BRAVE ~ Jennifer L. Armentrout

by Jennifer L. Armentrout

  Wait. Was Drake—?

  The Queen’s gaze flicked to me. “Look at you. I must say, the changes are an improvement. But not much.” Those icy eyes found Ren. “And you? You’re still as yummy as I remember.”

  Potent fury swept through me. “You know what I remember? Gouging your eyes out.”

  Her bloody smile spread. “Yes, I remember that too, and I do plan on repaying that favor very, very soon, but we still need you alive for the time being.”

  I stiffened as my hand tightened on the iron dagger. “There was never a halfling here, was there?”

  “No, you silly little bitch. Perhaps there might be one here.” She lifted a shoulder in an oddly dainty shrug. “I have no idea. You went into hiding and we needed to draw you out.” The Queen laughed when Ren cursed under his breath. “After all, do you think we would’ve been so obvious about our moves?”

  I knew it.

  Dammit, I knew it.

  We’d all been played, and we should’ve known better. Now we were trapped here, all of us, with Drake or whoever he was, and a damn Queen.

  “Why San Diego?” Liz demanded. “Why here?”

  “Because it has the largest number of Order members. No other city has more in one location,” Daniel answered. “You take out the San Diego branch, it will have a crippling ripple effect.”

  It happened so fast.

  Several Order members stepped forward, brandishing their iron daggers. Kalen shouted a warning, but it was too late. They gripped the shoulders of other members as they dragged the blade across their throats.

  Horror seized me as I spun around to see Daniel drag a blade along Liz’s throat. “No!” I screamed, and I didn’t even know why. It was too late.

  Liz’s hands flew to her throat, trying to stanch the flow of blood as she stumbled and then dropped to her knees. Only a handful of seconds had passed and then she joined the other Order members on the floor.

  My wide gaze swung to Daniel as my heart broke. I couldn’t believe it. Daniel had betrayed us—all of us. My mouth opened, but I didn’t have words as I stared at the man who was the closest thing to a father to me. This was like Val all over again, but worse, so much worse.

  “Son of a bitch,” croaked Miles, and for the first time in my life, I saw real emotion in his face as he stared at Daniel in horror and disbelief. “How? How could you do this?”

  “Because this is a war we will not win.” Daniel wiped his blade on his pants, cleaning it of blood. His gaze found mine. “Did you never once question why I was so accepting of what you had become? Or what you did to Kyle? I knew he’d gone after you. And I knew that one or both of you would kill him.”

  The next breath I took got stuck. I’d questioned it. We both did, but we wanted hope. Stupid. We’d all been so damn stupid.

  “Right now, all across the city, Order members will be meeting the same fate. And back in New Orleans? The same, according to plan. But what I didn’t plan on was a brownie.” The Queen’s lips curled, baring razor-sharp teeth. “Where is it?”

  Drawing in a shallow breath, I pushed aside everything with Daniel and met her gaze head-on. I’d have to deal with that fresh betrayal later—if there was a later. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  “Okay. You want to play a game. I love games.” She clasped her hands together. “This is a game I like to call, kill everyone. Except you. I still need you, but the rest are about to die.” Her gaze found Faye. “Starting with you.”

  Faye’s chest rose with a sharp breath, but she held her ground as Kalen stepped to stand next to her.

  “Or maybe not you.” The Queen drifted forward. “Maybe him.”

  My heart lurched. She was staring at Ren. “If you touch one hair on his head, you’ll regret it.”

  “Somehow I doubt that.” She moved faster than I could track. A second later she was standing behind Ren, her long fingers encircling his neck. “Do you like this game, Ivy?”

  Ren’s jaw locked down as he held very still, meeting my gaze. My heart was pounding fast, too fast as I lifted the dagger to my own throat. I didn’t hesitate. Not for a second. “If you hurt him, I will slit my own throat and then you’ll really have to find another halfling. How do you like that game?”

  Her lips thinned as she tilted her head to the side. “You’d kill yourself to save him?”

  “In a heartbeat.”

  “Ivy,” Ren gasped out.

