A Touch of Starlight

by Jenna Wolfhart

  Gritting my teeth, I raised Silverclaw. A wicked smile spread across the King’s face. His eyes glittered as the swirling mist stormed around us.

  “You truly think you can beat me?” He belted out an ominous laugh. “I am an experienced swordsman. I am King of my realm. You...” He spat. “You are just a human dressed up in a fae’s body.”

  I didn’t let his words get to me because they didn’t matter. Yes, I had come from the human realm. And yes, I still had much to learn. But I was strong because of what I’d been through, and I was more than sick and tired of fae underestimating me simply because of where I’d grown up.

  With a deep breath, I swung my sword at his face. He spun and met my blade with his own, the steel ringing loud in the silence. Before he could brace himself, I lobbed another attack. He blocked yet again, tapping my sword away as if it weighed nothing at all.

  I danced a step back, eyeing him up. He must have some weak spot. There must be something about his fighting style that I could use to my advantage. But before I could gather my wits, King Midas swung his sword at my head.

  I got my blade up just in time. His steel crashed into mine, sending me flying back across the snow-drenched ground. My blade was ripped from my hands, soaring across the clearing. King Midas cackled as he stormed toward me, launching his body through the air. I rolled over, kicking out my leg. He tumbled to the ground as our limbs made contact.

  I scrabbled back, but he was far too fast for me to manage.

  King Midas slammed the hilt of his sword into my head.

  Head ringing, I crumpled to the ground. Spots dotted my eyes and my blood roared in my ears. Everything tilted sideways, and I felt myself falling back onto the snow. Looking up at the sky above, I felt my mind drift away from the present. And I couldn’t help but smile. Heavy flakes drifted down from a steel grey sky, and the fresh sweet scent of snow filled my nose.

  A crunch from the woods caught my attention, snapping me back to the here and now. King Midas was too busy shouting at me to notice. I twisted my head to the side and peered through the trees. A hulking mass grew closer, the top of its head brushing against the highest branches. I recognized this creature. It was one I’d faced off against before. A Breking. They were common in the Winter lands. And they weren’t too fond of visitors.

  I might not be able to use my magic against the King, and I might not be able to control the creatures of the Dark Fae’s realm. But I could control the creatures of my realm. Or I could at least make sure the Breking knew where he could find his next tasty meal.

  Closing my eyes, I blocked out the King. He was striding closer to me now, shouting about how weak and powerless I was. But he didn’t matter. All that mattered was the creature in the trees. I thought back to that night I’d communicated with the rabbit. I reached out with my mind, letting the tendrils of my consciousness drift toward it.

  The dark soulless eyes of the monstrous Breking turned my way, and it felt as if it truly saw me. I reached out even further, slipping my consciousness into its mind. The creature didn’t flinch or pull away. It simply let me inside.

  I encouraged it to look sideways, pointing out the ranting, raving King who stood over my body with his sword held high. And then I whispered, Charge.

  I pulled out of the Breking’s mind as it galloped through the trees, its gaze locked on the vicious King. Blinking back into my body, I rolled to the side just in time, slithering along the snowy ground to escape the fight.

  The Breking collided with the King. Roars punctuated the air. The King raised his sword as he stumbled back from the creature, but it was far too late. The Breking leaned down and sunk its teeth into the King’s chest. He ripped the fae from the ground and swung him side to side. I had to close my eyes to block out the sight of all that blood splattering the snow.

  Massive footsteps pounded the ground as the Breking took off through the trees with its prize. I didn’t want to think about what it might do next with the body. All that mattered was, the King was dead. He would never again cause problems for this realm. Our fight with the Dark Fae was over.

  “Norah,” a strained voice whispered from somewhere nearby. I glanced up and spotted the Prince near the Faerie Ring, stretching one hand toward me.

  He was alive.

  “Please help me.”

  My eyelids fluttered shut, and my heart squeezed tight. A part of me wondered if I should, but another part knew I couldn’t leave him here to die. So, I crawled over to the fae and hauled him over my shoulders. Together, we stumbled back to the Winter Court. The journey was a blur. My whole body felt weak and powerless, and my head was full of cotton.

  At some point, I reached the gates, but I didn’t get far.

  The ground met my face before I got inside.

  I sat on the Winter Court’s throne looking down at Prince Taveon. Liam had healed him after we’d stumbled back from the Faerie Ring, though not without complaining about it. The Prince had abducted me, after all. No one was feeling particularly generous toward him, even if he had helped me escape from the King.

  “If I do not return to my home soon, the others will come for me,” Prince Taveon said after giving me a slight bow. “I do appreciate you healing me, which is why I am hesitant to say my next words.”

  I narrowed my eyes, tightening my grip on the throne. “Go on.”

  “My father ruled my realm for many years. He was feared by many but also loved.” He cleared his throat. “The Dark Fae are going to be angry when they learn of his fate. Without some sort of sacrifice on your part, I have little doubt that they will take it upon themselves to invade. But they will not do so with the aim to rule this realm or put it under their control. They will want to destroy it. As revenge.”

  My heart lurched, and I swallowed hard. I tried to keep a blank face, but his words had sent a bucket of ice down my spine. “A sacrifice.”

  He gave a nod. “My father has been promising for years to develop a new method of obtaining our dark energy. Our life-force. He was depending on you to provide that for him. A fae with the Redcap disease, fully in control of her beast. One who will train with us. One who will fight for us.”

  “You know as well as I do that your request is impossible,” I said with a frown. “I’m not a Redcap. I was immune. That’s why you helped me escape in the first place.”

