A Song of Shadows (2020 Ed)

by Jenna Wolfhart

  Chapter Thirteen

  After the male fell, Rourke and I joined together to dispatch of the other fae. My hands shook, and my heart pounded, and my whole body felt weak and drained. Rourke took my face between his palms as he peered into my eyes. There was something comforting in the golden glow of them. Something soothing, almost as though he was speaking to me with his soul.

  “It’s okay, Norah,” he said in a soft voice that sounded nothing like his usual steel. “You’re okay. You’re alive, and I’m alive, and the horses are okay.” He pulled back and regarded me carefully. “And you fought like that even after being drained from healing me. That is…unprecedented, Norah. Perhaps I’ve underestimated you. Perhaps we’ve all been underestimating you, including yourself.”

  “I killed him.” And I’d done it like an assassin, shoving a sword into his back when he didn’t know I was there. I wasn’t entirely sure how I felt about that.

  “You did it so we could survive,” he said. “And as much as I hate to say it, we’re going to have to go now if we want to keep on surviving. This fight was noisy. It likely woke some others. It won’t be long before someone comes to investigate.”

  I gripped Rourke’s hand tight in mine and nodded. As much as I needed to process the violence of what I’d just done, he was right. It would all be for nothing if we got caught now. The crash of steel and tumble of bodies had been loud enough to wake the dead.

  Rourke and I unchained the horses from the wall and led them back out through the front of the butcher shop. Several Wilde Fae were clustered at the bottom of the stairs outside, staring up at us with anger, revulsion, and hunger. I grabbed the reins and launched myself onto the back of the horse, and Rourke did the same. And then we charged.

  The Wilde Fae stumbled back as the horses bore down on them, jumping out of our way as we galloped straight for the open gates. Cries of anger rose up behind us, and several of the fae pounded the ground in an effort to chase us down. We were outside the village within moments, though the cries rang out behind us for a long time after. The Wilde Fae were out for our blood. We had to keep moving.

  Dread pooled in my stomach when we finally approached the tavern at the edge of the Summer lands. The door was flung wide open, and splotches of red painted the outer walls. Several bodies littered the ground, their limbs twisted at odd angles. Rourke slowed his horse, and I followed suit, slipping my hand into my pocket to feel the comfort of the stone. I could hide us, if needed.

  “No need for that, Norah,” Rourke said in a chilly voice. “Whatever happened here is over. The attackers are long gone.”

  I loosened my grip on the stone, but the tension in my body remained. “Who would have done this? The Autumns? The Queen didn’t mention anything about trying to breach the Summer border.”

  Rourke didn’t answer. The truth was, he didn’t know anything more than I did at this point. He flicked his reins and motioned for me to follow. Slowly, we approached the tavern. Despite the fact that the attackers were gone, my heart raged in my chest and my palms were slick with sweat. We passed one body and then two, and that was when I realized how Rourke had known the truth. Flies buzzed all around them, and the stench was…

  I closed my eyes and twisted my head away. They had been like this for a couple of days.

  The echo of footsteps reached my ears. Footsteps that very much sounded as though they were coming from inside the tavern, not from behind us. Rourke heard them in the same instant I did, and he was off his horse faster than I could even register what was happening. His sword was from his scabbard and his weapon held high as he stalked in front of my horse, his back turned to me.

  “Hide yourself, Norah.”

  But the face that appeared in the doorway of the tavern had thick red hair, blazing bonfire eyes, and a smile so bright that it could blind me for days.

  “Norah? Oh, thank the forest.” Liam started running to me then, his feet pounding against the soft dirt. I slipped off my horse and found my own body moving instinctively toward his, my heart in my throat. Seeing him now brought back a rush of emotions. I had missed him. Fiercely. And there had been a small part of me that had been worried I’d never see him again.

  I launched myself into his arms, and my feet left the ground. He twirled, pressing his nose deep in my hair and breathing me in just as deeply as I breathed him. Sunflowers, fresh rain, and fire. Those fresh, familiar scents that made my bones ache.

