Court of Shadows: (A Demons of Fire and Night Novel) (Institute of the Shadow Fae Book 1)

by C. N. Crawford

  I woke with sunlight streaming into the room, and a vague memory of Melusine trying to wake me. I couldn’t remember what she’d said exactly, but it was probably something like, It’s morning now. I always get up early, myself, because it’s the best time to have an amazing sense of humor and make four kinds of corn bread.

  Normally, I was a light sleeper, but the magical spell Ruadan had slammed me with was still sapping my energy. I sat up, rubbing my eyes, and I got a clear view of my surroundings for the first time.

  I hadn’t actually been sleeping on a carpet at all. Thick, lush moss covered the floor, and honeysuckle climbed the stone walls. Wildflowers grew from the ceiling—bluebells, yellow wood-sorrel, and lavender orchids. The beds looked as if they’d been hewn from enormous oak trunks, with branches sprouting into the air around them.

  The fae had really taken over in here since the apocalypse.

  I rose, still wearing yesterday’s rumpled clothes, and padded over the mossy ground to an archway leading into another room.

  I found a bathroom, but one like I’d never seen. A stone tub rose from the floor itself, like a natural feature that had always been there, and hot spring water bubbled in it. Ferns surrounded it, and pearly sunlight poured in through the window. Enormous, gnarled stags’ antlers grew from the ceiling, and water trickled into a rocky sink.

  But most importantly, in this bathroom, I wouldn’t be getting lectures about the joys of a freshly buried scrotum. In the peace and quiet here, I wanted nothing more than to take a warm bath, but I knew I was already late for—whatever I was supposed to be doing this morning. Possibly learning about magic.

  Back in the bedroom, a leaded window looked out onto the Tower Green. Morning light washed over a fireplace, carved wooden furniture, and wooden sconces that grew from the walls.

  Given all the wood and candles, I could only hope that some of the glowing runes on the wall managed fire safety.

  As I scanned the room, I noticed a handwritten note on my bed.

  Tried to wake you. Come to the Great Hall. Cailleach Tower.

  Yep, I was definitely late. Not a great start. Slovenly, captured in the streets, terminally late: I was definitely well on my way to achieving Baleros’s law about getting the enemy to underestimate you.

  Chapter 8

  My stomach rumbled as I pulled my lavender hair into a bun. I could only hope they’d feed us here. In the meantime, I decided to feast on a grape lollipop from my bug-out bag.

  I rushed into the hallway, blinking at the bright light that streamed in through diamond-paned windows. Judging by the angle, it was already past seven.

  With my backpack slung over my shoulder, I hurried down the stairs, then pushed through the door into the floral Tower Green.

  Which one was the Cailleach Tower? It’s not like they’d given me a map, and there were towers all over the place. I was pretty sure Cailleach was a fae name, but I’d never learned much of the ancient language.

  I scanned the structures before me, referring to my own mental map of the place. The Institute was made of two concentric rings of stone walls—bordered by the river on one side. But embedded in those stone walls were dozens of towers. Cailleach Tower could be any of them.

  Even without an actual map, I was lucky enough to have a powerful sense of smell—stronger even than most full-blooded fae. I sniffed the air. Through the floral scents, I picked up a riverbed smell. That was Melusine’s scent, I thought.

  I tracked it through the bluebells. The scent was leading me to the largest structure—the gleaming white castle within the fortress walls.

  When I reached the enormous wooden door at the structure’s base, I pushed it hard. It groaned open to reveal a carpet of vibrant moss spanning a long corridor. I followed it until I reached what I could only assume was the Great Hall.

  A wooden floor and rough-hewn wood beams supported the ceiling. A long banquet table spanned the hall, and five other novices sat around it. The room smelled of rich food, and my stomach rumbled. As I crossed toward the table, they all stared at me.

  It was at this point, I wished I’d forgone the lollipop, and I popped it out of my mouth, certain my lips had been stained bright purple.

  Light filtered through tall windows onto the laden banquet table. The rich scent of baked pudding filled the air. My mouth watered.

