by Meg Xuemei X
I shivered again, just thinking of being hunted by looking like someone, and Rydstrom’s strong arm around me tightened protectively.
Devyn pointed the tip of his sword at the girl inside the orb. “That darkfae evaded our pursuit and hid in your nightclub, thinking she would find asylum here. Rumor says Claws, Fangs, and Fiends is a shelter for rogues, half-fae, and darkfae. I hope Your Majesty proves it’s only a rumor today by ending the dark one with your capable hands.”
The club turned deathly quiet at the heavy accusation. Worry for the girl twisted my stomach. I might be the only one who was clueless about the laws and rules of the Fae.
This place didn’t abide by human laws. It was its own badland. If I was smart, I should run away from this place. But then what other choices did I have—how was I going to feed six hungry mouths with minimum wage even if I could manage to work three jobs?
Life is never supposed to be fair. Mom had drilled that concept into my head whenever I bitched about the unfairness of life. My parents didn’t want any of us to be entitled, ungrateful brats.
Rydstrom chuckled dispassionately. “So your queen instructed you to drive that girl into my club to provoke me and put me on a tough spot, so she can visit me again later?”
“You misunderstood my queen’s intention,” Devyn said. “Queen Brigantia has only Elfame’s best interest at heart. She also wants to remind you that as the King of the Night Court, you have an obligation to the realm of Fae as well. You must fulfill the agreement between all four courts and diligently hunt the dark ones—”
“I am not playing your sick hunting games,” Rydstrom said, his voice sharper than cold blades, and everyone on the ground floor flinched. I pressed closer to him. “I don’t give a fuck whom you hunt outside my club, but you should not come in to my territory and fuck with me. Claws, Fangs, and Fiends holds its own uncontested rules outside any jurisdiction of any court, be it mortals’ or immortals’.”
The white-haired Fae opened his mouth to argue, but Rydstrom’s voice thundered over his protest.
“You chose to violate its rules, and now you’ll suffer the consequences. My sentence is this: only one of you will get out of here alive and report to your queen, so no misunderstanding will come to pass between her and me. And unfortunately for you, Commander Devyn of the Dawn Court, the one who will crawl out of my club won’t be you.”
“You dare not, King of Night and Nightmares,” said the Dawn commander as apprehension flicked in his eyes. “My Queen will retaliate greatly if you harm me. Her Majesty still holds hostage your beloved—”
Rydstrom removed his arm from around me, and a wave of starlight lashed out from him. It morphed into a shapeless nightmare and tore into the Dawn Fae ranks. Devyn raised his sword and shield to fend off Rydstrom’s magic, a sheet of intense white light rising toward us.
Rydstrom’s darkness and starlight swallowed the white light.
Devyn didn’t stand a chance.
Screams of horror and agony burst from the dance floor as the hunters were all shredded to pieces, except for a Dawn Fae who looked like the youngest among his group—the one Rydstrom had promised to be left alive. The Fae dropped to one knee and shook like a tealeaf in the storm.
I shook for a few seconds, too, since it was the first time I’d ever seen such a brutal slaughter. Yet I wasn’t afraid of the male standing beside me, despite his displaying a nightmarish power that could shred any being to bits, despite the chill coating my skin. Instead, strange and deep respect for him brewed inside me.
He’d risked a war defending a helpless girl and holding onto his rules.
When I went hunting with Dad at five, he’d shown me that I was a predator in my essence. And now when I met another ruthless predator, instead of fear, I felt a kinship.
“You’re free to go today, knight of the Dawn Court,” Rydstrom said to the last remaining Dawn Fae in his voice of steel. “Take care never to come back.”
He flicked a wrist, and a stream of starlight shattered the purple orb that encaged the girl. She scrambled to her feet, bowed deeply to Rydstrom, straightened her back, and gazed up at him like he was her superhero and she’d do anything for him.
I didn’t mean to, but I laid a hand on his forearm as if to stake my claim.
