by Linsey Hall
“Our friends in Magic’s Bend?” He sounded skeptical. “We’ve never told them about our past. And we can’t tell them now—the spell prevents it.”
“We don’t need to tell them. They’ll help us anyway.” We’d had each other’s backs for years, and even though I knew the deepest secrets of their pasts, they didn’t know mine. I’d have told them if my lips hadn’t been magically sealed. “We just have to tell them we need help and they’ll come.”
He nodded. “You’re right. When?”
“Cass was heading somewhere important. So in the morning. Once she’s done. Your wards will hold, right?”
“Should. The potion makes it impossible for other magical beings to enter our hideout. So we should be good to get some sleep.”
I nodded. “Let’s do it, then.”
We banked the fire, and Connor went to the truck to sleep. I could have joined him, but I preferred to sleep under the stars if possible.
I chose a little cave only a few feet from the truck and stretched out on the hard stone ground. The fresh air filled my lungs and made up for the discomfort, but as I drifted off to sleep, I couldn’t help but think of the Ice King.
I shivered.
My fated mate.
He was the one fate decreed that I was most likely to fall deeply in love with. According to the heavens, we were perfect for each other. We just had to find our way to each other and get over any issues that stood between us.
Unfortunately, the issue was that he was determined to sacrifice me to save his people and had been clear from our first meeting that he was the type to do whatever it took.
Images of him raced across my mind, making it hard to drift off. Finally, sleep took me, dragging me into an uneasy slumber punctuated by nightmares of my Court’s future.
When the shout sounded, I thought it came from my dream. I twitched and rolled over, trying to force the dream away.
The shout came again.
I shot upright, blinking into the darkness.
Not a dream.
Connor.
I surged to my feet and drew a throwing ax from the ether, powering up a fireball in my hand as I spun to face the truck.
The Ice King.
He blended with the shadows, his dark cloak and hair merging seamlessly with the night. Only his blazing blue eyes were distinct.
Somehow, he’d broken through Connor’s wards. Just him, no backup. He’d be the only one strong enough. I hadn’t thought it possible to get past Connor’s magic, but I shouldn’t have underestimated him. He’d dragged Connor out of the truck and held his limp body upright.
Please be unconscious.
“Let him go!” I hurled my fireball at the bastard. He dodged, surging toward me, never letting go of Connor.
I called upon another fireball, a massive one that was so bright it cast golden light on the king’s face even though I still held it.
I hated him in that moment, with a visceral rage that made me vibrate. When I threw the fireball, I put so much force into it that he couldn’t dodge. The flame caught on his cloak, spreading quickly.
His roar of pain rent the night, and I chucked the throwing ax at him, aiming for his chest. It slammed into his shoulder, and he jerked backward.
Hatred gleamed in his eyes right before he disappeared into the ether, dragging my brother with him.
“No!” I dropped to my knees, heart tearing in two.
What the hell had just happened?
Panic beat within my chest, making my breath heave and my skin chill. He’d taken Connor.
And he hadn’t attacked me.
He’d had time. It had all happened so fast, but there had been moments when he could have thrown a deadly ice spear at me.
He hadn’t.
I rocked back on my heels.
What the hell did it all mean?
Connor had been unconscious, but not dead. I’d have felt it if he were dead.
I surged to my feet.
I didn’t want to call him on his comms charm—the king would hear my voice coming from it. I had to go after him.
It was risky. I knew I shouldn’t go into the heart of the Ice Fae’s Court. Connor wouldn’t want me to. My own Court wouldn’t want me to.
They’d want me to lie low, protecting my own life so I could one day save theirs.
But he was my brother.
I’d do anything for him.
I didn’t know what had knocked him unconscious, but what if he needed treatment?
The Ice King had to know I’d come for Connor—it could have been why he’d taken him.
I would be walking into a trap. But I didn’t see how I had a choice.
