by Kim Faulks
Ondine shook her head, captured by the maniac of this place. Her heart thundered in her ears, each tiny breath gave her just enough air to think. She dragged a foot forward as though she moved under water. This place was more than a prison, it was a trap.
“I wanted to see what kind of woman you were.”
Ondine shook her head, casting the cobwebs from her mind as the bitch hovered closer.
“Now that I see you I’m rather underwhelmed. Nothing more than a common Seelie, aren’t you? I expected more from him. More fire, more rage. I expected something more than some whipped dog.”
Ondine wrenched her gaze up, still the bitch continued with her tirade.
“He can have his fill of Fae flesh. But I’m the one who knows his soul. I’m the one who will have him for eternity. We’re the same you see, the same darkness that stirs his soul, stirs mine.”
The bitch’s words tried to infect her mind, but she knew better. The man this bitch spoke about wasn’t the same man Ondine knew. The man she cared for was fractured, and in pain, and it all stemmed from this woman.
“He’s killed you once before, he’ll kill you again.”
The truth slipped from her lips, and they struck true. The glint in the witch’s eyes dulled. For a second her body seemed to lose form, ghostly wisps of her essence wavered and then took shape.
“He can’t kill me,” she growled, but the fear in her eyes remained. “He’s tried, yes, but it’ll take a lot more than one demented wolf to end me.”
The Unseelie rose to the surface. Her glamour wavered as it slipped from her grasp. “So what will?”
The witch flinched. She sucked in a breath. “What will, what?”
Unseelie rushed to the surface as Ondine smiled and crept closer. “What will kill you?”
The glamour slipped from her hold as Unseelie rushed to the surface. Energy coursed through her body rippling out to the corners of the room and beyond. The witch stilled, her mortal form faded to white, and Ondine knew this bitch lingered in between worlds.
“You…filthy Unseelie whore!” The witch screamed, raised her hand and then lunged.
Her ghostly slap passed through Ondine’s face without so much as a tingle. The witch spun, but Ondine’s savage Fae essence held on.
Like a spider, she pulled the witch, drawing her closer one hand at a time.
She jerked and struggled, panic twisted the ugliness in her face. “Get off me. Get the fuck off me!”
“You won’t ever leave will you?” This tormented thought spilled from her lips. “You won’t ever leave him alone. You’ll haunt him, just like my own father haunts me. You’ll drag him down. You’ll make him into the animal you desperately want him to be, just the way my father has turned me into this…this Unseelie.”
The witch yanked and pulled. She searched the room with a frantic gaze. Her lips moved with the makings of a spell and Ondine could feel the trapped power in this room come alive.
“You waste your breath, witch.” Ondine growled as the tsunami of energy rocked her. “This power is no longer yours to command…it is mine.”
Glass shattered inside the room. The witch spun, eyes wide. Fear filled her. But it was too late to beg, and it was too late to run.
Ondine speared her hand through the specter. Her dark power raked the witch’s spirit with savage claws, shredding her form inch by ghostly inch.
“Get off me! Get your filthy hands off me!”
But there was no stopping her, not this time. Hart would be free of his demons one way or the other.
Kill the witch, save the wolf…
That thought filled her as her Unseelie hunger consumed the witch’s spirit, and the bright orb above her dimmed, flickered and then…died.
The room was plunged into darkness. Ondine stilled, sucking in the cold hard hunger and felt her essence shift.
No more Seelie. The golden light inside her mind was now gone.
Hart
The creak of a floorboard dragged Hart to the surface. He sucked in a breath and cracked open his eyes. Darkness rushed in, stealing more than his sight.
The emptiness surrounded him, creeping into his ears, leaving him with a dull tinny ring like a hollow drum.
“Fae.”
The boom was a roar inside his head. He turned his head, taking in the clapboard walls and the filthy floor. There were no movements. There were no sounds.
He was alone.
He closed his eyes. Memories flashed. Pain ripped through his chest. Something moved under his skin. Darkness closed in…coldness followed.
The spell…He dragged his hand across the ground. The cold, hard skin of his chest felt like marble. Deep gouges ran along the midline of his sternum. He followed the cuts until something deep inside him shivered.
It’s in me…the spell…it’s inside me.
He opened his eyes and rolled over. Stones dug into his elbow and the meat of his palms as he crawled to the old rickety, wooden shelves and pulled himself to stand. Silver moonlight drew his gaze. A faint red ring hovered around the moon.
The walls moved in until he couldn’t breathe. He rocked on his heels. He was running out of time, kill the Creator and then kill the Mistress.
This was all he was good for. This was all he knew.
Hart stumbled toward the door. Stars sparkled in the midnight sky. The darkness in his chest shifted, coiling like a snake around his heart. He thought the Fae would’ve been here. He had hoped she’d be waiting for him, but he was alone.
He dragged his feet as he made for the trees. He found the path by instinct alone. Kill the Creator and then kill the witch. These words whirled inside his mind, dragging him deeper until there was no escape.
The chrome of his bike glistened under the moon as he broke free of the trees. He clutched his chest and waded through the long grass. Dew beaded on the leather seat. He made no move to swipe it with his shirt; instead, he balanced, gripped the handles, and climbed on.
