by Elle Lincoln
A lone wolf darts between the ATVs, demanding our attention. The guys slow, careful not to hit Logan as he leads us. Ahead, I can just barely make out the shape of Balor and Patrick against the darkness of the night as the headlights of the ATV highlights them.
We slow and I do a head count of all my guys. Relief nearly drains me, knowing they are all okay. But something is wrong. I can feel it in the silence of the night. That all-consuming deafness that doesn’t belong.
I climb off before Mac, feeling as though every nerve in my body is coming alive. The headlights guide me toward Balor and Patrick who stand in tall grass, their eyes downcast as they try to understand what they are looking at.
I slow, following their gaze. There, in the grass, lies the body of the Summer King.
Ryoden’s father. Dead.
Chapter 3
Bette
A Declaration of War
“Cause of death?” Mac crunches through the tall grass to crouch before the body. He reaches with a gentle hand, pressing on the Fae King’s blue skin.
“They aren’t easy to kill,” Balor states with indifference. There is no love lost there, since the dead king and Ryoden kidnapped me.
“It’s no coincidence.” Mac’s words send a chill up my spine—he’s right. The explosion and then a dead Fae. Not just any Fae either, the Summer King.
I struggle to think back to my time in the Realm and his words. “I think he wanted an empire,” I remark, which sounds utterly foolish when spoken out loud. “He had never been to Earth.”
“Looks like the Earth chewed him up and spit him out.” Casseus pops a toothpick in his mouth as he studies the body. “Logan!”
I hear him first, his paws crunching along broken tree limbs and bushes, it’s only because he wants the others to hear him. His tawny fur bleeds into the background and yet those intelligent eyes glitter in the headlights. His form is larger than when I last saw him, his magic rising within him as he ages. He sniffs the ground, circling the king with careful steps, while the rest of us wait in silence.
A shimmer of white magic and Logan stands before us, naked. He crouches down beside Mac, looking over the body with his very human eyes.
“What did you find?” Casseus, ever impatient, breaks the silence that weighs on all of us.
But Logan doesn’t answer him right away, instead, he looks at Mac with his brows pinched and his lips pursed.
I feel I will hate whatever is about to come out of his mouth.
With one final nod, Logan turns and looks at me, no one else. Me. “I smell you.”
I take a long fucking moment to let that information register. I didn’t like the king, but I didn’t even know he was in this area. In this supernatural world, there are no rules, it is every man for himself. Yet, him and Ryoden kidnapped me, granting me every right to kill him. Especially when I consider very basic animal instincts. Or immortal instincts.
But I didn’t.
“That’s impossible,” I state, ready to dismiss this altogether and call upon the forgotten to devour his body, erasing it from existence.
But each man turns to look at me. In the distance, I hear the pack howl as an eerie dread crawls up my spine to settle at the base of my neck. I take a step back, the wrongness of the situation creeping into my conscious mind.
“That’s no mistake, is it?” I swallow the saliva building in my mouth.
“No.” Logan stands. “The forgotten can’t clean this up, Bette.”
My heart pounds, my palms sweat. I don’t grasp the situation, but I know deep within my dark soul something isn’t right.
“Why?” I lick my parched lips.
“Bette, someone poisoned him, with iron,” Logan speaks slowly, so I understand.
I don’t understand, even though my head nods automatically as if I do. I don’t understand how this world works completely. Yet I know each creature has their own kryptonite, it’s just a matter of figuring out what it is.
Logan steps forward, reaching me, one palm engulfing my face. I know he is just trying to keep me calm before the shit storm arrives with his words. “The pack will be here any minute. They will smell you, they will scent the iron. There is no love lost between them and Falin here.”
I didn’t even know his name.
“Logan, I’m clearly missing something. You all are looking at me like I’ve committed a heinous crime. I didn’t. I’ve worked hard to be a good person.” My voice catches. That sixth sense telling me a war is brewing on the horizon.
Because of me.
