by Linsey Hall
I stopped in front of them and raised my hands, showing them the fiery cuffs that were becoming too hot. “I’m here. Don’t you think you can take these off?”
“That depends.” The queen’s voice was even colder than her aura, and she was pissed. “On what you have to say about the SoulStone.”
“I took it to save the Sea Fae.”
“They are not our allies.” The king’s voice was equally cold.
“Yeah, clearly. Their king hunted me for years. It was the only way I could save myself.” I didn’t want to mention that I’d saved the Sea Fae simply because I couldn’t bear to lose my brother or watch hundreds of people die. No, I needed to convince them I was one hundred percent Fire Fae. Which I was. “The only other option was for their king to sacrifice me, and I wasn’t keen on that choice.”
“Instead you sacrificed the SoulStone, the heart of our people. The ancestral stone that contains our original fire and also helps us to control it.”
Yeah, that sounded bad.
“Not on purpose,” I said. “I didn’t know I would lose it.”
“And yet you haven't tried to find it.”
“It’s lost to the ocean. And I have no magic. I’ve been working on a plan to get both back, though. I just need more time.”
“You’re too slow and weak.” The queen’s lips flattened. “Your entire Court relies on you and this is the best we get?”
“It’s been two freaking days.” It’d been years since I’d been around royalty, and I’d clearly lost any respect for them.
The queen thrust out her hand and hit me with a blast of fire so big that I was thrown off my feet. I landed on my ass, skidding across the stone floor.
3
The queen glared haughtily at me as I climbed to my feet, still aching from her attack.
Irritation flared. This blows.
I needed to be better at faking respect.
I pushed myself to my feet and glared at her. “Are you forgetting that my entire life has been dedicated to staying alive so that I can save your ass?”
Whoops. Not my best attempt at respect.
“I’m aware it’s your destiny and your duty to your people.” Her tone could have dripped icicles.
Damn it, she had me there.
I didn’t give a crap about duty. But the other Fire Fae? Yeah. I cared about them. I’d do whatever it took to save them, even putting up with this miserable bitch’s attitude.
And she knew it.
I sucked in a deep breath, striving for calm. “Why exactly did you bring me here?”
“You need to find the SoulStone.”
“Duh. I also need my magic back.”
“I don’t care how you do it,” the king said. “But you need to do it soon. The magic in our kingdom is destabilizing.”
“What do you mean?”
“Without the SoulStone to help us control our magic, the boundary between our world and the human world is weakening. So is our control over our flame.”
Oh, shit.
“On the west side of our realm, the boundary between realms is already so weak that we can see a human village on the other side,” the queen said. “If it continues that way, we are doomed to discovery.”
“Worse,” the king said, “the weaker Fae are losing control of their flame. It’s taking over their bodies, and slowly killing them.” He waved a hand, and an image appeared to the left of him, showing an older Fae who stood stiff and still. His eyes were flaming red and his skin an ashy gray.
I gasped. “Can he feel it?”
“Not yet, we think. It is his own flame, after all, going out of control. But if his entire body turns to ash before the SoulStone is replaced, he will perish.”
“So he can be cured?”
“Yes, we think so,” the queen said.
It reminded me of the curse that had frozen all the Fire Fae. Was that same dark magic at play here, somehow? The missing SoulStone was definitely to blame, but the similarity was too much to ignore.
“If you don’t hurry, more Fae will fall,” the king said. “And the barrier between our realm and the human one will fade, leading to discovery when we are at our weakest.”
No no no.
I wasn’t sure what was worse—the fact that the Fire Fae kingdom might suddenly appear on human Dartmoor or that they were losing control of their flame. Both could lead to their destruction. But losing control of their flame… That was the first step in the prophecy coming to pass.
The Great Burning had been put into motion.
And it was all my fault.
“I’ll fix it. I’ll get the SoulStone back. We’ll regain control of our flame, I swear.” I still had no idea how, but I had to.
And fast. I couldn’t be responsible for the Great Burning twice.
The king and queen gave me identical hard stares.
“You had better.” The queen’s tone hadn’t thawed a bit. She waved a hand at me. “You must go clean up. Someone is coming to see you, and you reflect poorly upon us.”
I looked down at the demon blood coating my front. Sure, it wasn’t a great look. Especially not for the immaculate Fae, who always dressed to the nines even when going into battle. They were masters of effortless chic, and I looked like hell.
“Who’s coming to see me?” My mind spun with possibilities, but couldn’t land on a single one.
“You’ll see.” She flicked her hand. “Now go and get cleaned up.”
“Take off the manacles.” My voice was hard.
She sighed, then flicked her hand again. They disappeared, and I lowered my arms to my sides. I gave her one last glare, then turned to follow the guards. They led me though the castle, which I’d only been in a few times when I’d still lived here.
It was gorgeous, with ornate glass decoration that burned with internal fire. They led me up a narrow spiral staircase to a surprisingly nice chamber at the top of one of the towers. An enormous bed sat against one wall, with a bath in front of the fire. It steamed with a pale silver smoke, looking incredibly inviting.
