by Sadie Moss
He heaved in a breath and let it out, his normally lighthearted expression growing serious. “It means you’re unique, sweetheart. And rare.”
“How?”
“Because almost no fae exist anymore. They were killed a long time ago in huge numbers by vampires. Fae are powerful. They have almost the same levels of strength and speed we do, and many of them can wield magic we can’t. If a vampire drinks fae blood, the magic floods his system, giving an incredible high. If he drains the life from a fae, he can temporarily gain their powers.”
A shiver crawled up my spine like a cold spider as I remembered the hungry way all three men had stared at me when they’d found out I was fae. I trusted them with my life. Hell, they’d already saved my life more than once. But apparently, the vampire craving for fae blood existed on an instinctual level.
“So the vampires drained fae to steal their powers?”
“Some did. Others just did it for sport, or to feed their addiction. Fae lived in wild areas. Their kind—well, your kind—are deeply connected to the earth. But their lands are barren now, empty and dead. It’s rumored that a few fae still live, but where they are is anyone’s guess. I don’t blame them for going into hiding.”
I grimaced. That was awful and terrifying. “What if people here find out what I am?”
Jerrett’s jaw clenched, the sharp lines of his face becoming even harsher as his blue eyes flashed. “That. Will. Not. Happen.”
“But what if it does?”
He cupped my chin, his grip surprisingly gentle considering the tension straining the veins of his hand and forearm.
“I think you already know, sweetheart. But I’m not going to say it out loud. Because we won’t let it happen. It’s been so long since I’ve scented even a hint of fae, it didn’t even occur to me that’s what I was picking up on you. And you’re not full fae. It may not even have been one of your parents—maybe a grandparent or something. Now that I know what I’m looking for, I can’t miss the scent on you. But we won’t let anyone else get close enough to you for long enough to notice.”
He was right. I already had a very good idea of what would happen if I was discovered. And I was glad he hadn’t indulged my curiosity by answering my question. There were some things I was better off not knowing in excruciating detail.
I nodded. “Okay. I’ll try to… I don’t know, tamp down my scent? Is that possible? Will it help if I bathe more often?”
A laugh burst from his lips, and his eyes twinkled as he cocked his head at me. “Sorry, Will. I don’t think there’s anything you can do to tamp down your scent. It’s just a part of who you are.”
“What does it smell like?” I barely resisted the urge to do an armpit check. Even with my newly enhanced vampire senses, I couldn’t smell anything odd about myself.
Jerrett’s head tilted to the other side, his tongue darting out to tease his lip ring. Then he stepped forward slowly, closing the small distance between us. He leaned down, nestling his nose into the curve where my neck met my shoulder, and inhaled deeply.
Goose bumps spread across my skin like wildfire, and breathing became extremely difficult all of a sudden.
“Almond.” Jerrett’s voice was low and slightly muffled as he spoke against my skin. “Cherry. And then there’s the tang of your blood. It’s fresh, like apples or cold fall air.” He inhaled again, making my knees wobble. “And underneath all that, something else. Something earthy and warm.”
I swallowed, sure he could hear how strained the sound was with his face right next to my neck. “You make me sound delicious.”
He dragged his nose away from my skin slowly, but he didn’t step back. In fact, he moved forward. I moved with him until my back bumped against the mirror behind me. My head tilted up, catching his burning gaze.
“You are, Will. But it’s not just your scent or your blood. It’s the essence of you that makes you so beautiful.” He slid a piece of hair that had escaped my ponytail through his long fingers, staring at it as if it were spun gold. “Strong, but vulnerable. Innocent, but worldly. It’s fucking intoxicating.”
A nervous chuckle fell from my lips. “I’m sure it’s just because of my magical fae blood.”
The blazing color of his eyes intensified as he shook his head. “Wrong guess, sweetheart. It’s so much more than that.”
His fangs had dropped while we spoke, and now he leaned down again, dragging them gently over the exposed skin of my neck. My hands flew up to his shoulders, my fingers digging into the muscles there like I was trying to anchor myself to him.
My breath came in sharp pants as his tongue darted out to taste my skin.
“Will?” he murmured.
“Huh?” My brain was a whirling puddle of mush.
“Please don’t fucking die out there.”
His words shattered my high like a brick thrown through a window.
Jerrett might think I was special. Malcolm and Sol might too. But in less than an hour, I’d be competing in an unknown, deadly trial to try to convince the king of vampires I deserved to be part of this elite race.
Fear chilled my blood, all the earlier confidence I’d gathered draining from me in a rush as I contemplated what lay before me.
I wrapped my arms around Jerrett, seeking comfort, as if I could draw strength from him somehow. His arms stole around me too, his large hands splaying across my back as he pulled me close, comforting me with his touch.
“We’ll be watching. We’ll be right there with you, sweetheart.”
8
Malcolm
“Stop fidgeting. You seem nervous,” Sol murmured.
“I am nervous,” I growled back under my breath. But I followed his advice and dropped my hand from the back of my neck as we strode away from the castle on a wide earthen path. Several guards stood sentry on the castle’s steps behind us.
