by K. M. Shea
The magic stored in the dagger exploded, blowing the smoke that made up the shadow across the lobby.
The creature flopped to the ground, then the rest of its body lost its definition as the shadowy-smoke dissipated and it disappeared altogether.
“Oh,” Leila said. “Yeah, that’ll work.”
Chase came shooting out of the theater, the pixie hovering over his shoulder. When he saw the creatures he ran toward the chaos.
“Now!” Dusk shouted.
The Night Court fae in the lobby all threw the little glowing orbs commonly used to light up rooms at the remaining monster.
The orbs that landed in the snake lit up its innards. Everywhere the light touched, the monster’s smoky flesh faded away.
Only half gone, the snake swung around to face Dusk and the others.
“Oh no you don’t.” Leila’s eyes glowed purple, and with her jaw clenched, she forged another ward that protected her people.
When did she get this skilled at wards? I saw her practice, but it normally takes more than one fae to keep barriers like this going.
“Again!” Dawn yelled as she threw her own orb.
Since all fae were capable of the low-level spell, the lobby was soon bathed in the glowing light cast by every member of the Night Court present as they pummeled the creature.
The snake tried to strike at Leila again—ramming her shield.
But she held out—though I could see her muscles were shaking.
I retrieved my dagger just as the fae finished off the second monster.
Indigo made the killing blow. She crept around the edge of Leila’s shield and tossed an orb of light that was the size of her head at the monster.
The snake dissipated, leaving no evidence of the monsters behind.
I cut off my magical connection to my sword, instantly shrinking it back into a stowable size. I tucked it back in my boot and sheathed my dagger into my bracer as I looked around the lobby.
The wreckage wasn’t as bad as I had expected.
The monsters had slithered through the front doors and knocked over a stand filled with pamphlets that were strewed across the theater’s sticky carpet, but it seemed that they hadn’t caused any damage to the building—or to the theater’s other customers.
I scanned the area, looking for anything—or anyone—unusual.
Chase was the better investigator—with his nose and his men he was able to cover more ground and at a more thorough pace. I merely killed things. But it had occurred to me that the person who’d hired me for the original contract on Leila might still be trying to kill her.
It seemed odd—why be halfhearted about it?
Regardless, I couldn’t tell Leila—or her people—anything about my contract due to the geas on me, but I could confirm my own suspicions.
Or I would have liked to, but since only creatures of shadow and smoke had attacked us—and they disappeared, leaving behind no evidence—it was proving to be difficult to suss out the perpetrator.
I stopped scanning when I saw Lady Chrysanthe.
She was standing by the soda dispensers. Though her expression was haughty and her chin was slightly tilted up, she was wringing her hands and her eyes were fastened on Leila.
Is she concerned for Leila? She had a similar expression at the supernatural market, too.
Mulling over the implications, I rejoined Leila.
Chrysanthe did not seem like a threat. I didn’t really care what she was up to—or how she felt. But I did want to see how Leila was handling this latest attempt on her life.
Chase was already at her side, barking into his earpiece. “Sweep the area—Team Gloom, I want you checking on the theaters—turn on the lights if you have to.”
Leila was speaking with Indigo, her hands clasped together tightly enough to make her fingers white. “—thank you, Indigo. Though I would have been happier if you stayed behind the barrier.”
“I haven’t the arm—or the aim—to throw anything over a wall like that.” Indigo frowned up at Leila. “Are you okay?”
“Yep. It’s fine,” Leila said.
“Do you need anything?”
Leila gave a gurgle of laughter. “No. If we could just figure out which of those nutcase monarchs is doing this…” She sighed, then forced herself to smile when she saw me.
“Do you want a coffee?” Indigo asked.
Shocked, Leila gaped at her friend. When she recovered, her smile held a hint of its usual sparkle. “A coffee would be great. Thanks, Indigo. And thanks, Rigel, for taking out that first snake.” She and Indigo turned to me.
I shrugged.
They stared at me, clearly expecting words, but I wasn’t going to say anything.
I wasn’t wholly certain how I felt about Leila.
She amused me, and I’d come to appreciate the chaotic but clever way she lived her life. She’d made more progress with our Court than I thought possible. I married her because I’d been concerned she’d be our unending, but—as today had proven—she’d turned into a rally point for us fae.
But it wasn’t her success in ending the game of power in the Night Court that had me seeing her differently—and it wasn’t her friendly personality. I looked at her differently from how I did Dion, after all.
There was something else there—and whatever it was, it drove me to protect her without thinking. I wasn’t sure how I liked that. I had lived my life with rigid control. It would be dangerous to lose that.
“So, is it just me, or can you teleport?” Leila asked, apparently having decided to nudge the conversation along.
Indigo looked like she was about to march off to order that coffee, but she stopped at that question. “What?”
Leila took a step closer to me, and we almost brushed arms when I fixed one of my bracers. “Yeah, Rigel can teleport—or something like that. I thought it was just my slow human eyes, but today I saw him disappear in the shadows and pop out behind the snakes.”
“Teleporting is impossible magic,” Indigo said. “It can only be done by creatures—like your night mares.”
