by Lexi C. Foss
We walk slowly down the main hall of the castle atop the High Mountain. Guards are stationed at every turn, and plenty of other nobles are heading toward the throne room. I should get out of my own head. After all, this is a huge honor for Darynder.
“It’s okay to worry,” he says down the bond.
“I’ve faced down dozens of vamps, okay? A winter king and queen are nothing compared to that. Did I tell you about the time it was like a round-robin of vamps in this back alley in New Orleans, and all I—”
“—had was a paring knife and trash can lid?” He smirks. “You may’ve mentioned it a few times.”
“Insufferable haughty high fae.” I elbow him.
His eyes flash feline, and before I can protest, he’s pushed me against the wall between two doorways and covered my mouth with his. I answer, my tongue warring with his as I twine my hands around his neck, ruining his perfect hair as I go. He’s decked out in finery just like me, but I have no problem getting him a little dirty.
He kisses me until I’m breathless, then pulls away. “You know what calling me that does to me, little changeling.”
I give him a sassy nip to his lower lip. “It’s not my fault you’re being all bossy and heavy-handed.”
He runs his palm to my ass and squeezes. “I’ll show you just how heavy-handed I can be after the audience with the king and queen.”
Meow.
These past few months with Darynder have been amazing. I’m still slaying just as much as before, though now I get a lot of assignments in Arin. We still travel to the mortal world plenty, though I have to admit that even with a glamor on him, Darynder always sticks out. Too tall, too good-looking, too everything. And he’s all mine.
“Soon.” He pulls me from the wall and adjusts my clothes as we ignore a few stares from the nobles. “Soon I’ll rip these fine clothes off you with my bare hands.”
“Not if I get to you first.” I yank on his fur collar. “Commander of the north.”
He smirks and takes my hand again. “It’s an honorary title.”
“Not according to Ferramus. He’s sent me letter after letter wanting to know when we’ll be visiting again and sending us well wishes. He’s pretty much convinced you’re his new boss.”
“I’ll be commander of the north, and you’ll be lady of the north. So, I’ll let you handle Ferramus, my lady.”
I give him a sassy look. “Oh no, my lord. You see, it’s only an honorary title.”
“Oh, how I love you and your smart mouth,” he sends down the bond.
“I love you, too, mate,” I send back.
We enter the throne room with our heads high, our love on display, and our mate bond more powerful than any foe—vampire or otherwise.
Also By Lily Archer
Want more of Lily Archer’s fae world?
Read Fae’s Captive Now
My college roommate is the worst. Cecile steals my food, brings guys over at all hours, and parties instead of studying. But those quirks pale in comparison to what she does next. She drugs me, and I wake up imprisoned in an alternate universe full of terrifying creatures. Now, the biggest and scariest creature of all--a fae king--believes I'm his mate. He's freed me from the dungeon but keeps me close. So close, in fact, that I'm beginning to like his wintery gaze and ice-chiseled body. But secrets and villains lurk throughout this new world, and I don't know if I'll survive long enough to figure out how to get back home.
Midnight Kissed
By Mila Young
Midnight Kissed © Copyright 2020 Mila Young & Jordan Crow
All rights reserved under the International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher/author.
This is a work of fiction. Names, places, characters and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, organizations, events or locales is entirely coincidental.
Warning: the unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in prison and a fine of $250,000.
Contents
Chosen Vampire Slayer Series
Midnight Kissed
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Books By Mila Young
About Mila Young
Chosen Vampire Slayer Series
Midnight Kissed
Night Kissed
Moon Kissed
Blood Kissed
Midnight Kissed
Sometimes opposites attract. And sometimes they ignite…
As a vampire slayer I have more on my mind than reclaiming the ancient relics my family has long sworn to protect. But I have orders. The mission is simple. Get in, get the relics, get out. But Fate trips me up with more than one catch when I follow a wild-hair lead on Whidbey Island.
Wanna know the biggest catch of them all? A man I shouldn’t be attracted to at all...Alpha vampire Damien has caught my eye.
He’s the most infuriating man I’ve ever met, and probably the very source of the relic thefts that are ending up in vamp hands. Which means he and the relics now threaten me personally, my very life and my family, and ironically, other vamps and magical creatures who are more than vulnerable to the slaying powers those relics bestow.
But I can’t decide if Damien is amassing his own collection, or if something more sinister is afoot. Because not only does our fatal attraction get in the way, there’s also a little problem called murder.
It’s a fight for survival as we find ourselves at the center of it all, digging up clues about a strange mystery that may spell disaster and death for us both.
1
Alex
The sound of my phone ringing jolted me out of sleep. I felt groggily around on the table beside the bed without even opening my eyes.