The spell cast over the Penumbra kept the sun from ever shining its rays here, but despite the fact that vampires could venture out during the day, all regular activities still happened at night. The nearly full moon was heavy in the sky, and the path was lit by small glowing lanterns that hung low to the ground.
Ahead of us, a brighter glow burned on the horizon.
Our destination.
A sound behind us made my ears perk, and Jerrett’s scent greeted us moments before the man himself did. He stepped into place beside me, the three of us matching strides as we walked quickly down the path.
“How is she?” I tried to keep my voice neutral, but concern tightened my throat.
“Scared as fuck, what do you think?” Jerrett grimaced.
My hands curled into fists at my sides, but I remembered Sol’s admonition and unclenched them. We were some of the last to head to the arena to watch the trial—hundreds of vampires had left the castle to secure their seats already. But I didn’t want to look nervous when we arrived. Carrick would be there, and I knew he would be watching me as closely as he watched the trial itself. I couldn’t afford to give anything away.
Still…
“If the wildcat gets in over her head, we intervene,” I said quietly, and both my brothers turned their heads toward me.
“Agreed.” Sol, who normally took a moment to think things over before he spoke, answered almost before the words were out of my mouth.
Jerrett snorted. “No doubt.”
“It’ll be a risk. But maybe we can get her out of here before we all die.”
“Yeah, that would be ideal,” Jerrett deadpanned.
“Maybe she won’t need us.” Sol’s voice was thoughtful. “You trained her well, Malcolm. And she’s strong.”
Worry twisted in my gut, but I held onto the hope he offered like a lifeline as we entered the arena.
It was a large, oval wooden structure with an open space in the middle and stadium seating all around. The center ring was nothing but packed dirt, and a ten-foot wall rose all around it before the seating began. Ten feet wasn’t high enough to keep most vampires containe
d, but the ones who truly wanted out—those who found themselves losing their trials—were also usually the ones too weak to scale the wall.
Please don’t let that be Willow.
For the most part, I was happy to leave the praying to Fate up to Sol, but I found myself sending a whispered prayer to the heavens, hoping Fate wasn’t done with our little wildcat.
The seats were packed with vampires from my father’s court, and everyone was in high spirits. It was always a well-attended event when a fledgling vampire underwent their trials. I had a disturbing feeling most of the audience secretly hoped to see the newly made vampire ripped to shreds—not because they were opposed to adding a new member to our ranks, but because failure was more entertaining to watch.
Carrick sat on a dais at one end of the oblong arena, just above the wall in that section. When he saw us enter, he gestured us over with a sweep of his hand.
“We’re with you, brother.”
Sol clapped me on the shoulder, lending me strength, and all three of us made our way over to sit on the dais with Carrick. Several other members of his entourage were gathered there, but I didn’t care to make conversation with any of them.
Instead, my gaze zeroed in on the door in the wall on the far side of the arena.
Watching.
Waiting for Willow to appear.
I knew this arena well. Much too well. I knew the roar of the crowd, and the smell of blood and fresh earth that filled the space. I had fought more vampires than I could count in this very place during their trials, and there was a time when I’d considered it a good sport.
Vampirism was a curse, after all, and if some new vampires didn’t survive, perhaps the world was better off without them.
But as I stared unblinkingly at the door Willow would emerge from, I couldn’t believe I’d ever seen this ritual as anything but barbaric. It wasn’t Willow’s fault she’d been turned. We had done it, my brothers and I. If anyone should be facing dangerous trials, it should be us.
“There.” Sol lifted his head, inhaling sharply.
Even as he said the word, the large double doors in the wall opened, and Willow emerged.
My breath caught in my lungs.
She was stunning, her dark auburn hair gleaming in the yellow-orange lights arranged around the perimeter of the arena. She was dressed like a hunter, and as she strode toward the center of the ring, her gait was confident and powerful.
Yesterday, I’d heard her weeping in her room when she thought everyone was asleep. It’d taken everything I had not to burst in and comfort her—empty as any comforting words I could offer might’ve been. But looking at her now, no one would ever guess she was afraid. She stopped in the middle of the large open space and looked up into the crowd, her challenging gaze landing on Carrick.
Pride bloomed in my chest, so potent it nearly knocked the wind out of me.
My wildcat. So goddamn fierce.
Another door in the wall opened, and a figure stalked out. I tore my gaze away from Willow to assess the newcomer… and my heart sank.
Nikolai.
He was a member of my father’s personal guard, and one of the biggest men I’d ever met. He stood a couple inches taller than me and was built of nothing but muscle and aggression. His hair was shaved close to his head on the sides, leaving a long mohawk down the middle.
Willow had whipped around at the sound of the door sliding open, and now she stood tense and ready, watching Nikolai approach.
The hulking man stopped ten feet from her and turned to look up at Carrick. Darting furtive glances at him, Willow did the same.
Good, wildcat. Keep your guard up. Stay alert.
Carrick rose from the large wooden throne he sat on, holding up his hands to silence the crowd. His voice boomed out across the large space, deep and measured.
“The rules of this trial are simple. Two opponents have entered the arena. Only one can be victorious. To win, you must incapacitate your opponent.”
Jerrett snorted beside me, and Sol grimaced.
