Except deep down, he knew it wasn’t some biological compulsion drawing him to her, it was his soul.
Shit.
He had no idea what he was going to do.
She squeezed his hand and raised an eyebrow. He hadn’t answered her question.
Finish the job.
Ensure her freedom.
It was the only thing he could do.
He tightened his grip on her hand and said his words of power. Magic flooded into the empty part of his soul where he formed the relocation spell, and the world twisted around them.
The inside entrance of Warren’s cave materialized, and the electric surge of being so close to a wild magic fissure crackled around them, similar to the connection he felt with Riley except on a larger scale — giving more evidence that he and Riley together made a complete fae soul.
Riley gasped and her grip on his hand tightened. “Is that—?”
“Wild magic.”
“But the Sibyl’s hut never felt like this.”
“That’s because she channels all the wild magic and turns it into her hut and garden. It’s the deal she made with the Golden King to protect the rest of the fae in the Golden Court.” He checked the forest beyond the mouth of the cave — not because he expected anyone or any kind of trap, just because it was habit. “But there’s more than one fissure in the shadow realm. No one fae can manipulate that much wild magic and very few shadow fae are willing to fully embrace it.”
“But the temptation? All this power?”
He turned his attention to the rough rock passage deeper into the cave and peered into the darkness. “Are you tempted?”
“No, but if I stay here long enough, I might be.”
He gave her hand a gentle tug, indicating he wanted to head deeper into the cave but didn’t let her go. Couldn’t let her go. “You might. But if you can resist my charm, your willpower is more than strong enough, so you won’t. Those few who can’t resist succumb and usually burn up.”
“And those who don’t burn up?” she asked, matching his easy walk deeper into the cave.
“They’re dealt with.”
“But if everyone else resists, then how do you explain the darkness and wildness of shadow fae?”
“There’s a difference between having the wild magic passively change you and drawing all that magic in. Remember, this was originally the realm of misfits and outcasts, anyone who didn’t conform to the first Golden King’s ideals. A lot of fae here just don’t subscribe to Golden Court propriety.”
“And your friend? How much magic does he draw in?”
“You mean is he as crazy as the Sibyl?” The rough rock walls, floor, and ceiling of the cave turned to smooth, steel panels with bands of lights running along the center of the ceiling for illumination. The iron was just the first of Warren’s many precautions protecting his lair — there really wasn’t a better word for Warren’s residence — and Couper was certain he only knew a fraction of the traps.
“I just want to know what to expect.”
“Not that crazy old lady,” Warren said from the end of the hall. He stood with his arms crossed over his body-builder perfect chest, his blue eyes glowing with a hint of wild magic, and his gaze locked on Couper and Riley’s joined hands.
Riley’s grip tightened on Couper’s hand, and her body stiffened — not enough for Warren to see from the end of the hall, but enough to surprise Couper. Wariness wasn’t usually the reaction the beautiful, blond-haired, blue-eyed high fae received. But then, Riley lived in the Golden Court where beauty meant danger.
And if Warren thought there was something going on between him and Riley, he could use that information to endanger her before Couper could get her out of the Golden Court.
Couper slipped his hand from hers and strode the rest of the way to Warren. “Aren’t you supposed to be doing your techno-magic? We don’t have a lot of time.”
“And I don’t work for free.”
“When have I ever not paid you?” He held up his cloth bag with a double payment of cheese curls and canned soda. The techno-fae hadn’t asked for double, but this job had been more complicated than usual — and that had been before Couper had realized Riley was his other half. Now he was planning to disobey his king’s order to get the Seal to protect her and Warren would freak out when he learned he’d been complicit in that. The techno-fae, like the Golden Court Sibyl, lived on the goodwill of his king.
“I also don’t need to be at my command station to get the job done.” Warren took the bag and his eyes narrowed. “This is too heavy for the usual.”
“This is the third time I’ve asked for something this assignment. I thought a double payment might be appropriate.”
