by G. Bailey
“These four keys are the only way to send the Titans home,” Kaelah says, her body fading again as the sun claws its way into the sky. “You must collect them. It’s the only way my loves will be returned to me and the Enchanted Forest kept safe from their destruction.”
As soon as the dawn light touches her, Kaelah vanishes, and my eyes shoot open. I’d say I’m getting tired of these dreams, but for the first time since I started having them, a sense of loss fills me when I open my eyes. I straighten on the bed and look around, surprised to find I’m in a private room inside the infirmary. Flashbacks from the Blood Trials flood my mind, but they’re superseded with visions of Kaelah, and I swallow a lump in my throat I didn’t expect to feel.
Wherever Kaelah has gone, I feel her absence nestled inside me like the sun dipping behind the clouds. I’m cold now without Kaelah’s light to warm my skin and tears sting my eyes. Luke startles beside me on the bed, and I lean over and press my mouth to his, grateful we’re alone. His eyes flutter open as I straddle his hips, needing that comfort, that presence to fill the void.
“Jaybird?” Luke whispers against my lips, his voice groggy from sleep. His hand falls on my shoulder and holds me back from him, his eyes studying me in the near darkness. The moonlight filtering through the window casts the two of us in a soft silver glow. “What’s wrong?”
A solitary tear slips from my lashes, and Luke watches it fall, landing on his chest.
“What happened?” he growls out, his voice hardening. Suddenly he’s very alert as he scans the room for any signs of threat. His dick is hard, however, and I so badly want to touch him. “Who do I need to kill?”
I chuckle despite the tears threatening to fall again. “No one. At least, no one just yet.”
He looks up at me and brushes the water from my cheek with the pad of his thumb. “Tell me why you’re you cryin’, jaybird. Are you still hurtin’?”
I shake my head, afraid if I talk I’ll just cry. I’m not sure why I’m so emotional over Kaelah leaving. Perhaps it’s the meaning behind her departure that’s got me so worked up. Titans and keys and destiny… it’s all so much on top of everything else. I don’t even know how I’m going to get out of this prison, let alone find the keys. Gods, I don’t even know if I’ll survive the next Blood Trials.
“Please, Luke,” I whisper, reaching down for his cock. “I need a distraction right now. I need you.”
He groans and closes his eyes when I slide my hand into his boxers. I watch his expression go from concerned to content as I stroke him with slow, languid movements. He’s already hard for me, but I want to feel him, to be consumed by him so that distant ache inside me fades away.
“Izora.” My name is barely a whisper on his lips. “Oh, shit…”
“Does that feel good?” I whisper, gazing down at him through my lashes.
His eyes open and he looks up at me. “Fuck yeah it does, jaybird. But what’s going on—”
“Sshh.” I press a finger to his lips. “No more talking.”
He grins against my finger but says nothing. There’s something super hot about being the one in charge. I scoot down and bring my mouth to the tip of Luke’s cock, wrapping my lips around him. He jerks into my mouth as a deep, throaty moan leaves his lips. I take him to the back of my throat and suck and bob until his thrusts and moans grow more urgent, and I know he’s close.
Peeking up at him, I pull back and straddle his hips again. He places a hand on my waist and pulls me down until I’m sliding onto his cock. He bites his lip and closes his eyes for a moment. A groan builds in the back of his throat as I take him all in, right to the base of his shaft, and gods, he feels amazing inside me. I clench around him and he opens his eyes, a wicked grin playing on his lips.
“Thank the gods I locked the door,” he says, his sapphire eyes gleaming. His hand on my waist moves to lift my gown over my shoulders. When I’m naked before him, he skims his gaze over me slowly. “Let me see you for a moment.”
A blush creeps into my cheeks as I steady myself on his cock. Luke trails his fingers over my stomach and up to the valley between my breasts. Softly he tweaks my nipple and then grips my breast with one hand, gently squeezing me.
“Fuck, look at you. You’re even more beautiful than I imagined.”
I lift my hips and slowly rock back and forth. “You imagined me naked? Pervert.”
