Falcon Fae by Terry Spear
She wondered if Sinbad wasn’t supposed to have told her that much even. Or if he hadn’t been warned not to speak of them to Sigrid and the others.
“Did they want to rule instead in Malcolm’s place?”
The man glanced back at them, his eyes widening a little. She supposed she should have been less blunt.
Sigrid willed him to tell her what was going on again. “Are they at the island of their own freewill?”
“Aye, my lady.”
Even though she had used her magic on him to tell her the truth, if that’s all he knew, whether it was the truth or not, that’s all he could share with her.
“What does King Malcolm plan to do with us?”
“Celebrate. Then the archers will take out the dragons, and you and the other falcon fae will be imprisoned, for your own good.”
Two of the dragons growled. Sigrid heard Tanya’s intake of breath, and her heart was beating hard.
“Thank you for your honesty,” Sigrid said, smiling. “Go to your chamber right away. If anyone asks, we are celebrating. Wait. What is the quickest way for us to leave the castle through a window?”
The man opened a door to a chamber. They all entered it and shut the door. They hurried over to the window and peered out at the forest and rivers beyond. “We can leave this way, but the dragons can’t,” Sigrid warned. “We could widen the window into a door, but it would create such a racket, we’d warn everyone what we were up to.”
“We can remain fae, our wings out, take the dragons with us, and then all shift once we’re beyond the window,” Owen said. “Let’s hurry before they discover we know their plan.”
Sigrid wrapped her arm around Tanya’s waist and they went through the window sideways, Sigrid first. If there was no iron ore in the courtyard stones, they could have transported.
Owen took Halloran, because he was a big guy, and didn’t think they were going to make it through the narrow window. Connelly helped Ena. And Tarrant wrapped his arm around Brett, and the falcons carried them outside the castle, praying no one saw them and began shooting arrows or bolts at them.
15
Owen flew out of the castle bedchamber window with his arms wrapped around Halloran. Once they were outside, the dragon shifter quickly said, “You can let go of me now.”
Owen released his hold on Halloran, and Halloran dropped a few feet before he shifted into a dragon. Then he swooped beneath Tanya so she could ride on his back. Sigrid lowered Tanya down, waiting until her friend had a good hold on the dragon. Once she did, Owen and Sigrid turned into falcons.
Connelly and Tarrant did the same thing with Ena and Brett, letting them go so they could have enough room to turn into dragons. As soon as the two dragons spread their wings, Connelly and Tarrant shifted into falcons and they flew off. All of them headed as high as they could over the courtyard to reach the curtain wall. Shouts could be heard all over the place. Would the archers wait to get word from the king, or would they assume that, since the dragons and falcons were leaving right after they had arrived, they were the enemy?
Archers hurried to ready bolts. “Are we to shoot at them, or let them go?” an archer shouted.
Owen glanced back at the wall walk and saw Sinbad appear in a blue mist of smoke on the parapet. Owen swore the mage was smiling. The dragons were too high now and the falcons had already flown too far away for the archers’ arrows or bolts to reach them.
Owen wanted to eliminate the king for his treachery. He felt bad for Sigrid, learning she had family, and then discovering he was just as deceitful as Owen’s grandfather who had murdered her grandfather. Owen was glad she could will the truth out of someone, but that she hadn’t used that trick on him. He was so surprised when the servant told them what he had, for a moment, Owen thought the man had a dark sense of humor and had been jesting.
If everyone in his party agreed to it, Owen had a new mission for them. His father and Malcolm could fight it out for now. In the meantime, he wanted to find Malcolm’s brother and sister and see if they were imprisoned on the griffin fae island. If so, they would free them, and maybe one of them could rule in Malcolm’s place. If Owen and his companions helped the princess and her brother, hopefully they would feel some loyalty to them. If they were in power instead of Malcolm, they could end this war between the falcon kingdoms. He just wasn’t sure the dragon shifters, or anyone else, would go along with it. Kiernan, maybe, because he seemed to be itching for adventure.
