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

by Adkins, Heather Marie

  “Tell me what you’re thinking.” His whisper sounds like a plea.

  I lift my eyes, and I’m momentarily stunned by the impassioned expression I see on the king’s face. There’s a heat in his eyes, accompanied by a deep affection which darkens the stunning color of his irises.

  I don’t understand it.

  I don’t understand him.

  “I’m thinking that I don’t understand what’s going on, and I believe someone made it that way on purpose.” My voice is strong. My words are bold. “I’m thinking that you seem to genuinely care about my wellbeing, and that confuses me. I don’t know you. Or do I?” I lift my eyebrows, daring him to try and avoid the direct question with his deceptive, Fae tricks.

  The king lowers himself, balancing on the balls of his feet. The heat in his eyes linger when he meets my gaze. “Are you sure you want to know the answer to that, little rose?”

  My heart gives a traitorous thump, racing for reasons that go beyond fear.

  My mouth dries. Any reply I might have given is stuck in my throat. Why does his endearment affect me so much?

  “What did you call me?”

  “Little rose.” His eyes land on my lips. “Your hair reminds me of the brilliant flower.”

  “H-have you called me that before?” I swear, I’ve heard him say that before, but I can’t remember when.

  “Perhaps.” Desire has deepened his voice. He tries to play it off with an arrogant smirk, but I know the king is as affected by this moment as I am.

  I’m aware of every breath the king takes, and I’m definitely aware of the heated way he stares at my mouth. There is something he isn’t telling me. At this moment, I don’t care what it is. My senses are locked on the male before me, and my body sings in his presence.

  I’ve realized two things today. I’m not human, and there is an undeniable connection between me and the Unseelie king.

  My stomach clenches in anticipation as I notice he begins to lean toward me. My eyelids shutter closed, and I hold my breath, waiting to feel the press of the king’s lips against my own.

  King Sebastian draws close until his lips brush against my ear. “Try not to unleash your power again, my love. I might not be able to hide your slip up next time.” He places a gentle kiss against my temple.

  When I open my eyes, the king is gone, and he takes my anticipation with him.

  26

  The following day, the sun follows the moon’s example and manages to break through the dreary clouds blanketing the sky. The rays do wonders as they warm our chilled skin. Jordan and I have tucked our cloaks into our packs, determined to soak in every ounce of sun we can before it decides to disappear. The change has brought a semblance of levity to our situation, and Jordan and I try to pass the time by talking about ourselves, sharing things we have yet to tell one another. For my part, I can only tell her what I remember, but that proves to be enough to keep the conversation going.

  “So, you’re in college studying to be a nurse,” Jordan confirms what I’ve just explained. “And you’re only a sophomore?”

  “What do you mean ‘only a sophomore’?”

  “You’re only nineteen,” she explains.

  I chuckle. “Yes, but my birthday is in December.”

  “I can’t believe the sentries took someone so young.” Jordan steps around a pot hole. “Especially considering the winner is supposed to marry the prince.”

  I follow her lead and keep my eyes on the ground. “Trust me, I have no plan to win, or marry the prince.”

  “Are you sure about that?” She looks over her shoulder, giving me a knowing grin. “I’ve seen how Prince Camden looks at you. You could certainly do worse than a handsome Fae prince.”

  Unwillingly, King Sebastian’s face comes to mind. The heated look he gave me last night will forever be seared in my mind, as will the way it felt when his lips touched my skin. Just the thought if his kiss makes my skin burn hot with undeniable desire.

  I shove the strong emotions out of my head. The last thing I need is to be distracted. Besides, King Sebastian doesn’t want me. He’s a king for crying out loud. Whatever had happened last night, it had to all be in my imagination. The king is trying to help me out of the good of his heart. Nothing else.

  “I thought you just said I’m too young to get married,” I remind her, hiking my sagging pack higher on my shoulders and tightening the straps to hold it in place. The extra weight of the cloak is not insignificant.

  “You’re right. I did.” She sighs. “Oh, well. One of the other contestants will be more than happy to hitch their wagon to that stallion.”

