by Nissa Leder
The Fates cocked their heads in unison, like crows perched on a fence. “Trouble bubbles for the fae world. A power, long undiscovered, awaits those brave enough to search. But only two parts of a whole and one part of another can free it from its chamber. That is the key.”
Mumbo jumbo, as usual. The Fates never spoke plainly. Riddles were their game. But Kaelem liked games, and he liked power.
“What type of power?” he asked.
The Fates giggled, their voices carrying like bells through the room. “What fun would it be if we told you that?”
Within a blink, the sisters had vanished.
Damn Fates. They dangled steak in front of Kaelem like he was a dog, salivating at what was out of reach. Two parts of a whole and one part of another. What in the hell was that supposed to mean? If something were whole then it wouldn’t have another part. Maybe it was more than one thing?
A crumpled piece of paper on the table caught his attention. He grabbed it and smoothed it out to find the words start with the human written inside.
The human? Did they mean Scarlett? She wasn’t a human anymore, not technically, at least. But she’d already caught the attention of two Summer Princes, one of whom was now king. The Unseelie Court lived amongst the mortals, but Kaelem rarely talked to them. His fae played with humans, but Kaelem didn’t know any by name except for Scarlett.
It wasn’t just the Summer Princes she’d intrigued. He’d spoken to her to mess with Raith and Cade, but somewhere along the way he’d grown fond of the human. Why else would he have given her a pill to enhance her fae heritage?
She had to be the human in the note.
The Fates weren’t loyal to any court. They could be telling Cade about the future they saw at that very moment, and if he got to Scarlett first, Kaelem would lose his chance.
No, that wouldn’t work. He needed to bring Scarlett to the Unseelie Court.
Now.
But first, he’d have to find her.
Chapter Two
Raith had just left Kaelem. Why was he summoning him back so quickly?
All part of his games, Raith was sure. He stomped back to the dining room despite his annoyance.
Kaelem was leaned back in his chair, sleek black shoes on the table like some troll. Did the Unseelie Court have no etiquette?
Two brownies cleared the table, stacking the empty glasses and plates on trays that they balanced above their shoulders. For such small creatures, they were strong. It had taken a while for Raith to get used to the presence of other fae creatures around the Unseelie palace. It wasn’t as if Raith had never seen low fae before. They filled the clubs in the Unseelie Court that Raith had been to on a few occasions. But low fae were prohibited from the Summer Castle. Humans were used as servants instead. High fae superiority at its finest; low fae were too beneath them to even step inside the castle to cook and to clean.
“You called?” Raith asked as the door shut behind him.
“I’m feeling generous.”
Raith checked his mental shields, making sure they were tight. He didn’t want Kaelem inside his head. “And?”
“A simple exchange of information could be mutually beneficial.” Kaelem looked out the window to the right of him, seemingly uncaring.
It was an act. It had to be. Something had changed Kaelem’s mind, otherwise he’d toy with Raith longer. “You’ll tell me what I want to know?”
Kaelem’s head turned to Raith, eyes locked with his. “If you’ll do the same for me.”
“And what information do I have?” Something about Cade? Or the Summer Court, maybe. Raith had no allegiance to the court of his upbringing anymore, but would he betray it if it got him what he wanted?
With their trays stacked full, the brownies left the room.
Kaelem waited until after the brownies were out of hearing distance, then he said, “I need to know the whereabouts of someone.”
Even this conversation was a game to Kaelem. Could he get to the point? “And who might that be?”
“Scarlett.”
Raith sucked in a breath. What did Kaelem want with Scarlett?
Kaelem continued, “She was different after the battle, wasn’t she?”
“Yes.”
“I’d given her a pill to help her, should she choose to take the risk.”
That was what had changed Scarlett! Raith had noticed she was different, but he didn’t know why. “Maybe she didn’t take it.” Kaelem may not have known she took it. Raith didn’t want him to know. Taking something from Kaelem might make Scarlett owe him something in return. Fae bargains had many forms, not all of which were obvious.