  It didn’t take me long to figure out which one was Melusine, considering she was the only other woman in there. At night, I’d only seen a silhouette. In the daylight, I could see that she had blue hair cascading over rich copper skin. She sat on her own, with a few chairs between her and the men.

  The other four were fae males, each of them staring at me with a combination of desire and hatred. I was still wearing my crumpled miniskirt from the night before. Contrary to what Aengus had promised, the Institute had not provided us with everything we needed. Not to mention the fact that I was pretty sure I stank of Jack Daniels.

  The four fae males looked like purebreds, with pointed ears and elongated canines—which they were already baring at me. Of course they were. Most males from the fae realms treated women as servants, and if you weren’t from one of the noble classes, you were basically a sex slave.

  And yet….

  Baleros’s fourteenth law of power: Form bonds with unlikely allies.

  I didn’t think any of the fae males would be eager to ally with me yet—particularly given the fact that they were all snarling at me. But I decided to take control of the situation, anyway.

  “I’m Arianna. Fellow novice.”

  One of the males had vibrant orange hair, wreathed with oak leaves. He’d pinned his black clothing with a golden brooch, shaped like a scythe. His family’s emblem, I imagined. He nodded, nearly imperceptibly. “Maddan, Carver of Enemies, son of King Locrinus of the House of the Golden Sickle.”

  A prince, then.

  “Fintan,” said one with bluish skin and waves of green hair threaded with seaweed. “Slaughterer of the Feeble, Son of Og, House of Allod.”

  I knew his kind—they lived in the ocean and ate humans, apart from the livers, for some reason. Apparently, that particular organ was unclean.

  Another wore his long, raven hair slicked back, and dark tattoos snaked over his pale skin. I’d mentally labeled him Goth Fae.

  He narrowed his dark eyes. “Bran, Slayer of Foe, son of Deurbel, House of—”

  But the rest of the conversation was cut short by a loud growl from the fourth fae—one whose claws now dug into the table. He was enormous, with shaggy brown hair, a silver breastplate, and a metal helmet shaped with hounds’ ears. He wore a tunic of black fur. I had a feeling he was a barguest—a ferocious fae that could transform into a black hound.

  His horned metal helmet was nearly falling off his head with his fury, and his fiery eyes were locked on me. I wasn’t sure if he hated me for being female, a gutter fae, or if he gave everyone that sort of greeting.

  Fine. I didn’t really care who his dad was, and I’d just be calling him Dog Boy.

  As the barguest’s growl died down, a hush fell over the room.

  Maddan—the prince—sniffed the air, his lip curling. “You’re not a noble Mor, or I’d know of you. No wonder it smells like a gutter fae in here. Female, as well. The knights must be getting desperate.”

  “A gutter fae,” Bran repeated. He sniffed the air, too. Not very creative, this one. “You reek like the bottom of a whiskey bottle.”

  I cocked my head. “You say that like it’s a bad thing.”

  The barguest growled. “The gutter females in my kingdom are whores. I use them. When I finish, they beg for a coin or two, and I squeeze their throats till they go quiet again.”

  Change of plan. I was not making alliances with these twats at any point. In fact, I was going to kill Dog Boy. Somehow during these trials, I’d be running a blade through his chest.

  “Agreed.” Sea Monster narrowed his eyes at me. “Where I come from, women like that are used for sport, and
then discarded.”

  “Where you come from?” I crossed my arms. “A trawler’s net, was it?”

  “Once,” continued Maddan, drumming his fingertips on the table, “only noble males were allowed in the Institutes. Now they’ve opened their doors to any old gutter whores. It’s almost enough to make me reconsider my choice to come here.”

  I cocked my head. There was only one reason noble males like this came here, and it wasn’t exactly by choice. “But you don’t have any other options, do you? Your older brother will inherit your father’s title, and you’re shit out of luck.” I leaned on the table, looking him right in the eye. “Now you ask yourself why the knights would allow a gutter fae female outlaw in here. And a demi-fae, at that. One with a shady history like myself. Why would they break with tradition? Maybe, just maybe, it’s because they know I’m exceptionally skilled at killing.” I nodded at Melusine. “And maybe Melusine over there has some skills of her own. You’d better hope you get the chance to crawl back home in disgrace, but I think your chances of surviving are slim.”