  “Yes, quite right. But that one was not immune,” he said with a nod before turning his attention to Bree. She stood just off to the side, quietly speaking with Kael. When she felt the attention of the room shift toward her, she twisted our way.

  “You cannot be serious,” I said. “That is absolutely out of the question.”

  Prince Taveon’s eyes narrowed, and he strode closer to the throne. “You do not understand, Norah. They will invade unless you give them something in return. This is your chance to save your realm and keep the peace. Do not make a mistake that you’ll regret for the rest of your very long life.”

  My head spun, and I had to blink the tears out of my eyes to keep them from falling down my face. “I’m not giving you Bree. Anyone but Bree.”

  “Unfortunately, she is the one I want.”

  “No,” I breathed.

  “Norah,” Bree said, her voice much calmer than I would have expected. She crossed the throne room and took my hands in hers, kneeling down to stare into my eyes. “It’s okay. I’ll go.”

  “Don’t say that,” I hissed. “You can’t go with this fae. You don’t want to go to that world of chaos and darkness. You have to stay here with us.”

  With me.

  “I’ll be okay. And so will you.” She squeezed my hands. “Come on. I want to do this. It’s my chance to do something for this realm. It’s my chance to step out of the shadows and make a difference to the world. One day, I’ll come back. I promise.”

  And when I looked into my friend’s gorgeous eyes, I knew the two of us were more alike than I’d ever realized. Because she would go whether I said she could or not.
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br />   Epilogue

  Today was the biggest day of my life. Sophia and Shai whirled around me, fixing my hair and adding flowers to my train. After the fight with the Dark Fae, Kael and I had gone on a hunt for Starlight. We’d found enough to cure two dozen of the realm’s Redcaps. Shai had been first in line. Her cheeks had filled out; her eyes were no longer hollow. One day, I was determined to cure them all.

  “There,” Sophia said with a bright smile. “I think you’re ready.”

  My heart pattered in my chest. I wasn’t sure I would ever be fully ready for this.

  “Thanks for your help, Sophia.” I smiled at my former roommate, and then turned to Shai. “And yours, too. I don’t know what I would have done without you...”

  I trailed off and fought back the urge to cry. Three months had passed since Bree went with Prince Taveon into the Dark Fae’s realm. She would be fine. I knew she could handle herself, and the Prince wanted someone who he could train up to fight for them. He didn’t want to hurt her. Still, that didn’t change the fact that my heart still felt raw from saying goodbye. Of all the people in the world I wanted here with me right now, it was Bree.

  Bree and the one woman I’d thought I’d never see again.

  “Oh, Norah.” A light, sweet voice drifted in from the open doorway. I turned to face my human mother, the woman who had raised me, who had cared for me, and who had ultimately tried to save me. Alwyn had left the incriminating evidence about my step-father’s multiple affairs in my room at the Academy. When I’d found them, I’d gone straight back to Manhattan, planning to leave the files on my mother’s desk instead of facing her myself.

  But she’d been home.

  That night, she left that cruel man. And now she was here.

  She smiled and took my hands in hers, squeezing tight. “You look absolutely beautiful. Your men are very lucky to have you.”

  Desmond’s head popped around the corner, and his eyes widened when he caught sight of me in my flowing white gown. “Norah, it’s time.”

  With a deep breath, I gave a nod. It was time. My mother and my friends led me to the end of a long white stretch of carpet. Two double doors stood between me and the rest of my life. Inside the throne room, music began to swell as the minstrels of Otherworld joined together.

  “Are you ready, Princess?” Desmond asked quietly.

  “As ready as I’ll ever be.”

  He leaned forward and pushed open the doors.

  The long stretch of carpet cut through two rows of seats that had been covered head to toe in flowers. Every single seat was taken. There wasn’t an empty space in the entire room. There were hundreds of fae crammed into the expansive space, but not a single one said a word. They all stared at me, eyes shining, lips turned up into brilliant smiles.

  I took a deep breath in through my nose and turned my gaze to the front of the room.

  My heart filled with joy. At the very end of the aisle, my mates stood dressed in the colors of their courts. Kael and Rourke stood on the left while Finn and Liam took the right-hand side. They were all four beaming at me, and I was beaming right back at them.

  And there, just beyond them, sat the crown.

  With a smile so big it hurt my cheeks, I took my first step toward the only life I ever wanted to lead.

  Today was the day of the ceremony that bound me to my mates for all the rest of my very long years. It was the day we proclaimed our love for each other. It was the day we made our commitment as permanent as it could ever be.

  But today was even more. It was the day I took the crown as my own and took up my rightful place on the throne. It was the day I brought myself before the fae of this world and proclaimed that I would be the one to rule.

  It was time to push aside all my doubts and fears.

  Today, I became Queen.

  Norah’s story may be over, but Bree’s has just begun. Follow her life as a servant/assassin of the Dark Fae in A Cage of Moonlight. You can find it on Amazon. Preorder now or grab it on July 31st! Want to be notified on release day? You can join my reader newsletter by clicking here.

  About the Author

  Jenna Wolfhart is a Buffy-wannabe who lives vicariously through the kick-ass heroines in urban fantasy. After completing a PhD in Librarianship, she became a full-time author and now spends her days typing the fantastical stories in her head. When she's not writing, she loves to stargaze, binge Netflix, and drink copious amounts of coffee.

  Born and raised in America, Jenna now lives in England with her husband, her dog, and her four rats.

  www.jennawolfhart.com

  jenna@jennawolfhart.com