A Dance with Darkness

by Jenna Wolfhart

  “You’re talking about a Redcap, Norah. A Redcap.”

  With tears in my eyes, I turned my back on Griff to look up into my friend’s beastly face. Those eyes. They were so sad, so tortured. She was in there, somewhere deep inside the Redcap’s monstrous body. She didn’t want to be doing this, and I knew exactly how I could make this all okay.

  “I’ve got a plant that can heal you, Bree,” I whispered to her, reaching up to press my shaking hands against her rough fur. “You don’t have to be like this anymore. Just...turn back into your real form so that they can see what you really are. Human.”

  “Norah,” Kael said quietly as he inched up behind me. “I don’t think you’re going to get through to her, not when she’s like this.”

  But I could only ignore him. “Bree? Come on, I know you can do it. I’ve seen you change back before. Remember?”

  Tension filled the room as I faced off against the beast. We stood in the center of the gymnasium, her sorrow-filled eyes locked on my face. She shuddered underneath my hand, and for a moment, I thought I’d made her realize what she needed to do.

  But then her body stiffened, and she jerked her head toward a distant sound that none of us could hear but her. And then she was off, charging down the hallway. Griff let out an exclamation of surprise. He rose his sword and took off behind her.

  “No!” I screamed, but it was too late. More changelings joined him in the chase. At least a dozen of them took off to hunt down my friend.

  With a heavy sigh, I fell to my knees and pressed my hands flat on the cold floor. Bree was in there somewhere. I knew it. Even after everything that had happened, I couldn’t give up on her. She’d certainly never given up on me. But I didn’t know how to get to her. Not when the Autumn fae were controlling her mind, and not when my fellow changelings were desperate to shove their swords into her throat.

  There was nothing I could do now. As hard as I’d tried, I’d lost.

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  The electricity popped out next. As we dragged ourselves back to our apartments, the entire Academy was plunged into darkness. Several of the instructors had taken off to track down Griff and the others. They’d likely chased Bree out into the storm, and no one should be running around in the thunder and lightning, least of all right now when the threat of the Autumn Court was so fresh and so real.

  And me? Well, all I wanted to was plop face-first onto my bed and stay there for hours. I’d been trying so desperately hard to undo what had happened to Bree that horrible night in Manhattan. The attack on her had been my fault. I’d attracted the Redcap, and it had turned its ferocity on Bree because of that.

  But it felt as if I’d only made things worse. I’d brought Bree to the attention of the Autumn fae, and they’d sought her out. To control her, to make her do things Bree would never do.

  I would never get a chance to heal her now. Her mind and soul would be lost to the beast.

  There was a soft knock on my bedroom door, and I merely groaned in response, my face still smashed onto my pillow. I didn’t need to look up to see who it was. When the fae eased onto the bed beside me, the scent of frost and mist filled my nose. A delicious scent, but one that reminded me of what I’d been trying to do.

  “Bree was still in there, Norah,” Kael said quietly. “I could sense it.”

  “So could I,” I muttered into the pillow. “That’s why I tried to stop Griff from attacking her.”

  “He won’t get to her,” he said. “She’s far too fast for that.”

  With a sigh, I rolled over to stare up into Kael’s darkly handsome face. “I know. But that doesn’t change anything. It’s impossible to get to her now. She’s gone. Right back into the hands of the Autumn Court.”

  Kael reached out and traced a soft thumb against the curve of my neck. Despite everything that had happened, despite the sorrow that was building up inside of me, his touch soothed me in away that nothing else could. Fire sparked in my gut, and everything within me sighed, breathing in the wintry scent of him.

  “There’s one thing I know about you, Norah,” he said, voice gruff. “And it’s that you’re a fighter. I’ve said it from the beginning, and it’s why I thought you might turn out to be a Summer fae. You have a fire within you. Don’t let what’s happened to Bree douse that in any way. Instead, let it feed your flames.”

  With a sigh, I reached up and weaved my fingers through his. “I don’t see how that can change anything.”