“Then what is it that you do, Rigel?” Leila and Indigo looked expectantly at me.
I shrugged. Everyone who hired me knew what I was capable of. There was no harm in telling them as I wasn’t trying to hide my abilities.
“Shadow jumping,” I said. “It’s my natural magic.”
Leila’s purple eyes widened in interest. “You can jump from shadow to shadow?”
“For short distances, yes,” I said. “It has to be a shadow in my immediate surroundings.”
“No jumping to a mountain shadow that’s miles away—got it,” Leila said.
Not knowing any better, Leila accepted my magic. Indigo—being raised in the Night Court—had a better idea just how rare and deadly that particular strain of magic could be.
She stared at me, her eyes slightly magnified by the lenses of her glasses.
I met her gaze, and she hurriedly looked away.
She cleared her throat, then did her best to cheerfully smile at Leila. “I better go rustle up a coffee for you.”
“Thanks, Indigo,” Leila said. “Oh—and—”
“Ahem.”
Indigo and Leila turned to Lady Chrysanthe.
She had positioned herself between the pair—notably as far away as she could get from me while still being part of the circle—and held her folded hands at her waist.
“Good afternoon, Queen Leila. Companion Indigo,” she said.
I had noticed Lady Chrysanthe approaching us from the corner of my eye, but I didn’t think she’d actually speak up—that wasn’t the style of most fae nobles. They were too important to make the first move.
“Hello…Lady Chrysanthe,” Leila slowly said.
“You appear to be uninjured,” Lady Chrysanthe said.
“Yes. Everyone moved so fast, no one was hurt. Though I don’t know if the theater is ever going to let us rent from them again.” Leila laughed, trailing off when no
one joined her.
“I see.” Lady Chrysanthe nodded slightly. Eventually she peered in the direction of the concession stands, but she didn’t move on.
Leila looked first to Indigo—who discreetly shrugged—then me.
I blinked back at her. Cutting off political maneuvers and nonsense is your domain. You’re alone on this one.
“Are you okay, Lady Chrysanthe?” Leila finally asked.
“Of course.” Lady Chrysanthe frowned at her. “As a daughter of a noble house I could never be injured in such a distasteful scramble.”
Lelia opened her mouth and flicked up a finger, her expression alone showing she was going to remind Lady Chrysanthe of the plot her “friend,” Lord Myron, had cooked up against her that nearly resulted in her being killed. She must have thought better of it, though, because she tilted her head, then dropped her hand.
“I’m glad you are unhurt,” Lady Chrysanthe abruptly said. “I was very worried for you.”
It couldn’t have been a lie—she was fae, after all. But the line came out so canned-sounding it was still unbelievable.
Maybe she’s just twisting words? But I can’t feel any animosity coming off her. She really appears relieved—she’s not holding any specific guarding pattern; her muscles aren’t even tensed.
“Thank you, Lady Chrysanthe,” Leila said.
Lady Chrysanthe nodded to her, and as abruptly as she had arrived, she left—her chin high and her movements graceful.
“What is up with her?” Leila waited until the fae lady was on the other side of the lobby before she asked. “Was it just me, or was that weird?”
“She’s an odd one,” Indigo said. “But I don’t think it’s an act.”
Leila snorted. “How can it not be an act? She hated my guts just a few weeks ago.” She flicked her eyes up to me. “What do you think, Rigel?”
Do I want to tell her? This is the sort of thing I don’t like getting involved in.
Her eyes were bright with curiosity as she peered up at me, and in the fight with the snakes some of her hair had slipped from its elaborate braid, giving her a slightly disheveled look. It was strangely disarming and made a foreign emotion needle my chest.
I can comfortably blame her appearance for this moment of leniency.
“She no longer appears to hold any animosity for you,” I said.
Leila speculatively watched the lady in question. “I suppose, fae can change alliances in the blink of an eye.”
“I don’t think she’s doing it for political reasons,” Indigo said.
“What makes you say that?” Leila asked.
Realizing we were both staring at her, Indigo blushed slightly. “It’s, it’s the way she’s going about this. She lacks tact and is being kind of awkward. If this were some plan of hers it would be a lot smoother. And it’s just…” She trailed off and shook her head.
“We’ll keep an eye on her,” Leila said. “But I agree with you guys—I don’t think she’s got any tricks up her sleeves. But that almost makes me more worried.” She threw her shoulders back. “Wish me luck. I’m going to go do some PR until I get my coffee.”
“PR?” Indigo asked.
Leila nodded to the humans. “If we ever want to be invited back here, I need to make sure the humans aren’t upset about this. I’ll chat with the movie attendees for a bit and offer to pay for all the damages to the theater once they get a manager down here. Hopefully that won’t set my budget back too badly.”
“In that case, I’ll go get that coffee for you,” Indigo said.
“Thanks, Indigo.” Leila waved to her companion, then turned her hopeful eyes on me. “I don’t suppose you feel like doing PR with me?”
“No.”
She mashed her lips together, and for a moment I thought she might press it.
Try it. I’m not going to let myself be swayed by your eyes for a second time tonight.
