Except for some of them, of course. Some were just evil, but that had nothing to do with the kind of fae they were. Bree had quickly learned that there are evil beings in every realm, as well as good ones. Humans, Light Fae, Dark Fae. There are good and bad amongst them all.
A fae shoved past Bree on his way to the buffet full of a million different kinds of drinks, meats, and vegetables. Dagen had really pulled together an impressive feast for the celebration, but all of it would be for nothing now that an attack was imminent. And she needed to find him or Rafe before it was too late.
A head of thick silver hair bobbed through the crowd that surrounded the musicians who were playing a lighthearted version of the Song of the Moon Tree. The fae were all swaying to the beat, laughing and clinking their drinks as they whooped in happiness. Rafe was amongst them, looking far more relaxed than Bree had ever seen him. It made her heart hurt. His life had been just as dangerous and terror-filled as hers had been these past few weeks. She’d rarely seen him let go. It was only in those moments, those stolen ones they spent together with no one else around but each other.
And she missed that. Things had been so chaotic since the coronation that they’d rarely had a moment spent alone. And, deep down inside, she knew that things could only get worse after tonight, especially if they were not able to stop the attack.
When Bree reached him, she placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. He whirled toward her with a smile, silver eyes lit up like a full moon’s sky.
“Bree,” he said, wrapping an arm around her back and pulling her close. “I have been looking for you everywhere. Where have you been? You are missing the celebration.”
She breathed him in, reveling in the scent of him. “Unfortunately, the celebration needs to end a little early. Fillan just showed up, Rafe. He warned me that someone plans to attack the Court tonight. Here. Now. During the ball.”
Rafe’s eyes slightly widened and he pulled back, dropping his hand away from her waist. “You have been speaking to Fillan? Again? I thought we warned you about the assassin. He is not to be trusted, Bree. Especially not about an attack on the Court.”
“I understand that, Rafe, but he’s the one who came to me.” She reached out and grabbed his hand, trying to pull him back toward her. “I know he’s not to be trusted, but we cannot ignore what he’s told me. If there truly is an attack here tonight, it would be on us if we did not do our best to get everyone to safety.”
Rafe’s lips pressed together into a thin line. “You are right, even if I do not like it. Did he say anything else? Any other information that can help us know what might be about to hit us?”
“No.” Bree held her breath, certain that Rafe would react just like Conlan and Branok had. But instead of laughing and handing her a wine glass, Rafe pulled her through the crowd, away from the dancing and singing fae.
“We need to find Dagen,” Rafe said. “He is a council member and the previous Hand of the King. The crowd will listen to him, and he has experience in this type of situation. In our recent history, there was more than one occasion when an angry, violent fae decided that he wanted to stage an assassination attempt on King Midas. If it wasn’t for Dagen, King Midas might not have survived as long as he did.”
Bree raised her eyebrows. “I thought that Midas was supposed to be the most powerful fae alive. Well, until he died, that is.”
“Yes, well.” Rafe lifted his eyebrows. “Even the strongest fae cannot survive everything, as was seen when Midas tried to go up against your old friend, Norah. Now, when was the last time you saw Dagen?”
Bree pursed her lips and glanced around. “Not since the celebration began. I ran into Eurig, and he took that half of the hall while I searched over here.”
“You told Eurig about this?” Rafe placed his hand on the sword hanging from his belt, curling his fingers tight around the golden hilt.
“I ran into him when I was looking for you. I didn’t really have much of a choice. Besides, maybe he can help us. He might be an ass, but he’s strong as hell, and most fae would not want to get in his way.” And that was putting it mildly. As much as Bree hated to admit it, Eurig was an impressive fighter. Hell, he didn’t even need training.
Rafe’s expression turned hard as he stared over Bree’s shoulder. Every single muscle in his body looked tense, as if he were on the verge of whipping his sword out at any moment. Bree stepped toward him, pressing a hand to his chest. She knew how he felt about the outposter, and she understood why. Eurig had questioned his authority from day one, and he probably would have let Rafe bleed out on the ground if it’d been up to him. But despite all that, Bree did not believe Eurig was against them. Not truly.
“Rafe, please don’t be angry at me for telling Eurig about this. We need all the help we can get.” She tried to catch his gaze, but his eyes were too focused on whatever stood behind her. Was he glaring at Eurig? Had they locked eyes across the room? Was this some strange show of masculinity? And how could she stop it? “Come on, Rafe. Right now, we have far more important things to worry about than what an outposter is up to.”
“Which is why that is not what I am concerned about.” Rafe slowly reached out and wrapped his hands around Bree’s wrists. He yanked hard, throwing her behind him in one fluid motion, just as he drew his sword.
“What’s wrong?” Bree whispered, whirling to face the oncoming attackers. But when she spun on her feet, nothing was there. A few fae had fallen to the ground near the double doors, and several others were clustered around them, faces dimmed with concern.
Bree’s heart thumped. Had some unseen attacker somehow snuck in and out without being spotted? Had they lost the chance to see who it was? And what had he done to those fae? They didn’t look as though they were wounded...