  “Don’t you?” He arched his eyebrows. “Here’s a little training lesson for you. Suppose there is an enemy, one who has decided his mission is destroy your home and everyone within it. He keeps launching attacks, and he has taken something of great value to you. What do you do in response?”

  “Honestly? I don’t know.” I shook my head and glanced around the room, spinning through the various possibilities in my head. But I wasn’t a strategy genius. I didn’t know about fights, about wars, about battles. All I knew was my despair, my anger, and my desperation to save my friend. “Punch him in the face?”

  A slight smile ghosted across Kael’s face. “And what else would you do?”

  Frowning, I pushed up so that we were now sitting face-to-face. “I mean, in an ideal world, I’d track him down, take back what’s mine, and make sure he can never attack me again.”

  “Well.” He smiled. “Wouldn’t that be something?”

  With a heavy sigh, I flopped back onto the pillows. “Yes, it would be something. It’s too bad that’s impossible.”

  “And why is it impossible, Norah?” he asked.

  At the tone of his voice, I sat upright once again. “Because I’m assuming that attacking the Autumn Court is pretty much not syllabus-approved. And also against the laws of this realm.”

  “You’re correct.” He leaned forward now, dropping his voice to a low growl. “Do you know what else is against the laws of our realm? Planning assassinations. Attacking our Academy. And controlling the beasts. They’ve wronged us. They’ve hurt us. They have tried to take the most important thing in the world from me, and for that, we will be retaliating.”

  My heart lurched, and I sucked a sharp breath in through my parted lips. His words made my head spin, not to mention the fierce expression on his face. Kael was usually so calm and collected, so in control of his emotions, but something had set him off, revealing the true depths of his soul.

  “What have they tried to take from you?” I barely whispered.

  With a growl, he said, “You.”

  My breath caught in my throat, and I leaned forward to wrap my arms around his neck. His lips were soft and gentle, but his kiss was full of hunger. There was something so fierce about him underneath that cool exterior, and it made every cell in my body come alive.

  Our kiss deepened as he pulled me onto his lap. My legs spread wide, encircling his waist. His thumb caressed my neck and a thousand tiny sparks lit up my skin, much like the stars that I once saw dance in his eyes.

  I wanted nothing more than to stay here like this and to feel his mouth explore every inch of my skin. But there was something whispering in the corner of my mind, a voice I couldn’t hush even if I wanted to. With a heavy sigh, I pulled away from him, my entire body shaking with the yearning I felt deep within my gut.

  “We can’t,” I whispered. “Not right now. Not when Bree is out there. All I keep thinking is how scared and alone she must feel. I want you to do what you said, Kael. Retaliate. Force an attack on the Autumn Court. And I want to come with you.”

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  As soon as there was a break in the clouds, we set off to the Autumn Court. Alwyn had insisted the first-years stay behind, but she’d allowed me to tag along after a strange whispered conversation with my four instructors. She had cast me curious glances after that. Not for the first time, it felt as though they were hiding something from me. Something that had to do with my powers and the necklace and maybe something more.

  So, our rag-tag group co
nsisted of eight instructors—three had stayed behind to keep an eye on the first-years—as well as Alwyn, me, and thirty-one second and third years. It was pretty much the entire Academy, and we were marching straight toward the Autumn tree-line. Half the recruits and instructors had swords while the other half had bows and arrows.

  As the strange twists of the universe had it, I was one of the rangers. It was the only way my four fae males would allow me to come along. I was to stay on my horse in the back, and I was not to dismount under any circumstances. Rourke would stay by my side, since he was also strong with the bow. The others would go in with their swords, a fact that made me more than a little uneasy.

  If any of them fell in this battle, I’d never be able to forgive myself. While I knew they were forging forward in this fight in order to save the Academy, I was here to save Bree.

  When we finally reached the tree-line, the heady warmth of summer fell away. It was replaced by an eerie chill, one that sunk deep into my bones. The leaves rattled in the wind, and trees creaked as they bent. We had truly entered Autumn now. There was no turning back.

