Shadows and Sorcery: A Collection of Urban Fantasy and Paranormal Romance Novels

by Adkins, Heather Marie

  “When I tried, she blew me into a wall.” Exos tilted his head at me. “Twice.”

  Flames seemed to lick across my skin. Perhaps literally. I couldn’t tell because I couldn’t seem to stop staring into Exos’s ocean-blue eyes. That magnetic pull held me in place, paralyzing me before him. Then Titus grabbed my other hip, his chest hot against my back.

  Oh, fuck…

  I leaned against him, then swayed forward, and back again, unable to decide whom I wanted to touch more.

  What is happening to me?

  “Are you finally up for listening, princess?” Exos murmured. “Or will you use that impressive wind power of yours on me again?”

  “Impressive?” I repeated.

  “Very,” he admitted, his gaze softening the slightest bit. His thumb swept over my lower lip, his opposite hand tightening on my hip. “So much power.” He released me from his gaze as he lifted his eyes to Titus. “Where do you want to sleep?”

  “I have no idea,” he said, his warm voice tickling my hair. “We were only heading up here to talk about her mother.”

  “Yes, I heard that the first time.” His thumb continued to caress my lip, as if memorizing the feel. “I was asking if you plan to sleep in her room.”

  “We hadn’t gotten that far in terms of arrangements,” Titus replied.

  “Hmm. Well, I’ll be down the hall. If you need a room, the one beside my guest suite is open.” His gaze dropped to mine, his mouth curling into a beautiful grin. “And, Titus?”

  “Yes?”

  “Be careful with this one.” His thumb pressed between my lips, lightly catching my tongue before withdrawing and letting his hand fall to his side. “Claire has a penchant for kissing strangers. Don’t you, sweetheart?”

  My face went up in flames, or at least it felt that way. A vivid memory of the bar pierced my thoughts, taking me back to his first words. Do you often kiss men you hardly know?

  Exos smiled. “Night, princess.”

  “N-night,” I stammered, my hip tingling as he released me. He didn’t turn around as he sauntered down the hallway, his suit clinging to his muscular form and leaving me salivating for the body beneath.

  This is seriously fucked up.

  I shouldn’t be lusting after him. I shouldn’t be lusting after anyone. I should be focused on finding a way home.

  “You, uh, kissed Exos?” Titus asked, his palm sliding away from me as he moved around to face me, his expression unreadable.

  “Um.” I cleared my throat. “Sort of. It was a dare.”

  “A dare?” he asked, raising a brow.

  “Like in truth or dare.”

  He frowned. “I don’t understand.”

  “It’s a game. You’ve never played?”

  He slowly shook his head, causing me to smile.

  “It’s dumb. You’re not missing much. But essentially, it’s played with a group of friends, and you pick a truth or a dare. A truth might be, like, what’s the craziest place you’ve had sex? And you have to answer honestly. A dare could be something like, go kiss that guy at the bar. That was my dare—to kiss Exos. Rick can be…” I trailed off, the thought of my friend sending a jolt through my heart.

  I didn’t even get to say goodbye.

  Just whisked away to this other realm, without a thought of my past.

  Would my friends miss me? Would they come looking for me? My grandparents died last year, leaving me enough money to make it through school. But I had no other family.

  Titus cupped my cheek, his forest-green eyes full of emotion. “I’m sorry about your friend.”

  “Me, too,” I whispered, clearing my throat again. “C-can you tell me about my mom?” I asked, needing the distraction. “Tell me why I’m here? How I’m here?”

  His throat bobbed as he nodded. “Yeah. Of course.” He glanced at the corridor of doors before us. “Uh, in your room?”

  “Yes, please.” I didn’t want to be out in the open any longer. I led the way with him trailing behind me, his hands tucked into his jeans as if he were trying not to touch me again. Probably because of Exos’s little reveal. The kiss hardly counted, but yeah, I’d been pretty inappropriate that night. Then again, so had he, since he let me kiss him.

  I pushed the memory from my head, focusing on the present.

  Titus followed me into the room, his demeanor reserved as I closed the door.