Rydstrom glanced at my fingers on him, and a faint, amused smile ghosted his lips for a fleeting second. Then he turned to his men. “Knights of the Night Court, take out the trash. Take care of that girl as well. She shall find shelter with Claws, Fangs, and Fiends should she seek it again.”
“Yes, my king,” the knights answered.
“Thank you, Night King. I’m forever in your debt,” the girl said, stars in her bright hazel eyes.
The club resumed its bustling activities. The patrons still inside shrugged, filed toward the bar to order more drinks, and laughed with their companions on the way, as if they’d just had a good, normal day. The dancers came back on stage, and other patrons who had fled the fight started trickling back in.
Was this how the supernaturals lived their lives, from one moment to the next?
Rydstrom peeked down at me. “Didn’t I tell you to stay behind?”
“I’m sorry to break it down to you,” I said, “but I’m not that kind of girl.”
“Yet you tried to hide behind me and use me as a shield.”
“Yet you pulled me upfront, exposed me to danger, and thought the worst of me afterward.”
“Bitching again? Come on. Show me your best side, then.”
His arm sneaking around my waist, he pulled me against his hard chest. I heard gasps from the women beneath the balcony, not from watching the fight and death, but from seeing how the Fae King—I still needed to check out the legitimacy of his title when I had time—half-carried and half-dragged me back into his lair.
Chapter 17
When I hustled down the stairs and returned to the bar, still unhinged, Indira squinted at me critically.
“What the fuck are you wearing?” she asked.
“The barmaid uniform,” I said, rolling my eyes.
I walked past her to get myself a strong drink to calm my nerves, the rear of my skirt bumping up and down, making me feel like a peacock.
“I protested it,” I continued, “Obviously. But Rydstrom insisted on my wearing such a tacky piece before he allowed me to enter his office and sign the magical contract.”
I winked at her to stress the word magical. I’d faked a signature and lied about my exact birth date, which the Fae mob boss didn’t catch. Since I didn’t truly endorse the contract, I doubted it would actually bind me. Unlike Fae, I could lie easily. I’d only played along to pacify Rydstrom and keep my job.
“He said you were an accomplished bartender, so you were allowed to wear whatever you pleased,” I continued. “I guess I’ll have to put up with this ridiculous garb for an entire week until I become proficient in bartending, and then I’ll go back and argue my case. Indira, you’re so lucky. You haven’t seen the other rags. I’d rather die than put on the gypsy one or the Roman sex goddess piece.”
Indira looked at me in horror for a moment, then the next, she roared with belly laughter.
K snickered and shook his big head before returning to the floor to clean up the remains of the hunters.
“Oh god, oh god,” Indira said, still laughing between her gasps. “I’ve never heard the boss make a practical joke until today.”
She ceased to laugh when she spotted rage on my flushed face, yet her body still vibrated from the effort of silent laughing. She even bit the bottom of her lips in order not to make any noises.
Now I knew what it was. That Fae bastard hired me for his personal amusement. First, he tricked me into strip dancing for him, and now he had me wearing the garb everyone was laughing at.
Yet I didn’t have time to storm upstairs and give him a piece of my mind. I had to go pick up my siblings from school.
“He’ll pay,” I told Indira, my nostrils flaring,
before I went to change back to my own clothes. “I’ll make sure of it.”
Chapter 18
I was still fuming on my way home.
The club and the schools were in opposite directions with my house in the midpoint. It was convenient for me to go home and change out of my work clothes before going to pick up my siblings.
Despite my anger and humiliation, my thoughts were filled with Rydstrom, with how he crushed me against his hot body. How heat seared through his sapphire eyes when he looked at me. And it wasn’t just lust between us. I felt connected to him, even trusting him on a primal level. When Rydstrom touched me, it felt somehow familiar, as if it should always be that way.
My thoughts drifted to Rowan and Baron. I was undeniably drawn to them, too. How could I be attracted to all three of them at once? Was that the definition of being a slut?
If it was, no way I would admit it to anyone.
