Whims of Fae - The Complete Series

by Nissa Leder

  Scarlett took a sip from the neon yellow straw. Holy heaven, it was divine—sweet, with just a touch of sour at the end. She took another drink, this time gulping twice as much.

  “I’ll be a gentleman and warn you to take it a little slow.”

  She’d learned in the Summer Court fae alcohol was stronger to mortals, but she was fae now. Shouldn’t she have a higher tolerance to it?

  “Yes, but there’s more than just alcohol in that drink.”

  Scarlett glanced at the cup, almost half gone now. “What else is in here?”

  “Pixie dust—it’s the fae version of cocaine.”

  Wait, what? Scarlett’s nerves tingled. A new song played. She could hear the piano in its background—upbeat and cheerful. She knew she shouldn’t have any more of the drink, but it was so delicious. It would be rude not to finish it.

  She had another sip.

  Kaelem wrapped his arm around Scarlett’s waist. “Delightful.”

  Had he meant the drink or her? She giggled. It didn’t matter.

  Her shoulders wavered to the bass. The colors of the strobe light sprinkled through the room like rain, their brilliance hypnotizing Scarlett as she lost herself in the music.

  Oh, how marvelous she felt. Scarlett finished her drink.

  “Where’s the ladies’ room?”

  Kaelem pointed.

  Scarlett’s legs shook as she stood. The twirling of the lights added to her dizziness.

  “Would you like help?” Kaelem asked.

  “I can manage.” Scarlett pulled down her skirt. She wasn’t a twelve-year-old. She was perfectly capable of going to the restroom alone.

  She concentrated on each step as she walked. Her skin tingled. She’d been drunk as a mortal, but whatever she’d just drank had her cares high in the clouds. As she entered the restroom, she bumped into a short fae in a plaid skirt.

  “Watch it,” the fae said.

  “Sorry.” Scarlett giggled as she hurried inside.

  After she relieved herself, she washed her hands.

  Next to her, a slender fae woman with lavender hair ran her hand down Scarlett’s arm.

  “Mmmm. You’re exquisite. Have we met?”

  A thrill slid through Scarlett’s veins. “I don’t think so.”

  The fae’s icy eyes pierced Scarlett.

  Scarlett sensed the lust pouring from her, which both flattered and intrigued her.

  “Here, let’s walk together,” the fae said as she locked her elbow around Scarlett’s. “I’m Kira.”

  Kaelem’s eyebrow rose as he saw Scarlett and her new friend. “Who do we have here?”

  Kira tensed as she realized who Kaelem was. “You’re with him?”

  Scarlett didn’t see what the big deal was. Sure, Kaelem was attractive, but everyone regarded him as a god. He wasn’t that special.

  “I’m sorry, my king.” Kira released Scarlett’s arm and stepped away. “I didn’t know.”

  “Please, join us,” Kaelem purred.

  The lust radiating through Kira shifted to terror. “A kind offer, but my friends are expecting me.”

  “Very well.”

  Scarlett slipped back into the booth, another drink waiting for her. She sipped it, just as delicious as before. “You sure scared her away.”

  Kaelem placed his hand on Scarlett’s thigh. “She realized she’d tried to claim something she thought was mine.”

  Not that again. Scarlett belonged to no one but herself. She was going to tell Kaelem exactly what she thought about being his, but as the drink swam through her and his fingers grazed her bare skin, it seemed unimportant.

  A new song began, its bass line booming throughout the room. Scarlett’s shoulders swayed to the beat. What had she been thinking about? Suddenly, any cares she might have had vanished, and as she finished her second drink, nothing but that moment mattered.

  A few minutes later, the waitress returned. “Refill?”

  “I think we’re good for now.” Kaelem grabbed Scarlett’s hand. “We’re going to dance.”

  Dancing sounded spectacular.

  Kaelem rested his hand on Scarlett’s back as they walked to the dance floor. She stepped carefully down the stairs, afraid she’d fall over in the wedges she was wearing.

