Exchanged Read online

  Ginette tilted her head curiously but said nothing.

  “There’s much I haven't been able to share with you about myself, but you deserve to know.” She took a deep breath. “Callannon and I... We weren't honest when we said I was from the Forgotten Mists. At best, we feared I wouldn't be accepted. The truth is, I'm mortal.”

  The queen tilted her head back and laughed. “If you're trying to make me feel less anxious about conceiving a child, you're succeeding.”

  “Look at me, Ginette.”

  “I'm looking at you, but I really don't see...” Much as she had with Oberon, Aubriel met and held Ginette’s gaze, attempting to peer through her own illusion so that Ginette might see through it herself.

  After a long, hard look, all humor fell from Ginette’s face, and her brown eyes widened. She looked at Aubriel as if really seeing her for the first time. It was the first time Ginette saw her, Aubriel supposed. Shock overtook the queen’s features. It seemed Callannon was the only one who was able to see beyond the grimy huntress—or in this case, simply the mortal—to the person behind the appearance.

  “No, what magic is this? I do not appreciate this joke, Aubriel. Stop!”

  “I can't,” Bree said solemnly. A hush fell between them.

  “You're not lying.” There was no question in her voice.

  “Aside from telling you I was from the Mists, I never lied to you.”

  Ginette simply stared, then darted away through the water. “Don't come near me.”

  “Please, keep my secret. They deserve to know—they all deserve to know—but not like this.” It wasn't difficult for Aubriel to keep up with the queen in the water, but even still she maintained some distance. “I call on my favor for your silence.” Ginette paused mid-stroke. “I won't tell anyone about your desire to have the baby, just like I promised.”

  Ginette gave Aubriel a look that made the elf’s stomach twist into knots. Without a response, Ginette resumed her swim to the others. Aubriel cursed inwardly. So much for that friendship. She wanted to go after Ginette to better explain the situation, but if she did, then to what end? The queen needed to make her own choice. Aubriel couldn’t change the Deepwood queen’s mind for her.

  To her credit, Ginette appeared more or less unfazed once she returned to splashing about with everyone else. Callannon remained tense, glancing between the queen and Aubriel and becoming worried when he noted their lack of interaction. After an hour of relaxing—or failing to relax—in the perfect water, they returned to the shore to dry off, though Aubriel couldn’t shake the undercurrent of apprehension that she felt.

  “Enjoy a quick break before we reconvene,” Oberon said, letting the water roll down his body, speaking to everyone while fully and uncaringly admiring Titania. “I’m sure you would like to change into something more comfortable before moving on to other matters.”

  Without a hint of disagreement, everyone left for their rooms in the lake house. Jekob looked at Ginette much as Oberon looked at Titania, but while the queen of the Summer Kingdom returned her husband’s attention, Ginette barely responded to Jekob’s advances. Would she hold true to Bree’s favor? A multitude of thoughts and possibilities plagued her as she and Callannon walked back to their room in silence.

  Their door was hardly closed when Callannon put his hands on Aubriel’s shoulders. “What happened?”

  “It didn’t go well, but it could have gone worse, I suppose.” She shrugged. “It doesn’t seem like Ginette has shared my secret with Jekob, but if everyone lunges for me at lunch, we’ll know that’s changed.”

  He didn’t smile at the joke. “I feared this might happen. If the treaty talks go poorly, I’m not sure what I’ll do. We’ll have to see how the situation develops.” He winced. “If it develops. For now, let’s separate Queen Ginette from King Jekob again. Perhaps she’ll think differently once she’s had time to process what you’ve told her.”

  “Getting her alone won’t be so easy this time. Besides, she didn’t seem like she wanted to hear more of what I had to say, and bringing the matter to Jekob’s attention will only make things worse.” Aubriel wrapped her arms around Callannon. “I used the favor she gave me. Our secret is safe for now.”

  Callannon held her close. “The day isn’t over yet, and neither are the discussions for the treaty. We can still make this work.”

