Soul of Thorns (Wicked Fae Book 3)

by Stacey Trombley

  Glowing red power streaks from the ground in the form of a massive hand. It clenches over a wraith, struggling in its grip. I blink back the brightness, even though I know it’s dull.

  “Please,” Reahgan begs.

  Reahgan writhes in the translucent hand of magic. I cough, air rushing back into my lungs roughly. I blink and try to adjust my sight as quickly as possible. This may be my only chance to get a sense of my surroundings. I’d been in complete darkness before.

  Where is she? Where is the Night Terror?

  The red glow brightens the area. I can see the uneven tree trunk streaked with black scars, a few clawing branches, but no other forms. Where did she go?

  “I promised not to kill him. And I didn’t.” The ground trembling along with her words, making it impossible to tell where the voice is coming from. How do I fight something I can’t see? “I never claimed how long that offer would last. He’s been alive for several hours. Surely you didn’t think the deal was indefinite—that I’d never end him?” She chuckles, and I shiver.

  “Run, Rev.” Reahgan’s voice barely escapes him. I blink, my mind still hazy, but I remember who he once was. Young and handsome with sharp jawlines, pale skin, and dark hair. He was poised and confident. Powerful.

  I can’t picture that fae in this wraith now—laid powerless and pathetically writhing, his face distorted in pain and grief.

  I shift, measuring what my muscles are capable of.

  Roots shoot from the dirt and wrap themselves around my wrists before I even begin. “Not so fast, little fae.”

  The red magic tosses Reahgan’s wraith form to the dirt at my feet.

  “Please,” he begs again, face contorted in agony. “Please, spare him. I’ll do anything.”

  He’d do anything to save me? I shake my head from my confusion because it doesn’t matter.

  “You had the chance to do what I wanted, and you failed. And now, you will watch your brother die.”

  I don’t know which one of us she’s talking to. I suppose it doesn’t matter.

  “Emotions are worthless, child. You’d have done well to have learned that lesson long ago. They make you weak.”

  “Like your love for the Night Bringer?” My brother’s voice is harsh, angry.

  “Yes, exactly like that. Do you think I’d be here if it weren’t for him? No. No, I’d be free to manipulate the living right alongside him. But I’d foolishly chosen love.”

  My eyebrows pull down.

  “That was my first curse. A human trait I’d fallen into.”

  “You don’t love your mate?” I whisper through my aching throat.

  “Of course not. I’ve learned to rid myself of that curse long ago.”

  “Yet you will bend the world to reunite with him?”

  “I will break the world to reunite with him. But not for sentimental reasons. We are one, child. Two parts to a single whole. That is all. We will reign, together. Because together is how our power will reach its fullest. He needs me to free himself from his own stone prison. I need her to free myself from my cursed prison. It is a simple matter.”

  My breaths are still heavy, my windpipe and chest burning with the effort it’s taken just to remain alive.

  “You, however,” she hums, her voice drifting closer, “have benefited from the love of your mate.” Her words wrap around me like a caress. “But it has only delayed your final death.”

  I wince, preparing for the blow I know is coming. The roots tighten on my wrists, but there is a flash of something dark in the glowing red light, and a stone drops into my palm.

  Warmth spreads over my body like the glow of my magic—except I haven’t done it. I open my palm, and sure enough, my Lumistone glows softly.

  What the hell? I’d lost it in my fight with Reahgan and the manticore. How...

  “You,” the ground rumbles. I force myself to stand on wobbly feet.

  “Hello there, dear old friend,” Caelynn’s wraith murmurs, his smoke form dancing over me, as if—protecting me? Why would he... unless Caelynn is...

  My heart sinks. “Where is Caelynn?”

  “She has the spell book.”

  The tree growls, anger shivering even the stone below my feet.

  “And we’d like to make a deal.”

  Caelynn

  Take me. Use me. Bend me to your will.

  The whispers rush from the book, its magic wafting from it in waves of cold and warmth. Power pulses, eager for me to wield it. A red glow emanates from deeper in the cave, and behind me a cloud of white steam blocks sight of my exit.

  My fingers ache to grip the leather binding, to feel the power.

  Yesss.

  I stumble a step back, realization and panic hitting me like a truck—it reminds me so much of the Night Bringer’s magic. Will I be able to control it, or will it take control of me?

  I am not like the Night Bringer, the book hisses softly.

  I wrinkle my nose. “Well of course you’d say that.”

  “Come closer, shadow fae.”

  I jump at the voice, so much louder now. Closer, even though I’ve stepped two feet back.

  “I will show you,” it says.

  My teeth chatter, still unsure. But I came all the way for this. I can’t wimp out now. If this book is as evil as the Night Bringer and his mate, then I am doomed either way. At least this way, the chances that the Night Bringer will take my soul and get what he wants are slimmer.

  “I have every answer you’ve ever sought. I can show you all or nothing, you choose. You can wield my knowledge, no one else.”

  Me. “No one else?” I knew the Night Bringer needed me to use the book to break the curse. But am I the only one able to use the book entirely?

  “Only you as of three days ago.”

  “What happened three days ago?”

  “Your father died. I don’t suspect you’ll want to know the details.”