  Finally, after several long moments of this, Liam set me back down on the ground. His eyes searched mine, and he frowned, and then he turned to Rourke, questions circling in his eyes.

  “She looks exhausted,” was all he said to my Autumn companion. And then he glanced at the horses. “Why are they covered in blood?”

  “Nice to see you too, Liam,” Rourke said in a voice clipped short. “Glad to see you’re not among the fallen here.”

  Liam turned back to me. “Norah, are you all right? What took so long? Did you get the stone? I’ve been worried out of my damn mind, which is why I came here. And then I found…this.”

  I’d almost forgotten that Liam and the other Summers would have no idea why we’d taken longer than expected.

  “I’m so sorry, Liam,” I said, reaching out to squeeze his hands. “Things got…complicated.”

  Rourke and I filled Liam in on what had happened. How the shopkeeper had betrayed us, and how the Autumn Court had taken Rourke as a prisoner. How I’d snuck in to free him and how I’d overheard the plans of the Spring Court. We even mentioned the storm, but we kept the details fuzzy there. Still, Liam didn’t miss how I stumbled over my words or the blush that began to creep up my neck.

  “Something has changed between you two,” he said. “Hasn’t it?”

  I swallowed hard and glanced at Rourke. He looked as calm and as undeterred as always. “We may have…realized we have some feelings for each other.”

  “I see,” Liam said quietly before giving a nod. “Well, it was only a matter of time.”

  “You’re not…” I lifted my eyebrows. “Upset? Mad? Jealous?”

  Liam and I had never defined the relationship between us. We hadn’t yet had the chance. But we both knew there was something there, something neither of us could shake, no matter who tried to tell us we had to do. That didn’t stop me from feeling what I felt toward Rourke, and toward Kael. I just hoped this—whatever this was—didn’t cause any of them to turn away with pain and anger.

  “If he were any other Autumn fae, I would be very jealous. So jealous I would probably challenge him to a fight.” Liam shook his head with a chuckle. “But for some reason, the idea of you with Rourke doesn’t bother me at all. Maybe because I saw it coming a mile away.”

  “You do know this doesn’t mean I don’t have feelings for you as well. I still…want you, too.” God, this was so complicated, and kind of embarrassing.

  “Relax.” He grinned and winked. “You’re a Greater Fae. Of course you’re going to have feelings for more than one male.”

  “Alwyn isn’t going to like this,” Rourke said to Liam. “And don’t forget about the Barmbrack Ring.”

  Liam scowled. “Alwyn can bite it. And as for that ring…hell, maybe she’ll end up marrying us all.”

  I rode between Liam and Rourke when we returned to the castle grounds. Two Lesser Fae immediately scurried over and took our horses and our stash of weapons, whispering about soap and water and brushes. They would clean the poor creatures while we took to the war table to discuss my findings with the Hunters. As I turned to go, one of the horses nudged my hand with his nose. Shocked, I turned and met his brown eyes. There was something in them, something soft and fierce and strong all at once. He nudged my hand again and whinnied lightly before nuzzling my neck. My heart throbbed and a strange sensation of pure unbridled love filled my soul.

  “You’re welcome,” I whispered.

  With one last nuzzle, the horse turned and trotted away.

  Liam and Rourke fell into step behind
me as we turned toward the hall where the Hunters were waiting for us.

  “You know, Marin was like that,” Liam said so quietly to Rourke that I almost didn’t hear. “She and animals had this intense connection. They’d stare into her eyes and look at her like that, like she, I don’t know, belonged to them.”

  “Yes,” Rourke said in return. “Norah calms them as well, instead of controlling them. Not to mention all the other things.” A pause. “I truly believe the realm would rally behind her if they could see what she can do. What she’s like. We shouldn’t keep hiding her in secret, not when the realm is in turmoil.”

  “You’ve seen these Hunters and how they’ve reacted. It doesn’t matter what she can do. She’ll always be a changeling to them.”

  “I can hear you, you know,” I called out just before we strode into the hall.

