Institute of the Shadow Fae Box Set

by C. N. Crawford

  Ruadan’s dark magic snaked through the air. “Baleros was threatening her friend, and Arianna was trying to protect her. Our role is to protect, isn’t it? That’s what she was doing.”

  To the right of the mist army, another man was moving. The fog curled around his body. Except, he wasn’t part of the army. By his red hair and glittering crown, I recognized him as Maddan.

  “You can’t turn on her now.” Ruadan’s voice boomed through the fog. “The Old Gods have chosen her. She successfully completed the task. She identified and slaughtered all the angels. Angel blood coats her sword. Look at the state of your crown.”

  Maddan crossed to Ruadan, his face beet-red. “Lies!” he shrieked. He’d dipped his sword in blood at some point, and it dripped off his blade. “I won the task by default. The incubus was helping her. Anyone could see that he was helping her. He gave her his magic. This is not the work of the Old Gods. This is the work of Ruadan. I killed an angel on my own, without the benefit of his help.”

  “You didn’t kill a single angel,” I shouted. “You weren’t even here.”

  He lifted his sword. “You left one of them alive. I finished him.”

  Grand Master Savus straightened. “Perhaps the Old Gods do favor the demi-fae. But she came from Baleros, and we cannot trust her. Clearly, she cannot be a Shadow Fae. The Shadow Fae must trust one another, and she is a spy. We will keep her in the Palatial Room until we decide a further course of action.”

  Ruadan’s dark magic roiled around him like a storm, and the temperature plummeted. His pale hair whipped around his head. “Who told you about Baleros?” he asked, in a tone that turned my own blood to ice.

  “Arrest her,” Savus repeated.

  At his order, a line of mist soldiers began marching for me. Injured, I was too weak to fight them. Ruadan had no chance of slaughtering them all. And yet, for some insane reason, he decided to try. As the soldiers closed in around us, he drew his blade, moving like a hurricane wind. He was a blur of shadows and speed, furiously carving into shadow soldiers. But it didn’t seem as if a blade could hurt them. With each attack of his sword, the soldiers dissipated like smoke.

  When a new line of mist soldiers raised their bows, arrows nocked, my mind started to go blank. That familiar darkness—the weightlessness of falling—spilled through my blood.

  I held it back the best I could. If I unleashed my true self, everyone would die—Ruadan included.

  The archers launched their arrows, all aimed at Ruadan. He shadow-leapt, shifting position, but one of the arrows still slammed into his chest. He fell back to the earth.

  My world tilted as I recognized the dark sheen of iron. An inch or two to the right, and it would have pierced his heart, killing him.

  I stared at him, my own heart squeezing in my chest as the mist soldiers surrounded me. They gripped my arms, dragging me away from him. What would happen to him? He’d risen up against Savus—committed treason. Would they kill the prince of Emain?

  Rough hands of mist pulled me down, smothering me, until my world went black.

  Chapter 57

  I woke to find myself back in the Palatial Room. This time, no one had thought to leave me with my bug-out bag. Rough stone bit into my back, and the stench nearly overpowered me. An irregular dripping noise echoed off the dungeon walls.

  My wounds felt like they were ripping me apart. “I’m getting really irritated with this place,” I muttered.

  “Arianna?” Ruadan’s voice wended through the dark, a velvety caress on my skin.

  My chest unclenched at the sound of his voice. “Ruadan? Are you okay?”

  “I’ve been better.” His voice sounded strained.

  “Did they get the iron out of your chest?”

  “No. But it missed my heart.”

  I winced. The agony must be excruciating. In fact, it must be poisoning his blood even now.

  “I don’t suppose you can Wraith your way out of here,” I said.

  “Not with all the iron piercing me. I hardly have any magic left. How are your wounds?”

  Someone had snuffed out all the candles, and I couldn’t even see my injuries in the darkness. But oh gods, I could feel them. Pain lashed me from all sides. “I’ve been better,” I said. “The last time I was in here, I dreamt of…” I didn’t want to say the word Emain in case a guard was listening in. “I dreamt of apple orchards on a rocky slope. I’m not sure how I slept so well in here. I slept the entire time.” Only now was I starting to put the pieces together. As a demigod of the night, Ruadan had sleep magic at his fingertips. “That was you, wasn’t it?”

