Covert Fae_A Spy Among the Fallen

by C. N. Crawford

  I pulled the blue gown over my head, wincing for a moment at the dull pain in my shoulder, still a little sore from the gunshot. As I lowered my arms, the silk slid luxuriously over my bare skin, skimming over my thighs and down to my ankles. Now this was a dress fit for an ancient succubus.

  A deep slit ran all the way up the right leg, ending just below my hips. The front of the gown plunged to my waistline, the narrow fabric exposing the curves of my breasts. There, the fabric was layered just enough to be opaque.

  Given the way the thin fabric was layered, I could conceal the knife on my left thigh.

  I glanced in the mirror, smiling at what I saw there. My crimson hair tumbled over my shoulder, its vibrancy a sharp contrast to the dark gown.

  While I waited for the sentinels to drift past again, I put on shimmering makeup, a hint of rose on my cheeks, a bit of black eyeliner. Nothing threatening here.

  Then—immediately after the sentinels swept past the window—I lunged for the knife, strapping it around my thigh.

  Granted, by the time I had a chance to reach under my skirts and pull it out, Adonis could slice my ribcage in two with a single breath, but…

  Again, best not to dwell on these things.

  I’d just have to watch him very carefully, to try to understand him, to predict his actions. I had to know what he might do before he acted.

  A knock sounded on the door, and my pulse began to race. Already?

  I slipped into a pair of heels, then hurried toward the door.

  To my surprise, I found Kratos standing there, his amber eyes gleaming in the gloom of the castle hall.

  Chapter 18

  He towered over me in the doorway, his coppery wings sweeping down gracefully from his shoulder blades. He was dressed for the Hunt tonight. His clothes were finely cut in a deep maroon color, showcasing his powerful body. A sword hung at his hips, and coils of golden light glowed from his wings. He looked so godlike, the sight of him almost made my breath leave my lungs.

  That’s how they get you, these angels. With their beauty, their allure, and… well, the whole omnipotent thing.

  His bright gaze swept slowly up and down my body, and as it did, his jaw tightened, his muscles tensing. Handsome and sophisticated as he looked, everything about his tightly coiled muscles suggested a raw brutality under his restraint. This was a man born to conquer. “That is what you’re wearing to meet Adonis?”

  Maybe Kratos couldn’t touch me, but he didn’t want another man conquering his territory.

  I just shrugged. “Someone left a bunch of dresses for me in the wardrobe. I liked this color.”

  He met my gaze again, eyes flaming copper. “It suits you, of course.”

  I took a step closer, making sure he had a good view of my cleavage, and I let the tendrils of glamoured charcoal magic writhe around my body, mingling with his gold and copper.

  His gaze seemed to devour me. By the way he was clenching his fists, I had the impression that he was restraining himself from just pulling the blue dress off me right now. “I want to watch you dance again,” he said, his voice husky.

  Not a request—a demand. My stomach tumbled. It had been one thing to perform in New York for a whole crowd. There, I’d been in complete control. My performance, my rules. Here in Hotemet Castle, I was a rabbit among a pack of wolves.

  “You know, it’s been a while since I’ve danced,” I said. “Will you be joining us for dinner?” As soon as the words were out of my mouth, I was startled to realize I wanted him there. I didn’t trust a single one of these angelic assholes—including Kratos—but at least I knew he wanted me alive.

  “I won’t be there.” His expression darkened, and at his shift in mood, a cold draft chased over my skin. “Adonis wanted to meet you alone. And anyway, I hunt at this time.”

  Of course. Kratos wouldn’t be in Hotemet Castle at all during the night because he’d be out killing people. I swallowed hard at the sharp reminder of what Kratos truly was—a hunter of humans. And yet I was completely dependent on him.

  I smiled sweetly at him. “Well, that’s a shame. Hey, do you think I’ll be able to leave this room at any point soon? I’m going to start feeling a little cooped up in here. If I’m going to dance well, I’ll need to get a little exercise.”

  “Of course.” Kratos’s body glowed. “I’ll unlock the door. You can explore the forest outside. I wouldn’t keep you prisoner.”