  And, I couldn’t help but notice, we were being watched.

  “Rourke,” I said in a whisper, almost too low to hear over the heavy thud of the horse’s hooves. “I think we’ve been seen.”

  “Oh yes,” he said. “We were seen awhile ago. No one enters or leaves the Autumn woods without it being noted, and they would have seen us coming down the path, even though we were technically still in the free territory. The real question is, who saw us? A rebel? One of the villagers? Or was it one of the Court’s scouts? If it’s the latter, we will end up fighting very soon.”

  I shivered. I was ready for this. Or, at least I thought I was. Still, that didn’t mean I wasn’t nervous and maybe a little bit afraid. We had no way of knowing what we were walking into. We had no idea how many Redcaps they currently had in their control. And, we didn’t know how big their army was.

  Autumn fae were notoriously secretive. They’d kept the total number of their Hunters a private matter over the years. They could have hundreds. Or even thousands.

  We could be walking straight into a trap.

  A horn sounded in the near distance, and our little changeling army slowed to a stop at the edge of a forest clearing. Rourke motioned to Kael, who was near the front. He shook his head, a signal that we should move no further.

  “Does it bother you that you’re about to fight your own Court?” I asked.

  “I suppose it doesn’t matter now if everyone knows, not after what we’re about to do this day.” Rourke gripped the reigns tighter in his hands. “I’ve always been against Marin’s assassination. For several years, I joined the rebels. I left when I realized they were making no true difference to the fate of the Courts. I thought I could perhaps make more of an impact at the Academy instead. Make things better. Like they used to be.”

  “You? A rebel? But you’re so...”

  “Yes?” He arched an eyebrow. “What is it that I am, Norah?”

  “Well, you seem like the kind of person who’s a stickler for the rules.”

  “I am when they count.”

  In the distance came the sound of galloping hooves. Kael let out a low whistle and flicked his hand in a series of signals that he’d drilled into our heads before we’d left the Academy. We were supposed to spread out now, archers hiding behind the trees in the background while the swords in the front formed a line the Autumn fae would not be able to cross.

  With a shaky breath, I nocked my arrow and did my best to hold it steady before me. At any minute, Autumn fae would charge into the clearing, and I’d loose my first shot. It was a battle that might very well be the first of many to come. We were starting something here. Something that could lead to war, but there was no escaping it. Not if we wanted to survive.

  Three horses charged into the clearing and slowed. Redmond, who had escaped during the assassination attempt against Alwyn, sat in the middle with a mangy-haired fae hidden just behind him. The other two horses were manned by fae soldiers, their golden eyes blank and emotionless.

  “Good afternoon, changeling warriors,” he called out. “I assume you’re wondering why I’ve ridden out to meet you instead of charging into battle against your pitiful weapons.”

  Frowning, I glanced at Rourke. His eyebrows were furrowed as his focus intensified on Redmond. The Autumn fae was up to something, and I had a feeling we weren’t going to like whatever it was.

  “Just spit it out, Redmond,” Alwyn said coolly.

  He turned her way and shook his head. “It truly is a shame that an Autumn fae such as yourself would be so bold as to attack your own kind.”

  “That’s pretty rich coming from you,” she countered. “If I’m remembering correctly—and I am—you were the one who attempted to assassinate me in my own home.”

  “My apologies.” He gave a sarcastic half-bow. “Merely a means to an end.”

  “What do you want, Redmond?”

  He snapped his fingers at the fae soldier to his right. “I’m here to make a trade. A simple transaction. If you agree, then we will cease all attacks on your Academy.”

  Rourke stiffened. He leaned forward and whispered something into his horse’s ear. And then his horse slowly began to edge in front of me.

  The movement caught Redmond’s eyes. His gaze flicked through the red-and-orange brush until it zeroed right in on me. “Ah. There she is.”

  Alwyn twisted her head to see who he was talking about. Alarm flittered across her golden features. “No, Redmond. I’m not giving you one of my changelings, no matter what you offer in return.”

