by J. L. Weil
I understood then that his fears went deeper than just my life being in danger. Fae rules forbade him from entering a romantic relationship with me, let alone taking me as his mate. There was a hierarchy to things, an order for royals, that yes, seemed antiquated. One of the first things I planned to change, if I ever got to rule. Still, like all actions, there were consequences and I didn’t think neither Devyn nor I were looking forward to dealing with the fallout, not when there were so many other pressing matters.
My love life would have to wait.
In the meantime, I needed Devyn by my side.
“I know.” Nothing would be the same. I’d be queen and he’d be my Shaman, my protector, my sword. Yet, he was also my mate, and I needed to remind him. “But nothing will change the way I feel about you. I love you, Devyn. Like honest to gods, love you. You’re mine. Always. Everywhere. Even inside that castle.”
His forehead dropped to mine. “I love you, Kitten.”
Wrapping my arms around his neck, I leaned into his body, gently pressing my lips to his in what was meant to be a quick kiss, but Devyn hungered for more.
His need trembled through our bond the second our lips touched, and I swallowed the moan that escaped him. Closing my eyes, I let myself savor his taste, and our joined emotions that swirled through our connection. There was a hint of desperation to his kiss, as if he were afraid this would be the last time he would get to feel my lips before the crapstorm hit.
When Kai cleared his throat, Devyn broke the kiss, his eyes dark as they fixed upon his stepbrother—a scowl gracing his lips. “This better be good,” the Shaman said roughly.
Kai rolled his eyes. “I never knew how tiresome fated males could be.”
“We’re no longer alone,” Reilly informed with a sense of urgency that Kai seemed to always lack.
“We haven’t been alone for some time,” Devyn retorted, failing to see why now was any different.
“That may be, but our stalker is about to pounce on its prey,” Reilly murmured, making no indication with his body language that trouble lingered in the darkness.
“Little queen,” Kai pressed, showing the first stirrings of unease in his voice, alerting me that things were about to get worse if I didn’t act now.
“Do I have to test this theory of yours out?” I asked, feeling the pressure clamp down on me. It felt rushed and unprepared.
“No time,” Kai quipped, clasping his hand with mine. Our fingers instantly intertwined while he met my gaze, silently urging me to hurry… but there was more there in his eyes. If I needed to draw from his power, he would lend it to me, because it was more important that I conserve what I had.
I nodded, offering him my thanks. With only two hands, I wouldn’t be able to hold onto all three of them. Someone had to hang onto me and not let go, or they’d find themself lost in the void. Same if I were to let go, which had yet to happen, thank God. My gaze darted from my free hand to Devyn and Reilly, panic racing through my blood.
Devyn chose for me. “Don’t worry, Kitten. I’ll never let you go.”
My hand reached for Reilly’s as Devyn went behind me, his fingers at my waist. For me to void, I needed a clear picture of where I wanted to go. There had only been one exception. The first void. I managed to transport us from the human world to the Second Moon through my connection with Devyn.
In theory, I never should have been able to void to the Second Moon. Then again, I’d done a lot of things I never thought possible. The girl who accomplished the impossible should be engraved on my headstone the day I die.
Everything that happened to me, all the tails I’d earned seemed to be born from blind luck.
I wasn’t about to change that streak. Not today.
This will work!
Cool shadows tingled into my veins when I let that Unseelie part of me mix with Kai’s magic. My gaze fixated on the spot just on the other side of the ward, the rear part of a tower. Secluded and just close enough that I could keep the picture in my head. The soul star hanging between my breasts flared to life under my shirt, frosting my skin.
“Kai,” Devyn growled right before the shadows of the void gobbled us. His breath was hot on my ear as I gave myself to the darker magic, not evil, but different.
People feared what they didn’t understand, and I was slowly beginning to realize that Unseelie fae often were given a bad rap due to the nature of their gifts, but not all of them were bad apples at the core.
Kai was a prime example. His bad guy persona was his shield, a way to protect himself, and I would guess that many Unseelie were misunderstood. I’d met more fae that were truly evil that weren’t Unseelie.
