“Don’t be so cocky.” And with that, Bree stepped back, though her body scolded her for the move. “I know you didn’t come here just to tease me about the kiss. You want me to repay you for what you did, even though I clearly didn’t ask you to do a damn thing, much less kill a bunch of champions.”
Shivers coursed along her skin. Bree needed to remember exactly what Fillan was. An assassin. And no amount of smooth talking and beautiful looks could change what he did for a living. He killed people. And that was something that Bree could never accept, especially not when he went around saying he did it for her.
“You did not ask aloud, but you wished it all the same.” He tucked a finger under her chin, and she shivered. “You desired Taveon to become King, for your own agenda, and yet you did not wish to kill a soul to make it happen, even though that was what was required of you. You volunteered to be his champion, knowing that you would be required to kill others. Do not act as though you are above me.”
“No, but I—”
“I need you to look into something for me,” he said, his voice suddenly serious. “The answers you find are important to the future of this Court and this realm.”
Bree swallowed hard. “Just go ahead and tell me what it is.”
“Why does Taveon refuse to spread his wings?”
Bree blinked at him. “I think you must be living under a rock, Fillan. That information became public. Taveon has spent his life refusing to spread his wings because it would have revealed that he isn’t King Midas’s true-born son.”
“Oh, I did not miss that.” His eyes glittered, even in the darkness of the room. “But I daresay there is much more to it than that. Even after the reveal of his heritage, or the lack thereof, he has still yet to spread his wings, even at the coronation. Why?”
Bree fumbled for an answer. “Because he doesn’t want to use them for intimidation…”
But that wasn’t right. Something strange niggled in the back of Bree’s mind, like a long forgotten dream from years past. Taveon had used many excuses for his wings since she’d met him, but deep down inside she knew that none of them had been the complete truth. He’d been adamant she not tell a soul that he could not be killed, that he had flown to her side with his silver wings that day he’d brought her to the Dark Fae realm.
And why was that? She was certain the truth lay somewhere inside her mind, but for some reason, it was hidden from her now.
“Why are you asking me to do this? Aren’t you the spy?”
“I am an assassin. Not a spy.” His twisted his lips into a smile. “And you are the one who has the bond with the King. If anyone can get to the truth, it is you.”
With a heavy sigh, she crossed her arms over her chest and shook her head. “Sorry, Fillan. I just can’t. I refuse to work against Taveon. You can threaten me all you like, but I won’t do it.”
“I am not asking you to work against him. I am asking you to find out the truth of his nature, for the sake of the realm. If he is who—and what—I believe him to be, then we all might be in grave danger.”
Frowning, Bree opened her mouth to ask what he meant by that, but he was gone in a puff of black smoke before she could get out a single word.
Chapter 4
Dagen
Dagen had called together a council meeting after the ball. It had been extremely difficult to get through the night’s festivities while keeping the fear and dismay off his face. Ever single fae in attendance had been jolly, though he couldn’t ignore the whispered conversations that had rippled through the crowd when they’d thought no one was listening.
“Conlan. Branok. Ethne.” Dagen nodded at the two Lords and then gave a nod to Ethne in turn. And then he turned to Rafe, who had insisted on joining them, even though he had no place on the council. He was not royalty, nor would he ever be, due to his upbringing. “Rafferty.”
The shapeshifting fae crossed his arms over his chest and leaned back in his chair. “Call me Rafe. No need to be all formal in here. A shit storm has broken out in this Court, and we need to get to the bottom of it.”
“First things first,” Dagen said, wincing at Rafferty’s nonchalant way of addressing the council. While Dagen didn’t like to think of himself as stuffy, he was certainly one to follow the rules and keep every toe inside the lines. “Most of the fae put on a good show, but there is much unrest in the Court at the present moment, not even considering Taveon’s current state. They are...displeased by his announcement.”
“Unfortunately for them, they will have to stay displeased,” Rafe said with a frown.
Dagen sighed and ran a hand down his face. “You do not understand the ways of the Court, Rafferty. Now is not the time to alienate those who Taveon needs to align himself with.”
“He is their ruler. Not their friend.” Rafe raised his eyebrows. “That was certainly how Midas preferred to rule. Which you would be very much aware of, being his Hand of the King and all.”
“And yet Midas was careful enough to know which branches to bend, which to break, and which to leave firmly attached to the trees.”
“Innocent lives are not branches, Lord Dagen,” Rafferty said quietly. “We may be Dark Fae, but we are not without our own kind of humanity.”
“That may very well be true,” Dagen said with a snap. “And I agree that all three realms would be far better off if we put an end to this Tithe. Nevertheless, the Court is displeased. They are concerned by what this might mean for our survival. Until we find a way to reverse whatever has happened to our King, we need to make sure the unrest does not escalate into something much worse than angry whispers.”
Rafferty fell silent at that, pressing his lips into a thin line. Finally, Dagen thought with an internal sigh of relief, he understood the gravity of the situation. Because while there could be threats from outside of the castle, if the wrong fae learned of Taveon’s condition, the King’s announcement could do far worse than that if the council did not keep a handle on it.
The Court itself could break out into war. They could try to take down their new King.
