Acrobat, p.35
To be a Fae Rogue (Realm Chronicles Book 4), page 35
Table of Contents
Copyright
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
About the Author
More Queen Titania!
to be a Fae Rogue
by Tricia Copeland
Copyright © 2024 True Bird Publishing LLC
All rights reserved.
License Notes:
This book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. It may not be copied or re-distributed in any way. Author holds all copyright.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
Edited by Jo Michaels
Proofread by Karen Robinson
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both of Indie Books Gone Wild
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Published by True Bird Publishing LLC, Superior, CO
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Hood low over my forehead, I peer across the meadow as the last light of day basks my castle in orange. I watch the windows as, one by one, lights spring forth as someone within ignites the torches in the passageways. Trying to identify the forms passing the glass panes, I squint, eager for any glimpse of my family. A gale sweeps through the trees, and I hug my cloak to my middle.
“I do not often see anyone in these woods.”
I jump at the sound of Grant’s voice and fight the instinct to spin to face him. Heart pounding, I assess my options. My Fae at Arms, or former Fae at Arms, will know my voice.
“I love how the castle looks as the last light graces it.” I raise my tone an octave, praying he will not recognize me.
“Odd that I have not seen you here before.”
“Perhaps I blend into the landscape well then. I come here to be alone and think.”
“You should not be in the forest after dark. Even The Queen’s Wood shelters danger.”
The Queen’s Wood? They have named my forest The Queen’s Wood? My anxiety at being found mixes with longing.
“It is nice she is honored in this way,” I say.
“Did you know the Queen?”
Leaves rustle behind me, and I glance down, catching sight of his boot. “I have only seen her in the village with her cousins.”
“You live in the village? I can escort you home.” I feel the heat from his body as he approaches.
“No.” I tug the sides of my hood over my cheeks. “As I said, I come here often. I will be fine.”
“As you wish.” The ground crunches, and the air behind me cools.
I tuck my chin to my chest and wait. I catch sight of him exiting the forest and crossing the meadow. As he enters the orchard, his form disappears behind the tree trunks. I jump into the air and weave through the trees. Heart in my throat, I descend to my porch, boots thudding onto the wood planks. That had been too close.
Inhaling, I enter the cabin.
“That sounded like a hard landing,” Nicholas, one of my most trusted guards from the palace, says.
I shed my cloak and hang it beside the door. “I saw Grant in the wood, The Queen’s Wood. Why have I not been told they named my forest?”
“You spoke with Grant?” Adam, another trusted guard from my palace, jumps up.
“Yes, he found me. He did not see my face, and I tried to alter my pitch. That is not the point.” I raise my hands to my hips.
“We did not wish to cause you further strife, and you should not torture yourself by going there. What if you were recognized? What would you do then?”
“I know, I know.” Pulling the chair from the table, I slump into the seat opposite my ward. I lift my eyes to meet his. “Were you nice to Adam and Nicholas?”
“Yes, I was nice to my babysitters.” Theron, in his fae form, rolls his eyes.
I lean forward. “We do not have babies in Middle Earth. We have younglings.”
Adam slides a book across the tabletop to me. “They say this is the last one.”
Lifting the thick text from the tabletop, I turn to the page marked with a leather strap. Lines connect names, Lilith to an unknown being, begetting the vampire lines. A second line, opposite the first, links Lilith to an unnamed archangel, creating the witch lines. Sonia’s name hovers under the witch lines. Was she Lilith’s daughter? Surely Sonia, former High Priestess of the witch lines, now transformed into an Archangel who resides in Sheol with Abaddon and Lucifer, could not be that old.
Recalling Sonia’s threat, I shudder. “You’ve no idea who I am, who my parents are … I will be reconciled, even if I have to move Heaven and Earth to do it. Next time a volcano erupts or an earthquake rumbles through the bedrock, you will be witnessing my reach.”
The fated day above the desert echoes through my psyche. My death, the witches’ circumvention of my untimely passing to the afterlife, and the pledge I made scroll through my thoughts. My reach will be limitless as well. But here I am, a whole season later, with no clearer a picture of how to stop Sonia than the day I burned the page alerting me of her promise.
Adam and Lilith were set in the garden almost six thousand years ago. Witches’ lives span eight hundred to nine hundred years, but Sonia still lived and breathed in human form until the year 2018 AD, or CE, as the humans have adopted now. What type of being could live six thousand years? Only one of direct lineage from an immortal being, I could only guess. Are we to surmise these Sonias are the same? The fae only know of her activities from about the fifteenth century, when she became bolder with crusades against the vampires.
If the name on the page matches the same being as the Sonia we know, it only follows that she must be Lilith’s daughter, sired by the Archangel Michael. My brain spins with the magnitude of a life spanning six thousand years. I can barely comprehend the changes my life has seen in the last fifteen months. I was crowned queen, thwarted an attempted coup, and have prevailed over kobold, locusts, goblins, and ogres. I braved more passages to Lower Earth than I care to count. My power has become mine to yield. I have also survived a festival season and being courted by four princes—which may be the most impressive feat of them all. I swallow, not wanting to think about my final act as Queen of Aubren.
