by Kristie Cook
“You think about it,” Maeve said, slipping her arm through mine and steering me back out of the gardens. “Just do not take too long. Fintan will return soon, and then it may be too late. In the meantime, I will see if I can reach Dorian.”
What she’d thrown at me had me reeling nearly as hard as the memories that were returning, and I’d almost forgotten about my epiphany and the need to speak with Dorian. Supposedly, the curse that had put Brielle and me into a coma when we were sixteen—the one that suppressed our powers just when we’d come into them and turned our hair black—was cast by a Daemoni warlock. Dorian would know if this were true or if that was a cover story for the time we’d spent imprisoned at the Vault. And if the latter were the case, why? Why would our parents want our memories erased and our powers suppressed? I mean, our time at the Vault was truly awful, but we’d survived, and we were stronger for it. Or maybe they weren’t a part of that. Maybe they didn’t know either.
Damn it! My thoughts were all over the place. Frustration was quickly growing into anger, and all I wanted was to get out of this damn palace and be free. To talk to my parents and find out what really happened in the past—and know what to do for our futures. Although, if they’d done such a horrible thing to Brielle and me, maybe it was just as well I didn’t know where they were because I might have the urge to strangle them. The thought made the beast inside lift her head.
The fastest route to learning the truth just might be accepting Maeve’s proposal. If aligning with the Unseelie was a dumb move, nobody would be surprised anyway. I was the fuck-up of the family, after all. I didn’t see any better option before me, especially if it meant my freedom. I’d marry the king if it protected Brielle—I’d hate it, but I’d do it—but I’d rather be with Maeve, even when I was absolutely certain that we were not fated mates.
I decided to sleep on it, taking my dinner in my room again, but barely touching it. Just as I was about to change for bed, though, Ena charged into the room, throwing my fighting leathers, my weapons, and a cloak at me. Before the door swung closed behind her, I could hear what sounded like a scuffle or fighting coming from somewhere else in the castle.
“They cannot know you are here,” Ena said. “Hurry! Dress, and I will lead you out.”
“What?” I asked, staring at my clothes as though I’d never seen them before.
“He has come for you! You must escape!” Desperation filled her voice while she began undressing me herself.
“The king?”
“Just hurry!”
I shook my head. “No, it’s okay. Maeve and I have a plan.”
“My lady sent me! She said to make sure you got away. Please, miss, please just hurry! The Shadows will …” She trailed off, fear overcoming her.
“The Shadows? That’s who’s fighting out there?”
“Yes, and they cannot know you are here.”
Shit. Now understanding, I hurried into my leathers as Ena packed food and other necessities into a messenger-type bag. As I slid my sword, knives, and throwing stars into their proper places, a sense of comfort, of home settled into me, grounding me, making me feel more like me again. I hadn’t known they’d been holding my weapons this whole time. I assumed the demons had confiscated them. Dorian must have grabbed them, which was all the more perplexing. I didn’t have time to think about it, though.
Ena snuck me down a set of stairs I hadn’t even known existed, tucked behind a suite of rooms I’d never been in before. The sound of clanging metal and magic spells finding their marks rang throughout the castle, and a deep, dark force pulled at me. My beast wanted to fight, and maybe I should have. But I didn’t. I followed Ena instead. I chose freedom.
After descending many flights, we finally came to a door, and I thought for a minute it might have been the same one Dorian had brought me in, but it didn’t open to a ledge above the chasm. Rather, a short expanse of a snow-covered field led directly to the woods, and a gray horse waited.
For a brief moment, the vision of smoky horses with red eyes sent my heart galloping. No, it’s not here. It doesn’t fit. I forced myself to calm. I still didn’t know where that vision originated—it hadn’t come up in a memory yet, and I was sure it never would. Because I was sure it was yet to happen.
“Hurry!” Ena barked in a whisper, gesturing at the creature.
“I’ve never ridden a horse!” I hissed.
