by K.N. Lee
That was odd. Why would anyone fear me? A more pressing question came to me as the guards made a passage in between them.
“Come, girl,” one of them demanded. “Warden says you’re being released.”
Those seven words more than those two guards had ever said to me.
Still, I couldn’t move. All I could do was look to my right at the only window in the room and to my left. This had been my home since I was seven years old. My meager bed was pushed against the wall to give myself more space for my desk and bookcase. It was all I had in the entire world, but none of it mattered anymore.
Freedom potentially waited for me.
Kala stood beside me. While I tried to keep my fear at bay, there was strength and courage in her eyes.
“Are you ready?” Kala asked, startling the guards with her soft voice that echoed off the walls.
Though they remained silent, their eyes widened with questions I knew they were asking themselves.
Licking my cracked lips, I nodded despite the pain of the sting I’d awakened. “I think so.”
I mustered my courage and stepped from my tiny prison. The cold followed me outside into the corridor as we walked along the narrow hall to the staircase that led to the bottom of the tower.
There she was. The faerie. My heart skipped a beat as I remembered her face from long ago. The memory of her having tea with mother and father just the night before their arrest returned to me.
“My goodness,” she said. “What a lovely little lady you’ve grown up to be. Come, let me get a better look at you.”
Nervous and tense, I almost smiled at the compliment. But, the truth was, I wasn’t sure how to feel. I took another step forward, and she touched my hair, her eyes examining every inch of my face.
“Do you remember me? I am Queen Sorcha of Ever Frost.”
“Of course, I remember you. How could I forget?”
She’d taken a sample of my blood with the tip of her enchanted dagger. A little girl would never forget such a thing, no matter how much time had passed. I could still feel the sting and recall the way the blade glowed once it touched my blood, soaking it in as though quenched a desperate thirst.
“The war is over, and you are free to leave.”
My knees buckled, and with widened eyes, my breaths quickened. “Are you certain?”
“I am,” she said, stepping closer and taking my hands into hers. She stared down at them, stroking my rough skin with her thumbs. “I am sorry for how you’ve been mistreated, and how many years you’ve been forced to remain here. But, we have fought long and hard with the Tythrans to get you back. And, we’ve won.”
Picturing armies of magic-born fighting against humans left my stomach in knots. “They fought…for me?”
“Of course, they did. And now, I will take you to where you belong. To Allandria, the center of the Seelie Court.”
When I noticed that the warden and the guards were nowhere to be seen I knew it to be true. Despite my wariness, I nodded and was spirited away out into the cold. I did not ask questions, or delay my escape.
No. I was ready.
Whatever was before me would be better than a life of imprisonment. With Kala by my side, I climbed into the carriage and was wrapped in a heavy fur cloak.
If I was dreaming, I did not want to wake up ever again. I was free for the first time since I was a child. Even though I was about to be taken to a land I’d never seen other than in the books my grandmother had sent to me, I did not care.
A cold night with snow falling in torrents was the setting for my journey into the darkness of my fated future. My destiny. It was the day of my eighteenth birthday when the beautiful faerie queen took me away from the Crimson Tower.
My heart continued to race, and my muscles remained tense even as Kala snuggled close and kept me warm—even as we said goodbye to Tythra.
The humans were never my tribe, and each day on their soil was one day closer to my death.
No, I wasn’t born to die such an uneventful death. I’d come from a long line of faeries with immortal blood running through their veins.
I was Princess Celeste Delacord of the kingdom of Mordigan—an Elemental chosen by the Guardians despite my heritage.
The first ever with the power to control all of the elements. Perhaps the humans were justified in my imprisonment, for it was prophecized that I could build or destroy nations with a single thought.
As we rode away, I glanced back at the tower, wondering when any of that power would give me a sign it even existed.
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A Look at Court of Shadows
The Water Prince
Morning brought with it a cool breeze from the open shutters of my private quarters. Outside, the snow-capped mountains awaited, with waterfalls of ice, and sparkling trees aglitter with tiny icicles that resembled precious stones.
I yawned, not yet ready to leave the comfort of my bed, or the warmth of the pretty Duchess of Kyrin.
As my manservant prepared my bath, I rolled onto my side and watched her sleep. She was a lovely young woman, but this would be the last time she’d share my bed. I was promised to another, and though I never believed she’d make it past her eighteenth birthday, she was now being rescued from a human prison.
Eliza opened her eyes, bright purple, with flecks of brown. She sat up, covering her perky breasts and gave me that alluring grin that had hooked me the moment she and her husband were presented at court last spring.
“Well, good morning, your highness,” she purred, leaning down to kiss my forehead, then my mouth.
“Stellan,” I said, as always. But, she insisted on calling me by my proper title.
While Jethroe prepared my clothes for the day, Eliza gave me a naughty wink and straddled me, her warm thighs on either side of my naked chest.
“Tell me it isn’t so,” she said, her sky-blue waves falling over her bony shoulders. As the blanket fell, her wings flapped like those of a hummingbird behind her.
