“No reason; just ready to move on.”
I bit my lip. What is he trying to keep secret? There was no way Olezka or Erebus would let me leave without something concrete on that turncoat fae. Plus, I didn’t want to leave without Olezka and definitely not without Ana.
“No, Sixx is needed here,” Erebus inserted. “Ana will not allow her father to throw her the ball without extending an invite to Sixx. He will look down on it, but he will also see it as an opportunity to gain her cooperation in whatever he has planned.”
“The date hasn’t been set, from what I heard,” Cyril bargained shrewdly. “Give me Sixx until there is a date.”
Olezka snarled. His hands tightened around the arms of his chair, threatening to break the sturdy wood.
“Give me time to ponder this,” Erebus replied emotionlessly.
Olezka stood so suddenly that he knocked back his chair. “What?” he scoffed incredulously.
“We will discuss this in private,” Erebus answered calmly. “Sixx, please return to your quarters.”
Erebus delivered both statements with the scary sense of calm that only reinforced my overall feelings of unease around him. Olezka looked down at me and nodded.
“I will sort this out,” Olezka promised, cupping my cheek and brushing his thumb over the curve of it. He leaned down and pressed a chaste kiss against my lips.
“See you in a bit,” I answered, forcing myself to keep the wobble from my voice.
I stood to leave the room with Cyril’s neon gaze following until I was out of sight. I had a feeling this wouldn’t end how I wanted it to. After all, I was just a pawn; a piece to be moved in whatever direction the more powerful players thought was useful.
Chapter 5
Ana
I. Fucking. Hated. Pink. Ever since I was a little girl, I detested the color. With platinum blonde hair and violet eyes that everyone tried to convince themselves were blue, the obvious choice for all of my clothes was pink. I fought down a tantrum as the Light Fae version of Spider, the Royal seamstress came into my prison for the fifth time today with her crew, each of them carrying airy swaths of ball gowns in every puke-inducing shade of pink imaginable.
I’d learned her name was Silnna, which was more than I’d learned about Spider during my time with the Dark Fae. The powdery white woman with gossamer wings stared at me like she couldn’t quite figure me out. It shouldn’t have surprised me. What girl wouldn’t want to find out they were a princess?
Me. That’s who.
I snorted at the thought. Sixx would probably fall under the same category. She hated being the center of attention. She would have loathed this as much as I did.
The seamstress’s fluffy wings twitched. “You are displeased, my princess?” Silnna asked, perturbed.
“Stop calling me that,” I muttered, pacing the room. Gods, I was restless. I’d never been one for sitting and waiting. I liked to move and get shit done. And right now, my most significant task was finding a way out of there. I’d already tried the window, which was warded to the point of ridiculousness. Of course, the King might have increased their strength after I broke through the original ones.
Then I’d tried the front door, thinking that sometimes the most obvious solution was the best. The two guards who were originally posted there increased to four within the hour. Oops. I hoped nothing horrible happened to the original two that I’d incapacitated. Shrugging those thoughts away, I continued to pace across the sumptuous room. Suddenly, the twinkling of an idea hit me as I eyed the gowns Silnna and her helpers had paraded inside.
“Silnna, I have an idea.” A smile crept over my face. The white-haired fae looked even paler than usual.
****
“You attacked a member of our High society, whom you attempted to use in your thwarted escape plan, and yet you look at me with such defiance! You will learn your place here, Anastasia. Your mother was wrong to keep you from me, but it is only my favor toward her that keeps you safe.”
“I think it’s more along the lines that now everyone knows your dirty little secret,” I muttered. I stood in front of the King on his throne, yet again. My plan had backfired… sort of. I managed to convince Silnna to take me to her workshop so I could pick out some fabrics and styles for myself. On our way there, I tried to sneak away. I made it farther than I thought I would, but like Erebus’s palace, this place was a maze for those who didn’t know their way around.
Unfortunately, I was caught. I shuddered as memories of my latest capture came rushing back to the surface.