All three Fae were powerful, lethal, and ruthless—the kind a smart girl should never get tangled with, but it wasn’t up to me now. Two of them were stalking me, the third was my employer, and my body disagreed with my every decision when it came to them. It was drawn to them like a tiny pin to a magnet.
I was a helpless fucking moth to their flame.
My heart lurched as two bulky men and a massive brown bear appeared in the middle of the road, running straight toward me. The bear’s fangs were larger than my forearm. Both men, one vested and one with no top at all, wielded long broadswords that emitted dark green light, and the vested one carried an extra ax.
I slammed on the brake instinctively. The sudden deceleration threw me to the wheel, while the bear leaped onto the top of my van. I heard myself screaming as giant claws ripped through metal.
The man in a vest leapt onto the hood of my van, his ax flinging into the windshield. I dodged the strike just in time. The ax pierced the windshield and glass shattered everywhere. The other dude thrust his blade into the driver’s window, breaking the glass too. It barely missed my rosy cheek as I lurched to the passenger side, shoved open the door, and flung myself out.
I hit the asphalt and rolled, years of training saving me from an awkward, painful fall. The van rammed into a thick cluster of bushes with unpleasant scratching noises and clanging.
If my reflexes hadn’t been superb, and if I hadn’t trained with Dad for years, I’d have been dead.
My mind ran at lightning speed as I considered my options before my attackers disentangled themselves from the vehicle. A quiet junkyard extended from the left of the lane. On its right side, the woods my parents had warned us not to enter loomed over the road.
Without a gun, springing into the junkyard would be a suicidal move when going against two armed, dangerous maniacs and a rabid bear. It would be too easy for them to corner me, and I’d never be able to shake them. So I bolted into the woods.
I couldn’t outrun the animal. I’d have to take it out fast, though I wasn’t sure I could. When I hunted with Dad in the jungle, he had focused on training my senses, alertness, and reflexes. We usually shot wild animals from a certain distance. My father would never put me in real danger.
I’d trained to be the hunter, and now I was being chased like prey.
“You’ve got the wrong girl!” I screamed at the top of my lungs as I sprinted for my life. “You fuckers got the wrong girl! You hear me? I’m not who you want!”
Stomping footsteps and silent paws rushed behind me, ignoring my pleading. I could sense their thrill at the hunt and vile satisfaction at smelling my fear. My heart pounded so hard from the terror I worried I’d die from my heart exploding before they got to me.
The bear pounced, right on my heels. I leapt high, my arm wrapping around the slim trunk of an ash tree, ignoring its rough bark biting into my skin. The bear’s claws slashed the bottom of my pants open and left a gash along my ankle. Hissing in pain, I twisted off the tree and landed on the beast’s back, the dagger from my boot already in my hand. I grabbed a fistful of fur and squeezed my thighs around the beast’s sides as it tried to throw me off. Then I plunged the blade into its thick skull.
The bear howled horribly, the rage-filled sound echoing in the dark woods. I yanked the dagger out and drove it into the beast’s eye. Blue light emitted out of the dagger, and the bear let out a last shriek and collapsed beneath me.
The dagger Dad had given me was infused with magic.
I ripped my dagger out of the animal’s brain and tossed myself off the fallen beast. With a flick of my wrist, I sent my dagger flying toward the bare-chested man. He twisted his neck an inch away and the dagger sailed into empty space.
“Now what you gonna do, dark one?” he said, a long, jagged scar twitching under his left eye. “Pound my chest with you bare hands and cry?”
“I’m not a dark one, you crazy batshit,” I said.
“Dark one or not, I don’t give two shits,” he said, prowling closer. “There’s a bounty on your pretty little head and I’ll get it.”
I backed up, panting hard. “What bounty?”
“Gold worth ten million for your head.”
“That’s impossible,” I breathed. “The bounty can’t be right. I’m nobody. I can’t be that expensive. I’m not worth more than five grand, and you’ll kill the wrong, innocent girl for nothing.”
He stalked toward me with absolute determination to kill in his eyes.
“It’s better to wrong thousands than let one slip,” he quoted.