Chapter 5
Bree
The next morning, Bree met Rafe inside the dungeon-like room that Taveon had dubbed the Dark Fae Academy. He had never come to her bed that night, his hours spent locked up with the council. She had wanted to tell him about the dead raven and all her fears, and she had wanted to feel his arms wrapped protectively around her. But he’d been up all night, making plans with Dagen and the others.
The Academy was dark and dreary, just like most of the rest of the castle, the only window a tiny square at the very top of the domed ceiling. Moonbeams slanted through the thick dust, casting the entire arena into a strange misty light. Even when she’d first come here and had hated being in Underworld, Bree had enjoyed her training sessions with Rafe. But, right now, she wanted to be anywhere other than here. Someone had poisoned the King, and Bree needed to find out who and why.
And she needed to figure out what Fillan was up to before he realized she had no intention of helping him.
“Bree.” Rafe whispered out from the darkness, seemingly out of thin air. He did that sometimes. Just like Fillan. Just behind him, two more formless figures strode forward, their shadows dropping away to reveal a female and a male. Both around Bree’s age. And both with sharply pointed ears.
Bree widened her eyes. What the hell was this all about?
“As I am sure you recall,” Rafe began, gesturing to the two fae who flanked his sides, “Taveon always intended the Academy to expand once he became King. I would like to introduce you to your new fellow trainees.”
Bree frowned and flicked her eyes toward the female, whose long fire-red hair was pulled back into a high ponytail to reveal sharp cheekbones, a long, slender neck, and collarbones that could cut deeper than the sharpest blade. She looked unlike any fae that Bree had ever seen, and she was so tall that she was practically twice Bree’s height.
“This is Lyra. She is like me in that she
is part Wilde Fae and part Dark Fae.”
“A shapeshifter as well.” Bree gave a nod. She should have known that any trainee Taveon wanted for this Academy would be a fellow shifter.
“She has spent some time in the Light Fae realm as her Clan kicked her out when she was just a babe.”
“Some of the Redcaps took me in,” Lyra said, in a deep melodic voice. “They practically raised me.”
Bree gave a nod and turned toward the male who was watching the exchange with crossed arms and narrowed eyes. He was the total opposite of Lyra. His hair was dark and cut close to his scalp. Thick and muscular, he was practically a tank. And he was only about as tall as Bree was.
“This is Eurig. He comes from the outposts in the furthest sea down south.”
Bree raised her eyebrows and gave Eurig a nod. She knew little about the outposts and next to nothing about the sea that stretched out across most of the realm. From what Taveon had told her, Bree understood the outposts were miles and miles away, and they were governed by their own rulers instead of by Taveon’s Court. It was a deal that had been made by Midas, one that formed a strange between them. Midas, of course, had always felt as though the outposts were still his, and he merely allowed them to make their own laws as they saw fit.
“I didn’t know that the outposts had shapeshifters.”
Eurig lifted his eyebrows. “Of course you would not know. Why would anyone give any thought to us? We are meaningless to your Court.”
“No need to get snippy,” Bree replied as she crossed her arms over her chest. “I only got here a couple of months ago myself.”
“Yes, I know.” He flicked his gaze up and down Bree’s body as if he were sizing her up, and she couldn’t stop the embarrassed heat from spreading across her cheeks. “So, you are the famous champion who ‘defeated’ all of the Prince’s enemies. It certainly was lucky for you that they all happened to end up dead before you were forced to fight them.”
Irritation flickered through Bree, and also guilt. He had no idea just how close he’d come to the truth. And she had to make sure he didn’t find out. As much as she wished she could trust her new fellow trainees inexplicably, she knew the danger in that.
“Funny, I would have liked a shot at them myself.” She smiled. “Or my beast would, really.”
“You are just a Redcap.” Eurig flicked his hands as if dismissing her shapeshifter form as nothing more than a pesky fly. “And one who was once human. I doubt you could have beaten them all yourself.”
“Oh yeah?” Bree raised her eyebrows and took a step closer to the hulking fae. “What do you shapeshift into then? Because I can guarantee it’s not more dangerous than my beast.”
Eurig’s lips twisted into a strange smile. “You will just have to wait and see, now won’t you? I would not want to take away the surprise. It is quite…an impressive display of viscousness and strength.”
Bree shivered despite herself. Taveon had once told her that there were no other shapeshifters in the realm who were more powerful than Bree. But had he been right? And had he been including the outposts when he’d said that? She knew they had not chosen to partake in the Battle for the Crown because they had their own throne and their own crown to worry about.
Rafe cleared his throat, bringing their attention back onto him. “You will both have a chance to display your strength. To each other and to others as well. As the months here progress, the King will be inviting more and more fae to join us here as trainees, and you will be trained by a variety of instructors.”
Bree couldn’t help but feel a flicker of disappointment by the news. All along, she’d known Taveon’s intentions to grow the Academy into its former glory, but that hadn’t stopped her from wanting everything to remain the same. There was something intimate in the way she’d been trained so far. Just the two of them. Working together to fight against the world. She loved the one-on-one with Rafe, though she had to admit that most of that had to do with how she felt about him.
