“What news?” Alexander asks, frowning as he threads his arm around my waist, drawing me closer to him.
“The Unseelie… the Winter Court has risen against us,” he blurts. “They are sending an army to the Summer Court.”
Unseelie? And vampires, too? What in the world is going on?
“Damn,” mutters Alexander. “It’s taken years to find peace, to find some kind of common ground with the Winter Court. What is the reason for this?”
General Morel gives Alexander a look that Alexander seems to interpret, but as usual, I am left in the dark.
“Is it Atticus Drake?” I ask, eager to assist in any way I can.
General Morel only regards me with a quick, somewhat condescending glance, before turning back to Alexander.
“The Seelie Army is ready for battle, but they are weak. The realm is weak. We need you there, My Lord.” He eyes me with disdain. “Not here.”
Alexander releases his arm from my waist, oblivious to the General’s judgmental looks in my direction, as he, too, paces the length of the room.
“What of the Fae King and Queen?” he asks, his brow furrowing.
“We have taken them to safety,” says the general. “But if the Unseelie grow any more powerful, I’m afraid the Seelie Court will fall, unless certain… demands are met.”
“Why would Atticus Drake involve himself in a Seelie/Unseelie battle?” I ask, more to myself than the two faeries.
“What can I do to help?” I blurt. “Surely there’s something I can do—“
“You will do nothing,” snaps the General, giving me an icy look. “It is because of you that—“
“That will be enough,” Alexander orders, silencing the General with a warning glance.
“Because of me that… what?” I say, eyeing the General. I’ve had about enough of his rudeness. “You think this Unseelie uprising my fault?”
“My love.” Alexander turns to me, placing his hands on my shoulders. “I want you to stay inside until I return. Tell Greg to do the same,” he says, forcing a smile. This isn’t what I was expecting him to say, but I’m so surprised I can’t even form a response. “And get Christoph back here. He is to keep watch over you in my absence.”
“Keep watch over me, my ass,” I snarl.
“Sophia,” he says again. “Do as I say.”
Kicked to the curb, as usual.
I grit my teeth, feeling offended. How is it I keep finding myself being passed back and forth between supernatural babysitters? We’re supposed to be in this together.
“You place your trust in a vampire?” General Morel scoffs, fixing Alexander with a surprised look. “No wonder the Seelie realm is falling.”
“You will remember to whom you are speaking, General,” Alexander barks. The General straightens to attention, his eyes wide.
The front door bangs open as an epic flash of lightening fills the blackened sky.
“I’m afraid you have no choice but to place your trust in a vampire,” Chris says, stepping across the threshold. He’s covered in blood, yet still has the decency to wipe his feet on the mat inside the door. “There are more of them out there. And with the darkness, they’re able to keep a low profile. What they’re doing… what they’re preparing for and why remains to be seen. But they are being commanded by someone. And I think it’s safe to assume it’s Atticus Drake right now, unless you have any other ideas?” He pauses, his gaze darting between Alexander and General Morel. “So you can either trust me and the Council of Elders to sort this out, or you can fend for yourselves. Your choice.” He shrugs.
“What makes you so sure they’re working for Atticus Drake? He hates vampires almost as much as… well…” Alexander asks, smirking at Chris.
I roll my eyes. Now, Alexander’s just trying to be annoying. And it’s working.
“I know because he confessed to being under his master’s command… that he couldn’t control his actions,” Chris says. “Didn’t stop me from tearing his heart out, though.”
He tosses something gruesome and bloody to the floor, and it lands with a squelching sound on the General’s impeccably shined shoes.
Alexander’s jaw pulses. He does not like being upstaged in front of me.
“Ooh, a bloody vampire heart,” Alexander feigns shock with all the skill of a vaudeville performer, throwing out jealous jazz hands and glaring at Chris as he crosses the room toward me. “So original, vampire.” He turns to me, his face warm and full of love, and I brace myself for the love scene of the century that is sure to follow. I am nothing more than the prize right now. “I will return to you, my love. I promise.”