  A part of me felt as though I should be angry that they were trying to discuss me without me knowing, but I was certain they’d been doing that long before now. Besides, it wasn’t anything I didn’t already know. Rourke thought I was some kind of gift from the realm because of my varied powers and that the Courts would rally behind me. Liam, on the other hand, knew the gritty truth of it. Changelings, while fae, while born here, were Other to most of those who called this world home. They would only rally behind someone they would truly consider a Queen.

  And a Queen I was most certainly not.

  As we strode into the hall, Phelan glanced up from where he still stood hovering over the map. I wondered if he had moved at all while we’d been gone, or had he merely stood there, endlessly pushing his wooden pieces around, trying combination after combination, never able to solve the puzzle of the war.

  “They said you were on your way.” He pointed at the map. “Show me what the Autumn Court plans to do.”

  Wordlessly, I strode over to the map, right past the territory markers that belonged to the Autumn fae. Instead, I grabbed the block that represented the Sprint Court and shoved it across the table and into the Winter lands.

  Frowning, Phelan glanced up and met my gaze. “What’s the meaning of this? Did you not learn anything at all? My guards said you found the stone and went into the Autumn Court where you overheard the Queen in discussion about the war.”

  “I did.” I gave a nod and met his gaze. “The Spring Court plans to invade the Winter Court two mornings from now. After they lose, which they will, Autumn will retaliate against weakened Winter forces.”

  He grunted. “That is very unlikely.”

  “Well, as unlikely as it is, that’s what I heard,” I said. “The Spring fae are going to war.”

  Phelan frowned down at his map before glancing at each of his fellow Hunters in turn. “This is certainly not what we expected to hear, but I cannot deny it’s valuable information. If the Spring Court goes to war with Winter, then the entire landscape of Otherworld could be changed. I think it’s clear what we need to do. We need to inform the Winter Court that they’re coming.”

  “What?” Liam strode forward, his hands fisted by his sides. “Now, wait a minute. While I agree that something must be done, I’m not certain provoking the Winter Court is the right course of action.”

  “Provoking them?” Phelan laughed. “I daresay it is the Spring Court that is doing the provoking. The Winter Court should know what is coming for them.”

  Liam huffed out an irritated sigh and whirled toward Rourke. “A little help here?”

  “Phelan, you cannot do this. For once, I find myself agreeing with my Summer friend here,” Rourke said coolly. “Spring fae, notoriously, do not like fighting. I’m sure there must be some sort of explanation for this, which means they could be reasoned with. I think the far better approach would be to go to them directly for a reasoned discussion. If you warn the Winter Court, this situation will only end in more bloodshed.”

  “Well, lucky for me, this is my decision and not yours.” Phelan lifted his eyes from the table and flicked his fingers at what I had thought was a dark and empty corner. Instead, it turned out to be where Alastar was stationed, along with a handful of other Hunters. Alastar’s red eyes flicked to mine, and they sparked with furious fire.

  “Alastar, please take our guests to their new quarters and lock the doors. They’re not to go in or out unless accompanied. They may join us for dinner, if they wish, but if they make too much trouble for you, then they can enjoy eating in their rooms alone.”

  Alastar and his men quickly surrounded us, and I whirled in a circle as they grabbed our arms in their tight grips. Liam’s face was a mask of rage while Rourke’s eyes were nothing but pure ice.

  “Phelan,” Rourke said in his quiet, deadly voice. “What’s the meaning of this?”

  “Surely you of all people would understand, Rourke?” Phelan asked, crossing his massive arms over his chest. “You’re not one of those fae who is driven by emotion but by logic and calculation.”

  “You’re keeping us here so we don’t go warn the Spring fae,” Rourke said, his voice dripping with derision. “But why?”

  “No. Think harder.” Phelan shook his head with a laugh. “Your changeling is valuable to me. With both the Autumn and the Spring Courts going rogue, we’re much better off having a Greater Fae who can weave in and out of shadows. We can use her to plan all of our moves in this war. We’ve already lost all our Royals. I will take any advantage I can get.”

