mother’s almost-transparent wings and hair that, even here, shone brightly.

Warmth spread in me at the familiar sight. But only for a moment. Because other than that, my mother seemed…broken. The way she hunched as she walked, how she was overly alert.

“How come you’re here?” I asked, my voice soft.

She moved nervously. “I never got a chance to ask them. Hmm…I think you just told me why. Since the queen found out.”

She stepped away, chains rattling, and the air tensed.

I had to think of something to say, something to keep her talking. After all this time apart, the only thing that came to mind was, “You look…different.”

It took her some time to respond to that. “You haven’t seen me since you were ten. And you’re nineteen now.”

That wasn’t what I meant. It was something else. A dark shadow engulfed her, as if it had settled between her heartbeats…sinister. I could almost feel it observe me through her.

She came closer again, her breath echoing in the chilling air. “I’ve missed you so much, my dear.”

“Me too,” was all I managed. Who thought that in the end, this would be where I’d finally find her? I still couldn’t believe it. And it was uncanny, how much she’d changed.

“I…thought we would meet at Reem Castle,” she said.

Yes, that was the plan.

“Through Kalan,” she added.

Kalan. At the mention of his name, my cheeks went hot. I could almost see him in front of me: the handsome prince of Unseelie. Magically bound to me by a rare etheric bond since the day I was born. His emerald eyes shining and his bright brown hair dropping over his forehead, as his massive wings spread sideways, covering broad shoulders.

What if I never see him again? What if this is where my life ended? And I became a ghost of myself, like her? No! I couldn’t let that happen. I had to make it out of here alive. And take her with me.

“How long have you been here?” I asked.

“Since we were supposed to meet.”

“That’s almost three weeks!”

She paused. “Is it? It seems far longer.”

That shadow was there in her words. Coating every syllable. I heard the movement of her chains before I noticed that she had backed away from me.

Had they hurt her? What did they do here? Was she beaten or injured? A chill passed through me at the thought of my mother being subjected to the kind of things that happened in a place like this.

“I want you to know…I did everything I could…to keep you safe over the years,” she said.

“I know. I know what you have been through.”

She stilled; her gaze darkened, as if she feared I had discovered what happened here.

“I meant what you did until we were supposed to meet.” How she’d run away from our kingdom, into this enemy land, to keep my identity hidden, and created a new life for herself, putting Eilidh the baker behind, and becoming Captain Eilidh—a spy for Queen Isobel. While I was growing up without her, training my magic so that one day I could cross the border into Unseelie to find her, she was watching our royals. “I think you were impressively brave, Mom.”

She smiled sadly at that. “It was the only way.” Her words came in an icy-cold voice. So different from the lively, down-to-earth village baker who had raised me.

Was her job also part of why she’d changed so much? Did they teach spies to be like this? Steel cold? Calculated? Here’s hoping that it wasn’t just because of prison.

Suddenly, she pulled on her chains. I caught the noise a second later: the rusty door above us opened. She took my hand and pulled me down.

Rocks landed on us from above. One hit the talon of my left wing, and I felt my water element rush to heal me. But it was too weak with whatever was blocking my magic here.

“Are you all right?” she asked, not waiting for an answer. She crouched and her hands felt the floor frantically. Then she stopped and put something in her mouth. “Not as stale as usual. Here.”

She rose and handed me something. It was hard in my hands. Bread? Was that what they’d thrown at us?

“There’s also fruit chops. Just let me pick them.”

I bent to join her, but she was quicker. Her movements were swift, rapidly covering the area—even with the chains. So fast that I could barely see them.

Suddenly, she stood straight in front of me, handing me a collection of bits that resembled food. “Eat. You never know when they feed you again in here. Between the—”

She stopped mid-sentence.

“Between what?” My voice came out sharp.

She stared at me. “Nothing. Perhaps you will have a different experience than me.”

“What do you mean?” What do they do to us here?

She didn’t answer. She started to chew. Fast. Loudly. As if she had never seen food before.

I forced myself to gulp down the wet bread roll, that was still stiff from age, following it with fruit bits.

“Hey, how come you’re in chains?” I suddenly realized that I hadn’t asked her that. I wasn’t restrained. Yet. Did that come later on?

She stopped munching and—to my surprise—chuckled. “Because of what I can do without them. Let’s just say I am very good at my job.”

Was that meant to reassure me?

It only proved that it was her life as a spy that contributed to how much she’d changed. Where was her warmth, her sweet kindness, and the soft voice with which she spoke to everyone in our small village? What had her life really been like? Especially in the past few weeks since she ended up here?