  Disbelief crowded her face. “You wouldn’t—”

  The sound of plastic wheels gliding over wood floors drew all of our attention toward the door. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing at first. I blinked, thinking I had to be seeing things, but my eyes weren’t lying to me.

  Tink’s suitcase rolled across the floor, sliding past the Prince and stopping just short of Fabian. Then Tink zoomed into the room, flying as fast as a little missile, toward the suitcase. Gripping the zipper in his tiny hands, he dragged it along the seam. One side of the suitcase swung open and hundreds of troll dolls spilled out, scattering over the floor in a sea of neon blue and hot pink hair.

  “What the . . . ?” I stumbled back a step.

  The Queen cocked her head to the side as she held Ren.

  Everyone stared, because there were hundreds of troll dolls rolling across the floor, through blood, and yeah, it was really bizarre.

  Flying forward, Tink hovered above his sea of troll dolls and lifted his arms. “Rise up, my little babies.”

  The dolls trembled on the floor and then shook. All of them. Their little plastic bodies rocking, and then their bodies . . . weren’t plastic anymore. Their legs bent. Their arms moved. Their heads turned, and their eyes were the palest blue, like all creatures from the Otherworld.

  I had no words.

  The troll dolls rose onto their stubby legs. Their mouths opened and a high keening screech erupted from them, raising the tiny hairs all along my arms.

  Well, I was going to have a life’s worth of nightmares because of this.

  “Holy crap,” I whispered. “Instead of being the Night King, he’s the Troll King.”

  The dolls’ heads turned toward the Queen.

  Letting out a shriek of rage, the Queen threw Ren aside, sending him sliding several feet across the floor. He went down on one knee as I shot to his side, grabbing his hand and hauling him up.

  “We need to get out of here,” he said, his wide eyes on the dolls. “Now.”

  “Agreed.”

  Holding tight to his hand, I shouted for Tink as the dolls stomped across the floor, racing toward the Queen. Tink flew to my shoulder as I spun toward Faye and Kalen. The male fae met my gaze and nodded.

  The dolls reached the Queen, their little hands clutching at her dress. They climbed up her legs, dozens of them.

  She shrieked, plucking one off her thigh. Blood covered its little mouth. They bit? She crushed it in her hand as she screamed in rage. Dozens more were climbing up her, reaching her stomach, digging in with their hands and . . . mouths. The Knights started toward her, but were also overcome by dolls. They swallowed them whole, like a carpet of flesh-eating troll dolls.

  I was going to need therapy—years of therapy.

  Ren started toward the door and Tink hopped from my shoulder to his, but hands landed on my back, jerking me away from Ren. My hand slipped free as I was spun around. I came face to face with Daniel.

  “I can’t let you go,” he said, his grip digging in. “I’m sorry, Ivy.”

  I didn’t stop to think about what I was doing, but my chest ached and my eyes burned as my grip tightened on the dagger.

  “Daniel,” I said, my voice hoarse.

  His gaze met mine a second before I slammed the dagger deep into the center of his chest. Daniel’s mouth opened, but there were no words. None. I saw his eyes dull over.

  Exhaling roughly, I let go of the dagger as I blinked back hot tears. I jerked as another hand touched my arm. I turned to find Miles beside me. “We need to go,” he said. “
Now.”

  Unable to speak, I got my feet moving. We raced across the floor, our feet slipping and sliding in the blood. At the doorway, I realized Fabian wasn’t with us. He was standing in front of Drake, speaking too fast for me to understand.

  The Queen was in the center of the room, spinning as she sent evil troll dolls in every direction.

  Fabian picked up a fallen dagger. I stopped, heart somewhere in my throat. It was iron. It wouldn’t kill Drake at—

  Fabian didn’t stab the Winter Prince.

  He sliced open his own palm, drawing blood, and he lifted that bloodied palm, dragging it down the center of Drake’s face and pressing it against his mouth.

  The Winter Prince’s entire body jolted as what appeared to be a thousand fireflies surrounded him, encasing his entire body in a shimmering golden glow. Only a second or two passed and then the shimmering, dazzling lights receded.

