The Court of Outcasts

by Allison Rose

  Allison Rose

  The Court of Outcasts

  Tales of an Outcast Faerie Part Two

  Copyright © 2020 by Allison Rose

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise without written permission from the publisher. It is illegal to copy this book, post it to a website, or distribute it by any other means without permission.

  This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author's imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.

  First edition

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  To those who persevere in the face of dark forces

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Chapter 36

  From the Author

  Acknowledgments

  About the Author

  Also by Allison Rose

  Chapter 1

  The corners of Nola’s vision blurred. No longer able to focus on the words of the whiteboard or her teacher’s droning voice, she closed her eyes and struggled to remain conscious.

  No. Not here, she begged silently.

  The dizzy spells happened more often lately. Nola could almost feel the faerie essence in her system warring with her humanity. It was an uncomfortable feeling, like she wanted to crawl out of her own skin, like she didn’t belong there.

  A human faerie, Briar called her. It was his fault she was this way. In an attempt to keep her away from a conflict, he had frozen her limbs in a way only a faerie with a water affinity could, given that humans are mostly water. However, he did leave her a bag containing the remaining vials of faerie essence that would give her the power to break free of his magic. Fearful for the lives of her friends, Nola drank the contents of the vials, changing her body forever.

  On Nola’s next few breaths, the dizziness slowly subsided—only to be replaced by a shiver across her neck.

  She turned her head slightly to see the new guy staring at her. Their homeroom teacher introduced him that morning as Mark. New to the town, but no other information. Nola had only been half paying attention when she caught the glow out of the corner of her vision. It was faint, concentrated at the center of his chest.

  Like a faerie.

  Nola sat straight up in her chair, studying the newcomer for anything else out of place. He was a senior, but his expression looked wise beyond his years. Other than that, he was thin and tall with a head of gorgeous blond hair, and golden eyes that might have looked out of place on anyone else but only made him look exotic. As the other girls in the class sighed over him, Nola’s heart started to race for a different reason.

  A human that glows like a faerie… She couldn’t decide whether she should be excited that someone like her showed up at her school, or if she should be very wary.

  Mark continued to gaze intently at her with his golden eyes.

  Crap! Nola broke eye contact and quickly turned back to the front. Did he know what just happened? Does he know what I am? Who on earth is this guy?

  Nola’s head swam with lingering fuzziness and unanswered questions, but one thing became clear: she couldn’t talk to him, especially not in her current state. If he had some faerie magic, he could probably take her down easily. As far as faerie magic went, she was incredibly weak. She took a steadying breath and tried to focus on the lecture, but her eyes kept wandering to the clock on the wall.

  I’ll practice my magic more with Kelty. When I have a better handle on it—well, whenever we figure out what it actually is—then maybe I can confront him.

  At the sound of the final bell, she jumped out of her seat and rushed out into the hall. She retrieved her bag from her locker in record time and managed to make it out the front doors without seeing any of her friends. Still feeling a little shaky, she breathed a sigh of relief as she headed toward the wood.

  A feeling of peace washed over Nola as she entered the canopy of trees. Here, she was accepted and safe. Here, she would practice magic until she grew strong enough to belong with the faeries and gain control over her own body again, or so she told herself.

  Nola focused on the energy she could now see flowing through the wood from the ground and into the trees, twisting and connecting, until she found the trail of purple energy that meant Kelty had been there recently. She followed the trail to where her favorite faerie—and chosen sister—waited, sitting on the ground cross-legged in front of the purple wooden door adorned with a silver moon that was set into a large tree that Kelty called her home.

  Kelty’s purple skin, silver hair, and shimmery wings—with membranous sections outlined in a darker gray—no longer looked out of place to Nola. The faerie had become the guardian of the wood after being unfairly banished from the neighboring world of Faerie. Normally wary of humans, Kelty had taken a liking to Nola for some reason. They joined forces to stop a group of teens, who got their hands on dark magic, from destroying the wood—and possibly beyond—and had been meeting daily since then in an effort to figure out Nola’s human-faerie magic.

  “We will try spirit again,” Kelty said without introduction. Her silver eyes looked unfocused, giving Nola the impression she had already struggled with that part of her magic today.

  Nola sighed as she swung her pack to the ground. So far, she could influence plants, and coax them to grow. Given she wasn’t actually a faerie, she could only do this on a small scale. Kelty was pleased she showed promise with what the faeries called the land affinity, but still urged her to test the boundaries of her magic. They still were not sure if Nola would display any of the other affinities that faeries did—air, water, light, beast, or spirit—but Nola found it unlikely, given that faeries only specialized in one. Kelty was special in her ability to wield all of them.

  Nola was also apprehensive about trying spirit. It was disconcerting to think about trying to influence another being’s energy.

