Crown of Visions Read online

  Crown Of Visions

  Blade Of The Fae Book 2

  R. A. Rock

  Laurie Starkey

  Michael Anderle

  BrixBaxter Publishing

  Contents

  Description

  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

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Chapter 36

  Chapter 37

  Chapter 38

  Chapter 39

  Chapter 40

  Chapter 41

  Chapter 42

  Continue the Saga

  Author Note

  About Seven Sons

  About The Author

  Copyright

  Description

  In no-mans-land, a dissident and a fugitive. It’s not a question of if but how the Dark Queen and Fae King will dispatch forces to hunt her down.

  Will they understand she is not doing this for herself?

  Being an outlaw is new to Tessa, the queen's right hand, but not to Finn, Tessa's companion. Finn is an unknown quantity—still a rogue.

  He stands with her now, but how long might it be before he cashes in?

  The King and Queen would pay handsomely for her capture.

  On the eve of the Hundred Years Ball, timing simply could not possibly be any worse. All Fae are compelled to attend, and they will be in the thick of it—amongst every agent of both Courts.

  Is this the moment her quest ends, or can Tessa and Finn successfully navigate the dangers?

  Are they really doing this for the good of the Fae?

  Their pursuit has come at a high price for them both. Friends and family are at risk, and they have seemingly forfeited any chance of returning home.

  What other choice do they have?

  Chapter 1

  Tessa ran down the tunnel, her blood pounding in her ears as the monster got closer. Its razor-sharp teeth and ripping, shredding claws almost caught her cloak a couple times.

  “Why does it always have to be monsters?” she muttered, turning her head to glance at Finn who was tearing along beside her.

  “Tess...” His tone was a warning. “Save your breath for running.”

  “Maybe, just for a change, the Dark Queen could get some terrifying animals instead—without magic,” she said as they got closer to the point where the tunnel ended in a who-knew-how-many-thousand-foot drop into the Chasm of Severance.

  “Faster.” Finn made an unmanly yelp for such a strong, handsome Fae male. He pulled ahead of her a little as the creature snapped its jaws, barely missing him.

  “Personally, I found the jungle cats very scary,” she said, stumbling a little as the monster managed to catch her cloak. Finn was there to grab her hand and pull her along, keeping her forward momentum and not letting her fall. She undid the cloak with one hand and let the garment fly back and blind the magical beast.

  It somehow clawed the material off its face and continued chasing them.

  “Tessa, where are we supposed to go when we get to the Chasm?” Finn asked, suddenly realizing where this tunnel ended.

  She could see light ahead. The opening was getting nearer.

  “No idea,” Tessa said, starting to feel slightly worried. They were practically at the drop off and the monster was still coming after them. “I was hoping the spell would activate before we got there.”

  “What time is it?” he said, his tone curt.

  “I don’t know but I think we’re going to cut it pretty close,” she said, jumping over some large rocks that were scattered across the tunnel. The light was getting brighter. "Better get out the blades in case the spell doesn't activate in time."

  If they got to the opening before the Truce Spell activated, they would be goners. Either the monster would get them, or they would fall to their death in the Chasm of Severance.

  “I told you we got here too early,” Finn said, sounding irritated.

  Tess reached for her sides where her invisible Otherworld sheath was located that held her set of Unity Blades and intended to withdraw them. Nothing happened. She tried again.

  "Finn, I can't get my blades out of the sheath."

  "Me neither."

  "Shadows take me," she swore. Now what were they going to do?

  They had arrived at Summerswind Keep just slightly too soon. Sunrise on the morning of the first day of the Hundred Years Ball was when the Truce spell was supposed to activate and it would remain active until the last Fae left the castle on the final day.

  Was it Tessa’s fault that apparently, it wasn’t exactly at sunrise?

  Not exactly.

  Was it her fault that they were being chased by one of the Dark Queen’s monsters?

  Yes, probably.

  Finn had said that it was too early. He had said that the Truce spell, which made sure no Fae could harm any other for the week of the Ball, wouldn’t have activated yet. And he had been right.

  Of course, they were being hunted by virtually everyone in the entire land before they got here, so it wasn’t like they could have hung out at the gate and waited.

  Still, Tess wished that she had listened to Finn.

  And she also wished that she had had a chance to explain herself to the King. But he hadn’t even asked her what happened with the Scroll. He hadn’t contacted her to find out if she had really killed the Keeper. He’d just put up a wanted poster with her face on it. It wasn’t exactly making her want to seek him out and tell him her side of the story.

  But whatever.

  She was done with both Fae monarchs.