“And that’s why I love working with you.” Warren turned to the closed steel door behind him and entered a long code into the electric lock’s keypad. The door beeped then clicked, and Warren threw it open with a hiss as his fae flesh made contact with the iron door handle.
Riley raised her eyebrows. Yeah, Couper had thought the iron handle was weird when he’d first met Warren. But beyond that door was one of the largest fissures in the shadow realm and an astounding cache of stolen human technology, magically enhanced to channel all that wild magic seeping into the realm.
Her gaze jumped into the room, and her eyes grew wide.
He was pretty sure he’d looked like that, too, the first time he’d seen Warren’s command station. It was kind of a ridiculous name, but the space was filled with servers and monitors and wires. Lights blinked and fans whirred, and the crackle of wild magic made him want to jump out of his skin.
“What is this?” she asked without moving from the doorway.
“Genius at work.” Warren flashed a devilish grin, revealing a hint of his elongated canines, and his aura flared.
Couper’s heart skipped a beat. Warren was trying — whether instinctually or not — to charm Riley.
But she rolled her eyes at him. “Couper’s charm is stronger.”
Warren frowned. “So that means—?”
“We get back to business.” Couper jerked his chin at the top right monitor — one of many — where some kind of text or code or something was racing over the screen.
Warren sighed and set the bag with his payment on the edge of his desk. “They usually like that.”
“With your looks, I’m sure they do. But that’s not why we’re here,” Riley said.
“The both of you are no fun.”
“We’re on a bit of a deadline.” Riley inched out of the doorway but didn’t get any closer to Warren or his equipment. “Unless, of course, you don’t want the Transition and Binding Ceremony to happen?”
“Nope.” Warren slid into his padded leather desk chair and turned to his computers. “The Seal and ceremony were the best things that happen to the Shadow Court.”
“Do you think that’s why the Seal was stolen?” Couper asked. He’d been trying to figure out the who and why since the theft had happened and still didn’t have any answers.
“I have no idea. The Shadow King is going to receive it in less than ten hours. It doesn’t make sense he’d steal it.” The wild magic in the room flared and snapped. Riley jumped and hugged herself. “And if he did, he wouldn’t have sent you after the thief to retrieve it.”
“Unless you being around at the handoff ruined Mr. Shadow Fae Bounty Hunter’s plans here,” Warren said, typing with his usual impossibly fast speed.
“I wasn’t in that courtyard for the handoff.” And Couper was going to punch Warren for even suggesting that to Riley.
“I know you weren’t. The thief wouldn’t have run the moment he saw you.” Riley shifted closer to him, but he wasn’t certain if she was aware of the action or not. “The Seal increases a king’s ability to manipulate magic. It was intended to be used to control the realms and the most powerful fairy rings to the human realm, but it’s not just restricted to that.”
Warren snorted. “Yeah, it clearly doesn’t c
ontrol all the fairy rings or you would be out of a job.”
Which was true. Some fae still managed to slip into the human realm, but not nearly as many as before, since most law-abiding fae weren’t willing to risk the king’s wrath to satisfy their curiosity about humans.
“So anyone could want the Seal,” Couper said. That didn’t narrow down the suspects for whoever had hired the thief or where to find him.
“Who wouldn’t want the Shadow King to have the Seal?” Riley asked.
Warren snorted. “Everyone.”
“Also not helpful,” Couper said.
“So anyone could want to stop the ceremony tomorrow and anyone could want the power possessing the Seal gives them,” Riley said. “I feel like I’m thinking in circles.”
“You are.” Warren hit the return button and more unintelligible text swept across the screen in front of him.
Riley glared at him. “Thanks. Why are we here again? Isn’t he supposed to be helpful or something?”
“He usually is.” But if whoever hired the thief to steal the Seal was powerful enough, not even Warren would be able to find them.
