by Nissa Leder
Raith inspected his hand. “I would have healed on my own from that small of a cut,” he said. “But not that quickly. How did you do that?”
“I’m not sure,” Scarlett said. “Kassandra stabbed one of the servants with a spoon and when I pulled it out of her, I just knew I could fix it.”
Had she not seen the magic the fae possessed or felt the change in herself when she stepped into Faerie, she’d be certain she was losing her mind. What would she have thought if her mom told her that she could heal someone? Scarlett would have done everything she could to convince her to take her medication. But her mom never claimed any special powers. Chances were, she was mentally ill.
But Scarlett wasn’t. She was fae—well, part fae, at least.
“She’s got to be part Seelie,” Jaser said. “That’s crazy. They aren’t supposed to mate with humans.”
“We all know how well fae follow that rule,” Raith replied.
“But the high and mighty Seelies are supposed to be perfect.”
“Hello? Can you fill me in?” Scarlett waved her hands back and forth.
“The Seelie and Unseelie like to think of themselves as the elite fae. Seelies are supposed to be the lighter fae, the Unseelie the darker. A few decades ago, to show their superiority, the Seelie Queen banned her court from commingling with mortals. Looks like someone didn’t listen,” Jaser said.
“How does it help us in the battle?” Scarlett asked.
“Well, I don’t think anyone else knows,” Raith said. “So we’ll have the element of surprise. And you should be stronger and faster than a regular human.”
Scarlett was always quicker than the other girls, and a lot of the boys, too. She never thought much of it until now. And the ease of taking down the bully on the playground that time was remarkable. He was a lot bigger than she was and she tackled him like it was nothing.
“That should be enough for today,” Jaser said. “We’ll see what we can figure out about your power tomorrow.”
Scarlett hung the staff back on the wall—the purple in the orb fading when it left her hands.
Raith walked Scarlett to her room. As he left her there alone, he said. “Don’t let Cade know.”
Scarlett had kept it from him this long, so what was another week? It ended up being especially easy that night because Cade didn’t come to her room before she fell asleep like he normally did. Scarlett tried desperately to fall asleep, but her thoughts were too busy—her mother’s death, Ashleigh’s harsh words, her time in Faerie, and now the battle—everything swarmed her, making sleep impossible.
At first, she thought she had a grip on it all. She focused on her breathing, trying to clear her mind. It didn’t work. She felt the pain and panic grow and swirl together inside her chest. She needed to get it under control. If only she knew how.
Scarlett felt trapped in this room. She’d spent too much time in it, waiting for Cade to arrive and take away her pain. He wasn’t coming tonight, and even if he did, the bargain prevented him from feeding from her emotion. Her pain was hers alone now. She needed out.
Still in her nightgown, the cold stone floor sent a chill up her leg as her bare feet pounded against it. She needed air to think. Getting away from her human troubles seemed like such a good idea. Now, she felt lost. She went out the castle backdoor without anyone noticing.
The moonlight lit the garden. Out there, the fresh air relaxed her. She breathed deeply, inhaling the scent of the rose bushes she stood next to.
“It’s awfully late for a lady to be outside alone.” Raith whispered behind Scarlett, his breath on her neck causing a quiver.
“I’m not a typical lady.” Scarlett turned. Raith towered above her. His steel blue eyes glistened in the moonlight.
He placed a hand on her back. “I never thought you were.”
“Cade wouldn’t like us out here alone. It isn’t part of the bargain.” Scarlett didn’t care what Cade thought, but she wondered if Raith feared his younger brother enough to leave her alone. After choosing her for his second, her guess was no.
Raith pulled Scarlett closer. “All the more reason for us to be here.”
