Chapter Text
---Cardan---
Cardan bolted up the ship, his tail hidden in his pants thumping against his leg in desperation. He didn’t know what happened. And it was terrifying.
He slowed when he reached the deck, and saw Jude’s figure curled up. Her hands were wrapped around her neck, and as he neared her he noticed her fingers were coated red. He knew she was alive, her breaths were coming out in short bursts, but it was still a terrible sight.
He wanted to run to her. He wanted to apologize and promise that they could work through everything. Jude could feel safe with him and tell him her secrets. He would vow to never tell anyone. His word was law. He wanted to wrap his arms around her, and just hope she reciprocated.
That’s what he did before their argument. It was what he did a lot. Jude didn’t like to show affection.
But if he did all that he wanted, what about her? If their argument revealed anything, it was that Jude needed to feel in control. And maybe Cardan hadn’t really helped her with that.
So when he reached his wife, he kneeled down, keeping himself from touching her. Jude’s eyes rose to him, and her breaths only sped up.
“Jude?” He asked tentatively.
She slowly uncurled her fingers from her neck. Long scratches lined the sides, and a deep bruise was growing at the center of her throat. Her eyes bore into him, as if willing him to understand something.
He waited for her to speak. To explain.
The silence was insurmountable.
Her eyes were welling up with tears. Cardan didn’t understand. Why wouldn’t she say anything?
Jude gestured to her throat.
It all clicked. “You lost your voice?”
She shook her head, mimed a grabbing motion.
“Someone stole your voice?”
She nodded. Cardan’s blood boiled at the thought of someone doing that to her. Her body was shaking. She curled her body tighter as if to escape from reality.
Cardan wanted to give her a hug. He wanted to hold her. But someone—probably Eryndor if it was an attack from the Undersea—had just taken something from her. And Cardan wouldn't take another thing from her, even if that was the choice of comfort.
He watched her shake, watched her try to force tears not to fall. He reached toward her.
“May I–” He stopped himself.
Instead, he placed his hand on the deck, close to her foot, but didn’t touch her.
Cardan spotted Inej coming onto the deck towards Jude, but he waved her away. He wanted to give Jude all the time she needed.
He didn’t know how long had passed, but the shaking hadn’t stopped, and her hands had to start wiping the start of tears away.
He clenched his fist, but stayed where he was. His figure an immovable statue.
Then she moved. It was imperceptibly fast, and he barely comprehended what happened as she wrapped her arms around him and he fell back. His arms were around her almost as fast as her movements. She nuzzled her face into his neck, and then the sobs started.
Her body was shaking in his arms and he held her even tighter to comfort her. Her fingers sunk into his hair, and she tugged on the strands wrapping them around her fingers.
He didn’t care that it hurt. In fact he relished the pain if it helped her.
Her tears soaked his shirt, and he held her through it.
Finally, the shaking subsided, and her breathing slowed. She pulled herself away from his neck, to stare at him. Her chestnut eyes were filled with heartbreak. He leaned up and kissed her cheek, then her other one, then her forehead, then all over her face. He noticed her lips slightly tilting up. So he continued to kiss her. When he finished, he stared at her, “I love you no matter what. Remember that Jude Duarte.”
She pointed at him. He gave her a confused look. She pointed at herself and then him.
“Jude Greenbriar?”
She nodded, and when he smiled at what it meant, she leaned in and kissed him on the mouth. He had avoided kissing her there when he had been peppering her with love. He knew it was close to what Balekin had done. But when she initiated it, he sunk into the sensation. He let Jude communicate her love through the kiss because she couldn’t with her voice.
---Jude---
Cardan helped her to her feet when she finished sobbing into his shoulder. It was the best apology she could muster, and she hoped he understood. As she gained her footing, he leaned away from her. His arm was a breath away, but he gave her space.
It was space she needed.
Walking off the ship felt like a fog lifting. The pain that had sunken into her mind, eased for a moment. It almost felt like she could speak again.
But reality was a stronger drug.
Inej and Kaz were talking at the base of the boat. They turned to them, Inej walked over to her, “How are you doing?”
Jude glanced over at Cardan, who answered for her, “She’s doing okay. As well as she can be.”
Inej placed her hands on her hips, “Are we back to you speaking for her? I asked the Queen.”
Jude felt the tears welling up in her eyes again. It wasn’t like her. She didn’t cry. It was fine around Cardan—she had worked up to be okay with that. But around people she didn’t know in public.
She didn’t want them to know how weak she was. She couldn’t let them have that. It was fine if they thought she was weak when it was a lie. But when it was the truth…it hurt.
Because weakness hurt.