He gives a lopsided grin. “Since the day I saw you at the party and I ain’t ashamed to admit it.” He tweaks my nipple again, making me moan. “Every guy at the party wanted you, but only I get to have you, and guess what, jaybird?”
“What?” I grin, my heart skipping a beat.
“I’m never lettin’ you go.”
His grip on my waist tightens, and he slams me down onto him, as if emphasising his point. He moves his hand from my breast to the nape of my neck and pulls me down, smothering my moans with his lips. The pleasure siphoning between us has my breath hitching and my toes curling until all I can focus on is our bodies moving in sync with each other. Everything melts away. The prison, the Titans, the Blood Trials, even Eva—they all disappear and I cling to Luke as if trying to hold on to this blissful euphoria washing over me. But no matter how slowly I take him in, how desperately I want this moment to last forever, my orgasm gives way and I’m screaming out his name.
Luke isn’t far behind before he’s letting go. He looks up at me as he comes, and I take in his moans with my lips. His hand twists through my hair and he pulls me closer, thrusting into me slowly before stilling. Our foreheads press together as we try to catch our breaths. The moonlight bleeding over Luke’s features, his cock still pulsing inside me, gives me exactly what I needed—an escape from reality. In those moments I was able to switch off entirely and pretend that I was somewhere else, that it was just the two of us and no one else.
“What are you thinkin’, jaybird?” he asks me softly, running his fingers up and down my back.
“Nothing much,” I whisper, lifting my head to look at him. “Just that I love you and I’m not letting you go either. You’re stuck with me, Shadow Warden.”
Luke brushes the hair from my face and smiles up at me. “I’m lucky to be stuck with, and to love someone like you. As Selena is my witness, I’m gettin’ you out of here no matter what it takes.”
I settle back in his arms with a contented sigh. At first light, I’m gathering all my guys and telling them about the Titan keys, then we are going to get out of this prison once and for all.
“Wake up!” Kaelah shouts at me, shaking my shoulders with urgent eyes. She cries out, her body fading in and out like an old movie. Cracks cover her appearance, almost like she isn’t here as she cries out one more time. I don’t know why, but I laugh and push her away from me before I carry on skipping through the beautiful fields of flowers. I run my hands over the purple, orange, and red flowers as I pass by, giggling in delight. Kaelah appears in front of me once again and I come to a halt, frowning at her. “I’m sorry about this.” Her words do nothing to slow her down as she hits me hard across my cheek and I stumble to the ground.
“Why?” I ask, not understanding. I was having such a nice dream, everything was good and bright. The world here is peaceful.
I don’t want to wake up.
“It is time. This is when you find out everything, and I am going to help you. Tell me the spell your mother gave you. Eva is ready now. She has her army under the spell she placed on you all last night so you will fight her war with no clue what you are doing. Empty shells, that’s what you all are to her now, but you must wake up.”
I only think of it, and she nods as though she read my mind. It doesn’t shock me that she can do that.
“Why?” I question again.
“You need your destined mates and I will wake their minds for you. Until they can help, you must distract her!” She takes my hands in hers. “Don’t let her break you. Please save my titans. We need you, Princess Izora Dawn.”
“Princes
s?”
I wake up with a jolt, realising I’m not on the hospital bed anymore. I’m standing in a line with numerous other Light Fae, all dressed in prison uniforms. They each carry swords that are the exact same white metal with a silver handle. I nearly drop the sword in my hand when I look behind me and see the endless rows of prisoners standing in the common area, silently waiting.
“What the fuck?” I whisper to myself, noticing the strange white film glazing their eyes.
Dark, dark magic stings the air around me, and around all the others. The kind of I have never once sensed before and immediately I fear. I must have been under the same spell as them, and that’s why Kaelah told me to wake up. I don’t know how I got here, but I need to find my guys, Sage, and Memphis, and then get the hell out of here.
