by A. K. Koonce
The Iron Fae
Copyright 2020 A.K. Koonce & Rebecca Grey
All Rights Reserved
Editing by Red Line Editing
Cover Art by Killer Book Covers
No portion of this book may be reproduced in any form without express written permission from the author. Any unauthorized use of this material is prohibited.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events or locales are entirely coincidence.
Created with Vellum
Contents
1. A Sex Toy Ruse
2. Rag Doll
3. Nearly Naked and Very Afraid
4. Damp Panties
5. I’m Not High, You Are
6. Vote Briar Anders
7. Slippery Slope
8. The Ganush Mountains
9. Wishing Spirit
10. Cavern Camping
11. Zeve
12. Gullible
13. Spellbound
14. I Won’t Say I’m In Love
15. Small Talk About Big Things
16. Wicked Bitch
17. Chains and Whips Don’t Always Excite Me
18. Rated R
19. Lost
Also by A.K. Koonce
Also by Rebecca Grey
About A.K. Koonce
About Rebecca Grey
One
A Sex Toy Ruse
I’m safe.
Safety is the goal right now, but it doesn’t feel comforting when I’m walking out on Lincoln, walking away from Jase. I no longer have a safety net to fall on, it’s just me.
Lincoln let me go. Lincoln arranged it.
My heart sinks further into my twisted stomach, filling it with confusing and messy emotions.
I shouldn’t have left.
I should have fought.
I should have—
My long fingers push through my hair in a rush and I try to focus as my attention drifts up to the bright eyes of the Prince of the Iron Court. The castle doors are close enough to touch. Just behind them is an uncertain future and a last resort sort of welcome.
But Kai doesn’t reach for the doors. My train wreck appearance is captivating all of his attention.
“Mother despises untidiness,” he murmurs as he continues picking through my locks like a mother monkey fussing over its little one.
I’ve never met his mother, Lincoln’s mother. I wonder if he looks like her. Will her face be familiar? Will she catch the smell of her son still clinging to my skin from our hungry good-bye?
“Am I going to meet her?” I ask, my voice lost on the passing breeze.
Kai’s touch softens. After a heartbeat, he grazes the sides of my cheeks and grips my shoulders. His golden gaze settles on me with pity.
I don’t want to be pitied.
“No. Most certainly not, if we can avoid it.”
I nod, wringing my hands together in front of me. I don’t have the strength to return his gaze or the want to witness how sorry he may or may not feel for me. It’s doubtful that queens often receive pity so I might as well get used to it now.
Darkness shrouds the castle, the only light coming from the nearness of the moon and the sparkle of the stars. Bugs hiss in the trees. Animals cooing and calling to one another off in the forest. A howl erupts from the edge of the woods, stark silver eyes watching us from the brush. My body jumps from its mere proximity and the volume of which it calls out.
“I wish I could say it’s safer inside,” Kai chuckles.
Safe. Lincoln said this would be safe.
Nothing is truly safe when the ruling queen wants you dead.
“Mother can be quite the handful which is why we mustn’t tell her what or whom you are yet. I’ll keep you away but if anybody asks, I’ve brought you here from the human world as my guest,” Kai continues. His firm grasp drops from my shoulders and he reaches for the doors.
“Am I staying in the Library? In the pocket world?”
“I’ve arranged for you to have your own guest suite. My very human guest. Rowan should have it ready now.” He hovers with his hand touching the door, unworried about the beasts that linger on the edge of the woods that border the castle.
My attention drifts to the fringe of their property. No guards. No high walls. It’s all a testament to their powers. They don’t need the extra security because no one would dare defy them.
Another howl pierces the air. I look back into the silver gaze that watches us. Between blinks, a few more pairs of eyes appear. Still, I watch back. No part of me feels intimidated any longer. Perhaps it’s the deflating apathy and disassociation consuming me that leaves little room for anything else.
“When the tides of the ocean rise to drown out the beaches of your life you have a few choices you can make. Recede and hide from the waters till the tide lowers, drown in the waters, or build a boat and float,” Kai whispers.
Lincoln hates his stupid metaphors. My first thought. I don’t mind them. My second.
“Maybe I should opt for option number four.” I straighten my slumped shoulders.
“I didn’t give you four options.” A blatant and brilliant smile lifts his cheeks.
“I’m making a fourth option.”
“And…?”
“And maybe I’ll be the sun. Maybe I’ll shine so bright, so hot, so persistently that my heat will evaporate what was meant to drown the beaches.” It’s my own shameful attempt at a metaphor. Stupid, I know. But it feels right in this moment. It feels like something Kai will understand.
His tongue runs over his white teeth and his smile returns more devilish than moments before. “That’s my girl.” Flat against the iron doors, he presses his palm and the door eases open.
No light greets us in the long empty hallway. Not a single book either. I sigh, flooded with relief. Not the pocket realm. I’m not trapped.