“You cannot fly. They will easily see you in the sky. Stay to the woods and go southeast.” She quickly gave me more instructions about where to go and shared a few tips and commands for the horse. “He knows what to do. Now go!”
I sprang up on the horse’s back and held the reins as she showed me. “Ena, come with me. You can be free too. From both of them.”
Her eyes rounded with fear, and she shook her head vehemently. “I belong here.”
Preventing further argument, she smacked the horse on the rump, then slammed the door between us. Holding on to the deep hood to keep it from flying off my head, I leaned over the horse’s neck as he galloped across the field. Just before we darted into the woods, I whispered a spell to the snow to cover our tracks and looked over my shoulder for one last look at the Winter palace.
Chapter 12
The night sky began to lighten by the time I found the cottage Ena had directed me to. With my crazy DNA, I didn’t need a lot of sleep—a few hours allowed my body to regenerate all of its cells—but Moonbutt, the name I’d given the horse since I didn’t know his real one, needed a rest. I contemplated releasing him since I could run nearly as fast on my own and I was much less conspicuous, but I didn’t know what I’d face ahead. What I might have to fight. I figured it best to conserve my energy.
I’d also considered going back myself. Part of me felt like a coward for not fighting for Maeve and her court when she’d turned out to be a friend, possibly something more. I also still thought her plan had been a valid one. But fuck it. That was before, and I was free now. Friend, lover, or whatever she would have become, she’d still held me prisoner in her palace. I couldn’t forget that.
Especially when I noticed that the farther I traveled away from her, the less appealing she became to me. Her intoxicating effect faded with each mile I put between us, and I wondered if anything I’d felt at all had been real. None of the other fae had affected me in that way, which might have been her doing as well. No, I couldn’t be soft with her. I could never go back.
Of course, she could still show up at the cottage and take me prisoner again. I’d cross that bridge if and when I came to it. For now, I stayed on course: find out where my parents were and return to Earth and my sister.
For Ena had told me one other thing right before I left, which Maeve had conveniently failed to ever mention: “Find the Circle of Knowing and you will find your answers.”
I’d learned about stone circles at school, in a fae magic class. They contained concentrated magic that could be used for various purposes, including portals between realms. They were supposedly scattered around Faery, and a small number were in the Earthly realms, such as Stone Henge, connecting the worlds. The energy on the Earth side was quite faint in comparison and rarely used. I’d totally forgotten about them until Ena mentioned it. If this Circle of Knowing had the answers I needed, as Ena said, then I could at least make a plan. Hopefully one that included reuniting with Brielle and Charleigh as well as our parents and the rest of our family. But if it said returning to Winter Court was the answer … well, at least then I would know.
For now, Moonbutt and I needed to rest for a bit. Near the cottage was a small stable—just one stall with a mound of hay and a bucket. I scooped the bucket through the knee-deep snow, then warmed it with fire from my palms to make water for Moonbutt.
“Okay, boy, there you go. Get some rest while you can.” I patted his neck, and he gave a soft whinny in thanks.
Inside the one-room cottage was a fireplace, a chair, and a bed. A pile of wood was already stacked in the hearth, and I
only needed to call forth a flame from my fire magic to light it. I probably should have been concerned everything we needed was provided so conveniently, but I chalked it up to faerie magic. Maeve had sent me here, so surely, she’d made it hospitable. Which probably meant she would be coming for me when it was safe—or that she expected me to return on my own. Maybe this was a test to see where my loyalties lay. If so, I’d fail it. Once again, Elliana Knight would be a big fat disappointment. This time, I didn’t really care.
I dreamt about the Vault again. Dorian was there, visiting us, and I couldn’t figure out if he was trying to get us released or if he’d been the one to send us there in the first place.
“Whatever you do, keep your asses out of the Pits,” he’d warned. Yeah, that didn’t happen. If he knew me at all, even at sixteen, he’d have known what an impossible feat that would have been. Perhaps he did and the warning was a way to cover his motives. I had no clue when it came to Dorian. Part of me wished Mom was right about him—that he was redeemable—but everything I knew before and experienced now made me believe she was dead wrong. If he’d really cared, he would have done whatever necessary not only to keep us out of the Pits but to keep us out of the Vault in the first place.