  A loud laugh bursts past my lips.

  “I’m serious,” Jordan says, also laughing, “Prince Camden is a stud. If it weren’t for Morty, I’d be vying to get to that diadem first.”

  I shake my head, still laughing. “Aren’t you only twenty-two? Isn’t that also a little young to be tying yourself to another person for the rest of your life?” I’m still against Jordan’s decision to stay in Seelie once the contest is over, but I’ve lost the desire to argue with her about it. It’s her life. If we survive the contest and she wants to live in the Fae Realm afterwards, then that’s her choice.

  “Ah, but you see,” Jordan begins, “I’m not planning on marrying him. So, I’m not a hypocrite.”

  I smile. “I never said you were.” I don’t remind her she couldn’t marry him even if she wanted to.

  She smiles back. “Good.”

  A different thought comes to mind. “What’s going to happen if we are the first two to reach the cavern?” I step over a large pile of stones gathered oddly in the middle of our path. It looks like maybe someone had used it to smother a fire.

  “We wait for someone else to arrive and pick up the diadem,” Jordan answers without hesitation. She’s obviously thought about this before. “Unless you’re having second thoughts about denying the prince a new, young, virginal wife. I’m sure he’d be very grateful.”

  A hot blush covers my cheeks. I ignore the virgin remark.

  “Um… No. I’ve never even had a boyfriend before,” I confess. The memory registers at the same time the words leave my mouth.

  “How is that possible?” Jordan stops walking and gives me an incredulous look. “With that angelic face, how did the guys in your hometown not climb over one another for the chance to date you?”

  My cheeks continue to heat, and I shrug meekly. “I don’t know.”

  “Oh… right.” Jordan frowns. “The memory thing.”

  “No, it’s not that. I mean…” I pause and gather my thoughts. “What I mean is, yes, I still have gaps in my memory, but I remember growing up, no guy ever really paid me any attention. Not until college, I think.”

  Jordan waggles her eyebrows suggestively. “So is that why you are so eager to get back home? You have a lover boy waiting for you?”

  “Hardly.” I shake my head at her playful taunt.

  “Hm… that’s not exactly a ‘no’.”

  “No,” I confirm. “I don’t have anyone waiting for me at home. It’s just a guy in one of my classes. I’m pretty sure he liked me.” The name escapes me, but I recall a muscular form sitting beside me in a large auditorium. Sandy blonde hair and a killer smile are the highlight of the memory. Beyond that, I don’t recall much.

  I move past Jordan and take the front spot as we continue up the mountain. We pass another mound of rocks which look too methodic to have been assembled by nature. What could have done that?

  “I really hope you get your memories back eventually,” Jordan interrupts my musings.

  “Me too,” I reply, absentmindedly. Pointing to the ground, I draw her attention to the rock mound. “What do you think that is?”

  She steps beside me and leans down to get a better look. “The pile of rocks?”

  “Yeah.”

  She straightens and looks at me like I might be losing it. “It looks like a pile of rocks.”

  “But look how th
ey’re stacked.” I’m not crazy. “This is the second batch I’ve seen. Someone’s stacked them like that.”

  “Okay…” Jordan reassesses the mound. “What are you thinking?”

  “I don’t know,” I admit. “Maybe another contestant?”

  “Why would another contestant make piles of rocks?”

  I chew my lip, thinking. “Maybe to mark their path? So they can find their way back down the way they came?”

  “But why would anyone care to mark their path? The contest ends once one of us gets the diadem.”

  A shadow falls over my face. I turn around just as a massive, hairy creature leaps onto me, locking its jointed legs around my arms and shoulders, clinging to me as it tries to sink it’s fangs into my jugular.

  I scream and immediately whip my torso around, trying to dislodge the monster. Several soulless eyes peer at me through a head resembling a spider’s. Only, this head is more massive and terrifying.

  I’ve never been scared of arachnids, but I’ve never encountered one the size of a German Shepherd, either. I’ve also never had one try to stab me with venomous fangs.