  He didn’t answer, but now I was certain that it had been him. A prince of Emain, who’d sent me calming dreams so I could rest in this horrible place. “They were nice dreams,” I added.

  “When I was a boy, before I joined the Shadow Fae, I spent all day in that orchard. My brothers and I played soldiers, hunting each other with wooden swords.”

  “You have brothers other than Caine?”

  “I had six. Three of them died.”

  Silence hung over us. “I’m sorry.”

  The uneven dripping grew louder. My mind was still whirling, reviewing everything that had happened. Grand Master Savus striding out of the mist. Maddan throwing a fit, insisting—despite all evidence—that he’d actually killed more angels than I had.

  “We’ll get out of here,” said Ruadan quietly.

  “How?”

  “I’m still working on that.”

  “Who do you think told Savus about Baleros?” I asked.

  “Do you have any idea where Ciara is?” he asked abruptly.

  “I have no idea.” My heart began to race. “Do you think Savus has her? What if he tortured it out of her?”

  “Shh…” he said. “Save your energy. Panicking won’t help her.”

  I wanted to slam my fist into the wall. Of course panicking wouldn’t help, but what else could I do at this point? My breath was coming in short, sharp bursts, and my heart raced wildly. I rested my head in my hands, gritting my teeth so I wouldn’t sob or scream.

  “Your breathing sounds panicked.”

  I didn’t answer him. I was too focused on trying not to scream with rage. I leaned back against the wall, sucking in a sharp breath as the jagged rocks pierced the wounds on my back.

  “You’re in a lot of pain,” he said. “Hold on.”

  His dark magic whispered around my skin, and spirals of shadows wrapped around me, sliding over my skin. I sighed as his calming magic stroked my body, until I couldn’t feel the pain anymore. I ran my fingertips over the skin on my side. He’d completely healed it.

  His magic continued to caress my skin, calming my nerves, until my eyes drifted closed. His magic started to ebb, and yet sleep was claiming my mind. Once more, I dreamt of Emain.

  When I woke, I couldn’t feel his magic anymore.

  “Ruadan?” I called out.

  The only response was the uneven dripping of water.

  Gods damn it. Had he gone unconscious, or had they dragged him out of the cell to kill him? I fought the urge to slam my fist into the wall. Breaking my hand wouldn’t do any good.

  Groaning, I stood in my cell. How long would Savus keep me in here? I gritted my teeth, my fingers twitching.

  Ruadan had healed me, and with my body now strong, I felt an overwhelming urge to hurt the people who’d put us here. When I closed my eyes, I could envision myself punching Savus in the jaw, over and over, smashing that creepy grin off his face.

  When I heard the murmuring of voices farther down the hall, and saw the flickering of warm light over the damp stone, my heart sped up. Footfalls moved closer over the stone.

  Savus hadn’t wanted to kill me, because it would put him at odds with the Old Gods. But he seemed to think he’d found a loophole by asking Ruadan to kill me. Let someone else take the fall for him. I imagined he hoped I’d simply start failing the trials, or perhaps that Maddan would properly kill me at some point. But
Maddan was so amazingly incompetent that here I was, still alive. Ready to savage my enemies.

  Still, I could now accept that there was no way Savus was allowing me into the Institute of the Shadow Fae. Old Gods or not, my invitation had been canceled.

  As I stared through the bars, Maddan’s smug face showed up outside my cell. He held a torch, and its warm light lit up his face from below, giving him a devilish look.

  Ciara’s voice rang in my mind. The devil wears many faces.

  I imagined Maddan had been up in his room for days, dreaming of this moment in such a fevered state that he’d run out of tissues. Was he here to kill me?

  “Arianna,” he purred.

  This time, it didn’t look as if he’d brought any distilled magic with him.

  My lip curled. “Maddan. You couldn’t win the trials, so you’ve come here to kill me.”

  “No, I’ve just come to look at you in your filthy little cage.” The bulge in his trousers confirmed my tissue theory. “Grand Master Savus won’t let me kill you. It seems he has a plan for a public execution of you and Ruadan. I can’t wait to see it.”