Halloran roared in the direction of the butte castle, letting the others know they were returning, Owen suspected. He didn’t understand dragon-speak. He wondered if Sigrid did.
Alton roared back in acknowledgement.
The dragon fae all came out to greet them, but they had to know something was wrong when they returned so quickly.
They shifted on top of the butte and Owen said, “It was a trap. King Malcolm has a brother and sister who are living with the griffin fae. What if he had them imprisoned on the island, so that he could rule instead?”
“The griffin fae are sworn enemies of the hawk fae and we are allied with them for all the help they gave us in an earlier war,” Halloran said, folding his arms. “If Sigrid wants our help to learn if her cousins are imprisoned on the Isle of the Griffin, I’m willing to help.”
“My betrothed, initially, was the hawk fae princess, Esmeralda, and she was imprisoned there until she made her escape. I want to help,” Owen said.
“If it means fighting, I’m all for it,” Kiernan said.
The others all agreed, but then looked to Sigrid to hear what she had to say.
“If they’re not imprisoned there?” Sigrid asked.
“You get to meet your cousins and we’ve afforded you safe passage to do so. Most fae cannot travel across the ocean to reach the island by transporting. They have to travel by boat. We can fly. We can do it at night when they least expect it,” Owen said.
Sigrid wrapped her arms around him. “And if they are imprisoned and we take them safely from there?”
“The closest place is the hawk fae kingdom and they’re our friends,” Ena said. “We’ll stay there and rest up, and learn what had happened to them. Maybe, they won’t want to return to Malcolm’s castle. Maybe, they’ll want to fight their brother for the throne, if he was the one who imprisoned them there. We must cross over No Man’s Land, which shouldn’t be a problem for us because we can fly. Brett has helped create ties with the phantom fae, since he’s one of them, but he helped to oust the queen and install a good ruler in her place. We should be able to stay there the night before we cross No Man’s Land. Then we can stay with the hawk fae after that, rest up, and under the cloak of darkness, arrive at the island. Between our magic users’ abilities, and the dragon’s firepower, we should be able to manage this.”
“We can ask Princess Esmeralda about the layout of the castle,” Owen said. “Since the time she was a little girl, she was imprisoned there for many years. But she had free reign to move about since she couldn’t escape the island on her own. Until she finally managed a harrowing escape.”
“When do we leave?” Ena asked.
“If we leave now, we’ll reach the phantom fae kingdom by nightfall,” Brett said.
“I’m ready,” Tanya said.
Amerand and Owen’s cousins agreed.
“Sigrid?” Owen asked.
“Let’s do it.”
They all looked at their little castle on the butte.
“It will be here when we return,” Owen said, smiling. “If anyone tries to take it over, they’ll have a rude awakening when we return.”
“Rather than take all of our belongings for this venture, we can leave them here and take just what we think we’ll need. I can use spells to secure the castle and everything else we want to leave behind,” Sigrid said.
They all agreed. Then she and Tanya repacked their bags. Sigrid cast the spell to make everyone’s gear, that they were leaving behind, postage-stamp size. Everyone looked stunn
“Wow, even though I saw you do this before, I still can’t believe you can conjure such a cool spell,” Tanya said. “Can you do it to people?”
Sigrid smiled, but shook her head. Once they left the castle, she cast another spell to create an impenetrable barrier, unless someone could cast magic that would destroy her shield.
“Let’s go,” Owen said, thinking that once he and Sigrid ruled Raymore, she could protect the treasury with her spell.
“Can you cast a spell like that to protect my gold?” Halloran asked.
“I could, but it would cost you,” Sigrid said, smiling.
Halloran pulled boots out of his bag. Black serpent-skin boots. They were remarkable. Then he handed them to her. “Your size, correct?”
“Omigod, you’re the one who bought them. Yes, thank you, I’ll do it, but why—”
“Kayla said you wouldn’t allow her to buy them for you, and how much you loved them. Before some undeserving soul snapped them up, I paid for them.”
