Menage a Fairy (A Fairy Novel)

by Keraleigh, Anna

  King Carrick took a breath. “This is it. Either we try for peace or this meeting goes bloody and then we crush the entire troll population. I’m done being the hunted.” He shoved the sword into the sheath around his waist. “Have daggers ready. I want Brielle near the door should one of us get injured. She’ll heal and then you get back into the fray.”

  “If there even is a fight,” Mord said. “Though I don’t trust them.” He sighed. “This may very well be a trick.”

  “Then they’ll be the ones that will get the surprise,” the king said, his voice hard. “Everyone get to the palace front. I’m going to give my little girl a kiss.” His serious expression lightened.

  Wick wanted to do the same to Jayn and Annalise but knew they would only distract him. He set another knife at his ankle, stretched his wings, and flew from the balcony. The sky was a rainbow of colors as the fairy warriors moved as one. They watched the ground cautiously as they made their way to the top of the cliff. Wick couldn’t help but look back. The king was now out the window, heading for them with a determination in his eyes.

  Thame pulled his sword free.

  Wick glanced at the approaching shadows. Right on time. The trolls shuffled through the forest and stopped only feet from them. The one with the bright blue eyes stepped out from the others.

  “I am king of the trollsss.” His hissed slightly.

  Carrick landed. “And I am king of the fairies.” His hand was on the hilt of his sword. Tension filled the air like an approaching storm.

  “There is much to discusss.”

  “That there is,” Carrick said. His leg muscles were stiff and his back straight.

  There was a warm breeze that slid across Wick’s skin. He tightened the hand on his sword hilt, doubt overruling hope.

  “We want peacccce between ussss,” the troll king said. He took a step forward but kept his hands down with the dirty, deformed palms showing.

  “We did not start this fight. Your kind did.”

  “Yesss. And we want to ssstop it.” He shifted feet. “Too many livesss are lossst.”

  The king was quiet a moment then he growled, “Why do I not believe you?” He squinted. “Your words are dripping with venom.”

  The troll king smiled, revealing fangs, and a two-pronged tongue. “You have gotten sssmarter.” With a flick of his wrist, it happened.

  Trolls swarmed.

  Shadows morphed, growls filled the air, and the king pulled his sword free. “This. Is. War!”

  Wick pulled his sword free, roaring at the enemy. Let the battle begin.

  Chapter Ten

  Brook glanced at Bray who stood at the door with sword at the ready. Beside her stood Jayn with a sleek and shiny gun. The sword in her own hand shook slightly. She’d never been so nervous in her life. They had backups in place and there were a number of plans should one fail but nerves still twisted her stomach. She was torn between the safety of her child and her mate. Though Carrick could take care of himself and little Adara was defenseless. She took a deep breath.

  A collection of roars sounded.

  It was a lie. Brook shoved the palace door closed and rushed with the others to the glass room. This was it then. The war was in full swing. Brook ran into the room, hearing the door slam and glancing at Bray. “Everything’s locked. We have salt around every entrance and the leprechaun is out there in case any of the trolls get through that,” Brook said the words to comfort the women around her and maybe a little for herself. She moved to the bassinet, rubbing a thumb over her sleeping baby’s little hand.

  “He’ll be okay,” Jayn spoke, holding Annalise’s hand and staring at the door.

  Cameron, one of the mate’s brothers, was still unconscious. He was lying on the couch with Brielle by his side.

  Abigail and Breena were standing by the doors, their hands filled with a bottle of salt and re-sharpened blades. Brook was proud. They all came together and did a good job planning this. They were ready for nearly anything.

  Nearly.

  The explosion went off. It was so loud Brook’s ears instantly begun to ring as the ground beneath her shook. She fell back against the glass, the window shattered, and she landed awkwardly on her side in the shards. A few slices nipped at her skin as she struggled to her knees. Everyone was in various states of chaos. Brook crawled over the glass, warm blood seeping from nicks and cuts as she made her way over to Adara. She had to be okay. She had to be okay!

  Brook brought herself to her knees. Her hands were shaking as she pulled the blanket off. There, tucked into the softly padded bottom, laid her little girl. Adara cooed and reached up with both her hands. Her little fists balled and her long eyelashes fluttered. Brook gasped. She was unsteady and tearful as she gathered Princess Adara into her arms. “It’s okay.” She supported her head as she fumbled to her feet. “Bray? Jayn? Brielle?” She randomly called out names. Everyone responded. Despite the destruction, there were no major injuries. The explosion was meant to startle and shock, not kill.

  “What the hell was that?” Jayn yelled angrily as she helped Annalise to her feet.

  “They’re in the palace,” Bray said with a growl.

