The Darkling Lord: Court of the Banished book 1 (Annwyn Series 4)

by Shona Husk

  Darah was nothing like the rest of them either, but she wasn’t going to point that out. “True. He has a soul.”

  Marlis made a small noise that could’ve been agreement or disdain at Darah for stating the obvious. “You swanned in here and turned his head.”

  “That wasn’t my intention.” At least not at first.

  “Maybe not and yet it has happened.” Marlis reached into her silk gown and withdrew a metal key. She placed it on the bar next to Darah. “He has invited you to stay here more permanently.”

  That was an offer Darah wasn’t going to turn down. She reached for the key to the casino, but Marlis placed her hand over Darah’s. Her skin was cool and dry. And while Darah had no doubt she could pull free, there was something in Marlis’s eyes that made her hesitate.

  Was it pain? Jealousy? What exactly was Henry’s relationship with this woman?

  “I too turned heads before the lack of magic in my blood did this to me.” Marlis lifted her hand, but the chill remained on Darah’s skin. No fairy lived forever, and banishment could happen to anyone.

  “Did you turn his?” The idea that Henry would sleep with a Grey was both repulsive and… was that disquiet in her gut? Was it pity? He couldn’t kiss a human without killing them so he’d taken up with a Grey…and now her?

  Marlis laughed as though she knew exactly what Darah was thinking. “I will not let you derail him now he has found purpose.”

  She turned and walked away.

  Darah gritted her teeth, torn between letting the exchange pass and letting Marlis have the last word.

  “Is that a threat?”

  Marlis glanced over a boney shoulder. “I am well past idle threats. Sleep with him, get what you need to report back to Annwyn, but consider the impact of your words on Henry, on the banished that seek his protection and the mortals of this city.” She turned to face Darah. “And if none of that matters to you, which I doubt it does, remember what it’s like to be betrayed.”

  Darah drew in a breath. Marlis knew far more about her than she’d let on.

  “I’m sure you are a better fairy and a better player than the banished Shea ap Greely ever was. I hear he’s dead. Should I offer condolences or congratulations?”

  For a moment Darah couldn’t breathe at all. The burn of betrayal swallowed up every rational thought. She’d buried the pain under smug satisfaction that he’d gotten what he’d deserved…and yet for a time they had been happy, even if love had never been part of their marriage. He had betrayed her and wounded her and set her on this path. And while it had played in her favor that didn’t change what had happened or the way people had looked at her when they’d realized what was going on. He might have broken his word, but she hadn’t seen it coming. He had been a better player than her.

  Marlis knew all of that. Had she seen Shea after he was banished or simply heard about him? Darah couldn’t bring herself to ask. Nor could she give her word that she wouldn’t betray Henry. Her vow to Felan carried much more weight and consequence.

  “Neither.” She didn’t want to think of her husband or her marriage anymore. Being with Henry would be the perfect distraction, and like any fairy she always mixed business and pleasure.

  “Mmm.” Marlis gave a small nod. “Fairies aren’t nearly as heartless as we like to think. I liked the young Felan…I’d hate to think his mother corrupted him the way she did so many.” She strode out of the room before Darah could come up with a suitable response.

  Maybe there was none. Marlis already knew far too much. But if she already knew, there was no need for Darah to be delicate in her pursuit of Henry.

  While Henry knew he shouldn’t have kissed Darah, it hadn’t stopped him from reliving and enjoying the experience. It had occurred to him before that the only person he could kiss was a fairy.

  Being with Marlis had confirmed that. Since her, he hadn’t had another Grey lover. They were worse off than him and he knew how it would end. He always knew how his affairs would end. However, Darah was different. She excited him in all the right places. Unfortunately Court fairies usually wanted nothing to do with a darkling bastard who didn’t even know his real name.

  Except Darah, which had made him instantly suspicious.

