Heir of the Fae

by Linsey Hall

  Heir of the Fae

  Dragon’s Gift: The Dark Fae Book 2

  Linsey Hall

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Thank You!

  Author’s Note

  Acknowledgments

  About Linsey

  Copyright

  For my mother and all my aunts. My mom and aunts are amazing and nothing like the ones in this book. Honestly it was a little weird to write their scenes. Mom and aunts, this is not about you guys. You are the best. I love you!

  1

  The cool night air blew my hair back from my face as I crouched in the alley, waiting for my prey. The Council of Demon Slayers had sent me after an Exurbia demon, and it was the perfect night for hunting.

  If I ignored the puddle of vomit to my left.

  And the spoiled Thai takeout to my right.

  It all reeked, making my stomach turn.

  I had a strong stomach. After all, I cut into my veins daily as part of my Blood Sorcery.

  But vomit was where I drew the line.

  I also drew the line at demons who screwed with my city. Which left me in this unfortunate predicament. This demon was coming to steal the magic from unwitting citizens. By doing so, he’d pretty much be stealing their souls.

  Not on my watch.

  Which meant I was crouched here in the third level of hell, hoping the demon hurried up so I could kill him and get on with my night.

  Movement on a rooftop to my left caught my eye.

  What the hell?

  It was after three in the morning on the quieter side of town. No one should be out at this hour.

  But there was definitely a man up there—tall, broad-shouldered, and with a silhouette that made him look like a god. The moon shone from behind, casting him in shadow, but I couldn’t help but think of Tarron.

  Tarron, the powerful and devastatingly handsome Fae king who believed I was his fated mate.

  Tarron, the same Fae king who’d just learned that I was Unseelie to his Seelie. In Fae terms, I was evil to his good. Dark to his light.

  It wasn’t a problem for me. I’d been a Dragon Blood all my life, possessing such powerful magic that I could turn to the dark side any time I wanted, becoming obsessed with power.

  I never had though.

  So learning that I was half Unseelie Fae wasn’t that big a deal. To me, at least.

  I knew I wouldn’t turn evil.

  Tarron didn’t. And the Unseelie had basically killed his brother. Worse, even.

  When he’d found out what I was last week, the disgust on his face had made me run. We’d had something between us—something new but real—and his sudden change of heart…

  Yeah, no. Not for me.

  I wasn’t going to stick around with a guy who thought my origin was disgusting. True, I had no control over my new wings or whatever Unseelie magic existed within me. I hadn’t been able to make the wings appear again after they’d shown up the first time, and that was terrifying. But that didn’t make me evil.

  The figure on the roof didn’t move.

  Was it really him?

  There was no way he’d be spying on me. Not a king, come to the real world of Magic’s Bend to watch a peon like myself.

  He disappeared, but the tension didn’t fade from my shoulders. Just the idea that it might have been him tied me up in knots.

  I turned my attention back to the street, just in time to see the demon. He was slinking out of the alley across the street, his form tall and wiry. His skin was a pale, ashy blue and his eyes a brilliant red. Long horns protruded from his head, and his magic reeked of a skunk who’d gone to town in a dumpster.

  I grimaced, then frowned.

  He didn’t look like an Exurbia demon. Maybe he just looked funny? Anyway, he was a demon in the right place at the right time.

  Good enough for me.

  I called upon my bow and arrow, drawing them from the ether.

  The demon was quick, moving toward the open window of a first-floor apartment. The person who lived there had clearly been trying to catch a bit of breeze.

  Instead, they’d catch a demon.

  Not tonight.

  I rose silently, sighting my arrow and releasing it toward the demon. It flew through the air, swiftly and silently.

  A satisfied grin spread across my face.

  It’d be a direct hit.

  At the last moment, the demon turned and smacked the arrow out of the way. He moved as a blur.

  The bastard.

  Exurbia demons shouldn’t be that fast.

  Yeah, he definitely wasn’t an Exurbia demon.

  I raised my bow and arrow again, but his flame red eyes met mine. He grinned, his fangs glinting in the light, then shot a blast of electric blue energy at me. It sparkled with green lights. I’d never seen anything like it.

  I dived left, hoping to avoid the strike.

  The magic slammed into my leg, making pain tear through my muscles. I shook uncontrollably as I dropped to the ground, tears prickling at my eyes.

  “Shit.” I clutched my leg, swallowing down bile.

  What the hell had he hit me with?

  Some kind of crazy electric magic. Cold sweat dripped down my back as I looked toward the demon. He was completely ignoring me, creeping toward the open window.

  Bastard thought I was down for the count.

  If he’d gotten a more direct hit, I would be.

  Whatever he was working with was so powerful—and he was so fast—that my bow and arrow wouldn’t do the trick. None of my magic would.

  I had to fight fire with fire.

  Quickly, I sliced my finger with my sharp thumbnail, smiling slightly at the bite of pain as I called upon my Blood Sorcery. I’d grown to like this pain—it was an indicator that I was in control.