The fae who had gathered around the fallen suddenly collapsed to the floor, their eyes going wide and vacant in an instant. Bree clutched Rafe’s hand and hovered close to his side. She didn’t want him to charge into the fight, but he was out of her grasp before she could stop him. He raised his sword high in the air just as the crowd descended into chaos.
All around her, members of the Court fell to the ground. Fae after fae collapsed like mindless zombies. They didn’t cry out. They didn’t scream in fear. They merely fell without a sound until not a single fae was left standing.
The only one left was Bree.
Chapter 13
Bree
Bree stared across the Great Hall at the fallen fae, horror twisting her gut into knots. Every single fae in the massive space had collapsed onto the floor. Some were draped across the tables, across the benches, and across the stage where the musicians had fallen amongst their instruments. Their eyes were still open wide, staring unseeing at the lofted ceiling above.
She was the only one left. The only one except for… Eurig. A strange roar began to build in her chest, a roar that came from the beast deep within her. And it was directed right at Eurig.
He stood by the red tapestry that divided the Great Hall from Midas’s special exit. His face was ashen, and he looked just as confused as Bree felt. But it had to be an act. Because there was no other explanation for what happened. He had done this. No one else was awake. Only him. First, he had cursed the king. And now, he had cursed the rest of the Court.
Ever since he’d come to the castle, he’d been dismissive of everyone inside of it. He was not fond of courtly ways, or of how the outposters were still pressed underneath the kings thumb, even though they had their own system of rule and justice.
Maybe he had been sent by the outposters for this very reason. Maybe he’d been sent to take the entire court down, so the outposters could finally have control over their little pocket of the realm on the sea.
Eurig’s deep golden eyes locked onto hers from across the room. In an instant, it felt as if he’d read every single thought churning through her mind. He shook his head and stepped back, his body whispering against the tapestry.
“You did this,” B
ree whispered, her heart raging like a bull. “All this time you’ve been working against us, and now you’ve ruined it all.”
She curled her hands into fists and began to storm across the room, but the fallen bodies blocked her path. She had no idea what she was going to do when she reached him, but her anger and fear were so deep that she could not stop herself from doing everything in her power to take him down.
She would make him fix this. She would make him undo what he had done. And then she would feed him to the pack of wolves that the fae of this Court could turn into when angered. It was what he deserved.
All logical thought was drowned out in Bree’s mind. She would make him pay. No matter what.
Eurig shook his head once again, taking another slow step back until the tapestry rippled from his touch. “I did not do this.”
And then he was gone. He ducked beneath the tapestry and disappeared behind the sea of red. A low rumbling growl built in Bree’s chest, and her feet pounded the stone ground as she chased after Eurig. Her entire vision saw red, and the bloodlust that she tried so hard to keep hidden deep within her rose up like a snake eager to strike its prey.
But as she stormed after Eurig, a familiar prone form caught her attention. It was Rafe. He laid on the ground, his bright silver eyes dimmed for once. A cry of alarm flew from her tight throat, and she came to a sudden stop beside his body. Bree dropped to her knees and placed trembling hands on his chest. Underneath her fingertips, she felt the unmistakable beat of his heart. Her entire body sighed in relief, even though there was no guarantee that she would ever be able to stare into his soul ever again.
Tears streamed down her face. She had not looked hard enough for Taveon’s attacker. If only she’d done more. If only she hadn’t gotten distracted by Dagen when searching for answers. If only she’d forced Fillan to tell her what was going on. She’d had so many opportunities to do more than what she had, and yet she’d squandered all that time away.
She hadn’t even had a chance to kiss Rafe goodbye.
Rubbing the tears off of her cheeks, Bree leaned down and brushed Rafe’s silver hair away from his slack face. The image of him was blurry through her tears, but he had never looked more handsome than he did in that moment. The emotions she felt for him were unmatched by anything she’d ever felt before. She would do whatever it took to get him back.
“Listen, Rafe. I know you probably can’t hear me, but just in case you can, know that I will be back for you. I… I care for you. I’m… fond of you.” Her heart lurched in her chest, the emotion she felt toward Rafe still overwhelming. There was a word she wanted to say, but not like this, not right now. She wanted to look into his eyes and see that emotion reflected back at her. And, she wanted him to truly hear her when she finally told him exactly how she felt.
She leaned down and brushed a kiss on his forehead, pressing her fingers over his eyelids. He was very much alive, his heart was beating, and his lungs were full of air. It didn’t feel right leaving him like this with vacant eyes staring up at the dark ceiling.
With a ragged breath, Bree stood and picked her way across the floor to the red tapestry. She knew she would not find Eurig on the other side, but she had to check all the same. He had said that he didn’t do this. Not that he would admit to it even if he had. He probably hadn’t expected Bree to resist whatever curse he’d cast on the entire court. Truly, she didn’t understand why she had.
There was only one person in the entire castle who might know, or at least one person that she could actually speak to, even if only in her mind.
As expected, there was no one to find on the other side of the tapestry, not even fallen fae. The corridor was quiet and dark and empty, and no guards were stationed outside of the Taveon’s quarters at the far end. It made Bree’s heartbeat speed up even more, and a new worry twisted in her gut. If there were no guards protecting the king, and Eurig truly had been the one behind all of this, he might very well have taken this opportunity to end the king once and for all.