  “Well, good luck with that,” I said, lifting my chin. “Because you can keep me here all you like, but I will never help you ever again. Not after this. And that is a promise.”

  He let out another chuckle. “Why do you think we’re keeping Rourke and Liam as well?” The smile vanished from his face. “You’ll do what we ask, or we’ll kill them.”

  “Something doesn’t smell right.” Liam paced from one end of the small squat room to the other. He’d already walked the same path about a hundred times since they’d thrown us in this little make-shift cell, and I was starting to think he’d wear a hole in the floor.

  “Yes, and it’s Phelan.” Rourke leaned against the wall with his arms crossed lazily over his chest, but the clench of his jaw gave the truth about his feelings away. He was pissed. “Taking leadership of the Summers has obviously gone to his head.”

  “It’s not just that.” Liam stopped to grab the bedpost and squeeze it tight in his fist. “It’s the way he went about it. It’s almost like he wants the Spring Court to attack the Winter fae, but that doesn’t make any sense.”

  “Summer fae,” Rourke said with a slight eye roll. “They’re not logical.”

  “Well, regardless, I think we should get the hell out of here,” I said, standing and swiping one hand against the other as if I were dusting off the very presence of the Summer fae. “He can go warn the Winter Court all he wants. We’ll just go talk to Spring ourselves.”

  Rourke lifted an eyebrow. “And how, pray tell, do you anticipate getting through that locked door?”

  Phelan and his Hunters hadn’t taken us down to his dungeons. We were his prisoners, but he seemed inclined to make our stay as comfortable as possible. We weren’t enemies so much as we were fae he wanted to control. Instead, he’d put us in a section of the hall where two bedrooms were connected together, along with a bathroom that held a claw-footed tub. There were windows in each one, but they’d been blocked off. The doors were locked, and I was guessing there was at least one Hunter stationed outside.

  In any other scenario, I might be kind of excited to be trapped inside a couple of bedrooms with who I hoped to be two of my future mates. But right now, my focus was elsewhere. We had a war to stop.

  Obviously, we couldn’t shift in or out of this place, but there were plenty of other options when it came to magic. So, I filled Rourke and Liam in on my hastily-constructed plan. At first, they both looked skeptical, but over time, I managed to convince them it would work.

  Plus, we didn’t really have any other options.

  Now, we just needed to wait for the ri
ght time. We needed darkness.

  At some point in the middle of all the waiting, I drifted off to sleep. When I awoke, I found myself in the master bed—alone. Glancing around, I spotted Liam stationed by the door while Rourke had decided to take a nap in the other room.

  A part of me yearned to toss away my worries and beckon them into the master bed with me…

  Focus, Norah.

  Quietly, I slid out from under the covers. One of them must have carried me here and tucked me up into bed. The thought of it, such a sweet and tender move, made my heart throb. One moment, they could be the tough and violent fae males that they all could be. The next, they were making sure I was covered by fluffy blankets.

  I tiptoed over to Liam’s side and eased onto the chair next to his. Through the boarded-up windows, it was impossible to tell what time it was, but it must have been hours later. Almost time.

  Liam jerked his head toward where Rourke was sleeping. “I never pegged an Autumn as a gentleman, but he refused to get into your bed without you knowing.”

  I blushed. “That’s sweet.”

  He needn’t have worried. I would have welcomed him right in beside me.

  “Not as sweet as the way you look when you’re blushing.” Liam reached out a finger and traced it along my skin. I shivered. “Before we do this, there’s something I’ve been meaning to talk to you about.”

  My heart thumped. “What is it?”

  “I think we need to determine who your parents are,” he said quietly. “Your powers are…impressive, to say the least. I think the realm needs you, Norah. They’ll especially need you if there’s another battle between Courts. Knowing who your parents are could go a long way toward getting the realm to accept you, particularly if they’re well-respected fae.”

  “I…” I didn’t know what to say. “I’m just a changeling. This realm wouldn’t stand behind me, no matter who my parents are. Rourke said none of the couples that year had any ties to Marin. In fact, he said no one has ties to her. Not anymore. All her family is dead.”