“Who sent you?” I groused as I continued backing up, trying not to ram into any trees. “At least tell me this, if you’re man enough.”
“Fishing for intel before your demise?” He grinned, all yellow teeth. “There’s nowhere to run and nowhere to hide now, little girl.”He started whistling a song.
Fucker really enjoyed this. He wasn’t even upset that I’d killed the bear.
“Let me go, please,” I begged as his vested companion closed in on my right. Without my dagger, I needed to take one of their swords. “I’ll do anything you ask.”
“Maybe I should play with you for a little while,” Bare-Chest said.
“I’m good at blowjobs,” I offered, trying to sound eager despite my disgust. “Lots of dudes asked me to suck their dick and were extremely satisfied with my service.”
He crowed, his voice grating my sensitive ears. “Tempting. However—”
I dashed toward him without warning, but he moved as well, almost as fast as I. However, he made a mistake. He wanted to play a cat-and-mouse game with me before cutting off my head, so he grabbed me instead of impaling me with his sword.
While he spun me, trying to force me into a chokehold, I whipped out the pepper spray and shot it straight into his eye.
“Carolina Reaper, my favorite,” I informed him before he screamed. Every one of my victims acted the same. They were so predictable.
He released me and slapped a hand over his eye, howling and cursing. I struck his other wrist and took his sword from his nerveless fingers.
His pal stalked toward me with a sword and an ax. He must have retrieved it from the van. A trace of smoke emitted from the ax head.
My heart pounded hard at that freaky sight. Somehow I knew I wasn’t a match to the ax man with dark magic. I couldn’t run either. His ax would sail in the air and bury in the back of my skull. So I widened my stance and raised the sword, bracing for his attack.
Hopefully the shadow fire that aided me against the Nightling would come out to burn my foe to cinders, but I couldn’t count on luck again.
The attack never came.
A chilling wind swept through the eerie woods, shuffling leaves and shaking trees. The icy wind crashed into the ax man, chunks of ice instantly forming around him like a vertical coffin. Before he was turned into an ice statue, a huge golden lion tore into the man with a roar. When the powerful roar dropped, a beating, bloody heart fell from the lion’s enormous claw.
It happened so fast that the man didn’t even have a cha
nce to scream.
I stared at the lion, frozen in place. It was magnificently beautiful, yet obviously a master predator. How was I going to battle such a lion? My arm trembled from the weight of the borrowed sword. It was too heavy for me, so it wouldn’t be of much use against that beast.
This was my life now. I would never get a break. Maybe I should just roll over and be done with it all.
The lion’s smoldering amber eyes roved over me, pleased at what it saw in its meal. And then it grinned, its tongue lolling out.
I waved the heavy sword. “Shoo. Shoo, lion! Do not come closer.” I added more menace into my voice. “I killed a bear that’s bigger than you.” I lied about the size, but the lion wouldn’t know. “And I’ll kill you if you jump on me!”
The lion stared at me, retracting its tongue. Maybe threatening a lion was a bad strategy. Perhaps I should treat it like a big housecat and not ruffle its fur wrong.
I tried again, using my sweet voice, though it shook a little. “I’m not your enemy, and I don’t taste good since I drank a shot of whiskey this morning. The alcohol is still in my bloodstream, which might be toxic to you.”
The lion wouldn’t understand me, but somehow he liked my voice because it was grinning at me again. So I kept talking.
“Don’t you laugh at me, lion! And don’t get any wrong ideas. You already have enough to eat. That bear would last you a week. Plus you have an iced man and—”I darted my gaze to where the bare-chested assassin had fallen, but he was no longer there.
A gun-gray wolf shook to its feet, snarling at me.
Before I could bring my sword around, the wolf lunged. The lion leapt in an arc at the same time. I ducked, hoping I wasn’t about to be torn apart. Just before the two beasts crashed, a wave of ice spears shot up from the forest floor and impaled the wolf.
Rowan ambled into view, breathing out a trail of wintry fog. Ice crystals formed and extended before his feet, covering the ground. His trench coat billowed in the wind that whirled around him.