“This is the King of the Winter Court, Brannon Glass,” Kael said as he gave the ruler a half-bow. He then turned to gesture at the woman who stood just behind the King’s shoulder. Her hair was nothing like his. It was a bright, brilliant blonde that lit up the entire room. “This is his Queen, Orla Glass.”
The changelings and I merely sat silently, staring at the two royals. They were dressed in varying shades of gray and black, with the male in an elaborate, billowing cloak and the woman in a sparkling gown that touched her toes. I glanced down at my black tee, my black jeans, and my muddy boots. Clearly underdressed, as always.
Kael cleared his throat and gave us all a strained smile. His eyes drifted to me. For a moment, the world seemed to stop around us. Something strange sparked within my chest. An almost…recognition. And then it was gone again as Kael pulled his eyes away.
I shook my head. What the hell was that?
“The Winter Court was interested in seeing the new changelings for the year. As you know, four of you will be joining them after you graduate from the Academy, so your development and training is of interest to them. They wish to see a bit of a demonstration from you.”
Blood drained from my face, and I shifted uncomfortably on the hard bench. A demonstration? Surely he didn’t mean that we had to show the Winter Court what we could do. Because...we couldn’t do much. Not yet, at least. And certainly not me.
And this could be my court. As the days passed, it seemed more and more likely that Winter was where I belonged, and I didn’t want to look like a fool in front of them. My roommate was very obviously a Spring fae while Lila and her fiery temper could only fit into the Summer Court. That left me with either Winter or Autumn, and seeing how those Redcaps were drawn to me...
Fingers crossed this demonstration had nothing to do with a bow and arrow.
“King Brannon,” Kael said, turning back toward the tall, commanding male fae, and his crown of twisted brambles. “What would you like to see from our recruits?”
“Skill with the bow and arrow is essential, particularly for our Court.” His words solidified the dread around my heart. “Our fighters specialize in long-range attacks.”
Kael bowed his head. “Bow and arrow it is.”
Outside, the moon was obscured by thick, rolling clouds, and thunder echoed in the distance. There was no moonlight to help us this evening, only a few torches the instructors had rounded up from the Academy grounds. I stood shivering, sandwiched between Griff and Sophia, though I wasn’t cold. My nerves were rocketing around in my gut like a bullet ricocheting from one metal object to the next.
“Norah.” Kael flicked his fingers at me, of all people, motioning me forward. “Let’s start with you.”
Why? I wanted to ask, but I kept my mouth shut. I could feel the eyes of the Royals watching my every move. If they’d come here to see the new changelings, then there was no doubt in my mind that they had an idea of who and what I might be. Kael had probably filled them in on everything, including the Redcaps’ strange attraction to me. They would be sizing me up, seeing if I had the chops to join their Hunters after my graduation.
I did not have the chops. Not yet. But I wanted to prove myself to them regardless.
I stepped forward and took the bow. Kael pressed the arrow into my hands and locked eyes with me. No words came from those strained lips of his, but it felt as though he spoke to me. Through his eyes, through his mind, through the intense connection I suddenly felt with him.
Stop pushing it away. Accept what you are and fight back.
Frowning, I slid the arrow into the bow and lifted the aim to my eye. If only it were that simple. If only my mind and my acceptance could make my body perform. I wanted this. More than anything. With a deep breath, I pulled back the bow string and loosed the arrow across the field.
And then it just sank into the ground two feet from where I stood.
Disappointment burned in the back of my throat. I didn’t dare look at the Royals. I knew what their faces would say. She is not one of us. She’s not good enough.
She’s helpless.
Kael let out a heavy sigh and ran his fingers through his coal black hair. The two Royals muttered something to each other, too low for me to hear. But I didn’t need to hear their words to know what they meant. I sucked ass. They probably didn’t want me in their court. I blinked away the burning tears that threatened to fall from my eyes.
Kael’s hand landed on my arm, and he gripped tight. “Come with me.”
