The Last Changeling (24 page)

I looked down at her one last time. She was so pale, she looked like she'd never be warm again.

“Remember that first night in my bedroom?” I whispered. “When you promised me my heart's greatest desire? My desire is you, safe and alive. That's the only thing I want.”

I lifted my head. “Taylor Christopher Alder.”

31

E
l
o
r
A

Back in the human world, my heart had made a promise before the rest of me knew what I wanted. The promise had been foolish; the boy could have asked for anything. And after I said it, I was certain I would be harmed by it.

I was right.

The light from the Bright Queen's bower was so bright that it reached into the land of the dead. It bled into the darkness and, as light will, obliterated it.

Everything was revealed then.

I saw the universe. I saw the nearly infinite number of spirits. But I did not see Taylor, the boy whose greatest desire I had pledged to give. And before I even decided to keep my promise, my heart knew that I was choosing him.

So I did.

My spirit slammed back into my body so hard I forgot how to breathe. The poison still swam in my veins, but it was different now. The knives and claws of it had been replaced by needles, tiny and only scraping my skin. I knew then that I could withstand the pain.

I felt Taylor holding my hand.

Love flowed into me as light did. The Bright Queen and Taylor—together, they healed me. Together, we make our way from pain to peace.

Only, always, together.

Taylor leaned over me, fingers touching me so lightly, like feathers. Like wings.

His voice drifted into my ear. “I'm here,” he said.

I opened my eyes to him; they struggled against the brightness.

I opened my lips. “Kiss me.”

He did. Lips warm and soft. Breath rushing into me.

“You saved me,” I murmured, remembering how to breathe. I was as a newborn again, and I hadn't even been born that long ago.

Who else can say that?

“Who would have thought it—the mortal saving the faerie?” said a rich, pleasant voice. A voice I had only heard once before.

“Lady,” I breathed, looking to the back of the bower. “My deepest appreciation … ” I fell silent. The Queen's magic danced in my veins, drugging me gently, blotting out the worst of the pain. Blotting out the memory of all that had happened to me.

The Queen glared down at me as if I were a naughty child.

Bad Elora.

A giggle escaped my lips.

“I did not do this for you,” said the Queen, as the trees bent down to whisper in her ear. “You have disappointed me. You failed to complete your end of the bargain.”

“Failed?” I mumbled. “But I brought … ” I glanced around the bower, half expecting to see Brad tied to a tree, vines circling his wrists and flowers in his hair.

“I'm sending him back.”

“What?” I tried to sit up.

“Relax.” Taylor brushed his lips against my cheek. It felt so amazing—every touch, a quiet ecstasy—that I wanted to climb over him right then and there.

Rein it in.

“I did not want something spoiled and rotten,” said the Queen as I fought to collect myself. “You knew that. You must have known that.”

“But … the riddle.”

It was Taylor who answered me. “I think I understand.”

I looked up at him, and saw that he looked perfectly at home. His golden hair was adorned in leaves. Light curled around his limbs, clinging possessively. Did he even know it was there?

“You thought
bane of the darkness
meant the most horrible human,” he said.

Well. Obviously.

“So you twisted the meaning of
perfect for light
to mean someone the human world wouldn't miss. Someone like Brad.”

I shook my head. “I didn't twist … ”

Did I?

I could hardly remember it. Wait, there it was, flitting in front of me.

Catch it, Elora. Catch it!

I reached out my hand.

Gotcha.

“
Perfect for light
meant a perfect, mindless toy,” I said slowly, as if relearning to use my lips. “Someone
she
wouldn't feel guilty about keeping.”

“Look at it the other way around.” Taylor's eyes never left my face. His hands stayed in constant motion, stroking my hair.

What a sweet devotee. Perfect for light?

No. Perfect for me
.

“
Perfect for light
means the best kind of human,” he said. “The kind that proves the Seelie Court right about humanity. And the riddle didn't say ‘horrible for the darkness.' It said ‘
bane
'—someone who has the power to thwart you. In other words,
the bane of the darkness
is a human who thwarts the dark faeries. Who proves the dark faeries
wrong
about humanity.
”

The sweetest kind of human
.

“Oh, Darkness … ” I murmured. Taylor leaned into me, thinking I was in pain. In truth, I felt tingly all over.
Happy
. The strange fact that the Queen's light hadn't killed me didn't even concern me. Nothing could concern me here in this happy, lovely place.

Nothing except …

“Taylor.” I looked up at him, trying to understand the unpleasant, cold feeling in my chest. It wasn't just the wet clothes.

There was a danger here that I was not quite grasping.

“Don't try to talk.” He lowered his forehead to mine. He felt so warm against me; he was practically radiating light. “You're shivering.”

“I am?” I lifted my head. “Well, look at that.”

He laughed like I'd said the funniest thing.

“Such things do happen when one is draped in the water of a pond,” said the Queen. “I shall take my leave of you for now. Let her rest, and perhaps free her of her garments,” she said to Taylor.

I opened my mouth, but nothing came out. My mind had gotten stuck on the thought of nakedness, and Taylor, and being
alone
. Never mind that I needed to rest.

The Bright Queen began to transform into a deer. I clapped, utterly delighted at the show. I had seen the leaves of her hair darken with her moods, but not this. This was fantastic. My mother might transform into a wolf or raven, but never somet
hing vulnerable.