  The Winter Prince stood there, his luminous blue eyes wide and unseeing. It was like a layer of darkness seeped off and slid away. Black hair gave way to golden. Shadows peeled away from the hollows of his cheeks. His features were the same, but he was not of the Winter Court. He was . . .

  What in the holy fu—?

  “Ivy!” Ren was once again at my side.

  “Look,” I whispered. “Look at him.”

  Ren followed my gaze. “What the hell?”

  The Prince fell back a step, his wide gaze darting over Fabian and us. His stare met mine, and his entire face contorted as if he were in pain.

  I bumped into Ren as the Prince whipped around and let out a sound that was as terrifying as it was inhuman and primitive. The smell of burnt ozone filled the air as a blast of potent energy rolled across the floor. It hit the Knights first.

  They burst into nothing, disintegrating on the spot.

  Skin peeled off the Order members that had betrayed us. Their bones were crushed into dust. The impact was so intense that it burnt their shadows into the floor.

  Still flinging off the troll dolls, the Queen spun toward the Prince. Her eyes widened with shock, and then the energy slammed into her. She and the dolls flew off their feet and backward. The Queen hit the wall . . . and crashed through it.

  “I think we need to go.” Ren grabbed my arm and started backing up. “Like for real.”

  Pulling my gaze away from the bizarre scene, I turned and ran down the hall, catching up with the rest of the group.

  “What about Fabian?” Tink demanded as the patio doors came into view.

  “Forget him,” Ren responded.

  “What?” Tink launched himself off Ren’s shoulder.

  “Oh, hell no.” I snatched Tink out of mid-air, wrapping my hands around his waist. “You are not going back there.”

  “But—”

  “No.” I held tight to Tink as we burst out onto the patio. “And don’t you dare bite me or change forms.”

  Tink’s face fell, and I ignored it as I ran across the parking lot. Kalen already had the keys out as he ran to the driver’s door. Faye climbed into the front seat as Miles climbed in, heading for the second row. Ren got in and twisted toward me, reaching out a hand. His gaze flicked over my head.

  “What the hell?” he demanded, starting to make his way back out.

  I turned and my mouth dropped open.

  Fabian stormed through the doors, and with him was Drake, his face still bloody. “What the hell are you doing?” I reached for my dagger, but realized I had none left. “What are you doing with Drake?”

  “This isn’t Drake.” Fabian held on to the Prince’s arm.

  “Bullshit! I know who he is even with the lighter hair.”

  “You’re wrong.”

  “Fabian, that is the Winter Prince.” Faye had rolled down the window. “I saw him every day. That is Drake.”

  The Winter Prince squinted, shielding his eyes as he swayed unsteadily on his feet. “I am . . .” He trailed off, flinching as if something or someone had gotten near his face.

  “That is not the Winter Prince.” Tink beat at my fist. “I’ve seen him before, Ivy. I know what Drake looks like. I saw him in the Otherworld, remember?”

  Confused, I shook my head.

  “We need to go,” Kalen warned. “We need to get the hell out of here.”

  “Let us in,” Fabian demanded.

  “No fucking way.” Ren pushed me into the seat. “I’m going to kill that son of a bitch. I don’t care if he looks like Beach Prince right now.”

  Ren was out of the SUV before I knew what he was doing. In a heartbeat, his fist slammed into the Prince’s jaw, snapping his head back. I shot forward, fear a bitter taste in the back of my throat. The Prince would—

  The Prince slowly turned his head back to Ren. His lip was split. He didn’t raise his hands or anything as Ren’s fist snaked out again, catching him under the chin, knocking his head back.

  “Stop!” shouted Tink. “You need to stop, Ren!”

  Ren cocked his arm back again, but Fabian caught his fist. “Hit him again, and I will make sure there is nothing left of you.”

  I snatched the back of Ren’s shirt with my free hand and tugged him back. He didn’t budge, not until I wrapped my arm around his waist. “That’s enough.”

  “No.” Ren shook his head. “That is not nearly enough.”

  “He’s not Drake! Look at him. He’s different,” Tink shouted, and then the little bastard sunk his teeth into my hand.