This was dangerous. Scarlett knew from the tingle in her stomach that she was tempting herself, being there with Raith. The pain she felt lingered in her bones. The memory of her mother’s lifeless eyes. The coldness of her hand when Scarlett finally let go when the paramedics arrived. Everything she’d come here to escape had been hurled at her at once. Running from it lasted for a while, but that luxury had vanished. She could feel grief coming from Raith, too. Was it just the bond that let her into his head or was it part of her fae ancestry? She’d felt the emotion of the servant girl, and at times she thought she might have even known what Cade was feeling.
“You told me you can take my pain away better than Cade could,” Scarlett said.
“I did.”
“By taking my memories?”
“Yes.”
Scarlett leaned into Raith. He could make the anguish inside her stop. Scarlett's heart raced. He could take her memories. How could something hurt her if she didn’t remember it? “Away forever?”
Raith nodded. “If you want them gone forever.”
Is that what Scarlett wanted? She thought about her mother’s gentle touch. Her laugh. The way her eyes squinted together when she smiled. The happy memories hurt as much as the bad ones, reminding Scarlett of what she’d never have again. Most of all, a part of her now wondered if her mother hadn’t been crazy. What if Scarlett had believed her?
“Do it.”
Chapter Twenty-Seven
“Let’s go somewhere else. To my tree house. No one will bother us there,” Raith said.
Scarlett followed him. Raith had come to the gardens to clear his own head. His father’s memories played on repeat in his head ever since he saw them. He’d had his mother for less than five years of his life, but even in that short amount of time, he learned what love was. His own memories of her were blurry. But his father’s memories—they were as clear as glass.
When they entered his tree house, he lit the fire with his magic.
“Are you sure about this?” he asked Scarlett.
Her face was pale, her eyes wide. “I need to be focused. It’s our only chance. And thinking of her hurts too much right now.”
Raith moved his hands to Scarlett's face. His thumbs brushed her temples. He’d only taken away memories a few times. It always felt wrong, a violation. No one had ever asked him to do it.
She looked at him with hopeful blue eyes. With a deep breath, he peered into her mind.
A woman with a long auburn braid appeared. She pushed a young Scarlett on a swing at playground. What a silly thing humans did, but both the woman and Scarlett looked happy. He could feel Scarlett's happiness in the memory. The safety she felt. The feeling of being loved.
He couldn’t do it.
It would be so easy to erase Scarlett's memories. It would fuel him up for the upcoming battle. Probably even piss Cade off more. But he thought of the few memories he had of his own mother and the joy Scarlett felt with hers. He couldn’t take that from her.
What a great time for him to get sentimental.
“I can’t,” he said.
He felt relief shoot from her. But he also felt her pain. She’d lost her favorite person in the whole world, just as he did. And while hers was fresher than his, he’d pent up all his feelings for so long, he felt like he might burst.
Scarlett reached up on her tiptoes and kissed Raith’s mouth. The kiss sent fire through his veins. He reached around her and pulled her body into his as their mouths moved together. Her tongue grazed his as his hands moved to her hair. Neither spoke as their bodies moved together as if this were as natural as breathing. Their pain disappeared, bulldozed by passion.
He lifted Scarlett and dropped her on his bed. Hastily, she unbuttoned his pants. Raith pushed all thoughts out as he let his fervor control him. He’d never made love to a human bef
ore—then again, Scarlett wasn’t fully human. He pulled her nightgown over her head. If this was a bad idea, he’d worry about it tomorrow. Everything felt too right to stop now.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Scarlett’s breath fluttered as Raith’s hands explored her naked body. She gasped when they teasingly grazed the lowest part of her stomach.
Raith paused. Uncertainty flickered from him through the bond. Desire swam through Scarlett. Raith continued to roam Scarlett’s flesh with his fingertips.
When Raith stopped, lust flooded Scarlett. Her eyes met his and he grinned deviously. He pushed himself on top of her and leaned his face toward her.
Scarlett had waited this long to make love to someone—turned down guy after guy she’d dated. It was never to protect her virginity as some sacred piece of her. But it had always felt wrong when things would go too far. She’d always found the will to stop.