The guards left me without a word, shutting the door behind them. I spun in a circle, taking in the windows that dotted each wall, providing a view of the village on all sides of the castle.
Not bad digs.
The voice came from the bed, and sure enough, it was Puka, sitting on top of the gray satin duvet.
“Comfortable?”
It’s no dirt hole, but it will do.
“Dirt hole? That’s how you talk about your den?”
It was a joke. She huffed. Jeez, you’re stressed.
“Wouldn’t you be?”
Good point. They treat you really badly, considering that you’re their future savior.
“I know. It’s weird.” I shrugged. “Kinda. I mean, I did steal the SoulStone.”
It’s some complicated business, I tell you what. Her black eyes scanned up and down my front. You’d better get in that bath. You’re starting to stink of demon blood.
“Sorry.” I stripped out of my clothes and headed to the bath, sinking in with a groan. “This is the nicest thing I’ve done in days. Weeks.”
You’ve been running like a hare on killing day.
I winced at the turn of praise. “Well, whatever. It’s nice.”
My muscles were melting into the bath and I wanted to stay in the water for a thousand years.
“Maybe I could just live here,” I said.
What, in this realm?
“In the bath, silly.” But my gaze moved to the window. I could stay in this realm forever… if I stopped the Great Fire from devouring it. Actually, I could probably live here from now on, if I wanted to. The King of the Sea Fae was no longer hunting me to kill me.
Instead, he was hunting me because I was his mate.
Either way, with the threat of death gone, I no longer needed to hide out in Magic’s Bend. And since he’d found me there, it wasn’t a good hideout anyway.
But did I want to stay in Ma
gic’s Bend?
Maybe.
The dawn light was beginning to paint the sky pink and red through the windows, and the beauty of it nearly took my breath away. Dartmoor had so much to offer, and I’d been gone so long.
Yet I still loved Magic’s Bend.
Ugh, don’t think about it.
I sank down into the bath, driving the thoughts from my head. The firelight flickered in the walls, and morning birds began to chirp from outside.
When the knock sounded on the door, I was so relaxed that I almost didn’t hear it.
Hey!
Puka’s voice jerked me out of my semi-slumber, and I sloshed upright, staring at the door.
It swung open, and Iain stepped in.
My heart thundered.
He looked better than ever—tall and strong and impossibly handsome. His large frame nearly filled the door, but he moved with a grace that seemed almost impossible. I could imagine the muscles beneath his gray cloak, could remember the feel of them beneath my hands. Dark hair flowed back from his head and his cobalt eyes flicked over my form.
“Caera.” His use of my Fae name made me shiver.
I ducked lower beneath the bubbles. “Don’t you know how to knock?”
“I did.” His voice was husky, and his eyes heated as he took in my bare shoulders. Fortunately, the bubbles covered everything else, but I was feeling really damned naked. His timing was just my luck. This was not the powerful position I’d hoped to meet him in, when the time finally came.
“You didn’t wait for me to say come in.”
“I filled in the gaps myself.”
“Hmmmm.” I glared at him. “What are you doing here? In the heart of Fire Fae territory?”
“I’ve come for you.”
“How the hell am I supposed to interpret that?”
“However you like, but I think the bond between us is clear.”
Heat flashed through me at his words, and it was impossible not to think of the dreams when he said things like that. “I’m busy.”
“Trying to recover the lost SoulStone of your people.”
“Among other things.” Damn, I wished I could get out of this bath. I flicked my hand at him. “You need to turn around. Give me a moment to get dressed.”
“Go ahead.” His voice was calm on the surface, but I could read the heat beneath it. “Won’t bother me.”
“Turn. Around.”
The tiniest smile quirked up at the corner of his lips. “Fair enough.”
He spun in a circle, turning to face one of the windows that overlooked the kingdom. I was surprised that the king and queen had allowed him in. Our Courts had been at an uneasy standoff for generations, a discord that had only intensified when the prophecy about him and me had been laid down. He was the king of the rival Court, allowed here to look over our land, determine our strengths and weaknesses.
I so did not understand royalty. Seemed like a bad idea to me.
I hurriedly got out of the bath, nearly slipping on the slick wood floor as I dried myself off.
“Careful,” Iain murmured.
“Don’t look.”
“I don’t need to use my eyes to hear you.”
I huffed and searched for some clean clothes. There had to be some here, since the queen had taken such offense at my bloody attire. I spotted some hanging over a chair—nearly identical to my black pants and top from earlier.
That was good of them. Or they’d sensed I’d pitch a fit if given one of the ethereal Fae gowns. Not that I didn’t like dresses. I did. I just didn’t have any balls in my near future, and they really slowed you down when fighting.
Quickly, I tugged on the clothes, then pulled on my own boots and leather jacket. The jacket was mostly clean, fortunately, my top having taken the worst of the hit.
Dressed, I crossed my arms and turned to Iain. “Okay, you can look.”
He turned, his expression indecipherable.
I raised a brow. “Disappointed?”
“Hardly.” There it was again, the rough voice.
The silence lasted only a second, but it felt like an eternity. Tension tightened between us until I swore I could almost feel his skin beneath my fingertips. My imagination was just too good when it came to him.