  But I have to keep trying.

  Nola eyed Kelty as she sat down across from the faerie. Kelty did not yet know of the dizzy spells. And Nola planned to keep it that way, until she mastered her magic, anyway.

  But should I tell her about the new guy? Nola debated internally, but came to a quick conclusion. No. She has so much more to worry about. Besides, it might be nothing. He might just be a normal guy who tangled with a faerie once, or something.

  There were other faerie outcasts living in the human world, though Briar was the only one they knew, besides the mysterious one from the Court of Outcasts who marked Kelty’s palm with some sort of magical symbol—much like the crescent moon-shaped one on Kelty’s temple that ma
rked her as one of the Night Court. Kelty explained the symbol on her palm, a sun and a moon connected by a jagged slash, meant she had to appear before the Court of Outcasts when summoned. Nola thought also of Kelty’s quest to end her banishment and be welcomed back home to Faerie, and the strange absence of Briar since the events that ended the humans’ dark magic.

  Nola could sense the tension in Kelty, and she hoped their magic lessons were a welcome distraction from the future events looming over them.

  “I thought spirit was the affinity I am least likely to have,” Nola prodded, still unsure about this element. They had not yet tried it, for Kelty admitted it was her weakest power.

  “You’ve done something like it once.”

  Nola sighed. “That was directly after I drank the…dead faerie. And I was driving iron out of you. That’s different, right?”

  Kelty ignored her. “Tap into your energy and direct it at me. Start with sensing my energy—like you do with the trees—then go deeper.”

  Fine. Okay. I can do this. Nola relaxed her shoulders and took a breath in, focusing on the spot in the middle of Kelty’s chest, beneath the brown wrapped cloth the faerie wore, to the core, the center of a faerie’s power.

  She saw the glowing ball of energy resting there. It took a little longer for her to feel it as well. And even then she just barely caught a hint of earthiness and raw power before it slipped away.

  Frustration threatened to overwhelm Nola as she blinked and shook her head.

  “It took me years to master even that,” Kelty said kindly. She relaxed her shoulders, letting Nola know their practice session was over. “My parents never let me give up, though.”

  I might not have years, Nola thought. She opened her mouth to ask Kelty for more guidance, but the faerie stiffened, a look of urgency coming over her face.

  Nola’s heart jumped into her throat as Kelty looked down at her hand.

  Chapter 2

  The mark of the Court of Outcasts on Kelty’s palm warmed as she stood, and with it came a tugging sensation, a discomfort that only intensified if she stilled. Turning away from Nola and moving forward once more eased it, relief spreading through her. Though there was no pain, she knew there would be if she failed to answer the magical summons.

  Without a word to her human companion, she took flight.

  “I’m coming,” Nola called from below. “And don’t give me that ‘you can’t handle it’ crap. I’ve been working with you nearly every day since, well, you know what.”

  The human girl did her best to keep up with Kelty’s graceful flight through the trees, but she ended up stumbling and crashing through the bushes as she tried to keep the faerie in her line of sight and whine at the same time.

  Kelty sighed. Pulling her wings to her back in one quick movement, she dropped to the ground below. The uncomfortable nagging feeling started up in her core again, her palm heating once more, but she pushed it to the back of her mind.

  Nola stumbled to a halt in front of her, panting a little, but she crossed her arms and stood a little straighter, looking down a full inch at Kelty with those all-seeing hazel eyes.

  She is brave, but she does not know the true danger, Kelty thought. She does not truly understand faeries.

  “They are outcasts for a reason,” Kelty said slowly, fixing the girl with a stern gaze. “And we know nothing about them besides the fact that they kill their own kind, were involved in the black death, and almost took Rowan from me.”

  The memory of her potential partner lying in her arms with the iron poison seeping through his body as she looked on caused her heart to pound with rage. Kelty closed her eyes and took in a deep breath, willing the image away.

  He is whole again. She opened her eyes once more. Though I wish he were here now.

  Rowan still resided in Faerie, a situation they both agreed was necessary. They needed eyes and ears back home, and he was the one allowed back. Although, not being able to reach him was a pain. And the reminder that she was still an outcast stung.

  There was a flicker of realization in Nola’s eyes, but she didn’t back down. “I’m part faerie now, and these woods are just as much mine as yours.”

  The sun chose that moment to beam down through the leaves, bringing out reddish highlights in Nola’s auburn hair and causing her pale skin to glow. A small smirk tugged at the corner of Nola’s mouth, reminding Kelty of an infuriating faerie that still had yet to resurface after the events of the gazebo.