I guess it didn’t matter what world you lived in, human or fae, people were shunned for not bending to the norm of society. However, I refused to let the council, Talin, or any other fae or human conform me.
It was time I accepted who I was—all parts of me.
Not just the magic.
Or the title.
I was both fae and human, and I had to find a way to hold onto both sides of me.
Once I emerged from the shadows, Kai and Reilly’s hands were cool and warm in mine. Holy shit, I did it! For a second, I berated myself for doubting my abilities. Exhaling with relief, a proud smile curled the corners of my mouth and I turned around to face Devyn.
How quickly joy could turn into horror, fear, disbelief, and confusion.
The world fucking spun, whirling, whirling, and whirling until my feet no longer had a grasp on the ground. Devyn wasn’t behind me. His hands weren’t wrapped around my waist like they’d been when I voided.
He was... gone.
I wracked my memories, trying to remember if I felt his touch leave me during the crossing, but I found nothing. I swore I felt his presence the entire time. Then how?
Frantically, I searched the vicinity, scanning the tower, the uneven plain, and glancing back to the other side, desperate for any sign of Devyn.
“Where are you?”
“You promised not to let go.”
“I can’t do this without you.”
Thought after thought raced through my head. “Devyn?” I rasped, finally finding my voice.
Reilly and Kai both looked at me then, picking up something was wrong with me. My lungs suddenly stopped taking in air, and then I was gasping as a full panic attack took over my being. I couldn’t seem to get the air into my lungs or exhale fast enough.
“Karina.” Kai grabbed my shoulders, shaking me. “Karina!” he called more firmly when the quickening of my breaths didn’t stop.
I lifted my eyes to his face, the anxiety working its way into my bones, festering and gnawing at me. “Kai. Where. Is. He?” I managed to get out between panting gasps.
“I don’t know. But you need to calm down. We can’t find him if you fall apart.”
Nodding, I forced myself to shove down the fear that gripped me. “He promised not to let go.”
Something in his eyes sent a grain of stillness that quieted the roaring in my head. “He never would have, little queen. You know that. Devyn would walk through Hell to save you. We will find him, or he will find you. It’s what he is good at. Nothing will stand in his way. Nothing.”
Everything Kai said made sense, but with each second that went by, my panic flourished.
Devyn’s words came back to haunt me. “Once you step over the barrier, I won’t be able to get to you. This magic is beyond my reach.”
His worst nightmare.
And now mine.
My hands fisted, magic pulsing through my blood. “I have to go back,” I muttered.
Kai took a step toward me, seeing the sudden determination set in my expression—the hard line of my jaw, and firmness in my chin. I knew my eyes were glowing as well—felt my Kitsune rise to the surface. “Karina, no—"
It was too late. I was gone before Kai could stop me. The hand he lifted breezed through my shadows.
Seconds later, I materialized where Devyn
and I had last stood. “Devyn,” I called out, my head twisting from side to side as my fae eyes cut through what they could of the gloominess.
No answer.
“Devyn!” I screamed, my raspy voice echoing through the valley for what sounded like miles and miles. Perhaps a dumb move that would certainly send every hungry fae creature in the area straight toward me, but I wasn’t in my right mind—I wasn’t thinking at all, except to find my mate.
The bond between us stayed silent. Despite my attempts at trying to sense him, I couldn’t weed through my own heightened emotions that were going haywire. They were too strong. Too wild and untamed.
I whirled, my feet stumbling in a circle. Some part of my brain warned me to gather my bearings, to calm down, but it was drowned out by the terror clawing and shredding my heart within me.
A guttural growl came from the edge of the dense fog. Gnarly. Savage. Unlike any sound my ears had ever heard. Every hair on my body stood on end. On the ground, something slithered, moving too fast to be just a snake. Milky eyes peered through the darkness, glowing brightly. They reminded me of what we imagined creatures living in the depths of uncharted parts of the ocean would look like—places no human ever ventured.