He swallows, his mouth opening, but no words come out. “This is all the Fae need to go to war with us,” he says, thus granting reality to my tumultuous thoughts.
Know those times in life when something finally sinks in? Yeah, this is one of those times. The blood drains from my face and I sway on my feet. “This is my fault.” Bile rises in my throat as I struggle to think past all the implications. “I should have given him what he wanted.”
“Fuck that!” Patrick’s harsh voice startles me and he pushes Logan out of the way. His hands grip my shoulders as he shakes me. “I say we give them a war.” His voice spews a garble of words.
I want to laugh, but gravity weighs me down.
“I believe what Patrick is trying to say is that none of us knew this would happen. We can’t predict the future like Morrigan,” Mac explains, rising with his words, and pausing before he shakes off an unsettling thought. “All you knew was that he wanted you to see into someone’s soul, we don’t know why, do we?”
The hair on my nape rises, we are being watched. The wolves have arrived. I can only shake my head, denial on the tip on my tongue as Killian joins us in human form.
“Ryoden is obviously behind this,” Casseus states, before Killian can even for a word or take in the situation.
But I glue my eyes to the alpha wolf scenting the air. I know it the moment he realizes what happened. His eyes widen and his jaw tics.
“No,” Balor commands Killian, who jerks his head in his direction. Killian may be an alpha wolf, but Balor is much more powerful than any immortal I know. “We need to cover this up.”
“Wait!” I yell, before everyone runs off. “If I’m being framed for his murder, to start a war, then why blow up our home?”
Nothing but silence reaches me.
The ocean is looking better every fucking day. I wouldn’t mind running away, leaving all this behind, and settling somewhere unknown, sitting on the beach drinking Mai-tai’s for the rest of my immortal life. Feeding the Sluagh criminals to keep them content.
But could I? Could I leave knowing that humans may die by that action? Innocent humans. The weakest link in the world at this point.
I’m not sure, maybe I am an ice queen, but I can’t help thinking of just saving my own ass.
“Your house blew up?” Killian breaks the silence. “That explains the smoky flavored air.
“We need to clean this up before any Fae show.” Balor looks deep into the forest, his eyes squinting.
“No one will believe this was me.” I’m not sure who I’m trying to convince, them or me.
“It doesn’t matter. Everything is turbulent right now. The humans fear those of us who are other.” Mac shakes his head. “A war between the Fae and everyone else? Do you have any idea the destruction that could cause?”
“He’s right, Bette,” Killian interjects, kneeling before the blue corpse. “Your home is but one small demolition. I suspect that was a counterattack.”
Balor doesn’t miss his words. “They already know.”
My stomach sours. This can’t be happening. “They know?”
“They would need a motivation to destroy you,” Killian replies.
Laughter bubbles out of me. “Bullshit. That is complete and utter bullshit. They never once had a motive to do any of the things they do. They just do it because they are assholes.” My emotions rise out of me, the forest deepening with the Sluagh as I call for them.
“There is al
ways a motive, Bee.” The serious tone of Casseus’s voice makes me pause. Anger rises within me that he would try to placate me.
“Not once have they ever had a true motive, Cas.” I clench my fists. “Stealing the Sluagh? Why? There was no fucking reason. I never even once bothered Ryoden. That child? Why? The world was already failing. Restraining the wolves? There is no reason for any of it, there never is besides demonstrating a show of power over others. Why set me up for a murder I didn’t commit? Why blowup the only home I’ve ever known? You tell me.” I hate that emotion closes my throat, that all the guys look at me with pity in their eyes.
“Well, I say I showed up at the right time.”
My blood boils and the snarl that leaves my lips is far from human. Rational thought leaves me. I succumb to the ravenous appetite of the Sluagh, turning myself into the mist and diving forward through my guys to where Ryoden now stands.
Fury has my arm snapping out and into his chest where I allow gravity to weigh me down as my fist wraps around his sinister heart. The gasps that surround me are hardly audible as the blood rushes through my ears.