“She did. I felt it.”
What kind of pill was it? “So what if she did. What’s it matter to you now?”
“The pill I gave her changed any part of her that was human to fae. She’ll be experiencing power she doesn’t know how to handle. She’ll need my help to learn to control it.”
Raith should have checked on her. He was an ass. She’d nearly died saving him and he’d just left. He could go back now and help her. Better him than Kaelem.
“You’re thinking you could go to her instead,” Kaelem said.
Raith checked his mental shields. Still up.
“No, I’m not in your head,” Kaelem said. “But seeing inside the minds of others taught me how people think. You could help her, sure. But then I’d never give you what you want.”
Raith knew what he should do. He should walk out of the Unseelie Court, straight to Scarlett. He may never get the answers he wanted, but at least he’d know he did the right thing. If, by chance, Scarlett didn’t owe Kaelem anything for the pill, staying away from him was her best option. Nothing good came from ‘help’ from the Unseelie Court.
Raith would be wise to follow his own advice. The desire to know about his mother burned through him, a thirst needing quenched. But bargaining with Kaelem? He knew it was a bad idea.
“You won’t be able to help her like I can.” Kaelem pulled his legs from the table and straightened his posture in his chair. “She’s part Unseelie.”
“How do you know?”
“If she didn’t have Unseelie blood in her, the pill wouldn’t have worked,” Kaelem said. “I could sense it in her the moment I met her.”
But Scarlett could heal and that was a Seelie Court gift.
Seelie and Unseelie? The two courts despised each other. It was unheard of for a member of either court to mate. It didn’t surprise him that an Unseelie fae would break the rule, but defying the rule of the Seelie court never ended well for the fae who dared. How had Scarlett ended up with the blood of both in her system? Maybe the Seelie Court didn’t know. Somehow, Scarlett’s abilities had been masked from her until she entered Faerie. Had it kept her powers hidden from the Seelie Court as well?
Raith considered telling Kaelem about Scarlett’s healing gift, but decided against it.
“So what will it be, Summer Prince? You get what you came here for and I’ll help Scarlett learn her new gifts. Do we have a deal?”
If Kaelem wanted Scarlett, he’d find her, especially if she had Unseelie blood in her. Raith could attempt to leave now and find Scarlett and, what, go on the run? Summer fae had powerful magic, sure, but since their magic had been bound, it was limited. Raith didn’t know how much Scarlett had now. Kaelem would be a better teacher for Scarlett.
If he truly wanted to help her.
But why did he want to teach her? That was the part that had Raith bothered. Kaelem never did anything out of the generosity of his heart. It was always a game or a ploy. But this was Raith’s chance. Every inch of him longed to learn more about his mother. Kaelem played games, but he wasn’t a liar. If he said he could lead Raith on the right path, then Raith believed him.
“I’ll tell you where she is, and you’ll tell me what you know about my mother?”
“Yes.”
Raith could come back for Scarlett. She could learn what she needed from Kaelem and, eve
ntually, Raith would find her again.
“Deal.”
Scarlett sat at her computer desk and stared at the pen sitting on her closed laptop. She imagined it rising into the air, flying toward her bed, then landing gently on its fluffy gray comforter.
Nothing happened.
Ugh.
She gave a frustrated scream. The pen flew across the room until it hit the colorful mandala tapestry pinned to the wall then dropped to the ground.
“Having problems?” a familiar voice said behind her.
Kaelem.
Scarlett twirled her chair around. Kaelem stood in front of the door, wearing lavender dress pants, a white shirt with its sleeves rolled, and a gray tie. His navy hair was waved perfectly, still chin length on one side, the other now shaved. The Christmas lights hanging around the room illuminated Kaelem from above, making him look almost angelic.
What perfect hair. So luscious and…
Stop. God. Not this again. Scarlett pulled her thoughts in.
“Still think I’m pretty, I see.”
“Get out of my head.”
“I will, for now, but you need to learn how to keep me out.”