  All four fae males snarled, baring their canines again. And while they got on with that asinine display, I mentally calculated how I could maim all of them in the next thirty seconds. The barguest would be first—I’d use his own knife in his throat. I’d kick Sea Monster in his head, then throw his knife into his chest. By then, the other two would be reacting. Bran would get a shard of ceramic plate in his neck, and Maddan—I think I’d kick Maddan half to death on the wood floor.

  I folded my arms, smiling at the mental image. “Anyhoo, nice to meet you all. I’d better eat before I get cranky.”

  I crossed to Melusine, who’d ignored the entire encounter. Given that she’d chosen to sit a few seats away from the males, I was starting to give credence to her whole “superior intellect” claims. Best to avoid those arseholes all together.

  Now, she was focusing completely on cutting up her food and eating it with remarkable efficiency. If I were going to make any allies here, she seemed like the most reasonable starting point. I dropped my backpack on the floor and pulled out a chair across from her, my mouth watering again at the rich smell of the fae food.

  Of all the supernatural creatures, the fae in particular were known for their cooking. Before me lay a plate of strawberries, bread pudding, and apples drizzled with honey.

  Maybe being a novice of the Shadow Fae wasn’t the worst thing in the world.

  Melusine kept her eyes on her food as she ate. “We’ll be matched this morning.”

  “Matched?” I asked.

  “Yes. We’ll find out which knight will be training us. They’re all highly skilled. Obviously, I wouldn’t want to be matched with Ruadan.”

  The buttery bread pudding melted in my mouth. “And why is that?”

  “He doesn’t speak, which would make training with him difficult, and I heard he killed his last two novices. Snapped their necks. After they fell, he severed their heads with an iron blade.”

  My stomach clenched. This certainly wasn’t getting any better. Hang in there, Ciara.

  Chapter 9

  I blinked in surprise. “He’s silent and he kills his novices,” I murmured. “Those are good reasons to avoid him.”

  She sliced a strawberry in half. “I told you. Superior intellect.”

  “Any idea why Ruadan doesn’t talk?”

  “Vow of silence, I heard. He won’t speak until he’s killed … someone. He’s just really into killing, I think.”

  “No idea who it is?”

  She cocked her head. “Have you heard the rumors that two Horsemen of the apocalypse remain alive? In magical realms. Death and Conquest. I think Ruadan wants to kill them, and their offspring. I mean, everyone knows angels don’t belong on earth, and they caused all this. All the wars. The death.”

  “Oh.” A silence fell over us. “I don’t think I ever told you my name. I’m Arianna.”

  “I’m Melusine. I’m not good with people.”

  “You and me both.” I leaned in closer, whispering, “Since you obviously know a lot of stuff about things, what else can you tell me about the Shadow Fae?”

  “There are Shadow Fae Institutes all over the world, but this is one of the oldest.” Melusine speared her fork into two strawberry slices. “The Grand Master of the London Institute is incredibly powerful. In fact, he controls mist. He has an entire army he can summon from fog, though I’ve never seen it. He acquired it by slaughtering the last Grand Master. It gets passed on, like an heirloom.”

  “A mist army. That sounds a bit ominous.”

  “All the Shadow Fae have a kill list.”

  “Any idea who’s on the list? Besides the Horsemen and the angels?”

  “Nope. I expect our mentors will tell us.” She looked at my plate, frowning. “You have one less strawberry than everyone else.” She speared a strawberry on her plate, then deposited it on mine. Then, she returned to cutting up her strawberries into pieces.

  I was beginning to find Melusine oddly endearing. “So, this match you mentioned. How do we—?”

  The clacking of heels over the floor cut my sentence short, and I turned to see a fae male stalking into the room. By the mist curling around his body, I knew this was the Grand Master. His white hair was pulled back, and a silver crown gleamed from his head. His clothes were trim and tidy, and he wore a bow and arrow strapped over his back. I wasn’t entirely sure how he managed to use the bow, because one of his arms was missing—replaced with a silver replica.

