A Dance With Darkness (2020 Ed)

by Jenna Wolfhart

  “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 it counts.”

  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 back 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 army.”

  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 from where she stood at the front of the pack.

  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 warrior 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?”

  I frowned.

  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 warriors 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 reins, but my eyes had locked onto the mangy fae. She’d half-turned as she’d 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 by 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. He dug the blade deeper into Bree’s neck. “Your mates need to stay right where they are.”

  “Liam, stop,” I said, eyes wild, heart pounding in horror when blood pooled on Bree’s skin. “He’ll kill her.”

  Liam 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,” Redmond shot over his shoulder at the other fae warrior.

  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 to go through with my promise.

  “Got her,” the warrior said.

  But Redmond still held his blade against Bree.

  “Happy now?” I said to him. “You’ve got me. Let go of Bree.”

  I was beginning to have a bad feeling about this. My enemy was a master of deception with a heart filled with cruel, cold rage. I’d made the ultimate sacrifice, but as those glittering eyes pierced my soul, I feared that none of us would survive.

  His lips twisted into a strange smile. “Is that really the best idea? I mean, she is a Redcap. Didn’t she kill some Academy guards?”

  My heart began to beat wildly in my chest. “You said you would let her go if I came with you. An exchang
e. Me for her. That’s what you said.”

  He lifted his shoulder in a shrug. “Perhaps that was a mistake. I can’t very well release a monster, especially not in the midst of our precious changelings. What would our Queen think if she knew I’d allowed them to get attacked?”

  I narrowed my eyes, and my breath began to expel through my nose in rapid bursts. My entire body shook, and I could barely think straight as the realization of what I’d done washed over me. Redmond had never intended on letting Bree go. He was going to kill her, right in front of me. And then he’d probably move on to me next.

  “Let. Her. Go!” I squirmed against the warrior’s tight grip. He was strong, but a strange kind of power had begun to sing in my veins, one that made me feel almost invincible. I just needed a little more time...

  Another set of footsteps crunched through the dead leaves. Another Autumn fae warrior came up behind us, and he had—

  He had Finn. An unconscious Finn who had a bruise the size of the sun on his face.

  “Found this one lurking around back there. What do you want me to do with him?”

  “We’ll kill him, too,” Redmond said. “It will be a good training lesson for the changelings here. Don’t rebel against the Courts, or else there will be serious consequences.”

  I’d had enough. I couldn’t stand here trapped while Redmond threatened everyone I knew and loved. The power boiled inside of me, and a furious fire consumed my soul.

  “Let them go!” My voice was so loud that the ground beneath our feet began to shake.

  And with those words, the strange, wild power of my soul spilled out into the forest clearing. A harsh and bitter wind whipped around me, and the intensity of my command made me fall to my knees. A sharp, splitting pain ripped my skull in two, but I gritted my teeth against the force of it.

  I wanted to free Bree. I wanted to free Finn. And I wanted these Autumn fae to go down.

  Everything exploded into chaos. Bree vanished into thin air, followed quickly by Finn. The horses began to buck and kick, slamming their massive hooves into each of the Autumn fae warriors. Redmond screamed and stumbled back. His horse knocked him sideways where he fell into a heap on the ground.

  I had to glance away when the hooves began to pound into his body. Bones snapped. Blood painted the orange leaves. The sound of it would haunt me to my grave.

  Squeezing my eyes as tight as I could, I dug my hands into the dirt and clung on to the earth. The wind that whipped around me had become a tornado of leaves and magic and pain, and I could no longer hear anything but the heavy roar of my blood.

  Suddenly, the wind died. The leaves fluttered to the forest floor, and my heavy breathing was the only sound in the world.

  I looked up. Bree knelt before me, her eyes shining beneath a face caked in dirt. She took my shaking hand in hers and squeezed.

  “You saved me, Norah.” Her voice caught, and the tears in her eyes began to spill down her cheeks. “You saved us all.”

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  I felt as though I’d been run over by a bullet train. Soon after Bree had come to me in the forest, I’d passed out. When I woke up, I was in the infirmary again, back at the Academy. The early morning light streamed in through the open window, and my four fae instructors were dotted around the room, each and every one of them fast asleep.

  I cleared my throat.

  Immediately, Liam was on his feet, glaring at every shadow in the room as if he were in search of an enemy to fight. I let out a laugh and coughed, rubbing at my throat. Even my vocal cords felt as if they’d been tossed through a blender.

  “Take it easy.” Kael pulled his chair closer to my bed and took my hand in his. “You’re going to have some pain for a little while.”

  “Where’s Bree?” I asked. “Is she okay? Did you get her away from the Autumn Court?”

  “Bree is fine,” he said gently. “We brought her back to the Academy and administered the Winter Starlight. She’s recovering well. We think she’ll pull through this thing.”

