Her words snapped me out of my daze, and I lifted my chin to stare into her eyes. Delight sparked in the reddish hue. Smugness. Confidence. Arrogance. She thought she’d won.
Maybe she had. My mates were trapped, and there was nothing I could do to save them. Her eyes flashed like brutal lightning as she stalked toward me. I scrabbled back, but it was no use. There was nowhere for me to go, not anymore.
She had destroyed everything I loved about this realm.
She had torn my life apart.
And now, she was taking them away from me. Forever.
No. A voice whispered into my ear. One both familiar and foreign at the same time. It urged me back onto my feet. It told me that I couldn’t give up. I didn’t know how, and I didn’t know why, but that urging voice was all I needed to steady my legs as I rose from the floor.
The laughter died on the Queen’s lips. “Oh, this is getting tiresome. Can someone please take care of this cockroach for me? I’d rather not kill her because the Dark Fae will want to take her alive, but knock her senseless if you need to.”
She turned away to stalk back to her throne and her crowns she wanted so badly to destroy.
“Not so fast,” I hissed.
And then I shadowed. One moment, I was behind her, and the next, I stood right in her path with my dagger’s blade pressed tight against her throat.
“Give up.” My voice was hard, unyielding. “Let my mates go.”
“Never,” she hissed.
Killing Queen Viola was the last thing I wanted to do. Even after everything that had happened, I still hadn’t grown accustomed to all the death and murder that took place in this realm. But I saw no other option. There was no other way out. I could see the truth in her eyes. As long as she was still breathing, Queen Viola would never give up. She would never stop trying to gain the crown. And she would never stop haunting me. She would never stop trying to take my mates.
I only had one choice. With a deep breath, I sliced my blade across her neck.
Chapter Twenty
“So, how does it feel to be back at the Academy?” Rourke asked as he drew lazy circles on my skin. I was cuddled up on his chest after a particularly vigorous session between the sheets, and my body felt truly relaxed for the first time in what felt like years.
“I’m not sure,” I said. “I mean, don’t get me wrong. I love it here, but I also feel as though there are more important things I should be doing.”
Indeed, we had stopped Queen Viola, but the fae of the world seemed lost, uncertain, and scared. There were no current rulers, not after every single Royal had been killed. At first, Liam had insisted I take over, but I wasn’t just going to claim a throne without earning it. Yes, I was Marin’s daughter and the rightful heir, but I refused to follow in Viola’s footsteps.
I would take the crown, but only if that was what the realm wanted.
For now, I would learn and train and practice as much as I could.
“You’ll be out there doing more soon enough, my love.” Rourke kissed my forehead. “For now, the realm is safe. No more battles, no more storms, no more murderous Queens.”
I let out a heavy sigh of relief, one that didn’t reach the very core of me. Everything Rourke said was true, but I still carried with me an inexplicable uneasiness, like there was something shadowy in the corner of my eye. When I tried to turn and see it, there was nothing there.
Because there was one truth I just couldn’t shake. The Dark Fae, those creatures of the Underworld, they had wanted me. For what? I didn’t know.
Something told me that it wouldn’t be long before I found out.
Thank you for reading A Song of Shadows, the second book in the Otherworld Academy trilogy! A Touch of Starlight (book 3) is available for preorder now and will release on June 26, 2018. 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
[email protected]
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