  My efforts fail to free me, but I succeed in keeping the monster’s attack at bay. It cannot keep hold of me and have enough balance to stab at the same time. The thought drives me. I continue flailing and twisting, determined to do so until my last fighting breath.

  “SERA!” Jordan shouts. “Hold still.”

  No freaking way.

  I continue to pivot and wriggle, not stopping my efforts for a single second.

  I hear Jordan’s frustrated groan, then her say, “Alright. This is going to hurt.”

  I am knocked to the ground when another figure jumps onto me. At first, I fear it is another spider monster. I scream and frantically try to get out from underneath the large mass weighing me down.

  The creature above me screeches in pain. Blue blood squirts out of an unseen wound in its back, gushing into my open, screaming mouth. I gag violently, wrenching my body to the side to spit out the foul substance.

  The monster continues to cry out. The sound is high and sharp. I worry it might bust my eardrum. More blue blood lands on me, coating my neck, hair, and shirt. The scent is appalling. I continue to gag. My eyes water from the effort.

  I don’t notice the massive spider’s limbs have lost their tight hold on me. Not until its body rolls off me. I look up to see Jordan standing over me, covered in just as much blue blood as I am.

  Gasping for breath, she kneels down and begins frantically wiping the blood away from my neck. “Are you alright? … Did it stab you?”

  Gratitude is not a sufficient word for what I am feeling. Jordan had jumped onto the monster’s back with no idea if it would turn its attacks on her. While appreciative of her efforts, I am shocked she’d take such a risk.

  “Are you crazy?” I ask, half-serious, half-joking. “You could’ve been killed.”

  Jordan knows I’m not really questioning her actions, but she humors me with a response, “But I wasn’t.” She holds out a hand and helps pull me to my feet. “And neither were you.”

  I take in the mangled monster, noting the dozen stab wounds lodged into the back of its skull. Jordan still clutches the steel dagger she used to inflict the damage. “Thank you.” I don’t believe I’ll ever be able to repay Jordan for all the kindness she’s shown me.

  “You’re welcome. Let’s keep going. There might be more of these things around and I, for one, don’t want to figure out if they’ll be able to smell their dead comrade on us or not.”

  Her words bring life to my immobile legs, and I am quick to match her fast pace. But I do give the monster one last look. It even looks like a spider, except its abdomen is less bulbous than those found on Earth, and its legs have two joints instead of six. The sight is nothing short of disturbing. I’m glad I hadn’t been able to see as much when it attacked. I might have frozen out of fear.

  Jordan really is tough. To be able to see the details of the monster and still be willing to fight it off of me? Seriously, if this contest was about finding the most savvy and brave young woman to marry the prince, Jordan would win, hands down. None of us come close.

  Suddenly, the world around me blurs. My legs give out beneath me. I fall into one of the oddly stacked piles of rocks, and vaguely acknowledge there are off-white bulbous orbs underneath. They are massive spider-like eggs. I use my arms and scramble away. My palms scrape against the rocky ground, but I don’t feel any pain. I don’t feel anything at all.

  “Sera!”

  My ears are ringing, but the rest of my senses are dulled. I fall forward, barely managing to turn my body so I land on my side rather than my face. I stare up at Jordan, unable to speak. Gurgles escape my throat, accompanied by foaming blue blood.

  “Oh my god.” Jordan fumbles in her pack and withdraws her water canteen. She splashes the water over my neck, using the bottom of her shirt to wipe away all of the grime covering my flesh. She gasps, and I’ve already guessed what she sees.

  Jordan’s hands tremble as she pulls back. “It scratched you,” she whispers in horror, confirming what I’d thought. At some point during our struggle, the monster managed to nick me, and I am experiencing the side effects of its toxic venom.

  I should’ve realized I’d been cut. The chances of struggling with such a massive monster and leaving the situation unscathed are slim to none. My adrenaline had obviously hidden the wound from notice.

  But there is no hiding its effect.