Bree’s footsteps echoed through the corridor as she stumbled down the stone floor. The air was damp and dank, just as it always was in this castle, but now the scent carried with it a shiver of dread. Sconces lined the walls, and firelight danced. It cast shadows across the walls, fingers of darkness reaching and stretching until snapping back as she passed them by.
In only seconds, Bree reached Taveon’s door. She threw it open and stormed inside, her heart jumping toward the still and silent form that laid on Taveon’s bed. From a distance, she could not tell whether he was alive or dead, though she knew deep down in her gut that she would have felt it through their bond if he had left this world.
As she raced toward him, she realized that she had thrown up every barrier she had between them during the attack on the Court. Not on purpose, but instinctively, as if she’d been doing everything in her power to protect herself, to keep herself hidden from whoever had done this. But now those walls came tumbling down, and the fear and pain and anger that had been storming through her gut shot straight through the bond and into Taveon’s soul.
She felt his alarm in response to her churning emotions, and the wrenching, struggling sensation of trying to push himself back into his body so he could jump up and throw his arms around Bree.
“Bree,” Taveon said, his voice panicked. “What has happened? Something is wrong. Something is very much wrong. Is it Rafe? I cannot read your thoughts. They are far too jumbled…”
“Oh, Taveon,” Bree said, grabbing his hand as she fell onto the bed beside him. “It is Rafe, and it is everyone else, too. The entire court has fallen prey to the curse. Dagen and I tried to throw that ball for the entire court, hoping to sniff out some information about whoever did this to you. But they retaliated instead. They cast the curse on everyone. I’m the only one left. The only one…except for Eurig.”
A storm of emotions flew down the bond, emotions that matched everything Bree felt inside of her. But most of all, she could sense his guilt. Taveon thought that he could have prevented this somehow. If only he’d been strong enough to resist the curse himself.
“Are you trying to say that you believe Eurig did this?” Taveon asked, his voice full of sorrow.
“Who else could it have been?” Bree stared down at him, wondering if this was why he felt guilty about the curse. He had asked Eurig to come here, to train with Bree and Rafe. There was no way he could have known, and he was just as much a victim as everyone else.
“Eurig is a friend. I have known him since I was a boy. It is impossible to believe that he would turn on me like this, let alone that he would do this to the entire court. It must be someone else.” Taveon’s voice was insistent, determined, but there was a hint of doubt he tried to hide. Bree wouldn’t have heard it, not normally. The bond between them meant that unintentional feelings reached her, even when he didn’t want them to.
“Then, explain why he was the only one left standing.”
“Not the only one, Bree,” Taveon said.
Bree stiffened. “You’re not suggesting that I did this, are you?”
“Of course not.” Taveon reached out through the bond, and Bree swore she could feel the caress of his hand against her cheek. “I am merely pointing out that surviving this curse does not necessarily imply guilt. You are still awake, too.”
“Yeah, and it doesn’t make any sense. Why would the attacker spare me? Why allow me to exist as I currently am? Eurig has never shown me anything other than disdain. And cocky disdain at that.”
Taveon fell silent for a moment, as if he were thinking through everything that happened. Several thoughts fluttered in and out of her mind, but they were there and gone too quickly for her to latch onto them.
Finally, he said, “You are not Dark Fae. You are unique. You are unlike any of the rest of us. You were once human, and now you are a version of a Light Fae. Perhaps…whatever curse was cast could not apply to you.”
Bree frowned. “That might make sense,
but Eurig is a Dark Fae. He’s from this realm, so why wouldn’t he fall prey to the curse as well? Unless he was the one who did it, of course.”
“He is a Dark Fae, but he is not the same as all the rest of us. He is also unique. He is an outposter, and their biology is different than ours.” Taveon sighed. “And it could also be that the curse was only meant for members of my Court. Only the Dark Fae who call this castle their permanent home. That would leave out you, Eurig, and perhaps another fae I know you have seen recently.”
Curiosity fluttered through Bree, along with a large dose of confusion. What was Taveon talking about? What other fae had she recently seen?
“Fillan,” Taveon said gently. “Do not forget about our bond, Bree. While you put up many walls between us at times, they often drop when you do not realize it. Mostly when you are in a moment of fierce emotion. For example, when someone is kissing you…”
Pure embarrassment poured through Bree, and her entire face filled with the heat of one million stars. Taveon had known what had happened between her and Fillan. Her walls had dropped away while she’d been kissing him. She had the sudden urge to run away and jump into the nearest hole where she would have to come out for several years.
“Do not be so embarrassed,” Taveon said, his voice still gentle. “I saw what happened. He grabbed you when you did not expect it. But I also know that you enjoyed it.”
“Taveon I…” Bree fumbled for an explanation, and she wanted nothing more than to make Taveon see that the kiss with Fillan had not meant a thing. Yes, she had enjoyed it, but that didn’t matter now, not when she feared Taveon would never look the same at her again, if and when she was able to bring him back into the land of the living.
A Heart of Midnight (Dark Fae Academy Book 2) Page 8