by Sadie Moss
“So… is Sol mine too?”
Jerrett chuckled, humor dancing in his eyes. “Well, you’d have to ask him. I’m not really in the habit of negotiating the ownership of my brothers. But I have a feeling I know what his answer will be.”
I rested my hand on the hard muscles of his upper arm, trailing lazy circles on his skin with my fingertips. “And you’d be okay with that? I mean, if I was with you sometimes, and with him sometimes? That’s not usually really done in… in human circles.”
The amusement didn’t leave Jerrett’s face. “I dunno. You might be surprised, Will. But yeah, to answer your question, I’d absolutely be okay with it. In fact”—he rolled me onto my back, following me until he nestled between my legs—“I don’t see any reason why you couldn’t be with us both sometimes. If you’re up for it.”
Flashes of the dream I’d had back at the church barreled through my mind, igniting my blood with burning desire. Unconsciously, I wrapped my legs around him, lifting my hips as my inner muscles clenched, seeking his cock.
Jerrett’s eyes flared, and a sinful, triumphant smile spread across his face. “Well, well, well. I like that answer.”
My responding laugh was cut off in a breathy gasp as he lined his cock up with my entrance and slid inside me again.
The knock at Jerrett’s door came as I was stepping out of the large bath. Technically, I could’ve gone back to my room to clean up and get ready for the night, but I hadn’t been ready to leave the bubble of happiness, sex, and safety that we’d created in this room.
I grabbed a towel off the rack and wrapped it around my body, sniffing the air tentatively. I didn’t smell either the leather scent or the spicy aroma that I’d come to associate with Malcolm and Sol, and when Jerrett opened the door to an unfamiliar, deep voice, I hid in the bathroom and listened.
It was a guard, summoning the three brothers to Carrick’s throne room. The man made no mention of me, but he did tell Jerrett that there’d been another shade attack yesterday. A group of shades had attacked a small vampire clan in Vermont, killing several members.
The guard left, and as soon as Jerrett closed the door, I stepped from the bathroom, worry tightening my stomach.
“This is bad. While I’m stuck here doing these stupid trials, the weird sisters and their undead servants are out there wreaking havoc. I need to finish this soon. Are there just three challenges in a trial?”
Jerrett pulled his lip ring into his mouth. “Traditionally, although it’s really at the discretion of the king. But now that Carrick expects your blood after you pass the trials, I don’t see why he’d add any more.”
Right. That whole mess. Even if I completed the final challenge soon, would the brothers really leave, knowing I’d be stuck here with Carrick?
Definitely not.
Would Carrick let me leave with them?
Also unlikely.
Panic and helplessness started to rise up within me. I wanted to be out there fighting those awful shades, but instead I was trapped in a lose-lose mind game with the vampire king.
Jerrett must’ve seen the emotions burbling up inside me. He crossed to me quickly, rubbing away the goose bumps on my arms before kissing me soundly.
“We’ll deal with it, Will. One thing at a time. First, let us figure out exactly what happened yesterday. Then we’ll go from there.”
I nodded, holding his gaze until his door burst open, this time with no knock preceding the intrusion. Malcolm and Sol walked in, already midway through a conversation.
“You think they’ll all obey Carrick’s ruling?” Sol asked, his tone doubtful.
“I don’t know. But what choice do we have? I am not bringing her with us to the throne room again.”
“Her?” I stepped toward them. “Her, who? Me?”
“Yes.” Malcolm met my eyes, his deep brown irises slightly less closed off than they’d been yesterday. “It’s a risk leaving you alone while we go meet with my father. But I don’t trust him. I’m not bringing you into his presence again if I can help it.”
I shivered. “No argument there. You guys go. Find out what the hell is going on, and if there’ve been any more clues to the weird sisters’ whereabouts. I’ll be okay on my own for a little while.”
Malcolm scowled. His hand lifted as if he were about to touch my face, but he arrested the movement, clenching his jaw. “I don’t like this.”
One side of my mouth lifted in a sardonic smile. “Me neither. But it’s the best option we have right now. I’ll be okay. I promise.”
It was an empty promise. I was hardly in a position to give assurances right now, and Malcolm had to know that. Still, my words seemed to relax him a little.
The three men escorted me—still wrapped in a towel—across the hall to my room, forming a protective shield around me with their bodies.
“Be good, sweetheart. Stay safe.” Jerrett pressed a kiss to my hair.
“Keep working on exploring your power.” Sol kissed me softly on the lips.
Malcolm gazed at me for a moment, his mouth twitching like he wanted to say something. Or maybe kiss me too. Then he jerked his head at his brothers and led them away down the hall.
After locking the door behind them, I headed to my wardrobe and raided the stash of clothes usually reserved for my trials, pulling out a pair of pants and a tank top. As I got dressed and slipped on my heavy boots, Sol’s words echoed in my mind. I did need to explore the extent of my fae powers more thoroughly. It was a bit of a tricky proposition since I didn’t know anyone who could help me or guide me—anyone besides Sol, at least, and his guidance was based only on research and hearsay, not practical experience.