****
“Wrong way, little Princess.”
I groaned, hating the sound of not only the title but the “little” before it. These fae were tall, but it wasn’t like I was a shrimp.
But that voice… I recognized it.
Anger caused blue electricity to crackle up and down my arms. Without thinking it through, I twisted around in the workshop and rushed the bastard. He was the one who brought Sixx to this land. He was the one who kept putting her in danger. And me, for that matter.
I clenched my fists and fought back the blind rage that threatened to take over as I thought about all the things he’d done. My lips peeled back from my teeth, and I became feral, more animal than human. Key crossed his arms, looking bored as I rushed toward him. Just before I reached him, the air shimmered.
“Fuck,” I gritted as I quickly sidestepped whatever magic he’d conjured.
“Easy there, future bride.”
“Call me that again, and you won’t be able to have children. Ever,” I snapped, taking a defensive step backward.
Key watched me with hunger darkening his eyes. Not as a male lusting for a female but as a power-hungry fae. It didn’t take me long living in the para world in my realm to figure out what that look meant.
“Calm down,” he growled.
“Why would I do anything you asked? I should tell the King what you’re up to right now.”
A dark look passed over Key’s face, and before I could even blink, he pressed me against the wall. But unlike when he tried this with Sixx, he couldn’t easily overpower me. My powers flared, but he held fast. From the lessons I’d received from Erebus and Killian, I knew better than to allow all of my energy to flow through me. It made it unpredictable and harder to control.
I needed to siphon how much power I used, but doing that while keeping my cool wasn’t my strong suit. As my power surged, I felt my glamour drop. The lure that I hadn’t yet learned to control twined around my body. It was a strange feeling, but I sensed my magic searching, trying to draw people in and ensnare them.
“Well, aren’t you full of secrets?” Key muttered, moving his hands up and down my arms. His power pushed against mine, but unlike when Erebus’s touched mine, it didn’t feel right. It felt oily and wrong.
“Nothing will stop me from spoiling your plans!” I spat. “I’m going to tell the King everything Sixx told me.”
“Why? Do you want your little human pet to die?”
It felt like a bucket of icy water dumped over my head. My powers went still. “You’re bluffing. She’s safe,” I said, though my tone lacked confidence.
“Is she?”
“I watched her make it across the border back into the Dark Fae Lands. Even you have to admit that she’s safe with them.”
Key’s eyes took on a calculating glint. “Yes, she did cross the border. With an incubus, I believe. Cyril?” he added nonchalantly.
My stomach dropped to my feet. How did he… He must have just overheard something. Perhaps the King’s intel.
I raised my chin defiantly. “What of it?”
“Your human half is holding you back, silly girl,” he tsked.
“A silly girl you obviously want something from.”
“Cyril works for me. I had him placed in those cells with your human because I knew you would come for her. She made a bargain with him – one I intend to collect upon – because I don’t trust your father to keep to his wo
rd. I have big plans for us, future bride. Never forget that at any moment, I could have your precious little human killed.”
****
Key’s threat hung over my head like a guillotine blade waiting to fall on my neck. Before releasing me, Key warned that he would be watching me. He wanted me to go about my everyday life here as if nothing was amiss, but things changed dramatically when he threatened Sixx.
I loved Sixx, and I knew that as long as she made it to the Dark Fae Lands, Olezka and Erebus would find her. She’d be safe. But it still nagged at me that Cyril was always close. It made more sense now why he was so determined to keep her close. That was my fault. I should have fought harder to keep us together.
My leg muscle twitched with the need to pace while the King spoke, and I barely heard a word he said. I just nodded when it seemed appropriate, trying to work out the best plan going forward.
“Anastasia, are you listening to me?”
“Not really,” I admitted, blinking and trying to refocus on the King. His lips were pressed tightly together. He mostly kept his cool with me when the others in the Court were present, and luckily for me, there always seemed to be a few scattered around. The group here today tittered when I made my comment, but when the King’s gaze shifted to the group, they left the room with chastened expressions.