“What do you want?”
Kaelem smirked. “No, ‘Hi there, thanks for the pill that saved my life?’ I’m hurt.” He placed his hands over his heart and puckered his lower lip, tilting his head downward to look up at her through his thick, dark lashes.
He was right. The pill Scarlett took had given her enough strength to heal herself then Raith. Without it, they’d have been banshee food. “Thank you. But I imagine you had your reasons.”
She wasn’t an idiot. She’d known he’d find her someday. There was no way he’d given her the pill for no reason. That wasn’t how the fae world worked, and from what Cade had told her, the Unseelie Court was the most selfish and ruthless of them all. The chances that Kaelem had helped her solely out of the goodness of his heart were slim.
“Smart girl,” Kaelem said. “I like to make things interesting, and you are quite that.” He sauntered to her bed, sat down, then lounged back against her pillows. “I have a feeling you’ve been feeling powerful lately.”
Scarlett crossed her arms in front of her chest to hide the effect seeing him in bed had on her. Dirty thoughts kept sneaking into her mind, but she kept throwing them out. What was he talking about? Oh, yeah. Her feeling powerful. “Yes.”
“You’re fae now, whether you like it or not, and you need to learn how to control your power.”
She had been practicing. She’d learned how to glamour her ears on her own. If he’d really wanted to help, he’d have come to her sooner. Why the sudden interest in her well-being? “I’m managing.”
“You wanted that pen to fly into the wall?”
“Yep.”
“It’s only going to get worse. Your magic is still growing. Your power will get stronger. You need my help.”
Scarlett wanted to argue, but she remembered the pizza incident. She hadn’t consciously tried to get the pizza to move. She’d been so angry with the guy, it just happened. Her moods were more volatile all the time. What if she wished something really bad? What if Ashleigh made her mad? Scarlett and Ashleigh had gotten along great lately, but, heaven knew, they were capable of arguing.
But Scarlett wouldn’t hurt her own sister. No. She would just need to practice controlling herself and she’d be fine. She may be full fae now, but she didn’t want to be a part of that world. Not anymore.
“No, thanks.”
Kaelem pulled a sapphire out of his pocket, nearly two inches in diameter, and set it on the bed. “If you change your mind, squeeze it and think of me really hard.” He winked, then disappeared.
Had he meant for that to sound as dirty as it did? Scarlett was sure he did. Perv.
She went to her bed and picked up the jewel. The light shining through her window caused it to sparkle. Energy radiated from it—magic of some sort.
Scarlett put the sapphire in the back of her desk drawer and slammed it shut.
She wouldn’t need to use it.
She hoped.
Chapter Three
Raith found himself back in the Faerie forest. Kaelem had let him use a door that led to its center, so here Raith was, by himself, surrounded by trees on every side.
He inhaled the pine scent around him. A jolt flickered through his veins, his nature gift activated. He’d never been this far into the forest. The energy here pulsed through him even more than it had near the Summer Court.
When Raith had told Kaelem where to find Scarlett, Kaelem told him to go to the Autumn Court for answers.
“Your mother wasn’t full Summer fae,” Kaelem had said. “Autumn blood ran through her veins. She wasn’t raised inside the Summer Castle.”
When Raith asked what else Kaelem knew, he’d replied, “I said I’d tell you what I knew, not everything I knew. If you look, you’ll find the answers you seek.”
Raith could have punched him. He’d given Kaelem Scarlett’s exact location by letting him into his memories, and Kaelem gave him a popcorn trail to follow. Ass.
But it was more than Raith knew before, though he suspected he somehow had Autumn blood. How else would he have gotten power from nature?
He was surprised to learn his mother wasn’t raised in the Summer Castle. Royalty almost always found their mates from the noble families at court. It made sense, though. When Raith had seen into his father’s memories, his mother had saved him in the forest. Most high fae at court didn’t spend their time in the forest. The majority feared it. But his mother had been so comfortable in the memory.
Kaelem knew more that he wasn’t telling Raith, which meant there was more to discover.