  Liar. “Just the forest outside? I’d heard there was a bar in here somewhere.”

  “Yes,” he added. “Feel free to look around the Tower of Wrath. Just don’t go beyond it.”

  I blinked. “That’s the name of this tower? Have you ever thought of maybe rebranding it?”

  “No.”

  I bit my lip. “What are the other towers called, out of curiosity?”

  “You have no reason to visit them.”

  Not my question, but okay. From the aerial tour, I knew walls linked all the towers, and I could sneak around if I needed to.

  “No problem, Kratos. I’ll stick to the Tower of Wrath and the woods. I’ll try not to get lost.”

  “Oh, you won’t be able to wander too far in the forest. You’ll find it has a way of keeping you close to Hotemet Castle.”

  Ah, there we are. The prison.

  I flashed him my most charming smile. “Well, enjoy your night. But tell me, Kratos. Why do you hunt every night?”

  Standing this close, the heat pulsing off his body onto my skin. His amber eyes darkened to copper, and a violent, primal magic coiled off his body, snaking over my skin. “I’m compelled to do it. If I don’t hunt, I burn from the inside out. And if I don’t kill, a far worse predator than I will stalk the Earth.”

  I swallowed hard. “Oh?”

  “The Heavenly Host. They make sure we do our jobs. They’re the ones who sent the dragons that day. When the dragons crawled from their caves and castles to steal women and burn cities, they were following the commands of the Heavenly Host.”

  Gold. This information was pure gold. “And who are they?” And how do I find them?

  His warm cedar scent curled around me. “Angels, in the heavens.” He touched his chest as if something pained him. “I must go now.”

  I didn’t want him going out there, hunting my friends. I wanted to beg him to leave Whitechapel alone. Instead, I just stalled. “Kratos, do you always catch your prey?”

  He smiled faintly. “Not always. I can’t always have the things I desire.”

  He turned to leave before stopping himself again and fixing his keen gaze on me. “One of my servants will fetch you when it’s time to meet Adonis. But take care. Don’t let him get too close to you.”

  Sweet earthly gods, even Kratos is warning me. A shiver snaked over my skin. “Why?”

  “You can’t trust him.”

  You don’t say.

  “Don’t worry. I haven’t survived for thousands of years by being an idiot.” More accurately, I haven’t survived for thousands of years at all.

  Kratos nodded, then strode off down the hallway. I stepped back into the room, closing the door behind me. With my back against it, I took deep, slow breaths.

  He wanted to meet you alone. Did I detect a bit of a hierarchy here in Hotemet Castle? At the bottom of the pile were the outsiders—the human, demon, and fae rabble in the streets, like I’d been a week ago. I was pretty sure the angels thought of them as little more than vermin.

  Above them were the castle’s servants, human and demon alike. Of the angels, Johnny was the youngest, which might suggest the least power. At top of the hierarchy of terror sat Adonis, my dinner date.

  Oh—and let’s not forget the Heavenly Host. Whoever the hell they were.

  As I waited, my back to the door, I tried to steady my nerves.

  Already, I’d gathered information I could report back to Yasmin when the time came. The angels were compelled to kill by forces greater than themselves, and they could fall from grace. Tension lived in this
hierarchy. Did that mean there was a chance of fracturing a fragile alliance?

  A loud knock on the door interrupted my thoughts, and I nearly jumped out of my skin.

  When I pulled open the door, I found Elan standing in the torchlit hallway, dressed in a powder-blue sweatshirt featuring a cartoon cat on a rainbow. The incongruous sight eased some of my nerves. I was beginning to feel a strange, protective surge of warmth every time I saw him. He didn’t belong in this place, and for that I loved him.

  Elan grinned. “Hello. I’ve been sent to bring you to dinner. I see you’re dressed already. Wonderful.” He tapped his fingertips together, his smile fading. “I will bring you most of the way to Adonis’s dining room, but not the whole way, if that’s all right with you.” He grimaced a little. “I prefer that he never looks at me, because if he doesn’t remember me, then he won’t kill me.”

  “Does he often kill arbitrarily?”

  Elan gave a little shrug, frowning. “Well, maybe a bit more than average.”

