His eyes softened, and he slipped his hand into his pocket. Gold jingled in his coin purse. “I have enough. Don’t you worry, my love. I have enough.”
We purchased the horses and took them back to the castle. The Hunters seemed confused about the new arrivals, but it didn’t matter. I’d seen the look in the horse’s eyes, one that was so very familiar. It was the same way Bree had looked at me when she’d been so close to losing her soul to the beast. It had been the way Shai had looked when she’d admitted to murder.
They’d looked lost. They’d looked scared. And they’d looked in pain.
I might not be able to save all the Redcaps in this world, but at least I could help the horses. They had reminded me of why I’d chosen to come to the Winter Court in the first place. Somewhere in these mountains, I could find the cure for the Redcap venom. And then I would use it on every tortured soul in Otherworld. Maybe even beyond.
It was time for me to find the Starlight.
Chapter Seventeen
Snow poured down from the skies overhead as I climbed the mountain. I’d left before dawn, padding through the quiet hallways of the castle before anyone could notice my absence. I knew what my mates would say if I told them I wanted to go in search of the Starlight.
They would have given me a big fat no, and I couldn’t take no for an answer. Not when so many innocent lives were at stake.
“Hello, Norah Oliver, daughter of Marin, Princess of Otherworld.”
I froze, my breath caught in my throat, my nerves shot through with ice. Slowly, I turned to face the male behind me. His skin glowed like the light of the moon, and his long dark hair sliced across his shoulders. His eyes were a golden red, and his sharp ears cut through his thick curtain of hair.
Chaos rippled off his skin, setting my entire body on edge.
He was a Dark Fae. I knew it in my bones.
He was alone. There had been four of them before, but now there was just the one.
Slowly, I took a step back, my heart hammering hard against my ribs. “What do you want? Why are you here?”
A strange expression flickered across his sharp features as the wind blew gusts of snow around him, casting his entire form into a wintry white mist. “I admit, I thought I would receive a more respectful greeting from the Princess of this realm. Tell me, why have you not taken up the crown? There is nothing to stand in your way now that the Autumn one is dead.”
“I didn’t kill Queen Viola so that I could sit on a throne,” I said, curling my hands into fists. How quickly would I be able to get an arrow into my hands? “I did it because she was trying to destroy this place. On your orders.”
“My orders?” He raised his brows and touched a hand to his chest. “I am not all Dark Fae, and all Dark Fae are not me.”
Confusion rippled through me, and I furrowed my eyebrows. “You’re talking in riddles.”
He let out a light sigh. “I have come here to warn you. My father wishes to invade this realm, and he wishes for you to die. He knows you want to bring an end to the Tithe, something that would bring an end to us. And he knows you’re searching for the Starlight, so that you can cure as many Redcaps as you can. Isn’t that why you’re up here on this mountain all by yourself? I’m warning you. This plan of yours will lead to nothing but more death.”
I took a step back, my boots crunching the snow. “Why are you warning me? Don’t you feel the same way as your father?”
He pursed his lips, highlighting the intensity of his sharp cheekbones. “I am more like you than you think. I also believe there should be another way to this Tithe. I have seen what has happened to your human companion, and it is cruel. As much as we, the Dark Fae, thrive on dark energy and chaos, there are lines that should not be crossed. For the sake of all the realms, there must be another way we can consume the energy we need to survive.”
“So, then let’s stop the Tithe,” I said, fisting my hands inside my thick gloves. “Talk to your father. Is he the King? Maybe you can convince him that there’s another way.”
The wind howled around us as he gave a quick shake of his head. “My father is old and set in his ways. He will not shift his way of thinking, not unless an alternative is presented to him. Saying we will change things is not enough. We need to show him.”
My heart flickered in my chest, and a chasm of despair opened beneath me. Change felt so agonizingly close, but it was still so very far away. “I don’t know an alternative. You’ll have to give me some time to come up with one. I’ll read every single book in every single library if I have to.”
“I’m afraid that is not possible, Princess of this realm. My father plans to invade in three day’s time. I suggest you find your solution before then or every living creature who lives in this realm will end up under his control.”
When I returned to the castle, I didn’t go straight to my mates. Not just yet. They would be angry I’d gone in search of the Starlight by myself, and they’d be even more angry when they discovered what the Dark Fae had said. Instead, I aimed my feet toward the library. Research was the only way out of this, as far as I could see. I had to scour each and every book. Somewhere within all these pages, there had to be an answer. There had to be some other way to give the Dark Fae what they needed to survive. Surely Redcaps weren’t the only way they could consume energy.
But hours and hours passed by without an answer, and I was ready to start lobbing books at the wall when Rourke finally found me sprawled across the carpet in front of the roaring fire.
“You seem to have an obsession with libraries,” he murmured as he lowered himself to the floor. “What are we researching today?”
“I’m still stuck on the Redcaps, but these books are of no help. None of them are old enough. I need something that goes back centuries and centuries. All of these are maybe a couple of hundred years old, if that.”
“And why do you need something so old?” He arched an eyebrow.
Nibbling on my bottom lip, I averted my gaze. “If I tell you something extremely important, will you promise not to get angry with me?”