  Kelty’s insides twisted from more than just the increasing discomfort in her core and the warmth that was turning into a slow burn on her palm. As much as Briar infuriated her, he was an enemy she would rather have in sight. Especially since he became involved with Nola.

  The cloaks had disbanded, and the dark magic experimentation ceased, but there were still too many unknowns. Briar brought Kelty here for a purpose. Before, it seemed as if he wanted her to stop the cloaks from spreading the dark magic they called the black death. Now she realized this was so much bigger than that. This was about the faerie outcasts of the human world, and they could have any number of reasons for causing trouble: anger at Faerie, hatred for the humans, possibly even some resentment for her—the only one with even a hope of being welcomed back home.

  Kelty’s palm began to sting.

  “I have been summoned, not you. And it is better if they do not know about you just yet.”

  “If they have been watching you, they probably already know about me,” Nola shot back.

  Kelty closed her eyes and swallowed the irritation that rose within her. “They do not know the full story.” She opened her eyes again and lowered her breathy voice to a whisper. “You can be the secret weapon, Nola.”

  A look of pleasant surprise crossed Nola’s face, and Kelty used the moment to vault up into the air again, ducking into the canopy of leaves.

  “Wait!” Nola called up again, resuming her clumsy pursuit. “What if you don’t come back?”

  “I’m sure you will figure it out,” Kelty called back in a quieter voice, cognizant of the fact that they had crossed over into the area of the park that was open to the public. Then she turned her thoughts to the task ahead as she flew from branch to branch.

  “Hey—”

  Kelty paused enough to glance behind and assess what the commotion was. She swallowed a snort when she saw Nola apologizing profusely to two humans dressed in blue uniforms, their badges glinting in the sunlight. Nola had told her they were the ones who kept the peace.

  For a human, she doesn’t see her own kind very well.

  With a shake of her head, Kelty ducked around and through the thick foliage surrounding the edges of the park, leaving her home and chosen sister behind to answer a summons from the Court of Outcasts.

  Chapter 3

  Nola swallowed as the pair of officers she ran into turned and glared. She recognized one from school events—Jeanine’s father, Mr. Sterling. Not that the father of one of the cloaks would help her any. Nola was cleared of any wrongdoing, but Mr. Sterling knew she was involved in Derek’s mysterious disappearance along with his daughter Jeanine, an indifferent senior who had barely glanced Nola’s way before then.

  “Careful, ma’am,” Mr. Sterling said gruffly.

  “Yes, sir,” Nola replied in a small voice as her heart pounded. I was hoping to stay away from the police for a while.

  Luckily, they both refrained from admonishing her more. Mr. Sterling’s partner retrieved a picture from his pocket.

  “Have you seen this girl?”

  A curly-haired brunette with a round face, bright eyes, and formal black top smiled at Nola from the picture. Emily. Nola recognized her from school, but only in passing. She started to shake her head, which caused a wave of dizziness.

  “No,” she managed, hoping she didn’t look odd.

  “If you see her, call this number.” Mr. Sterling handed her a card. Then the officers turned and walked away.

  Pocketing the card, Nola tried to ca
sually rest her weight against a tree until the dizziness passed.

  Then, after taking a deep breath, she tuned into the natural magic around her.

  Nola could see the magic of the wood, another layer of the world that most humans were blind to, but, of course, Kelty was much stronger, especially when she did not want to be found. Though there were traces of her energy in the trees and plants and even the soil of the wood, the faerie had taken more pains with disguising herself now that the outcasts were interested in her.

  There was only a faint glow where Kelty had been. Not caring that she probably looked like a nut job, Nola took off through the trees on the other side of the path.

  I don’t care how dangerous these outcasts are. I want to know what we are dealing with.

  Nola ducked and weaved through the bushes and brambles, keeping the faint trail toward the tree tops within sight. Only vaguely paying attention to what was in front of her, she came to a sudden stop as the brightness of the sun hit her.

  She had reached the edge of the wood.

  Stopping just inside the tree line, Nola squinted out at the clear blue sky. She would not be able to follow Kelty out into the open without a trail to guide her.

  Nola frowned and let out a harsh sigh. She better come back alive, she grumbled internally as she turned away.

  “So, she has finally been summoned.”

  Every muscle in her body froze as the male voice drifted out of the trees behind her. It brought up feelings of betrayal, joy, fear, and something deeper and indiscernible.

  She turned to look into the eyes of the enemy.

  Nola’s eyes roamed over Briar, unconsciously checking for the wound he had on his wing the last time she saw him. Kelty had explained how she caused that wound, giving him a reason to flee and hide and allowing her to take the dark magic from the humans, all while Nola was still fighting off the paralysis he put her under in her own home. He was the enemy they wanted, the one that was supposedly mostly on their side. The question was exactly how much was he on their side at any given moment.