  “But the others had to have heard that, right?” Annalise asked with a shiver.

  Brook still heard that infuriating ring. She shook her head, hoping to dispel the annoyance. And at the same moment, the doors before her shook. Something slammed into them from the other side. The wood began to creak and groan.

  “They’re after them, right?” Jayn said, pointing at Brook and Adara.

  Bray nodded. “If they capture her or harm the child...” She shook her head. “Brook is my queen.”

  “Our queen,” Jayn said with a tilt to her chin. “Fly them out of here.”

  “No.” Brook was not a coward. “I will stay and we’ll fight until the others arrive.” There was another heavy slam against the door.

  “You’re the queen. You have a baby. You are a liability. Bray takes you out of here. That one,” —she pointed to Brielle— “Hides with the unconscious guy in the closet along with the pregnant one.” She glanced at Breena, Thame’s mate. “We kick some ass. I have enough bullets to hold them off for...well, a little while. By then you’ll be in a safe spot and Bray will return to help me fight.”

  “That makes a good Plan B,” Bray added. “She thinks like a warrior.”

  “I think like a cop,” Jayn said with a raised brow. She aimed her gun at the door as the wood groaned loudly. “Go. Now.”

  Bray nodded. She walked to Brook who was still trying to protest. “This is stupid. We should not split up.”

  “If I take you near Carrick or one of the others, they’ll know we need them. I can swing around and bring you to the very top of the palace or one of the higher rooms. You’ll be safe. I’ll return to help them. It makes sense.”

  “I will not leave them,” Brook tried again to protest over the loud banging.

  Bray reached out and gathered both mother and baby into her arms. In seconds, they were out the smashed window and into the air. Brook hissed. She held Adara close and glanced toward the battle. There were bodies all over. More than a mere twenty or thirty. The fairies were kicking ass. She could see Thame’s golden wings in the sun. He was spinning around, slicing and dicing his way free of the trolls. There was a fight at the tree line but she couldn’t see who it was. “Didn’t they hear the blast?” How did they even get explosives? There had to be a leak somehow. How could the trolls know where to hit them?

  Bray flew lower. It looked like she was aiming for the ground.

  “What happened to the roof?” The word “traitor” filtered through her brain but she dismissed it. There was no way the only female warrior was in with the nasty trolls.

  “Arrow,” she said with a wince. Bray landed them roughly just beside the waterfall. “Hide,” she gasped as Brook pulled away. The arrow was sticking out of her side. It clipped her wing and tore the bottom. “Hide. I will get him.” Bray was gasp
ing for breath. She winced, pushing off the ground to fly into the sky.

  Brook watched her go, suddenly feeling alone and vulnerable. She held Adara tighter, grabbing the hilt of her sword. This was Plan C, hiding in the small alcove behind the waterfall. She waded through the water, stopping as the beautiful clear liquid darkened. Brook froze. She glanced up at the waterfall and gasped when the small body rode the cascade down. The little leprechaun’s blank stare watched her before it floated toward the bottom of the pond. They killed the tiny thing? How did they know he was helping the fairies? Her lips parted in shock and she wiped a tear away. This was no time for emotions. Brook quickly struggled out of the water, glancing at Adara who was still asleep in her arms.

  This was such a bad fucking plan. Now she was out in the open. Bray would get Carrick, she was sure of it. Their plan should have worked. Another explosion rang out. The palace roof shattered and she could see big chunks of the building come tumbling to the ground. The glass room, which was visible from here, shook. The glass shattered, she couldn’t see where the pieces fell but the flames soon shot from the room.

  Brook’s vision blurred with tears. “They made it out,” she chanted as her heart constricted. “They made it out.” She nearly screamed when a figure came from the hill. Brook would recognize those blue wings anywhere. Someone was with him, but she couldn’t tell who. They were flying quickly toward the palace. “No. No!” Why weren’t they coming toward her? Maybe Bray hadn’t gotten to them. If she had, why would they be going to the palace? Unless… Brook glanced up, watching as Carrick landed on the smoke-filled balcony. Unless this was the trap. What if those trolls weren’t there for her and Adara? What if they were there for Carrick? She shuddered.

  Brook did the one thing she could. The only thing she knew that would save the man she loved while protecting her child. “Valen!” she screamed the name for as long as her lungs would allow repeatedly. She prayed he heard her before the trolls. He was the man that had nearly stolen her heart, the Garcanagh with no wings and bad-boy background. The man that had fallen in love with her and had nearly stolen her from Carrick’s side. He saved her once before. She prayed he would be there once again.

  It took seconds. His figure emerged at a dead run toward her. She took in his face, the handsome features, and the shock. “What is going on here?” he asked, stopping short to stare at the bundle in her arms. “Is that...you gave birth?” His face registered shock and awe. “She’s beautiful.”

