The Faceless Woman Emma Hamm (ebook reader screen TXT) 📖

under the surface. Cold water rushed into her mouth, filled her ears, and sent tendrils of ice through her body that stiffened her fingers and legs. Struggling back to the surface, she gasped in a breath of air.

Then she dove under the glassy surface and swam toward the floating woman. A sense of foreboding made her check around her, but the light from the heart of the lake was weak. Anything could be watching her in the depths of the waters.

Rushing now, she reached out and gently touched a hand to the woman’s cheek. Downy feathers, so pale they were almost transparent, covered the sides of her face. She looked as though she could be Aisling’s sister, and she wondered what that meant. Just how strange was this place? Did she see other people in every face that existed here? Or was there more to this?

The woman opened her eyes.

Aisling flinched back, bubbles escaping from her open mouth before she frantically shut it.

Their eyes met, and she suddenly knew this woman. It wasn’t a memory. It wasn’t even a feeling, but something deep inside her soul recognized this frozen body as her own.

The woman slowly reached out her hand with the small porcelain vessel from where the waters flowed weakly. The light was dim, growing dimmer by the second.

Was it dying? Was it possible for a lake to die?

She stretched forward and took the smallest amount of water that she could from the glimmering blue light. As if sensing another vessel was nearby, it spun toward the small vial in her hand. Funneling it in was easy. The water wanted to go with her, strangely enough.

Aisling carefully put the cap back on the vial. Her eyes lingered on the floating woman’s figure. A small part of her worried she would someday become this poor soul, forever damned simply for being a woman.

This was why she had kept herself hidden for so long. It was easier to hide under the guise of dirt and grime than be renowned for beauty.

She kicked her feet and shot toward the surface. Lungs burning, head whirling, she crested the surface with a loud gasp. Dark hair obscured her vision until a warm hand smoothed it back from her face.

The Raven King smiled down at her, his eyes appearing almost sad. “Did you find what you were looking for?”

“I did.” She lifted the vial for him to see.

He stared at it with obvious disdain before holding out a hand for her again. “Would you like to come out of the water now?”

“Yes.”

Aisling’s tone was oddly meek. Something about the sight of the floating woman had affected her. She didn’t feel like herself, but a fragile version that could be shattered by a mere touch.

His warm hand closed around her wrist, pulling her out of the water and back onto the glassy surface as if she weighed little more than a feather. He waved a hand in front of her. Warm air blasted, drying her clothes immediately.

“Thank you,” she murmured, confused at herself and the entire situation. “How do I get back into the castle?”

“I’m sure the queen will send one of her daughters for you.” He paused. “Actually, why don’t I bring you up myself?”

“You can do that?”

“I’m not imprisoned,” he said with a chuckle. “No one can cage the Raven King. Besides, I haven’t seen the Unseelie queen in a very long time.”

“I’m not sure you want to.”

“She is a rather startling sight, isn’t she? Her children are almost worse.”

Aisling shuddered at the memory. The Unseelie princesses would haunt her memories for a very long time. “I agree with you.”

The Raven King held out a hand for her to take, dark claws curving up like needles. “Shall we?”

She didn’t really want to. It was a strange sensation to want to stay in this frozen wasteland with a floating version of herself underneath their feet. But if she went back into the Unseelie castle, there was always the possibility of this all being over.

Bran didn’t seem interested in running off as soon as the binding curse was broken, yet there was always a chance he was twisting his words.

She wasn’t sure what would happen if he rejected her. He was the first person she had let in…ever.

Taking a deep breath, she reached out and took his hand. “To the castle we go then.”

“Hold on tight.”

He tugged her close to his chest. Ravens stretched through his form, wings beating against her back and beaks desperately trying to peck at her front. To his credit, the Raven King held her just far enough away that the creatures who made him couldn’t harm her.

They lifted into the air with ease. The swarm of wings took them far away from the frozen lake and straight up toward the small hole she had fallen through. Aisling’s breath caught in her throat, but she held her body limp. The last thing she needed was to plummet back into the icy waters.

The Raven King soared through the small opening and landed lightly on his feet. He set her down with an exaggerated gesture, snapping out his cape like a great wing and twirling her before letting go.

Aisling spun in a circle before she caught herself, angrily glaring at him and clutching the vial to her chest. “Was that really necessary?”

“A show is always necessary when entertaining the Unseelie Queen.”

An answering chuckle echoed from above them. The webbing bowed under the queen’s weight as she stepped over them. “Raven King. It’s been a very long time.”

“Not too long, I hope. I wouldn’t want you to forget my pretty face.”

“How could I? It’s been my personal goal to scratch your eyes out since the day I met you.”

The Raven King pressed a hand to his chest, narrowing his eyes at the leg that revealed itself through the gap over the throne. “I’m flattered you’ve been thinking of me for hundreds of years, my dear queen.”

“Precisely the reason why I’ve wanted to kill you since the