She had years of practice, but she had freed herself from her mortal weakness. But even mithridatism and a geas couldn’t save her from this ailment.
She looked up at Cardan again, and shook her head. Cardan turned to Inej, “And I answered for her. You know I am not a bad person, I am not a controlling king. Jude is not a weak mortal. She is stronger than me. We are husband and wife, do I need more justification?
Inej narrowed her eyes, but when she glanced over at Jude it seemed like she noticed something in her eyes. She backed off, “I’m glad you are doing better. If you need anything, I’m here for you.”
Jude nodded her gratitude.
Kaz stepped forward, “We need to talk about everything going on with these attackers. I want to know what Elfhame can bring to the table.”
Inej turned to him, her hand brushing his arm, “How about we rest and then figure everything out. The Elfhame army was coming behind us after they confirmed the situation. We will prepare more when they get here.”
Kaz gave a short nod, “Fine.” He glanced over at Cardan and then Jude, suspicion in his gaze. He refrained from any questions and turned away from them, heading back in the direction of the Slat.
Jude and Cardan followed behind him, but when they reached their destination, they headed straight for their room.
Jude immediately started to fill up a bath. She needed to get the blood off her neck, and the feeling of Eryndor’s touch off her skin.
Cardan came up behind her right before she started to undress. He kept a small distance, but she spun around to place her arms around his neck and look up at him.
She wanted to say so many things.
He was worried. She could see it in his eyes. She didn’t want him to worry.
Cardan smirked, “Are you going to invite me into your bath?”
She breathed an internal sigh of relief. He wasn’t going to coddle her. Jude reached for his shirt and began to slowly unbutton it. Glancing up at him, she gave him her own smirk as she leaned in to kiss his neck.
His back arched slightly as his breathing increased. She nipped his skin slightly before pulling away. She turned and he began to help her out of her top that Tatterfell had tied tightly that morning. His fingers dragged down her back, kneading into places he seemed to know had knots.
She had doubted him. She thought they were built off of nothing, but maybe that wasn’t true. Maybe there was more to them than she had realized. Because Cardan seemed to understand her without words, and Jude was starting to realize how much that meant as a girl whose words were never believed.
They still needed to talk over things—or write things, but for the pressure they were under at the moment, a little peace and security was perfect.
---Inej---
“He could have drowned you,” Kaz gritted out, clearly trying to keep his tone as quiet as possible. As soon as Jude and Cardan had gone to their room, Kaz had forced them into an argument.
Inej stepped toward him, “And that is why we are going to fight him. Not the HIgh King and Queen of Elfhame.”
Kaz collapsed into his seat, “Inej, we don’t have the resources to fight this. I don’t have the resources.”
“What do you mean? You were able to buy me a ship, you should have money for a fight.”
Kaz glanced down, his eyes very pointedly not meeting hers.
“Kaz?” Inej leaned forward, “What did you do?”
“You deserved your dreams,” He mumbled out, she knew he would never have admitted that to anyone else.
Inej was still mad, “I’m not worth that! You need to be able to keep your job because you can keep places like the menagerie from being opened.”
Kaz sighed. “Don’t tell me I’m not allowed to spoil. Don’t tell me you do not deserve this.”
She softened to his words, he had been there for a lot of her struggle, but he had also missed a lot. She knew he was trying to make up for it. “I’m staying for longer once all of this is sorted out. I’m not letting your businesses go under.”
Kaz knew she wouldn’t back down once she made a decision, “Fine.”
Her face softened into a smile, and she reached for his hand. He snapped it away from her, only to pull off the glove and lace their fingers together with their skin actually touching.
---Jude---
She had spent a long night trying to communicate with Cardan, before deciding she was too tired and going to sleep.
When they woke up, it was eerily silent. For as long as they had been in Ketterdam, there was always some sort of noise, but it was completely quiet. Jude and Cardan headed up to Kaz’s room, and banged on the door, but there was no answer.
Cardan grabbed some lock picks that the Roach had given to him, and got to work. It seemed like a complicated lock, but eventually he got it open.
When they walked inside, they found Kaz frozen at his desk. His eyes looked out blankly, and the sheen of glamour lay in his look.
“Eryndor,” Cardan breathed out. “We need to get to the docks.”
Jude spun and ran out the door, with Cardan at her heels. As they ran towards their destination, there were humans headed in the same direction. They were moving at a glacial pace, but eventually they would reach their destination. Jude didn’t want them to meet whatever fate laid out for them.
She skidded to a stop when she reached the docks. Eryndor was standing looking around him, pride in his smile. His eyes caught hers, and he froze.
