Shameless Fae (The Fae Bounties Book 1)

by Cilla Raven

  They each taught me things as well.

  Like how Lazlo taught me to look through trees to see what’s hiding amongst them, pointing out that on that first night, he’d known someone was there but hadn’t been able to see me. Then, he’d gone on to brag to everyone about ‘Ghosty’s’ ability to remain absolutely still, because had I moved at all, he would’ve seen me and come after me.

  Priya and Roan had shown me different knots I could tie in rope, and by the time we arrived, I was becoming pretty proficient at a few of them.

  Surprising me with what they showed me though, was Riah and Quinn.

  Though I knew Riah had to be strong and capable to be as good of a trader as he was, and even though I’d seen a glimpse of his brutality a few times as I handed over a couple of fae that wanted to fight him, I’d never actually seen him fight someone. As I’d watched him and Roan go at it in practice, I realized that Jarriah Foxmist was every bit as familiar to me as he was a stranger. And though that made some part of me sad, it also intrigued the rest of me, as if Riah suddenly had an untapped well of things I still had to learn about him, and I just couldn’t wait to figure him out again, more thoroughly.

  Quinn on the other hand, didn’t teach me any new skill, but he did sit with me and tell me about himself, which was so surprising, I’d hung on every word and savored every image he depicted for me.

  Those nobles he was charged with killing? He was one of the human children they trafficked after his parents died, and their owner had no use for him because he was so little. He didn’t go into too much detail about a few of his formative years, and I could tell that was because the demons that haunted him from that time just weren’t ready to show me their true colors; however, he did tell me how he escaped. Apparently, when he was around ten years old, he grew too old for those that were keeping him. They sold him to this smith in Wrogmar where he learned the trade, and slowly, over time, he built his wings in secret, waiting for the day when he could finally disguise himself well enough to leave all of that terrible past behind him.

  He said his first set of wings couldn’t fly, but over the years since then, he refined the design and tinkered with them so much, that now, he can fly just as well as the rest of the fae. Quinn also explained that that’s a part of why he’d punched that trader in the face. The long-eared sea turtle oil has the little dose of magic that his wings needed in order to fly. I’d admonished him about the illegal substance, but at the same time, admired the skill it took him to make such perfect replicas, much less the ingenuity it took to make them actually fly.

  I chance a glance to my right, taking in a really good look at those wings of his as we get near the ruins, and Quinn’s eyes dash to meet mine as if he felt me looking at him. His smile is both sweet and dark, and I send a smile of my own toward him as we get to the treeline that borders the ruins.

  I take a second to survey the area before I lift into the air on my wings and fly silently over to a nearby window on the second floor. It’s large enough for me to fit through, I note as I peer inside.

  Not seeing anything other than crates and a staircase leading down to the first floor, I set myself down on the ledge of the window, and look back through the trees to all the eyes that are watching me. They’re all standing at the ready, waiting for my cue, and I hold a hand out, telling them to wait until I can at least figure out where each of the fae are that we’re searching for.

  I creep through the window, my feet so light on the floor that I don’t make a sound as I get near the stair rail and look down.

  There in the center of the circular space below sit all five of the fae I haven't seen in thirteen years, and as I take in each of their faces where they sit around, joking in their Amaryan tongue, a rage like I’ve never felt before slips through me.

  Remember the plan, Z, I tell myself, so I don’t go all kinds of crazy and forget it right when it matters most.

  I back up to the window as silent as ever and give Riah and the Doconqueh a thumbs-up motion indicating that our plan will work out perfectly if we time it right.

  Quinn and Priya ease out of the treeline first, heading toward the front entryway of the dilapidated building as Riah and Roan fly around to the back, and Lazlo flies up to meet me.

  The plan was to wait exactly one minute from the time I gave the go-ahead before we would all ambush them. As that moment approaches, Lazlo and I share a menacing smile before we turn and jump over the edge of the rail, flying down to the fae below as both the front and back doors fly open at the same time.

  To be Amaryan mercenaries or whatever, the group of us made quick work of catching all of them. Granted, there were a few harrowing moments there where they got a few licks in, but really, the situation was over very quickly, and we had all five of them on their knees, gagged, their arms and wings tied up tightly behind them, sitting in a row on the floor.

  “What do you want to do, Zin?” Riah asks as he slams his hand down on a shoulder of one fae when he tried to stand up, pushing him back down on his knees.

  Quinn chuckles darkly. “I say we kill them right here, right now. Then we wait until their messenger comes to give them a new target, and then we kill them too.”

  He makes a good point, and as I stare down into the gagged faces of the fae men that killed my mother, an overwhelming part of me wants to do exactly as Quinn just said, but something stops me.

  Walking over to the blue winged fae who had been the one who sat on my mother’s arm as she tried to shoo me from the room all those years ago, I pull the gag out of his mouth, grab a fistful of his dirty brown hair, and slide my dagger up to his throat.

  “Who hired you?” I ask, my tone indicating I won’t hesitate to slit his throat if he doesn’t answer me. I know I’ve had my misgivings with killing in the past, but for these fae, I might just make an exception to that rule.

  The fae spits in my face, and everything that had been holding me back before leaves my system entirely as I slit his throat, backing out of the way as I drop him to the floor, and wipe my face in disgust.