  His body glowed with pale light, and I could feel the power he exuded rippling through the room. He wore a silver brooch shaped like a horse pinned to his cloak, and a spindly silver crown gleamed on his head. But most disconcertingly, in his good hand, he carried what appeared to be a human skull—at least, I thought it was human. It been fashioned into a sort of drinking cup with silver flourishes, and mist twined around it. He took a sip from it as he prowled over the floor.

  Suddenly, I’d lost my interest in the food.

  He raised his skull cup into the air. “Novices of the Shadow Fae! I am Grand Master Savus. You have volunteered in the hopes of joining our esteemed ranks.” His pale eyes landed on me. “Most of you have volunteered. Now, there are those outside these walls who call us spell-slayers. But we do not view our role as killing. We view it as protecting and as sacrificing. Shadow Fae serve the Old Gods. Gods who draw strength from sacrifices. We have always accommodated the gods with fresh blood. We have likewise protected the fae from demonic enemies, and we continue to enforce law and order today by slaying monsters who no longer belong here.”

  At this point, the six Shadow Fae Knights strode into the room, all of them wearing cloaks in different colors. Aengus wore green, Ruadan wore black, and the rest wore vibrant nature colors, like the orange of turning leaves and the pale blue of a lake under the sky. Like most high fae nobility, the six males were beautiful.

  In the daylight, I could see Ruadan’s features better. Sunlight washed over the chiseled planes of his face and stunning golden skin. Dark magic—demon magic—seeped into the air around him. He wasn’t just a fae. He was a mongrel, like me. He must have been half demon. Whatever he was, a dark power rippled off him. Even from a distance, I could sense it snaking over my skin in a dangerous caress.

  His violet eyes sparkled with cold silver, and when his gaze slid to me, a shiver danced up my neck.

  “Here, at the Institute,” Savus continued, “some of you will die during your trials. In fact, only one of you will gain a place among us as a knight. The rest of you will be returned from whence you came.” His gaze landed on me. “Or executed, naturally.”

  Someone tapped my shoulder, and I jumped. Maddan—prick that he was—had moved into the chair behind me. “They’re going to kill you,” he whispered. “When you fail them.”

  I bit my lip. Apparently, in addition to finding the World Key, I had to actually take the trials seriously, or they’d execute me.

  Good t
hing surviving trials was something I’d grown accustomed to.

  “If you do survive to become one of us,” Savus continued, “you will perfect the traditions of the Shadow Fae. You will learn the arts of warfare, magic, and espionage. You will learn to draw power from the earth.”

  Oh, please tell me that doesn’t involve scrotal burying.

  I glanced at the four males, who sat with their chests puffed. They were eating this up. Desperate to become knights.

  “The mentor and novice relationship is a divine one,” the Grand Master continued. “Among the Shadow Fae, it is known as anathra, the sacred bond between a teacher and a student.”

  I swallowed hard. Baleros had been a Knight of the Shadow Fae, and he’d been my teacher in the arena. Considering he’d kept me in a cage, I’m not sure he’d viewed our bond as sacred, but the fucker had certainly got in my head.

  Savus’s silver arm shone in the morning light. “Novices and their mentors will be doing everything together. You will train together. You will eat together, sleep together. You may travel to other realms together to learn the art of combat.”

  My ears pricked up at that. Traveling to other realms. Is that what the World Key unlocked?

  That was exactly the sort of power-mad shit I’d expect from Baleros. He’d thrived during the anarchic years after the apocalypse. He had every incentive to unleash chaos again, and the best way to do that was to unlock the magical realms. Shadow demons, fire demons, storm demons, fae—all would flood the world once more, fighting for supremacy. And Baleros knew how to profit off chaos.

  Savus lifted the skull. “You will begin your trials tomorrow. Your mentors should train you, and with any luck, you will survive the first trial.” He smiled. “And now, you will be matched with your mentors, and you will form the bond of the anathra. Please understand that we do not choose these matches. The Old Gods choose for us.”

  I looked around the room, scanning the possible mentors. The knights stood rod-straight. For just a moment, Aengus shot me a half-smile. If it weren’t for Ruadan and the World Key, I’d be hoping for him right now.