My sacrifice could have been for naught if we cannot decipher Sonia’s threat. I draw the page to me. Below Sonia’s name sits the name of her son, then grandsons—one of these being Theron.
“Terran, that must be you. Your brothers’ names are listed here.” I press my finger to his former name on the page. “And you contend to not know the name of your grandfather, an aunt, uncle, or any other relative?”
Terran drops a bone on his plate. “I’m afraid no one ever mentioned it. This is your and my brothers’ problem, not mine.”
“This is the last text to be found. There is nothing more to be known. You are stuck in Middle Earth until your brother believes you are no longer a risk. Help us, and I imagine it will go a long way towards him forgiving you.”
“I told you I’m willing to strike a deal. I’ll talk after I’m released to Upper Earth.”
Hearing a thud outside, my heartrate rises a notch. I push to my toes and look through a slit in the wood panel. Smiling, I swing the door open.
Foster takes my hands, tugging me outside and wrapping me in his arms. His clothes smell of fresh bread and ale, and I imagine he came from dinner with his men. As he releases me, I take in his blue eyes and orange locks, reflecting the light from the hearth. I could look upon him every day for the rest of my life, and I would be the happiest fae ever.
He leads me into the cabin, grunting at Terran, greeting Adam and Nicholas, and inquiring whether they can spare another hour.
“Anything for the Queen and her Chief of Spies.” Nicholas winks.
“Nicholas, I am not your queen,” I say.
“You will always be my queen. Now, go so I can beat Terran in another round of cards.”
Lifting my cloak from the hook, Foster wraps it around my shoulders and raises the hood over my hair. He kisses the largest gem in the center of my forehead, and tiny tingles spread like fire over my skin. Heat rises to my cheeks.
“Can’t you guys get a room?” Terran rises.
“We have a room.” Foster extends his arm. “We are in a room.”
“You peeps don’t know anything.”
“Yet another sentence that proves you need more time to adopt fae culture. You may never get beyond the confines of this forest, much less outside of Middle Earth, if you cannot adjust.” I back to the door.
“Oh, I can pretend, fair Queen.” Terran bends at the waist. “I can form sentences without contractions, and I will be happy to lie about how wonderful it is to play cards and stomp my foot to the tune of a fiddle.”
Foster clutches my hand, urging me ou t of the cabin.
“You might want to talk to your Queen about her jaunts to the castle.” Adam swings the door shut and turns to Terran. “If you would just be nice for a day, perhaps she would release you, and you may find a fae lass of your own.”
“I don’t want a fae lass,” Terran says.
“Ahhh, every fae needs someone to come home to.” Nicholas chimes in.
Foster squeezes my hand. “You have been to the castle?”
“I was not discovered. This hour is about us.” I kiss his lips.
“I can be convinced to focus.” He wraps his hand around my neck and presses his mouth to mine. Releasing me, he smiles. “Now, let us go.”
We leap into the air, staying low under the canopy of branches, small splotches of dim light peeking through. Below us, ferns blanket the ground. The wind from our flight washes over me as we rush past trunks an arm-length wide until we exit the desert plain to the south. Rising high over the sand, the dry air cleanses my lungs. Tightening of my ribs reminds me of those I long to see. This is progress, I realize. For weeks, my chest felt as if a vice were tightening around it, the guilt and shame of leaving my family as I did foremost in my mind and heart.
Sonia should be dead, but she is not. I gave everything, left my family and my country, to end her, but her soul lives on. Now, she threatens graver destruction. I pray she only means this for Upper Earth and believes, as most do, I am dead. This tenet gives me the only peace that lets me sleep at night. My absence, faked morbidity, ensures my people and realm are safe, at least from direct threat. For it was I that she wanted. Frustration clouds my mind. The need to stay hidden limits my ability to help solve Sonia’s riddle. She will be reconciled. With whom?
I follow Foster’s lead, and we alight on the beach.
“You are furlongs away.” Foster swings our hands between us. “I wish you would let Alemayehu take Terran to Rotuga. He is ready.”
I trace a line in the sand with my toe, fearing what I will face once Terran is gone. His presence gives me purpose. Without him, I have nothing save these few nights a week with Foster. Terran’s mentoring and deciphering texts we received from the believers scouring our realm for any mention of Sonia are the only things that kept me sane the past months.
“It is a big responsibility for Alemayehu. He is not a young fae. I am also not sure what I will do once Terran is gone.”
“Alemayehu’s sons have pledged to watch Terran.” Foster’s lips form a smile, and he steps forward and brushes a kiss across my lips. “You are to marry me, that is what you are to do.”