I pulled my cell phone out of my pocket and quickly dialed Cass. It went right to voice mail, so she had to be out of signal.
The beep sounded. “Hey, Cass. It’s Claire. I’m about to do something dangerous. If you don’t hear from me in two days, I’m at the Court of the Ice Fae in Cornwall. Maybe dead.”
Shit. Maybe I shouldn’t have said that?
Whatever. It was done.
I hung up and strode to the cave where I’d been sleeping and grabbed my bug-out bag. Quickly, I rifled through it. There was a collection of various potions at the bottom of the bag—everything from healing potions to sleeping spells—courtesy of my potion master brother. Anything that might come in handy. But right now, the transport charm was going to be the most valuable. I grabbed it from the bottom of the bag. With a last glance at Connor’s truck, I threw the charm to the ground.
A poof of glittery gray smoke exploded upward, and I stepped into it, imagining the rocky coast of Cornwall, close to where the Ice Fae’s kingdom was supposed to be.
The ether sucked me in and hurled me through space, making my stomach turn and my head spin. I stumbled out onto the thick green grass that covered the hillside nearly halfway across the world.
Cool wind whipped across my face, and the red sun headed toward the horizon in the distance. It was nearing sunset, thank fates. I could use the cover, and most Fae realms only opened at dusk and dawn.
I drew a deep breath of salty sea air into my lungs and spun in a circle, inspecting my surroundings.
Just as I’d imagined it. As I remembered it.
So different than Dartmoor, but familiar all the same. I’d rarely come to Cornwall or the coast, but the few times I had, the majestic scenery had burned itself into my mind.
Behind me, the slope of the hillside rose steeply upward. Thorny bushes competed with yellow gorse for space. In front of me, the sea crashed against the rocks below. I stood on a little flat patch of grass that had managed to grow between the tiny yellow flowers of the gorse and the evil prickers of the bushes.
I scanned the land around me, looking for anything familiar. I’d only been to this specific spot once before, long ago. I’d come on a reconnaissance mission to give my younger self the lay of the land. The Ice Fae were the closest Fae Court to ours, so we’d always been aware of them. Especially since their king was meant to kill me.
Our Courts hadn’t always been enemies, but the time when we’d gotten along was so far back in history that no one alive today had been around.
We had stories, though, passed down about their kingdom. One story even said they’d once been Sea Fae, but I didn’t know if it were true. I’d learned them all as a child, and I cast my mind back, trying to remember the one about the Fire Fae smugglers.
For centuries, the rocky coast of Cornwall had been a hotbed of smuggling activity. Humans had smuggled liquor, tea, and tobacco, but the Fae had been in on it as well. A group of Fire Fae smugglers had found a way into the Ice Fae kingdom, and I needed to retrace their steps. Literally. There should be stairs carved into the cliffside here. It was possible the king had no idea they existed, since it was a carefully kept Fire Fae secret.
But first, I’d have to find the entrance to their realm.
Fae Courts didn’t exist on the same plane as the human realm. Th
ey were located on earth—technically. Except for the fact that they were in another realm. Each Court had a secret entrance. I’d been to both the Seelie and Unseelie Courts in Scotland, but I’d never actually been into the realm of the Ice Fae.
I started down the path, heading west, toward the setting sun. Magic prickled against my skin, calling to me. Dark was coming quickly, so I picked up the pace.
When I spotted the stone archway partway up the hillside, I grinned.
Then my gaze landed on the thorny bushes between me and the arch. It was surrounded by them, and I’d have to cut through twenty yards of the most insane, spikey bushes I’d ever seen.
“If I had my wings, it wouldn’t be an issue,” I muttered.
I’d long since given up my bitterness over my missing Fae wings.
Mostly.
Until things like this happened.
Things that should be easy for a normal Fae—like flying over the human-repelling brambles to reach the entrance to a Fae realm.
But when I was stuck in situations like this…
Yeah, I became a little bitter.