“So really, what are you doing here? In the heart of the Fire Fae kingdom?”
“I owe the Fire Fae, and I always pay my debts.”
“Actually, you owe me.”
“I won’t argue with that.” Intensity filled his gaze. “Though don’t think that we are on the same side of things because of it. You drugged me. Gave me a love potion that turned my allegiance from my people to you. I can never forgive that, but—”
“Well what the hell was I supposed to do?” I glared at him.
He sidestepped the question. “—But you still saved my people, and I owe you.”
“Damn right you do.” I ignored the bit about him never forgiving me. It didn’t matter if he would ever forgive me because I hadn’t agreed to be his mate, and I wasn’t going to let fate decide my life for me. The fact that it hurt a bit was stupid and inconsequential. “So how do you propose to pay us back?”
“I’ll help you find the SoulStone.”
It wasn’t a bad offer. I pursed my lips as I considered it, then added in some foot tapping for good measure. I wanted more out of him. “And?”
“And I’ll help you get your magic back.”
“Do you know how?”
“No. But we’ll find a way.”
“Together?”
“Together.”
“And then we’ll find a way to undo the mating ceremony.”
His jaw tightened.
“I insist.” I made my voice firm.
“Fine. We’ll find a way.”
“I did it because I had to, you know,” I said, referencing the love potion. I knew he didn’t trust me because of it, and it was the elephant in the room. “I wasn’t going to risk being led to slaughter, and my people rely on me.”
His eyes darkened, but he said nothing.
“Let’s deal with the SoulStone first,” I said. “The Fire Fae are losing control of their fire and we have a limited amount of time.” The thought reminded me of the king and queen. “How did you get here by the way? And how’d you know I would be here?”
Due to the mate bond, he could sense me when I was close. Just like I could sense him. But he’d have no way to know I was here.
“You’ve been impossible to find, so I came to them yesterday when I realized where the SoulStone was located. I knew you’d be in trouble once they discovered it missing, and I wanted to offer my help.”
And beg for a pardon for me, perhaps. Maybe that’s why I hadn’t gotten in more trouble.
Nope. I wasn’t going to dwell on it. I didn’t want to have a reason to like him. Anyway, the important bit was the SoulStone. “You know where the stone is?”
“In the ocean, off the coast of my kingdom.”
“Well, I knew that. But how the hell do you find one little rock in the middle of the sea?” When I’d first held the stone, I’d felt a connection to it. But that connection had broken when I’d lost it underwater—or it had weakened due to distance, I wasn’t sure.
“I believe it is with the Primordial Ones, an ancient race of Fae Merpeople.”
“Wait, you mean like Fae mermaid hybrids?”
He nodded. “They’re an ancient race, and a secret one. Only our Court knows of them, because we were once members of their Court until we left and established our kingdom on land. They’re essentially our ancestors, thousands of years removed.”
“So I assume that means they don’t like you.”
He shrugged. “They don’t know me. I can be charming.”
“Well, they don’t like the Sea Fae, then. Or their king. Which is you.”
“It’s not outright war between us, no. But we don’t necessarily get along, either. They have a Court deep under the sea, one that hasn’t been vis
ited by my kind in centuries. It is a place of danger and intrigue, and we once lost an entire troop of ambassadors who visited.”
“Lost?”
“They died somehow. Mysteriously. The Primordial Court sent us their jewelry in a box. Our queen at the time never had enough evidence to prove it was murder and didn’t want to incite war, so we placed a ban on visiting their realm. It was never worth the risk.”
“Until now.”
“They likely have the SoulStone. It was lost right over their territory. A scout of mine suggests that the energy of the SoulStone has been sensed in their palace.”
“The palace could be the source of the dark presence that I sensed while breaking the curse.” I shuddered at the memory. “It was evil, Iain. Whatever it was. And I believe it is the one that cursed your people.”
He nodded. “I sensed it as well, but I don’t believe it was a Fae presence. It had none of the characteristics of our kind, and it certainly wasn't one of the Primordial Ones. It didn’t feel like them at all.”
“Can you be sure?”
“Not fully, no. But do we have a choice? If the stone is there, we need to go for it.”
Damn it, he was right. But deep in my soul, I knew that the darkness was what I was fighting. It was still out there, lurking somewhere, and I would have to stop it. Problem was, I had no idea how to stop evil incarnate that had no physical form I could kill. I shook the thought away—I would worry about that later.
“We’ll go to the Primordial ones,” I said. “But how do we find it from there?”
“I don’t know. We’ll have to be clever.”
He could get me in the door, but from there, we’d have to be on our toes to find the damned thing, and we didn’t have a lot of time. “What we need is a tracker.”
“Only Fae can enter their realm. It’s blocked against all others.”
Damn. That meant the FireSouls weren’t an option. If we could bring one of them, they could probably lead us right to the thing. “Let me call my brother.”
“For?”
“He’s a potions master. He could probably make us a tracking potion.”
“The Fae will have wards against that sort of thing. Any wise ruler would. It’d have to be the most powerful tracking potion ever made to get past their defenses.”