  “Why does he want us dead?”

  He arched an eyebrow. “I’m not supposed to say.”

  I snorted. “As if you’re privy to that information. There’s no way he’d trust an incompetent idiot like you. You’re just a pawn in all this. Not a real player.”

  “Bollocks.” He spat. “I know plenty. You’re leverage, just like Ruadan is.”

  I rolled my eyes dramatically. “Oh, sure. That makes sense.” I prodded. “Leverage for what?”

  “Baleros wants you dead. He wants both of you dead. He needs the World Key from Ruadan. You? I think he just hates you. Just like I do.”

  Rage slammed into me. I gripped the iron bars, ignoring the fact that they burned my skin, and I stared into Maddan’s eyes. “Grand Master Savus is working with Baleros? Enemy of the Shadow Fae?”

  So that’s how Grand Master Savus knew about my connection to Baleros. Baleros had told him right out. Savus had been giving up my location all along, sending assassins to try to kill me during the trials. Why would they be working together—the leader of the Shadow Fae, and one of their greatest enemies? “Why?” I gritted out. “Why is Savus working with a traitor to the Shadow Fae?”

  Maddan’s mouth closed, his lips pressed into a thin line. It seemed he realized that he’d said too much.

  “I’m not saying anything else. I’ll see you again when it’s time to kill you.”

  The world fell out from under my feet. I wasn’t sure how I’d save Ruadan and myself, but I would. I wasn’t going to let these creeps slaughter us.

  Maddan cocked his head. “Do you know that I’ve always dreamed of having a little prisoner like you of my own? My father wouldn’t let me have one. He says madness runs in our family line. And it does, you know. My grandfather’s favorite courtier was his pet lion. He made him his Minister of Festivals. He used to feed the gutter fae to his lion, William. When I was a boy, I’d go to watch. I wanted some of the gutter fae slaves for my own.” He closed his eyes, a smile curling his lips. “The females’ clothes were often torn, just rags, so I could see their shameful parts.”

  I blinked. Shameful parts? “Can you go now? I prefer the sound of my own screaming in my mind.”

  “With your short little dress on, I can almost see your shameful parts.”

  “Oh my gods, stop.”

  But he was still standing there. “Eventually, the gutter fae rose up and slaughtered my grandfather. My father became king. He had all sorts of ideas about keeping the gutter trash happy.” He opened his eyes again, moving closer. “But I want one little gutter fae for my own. Just one.” His cheeks were pink, his eyes glazed with fever. “Too bad you’ll be dead soon. Still, I’ll have the memory of you trapped in here.”

  My lips quirked in a smile. “Go on, then. Open this iron door. I’m right here for the taking.”

  If only I could get him to unlock the door, he’d be dead within moments…

  He took a step back into the shadows. “I’m not that stupid. I’ll have to admire you from here.”

  I closed my eyes, frustration rising. When I opened them again, he was gone.

  Chapter 58

  Without Ruadan’s help, I could no longer sleep on my own. I crouched against the rough wall in the Palatial Room, trying to think about Emain. Sadly, it seemed that I couldn’t summon the vivid visions myself.

  My heart rate quickened at the sound of footfalls moving down the hallway again.

  Savus held a torch in his silver hand, and the light danced over his crown. Soft and black like rotten banana peels, it hung limp over his skull.

  I glared at him, envisioning myself killing him. If I could get myself out of here, perhaps I could rip off his silver arm and batter him half to death with it…

  I flashed him a charming smile. “How nice to see you. Where the fuck is Ruadan? If you kill him, I swear to the gods I will find a way to rip every inch of flesh off your body.”

  “Arianna. You don’t need to worry. He’s still alive. For now. And I won’t be exalting you. However, I will behead the both of you with an iron sword.” He pursed his lips. “Or at least I’ll have Maddan do it for me.”

  My body shook with rage. “You’re working with Baleros. You’ve been giving him my location all along.” I narrowed my eyes. “Were you throwing butterscotch sweets in my cell for him? Seriously, what the hells?”

  He sighed. “Baleros has been giving us instructions. He did say the sweets would upset you, but he never explained why.”