Eva’s laugh drifts to my ears and I duck under the prisoner’s wings in front of me, coming out to the front of the rows of prisons. A large portal, shimmering with dark magic, takes up the wall and in front of it is Eva in her full princess gear, looking like a psychopath in pretty clothes that do little to mask her darkened soul. Next to her is Ronan, dressed like a prince in full uniform and with deadly weapons at his side. His dark wings don’t suit him and being fae has not made him any less an asshole. He sees me first, a dark smirk stretching across his lips as he leans closer to Eva, whispering in her ear.
Her narrowed gaze falls on me and the smile she had melts away. “Of course you would resist the spell. I told your foolish mother you wouldn’t be so easy to control like my other warriors. She is so desperate for me to accept you, for my father to accept you, that she would do anything, even defy me.”
“What the fuck are you talking about?” I walk right up to her, a steady grip on my sword.
Her eyes flicker to the weapon and then back to me. A grin curls the edges of the lips. “I’ve been trained my entire life to fighting scum like you. I’m the crown princess of Helios. Do you really think you stand a chance?”
“Come at me then, princess. Someone needs to put you in your place in this prison,” I answer, knowing that I’m going down with a fight. I still remember Kaelah in my dreams…and if she is right, my guys will be backing me up soon. Then we can jump through that portal and get the hell out of here. Eva gives a dramatic sigh as Ronan hands her a sword and bows. I make sure his eyes lock on mine as I point the tip of my sword in his direction.
“I know what you did to Corvina and you’re next!”
For a moment he turns a little pale around the gills, but Eva just laughs, almost sounding sweet.
“How funny it is that you both met and bonded at Shadowborn Academy,” she says, her smile turning into a sneer. “You don’t even know who you are to each other.”
She uses my moment of confusion to attack me but I’m quick, blocking her hit and shoving her a distance away. We circle each other as she spins her sword in her hand in a fancy way that I’m sure is meant to impress someone. It just makes me want to beat her even more.
“Friends?” I answer with a smile. “Something I’m positive you have no experience in having.”
Eva charges, our swords meet in the air. I have to give it to her; she has the skills and the strength needed to hold a sword. The second we are close enough, I elbow her hard in her face and she screams, stumbling back and holding her bloody nose. Unfortunately, she’s fae, which means she’ll heal quickly. But I take more pleasure from seeing her bleed.
The psycho bitch deserves it.
“That is not how to properly fight,” she shouts at me, looking close to having a tantrum like a little kid. If this is what royal fae are made of, it’s a wonder they still rule.
A sword presses against my neck and I follow it down to see Ronan holding it.
“I guess we weren’t brought up the same,” I dryly reply. “In my world, this is a coward’s way to win a one-on-one fight.”
Eva laughs, though there’s nothing joyful about the sound. “If your mother had her way, you would have been brought up as my sister and played the same games as me to get attention.”
I freeze at her words, wanting to believe she is making it up, but fragments of my life that long confused me click into place. Eva seems to register this from my expression alone.
“Dear sister, you look…shocked.”
“NO!” my mother screams, running out from behind Eva. Before she reaches me, Eva turns swiftly and slams her sword into my mother’s stomach.
A strangled cry tears from my throat and Ronan chuckles before releasing me. I run over to my mother as she falls on her side, the sword still embedded in her flesh. All I can hear is Eva’s laugh as I numbly pick up my mother’s head and rest her on my knees. I can’t heal her, not in here.
“What do I do?” Tears leak from my eyes as I whisper the question. They splash onto my hand that is cupping my mother’s cheek. “Mum…”
She takes a struggling breath before parting her lips. “You are a princess… Izora Dawn… created on a night of light and born at first dawn. Your father wanted you safe so… so he forced me to hide you.” She coughs, blood splattering from her mouth, and I can’t help the sob that escapes from me.
“I don’t care who I am,” I whisper brokenly, my vision clouded with tears. “I only care that I’m losing you.”
Even in spite of everything she did, I don’t want my mother to die.
“You are everything the light fae kingdom needs. Everything, Izora, my sweet girl.” She lifts her hand, covering my own on her cheek. “I’m sorry I lied, but I am not sorry for your creation. You will do the most amazing things…I love yo-u-u.”
