by A C Wilds
Logan slips up next to me and grabs my hand. “It’s ok Azra, they don’t know any better,” he tells me with his small boy voice. He looks so innocent then, but brave too. It takes a lot of guts to speak out when there are two animals with big guns.
Both Fae beasts huff and turn toward the door on the opposite side of the closet. If this is any indication of how it’s going to work out, we may have made a mistake coming here. The closet opens up into a large room. It seems like the back of a stage. Curtains are obscuring our view, and a thick purple carpet covers the floor. It smells like blood and death in here.
When we round the corner, I realize we are in a throne room. It is empty except for a colossal throne atop a dais of black marble. Everything here is done in deep purples and onyx. There are huge curtains on all four walls. It makes this room look like one big silk-lined jewelry box with the throne as the ballerina.
A groan of an enormous door jostles me out of my mind, and in walks an entourage of people. Leading them is the most gorgeous woman I have ever seen. She is in a voluminous black evening gown with so many layers of silky material that she looks like a walking oil slick. It has a tight bodice but comes out at the waist in waves of silk. There are two significant slits all the way up her legs. When she walks, you can see the creamy skin underneath. Her raven hair hangs in loose waves. It looks electric. Her eyes are such a vibrant purple, that I can see them from across the room. She marches right up to us with hands on her hips. She looks furious.
“Culsu, Kroni what is the meaning of this? How dare you bring a Light into my castle, and with human pets no less,” she yells at the two guards.
“Your Majesty, this girl claims to be the Changer. We thought you’d like to see for yourself; you know, in case it’s true and all,” Culsu says. He is the rhino look alike.
She gets in his face and stares at him. The tension in the room is so high that you could suffocate from it.
She looks over to Kroni, the baboon, and says, “You allowed this?”
“Yes, your majesty. I felt you should make the decision,” he tells her, with a tilt of anger in his voice. He is the dominant of the two, and it is hard for him to reign it in, even for the Queen.
This sets her off. She squares her shoulders and fists her hands at her side. Kroni begins to scream in agony as he drops to his knees. She leans down over him and says, “Never assume what I should or shouldn’t do.” And with that, he is set on fire. The blaze is so hot that my face starts to sweat. I jump and back up into Cass, who steadies me on my feet. She just roasted him alive. I can smell the cooked meat in my nose. It smells like BBQ. I gag at the scene and try to keep my composure.
She turns to me and narrows her eyes. She pulls me into her gaze. I can feel the touch on my mind, but I shut it down. It’s like a reflex, the same as when I first used my powers. She cocks her head to the side and looks at me quizzically. “Now where would you learn to do that?” she asks. I’m intriguing her. That’s good; maybe she won’t kill us then.
“To be honest with you, I have no idea. I don’t even know what I just did. I didn’t know I was Fae until four days ago.” I tell her, sounding braver than I am. I am shaking with fear right now. She can incinerate a person in seconds, and all her attention is on me.
She stares at me for a few moments trying to decide if it’s true. Trying to decide if I am genuinely the Changer or not. She finally breaks eye contact and looks around the room. She notices the guys and the horses for the first time. Her fury comes back. “Someone gets these beasts out of my throne room now!” she screams to the servants behind her. They all rush over to us, and each grabs the reins of a horse.
Before a young woman can take Red, I ask, “Will they be kept in a safe place? They need to be watered and fed. We haven’t exactly had the best time getting here.”
“Curious. So many curious things that you are saying,” the Queen says to me, as she watches me like the bug she thinks I am. If she could pin my metaphorical wings down, she would. “Take them to the royal stalls and have them cared for like they are my own,” she tells the servants, and off they rush. She raises an eyebrow at me as if to say, “good enough for you?”
“Thank you,” I tell her, with a gulp loud enough to be heard around the room. She nods and makes her way up to the throne. With a flourish, she snaps the skirts of her dress back and lands gracefully in the large purple chair. It matches the color of her eyes. The black silk of her dress drapes all the way down the steps of the dais. It’s awe-inspiring.