  If she got the chance, she’d set the King straight. But for now, she had to make sure she stayed alive. Starting by not dying in the next minute or so.

  “It’ll be all right,” Tessa said, infusing her voice with a confidence she no longer felt.

  “Worst plan ever.” Finn vaulted over a particularly large boulder that was blocking his way and if Tessa hadn’t been so worried about whether she was going to die in the next sixty seconds, she would have admired that sort of athleticism.

  “Just keep running,” she ordered, using her Captain of the Guard voice—even though she no longer held that office and was clearly not in favor with the Dark Queen, since it was her monster that was chasing them.

  The tunnel was getting brighter, the light of the sunrise beginning to penetrate the darkness. Tessa's worry ramped up as she realized that they might truly be in trouble.

  “We can change into our tiny form and fly,” she suggested.

  “No, we can’t,” Finn said, and she could hear the dread in his voice. “The spell that prevents us from crossing the Chasm to the other side won’t let us. That spell runs right through this cave.”

  “How do you know that?” she said, both surprised that he knew and dismayed at the information itself.

  “You’re not the only one who can read a map,” he said, hardly able to get his words out, he was running so hard. And if Tessa h
adn’t been completely out of breath, she would have laughed.

  “So, what do we do?” Her mind was turning to mush as she realized that her grand plan was not going to work.

  “We stop at the end of the tunnel,” he said, and when she cut her eyes over to him, his face was grim. “Either the monster gets us, or the spell kicks in. But we have no chance whatsoever if we jump into the Chasm.”

  “Good point,” she said, not slowing as they approached the cave mouth. “But don’t stop till the absolute last second.”

  “Right,” he said, sounding annoyed again. “Without somehow tumbling to our deaths.”

  “Exactly.”

  “Did I mention this is the worst plan ever?”

  “You might have said that five or six times since the monster started chasing us, yes,” she said, eyeing the distance between herself and the opening. Then she stopped talking, needing all her attention to decide when to stop.

  Behind her, she could feel the monster’s hot breath on her back. Oh, I so do not want to be eaten. As a Faerie, she had what the scholars liked to call functional immortality and wouldn’t die. But she didn’t imagine that being digested was a particularly pleasant experience and she had no desire to try.

  The tunnel opening got closer. The monster roared behind them, nipping at their heels, its claws scratching on the rock of the cave.

  Shadows take me, but I’ve really screwed it up this time.

  “Finn?” she said as they arrived at the last ten feet before the drop off.

  “Yeah?”

  “I’m sorry about all this,” she said, wishing it didn’t have to end like this. “And I love you.”

  “Love you too, Tess,” he said, grabbing her hand as they both dropped and slid the last five feet, taking a bunch of gravel with them. They came to rest at the mouth of the cave with their feet sticking off. Tess could taste the dust they had kicked up.

  Then they turned and looked up at the monster. It was upon them and Tess could smell its breath, which was a combination of rotten meat and sour milk. The beast opened its mouth wide, about to bite both their heads off at once.

  It suddenly stopped. The enormous creature that took up nearly the whole of the cave took a step back. It closed its mouth and turned, trotting back down the tunnel.

  “Guess the Truce spell activated,” Finn said, his voice sounding faint.

  Tessa closed her eyes and flopped down on the cave floor, relief making her limbs weak. The monster hadn’t hurt them because now that the Truce spell was in place, no Fae could be harmed until the Hundred Years Ball was over. The Dark Queen had sent the monster to kill them, but the spell now prevented it from doing so.

  “I knew it would,” Tessa said, opening her eyes.

  Finn rolled over on top of her, taking his weight on his forearms. “Did you?” he said, his exasperation showing both in his tone and in his face.

  “Yep,” she said. It was her story and she was sticking to it.

  “But guess what?”

  “What?”

  “You said it first,” he said, that cocky grin she loved so much appearing on his face.

  “Damn it,” she said, smacking the rocks with her hand.

  “I knew you would,” he said, looking smug. “I win.”

  “I should have known not to make that bet with you.”

  “Yes, you should have,” he said, rolling off and pulling her into a sitting position. They both scooted back so they weren’t hanging off the edge. “I am an expert gambler. I know which bets are a sure thing.”

  “Oh really?” she said, feeling annoyed that he already knew her so well. “It was that much of a sure thing?”

  “Don’t worry. I’ll make it up to you.” He winked.

  “Wouldn’t you like that?” she said, teasing.

  But since they had kissed on the mountaintop, all they had done was flirt. They had been sleeping in the forest and on the run, trying to get to the Hundred Years Ball without getting killed, and there had been no time for romantic trysts.

