Chapter 2

The child was asleep, and, frankly, she was surprised that the nursemaid had enough courage to come near her. She had a small feeling, from somewhere lost inside her, that the servant was waiting for her to speak. So she did.

"What is the new court member's name?" The servant's face paled.

"I don't know, majesty. My job is to watch over this child," the servant was trembling now.

"Whose child is it?" the servant backed up, fearing her wrath.

Or her second form.

Probably both.

"I-i-it's her Majesty's child. I w-was the only mi-midwife at her birth be-because she wanted it to be k-kept from you... I'm s-so sorry, y-y-your majesty."

The rage must have shown in her eyes because the servant opened Maeve's arms and put the baby in them.

Then she left the room.

She looked down at the child, wondering if she already had a name, or if she should just name it herself.

She called for the servant. When she asked what the child's name was, the servant merely told her that the child had no name, and that she, personally, would name the child after her mother.

But Maeve wouldn't do that. She didn't want anyone to know about this child. So, she decided on Jade, for the girls' bright green eyes.

Just like her mothers'.

Tears glittered in her eyes.

Why did the world hate her?

Too many times had her loved ones been taken from her. Firstly, her parents, her mother dying while birthing another child and the child dying as well. Then her father went off to battle; he didn't come back. Then her mate. The mate who she had wiped from the memory of the world. Now her sister.

But she would not let the child die. She gave Jade to the nurse maid, told her the child's new name and told her to care for the child as if it were her own. She didn't mean to say what she would do next, but it slipped out anyway.

She was going to destroy the castle.

The servant looked at her with sadness in her eyes and told her to wait for at least one day, so that those close to her would be able to offer prayers to the gods so Mora might leave the world peacefully.

She told the servant no. That not one person in this pathetic excuse for a country deserved to live after letting her sister die. The servant left the room and did not return.

Before she left she told her that she would head to Wendlyn and that she would wait for her to get there. However long it took. The servant could tell what Maeve was going to do. And promised not to tell anyone. So Maeve began her own prayers. To Mora herself, begging for her forgiveness.

To all her beloved, her lost mate, her parents. To all she knew. Begging them to forgive her.

She didn't think that they ever would.

She was running down the hall, begging to the gods to protect the child. She didn't tell anyone where she was going, whose baby it was or why she was running. She didn't think Maeve would forgive her if the baby died. So she ran right to the docks, to Maeve's own ship. And she told them to go. Told them that the island might as well be dead, told them to go. And to wipe this place from their memory. For it wouldn't exist past this day.

Maeve would wipe this from the world, just as she was going to wipe the knowledge of her mate, and what truly happened to her sister.

They left.

They didn't look back.

Maeve walked towards the center of the island. She no longer felt anything. She was empty. She was gone. Mora never really cared about her. But Maeve felt the bond between them. They were two of a set of triplets, which almost never happened, not for the fae.

Mab was the third triplet. Mab, who would never look at her with any worth in her. Not after today. After today, she was going hunting. For anyone named Tenebris. She had finally found out the noble's name.

Darkness, it meant. In the language of these people. A doomed language now. No one but she would remember it after today.

She planned to get to the islands center, where a mountain sat, before midnight. She would climb, or fly, to the top of the mountain and unleash her magic on them all. As soon as she had seen her sister's dead body, her sub-conscious had started plummeting down into her well of power.

She was still going. She had never fully used up her power. But she had also never gone past a certain point in her power. She wasn't afraid of having a burn out. She was not afraid of using too much power, too quickly. She didn't care if it destroyed her. Perhaps she will wipe it out of her own memory as well as the worlds'.

She had reached the bottom of the mountain by now. She shifted, wanting to use more power up before midnight. She flew upward, each wingbeat shaking the ground below. At the top of the mountain, she could hear someone waiting. Hopefully Tenebris, the traitor.

Sure enough, atop the mountain sat a man.

But not.

He had bright golden eyes, eyes from another world. She started to land, but then shifted back to her fae form right before she touched the ground, now standing before him.

"Do you want to know who I am, faerie?" he asked her.

"No, I already know. You are a valg king. If your eyes didn't give it away, your scent definitely does."

"How do you know the scent of the valg, Faerie?"

"I know everything." Maeve smirked at him.

"Do you? Do you know why we want you triplets dead?"

She gave him a blank stare.

"I didn't think so. We wanted Mora dead because she had the gift of fire, which is the only thing that can kill our underlings in this world. We want you dead because your gift can banish us from this world. For a price though."

"Why would you tell me your weakness?" She asked, boredom one her face.

"Because I'm going to kill you now. You are broken with the loss of your sister. Broken things don't work." She stared emotionlessly at him.

"If that is what you truly believe, then kill me. I dare you." He stood up stalking toward her like he was already sure of his victory. Oh, these kings. So painfully ignorant of what had happened two hundred years ago. When she had broken. She didn't even know how she held on.

Still he kept walking towards her, becoming just a little cautious as she made no move to draw her weapons. She wouldn't need weapons for this kill. He had said that her power could banish him. For a price. Well, whatever price she had to pay, she would pay it, as long as her sister's murderer was punished.

Some idea seemed to light up in his mind as he smiled wickedly. Probably thinking of some cruel way to torture her more. He reached into a pocket in his cloak, and pulled out a sliver of black stone.

It reeked of wrongness.

Her very blood was singing to get away from it, from him. She focused her attention on the stone. Faster then she could react, he pulled a dagger from its hidden sheath on his arm and cut right into her belly. He then proceeded to stick the stone in the cut. Then to vanish.

She doubled over, clutching her stomach as she felt the stones' power rush through her blood like ice. Her body automatically healed over the wound and she cursed at her stupidity.

It didn't matter anyway. She was going to destroy this island. Then she would find this demon and make him pay. So she unleashed all the power she had gathered. As the power rushed out of her, obliterating anything in its path, she felt it touch against the stone in her stomach. Her magic recoiled, forming a barrier against the stone. Interesting.

She turned her attention back to her magic and she started directing it across the island. Her magic was life. Nature, earth, whatever you wanted to call it. Its true power wasn't life though. It was the death that came after.

For if you age too much, you die.

So she sent out her power from that bottomless well. And she hoped it killed her too.