The Changeling Soldier (15 page)
Read The Changeling Soldier Online
Authors: Shona Husk
Why didn’t he just run away and live in the mortal world, free from all of this?
He looked around Court, at the dazzling colors and the beautiful fairies. But beneath the glamour and laughter they were like wolves waiting to tear out each other’s heart in the hope of advancing. All of them would trade love for power in a heartbeat. That was something his mother had encouraged, and the Court had fallen for.
Well played, Mother.
If she couldn’t be happy, no one could be happy.
He wanted to fix Annwyn.
For that he needed Jacqui.
Sod it. He’d go back to the mortal world and see her for a night. Not long would pass in Annwyn while he was away. And yet he hesitated. His absence would be noticed. His enemies would try to follow, and the last thing he wanted was to draw them to Jacqueline’s door. It was those fears that had kept him here instead of going to her sooner. How long had passed in the mortal world? At least a week, maybe more. It was hard to tell. He’d only been able to safely go to look in the mirror and check on her once—he didn’t want anyone to glimpse who he was watching as even that could be used against him.
Claiming a bride would be seen as the first step to claiming the throne, and depending on his parents’ whims, they could call it treason and start a war. No, his father wouldn’t. His father would step aside and let Annwyn change rulers with dropping into deep winter. His mother, on the other hand…he’d underestimated her once. He wouldn’t make that mistake again.
He would do what he was supposed to and act as though nothing was wrong. Someone was watching, waiting to see if he’d break first and run to the mortal world, and he would. But it would be planned, not a rash decision brought on by the longing in his heart and the ache to touch her.
He should have brought her with him and moved first. But in his heart, he knew she wasn’t ready.
Neither was he. He didn’t want to be King of Annwyn yet; he wanted to enjoy the mortal world with Jacqui for a few more months. He looked at his opponent across the table and rolled the dice, watching carefully to see which season they’d land in on the quartered circle inscribed on the table. He wanted to win every game he played. There was too much at stake and he knew he was stalling. He would be King before their child was born and Annwyn and the mortal world would be his responsibility.
A few days later in Annwyn time, Felan was able to slide away from Court unnoticed.
In Chicago, Felan smoothed his suit and played the role he’d assumed this time in the mortal world—a young man learning the ropes of his father’s business while studying at college. It gave him the freedom to go to the classes he found interesting and hang around lots of vibrant young people. He got to learn about the mortal world and keep up with the changes many fairies sneered at. He’d always liked the mortal world. He’d made a habit of spending time here over the centuries just to make his enemies dance to his tune. Most had revealed themselves over time, but now they were playing smart. He resisted the urge to check over his shoulder for a spy.
He knocked on the door and waited. How much bigger would her belly be? Had she told her parents? If she had, he’d really let her down. He was failing both worlds while trying to live in both. The dance was getting deadly.
The door opened and Jacqui’s mother gave him a once over that would have made his mother proud. Cold and unflinching as if he were less than nothing. He met her gaze without blinking, the way he had every time before. She had no idea who she was dealing with.
“Hello, Mrs. Ara, is Jacqui in?” He was always scrupulously polite with Jacqui’s parents since they hated him. They didn’t try too hard to mask it either. A fairy would have, if only to trick and try and gain leverage.
Mrs. Ara looked at him for a moment. “You ruined my daughter’s life, and you have the nerve to come back and ask to see her after all this time?”
Okay, she knew about the baby. How much time had passed? Worry gripped him. “Is she in?”
“You have no hold on her.” She held his gaze as though she could out-stare him. That might work on human men, not him.
But he did have a hold on Jacqui. Jacqui had drunk fairy wine—in the mortal world to be fair—but that still bound her to the Court and their child bound her to him.
“Felan?” Jacqui appeared at her mother’s side, but she didn’t throw herself into his arms like he’d hoped. How long had he been gone? Cold nails of concern pressed deeper, closing around his heart. What had changed in his absence?
He glanced at her stomach, and when he reached out with magic there was nothing there. No baby. He took a step back. Jacqui didn’t seem right either. She was duller.
“What happened? Where’s our baby?” He hadn’t been gone so long that it had been born, he was sure of that.
“It’s gone,” Jacqui said. Her voice was flat and there was a peculiar shadow in her eyes. There was no sign of the love they’d had.
“Gone?”
“Nineteen is too young to have a baby. We looked after her since you couldn’t be bothered to show up.” Mrs. Ara took Jacqui’s arm and drew her away. “Don’t come back.”
Felan looked at Jacqui. He tried to keep the shock from his face. He couldn’t let her know that she’d just ripped his heart from his chest, and yet how could he hide it? “Is that what you wanted?”
Jacqui stared at him. “Just leave,” she whispered.
He’d thought she’d wanted the baby as much as he did. She knew what he was. All the reasons he’d thought her perfect to sit beside him, all the moments he’d cherished of them laughing together and loving together, fractured and cut him.
“Jacqui, please.” He put his hand out to stop Mrs. Ara from closing the front door. She gasped, surprised by his move. “What happened to our baby, what’s wrong?” The Jacqui he’d loved was gone, replaced with a pale shadow.