  Tessa scrambled to her feet and brushed herself off.

  “What do we do now?” she said, feeling tired. They had only been fleeing for less than a week and she was already sick of it.

  Finn switched his satchel to his other shoulder and held out his hand for hers. He always carried a variety of small spells in that satchel that could come in handy and his spelled objects had gotten them out of a tight spot many a time. They made their way back down the tunnel, the crunch of gravel accompanying their every step.

  “We have to find someplace to hide out for the entire week.”

  “We can’t hide out the whole time,” Tessa said in a reasonable tone. “Besides, I don’t want to miss the Hundred Years Ball.”

  Finn frowned and kicked a rock farther down the cave. “I don’t want to miss it either. It’s the best party in Ahlenerra in a hundred years. The dancing.”

  She nodded. “The contests.”

  “The meals.”

  “Oh, the food,” Tessa said, feeling her mouth starting to salivate at the thought.

  “The games.”

  “The Grand Revel.”

  A shiver ran up her spine at his mention of the Grand Revel. It was a particularly wild night where all adult Fae drank way too much Elixir and danced until… well, usually all night. It was out of control. And way out of her comfort zone.

  “Stars above, I don’t want to miss any of that,” Tessa said, and even she could hear how wistful her voice sounded.

  “Well, we have to find someplace the Dark Queen can’t sneak up on us and capture us.”

  “Exactly,” Tessa said. “We can’t lose sight of what we’re trying to do, even if it is the Hundred Years Ball.”

  “But how will we translate the Scroll?” Finn said, shaking his head.

  “Don’t know,” Tessa said, beginning to swing their hands.

  “And where are we going to stay?”

  “Don’t know,” she repeated, a smile spreading across her face.

  “And how are we going to keep from being captured?”

  “Don’t know.”

  The tunnel had been sloping upward and Tessa’s calves tightened as she climbed.

  “Tess, you’re usually the one being anxious about these things. I find it very difficult to be the worrier. You have to return to your position.”

  “Don’t want to,” she said, feeling playful.

  She knew that they had serious problems but when the Truce spell had descended, she had felt the usual lightness that the Hundred Years Ball brought to the Fae people. It was the one time every hundred years when they were one people again. No Seelie and Unseelie Courts. The entire population under one roof—it was a really big castle. Nothing to do but have fun. And nothing but revelry the whole week, culminating in the Hundred Years Ball on the last night.

  Finn tugged on her hand, pulling her back toward him. Then he flipped her so her back was against the hard wall of the cave. He pinned her to the rock.

  Tessa examined his face with the beard that he had grown since they had started their search for the Scroll. His brown eyes were filled with a need that reflected her own. She loved his strong jawline.

  Oh, Stars above, if Tess was being honest, she loved everything about him. Finn’s hair was dark brown and getting a little long, so that it was almost in his eyes. She reached up and brushed the hair off his forehead. He closed his eyes as if enjoying her touch.

  “Finn,” she said softly.

  “Tess,” he said and bent to press his lips to hers.

  She still wasn’t used to having him so close and her body ignited as he pushed up against her. She tilted her head to give him better access as he kissed her until she lost her breath. His hands were warm and strong and they set her on fire everywhere they touched.

  Things were heating up and she arched her back, dropping her head as he kissed her neck. But when her head touched the rock, something happened. The cave wall began to open and she and
Finn jumped apart.

  “Shadows and Chasm,” he said, backing up as the stone came to a halt. “What is that?”

  “It’s a secret passage,” Tessa said, excited. “The question is, where does it lead?”

  Chapter 2

  “Finn,” Tessa said, her eyes excited. “It’s an entrance to one of the secret passages. It must lead from the wyrm tunnels back up to the castle proper.”

  “Of course,” he said, and they approached it cautiously together. They carefully examined the opening and passageway as far as they could see.

  “Should we use it?” Tessa said, feeling unsure.

  “The secret passageways that are built all over the castle aren’t forbidden. There’s no place off limits in the castle. Except, of course, we can’t go into a room that someone else has claimed.”

  “Right. So, we could take this passageway?”

  “The only thing is that they’re probably preparing the big welcome supper and reception right now and that means we might run into…”

  Suddenly, there was the sound of paper rustling and a high-pitched squealing noise.

  “What the…” Finn said, looking down the tunnel to where something white was approaching.

  “The wyrm,” Tessa said, pushing him into the passageway and climbing in after him. “Where’s the lever to close this thing?”

  They both fumbled around in the dark until Tessa’s hand landed on it and she wrenched it down.