“And, what is that?” I asked, squeezing her supple, pale thighs.
“That I’ll lose you to a dark faerie, an Unseelie whore.”
Tensing, I glared up at her. I wasn’t a saint, and neither was she, but we knew what we were getting ourselves into. She was married to an old Duke with two other wives, and I was promised to another the day I was born.
“That’s enough, Eliza. She will be your queen someday, and you will bow to her like everyone else in the realm.”
She crossed her arms over her chest. “I will not. No one wants to see a filthy Unseelie on the Allandrian throne. It is a disgrace to us all.”
That’s it. I shoved her off of me.
I wasn’t sure why her words triggered my wrath, but I left her in bed, confused, as I stalked across my bedroom to my bath.
“Fine, then,” she cried after me. “March off to the whore of the magic-realm and pledge your life as her pet. See if I care.”
I shook my head at Jethroe who chuckled behind his hand, and stepped into the pool of hot, scented water.
“That’s right,” I said. “And, you return to that crotchety old husband of yours.”
I heard something crash and break, flinching, and then footsteps followed by the slamming of a door. I didn’t want our tryst to end that way, but fate had already planned out my future, and Celeste meant more to me than Eliza ever could.
Waving Jethroe away, I sank into the water, arms outstretched over the sides and closed my eyes. Water was my element, and it recharged my strength and power. It also brought me solitude and calmed my nerves.
I needed it as my rage bubbled within.
Celeste wasn’t a whore. She was an Elemental, like myself, and though I hadn’t seen her in over eleven years, I’d loved her since the day we met.
After my bath, I met up with Prince Maxim in the great hall. He gave me a stern look from under long, disheveled brown hair. By the red-rim around his eyes, I knew what he’d been up to all night.
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More studying.
The earth Elemental was the most boring person in the entire realm.
“Took you long enough,” he said, clasping his hands behind his back.
I held my arms out as Jethroe put on my cloak and tied it at my throat, rolling my eyes.
“Patience is a virtue, isn’t that right, Maxim?”
He smirked. “You know nothing of patience, my friend.”
“Eager to meet our beloved Aether, are you?”
Looking down, I knew the answer. While myself and the other Elementals were enjoying our childhoods, he shared more in common with the Aether than any of us. While she was imprisoned, he’d been smuggled away and left in an orphanage to protect his identity.
I’d never forget the day my mother brought the orphan prince to our palace. As teenagers, we’d become fast friends.
I never cared that he was half-human.
“I am,” he said, softly. “For years, she was so close that our power cried for one another. Now, I get to finally meet her.”
Clasping a hand onto his shoulder, I nodded. “I know. We shall be in Allandria soon. But, first, I want to visit the Trials. I’ve heard reports of dark magic.”
Maxim lifted a thick brow over pale green eyes. “You don’t think—”
“I do,” I said, leading the way out of the palace doors where our horses awaited. “There’s evil afoot, and I’d have it banished before we depart.”
A Look at Academia of the Beast
NY Times bestselling author, K.N. Lee presents a dark twist on a classic fairy-tale that asks the question: what if the beauty was the mortal enemy of the beast.
Allyn escaped the hunters once before. As a witch, she risks capture by the ruling Baran wolf-shifter clan every day. Now, she lives in the slums of the opulent kingdom of Elastria, where the Winter Winds are brutal, and force everyone into their homes for the entire season. When one of her best friends receives an invitation to the end of season Winter Ball, Allyn is whisked away to the most exclusive club in the kingdom.
Magic, romance, and the steamiest weekend of her life awaits.
A chance encounter with the crown prince of Elastria sparks hope for a brighter future, one where she might find true love. Not only is he kinder than she'd imagined, but he's charismatic, smoking hot, and their attraction is unmistakable.
All hopes are dashed when she's tricked and turned in for the bounty on her head. Now, a prisoner in an eerie castle where the servants are...peculiar, the walls whisper, and the prince's mysterious twin brother struggles with the decision to keep or kill her, Allyn struggles with the desire to tame the beast within the prince, or escape to freedom.
ALLYN RACED THROUGH the dark woods, her red hair flying wildly behind her as she kicked off her heels. Her heart pounded and her skin crawled with dread. This was it. The moment she’d feared since she left the convent.
“Leave me alone!” Her voice carried through the tall trees, yet she knew they would never heed her plea.
The men who chased her knew what she was—and so did the Wolf that accompanied their band of hunters.
It could smell it on her, practically sniffed her out of a crowd of townsfolk at the holiday parade.
With a deep breath, Allyn leaped into the night sky, her green eyes scanning the woods for any trace of her boyfriend. They would not catch her.
Not again.
This time, she would fight.
“Capture her!” the sheriff shouted, his bow and arrow pointed at her. She expected an arrow to pierce her flesh at any moment. Then, they’d drag her to the capitol, where she’d surely be executed.
Cold wind assaulted her, making her cheeks numb. Cold didn’t matter. Only the speed of her legs.
Where was Byron? He was supposed to be waiting for her on the side road. He couldn’t have abandoned her. Not after his promise to protect her.