  Relief whooshed out of me, so intense that it felt as though my entire body was spent.

  “I don’t even understand what happened.” I glanced up at Rourke, who hovered behind Kael. “I’m sorry I shifted away from you like that.”

  His jaw clenched. “You scared the shit out of me. Try not to do it again.”

  “But what exactly was it, anyway?” I turned my gaze toward Finn. He was perching on the edge of the bed, perfectly balanced. “Where did you disappear to? I didn’t know you could shift.”

  “I can’t shift,” he said with a light laugh. “You did that, Norah. First, you shifted Bree out of there, and then you did it for me. We ended up right next to Rourke.”

  My mouth dropped open. “But...”

  “And then,” Rourke added, “you turned the horses on their masters. They, ah...well, no need to go into the gory details. Let’s just say that Redmond will no longer be a problem for us.”

  My face blanched. “Honestly, I don’t think that was me. I didn’t want them stampede to him to death. Besides, I barely even know how to ride a horse properly, let alone how to control them. With my mind.”

  “And that’s why you have the hangover from hell, darling,” Liam said with a grin. “You used some seriously powerful gifts that you’ve never practiced before. It’s going to leave you feeling like shit until you master them. Just...how about you not volunteer yourself to get killed next time you want to try them out?”

  My head still felt muddled, like I was missing an important piece of the puzzle. “So, shifting belongs to Autumn fae and Winter fae. And the whole horse control thing is also Autumn. Does that mean I’ve been Autumn all this time?”

  Kael and Rourke exchanged that weighted glance again, the one that said far more than words.

  “Come on, guys. You clearly have a theory. I think it’s only fair to tell me after I saved all your asses.”

  Liam barked out a laugh. “That’s my girl.”

  “Don’t encourage her,” Rourke said before nodding at my Winter instructor. “Want to take this one, Kael?”

  Kael sighed and rubbed his chin. “We have reason to believe that you have not one but four seasonal gifts. You seem to possess traits and abilities of the Summer fae, but the same can be said for Winter, Spring, and Autumn as well.”

  I blinked. “Is that a thing?”

  “Not usually,” Finn said in a singsong voice. “It’s very rare. In fact, Marin was the last fae to possess the power of all four seasons. Some might find you a threat, which is why I believe you were given that necklace. It was meant to protect you from harm. Hide the powers, save the girl.”

  “Some fae would find it imperative to take you out of the equation,” Kael said in a growl. “In fact, it seems as though Redmond had a pretty good idea of what you are somehow. I’m not sure what he intended to do with you, but it wouldn’t have been good.”

  Chills swept down my spine. “So, you’re saying that I, the girl who couldn’t shoot a bow and arrow on her first day, can actually wield powers of all four seasons? You guys are playing a trick on me, aren’t you? You thought it would be funny to mess with me after I completely ignored everything you told me to do during the battle.”

  Finn chuckled. “Only a Spring would think we were playing a joke on you.”

  “And only a Summer would get so boiling mad that she made a tornado out of thin air,” Liam added.

  “Only an Autumn would be devious enough to trick Redmond into thinking you were going to go along with him.” When I opened my mouth to argue, Rourke smiled. “Don’t try to play it otherwise. You were never going to go down without a fight.”

  “And only a Winter,” Kael said, chiming in last, “would find enough strength in the darkness to shift two others out of that forest clearing without even touching them with her hands.”

  “You’re not just one type of fae, Norah,” Liam said. “You’re all of them. And the four of us pledge to stand by your side
no matter what.”

  “Because the storms have only just begun,” Rourke said. “We may have won this fight with the Autumn Court, but there will be many more to come.”

  The saga continues in…

  A Song of Shadows

  (Otherworld Academy, Book Two)

  Available Now

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  Also by Jenna Wolfhart

  Reverse Harem Fantasy

  Otherworld Academy

  A Dance with Darkness

  A Song of Shadows

  A Touch of Starlight

  A Cage of Moonlight

  A Heart of Midnight

  A Throne of Illusions

  Protectors of Magic

  Wings of Stone

  Carved in Stone

  Bound by Stone

  Shadows of Stone

  Romantic Epic Fantasy

  The Fallen Fae

  Court of Ruins

  Prince of Shadows (A Novella)

  Kingdom in Exile

  Keeper of Storms

  Paranormal Romance

  The Paranormal PI Files

  Live Fae or Die Trying

  Dead Fae Walking

  Bad Fae Rising

  One Fae in the Grave

  Innocent Until Proven Fae

  All’s Fae in Love and War

  The Supernatural Spy Files

  Confessions of a Dangerous Fae

  Confessions of a Wicked Fae

  The Bone Coven Chronicles

  Witch’s Curse

  Witch’s Storm