“You said nothing in the bootmaker’s shop that day,” she said frowning at him, but she was already sitting down on a flat stone on the butte and Owen was helping her on with one of the boots, wishing he’d been the one to buy them for her.
“I’ll pay for them,” Owen said.
Halloran shook his head. “I love nothing more than to hoard my gold, but Alton and I are best friends, and Sigrid helped him to see Kayla for who and what she is. It is my gift, except the treasury protection spell will be much appreciated. But that is it.”
“Done!” Sigrid rose to her feet and gave Halloran a hug. Over her shoulder, he winked at Owen.
Owen inclined his head, appreciating all that Halloran and the rest of the dragons had done for them.
Sigrid glanced at her new boots, admiring them again, before they all shifted, and flew in the direction of the phantom fae territory. Though Owen and the others couldn’t see Brett’s tattoos, he knew all phantom fae had them as a way of recognizing each other.
Owen wondered what they could have done differently at the castle, if the method they had used to leave hadn’t worked. He was glad Sigrid had the ability to make people do things they wouldn’t otherwise do. Maybe that’s why she knew the kind of magic Sinbad had used on Owen.
She said she could have opened the window wider. Like building the castle, she could tear it apart too? Then he recalled she’d ripped the roof off his father’s solar. The idea of ruining a perfectly well-made castle didn’t appeal. Particularly, if they could just get rid of the disagreeable rulers.
After several hours, they saw torches in the distance, and lanterns lighting chambers through the narrow windows at the phantom fae castle. Owen was glad they could finally settle in for the night and travel again the next day. He wondered what King Malcolm was doing after they’d fled the coop, thwarting his plans. Had he intended to send Sigrid to the island to join her cousins, if he’d managed to take her prisoner? Neither Sinbad nor Malcolm must be aware she was a magic user.
Owen imagined the king wouldn’t guess they’d travel so far away from their original plans—to bring peace to the region by taking over his father’s throne—to travel to the Isle of the Griffin to rescue Sigrid’s cousins.
At least he hoped not. He could see Sinbad trying to head them off, moving Sigrid’s cousins somewhere else, and warning his people of the imminent attack on their soil.
Then again, they might reach the island and learn that it was all a hoax. That, though the man was forced to tell Sigrid the truth, it was not the real truth, only what he’d been told and truly believed.
Brett landed in a cemetery outside the walls of the castle and everyone settled on the ground in the cemetery next to him. Brett shifted. “Let me tell them we’re here, seeking shelter for the night.”
“Thanks, Brett,” Owen and Sigrid said.
“I’ll be back.” Brett shifted and flew off toward the castle, and they could see him land on top of the parapet, then shift. Several guards greeted him with good-natured slaps to the back and shoulders, and that was a reassuring sign.
Then he disappeared.
It seemed to take forever while everyone waited in the dark, misty cemetery, and a raven perched upon an arch and watched them.
Then dragon’s wings flapped in the distance as the dragon neared the cemetery, and they all looked up. Brett. Owen sure hoped he had good news. Like a bed for him and Sigrid for tonight.
Brett landed, shifted, and smiled. “They have wondered why it has taken so long for me to visit here with my mate. We are welcome. All of us.”
With his sensitive hearing, Owen heard the collective sighs from the group. “Tell me they have a private chamber for the newest married couple.”
Brett and Ena laughed. Sigrid blushed beautifully. Tanya and Kayla smiled at her.
“Well, truthfully, no,” Brett said. “In my absence, my rooms are now being used. Men will have to sleep in the barracks, and women in a chamber on the floor where the single women stay.”
Owen groaned.
The men laughed.
“Come, they’re expecting us.”
Maracose greeted them, and Freya gave him a hug, under the watchful eye of Brett’s mate, Ena. But then Freya gave Halloran and the rest of the dragons a hug too.
Brett said, “They know nothing of the falcon fae, or if any were taken prisoner to the Isle of the Griffin.”