“Tell me about Kalan,” she said, her words momentarily stopping my rambling mind.

I thought I sensed a smile in her tone.

Again, the mention of his name sent heat through me.

“He’s a handful, actually.” The words came out of my mouth faster than I could think.

She laughed. “Yes, I can see how he would be. You’re very well matched. Of all the men the universe could have chosen for you…” The heir to the enemy kingdom. “But fate has its way. Maybe now, that you found each other, the war could end.”

“We met before,” I said. That was a one-night thing. My first. And I did things I never thought I’d do. I blushed hard now, thankful that she couldn’t see it. Still, it was nice to talk about my personal life with her. “He didn’t tell me who he was and we never thought we’d meet again. And now…we’re married.”

“Married?!” Her hand caught mine. Her fingers glossed over the emerald engagement ring Kalan had given me—like the color of his eyes—and headed toward my etheric wedding ring. Her movement was instant, and I nearly gasped.

She noticed my start and let my hand go. Then, she took a step back and started to drag her chains again. “But if you’re married, this changes things.” There was sudden hope in her voice. “Your position with his mother, Queen Isobel—”

“Is worse because of it!” Fae from both kingdoms could see our cross-border marriage as treason.

She thought for a moment. “I see.”

Again, there was a sound above and she froze. I could almost smell the fear on her as she stopped and listened. Her breath caught when rusty hinges moved, and she backed away, cowering.

Why was she so scared? What had they done to her?

Do they…torture us?

I froze at the thought. I waited anxiously, heart speeding.

The noises stopped. I heard wings flap as someone moved away. My mother breathed out in relief.

“So…Kalan.” Her voice almost demanded me to talk about it. To distract her.

But I couldn’t. “Mother, what do they do here?”

She stared into my eyes in the dark. Without words. And I had my answer.

A chill ran through me, but then the realization of what my mother had to go through caused the blood to boil in my veins.

“I’ll get them for this!” After everything she’d done for me, the price she already had to pay, and everything that I went through in the past few weeks of my life…

“No.” Her voice went still as ice. “You won’t.”

“Yes. I will.” I met her gaze. “How bad? How bad did they hurt you?”

She bit her lip.

The hinges above us suddenly moved, and before I could say another word, three male fae flew down and landed around me.

“Freya of Seelie.” One of them spoke and immediately turned to the others. “Take her upstairs.”

“No!” A deep, roaring, scary voice shot through the cell, and they all turned to see my mother pulling on her chains. A blast of her magic, strong enough to melt steel, followed. The shackles on her hands cracked open. And a moment later, she had one of the guards facedown.

I rushed to her, but one of them pushed me while another overcame her resistance.

He laughed at her. “What’s the matter? Want another go?”

I gasped at the meaning of his words. Torture.

“Take Freya and come back for the blonde one.” The same man spoke again.

“Mom!” I shrieked through the blackness that formed in my mind.

“Shut the fuck up!”

An iron glove hit my face, and I shuddered at the pain.

The jailer grabbed my wrists and the three men shot up with me. The light coming from the one window at the top of the pit grew rapidly as we neared it.

My pain was immense. I felt my water element rise to cure me. Something happened. But it vanished almost as instantly as it came.

How did my mother do it? She’d managed to blast her chains. I looked down, trying to see her. Everything below me was dark.

They pushed me out of the cell and locked it.

“Cuffs!” the jailer ordered. Suddenly, metal cuffs were placed on my wrist.

But, I was out of the cell. My magic could save me now!

Fire. I concentrated on the strongest element I could use to defend myself. It rose, spreading through me, ready to attack them.

But the cuffs on my hands stopped my magic.

What?! Shit. No!

“You thought you could try some tricks, huh?” One of the jailers laughed.

I looked up at the three of them. They had me. But maybe I could talk my way out of this? Was there a chance that if they knew I married their future king… “Are you aware that—”

“I said, silence!” The jailer lifted his hand to hit me again, but I ducked. He turned to one of the others. “Chamber one.”

Chamber?! As in, torture chamber? My breath caught.

I scanned my surroundings desperately, like a caged animal searching for escape. But all I saw was the bars of other cells with fae inside them.

They led me through the fire torch-lit halls. I was shaking inside. No. Please, no. My mind raced, desperately hoping to find a way out of this. Or think of the right thing to say…though one look at that iron fist told me to keep quiet.

“If the queen discovers…” one of them started.