  They changed into soft, lightweight clothing that was much more casual than anything Aubriel had seen the fey wear so far. Even in relatively plain trousers and a tunic, Callannon still maintained a regal look about him. Her own dress of sapphire blue fell comfortably to her knees. Giving her a reassuring smile, Callannon laced his fingers with hers and and led her from the room. Much like at the ball, she felt safe with him, regardless of the terrors and trials that awaited them. Her fingers tightened around his.

  “Wait,” he said, stopping halfway down the hall. His hand rose to his chest. “We left our tokens behind.”

  Aubriel felt for the missing flower, then squeezed his hand. “We can always get them after lunch.”

  “We haven’t gone far. I’ll fetch them.” With a quick lift and kiss on her wrist, he unwound his hand from hers and jogged back to their room.

  Aubriel leaned against the wall with a sigh, wrapping her arms around herself. How did she appear to everyone else with her illusion disguising her? Based on Oberon and Ginette’s reactions, the difference must be great. Had it been a mistake to let Callannon cast the illusion over her?

  Callannon knew his homeland better than she, and the danger had sounded so immense that she never questioned him. The suspicion that she, and possibly he, would have been tossed from Sagma House immediately upon her arrival nagged at her, and she knew how serious the slavery discussions were with the Deepwood royalty. She knew the danger was real, but she hated having to lie about herself. She shook her head to banish the thoughts she had no answer for and took a deep breath.

  “Miss Aubriel?”

  She started. The voice spoke in a common tongue, unlike the old elvish language spoken in the Summer Kingdom. A few paces from her stood Ginette and Jekob’s herald, shifting. He had that look on his face, the same one she saw when his eyes followed her across the shore, but she still couldn’t place it. “You wish to speak with me?”

  He closed the distance between them quickly, grasped her hand, and tugged her forward. “Don’t worry, I can get us out of here.”

  Bewildered, she stumbled forward a few steps before planting her feet in the ground. “What are you talking about?”

  “They’ve enslaved you, just as they have me. Look, I have a small supply of provisions. You and I can sneak off while the fey are talking about the treaty. By the time they’re done, we’ll be long gone. I’ve never managed to escape on my own, but with you, we have a chance!”

  “I don't know what you're trying to—” He thinks I'm enslaved. He knows I'm mortal. “I’m not a slave.”

  He looked at her with pity, as if she was simple of mind. “Your kind might be revered in our homelands, but we’re both equally worthless here.” He tugged her once again. “Come on. Now.”

  “Let her go.” The simple command held a quiet fury. Callannon stepped beside Aubriel and put an arm around her shoulders.

  The herald looked petrified and stood a full head shorter than Callannon. “I...” The blood drained from the man's face. A drop of cold sweat ran down his temple.

  Aubriel extracted her hand and settled closer against Callannon’s side. “I think you should go.”

  The herald nodded dumbly. Callannon kept his arm tight around Aubriel until the herald disappeared down the hallway. “Did he hurt you?” Callannon asked, looking her over and slipping her token into her hair.

  “No, not really.” She swallowed, forcing her now twisting stomach to settle. “Callannon, I don’t think the illusion works on him.”

  The smile that touched his lips at finding her whole and uninjured quickly disappeared. “Impossible.”

  Sh
e shook her head. “He tried to pull me away to rescue me—the both of us. I don’t know how, but he saw through it. He knows.”

  “What? But how?” Callannon said, confused. “He's not fey, but that shouldn't matter.” He cursed. “That doesn't matter now. We let him go. We have to stop him from saying anything.”

  “We will.” Aubriel placed her hands on Callannon’s chest. “He has nothing to gain by voicing my secret. Rather, if it surfaces that he knew of my true heritage and didn’t say anything, I imagine it won’t look good for him. Let me talk to him.” She cut off Callannon’s protest. “He’s terrified of you. Besides, you need to distract the royals and inform Oberon of what’s happened.”

  Her voice sounded strangely calm to her ears, but her desire to ease Callannon’s fears gave her purpose against the rising sense of helplessness. He pulled her into his embrace and inhaled her scent. “I don’t like it.”