Jacqui looked away for a moment, she muttered to herself, then looked at him. Her dark blue eyes were unfocused, as if she could see through him. “Fairies aren’t real.”
Those three words were more brutal than any sword wound. They stung like iron and gouged at his heart.
No.
“Jacqui!”
The door slammed shut and this time he didn’t stop it. He stood there not knowing what to do.
“Jacqui?” He tried to keep breathing, hoping she’d open the door. That maybe it had been an act for her mother’s benefit. After several heartbeats, it became clear Jacqui wasn’t coming out.
He’d lost her and their child. Tears burned the corners of his eyes. He wouldn’t fall apart here. He was the Crown Prince of Annwyn; he could deal with anything. He didn’t feel capable of making a single decision. He didn’t know what to do, only that he had to walk away from the house. He would not let Mrs. Ara watch his destruction and enjoy it. Whatever she’d done to Jacqui had been more cunning and brutal than anything a fairy could think up.
He let the glamour that made him visible slide when he rounded the corner. Then he walked until he reached the park and sat with his head in his hands. He let the tears fall while he was alone and unwatched. His body shook. He’d re-gather his control in a minute or so, once he could breathe without feeling as though he was dying. But he let himself grieve for these few moments.
This wasn’t the first time he’d lost a child. While this baby was gone—so much easier to say than dead—his first son lived. He’d made the decision to walk away and let his son be born in the mortal world because he’d realized the boy’s mother didn’t love him. She loved another, and he couldn’t take that away from her. He couldn’t place her on the throne knowing her heart longed for another man. To protect his changeling son, he’d stayed away, lest anyone learn of his parentage and threaten him. His son was now an adult.
The lost years of hearing only secondhand about his son from Caspian’s guardian added to the weight of grief.
He shouldn’t have left Jacqui. If he’d been there for her…What difference would it have made? If she really didn’t want his child, he couldn’t force her. Part of him wanted to go back and demand to know why. But what would that change? Besides he wasn’t even sure he could look her in the eye right now without crumbling. Was nineteen too young? From what he knew of the mortal world, it wasn’t. It wasn’t as if Jacqui was going to live here…a crushing wave of failure gripped him. No Jacqui, no Queen.
Annwyn was falling apart—nothing major yet, but there little signs. Fewer flowers, no new growth on the trees, and small tears in the veil between the worlds. It was his job to notice these details, to be ready to take over the throne before winter set in and death bled into the mortal world. He wanted to let the humans die. Why should he care?
No one cared about him or what he wanted.
He’d have to start again. He needed to find a mortal woman to take the throne.
Felan raked his fingers through his hair. He couldn’t do it.
He’d seen what the wrong choice did, seen what his mother had become over the centuries. A woman obsessed with power with no care or compassion. Her hunger had tainted those around her so even the Court cared of nothing but deals and power plays while his father sat miserably on the throne, unable to even find love with a mistress.
That wouldn’t be him.
He wiped his face, but didn’t stand.
A few more moments, then he’d go back to Annwyn. He’d do what he could to stabilize the situation instead of preparing to take over. He’d let a scar form on his heart and then…and then he’d have to risk it again.
His track record with mortal women was getting worse.
His biggest fear, that he would make the same mistake as his father, was looming closer. The idea of walking away from it all and living in the mortal world forever had never been so appealing.
Other titles by Shona Husk
Novels
Dark Vow, Carina Press
The Goblin King (Shadowlands #1), Sourcebooks Casablanca
Kiss of the Goblin Prince (Shadowlands #2), Sourcebooks Casablanca
For the Love of a Goblin Warrior (Shadowlands #3), Sourcebooks Casablanca
The Outcast Prince (Annwyn #1), Sourcebooks Casablanca
Lord of the Hunt (Annwyn #2), Sourcebooks Casablanca
To Love a King (Annwyn #3), Sourcebooks Casablanca
Novellas
Boyfriend in a Bottle, Samhain Publishing
Brightwater Blood, Samhain Publishing
How to Breathe Fire, Samhain Publishing
Ruby’s Ghost, Samhain Publishing
Kissing Phoenix, Ellora’s Cave
Tasting Thanatos, Ellora’s Cave
Sharing Sirius, Ellora’s Cave
Enchanting Absinthe, Ellora’s Cave
Saved by the Trickster, Ellora’s Cave
Lunar Exposure, Ellora’s Cave
Lunar Reunion, Ellora’s Cave
Lunar Dancer, Ellora’s Cave
Dark Secrets, Carina Press
Midsummer’s Eve, Momentum Books
An Elemental Tail
Temptation in a Bottle
The Changeling Soldier (Annwyn #2.5)
Free Reads
Soul Song
Dar-Otter, Pearl Otter, Can’t find me
The Summons (Shadowlands #0.5)
About Shona Husk
Three time ARRA finalist Shona Husk lives in Western Australia at the edge of the Indian Ocean. Blessed with a lively imagination she spent most of her childhood making up stories. As an adult she discovered romance novels and hasn’t looked back. Drawing on history and myth, she writes about heroes who are armed and dangerous but have a heart of gold—sometimes literally.
With stories ranging from sensual to scorching, she writes paranormal, fantasy and sci-fi romance. You can find out more at
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Table of Contents
Excerpt from The Outcast Prince