  They danced and danced, then danced some more as the DJ transitioned from one song to the next. Bodies pressed into Scarlett as more people entered the club, pushing her hips against Kaelem’s. She didn’t care. She drank in the energy around her as she gyrated to the beat.

  Kaelem’s hands moved lower with each song. Scarlett slung her arms around his neck, his warm breath on her face. She inhaled the lust emanating from him as his hands explored her body.

  As a dubstep beat took over, the bass shook the whole room. Everyone on the dance floor jumped. Energy pumped through Scarlett. She’d never felt so carefree.

  A slow song played next. Kaelem tugged Scarlett’s body into his, their pelvises pressed against one another. The effects of the Twisted Pixie were wearing off, but her body so close to his gave her a new high. He was sending his lust to her. She felt herself subconsciously absorbing it.

  With no mental shields in place, her mind fell prey to his ganacanagh gift.

  He watched her as she stared at him, his mouth parted. If she stretched onto her tiptoes, her lips could reach his. A slight twitch in her bond with Raith stopped her.

  “You belong here,” Kaelem said to her, his face inches from hers.

  Scarlett had always felt out of place in the mortal world. Growing up, she could never explain why she always seemed an outsider, a square in a world of circles. Making friends was always easy, and guys flocked to her like dogs to a bone, yet her soul sang a different song. She thought it was because she hadn’t had much of a childhood. Her mother’s illness forced her to grow up too fast. But now she wondered if it wasn’t because she saw the world for what it really was: complicated and messy.

  She’d always wished to be normal, but now she knew she would have never felt ordinary in the human world because she wasn’t simply mortal. Even before she knew of her fae nature, she experienced it, so attuned to the emotions of those around her.

  Here, as she inhaled the array of emotion around her, she felt whole.

  Scarlett ignored the voice in her head screaming Kaelem was dangerous. She leaned her head on his shoulder and let him lead her to the music. When the song ended, she stepped back. “We should go.”

  She wanted to stay and to dance, but a new desire had taken hold, and she didn’t know if she should embrace it or run as fast as she could. The Twisted Pixie had slowly left her system, but a new buzz replaced the one the alcohol had left behind.

  “Very well.” Kaelem’s aura burned as red as a garnet.

  Neither spoke as they left the club. As they walked side by side, a shriek echoed through the street.

  Kaelem stepped in front of Scarlett. A fae with a purple mohawk and no shirt stepped from the shadows, hand clenching his stomach as blood oozed from him. Kaelem evanesced himself and Scarlett closer to the man.

  “What happened?” Kaelem demanded.

  “Someone followed me,” he mumbled, face filled with pain. “I turned to confront him, and he stabbed me.” He coughed up blood, but instead of red, it was black.

  Was that normal?

  A crowd surrounded them, their confusion attacking Scarlett. Kaelem spoke calmly. “Scatter.”

  He didn’t have to ask twice; everyone fled.

  “He’s been poisoned,” Kaelem whispered to Scarlett.

  The man’s eyes widened in fear. “I’m going to die.”

  For a brief moment, Scarlett felt sadness. Not the man’s, but Kaelem’s. As quickly as she felt it, it disappeared.

  “Maybe I can help.” Scarlett’s power was overflowing. She’d saved Raith. She had to at least try to save this man.

  Kaelem raised an eyebrow, but he didn’t stop her when she lifted her hands over the wound, now leaking thick, black liquid.<
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  Using the energy inside her, she closed her eyes and mentally reached into the wound. As more tar-like liquid gushed out, color returned to the man’s face. When Scarlett couldn’t sense any more poison, she imagined the wound sealing itself. It did.

  Kaelem watched her. Then he took the fae’s face between his hands. The fae’s pupils doubled in size as Kaelem said, “You got in a fight in the alley. Someone cut you, but you’ll be all right.”

  When Kaelem let go, the man blinked and reached for the wound. “The asshole almost got me good.”

  Kaelem nodded. “Close call.”

  Then he took Scarlett’s hand and they were flying through the air once again.