  I still didn’t understand. What was Savus getting out of this? “How can you betray the Institute this way?”

  He stared at me. Along with his sagging crown, his shoulders looked slumped, no longer the rod-straight posture of a Grand Master.

  He arched an eyebrow. “I suppose Maddan was the one who told you about this. He can’t keep his mouth shut.” His hand shook—a tremor I’d never seen before. Something had broken him. “But you’re going to die anyway, so I suppose it doesn’t matter what you know.”

  I felt as if a weight pressed on my chest. “Why do you want Ruadan and me dead?”

  Grand Master Savus flinched. Then, he tapped a shaking, gloved hand against his silver fingertips, eying me through the bars.

  “Why?” I shouted again.

  “I don’t. Killing you means I forfeit my crown and my power.” Mist billowed around him. He clenched his hand into a fist, his jaw tightening with rage. “But Baleros demands it, doesn’t he? He wants the World Key, of course. And he wants you dead. I have to comply with his demands.” His voice cracked. “I tried to resist. I tried to find a way around it. I deserve to be the Grand Master. But I find I’m quite unable to resist his demands.”

  “Why?” I gritted out. “What leverage does he have on you?” Baleros always had leverage.

  Savus cocked his head. “After you and Ruadan nearly killed him in the arena, he sent me a message. It was the first time I’d heard from him in over a century. It seems he’s been keeping a secret for fifteen years.”

  “Fifteen years.” The time frame sounded familiar. “Fifteen years ago was when he invaded Emain. That’s when he killed Queen Macha.” As soon as the words were out of my mouth, I began putting the pieces together. Baleros would never be so stupid as to kill a queen. That wasn’t his M.O. Sure, he could kill someone like me. He’d always been willing to sacrifice my life. No one important cared about me.

  But a queen, on the other hand—what could he get for a queen? Baleros collected leverage years in advance of playing his hand. Just like he had with Ciara.

  I stared at Savus. “Queen Macha isn’t really dead, is she?” Ruadan had said that her body was unrecognizable.

  His gaze clouded, shoulders slumping even more. “I thought she was. Until Baleros sent me one of her fingers, just after you went missing.” His voice cracked. Now I was getting a hint of what had broken him. “
I’d know it anywhere. The golden skin, the delicately tapered fingertips. The sheen on her nails. I was her loyal subject for centuries. I kissed the rings on those fingers, bent my knee. She was the greatest ruler Emain had ever known.” He met my gaze, his eyes filled with pain. “Baleros has been keeping her hidden in an unknown location. Trapped by some sort of magic. I’ve been sending a few Shadow Fae on secretive missions to find her, but to no avail. I have had no choice,” he said through gritted teeth.

  My breath was coming in short, sharp bursts. “If Baleros has had the queen all along, why did he go through all the rigmarole of sending assassins into the Institute? Why not just—I don’t know—get Ruadan to do his bidding, open up worlds in exchange for his mother’s life?”

  “He doesn’t want to get anywhere near Ruadan, not without dozens of iron arrows pointed at the Wraith’s body. Baleros is terrified of him. He waited as long as he could to play his trump card. He tried getting his lackeys to steal the World Key. He tried getting you to steal it. He feels that he’s now out of options. He’s using the best bargaining chip he has. The fingers of a queen we all love.” His eyes glistened. “I tried to resist. The Old Gods chose Ruadan, and they chose you. I couldn’t send the mist army after you, or the Old Gods would steal my power. I hoped there was another way. I hoped you’d die in a trial, or fail one.”

  “You really thought Maddan could beat me?”

  He shrugged. “No, not really, but it was a hope. And while I kept you here in prison, delaying his requests, Baleros bade me to do things to torment you. Butterscotch sweets, locking you in a cell… But he grew impatient when I failed to kill you. He wanted his World Key. I never wanted to kill Ruadan. She’ll be so angry with me. But Baleros sent me another one of her beautiful fingers. You see that I had no choice, don’t you? There was no other choice.”

  He had a hungry look, and I got the impression that he actually wanted my approval for his decisions. Like he wanted me to agree that executing Ruadan and me was clearly the best course of action.