  “Anyone else want to join him?” I ask the group, and all of them seem like that’s not at all what they want to have happen.

  The one on the end speaks up, and though at first, I thought he was just going to be forthright about what I wanted to know, I realize pretty quickly that he’s going to enjoy what he’s about to say, and as I stalk toward him, I understand why.

  “If you thought this was ever just about your mother, Sweetie Pie,” he says, “then you’re just as naive as she was. All the nations pay our bills, every one of them is angled against each other, and we’re the ones who reap the rewards for it.”

  I honestly have a tough time processing what he’s saying for an instant, but I get over it quickly enough to ask, “What do you mean? Explain.”

  “You think we’re sick and twisted, that we’re the evil that plagues this country, but you’re wrong. It’s you royals who are the true villains here, paying us to slaughter your enemies’ wives, or their children, making one of them so weak he might as well be dead. All of you want power so bad, want to rule all of Arorial yourselves so much that you don’t care who you send us to kill or brutalize or frame, so long as the odds turn in your favor,” the fae says. I’m taken aback by what he’s saying, by what he’s alleging, by who he’s grouping me up with just because I’m considered a royal.

  “All the royals paid you to do these things?” I ask as I step up before him.

  The fae smiles, blood still sticking to his teeth from a blow he took to the mouth earlier, and a new kind of rage spreads through me when he says, “Handsomely,” and laughs like he loved every minute he spent committing the crimes of kings.

  It’s an accepted kind of rage, one even more powerful than what I thought rage was before, and as I send my dagger straight through his throat, I don’t even feel any remorse about it. As if the act could be ranked right in there with other menial tasks like adding logs to a fire or sweeping a
dead rat out the door. I didn’t exactly like doing those things, but I had to because they needed to be done.

  Resolutely, I nod, and instantly, the other three fae that are sitting on their knees before me meet their fate at the sharp end of a blade, no questions asked, and no hesitation to speak of.

  “Zin, you’re looking pretty scary right now,” Riah says from where he stands over the dead fae in front of him. “You’re not like the royals he’s talking about, you know that, right? He just lumped you in with them because of your title.”

  My best friend knows me and my mind all too well, but before I can speak, Lazlo says, “No, Ghosty, you’re not like them. You might have been like the other royals before,” coming over and rubbing a hand down my hair like he’s admiring it for a second, “but now, you’re Doconqueh.”

  “You, and Jay here, too,” Quinn says as he pats Riah on the shoulder, causing Riah to blush and a sense of pride to guide his lips up into a smile.

  Lazlo’s words fill my heart where it feels like a piece of it has died and been rebuilt in a matter of minutes, and as I look around the room, I see that they all agree to this new role I plan on filling.

  “Well then,” I say as I wipe the blood off my dagger and place it back in its sheath. “It seems like the Doconqueh have eight more royal bounties to catch.”

  Also by Cilla Raven

  Beholden To Balance Series

  Initiate (Beholden To Balance, Book 1)

  Reign (Beholden To Balance, Book 2)

  About the Author

  Cilla Raven is an indie author that lives in North Carolina with her husband, five children, and a big fluffy Great Pyrenees named Luna. She's an obsessive reader that cusses too much and has too much attitude to take seriously from her four foot eleven frame.

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  She constantly has stories running through her mind from the depths of her own complicated, funny, sometimes dark, and scary subconscious that eat at her until she has no choice but to write them down. She falls for all of her characters, even the "bad" ones, knowing they probably didn't start out that way. Such is life or whatever.

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  Cilla has a pants-off after 10 P.M. mentality, loves music and dancing in her underwear, dirty humor, playing video games, funny animal videos (probably more than is necessary), and good food to name a few of the things that excite her.

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  Hopefully, this lets you get to know her a little better, but if you still have questions, don't be shy! She’d love to hear from you!

  The Raven’s Nest

  If you join my reading group on Facebook, you’ll be the first to hear about everything Cilla Raven, including exclusive offers, cover reveals, preorders, teasers, giveaways, author takeovers, and more!

  www.facebook.com/groups/536221750246279/

  Acknowledgments

  First and foremost, I want to thank you, the reader, for reading this book! You don’t know how much it means to me that you did, so thank you!

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  I’d like to thank my husband for supporting me through all of this ‘writing stuff.’ If it weren’t for you, I’d never have the ability to write in the first place, so thank you so much! I love you tbtiafnmw!

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  Next, I’d like to thank Nichole Witholder from Rainy Day Artwork, for inspiring this book with that beautiful cover, for befriending me when she didn’t have to, and for the gumbo! Girl, you’re amazing!

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  Lastly, there are a few shout outs that can’t go unmentioned:

  Thank you to all of my family for supporting me, even though I still don’t know if I want you to read my books, lol. I love you all!!

  To all my friends who have supported this crazy-ass dream of mine to become an author, you guys rock!

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  And again, thank you to all who bought and read this book, and I really hope you enjoyed it! Your feedback, reviews, comments, and shoutouts are all welcomed and super appreciated!

  When you do those things, you make it possible for me to keep pumping out books in the future, so help a girl out? Lol. Thank you all, so much!