His head cocked to the side as he moved towards her. Cardan was about to step in front of her, but she needed to stay strong. She wasn’t going to back down.
Eryndor grabbed her neck again and Jude flinched. He smirked, but there was still confusion in his expression as his fingers fell down to her collarbone, “Where are your rowan berries?”
Jude shrugged.
“I told the sirens not to control you before, so we could talk. But you should be under this spell.” His fingers tightened around her shoulder, “You should be mine.”
Cardan spoke for her, “You will find that the Queen of Elfhame is no mere mortal. She will not succumb to a lesser faerie’s commands.”
“But she’ll succumb to yours?” Eryndor raised his eyes to look at the King.
Cardan laughed, “That doesn’t seem like your concern.”
Eryndor glared at him, “No matter. Your Queen can’t speak, and she is still terrified of what I can do.”
He directed his attention back to Jude, raising his finger to drag it down Jude’s face, “Balekin got to kiss you. I’ve always wanted to kiss a mortal.”
Cardan moved to step forward at this, but mortals in the throng of glamour grabbed him before they could. He yelled out, but it was useless.
Jude wanted to move, but her legs felt glued to the ground.
Eryndor grabbed her chin, and pulled her close, “Now kiss me. Not as if I were your husband, but if I were someone you loved.”
Jude pulled her face back in indignation. Eryndor just chuckled. He knew exactly where to hit. Places she didn’t even know existed.
He leaned in closer toward her, but Cardan let out a lie and Jude forced her arms to push Eryndor back, “No.” The word was cracked and broken, and mostly air. It took everything she had to push it back.
“No?” Eryndor gritted his teeth, still backing away. His body rippled with anger. “I will rule this mortal world. And then I will come for your kingdom. No one will ever be able to say no to me.”
Jude’s face twisted in anger. Stepping as far away as she could from Eryndor.
He began to stalk towards her until he froze.
And fell.
A knife sticking out of his head.
Jude’s hands were empty. She didn’t know where it had come from.
All the humans were under the glamour’s spell.
A shadow dropped down behind her, and Jude spun.
Inej.
“One of your spies told me about rowan berries when I was waiting for you.” She reached into her shirt, and a string of the thing that could protect a human from glamour lay in her hands.
Jude grabbed Inej and pulled her into a tight hug. The girl laughed as she put her own arms around Jude. The noise was like bells and pureness that didn’t belong in the situation. But it was what she needed.
Inej didn’t stop there, she headed towards the docks, “Your ruler is dead! Bow to your King and Queen and leave this city in peace!”
The selkies emerged from the water, their song slowly fading away. Cardan was freed from the grip the glamoured humans had on him. Immediately, he pulled Jude into another hug.
He only pulled away when the Selkie’s began to fall to their knees, many calling out for forgiveness.
Cardan stepped forward, standing straight and channeling the full power of Elfhame, “You will go pledge your allegiance back to Nicasia, and you will help her with any unease in the Undersea.”
They began to promise profusely. Without Eryndor, they seemed to remember Cardan’s power, the power to raise an entire island out of their kingdom.
Cardan waved a hand, lazy and cruel, and they turned and jumped into the water.
When they were gone, Cardan turned back to her, “You spoke.”
She nodded slowly, trying to force more words out. Nothing came out.
Inej moved over to them, “I would guess she just needs to rest her vocal cords and they will repair.”
Cardan’s head bobbed in agreement, “We will consult with our healers as well.”
Inej smiled, “I will take you directly back to Elfhame, if you wish.”
Cardan glanced over Jude, “I would like to talk more to Kaz, as I’m sure Jude would. But I think it’s time for us to leave. But you are always welcome to visit. We will send missives when we are sure everything is safe.”
“I will be sure to let him know.” Then the Wraith bowed. Jude’s eyes widened. “I may only be a human, not in your jurisdiction, but I respect what you have done for us.”
Jude smiled slightly, mouthing Anytime.
Inej, thankfully, understood her, and pulled Jude into yet another hug. “Now, let’s get you two home.”
------------
The trip was quick, and soon Inej was pulling Jude into a final hug, and sending her down to the Elfhame guards waiting for them. They had already gotten the order to recall the soldiers that had been sent.
Cardan directed Jude to a carriage that brought them back to the castle. He immediately brought her to the Bomb, who gave the same diagnosis Inej had given.
Jude just needed to rest.
It wasn’t something that she wanted to do, but maybe she needed it. Maybe she had been working so hard that she hadn’t let herself process.
Eryndor would have had no power, if she had come to terms with what happened in the Undersea instead of shoving it down.
So she vowed to communicate better with Cardan when she had her voice, and work through what was going on in her head while she waited to heal.