  “You won’t give me one of your changelings?” He arched an eyebrow and pointed a long and slender finger at me. “Or you won’t give me that one?”

  What the hell is going on?

  Was he really that angry that he hadn’t gotten the chance to question me about Bree? That didn’t make any sense. He’d gotten her, after all. He no longer needed me to tell him where she was, so why was his focus on me?

  “You’re not getting any of them,” Alwyn said. “And that includes Norah.”

  “Just think,” he said as he slid to the ground. The mangy fae who had been hiding behind him still had her back turned our way, and one of the fae soldiers began to help her down from the horse. “If you hand Norah over to us, none of your other changelings will have to die. There are how many of them here? Roughly thirty? Think about it, Alwyn. You’re an intelligent fae. What is one life compared to thirty?”

  “We need to get you out of here,” Rourke hissed into my ear. He leaned over to grab my reigns, but my eyes had locked onto the mangy fae. She’d half-turned as she dismounted, and her profile was achingly familiar. Pixie features, sharp tiny nose. Her dark hair was matted and dirty, but it was hers.

  “He has Bree,” I said, making no attempt to keep my voice low. I swatted away Rourke’s hands. “Redmond has Bree.”

  A cruel smile spread across Redmond’s face. “That’s right, my dear. I have your precious Redcap friend.”

  Suddenly, Redmond had a dagger in his hands and his arm around Bree’s throat. He pulled her to his chest, and he slid the dagger against the pale skin of her neck. My heart flipped as I stared at her, my whole body clenching with anger and pain. Her eyes were so hollow, and a deep purple was etched into her face. She looked terrible, as if she’d spent the past year stuck inside a tiny prison with nothing to eat but dirt.

  “Norah,” Rourke said in warning.

  “You have your chance to save your friend,” Redmond said. “That’s what you wanted, isn’t it? Come with me, and I’ll give her over to your mate, though I honestly can’t tell which one that is anymore. On the other hand, if you refuse, I will slice her neck. A quick death, though I hear it’s painful.”

  I didn’t even have to think about it. Without a moment’s hesitation, I swung my leg over the side of the horse and dropped onto the hard-packed dirt. Rourke let out a shout
and tried to grab my arms to pull me back. I jumped out of the way, giving him a sad smile.

  “I’m sorry, Rourke.”

  And then I shifted away from him, disappearing into darkness. When I reappeared, I stood only inches from where Redmond held Bree captive. The look of delight in his eyes when he saw what I’d done made me want to punch the living daylights out of him. But I needed to bide my time. I wasn’t planning to go down without a fight, but he still had his blade pressed against Bree’s neck.

  “Well. Looks like you made the right choice.” His smile was razor sharp and cruel.

  “Norah, what the hell have you done?” That was Kael’s anguished cry, a sound that broke my heart in two. I couldn’t bear to look at him, to see those star-studded eyes doused with the pain of what I’d done.

  “I swear to god I’m going to kill him.” That was Liam, and he’d begun to stalk across the clearing, the veins in his neck rippling with fury.

  “Ah ah,” Redmond said, and he dug the blade deeper into Bree’s neck.

  “Liam, stop,” I said, eyes wild. “He’ll kill her.”

  Liam’s feet came to a sudden stop, though I could tell it took all his self-control to stay where he was. His entire body shook, and his fists were turning the color of blood. At the edge of the clearing, Kael had fallen to his knees. Rourke was staring right at Redmond, his arrow nocked and ready to be released. Finn was nowhere to be seen, a fact that unnerved me. If he tried to stop this...I didn’t doubt that Redmond would follow through on his threat.

  “Okay.” I held up my hands and shot Redmond a strained smile. “Look, here I am. Time to let Bree go. Time to let all of them go.”

  “Take her,” he shot over his shoulder at the other fae soldier.

  The male jumped down from his horse, his golden cloak billowing behind him. In an instant, his arms were around me, pinning my wrists together behind my back. Irritation flickered through me at his rough handling, but I stayed still and steady. I didn’t want to give Redmond any reason to believe that I wasn’t going through with my promise.