Lord of Shadows (The Dark Artifices 2)

The Unseelie Court appeared suddenly--a burst of louder music and bright lights that stung Emma's eyes after so long in the dark. She wasn't sure what she'd imagined when she'd tried to picture the Unseelie Court. A massive stone castle, perhaps, with a grim throne room. A dark jewel of a chamber at the top of a tower with a winding gray stair. She recalled the shadowy darkness of the City of Bones, the hush of the place, the chill in the air.

But the Unseelie Court was outside--a number of tents and booths not unlike the ones at the Shadow Market, clustered in a glade in a circle of thick trees. The main part of it was a massive draped pavilion, with banners of velvet on which was displayed the emblem of a broken crown, stamped in gold, flying from every part of the structure.

A single tall throne made of smooth, glimmering black stone sat in the pavilion. It was empty. The back was carved with the two halves of a crown, this time hanging above a moon and a sun.

A few gentry faeries in dark cloaks were milling around in the pavilion near the throne. Their cloaks bore the crown insignia, and they wore thick gloves like the one Cristina had found at the ruins of Malcolm's house. Most were young; some barely looked older than fourteen or fifteen.

"The Unseelie King's sons," whispered Mark. They were crouched behind a tumble of boulders, peering around the edges, weapons in hand. "Some of them, anyway."

"Doesn't he have any daughters?" Emma muttered.

"He has no use for them," said Mark. "They say he has girl children killed at birth."

Emma couldn't prevent a flinch of anger. "Just let me get close to him," she whispered. "I'll show him what use girls are."

There was a sudden blare of music. The faeries in the area began to move toward the throne. They were brilliant in their finery, gold and green and blue and flame-red, the men as brightly clothed as the women.

"It's almost time," said Mark, straining to see. "The King is calling the gentry to him."

Julian straightened, still hidden by the boulders. "Then we should move now. I'm going to see if we can get any closer to the pavilion." His shortsword gleamed in the moonlight. "Cristina," he said. "Come with me."

After a single startled moment, Cristina nodded. "Of course." She took out her knife, sliding a quick apologetic look toward Emma as she and Julian disappeared into the trees.

Mark leaned forward against the massive boulder blocking them from the view of the glade. He didn't look at Emma, only spoke in a low voice. "I can't do this," he said. "I can no longer lie to my brother."

Emma froze. "Lie to him about what?" she asked, though she knew the answer.

"About us," he said. "The lie that we're in love. We must end it."

Emma closed her eyes. "I know. You and Cristina--"

"She told me," Mark interrupted. "That Julian is in love with you."

Emma didn't open her eyes, but she could still see the bright light of the torches surrounding the pavilion and the clearing burning against her eyelids.

"Emma," Mark said. "It was not her fault. It was an accident. But when she spoke the words to me, I understood. None of this ever had anything to do with Cameron Ashdown, did it? You were trying to protect Julian from his own feelings. If Julian loves you, you must convince him it's impossible for you to love him back."

His sympathy almost broke her. She opened her eyes--closing them was cowardice, and the Carstairs were not cowards. "Mark, you know about the Law," she said. "And you know Julian's secrets--about Arthur, the Institute. You know what would happen if anyone found out, what they would do to us, to your family."

"I do know," he said. "And I am not angry at you. I would stand beside you if you found someone else to deceive him. Sometimes we must deceive the ones we love. But I cannot be the instrument that causes him pain."

"But it can only be you. You think if there was anyone else, I would have asked you?" She could hear the desperation in her own voice.

Mark's eyes clouded. "Why only me?"

"Because there isn't anyone else Jules is jealous of," she said, and she saw the astonishment bloom in his eyes just as a twig snapped behind her. She whirled, Cortana flashing out.

It was Julian. "You should know better than to draw steel on your own parabatai," he said, with a crook of a smile.

She lowered the blade. Had he heard anything she and Mark had said? It didn't look like it. "You should know better than to make noise when you walk."

"No Soundless runes," said Jules, and glanced from her to Mark. "We've found a position closer to the throne. Cristina's already--"

But Mark had gone still. He was staring at something Emma couldn't see. Julian's gaze met hers, full of unguarded alarm, and then Mark was moving, pushing through the undergrowth.

The other two threw themselves after him. Emma could feel sweat gather in the hollow of her back as she strained herself not to step on a twig that might break, a leaf that might crack. It was painful, humbling almost to realize how much Nephilim relied on their runes.