I paced around the room for a bit, trying to focus my attention inward to locate my power. But I was too antsy in here. I couldn’t shake the worry that somehow everyone in the castle would be able to sense it if I used any fae magic. As if it would seep out from under the door like smoke, calling a horde of hungry vampires down on me.
What I really needed was to get out of this castle.
I opened my door a crack and peeked into the hall. It was empty. Steeling my nerves, I stepped out and strode down the corridor, trying to project power and confidence. If I didn’t act like a meal, maybe it would encourage the vampires here not to think of me as one.
Mostly, I just had to hope Carrick had firm control of his people.
As I made my way through the castle, retracing the route Sol had taken me to get to the garden, I passed several groups of vampires. Every time I did, my heartbeat grew harder and faster, no matter how much I tried to tamp it down.
It didn’t help that everyone I passed stopped to stare at me, fangs bared as hunger and fascination gleamed in their eyes.
By the time I stepped out into the gardens, my facade of composure was approaching total collapse.
I had no idea vampires could flop sweat, but apparently this one can. Great.
Moonlight shone down on the aromatic garden, and I wended my way quickly through the meandering paths, passing the fountain where Sol and I had sat. I kept walking away from the castle until finally, I reached the stone wall of the castle grounds. I passed under an archway, and the landscape around me changed, no longer curated and tended but wild and overgrown.
Beautiful.
I had never gotten to spend much time in the wilderness. I’d gone camping with my dad and stepmom a few times in junior high, but that was about it. And I traded a small city for a huge one when I moved to New York, spending my days surrounded by looming skyscrapers and busy streets.
But for some reason, the moment I entered this wild space, the tension in my body began to drain away. I felt comfortable, peaceful—at home.
It makes sense, I guess.
Sol had told me a bit more about what the fae were like, including their strong connection to the natural world. Maybe being turned by vampires had affected the fae part of me as well as the human part, heightening those qualities that had lain dormant insid
e me for years.
Which should make it easier to access my powers now, right?
I made my way deeper into the woods, walking soundlessly through the overgrown landscape. There was no path laid out, but I didn’t need one. Moonlight cut through the leaves overhead, dappling the forest floor with gray-blue light.
There was so much to think about, so many problems and questions vying for attention in my brain. But for several minutes, I just let my mind go blank as I made my way through the dark forest. It reminded me of the time I’d spent by the fountain with Sol, and how he’d helped me clear my mind to reach a blank, meditative state.
My footsteps slowed as light glowed ahead of me. I stepped out of the trees into a clearing bathed in moonlight. A small pond glistened like a dark mirror in the middle of the clearing, its surface smooth and still.
Seems like as good a place to practice as any.
Deciding to start with what I already knew I could do, I went incorporeal and walked straight through a large rock by the water’s edge. I phased in and out several times, working on making the transition faster each time.
It was becoming almost second nature, something I could do in a fight without even thinking about it. The visions were still harder to achieve, and much harder to control. And what else had Sol said fae could do?
Oh. Right. Glamour.
How the fuck was I supposed to do that? Fading into an incorporeal state at least made sense to me; it might be crazy and magical, but it still seemed less insane than calling up illusions out of thin air or altering my appearance.
Still, I had to try.
I imagined a duck floating on the water next to me—start small, right?—and focused so intently on that image I swore I could feel my brain letting off steam.
But no duck appeared.
“Damn it!” I muttered, chewing on my lower lip.
In movies, the hero always had a mentor to explain things to them, to teach them. Buffy had Giles, Harry had Dumbledore. I had… a lot of secondhand pointers from Sol. And as grateful as I was for his help, I really wished I had a Mr. Miyagi to help me through this.
I thought hard about ducks for several more minutes before giving up and kicking a small rock into the lake. It landed with a plop, disturbing the glass-like surface with concentric waves of ripples.
Okay, so maybe water fowl were still too advanced for me. What else could I try?
Instead of making something new appear, maybe I can modify what already exists.
Taking a deep breath, I tried to reclaim the calm I’d felt when I first stepped into the woods, letting it fill my body with light and warmth. Then I pictured my face, but instead of imagining myself the way I usually looked, I visualized light blonde hair and green eyes.
I thought about it so hard my feet stopped moving, and for several beats I stood perfectly still, willing the glamour to take effect.
A flicker of something caught my eye, and I looked down at the lock of hair draped over my shoulder. For just a second, it flashed blonde. Then it faded back to auburn.
My heart jumped, slamming against my ribs with shock and excitement. I’d almost done it! I tried again, my efforts bolstered by the belief that this could actually work.
When I looked down again, my straight, long hair was platinum blonde.
“Holy shit,” I breathed.
I reached up, hesitant to touch it for fear I’d break the spell. But when I ran my hands through the soft strands, letting the ends glide between my fingers, the color didn’t change.
Excitement thrumming in my veins, I knelt by the edge of the pond, staring at my reflection in the water’s glassy surface. A green-eyed, blonde-haired woman with my face and nose stared back at me, her features set in an almost comical expression of shock. I closed my gaping mouth, leaning farther over the water to see better.
I did it!