I drew in a deep breath and plowed through the thorny bushes. They scraped against my fighting leathers, the tough fabric blocking them. At first.
As I neared the stone arch, the thorns began to cut through, gouging my skin. I winced, tears rising to my eyes as the wounds began to burn.
I gasped raggedly as the searing pain shot from my legs up to my arms, lighting my whole body on fire.
Fates, this sucked.
They had to be poisoned.
Of course.
My limbs grew heavier and heavier as I neared the stone arch, until it felt like I was dragging them along the ground. My vision began to blur, and I fumbled in my pack.
Connor had given me a few potions that came in handy in most situations, one of them being a cure-all healing draft.
By the time I reached the small clearing around the stone arch, I’d found the little blue vial at the bottom of the bag. I stumbled to my knees and raised it to my lips, my arm shaking.
The potion tasted foul—like old sewer water, if I had to guess. But it immediately began to work, sending warmth and strength shooting through my limbs. Within seconds, my vision had cleared and I was able to stand.
Shaking, I got to my feet. My leather pants were torn to shreds, but at least they were still mostly covering my legs.
“I am so going to kill you,” I muttered to a mental image of the Ice King.
Without hesitating, I staggered toward the stone archway. It was carved with beautiful scrollwork, parts of which were darkened a deep red.
Blood.
It would want fresh blood—Fae, probably. I might not have my wings or my ears, but I still had Fae blood. I sliced my finger and pressed it to one of the dark spots that had been smeared with blood before, then tried to step through the arch.
Magic shocked me, feeling like burning steel across my flesh. The pain centered around my upper back, where my wings would have been if I’d had them. I nearly went to my knees, but managed to stay upright. I stumbled back.
Damn it, this was going to be difficult. I didn’t know if I could take another hit like that one. The magic had been designed to attack a Fae’s wings. If I’d had them, I might not have survived.
Maybe my weakness became my strength in this case.
Carefully, I inspected the decorative scrollwork on the arch, trying to find the pattern. I’d have only one more chance. It took a while, but I finally I saw it. The carvings weren’t just decorative lines. They were actual things. Most of the blood that had been smeared on them was probably meant to distract.
Only one would open the gate.
Several of the carvings were trees or plants. Those were very Fae things, but this was a Court of Ice.
Yet there were no carvings that looked particularly icy.
There was a sea dragon, however. Graceful and dangerous. It made me think of their king.
I pressed my blood fingertip to the dragon’s red face. Magic sparked within the portal, then pulled me though. The ether grabbed hold of me and spun me around, spitting me out in the Realm of the Ice Fae.
In front of me, a guard spun around, his brows lowering. “Intruder.”
4
As the Fae guard surged toward me, my fighting instinct kicked into gear. I drew a throwing ax from the ether and flipped it around, then slammed the blunt end against the guard’s skull.
His eyes rolled back in his head, and he slumped to the ground.
Panting, I whirled in a circle and looked for any other threats.
There were none. For now.
I stood on a section of mountainous cliffside just like the one I’d left behind, with hills soaring up behind me and the land in front dropping away toward the sea. A path stretched ahead and behind me, following the coastline for hundreds of miles. The southwest coast path went all the way around England’s southwest peninsula, but I’d never walked the entirety.
The guard sprawled at my feet, dressed in an ice blue uniform decorated with silver trim. The colors should have looked non-threatening, but instead the uniform was so sharp and simply tailored that it had the opposite effect.
As with most Fae kingdoms, the entrance to the realm was located fairly far from the main Court. Security measures, of course.
In the distance, more than a mile down the cliffside path, the Court of the Ice Fae rose starkly from the landscape. It clung to the edge of the cliffs, the ornate castle starting on the hillside and spilling down the slope toward the sea.
It appeared to be silver and white, glinting in the light of the setting sun. It’d take me a while to get there, and I didn’t need anyone sending up an alarm.