  “I know,” she said with a small smile. “I don’t either, but there’s no better way I can think of.”

  They ran down the hall, Callannon breaking off down a side passage to Oberon and Titania’s room. Aubriel continued, hoping to find the human alone, or at least out of sight of the royals. In the golden light scattering across the sand and the blue backdrop of the lake, she quickly spotted the herald by his dark green attire. Thank Rabek. Now to convince him to stay quiet without letting him pull me away.

  The herald stood in profile beside a tree. He looked shaken, and rested a hand against the trunk for support. Aubriel slowed her pace, not wanting to startle him.

  “Excuse me?” The herald whipped to face her, his eyes wide with terror. Captain Salda stepped from behind the tree, a long strap of binding leathers in her hand and a cold smile on her face.

  “Hello, elf.”

  Aubriel spun and raced across the beach, dodging a protruding rock and leaping over a branch to escape the quickening thuds of heavy boots behind her. She needed to get back to the lake house. If Salda was half the magician Callannon claimed she was, Aubriel had no doubt of being easy prey to capture in the open. She needed to find cover.

  Instinctively, she feinted right, pivoted, and raced left into the tree line, avoiding a blue crackle of magic that burst on the shore, sending a spray of sand at her back. Aubriel chanced a glance over her shoulder and spotted a smoldering pit of glass where the spell had landed. She narrowly avoided barreling into thick brush, then skidded to the side and continued running, losing only a brief bit of speed. She zig-zagged through trees, hoping her movements were unpredictable. When she finally made it back to the lake house, she had no choice but to leave the shelter of the trees in an attempt to rush to the front doors.

  As a huntress who had spent nearly every day traveling from one place to the next, Aubriel was confident she could outrun Salda. She was less confident that the shocked staff members gathering outside the lake house would pass to let her through. With one order from Salda, they would bar her passage or simply hold her. The sound of the captain’s labored breathing was closer. Bree skirted around the front of the lake house, frantically searching for another entrance. Where was Callannon? She just needed to outpace Salda long enough for him to come out.

  Not allowing herself to think the action through too far, Aubriel bolted to the nearest tree and deftly climbed onto the lowest branch. Let Salda try and follow her with all of that armor and see how far she got. Confused staff shouted to her to come down as she clambered up the branches with practiced dexterity. A streak of magic—arcing electricity—shot past her into a higher branch, sending a spray of splinters and leaves into the air.

  More shouts sounded from the staff, but they did nothing to drown out the sound of Salda’s labored breathing as she continued her pursuit branch after branch. The tenacious captain took her time, knowing Aubriel was a sitting duck. There was no way Aubriel had a chance against a sorcerer, especially when she didn’t even have her bow. She was just a village elf, and her greatest purpose had been to lead the corrupted Elston directly to Callannon’s artifact. But she’d survived through the forest and among the fey nobility. That was what she did best—survive.

  Aubriel carefully moved along the circumference of the trunk, leveraging her feet along the thickest branches she could find. The descent would be more difficult than the climb up and would require more control, but if she could slip past Salda, she was almost certain she would find Callannon waiting for her at the bottom. As slowly and quietly as she could manage, Bree lowered herself down the tree. She reached a little more than halfway to the ground, successfully passing Salda, when she slipped with shriek.

  She clawed at the nearest branch and gained purchase, but her legs dangled into open air. More commotion sounded from the base of the tree, closer now. A sharp yip pierced the air above the noise. Acorn.

  The view would have been spectacular in any other circumstance. The golden sand below her met the sparkling water in the deepening afternoon. A wave of silence swept over the beach as Aubriel shifted along the branch as carefully as she could, her feet seeking a hold. Salda’s tall, armor-clad form barreled onto the branch on magical gusts of wind.

  The force of impact shook Aubriel to her core, but she held on. The world wobbled dizzyingly, but there was no time to collect herself. The captain leaned down and caught Bree’s hand in an iron grip. Salda’s hand was bigger than the herald’s had been, and her grip stronger. Aubriel wouldn’t break free this time.