He sweeps me into his arms, kissing me long and hard, with a passion that only intensifies my addiction for him.
“Okay,” I whisper against his lips as he continues to kiss me. I’d like to think it’s because he loves me and not because he’s trying to put on a big show for Chris, but I know better. “This is awkward, Alexander. You’ve got me. You know you’ve got me. Stop being a jerk.”
“Yes, and you should remember who you’re bound to,” he says, switching to the First Language, just to make things more mysterious. He grabs my hips and pulls me to him.
“You’d better stop,” I whisper, keeping with the First Language. “Or you won’t be able to leave at all. We haven’t yet consummated our marriage, and I could sure go for some consummation right about now.”
He stares down at me and grazes his teeth over his lower lip, which sends my legs collapsing beneath me. I hate that he has such an effect on me, and I hate even more that he’s doing this in front of Chris. My hope is that over time, I’ll grow some kind of immunity to him and his roguish charms.
Closing his hand around the cuff on my wrist, he says a few words under his breath as the cuff heats against my skin.
“I’ve placed a ward on your cuff that should keep you safe from a magical attack.” He glides across the living room, placing a hand on the doorframe of the house. Then, with one finger, he draws invisible symbols into the wood that multiply and dance across the wooden surface in a burst of hazy blue light. “And I’ve just warded the house,” he says, shooting Chris an icy look. “It won’t hold for long, but it will do for now. They can’t get to you in here as long as you stay here.” His eyes narrow as he turns his gaze to me. “If he cannot protect you, use your cuff and send for me.”
I start to ask him how to do that. I may wear the cuff, but I have no idea what it can do yet. But before I can ask, he’s across the room, catching me in his arms and kissing me once again. It’s a little much.
“Christ,” Chris growls. “Aren’t you needed in Faerie?”
Alexander ignores him. “I love you,” he says to me, and while I want to roll my eyes at the extreme cheesiness of the situation, I can only nod in response. “Wait for me, my love.”
2
“I don’t see how you can put up with that,” Chris says, snarling a hand through his hair. He scowls at the spot where Alexander and General Morel had been standing. “He’s an ass, Sophia. An immature, arrogant—”
“Yes, I am quite familiar with arrogant, asshole-ish men,” I interrupt. “I’ve actually changed my major to Arrogant Supernatural Assholes with a minor in being Kicked to the Curb.”
“You could make that a double-major,” he says, snickering.
“Oh, shut up, Chris,” I snap, shoving him out of my way as I stomp into the kitchen in search of something very, very alcoholic. “I’d ask you to leave, but…”
“But you’re stuck with me. Protecting you. It’s like old times, isn’t it?” He leans against the doorframe of the kitchen, amusement dancing in his eyes.
“I suppose it’s sort of our… thing,” I grumble as I search the pantry. “And I appreciate it, but can you do your best to stay out of sight when Greg’s around? He’s pretty freaked out by all of this. And I’m trying to rekindle our friendship.” I continue my rummaging, but find nothing of an alcoholic nature. “Are we experiencing
Prohibition here, too?” I shout. “The Darkness Curse, vampires, evil druids, and… now Prohibition? Where the hell is the alcohol, Greg?”
I feel Chris’s hand on my shoulder.
“Do you need me to compel you?” he asks. “Calm you down?”
“I’m fine,” I say flatly as I skulk out of the kitchen and over to the couch where I flop down with a huge, defeated sigh. The arc of his eyebrow tells me he doesn’t believe me. “Of course, I’d be lying if I said I didn’t have a few reservations about…” Chris follows me, and I scoot over so he can sit down next to me. “About all of this.”
The words leave my mouth before I can stop them, but I’m too tired to dig myself out of the hole I’ve dug myself into. Sometimes it feels good to talk to someone, even if that someone is your scorned lover. I’ll take what I can get in these troubled times.
“Reservations? Oh, come now, Miss Kelly. Don’t be silly,” he teases. “Surely the handsome and charming Fae Prince wouldn’t be using you to further his own needs. Surely he loves you. Right?”