“Did I ask for your opinion?” The jailer who had hit me turned and the other went silent.

The queen didn’t know? She didn’t order them to take me out of the dungeon? Of course she didn’t. That would be an idiot’s move, and if there was one thing I knew about Queen Isobel, it was that she was superiorly intelligent.

They took me to the next hallway. I gulped when I saw that there were no windows, no more bars, and no more people. Just heavy stone walls and heavy stone doors, sealed with wheel handles.

One was open. They stopped there.

The jailer shoved me in.

My blood went cold. Sharp silver instruments of different shapes hung from the walls. A stone bed was in the middle.

“Like what you see, Princess?” He grinned as he observed me. The door locked behind him.

A piercing scream from another room filled the chamber.

Oh Goddesses! Oh Goddesses! Oh Goddesses!

How do I open that door again? How do I get out of here? I had to find a way. I couldn’t let him…

He caught my hand, grinning. “You don’t recognize me, do you? I was there when the queen brought you here. I overheard who you are. You really thought you could take our kingdom?”

I started to hyperventilate. But I couldn’t show it. If he saw how terrified I was, he would use it against me. I looked straight into his eyes and tried to be brave. “No.”

His hand stopped by my face again. “This is your final warning. I told you to shush, you vile woman. Planted among us to tempt our prince.”

“Your prince wanted to marry me: to unite the kingdoms and end the war.” It was what the people of Unseelie wanted.

That stopped him. He tilted his head, but then he squinted, sneering. “I…almost believed you there.” He lifted my hand, and his fingers closed on my wedding ring.

A sudden flash of etheric element started from the ring and rushed through me, awakening my every cell.

And, then, I was in the throne room.

I saw Kalan there, in front of the queen.

“I demand to know where she is!” He was furious. His eyes blazed. The swords on his back tilted as his chest rose and fell.

“She is safe. For now.” Queen Isobel sat motionless in her chair, her half-blue, half-red eyes observing him. Her presence commanded the empty hall, more powerful than fifty fae. The golden throw knives on her ankles glittered.

“She is my wife! You have to let her go!”

“And then what? You think you’ll just declare your marriage openly and the world will live in peace?”

“I never said it will be easy. But we have an etheric bond. We’re destined for each other. It’s rare and people know it. It goes beyond countries. Beyond all fae. Our love transcends any power in this world.”

“You’re a fool.” She rose, her eye still on him. She moved slowly. “Though, I must admit, I am proud of your choice.”

He squinted.

“She’s smart. Fearless. Beautiful as well. But none of that will save you.”

“Because you made a pact with her brother already?” he barked.

“Slúagh was raised from infancy to the throne. And suddenly he discovers he has an older sister, who can claim it? It’s only natural that he would want Freya out of the way. His rule is already established. He just needs the coronation ceremony. One little thing out of the way, and he is king.”

“You’ll let him have Freya?!”

“The affairs of another court are not my problem.”

“They are when I’m her husband.”

“You would sacrifice your own people?!”

“No, Mother. I will find another way.”

“There isn’t one!”

The vision ended, and I heard a scream of pain. I was back in the room. I looked around me and realized in horror that I was strapped to the bed now.

The jailer stood beside me. “This is not the first time someone passed out before I got started. Happens a lot actually. You don’t mind that I had a bit of fun without you, right?”

What had he done to me?

The jailer just grinned, but I knew Kalan was here in the palace. Demanding my release. Please, please get me out of here fast.

The jailer rubbed his hands and looked at me, excited.

I shuddered.

And then, I felt my magic.

It flowed inside me, heading toward the wedding ring and from there, to the cuffs. They were weaker now than they’d been before the vision. As if they’d broken under my powers!

Was this possible? Was my ether stronger than the cuffs’ magic?

Ether was the rarest element, because it required combining the other four, and fae usually had one element. But I did have them all, and my etheric ring could combine them. Was that what had just happened?

I now noticed that—whatever that jailer had done to me—I didn’t feel any pain; I wasn’t injured. My ether must have healed me too!

I had to try to use it again, tap into the ring’s power and break free from the cuffs! I was not going to die here, at this maniac’s mercy. I would turn this around!

“Now, let me see what else I have for you.” He turned from me.

I concentrated. I felt the weight of the wedding ring on my finger, and searched for my elements inside me. Aila had taught me—she was my friend and the deputy head of house in Kalan’s castle. A soft-spoken, though chatty servant, she knew everything there was to know about ether.

“How about I try this one?” the jailer mumbled.