I took a step back as gleaming white teeth flashed. It was as if I stared at a ghost, only the eyes and teeth visible. My Kitsune trembled, sensing we were in grave danger, urging me to run, to void, to get the hell away before it caught us.
I couldn’t stop the scream that ripped from my throat as the rising power inside me stuttered. Boney limbs, razor-sharp teeth, and midnight scaly skin that seemed to take the color of its surroundings barreled toward me. A horrendous combination I wished to never lay eyes on again.
I’d never be able to outrun the beast, my only means of escape was to void, but the thing would have me pinned to the ground in seconds. I had no time to do anything but brace myself for the attack.
Pivoting on the balls of my feet, I turned to do just that. Void. Void. Void! I was a split second too late.
Something close to death itself lunged at me.
Chapter Four
KARINA
Kai suddenly appeared in front of me, his hand flying through the air toward the unholy creature. His blow landed, sending the beast sailing through the air, only for it to land on its feet seconds later. The thing grinned, darting a slimy fork tongue into the air, looking pleased to have two preys instead of one for dinner.
The beast sniffed the air, its nostrils flaring, eyes slitting to forsaken orbs of death. Giving no warning before it lunged off the ground again, the creature hurled toward us, talons raised to gut a man.
Kai gritted his teeth, throwing up a shield in front of him, but the thing punched through it like it was breaking a thin layer of ice. Yet, it was just the edge Kai needed.
His cool command had a mist of shadows and magic expelling from him, shredding through the thing like a meat grinder as it sprang in the air. Flesh, fur, and bone scattered. My stomach pitched when bits splattered over my face and skin. And the smell…
I was close to being sick.
With a fierce scowl, Kai faced me. “We have to go, little queen. There are more out there. Vissers hunt in packs.”
Of course, they did. I let Kai fold me into his cool shadows and take my hand.
“Karina,” he prompted. “We need to be on the other side.”
Tears stung my eyes, my heart so heavy it weighed me down. My breath became sharp, morphing into something like a blade that stabbed me over and over again. In. Out. Slice. Cut. I heard my heart beating.
“Devyn would want you to fight,” Kai whispered.
Dread sluiced me, and I resisted the urge to shrink to the ground. I nodded, straightening my shoulders. From the same section of darkness where the creature had emerged, a new face appeared. The fae I was all too familiar.
“Silvermyst,” I croaked, horror slicing through all other emotions. Our eyes clashed, and for a long heartbeat, we just stared at each other. How many times had I been hunted by those fae? A different species than Devyn or me—a more primal fae with a thirst for the kill. Against the night, his skin shined pearly, and his lips curved, flashing sharp teeth.
“Karina,” Kai prompted again, more rushed and stern, no longer a request but an order.
It was the hardest thing I’d ever done, voiding back and not knowing where Devyn was or when I would see him again. I couldn’t help but think there was some sort of symbolism in leaving him behind, but what?
Sloppy, unrefined, and undisciplined, I voided, and for those few seconds when I was in the darkness, I looked for Devyn, calling out to him.
Still nothing.
Reilly caught me as I stumbled into the other side, my knees too weak to support the weight of my body and my bleeding heart.
“Devyn,” I whispered, and then I collapsed.
I was aware of three things when I came to. Someone was carrying me. That someone wasn’t Devyn. And there were voices I didn’t recognize. Angry voices.
What the hell is going on?
Stirring, my eyes fluttered open. The pain in my chest still ached like an opened wound as the loss of Devyn hit me. All of it came rushing back, so fresh that it was as if I’d lost him again. Would it be like this each time I woke? Reliving that pain again, and again, and again.
My head lay on Reilly’s shoulder, the shifter’s warmth seeping into me. Dark hair curtained my eyes, obstruction my view. The temptation to curl back up and close my eyes washed over me, but a demanding, sharp voice caught my attention.
“How did you get through the wards?”
“How many times do I have to tell you—?”
“Don’t move,” a low voice interrupted Kai.
“Put the girl down,” another one commanded.