  Dead.

  Icy cold grief whooshes through my already weak body. I haven’t seen my father in a decade. I hadn’t expected to ever see him again. And yet—it hurts to know he’s gone.

  Since the wraith brought up the Night Bringer going after my father, that’s been stuck in my mind. I technically knew he had the right blood but not the power needed, and so I hadn’t thought more of it. But if the Night Bringer grew desperate—

  “How?” I force out of trembling lips.

  “The Night Bringer perused him, though he fled to another court. When cornered, your father took his own life.”

  I press my hand over my mouth. Another life stolen by the Night Bringer. I don’t even want to get into how in the world a book would know about it.

  “I am the Book of All, shadow fae,” the book whispers. “I know all.”

  I look up to the pedestal, soft purple lights twinkling above it. “You know all?”

  “All that has been, yes.”

  “But not the future?”

  “No. That would be impossible, and rather impractical, seeing as it changes moment by moment.”

  I force myself up on wobbly feet. “Okay, book, tell me this.” I feel so utterly stupid talking to a book and calling it by name, but I will admit it’s a decent distraction. “Where is Rev?”

  “Your mate is with the Night Terror in the valley below the mountain.”

  My knees buckle, and I barely catch myself.

  “Is he alive?” I barely force out of my broken lungs.

  “Yes, though he’s had a few close calls these last several hours.”

  I swallow. “I need to save him. How do I save him?”

  “That is not how it works, shadow fae.”

  I shake my head. “I need to know!”

  “Ask another question.”

  “Where is Darren?”

  “Darren is currently making a bargain with the Night Terror.”

  My eyes widen. “A bargain?” I breathe.

  “An exchange, to be precise. The spell book for your mate’s life.”
<
br />   This time my knees do buckle, and I slide back to the ground. “Is that wise?”

  “That is not the kind of information I hold, shadow fae. I can only tell you what is, not what should be.”

  I nod quickly, waving it off. “It was a rhetorical question.”

  “I see.”

  “What are you?” If the power I’d worked so hard for was information, I’d take all the information I could get.

  “An ancient spirit. I was once a powerful being, not unlike the keeper or the Night Bringer and his mate.”

  I shiver. “You told me you weren’t like him.”

  “I said I was once like him, and I only mean as a species, not in character. What you are does not define you. Your actions define you. Your choices.”

  That doesn’t make me feel any better.

  “I am bound to the book, and though his power has been limited, he is free with a living body and power he can use of his own fruition. I have none of those things.”

  I shake my head, unable to wrap my mind around all of this. “Show me,” I tell the book, taking the offer he’d mentioned moments ago. I need to know if I’m being manipulated, and this is the only way I can think of to get closer to understanding.

  “You simply must touch my binding, and I will show you but an ounce of what I know so as not to break your fragile mind.”

  I groan. Wonderful.

  Still, I stand back up and step toward the damn talking book. I allow my fingers to gently rest on the thick leather, and immediately, I am transported.

  I am blasted with colors, my body soaring through time and place. Images flash through my mind of massive beings walking on the earth. Mountains rising and falling. These beings crush the stone like a pebble beneath their feet.

  One being glows bright red, one lapis lazuli, another violet. All glow brightly with power so intense I can’t comprehend it.

  “The creator gave these creatures dominion over a land separate from the earth.” The book’s voice echoes through my mind. “And each gave their power to their portion of land. This created the elemental courts as you know them. Adolescent fae take power from the very nature around them. That magic lingers forever and ever, for all time, even once the beings of power have passed. Our wars wiped many of us out. Conflicts with beings from other worlds have banished others. My sister and I volunteered our souls to be cursed to stop others like us who would otherwise have used their power to reign unjustly over the fae we created.”

  “Your sister?”

  The image of an emerald being as tall as the mountain with thorns sticking out of her limbs flickers into view. “The Wicked Gates.”

  “Indeed.”

  Next to the emerald being is a red being burning with fire. “Flicker Court,” I whisper.

  “I gave the fire magic to the land that is now the Flicker Court, yes. Many of our kind gave their power to the land and then buried themselves in the ground, happy with their completion. My sister and I remained, hidden in our lands, longer than many others. When the Night Terrors rose to power, we were one of the last able to resist them.”

  Inky black tendrils dig into the earth like a massive worm, and I flinch away from the sight.

  “They had become corrupted by the promise of power. They enjoyed pain. They sought to destroy, instead of create. And so, with the help of some of the of fae rulers of the time, we managed to banish one of them to the Schorchedlands. It took many sacrifices. Every curse must have a reversal. I condemned my own soul to protect the book with the power to reverse the Night Terror’s curse. My sister sacrificed her soul to protect the borders around the cursed lands.”

  And that worked for centuries.

  “Yes, the Night Bringer has been trying to break these walls for five hundred years.”

  “So, I suppose you aren’t exactly happy to see me.”

  “If I had laid dormant for all of time, my purpose would have been fulfilled, yes. But I placed my soul inside because I did not expect it to be so easy. So, I am not surprised to see you, shadow fae. I know much about you, as you can imagine.”

  I laugh awkwardly. I suppose he would, wouldn’t he?