“Now, what are you doing here?” she asks us. We stand before her in a line, one filthier than the other. Cass takes one step forward and bows. “Your Majesty, thank you for the audience. I am Prince Cassiel of the Light. I come here with my mate the Changer, Azrael, looking for sanctuary. We fled the Light with our human consort and his brother because Azra was being forced to choose the Light. My father was planning on tricking my mate into a betrothal and pushing her into picking the Light without her knowledge.”
“Michael is still a selfish prick, I see. I guess when you have two thousand years of no one to keep you within the checks and balances, you tend to get a little full of yourself,” she says. Her nails are drumming on the throne. She glances to the left of her, and I notice movement for the first time. Two large jaguars’ approach from behind the curtains. Their yellow eyes trained on us with a curious stare. The one on the right brushes its head along her thigh before sitting down at her side. The one on the left hops down the dais and begins to pace in front of his queen.
I stare in shock and fear at the huge beasts. They are larger than their animal counterparts. I wonder what they really are? She seems amused by my fear. She is getting off on holding this much power over my head.
Grey starts laughing nervously, and this brings the Queen’s attention to him. She looks at him like he is a dog— someone she can make heel. “You’re the human consort?” she asks him. There is curiosity there, and maybe a little lust. I go to step toward him, but Cass grabs my arm.
Don’t let her see how you care, Cass says in my head.
The Queen doesn’t notice my concern because she only has eyes for Grey. “Answer the question, boy,” she says to him, as she walks off the dais and stalks over to him. She invades his space and gets up too close for my liking. Her finger trails along his jawline and down his neck. Her finger pauses on his pulse point, and she stares at him nose to nose. His eyes don’t leave hers, and at that moment I can tell she is enthralling him. Shit! This is going to get us killed. She’ll know he hates the Fae and me.
“You are a changeling hunter, the one that brought her in?” She laughs at this. “Interesting. You aren’t her consort though, well not yet. Did you know he wants you? As badly as he wants to be free?” she turns all her focus on me.
I stare at her because there is nothing to say. She knows everything from just that one touch, from just that one moment alone with Grey’s mind. We were caught in a lie, and now I find out that Grey wants me? I thought he hated the Fae. I thought he hated me.
I decide to own up to it and be truthful. “We are fleeing from Michael, and I opened a portal to Faerie. They aren’t from the Dark, and I now find out I am the Changer. We needed someplace to come and figure out our next move. This is where we chose.”
“You opened a portal?” the Queen asks, with a shocked expression. She is debating whether it is true that I am the Changer, and I believe this just helped convince her to give us a chance.
“Yes, while I thought I was opening one to another place on Earth, it ended up being here.”
She stares at me for what seems like an eternity. The giant cats are now both pacing back and forth behind her. I know if she gives the command, they will attack.
“How do I know you are the actual Changer?” she says, in an arrogant tone. Fucking Fae.
I pull out the sword from its scabbard strapped to my back. It gleams from the light in the room. The hilt starts to heat up, and just like in Michae
l’s office, the diamond starts to glow. The purple is so bright, everyone shields their eyes. I am immune.
“You have the sword,” she says in shock.
“Yes, we stole it from Michael before we fled,” I tell her. She pauses and considers what to do with us. I fidget under her glare. If she doesn’t give us a safe-haven, we are fucking screwed.
“I’ll grant you sanctuary,” she says, “Under a few conditions. Since you are obviously the Changer from the way you were able to grab that sword without it turning you into dust, I will need some assurances. The Prince has told me of the Light’s intentions, but you know nothing of mine. So, I will lay it out for you. I want out of Faerie. I want to rule the portals and Earth. I think a change is just what humanity needs, and I need the power to do it, which is where you come in. So, Azrael what do you say? Want to join the Dark?”