A chill blasted from the King, and even though he was the King of the Light fae, he was colder than Erebus. Then again, maybe it was because Erebus heated me in different ways. Even after learning Erebus was King of the Dark Fae, he still had compassion. While he acted distant and aloof at times, I could see the warmth in him.
“You are in my world now, child.” His choking power wrapped around me suffocatingly close. I stumbled back a step as a sudden burst of heat radiated from the King, his inhospitable eyes shining and lit from within. “Starting tomorrow, you will attend lessons. You have much to learn about our world and your place in it. I hope you understand that I am being generous with your punishment, my child.”
I squirmed under the intensity of his power, which I realized was probably only a fraction of what he could wield. Back in the human realm, I liked to believe I was one of the most powerful players on the field. Aside from the dark mages, I was able to hold my own easily. But this place was a different playing field. And I wasn’t nearly as skilled as I should be.
Lessons might not be bad, all things considered.
“Understood.”
“You will be a proper fae female.”
That didn’t sound so good.
Next order of business would be to find a way to contact Erebus and figure out what was going on with Sixx. I needed to warn them about Cyril, and more importantly, I had to play the game with a level head like Sixx. No more jumping ahead three squares without thinking about the consequences.
I needed to learn what the King’s end game was but, more importantly, Key’s. If I could get the King as an ally, maybe it would help me when Key made a move because my instincts said he wasn’t the type to wait around. He had plans in place and would be on the move if he wasn’t already.
“Don’t think that I trust your sudden compliance. I will be watching you closely, child. And don’t forget… I know your weakness.”
I swallowed. I needed to get Sixx out of this world, but I had a feeling she wouldn’t leave even if Olezka pulled her out of this realm, kicking and screaming, if I was still here. As it was, there was a line of people already threatening to use her against me.
I knew this realm would not be kind to Sixx.
Chapter 6
“Why the pout, Seis?”
I rubbed my forehead, trying to figure out how he got inside Olezka’s room again. Especially since I locked the door this time. Right now, it felt like I was swimming toward a goal, only for it to be swept away in the current, forcing me to swim a little farther. But the farther I got, the longer the journey back became. Not only that, but I was exhausted. Part of me wanted to stop and let the water take me under. The other part wanted to huddle in a corner and cry for help. Instead, I forged ahead, though my goal remained stubbornly out of reach.
What could I do?
“Come on, Seis. Where’s that levelheaded human who struck a bargain with me?”
“She’s taking a mental health day,” I muttered as the wind brushed gently against my cheeks. I leaned over the railing of Olezka’s patio and stared down at the ground, dizzily far beneath me. The cool air helped me feel centered.
Cyril laughed, though I didn’t see any humor in my current predicament.
All I felt was exhausted. Olezka was pissed. Ana was a prisoner of the Light Fae. And I had inadvertently trapped myself into a favor with a para.
“You know what you need? A drink.”
What I needed was a night where I could wallow, secure in the knowledge that tomorrow would be better. Tomorrow, I would do better.
The meeting had drained me. Olezka’s anger still pressed onto my shoulders.
I placed my elbows on the stone railing and dropped my chin into my cupped hands. Soft footsteps echoed behind me, and a goblet appeared in front of my face.
“Quickly, or I will drink it for you.”
“Is it safe for humans?”
“You think I’d want to trap you here when I finally got your mate’s permission to leave this place?” Cyril said, his eyes burning with a neon flare.
“Put your powers back in your pants, Cyril. I’m not in the mood,” I grumbled, taking the drink from him but smelling it before I took a sip. It was a floral wine that I feared would go down far too easily. Still, I swallowed a couple more mouthfuls.
“Why me?” I asked, squinting at Cyril.
He smirked before taking a drink from the cup he’d poured for himself. “Why not?”
“Is it because I’m human? You only wanted to strike the deal after you found out about Olezka.”