So Raith would find his way to the Autumn Court.
He stood in a large circular opening in the trees. Three large rocks sat in the middle. The blue Faerie sky hovered above. It was the center of Faerie, the circle not belonging to any of the courts. Raith closed his eyes and felt the magic around him. In front of him, he felt Spring roses and Summer sand. Behind him, Winter ice and Autumn leaves.
He knew the way he must go.
When Scarlett got the text from Natalie inviting her to a party, she wasn’t going to go. But the thoughts of Kaelem’s offer weighed heavily on her mind and she needed to think about anything else, so she slipped on a pair of skinny jeans, a plum tank top, and some cute silver sandals, and left her house.
On the drive, she remembered the last time she’d gone to Natalie’s—the day Cade took her to Faerie. The day her life changed forever. She’d been weak then, too consumed by grief to think clearly. A fly easily lured into a spider’s web to be slowly devoured. Not anymore. Now, not only did she have magic swimming through her veins, but she’d learned to stand on her own two feet—she no longer waited for a prince to rescue her from her tower of pity.
Since her return to the mortal realm, Scarlett had gotten coffee with Natalie, who didn’t remember her visit to the land of the fae. Raith had kept his word. But this was the first party Scarlett was attending since she’d been back.
Scarlett could hear laughter from inside the house as she sat in the car. All the noises had overwhelmed her at first, but she’d learned to separate them and block them out when she wanted.
Her stomach fluttered when she heard Teddy’s voice. She hadn’t seen him since the last party, when he was busy with some other girl. Would he notice any change in her? Doubtful. When they were dating, they’d curled up together in a sleeping bag in his backyard to look at the stars. He’d run his fingers across her cheeks and sworn he’d remember how beautiful she was forever.
Then she broke his heart.
Scarlett took a deep breath and got out of her car, heading straight to the door and entering without knocking.
“Scarlett!” Natalie yelled from across the room. “My bestie!” She pushed past everyone in her way, a glass of red wine in her hand.
Natalie’s formerly long locks now only reache
d to her shoulder. She looked cute, as always, in a high-waisted denim skirt paired with a flowy red tank. Her perfect eye-makeup and impeccably plucked eyebrows accentuated her big, chocolate eyes.
“New hair?” Scarlett asked.
“Yes!” Natalie twirled around swaying her dark waves. “Do you love it?”
“So chic.” Scarlett hugged her, towering over Natalie by nearly a half foot. “Thanks for the invite.”
“Of course! I missed you while you were visiting your grandma’s friend.”
It was the excuse she told everyone except Ashleigh, who wouldn’t have believed her. With her mom and grandma both gone, Scarlett had no other family but Ashleigh. But her grandma had a friend that would bring her cookies whenever she visited, so Scarlett figured it made for a good enough story.
No one wanted to ask too much after someone’s mom killed herself. Who knew such a tragedy could make lying easier?
“And what about you?” Natalie leaned back as she held Scarlett’s hands. “You look hot!”
Teddy approached slowly, a small grin on his face. “Hey.” His hazel eyes were a shade lighter than his sister’s.
Scarlett’s heart raced. Breaking up with him had been hard, but losing him as a friend had killed her. Maybe they could get their friendship back someday. “Hi.”
Natalie looked between them with a smirk. “Teddy, get Scarlett a drink.”
“Yes, master,” he joked, turning to Scarlett. “What would the lady like?”
“Surprise me,” Scarlett said.
She tried to block out the emotion swirling around her. So many people—so many drunk people—so near overwhelmed her as their lust, rage, and jealousy filled the room. But she couldn’t ignore the happiness trickling from Teddy as he turned and headed to the kitchen.
Natalie locked her arm with Scarlett’s and pulled her to the couch. After they sat, she said, “Whatever happened to that hot guy that came to the last party with you?”
Shit. Scarlett had forgotten Cade had met Natalie in the mortal realm. Raith must not have erased that memory. “Nothing really.”