  Kaelem still held Scarlett’s hand when they appeared in front of the Unseelie Palace. He followed her as she walked inside, watching her hips move with each step. He wondered what might have happened if they’d returned to the palace uninterrupted, but the lust he’d felt in the club had diminished. Nothing like seeing one of his people almost bleed to death of a poisonous stab wound to sober him up.

  His court was known for its violence. With high and low fae mixed together combined with drugs, alcohol, and lust, it was expected. But this was something else. When emotions ran high, fighting was bound to happen. But poison? That had to be a personal attack.

  Not only had the man been poisoned, but whatever had been used was strong. With the fae being so durable, something lethal enough to kill was rare, and Kaelem was certain if Scarlett hadn’t intervened, the man would have died.

  When they waited for the elevator, Scarlett said. “You changed his memory.”

  It wasn’t a question.

  “Yes,” Kaelem said. “It’s best no one find out about your healing gift.”

  “Why?”

  “It’s a Seelie power, and you’d best keep that part of your heritage to yourself.”

  Scarlett didn’t respond to his advice, and Kaelem didn’t dig into her thoughts to see how she took it.

  He’d tasted her Unseelie power the first time he’d drank her emotion. He hadn’t even considered it might only be a part of her fae nature. She was a mix of lifelong fae enemies.

  Which made her more powerful than Kaelem had ever imagined.

  Kaelem had begun calculating a plan when he’d learned of the power Scarlett possessed, and he now found himself standing outside Scarlett’s mortal home, holding a bronze mirror in his hand.

  She was back at the Unseelie Palace, unaware of Kaelem’s location. She’d find out soon enough.

  He’d brought Scarlett to his court to earn her trust. If she was crucial to saving his kingdom, he wanted her on his side. Teaching her to control her power and showing her the benefits of the Unseelie Court seemed the best method. But when the Winter Queen showed up, his priorities had changed. Nevina had something of his, and he was determined to get it back, once and for all. He’d tried before, but the situation was delicate. One more wrong move and he could permanently lose what was so precious to him.

  Kaelem needed Scarlett. She had no allegiance to any court, and no one, except perhaps Raith, had an idea of the power she possessed. If Kaelem brought his strongest guards with him, Nevina would be suspicious. No, that wouldn’t work. But if he brought Scarlett under the guise of a date, no one would suspect a thing.

  He wanted to believe Scarlett would help him out of the kindness of her heart, but one moment of indecision could ruin it all. No, he couldn’t have that. She needed motivation.

  He released the invisible glamour he wore and knocked on the door.

  A young blonde woman appeared. She looked much like the mortal-Scarlett Kaelem had met at the Summer Court. Confusion covered her face.

  “Can I help you?” she asked.

  “Yes,” Kaelem said. “Yes, you can.”

  He raised the mirror in his hand and used his magic to pull her inside.

  Chapter Eight

  Scarlett found Kaelem already at the dining table when she went for breakfast. She figured he’d still be asleep, and she didn’t want to walk in on him naked again, so she had come straight to the dining room.

  “Good morning, darling,” Kaelem said.

  A plate filled with French toast topped with strawberries and whipped cream waited for her. Her body was jittery from drinking the night before. It was unlike any mortal hangover she’d ever had—no headache or nausea—but she didn’t quite feel herself, either. She hoped food would help.

  Her memory of the night remained clear. The dancing, Kaelem’s hands on her, and the poisoned man. Kaelem had removed the man’s memory with nearly no visible effort. Could he invade her mind just as easily? The thought alone scared her.

  As she ate, Kaelem spoke. “It is winter in Faerie, and I’ve been invited to attend the Winter Solstice.”

  Scarlett swallowed the food in her mouth. “Is my training already over?”

  She wanted to go home, but she wasn’t sure she was ready. They’d only trained one day, and even though it went well, she didn’t want to risk hurting anyone.

  “I’d like you to come with me, and we can continue your training there. It’s only a few days of celebration.”

  Back to Faerie? The memory of the Battle of Heirs hit her. She’d nearly died. What if Cade found her and finished what he’d try to do before? “No, I don’t want to go back.”

  “I was afraid you might say that.” Kaelem gestured in front of Scarlett where an antique mirror laid on the table.