“I am helpful.” Warren typed something else into his computer and the wild magic in the room surged. Energy crackled over Couper’s skin and Warren’s aura flared brighter. “My algorithms have been running since I gave you that address to the apartment building. There’s nothing on this thief, no idea if he’s golden or shadow—”
“I thought he was shadow, but now I’m not so sure,” Riley said. “Some golden fae have a darker aura, and I never got a good look at his teeth.”
“I also can’t seem to track his movements from the Golden King’s vault or after you got to the apartment building.”
“Just great.” Couper bit back a growl. They weren’t any further ahead than they were before. No motivation. No identity for the thief. And no idea who could be behind it.
The text on one of the screens stopped and a line at the bottom flashed.
Warren jerked to his feet and the wild magic snapped with flickers of light over the equipment. “Are you kidding me?”
The text on the other screen stopped and flashed as well.
“No,” Warren hissed.
The magic around them flared stronger. Spears of lightning shot through the room, crashing against the steel walls and ceiling and showering down sparks.
“There has to be something. There’s always something.” Warren dropped back into his chair and began typing. Magic roared around his hands. Sparks snapped from the keyboard and a full magical electric storm erupted around them. The force ripped at Couper’s clothes and whipped Riley’s hair out of its ponytail.
“There has to be something,” Warren screamed. Lightning danced over him and his equipment with searing brightness.
“Warren, stop,” Couper yelled. If he didn’t release the wild magic, he was going to burn up. “It’s not worth it.”
“There’s always something.” Warren glared at him, lightning snapping from his eyes. “Always!”
“But you’ll burn up. It’s not worth your life.”
Lightning exploded against the ceiling and showered them with more sparks. Couper jerked forward to grab him, shake him, God, somehow force him to release the wild magic.
Riley grabbed his arm and wrenched his back. “It’s too dangerous. If you can’t channel all that magic, you’ll burn up first.”
“I can channel some.”
“But that much?”
Very few could, and every fae knew that. But damn it, if Couper hadn’t asked Warren to find the thief, he might not be out of control now.
“There’s something,” Warren hissed. “Always something and I will find it.” Smoke whirled into the vortex of power, billowing from his skin and flecks of flesh on his face and hands blackened and peeled away. The force of the wind yanked the bag of cheese curls and soda cans into the air and pulled cables free from the equipment, but the computers kept working, now fully powered by magic.
“Warren.” If they couldn’t get him to stop, Couper had to get Riley out of there.
One of the soda cans slammed into the ceiling, exploded, and showered Warren. The lightning stuttered, and the monitors flickered off for a second before the wild magic surged and flooded the room again.
“If we shock him enough, we might be able to weaken his connection to the magic.” Riley seized a soda can from the whirlwind, shoved it into her pocket, and grabbed another one. “I can channel a little. How much can you?”
“No.” They weren’t doing this. “I won’t let you risk your life.”
“You don’t have a say in what I can and can’t do.”
A bag of cheese curls hit the side of his head and careened higher into the room. Warren screamed, and one of his monitors exploded, unable to withstand the power of the wild magic. The techno-fae’s skin glowed, and his hands were completely blackened and red.
“He lost connection for a second when the soda hit him. We do that again and siphon off the rest.” She shook her can, leapt toward Warren, and cracked the seal before Couper could stop her.
He grabbed for a can whizzing past him but missed.
Riley’s soda doused Warren and the whirlwind stuttered.
The flying can crashed to the floor, out of reach, and there weren’t any others nearby.
Riley opened her second can and sprayed Warren before he could regain his connection with the wild magic, and — holy hell he was actually going to do it — Couper lunged at Warren and punched him. Hard. In the face.
The techno-fae’s head snapped back. He gasped, and the wild magic swept around them. Riley grabbed Warren’s shoulder. The magic’s lightning swept into her and exploded into the floor. She screamed then clenched her jaw.