  Let’s see just how far you’re willing to chase me.

  Aubriel let go, pulling an astonished Salda with her into a free fall. There was no secret plan this time, no alternative way of escape. Aubriel watched the lush canopy as it fell quickly away from her, gold leaves stained red from the fiery sky.

  Aubriel tucked her body into a protective ball and prepared her shoulder for impact—an action that would surely break it but might save her life. A burst of wind knocked into her with so much force that she was sent spinning and skidding painfully across the sand, her arm torn from Salda’s grasp. Bree’s head reeled from the roll and sudden change of direction, and as she gathered her wits, she felt a pair of hands holding her. She looked over her legs and arms, amazed to see that—while they were banged and scraped—nothing looked to be broken. She followed the hands up to Ginette’s face, marred with horror and worry.

  “What is the meaning of this?”

  Ginette and Aubriel started as Callannon strode to Salda and ripped the leather strap from her hand as she lay groaning on the beach. Oberon and Titania joined him in furious confusion along with other fey who ringed the perimeter. The captain shakily pointed to the herald, who cowered and ducked behind a larger member of the staff.

  “Help me up,” Aubriel whispered, gingerly shifting her weight onto her forearms.

  “What's this all about?” Ginette’s grip tightened. “Does Captain Salda know your secret?”

  “If everyone is going to find out anyway, then they’re going to hear it from me.” Bree pushed herself onto her knees and slowly leaned her weight against the queen, wincing. “This is who I am, Ginette. I can’t change that. And I won’t hide it any longer.”

  Ginette stared at Aubriel with her dark eyes, looking at her, truly seeing her. “It really is. Well, if you insist, the only thing I can promise is that I won’t run away this time.”

  Aubriel smiled gratefully. “Thank you.”

  By the time Ginette helped Aubriel limp to Callannon, he’d already bound Salda’s hands with her own leather strap.

  Callannon spoke in a low voice, but there was no difficulty in hearing him. “Explain why you were chasing my exchanged up and down the lakeside.”

  “Take that strap off of her,” Titania said, although her gaze remained curious on Salda.

  “She's charmed you,” Salda spat.

  A shock of blue magic coursed over the captain, causing her to twist in pain.

  Callannon’s expression remained grim. “No, Salda, she hasn’t. No one knows your interrogation b
indings better than you, so choose your words carefully.”

  Aubriel shivered at the cold in Callannon’s eyes and voice. The man before her more closely resembled a statue than the man she loved. Even if she had nearly been in those bindings because of the captain, she wouldn’t let Callannon sink to Salda’s level. She broke from Ginette’s hold and stumbled against Callannon’s side, glad to feel his arm wrap around her. “Please don’t do this.”

  His gaze softened. “She has treated you no better than a guilty criminal. I can’t let that go.”

  “I’m not who I say I am,” she whispered, gripping his tunic like he might vanish from her, just like Elston had, though this time she would be terrified rather than grateful. “They deserve to know, and I have to tell them. It’s the right thing to do. Besides, if I don’t say something now, she will. I’m certain the herald told her about me.”

  He didn’t like it—that she could easily tell—but he knew their choices were limited. Maybe they never should have lied, but it was much too late for that. Callannon gave Oberon a nod. The king wore a worried look but gave a tight nod in return, clasping his wife’s waist tightly.

  All attention was on Aubriel and Callannon. She took a small step back from him, but kept her hand clutched in his, drawing on his strength. “Captain Salda may have been wrong about how Callannon and I came to be exchanged, but she was right to be suspicious of me. I’m not from the Forgotten Mists, and I’m not fey.” She paused to muster her courage, looking to each of the fey she’d come to know over the last couple of days. Ginette was apprehensive, Jekob was confused, and Oberon was worried, but Titania was—for once—inscrutable. “I’m mortal. Callannon found me in my own world and agreed to exchange with me at my offer.” She turned to her love. “Can you remove it?”