Touch of Frost by Jennifer Allis Provost

Author:Jennifer Allis Provost [Jennifer Allis Provost]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Bellatrix Press
Published: 2024-05-30T00:00:00+00:00

Udane, The Summer King

Rob and I trudged across Elphame toward the Unseelie Court with the two wights flitting around our heads. Since Rob had always served the Seelie, this was the first time he went deep into the Unseelie side of fairyland. Therefore, Rina’s portal had only taken us to the edge of the kingdom. My first thought was to wonder how far we’d have to walk to reach the Unseelie King’s castle. My second was to wonder what had leached the color out of the landscape.

The farther we went into Unseelie territory, the less vibrant the colors became. Trees still had brown trunks and green leaves, but the hues were washed out and pale. The same held true for the grass, sky, and everything else we passed by. It made Rob and I stand out like Technicolor characters in a black and white movie, and Wyatt and Violet were almost too bright to look at.

“This is odd,” I said, indicating the muted landscape. “All the colors are going to gray.”

“In Elphame, a land mimics its master,” Rob said. “Do ye recall how Nicnevin’s palace was dark and rotting?”

I remembered many things about Nicnevin’s palace, and wanted to forget them all. “The Unseelie King is like Nicnevin?”

“He may be,” Rob replied. “No one truly kens.”

“You must know something about him.”

“Aye, I’ve heard a tale or two. He rules alone, and likes it that way. The stories tell that his heart was sorely betrayed some time ago, and he has yet to recover.”

“Then the gray is sorrow,” I deduced. “But he’s not actually evil?”

“Truly, ye ken as much as I regardin’ his nature.”

“That is not reassuring.”

“’Twas no’ meant to be.”

We rounded a bend, and saw a dark crag ahead. “I take it that’s the Unseelie’s headquarters?”

“It is, may God have mercy on our souls,” Rob replied.

The wights landed on our shoulders and chirped like over-caffeinated spring peepers. “What’s up?” I asked.

“He is near,” Wyatt said, while Violet chirped in the wights’ native language. “Our king is near. May we fly on and locate him?”

“O’ course,” Rob said. “Do no’ stray too far.”

“Then can sense Udane?” I asked.

“Evidently so.”

“At least we know we’re on the right track.”

I watched as the wights flew on ahead. We left the packed earth road we’d been following and stepped onto a more formal stone path that led to the Unseelie King’s palace. The palace was a tall, dark edifice covered in spires and pointed gables, balanced precariously at the edge of a cliff like a Halloween cartoon. If it hadn’t been for the black clad Unseelie warriors armed to the teeth and stationed every few paces, the effect would have been comical.

Rob ignored the warriors as we passed; he’d been to hell, literally, and wasn’t impressed by the Unseelie’s display of bravado. None of the warriors attempted to stop us, and we ascended the stairs to the palace without incident. At the top of the stairs, a guard wearing obsidian armor glared at us from beneath his helmet.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.