I fix him with the iciest glare I can muster.
“I really hate you right now.”
“My apologies,” he says, his expression turning solemn.
I slap my palms to my thighs and glare at the gloating vampire.
“Chris—“
“No, I’m serious. You’ve had a tremendous burden placed upon you. One that you were not at all prepared for.” He pauses, reaching for my hand. I’m so surprised by what’s coming out of his mouth, I let him take it without a fight. “I don’t know what the future holds or what part you have to play in whatever Atticus Drake is brewing up, but you are strong, Sophia. You are stronger than you realize. But this old life you long to return to? Living with Greg and rekindling your friendship, as you say?” He pauses and then shrugs. “I will not sugar-coat it. It can’t happen.”
I don’t think Christoph von Drauchenberg has ever sugar coated anything in his entire life.
“Says who?” I ask, feeling defensive.
“Says the guy who is almost a thousand years older than you. I speak from experience. You can’t have it both ways. You can’t live with one foot in your former life and one foot in this one.” He makes a face. “As much as I hate to admit it, you are a Fae Princess now. Life, as you know it, has changed forever. It changed the moment you bound yourself to… him.” He scrunches his face up even more.
“Times have changed,” I point out. “Alexander understands the… human condition, if you will. He doesn’t expect me to go full-Fae for him. He wants me to finish school. He doesn’t want me to give up my human life—“
“Wanna bet?”
“And Greg is my best friend, Chris. I can’t… let him go,” I say, ignoring his comment. “I’m sure he will come around. He needs time. And I need to—“
“Move on,” Chris interrupts, turning in his seat so his knees knock with mine. “That’s what you need to do. Accept your fate as a supernatural. Accept that you are one of us. And quit wasting your time trying to convince Greg, or any human, that you’re still the same person. Because you’re not the same person, Miss Kelly. And neither is he.” He squeezes my hand as I start to protest. “You know, a wise woman once told me that she didn’t wish to return to the way things were.” I look away, trying to avoid the flicker of pain on his face. This is the last thing I want to talk about right now. I don’t need him throwing my own words back in my face. “And you know what? She was right.”
“I don’t care what you—wait, what?”
I’d been all primed to act defensively, like usual, but he’d pulled a complete 180. Shocked by his words, I gape at him. Am I hearing this? From Christoph von Drauchenberg? He-who-does-no-wrong? Telling me I’m right? I blink at him, waiting for the gotcha moment, but there isn’t one.
“I don’t want my old life back, I want my best friend to be part of my new life,” I whisper. That’s fair. It’s a suitable compromise. But Chris only stares at me, shaking his head, which only makes me more frustrated. “Quit looking at me like that.”
“It can’t happen. What you had with Greg is over. You left that life behind when you—”
“Yeah, well, I wish I hadn’t,” I snap, pulling my hand from his. “In fact, I wish I’d never found Auberon’s stupid journal or jumped in that stupid portal or any of it.” Tears of anger fill my eyes. “This has been an enormous pain in my ass. I didn’t ask for this. I didn’t ask to be drug into this life… this prophecy…”
“Your fate was sealed the moment you were born,” Chris points out.
“Yes, and the minute… no, the second this damned war is over, I’m done with all of it,” I growl, giving the cuff on my wrist an involuntary tug, stopping once I realize what I’m doing.
Chris raises his eyebrows as I ball my fists in my lap.
“Trouble in paradise?” He fights back a smirk.
“Yeah, Chris. There’s trouble, okay? Of course there’s trouble. Is that what you want to hear? Alexander is gone, and I have no idea when or if he’s coming back. I know there’s something going on, and as usual, it’s being kept from me.” I pause. “Sometimes, I wonder if he’s taken his magic and abandoned me. Maybe this whole thing was some sort of game for him.”
“Even after such a show and intense profession of his love for you a few moments ago?” he chuckles.
“So glad you’re getting such a kick out of this,” I hiss.