He needed help. He needed someone to help him find the Creator, and the wolf Dante came to mind. He clenched his jaw and shoved the kickstand backwards. The bike was heavy against him.
Don’t hurt her. Don’t hurt our Creator.
Ondine’s words filled his head. The weight was heavier than the machine in his hands. He had no choice. It wasn’t just him he was saving…he was saving them all.
He pressed the ignition and the bike growled to life. Guttural throbs echoed through the night air. Dante would help him—even if it was to save his own skin.
He wound through the mountain range, heading for the city lights. He didn’t know Dante well enough to keep track of his dwellings, the cabin was the closest he’d been to knowing the man, still a bitter taste of loneliness welled in the back of his throat.
Headlights lit up the lonely road as he traced his way back to the small cabin. The tiny boxed windows were dark, no lights flickered inside. Hart climbed off his bike and killed the engine. His boots echoed as he stumbled for the door
He dragged his fist into the air and beat the door. “Dante.”
There was no movement inside. He strained to listen, and then raised his knuckles to the wood once more. “Wolf…I need you.”
There was no sound, no answer. Hart stumbled from the cabin as the sudden realization hit him.
He was alone.
Don’t hurt her. Don’t hurt our Creator.
He shook the Fae’s words from his head. He didn’t want to hurt her…but she put her trust in the wrong man. She put her trust in him.
He turned from the lonely cabin and made his way to his bike. The engine ticked, mirroring the countdown that raced through his veins.
Kill the Creator, kill the Mistress.
Still he had no way to get to her. No way to fulfill his destiny. The only connection he had to Allendra was a dream.
The power of the black mansion still lingered. He could feel the energy on his skin and inside his chest. The library had been a portal, a world between
worlds because of the spells kept within its walls.
Maybe…just maybe, he’d taken some of that power with him.
He straddled his bike and closed his eyes. The faint echo of the world within the worlds resonated. He could feel the power calling him, pulling him deeper within the spell. He dropped lower…down…down…down.
He needed somewhere quiet. He needed somewhere safe.
He started the bike and headed for home. The city streets were quiet—shifters, witches, Fae, and others hid behind closed doors. Each and every one of them could feel the Blood Moon coming, and he knew time for them was running out.
He descended the mountains, and found his way into the city streets. His apartment lingered at the edges in case he needed to escape. But this time there was no escaping what came for them.
Hart pulled up outside his apartment building. The Harley died when he hit the switch. This could be the last time he’d ride the bike, the last time he’d see these streets…the last time he’d climb the stairs to his home.
After tonight…if he failed to kill the Creator, he was as good as dead.
His boots echoed as he shoved through the front door to his apartment building. The echo of his boots drowned out the thunder of his heart. Last time…this could be the last time.
Kill the Creator, kill the Mistress.
Duty, honor… Hate closed in. This was a one-way ticket to the deepest depths of Hell. Ondine’s sweet face surfaced. If he did this she’d be free…free to choose whoever she wanted.
That thought clung tight. What if she left him to find her mate? What if she abandoned all hope…hope in him…and hope in her future.
He stepped out onto the landing and stared at his door. It felt like a lifetime since he felt the comfort of home. He dug into his pocket and snagged his key. One shove and turn, and he was back inside the musty room with its bare mattress and lonely furniture.
He’d never had anyone here…not for a long time. He’d given up on finding love. He was too broken…too cold. No one deserved someone like him.
Especially not Ondine.
He closed the door behind him and slid across the latch. Dead man walking. He turned to face his tiny corner. Deep gouges ran along the walls. Bloodstains marred the wooden floor. Here in this empty coffin of a room he faced his nightmares…
Over…and over…
But not anymore. Not after tonight.
This time he’d be free.
He cast his keys onto the table and kicked off his boots. They hit the floor with a thud, coming to rest on their side as he sank to the floor. The power was calling him, weighing down his arms and legs. He moved slowly, crawling on hands and knees to find the smooth wooden boards. The corner was familiar…the corner was home.
He hunched his shoulders and raised his hand. His nails found the groove of the markings. Splintered edges caught his nails. He closed his eyes and opened himself to the magic inside him, which sucked him down into the worlds between worlds…
Flashes of memories echoed. The cells. The cold. The white light floating. He followed the light…followed it out of that terror. The cell doors closed with a bang behind him. Still the white orb hovered, leading him higher.
Glass crunched under his boots. He hissed at the sting and wrenched open his eyes. The scent of old pennies filled the room. Blood…fresh blood. He grasped his foot, fingers slid in the slick. The thick warm mess clung to the tips as he raised his hand.
His blood glistened black in the night. Black blood. Black heart.
He dropped his hand and leaned backwards. The white orb filled his head, waiting, calling to finish what he’d started.
Hart closed his eyes to the glimpse of towering white marble pillars. The sight was gone as fast as it came. His pulse picked up speed, filling his ears with the boom.
He’d recognized the grandeur of Allendra’s home anywhere.
He held his breath. His focus narrowed in on that flickering light. The stone column came again, this time lasting a second longer. Slick stone floors bounced off the light.