  As blood welled, I focused on the demon’s signature. It still reeked, but I forced myself to inhale it. It helped me mimic the magic that he’d thrown at me. I’d neutralize him with a bit of his own power. It was one of my favorite tricks. He’d never expect me to throw his own gift at him.

  Slowly, it grew inside me, crackling within my chest like electricity. But there was another unfamiliar buzz there. Faint. The magic hesitated, not forming as fast as it normally would.

  My Blood Sorcery had been a little uncooperative since I’d gotten my Unseelie wings, but this was worse. The magic inside me was unsettled, no doubt because of my recent transition, but I could still use it. I just had to be careful.

  As the demon’s electric power surged inside me, I stood. I drew a dagger from the ether, then raised my other hand, aiming for him. I called upon the magic inside me, letting it rise to the surface and flow down my arm.

  It shot from me as a bright blue current flecked with green sparkles, lighting up the night. At the last moment, the demon turned.

  He fired his own blast of magic at me, and the two streams met in the middle. I winced, forced backward by the force, but kept my magic flowing. The two streams of electric energy crackled and burned, binding us in a weird dance.

  I struggled to keep the magic flowing as I raised my dagger and hurled it at him.

  Distracted by our joined magic, the demon wasn’t able to dodge the blade as quickly this time. It plunged into his side, and he let out a high-pitched scream, making the hairs on my arms rise.

  Our joined magic crackled and danced. The
demon’s grew brighter, stronger. My breath grew short as I fought it, but something strange happened.

  The power that fizzed inside my chest changed. It twisted and writhed.

  Oh no. The Unseelie part of me was rising again, sending my own magic out of control. It’d never been this bad, though. This was crazy. True terror fizzed through me, icing my skin and making my stomach turn.

  The power burst out of me in a blast. Somehow, it joined with the demon’s stronger magic, mutilating itself. Our power fed off each other’s, growing brighter and stronger until it exploded in a blast so bright it blinded me.

  I flew backward, slamming into the alley wall and sinking to the ground. Pain surged through me as I blinked, my heart thundering in my ears.

  All I could see was bright white, then darkness. Magic fizzed in the air. Something was terribly wrong—I could feel it. I scrambled to my feet, my chest feeling hollow and my breath heaving.

  I blinked as fast as I could, desperate to see.

  Where was the demon?

  Was he dead?

  My vision returned in blurry bits and snatches. The outlines of buildings appeared first, then the moon. When my sight cleared entirely, I stumbled back, horror chilling me straight through.

  In front of me, the ground was gone. The whole street.

  In its place, there was an enormous chasm that stretched deep into the earth. I was only alive because I’d been thrown back into the alley when our magic had gone out of control.

  The demon on the other side of the street was gone—because the whole earth had disappeared from beneath him. All the way up to the edge of the apartment building.

  Fear spiked within me as I inspected the buildings all around. Had I killed anyone?

  Please no.

  This is what I’d been afraid of. My lack of control over this new magic was causing incredible damage. Maybe death.

  None of the buildings had fallen into the great chasm, but it was close. The brick walls had cracked, and glass had shattered as the buildings teetered on the edge of the chasm that stretched fifty feet down the road.

  Was it growing?

  Magic crackled around my comms charm, and Aeri’s voice came out. “Mari? What’s wrong?”

  “P-problem,” I stuttered. “Have a problem.”

  “Where are you?”

  “West side of town.” I scanned the street. “What’s left of it.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I destroyed it.” Holy fates, my magic had gone so out of control that I’d blasted the town apart.

  Dark magic billowed up from the chasm at my feet. Had I opened a portal to the underworld?

  I stepped back.

  Maybe Tarron had been right to be disgusted by me.

  I’d known I wouldn’t do anything terrible intentionally.

  I hadn’t planned on this.

  “I’m coming there now,” Aeri said.

  “No.”

  “No?”

  “We have to go to the Council. We can’t fix this.”

  “Shit, Mari.”

  “I know.” The Council wouldn’t be pleased I’d screwed up like this. They hated cleaning up messes. I’d made a few in my day—particularly when I’d been young and learning the ropes as a Demon Slayer—but nothing compared to this. “We don’t have a choice.”

  As if to echo my statement, the earth beneath my feet rumbled, and the crack in the earth opened a little bit wider at each end. Magic’s Bend was tearing apart at the seams. For now, it broke apart the street. But soon, the crack would reach the end of the road where more buildings were situated.

  When it did, they’d tumble into the earth.

  How much more could this thing grow?

  I was afraid I knew the answer, and that if I didn’t fix this, Magic’s Bend could disappear entirely.

  “Meet me in the workshop,” I said. “We have to report this.”

  They were the only ones with the resources to help.

  “Be there in two.”

  I gave the great chasm one last look, then used my transport magic to appear back at my house. The old Victorian street in Darklane was just now quieting down for the night. Unlike the west side of town, this neighborhood was hopping through most of the night. The grimy facades of the ornate buildings stared down at me, their blackened windows like eyes. I swore I felt their judgment.