  “You are strong but vulnerable. You may yet lose the fight for your soul. But I am not disappointed in who stands before me.”

  I bite my lip. “What do I do now?”

  “That is up to you. You are the last being with the power to obtain my knowledge and use my power.”

  After another moment of thought, I am confident in what I have seen. It could be mind-shattering, certainly. I could delve so deep into the history of our world and the worlds beyond this one, but—at least right now—I don’t much care about the origins of our world. I care about now. I care about Rev. He is alive. And this book is the only leverage I have.

  “Is there any way to kill them? The Night Terror and Night Bringer?”

  “Is it possible? Yes. Can you, Caelynn of the Shadow Court or your mate achieve this alone? No.”

  Wonderful. “You say alone. How about with your power?”

  “The majority of my power is in knowledge. I can give you spells to use against them, but without more raw power, no, it will not be enough.”

  “So, we can’t win?”

  “You cannot currently win in a fight against the Night Terror.”

  I suppose my wraith has the right idea then. Bargain our way out. The problem is, how do we bargain with them without setting the evilest of beings to ever walk this realm free?

  Rev

  Roots break free of the ground, shattering the world and sending chunks of ashen dirt pouring down on me. I cover my head and then scramble to move out of the way.

  I rush forward, through the darkness, unsure where I’m even going.

  “This way, princeling.”

  I follow the wraith’s rushed voice and claw my way up a mud-caked slope.

  “She won’t kill you yet. She wants to hear the bargain first, but you shouldn’t linger all the same.”

  I follow a subtle stream of dull light to the surface. The mountain comes into view quickly, black smoke rising into the sky. Behind me, that massive tree half the size of the mountain trembles, it’s claw-like bare branches vibrating and then... growing.

  What the hell?

  I flee from the crumbling stone and the dirt ground cracking and caving in. The tree—the tree is rising.

  Roots the size of the manticore’s chest fly from the dirt and slam into the ground. The trunk twists and groans and then rises on the exposed roots like spider legs.

  I fall to the ground, mouth open wide as the most hideous of beasts is revealed. Two red eyes blink, and a mouth with three rows of sharp slimy teeth sit just below it.

  I can’t take my eyes off of the horrible sight.

  The tree—the Night Terror, I now realize—shivers, shaking off the rest of the lingering soot from its spider-like legs. “Now...”

  My breath trembles at the sound of her quaking voice.

  “Tell me this bargain before I end your pesky existence once and for all.”

  The wraith chuckles, crossing his rippling smoke arms. “The princeling for the spell book.”

  “That sounds like a fair bargain.” The tree rumbles, it’s teeth dripping with saliva.

  “This prince, of course.” He places a hand on my shoulder, and it sends a blast of cold through me.

  The Night Terror laughs. Her red eyes grow and then narrow. “And here I thought you meant the wraith prince.”

  “You and I both know only living-beings can be a prince.”

  “I wasn’t quite sure.” The tree shifts, three of its roots—legs—scuttling forward, shifting her closer, lower. “In that case, I do not see the point in such a bargain. What would I do with the book? It’s been within my reach for five hundred years. I do not need the book. I need the being able to use the book. I had wondered if perhaps she was willing to trade her soul for her lovers? Hmm? Now, that is a bargain I could agree to.”

  “No
!” both the wraith and I yell at the same time.

  “We will not give you her soul,” the wraith continues more smoothly.

  “Then, I would be better off crushing the princeling’s body to wound her soul even deeper. She is on the verge of failing, you know. So close.”

  “I am surprised you’d botched that pathetically, to be honest. To allow the prince to send a piece of his soul to heal her? My, my.” He tsks and shakes his head.

  A piece of my soul? What does that mean?

  “They have not been mated. I did not think...” The ground trembles as she growls. “It does not matter. The oversight will not happen again.”

  The wraith pauses, his eyes narrowing. What is he thinking? Did he learn something new just now? I watch his expression as he seems to come to some unpleasant conclusion.

  “She has sparked his soul stone. They are as good at mated.”

  A shimmer of light appears in the wraith’s chest but then flickers out. What is he doing?

  The Night Terror hums, her legs twitching. My stomach roils. I don’t understand so much of this conversation.

  “The boy could, in theory, complete the spell. With him alive...”

  My mind spins, trying to keep up with what is happening.

  “I have twice the options.” The Night Terror’s legs click as she bends, bringing her trunk lower to the ground. She’s still massive, but her eyes and teeth are closer. “It is an interesting thought. However, it is only useful if is it possible to bend their will to mine without the loss of her soul.”

  I pull in a breath, my mind going dizzy. She can’t take Caelynn’s soul. It’s mine.

  The ancient being’s red eyes shift to me. “Would you complete the spell to save yourself, child?”

  My mouth falls open. What?

  Rancid breath tosses my hair back, and I nearly gag on my boots.

  “Bring her to me, and we can discuss this bargain.”

  Slithering black roots shoot from the earth and grab me by the neck. I scream, clawing at the ground as I’m dragged back into the rotten soil.

  Caelynn

  I recoil, pain ricocheting through my chest like a knife just carved its way through me. Rev.