Couper captured Warren’s face between his palms, and the wild magic slammed into him. It stole his breath and threatened to crush him, but he seized it in a mental vise and shoved it in the ground dispersing it into the shadow realm.
Fire roared within him, threatening to burn him up, too. Never in his life had he channeled so much wild magic. It filled the empty place in his soul beyond agonizing capacity, until all he could do was howl and pray he’d survive.
Warren wailed. Couper could feel him magically grasping for more magic, but Riley kept yanking it from his hold and channeling it through her and Couper away from him.
The whirlwind gasped, flared with an explosion of electricity on the floor, then vanished.
Warren sagged forward in his chair, blood oozing from his burned face and hands. Riley staggered back, her arms tight around her. Her eyes glowed with magic and for a second he’d thought he’d lost her, the wild magic having consumed the space in her soul as well as her soul.
Warren moaned, and Riley blinked, the full sense of herself returning to her eyes.
Thank the Lord and Lady.
“Are you okay?” he asked.
“Let’s just say all this wild magic in the shadow realm is no longer a temptation.” A hint of lightning crackled over her skin making her jump. “I’m never doing that again.”
“And you?” Couper turned to Warren, his hands still capturing the techno-fae’s face.
“I’m fucking pissed.” Warren winced then gasped. “And holy shit that hurt.”
“Well if we hadn’t stopped you, you would have burned up,” Riley said.
“Not at that. Shit, Couper—”
Warren’s eyes rolled back as if the fae was going to pass out, and Couper drew a hint of magic into his soul and sent his healing power into him. The fact that his magic was proper healing and not just self-regeneration was something he didn’t like to share with anyone, but Warren was a friend — as much as Couper was friends with anyone — and he wasn’t going to leave him in agony if he could help it.
Warren’s eyes widened. “Couper, you can—” His gaze jumped to Riley. “I— I didn’t know you could channel that much wild magic.”
Couper shrugged, not certain what
it meant that Warren wasn’t sharing with Riley that Couper was a mystic healer. “Riley helped.”
“And I didn’t know a half-human could channel any wild magic. You learn something new every day.” Werner pulled away from Couper before it became obvious that Couper was healing him. Again, something the techno-fae didn’t need to do. He glanced at his command station, the screens black and smoke curling around everything. “Fuck. What the hell have you gotten into?”
Riley stiffened. “Gotten into?”
“Yeah. That wasn’t me losing control. I don’t lose control,” Warren said. “That was a trap. Someone set a trap on the time threads around the thief. A trap that hadn’t been there the last time I went looking for that thief.”
The pit in Couper’s stomach deepened and filled with ice. “You mean whoever hired the thief is a full wild mage?” That was a whole new level of dangerous. Full wild mages who hadn’t burned up or been killed by the Shadow King’s bounty hunters were rare, unpredictable, and deadly.
“I don’t know about the thief’s boss, but that was a wild magic trap, and if you hadn’t been here, I’d be crispy bits all over this room.” Warren shifted as if he wanted to stand, groaned, and stayed seated. “You need to drop this assignment. Tell the Shadow King just before the Transition and Binding Ceremony you lost the thief’s trail. He’ll be pissed but at least you’ll still be alive.”
Except Riley wouldn’t win her freedom.
Riley squared her shoulders. “That’s not an option.”
“You can lie to the Golden King,” Warren said. “He’s an asshole, but he can’t cast a truth spell.”
“No. I can’t. The ceremony has to happen. I can’t let a wild mage possess the Seal. That would be trouble for both our realms.” She glanced at Couper, a hint of wild magic still flickering in her eyes. “We have to go to the Gray Gargoyle.”
“It’s a trap,” he said, his fear making his voice gruff.
Her expression turned fierce. “Set by a wild mage.”
“You guys are insane,” Warren said.
But if they wanted to ensure the balance between the Golden and Shadow Courts and, more importantly, if they wanted Riley free from the Golden King, they had to go.
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