Incapacitate. It was a word used to make this trial seem safer and easier than those that would follow. In truth, most often it was synonymous with the word kill.
“The winner will be judged on their skills and declared by me. Good luck, Willow Tate.”
Carrick smiled magnanimously down at her, but my wildcat had already dismissed him. She pivoted to face Nikolai, making sure the large vampire didn’t have her back. He stepped to his left, and she mirrored the motion, her footsteps a little shaky, but her eyes alert and focused.
Watching them circle each other, I felt my own muscles bunching as if I were the one about to launch an attack against Nikolai. My right arm twitched, then my left—as if I could somehow guide Willow’s movements from afar.
I stifled a curse. Sol is wrong. She’s not well-trained enough for this.
But I’d spent many hours in the basement room working with her. And she’d spent more hours than that running drills and working on her own. She’d been determined to master her abilities, and I could only hope her determination would pay off now.
Quick as a striking snake, Nikolai leapt forward, swinging his meaty fist toward Willow’s head. She yelped and ducked, barely avoiding his blow. Nausea roiled my stomach. I’d enjoyed sparring with the wildcat—much, much more than I should have—but watching her fight an opponent who actually wanted to harm her was torture.
She danced out of the way, staying light on her feet and avoiding his next few strikes. The crowd roared like a singular entity each time Nikolai came close.
This round of the trials would be played out with no weapons, but that wasn’t necessarily a mercy. Fangs could tear through flesh as easily as a blade.
Nikolai, slowly realizing that this beautiful, sweet-looking woman was a more formidable opponent than he’d expected, stopped toying with her and began attacking in earnest.
He moved so fast his body was a blur, diving for her again and again.
But Willow was faster. As his attacks ramped up, so did her defense. She ducked and dodged like lightning personified, faster than I’d ever seen a newly turned vampire move.
She hadn’t been that fast when I’d fought her. But she was improving so quickly, adapting to the change so well. It must be the fae blood in her that gave her an extra boost of strength and speed.
I glanced at my father from the corner of my eye, half-afraid he’d recognize Willow’s nearly impossible abilities for what they were. Would anyone else in the stands notice and become suspicious?
Nikolai had boxed Willow in against one wall of the arena and was pressing his advantage. He leapt toward her, but she ducked under his reaching arms, rolling on the dry dirt when she landed. Before he could pivot, she rose and threw herself on his back, attaching to him like a leech.
The giant vampire roared, pawing at her and baring his fangs. Willow’s own fangs glinted as she scrambled higher onto his back, wrapping one arm around his chest and grabbing a fistful of his mohawk with her other hand. The crowd let out a collective gasp as she pulled his head roughly to the side.
The fear and adrenaline of the fight had brought her most primal instincts to the surface. Bloodlust burned in her eyes as she wrapped her legs around his waist, her head rearing back to strike.
Unreasonable jealousy burned in my veins at the thought of her drinking Nikolai’s blood. Up until that moment, she had only drunk from my brothers and me. I hated the thought of another man’s blood sliding down her throat. Jerrett’s hands tightened on the armrest of his chair next to me as he struggled with his own reaction, and I knew I wasn’t alone in my feelings.
But it would keep her alive. It was a miracle she’d managed to gain an advantage over Nikolai, and she couldn’t let that upper hand go. This was her chance.
Do it, wildcat. Do it.
I clenched my jaw until my teeth nearly cracked, all my muscles tensing as I watched her lower her head to his neck.
But as she did, her ga
ze flew up to the stands, landing directly on me. She stared into my eyes as if no distance at all separated us, as if she weren’t in the middle of an arena locked in a deadly battle with a vicious vampire.
Her fangs retreated.
She relaxed her grip on Nikolai’s hair.
The crowd, which had been whipped up into a fever pitch by her unexpected attack, groaned their disappointment.
“No, Willow tree… What are you doing?” Sol’s tortured murmur told me he sensed exactly what had happened.
“Fuck. Fuck!”
Jerrett’s response wasn’t nearly as subtle as Sol’s, and Carrick glanced our way. A smug smile crossed his face before he turned back to the fight.
Nikolai, sensing Willow’s hesitation, turned the tables. He threw his heavy weight to the side, using the momentum to dislodge Willow from her perch on his back. She flew through the air, rolling in a tumble of limbs when she hit the ground before slamming into the arena wall.
My brothers and I were half out of our seats, muscles straining with tension, when Willow leapt back to her feet. She dove out of Nikolai’s way as he reached for her, then threw herself at his massive body again. This time, she didn’t stop climbing him. Instead of clinging to his back, she continued scaling his body until she sat on his shoulders.
The fierce wildcat grabbed another huge fistful of Nikolai’s hair, using it as a handhold as she wrapped her legs around his neck, squeezing tight.
Nikolai’s bellow was cut off in a gurgling wheeze. He ran at the wall of the arena, throwing himself and Willow against it. The impact forced a harsh cry from her lips, but she didn’t release her grasp. The large man bared his fangs, trying to bury them in her thigh, but she kept yanking his head back by the hair, preventing him from biting her.
Thank God. If he tasted her blood, he’d learn what my brothers and I already knew.