Claiming Death
Book 2
Chapter 1
On Fire
It’s an impossible question to answer. How can I choose when I’ve just escaped from a place that has given me no choice? I feel trapped in a situation of my own making. The choice to be here, and take this chance is all on me. I hope that I haven’t fucked this whole thing up.
We escaped the Light to still be faced with the decision to harm another. As the Changer they expect me to choose sides, but I know inside the right thing is to make them both suffer. Monarchs have ruled Faerie and Earth for too long. Time has long passed that it’s time I use my Changer powers for good.
My Arion, Red, and mate Cass are behind me one hundred percent, but they don’t know my intentions. I can’t tell them yet, because I have to figure out how to get us out of this mess I created. Grey and Logan have been dragged into a world they didn’t choose, and Grey’s hatred for the Fae is clouding his judgment.
Looking into the eyes of the Queen, I became overwhelmed with the need to run. She’s not going to like my answer, and I’m afraid we don’t have a choice. Either comply or get killed. I have too many people I’m responsible for. Glancing over at Logan, I see his sweet face and know he doesn’t deserve all of this. He shouldn’t have to shoulder all this violence and cruelty.
“I cannot choose,” I tell the Queen. She stares at me for a moment in disdain. I don’t think many people defy her, and I’m bringing all sorts of trouble to her doorstep.
“Let me make this perfectly clear, Azrael of Earth. You don’t have a choice. You came to my realm and asked for help. You’re here because you’re looking for a sanctuary, not because you chose to come into the lion’s den. You will obey me, or your pet here will suffer the consequences,” she says to me in a demanding tone. She is inching closer to Grey as she speaks. I turn my attention to him, and he’s frozen in time. His eyes are running wild, but he can’t move his body.
“What are you doing to him?” I yell. Grey and I don’t have the best relationship, but I would never want to see him hurt. Logan tries to step closer to his brother, but Cass holds him back, and whispers something in Logan’s ear.
“I thought you would have figured it out already. I’m not here to play games. It’s acceptance or death. You either choose to accept your Changer fate, and train with my men to battle the Light, or Grey becomes mine, and you all get to die a slow death in my dungeons. Cassiel is immortal; do you want to find out if you are too?” she asks me with a sly smirk. Her lips are pulled up at the corner of her mouth. She’s amused by my lack of security in my Changer abilities, and by the prince who has no kingdom.
I grit my teeth and stare into her face. Reaching out through our bond, I channel Cass in my mind, what do we do?
We go along with what she says, Azra. This is not something she will negotiate on. We are stuck, I’m so sorry. This is all my fault, he projects back to me. I can feel his sorrow and his pain through the mating bond. He thought he was doing the right thing.
This is on me though. I’m the one who chose to agree and lead us all here. It is my responsibility to get us out. “I accept your terms. Now, let Grey go,” I say.
A light sparks in her eyes as she envisions the potential that this may bring. She is reveling in the death and destruction that will come from my choice.
She turns then and walks over to the throne, releasing Grey as she goes. You can hear his gasp as he bends over to catch his breath. She calls forth two jaguars with a flick of her hand. It’s a movement I notice only because my fear of what she could do next has me focused on her and nothing else in the room. They come to her side quickly, their black coats shining in the light. One is bigger than the other, with hidden spots along his body. His muscles ripple as he heads down the stairs to us. As he approaches me, he immediately walks into my personal space. My body freezes and a cool rush of adrenaline fills my veins. I want to move away, but I’m cemented in place by fear. He looks into my eyes and I swear I pee a little.
Just before my heart fails me, a shimmer of light appears, and a man stands in the jaguar’s place. I should be used to all the weird shit that goes on around here, but a naked man where a jaguar once was, is pretty shocking. And what a man he is. He’s tall and broad in the shoulders with muscles sculpting his body. Tattoos cover both of his arms, intricate designs I want to trace with my fingers. His hair is dark as pitch and his eyes are a violet so bright, they remind me of amethysts. His jaw is chiseled, and he has a five o’clock shadow dusting his face. He’s the dark to Cass’s light, and though I feel a bit guilty, I can’t look away. I’m enraptured.