  “This should be a fun night. Can’t wait.”

  Abruptly, he turned and strode down the arched hallway, his shoulders hunched. Torchlight wavered over the stones. In the hall—the one I hadn’t yet been able to explore—narrow windows overlooked the forest. Outside, faint lights seemed to twinkle among the boughs.

  “Kratos said I could explore the tower and the forest,” I ventured.

  “That should keep you plenty occupied.”

  “And what will I find in this tower?” As much as I could, I needed to make a mental map of the place.

  “You’ll find a banquet hall that we never use, the bar I mentioned, the bakehouse and kitchen, and the granary.”

  None of that sounded particularly interesting, and I had no idea why Elan thought it would keep me occupied.

  I was hoping for something like a “secret documents room,” though I guess if it was a secret, he wouldn’t come right out with it. “There’s no library in here?”

  “No, but your room is stocked with enough books for a lifetime.”

  I frowned. “If it’s mostly food-related, why is it called the Tower of Wrath?”

  Elan huffed a laugh. “Oh, that. They’re a little bleak with the names. You’ll be dining in the Tower of Ash tonight.”

  “Can’t wait.” I traced my fingertips over the cold stone walls. “So, Elan. Any advice for me about this dinner? Why exactly does the Dark Lord want to meet me?”

  He smiled. “Oh, I wouldn’t know something like that. I just prepared the food. But… I imagine he will be deciding if you seem like a threat or not.”

  “Does Adonis make the final decisions, then?”

  Elan smiled nervously. “I couldn’t tell you. If there is one thing I learned from growing up enslaved by a race of psychotic mountain trolls, it’s that you never speak about your superiors out of turn, or they might nail one of your best friends to a blackthorn tree.”

  I cringed. Useless. Gods-damned useless. “Okay. Just take me to dinner, then, Elan.”

  He smiled pleasantly. “Just note that you should call him Dark Lord, not Adonis, and he kills quickly with his mind. And I think he can read your thoughts and has mind control powers. Oh! I almost forgot. I made strawberry pudding.”

  “Great! That should take the edge off all the death and terror.”

  We passed through a doorway, the arch above marked with a skull and crossbones. This, presumably, was the charming entrance to the Tower of Ash. We took a left down a short hall. At the end of the hall, a short set of stairs led up to arched wooden doors. Two human servants flanked the doors.

  Elan turned to me with a small bow. “Well, this is where I leave you, so… I hope the food is good. Stay safe.” He slunk back into the shadows.

  I brushed my fingertips against my thigh, taking comfort in the faint feel of the knife strapped there.

  I turned to the doors, sweeping my gaze over the servants who lingered there.

  There was something… off about them, but I couldn’t quite put my finger on it. They looked ordinary enough—thirty-year-old men, one of them with a bit of a paunch and stubble over his ruddy face. They wore simple brown clothing and gray caps.

  So why did my gut tell me they weren’t human?

  When they pulled open the doors, my pulse raced. Slowly, I stepped up the stairs into the doorway.

  On a dais at the end of the hall sat Adonis, midnight magic curling off his body. His inky wings swooped over either side of a black, thorny throne. Lovely. Hadn’t I dreamt about that? A shiver crawled up my spine.

  All I knew was, he was putting on a full show of intimidation this evening.

  Amusement glinted in his icy eyes. He looked relaxed, slouching on one elbow as he stared at me.

  In the most treacherous hollows of my mind, a voice whispered, There he is. The most beautiful man you’ve ever seen. Was that a bit of his angelic mind control or my own thoughts?

  A sly smile curled Adonis’s lips. “Come in, succubus.”

  And here I was, granted an audience with the Dark Lord himself.

  “My name is Ruby,” I corrected him as I crossed over the stone floor, my eyes sweeping over the oak table lining the center of the room. “Not Succubus.”

  A vaulted ceiling—bony, like a ribcage—soared high above us. My heels clacked over the stone floor as I walked closer to him, closer to the end of the long table where food had been set.