Underneath Kai’s icy blonde ponytail I can see the ends of his iron crescent tattoo on the base of his neck peek out. His steps make no sound as he moves but mine are clumsy, annoyingly human, and embarrassingly loud as they echo. Still no guards.
Unlike the pocket realm, these halls are made of black painted stone. Or maybe they are not painted… but charred. The occasional window is tinted purple, casting its glow onto the black and white checkered tiles. Kai turns the corner and the long stretch of hall ends in a curtained balcony. What sort of view would I have if I stood at its ledge?
A shadowed figure slinks out in front of us, all curves and thin pointed features. For two tense seconds I’m worried it’s their mother. But the low snickering laugh that hisses from her lips instantly suggests otherwise.
“Violet,” Kai says bitterly. “Why? Why must you always hide in the shadows like some sinister feline?”
“The Mortal Queen,” She half seethes, half sings. “I knew Rowan was darting around the halls like he had a secret to hide. What are we telling Mother?”
“We weren’t going to tell Mother anything.”
“You weren’t going to tell me anything either but if I could figure out that the two of you idiots are prancing around the castle trying to hide the object of Cordelia’s obsession then I’m sure Mother can too.”
Kai lifts his chin. His hands tremble at his side and he reaches into his pocket, no doubt stroking the bottle of Reminints.
I step around his side, eyeing the Princ
ess. She eyes me back. Her slender body is fitted with the slip of a sheer grey dress. Her nipples and bikini area are only covered by the tiniest pieces of black fabric underneath. My attention lingers too long. Not on the perfection that is the Princess’s form but on the strange idea that this woman’s vagina is near nonexistent. If I wore that, one of my lady lips would we waving out the side of those panties. I didn’t know coochies that small existed. I suppose in this perfect Fae world they do.
Damn, I want a Fae vagina.
Violet hums and places her hands on her hips. “Human girl. Mortal Queen. What are we doing with you?”
Hide me. Train me. Help me release my powers. Teach me about your family. An endless list comes quickly to mind. My lips part to respond, to let her know that I haven’t a clue where to start. But Kai jumps in.
“Cordelia found a seer who can delve into the darkest parts of her mind.”
Violet’s eyebrows reach for her hairline. “You mean into Lincoln’s mind.”
“Right.”
“She’s here to protect Lincoln.” She drops her arms, spinning on her heel. “Why didn’t you just say that?”
“She’s here to protect her too. If Cordelia found out exactly who she was she’d be next up on the public chopping block.” Kai starts down the hall again after his sister.
“Don’t you think she’ll put two and two together now that I’m not around at all?” I interject.
“Obviously. But she wouldn’t dare think to come for you here. To suggest that we have you at all would be an utter insult.”
“Plus, Mother would never knowingly allow you.” Violet’s bare feet are but a whisper against the floor. It feels purposeful, as if she’s making herself less of what she is so that I would feel less unsteady. Surprising considering how unnerving she can be. “What are we telling her?”
“I found Briar on a trip to the human world. She… intrigues me.”
“Ha,” Violet coughs. “How does it feel to be passed off to our Mother as Kai’s human play thing? Don’t let Lincoln know, I doubt he would enjoy the thought.”
“Play thing,” I say slowly. A puppet on his string?
“Fae don’t bring humans here for fun unless it’s for sexual favors,” she continues, “Don’t get caught by Mommy or she might make you prove that’s why you are here.”
My next breath is caught in my lungs. I practically choke on it.
“Don’t say that to her,” Kai coos.
“It’s true.” She stops, pointing a pointed finger toward the door. “I’m assuming this room that Rowan thoroughly had readied is for the girl?”
Both their faces, schooled into cool confidence turn to me. A soft wind blows the curtains from the balcony that is near enough now I could run to it and throw myself over the edge without them even registering it. It feels like my only moment to run. Even if the two of them look at me as if I’m more prey than predator, I have to quell those anxious thoughts.
Through the split in the curtain the moon casts its light across the floor. The glow of it arcs against the tile reaching the bottom of the guest suite’s door. Like a sign. Or like what I wish was a sign that entering this room, so far away from Lincoln, is still the right thing to do.
“This is her room.” Kai reaches for the doorknob.
“I’ll let you two have your alone time,” she purrs, stealing away back into the shadows. My blurry human eyes can’t pick out her form as soon as she recedes, leaving me with the unnerving feeling of being watched by the unseen.
The door opens softly, Kai’s hand pressing to the small of my back to guide me inside. There is a warmth to the room, a coziness that tingles over my skin as I enter. Just what exactly is the Fae magic inside this room meant to do?
With a flick of his iron stained fingers, Kai flips the lights on. The room isn’t so much of a guest suite as it is a whole home by itself. A sparkling chandelier dripping in lavender colored pendants hangs centered over a small four chair table that’s polished to an immaculate shine. Bookshelves are set inside the walls in two slim pentagons bordered by the same metal as the rest of the high-pitched ceilings. The large window directly in front of us is tinted much the same as the rest, deep royal purple. I can hardly make out the twinkle of the stars on the other side.