Ryoden’s beautiful fucking face scrunches up for a moment as his mask fails to hide his inner insanity. To my horror, a smile ticks up his lips as his mask falls back into place.
I squeeze his fucking heart, feeling the blood pulsing through my fingertips. I curve my hands, allowing my nails to pinch him threateningly.
It doesn’t faze him. He tsks at me, his tongue clicking. My nostrils flare, and I squeeze my muscles to keep from ripping his heart out.
I can. I can remove that organ without hesitation, killing him without remorse. The world would be fucking better for it.
“Now you wouldn’t want to kill your new king, would you?” His too calm demeanor carries indifference. My anger burns brighter, turning into a raging inferno.
“Why are you still alive?” My fingers cramp from preventing them from crushing his heart. From piercing the valves that give him life.
“Immortal, Seelie King of the Summer Court.” He leans down to whisper in my ear, uncaring that I wrap my hand tighter around his heart. “I hear you killed my father. Thank you.” His voice is just above a whisper, but they all hear it. Every fucking creature that surrounds me.
If I kill him here, now, I’ll only make myself look suspicious. The Hunt killing off the Fae courts. I would only prove that I killed his father, even if I didn’t.
War.
“Go ahead, squeeze,” Ryoden dares me.
It would be so easy to give in, removing this bastard from the world. We would all be better off. Yet I hold back. Maybe I’ll look back on this moment and regret my decision. I probably will. But I can hear more creatures coming out of the forest and into our small area.
The Fae. Ryoden brought witnesses. I grind my teeth.
I don’t let go, not yet. “Why blow up my house?”
“You assume I did it.” His mouth kicks up in amusement.
“Deflection,” I counter.
“I did not.” His smile is all teeth. Fuck the Fae and their inability to lie. I have no reason to stand here with my hand in his chest. They all know it, he knows it.
Except, if he wants to play games then I’ll play fucking games. I have an entire month of pent-up rage building inside me. Just waiting to explode. Creating a fight or fuck need.
Since someone ruined my time with the guys. Fight it is.
“Oh shit.” I briefly hear Logan’s curse.
But I’m already dissolving into the mist, pulling the Sluagh to me. It was time to test my strength now that we were whole once again. I pull them in until my body is brimming with power, overloading my system as I crackle with energy. Then I flood them. All of them. The wolves, the Fae, my guys, getting caught up in my storm. I can’t help that right now and I know they will understand. It needs to happen to ease my demand to know who is responsible.
I freeze every fucking living creature surrounding me, then I allow gravity to sink my body and root it in reality. I keep my grip tight as my lips release a snarl.
“You, Seelie King Ryoden of the Summer Court, you may not have set my house up to explode. But someone did.” His eyes widen when he realizes he can’t move. “Oh yes, I broke them free. Can you hear their siren call? The Sluagh seeking those too neutral for Heaven or Hell, but willing to do what needs to be done. Those that would fight for me? It takes a special soul for the Sluagh to recruit.”
He grunts in reply. I search every fucking soul in the vicinity. “You wanted me to search those loyal to you once, to dive in and seek their true motives, but I’ve realized the Fae have no motive. Doing only what fucking suits them. I don’t care who you are or what your title is. I don’t want you in our territory. And if I catch you or yours here again, I will recruit every single one of those loyal to you and make them mine.”
Frustration eats at me. As I speak, I search, but find not one person or creature responsible for the bombing of my home or the death of Falin.
I release them all with a scream that shakes the forest. Bats fly with the birds and other avian species foreign to this land. They take flight, fleeing from my rage.
As I release them all, two of my guys stand sentinel beside me as Ryoden stalks forward. I feel his power before I see it. The light of the Seelie court spilling out of him to toss everyone but me to the ground. Grunts fill my senses. I’ve finally pushed Ryoden too far, his true nature flooding the area. His hands snap out to grip me by the shoulders.
