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These cuffs are super heavy.
They’re made of iron. Of course they are. I’m at the mercy of the fae, a prisoner of the Seelie Court, and iron is one of the only things that can hold any of the magical races here. From goblins to redcaps, sprites to the Seelie themselves, the iron saps their strength and makes them easy to contain.
I’m not magic. I don’t have a drop of power in me. I’m just an idiot human who made a wrong turn while walking through her local park and stupidly walked right through a fairy circle. Trapping me in these cuffs is overkill, but tell that to the fae guard marching me down the open hallway that leads me right inside of Siúcra, the infamous Faerie prison.
My new home.
And if I think the cuffs are bad? The pointy, glowing diamond-edge sword at my back is ten times worse.
The guard can’t touch me. Not with his bare skin at least. I learned that one the hard way. As a Seelie, one of the high fae races that rule over Faerie, he literally can’t touch me unless I give him permission to. One stolen caress and his perfect bronze skin will look like someone’s dipped it into a fryer.
As a human, it’s the only power that I have. I can’t compel anyone, I can’t create portals on a whim, I can't fly. I don’t have any super strength, like the trolls do, and while I can lie, I can’t see how that’s a plus. But I’m a rare unclaimed human in a world where that means something to the race in charge, and while my skin is a lure and a temptation to the fae, they can’t touch me without causing themselves terrible pain if I don’t actually let them.
Then again, he can run me through with his sword if I so much as blink funny, so it’s not like my “power” really means diddly squat. When I’m a Helen-kabob, it doesn’t matter if I give him permission. He can touch me because I'll be dead.
I’d like to avoid both of those happening if I can.
I made it this long, right? Through being poisoned, then captured, then sold to a Seelie noble who didn’t like being told no, I’m still standing. They haven’t broken me yet.
Unfortunately, something tells me that they’re just getting started.
They… in this case, I mean the fae guards who are responsible for bringing me here. Though, after all I’ve been through lately, the guards are just the last link in a super shitty chain that began when I brilliantly thought it might be a good idea to play around with a fairy circle.
There were three of them when I was arrested, one called ‘Captain’ and his two sidekicks. Then the one in charge realized that it didn’t take that many guards to transport little ol’ me and he stuck me with Bram.
I didn’t mind Bram too much. I work in retail so I get the whole ‘he’s just doing his job’ thing. He fed me, gave my privacy when I had to use the little girl’s bush, and if it sucks that he kept me locked in the back of the caravan wearing these cuffs for three days while we traveled from Lord Veron’s palace to Siúcra, well, I get it.
Technically, I am a prisoner. If I could figure out how to get out of here, I’d definitely be a flight risk. All I’ve done since I found myself in Faerie is try to escape it. Keeping me in irons, locked behind bars… smart.
It’s been ten days already. Ten days since I stormed out on my boyfriend, took a walk into the park by my apartment to cool off, and kind of, sort of waltzed right through a fairy circle.
Ten looooong days since I crossed the veil into Faerie.
It feels like a lifetime. Now that I’ve been sentenced to a stay inside of Siúcra, it might just turn into a lifetime.
I don’t know about you, but when I think of “fairy jail”, I think of something totally different than what I’m looking at right now. In a world where there are enchanted gardens with trees made of crystal, a magenta sky, and grass that looks like light blue cotton candy, I was expecting a little… more.
Faerie is… it’s hard to explain. When I was a little girl, my mother used to tell me all kinds of fantastical stories about a magical world in another realm. She called it Faerie, said it was across the veil, and it was the home to every creature in every myth and legend ever written or told. Elves, fairies, trolls, gnomes, redcaps, water sprites… the list goes on and on.
I had an idea of it in my head. I grew up on a bunch of fantasy films, including some that were popular when my mom was a teen. Labyrinth was one. Willow was another. The Neverending Story. Princess Bride. To me, Faerie was some kind of amalgamation of those movies, plus classics like The Wizard of Oz and Alice in Wonderland thrown in for a little extra flavor.
And it’s kind of like that. Between the magic everywhere and the traps, plus the foliage that just convinces you you’re in another world, it’s definitely nothing like the city where I was born and raised.
Of course, then I actually ended up in this crazy place and, since then, I’ve gotten a crash course in just how different Faerie is from all of my expectations.
The jail, though? Earlier, Bram led me through the gates and into the back entrance, right into the first row of packed cells. And, okay. I’ve never been in jail before. But I watch a crapton of TV with Jim and he gets a kick out of prison shows. I know what to expect.
It’s kind of like what I’m looking at now.
Not the prison guard, though. Only one of them comes out to meet Bram and me. And maybe I’ve gotten used to what the Seelie males who lord over Faerie look like, but I’m a littl
e bit stunned at the guard who approaches.
In so many ways, he’s the opposite of the Light Fae standing at my back. Instead of skin that looks like he’s spent ages in the sun, his is so white, it nearly glows. He has thick, glossy, black hair that’s even with his chin; a stark contrast to his pale complexion. And his eyes…
The pupils are as black as his hair. The irises are a shiny, gleaming silver that are as lovely as they are off-putting. As I stare, I noticed that he hardly blinks. My eyes water just thinking about it.
I think I know what he is. If I’m right?
Oh, boy. I would’ve been better sticking it out with the trolls.
You see, there are two types of fae, the ruling race in Faerie. I’ve met Seelie before. I’ve so heard stories about the Unseelie—and I think I’ve finally met my first one.
His gaze travels the lengths of my body, head to toe, up and down. I want to think he’s assessing me for possible danger—as if the cuffed human can be a threat to anyone in Faerie—but I know better.
This guy is pretty to look at. He’s still a creep.
Just my luck.
“That’s enough, soldier.” The guard nods at Bram. “I’ll take over from here.”
I’m almost annoyed at how easily Bram clicks his heels and disappears back down the hall, abandoning me to the guard. Because Veron refused to arrange for a portal to the prison, I spent the last few days traveling with the Seelie soldier. Sure, I was locked up tight, and he barely spoke except to answer a few of my questions and to offer my meals, but still. A goodbye wouldn’t have killed him.
It’s weird. I used to think that every fae had the ability to conjure portals. Nope. Only the strongest of the Light Fae, the Seelie, could create portals made of fire to allow them to zip all over Faerie. Just like the Dark Fae, the Unseelie, can travel through shadows. Without a portal, I had to walk—or, in the case of Bram’s prison transport, ride in the back of a horse-drawn caravan.
I’m dirty. Dusty. I’ve been wearing the same clothes for a week and a half. My hair is braided out of my face to hide the fact that it desperately needs a wash. I probably smell like horse shit.
And the darkly handsome Unseelie guard is looking at me like I’ve just stepped off the cover of Sports Illustrated.
“What’s your name?” he asks me.
“Elle.”
His silver eyes gleam. “Is that your true name?”
It’s the only name he’s going to get.
I learned that the even harder way. Names have power in Faerie, even for a human like me.
“Call me Dusk.”
I press my lips together.
He grins. It’s almost wolfish, and definitely a threat.
I gulp.