My choked back sobs burst into screams when her hand falls from my own and her head rolls to the side. I scream even as Ronan locks my hands in cuffs and pulls me to Eva’s side. I only stop when we are right in front of the portal and my throat is so sore that it hurts to breathe let alone swallow.
Eva tucks a strand of hair behind my ear and then tilts my head, forcing me to look at it. “Are you ready to see our father, little princess?”
I yank my head away from her and peel my lips back into a snarl. “By Selena, you will pay for this, Eva. You will die for this!”
Her laugh is all I hear as she drags me through the portal and into the world of the light fae I’ve been hidden from my entire life.
The first thing I see is more light. Thousands of crystals gleam and shimmer around me, dazzling my line of sight. I squint my eyes against them and sweep my gaze around the hall.
Light fae guards, covered in blood-stained gold armor, litter the floor around me like dolls in a dollhouse. But this isn’t some game. Their blood trickles down a set of double doors made entirely of glass and as the light reflects through them, the room is almost smothered in pretty shades of pink light.
I can’t see through the doors from the amount of blood splatters that decorates them and nothing but fear chokes me.
Eva tightens her grip and I thrash in her arms, her painful touch dragging me from my stupor as her nails dig into my skin, no doubt making me bleed.
“Let me go, you crazy bitch!”
“Ronan, be a dear and restrain my sister,” Eva commands, her fingernails slicing into my shoulder deeper.
Ronan shifts to my side and handcuffs me in two impossibly swift movements.
I yank myself from Eva’s hold, causing my metal handcuffs to clang together. The most terrifying thing is that I can’t move my wings. It’s like the handcuffs are suppressing them.
Anger flares through me in waves. “I’m not your fucking sister,” I scream at her, my voice bouncing off the crystal walls. “And if you’ve brought me here to play happy family with you, you’re even more psychotic than I thought.”
An amused smile slides over her lips. “Happy family? Why in the name of Danica would I wish to do that?” She steps closer, bringing her nose inches from mine, and holds up a blood-stained dagger. “You mean nothing to me because you are nothing. Yes, we may share the same father, but I, unlike yo
u, am the future ruler of this kingdom. A pureblood royal destined for greatness while you are merely destined for weakness. So be a good little girl, Izora, and keep that pretty mouth of yours shut or I will gladly shut it for you.”
“Now, isn’t this a touching moment?”
I don’t look away from Eva at the sound of an unfamiliar female voice. However, in the corner of my eye, a dark figure emerges, and she isn’t alone. A pack of black wolves walk closely beside her, their snarls and gnashing teeth echoing around the hall. It’s only when I hear them do I look away, and the blood drains from my face when my gaze lands on the Dark Fae Queen. Her plum dress trails the ground at her feet as she glides forward, the jewelry adorning her body glinting in the crystal lights.
There’s a white wolf among the pack with piercing blue eyes. I instantly realise it’s the wolf from the prison mess hall. It’s got to be that one. A laugh escapes me when I realise that I was right: Eva was copying the Dark Fae Queen all along. Even now, she wears a similar shade of purple and her eyes are nearly black like Narah’s.
The Dark Fae queen stops beside us, but she doesn’t so much as look my way. “The dagger,” she says, holding out a pale hand.
Eva extends the weapon and Narah holds it up to inspect it. The blood on the blade looks fresh, making my stomach churn with dread. I hope Eva didn’t use it to torture Sage again. Or any of my guys. Where are they?
“It appears you were successful,” Narah says, a tinge of surprise lacing her dark tone. “The Sacred Stone has blessed this weapon, which means we can put an end to him.”
Eva frowns, almost like she’s displeased by her praise. “I also unleashed the Titans. They are awaking as we speak. Not only was I successful, but victorious.”
My pulse spikes at the words. Eva did it. She actually managed to release the Titans and I don’t really even know what they are yet. Either way, they can’t be good if they want to use them to take over the enchanted forest.