I step around the table, running my fingers over the high-backed chairs and brushing the floral velvet material of the cushions. A fireplace burns ever so slightly where the room recesses down a single step. The black pelt of some large unrecognizable animal is laid down on the checkered floor. Surrounding that are two long couches, decorated with round metallic pillows that reflect the warmth of the light. A love seat sits between the couches catching the majority of the fire’s out put, another fur pelt strung across its back.
Stepping down into the living space, I look behind it. Three large pointed windows line the back wall. A long, large bed covered in the same pelts and quilts and sparkling metallic or velvet fabrics waits. Two sconces on the walls between the windows glow around it lighting up a pair of side tables.
To the left there are two doors. I stare at them.
“Bathroom and closet,” Kai says softly, still standing behind me at the door. The door is closed and his back is pressed against it but I didn’t even hear it shut.
“Oh,” I whisper, walking up to brush my finger against the bed frame. It’s metal that curls into intricate designs at the head and foot of the bed. I half expect the touch to burn or instantly blister but the bed is not iron. Thankfully.
“The closet is empty, but I’ll arrange for that to be amended tomorrow.”
Biting my lip, I sit on the edge of the mattress. Clipped to either side of the headboard, dangles two sets of… handcuffs. I narrow my gaze on them before turning to Kai. His face remains neutral but the tips of his ears burn.
He clears his throat, pulling out the Reminints and slipping a petal to his tongue. “This, uh, is typically, um, for my guests.”
“You often handcuff them?” I half way smile.
He blinks. “Yes. If they are willing.”
“So… I’m your… sex guest?”
“No. But yes,” he says all too quickly, “It’s just a ruse.”
My eyelids feel heavy, stinging in the way that suggests that I’ve cried, even though no tears have left my eyes. I don’t have time to cry over my situation or to ponder what’s between me and Lincoln. Not today. Maybe tomorrow. Maybe next week. Who knows how long I’ll be a guest of the Iron Court for?
“Why do we have to lie to your mother?”
Kai takes a tentative step forward, then shakes his head as if rethinking and steps back once again. “May I join you?” he finally asks.
“Yeah.”
“Yeah.” He mimics my plain accent, taking away from his beautifully smooth one. “That sounds so… churlish.”
“You forget I wasn’t raised as royalty.” I run my fingers through the fur underneath me.
Quietly, with the tails of his fine suit jacket trailing behind him, he walks through the living space and up to the bed. He stops with many feet still between us, examining me before he looks over the room.
“Our Mother does not take kindly to Shadow Fae. She has little love for Lincoln, or patience for that matter. As a human, full blooded and ignorant, you’re welcome for play. It’s quite common amongst royalty to take in human subs. Why else do you think so many Shadow Fae exist?”
I swallow. So that’s the kind of partner Kai is. Though, I try not to think too hard on it, I glance back at the handcuffs then down to the foot of the bed where I find two more.
“My father, though, he is of lesser power than Mother, the weight of the court’s decisions do not fall on him. He has found love in his heart for Lincoln, a child that is not even his.”
“He seemed nice enough.” I think back to our brief encounter in the pocket realm.
“Yes, I suppose.” Kai’s eyes fall to near slits, his shoulders relaxing as he breathes out the effects of the Re
minints.
“Will Violet say anything?”
He looks back up to me, his face riddled with confusion as if he forgot I was even in the room at all. “No. No, most certainly not. However, it would be naïve of us to assume that she won’t use the ruse to her advantage or for her entertainment.” Kai sways on his feet for a moment before he perks up. “I’ll leave you for some rest. Do you need anything before I go? I could call for whatever you’d like. As my guest my offerings to you will not be hindered and you’ll find yourself without want or need any longer.”
“I…no. I’m okay.”
He stares. “You don’t feel safe?”
My fingers curl into my palm. It’s not that I don’t feel safe it’s just that this entire new realm is the unknown.
“I’ll be okay. I’m just nervous.”
His shining shoes drag forward, his head tilted as he examines my facial expression. With now steady hands he reaches behind him pulling something from the back of his pants. As he brings it to the light, I realize it’s a small dagger. He tosses the blade in the air, perfectly balancing the point in his fingertips as he offers me the hilt. Purple stones and black stones alike shine along the handle.
“For you, to ease some of your worry.” He lets me delicately take it from him. I balance it in my palms. Kai turns toward the door walking a few steps before he pauses and looks back at me.
I pull my gaze from the weapon, cold and hard in my grasp.
“Please, don’t use it on me.” His face goes blank. “I’m trusting you as you must trust me.”
Two
Rag Doll
The hilt of the blade still rests in my palm. Every stone buried in the magnificent weapon’s metal is also pressed into my skin, leaving behind their marks. Still, I can’t bring myself to release my tight hold. It’s my only defense.