  He glanced around the flowery space, eyeing the tree in the center of the room and the vines climbing over the walls. “It’s definitely Spirity in here.”

  “What’s your place like?” I wondered.

  “Black.” He smirked. “I like to burn things.”

  “Apparently, so do I,” I grumbled, lowering my gaze. How much damage had I caused without meaning to? Not that I could entirely blame myself. It wasn’t like someone had trained me on how to be a… a… fae.

  Fuck, I really do believe this, don’t I?

  I shivered, not wanting to admit to the logic flowing through my mind. This sort of shit was impossible. Or it should be. Yet, I couldn’t deny all the magic flowing around me, the fact that flames literally shot out of my hands, that I’d destroyed a wall of, uh, vines? I shook my head, trying to clear it.

  Titus caught my chin, tilting my head back to stare warmly down at me. “You’ll learn to control it, Claire.”

  “Will I?” I countered. “I didn’t even know any of this was real until today, or yesterday, or whenever it was that Exos kidnapped me.” It felt like a lifetime ago, my existence forever changed by this new world. “I don’t even understand why these powers, or whatever they are, didn’t manifest until recently. Or how to begin controlling them.”

  “It’s rumored your mother hexed you,” he replied, his fingers gliding along my jaw and down my neck before dropping down to his side. “Exos would be much better at dictating the history, as he sits on the Council of Fae, but I can tell you what I know.” There was an edge to his voice when he spoke of Exos, but it didn’t reflect in the kindness of his features.

  “I’d rather you tell me,” I admitted. Something told me Exos would be blunt, and perhaps purposely harsh. And I couldn’t handle that right now. I needed someone who would break me into this gently. Someone like Titus.

  He palmed the back of his neck and let out a breath. “What all do you know?”

  I sat on the bed, which was admirably soft considering the base was made of a tree trunk. “Uh, well…”

  I considered the minimal information my grandmother gave me, while toying with the charm dangling from the chain around my neck. An old habit whenever I thought of her, as it’d been one of the last gifts she’d given me before she died.

  Pinching my lips to the side, I shrugged. “Honestly, not much. I don’t remember her at all. My grandmother said she left when I was a baby and never came home. Then claimed my father died of a broken heart.”

  He grimaced and leaned against the tree trunk across from me. “Right, we’ll need to go back to the beginning, then.” He crossed one ankle over the other, his hands tucking into his jean pockets. “So your mother—Avala Snow—was a Spirit Fae. Very powerful, as is the case with most female Spirit Fae of a certain birthright. Mortus, another Spirit Fae, was her chosen mate. They never completed the vows because she met your father soon after and created you.”

  He looked extremely uncomfortable when he finished, but I had to ask: “Chosen mate? Like my mother cheated on this Morty guy?” That didn’t sound good.

  “Mortus,” he corrected. “And basically, yes. When fae mate, we mate for life. There’s a power exchange that essentially binds the essences together, and she’d begun that process with Mortus before she met your, uh, father. The rumors say she ventured into the Human Realm on some sort of assignment, then refused to come home after meeting your father. Mortus, being her intended mate, issued an edict that she return and atone for her crimes. So she did, and then she fought him.”

  A chill shivered down my spine. “And…?” I promp
ted, my voice barely a whisper.

  Titus ran his fingers through his auburn strands and sighed. “When fae agree to a power binding, it’s irreversible. To do so causes a disruption in the balance. That’s why he called her home, to finish the bond because the elements were already fracturing due to their unresolved vows. Of course, this is all hearsay. I wasn’t there when it all happened. But my familiarity with the rituals suggests the truth behind this.”

  “Rituals?” I repeated. “I don’t understand the bond part.”

  He seemed thoughtful, as if searching for the words. Then he pushed off the tree to stand before me, holding out his hand. “Touch me.”

  I wasn’t sure what this had to do with anything, but I pressed my palm to his, curious. “O-okay.”

  Titus slid to his knees, his gaze kind as he stared up at me. “Close your eyes and just describe the sensations rolling over your skin.”

  Swallowing, I allowed my lids to fall, confused as to why he’d derailed our conversation. But he clearly had a point to make about something.