As she began to descend back to the floor of the woods, she caught a glimpse of Byron’s car on the road. She picked up speed, heat filling her limbs as she summoned power from her belly. She resisted the urge to release the energy that built within and focused on reaching her destination. The men would never catch up to her.
But, the Wolf. She could hear it racing behind her, its breaths seeming to come from right beside her.
Instead of taking a chance, Allyn closed her eyes and turned to face the hunters. A blast of power shot from the palms of her hands. Like a black web, it grew from the center of the air and outstretched to the trees. She gritted her teeth and pulled more energy from within. As she blew cool air from between her pursed lips, the black web became white like ice and blocked the path between Allyn and the hunters.
She couldn’t risk them getting through, so she twisted her fist and immobilized them all. Ice shot up their legs and fused them to the ground.
The Wolf—fangs bared—growled. Its silver glare chilling her to her core.
She spun around and ran. The Wolf, white as snow and larger than any normal wolf she’d ever seen in all of her years living in the woods was more terrifying than she’d imagined. While she still had the chance she raced for her life to Byron’s car.
He stood there in the fog that hovered over the black asphalt in dark jeans, a white T-shirt, and a leather jacket. His eyes widened as she ran past him and got into the car.
He followed suit and got inside. “What happened?”
Her life would be forever changed. That’s what happened.
Swallowing, Allyn glanced out the back window, hoping that she had a chance to escape.
“Just drive,” she said in between labored breaths.
From Chapter One
IT ALL STARTED with a rumor.
“I heard there is a witch in this village. You know that the Wolves are still hunting and executing them, right?”
Allyn didn’t want to believe the truth her boyfriend spoke. Such danger had threatened her since the night of her birth. But, if she hid her ability…she would survive.
That’s what she’d thought.
Byron had grabbed Allyn by the arm and made her face him. “Tell me. Are you the witch?”
“No,” Allyn said, hoping her green eyes didn’t reveal the truth. She wasn’t lying to him. Allyn wasn’t a witch. She was something else. But try to tell that to the hunters searching for anyone with magical powers.
She’d kept her secret this long. Why reveal it now? Her people were a dying breed, and she was not ready to offer herself up as the next tabloid villain—the next public disgrace to be executed for all of Elastria to see.
“Don’t lie to me. I know everything. You can trust me to protect you.”
“Quiet,” she’d said, glancing back at the wooden cottage where she’d been born and raised as a swift wind blew her black skirt up around her slender, white thighs. “My father is home and he will hear you.”
She’d tried to break free from his grasp, surprised that he had learned her secret, but he held tightly, his brown eyes looking at her with love and not the fear or judgment she’d always expected.
“They will find you. And they will kill you.” The stern look that filled his eyes had sent chills through her body as he held her hands out behind her house in the woods. “Let me take care of you. Let’s leave and start a new life together,” he’d said.
That was last winter when she still thought he loved her more than any girl in the world—before he gambled all of her life savings away.
That was before the Wolf sniffed her out at the festival and she’d fled for her life. As Allyn cleaned her tiny apartment, dusting her bookshelves and sweeping the vinyl floor, she tried to forget the fear of being hunted. The same fear haunted her at night, warning her that the hunt was not over.
She remembered the first time she’d heard of a young woman being sniffed out by the Wolves and how that woman ended up publicly executed.
Exhausted from lack of sleep, Allyn wiped her brow and caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror over the short bookcas
e. There were tears in her green eyes. Her wavy red hair was a stark contrast to her porcelain white skin splattered with freckles.
She squeezed her eyes shut and turned away from her image. She hated her face and the red hair that was so rare that she’d suffered constant teasing as a child. The only reason she didn’t dye it another color was because it reminded her of her mother, and how much she loved it.
A knock on the front door startled her. She froze, her face paling as she held her breath.
She didn’t move a muscle, afraid that one tiny squeak of the wooden floor would make the landlord aware of her presence. They were behind on their rent and any day now they would be forced out onto the streets.
“Allyn,” a muffled female voice called from the other side.
Relief washed over her when she realized that it was just Aude, her closest friend.
Allyn exhaled.
She crossed the room and unlocked several bolts on the door, then threw it open.
Aude’s big blue eyes widened. “Goodness gracious. You look like a freaking ghost!”
“Shush, Aude,” Allyn said, pulling her in by her hand. “I do not.” She shot a glance down the dark hallway outside before closing the door, pleased that the landlord was nowhere to be seen.
“Yeah, you do. Are you eating? Sleeping? Why haven’t I heard from you?” Aude asked. She was dressed in a black coat and jeans, her blonde hair tucked in a green beanie Allyn had knitted for her.
She took it off and rushed to warm herself in front of the meager fire. Allyn watched her, not sure how long the wood would last.
“I’m fine,” Allyn murmured.
“Whatever. Liar. I can see it all on your face that something is wrong. Have you left this awful apartment since I last saw you at the bakery?”
“I told you that I’m fine. I’ve just been staying inside and trying to stay warm.”