  Saliva continues to foam out of my mouth. I barely feel the moisture running down my cheeks. The poison goes to work paralyzing me.

  Jordan watches on in horror. Her eyes are frantic, and I know her mind is hysterically trying to figure out a way to save me.

  If I could speak, I’d tell her to not worry. She’s done so much for me already. I’m not in any pain. She should just let me go.

  A peace I’ve never felt before overtakes me. I long to wrap myself in its comfort—content to succumb to its will. It’s time to go. My time has come.

  My eyes fly open as an agonizing burn scalds my hand. If I could scream, I would. The pain travels the length of each finger and wraps itself around my wrist.

  Jordan sees my pained expression. Through a haze, I watch tears roll down her face.

  “Oh, god, Sera. I-I don’t know what to do. I don’t know how to help.”

  The pain burns like frostbite in the dead of winter after hours spent playing in frigid snow. I want to sever the hand from my body. I can’t fathom it ever healing from this agony. The limb will be useless. I don’t need it.

  I remain unable to speak, wishing I could beg Jordan to put me out of my misery.

  The pain begins to travel the length of my arm, crawling over my shoulder, settling itself over my chest. The sensation seeps into my flesh, and my body bows in agony.

  “SERA!”

  A scream pierces the air.

  Belatedly, I realize the sound comes from me.

  I scream.

  And scream.

  And scream.

  The burning fire in my chest works its way through my body, burning out every ounce of poison in my veins. The process is unbelievably painful. When it ends, I am struggling to remain conscious.

  I’m no longer choking on my own saliva. My air ways are clear, and so is my mind. The pain is gone, but the memory of it is strong.

  I sit up.

  Jordan watches me like she’s seeing a ghost.

  “A-are you okay?”

  I swallow. It’s painful. My throat is raw from screaming. “Yes,” I croak.

  “W-what the hell happened?”

  I look down at my palm. The outline of moons and stars are clear. Just as they were the day the Unseelie king and I first made our deal.

  In a wistful voice, I tell her, “I’ve been healed.”

  Without even needing to ask.

  27

  “We’re here,” Jordan murmurs. Her voice echoes off the stone
in front of us. We stare into the dark depths of the cavern embedded in the mountainside. We’d spend the morning circling the peak of the mountain, but this is the only cave we’ve found. And we’re the only one’s here.

  A sense of foreboding gathers in my chest. The rest of the mountain is sharp and rough, not yet smoothed out by centuries of weathering. But the cavern’s entrance is outlined by smooth, polished stone. This isn’t a natural cave. Its man-made. Or rather, Fae-made.

  Instinct screams for me to run away, far and fast. Nothing good can reside within the cavern’s depths.

  “What do we do?” I don’t want to enter the cave. I’m certain Jordan doesn’t either. We don’t plan to win this contest. “Should we wait out here until someone else arrives?”

  Jordan bobs her head, swallowing a lump in her throat. She’s just as unnerved by the cave as I am. “Yeah, let’s wait.”

  Jordan and I move away from the opening and settle ourselves close to the path we’d used to climb up. With any luck, the other contestants will arrive the same way. The sun manages to peek through the clouds every so often, revealing we arrived at the cavern around midday.

  The day drags on.

  We wait in silence.

  Jordan and I have run out of small talk. But even if we had something to say, the tension caused by our proximity to the cave doesn’t exactly encourage idle conversation. We’re on edge. My fingers tap against my bent knee. I know King Sebastian kept many dangers from our path, allowing Jordan and I to ascend to our destination relatively unhindered. I wonder how long the other contestants will take to get here.

  If they get here at all…

  I must fall asleep at some point.

  One minute, I’m worrying about what will happen if Jordan and I end up being the only surviving contestants. Which one of us will bite the metaphorical bullet and retrieve the diadem?

  Then, seemingly the next moment, I hear shouting.

  I lift my head, wiping drool from the corner of my mouth. I’m disoriented, but it only lasts a second. Jordan is standing at the top of the path, knife raised as she speaks with someone below.