  “What do you feel, Claire?” he asked, his voice soft. “Tell me what you sense.”

  “I…” I licked my lips, focusing on the heat spiraling up my arm, the caress oddly familiar after only a few hours of knowing him. “Hot,” I whispered. “And…” I bit my cheek, fighting the urge to lean into him, to seek comfort from his known intimacy. Some foreign part of me trusted him despite my mind rebelling against the notion.

  I don’t really know him.

  But I want to.

  I like him.

  “It feels… natural… to touch you.” My cheeks warmed from the admission. It also felt natural to touch Exos.

  “Because you feel the connection blossoming between your essence and mine,” he whispered, his opposite hand cupping my cheek. “Fae are essence-based. We rely on our links to the elements to guide us, and when we find someone we are compatible with, we gravitate toward that person. My Fire calls to yours, and vice versa. Just as it seems your Spirit is intrigued by Exos. Definitely not common, but nothing about you is ordinary.”

  “O-oh,” I breathed, unable to say more. While his words made sense, they also didn’t. He’d essentially just implied that I was attracted to two men.

  Two men I hardly knew.

  Two men who couldn’t be any more different.

  Two men who turned me on like no other.

  This realm is fucking with my mind, and apparently my libido.

  Titus tilted his head to the side, his hands still on me. “Avala, your mother, had allowed her affinity to bind itself to Mortus through a series of rituals that the fae undergo when solidifying a mating. But she didn’t finish it. Instead, she went to Earth, created you, and only returned when Mortus threatened to go after her. And then she fought him. I don’t know the specifics, but I know the outcome.”

  I gazed into his eyes, waiting for him to continue. When he didn’t, I said, “Tell me.”

  His expression fell, his touch turning cool against my skin. “Ninety percent of the Spirit Fae died of unknown causes that day, destroying the kingdom. Your mother died with them. Mortus lived. And it seems to have awoken a curse, or that’s the myth, anyway.”

  “A curse?” I repeated, my gaze darting back and forth across his face. “What curse?”

  “No Spirit Fae has been able to procreate since that day. It’s said your mother’s betrayal cursed the Spirit Fae, sentencing their species to death.”

  I gasped. “What?”

  “There’s more.” He looked away, staring at the vines on the wall beside us. “Spirit Fae are life and death, the balance between all the elements. Without them…” He paused, clearing his throat and finally glancing back at me. “Without them, we’re expected to die.”

  9

  Claire

  I stared at the vines above me, Titus’s words repeating over and over in my mind.

  My mother cheated on her betrothed with my dad and created me.

  Then fought her betrothed to the death.

  And created a curse that would apparently kill fae kind.

  I blinked. Numb. Cold. Alone. How did one just accept all that information? It wasn’t as if I cared much for my mother, having been abandoned by her at birth. But holy shit, what kind of person did this to other people? Er, fae, or whatever. It didn’t matter.

  My mother had caused a pandemic. On purpose? By accident? I didn’t know. But that sort of legacy painted my mom in a horrid light.

  It made her sound evil.

  “Claire?” Titus murmured, having moved to sit beside me on the bed.

  “Still processing,” I replied.

  “Maybe we should talk about it more tomorrow?” he suggested.

  I nodded mutely, not sure I could handle any more tonight. Hell, I couldn’t handle any more, period. “You must hate my mother,” I realized. “Oh God, everyone will hate me, too.” My chest ached at the sudden understanding. I would be condemned with her as the result of her infidelity, not just to Mortus, but to fae kind.

  “Depends on their opinion of the prophecy,” Titus muttered, blowing out a breath. “But yeah, I think sleep is probably a good idea.”

  “What prophecy?” I asked, ignoring his idea despite knowing I was at my limit for information.

  “It’s a tale, Claire. A myth. It’s not true. Honestly, I think the whole curse thing is bullshit, too.”

  “Then what is it?” I pushed. “Why would it impact someone’s opinion of me?”

  “Because the prophecy says a fae with access to all the elements will break the curse,” he replied flatly. “Or doom us all.”