That place changed me, especially the Pits. The fighting . . . the kills . . . the blood . . . how much I secretly enjoyed it all . . . Maybe that was why they’d erased our memories and suppressed our powers. I’d been scary as hell, if I did say so myself.
I awoke pissed off at Dorian, and the feeling stayed with me all afternoon as Moonbutt and I hit the road again. Well, not a road. Just a path through the never-ending woods. I was beginning to wonder if Faery had anything else to see besides trees and snow, but even though the Circle of Knowing was a day’s ride south of the palace, Ena said it was still deep in the Winter Lands. I wondered what the rest of Faery looked like, but didn’t plan to find out. Not on this trip, anyway.
Night had fallen and the moon had risen when the forest finally began to thin, and I saw them ahead—a ridge above us where several large, irregular shapes hung in the air, hovering a dozen feet or so over the ground, glowing faintly. I squeezed Moonbutt with my legs, and he took off in a gallop. But before we reached the top of the hill, he suddenly whinnied and reared up, as though he’d slammed into a wall, tossing me off his back and onto my ass.
“Hey!” I shouted after him as he galloped off the way we’d come, leaving me as an impenetrable wall of darkness pushed in from every direction, surrounding me. The feeling was familiar—like I was at the bottom of the deep blue sea where no light could ever reach.
I’d barely conjured a flame to see by when I sensed the attack without seeing it. My beast within stirred as something airborne charged at me from above, and growing the flame into a ball, I blindly threw it. There was a screech of agony as a burst of flames flashed in front of my face, a clawed hand shooting from it and narrowly missing my cheek before there was a thud on the ground nearby. Probably within kicking distance, but I couldn’t even see that far.
Before I could try to find it to know if it was still alive and a threat, I sensed another creature flying at me. I threw a fireball, but it soared out of sight, missing its mark. I conjured a long icicle, but I needed to see my target for it to be effective. While I couldn’t see it, I still sensed it. Dropping the icicle, I called on my air magic and created a powerful wind, drawing it around me into a cyclone. Snow and dirt rose into the air as the wind force strengthened. There were two more thuds, then nothing.
After waiting another moment, I slowed the air, unable to listen or feel beyond it. The next two came at me on the ground. I heard their footsteps but still saw nothing. Releasing my knives, I dual-wielded, taking them out easily. But they were followed by more and more—at least another half dozen—from the sky and the ground.
Who—or what—the hell were these things? If they’d come from Winter Court, I was sure they would have identified themselves by now. They would have given me orders to comply so they could return me to their princess. Maeve wouldn’t have told them to attack and kill me … would she?
Using magic and plain old hand-to-hand combat, I fought, but I had to admit, this many might have been more than I could handle. I’d spent too much time on my ass at the Winter palace eating and lazing around instead of practicing and sparring. Maybe that had been Maeve’s plan—make me an easier target. Maybe these were her men after all.
But that didn’t feel right, in my gut. The energy off these fighters was different and much darker than anyone in the Winter Court. These were outsiders, reminding me that I was wanted dead or alive by pretty much everyone. Usually the dead part.
“Use your power.” The gravelly voice came from somewhere around me, but I was still fighting in the complete darkness.
“I am!” I grunted. My beast sprang to her feet, energized by both the fight and the dark energy encircling me.
“You’re holding back!”
One of the figure’s talons sliced across my back, through the cloak and even my leathers, which should have been impossible. A deep growl formed in my chest as my beast prepared for release. I feared unleashing her, though. I had to keep control. No, you don’t. If there’s ever a time to let her loose, it is now. The problem was whether I’d ever regain it.
My wings burst free, but unlike my attackers, I couldn’t fly blind, so I made the feathers hard as titanium and sharp as razors. I swept my wings outward, connecting with at least two more assailants, slicing through flesh and bone. I released a few feathers, sending them like darts through the wall of darkness, hoping they’d hit a mark.