She came up short quickly, almost bumping into Mark. He hadn't gone that far, only to the very edge of the clearing, where he was still hidden from the view of the pavilion by an overgrowth of ferns.

Their view of the clearing was unobstructed. Emma could see the Unseelie Faeries gathered close in front of the throne. There were likely a hundred of them, maybe more. They were dressed in stunning finery, much more elegant than she'd imagined. A woman with dark skin wore a dress made of the feathers of a swan, stark and white, a necklace of down encircling her slender throat. Two pale men were dressed in rose silk overcoats and waistcoats of shimmering blue bird's wings. A wheat-skinned woman with hair made of rose petals approached the pavilion, her dress an intricate cage of the bones of small animals, fastened together with thread made of human hair.

But Mark was looking at none of them, nor was he looking at the pavilion where the Unseelie princes stood, clearly waiting. Instead he was staring at two of the Unseelie princes, both clothed in black silk. One was tall with deep brown skin, the skull of a raven, dipped in gold, dangling around his throat. The other was pale and black-haired, his face narrow and bearded. Slumped between them was the figure of a prisoner, his clothes bloodstained, his body limp. The crowd parted for them, their voices quiet murmurs.

"Kieran," Mark whispered. He started forward, but Julian caught at the back of his shirt, gripping his brother so tightly that his knuckles turned white.

"Not yet," he hissed under his breath. His eyes were flat, glittering; in them Emma saw the ruthlessness that she had once told him frightened her. Not for herself, but for him.

The princes had reached a tall, white-barked tree just to the left and in front of the pavilion. The bearded prince slammed Kieran up against it, hard. The prince with the raven necklace spoke to him sharply, shaking his head. The other prince laughed.

"The one with the beard is Prince Erec," said Mark. "The King's favorite. The other is Prince Adaon. Kieran says that Adaon does not like to see people hurt. But Erec enjoys it."

It seemed to be true. Erec produced a rope of thorns and held it out toward Adaon, who shook his head and walked away toward the pavilion. Shrugging, Erec commenced binding Kieran to the tree trunk. His own hands were protected with thick gloves, but Kieran was wearing only a torn shirt and breeches, and the thorns cut into his wrists and ankles, and then his throat when Erec pulled a strand of the vicious rope tight against his skin. Through it all,

Kieran slumped inertly, his eyes half-closed, clearly beyond caring.

Mark tensed, but Julian held on to him. Cristina had rejoined them and was pressing her hand over her mouth; she stared as Erec finished with Kieran and stepped back.

Blood welled from the lacerations where the thorn bindings cut into Kieran's skin. His head had fallen back against the trunk of the tree; Emma could see his silver eye, and the black one as well, both half-lidded. There were bruises on his pale skin, on his cheek and above his hip where his shirt was torn.

There was a commotion atop the pavilion, and a single blast from a horn shattered the murmuring quiet in the clearing. The gentry looked up. A tall figure had appeared beside the throne. He was all in white, salt-white, with a doublet of white silk and gauntlets of white bone. White horns curled from either side of his head, startling against the blackness of his hair. A gold band encircled his forehead.

Cristina exhaled. "The King."

Emma could see his profile: It was beautiful. Clear, precise, clean like a drawing or painting of something perfect. Emma couldn't have described the shape of his eyes or cheekbones or the turn of his mouth, and she lacked Jules's ability to paint it, but she knew it was uncanny and wonderful and that she would remember the face of the King of the Unseelie Court for all her life.

He turned, bringing his face into full view. Emma heard Cristina gasp faintly. The King's face was divided down the middle. The right side was the face of a young man, luminous with elegance and beauty, though his eye was red as flame. The left side was an inhuman mask, gray skin tight and leathery over bone, eye socket empty and black, mottled with brutal scars.

Kieran, bound to the tree, looked once at the monstrous face of his father and turned his head away, his chin dropping, tangled black hair falling to hide his eyes. Erec hurried toward the pavilion, joining Adaon and a crowd of other princes at their father's side.

Mark was breathing hard. "The face of the Unseelie King," he whispered. "Kieran spoke of it, but . . ."

"Steady," Julian whispered back. "Wait to hear what he says."

As if on cue, the King spoke. "Folk of the Court," he said. "We have gathered here for a sad purpose: to witness justice brought against one of the Fair Folk who has taken up arms and murdered another in a place of peace. Kieran Hunter stands convicted of the murder of Iarlath of the Unseelie Court, one of my own knights. He slew him with his blade, here in the Unseelie Lands."