“I wish we could be of more help,” Maracose said.
“Allowing us to rest here for the night is help enough,” Sigrid said. “And if you don’t mind doing so again when we return, we would be forever grateful.”
“Most assuredly. You have a long journey tomorrow. And we’ll let you get your rest now,” Maracose said.
Owen reluctantly said goodnight to Sigrid, kissing her long and hard, wishing that they’d have their wedding night sooner than later.
Early the next morning, they were off again, after feasting with the phantom fae, each warning them of the dangers in No Man’s Land, but they would fly high above all the trouble, the sandworms and the wraiths.
It took them until late the next afternoon to reach the hawk fae kingdom and this time Ena and Brett went ahead to tell King Tiernan and Queen Ritasia, a dark fae princess, they would be staying with them. The dragons each had their own castles here, so Ena said she would happily give one of the chambers to the newly married couple, and Owen couldn’t have been more relieved. Then he realized his ex-fiancée’s brother, King Tiernan, most likely wouldn’t be pleased to see Owen and the woman he’d married instead of his sister.
King Tiernan was growly when he met Prince Owen, who, earlier, had been like a brother to him. Princess Esmeralda was all smiles, appearing relieved beyond measure that he hadn’t married her. Which made Owen feel better about the whole situation. He managed to get a glimpse of the man she only had eyes for, according to Ena: a griffin fae captain. Owen hoped King Tiernan would eventually allow her to marry the man, if he felt the same for her. He was their prisoner, but had been allowed some freedoms, because he had helped Esmeralda safely reach her brother, and after she had beseeched her brother time after time to allow it.
Queen Ritasia was thrilled to see Ena, who had saved her from fae seers who intended to kill her. And she was delighted to welcome Brett, who had been one of the fae seers, but who turned out to be the best of friends, a phantom fae, a dragon fae, and a mage all in one, and not a human at all. Which meant technically, he’d never been a fae seer. He’d been a fae, living among the humans.
“Do you know for certain that the falcon fae are being held hostage there?” King Tiernan asked.
“No. Not for certain. Sigrid forced the man to tell her what he knew, using her magic, but if he’d been brainwashed to believe it was true, then we would have been led astray,” Owen said.
“I want to go with them,” Princess Esmeralda said.
“No.” King Tiernan gave her a look that emphasized that he meant business.
“You can draw them a map, and go over it with them, but you’re not returning to that island. You would think after all the years you were held prisoner there, and all the times you tried to escape and finally were successful, and all the deadly trouble you had trying to reach me, you’d be happy never to set foot in the griffin fae territory again.”
“I can help. And yes, all of what you said is true. But if I can help anyone else to escape imprisonment, I would gladly return. Besides, I wouldn’t be going alone. I’d have powerful magic users and dragons with me this time. They’d protect me.”
“I have to agree with the king in this matter,” Owen said. “I don’t want you to come to any harm.” All they’d need to do was get Esmeralda killed, which would be on his head, not to mention he’d feel awful about it, but he could see having trouble with the hawk fae after that.
“You think I would be a hindrance instead of a help,” Esmeralda said, sounding resigned.
“I agree,” Halloran said. “We all will fly there. It would be safer if we can leave at a moment’s notice and no one has to be carried. Not to mention, the more of us there are, the more they have to target unless you can battle them.”
“You plan to leave me behind also?” Tanya asked.
“This time, I think it’s a good idea,” Kayla said.
“All right. I could give some of those living on the island nightmares, but then you could give them nightmares in the flesh. And I wouldn’t want to do anything that might create problems for you and get anyone killed or injured. I’ll stay here.” Tanya patted Esmeralda hand. “You can tell me all about Prince Owen’s foibles while he’s gone.”
Esmeralda cast a designing smile in Owen’s direction. “I will.”
“Maybe I should stay behind also,” Sigrid said, and Owen knew she was jesting, but even so, her smile was just as wicked. He thought if she didn’t worry about their rescue mission, she would.