  That she hadn’t denied playing him only added weight to his paranoia. For the past three days he’d had a Court fairy wandering around his casino, his city, poking her rather lovely nose into all of his business. And he kept on inviting her to get closer. He liked to think it was because that was the smart thing to do, but he wasn’t very good at lying even to himself.

  He wanted her. He was tired of being lonely and she was offering. One night or ten, he didn’t really care. The knowledge that she might stab him in the back as soon as he took her to bed was all that was slowing him down.

  Every time he looked at her all he wanted to do was kiss her again. If she caught him looking, she smiled as if thinking about exactly what they could be doing after they’d finished kissing.

  He ignored the lust pulsing through his body. He’d told no one, not even Kaid, Penn or Marlis the truth—that Darah wasn’t exiled. He should, but they’d want her to leave straight away because she was a security risk.

  He walked with Kaid toward the river. Neither man spoke, both taking in every change in the city. It had become a bit of ritual come evening. By morning, Kaid would be back at the casino, once again a man. The kelpie needed to spend time as a horse and in water. As long as Henry had Kaid’s bridle he wasn’t free to leave, but a kelpie could never be tamed either. The bridle was the sore point between them, and Henry was sure it was the only the thing that stopped Kaid from killing him for fun.

  He trusted the fairy horse less than he trusted fairies.

  Today’s route took them past what had once been the vibrant downtown area. Even now it was trying. There were a few restaurants, and the other casino was open. Bastard. How much of a fee had the owners paid the mayor? Was it more or less than the deal offered to him?

  Was Darah a security risk, or had that ship sailed the moment she’d found him and seen what was going on?

  He bit back the sigh. The thing was, this whole place was a security risk in Annwyn’s eyes. If Darah was here to investigate and make a report—which he was sure she was—then he at least wanted a good report to go back. Something that said he was no threat to Annwyn and that his work was beneficial to the humans. If other Court fairies were wandering around the mortal world helping out, there was no harm in him and his Greys doing the same.

  He caught himself. They weren’t his Greys. They were here by choice.

  Why, he had no idea.

  Well, that wasn’t entirely true. After Sulia had blackmailed Greys in her failed quest for the throne, everyone seemed to be of the opinion that safety in numbers mattered. They thought he could help them because he’d helped free Sulia’s hostages. He’d owed Verden and in assisting he’d cleared that debt. Being indebted to a Court fairy was never a good thing. Though Verden had never abused that debt and Henry had been happy to help.

  “More Greys arrived today.” Kaid broke the silence. His gaze slid to the three teenage boys loitering on the opposite footpath.

  One of the boys flashed a gun. Kaid smiled and did the same.

  As a man Kaid had the grin and eyes of an ice cold killer, when he changed into a horse he was just as deadly. Henry had had the misfortune of witnessing both first hand. Had Kaid been like that before his years of servitude for the mob in New York, or since fleeing Annwyn on four feet before discovering he could also have two? Henry had never asked, even though they’d become friends before Henry had saved Kaid from the mobster. Friends may not be the right word…but they weren’t enemies.

  “I know.” Every time he turned around there were more Greys…and now a man in exile who’d fought against the King on Sulia’s side. He was still angry with Felan and swearing retribution. Most of the Greys had laughed. Henry hoped it was true laughter, not false designed for his ears.
That kind of talk would bring Annwyn down on them, him, hard. What would happen to Kaid then?

  He had no idea what Annwyn thought of escaped fairy horses.

  “You should be careful of Darah.”

  Kaid laughed. “All fairies know what I am.”

  “I don’t think she does.” She hadn’t said anything, but she hadn’t asked any questions either.

  Kaid grunted. “I am what I am, I do not hide. You should be the one watching her. Her plans for you are clear.”

  Great. How many others had noticed the attraction? Henry changed the topic. “Do you hunt tonight?”