Then everything suddenly fell silent, and the air shifted and thinned. As though the black wall had disintegrated into nothing more than smoke, it drifted away. Actually, more like it was sucked away to a point in front of me. The moon’s light on the snow was nearly blinding before my eyes adjusted. I blinked several times as the scene came into focus, and then my breath caught.
Over a dozen dead bodies surrounded me, dark blood staining the snow. Up ahead, the ridge only another twenty yards away, was the Circle of Knowing, and between me and the floating stones, the black smoke gathered and began to settle, taking the rough shape of a man. From my vantage below him, he looked nearly as tall as the stones, his shoulders about as broad. The smoke circled and undulated around him, cloaking his body, but clearing just enough for me to see glowing silver eyes glaring down on me.
“There you are, little shade,” the familiar raspy voice filtered through, and my whole body froze. “Do you know how long I have been looking for you?”
Shit. Shit, shit, shit. This couldn’t be happening!
I glanced behind the form, to the stones, where runes on their surfaces glowed as if lit from within by a purple light. The magic of the circle pulsed almost as strongly as the figure before me. My shoulders tensed, my wings flaring as I wondered if I could make it—to my answers, to home, to my family.
“I wouldn’t,” the smoky shape warned, and my eyes snapped back toward him.
Fuck me. I was so close!
“We have a deal,” he reminded me. “You do not want to break a deal with a fae, now do you, little shade? Surely you know better than that. Especially a fae king.”
And I’d bet my life that was not just any old king—that was the Shadow king himself standing before me.
Fuck me again. I should have known. Damn it! Stupid sixteen-year-old me made a deal with not only a fae but a fae king. If I could, I’d go back and stab her all over again.
“I already held up my end,” the king continued. “You went home and then even disappeared for a while, but now I am here to claim what is mine. You know what will happen if you do not uphold your end, yes?”
Sometimes while we were growing up, my mom would take time out to do our English and literature lessons herself. She’d been a famous author in the Before time, and our lessons would include writing stories together. She’d taught us about the trope of the heroin
e who was too stupid to live—a trope we wanted to avoid, she’d said, if we didn’t want to tick off our readers. I was feeling like that stupid bitch right now. Too stupid to live. I’d been caught by two different factions of our enemies already—three if I counted Dorian as the Daemoni—imprisoned twice, freed, and now caught again by another foe.
On the other hand, I was still alive, so I supposed there was that. That made me not entirely stupid, right? And the only way to stay that way—and to ensure my sister did as well—was to not piss off the Shadow king. To not break a deal with him. He was right. He’d upheld his end.
I blew out a harsh breath. “Yes,” I nearly growled. “We had a deal.”
“I am a king!” He didn’t nearly growl. He practically roared it. The dark energy thickened, the wall returning momentarily before he reined it back in. “Show your respect.”
Internally rolling my eyes, I dropped to a knee and lowered my head, mimicking what I’d seen others do before Maeve, though she’d never asked it of me.
“We had a deal … your majesty?” It came out as a question because I wasn’t quite sure how he wanted to be addressed.
The dark form snorted. “You need proper training, but I suppose that will do.”
Then the smoke suddenly swept toward me and surrounded me, a black energy that at once made me sick and made me want to sing. When it cleared as quickly as it had come, I was no longer on the slope of the ridge with the stone circle ahead and the forest behind me, but on the top of a tower overlooking a city enshrouded in mists. Through the layers of fog rose steep roofs and towers with spires pointing accusing fingers at the dark sky. Dim lights glowed and blurred in the hanging waves of mist.
Did we flash? Was it possible to flash in Faery?
“We sifted,” the king said from my side, as though reading my mind. Having grown up with a telepath for a mother, I was skilled at blocking her out, and I immediately threw up that protective wall, just in case the king hadn’t made a simple guess. “Much like what you call flashing but using fae magic.” He swept his hand out before him. “Welcome to the City of Shadows, your new home.”