“Is this about your little trip this morning?” When my mouth dropped open, he smiled. “Your boots were covered in snow, and your cloak was drenched. It wasn’t difficult to determine that you went outside before everyone else awoke.”
I shot him a mock frown. “You Autumn fae and your cleverness. There’s no hiding anything from you.”
“Indeed.” Rourke stretched out onto the carpet and propped his chin on one of his fists, motioning me to take a break from my books to join him. With a sigh, I placed the book back on the pile and eased down onto the carpet. Before us, the fire flickered and flamed, casting dancing shadows on the library shelves.
“I went in search of some Starlight.”
“I expected as much.” A pause. “Something tells me that you didn’t find any.”
“No, but I found something else.” My eyelids fluttered shut as he wrapped his arm around me, pulling my back to his chest. I sucked in a deep breath, filling my nose with his scent, and the tension in my body drifted away. I didn’t know how he did it, but Rourke could soothe me when nothing else could.
“What did you find, my love?” he murmured, his lips dangerously close to my neck. My body was desperate to feel his lips on my skin, but I hadn’t forgotten the rules of the court. With every day that passed, the more I wanted to become the daughter Marin had wanted me to be.
“Please don’t freak out.”
A sigh. “I will try.”
So, I filled him in on my encounter with the Dark Fae. His body tensed against mine, but he didn’t fly off the handle the way Liam or Kael might have done. He was as calm and collected as ever, though that didn’t mean he was particularly happy about the fact I’d been cornered by a Dark Fae. By the son of the King, no less.
“We need to call another meeting with the courts before they start their trek back to their seasons. I appreciate that you want to find an alternative, and perha
ps you will. But we need to proceed as if we believe the Dark Fae will launch an attack. We need to be prepared.”
I twisted on the carpet to face him, sliding my arms around his neck. “What good will that do? None of the representatives believe me.”
“It’s different now. We’ll make them believe.”
He dropped his mouth to mine and kissed me hard. I hung on tight, pulling him so close that my breasts pressed hard against his chest. His fingers got tangled in my hair as his tongue dipped between my lips. I breathed in him, savoring every single second in his embrace.
But then I pulled back, heart banging wildly in my chest. My cheeks were hot; my breath was ragged.
Smiling, he brushed his thumb against my lip. “Norah. My beautiful Norah. I was such a sad, grumpy, pathetic male before you walked into my life. When I first went to the Academy, I never thought I would meet someone like you.”
“But didn’t you know you would meet your mate there?”
“I did.” A pause as his eyes searched mine. “But I never imagined it would feel like this. The intensity with which I love you is almost terrifying.”
My breath stilled in my lungs when he lifted my hand to his lips before gently kissing every finger.
“There is something I have realized since arriving at this castle. We are mates, even if we have yet to have the ceremony to fully confirm it in the eyes of the land. This is something I feel we should remedy though, my love. When all of this is over, I want nothing more than for you to be my bride.”
I sucked in a sharp breath, my eyes welling with tears. Not of pain or fear but of joy.
“Oh, Rourke.” I threw my arms around his neck and buried my face in his chest. I couldn’t believe this was happening. I couldn’t believe that I had ever done enough to deserve something like this.
Rourke let out a low chuckle and kissed my face. “This is not a formal proposal, by the way. I wouldn’t do that without the others.”
The others. My cheeks ached from the grin that consumed my face. I had four future mates. Four perfect males that made me happier than I deserved. One day, we would make our vows to each other, in the presence of every court. And I couldn’t wait until they were truly mine.
Chapter Eighteen
It had been twenty-four hours, and I still didn’t have a solution to the Dark Fae problem. Rourke had stopped the representatives from returning to their courts, and it was time to gather them all together for another meeting. Perhaps they had a solution I hadn’t yet found. Maybe someone knew more than what I could find in those books.
“Can we make this quick?” Ungus said as he leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms over his chest. “I would like to set off this morning to return home. There is no need for me to remain here any longer.”
“I wouldn’t pack your bags just yet,” I tell him before taking a deep breath to plow forward. “We have a massive problem on our hands, and I’m hoping that one of you can solve it. Have you ever heard of an alternative to the Tithe? Some kind of energy sacrifice to replace what’s happening with the changelings and the Redcaps?”
Silence was my only answer.
“What is the point of this?” Ungus asked, narrowing his eyes. “Why are you asking about the Tithe?”
“Do you not find it problematic?” I asked him. “We take these innocent children from their homes and allow them to be transformed into monsters. And then we chuck them right back into the human realm when we’re done with them. So that they can infect more innocents. Then, the cycle continues.”
He crossed his arms over his chest and leaned back in his chair. “It is not ideal, but there is no other way.”
“Are you sure about that?” I asked, bracing my arms on the table. “Because surely there must be an alternative. And if we can provide a different way to the Dark Fae, then they won’t…”
Kael leaned forward and spread his hands across the table. “Then, they won’t what?”
Heart hammering, I turned to face my instructors. Only Rourke knew the truth about my morning in the mountains. “I met a Dark Fae yesterday. He came to warn me that the King plans to invade this realm. He knows I’ve been trying to help the Redcaps, and he wants to stop me from doing anything more. The only way to prevent the attack is to provide the Dark Fae with a different energy source...”