“Hello?” My voice was half muffled by the pillow. The actual time was a mystery, but it sure as hell felt early.
“Hello, Alex. Hope I didn’t wake you.” Rhys’ tone told me he knew full well I had been awoken, and he probably couldn’t care less. I rolled my eyes and turned onto my back. The man could be so insufferably smug, but none of us ever turned down a call from him. He was, after all, the regional Executive.
“Uh huh.” I rubbed my eyes. “What’s going on?” A quick glance out the window told me it wasn’t yet dawn; there were still stars glowing dimly in the slowly-brightening sky. This better be good, I thought. I could just see hours of lost sleep dancing away in front of my eyes.
“I’ve got a new tip for you.” He spoke briskly, as if he’d already been up for hours. “I think you’ll find this one intriguing.” Closing my eyes, I pictured him sitting in her stark, clean, black-and-white office, the desktop in front of him clear except for whatever file he was currently working on. No doubt he was nursing a huge cup of caffeinated something-or-other. We, his devoted underlings, wondered if he ever slept at all.
“All right.” I took a deep breath. “Lay it on me.” Whatever it was, this new thing had to be at least a little important. Not even Rhys was prone to calling before the sun was up unless urgency was a factor. I threw my arm across my face and steeled myself to get up and face the day. The spirit was w
illing—sort of—but the flesh was tired.
“Well…” Rhys paused. I could tell he was frowning, and that made me frown. There wasn’t much in this world or any other that could give him serious pause; his position as our local leader had been well-earned. I held my breath, unsure of what was coming. “We’ve received a tip that some vampires have been spotted roaming around Langley.”
It was my turn to frown. “Okay…That doesn’t sound so bad.” There were vamps everywhere on this island; that was half the reason I lived here. As far as I was concerned, it might as well have been a regular Thursday.
“Have you checked your calendar recently?” Rhys asked.
“No. Why?” Finally mustering the energy to sit up in the dark, I fumbled for the switch on my nightstand lamp and glanced to my left, toward the desk. Somewhere under the jumble of papers and other crap, my day planner lay hidden. But even before I got up to search for it, something else caught my eye. It was a color flyer decorated with a picture of a dragonfly perched on the edge of a pocket watch. The words “Killing Time” stood out white against the dark background.
Langley’s annual Mystery Weekend. My gaze focused in on the dates typed across the bottom. February twenty-third and twenty-fourth.
“What’s today?” I said abruptly, to no one in particular.
Rhys answered promptly. “Thursday, February twenty-first.” He smiled audibly over the phone. “I assume you’ve figured it out.”
“Yeah.” I rubbed my eyes, trying to clear the fog of sleep from my brain. “So, let me get this straight. We’re worried about what, exactly? That they’re planning to crash the festival?”
“We don’t know.” He didn’t sound much more confident. “It seems that they might be searching for something. Another relic, possibly.”
The thought of it made me uneasy for sure. In two days, the streets of Langley would be packed with enthusiastic tourists, all too focused on the mystery at hand to notice a few odd strangers. They’d be easy pickings for a hungry predator. Add in the hypothetical presence of an extraordinary item, and the whole thing was a recipe for disaster.
But it wasn’t like the vamps to get up close and personal in human affairs, at least not the ones I knew. Especially ones that took place in full daylight.
I shook my head. “That doesn’t sound right to me. Some vamps might try to pick off stragglers at the end of the day, but during the actual festival? They’ll avoid it like the plague.
“That was my initial thought as well,” he replied. “Until our source sent over additional intelligence, which I’m forwarding to you as we speak. Check your mail.”
I reached across the mattress and pulled my laptop closer, hitting a key to wake it up. The screen threw a searing beacon of too-bright light across my face. I squinted as I typed in my password and logged into my email. Rhys’ communique sat right at the top of my inbox. The attachment took a second to open.
As soon as it did, all thoughts of going back to sleep evaporated from my mind. I was looking at a handful of photographs depicting a collection of grim, shadowy figures. The images were startlingly clear, and as I scrolled down, my breath caught in my throat. The very last picture was a portrait of sorts, with its subject staring straight into the lens. His eyes seemed to glow even in the dreary lighting, a familiar grey-gold.
“Yep,” I said quietly. “That’s a vamp.” And if there was one, there were almost certainly more. Vampires were pack animals, like wolves. Or roaches. “What are they doing out in public? In daylight?” The gloomy atmosphere of Seattle in February suited them better than most other places, but it was still rare to catch a glimpse of a vamp before sunset.