  “Oh.” I started nodding. “Yeah, that’s brilliant. So I’m the daughter of a woman who destroyed the Spirit Fae, and possibly all fae. And I have access to all the elements, which could either rectify the situation or kill you all.” I gave a hysterical laugh that bubbled into a sob as I curled into myself. “This is just too much.”

  I’d never experienced an easy life, having lost my parents before I could walk and being raised by two aloof grandparents who saw me as more of a burden than a gift. But this definitely took the cake.

  “And you all want me to go to an Academy tomorrow? With a bunch of people who will clearly hate or fear me?” Another chuckle burst out of me. “Yeah, that’s going to go well.” Fuck. “Fuck.” I wanted to scream. To rant. To run. To fly. To something.

  “Claire,” Titus murmured, his hand on my shoulder.

  I brushed him off, but he gripped me harder, tugging me to him.

  “Claire.”

  I ignored him, too busy shaking my head back and forth as I laugh-cried at the insanity of this entire situation. It was as if I’d fallen into a wonderland of crazy people with stories and expectations that made no sense. And this bizarre energy that I couldn’t control. It swam around me, urging me to use it, to destroy, to create, to burn.

  “Claire!” Titus yelled, his arms wrapping around me. “Stop.”

  “Stop what?” I asked on a giggle that sounded maniacal to my ears. The entire world was crashing around me, and he wanted me to, what, relax? Breathe? Focus? Were those the words he was saying? No. It sounded like Exos. In my head. No, my ear. Whatever. I just wanted to hide, to never come out, and ignore everything around me. To disappear.

  To leave.

  A punch to my gut had me cringing, the power strong and encompassing, yanking me out of my state and back into the present to stare into two glowering blue eyes. Bright with power. Consuming me. Forcing me to yield. To submit. I didn’t understand it, tried to fight it, but the magnetic pull was too great, overwhelming every part of my mind and grounding me in the present. His hands were on my cheeks, bands of muscular steel were around my waist, a hot body pressed to my back.

  I blinked several times, confused. When did Exos get here? And why was Titus holding me so tightly?

  “That’s it,” Exos breathed, his mouth dangerously close to mine. “Most fae come into their power slowly, but th
e hex your mo—” He cleared his throat. “You have twenty-one years of pent-up elements slamming into you at once. That you’re even conscious is a miracle. It shows a strength very few possess, a strength I admire. But I need you to use that strength to control yourself, Claire. This volatile behavior is what the Council is afraid of, why they don’t want you to attend the Academy. But I pushed for you to be allowed, have volunteered to train and guard you myself. And I will not fail. Do you understand me?”

  Glittering waves. That was what his gaze reminded me of, so intense, so powerful, so alluring. I fell into him as one would an ocean, allowing the tide to pull me under with a force that stole my breath, and found peace beneath the roaring wake. Blissful and dark and mine.

  Another strength came from behind in the form of an inferno, jerking me backward as my soul seemed to fight for control over them both.

  Exos had asked if I understood.

  But I didn’t.

  None of this made sense, my mind and body overwhelmed by the dueling sensations and my heart ripping in two. How could I desire two men? Now? Here? In this foreign place?

  “She needs sleep,” the fiery one said.

  “I know,” Spirit replied. “Guard her?”

  “With my life.” A hot vow spoken into my hair.

  “I’ll be nearby,” Spirit whispered, warm lips brushing my forehead. “Try to rest, Claire. We have a lot to discuss tomorrow.”

  Someone mumbled. Maybe me. I didn’t know, couldn’t grasp the silky strands of reality floating around me. But oh, my ocean was leaving. That peace. I reached for him, hitting air instead, but a breath into my mind put me at ease.

  Still there.

  Still with me.

  Still easing my pain.

  My Spirit.

  My other half.

  The flames dancing inside me cooled, soothed by the presence of yet another, the one who called to the embers of my soul. I stopped trying to decipher the meaning and gave in to the sensation, trusting those around me to keep me afloat, to never let me drown.

  “Good night, Claire,” the voice behind me whispered, arms holding me tight. Somewhere in my mind, I noted the lack of clothing, my dress singed into ash around me. But I was too exhausted to verify, too consumed with the need to rest to validate my modesty.