King of the Wilds: Rosethorn Valley Fae #3

by Tasha Black

  He meant it. She could see the fierce scowl under his flame colored beard.

  “Your realm sounds like an intense place,” she said.

  “All realms are worthy of intense protection,” he said. “Your kind will learn, or they will pay with their very existence.”

  She buttoned her lip and walked on.

  She shouldn’t keep finding herself accidentally invested in this relationship. It was bound to be a short one.

  And it was embarrassing that her foolish heart couldn’t tell the difference between physical appreciation for hot, wild-looking man and caring about his opinion of her.

  Bron walked on beside her, seemingly unaffected by any worries of his own.

  A moment later, a feeling of wrongness overcame her. She couldn’t explain it, but it chilled her to her bones.

  “Bron,” she murmured.

  “I know,” he replied.

  The cicadas had gone quiet. The only sound in the night air now was the sound of their footsteps.

  No.

  There were more footsteps than that. Something was thrashing toward them from just off the path.

  Terror made her heart threaten to stop beating.

  “Brothers,” Bron roared.

  The sound echoed off the trees and she heard footsteps coming from all around now.

  They were coming. The others would help her. She didn’t know why the thought comforted her - she barely knew them.

  She unfroze and tried to spot the thing coming for her in the trees. It was closer now. She could see the foliage waving wildly.

  This part of the path followed a steep hillside. It would be hard to run.

  “Stay behind me,” Bron growled.

  She obeyed reluctantly.

  If this thing was her destiny, she wanted to face it.

  Dorian and Sara joined them first, from behind.

  She spun to see Dorian drawing his forearms together and bowing his head as Sara held out a huge shard of glass.

  Inky darkness seemed to issue from Dorian’s chest, tendrils of it reaching into the forest as if searching for the fachan.

  Soft light came from the opposite direction, finally showing her the outline of the creature as she peeked around Bron’s big body.

  It was larger than she remembered, larger than life. And it lumbered toward her with a singular focus.

  Tristan sprinted toward her from behind the thing. He ran around it, allowing it a wide berth.

  As he drew closer, she felt her fear retreat and warmth fill her chest once again, like morning sunshine.

  He’s the King of Light…

  Tabitha followed close behind him as if the two were one.

  The beast howled, as if sensing that it was outnumbered.

  But its appetite for Miranda seemed only to grow, and it lumbered closer still.

  She could smell its rotten stench now. It was almost close enough to touch, its movements gone frantic in its hunger.

  “Easy, fachan,” Bron intoned. “We don’t want to fight you.”

  Miranda watched as its movements gentled.

  But it was still moving toward her.

  Sara began to sing, holding out the mirror shard in front of her as she did.

  The mirror brought you to this place,

  Broken mountain lacking grace,

  Thinning forest, slender trees,

  Poison in the noxious breeze,

  The thing swung around toward Sara menacingly, as if it knew shew was trying to trick it.

  She slipped a little on the muddy ground, but managed to catch herself and keep singing.

  Seeking the woman for a meal,

  Though truly in your bones you feel,

  She is made of city light,

  Too easy to catch, too weak for a fight,

  He lunged for Sara again.

  This time she lost her footing and stopped singing.

  Dorian was buried in the darkness he was bringing forth, so he didn’t see what was happening. And the others were too far away to grab her.

  Miranda acted on instinct.

  “STOP,” she cried, and power seemed to spill out of her like an invisible wave.

  The whole world around them seemed to pause for an instant.

  The big beast stopped mid-lunge as if gravity itself had commanded it.

  Sara stopped falling.

  In the heartbeat that followed she found her footing and hurriedly continued her song.

  Back to your home you choose to go,

  Where mountain caps are peaked in snow,

  Where worthy prey is swiftly found,

  And mortals to the land are bound.

  The big beast bowed his head.

  Dorian’s obsidian shadows fluttered in and closed around it.

  Before Miranda’s eyes, she saw it melt down into smoke and disappear in to the shard of mirror in Sara’s trembling hands.

  The forest was silent for a moment, except for their ragged breathing.

  “What was that?” Tabitha asked Miranda after a moment.

  She wasn’t talking about the creature. She was talking about whatever Miranda had done.

  “I-I don’t know,” Miranda admitted.

  Tabitha studied her suspiciously.

  “She saved my life,” Sara said to Tabitha. “You saved my life. Thank you.”

  “You’re welcome,” Miranda told her. “I’ve never done anything quite like that before.”

  Dorian put an arm around Sara and smiled at Miranda. “I’m glad you did it when you did.”

  “Does no one care how dangerous that kind of power is?” Tabitha asked.

  “I would never do that if someone weren’t in danger,” Miranda said quickly. “I’m honestly not sure if I could do it again anyway. I don’t even know how I did it this time.”

  “We’re all tired,” Bron said firmly. “Time for bed.”

  “No one wants to talk about this?” Tabitha pleaded. “That was like something one of these monsters would do.”

  Miranda felt tears sting her eyes.

  Don’t give them the satisfaction.