“Like I said, they appear to be looking for something.” He cleared her throat. “And that brings me to my point, Alex. I’d like for you to be stationed at the Mystery Weekend. If this is a relic, or something to do with one, you’re the only agent we have who’s currently capable of handling matters.”
I made a face, knowing he couldn’t see me. “Whatever you say, boss. As long as you get me in, I’ll be there.”
“Excellent. Your admission has already been secured. I’ll forward you the tickets. Good luck out there.”
The call ended, and I flopped back against my pillow. The light from my laptop screen lit up the ceiling. I turned it toward me. The attachment from Rhys’ email was still open. Once again, I looked into those eerie golden eyes. Now that I had all the time in the world to get a good, close look, it was apparent the guy in the photo was young. Not that age meant much where vampires were concerned.
But something about him just piqued my interest. Maybe it was the shock of inky raven hair spilling out from under his hood, across his forehead. Maybe it was the sharp, crisp contours of his face, the hard jawline, the proud, straight nose. That face bore a look of defiance so strong it was almost haughty.
“I should have asked if we had an ID on him,” I murmured out loud. If Rhys had known a name, though, he would have given it already. The fact of the matter seemed to be that I had almost nothing to go on, aside from a single striking portrait. Not the most promising start, but I’d dealt with worse.
An attempt was made to recoup some of the sleep that had been lost to the phone call, to no avail. I ended up lying in bed and watching the first rays of dawn glide across the room. Whenever I closed my eyes, I could see that young vampire in the darkness behind my eyelids, so vividly it almost felt like he was watching me.
Somewhere around eight, I gave up and launched myself out from under the blankets. If the festival didn’t start until Saturday, that meant I had two days to do all the recon I could possibly manage. The fact that these particular vamps had been roaming the town without cover of night made me more nervous the longer I thought about it. Why would they risk death by sunlight if not for a monumental reward?
As Rhys suggested, a relic would certainly fit that description. The thought was no comfort. I had a hard enough time keeping those things out of the hands of other humans. The last thing I needed or wanted was to be fending off every creature under the sun. But if that was how things were, so be it.
After a quick breakfast, I grabbed up my bag and headed into town. As I pedaled my bike through cold, quiet streets, I caught myself glancing down at the silver cuff bracelet wrapped snugly around my wrist. People always liked to think the relics were huge and flashy, Indiana Jones type artifacts. The truth was, most of them were much more innocuous.
That was what made them so dangerous. I leaned forward over the handlebars and pumped my legs a little faster. The damp breeze raked its cool fingers through my hair. Every figure I saw fanned a spark of suspicion, not least because they were all bundled up in jackets, sweatshirts, hoods. I kept expecting one of them to turn around and stare me down like the man in the photo.
To the uninitiated eye, I probably looked a little strange as I locked up my bike on a drizzly forty-degree morning. A couple hours out in this, and I’d be soaked to the bone. I shrugged off the inconveniences. A minor price to pay for the chance to check the town over on my own, shake down all the nooks and crannies where pests could be hiding.
“Good morning, Alex!” The coffee shop’s first-shift manager waved to me through the open door. She laughed a little, sympathetically. “You look miserable. Want me to start you a cup of something hot?”
I glanced both ways up and down the street. It was already starting to fill with foot traffic, more so than usual, I thought. A few of the passersby had Mystery Weekend flyers either in their hands or sticking out of bags and pockets. Suitcases rolled past me on the sidewalk. There was a rental car parked across the street.
I winced. The hordes of unsuspecting tourists would be absolute sitting ducks for hungry vamps. The idea of them descending on the crowds like predators, carefully culling out their victims, made the blood turn hot in my veins.
But I flashed the head barista a good, solid, nothing-to-see-here smile. “I’d appreciate that, Angie. Could you hold it for a
bit? I’ve got an errand I need to run.” I didn’t, but I did have an ever-worsening feeling that something odd was already in motion behind the scenes, something I couldn’t quite see. And that made me very uncomfortable.
Be cool, Alex. Just take a look around. I was looking for two things at the moment; the vamps themselves, and any trace of relic energy. It was hardly the first time I had pounded the pavement looking for clues, and yet my stomach was systematically filling with knots. Why the hell did it feel like such a weird weight was on my back?
Deep down, I knew why. That damn picture had haunted me for hours. Almost like I was already being watched.
2
Alex
The Mystery Weekend attendees came out in force, even before Saturday rolled around. I blended in as much as possible, keeping my eyes and ears open for any sign of either a vamp or a wayward relic. On a normal day, it might have been a relatively simple task to spot something out of the ordinary in little, picturesque Langley, but everywhere I looked, there were more unfamiliar faces.
Placing my phone piece in my ear, I tapped on my phone to call the local headquarters. He picked up on seconds.