  I eyed him, pretty sure he’d staged it this way on purpose. He could sit relaxed on his throne while I stood on the ground gazing up at him. And just as I had with Kratos, and in my dream, I wanted to fall to my knees in front of him, to worship him. Maybe this was angelic mind control—or just something that happened naturally with these monsters?

  In an effort to resist the urge to drop to my knees, I tore my eyes away from him and surveyed the space. In this banquet hall, moonlight poured through the narrow, sharply peaked windows, and warm light glowed from candles in iron chandeliers. Weapons lined one of the stone walls—battleaxes, swords, crossbows—charming decor, really, in the Tower of Ash.

  The smell of roasted meat curled into the air. On this side of the long table, a feast had been set with roast duck, bread, fruit, and a steaming stew. Elan had done well.

  The doors slammed behind me, trapping me inside with an echoing boom. I whirled to find another row of servants blocking my exit.

  The human servants stood in front of the door and the far wall, dressed in simple brown clothing and black caps. Some were male, some female. A curly-haired brunette woman’s eyes were wide open, as if she were terrified. I couldn’t see anything remarkable about the servants—except—something was off. Was it the woman’s fear? Or was that a normal human reaction to being in the presence of a terrifying predator?

  Adonis rose from his throne, slowly prowling closer to me. He hadn’t yet invited me to sit, content to let me linger awkwardly by the food I so badly wanted to devour.

  So I stood by the table while the dark angel stalked lazily around me, sizing me up, shadows cloaking his powerful body. Unlike Kratos, he moved with a languid ease, every movement imbued with pure sensuality. Adonis didn’t seem like a virgin. Why hadn’t he fallen?

  If Kratos was born to conquer, Adonis was born to lure people to their deaths.

  The candlelight gleamed in his eyes. “That color suits you. In fact, I think Hotemet Castle will suit you. No redcaps for you to brawl with, but we have our own sort of rabble here in case you choose to pick a fight.”

  I put my hands on my hips, trying to act at ease. “And who would that be?”

  “The humans, the demons…” He was sizing me up with his eyes, inky tendrils of night pulsing off his broad shoulders as he prowled around me. “I’d wager Kratos thinks of you as some sort of a prize.”

  I blocked out the low, erotic timbre of his voice, the silkiness of his tone that seemed to wrap itself around my body.

  “You make me sound like a possession,” I said.

&nb
sp; Amusement danced in his eyes. “A possession, or prisoner. But what a lovely prisoner you are.” Smoothly, he leaned in close, and I could smell the intoxicating scent of myrrh on him. His power stroked my skin like a lover’s caress, and goosebumps rose on my chest.

  Then he whispered something that sent an icy tendril of fear coiling around my ribs. “But did you really think I wouldn’t notice the knife, my beauty?”

  Chapter 19

  My breath hitched, but I couldn’t show fear at any cost.

  I clenched my jaw. “Did you really think I’d show up in an angel’s lair unarmed? You must think I’m stupid.”

  He stepped away from me, his cold eyes twinkling. “You know what really interests me, Ruby? Your heart rate sped up when I moved close to you. Tell me, was that fear, or do I make your heart race for a more interesting reason?”

  I swallowed hard. I knew his game. He liked to play with people. I couldn’t let him catch me off guard.

  I narrowed my eyes. “Did you know that heart rates speed up for anger, too? Your astounding arrogance irritates me.”

  Careful, Ruby. Don’t push it too far. I saw what he’d done to the redcap who’d insulted him.

  “It’s just that your cheeks flushed, and your blood began to race.” He frowned. “Strange. I’ve never known a succubus to blush so easily.”

  I focused on trying to keep my breathing steady and blocking out the sensual allure of his voice, his movements.

  “You’re wondering if you can tempt an angel to fall,” he purred. “I’m wondering what I’d need to do to get you out of that flimsy dress. I could compel you to do it, I suppose…”

  His words sent a dark heat racing through my blood. I wasn’t sure what to make of it all, but a succubus didn’t suffer insolence from anyone, and I had to play my part well.

  Biting down my fear, I raised my hand to slap him. He caught my wrist easily. Slowly, he leaned in to me a second time, his ancient power thrumming over my exposed skin, sending my blood racing.