Abruptly she sighed, and the fight went out of her. “Yeah, I don’t blame you.” She patted my arm as she passed. “But thank you for killing one of those snakes. And just so you know, I’m totally going to brag about you to all the monarchs next time we see them!”
She was smiling, but it didn’t feel true.
For a moment, I argued with myself—I was not a lenient person, and I’d already volunteered more than I normally would have on any given night.
But I’ve come to like her. That’s a rare thing—rare enough that she’s a special existence. No one from the Night Court is going to see me as soft for playing along with her, anyway.
Reluctantly, I said, “If you mention my abs to them, I’m going to skip the next three Court parties.”
Leila laughed, and her smile grew just as I wanted it to. “You drive a hard bargain, Consort. I’ll see what I can do!”
“You could just not mention my abs—how difficult would that be?”
“I suppose you’re right. Your abs are only one of your many charms.” She winked at me, then called out in a louder, attention-grabbing voice that made everyone around us look. “I shall miss you dearly, my love! I count the moments until I get to return to you!”
The fae around us shivered, while the humans “aww”-ed and put on sappy expressions.
Leila grinned deviously at me, then turned to the humans. “I’m sorry about all of this—”
I inhaled and exhaled a little stronger than usual—which is about as expressive as I get since body language can easily be used against you.
She is an unusual queen. But somehow—with all of her strange lies, sharp intellect, and unusual manners, she’s managed to fortify the Night Court. One has to respect her.
She laughed at something one of the humans said, and I fought the very foreign urge to smile.
But respect is all I can offer, I reminded myself. Anything more is too dangerous.
Chapter Thirteen
Leila
Blue Moon jumped a fallen log—which was a bit of fun I could have done without, as I almost got flung onto his neck.
“Hey, guys, please don’t overestimate my riding skills,” I called to the herd of night mares that swarmed around me. “I didn’t even get a full year of jumping lessons, so if we could not jump that would be great!”
Blue Moon lined himself up with another fallen tree—they were everywhere in the barely functioning Night Realm—and jumped again.
“Hey!” I yelped after all four of his feet were on the ground and I’d managed to peel myself off his neck. “What did I just say?”
Twilight—who still looked sickly and underweight even though I’d been pouring every kind of food supplement I could find into his grain at night—loosened a typical night mare call that sounded like glass breaking. Due to the unusual musical tone to it, I suspected he was snickering at me.
“You guys are mean,” I grumbled.
Comet pranced next to Blue Moon and threw her head.
“Yeah, yeah, whatever.” I tried a dramatic sigh, but in the end I grinned at my deadly herd.
I’d just finished another magic lesson with Lord Linus—who was still proving to be a surprisingly skilled instructor—and was taking a few minutes for an early morning ride. Which was sort of disconcerting considering we were cantering around in the Night Realm where it was always night.
The alarm on my cellphone went off, and I gently tugged on the reins.
Blue Moon obediently slowed from a canter to a trot, and then a walk.
I let the reins dangle loosely from one hand as I yanked my cellphone from the front pocket of my light sweater. “Time to call Chase,” I announced to my night mares as I pressed speed dial.
That was part of the bargain: I was free to ride alone as long as I called him every fifteen minutes for a check in. The Night Realm was the only space Chase was willing to let me walk around without an escort.
I think he figured anything stupid enough to try to attack me here would get torn to pieces by the night mares, shades, and glooms.
Which was fa
ir enough. Even the wild versions of my pets had displayed such a positive interest in me that I was fairly sure I was safe. I mean, I kind of doubted much could get past all my pets anyway, much less their wild counterparts.
I pressed my heels down in the saddle stirrups and half raised myself out of the saddle, peering around as I listened to the ringing line.
Sure enough, several wild glooms had come out to investigate us, their eyes glowing in the dim light. When I waved to them they distinctly bowed their heads, then slunk off.
One of the so-homely-they’re-almost-cute pigeon-raccoon-griffins narrowly avoided flying into Solstice’s flank. Its tiny orange pigeon front feet and racoon back paws scraped the top of Solistice’s rear before it got some more air and flew higher.
There are some weird parts about being queen—a fae queen—that I will never get used to.
The line clicked when Chase picked up. “What’s your position?” he asked.
“Uhhh, on Blue Moon’s back?” I peered around, squinting in the darkness. My eyes had adjusted, but the night mares had way better night vision than I did. “I can see the barrier over the tree tops, and we rode due east from the castle.”
“Good. Any concerns?”
“Nope. Unless you count dive-bombing pigeon-raccoon-griffins—do you think I should call them piffins, or piggins?”
“I have heard some of the guards refer to them as trash griffins,” Chase said.
“Yuck, I’m not referring to them as trash!”
“Because you intend to turn them into pets?”
“I don’t know. They puke too much for me to really want to bring them inside the mansion.”
“I see. Any other concerns?”
“Nah. My lesson went well, all in all I’m pretty psyched. Another fifteen minutes, and the night mares and I will come on back.”
“Excellent,” Chase said. “I’ll have a team waiting for—”
A rumbling noise rolled over the land—it was loud, like crashing rocks.