“If I had known we would compare our strength, I would have shown up earlier.” His mask falls and the insane Fae I know seeps out. “You killed my father, and now I have no choice but to declare war on the Sluagh.”
I laugh at his insanity. “You cannot declare war on the dead, you foolish idiot.”
“I, Seelie King of the Summer Court, call war on the Sluagh, the gods, the leprechauns, and the wolves.” Then he smiles a rogue smile. “I also call on a blood debt from the Fomorian’s to aid me in my plea.”
He drops me and I stumble to keep myself upright. Anger infuses every nerve in my body. “You cannot have Balor. He is mine,” I growl.
“See, this is where living more than your puny twenty something years makes me a more powerful foe,” Ryoden spits. “I don’t need Balor.”
“There is no other,” I state simply.
“No? Don’t be so sure, little girl.” He takes a step away, his features falling back into a mask. “Now, I can call all of this off.” He waves his hands out around him, looking down at his father with dramatic flair, pouting his lips and even pushing one lone tear out. “You just have to do one thing for me.”
I snort. “Last time you wanted me to kill your father, and it seems you figured that out all on your own.”
“Now, now, we are all aware of who killed my father. Killian, who do you smell on the body?” Ryoden only knows that because he somehow set all of this up. Framing me.
Killian pauses, I can see the apology in his eyes. “Bette.”
“See? You killed him,” Ryoden declares without the dramatic emotion from earlier. “Now, as I was saying, I’ll forgive you because you did do me a favor, but my poor mother won’t take this news well, not at all.” His smile splits his face in two. I’d like to split his face in two another way. With an ax. “Bring me my daughter.”
I grind my teeth. “No, I cannot now, nor will I ever, bring her to you. She is an individual soul and I have no power over her.”
“That is a shame, because if you had I would forget all of this.” He backs away. “If I were you, Bette, I would think long and hard on that answer. I’ll give you seventy-two hours. That should be long enough. Until then, Bette.”
I feel them all move off into the woods, leaving me standing there, seething. I hold on to my temper by a fraying thread.
“What the fuck just happened?” I curse into the night.
“Bette.” Balor’s serious voice pulls me to him. I look up into his one eye, an
eye that holds the weight of the world yet is unforgiving, as his other eye hides behind a leather patch. One that could destroy the world. As he looks at me right now, though, all I sense is an ominous dread. “If he declares war, none of those immortals will fight on your behalf. They will kill you and end this.” I cannot die unless the Sluagh deem it so. I close my eyes to the night as that thread holding my sanity snaps. The last month, and all the death and destruction weighs on me and my mind breaks. I scream into the night as my body shatters into a thousand pieces and I take flight.
It’ll be another hour before I realize I finally shifted into a pure white raven.
Chapter 4
Bette
Unfolding Truth
Air passes beneath my wings, ruffling my feathers. My eyes, sharper, watch as the sun crests the horizon deep in a valley. Mist arises from a dewy night and greets the sun with a lover’s embrace, casting hues of orange and red upon the surface.
I dive to land on an aging pine, whose scent engulfs me and reminds me of Balor. Complete calm washes over my senses as the nightmares from the night bleed away, allowing a new day to rise. I settle on the lone branch, watching the valley below.
No worries swarm me, no anxiety that the world will fall at the hands of the Fae. In fact, my emotions dull the longer I fly.
I realize that isn’t the best option, but right now, in this very moment, it’s all I want to feel or acknowledge. My pain threatened to suffocate me, restricting my ability to think.
Yet, even here in this form my thoughts become shadowed by the corner they have swept me into. My little chest aches because there is no clear-cut answer. There is no way to make this work without someone getting hurt.
Why barter for Kelsie? I don’t own her and I never will. They’ve made this assumption in the past that they can buy people. That they are nothing more than a price tag, no matter the species, with humans coming in the cheapest. It’s the way they’ve lived for centuries, using humans as nothing more than mindless robots to do their bidding.
I can’t think about it, not yet. Distance, I need more distance.