  Once a fairy animal left Annwyn there was a craving that couldn’t be filled except by blood. And once blood had been tasted they could never return. It was why the Hunter must be careful with the hounds. Human blood had given Kaid the ability to change form. It was easy to forget that he wasn’t a man who could become a horse, but a horse that could become a man. Humans had vampires all wrong as Kaid never hunted in human form.

  Kaid considered for a moment. “Only for blood, not for meat. Others will hunt for meat tonight though.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Some of your Greys that pass for humans have been consorting.”

  Sometimes Kaid spoke more like a Court fairy than he realized. “You mean having sex?”

  “Yes.”

  Damn it. Were they trying to make a bunch of baby darklings? They were obviously willing to use some magic to be seen, and to make themselves look passable—shortening their life for a few minutes of fun that could create a lifetime of trouble.

  While fairies needed humans to procreate, a banished fairy getting a human pregnant would only create darklings. Only children born in Annwyn would be soulless fairies. He was always careful in his liaisons with humans because he didn’t know if the child would be mortal or darkling and he didn’t want to find out.

  He’d have to have words with them, and make sure there was consent. Greys tended to be a little loose when it came to honesty and fairness with humans…fairies tended to play loose with humans in general.

  However, when it came to Greys, Henry thought that it was simply because they had no one to make them accountable this side of the veil. In Annwyn, they’d answer to the King, but here Annwyn had forgotten them. Of course, other fairies said it was because they were naturally evil. No one was naturally evil.

  No one, not even Kaid. And Henry had seen and experienced a lot of evil over the decades—most of it done by humans.

  “I’ll deal with it.” Or they’d answer to him. He was becoming their default leader, something that didn’t sit well, as he knew that making deals with Greys was punishable in Annwyn. Was he dealing or making deals…was he classified as a Grey, or as a freakish changeling? He had no idea. He’d never really stopped to consider the finer points of this idea. He’d just wanted to rebuild and give back to clear his conscience…and make some money.

  “When will you deal with the spy in our midst?” Kaid grinned, the expression no less cold than when he’d smiled at the thugs. Kaid’s mask of humanity was only skin deep.

  While Henry knew a little about Kaid’s past, it was enough to make him not ask questions, and make damn sure that the bridle remained hidden. Kaid had killed and eaten the mobster who’d previously held his bridle. Henry had seen the whole thing. It still gave him the occasional nightmare…which was exactly what Kaid was. Night mare, kelpie…assassin. He fed on blood and human flesh. It must have been a brave or desperate man who’d first captured Kaid and put the bridle on to gain control of the kelpie.

  “When I’m satisfied, she will give a good report.” When he was good and ready. Sending her away too soon wouldn’t help his cause and two could play the game that she wanted to play. He almost smiled, even though he knew it was the wrong reason to sleep with a woman.

  “On what, your skills in bed?” Kaid’s voice was like a knife, cutting straight to the heart.

  Henry gave a low laugh. He hadn’t had centuries to perfect his skills, so he doubted that he’d measure up to what she could get in Annwyn in that regard. However he didn’t doubt that she was interested. Some things couldn’t be faked, not even by a fairy. “There is nothing to report there.”

  “Yet.”

  Not even Penn or Marlis spoke to him like this. Challenging him. Did he rely on Kaid too much? Give him too much benefit of the doubt? Would Kaid quite happily turn and eat him if he ever got his bridle back? Henry shivered, and it had nothing to do with the chill in the air.

  “I don’t trust her.” Kaid didn’t trust anyone.

  “Neither do I.” Henry wasn’t stupid.

  “You are blinded by lust, Darkling.”

  “And you have never felt the burn of desire?” Seen the heat in a lover’s eyes and craved their touch? But he didn’t say that. That was too personal. Too often he’d been weak and his lover had paid the price. However, that was all old history and he knew better.

  Kaid said nothing. He stared out across the Detroit River. A few lights reflected on its surface. Soon it would look like spilled ink littered with diamonds. Even though the veil had been fixed, there was still a taint here and people avoided it, as if they knew by some ancient instinct that it had been the rivers of the Earth that had carried the diseases and brought the world to its knees. When the veil had started tearing the river of the damned had started bleeding through into the rivers of the mortal world which had resulted in the plagues. He’d known the cause and it had still been terrifying.