“Azrael,” he says my name like a prayer. His eyes roam all over me and it sends a shiver along my spine. The heat that he is giving off, pulls my body towards his, and before I know it I am standing toe to toe with a man I don’t even know.
“Who are you?” I ask, breathless. Because I need to call him something. I must know more about him.
“Shax, son of Lucifer, heir to the Unseelie Court throne,” he says, his voice thick like honey, coating me, giving me all kinds of feelings in my belly. His eyes don’t leave my face. There are people all around us, but they mean nothing at this moment. He is all-consuming, and the rest of the world disappears. The pull to him is stronger than any I have felt before. I need to feel him touching me in any way possible. The draw has me reaching out towards him, and he leans down and touches his lips to mine. The kiss is gentle and soft, giving me feelings of completeness. He tastes like sin and darkness. I can think of nothing else but to be one with him. I throw myself at him. I have no idea why I’m acting this way. I’m aware that Cass is next to me, but I’m not getting anything from the mating bond. He’s not sad or jealous; if anything, he is amused.
Shax picks me up to meet his large frame, and my feet are dangling above the floor. There’s so much heat in his kiss and his body, that I feel as if I might combust. My skin feels prickly and the intensity keeps growing. I run my fingers through his hair and give it a gentle tug. He moans into my mouth with a deep grumble. I bring my legs up and wrap them around his waist; feeling his rock-hard manhood underneath me. Rocking into him, it causes him to push closer. Awareness returns to me that we aren’t alone. Pulling back from the kiss, I stare into his eyes. I notice two things at that moment, one he’s my alpha mate, and two we are on fire. The bond is singing through my veins, telling me he is mine. It feels so right.
I jerk my body down from his and see my whole body is engulfed in flames. I start to yell, but I can’t hear anyone over the raging of the flames. I don’t move for fear that I’ll hurt someone. “You need to calm down, Azrael. Take a deep breath and focus on my voice,” Shax says. He’s standing next to me in the fire. He’s not getting burned, but rather repelling my flames with his own. His flames are blue like freshly frozen water. Mine are red and orange, the color of the sun. When they mix, they form a violet blaze, that is similar to his eye color. It’s hypnotic and beautiful.
I take a deep breath in and try to focus on his face, his beautiful face. The roaring dies down and I can finally see my surroundings. Shax is holdin
g onto my hand. The ground around us is charred and everyone, including the queen, is standing on the other side of the room.
“Well, isn’t this a pleasant turn of events!” she laughs out, with her voice raised. She has a smile from ear to ear. “This definitely makes you Dark, Azrael,” she says as she approaches us. She notices the handhold and her grin gets ever wider. “Mating with the son of a Queen, only a Dark can accomplish this.”
“My name is Azra,” I tell her through gritted teeth. She’s starting to piss me off with her inappropriate smiles and pretty hair.
“Azra, I like it. Makes you sound like less of an angel and more like a demon,” she says, with a wink, making her way back to the giant door she arrived from. “Make sure you take your mate to her quarters, son. I trust you to explain the rest to these peasants.”
With that last flick of her dress, she is gone. The doors close and silence rings throughout the room. I glance over at Cass who has a grim look on his face. Grey is holding Logan back, who looks like he is ready to run. I look up at Shax and give him a tight smile before walking away and approaching the guys.
“Cass,” I say in a pleading tone. I don’t know how I’m going to explain this. I reach out for his hand, and he clasps it in his. He pulls me toward him and crushes me to his chest. He smells like rain and thunder.
“I know Azra. I felt it in the bond when he joined. We’re his mates, and he’s alpha. I always knew it wasn’t me, but I never expected you would have two heirs in your harem,” he tells me. He has love in his voice and in his heart. I can feel that he is not sad or angry. He is just disappointed.