  Scarlett grabbed the handle and picked it up. At first, she saw her reflection, but it fizzled into a picture of a room, much like Scarlett’s own living room. She wasn’t sure what it meant until she saw movement. Someone, thin and blonde, walked across the image in the mirror.

  Her sister.

  Was it a vision of her sister at home?

  “No,” Scarlett said. “Leave her out of this.”

  Anger boiled inside her. What did he intend to do with her? She couldn’t let Ashleigh get hurt.

  “Keep your cool or you may shatter the mirror.”

  Why would that matter? Unless…

  Ashleigh was inside the mirror, trapped somehow?

  Kaelem nodded.

  Scarlett carefully set the mirror down and took a calming breath. What had he done?

  Betrayal hit her like a rock to the face. She knew not to trust a fae, yet she’d let her guard down enough to grow somewhat fond of Kaelem.

  He winced.

  “Please.” She would plead if that was what it took.

  She’d do anything.

  Scarlett knew he was in her head. She wasn’t hiding her desperation. What would be the point? She had no cards to play.

  “I just need your help.” His eyes met hers. “The Winter Queen has something of mine. Help me get it back, and I’ll release your sister.”

  “The Winter Queen has something of yours, so you decide to take something of mine? Real chivalrous.” Rage blossomed inside Scarlett again.

  A wave of guilt hit Scarlett. Not her own. Was it his? It disappeared before she could examine the thought more closely.

  “We’ll continue your training and, when the time is right, take what I need. I’ll release your sister, make her forget it all, and we can go our separate ways. No harm, no foul.”

  This was Scarlett’s fault. What had she been thinking, trusting Kaelem? What had she been thinking when she went into Faerie in the first place? That was what got her into this mess. If she’d never gone, she’d still be mortal. Her sister would be safe.

  “You were never mortal,” Kaelem said.

  True. She’d just never known about her fae heritage. Was that normal?

  “No, it isn’t,” Kaelem answered her thoughts. “You have too much fae blood in you to have never had any power. Someone somehow hid your power.”

  Hid my power?

  “Maybe it was your father.” He shrugged. “Someone didn’t want you—or, presumably, anyone else— to know about your abilities.”

  Scarlett di
dn’t have time to worry about some long-lost relative who had abandoned her. Not when her sister was trapped in a magical mirror. “What does the Winter Queen have that’s so important to you?”

  Kaelem’s face remained still. “That’s my concern.”

  He trapped her sister and forced Scarlett to help him, and he wouldn’t tell her why? Prick.

  Kaelem laughed. “We have fun together. It won’t be so bad.”

  “Once we get whatever it is back, you promise you’ll release her and let her go free, never trapping her again.” Scarlett hoped the agreement was precise enough.

  “Yes, if that’s what you want.”

  Scarlett held her hand out. Kaelem shook it.

  The energy of a fae bargain flowed through Scarlett.

  As Kaelem released her hand, Lola entered the dining room with more footsteps following behind her. “Another visitor.”

  “Again?” Kaelem sounded annoyed.

  Scarlett didn’t think the day could get much worse, but boy was she wrong.

  Cade stepped around from behind Lola.

  Shock poured from Cade when he saw Scarlett sitting there, an arm’s reach away from the Unseelie King.

  She hadn’t died. She’d survived. Why was she there, with Kaelem of all people?

  From behind him, Cade felt Poppy’s confusion through the bond. She was there as his guard, just as she had requested. He’d asked her to choose someone else to join them, and she’d picked Jaser. Cade hadn’t understood why, but Poppy assured him Jaser was a top-notch soldier and was the best for the job.

  Jaser kept his emotion held tight. Cade couldn’t sense if he was surprised at the sight, or if he’d known Scarlett had made it out of the battle alive.

  Cade regrouped his emotion. He was there on business, and he was a king now. He needed to be composed.

  “The new Summer King and his posse,” Kaelem said as he sat in the chair at the head of the table.

  Scarlett’s face was a mask of indifference as she sat in the chair closest to Kaelem. Her dark hair was pulled into a bun high on her head.