Suddenly, the world blurred around me and a deep cold settled over my bones. Everything went pitch black. The summer night became nothing but a darkness so pure that it felt as though we’d entered a black hole.
And then the world was right again, the buzzing insects roaring up around me. Blinking hard, I stumbled back. “What the hell was that?”
Kael’s eyes were pools of night. He gazed at me with such an intensity that I could not help but flush in response. “I know you can do more than what you’re letting us see, and if you don’t improve, things are not going to go well for you.”
“What are you talking about?” I glanced around me, but the Royals and the changelings were no longer there. And neither was the Academy. Instead, we stood high on a cliff that plunged low on every side but one. One that led to a cave set deep into the side of a mountain. No lush greenery. No swaying trees. It was all rocks and mist. Panic bubbled up in my chest. “Where have you taken me? How did you do that? What the hell is going on?”
Kael edged in close. So close that only an inch of air wafted between us. I sucked in a breath and tipped back my head, staring up into his endlessly dark eyes. My heart pounded in my chest. Why was he so close? He didn’t need to be this close. Did he? My eyes snagged on his lips. They were full and curving up, revealing two rows of teeth that almost looked…sharp. I shuddered, dragging my gaze up the length of his strong, square jaw and up to where his silky strands of raven hair curled over his pointed ears.
He was…not terrible to look at. But he had also somehow transported me through air to steal me away to a cliff so that he tell me just how much I sucked. He no doubt thought I was a Winter fae. Everyone did. And now I was embarrassing him in front of his King and Queen.
With a shuddering breath, I took a step back. But then he just took another step closer.
“There’s something we haven’t told you all yet because we didn’t want to frighten you,” he said in a low growl, and his breath whispered across my cheek.
My heart thumped at his words. “Okay, well, that’s not really making me feel any better.”
“It’s possible to fail at the Academy. Those who do not pass are banished from the Courts. You must join the Wilde Fae, and it’s a fate I do not wish on anyone, Norah.”
“The Wilde Fae,” I repeated. “So, they’re...not part of any Court?”
I mean, that didn’t sound that terrible. Just so long as I could still learn how to fight.
“They’re savages,” he said, eyes flashing. “Vicious and cruel and violent. You wouldn’t survive.”
“Okay. Not ideal,” I said, wiping my palms against my jeans. “But also…thanks a lot for having absolutely no faith in my ability to survive. I’m stronger than I look, Kael.”
He leaned closer then, his eyes sparking with something I didn’t quite understand. “I know you’re stronger than you look. Rourke told me about your bravery when faced with the pooka.”
I snorted. “And now you’re bringing Rourke into this? He used me as bait.”
“And you didn’t run. You tried to fight it, and you might have succeeded if it wasn’t impossible to take on a pooka head on. Which makes me think you’re holding back.” He slid a quiver of arrows from his back and dropped them to the ground in front of me. He took a step back. “You’re better than you think you are. Good luck.”
Before I could ask him what he meant by good luck, Kael disappeared from the cliff. As in, he actually disappeared. One moment, he was there, and the ne
xt, he was gone. A shimmer of darkness surrounded him, and then there was nothing left but the quiver of arrows he’d dropped onto the ground. A low growl sounded from behind me, a sound that skittered up the back of my spine. It was coming from the depths of the cave.
There was definitely something inside of that cave. And it definitely wasn’t human or fae.
In an instant, I understood far too well what he’d done. He’d left me here with some arrows, thinking I’d be able to shoot the creature if I had no other choice.
One had used me as bait. And now one had abandoned me to fight a monster on my own. I was really starting to hate these fae.
Mouth dry, I grabbed the quiver and slowly spun on my feet to face whatever lurked behind me. A beast stalked out of the cave, its massive claws punching the ground. Deep black eyes glimmered from beneath a mess of mangy fur. The beast stalked closer, hot breath curling from its fangs. My body began to tremble, and my heart shook so hard it felt as though it might burst through my chest.
It was one of the creatures. It was a Redcap.
The monsters who had killed my best friend.