“No. I meant what I said, Seis. You’re smart and levelheaded. You pick your battles well, and you know when to strike. It’s a rare thing to have patience these days, even among the fae.”
“Hmm, I’m not so sure about that.” Patience and fear were two very different things.
The wine was already starting to go to my head. Warmth filled my veins and made everything seem lighter. I snorted a laugh at that thought. Lighter. Not here. Not in the Dark Fae realm.
Cyril chuckled. “Bit of a lightweight, Seis?”
“Why do you call me that?” I tilted my head, squinting hard at Cyril. He was dangerously handsome when you looked close. Or maybe it was because we were both clean, not covered in grime and, you know, in mortal danger. But he still didn’t get my heart fluttering or my stomach twisting as butterflies took flight. Nope.
“Why not?”
“I don’t know.” And for some reason, that was incredibly funny. I laughed so hard that I toppled backward. I stared up at the stars, seeking a familiar pattern, but they were different in this world. “Toto, we are not in Kansas anymore.”
“No, but we will be soon. What do you say, Seis? Want to head out early and give your mate a heart attack?”
I flopped my head in his direction and scrunched up my face. “No, I like him too much. Maybe even love him. I don’t know; love is hard,” I pouted, cuddling the firm surface of the patio. My eyelids felt heavy, and they weighed a ton each. ”Hmm, this is nice.”
“Fuck, I better get out of here before your mate comes back. Sorry, Seis, I didn’t think you would get that drunk,” Cyril said.
I waved him away and yawned. “Nooo, not drunk. Just tired. Tired. Tired. Tired,” I muttered. I fell asleep on the stone patio. I don’t know for how long, but when Olezka’s strong arms lifted me, I knew it must be late.
“What am I to do with you, my priyatel?”
“Ravish me?”
“Somehow, I doubt that is what you truly wish for right now, Sixx.” A growl overtook his voice.
I giggled, pressing my nose against his chest and taking in his scent. �
��You smell good. Why do you smell so good? Like s’mores but better. Oh my gosh, what a good idea! We should make s’mores.”
“Alright, back to bed with you. You’ve had a long day, and we’ll have an even longer one tomorrow.” Olezka pressed a kiss to my forehead before placing me on the bed and pulling the blankets over my legs and chest.
“Will you sleep with me?”
“Da, my Sixx. Always.”
“Mmkay.” I drifted back to sleep.
This time, tumultuous dreams accompanied me. I dreamt of Ana in the Light Fae Kingdom, but contrary to everyone’s assurances that she was being treated like a princess, she was locked in their dungeon instead. Key entered the dream, walking down the long, dank corridor that led to the cells. When he reached Ana’s cell, he kept walking. Suddenly, I was standing in the cell next to hers. Key focused his eerie dark eyes on me.
“Don’t forget, Ana, if you don’t do as I ask, she dies. Right before your very eyes.”
I woke up with a jerk, and my eyes shot open as my heart pounded in my chest. A vice wrapped around my mind and refused to loosen its grip.
“Sixx?” a sleepy grumble said next to me. Olezka sat up and rubbed my back as I panted and clawed my way back from my anxiety attack. I squeezed my eyes shut, reminding myself it was just a nightmare. It wasn’t real. Erebus’s spies had informed him that Ana was heavily guarded but still being treated as their princess.
“Talk to me.”
“It was just a nightmare,” I whispered. Olezka pulled me back down and held me close. I pressed my nose against his chest and breathed in his comforting scent. It calmed me, but awareness followed, and guilt started to weigh me down. Not because I left her behind but because I could be used as her weakness.
“She is strong, моя жизнь. She will be fine,” Olezka reassured me, instinctively knowing my nightmare was about Ana.
****
“Eat.” Olezka waved a plate of food under my nose.
I groaned in disgust. My head was killing me, and my stomach lurched at the thought of food.
“No,” I groused, hating myself. I didn’t drink that much, so why did it feel like I took six shots straight, one right after another?
Sixx and the Incubus: The Sidekick Chronicles Page 4