  “Is that really what you think I am?” she asked, letting her temper get the better of her. “So I’m just another creature to you, something for you to fear, something for you to hunt?”

  She felt a strange sensation in the air around her.

  Everyone had gone silent. They only stared at her, like she really was some monster.

  “No, you’re not,” Bron said quickly. “Of course not.”

  His voice was so soothing…

  She shook her head and felt the anger leave her. After a breath, she felt like herself again.

  “Holy cow!” Sara said, seeming genuinely surprised. “You looked just like the fachan for a second. How did you do that?”

  Miranda had no idea what she was talking about.

  “No,” Tabitha chimed in. “She looked just like that harpy we fought at the school.”

  “You can change your appearance,” Dorian said, sounding impressed.

  “No,” Bron corrected him. “She didn’t change what she looked like. She changed how we saw her.”

  Had she really done that?

  Miranda took a deep, slow breath. Her power had never taken on this dimension. It had certainly never been anywhere near this strong. She hoped she could control it.

  “This is insane,” Tabitha said. “No offense, Miranda, but with that kind of power, and knowing where your loyalties lie, it’s really hard for us to trust you.”

  “She helped us,” Tristan said quietly. “Let it go for now, my queen.”

  Tabitha bit her lip, but allowed Tristan to lead her back up the path toward their cars.

  “That really was amazing,” Sara said brightly to Miranda. “I was falling and my feet just… stopped.”

  Miranda smiled grimly, but didn’t answer. She didn’t need to make Tabitha any angrier.

  “Where did you learn to sing like that?” she asked instead.

  “
No idea,” Sara told her. “I’ve always had this weird feeling when I sing, but it’s grown stronger and stronger. Then Dorian came along and helped me realize I should use it instead of ignoring it.”

  Dorian smiled and Miranda was amazed to see the big man with the dark expression looking momentarily sunny.

  “I’ll go with the mortal for tonight,” Bron said suddenly.

  “Oh, we got the fachan. I’m sure I’ll be fine,” she said, though her heart beat a little faster at the idea of bringing him home again.

  He scowled at her and then turned up his nose and marched ahead of them through the woods.

  “He’s not good at talking about his feelings,” Sara confided softly. “But I think he really likes you.”

  Miranda smiled in spite of herself.

  “I like him, too,” she said. “But I think it’s probably best for us all to keep our space from each other, given the circumstances.”

  Sara looked a little disappointed. But she brightened quickly.

  “Did you know we have only two more monsters to catch?” she confided. “I kind of wish we had you around a little longer. It seems like we could wrap things up quickly with all of us assembled.”

  “Unfortunately, I’ve got to get back to work tomorrow,” Miranda said. “My boss isn’t prone to giving days off.”

  “If you change your mind, text me,” Sara said, slipping Miranda a business card.

  “Tarker’s Hollow Realty Group?” Miranda read dubiously. “You’re a real estate agent?”

  “Guilty as charged,” Sara replied happily. “Monster hunting is more of a side hustle.”

  Miranda laughed in spite of herself.

  They had reached the parking lot.

  “It was great to hunt monsters with you guys,” Miranda said, meaning it.

  Sara grinned and even Tabitha nodded her head in acknowledgement.

  Tristan gave her a smile and Dorian waved.

  Only Bron stood still as a statue in the light of the nearly full moon.

  “Thank you for helping me, Bron,” Miranda added softly.

  He turned to her and she could see the pain and longing in his eyes.

  He feels it too. This strange pull between us…

  She spun on her heel and headed for her car, hopping in as fast as she could and taking off down the trail before she could change her mind.

  She just needed a bath and a little sleep, she decided. She was not really mooning over some woodland fae king. Everything would seem normal again in the morning. She was sure of it.

  6

  Miranda

  Miranda awoke at dawn, beating the alarm on her phone to the punch, as usual.

  The bed at the Inn was soft and cozy. She stretched and took a moment to look out the window at the blue Tarker’s Hollow sky, her mind buzzing with unanswered questions.

  In the bright daylight, last night didn’t seem real at all.

  Had she really changed how the others saw her?

  Was something like that even possible?

  Were there really monsters in the woods?

  Did she really have the power to command them?

  That last thought seemed the most unlikely of all. It had probably been part luck and partly the power of surprise.

  Though Sara’s words echoed in her head.

  I was falling and my feet just… stopped.

  Well, she was most likely never going to see any of them again, so it wasn’t worth worrying about.

  She’d stumbled back to the Inn last night drained and exhausted. Right now she felt like she could barely command herself to get out of bed.

  She decided to take a hot shower and then hunt down some breakfast.

  As the steaming water pounded down on her, she thought suddenly about how she’d felt last night, padding back to the bedroom of her suite in just a towel, past the burly fae king.

  His eyes on her were a revelation, sending lightning bolts of awareness through her.

  He probably had that effect on every woman - it was probably just part of being a king, or just part of looking like a walking nature god.

  But of course, the other two kings, gorgeous, refined, and so much more her type as they were, had no such effect on her libido.