  “I need you to take her,” she said the words as a troll emerged from the darkness.

  Valen spun, cutting it fatally before returning to Brook’s side. “We can run together. I’ll get all of us out of here.” There was another explosion, this one was a house on the far side of the kingdom. “How in the world did they get explosives?” he asked placing a hand on her shoulder. “We must flee.”

  “They might still be alive!” Brook said, emotion making her voice shake. “I need you to take her. Please.”

  “I will not leave you, Brook. I can’t leave you here.” Valen swallowed hard, his eyes glassy. “This is a war zone.” Something crashed. Part of the palace caved in and landed on a giant sunflower. The oversized plant swayed and fell like a toppling tree. It landed on another vacant home and that roof fractured. She could hear the eerie cracking sound before it broke and fell onto the path.

  Brook placed Adara into his arms. “Valen, you protect her. You protect my baby with your life!” She was gasping for breath though she hadn’t moved an inch since she seen Valen. Brook leaned in and kissed his cheek, a tear sliding down hers.

  “Always,” he whispered the word.

  Brook kissed her little baby, trying to hold her shaky breath. “Now, I have to go save my kingdom.” She held her sword tightly and ran toward the chaos.

  Brook jumped over fallen debris. Two trolls stopped her, but with the training Carrick had given her, she quickly dispatched them. Nothing would stand between them. She pushed back emotion as the destroyed palace came into view. The splendor of the palace was marred by the hell that was war. The top floors were crumpled and the roof lay in front of the door. She stopped short as Wick swooped down and killed a nearby troll. He glanced at her. Blood was smeared across his bare chest.

  “Get out of here,” he ordered. Wick slashed out at another troll. When the path was empty, he forced the palace door open and squeezed himself inside.

  Brook followed. “They were in...the glass room,” she whispered. Brook couldn’t possibly say that the mates he just found where in the room that blew up.

  He visibly shuddered, ground his teeth and blinked away tears. Wick flew down the hall. The fear on his face was unbearable and Brook gripped her sword again before following.

  Brook took a deep breath and stopped short at a loud cry. Annalise was running down the hall. She enveloped Wick as Jayn came running from behind her. They huddled together. Tears of joy passed over each of their cheeks.

  “Is Carrick with you?” Brook asked, her voice unsteady.

  Jayn glanced up at her, eyes going wide. “No. He went to the waterfall searching for you.”

  Brook spun on her heels. How come she hadn’t seen him? Brook ran out the door. She didn’t listen as Wick called her back. Her heart pounded in her ears and she hopped over debris. She was gasping for breath. The muscles in her legs were on fire as she ran as fast as she could toward her mate.

  There. There!

  She felt the tear slid down her cheek as she saw Carrick standing there. Something beside him moved into the shadows. She paid no heed as Carrick turned around. Her smile of joy and relief faded. Her bottom lip began to quiver. Carrick was holding his throat, blood spurting over his hands. “No!” Brook screamed. She couldn’t move as he fell to his knees. “Carrick!” His bloody hand reached out toward her. Brook ran to her mate’s side, catching him as he fell and cradling him in her arms. She caught sight of the figure in the dark. Mord was on the ground. He was covered in blood, his eyes wide as he tried to crawl toward them.

  Brook looked back at her mate, tears falling without end. Carrick held her hand tight, his lips parting as blood drained from his throat. His lids began to close.

  “No. No please don’t you leave me! Carrick, don’t you leave us!” Her pleas were muddled by sobs. “Carrick!”

  The king of the fairies faded away. Carrick died in the arms of his heartbroken mate.

  ****

  “We should rebuild, collect ourselves, and try to heal,” Mord said. He was bandaged and bruised but alive. “I can start making plans, creating—”

  “No.” Brook cuddled little Adara then stared up into the eyes of the fairy warriors. They were now under her command. She was the only ruler of the fairies. “Trolls tortured each and every one of us. They killed our king. We do not rebuild. We do not give mercy. We destroy every last troll until our empty hearts are filled with their blood.” Brook glanced down at her child, the child of Carrick. “I want her to grow up without the fear of trolls. She will grow knowing we avenged her father.” Brook took a deep, steadying breath and fought back the tears. “As your queen, I am giving my order to the fairy warriors. Kill them all.”

  The End

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  Other Books by Anna Keraleigh:

  www.evernightpublishing.com/pages/Anna-Keraleigh.html

  If you enjoyed this book, you may also like:

  Two Knights of Indulgence by Alexandra O’Hurley

  Truth or Dare by Michaela Rhua

  A Lotus for the Regent by Adonis Devereux

  Evernight Publishing

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