Kael slammed his fist onto the table and stood. Liam scowled. The Rebel beside me let out a low chuckle, a harsh sound that scraped against my eardrums. Slowly, I stood from my chair as my heart pounded in my chest. I braced my hands on the table and met each of the fae’s eyes in turn. None of them looked happy, and I couldn’t blame them.
Ungus turned his glowering gaze upon Rourke. “Is this true?”
Rourke gave a nod. The two of them had worked as Rebels together. Even though my mate had left them long ago, Ungus still seemed to have at least an inkling of respect for him.
“So, the Dark Fae are invading,” Ungus said. “Let me guess. You share Marin’s belief that we should end the Tithe.”
I swallowed hard. “Yes.”
“So, he’s coming here to kill you.” With a slight shake of his head, the Rebel pushed up from the table and grabbed his cloak from the back of his chair. “As sorry as I am to see the daughter of Marin slaughtered by the hands of those males, there’s nothing for it. And it has nought to do with the Rebels or the Autumns. I’ll be taking my leave now.”
As he turned to go, I raised my voice and let the ice of winter drip into my words. “Unfortunately for you, he won’t stop with me. He plans to rule Otherworld. Last time I checked, you and the Autumns are very much a part of this realm.”
He froze, his back stiff and straight. “He plans to rule Otherworld?”
“That’s what his son said.”
Ungus sneered. “Fine. I will send for my men, but don’t for one second believe this has anything to do with you. This is for Otherworld and nothing more.”
Chapter Nineteen
I woke to the sky beginning to lighten, all too aware that it was just one day before the Dark Fae’s attack on this realm. We had just enough time to gather our forces and build a makeshift army before the King and his fighters would arrive. I couldn’t help but recall the dream I’d had back at the Academy, the one that made me wake up in a cold sweat. The battlefield. The rivers of blood. That chaos-filled fae cresting the hill.
My heart clenched tight in my chest. Had that been some kind of omen of things to come? A vision of the future we were about to see?
I shook my head and climbed out of the bed, padding over to the frosted windows to stare out at the snowy landscape of the Winter Court. No, I decided. It wasn’t a warning or a vision or anything of the sort. Ungus had sent for his Rebels. The Spring and Summer representatives had sent for as many Hunters as they could gather in time. And the Winters had plenty of fighters to round things out. Not to mention the snow just kept on falling.
The weather was our greatest asset here. The Dark Fae would be forced to trek up the mountain in knee-deep snow, the cold seeping in through their clothes and their boots. Kael had told me they didn’t have winters there like we had here.
Maybe, just maybe, we could win this thing.
If only I’d found a solution to our problem, but I’d come up empty in every book I read.
So, we would have to fight. At least we had another day to get prepared.
“Norah.” Bree’s voice sounded from behind me. I whirled to find my best friend standing in the open doorway, her breath ragged, her cheeks dotted with pink. In an instant, I’d crossed the room, my heart rattling in my chest. I searched her eyes, confusion rippling through me. Why was she here?
“Bree? What’s wrong?”
Tears streamed down her cheeks, and she threw her arms around me to pull me close. Eyes wide, I slid my arms around her back and held on tight.
“I’ve been scared out of my mind, Norah,” she whispered into my hair. “Swear to me you’ll never again leave like that with
out me.”
I pulled back and looked into her tear-streaked face. “Did Alwyn not tell you where I’d gone?”
Not that I had told Alwyn a damn thing after the way she’d treated me. I had just assumed she’d know I went with my mates.
She sniffled and shook her head. “Not at first. I think she was afraid I’d go after you. And well, she was right. As soon as I found out you’d come here for the Starlight, because you thought you were going to turn into a Redcap…well, I was terrified. I had to come make sure you were okay. I thought you might need me. If you…well, you don’t look like you’ve changed?”
“Oh, Bree.” I wrapped my arms around her once again and pulled her close. “I’m so sorry I didn’t tell you I was going, but I didn’t have much time. My mates were going to go without me. I had to sneak out before dawn.”
“Don’t be sorry. I’m just glad to see you’re okay. Does this mean you got the Starlight?”
Quickly, I filled her in on everything that had happened. My immunity to the venom. My encounter with the Dark Fae. The impending attack against us. And the fae’s desire for an alternative, one I’d yet been able to find.
She perched on the edge of the bed and stared out at the falling snow, her face a reflection of everything I felt inside. “Okay, so what have you managed to find out about the Dark Fae?”
“Not as much as I’d like.” I shrugged and plopped onto the bed beside her. “They need energy to survive. Human energy. When the magic of this place twists you inside out, they’re somehow able to draw that human energy to themselves, even though they’re in a different realm. And, interestingly enough, they can’t go into the human realm themselves. That’s why they have the Light Fae doing the dirty work for them.”
She raised her eyebrows. “Light Fae?”
“Us.” I gestured at the room, though no one was in here but the two of us. “Me. The fae in this realm. We’re the Light Fae. Or at least that’s what we’re called in these books.”
A Touch of Starlight Page 13