  “Don’t think about it,” she advised herself. “You’ve got to get back to the city and focus on work.”

  But when she wandered back into the bedroom, wrapped in a fluffy hotel robe, and checked her phone there was a text from her boss waiting.

  Cullen Ward:

  Don’t bother coming in today. I’ve got a few things to take care of. Take a couple of days off. Enjoy.

  She blinked and read it again.

  Miranda had been working for Cullen Ward for almost three years.

  In that time, he had never once given her an unplanned day off. Even when things were quiet, he always kept her close.

  She wondered vaguely what in the world he needed to get done. Mr. Ward never took time off for himself, either.

  She read the message a third time.

  Nope, she hadn’t imagined it.

  She sat on the edge of the bed and wondered what she would actually do.

  But she already knew.

  She was up, grabbing Sara Mason’s business card from the dresser, texting her before she could change her mind.

  Miranda Cannon:

  Hey, my boss just told me to take a couple of days off.

  She put the phone down and went to get dressed.

  It buzzed almost immediately.

  Sara Mason:

  Perfect! Meet me at Le Sucre in an hour. We’ll make a plan. Bring a bathing suit if you have one

  Miranda looked down at the phone.

  It really was going to be that easy. Something about these people made her feel at home.

  Though the bathing suit thing threw her a little.

  Miranda Cannon:

  Okay, see you then

  She dressed in work clothes and headed out right away. Hopefully, the mall in Springton still had a decent plus size store. Miranda loved her strong body, but her height and curves could make it tough to shop for anything at the last minute.

  The air outside was fragrant with the heavy blooms of the rose bushes that lined the eating area of the little tavern on the first floor of the Inn.

  Miranda was feeling good as she got into her car and headed for Springton for a quick shopping trip.

  An hour later, dressed in new casual clothing, and shoes that could handle a long walk in the woods, she arrived at Le Sucre.

  Sara’s little car was already outside.

  “I’m gonna take you by the hand and make you understand, Miranda,” the barista sang loudly as she entered.

  “What?” she asked.

  “Sara told me your name,” he replied. “But I cheated a little on the song lyrics.”

  She nodded, trying to keep up.

  “Miranda, that’s Carl,” Sara yelled from what appeared to be her usual table up by the window.

  Their last meeting here hadn’t been so pleasant. She pushed the thoughts aside and focused on the present.

  “Hey, Carl,” Miranda said.

  “Hey, yourself,” he replied. “What can I fix you?”

  She gave her order and then headed over to sit opposite Sara.

  “So how much time do you have off?” Sara asked.

  “I’m actually not sure,” Miranda said.

  “That seems kind of unusual,” Sara said.

  “It is unusual,” Miranda replied thoughtfully. “I emailed my boss yesterday afternoon and let him know about the worker who got hurt.”

  “You didn’t tell him the monster was real, did you?” Sara whispered.

  “Oh God, no,” Miranda said. “I just told him what the workers told me. I sent that email from the cabin, before anything else happened. He probably thought it was as ridiculous as I did.”

  “I’m just selfishly glad there are three of us mortals in on it,” Sara confided. “Otherwise
I might think I was actually losing my mind.”

  “If you were just watching, maybe,” Miranda allowed. “But you’re making magic.”

  “Right back at you,” Sara said. “Listen, I let Tabitha know you were coming, and she wants us to meet her at the museum after breakfast. Did you bring a bathing suit?”

  Miranda tried not to show that she was disappointed.

  “Don’t worry about Tabitha. She’ll come around,” Sara said softly, as if reading her thoughts. “We’ve been best friends forever, and this whole magic thing was something just the two of us shared. But it’s obvious to me that you’re part of the circle now. Whatever is going on with your boss, we’ll figure it out.”

  “He won’t change his mind,” Miranda said right away, not wanting to be dishonest.

  “There are stranger things on heaven and Earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy,” Sara misquoted hopefully.

  “Oh, a little Shakespeare with your breakfast, eh?” Carl asked as he carried over a tray covered in fruit and eggs. “Here you go, ladies. Enjoy!”

  Miranda dug in and tried to take the advice everyone seemed to be giving her today and just enjoy herself. It wasn’t hard to take satisfaction in a good meal with a new friend.

  As long as she didn’t allow herself to wonder why she was supposed to have a bathing suit with her for monster hunting, that was.

  7

  Miranda

  Miranda followed Sara and Tabitha through the parking lot of the Rosethorn Valley Swim Club, her flip-flops kicking up the gravel as they walked. She was beginning to wonder why it seemed like nothing in this town was paved.

  “Okay, listen up, Miranda,” Tabitha said in a very businesslike way for someone wearing a polka-dotted terrycloth coverup and a pair of cat eye sunglasses.

  At least Miranda was finally going to hear the plan.

  “The pieces of the mirror show us the view from the monsters. We haven’t seen much activity in the last two shards, but late last night we saw something that looked a lot like this area,” Tabitha said. “So we’re going to enjoy a day at the pool, while surreptitiously checking it out.”