“I may not care for him, Miss Kelly, but he cannot lie to you. He is Fae. If he promised to return, he will honor that promise. And it was wrong of me to suggest otherwise.”
“Well, I’m not—“
“I don’t understand why this couldn’t have waited,” Horace’s voice, tinged with frustration, fills the room, but he is, as usual, nowhere to be seen. “Lord knows you’ve waited long enough. What’s one more day? I’m not your chauffeur. I’m not here to teleport you back and forth.”
“I know that, Horace. But I’ve waited long enough. The first one came when she was in high school. Now they’ve started coming again. This is the third one this week. They know she’s back, and they need her. And what’s more important is that she needs them, too. It is with them she will find her power. And you know that. Now we need to convince her.”
My mother?
“You mortals are ridiculous.” Horace pops into the middle of the room, looking exasperated. “Your mother has something to give you,” he says, and I can’t help but notice the strong contempt in his voice. Is it directed toward me? Horace glances at Chris, his lip turning up with disdain. “Oh, good. It’s you,” he mutters, giving him a lengthy once-over. “I heard about the vampire attack,” he says with a grin, glancing between Chris and me. “So, you’re the babysitter again, eh, Bloodsucker?”
“Until her magic returns,” Chris says, rising to his feet, so he towers over Horace.
“What is this about a delivery, Mother?” I ask, wanting to change the subject and avoid the brewing testosterone battle in the middle of the living room. “You have something for me?” I drop my gaze to the crumpled envelope she’s clutching in her hand.
“Well, yes, Sophie-Bug. I should’ve given this to you sooner, but… no time like the present, I suppose. Besides, after that vampire attack earlier, you need all the help you can get.”
“My, but word travels fast around here,” I say, offering her a tight smile.
She cradles my cheek in her hand.
“I’m just glad you’re okay and that Alexander was there to heal you. Bless that wonderful man.”
Chris makes a noise of disgust that I do my best to ignore.
“I’m being summoned,” Horace announces with a huff of annoyance. “If we could speed this along.”
“Go on without me,” my mother replies with a shooing motion in his direction. “I’ll have Jo zap me back home.”
Horace curses under his breath before he disappears.
“Good. I’d rather he not be here, anyway. He’s in a mood,�
� she says. “He’s been in a mood ever since we got here.” She shakes her head. “I swear, he is by far the moodiest faerie I’ve ever encountered.”
She holds the envelope for a moment longer, tapping it against her palm as if debating whether to give it to me before she exhales and thrusts it into my hands.
“So, what is this?” I ask, lifting the thick flap and peering inside.
My mother clears her throat, uncomfortable with whatever it is I’m about to pull out of that envelope.
“Well?” she asks. “What does it say?”
I examine the thick card with its fancy, gold-filigreed edges and elegant cursive handwriting.
“It’s a date,” I say, frowning as I flip it over to examine the back. “That’s it.” I stare up at her. “It’s just a date.”
Disappointed, I shove the card back inside its envelope, but she stops me.
“Check again,” she urges. “Perhaps there is more.”
“I am in no mood for silly riddles and guessing games,” I say with a sigh.
I pull the card back out of the envelope and watch as the elegant gold script fades and new gold script appears in its place.
“It says… Ravenwood Hall. Nevermoor, New… Hampshire?” I read aloud, my interest growing as the script morphs again. “7:00am, March 15th.” A week from today. I meet my mother’s curious stare. “So, what? Just show up next week and what? All will be revealed? Is this even an actual place?”
My mother grins. “Yes. Well, sort of. It’s an actual place, but you won’t ever find it on a map.”
Of course I won’t.
“Who sent this? What is this an invitation to? Why can’t anyone ever tell me what the hell is going on?” I complain.
“You’ll find out,” my mother answers with an awkward laugh. “As you said, all will be revealed.”
I stare down at the card. The text has disappeared.
“I don’t understand. Can’t anyone ever just… Does everything have to be some big, mysterious… thing?”
Faebound Rhapsody Page 2