Earth. I called on my first element.

“Hmm, I think…” He circled the bed.

Water.

The ring pulled on my power.

Air. Fire.

My finger felt heavy.

Ether!

And then, everything went black. An immortal silence settled around me. Something was trying to block my magic, suppress it before it could leave me. I directed my powers straight at it.

With a blast of magic, I saw the throne room again. It was cloudy outside now.

Queen Isobel was speaking with someone who looked like he could be one of her ministers, while Kalan sat on a chair, and watched them with squinted eyes.

“They’re attacking us,” the minister said. “Slúagh demands we hand Freya over. He’s got Seelie Matries! With magic unlike anything we’ve seen them use before. They’ve created a magical storm that will hit the palace by tomorrow morning.”

The queen’s eyes were fixed on Kalan. “You may leave,” she told the minister, without looking at him, and he made his way out of the room.

Kalan waved his hand and his air element locked the door.

Queen Isobel raised her eyebrows at him. “This is what your marriage is costing us.”

“You can’t just hand her over!”

“Yes. I can.”

“Mother…” There was desperation in his voice.

She shook her head.

“Fine. You leave me no other choice.” Kalan stood up and faced her. His towering height almost reached her head, though she sat on her throne at the top of the stairs. His heavy shoulder muscles flexed under his royal suit. Everything about him screamed anger and fierceness. But there was nothing except resolution in his green eyes when they met hers. He swallowed and spoke as if he were stating cold facts. “I abdicate.”

“What?!” The queen’s eyes flew open.

“I give up the throne of Unseelie!” His words echoed in the hall.

Her eyes widened in shock. “You cannot do that.”

“This is your doing, Mother.” There was venom in his words now, as if he relished the power they gave him.

She glared. “You think it will change anything? He will still be after us until he gets her.”

Kalan turned. “Not us. This court is no longer my business.”

“Kalan!” She called after him when he reached the door. “You should know…” she cleared her throat, “that when I met her, I had hoped I could persuade you to—”

I was back in the torture chamber.

I felt heavy. As if I’d woken up from deep sleep. How long was I out? A quick look around told me that the jailer had gone and I was alone.

I turned my attention to the cuffs.

Much lighter. They were much lighter. It worked. I could break them! My magic flowed almost freely inside me now.

I quickly scanned my body. There were many traces of healing magic. And when I raised my head, I saw blood under one of my wings, though the wing itself was unscathed.

How hard had that bastard hurt me? Anger pulsed through my veins. I will make him curse the day he was born.

I stopped at my own reaction. Anger instead of fear! I couldn’t feel the terror anymore. No chills of anxiety. My breath was strong, even. Only my heart still raced.

Because I was fighting—for my survival. And there was no space for the fear. I could crash later. But not right now. Not here.

And there was another reason: Seelie. I was a queen. No matter what that bastard did to me, he could never bring me down to his level.

I shut my eyes and felt the ring.

Fire. Earth. Water. Air. They mixed together, shooting toward my ring. There was a pull on my finger, and ether took over.

I was in the dark. As if my powers searched for a vision, wandering between the halls of this castle, looking for something to show me.

They found Queen Isobel again. She paced in front of a large window silently. Her sturdy shadow fell on the drawn curtains, as her kingdom lay in front of her. Outside, the sun was setting.

She mumbled something, and the red in her eyes took over the blue.

She looked down, worried. Her forehead wrinkled as her eyebrows knit. But her eyes were focused. She murmured the word, “Storm.”

And then, I was back in the torture room.

The cuffs felt very light. Yes!

The jailer was still out.

Give me another vision. I merged my elements and again the throne room came into view. It was night now. The sky shone through the windows, bathing the hall in the silver light of the moon. The queen was looking at a map. Her eyes were fixed on the Death Marshes, where the district of Paladan with its tribes lay.

“The storm already reached this area,” one of a few men in royal attire who stood beside her said. Kalan was nowhere to be seen.

Then, I was back in the torture room.

“Ah! You’re awake.” The jailer was back. “There are some things I like to do that I want you to remember.”

I quickly focused on the cuffs. They felt like feathers.

He neared. I merged my elements. And the magic of the cuffs broke before another vision could come.

Magic surged through me, like a river that had conquered a dam. I looked at the room around me. At the various implements on the walls. But instead of torture instruments, I saw weapons for my own use.

The jailer was busy with a rope. His eyes met mine and he smiled at me.

I smiled right back, my magic ready for my use.

Bring it on.