She just had to remember that every step forward was another step in the right direction. Another step toward ending the Tithe.
“Right,” Rafe said with a clap of his hands. “Let us start this session with a shift into your other forms. Bree and Eurig, I believe you should both go at the same time due to the nature of your beasts.”
Eurig looked over at Bree and winked. An impossible heat filled her cheeks. “I’ll show you mine if you show me yours.”
“You can’t be serious,” she barked back with a roll of her eyes. “That’s the lamest pick-up line I’ve ever heard.”
“Oh, I’m not truly coming on to you, Redcap girl,” he said with a wink. “If I was, you would have no hope of turning me down.”
Okay, so this outposter guy was way more irritating than she’d originally thought. He was more than little cocky. He seemed to think he was far better than everyone else in the room. And he thought he could get any female he wanted whenever he wanted.
Bree would show him. How? She didn’t know.
Rafe stood across the room, frowning at the two of them. He had clearly overheard their entire exchange, and Bree could tell Rafe was not happy about the outposter’s flirtations, even if he was using them in jest. Bree was pretty certain that Eurig was just trying to mess with her head and that he had no real interest in turning any sort of seductive charm her way. He probably wanted to show her up during the shift, knowing that her beastly form would far outmatch his.
Bree curled her lips into a smile and focused on the beast within. That would be how she would one-up him. There was no way in hell his shape-shifted form was more impressive than hers.
She went through the motions. Her claws sprouted from her fingertips. Her fangs ripped through her jaws. Her arms bulged and extended, and hair ripped through her skin. At the end of the shift, Bree was left feeling ragged and that old familiar bloodlust sang in her soul. With a curl of her beastly lips, she turned toward Eurig who she could hear panting at her side.
And then her eyes widened. In shock, she took a single step back, her sharp claws scratching against the stone ground.
Eurig shot her a smile full of fangs. She didn’t know how to explain what he was. Some kind of lion-like beast, one who was at least a few inches wider and taller than she was. He had golden fur that curled across an impossibly-muscular frame, and his sharp teeth glinted against the dull light of the moon shining through the overhead window.
Bree was something of a wolf. A mangy one. She was strong, and she was powerful, but there was a raw sort of clumsiness she always experienced as a beast. She never felt truly like herself when the wolf took over her body.
Eurig, on the other hand, wore his lion like a second skin. He practically purred as he gracefully strode across the room to stand just before Bree, everything about him rippling with pure and unadulterated power. She felt like an ant compared to his perfect form, one who hadn’t had a bath in a hundred years.
Bree curled back her lips and growled.
She swore she heard the lion chuckle. He leaned forward and sniffed, and then he open his jaw wide to let out a deafening roar. Growling, Bree flicked her tail and turned away from the lion. Enough of this bullshit. She’d had enough. Bree ground her teeth together and forced her body to shift back into her fae form. Rafe was by her side in an instant, handing her a tunic to cover her naked body.
“Well done,” Rafe said, his voice tight. “You shifted faster than I have seen you shift in the past.”
He did not make a comment about Eurig or point out the fact that he’d practically challenged her to a beastly fight. Instead, Rafe moved over to Lyra’s side, coaching her through a shift while Eurig whispered back into his normal body.
When his lion-like form dropped away, he stood before her with a smile. Bree tried not to look at him. He hadn’t bothered to grab a tunic from the floor, and his skin glistened from a slight sheen of sweat. Somehow, that only enhanced the tight look of his muscles, a fact that put Bree more than
a tiny bit on edge.
He shot her a wink. “I bet you were not expecting that.”
She lifted an eyebrow. “That you’d be an ass? No, I was expecting that.”
“There are few fae with shape-shifted forms that can rival yours,” he merely said.
Yes, that was true, but she wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction of knowing that she thought his lion form was better than her wolf. Instead, she took a step closer to him, swallowing hard at the close proximity to his naked body. And then she slapped him in the face with a smile.
“That’s for roaring at me. Maybe next time you’ll think twice about challenging a wolf girl to a fight.
Chapter 6
Rafferty
Rafe had seen Eurig’s expression on many a male fae where Bree was concerned. He had seen it on Taveon’s face, and he had seen it on Dagen’s. It was cautious intrigue, inexplicable fondness, and an attraction that was impossible to ignore. And now Eurig wore it as well, gazing at Bree when he did not think anyone would notice.
While Rafe felt no jealously or anger toward his King or toward Lord Dagen, the idea of Eurig with Bree made his blood boil in his veins. For one, he was not part of the Court. And two, relations with the outposts had been strained as of late. Rafe understood Taveon’s desire to bring one of their shapeshifters into the Academy, but they needed to be careful with their trust. Their secrets needed to stay hidden and protected. And Rafe especially could not trust an outposter with Bree’s heart.
Rafe tensed as he glanced Bree’s way. He recognized her expression just as he recognized Eurig’s. He had seen it on her before. The outposter male was making her flustered, and her eyes had more than once sized up his tightly-coiled muscles. Like many of the fae who lived and worked on the outposts, Eurig was built like the thickest trees found in the Forest of Fireflies.
A Heart of Midnight (Dark Fae Academy Book 2) Page 3