Not now.
Raith’s mouth crashed into hers. There was no uncertainty from the bond now. Passion exploded from both of them. Scarlett’s hands travelled across Raith’s chest, down the curves of his abs, then lower. He moaned.
Doubt vanished from Scarlett’s mind. Only this moment mattered. Her fervor consumed her as her body took control. Scarlett and Raith became yearning incarnate.
Tangled skin to skin, they fell asleep together, and, for now, that moment was all that mattered.
Scarlett awoke, her naked body twined with Raith’s. Last night had been a frenzy. Pain turned to lust, and all of Scarlett’s worries had vanished in the moment.
Something about it had been pure.
But now Scarlett didn’t know how to feel. She needed to get back to her room before Cade noticed she was missing. For all she knew, he was done with her. Her emotion was of no use to him now. But she wasn’t sure and the last thing she needed was for things to get more complicated.
As passionate as last night had been, it complicated things. So much. But she could worry about that later, when she was back in her room.
Raith slept next to her, messy hair and closed eyes. He wore a peaceful expression. Scarlett had felt an assortment of emotions from the bond, but never the lull that filled it now. It almost felt criminal to disturb him. But she didn’t want Cade looking for her and, heaven forbid, finding her with Raith.
She shook Raith’s arm to stir him awake. When his eyes opened, contentment pulsed from the bond.
“I need to get back to my room…unnoticed,” Scarlett said.
They both got dressed in silence. Scarlett wondered what thoughts crossed Raith’s mind. She was the one who kissed him first. God, what was she thinking? That was the problem—she wasn’t. When he wouldn’t take her memories, both terror and relief bombarded her. She didn’t want to forget her mother, but she didn’t want to feel everything anymore. Instead of worrying about her conflicting emotions, Scarlett acted out of instinct.
“I can get you in through the back door. I’d evanesce you in, but my brother could be waiting for you in your room.” Raith said as they walked around the castle grounds.
The sun was just rising, the sky still pale. Sunrise promised a new beginning. Scarlett inhaled the freshness of the new day.
“I thought it was an exit only door?” she asked.
“It is, unless you’re royalty. Then the door will open.”
“Oh.”
When they arrived at the door, they stood awkwardly, gazes locked.
What should Scarlett say? She didn’t regret their night together—but she had no idea what it meant. A one night stand in the moment? Somehow, it felt bigger than that. Yet, neither of them knew what would happen during the battle. Preparing for it needed to be the focus—not whatever was or wasn’t between them.
“I’ll see you at training later,” Raith said.
“See you then.” Scarlett hurried inside before either could say anything else.
When she was back in her room, she fell back on her bed, sinking into the mattress. Had she actually asked Raith to take her memories? What had gotten into her? Those memories were all she had left of her mom. Without them, who would she be?
Her mother didn't raise her to be so fragile. Her mom taught her to be strong. To fight when life had you down—until she killed herself, that was. But that was the sickness, not her mom. And here Scarlett was, trapped in the fae world because she was too scared to face it all. If Raith had done as she asked, Scarlett would have lost her mother forever.
Scarlett closed her eyes and released her fear. When she opened them, a new determination swam through her. She would fight until the end.
A knock at the door startled her.
It was Peony. “The Queen has called an announcement and asked that everyone in the castle meet in the ballroom.”
Scarlett dressed quickly into a clean outfit and made her way to the ballroom. The room was full of the castle staff. Cade and Kassandra stood on the balcony. Raith stood in the back corner of the room behind everyone. Why wasn’t he with Kassandra and Cade?
“Welcome,” Kassandra said. “I have unfortunate news. I’m afraid the king has perished.”
A murmur swept through the crowd. A punch of sadness hit Scarlett—not her own, but Raith’s. He always seemed to distance himself from the king, but the king was his father. Losing him couldn’t be easy.