  I deserved it.

  Quickly, I climbed the stairs to my front door, the Oliver Twistian street lamps shedding a golden glow on the stairs. I let myself into the foyer and hurried back to our workshop.

  Normally, the space would calm me. Herbs hung from the ceiling, scenting the air with a spicy, floral aroma, and the shelves were packed full of potion-making tools and books. The hearth lay dark at this hour, barren and cold.

  Nothing in the world could calm me now. Normally, when I was stressed, I’d shove a butterscotch candy into my mouth.

  Now was not the time. This was bigger than butterscotch.

  Aeri raced into the room behind me, her white bathrobe fluttering around her slender form. Pale blond hair streamed over her shoulders, and her panicked eyes met mine. Whereas I kept mostly nocturnal hours, she’d probably been asleep when she sensed that shit had hit the fan for me.

  “How bad is it?” she asked.

  “Bad.” I stepped toward the table and hovered my hand over one corner.

  She mimicked my gesture at the other end of the table, her own magic glowing around her palm. It felt like a cool breeze over my skin and sounded like birdsong. The table lifted itself into the air and drifted to the side wall, then set itself down gently.

  Aeri and I approached the trapdoor and sliced our fingertips, each of us letting a drop of blood fall to the stone floor below—black blood for me and white for her. The ground disappeared, a much smaller and more controlled version of what had happened earlier tonight. Still, I couldn’t help but shudder as I stepped onto the stone stairs that led deep into the earth.

  I led the way, sprinting down the spiral staircase and pausing only to let the protective enchantments make sure that my intentions were pure. When the metal spikes shot out of the wall, I let them take a bit of blood and determine that I wasn’t here to do harm. Instead of stabbing me through the sides, they let me pass. On the next level down, the enchanted fog filled my lungs, eventually approving of my intentions. My breath was heaving as I ran into the chamber deep below our house.

  The Well of Power glowed blue and bright in the middle of the cavern. It looked like a shallow lake, but it connected us to the Council of Demon Slayers. I yanked off my boots and stepped into the cool liquid. Aeri kicked off her elegant slippers and then followed and grabbed my hand.

  “Here we be, let us see,” we chanted.

  Before we could finish the second verse, Agatha appeared, her ghostly form rising out of the water as gracefully as a nymph.

  She never appeared this quickly. It was as if she’d been waiting for us.

  “There’s a problem,” she said. Her features glowed indistinctly with blue light, but I swore I could see concern on her face.

  “Yes.” My voice nearly cracked.

  “Dark magic is seeping into Magic’s Bend,” she said. “On the west side of town.”

  “A huge crater has opened in the earth,” I said. “It’s spreading. It hasn’t swallowed any buildings yet, but it will.”

  “You know about this.” Her gaze sharpened.

  “I do. And it’s bad.”

  “Give me a moment.” She disappeared, and tension tightened my skin.

  “Do you think she’s checking it out?” Aeri asked.

  I gave a tight nod. “Or sending someone else to.”

  I wasn’t sure if Agatha could travel that far from a Well of Power. Her magic was linked to it and all of the other wells. Each Demon Slayer had one in their home, their connection to the Council.

  I had to stop myself from crushing Aeri’s hand.

  A few moments later, Agatha
appeared. Her voice sounded stunned. “This is very bad.”

  I just nodded, my mind racing. I’d caused that. It was my fault. Should I confess?

  Agatha’s gaze zeroed in on me. “It has your magic all over it, Mordaca.”

  I swallowed hard. Well, that answered that question. “It’s my fault. My magic went haywire. I was waiting for an Exurbia demon to show up, like the Council requested. Then another one entirely appeared. I was trying to fight it using his own magic, but something went wrong. Our powers combined, then exploded. And…”

  “Opened a hole in the earth,” Agatha said. “That is reeking of dark magic.”

  “Is the darkness escaping into Magic’s Bend?” Aeri asked.

  “It is, yes. From where, I’m not sure. A dark realm somewhere. The underworld, I think. You said that the demon who showed up wasn’t the one our intelligence predicted?”

  “Exactly.”

  She frowned. “Strange. For now, though, the biggest problem is the spreading crater and the dark magic that could spill out.”

  “How do we stop it?” I asked. “And close it up?”

  “You’ll need powerful earth magic for that,” she said. “More powerful than anything in this realm.”

  Shit. “What do you mean? Where could it come from, then?”

  But as I asked the question, I knew. The knowledge prickled at the back of my mind.

  “The Seelie Fae king has the most powerful earth magic that we know of,” Agatha said.

  Of course he did. Just as I’d expected.

  All of the Fae were gifted with natural magics. He could control the elements—one of which was the earth. As the king and most powerful Fae, he’d be the best at it.

  Dread expanded within me, filling me up like a balloon that expanded into all my nooks and crannies.

  How the hell was this happening?

  It was the worst coincidence I could think of.

  “You’re going to have to ask him for help,” Agatha said.