And now one would kill me, too.
Hands trembling, I grabbed an arrow and tried to aim the bow, but my body was shaking so hard that the arrow bounced all over the place. The creature growled and edged forward, dark saliva dripping off its sharp fangs.
“Shit,” I whispered, stumbling back. One swipe of those paws. One bite from those monstrous fangs. That was all it would take to end me. “Kael?”
No answer. There was no sound at all. Nothing but the scrape of the Redcap’s claws against the rocky cliff. The beast leaned closer, opened wide its massive jaws, and roared. Shivers coursed across every inch of my skin, and I lifted my bow once again, desperate to find a steady aim.
I could do this. My heart thumped once. My eyes zeroed in on the Redcap’s monstrous face. I didn’t have to run. I could fight. For Bree. For my mother. For the helpless girl I used to be.
I loosed an arrow. It soared through the night air and sunk heavily into the Redcap’s left paw. Mouth opened wide, it roared and lunged toward me. I was too slow this time. Its mouth closed around my leg, its teeth slicing through my skin. Pain exploded behind my eyes, and I dropped to the ground. I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t think. The pain was unbearable.
I closed my eyes and sucked deep breaths in through my nose.
With a strangled yell, I grabbed another arrow and punched it into the Redcap’s claw once more, like a sword. It sunk through flesh. Blood poured onto the matted fur.
The beast roared, a sound that shook the very ground.
Wind whooshed around me. Darkness filled my vision. I ground my teeth together and squeezed my eyes tight as the air seemed to shift.
I heard a clap. And then another. And then a light chuckle that came with the scent of burning leaves and damp dirt.
When I opened my eyes, I was no longer on the cliff with the creature bearing down on me. I was back in the Academy courtyard with the changelings staring at me wide-eyed and open-mouthed. The Royals stood just to my right, softly clapping and nodding while Kael, the horrible fae who had abandoned me to face a monstrous creature alone, was nowhere to be seen.
Rourke was suddenly there, holding out a hand as he leaned over me, his stupid golden hair falling into his equally stupid golden eyes. “Well done. You’re the first new recruit to shift. That means you’re likely mine.”
I smacked his hand aside and stood, my entire body trembling, my leg burning from the pain. Lifting my chin, I gave him a shuddering growl. “I am no one’s.”
I winced and braced myself for his reaction. I’d hit his hand and stood up to him, in front of Royals no less. My instructors had made it clear that they wanted to be shown respect. But I was all out of niceties. Not after what had happened. Not when I’d almost just died.
Both he and Kael had thrown me to the wolves. Literally. If they thought I would go along with this whole mating thing willingly after all they’d done, they had another think coming.
But instead of scolding me, his eyes glimmered. He stood a little taller, if that were even possible. He already towered over everyone else.
“Indeed,” he murmured. And then his gaze flicked down, darkened. “You’re hurt.”
He scooped me up into his arms. I tried to wriggle away, but it was no use. The pain was blinding. In fact, everything seemed a bit fuzzy now. I would tell him exactly how I felt all about this…but later. I couldn’t find the energy to do anything other than drop my head against his chest. He smelled so strange. Like the very earth itself. My nostrils flared as I breathed him in, and a strange sense of calm flooded my painful limbs. And as he strode away from the Royals, darkness filled my mind completely.
Chapter Twelve
“So, let me get this straight. Only Autumn and Winter fae can shift?” I sat in the infirmary bed, flipping through a book my roommate had brought for me. Sophia had found it in the library, the sole copy of a book we’d be covering in one of our classes next semester: The Magic of the Four Courts.
I was desperate to know everything I could. Partially because…I didn’t want to end up in either of those two Courts. Not after Rourke had used me for bait. And especially not after what Kael had pulled.
Not that Liam or Finn were much better, but at least they hadn’t put my life in danger. Yet.