I wished she would.

Wearing her animal disguise, the Bright Queen bounded out of the clearing. The sight almost made me laugh. But my shivering had worsened, and now I could feel it.

“Taylor. Something feels wrong … ”

“It's okay.” He kissed my cheeks. “Everything's okay. You're just cold.”

I couldn't help it. I believed him.

“Should I … can I undress you?” he asked.

I suppose I should have felt shy.

But I didn't. “Yes.”

Yes, please.

I was eager to get these suffocating clothes off me. Eager to feel his hands on my skin. Hidden in the land of the human-loving Seelie fey, I allowed myself to feel the things I could not accept before. I felt bold. Desirous, though I was much too weak to engage in anything too strenuous.

Or am I?

I touched the knee of his pants. “It seems I'm not the only one who is wet.”

He looked away for the first time since I'd awakened.

“And the air might be pleasant, if I was not so near to freezing. Would you consider undressing along with me? My body could use your … heat.”

Taylor blushed red. But when he'd finished undressing me—
slowly
unlacing my corset, guiding my skirt over my hips—he set to work unburdening himself of his clothing.

He was beautiful. Strong bones. Soft skin. Everything was as it should be.

Except …

“You're glowing,” I breathed, staring at him unabashedly. Behind his back, great beams of light unfurled like wings.

He laughed, his eyes darting away again. “I think the forest likes me.”

“More than the forest,” I said, though I couldn't track the comment to its source. There was something strange about the way the light was responding to him, circling his arms like darkness circled mine. It was as if the Bright Court had claimed him.

“Taylor … ”

“Don't worry,” he said, taking my hands. “Let me take care of you.”

Who could argue with that?

He drew me into him. His body was warm, and mine grew hot in every place that his touched. I found myself crawling over him, my thigh sinking between his, my arms pinning him to the ground. He lifted his head and gave me the softest, sweetest kiss. And he guided me down to his chest. There we lay, in each other's arms, skin pressed against skin, hands cradling, holding, until my eyes closed and I fell into pleasant dreams.

32

T
aylo
R

The mortal saved the faerie. That's what the Seelie Queen said. But the truth is, Elora saved my life long before I ever saved hers. She saved me that first day in the park.

She gave me a reason to live.

For seventeen years, I'd only gone through the motions, never letting myself love someone completely, and never r
eally feeling loved.

Now I could feel everything.

Her love had opened me up, made me whole where I'd been fragmented like Humpty Dumpty. Like a puzzle missing half its pieces. Maybe she was love embodied. That's how she felt to me, lying on my chest. She felt like happiness, like safety. And I'd never felt so alive.

There were only a few problems left. My friends and I had been brought into a world we knew little about. Without really asking to be a part of it, we'd been drawn into a war between two rival faerie courts. Oh, and I'd given my name to the Se
elie Queen.

She owned me. And Elora didn't even know that yet.

As I lifted my gaze from the love of my life to the ancient trees of the Seelie Court, I realized my dance with death was just begin
ning.

Acknowledgments

Thank you to the fabulous Sandy Lu, for taking a chance on a faerie story and for taking a chance on me. I will forever be grateful. Thank you to Brian Farrey-Latz for being the brilliant, funny person that you are, and for bringing order to the madness of this story. Thank you to the wonderful Sandy Sullivan, the magnificent Mallory Hayes, the amazing Kevin Brown, and everyone at Flux for your insight, dedication, and all-around awesomeness. And thank you to Marwane Pallas, for taking the photograph I couldn't get out of my head.

To my family, in the Pitchers and the Hauths, for your continued support and encouragement. I thank you muchly.

To AdriAnne Strickland, for being an amazing writer, reader, supporter, friend. (And for reading eighteen billion emails from me each week. You are truly the awesomest.)

To the Lucky 13s, or as I like to call them, the best people in the world. You have saved me, supported me, defended me, befriended me. I love you so much, it's making me rhyme. Someday I hope to hug each and every one of you (except one, for whom I will curtsy).

To the #WeNeedDiverseBooks team, for literally changing the world and for letting me be a part of it. I am in awe of you every day.

To the critters: Maegan, Cassie, Krzysztof, Jon, Jefferson, LaShenda, Quin, Elizabeth, Jan, Amanda, John, Carole, Kara, Sarah, Stephanie, Kim, Jacqueline, Mike, Dylan, Neil, Blakely, Kathy, and Hannah. You are irreplaceable, and this book wouldn't be nearly what it is without you.

To Evil Editor, Phoenix Sullivan, and minions, who read through countless queries for this novel and never told me to get lost. Without you, my journey would not have begun.

To you, the illustrious, fantastic readers, who make all of this possible.

And to Chris Hauth, my unstoppable force of nature. Thank you for inspiring this story and changing my life.

© www.cameronbrowne.com

About the Author

Chelsea Pitcher is a karaoke-singing, ocean-worshipping Oregonian with a penchant for wicked faerie tales. She began gobbling up stories as soon as she could read, and especially enjoys delving into the darker places to see if she can draw out some light. She is also the author of
The S-Word
(Simon and Schuster, 2013). You can visit her at
chelseapitcher.com and follow her on Twitter at @Chelsea_Pitcher.