It was definitely a baby step, but it was a step.
I was about to lean back from the water when something else caught my eye. The runes on my skin were beginning to glow faintly. The white lines of the scars became paler and brighter.
No! No, no, no.
Closing my eyes, I let the illusion spell drop and focused all my energy on tamping down the fuzzy, dazed feeling that rose inside me. It was like trying to shove smoke inside a box, but I kept working at it, holding onto the thread of my free will with an iron grip.
Slowly, agonizingly slowly, the glowing light of the runes began to fade. By the time the scars were back to normal, almost invisible against my skin, I was shaky and sweaty from the effort.
I sat back on my heels, resting my hands on my knees and tilting my head back to stare up at the night sky.
Shit. Why did that happen again? What brought it on?
My hope had been that if I learned to control my fae magic, to access the power inside me, I could use it to stop these hostile takeovers of my body.
But what if it only made the runes’ power over me stronger?
19
Willow
A shiver raced over my skin.
The cold, stark truth was that I was messing with powers far beyond my understanding. The fact that they were powers I possessed didn’t make me any less out of my depth.
Suddenly nervous to try any more fae magic, I stood quickly, brushing dirt off my knees. I’d probably been away from the castle for a couple hours. Hopefully the brothers would’ve finished up their meeting with Carrick by now. I should get back before they worried about me.
I walked back along the perimeter of the pond to where I’d emerged from the woods, then began to retrace my path back to the castle. My sense of direction wasn’t great, but I could smell the trail I’d left through the woods.
Rather than meandering back, I set a quick pace. I didn’t shadow run for fear of veering too far off course, but I kept up a brisk walk. I kept glancing down at my arms, fearing that any minute the runes would burst into light, and this time I wouldn’t be able to stop them.
In my distraction, I regressed back to my usual human levels of clumsiness. A root sticking up from the ground snagged my foot, and I pitched forward. Useless adrenaline flooded my body as I went down, landing hard on my knees. But before my hands touched the ground, I felt my soul leave my body, falling, falling, falling through the earth.
My consciousness tumbled through blackness, weightless and heavy at the same time.
When the world coalesced around me, I recognized my surroundings immediately. I was in the Penumbra. Inside the castle.
And a shade stood directly in front of me.
As I watched, a young vampire guard charged it. But the shade moved with lightning speed, fading away as the guard neared only to solidify a moment later behind the young man. The dark creature rammed a long, thick blade through the vampire’s back, straight through his heart. The tip of the blade emerged from the guard’s chest, stained red with blood.
I screamed, but it made no sound. The shade didn’t hear me.
It wrenched the blade free, letting the guard crumple to the floor. The young man collapsed awkwardly on the stone, a pool of blood spreading out beneath him as the light slowly faded from his eyes.
Vampires could heal from most wounds, but Malcolm had warned me often during our training sessions that there were ways to kill us. Being decapitated, drained completely, exposed to sunlight, or pierced through the heart could all end a vampire’s life permanently.
And the vampire before me was dying.
Terror threatened to overwhelm me as I scanned the castle hallway. Several more shades fought guards farther down the corridor. How had they all broken into the palace?
I was desperate to fight, to help, to do something. But I could only watch as several more shadowy monsters joined their fellows, overpowering the vampires and leaving the hallway littered with bodies.
Blood dripped down the wall beside me, staining the gray stone red. Shouts and screams echoed down the corridor.
Then I was being pu
lled away, hurtling through vast, empty nothingness before slamming back into my body with the force of a speeding car. When I sucked in a breath, musty dirt filled my mouth and nose. I was sprawled where I had landed when I tripped, lying on the forest floor at an awkward angle, my face pressed into the ground.
Coughing and gasping, I rolled onto my side. Stars peeked through the foliage overhead, and I stared up at them, shock making my body numb.
Had that been real?
I had no reason to doubt it. None of the visions my Sight delivered to me had been wrong so far.
Adrenaline spiked in my blood.
Where are Jerrett, Sol, and Malcolm?
They hadn’t been in my vision, but as far as I knew, they were still back at the castle. Were they fighting for their lives right now? Were they even still alive?
I lurched to my feet, the world spinning wildly before me as I set off at a stumbling run toward the castle. The drumbeat of my heart pounded in my ears, and fear whispered horrifying promises of what I’d find when I made it back.
The brothers, dead.
Me, too late to help.
Tears burned my eyes as I ran, no longer graceful and quiet but clumsy and awkward as I battled down the fading wooziness from the vision. But I had no time to rest and recover. The men needed me—all the residents of the Penumbra needed me. I had to help. I had to do whatever I could.
I didn’t slow my frantic pace as I dashed under the arch into the carefully tended garden. The peaceful tranquility out here only made me more agitated. It felt surreal, unnatural. When I finally reached the garden entrance to the palace, I tore the door open, bracing myself for the chaos inside.
But there was none.
One of the guards at the door looked up at me in surprise. He took in my disheveled appearance and wild eyes, and his expression held a mixture of familiar hunger and sardonic amusement.
“In a rush to get somewhere, missy?” he drawled.