“That’s what it says,” she said with a nod, pointing at the book. “All fae have access to certain powers and strengths, like the whole bow and arrow thing, apparently. Every fae is supposed to be pretty good with weapons…” She cleared her throat, knowing it was still very much a sore subject for me. “But then there are specialized gifts, like shifting.”
I wrinkled my nose and crossed my arms over the thin infirmary sheet. “Why do they call it shifting? I would have thought that term meant changing into something else. You know, like werewolves or something.”
She let out a light laugh. “Wouldn’t that be something? Well, apparently it just means you’re shifting through space. From one location to the next. And only Winter or Autumn fae can do it.”
“And that’s what I did,” I said softly. “So, that means I’m definitely not Spring.”
A strange feeling passed through me, a mixture of both dread and disappointment. Knowing that I was a member of one of the two darker courts meant I’d end up with Kael or Rourke, a prospect that did not fill me with glee. But it also meant that the strange connection I’d felt with Finn was really nothing at all. Those moments where he passed me in the hallway and winked, there was no reason I should blush in response. He belonged to someone else. Most likely my roommate.
I’d known that deep down inside, but having it confirmed made me feel more disappointed than I would have expected.
I frowned. “I can’t believe I’m probably going to end up mated to the fae who was willing to leave me for dead just to prove a point.”
She pursed her lips and leaned back into the old wooden chair. “I don’t think he left you for dead, Norah. He didn’t shift back into the courtyard before you got back.”
“Are you sure? He disappeared right in front of me. And he left me those arrows so that I had to fend for myself, knowing there was a Redcap in that cave.”
Anger burned through me. Kael could not be my mate. He just couldn’t.
“Yeah, he did.” She shrugged. “But I don’t think he actually left you. He probably shifted, like, five feet away. Didn’t you say there was a cave? I bet he was hiding in there, watching. He would have stepped in if you weren’t able to handle yourself.”
“Well, if that’s the case, then why didn’t he come back when the Redcap bit me? I got injured, and he did nothing,” I said, frown deepening. “Face it, Sophia. I’m probably stuck with Kael, a fae who couldn’t care less about what happens to me.”
“I don’t think Winter fae are as unfeeling and emotionless as you think they are. Maybe he’ll end up surprising you as much as you su
rprised everyone when you appeared in the middle of the courtyard like that.” She grinned. “Remember what Alwyn said? We’re going to end up thrilled with our mates.”
I scowled. “Unlikely.”
“How’s the wound?” The sweet scent of sunflowers whispered in from the open doorway of the infirmary. I glanced up from my reading. I had gotten pretty engrossed in the book about the four different powers and gifts, to the point where I hadn’t realized that several hours had passed until I spotted the full moon outside the window.
“It really fucking hurts,” I said with a half-wince, half-smile. “How long do you think it’s going to take to heal?”
He eased into the room and shut the door behind him with a click. There was something about his movement that made my breath catch. Liam was like a graceful lion, stalking his prey, which meant…what was his prey? Me? I swallowed hard, trying not to notice exactly how well his dark tunic fit his perfectly-sculpted chest and arms.
“Unassisted? It could take weeks.” He shot me a mischievous smile.
My stomach tumbled. “You mean, without medicine?”
His eyes flashed as he strode across the room and pushed the chair around so that the back was facing me. Then, he perched in it, legs spread wide on either side of the wood. “Looks like you’ve been doing some interesting reading. Have you gotten to the chapters about the Summer fae gifts?”
“No,” I admitted. “I’ve been kind of engrossed in the parts about the Winter and the Autumn fae. I guess because...”
“Because you think you’re one of them,” he finished for me. “And you’d be right. You’re an Autumn or a Winter. Rourke is going around telling everyone you’re Autumn, though I’d place bets on you being Winter.”
“Because of the whole Redcap thing.”
I couldn’t help but notice how easily he spoke about my Court, as if it didn’t matter to him at all where I belonged. But why would he care? And why should I care that he didn’t care? I stared at him, at his bonfire eyes and hair. That sizzle I always felt around him was there again, tugging me toward him. That magic. His hidden allure.
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