I looked down at the unconscious guard. “Looks like I’m going to have to tie you up.”
His limp form didn’t respond.
Quickly, I bound his wrists with his belt and his legs with his boot laces, then rolled him under the bushes. With his arms behind his back, he wouldn't be able to untie his legs, so it’d definitely buy me some time. I debated killing him—so much was at stake—but I just couldn’t make myself do it.
With the guard incapacitated, I started down the path, running at a quick jog. As soon as the thorny bushes thinned on the seaward side of the path, I cut through them, getting off the main road and moving closer to the sea. The waves crashed below, sending icy spray up into the air.
As I ran, the moon rose over the sea, sparkling on the waves. Everything about this place was magical in a way that Magic’s Bend wasn’t. The city was great, of course, and full of plenty of magic. But this…
Even though it wasn’t my Fae homeland, it was a Fae homeland. And that was enough for me, apparently. It made my blood sing.
I drew the cold night air deeply into my lungs and kept going.
Where are you going?
The voice sounded in my head, making me jump.
I whirled around, searching for the source.
Down here, nimwit.
I frowned and looked down, spotting a small fox in the underbrush. Its russet coat blended well with the undergrowth. “Are you speaking to me?”
The fox looked around, keen eyes bright. No one else here.
“Fair enough.” I couldn’t linger out here. Darkness was providing some cover, but not enough. I turned and began to jog along the path.
The little fox followed. You’re really going there?
“Yeah. I don’t have a choice.”
We always have choices.
My brow arched. “What are you, a wisdom fox?”
My other ride is an owl.
“That doesn’t make any sense. And also owls are fairly dim birds.”
I’m offended.
I glanced down at the fox, exasperated. “Talking animals aren’t really normal, you know.”
Um, I am not normal. How rude. The fox kept up the pace, sticking right beside me. But I’m really not sure you want to go in ther
e.
“I have to.”
Suit yourself. But it’s a miserable place full of miserable Fae ruled by a miserable king.
I was nearing the castle, and I’d gotten close enough to see it up close.
The true nature of the structure became apparent.
I stumbled to a halt, horrified by the sight.
The silver and white that I thought was beautiful stonework was actually ice. And it didn’t look intentional. No Fae would live like this.
I would have bought it if the ice were ornately carved and beautiful—that was a Fae thing. But this was something altogether different. It looked like the sea had frozen and crawled upward, coating the entire castle in a thick layer of ice.
The whole place was enormous and terrifying.
I pointed to the ice. “Is that why they’re miserable? All that ice?”
Probably. It’d make me miserable.
“Same.” I had to force myself forward. If Connor weren’t inside, there was no way in hell I’d approach.
As it was, I needed to find the smugglers entrance.
I searched the coastline for the smugglers’ steps.
What are you looking for?
I looked down at the fox. “What’s the deal? Are you like my sidekick or something?”
The little fox’s head pulled back, and his ears flattened. He looked offended. I am no one’s sidekick. Whatever that is. But I don’t like the implication of the word “side.” I should always be in front.
“Then what’s the deal? Why are you my shadow?”
I’ve never been able to talk to a person before. I like the novelty.
“Fair enough. I don’t hate it myself. And maybe you can help me. I’m looking for smugglers’ steps. There should be several in the area, carved out of the rock going from the sea up the hills.”
Who would do that?
“I know foxes don’t care for stairs, but people like them.”
Don’t tell me what I care for.
I grinned. “Moody, huh?”
I need a snack.
I reached into my pack and drew out a little plastic envelope of beef jerky, then handed it to the fox. He nipped it out of the air.
I decided that I would tell him about the human history of smugglers’ steps—not the Fae history. Just enough to get help. “Hundreds of years ago, the first smugglers carved the stairs into the hillside to make it easier to deliver goods from their ships. They would sneak up at night and offload their cargo at the bottom then carry it up to land where they could sell it.”