  “Ouch!” I let go, drawing my hand back and shaking the sting out. Tink flew out of the car, toward the Prince’s shoulder. “We don’t have time for this, Tink. Get away from—”

  “If you don’t let both of them into this car, I’m not coming!”

  I gaped at the damn brownie. “Are you out of your mind?”

  “Are you?” Tink shot back.

  “This is not Drake,” Fabian said, his voice sounding broken. “This is my brother.”

  Chapter 31

  The ride back to Del Mar was . . . awkward and tense.

  It probably had to do with the fact that the Prince who kidnapped Ren and me, who had tried to seduce me to bring about a fae apocalypse, and was all-around murderous and psychotic, was sitting in the back seat of the SUV, silent and staring out the window.

  Between that, the armies of troll dolls, the betrayal of Daniel, and the appearance of the Queen, it was officially the worst Monday ever.

  Ren practically sat facing the back seat the entire ride to the house. So did Miles, and I did the same.

  There was something wrong with the Prince.

  He didn’t speak. He didn’t look at any of us. He didn’t even respond to any of the terse comments about him. He just sat there, and I couldn’t believe I was in a car with him and not trying to murder him.

  “He was under an enchantment,” Fabian explained, staring at Drake. It was clear they were brothers. I’d seen the similarity before and now, with the change in the hair color, it was obvious. “We believed that he died in the Great War with the Winter Court. I saw him go down, and I couldn’t get to him. Queen Morgana took his body. We thought she did so to refuse us our burial tradition. Now I know. She placed him under her spell.”

  And now we knew what Queen we were dealing with. Of course, it had to be the one who was the boogeyman of all the fae. Great. Just our freaking luck.

  “So, are you saying he’s not responsible for any of his actions because he was under a spell?” Ren demanded.

  “Yes.” Fabian looked at Ren. “That is exactly what I’m saying.”

  “Bullshit,” he growled. “That bastard—”

  “Was under her spell,” Fabian cut in. “Just like a human would be under a glamour. It is a powerful enchantment that only a King or Queen can do. One that is forbidden.”

  Ren leaned toward the back of the seat. “I. Don’t. Care.”

  “I know it’s hard to accept. I’m having a hard time accepting it, too. Trust me,” Faye said, having twisted around in her seat. “But when one
of our kind is under an enchantment, we cannot control what we do. It would be the same for a mortal.”

  Miles stiffened. “He killed scores of our members, either by his own hands or on his order.”

  “And the man you answered to betrayed all of us and his own men,” Faye reminded him.

  I squeezed my eyes shut against the truth of those words. I couldn’t even think about what Daniel had done or that I had ended him.

  Miles didn’t respond to that, because what could he say? I opened my eyes. “It’s not the same thing, though. We didn’t know what Daniel was doing or how long he was doing it. We know what he was doing.”

  “But it’s not him.” Tink landed on the back of our seat. “It wasn’t who he really is. You saw what he did when he came out of the enchantment. He put Queen Bitch through a wall.”

  “I. Don’t. Care.”

  “This is bullshit,” Ren muttered.

  “Let me guess. He has no memory of all the horrible shit he’s done?” I demanded.

  The Prince’s head slowly turned, and his eyes met mine. “I remember everything I’ve done. Everything.”

  I sucked in a sharp breath as a shiver danced over my skin. He didn’t . . . he sounded like the Prince I knew, but at the same time, he didn’t. He returned to staring out the window.

  “It changes nothing,” Ren said.

  “It changes everything,” Fabian replied. “You’ll see. Give him time. You’ll understand.”

  Ren’s laugh was harsh. “This is unbelievable.”

  It really was. All of it, but here we were, and I needed a distraction, because I wanted to whip that thorn stake out of Ren’s hand and slam it into the chest of that bastard, enchantment or not.

  My gaze shifted to Tink. “You going to explain about the troll dolls?”

  He sighed as he walked across the back of our seat, kicking at something none of us could see. “I hate leaving them there. They’re my babies.”

  Babies? They were the stuff of nightmares. “How did you make them move?” I thought about the times I’d find them around the apartment. “Were they always capable of that?”

  “Well, I take a drop of my blood and mix it in their hair, so I can reanimate them.”

  My eyes widened.