  “I’ll see you tomorrow.” Kaid took a step closer to the water and inhaled.

  “I have a job for you tomorrow.”

  Kelpie turned his head a fraction. His eyes were almost black in the growing darkness, but his skin was pale. Like anything fairy, he was pretty, but there was something alien about Kaid that most people recognized even if they couldn’t place. “What kind of job?”

  “We need some cows, chickens and seeds.”

  “Not this again.” Kaid rolled his eyes, in that moment Henry glimpsed the horse within the man.

  “Yes, this again. Take Darah with you.” That would give him some breathing space, test her resolve, and give Kaid a chance to assess her.

  “Can I eat her?”

  Henry didn’t let the disgust show on his face. Kaid was goading him, looking for a rise. “Annwyn will send someone else. Better the fairy you know.”

  Kaid grunted and jumped into the river fully dressed. He turned onto his back and looked at Henry. “And how well do you ever know any fairy, Darkling?”

  Then he slipped beneath the surface. Henry scanned the mirror-like surface of the river. Eventually the head of a gray horse emerged. Someone would wake up with a bite and minus some blood.

  As Kaid swam across to Belle Island to hunt, Henry knew that the only reason he came back was because of the damn bridle. Loyalty had to be earned, not taken. Henry turned around, but didn’t walk back. Instead he caught a bicycle taxi, and paid the driver well for his troubles. The driver handed over a business card with a cell phone number and offered his services at any hour. Henry thumbed the card before pocketing it.

  Perhaps loyalty could also be bought.

  It was what the mayor was doing. At some point they would need to meet face to face. At which point they would have to decide who was willing to gamble the most to claim the city.

  Should he have aimed lower?

  He was sick and tired of aiming low because of what he was. For once he wanted to be recognized. He wanted to be seen. No doubt all of the Greys felt exactly the same way.

  Darah stood on the balcony of her assigned room. 214. Henry’s casino wasn’t that different to the castle in Annwyn. He had gaming halls and feasting halls and rooms for the closest of his subjects.

  An ever-increasing number of subjects.

  Now that she had a key she’d moved in, deciding it would be better if she looked committed to the cause. She’d also spent a little more time in the city tryin
g to look past the dirt and smell to see what was really going on.

  However people were erratic. They didn’t plan and scheme like fairies. It was much harder to make sense of the mortal world than she’d thought it would be.

  She closed her eyes and tried to pretend the city below didn’t exist. She was back in Annwyn, and there were grass and leaves instead of carpet beneath her feet, and the walls of the room were made of the trees that formed the castle.

  Home was too far away. This place could never be home. It was too dirty and noisy and full of people. There were more people in one place than there were fairies. It was too crowded and she was trapped.

  As usual, she was being watched. She’d almost grown used to the constant shadow and she certainly wasn’t going to acknowledge the spy. Her lips twisted in to a smile. The spy was being spied upon. Her hands gripped the railing. She would do anything to get home.

  “It’s not that bad here that you have to think about jumping.”

  Darah opened her eyes and turned. Henry was leaning on the door frame, watching.

  It was the first time she’d seen him today. She’d been wondering if Marlis had whispered some unpleasant thing in his ear.

  She took a moment to enjoy the view inside the hotel. His black shirt was all but untucked from his jeans. Unlike a fairy, his clothing was plain and unadorned. But then he wasn’t fairy.

  He’d never seen Annwyn and never would.

  However she’d glimpsed his ambition, and for a man afflicted with a soul there was something rather captivating about him. Although the knife edge of the situation could be responsible for the increase in her heartbeat.

  “I was contemplating the differences between Annwyn and the mortal world.”

  “Ah, you do realize that one city doesn’t represent the whole world?”