“You cannot be serious. This is my fault for exposing myself to you.” Seeing his wide, round eyes, head shaking in defiance, I grimace. Allowing Foster to know that I live, to visit these nights, is the most selfish thing I have ever done. He pledges his happiness, but we cannot go on like this, him sneaking away to see me. We cannot build a life as such. I must be keeping him from building what could be a normal fae experience with another. Someone he could marry and have children with, grow old and gray with.
“You are free. When we first met, you dreamed of hiding away in a small cottage in the wood where you could live a simple life. Now you may.”
“You are right.” I straighten my back. “It will be enough.”
Pulling me to him, he kisses my lips. “And when I have trained another, I will retire my position, and we shall travel the realm together, living like gypsies.”
“What of children? That is no way for a young fae to grow up, untethered to any homeland.”
“We shall have younglings, or we shall not. Whatever we decide.”
“And what of your family? You would say goodbye, never see them again?” I ask.
“I could return to them periodically for a short bit.”
“But they could never know your true life, never share in our happiness.”
“Perhaps you could do research for the trinity witches until I am ready to join you. I know you enjoy aiding them. You also have your magic to continue to hone.”
My magic, another point of angst in my psyche. I have not used it since my fateful encounter with Sonia, something I have not shared with Foster. Perhaps I cannot even conjure it again. I would not slight the Goddesses for taking the gift. I may welcome the release, for it feels like a curse, a yoke upon my shoulders too heavy to bear.
Leaning over, I rake my hand through the surf and splash Foster. “Why are we talking about this? I do not plan on marrying you. I need to accept my new life, learn to embrace the quiet, simple solitude.”
He answers my offense, reaching into the sea and sprinkling water atop my head. “Yes, and I believe you shall attain that goal in a quicker fashion with Terran gone.”
“Why are you focused on having Terran leave?”
Pulling me to him, he kisses my lips. “Because then I shall have you all to myself. There will be no need for guards or another to share the cabin with.”
His mouth feels soft and warm on mine, and I allow myself to relish his embrace.
As the kiss ends, I smile. “I thought you were withholding spending the night with me alone until we marry.”
“I am. The absence of another will make our union more enticing, forcing you to agree to marry me.”
“You sound so sure. I feel as if my life shifts as sand in the wind.”
“But now it does not. You are not beholden to anything. You are free to be a simple fae.”
He keeps saying that I am free, but I have never felt more caged. Perhaps I do not fully trust that Sonia believes me dead. The witches’ warning plays through my mind. Theron and I could be in danger if discovered. Theron, in his Terran body, tucked in this realm, worries me less, but my gem-studded brow and brilliant red hair are hard to hide.
I raise my eyes to the portal connecting our realm to Upper Earth, the human realm. The ring of crystals powering the magic glows green, creating a haze of color upon our realm. Thoughts of the lower rings that bridge us to Lower Earth, the realm of the damned souls, swirl through my mind. Sonia still has the power to pass between all these realms.
Archangels have never had power in our realm—or that has been the held belief. They do, however, seem able to influence, control, or somehow assume bodies of other beings, as we witnessed via attacks from kobold, locusts, goblins, ogres, and dragons.
“Your head is with Sonia again.” Foster squeezes my hand.
“You do not know that. I could be picturing our life in the forest cottage or with packs on our backs, traveling the realm.”
“Why have you not mentioned aiding the witches?” He jiggles my fingers. “I mean, I appreciate it, truly, but my opinion has not stopped you from aiding them before.”
Taking his other hand, I hold his gaze. “I have sacrificed much. If I am discovered, it is all for naught.”
“You mean to tell me, if there were no danger, you would aid them? That also has not stopped you before.”
“If I am discovered, I put all fae in harm’s way again. And my sacrifice will be for naught.”
“You have your magic, but I see your position.”
I bite my lip and drop my gaze.
He leans down. “You do still have the power to wield your magic, correct?”
Jumping into the air, I tug on his fingers. “You see my position? Did you just acquiesce to my line of thought? I say, that is rare.”
He hovers before me. “And I am sure you have never used a distraction to hide an answer before. Your ability to conjure your magic remains, correct?”
I close my eyes and admit that I have not practiced my magic in the three months since I attempted to slay Sonia in her dragon form.
“Please tell me this is a joke. You jest, lest you be overheard by an angelic, or should I say, a demonic, spy.”
Leaning in, I whisper, “It is not.”
“Now I am more worried than before. You need your magic, Titania. If Sonia or some other enemy found you, or threatened our realm, you would need your powers.”
“It brings me pain to think about using my magic again.”
“That is why you need more joy in your life. Release Terran, take me as your husband, and let me bring you happiness every minute of every day. Tell me you will consider this.” He wraps his warm arms around me, his wings beating in sync with mine.
I take in his hopeful gaze. How can I not give someone who brings me such joy a portion of the same? “I will think about releasing Terran to Alemayehu in earnest.”