“She isn’t just any girl. She is your queen,” Kai informed with authority and exasperation, as if that wasn’t the first time he’d made the statement.
“I think we would know if she was King Ryo’s heir,” one of the male voices sneered.
“If that is true, then I am seriously questioning how you managed to keep your positions as royal guards,” Kai retorted.
“Put me down,” I murmured to Reilly, “before someone gets hurt.” I couldn’t decide if it was the guards or Kai for whom I was more worried.
“Are you sure? I’m kind of enjoying this,” Reilly whispered.
Lifting my head, I wiggled in his arms, indicating for him to put me on my feet. I had not expected to see two warriors pointing gold spears covered in whorls of runes at Kai’s throat. Power sang in the air around the weapons, an eager song of blood.
What was happening? How long had I been unconscious? Long enough for these two to find trouble, it seemed.
I cast Reilly a WTF glare and the shifter shrugged, keeping close to my side. Shaking my head, I stepped to the side—out from behind Kai—and stared down the two guards. Their gazes flickered to me before returning to Kai, as if they didn’t trust him for even a second. Good call. The Unseelie wasn’t the most trustworthy fae, except to me.
They wouldn’t actually hurt him, would they?
I’d rather not take the chance.
“This isn’t the welcome I’d anticipated,” I mumbled, smoothing out the wrinkles on my pants as I mulled over my options.
Assessing the situation, I realized I had two options. I could surrender, not making any problems, and hope to speak with someone reasonable who would listen to me. Or... I could take charge, show them who I was.
“I warned you,” Kai muttered under his breath at the two warriors, sensing I was about to do something.
The fae guards each shoved the tip of their spears just a bit deeper into Kai’s flesh. Beads of black blood pooled, but Kai’s smug smirk remained. “You are not welcome here, Unseelie,” one of the guards spat, the label rolled off his tongue like it was the vilest thing in the Second Moon. “How did you get through the wards?”
I’d just had a run in with
a truly nasty creature and a Silvermyst. Kai wasn’t exactly hideous. The devilish fae was quite handsome. Not that his looks were in question. It was his morals.
“What is the meaning of this?” I demanded in my best queenly tone as I took another step forward, coming to stand beside Kai. I wanted my alliance very clear. The Unseelie was with me, under my care and protection. He was not to be harmed. Period.
I’d already temporarily lost Devyn.
I couldn’t afford to lose another ally. Not Kai. He’d become far too important to me for both courtly and personal reasons.
Reilly swore under his breath, and I felt his heat at my back.
Both the warriors were tall, but that tended to be a normal fae trait. Underneath the dark leathers, toned muscled bodies only achieved from decades of discipline tightened. They shared the same coloring, dark hair and olive-toned skin, similar to my mother.
“You are trespassing,” the slightly larger of the two spoke up, his golden eyes fixed on me as he lowered his spear. “This part of Katsura is under lockdown. No one enters or leaves without consent.”
I laughed, a short and absurd sound. “Whose consent?” I understood someone had to be in charge after my grandfather died, most likely the council or a commander.
The other guard had a more classic handsomeness, less rugged than the one who delivered the warning. He surveyed me from head to foot, his lip curling, but unlike the first warrior, he kept his weapon still pointed at Kai. “That is information we are not at liberty to divulge.”
Folding his arms, Kai snickered. “Convenient.”
I took a deep breath, firmly standing my ground. “So the council is refusing refuge to the royal family. Both Kai and the dragon heir are fae royalty. Yet you threaten them? Treat them with such disgrace?”
Their expressions remained unreadable. “Times have changed. Falsely claiming to be the queen is a serious crime,” the guard replied flatly, his cold gaze pinned on Kai.
“I don’t pretend to be anything,” I stated, drawing the guard’s focus back onto me. I was at my wit's end. “You have no idea how far I’ve come. What I’ve endured to get here. The trials and sacrifices I have made, and all to be called a liar? To be refused entrance into what is mine by birthright? If you don’t let me through, Katsura will fall. The Second Moon will fall. How much longer do you think the wards will hold?”