Voices echoed…a woman’s and a man’s.
And the sight was gone. Leaving him to stare at the dangling glowing orb. “Come on…”
Electricity raced through his veins stinging his hands and settling in his wrist.
He was close…so close.
White marble closed in, casting Hart into the Creator’s world. He spun, finding himself out in the open. Hallways stretched to his right and his left.
He felt whole, strong…and determined.
The sting in his arms traveled higher like a razor along the line of his vein to center over his heart.
The muscle pulsed, and clenched. Wire bands squeezed, tightening with each breath. Hart slapped his hand to his chest and lunged for the giant column. Voices bounced off these walls to surround him.
His wolf rose to the surface, narrowing in on the sound and drew his focus left.
He moved forward, leaping from one pillar to the next and Allendra’s voice grew louder.
“Ondine.”
Hart stilled at the sound of her name. Allendra sighed. “What are you up to little fae? You’re running out of time.”
He surged forward. Running out of time? Not if he could help it.…Allendra was close…so close.
He stretched his fingers, bones cracked, fingers lengthened. Black fur sprouted through his skin to cover the backs his hand. Short nails became black taloned claws, curving into a wicked edge. His breaths deepened as the wolf hovered on the edge. He couldn’t shift, not fully.
Through the sheer curtains he glimpsed the room. Metal glinted from the floor. He glanced at the moon symbol inlaid in the stone floor. Movement echoed inside. He caught sight of Dmitri and the seer entwined in each other’s arms. Ten mirrors…ten fated mates. Only one mirror was blank.
Still something shimmered in the reflection, a ripple like a stone cast into the water. Darkness...danger…a glint of something floated to the surface. He could kill Allendra and end Ondine’s fight to find a mate. She’d be free, free to love whoever she wanted…free to love…him?
Never.
He wasn’t worthy…not of someone as perfect as Ondine. He was too far gone…tainted by the events of his past.
The Mistress would never let go, not until her spirit was finally gone.
Kill the Creator, kill the Mistress.
The sting in his wrist was instant, tightening the tendons along his arm. Three claw marks shone silver through the thick fur. They were more than a mark…they were a scar…a memory, something that could’ve been…wonderful.
The mirror image blurred. He blinked away the tears and raised his head. Allendra was right there…right through that doorway…all he had to do was take a step.
His feet moved on their own. He took one slow step and raised his hand.
Claws lengthened. Power rushed. He neared the entrance. Behind sheer white curtains, he saw her. She had her back turned, staring at something off in the distance.
It was now or never…now or never…now.
Or never…
His boots made no sound as he neared. His claws were poised ready for the downward strike. The seer drape moved like the ripple of an ocean, rising out to greet him only to fall away.
He reached out, claws raked the fabric leaving ribbons in his wake. Movement at the mirror drew is gaze. The darkness wasn’t just rising she rose from the surface. Gone was the lilac of her hair, gone was the perfect skin.
He lingered at the thick black markings on her arms…markings he’d seen only once. But he’d never forget what they were.
Air left his lungs as she moved closer. Dark, haunting eyes held his. Her long black strands peppered with white curled around her shoulders as she stepped from the mirror.
A shudder raced through him. She was different, but the same. Her sweet scent still lingered in his soul. He licked arid lips and forced the word. “How?”
Her voice was so small, as though she had mo
re to fear than he had. “This is my true form. I am the daughter of a Seelie Princess and the Unseelie King.”
Hart rocked back on his heels. Allendra turned at the sound. One passing glance was all he received, but it was Ondine she watched with interest.
A faint, knowing smile curled the edges of her lips.
“But that’s not all.” Ondine raised her hand and exposed her wrist.
Three claw marks marred her skin. He dropped his gaze as the marks on his skin flared. Three marks that perfectly matched his.
“It can’t be,” he growled and closed his eyes.
“It’s true. You, Hart Devis are my true mate.”
He shook his head as his world spun. True mate…true mate…“I can’t…too damaged…she won’t leave me…she’ll never leave me.”
“Yes she will. She no longer has a hold on you, Hart. Don’t you feel it? Don’t you feel free? You can rise above your past. You are not what they want you to be…the same way I’m not. You taught me that, you taught me that I decide my own fate…and that fate is with you.”
Ondine moved closer, still all he could see was her hand, and those marks on her wrist perfectly matched with his. The wolf backed away, skin replaced fur, nails replaced claws.
“Fated,” he whispered and took a step. He lifted his head and met her gaze.
“And forbidden no longer,” she answered and leapt into his arms.
What’s next in the Fated & Forbidden Series
BLOOD MOON
By Kallysten
TEASER - CHAPTER ONE
Now
Although Zaan stood alone now that Allendra had left, the room still echoed with the voices of the beings she’d drawn to her. His mind buzzed with all that had happened in such a short time. Of its own accord, his left index finger traced the symbol in his right palm, over and over, going around the outer circle that represented the full moon, then across the curved line that bisected it, representing a waxing crescent.
Over the millennia, the symbol had been used by people like them—people who knew of the Source, who knew how to draw on its strength in their day-to-day life, who knew how a Blood Moon was the chance to gather even more power for incredible feats.