“Since the Battle of Heirs has already begun, I will step up as interim ruler,” Kassandra added.
The pain coming from Raith turned to anger. Fury punched her.
“Fae from all over the Summer Court, as well as important guests from the other courts, will be coming to witness the battle. I expect the castle to be in perfect condition. Anyone who does anything less will answer to me.”
Fear swept through the room.
“That’s all,” Kassandra said. “Back to work.”
Scarlett looked for Raith, but he was already gone. She could still feel rage coming from the bond, but with Raith out of her sight, it wasn’t as strong.
When Scarlett went to her training session, Jaser was the only one there.
“Hello, mortal-fae.” Jaser grinned. “Raith is taking a day off, so it’s just us.”
They got straight to work. Today, Jaser showed her what summer energy was. It was basically a ball of light in his hands that he could hurl at someone.
“Depending how powerful the blast is, it could knock you down, or with enough power behind it, shoot a hole right through you.” Jaser’s summer energy was orange in color. “I’m going to throw some at you.”
Scarlett stared at him. “What?”
“You can block them with your staff,” Jaser said. “Don’t worry, they’ll be weak. If they hit you, they’ll sting, but they won’t do any real damage.”
Scarlett held her staff in front of her as Jaser stood across the room and threw balls of energy at her. Who knew years of playing softball could save her life? Swinging the staff was different than swinging a bat, but it required the same hand-eye coordination.
After hitting nearly twenty with her staff, one got by and hit her in the leg. It burned through her leather pants.
“Ow!”
A welt appeared on her skin. But she thought of her leg unblemished, and the welt disappeared before her eyes.
“Nice,” Jaser said. “You can heal yourself.”
“Only if I’m alive to do it.”
Cade buttoned his black jacket. Even though the fae were supernatural and wouldn’t die of old age, when they did die, they paid their respects with a funeral, just as humans did.
The royal cemetery lay in the back corner of the castle grounds. The High Priest stood by the casket holding the king’s body.
Cade still couldn’t believe his father was gone. His father was still a young king, whose own father was nearly three-hundred-years old when he was killed in the last major fae war. But the king was only eighty—still a young adult in the fae world.
Something had been wrong with him for a while. It wasn’t unheard o
f for a fae to lose his mind—just rare. Regardless of why, the king was dead.
Cade and Kassandra stood next to the priest. Right before the ceremony began, Raith showed up, taking his place next to Cade. The castle servants were there to give their respects, too.
As the High Priest gave his blessing, Cade remembered his father. The king had taught Cade about the history of the fae and how the Summer Kings before him had ruled.
When Cade won the battle—he would defeat Raith—he hoped to be as good a king as his father was.
Once the ceremony was over, Cade went back to his room to have some time alone with his thoughts. In a few days, the battle would begin. The winner would immediately be king. Cade had always expected his father to live for at least a while longer—not for the winner of the battle to become king the moment of victory. Had that ever happened before?
One of the queen’s servants came to Cade’s room. His mother required his presence. Cade sighed, but went straight to her room. He wasn’t sure how his mother was handling his father’s death. She was never one to show her emotion. But if she needed Cade for anything, he would be there.
The queen sat on a chaise by the window in her room. “Son, come, sit.” She gestured to the chair next to her.
The door closed behind Cade as he walked to her.
“With the king gone, our victory is more crucial than it’s ever been. Now is the time for you to focus.”
“Of course, I’ve been training every day.”
“So has Raith, and he’s been strategizing. Why else would he claim the human as his second?”
“To mess with my head,” Cade said. That was Raith. Always finding a way to stir the pot. But picking Scarlett as his second was sloppy and foolish. She was no match for Poppy, a trained Summer soldier. Her mortal nature made her weak and slow and breakable. Had Cade not gotten to know Scarlett, he’d be delighted at his brother’s choice. But the image of Scarlett dead on the forest ground sent a twinge of sadness through him.
